and Qualities that make it contribute to our design And therefore we shall with Gerard call it Adam's Apple-tre The merciful man which in the Latine Tongue is called Misericors is he who hath a sorrowful and compassionate heart for anothers misery a heart inclining him to relieve and succour such as stand in need of his assistance in their extream wants Such a merciful man may be design'd by this Tree whose Roots being as it were but small threads or fibres do shoot forth leaves that are five or six foot in length and near three in breadth Insomuch that they serve for Table-cloaths and Napkins and being dry'd they may serve for Mattresses and Quilts very convenient and soft to lye upon Behold here the Emblem of a merciful Man who parts with his leafy substance to cloath the naked to relieve the poor to supply the wants of the needy to succour the necessitous This is the man who by his charitable endeavours conceals the miscarriages and imperfections of his Neighbour For mercy when it is the issue of Charity hath the same prerogative with the Parent which is as St. Peter saith To cover a multitude of sins Moreover this Tree which groweth above the reach of an Elephant would continue a low shrub and the Leaves would bend downwards to the ground if they were not cut off from time to time by which means the Tree grows up higher and the Leaves become larger What can more pertinently denote the Merciful man who by a voluntary defalcation of the things of this World is rais'd so much the nearer Heaven I and the more freely he parts with the transitory goods of this life the greater treasure does he lay up for that hereafter By these advantages doth he still ascend higher and higher while others keeping all to themselves do like shrubs lye groveling on the Earth in their covetous desires There is this further Remark made upon this Tree that it needs be planted but once though it bears but one year For it continually shooteth forth new stalks as the old decay and in some Countries they are soon ripe after they spring and the Inhabitants will have ripe fruit from some of the Plants at all times The case is the same with the Merciful man who as soon as he hath done one act of Charity is ready to do another and so successively as if he were oblig'd to exhaust himself to supply others and this from time to time till his own be come to its period and that he leaves the young shoots of his posterity to succeed him in his good works Hereto we may add this further observation that besides this Tree there is only one other that hath a strange property to wit that which way soever their fruit be cut when it is come to maturity the meat thereof which is white as snow represents in the midst of it the figure of a Cross especially if it be cut in thin slices as commonly we do Cow-cumbers Thence is it that the Spaniards and Portugueze think it a crime to put a knife into it and are extreamly scandaliz'd to see it broken otherwise then with the teeth Hath not this some resemblance to the heart of a Merciful man who hath a certain fellow-feeling of the miseries and calamities of the poor whom he views with affliction of mind Which way soever he casts his eye of pity and beholds the distressed he compassionates them as if the like cross of adversity were fix'd in his heart If he behold his Saviour on the Cross his heart is wounded with pity as if the passion were figured in it Again if he view his Neighbour oppressed with wrongs or miseries he is so sensible thereof as if that very cross of affliction were engraven in his heart In a word he sees no man poor whom he pities not no man miserable whom he does not compassionate still like the fruit of this Tree cut bearing in his heart a cross by which he suffers with him Nay more while he beholds Christ in a poor man whom he pities and relieves he bears Christ's shape in his heart whom he likewise relieves Happy therefore is the merciful man that bears such a cross as renders him for ever blessed who no doubt may say with St. Paul God forbid I should glory in any thing but in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ Now fix thine eye on the bleeding side of Christ whose blood issued from a wounded heart where was always engraven a cross not only the instrument of his passion but as many crosses as were the sins of the World And as many as were the acts of mercy and compassion which he produc'd towards sinners Verè pius verè misericors And shall he evacuate not only his veins but likewise his heart Shall he disburse all the treasure of his most precious blood and yet wilt thou be so penurious and pitiless as not to relieve the necessitous with part of thy dross Ah! view and view again that bountiful and pitiful heart that streameth forth at his side and proclaims them blessed who are merciful and promiseth they shall obtain mercy CONSIDERATIONS ON THE V. BEATITUDE On the side of our Blessed Saviour bleeding FRom his sacred Mouth descend to his pierced side which may be likewise term'd a mouth as were all the wounds of his body that speak and proclaim him a bounteous and merciful Lord who having given all the blood of his body and veins for our Redemption would finally suffer his heart to be pierc'd that the last drops of his precious bloud might stream from thence for a fuller satisfaction or rather expression of his infinite Love Whereas the least drop thereof might have redeem'd many Worlds and reconcil'd to his Father as many Nations as he shed drops of blood Consider what a merciful giver was God the Father who so exceedingly loved man that he gave unto him his only begotten Son a Son likewise so good bounteous and merciful that he would annihilate and lessen himself by taking upon him the form of a Servant And after as the Factor did for one precious Pearl gave all his precious blood and life to purchase and redeem thy Soul and thereby obtain mercy for it Which notwithstanding thou shalt never find unless thou also be Merciful To whom To thy self and thy Neighbour To thy self according to the words of the Son of Syrach Take pity and compassion on thine own soul pleasing God Think how many Souls are languishing in sin How many starve for want of the food of Life the Blessed Sacrament How many groan under the heavy burden of sin And how merciless they are to themselves that rescent not the dangerous estate of their own souls To these thou art merciful when thou prayest for them or by word or example endeavourest to reclaim them Thou art merciful likewise when thou forgivest injuries or when thou dost commiserate and condole the defects and imperfections of others Contrari-wise
compunction and pierc'd with sorrow which before while it was green was not in a capacity to receive the influences of the Sun of Righteousness and consequently could not be ripned till a passage was made for the evacuation of the peccant humour that so the beams of grace might efficaciously work upon it Let us then consider that if this delicate fruit does upon its piercing or wounding distil tears and that in order to its attainment of maturity it is much more requisite that the devout Christian should endure the stings of remorse and compunction in order to his being advanc'd to that perfection which is requir'd in the pure of Heart To this end is it that a Man ought sometimes as Saint Augustine sayes to make his appearance at the Tribunal of his own Soul where his own Thoughts will be his Accusers his Conscience the Witness and Grief the Executioner to wound the sinful Heart Then saith he let the blood as it were of the Soul fâ—w and issue forth by tears Notwithstanding all this Who saith Solomon will glory that he hath a clean Heart True it is no Man should glory herein but give the Glory onely to God Yet since the pure of Heart shall onely see God such purity of Heart is required as is produc'd by the expulsion of sin and infusion of Grace Therefore David humbly desired that his sin might be blotted out and that within him might be created a clean Heart Not a new Heart created but purity therein which being produc'd without any precedent merit of the finners part may be term'd a Creation Therefore Saint Paul tells us That Charity which is the same spiritual quality with Grace is transfus'd into our Souls which gives life and vigour in some sort as the Soul created and infus'd informs and gives life and motion to the body Me-thinks a Fig when but green pierc'd and wounded as it were by the Gnat lies expos'd to the bright and hot beams of the Sun as the Heart of a sinner doth to the Sun of Justice when 't is plerc'd by compunction Ah! what Light of Faith and heat of Love enters through those new â—ade passages of the Contrite Heart by which it becomes as it were a new Heart ripened by Virtue and embellished by Grace Now elevate thine Eyes to behold the wounded Heart of our Lord not with the sting of a Gnat but with a sharp Spear not to receive any light or heat of Consolation but to lay out the entire summ of that infinite treasure of his precious blood besides water to purifie thy impure Soul that thou mayst be blessed and see God thereby to enjoy eternal Beatitude CONSIDERATIONS ON THE VI. BEATITUDE On our Blessed Saviour's wounded Heart HAving in the Fifth Beatitude like a Dove nestling in the hole of a Rock as at the Gate of Mercy entred by Contemplation into Christ's wounded side now make a step farther or rather with reverence stay and view his wounded Heart most pure and clean where sin could never find entrance and say with the Patriarch Jacob Verily here is no other than the House of God and the Gate of Heaven This is the Blessed One pure of Heart who ever had the happy sight of God Consider what it is to be clean of Heart It is to be the Temple of the Holy Ghost To be in the state of Grace that is not guilty of any mortal sin And since the Heart is the Source and Fountain whence our thoughts perpetually flow to suppress all impure cogitations as they are rising is to have a clean Heart when it is accompanied with a pure intention directing all our actions to the Honor and Glory of God And as Saint Augustine saith Whatsoever we do whatsoever we laudably desire must tend to obtain the Vision of God beyond which nothing can be desired Think of the Question propounded by King David O Lord Who shall dwell in thy Tabernaele or who shall rest in thy holy hill And then attend to the Answer which is this He that liveth uprightly and worketh righteousness c. This is a hard saying Must the Heart be so clean as not to have one spot The Child but a day old is not free and in his Angels God found iniquity Who then shall be justified in his sight Or who can be clean of Heart while the All-seeing Eye of Heaven beholds it Appeal then to the pure Heart of thy Saviour rely on his Innocence not on thine own on his merits not on thine Seeing that Vessel of Election said he was guilty of nothing and yet in that he was not justified yet doubted not to say A Crown of righteousness was due unto him which the just Judge would give him I will therefore say with David O Lord turn away thy face of thy severe Justice from my sins And with him add further Shew me thy face that is to say of thy mercy and I shall be saved According to thy great mercy and multitude of thy mercies cancell my iniquity wash me again from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin that I may be clean of Heart to enjoy thy sight O my Soul Keep thy Heart as the Wise man adviseth thee with all kind of custody for out of it saith he proceeds life Keep it pure let not in one mortal sin to defile it for then from the Heart would proceed Death destruction of Grace and loss of the sight of God for Grace is the seed of Glory Let thy Heart be ploughed by Contrition harrow'd and cleans'd from the weeds of sin that this divine seed may be sowen in thy Heart which springs up by holy desires and is ripened by virtuous exercises O my God thou hast commanded me to love thee with an entire pure and sincere Heart Give me I beseech thee what thou commandest by creating in me a clean Heart and renewing a right Spirit in my bowels that I may love thee with all my Soul that my Will may be resign'd to thine without any contradiction with all my Mind and Memory alwayes to think of thee and with all my powers that I may employ them in thy service To perform all these things I must observe four things First Seeing all I am and have Body and Soul spiritual and temporal blessings I have from God I must be alwayes mindfull of his benefits Serve honour and thank him for all love him above all and for him my Neighbour Secondly I must consider the excellency of God And seeing he is infinitely greater than our Heart though we serve him with all our Heart and powers of our Soul yet are we defective and insufficient and must therefore think we never do enough Thirdly We must not suffer the world to usurp the least corner of our Heart by disordinate Love for that were injurious to God as was the placing of the Idol Dagon by the Ark. He is too covetous saith Saint Jerom whom God cannot satiate And he loves God less
Heaven is as it were opened to such as truly repent VII Sometimes I reflect mine Eye on the Wood-Bind which wheresoever it grows is alwayes binding and uniting branch with branch or winding round about a Tree to teach me that Peace Unity Union and Concord are the special Objects at which I must aim both in respect of God and my Neighbour Love must be like a pair of Wood-Bind shoots issuing from the same stock which lay hold of two neighbouring boughs or branches If by Love I unite my Heart and Soul to God by Love I must likewise be united with my Neighbour And in like manner if I have made my Peace with God I must do the like with my Neighbour offended For as I forgive so I desire to be forgiven And consequently as I have Peace with my Neighbour so I desire God would be pacified So shall I have inward Peace accompanied with outward Charity and Love like a Honey-Suckle odoriferous that breath snothing but sweetness Then I reflect on the Wood-Bind Christ Jesus on the Cross the grand Peace-maker stretching forth his Arms and pacifying his Father justly incens'd against Sinners O what an amorous far-spreading Wood-Bind was our Lord Stretching from end to end strongly by fastning the Hands of Justice and disposing all things sweetly like a Honey-Suckle breathing nothing but sweetness of Peace even for his greatest Enemies crying out Father forgive them for they know not what they do And to the penitent Thief This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise As if he had said I have made thy Peace and prepared for thee a place of Repose Thy remove shall be from a turbulent world and stormy Sea to a quiet and secure Haven O my Soul Canst thou yet be so unsetled in thy Resolves So wavering and inconstant in good purposes Christ is thy Wood-Bind to fasten thee and hath as many bands to tie thee as pains he endured and drops of Blood which he powred out for thy Redemption Consider seriously how infinitely thou art oblig'd How innumerable the ties of his transcendent Love like so many Tendrels or Wood-Bind wreathes circling and clasping round about thee to attract and draw thee unto Himself who exalted from the Earth promised he would draw all things But how In the bands of Adam and links of Charity VIII When I walk into the garden where every Plant invites the Eye to behold and the Heart to consider I oftner cast a glance on the Vine which when I view prun'd and despoyl'd of her branches this think I would move an ignorant Man to Compassion to see a flourishing Vine so cut and mangled and fast nayl'd to a wall that knows not that this kind of Cruelty is Courtesie and favour for thereby it becomes more fruitful The like happeneth to Christians persecuted who in the sight of the unwise seem to be wretched and dye and their departure destruction yet they a little chastised shall be greatly rewarded for God prunes and proves them and finds them worthy for himself saith the Wiseman Then let the true Vine Christ Jesus occurr prun'd and despoyl'd humbled unto death for which God gave him a Name above all names who invites us to suffer with him that we may reign with him in a Kingdom acquired by them who suffer persecution for righteousness sake In a Kingdom which is conquered as it were by force and shatch'd by violence O my Soul thou likewise art a Vine and must be prun'd Nay more if thy Hand offend thee if like a Vine-branch it spread too far by coveting earthly things it must be cut off If thine Eye offend thee by presenting thee with objects of vain delight it must be pulled out and cast from thee That is what ever Creature or whatever delight as dear unto thee as thy Hand or Eye must be deserted and cast off if they with-draw thee from the Service of God or go about to betray thee to everlasting destruction O my Soul there is but one thing necessary the grand concernment Salvation which relates to Jesus that is a Saviour O that thou couldst tru'y say Now I begin to be the Disciple of Christ desiring nothing visible to the Eye that I may find Christ Jesus Seek him then in these ensuing Ejaculatories Vpon Christ's Nakedness O Good Jesu I read in thy nakedness that thou wert poor in Spirit poor in Will and desire of having any thing in this world So poor in Spirit that as thou cam'st naked into the World so as naked thou wouldst depart hence So poor in this World that living and dying thou hadst not whereon to rest thy Head What is then in Heaven for me or what do I desire on Earth but thee O the God of my Heart my portion my God for ever On his Head inclining Against Pride and Impatience O Good Jesu I behold thy Head meekly bowing down while the ungrateful Jews blaspheme and revile thee All which thou enduredst with infinite Patience and Meekness to possess the Land for us Sinners who transported by Pride and Impatience are tost by the waves of violent perturbations Ah! who can behold thee on the Cross humbly inclining thy dying Head Who can be impatient that beholds thee so meekly suffering O my Soul that thou mayst possess thy self and the Land of the Living learn of thy Saviour to be humble meek and patient On Christ's Eyes Against Excessive Mirth O Good Jesu I behold thy sacred Eyes distilling bloody tears and I hear thee say Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted If thou O Lord wert comforted by mourning because by thy tears thou wert to redeem me a Sinner Great cause have I to mourn with thee since my sins were the cause of thy weeping and sorrow Great cause have I to weep and bewail my sins that I may be comforted yea and rejoyce seeing by thy dolorous Passions I obtain a full redemption to my Soul On his Mouth Against Fear and Pusillanimity O Good Jesu I behold thy sacred Mouth and hear thee say I Thirst Whereby I learn that thou didst hunger and thirst after righteousness that my poor sinful Soul might be justified What then should my hunger and thirst be but a desire to suffer with thee that I may reign with thee Why then should I fear Why should I be so much dejected Thou art my Captain I must follow thee Thou art the Way I must not leave thee Thou art Life and therefore I cannot live without thee O my God and all things As the Hart thirsteth after the fountain of waters so doth my Soul unto thee On his Side Against Unmercifulness O Good Jesu I behold Blood and Water issuing from thy wounded Side and seem to hear thee say Blessed are the merciful for they shall find mercy Thou O Lord wert so merciful so bountiful that thou gavest the last dropps of thy precious Blood which streamed from thy wounded Heart for my redemption O hard Heart of mine
was then in the Universe the Earth opening Rocks splitting the Temples Veil rending the Thief reviling and the Jews blaspheming And if at that time the Stars were shining they were like so many Eyes to admire the wonderful meekness and patience of our Redeemer In fine If the corporal Eye dull'd and dazled with a long and tedious aspect of glittering objects If I say that be refresh'd by looking stedfastly on a green Emerald shall not the sight of his sacred Head meekly inclining be as powerful to banish from the inward Eye that dark cloud of passionate wrath that circumvolves and stupifies the intellectual part I will go said Moses and behold this great Vision why the bush that burns consumes not For could he expect less than a crackling noise from a thorny Bush environed with Flames If this were miraculous what is it to behold that very God of Abraham God of Isaac and God of Jacob which appeared in the Bush with a Head meekly bowing down wreath'd with a Crown of Thorns amidst flames of Love burning but not consuming meekly hearing the Jews and patiently suffering while they blasphem'd revil'd and scorn'd him O my Soul what a great Vision is this to iuvite thee to meekness and patience Thou likewise art inclos'd as in a thorny Bush thy Body where for a light injury or small affront thou dost not only burn but art even consum'd with the flame of wrath and indignation sparkling and crackling like a Fire amongst Thorns To prevent the like flames of fury go sometimes to see this great Vision the Head of thy Saviour crown'd with Thorns meekly bowing down and as it were beckning unto thee to come and learn of him to be meek and humble of heart learn to possess thy self and thereby take possession of the Land which he hath promised to the meek and humble of heart God placed in the Clouds his bended Rain-bow that he might be mindful of his Covenant and on the Cross he hath fix'd his only begotten Son whose head meekly bending while he beholds he becomes a meek and merciful God to man who by his manifold sins provokes him to wrath How then canst thou elevate thine eyes sparkling with wrath against them that injure thee and not be pacified when thou beholdest this meek wounded Head bowing down to give thee the kiss of Peace meekly hearing and patiently bearing blasphemous words and wrongs that were so outragious and injurious to Innocence What then should a guilty soul patiently suffer for his sake If His sacred head be crown'd with sharp thorns wouldst thou have thine notwithstanding be encompassed with Roses If his head meekly bow down shall thine be rais'd up by pride or threaten revenge to them that offend thee Finally if his brow pierc'd with thorns be not any way contracted with wrinkles against his enemies smooth thy furrowed brow by meekness and for his sake and according to his example love even those that hate thee The Third BEATITUDE Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted EMBLEME III. The Myrrhe-Tree Tam lachrymosus homo 3 So of himself as soon as born The tender Bahe begins to mourn But after pierc'd with griefs and sears Hee 's more and more distilling tears THe Myrrhe-Tree of it self naturally distil's and as it were sheds tears but more abundantly when it is prick'd and wounded Behold the Embleme and Type of Man who is born weeping as being to use Saint Austin 's expression a Prophet presaging his own future calamities Man likewise naturally weeps for the loss or death of a dear friend so doth a Parent for his lost or deceased Child as Jacob did for Joseph and David for his Son Ahsalon Such tears ought to be moderate according to the saying of the Son of Sirach Modicùm plora super mortuum Weep not much over the dead Temporal losses and afflictions do also force tears from those who suffer them as they did from Job cap. 24. v. ult My harp also is turned to mourning and my organ into the voice of them that weep But when a man sheds tears out of remorse and compunction he is wounded like the Myrrh-Tree Thus was David wounded when he said In the night-time I will wash my bed with my tears What sins how great and enormous soever but may be swallowed up in such a flood as Pharaoh and his Army was in the red Sea Or what Flames can be so great as not to be extinguish'd by such a fountain There are likewise tears of Compassion as Job says I wept over him that was afflicted and my soul took compassion on the poor After this manner David weeps for Saul and Tobias for his Countrey men oppress'd with miseries With like tears of Commiseration we may mourn with our Lord while we meditate on his bitter Passion for as S. Agustine says He is not a true member of Christs Body that weeps not with the Head There are likewise tears of Devotion which issue forth out of an ardent desire to enjoy the happy Vision of God Or when a devout Soul replenished with the sweetness of God mourns for the absence of her beloved Spouse For Love saith S. August is impatient neither is there any moderation in tears unless the Lover may enjoy that which he loves Tears likewise are shed by devout persons when they behold grievous sins committed which are so injurious and offensive to Almighty God After this manner Esdras wept and the Apostles for their Lord when he was so cruelly treated by the Jews as he had foretold saying you shall mourn and weep Moreover tears are shed by those who out of Devotion and excess of spiritual joy even melt with the contemplation of heavenly Mysteries Which kind of joy S. Augustine had experienced when he assures us that the more a devout Soul is filled with holy and fervent desires the more abundantly he weeps in Prayer and mourns as David did crying out Ay is me that my sojourning and abode on earth is prolonged I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Kedar my soul hath been a long time a stranger Therefore my tears have been bread to me day and night while it is said unto me Where is thy God Our blessed Saviour speaking of his Passion calls it a Baptism by which his sacred body was bathed in blood and his face in tears like the Myrrhe-tree wounded on all sides and parts of his body with thorns whips nails and spear Behold him in this sad and heavy plight mourn and weep with him while he exemplifies in himself the third Beatitude Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted CONSIDERATIONS ON THE III. BEATITUDE Of the Eyes of our Blessed Saviour weeping IN this third Beatitude consider a happiness opposite to flesh and blood viz. to weep and mourn which our Lord did many times but never was seen to laugh He mourn'd and wept on the Cross and was comforted seeing by the effusion of tears and blood he was
what Saint Jerome saith That it will not suffice to desire Justice but we must hunger and thirst after it Yet never think our selves just enough but must more and more thirst after Justice as our Lord commands He that is just let him be more just and he that is holy more holy Consider what a hunger and thirst that is of the Worldling who still covets more and more Wealth The Voluptuous Man more and more Pleasure And the Ambitious Man more and more Honour Neither of these can have their fill because the Soul is of infinite capacity and therefore cannot be fill'd with all the world can poure into it Unhappy then are those Men who hunger and thirst yet never are satisfied And contrariwise Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness to whom is promised such fullness as shall wholly inebriate and satiate the Soul and Heart whose Capacity is immense and being created to enjoy God is insatiable and restless till it enjoyes his sight As Saint Augustine saith Because thou O Lord hast made us for thee our Heart is never at quiet until it comes unto thee O my soul be ever languishing and thirsting after this compleat happiness Is it possible thou shouldst have such a drought that naturally desiring to be blessed and fill'd with the glory of God thou shouldst notwithstanding hunger and greedily desire things upon earth and not those above O blessed Saviour thou didst thirst and they gave the vinegar and gall but to quench my thirst thou hast promised me the water of life so that I shall never thirst more Give me O Lord of this water for hitherto I have digg'd and sought it in the broken and leaking Cisterns of thy Creatures or in riches dignities and pleasures which never satiate Thou wert hungry after a fast of forty days and the Enemy presented thee with stones to be turn'd into bread But for me if I truly hunger after righteousness thou hast and dost give me the bread of life thy real body to feed and strengthen my soul to life everlasting This is the daily and supersubstantial bread which I should hunger after and for which I daily beg and without which I cannot subsist This was prefigured by Manna which relieved the Israelites in the Wilderness without which they had been famish'd Such is the desart of this world such thy true Body which unless a man eat and worthily eat he shall not have life in him Jesu be unto me a Saviour and redeem me from worldly vanities which like air never fill or satiate an hungry soul Thou art the Way lead and direct me Thou the Life revive and quicken me Thou my greatest and only Good make me hunger and thirst after thee Only after thee because all that can be desired may be found in thee which may incite to love If beauty thou O God art the fairest If benefits thou daily and liberally conferrest them on me If love to invite to love again thine is the greatest As my Creator thou gav'st me a being As my Redeemer thou freedst me from thraldom as a Preserver thou didst and dost deliver me from perils spiritual and corporal Therefore thy Prophet David said My soul hath thirsted after thee the living fountain To thee he thirsted who art the most amiable the most noble and most excellent Good a God and all things To thee he thirsted a strong God a good permanent immutable and eternal To thee a living God operative vigorous intellectual loving and conferring on me innumerable benefits How then can I do less then hunger and thirst after thee who art so good so gracious so bountiful so loving Nay how can I contain my self within the limits of thy Creatures that was created to so noble an end as is the blisful sight of Thee How can I forbear from crying out with thy servant David When shall I come and appear before thy face If I am a pilgrim thou wilt conduct me to my desired Countrey If I am hungry and thirsty thou wilt satiate me with the fruition of thy sight If I am naked thou wilt there cloath me with glory These things have I call'd to mind said David Psa 41. and thereupon I poured forth my soul within my self like a streamling to return to God my Ocean as a river doth to the sea whence it was deriv'd I have dilated my soul and extended her thirsting desire which nothing can satiate and fill but God only Nay more I have poured out my soul upon my self And there alas what could she find but one so poor as not any way able to quench her thirst who is capable of a Good immense Or when I poured out my soul upon my self as water streaming on the superficies of the earth I suffered it not to be suckt and swallowed up by self-love but to stream sorth towards that River which makes joyful the City of God Because I will said David pass on to enter into the place of the admirable Tabernacle even unto the house of God Even as a poor Beggar travelling on the rode in the heat of Summer being very weary leaves the high way to find some good Gentleman's house to be refresht and to quench his thirst so doth David thirsting say He will pass through all difficulties and obstacles whatsoever to arrive at Gods house there to quench his thirst lodg in that admirable Tabernacle But his arrival at the house of God being deferred he resolves to make use of local memory And to this end designs two special places the River Jordan and Mount Hermonijm When he beholds the first it puts him in mind of the River above which makes joyful the City of God and of the Torrent of delight of which the blessed are given to drink And when he casts his eye on the second he calls to mind the holy and blissful Mount of Heaven where God manifests himself to his Angels and Saints Therefore saith he I will be mindful of thee O God from the land of Tordan while I behold this river and likewise when I see the little Mount Hermonijm Who then fixing his eye on Mount Calvary can forget his Saviours sufferings or who can but remember how he hungred and thirsted after righteousness when he hears him cry out I thirst that is to say the salvation of mankind and that righteousness for us sinners whereby we are adopted and made the children of God The Fifth BEATITUDE Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy EMBLEME V. Adam's Apple-Tree Dum detrahis exigis auge Man merciful t' augment his store So cloaths and feeds the naked-poor For giving less he more receaves Such Trees are known by fruit and leaves THere hath such a particular notice been taken of this Tree in the several Countries where it grows that it is accordingly called by several names which yet we shall not give an account of in regard it is not so much the denomination as the Vertues