guided by his Divine Laws In the time of man's integrity God was to be regarded and loved first and most of all so it must be still the difference is that then man did it naturally and now by a supernatural assistance he did it then by the grace of his Original Righteousness and now by the grace of the Gospel he did it then without reluctancy now he hath sinful appetites and passions which he must deny and mortifie before he can do it Therefore our Blessed Saviour requires it at the very entrance of his School as a necessary qualification to all that will be his Disciples that they should deny themselves and hate all things in comparison of him Luk. 9.13 If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me 14.20 and again if any man come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters and his own life also he cannot be my Disciple that is he that will own JESUS and he own'd by him must in all things give him the preeminence must relinquish his natural desires deny his own will that he may yield an humble obedience to God he must forsake all things that come in competition with him and even part with his dearest relations and his own life as though he hated them rather than commit what God hath forbidden or disclaim what he would have us profess this self-abnegation Ule satis se diligit qui sedulò agit ut summafrnatur bono this daily self-crucifixion is no act of hatred as the world might think but the greatest kindness we can shew to our selves or others as he that cuts off one of his limbs hates not himself but seeks the preservation of his body and he that casts his goods over-board hates them not but prefers his safety to them so in this case he that parts with his earthly injoyments hates them not but prefers heaven to this earth he that loseth this present life hates it not but loves eternal life beyond it and he that forsakes his friends or parents to follow his Saviour hates them not but loves JESUS above them and seeks to win them to JESUS In this case the promise is verified that he that parts with any thing for Christs sake receives an hundred-fold in compensation and he that loseth his life certainly finds it Therefore hating our kindred and our own lives is otherwise exprest in S. Mat. 10.37 Matthew he that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me c. As much as to say that it is only requir'd that the love of God should be predominant that JESUS should be dearer to us than all persons whatever and that in the first place we should love God with all our minds with all our strength and with all our souls for then afterwards the love of our selves and others being subordinate would become regular and innocent §. 20. Of the love of God Now as all sins and miseries proceed from a misplaced love so all vertues and felicities are the product of love well-guided and plac'd on the right object this is as beneficial and advantageous as the other is pernicious that is as S. Sicut radix omnium malorum est cupiditas ita radix omnium bonorum est charitas Serm. de Charit Augustine saith that as self-love is the root of all evil so the love of God is the root of all good the stock whence all vertues do grow The excellency of Divine Love is so great so transcendent Sine charitate fides potest esse sed non prodesse Aug. 1 Cor. 13. that it alone is accepted on its own account and all other things for its sake a faith strong enough to work miracles alms the most expensive and even the flames of Martyrdom profit nothing without love as S. Paul teacheth love it is that makes all good works meritorious in the best sense love it is that gives a value to all other vertues or rather it is love that produceth all good works and vertues as they are so indeed Love is the discharge of our whole duty the fulfilling of the law Rom. 13.10 saith S. Paul love is that grace which renews and sanctifies our natures and abides for ever it is the greatest the most excellent gift of God it is even the Divine Spirit Vnitas Spiritus continet omnia Serm. Pent. Donum est Spiritus Sanctus in quo nobis omnia bona dantur who unites all things within the bonds of love and unity saith S. Augustine and with whom all good things are ever given Divines teach that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son by way of love wherefore he is call'd nexus amoris quo conjungitur Pater cum Filio Filius cum Patre that is in the Language of the Church that in the Unity of the same Spirit the Father and the Son live and reign evermore Charitas qua paâ—er diligit filium filius patrem quae est Spiritus Sanctus ineffabilem communionem amborum demonstrat De Trin. l. 15. or as S. Augustine expresseth it the love wherewith the Father and the Son love mutually is the Holy Spirit and represents best the Mystery of their Incomprehensible Union Now that Divine Spirit which is the eternal love of God to himself is given to us in the grace of love or charity which are one and the same whereby we are all joyn'd together into one body and all united to God therefore in our holding Communion with the Church we are commanded to keep the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace Ephes 4.3 and we are taught Rom. 5.5 that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us 2 Cor. 13.14 and that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost are all one so that to come to the highest pitch and finish the elogium of love we may say with S. John that God is love 1 Joh. 4.16 and then we have said all God is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him that is God is an abyss of love and goodness by love he gives himself to us and by love we give up our selves to him and are transformed into him Wonder not therefore Deus chari tas est brevis laus sed maâ—na laus brevis in sermone magna in iatellectu c. Aug. Tract 9. in Ep. Johan if the effects of love are so glorious and wonderful when it proceeds immediately from God and is the communication of himself to us when it is the grace of Jesus Christ and the most precious gift of the Divine Spirit when it is the Sanctification of our natures and the bettering and perfecting of the noblest of humane
we may claim in him Sure 't is an easie thing to love them that love us Nimis durus est animus qui amorem eisi nolebat dare nolit tamen rependere Aug. and where God hath exprest so much love 't is strangely unnatural if we are not affected with it Prov. 19.6 Every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts saith the Wiseman Now what gifts hath our God given us or rather what gifts hath he not given us and what perverse violence do they offer nature that seek to confute Solomons saying in this instance where it should be most true Certainly 't is an easie thing to love infinite perfections and infinite goodness one that ever did and ever doth us good from whom we daily receive favours so great and so many that we can tell neither their worth nor number Wherefore S. Aug. saith Potes mihi dicere non habeo quod tribuam egenti non possiâ—m jejunare non possiâ—m flere Numquid potes mihi dicere charitatem habere non possum c. that to love God is so natural so easie so infinitely just and so much our duty that to omit it can admit of no plea nor pretence and is inexcusable and criminal in the highest degree Perhaps thou wilt say I cannot fast I cannot weep I have not what to give to the poor but canst thou say I cannot love God is there any obstacle in thy way dost thou want inducements or a heart to do it No doubtless 't is the easiest thing in the world to love him that is most lovely to love our greatest benefactor to love him who is infinitely kind and loving to us Some vertues require opportunities and cannot be exercised for want of them but whether thou beest sickly or healthy whether thy condition be high or low whether thy leisure be much or little whether thy calling be easie or laborious thou maist love love doth not pinch the belly Facilis res est Domine JESV CHRISTE superamande dilectio a qua nullus cujuscunque status gradus aut conditionis existat excusari potest c. Idiot wearies not the hands makes not the head ake empties not the purse for love is neither grief nor pain 't is easie to all men none can plead any excuses against it §. 15. An Objection answer'd Now here I will digress a little to answer two Objections which possibly might be made against what I have said of Divine Love The first that I have humaniz'd it too much that whereas it is supernatural and should be spiritual I have made it almost palpable and sensible To this I say that whether we set our love upon earthly or heavenly things upon God or upon the world still it is the same passion which resides in the same humane faculty The will of man and the effects thereof are alike evident and real He that truly loves God hath that same hearty affection for him as to the kind as one friend hath for another a sincere lover of JESUS will seek to please him and to be with him and to enjoy him and do all that for him which men would do for those whom they love heartily all the difference is that Divine Love hath its proper expressions can never be too great and is in all respects infinitely more excellent than the love of any creature Therefore if in some places I have represented things plainly and made that in some manner to be touch't by sense which is only the object of faith my design was thereby to move the affections and to bring down the notions of Religion from the head into the heart Heb. 11.1 Faith should be the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen We should consider things of faith whether past or to come as if they had now a real subsistence as if they were present before our eyes their greatness then would be better view'd and have the greater power upon us 27. as Moses who by consideration seeing him who is invisible was thereby enabled to prefer the afflictions of Gods people to the pleasures and dignities of the Courts of Pharaoh I believe it was a great advantage to the Piety of Primitive ages that they liv'd near the time when those things were acted which we now believe at a greater distance for then the Revelations of the New Testament were every Christians discourse and admiration the proximity of the times made them almost visible and the recent foot-steps of those great transactions gave them a kind of sensibility whereby their thoughts and considerations were drawn and retain'd and made serious and efficacious And I believe it may be a great cause of the degeneracy of these latter ages that faith is become too notional too metaphysical and abstracted whereas we should vest the great objects of our faith with material circumstances to make them in some manner the object of sense that to us it might be said as S. Gal. 3.1 Paul to the Galatians Before your eyes JESUS CHRIST hath been evidently set forth crucified among you and that in all other instances our faith might be to us the evidence of things not seen When we look upon the things of revelation as far distant from us they appear hardly credible and not much to be regarded but a closer viewing of them by a nearer and almost sensible consideration would make them appear great and wonderful would make deep and lasting impressions on our minds and cause us to cry out with grief and wonder Lord what is man that thou art thus mindful of him or rather what is man that he is unmindful of thee However I have the warrant and do claim the priviledge of them that write contemplative meditations to represent things as present and visible and well we may especially when we treat of the love of God shewed to mankind in JESUS for that love became palpable and converst among men and was manifested to sense in the birth the actions and the sufferings of our Blessed Saviour who by becoming man seem'd to comply with that unjust and yet general desire which men had of worshipping humane creatures and having things visible and material for the object of their devotion and Religious love §. 16. A second objection answer'd The other Objection would perhaps be made by them who scruple and refuse to bow at the Holy name of JESUS and who might say that I have mention'd it too often and too often call'd Divine Charity The love of JESUS and that in so doing I have been either superstitious or injurious to God To this I answer That as our Blessed Saviour saith He that hateth me Joh. 15.23 hateth my father also so we may say that he that loveth him loveth his father also For the Father the Son and Holy Ghost are one and the same God blessed for ever 1 Joh. 5.1 he that loveth him that begat loveth also him
the horrors and torments of Hell hath laid on thee at least as great obligations to love him as if he had brought thee out of it after thou hadst been long detain'd therein Therefore I desire thou wouldst bring thy thoughts back again to that unpleasant abode and consider thy self as if thou wert shut up in that dismal dungeon and then express what thou wouldst give to be releast what thou wouldst do for him that should bring thee out of that horrible and bottomless pit I know that they that are afflicted with sharp pains and grievous sicknesses would purchase health with all the wealth they have and I believe no reward would hire a man to hold his hand in the fire but for one hours time therefore I doubt not but that if it were in a mans power he would give this and a thousand more worlds to be brought out of an ever-burning furnace and I am perswaded that if thou wilt suffer thy fansy to be active in framing the black and dreadful scene of hellish horrors about thee thou wilt then heartily say were I owner of the whole universe I would joyfully give it to come out of these ever-burning flames which torment my body and to be freed from this never dying worm the remorses of my guilty conscience which torture my soul but because I have nothing freely would I give my self to him that should bring me out of this woful place O I would follow him any where do any thing that he should command me imbrace his feet kiss the ground they tread on and give him all the demonstrations of a sincere and passionate Love Well thy petition is granted before 't was presented the Love and Mercy of JESUS hath prevented thy request and distress New make good thy vows and resolutions Love and Serve JESUS thy Redeemer and give thy self up wholly to him I know that many may be good Christians without being snatch't out of the fire without these terrors and affrightments but I am shewing what our condition had been without a Saviour what is that gulf of perdition whence JESUS hath sav'd us if we will be saved by him and I mention these terrors of the Lord as S. Paul calls them to perswade men to be motives of an active and vehement Love For 't is too observable that few men seriously consider what Redemption means what it was we were redeemed from else they could no◠be so indevout so disobedient so unthankful to their Saviour S. Paul supposing as I do here that without Christ we were already dead and perish't makes it the reason of that Constraining Love which enabled him and other Primitive Christians to suffer so patiently and act so zealously for JESUS the love of Christ saith he constraineth us because we thus judge that if one died for all then were all dead as if he should say we were certainly dead irrecoverably lost had not Christ died to purchase life and salvation for us therefore we cannot chuse but love him and it is no wonder if that love be strong and if we are govern'd and acted by it That thou maist therefore love affectionately and live devoutly consider seriously that death the misery of that condition wherein thou wert and ever must have been hadst thou not a JESUS I might add that we were delivered from the power and slavery as well as from the condemnation of sin but this is included in the other it being impossible to be saved from the wrath to come without bringing forth fruits meet for repentance and as it is mercy and grace on God's part so on ours it is matter of duty and earnest indeavour and must be the result and effect of our love first that we offend not and then that we serve diligently and faithfully him that redeemed us from our vain conversation and gave himself for us that we being dead unto sin might live unto righteousness §. 7. How we were Redeemed A further ingagement to love and obey will be to consider the manner how our redemption was effected and the price that was paid for it thus The Blessed Son of God the Second Person of the Ever-glorious Trinity undertook that work himself which none else could perform for us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary In praesepe jacet sed mundum continet ubera sugit sed angeles paseit Aug. Ser. de purific 2. and was made man In this act of his miracles and mercies seem to vie one with another that the God of Eternity should be born in time that the Creator of all things should be the Son of a Creature that the most highest should abase himself to the low condition of a servant that God should become an infant is a miracle of Love which we can admire and adore but never fully comprehend The greatness of God is unsearchable his excellencies and perfections are incomprehensible he is infinitely good powerful wise and holy Man contrariwise is in himself wicked and weak ignorant impure and miserable there is so great a disproportion betwixt God and man Haec est mensura amoris non solum quantum fecit nos quanta fecit pro nobis sed quantillus factus est pro nobis so wide so immense a distance that nothing less than an infinite love could have fill'd up the gulf betwixt those two so different natures and united them into one person 'T was never seen that a shepherd would creep upon all four and cover himself with a sheep-skin to call his flock out of danger and to expose himself for it but the good shepherd did much more When he came to lay down his life for his lost and wandering sheep and gather them into his fold he took on him not only the likeness but the very nature of them he became the lamb of God that he might be the shepherd of mankind Though he was infinitely more above man then men are above beasts yet he became the son of man that he might become the Saviour of men 'T was never seen that a Sovereign Prince would seek to reduce to loyalty the most abject of his rebellious subjects by mixing blood with them uniting their families together but behold the Supreme Monarch of heaven and earth contracts a near affinity with his ungrateful rebels who are as vile and miserable as they are criminal that he may free them from their guilt and win them to their duty and their happiness Proud and wretched sinner thou wouldst be so far from entring into the kindred of meaner persons those that are much thine inferiors that thou canst hardly indure to be in their company and behold the most Glorious and Holy God thine offended Sovereign is become thy near relation is become thy Brother that he may win thine affections and become thy Saviour His life all along was a continuation of his great mercy and humility he
evil will be sufficient where love is and where it is not more would do no good and that little I shall say concerning the positive part of our duty doing that which is good will suffice also that Christian who knows what it is to love God The truth is my design is only to direct or beget love to shew its great power and the great advantages it brings Could I but teach thee often to repeat from thy heart as some Ancient Christians at the Celebration of the Lords Supper I love thee dear Jesus I love thee dear Jesus I should think to have profited thee more than if I had unfolded mysteries and displayâ—d much learning in the fairest and most exact method For I am sure that love would soon teach thee to know and to do that which pleaseth God to know and to perform the whole of thy duty Praecipuam Christiana pietatis portionem docuit quisquis ad hujusinflammavit amorem He hath taught the best part of Religion and to the best purpose who hath taught others to love it 'T is certain that if we give our love to God we shall afterwards refuse him nothing where a man gives his heart he will not refuse his hands or his knees where he gives his soul he will not deny his bread or his goods God shall have all that he requires and all we can offer to him if he hath our love and affections No qualification but love will make us true Christians Alia virtus cum peccato sed dilectio tua omni peccato contrariatur omni temptationi resistit Idiot no other vertue but may consist with some sin love alone is contrary to all no other grace can resist all temptations love alone hath that unlimited power no other grace will enable us to discharge all our obligations love alone is the fulfilling of the law all gifts and vertues without love can not fit a man for heaven nor make him dear to God but love can do it of it self they that be faithful in love Wisd 3.9 shall abide with him As there are Dragons that are bright and glittering and have precious stones in their heads as there are Comets that have the light and the elevation of stars so there are vicious persons false Christians that are indow'd with excellent parts and are eminent in some vertues but it profiteth nothing without love If I speak the tongues of Men and Angels 1 Cor. 13.1 c. saith S. Paul If I have the gift of prophesie and understand all mysteries if I have all faith so that I remove mountains if I give my goods to the poor and even my body to be burn'd and have not charity I am nothing and it profits me nothing Of all other gifts and abilities it may be said 1 Cor. 8.1 as of knowledge that they all puff up but charity alone edifieth among those creatures which stand and worship before God there is not only a Man and an Eagle which may represent persons of great learning fitted for high speculations but also a Lion and an Ox whereby Christians of meaner parts and knowledge are signified for these are capable of love as much as the others and 't is love alone qualifies men to dwell with that God who is love it self as S. John calls him God is love 1 Joh. 4.16 and he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God and God in him God loves men that they may love him again saith S. Aug. Amat Deus ut ametur nil aliud vult quam amari c. he only requires that we would love him knowing that that love is of it self sufficient to make us eternally happy I have therefore all along fitted my discourse and meditations to every mans capacity and opportunities as much as I could because all may love and all must love that will be happy And though I may have recommended some things as means and instruments yet I have prescribed nothing as a duty but the great obligations which were laid upon us when we were baptized into Christ My Monastery as to the place is the Church as to the rule is the love of Jesus and the Orders of it are such as should be observed by all Christians I might indeed have mention'd many useful directions given by Ancient Fathers and Spiritual Guides to such as made profession of greater piety and stricter lives than others but they could not have suted with all conditions and callings therefore I have appointed no other rule to those that shall enter this Cloister but the love of Jesus in a sincere obedience to his holy precepts or a voluntary compliance with his Divine Counsels Not that I would deny that places for Religious Retirement might afford many great advantages in order to greater devotion and heavenly mindedness for I bewail their loss and heartily wish that the piety and charity of the present age might restore to this nation the useful conveniency of them Necessary Reformations might have repurg'd Monasteries as well as the Church without abolishing of them and they might have been still houses of Religion without having any dependance upon Rome Multi sunt qui possunt Religiosam vitam etiam cum saeculari habitu ducere plerique sunt qui nisi omnia reliquerint salvari apud Deum nullatenus possunt Greg. M. Ep. ad Maur. imp All men are not inclining to nor fitted for an active life some would be glad to find a place of rest and retirement for contemplation some who by melancholy or by the terrors of the Lord are frighted from their sins and from the civiliz'd world into Quakerism into an unhappy sullenness and Apostasie would perhaps exchange their silks and laces for the coarser garments of mortified professors of a Monastick life and find among them that happiness and peace of the soul which they vainly seek for in their wretched and deluded Brotherhood some who upon great afflictions and sudden changes of fortune fall into a state of sorrow and tedious sadness and are left in the world to struggle with the temptations of a discontented mind would perhaps take Sanctuary in a Religious house and give themselves up wholly to Jesus and forget their temporal sorrow by heavenly joys and meditations and at last bless that storm and shipwrack which cast them into that unknown land of rest and safety some that are forward and ready to promise well and take good resolutions have not strength enough to keep them but are prevail'd upon by the importunity of those temptations they meet withal in the converse of men who being fled from those occasions of sin might by the good example good instructions of a Religious Society secure themselves and stand to their holy ingagements some who never lov'd the world or that are grown weary of it or have passionate longings for heaven would willingly free themselves of the cumbrances and distractions of worldly business to
dividit inter filios regni aeterni filios perditionis Aug. de Trin. lib. 15. cap. 18. for that love it is makes the difference betwixt sincere and false Christians betwixt those that shall be heirs of salvation and those that shall go to perdition betwixt heaven and hell Many priviledges may belong to the tares while they grow in the same field with the wheat many Sun-shiny-days they may have and many drops of dew and rain may fall upon them but they are not rooted and grounded in love therefore they are pluck'd up and withered and burn'd Many gifts of the Divine Spirit wicked men may receive they may prophesie and do miracles in Christs name they may excel in some vertues but the grace of Charity they never receive the love of God never dwells in their hearts Thou maist be Baptized saith S. Aug. Habere Baptismum malus esse potes habere c. Tract 7. in Epist Johan and yet not be good thou mayst have knowledge and remain vicious thou maist be call'd a Christian and be none but thou canst not love God and be wicked thou canst not love God but thou must be holy and happy Thus we see love affords the greatest pleasure and the greatest safety this world is capable of The love of JESUS is a precious jewel precious beyond gold and the best of pearls Charitas est amor rerum quas nonnisi volentes amittimus Aug. he that hath it hath an infinite treasure and it is so much the more to be valued because we may acquiesce in its possession we can never lose it except we will We may lose our riches and we may lose our health we may lose our learning and our eloquence we may lose our friends and our lives but the love of God we can never lose without our consent no time no fortune no Tyrant can snatch it by force out of our hearts Verum bonum illud est quod non potes invitus amittere Aug. as 't is never given against our will so against our will it can never be taken away Charity never faileth Quinquagesima Sunday O Lord who hast taught us that all our doings without charity are nothing worth send thy Holy Ghost and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity the very bond of peace and of all vertues without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee grant this for thine only Son JESUS Christs sake Amen §. 18. Love brings a lasting joy and peace to the Soul The fourth and last consideration is that the love of God is the solid joy and lasting Tranquillity of the Soul No tormenting fear or sadness can harbour in a heart that loves God the Motto of love might well be that of a late order of Knighthood at Mantua mean't of the Holy Chalice Nihil isto triste recepto grief and the love of God are incompatible no sadness should enter that breast wherein dwells Divine Love I need not treat at large of those many doubts and terrors concerning future happiness which grieve and almost distract the hearts of many Christians to prove that it is a happy thing to be freed from them there are few but are so far acquainted with them as readily to assent to it it will be more to purpose to shew that the love of God is the best remedy against them the best balsom to heal a wounded spirit Some persons from their poverty bodily pains or other afflictions draw this most afflictive inference that God is not their friend and that therefore their condition is dangerous and very bad if not quite desperate and this adds such a weight to their cross that they have no strength to bear it but are ready to sink whereas the love of God hath enabled thousands to bear a heavier with patience with fortitude and men with cheerfulness I take pleasure in infirmities and distresses and necessities for Christs sake said S. Paul that great lover of JESUS He that would suffer for God will suffer from God he that would die and be crucified for JESUS will willingly bear that cross which JESUS lays upon his shoulders And indeed 't is a greater vertue meekly and thankfully to accept of that correction wherewith God visits us than voluntarily to inflict the greatest sufferings on our selves what proceeds from God is ever best for us and most pleasing to him No Patient will question the love of that Physician who is his intimate friend for that he makes incisions and applies causticks upon him and makes him drink bitter potions he will not suspect his friends affection he will not doubt but that 't is for his good after this manner he that loves God will receive afflictions from him and gratefully acknowledge with David I know that of very faithfulness thou hast caus'd me to be troubled Knowing that all things work together for the good of them that love God he will harbour no thoughts of diffidence nor question Gods loving kindness to him but rest satisfied that while he loves God nothing can hurt him and that whatever happens is certainly for his greatest advantage But 't is not always the storms of adversity that bring those dark and dismal clouds on the minds of men they come sometimes in fair weather in the greatest prosperity Whence 't is in vain to examine better it is to drive them away for they are as mischievous as black They cast a damp upon mens spirits they freeze their hearts in such a manner that they can receive no spiritual joy they so weaken their hands and feet that they can hardly work for God or walk in his ways so that their condition is sad indeed not because God is their enemy but because they being unreasonably afraid of it are thereby hindred from being his friends To this evil none can prescribe a better remedy than love let such persons love God heartily and all these terrors will vanish away like the vain images of a terrible dream when one awaketh Love begets love therefore we should love God because he first loved us and love begets a confidence of being lov'd again so that if we love God we shall not long doubt but that we are lov'd by him and then all is well And if at first our hearts do not melt into devout affections and are not replenish'd with the sweetness and comfort of love let us not be dismay'd at it nor too much study our own disturbed thoughts and apprehensions but let us continue to give God demonstrations of love to abstein from what he forbids and to do that which he commands or that which will please him though uncommanded and then either holy joys and extasies will come or it will be as well without them No man is afraid of his friends nor of those whom he serves and obligeth we easily suppose that they love us whom we love and that they to whom we do good will be kind to us
happiness to a man even that incomprehensible and increated goodness which is the inexhaustible fountain of perfect Bliss and Felicity in whose presence there is fulness of joy at whose right hand there are pleasures for evermore Secondly It 's Heigth It is above the regions of the air in the highest heavens the sublimity and greatness of it's glory is exprest by being like the Angels of God by shining forth as the Sun by a kingdom a crown incorruptible a crown of life and sitting with the Son of God in his throne Thirdly it's Depth It is pure and unmingled it admits of nothing afflictive neither death nor sorrow neither hunger nor thirst neither pain nor anguish all tears are wip'd from their eyes There is the absence of all evil and the presence of all good therefore 't is called the joy of our Lord than which nothing can express a greater for God is intirely and perfectly happy and so incapable of any sorrow that the least sight of the Beatifical vision would turn hell it self into a paradise Fourthly and lastly Its Length It 's never ceasing duration it admits of no end or period it is everlasting it is eternal it is for ever and ever after as many millions of years as there is drops of water in the sea it will but begin and after as many thousands of millions more it will be no neerer ending then it was at first still eternal and ever eternal This is that Bliss which we had forfeited by sin and are reintitled to by the passion of Christ that Bliss which if often and duly consider'd would make us despise the world long for heaven love affectionately and serve diligently that JESUS who offers it to us and died to purchase it Wherefore S. Paul prays so earnestly for the Ephesians that God would give them the Spirit of Wisdom and revelation the eyes of their understanding inlightned Ephes 1.18 that they might know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of his glory of his inheritance in the Saints That we might once be possest of this bliss as well as deliver'd from hell was the Cause why JESUS descended down from heaven became poor took on him the form of a Servant and humbled himself unto death even the death of the Cross for the joy that was set before him Heb. 12.2 he despised the shame and endured the Cross saith S. Paul That joy we may say was not the injoyment of heavenly bliss for himself 't was his without suffering there was no need he should bear the Cross for to obtain it he had a sure title to it by nature the joy therefore that was set before him was the joy of saving us the joy of rescuing us from the jaws of death the gulf of eternal perdition the joy of paying the price of our Redemption the joy of making us capable of eternal joys the joy of purchasing the glories and felicities of heaven for us in a word the joy of shewing us his love and expecting the returns of ours This was the joy why he despised the shame because his shame should raise us to glory this was the joy why he indured the Cross because his Cross should exalt us to a happy and honourable Throne This meditation of the great and manifold benefits of God and the wonderful love and charity he hath shewed us in JESUS we may and should prosecute much farther in all instances for 't is infinite and never enough to be consider'd and admir'd But Reader if that little I have here set down doth not affect thee and if being affected with it thou dost not resolve to return to God all possible acknowledgments and demonstrations of a grateful love Haeece via a meris est vera non ficta via cordialis non verbalis via fructuosa non ociosa via non solùm sermonis sed etiam operis Idiot then read no further for as what precedes is matter of mercy from Gods part so what follows is matter of duty on thine I shall now infer that we must love God because he first loved us and that if the love of JESUS to us hath made him bear our Cross our love to him must make us bear his yoke if he died for us because he loved us then we must live to him to make it appear that we love him Our love to Christ saith an excellent late Author is not a subtil airy and metaphysical notion Sherl 412. as some represent it but is a vital principle of action which governs our lives and makes us fruitful in good works thus it should be at least and thus I intend it the tryal of love is obedience if ye love me saith our Blessed Saviour keep my Commandments §. 15. What all these benefits require from us Now then we are to consider that God giving knowledge of salvation to men hath also thereby proclaim'd their duty Manifesting his love he hath ingag'd and requir'd theirs as our being call'd to be Christians makes a great and real change as to the happiness of our condition a great and real change it ought also to make as to the holiness of our conversation Therefore S. Rom. 2.16 Paul calls the Gospel the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth and he prays for the Ephesians Ephess 3.18 that they might know the love of Christ that so they might be fill'd with all the fulness of God as to say that the knowledge of the love of Christ is exceeding powerful and efficacious and would replenish them with all graces and vertues for this cause he sets so high a value upon the excellency of this knowledge Phil. 3.8 esteeming all the world but dung in comparison of it and he exhorting the Cretians to be ready to every good work puts them in mind that they who were once disobedient deceived serving divers lusts had been deliver'd from that unhappy condition by the appearance of the love of God our Saviour towards man Tit. 3. as in other places he exhorteth Christians to walk worthy of their calling worthy of the Gospel thereby declaring that the manifestation of the Divine Love in the Preaching of the Gospel was the promulgation as of their happiness so of their duty whereby they were rescued as well from living as from perishing in their sins 'T is the appearance of that grace of God which bringeth salvation Tit. 2.11 that teacheth men to live soberly righteously and godly and 't is the receiving and crediting that Heavenly Doctrine that quencheth the fiery darts of Satan that purifies the heart and overcomes the world so that the bare belief of the truth of the New Testament is a strong and indispensable obligation to a cheerful universal and persevering obedience to all its precepts the very profession of being Christians doth strictly bind us to the performance of all Christian duties But the necessity of a Holy Faith and
a Holy Life hath been so fully evinc'd and asserted and all things that pertain to life and godliness so cleerly and learnedly explain'd by Catholick Writers Ancient and Modern especially many Pious Fathers and Sons of this Church since the Reformation that I shall not insist upon the fundamentals either of Faith or Practice to inforce it As indeed my design is not to instruct but to move the affections not to argument or explain but to draw inferences from known and granted premises to administer prudential helps and Religious counsels and by devout meditations to affect the heart §. 16. An invitation unto the Cloister of love I ask therefore hast thou conceived a fair Idea of Christianity hast thou observ'd the glory and greatness of it's Mysteries the holiness of it's Doctrine and the perfection of its precepts and counsels hast thou consider'd and admir'd the great exemplar of all vertues the Holy JESUS author of this Holy Institution hast thou read his life with an observing eye and hast thou view'd the fair copies of this perfect Original which have been drawn by many of his Saints in the imitation of his example hast thou weigh'd the excellency of his promises the great immunities and the invaluable advantages which belong to his followers hast thou seriously ponder'd the great obligations which the love of JESUS hath laid upon thee and art thou desirous to be happy by loving again and being grateful If so enter this Cloister love JESUS and thou shalt reign with JESUS The Cloister I mean is not the precinct of a particular Abbey or the confinement of a narrow Cell but the Catholick Church whose inclosure is large enough to entertain all the Religions in the world all that are of the Christian Order And the Rule I would have thee follow is not that of any Founders nor even that of Pachomius said to have been brought down by Angels but that which the Son of God himself delivered the Gospel-rule the Christian Laws and appointments hath not God given his Beloved Son the heathen for his inheritance Psal 2. and the utmost parts of the earth for his possession Cursic arctcmus Christi professionem quam ille latissime voluit patere ego certe sic optarim Evangelicam Religionem sic omnibus esse cordi c. Ench. Why then saith Erasmus Should we confine the excellency and perfection of Christianity to particular places Why should we make that short and narrow which Christ would have to be of an universal extent If it be words we affect is not a City a great Monastery the Abbot whereof is the Bishop set over it by Christ Would to God the Christian Rule were so well belov'd and observ'd that no man might look or desire the Benedictin or Franciscan I say so too all this is true and to be wished yet the universal comprehends many particular Churches and the Christian Rule hath also many several interpretations therefore to be plain and positive the Church of England as the purest part or member of the Catholick which hath repurg'd corrupt innovations and maintains a Blessed Conformity with Antiquity is that which I recommend to thee above all others and for the best interpretation of the Sacred Canon the Doctrine and Worship of this Church is that which I would have thee prefer to all the rest §. 17. The vow to be taken at the entrance of it But because I speak not to dissenters nor intend to dispute with them thou wilt say that thou hast entred this Cloister already and hast undertaken it's Rule but though it be so thou mayst do it the second time by a second choise an after-election Thou didst not come of thy self but wast brought in when first thou entred'st this society and 't was by a proxy thou promisedst to observe the orders of it therefore now that thou hast the use of reason 't is very necessary thou shouldst do it again by a free and considerate act of thine own will Ratifie then thy former ingagements by being confirm'd Quod summum est id omnibus est enitendum ut saliem mediocria assequamur nec est quod ullum vitae genus ab hoc scopo submoveamus c. Eras if thou art not and if thou art by a hearty and sincere indeavour to perform thy vows and promises which are as follows First To renounce the Devil and all his works the pomps and vanities of this wicked world with all covetous desires of the same and the sinful lusts of the flesh Secondly To believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith And thirdly To keep Gods Holy Will and Commandments and walk in the same all the days of thy life This vow contains all thy duty the highest pitch of Christian perfection rules for the most Regular and Spiritual Life let thy serious application and earnest indeavour to observe it discriminate and sever thee from the prophane and less Religious world Thou needest no distinct inclosure no distinct habits no distinct patrons or offices thy sincere Study thy Religious care to discharge this obligation will sufficiently cloister thee in from the looser society and conversation of men and will make a difference great enough betwixt thee and them But though thou dost remain in the civil society of the world and the neighborhood of thy neighbour yet various are the ways that lead through the world to heaven and here I undertake to teach thee a sure and short one through which all glorified Saints have past Some persons here Qui timendo non facit male male faceret si liceret itaque etsi facultas non datur voluntos retinetur August in Psal 32. are eminent in one vertue some in another some are guided by hope and some by fear Many different are the considerations and helps whereby men are brought to make themselves happy in doing their duty but the motive the guide the way Dilectio est via rectissima absque devio via brevis absque taedio via plana absque tumulo via clara absque nubilo via secura absque periculo c. Idiot Cont. the instrument I recommend to thee above all others is Love Love is the strongest motive the surest guide the safest way the best instrument in the world to live well to keep thee from wandring to bring thee to heaven to conquer all oppositions and do the work of God thoroughly Love hath a general intendance over all vertues and duties and makes them pleasant to us and acceptable to God Love is the fulfilling of the Law Love and thou canst never do amiss love and thou canst never miscarry §. 18. Of Love and first of Self-love Love is the common prince and parent of other passions as they all take their Laws so they take their Origine from it Or to speak more properly Amor inhians habere quod amatur cupiditas est idem habens eoque fruens laetitia ect fugiens quod
eiadversatur timor est idque cum acciderit sentiens tristitia est Aug. de Civ Dei l. 14. c. 7. love it self is all passions and it obtains several different names according to its several acts and objects Love saith S. Aug. is called desire when it gasps after its beloved object when 't is possest of it it takes another denomination and is call'd joy or pleasure when it flies from what it abhors it hath the name of fear and 't is called sorrow when what it fear'd overtakes it But still love is the only passion desire anger joy and sorrow hope and fear are either the motions or acts or else the accidents of it This clearly shews the great power and activity of this noble passion for 't is well known that the greatest and indeed all humane actions that are free proceed from these natural affections and so are the effects of love There is no need to distinguish the several sorts thereof declaring that love is either natural or supernatural sensual or spiritual of friendship or of interest for all these are the same faculty or passion in man differing in their principles or objects only neither would it much avail to give and explain a â—â—rate and studied definitions of love which is much better felt than exprest and much better declar'd by actions than words it will be more useful to consider that as love is the principle of all passions so it is of all vertues and vices This fountain sendeth forth the clearest and the foulest streams and like all other things the greater its excellency the worse is its abuse so that it should be our greatest care to use it well and set it upon the right object No joy in enjoyment without love without it no pleasure in fruition it is the great instrument of happiness if we place it aright and it brings the greatest infelicities if we misplace it 'T is a misguided love that makes men vicious that causeth all the disorders in the world because men love themselves more than God and so would be Gods to themselves the Authors of their own happiness expecting their greatest felicities either from their bodies as the sensual Epicures or from their minds as the proud Stoicks Hence it is that in the head of a long catalogue of the blackest sins S. Paul sets self-love as the cause and origine of all the rest saying that in the worst and most perilous times Men should be lovers of their own selves 2 Tim. 3.2.4 and again that they should be lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God which being the greatest depravation of the understanding and of the will of men plungeth men into the greatest sins and thence into the greatest miseries Certain it is that piety or true goodness consisteth in willingly submitting ones self to the Divine Pleasure either to suffer or obey and certain it is that self-love will admit of neither it makes a man uncapable of Religion the Essence whereof is to deny our own to comply with God's Will and so instead of that Godliness Justice and Sobriety which are the three generals comprehensive of all Religious duties this muddy head-spring self-love sends forth three muddy streams which cause the overflowing of ungodliness and almost drown the world under a deluge of wickedness These be the love of sensual pleasures call'd voluptuousness the love of Riches call'd covetousness and the vain-glorious love of honour call'd pride or ambition These three are disclaim'd and renounc'd by all Christians in the first part of their Baptismal vow for the love of them confounds the world and all Religion makes men criminal in souls bodies and estates and is the great enemy to their rest and salvation Therefore S. John who calls these the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life gives us this necessary caution 1 Joh. 2.15 love not the world neither the things that are in the world if any man love the world the love of the father is not in him that is as our Blessed Saviour saith Mat. 6.24 no man can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other ye cannot serve God and Mammon There is no halting betwixt God and Baal 1 Kings 18.21 the one or the other must be acknowledged for Lord there cannot be two contrary Sovereigns together and the same thing can't be granted to two several competitors if we love the world it reigns in our hearts and God is excluded if we give our love to the world we cannot possibly give it to God also Amor motus est cordis qui cum se inordinate movet cupiditas dicitur cum vero ordinatus est charitas apellatur Aug. de subst dil c. 2. so then the love of our selves is concupiscence the mother of all sin and impurity and the love of God is grace or charity the fountain of all holines and vertue and these two according as they are predominant in men make here the distinction betwixt the penitent and the impenitent betwixt the just and the unjust and will make the great difference hereafter betwixt those that shall dwell in the imbraces of the God of love to eternity and those that shall dwell with everlasting burning for every man is what he loves as S. Talis est quisque qualis est dilectio ejus terram diligis terra es c. Aug. Tract 2. in 1 Joh. Augustine saith the irresistible power of that mighty passion doth in some manner transform him into that which his love imbraceth and therefore to know whether a man be good or bad we inquire not what he knows or what he believes but what he doth love being sure that his morals are of the same nature as his love because his desires and actions are all guided by it §. 19. How they that will be profest lovers of JESUS must mortifie self-love This makes it our greatest duty as it is our greatest interest to rule by reason and Religion that passion which certainly will rule over us to set our love upon the right object upon God not upon our selves Not that we should or can be our own enemies and seek our own ruine no man ever yet hated his own flesh Ephes 29. saith S. Paul the worst of Misanthropes are kind to themselves and we may as soon lose our being as the desire of our well-being and indeed as we should have in the state of innocency so we may still love our selves in God only God must be preferr'd before all and 't is impossible we should be happy but in loving him above all things with all our hearts and souls but now that we are in a state of sin and depravation there must be a dereliction of our natural desires and affections a renunciation to our own wills that we may comply with the will of God and be
further than only to stir up our dull affections and raise holy passions in us But if we sincerely forsake our sins and evidence our love to JESUS 't is not greatly material what means or instruments we use §. 28. Meditation on the passion My love is crucified said that loving and holy Martyr Ignatius declaring how earnestly he wish't to die for JESUS 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so considering the passion of JESUS I meditate with him My love is crucified my dearest Saviour dies in most bitter pains he hath been rudely bound and drag'd from place to place he hath been stript tied to a post and whipt like a vile slave he hath been buffetted and caned and abus'd with all manner of contumelies and now I see him crown'd with thorns all over spittle and blood I see him stretch'd upon the cross where his hands and his feet are nail'd his head hangs down I read in his pale face and his weeping eyes the extremity of his pain the anguish of his wounded soul Lord art thou he whom my soul loveth O Domine Jesu Christe si intelligentia quam mihi dedisti uti vellem sicut deberem cernerem manifeste quo modo imo quam sine modo à me creatura tua amari merueris qui prior dilexisti me tantus tantum gratis tantillum talem ingratum Idiot art thou my dearest JESUS were it my father my brother my friend or my benefactor that should suffer this undeservedly how would I pitty them but should they suffer this upon my account Lord I could not outlive such a sight if nothing else love would certainly wound my soul to death But behold it is so this crucified this dying man is my father he gave me my being he is my brother he came down from heaven and took humane flesh that he might have that relation to me he is my friend he lays down his life to save mine he is my greatest benefactor from him I receive all I have all the blessings the good things I injoy I owe to his kindness But heark methinks I hear him speak to me these pathetick these moving words Christian dearest Christian for whom here I die consider seriously imprint it in thine heart what in my words what in my mysteries thou readest of my suffering for thee consider who I am what I indure and to what end I am the eternal Son of God whom the Angels adore I became Man to make thee partaker of the Divine Nature I am infinitely rich the whole universe is mine I became thus destitute of all things to purchase true riches for thee I am of an Almighty Power the whole world was made and subsists by me I am now weak to make thee strong I am overcome of mine enemies to make thee conquer thine I am crown'd with glory and cloth'd with Majesty I now wear these thorns and am become naked to clothe thee with robes of righteousness and Crown thee with a Royal Diadem I am the inexhaustible fountain of joy and happiness I now indure sorrows and miseries to make thee joyful and happy I am infinitely pure and innocent I am become a sacrifice for sin to merit thy pardon and to sanctifie and make thee holy I am the Author of life the first and the last I now die to make thee live for ever nothing but love moves me thus to suffer for thee This us'd to be written under Crucifixes Aspice serve Dei sic me posuere Judaei Aspice mortalis pro te datur hostia talis Aspice devote quoniam sic pendeo pro te Introitum vitae reddo tibi redde mihi te In cruce sum pro te qui peceas desine pro me Desine do veniam dic culpam corrige vitam and nothing but love I require for it Dearest soul thy sins are more grievous to me than my wounds add not sorrow to my sorrow by remaining impenitent deny not this request to thy dying bleeding Saviour that thou wouldst mortifie thy lusts and forsake thy sins all that is past I heartily forgive if thou becomest true penitent I freely give my self for thee and beg that thou wouldst give thy self to me §. 29. Protestations of love to JESUS What shall I say now dearest Lord Words cannot answer thee I am amaz'd I am astonished I know not how to speak my tongue cannot express what my heart feels Lord I will say nothing I will answer with sighs and tears with devout affections by resigning and giving up my body and soul to thee I will answer by obedience by actions by now falling to work to reform my life to mortifie my sinful lusts to cut off the members of the body of sin Sweetest JESU I will love thee with all the affections my heart can entertain no bosome sin shall be so dear to me but for thy sake I will heartily part with it no lust shall be so pleasing but I will kill it at thy request and command even my natural desires and inclinations will I gladly deny when they come in competition with that duty and love I owe and ever will pay JESUS sect 30. Of a sincere amendment But fickle and unhappy creatures that we are we often promise well but seldome stand to our ingagements our resolutions are good and our performances very defective The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak I must not therefore rest in generals but I must resolve more especially against those sins I am inclined to and not only against them but also upon the means whereby I may overcome and mortifie them as avoiding the occasions and inticements inflicting on my self such severities as may be proper remedies and tying my self to such pious exercises as I know will drive away the temptation To forsake my sins is not to forbear drunkenness when perhaps I am not inclined to it or to avoid swearing when I look upon it as an unpleasing and unprofitable sin or to hate covetousness when by nature I am liberal but knowing what sin pleaseth me most what vice my temper inclines me to and what temptation is most strong and importunate upon me by my calling or my company against that to fortifie my self and imploy the utmost of my strength against that to watch and pray and use sincere and earnest indeavours To forsake my sins is not to say I will forsake them Some men when they are call'd upon by fear adversity or the secret voice of God within them are forward enough to ingage with the Elder Brother in the Gospel Lord I will go and work in thy vineyard but their hot zeal and hasty promise soon decays into negligence and at last into a cold denial Though I resolve against my natural corruptions never so seriously that will not subdue them without I use proper means for it to take up my cross and follow Christ to forsake all for him to deny my self to take the kingdom of heaven by force
that properly speaking all is due to God and the more any the best Christian returns the more he hath receiv'd and so the more he is indebted but yet God is pleas'd not to require all that he gives nor all that we may give that we may have wherewith to make a free-will-offering that we may have something to give him that he requires not tokens of our greater love and gratitude It was foretold that under the Gospel in the day of Christs power Psal 110.3 his people should offer him feee-will-offerings with an holy worship And David himself under the Law was at his quid retribuam Psal 116. What shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits that he hath done unto me Though the benefits which God vouchsafed his people then were much inferior to those he hath since bestowed upon us for eye had not then seen nor ear heard neither was it entred into the heart of man what great things God would do for them that love him as he hath now declar'd in the revelations of his Gospel though he had tied them to a burthensome and most expensive service yet he accepted their voluntary vows and ingagements and was well pleas'd with them yet he would receive their free-will-offerings and delight in them And sure we are more oblig'd than the Jews to let our love and gratitude break forth beyond the limits of commands and express injunctions and now that God hath open'd to us his rarest treasures his own bosome for to give us his beloved Son he will not reject our free oblations the voluntary acknowledgments of his undeserved and unspeakable mercies 'T is not to be denied without giving the lie to the learning and piety of the best Christians in all ages but that there is in the New Testament counsels as well as precepts some things recommended though not commanded he that sells all that he hath for to buy the pearl of great price and they that make themselves Eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven 2 Cor. 9.6 were not injoyn'd so to do but are well approv'd of and that God who gives a plentiful harvest to him that sows bountifully is doubtless well-pleased with his open handedness and charitable profusion And as it is the best indication of a devout and loving soul cheerfully to exceed what is strictly required it is also the best fence to immure and secure our duty for then when we slack and abate we may be still within our due bounds nay more I am confdent that as it is best and safest it is also easier to give free-will-offerings than only just to pay the daily commanded sacrifice because those proceed from affection these perhaps only from injunction He that is desired to go one mile and goes two or ten finds his way pleasant for love leads him but he that is prest to the same journey and is acted by fear and compulsion while he resolves not to go one foot farther than needs he must will easily be tempted to stay one short of what he should But this is better understood by the devout lovers of JESUS than I can express it Precepts are given to all men as tributes are exacted of all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Beat. Doroth. Doct. 1. saith an Ancient guide of souls but as in the world great persons and favourites not only pay the tax but also offer presents and gifts to the Prince so in the Church the most Religious observe not only the precepts but also intimations and counsels and give to God not only what he exacts but also free oblations all that they are able How many thousands of Saints now in heaven have taken this course how many that now wear the bright crown of virginity might have injoy'd the comforts of marriage had not the love of JESUS prevail'd over their natural desires how many who might have possest great estates injoy now the greater treasures of eternity for having made themselves poor to relieve the needy members of JESUS how many who now sit on thrones of glory have chosen here to follow JESUS in meanness and humility when honours and worldly pomps were at their command how many are now rewarded with high degrees of everlasting bliss for having spent their short time upon earth in serving JESUS when they might have spent it upon their own profit or pleasure and how many now living aspire to the same felicities and recompences by cheerfully following the same ways and expressing a sincere and unbounded love S. Aug. by such free oblations Cur non possum quod isti istae Why can't I do what these my Christian Brothers and Sisters have done and do still hath not God done as great things for me as for them hath he not given me the same promises as they had do not I hope to be their companion and fellow citizen in heaven And why then can't I love as much as they did I should therefore and do resolve to make no reservations JESUS shall have the command of all he hath given me of all he hath enabled me to do I shall keep nothing from him which may express my love and gratitude and do him service Dearest JESUS I know I can never do for thee so much as I should and I know that I shall never do so much as I would thou gavest thy self for me and thou wilt give thy self to me and Lord what am I worth and what is the worth of all I can do It is a great favour that thou wilt accept of me and my weak indeavours I know that if heaven were capable of any grief it would be only that we have not lov'd thee enough upon earth when thou fillest our souls with thy Divine and ravishing joys we shall wish we had done nothing here but serve and love thee O give me grace now whilst I live to do what I shall wish to have done when I die let me d◠now I am absent from thee what I shall wish to have don◠when I dwell with thee let me love thee infinitely and without measure Modus amandi Deum sine modo S. Bern. §. 11. Of our obedience to the Church The first instance o◠our love in this way o◠free-will-offerings should be a pious obedience to our Mother the Church not but that it is many ways requir'd but because 't is almost wholly neglected What by pride and refractoriness what by ignorance and indevotion and what by looseness and irreligion that obedience which ought to be paid to those that have the rule over us in the Lord to the standing rules and orders of our Spiritual governors is so generally laid aside that many that would yet dare not press it upon the people and that even they that obey do it secretly and as though 't were dishonourable are in a manner asham'd to own it Hence comes that great neglect of Confirmation that most necessary and Ancient if not Apostolick
may be fabulous yet I believe the thing it self is true However I am confident that the love of God would sweeten all the bitterness of our innocent miseries and that it is only the imperfection of a Christians love that exposeth his mind to the vexation of humane sorrows I am not to my grief a competent witness to this truth but there have been many Saints and devout persons who in the fervency of their love to God have found those joys Nihil crus sentit in nervo dum animus est in Coelo those ravishments of joy which are ineffable and which made them in some manner insensible and incapable of any great sorrow And even the lesser love of more imperfect though sincere Christians doth in a great measure take away the sense of humane calamities and brings to their minds the greatest contentment and delight this world is capable of Magis est ubi amat quam ubi animat A mans heart is more where it loves than where it lives he that loveth dwelleth in God and God in him 1 John 4.16 and what greater Deus Charitas est quid pretiosius qui ma net in Charitaâ—e in Deo manet quid securius Deus in eo quid jucundius Bern. what more excellent bliss can we imagine or desire What stronger expression could one find to express the highest felicities to dwell in God! to be swallow'd up in an abyss of infinite goodness to be overwhelm'd in the immensity of Divine Joys and perfections as an atome in the air as a drop of water in the Ocean so he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God Nothing can better represent those transcendent and delicious raptures wherewith the soul is inebriated and raised above it self Extasin faâ—it amorâ— amatores suo statu di monet sui juris esse non sinit Dionys de Divin nom This was it made the Holy Martyrs shout and rejoyce in the midst of the flames they dwelt in God no sorrow no harm could approach them Happy are they that can say with S. Col. 3.3 Paul Our life is hid with Christ in God and I live yet not I Gal. 2.20 but Christ liveth in me The love of God fits us for the joys of heaven and is an anticipation of them it powerfully governs the will and it sweetly overflows the mind it is the perfection of grace and will be the consummation of glory but 't is much easier and happier to feel than to express it Cant. 4.10 How much better is thy love than wine and the smell of thine ointment than all spices One thing that adds much to the worth and the pleasure of Divine Love is that it never fails it is of the nature of its object eternal as God is whether there be prophecies 1 Cor. 13.8 they shall fail whether there be tongues they shall cease whether there be knowledge it shall vanish away but charity never faileth Faith and hope may accompany us as far as heaven's gate but there they forsake us the one is turned into sight and the other into injoyment love alone enters and abides with us to eternity Our greatest safety therefore as well as pleasure consists in loving God affectionately for that love which never faileth secures our duty here and our happiness hereafter We are sure never to live and never to perish in sin if we love JESUS sincerely He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and there neither sin nor misery can come to hurt him Quid refert natura esse quod potes effici voluntate Chrys What matters it then to be that by nature that we may be by choise affection If of our selves we are not holy and happy we may be so by love the love of God will transform us into his nature and make us partakers of his holiness happiness Love kills us in our selves that we may live in God Occidit quod fuimus simus quod non eramus Aug. It maketh such a change in us that we are no longer what we were as to the sinfulness and wretchedness of our condition The New Commandment maketh the New Creature Mandato novo facit hominem norum homines amando Deum dii effici untur Aug. men become Gods by loving God Love considers and dischargeth all the duties of Religion it allows of no omission nor trausgression 2 John 6. Love is the fulfilling of the law this is love that we keep his Commandments Ille sancte juste agit qui sanctam habet dilectionem Aug. He is a Holy Man whose love is holy Non faciunt bonos vel malos mons nisi boni vel mali amores Aug. for love having the rule and direction of all mans passions and affections they become either good or bad according to the nature of what he loves Therefore to know whether a man be vertuous or no we inquire not what his condition is or what are his parts and learning but what he delights in what he loves for if he loves the world and himself he is certainly vain and vicious but if he loves God he is pious and good and of a certainty he can never perish If natural love be so powerful and active as we know it is how much more when it is set upon God and by him assisted This therefore doth greatly manifest how secure and well guarded they are that love God in that their holy love masters and mortifies their unholy affections What is it that hurries men to sin and hell and destruction but their masterless and unruly passion now love can not only subdue them but even makes them useful and subservient to it the love of God sanctifies all passions and makes them serviceable If it cannot make him meek who is of an angry nature it will make him angry against sin and against himself a sinner if it doth not make him bold and generous whose temper inclines him to timorousness it will turn his fear into prudence and make him not dare to offend God if it makes him not cheerful who naturally is melancholy it will turn his sadness into penitent sorrow and make him a blessed mourner And so all other passions love will make them instruments of vertue Amor ubi venerit caeteros in se traducit captivat affectius S. Bern. or occasions of a greater reward that is it will either fight and conquer them or else put them to a good use Love is obey'd wherever it appears and Divine Love is irresistible it overcomes all difficulties Nomen difficultatis erubescit nay it scorns it disowns the name of difficulty saith S. Augustine It is as strong as death saith the Scripture it breaks the strongest and most vicious habits and like death it is ever victorious Happy and safe are they that love JESUS Charitas est donum Dei quo nullum est excellentius solum est quod
therefore let us shew to God all the love we can and by words and actions protest that we seek to please him and our hearts will soon be possest with a blessed assurance that we are dear to him and he will never be cruel and severe to us 'T is reported of a Religious Person whose soul was griev'd and wounded with doubts and fears and with sadness that while he was one day weeping and praying thus O that I were sure that I shall persevere and never fall from God O that I were sure that God loves me and that I shall one day see his Blessed Face how zealous then should I be in mortifying my sins and doing my duty how cheerfully should I serve God every day and take pleasure in suffering for him how would I despise the world and its vanities and fix my thoughts and affections on things above while he was thus expressing the sorrows of his troubled mind he heard the whispers of a secret voice which told him fac quod faceres do now what thou wouldst do if thou hadst all those assurances With this he found himself so affected and refresh'd that he took it as an Oracle from heaven and in obeying of it found those comforts he begg'd Better counsel I cannot give thee fac quod faceres do what thou wouldst do if thy diffident timorousness and jealousies were confuted by a voice from heaven and they 'll soon be remov'd Let thy meek submission thy sincere obedience and thy free-will-offerings speak thy love to God and thou shalt soon find thy self perswaded that God loves thee dearly and that thy condition is safe and happy Other assurance we are not to expect in this world and this is not to be obtain'd any other way should thy comfort proceed from any thing else but thine humble and devout love to God it would be fansie and presumption whereas so it is well-grounded and never can deceive thee 1 Joh. 4.18 There is no fear in love saith Divine S. John but perfect love casteth out fear 't is never otherwise grace and nature joyn together to make the effect infallible that a Holy Love should ever produce a Holy Peace if we love indeed and in truth 1 Joh. 3.18 thereby not by new and secret revelations we shall know that we are of the truth and we shall assure our hearts before God Love may well work confidence and joy in our souls for it injoys already what it loves it is affectuosa unitas unitiva affectio love is inseparable from its object and the essence thereof consists in their union if not unity Though God be exalted infinitely above all things in a sphere of Glory and Majesty so high that the Cherubim with their many wings cannot flie up to it Qui mente integra Deum desiderat profecto jam habet quem amat Greg. Mag. yet thither love sores up and takes God and holds him as his own so that every one that loves God is already possest of him and may say with the spouse I am my Beloveds and my Beloved is mine Cant. 6.3 We come to God by love S. Aug. amando non ambulando and to him we are united by love Magna res est amor quo anima per semetipsam fiducialiter accedit ad Deum c. amore Deo conjungimur therefore love is a great thing saith that devout father it brings the soul to God with an holy confidence and makes it trust in him and cleave stedfastly to him and rejoyce in him and represent her needs and beg his mercies with fiducial and devout affections And this is so great a truth that death it self with its pains and sorrows alters nothing of it even then in the last agonies the love of God sweetens the bitter cup and still entertains the soul with joy and holy comforts It was the saying of S. Aug. that because the soul hath willingly forsaken God whom she should love infinitely she is forc'd therefore with grief and regret to forsake her body which she loves too much and that because she voluntarily departed from God who is her life Aug. de Trin. lib. 4. cap. 13. she therefore departeth from the body whose life she is with sadness and much reluctancy Now we may say that when the soul returns to God by love Charitis libertatem donat timorem pellit c. S. Bern. she is freed from this punishment and restor'd to her first liberty she is willing to die for to be with Christ and then comes a cheerful cupio dissolvi O when shall I come and appear before God Happy is he who living doth so manifest his love to God by Piety and Charity that dying he can say with Theodosius Dilexi love hath been the business and delight of my life I have daily indeavour'd by my actions to declare the sincerity of my love to God he is doubtless of the number of those that love the appearing of JESUS and so he goes out to meet him with joy and confidence expecting a kind reception from him Nemo se amari diffidat qui jam amat libenter Dei amar nostrum quem praevenit subsequitur c. Bern. whom having not seen yet he lov'd and worship'd and serv'd affectionately Let no man that loves God doubt of God's Love to him for he that lov'd us when we were his enemies so as to die for us will much more love us when we have for him the hearty affections of friends It is the joy of heaven the joy of the Holy JESUS when his loving kindness hath won and conquer'd our hearts and 't is our greatest joy 't is for us a heaven upon earth when we love him faithfully and fervently with all our souls and affections The love of God brings that peace to the soul which the world can neither give nor take away Her sins which are many Luke 7.47 are forgiven because she loved much §. 19. The Close Now who can refuse to love God when 't is a thing so just and reasonable so pleasant and easie so safe and advantageous something of necessity we must love every mans heart is full of that passion and every mans life is govern'd by it 't is but considering who hath done most for us and whom we are most oblig'd to love who is most lovely and who will best reward our love and we shall soon understand that God is to be lov'd above all things infinitely without measure and if we love our selves as we should we shall easily remove our affections from the world to set them upon God and Eternity upon JESUS and his kingdom Love as we have seen will make it easie and delightful to do our duty Onus sine onere portat Kemp. will make the yoke of Christ light and enable us with strength and courage to bear our cross cheerfully like Christians it will lead us the shortest and the safest way to
things which are not seen are eternal So that it is the effect of a wise and most rational consideration to value and love him above all things who by dying for us hath rescu'd us from eternal ruine and obtain'd eternal happiness for us and to make it appear by all means possible doing or suffering any thing that may manifest our love to JESUS and assure us of a blessed eternity It may justly be fear'd that the indevotion and lukewarmness of very many not the worst of Christians will not make them acceptable to God who declares that he will spue them out of his mouth that are neither hot nor cold Rev. 3.16 and that their carelessness and indifferency in religious duties will hardly secure their eternal interest However I think that it is a shame to see Benedictins Franciscans Carthusians ' and others forsake the merriments pleasures and honors of the world rise up early and late go to rest wear nothing but Cilices and coarse cloth feed poorly and lie hard and all this and much more to observe the Rule of S. Bruno S. Francis or some other fansieful or melancholy Devoto who oblig'd them to some absurd some needless and many uneasie observations from whom they never receiv'd any benefit and from whom they can expect no kind of remuneration and at the same time to see Christians nice and dainty unwilling to deprive themselves of any pleasure or to undergo any thing of hardship for to observe the most reasonable holy and advantageous Rule of Christ from whom they have receiv'd the greatest favours from whom they expect the greatest rewards and to whose service and obedience they have devoted themselves by a solemn vow in holy Baptism §. 35. Corporal Austerities may please God Now if it be doubted whether voluntary Corporal Austerities be acceptable to God I answer that the example of our Blessed Saviour which we are to imitate and follow makes it unquestionable besides those Scriptures which command us to deny our selves to take up our Cross to cut off even hands and feet when they make us offend and that declaration of our Blessed Saviour Mat. 6.18 when ye fast be not as the hypocrites fasting comprehends all external mortifications which Christ appoints not when and how to be us'd but leaves to our free choise and the determination of the Church only declaring how much God is pleas'd with them but anoint thy head and wash thy face that thou appear not unto men to fast but to thy father which is in secret and thy father which sees in secret shall reward thee openly the same that is promis'd to Prayers and alms These I say make it as clear as the light that God recommends accepts and rewards spontaneous acts of Mortification when perform'd without hypocrisie or ostentation They are instruments of Religion whereby our lusts are subdu'd the body kept under and the spirit it self mortified they are marks of the sincerity of our sorrow Homo paenitent est homo sibi iratus of our regret to have offended God and our anger against our selves for it and they are testimonials of our love when we thus take Gods cause in hand punishing the offender for past offences and seeking to prevent others that might follow For this I dare appeal to the true lovers of JESUS who needed not this digression to convince them that acts of self-denial are pleasing to God and pleasing to themselves I must therefore the better to declare my love to JESUS upon appointed days especially or also at other times as occasion may be offered either inflict on my self voluntary afflictions or deprive my self of lawful pleasures as that pious Prince who pour'd out to God that water 2 Sam. 23.16 which he thirsted exceedingly sometimes in the matter of meat and drink put a knife to my throat when I might indulge to it remembring how in that matter I have offended and inwardly speaking my grief for it and my desire of the food of Angels the dainties of the great Supper of the Lamb sometimes forbear a merry meeting and devote to charity what I should spend on my recreation and so in many innumerable other cases as opportunity and the secret whispers of love shall suggest and all this without scruple without affectation without pride for where we are not bound such things may be omitted so the great duty of contrition and love be secure §. 36. Not to return again to our sins when temptations return But the best half of repentance is yet behind that which is most to be attended to that which I must chiefly design in all acts of mortification is that I return no more to those sins for the which I grieve and afflict my self The occasions and inticements of sin will doubtless come again my thoughts will not always be fix'd upon on Divine Objects my mind will return to the world my passions will be disorderly and my appetite unruly again how shall I stand and resist and be safe in the time of danger in the hour of tryal and temptation I resolve to lift up my soul to JESUS and beg his assistance I will remember my vows and ingagements how much I am bound to love and obey JESUS rather than my lusts and how much a gainer I shall be by it Thus when a provocation to anger is given and I find my heart rise and my spirits take fire and grow turbulent instead of giving way to passion or suffering that it should proceed to hatred and revenge I will turn aside and check my self with the remembrance of my meekest Saviour 1 Pet. 2.21 who was led as a lamb to the slaughter and opened not his mouth who when he was revil'd reviled not again when he suffered the greatest injuries yet used no threatning leaving us an exemple that we should follow his steps I will remember how ill it becomes me to be angry with others who have so much reason to be angry with my self for having so highly and frequently provok'd my God to anger I will confider how ill it becomes me to be revengeful and severe to others when all my hopes and all my happiness depend upon forbearance and mercy I will think of and fear that just exprobration of my Lord against the revengeful thou wicked servant shouldst thou not have had compassion on thy fellow servant as I had pity on thee and I will remember that it is JESUS who died for me JESUS for whom I would die who intercedes for mine enemies and will rejoyce that I have some of that kind of love to repay to him which he shewed me when I was his enemy Joh. 13.34 sicut ego vos as I have loved you that ye also love one another If lust inticeth me to acts of impurity I will call to mind the corruption and dissolution of this vile body of sin I will think on my last account the day of judgment and the dreadful flames
of hell and I will remember him who for me was crucified and with whom my love hath crucified me and that now is the time to make it appear that I love him to justifie the sincerity of my protestations and so for covetousness pride intemperance and all such temptations I will reject their attempts and profers with indignation as a true friend would scorn the solicitations to betray his friend What shall I be false to him I love to him that loveth me who hath shed his bloud for me and to whom I have often protested that I would die for him shall I break the sacred bonds of love and my most sacred vows and put my soul into a state of regret unquietness shame and sorrow for this vile transitory profit or pleasure O my dearest JESUS thou knowest that I love thee I beseech thee make that love victorious against thine enemies and mine I would die rather than deny thee for any interest in the world and I hope thou wilt not deny me at the last day but own me among thy faithful friends Lord I serve thee not for nothing great are the reasons why I should obey thee thou hast done much for me and from thee I still expect much infinite rewards for such due and poor services Lord let me die before I deliberately sin against thee §. 37. To do what we do cheerfully Thus by love I resolve to conquer my self to deny and mortifie my lusts by love I will strive to overcome all unlawful desires all sinful motions and then I shall rejoyce in the victory It shall not make me peevish and morose churlish and severe to others but rather cheerful and contented gentle and affable so that it shall be seen by my outward deportment how much pleasure and tranquillity my soul hath inwardly that I rejoyce in what I do for Christ that it is delicious to me to deny my self for his sake to oblige so great so true so generous a friend as JESUS who hath done all acts of friendship for me and owns me for his friend I call you not servants but friends Job 13.14 ye are my friends indeed if ye do whatsoever I have commanded you Those that are accounted gallant men in the world will venture their lives to second a friend in an idle and unchristian quarel and their wounds they bear with courage and count them honourable 'T was to serve a friend How much more should I rejoyce in that violence I offer to my appetites and unruly desires for to please and serve my heavenly my best my dearest friend whom I can never love so much as he deserves and in loving of whom I am infinitely happier than if I should injoy all the pleasures of sin as long as I live I only grieve and am displeas'd that I can do so little for him that I can requite his love no better I know that many persons have done far more for their less-deserving friends than I do for JESUS §. 38. A singular example of humane love It is reported by Greek historians of two loving sisters Eudoxia and Irenea daughters to the last unhappy Prince of Morea Niceph. Gregor Chalcondys who with his life lost his crown and countrey that an uncle saved them from the general desolation and captivity which soon succeeded the lost battel and carried them to old Andronicus their kinsman then Emperor of Constantinople There with pity they found a kind well-come and as great respects as they could wish Their beauty their vertues and accomplishments surpast their princely birth and were as eminent as their fortune was low so that young Andronicus who was to succeed in the Empire was in process of time taken with Eudoxia lov'd her passionately and obtain'd the Emperors consent to marry her This caus'd great troubles to Irenea who lik'd it well as she lov'd her sister but could not but grieve at it as she lov'd the Prince for unhappily she had settl'd her affections on him Upon this she fell sick and almost to death and it being observ'd that some distemper in her mind caus'd the distemper of her body her sister protesting of her love to her assuring her that Eudoxia should have only the title and the trouble but Irenea the priviledges and the power of an Empress conjur'd her to declare what caus'd her discontent Having understood what it was and grieving that she should be the occasion of her sisters danger and sorrow she presently took from her head a jewel the Prince had given her in form like a half-moon and with it she so wounded and disfigur'd her face that she cur'd the Prince of his love as she designed and afterwards retir'd to Galliopoli where she entred a Cloister and devoted the rest of her life to God The Prince finding in Irenea what he had lost in Eudoxia soon after entertain'd the same passion for her he had for her sister but Irenea remembring her sisters generosity forgot her affection to the Prince considering what Eudoxia had voluntarily suffer'd for her how great how tender a love she had exprest in what she had done resolves to forsake Andronicus to forego her ease and pleasure and what she had so earnestly desir'd rather than be ungrateful Whereupon she steals away from the court goes to Galliopoli enters her sisters Cloister and having exprest to her her love and acknowledgments she takes the same vows and resolves to live and die to God and with her beloved sister This story makes me grieve and blush that so little gratitude should be paid to JESUS for greater benefits for that incomparable love he hath shewed men in dying for them that I my self should so ill requite his much greater kindness so poorly and imperfectly return his most wonderful love What shall I think it much to refrain my intemperance for his sake who for mine fasted long and often and tasted vinegar and gall shall I think it much to mortifie my pride and anger for him who for my sake despised the shame of the cross and return'd nothing but meekness to the greatest provocations shall I think it much to refrain my worldly covetous desires for him who for me became poor naked destitute of all things though he were Lord of all shall I think it much to deny my self some momentary sensual pleasures for him who carried my sorrows who shed his blood and was crucified to save me No my dearest JESUS thy love hath overcome me I will be no more what I have been henceforth it shall be my wealth my delight my glory and ambition to serve and obey thee to be loving to be faithful to thee §. 39. The design of Religion is to make us better This change and Reformation is what our Religion requires The Scripture supposeth it in all that have imbrac'd Christianity and is earnest and pressing in its exhortations to it We beseech you Brethren and exhort you by the Lord JESUS 1 Thes