Kingdome for he raigned over all Kingdomes from the river Euphrates to the land of the Philistims unto the border of Aegypt and they brought presents and served Salomon all the daies of his life he had besides so great wealth that he had 40000. stalls of Horses for his Charriots and 12000. Horse-men besides his Ships trading to Ophir brought such store of gold and precious stones that silver was nothing esteemed in his daies and was given by him as stones in Jerusalem His pleasure also he tooke after such an unlimited manner that delighting in Women he tooke to him 700. Wives princesses and 300. concubines And yet heare what he saith of himselfe after he had reckoned up these pleasures and many more as you may read at large in the Booke of the Preacher after he had well look'd into them behold all is vanity and vexation of spirit and there is no profit under the Sun Therefore you see he found no true rest either in his riches honour pleasures or wisedome nor could he have found any had they beene many more because the mind of Man is immortall and these things are mortall and of no continuance nor it cannot be that the mind capable of infinite good should be satisfied with finite good For as the humane body cannot rest either in the ayre though it be large or in the water though it be deepe because the earth and not the water or ayre is its center so the minde of Man can never rest in ayrie honour or watry riches which are sordid pleasures but in GOD onely who is the true center of the minde and the onely place of rest for it and proper to it How divinely and wisely then did his Father King David cry out after he had gone into GODS Sanctuary and understood the end of the wicked in their prosperity Whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none that I desire in earth in comparison of thee GOD is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever Consider this then and thou wilt confesse that GOD is the Rocke upon which thou most rest and relye other things are but vanitie and vexation of spirit which are not things in true existence but in false apparaence they comfort not but torment being gotten with labour kept with feare and lost with sorrow and griefe Despise therefore if thou beest wise all tranâ—itory things least they snatch thee away with them and set thy rest on GOD alone cleave to him with the bond of love who remaines the same for ever Lift up thy heart to GOD in Heaven least it putrifie in Earth Learne true Wisedome by the folly of many in whose persons the wiseman speaketh Therefore we have erred from the way of truth and the light of righteousnesse hath not shined unto us and the Sun of understanding rose not upon us We have wearied our selves in the way of wickednesse and destruction and we have gone through dangerous waies but we have not knowne the way of the Lord. What hath pride profited us or what profit hath the pompe of riches brought us All those things are passed away like a shadow and as a Post that passeth by Againe this foundation the Earth is an Embleme of GOD in another respect which CHRIST himselfe hath explained unto us in the Gospell by his similitude of a house built upon a Rock which though the raine fell upon it the winds beat upon the side of it and the floods attempted to undermine it yâ—t stood firme and unmovable but the house built upon the sand could resist none of them but fell So the mansion of mans soule which consists of many vertues and graces as of so many roomes and chambers if it be founded upon GOD as upon a Rocke thatis if it stedfastly beleeve him if it put its whole trust and confidence in him if it be rooted and founded in the love of him it may say with the Apostle Who shall separate us from the love of CHRIST The soule so founded may be secure because neither spirituall wickednesses which are above it nor carnall concupiscences which are beneath it nor domesticall enemies our kinsmen and acquaintance which are about it shall at any time prevaile against it Great I confesse are the forces and subtilties of spirituall powers but greater is the power greater is the wisedome of the Holy Spirit which is ruler and president over the house which is built upon GOD. Very much and earnestly doth the flesh fight against the Spirit and concupiscences have overcome many strong Men but the love of GOD easily overcometh the love of the flesh and the feare of the LORD the feare of the World Lastly Mans homebred enemies many times draw them by evill example and conversation to the perpetrating of sinne but the soule whose confidence is that it hath GOD to Father and friend easily shakes such friends off and will say with the Apostle I am perswaded that neither life nor death nor Angels nor Principalities noâ— Powers nor things present nor things to come nor any other creature shal be able to separate me from the love of GOD which is in CHRIST JEsus our LORD The second property of the Earth consists in this that it is as a good nurse to Men and other living creatures in bringing forth herbs fruits and other sustenance in plentifull manner for their preservation And this property â—eads us to the Creator who is the true Nurse For it is not properly the Earth but GOD by the Earth which produceth these good things For so the holy Spirit speaketh by the mouth of David He bringeth forth grasse for the cuttell and greene herbe for the service of men and a little after These all wayt upon thee that thou mayest give them meat in due season When thou givest it them they gather it and when thou openest thine hand they are filled with good and our Saviour in the Gospell Behold the foules of the ayre for they sowe not neither reape nor cary into the barnes yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them and the Apostle Saint Paul in the Acts Neverthelesse he left not himselfe without witnesse in that hee did good and gave us raine from Heaven and fruitfull seasons filling our hearts with food and gladnesse Yet is that true which GOD commanded at the Creation Let the Earth bud forth the bud of the herbe that seedeth seed and the fruitfull tree which beareth fruit according to his kind but it is by the power and vertue which GOD hath given it and GOD himselfe by the Earth producing increasing and preserving these things And for this cause it was that King David inviting all creatures to praise the LORD among the rest calls upon fruitfull trees to doe the same and that the three Children in Daniel sang All things that grow on the Earth blesse ye
Father who causeth the Sunne to arise upon the good and evill and rayneth upon the just and unjust Imitate the Son who having taking our humane nature for our good upon him spared not his owne life to deliver us from the power of darkenesse and everlasting perdition Imitate the holy Ghost who plentifully powreth out and scattereth his most plenteous guifts that he may of carnall make us spirituall DEGREE VI. By the Consideration of FIRE THis Element is of so pure and noble a nature as that GOD himselfe would bee called Fire as both Moses and St. Paul testifie The LORD thy GOD is a consuming Fire And when GOD first appeared to Moses he would be seen in a bush burning but not consuming with Fire when also GOD came to give the Law to his people he appeared in the shape of fire as Moses relateth it Mount Sinai was all on smoke because the LORD came downe upon it in fire To resemble which mystery when the new law was to be published the holy Ghost appeared to the Apostles in the shape of fiery tongues Lastly they which in heaven are neerest to GOD are called Seraphim because they receive fervor and heate from that most ardent and divine fire more then the other Angels It will not therefore be hard or difficult for us out of this element and the nature and properties of it to erect one greece whereby wee may ascend to GOD by prayer and meditation and lesse difficult will it be with Elias to ascend in a fiery Charriot then to make a Ladder to rise up by out of either earth water or ayre Let us therefore examine and consider the properties and qualities of this element Fire is of that nature and quality that it worketh diversly and oft times contrarily in many things 1. It quickly burneth and consumeth Wood Straw and Stubble 2. It purifieth and maketh more beautifull gold and silver 3. It changeth Iron into contrary qualities as of blacke cold hard and heavie the naturall properties of it it maketh it cleare hote soft and light insomuch as it will shine like a starre burne like fire melt and be liquid like water and by the Artificer be moved and lifted easily All these things apparently agree and meete in GOD. And first Wood Hay and Stubble are by the Apostle compared with evill workes which cannot endure the triall of Gods fire for it is almost incredible how hatefull and displeasing all sinnes are to GOD who is a most pure fire with what zeale hee consumes and destroyes them first by repentance if the sinner be in that state that he can repent for by repentance all sinnes are purged and if the sinner be uncapable of repentance as Devils and men after this life are his wrath is kindled against them For the ungodly and his ungodlinesse are both hated alike of GOD saith the wiseman and the Kingly Prophet David confirmes this saying Thou hatest all them that worke vanity How much and great this hatred is the Devill can witnesse who sinning once and being as St. Gregory saith an Angel most noble and glorious and the Prince of the first order of Angels and the most excellent creature of GOD yet was forthwith cast out of Heaven and deprived of all honour and grace turned into a most deformed monster and bound to eternall perdition Christ himselfe is a witnesse who came from Heaven to dissolve the workes of the Devill sinne and therefore is stiled the Lamb of GOD which taketh away the sinnes of the World Yet who is able to declare nay to conceive what and how great things he suffered to destroy the workes of the Devill and fully to satisfie Gods justice Who being in the forme of GOD tooke on him the forme of a servant and being rich was made poore for our sakes not having whereon to lay his head was reviled suffered bare our sinnes in his body on a tree humbled himselfe and became obedient unto the death even the death of the Crosse was derided spit upon scourged crowned with thorns crucified with all ignominie and grievous torments shedding his life and blood and all these things to destroy the Devills worke sinne Witnesse the Law of GOD which forbids and punisheth all sinne leaving not unpunished so much as an idle word And how doe we thinke he detesteth heynous sinnes that cannot endure an idle word For the Law of the LORD is an undefiled Law without all spots and what communion hath light with darknesse or what fellowship hath righteousnesse with unrighteousnesse Lastly let Hell it selfe be witnesse which GOD hath prepared for the wicked and sinners which refused to be washed with the blood of the undefiled Lamb For it is but just that in whom sinne alwaies remaines punishment should bee perpetuall now what the punishment of hell shal be is horrible and fearefull to thinke of which we shall have occasion to speake more at large in the last Degree Therefore seeing that Gods hate to sinne is so extreme if thou love GOD above all things thou must also above all things detest sinne take heed thou be not deceived by those who either extenuate or excuse it take heed that thou deceive not thy selfe with false and ungrounded reasons for if sinne either committed by thy selfe or others displease thee not thou lovest not GOD and if thou lovest not GOD thou shalt perish everlastingly Againe if thou be not unthankfull to Christ how much dost thou conceive thou owest to his love to his labours his blood his death who washed thee from thy sinne and reconciled thee to his Father and shall it sâ—eme grievous to thee hereafter to suffer any thing for him either in his grace and favour and with his grace to resist sinne even to the losse of thy blood and life Lastly if thou canst not endure the fire everlasting in hell patiently neither oughtest thou patiently to endure sinne but flee from it as from a Serpent and let it be thy resolution to joyne thy greatest hate to sinne with thy greatest love to GOD. But fire destroyes not but makes Gold Silver and Iewels more perfect and shining because as S. Paul in the place before cited declares that those mettalls signifie good works and perfect which are allow'd and aprov'd by the fire of Gods judgment and shall receive their reward Those workes GOD ratifies for good because they are his guifts and St. Augustine saith he crowns his own guifts whensoever he crowns our deserts for they are perform'd by his command and by his aid he bestowing power upon us and enabling us to doe them and himselfe directing us by the Law and rules which he hath made and appointed And indeed gold denotes unto us the workes of love and charity and how is it possible but the workes of love should exceedingly please GOD who is love it selfe Silver signifies the workes of wisedome namely of those which
and say to GOD with the Prophet Thou hast beene my helper forsake me not and speake to him not out of custome but heartily againe and againe Thou art my helper and redeemer O LORD make no long tarrying Mans soule hath also a rationall will which not onely can desire good things present particular and corporall such as are proper to beasts to covet but also good things absent generall and spirituall which are demonstrated by faith or reason and indeed GOD himselfe which is the chiefe and infinite good And this is it which makes a Man capable of great vertues especially of love the chiefe of all other and the fâ—â—â—taine from whence all good guists are derived and which joyneth Man to GOD in so strong a tye that GOD shall remaine in him and he in GOD For GOD is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him But if this be so great a happines of the created will how great will that happinesse be with which the uncreated will is replenished The will of God is onely capable of infinite love where with the infinite goodnes of God is worthy to be beloved Neither doth this will want vertues nor hath it need to bee directed by the understanding for Gods will and understanding are both but one as his wisedome and love are one and the same thing in him Besides Mans soule is in a humane body but farre otherwise then the soules of bruire beasts are in their bodies for the soules of bruits are materiall and extended through all parts of their bodies so that part of it is in part and all in the whole body But Mans soule which is an indivisible spirit is after an admirable manner all in the whole and all in every part of the body and whereas it fills the whole body yet it occupies no speciall place in it neither increaseth it as the body encreaseth but only begins to be where formerly it was not and if a member of the body bee cut off or wither the soule is not lessened or made dry by it but leaves to be in that member without any may me or impayring This is a true mirrour of Gods existencie in things created for God is an indivisible spirit yet fills the whole world and all the parts of it nor occupies it any one place alone but is all in the whole world and all in every part of it and when a new Creature is made God begins to bee in it and yet is not moved and when any Creature perisheth or dyeth God dyes not but onely leaves to bee there and yet changeth not his place And therefore in these things God and the soule of man agree but God is much more excellent then the soule for the soule to be in a body to rule and stirre it must of necessity have a forme of a body made for it and to be so joyned to it that of the soule and body a man may bee made God needes not the forme or soule of a world nor that of him and the world one compounded substance should bee made but of his owne immensitie he hath this preheminence to bee every where of his indivisible unitie to bee all every where of his omnipotence to governe move and sustaine all things Againe the soule of man though it bee said to be in the whole body yet properly it is not but in the living or animate parts of it and therfore is not in the humors in the hayre nailes dry or dead members God absolutely is in all things not onely corporall but spirituall nor can it be that there should be any thing in which God is not Lastly it is not a soule but in it's owne body and that a streight and small one wherein all the parts are tyed together for if any part as is said be severed from the other in that part the soule cannot be But God is all in this universe of things though it be great and the parts thereof not tyed or joyned together though they be neere one another and if there were more worlds God would be in them all to which purpose it is said Heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot conteine thee for if there were other heavens and another earth created or more heavens and earths without number God would fill them all and where he were not nothing would be at all Againe mans soule hath in it though obscure the Image of the most holy Trinitie aswell in that it hath a fruitfull memorie power to understand and power to love as also because the mind thereof by understanding formes a certaine word and from the mind and word proceeds love because that which is knowne by the mind and represented by the word is presently as it is good loved and desired by the will But after a much higher and diviner manner God the Father begets God the Word the Father and the Word breath God the Holy Spirit who is the living love and the living fountaine of all chast love And in this respect the mystery of the Trinitâ—e transcends the naturall meanes of knowing nor can a learned Philosopher come to the knowledge of this without a supernaturall light for the soule of man produceth a word and a love which are not substances but accidents and in that regard are not Persons but GOD the Father begets to himselfe the Consubstantiall Word and the Father and the Word breath the Holy Spirit consubstantiall likewise to them both whereby it is that the Father Sonne and Holy Ghost are rightly and worthily called three Persons The soule of Man also produceth a Word which is of no long continuance and the will bringeth forth a love which lasteth not long but GOD the Father begets the eternall Word and the Father and Word breath the eternall Holy Spirit nor can GOD be without his Word and Spirit Againe Mans soule by one word represents but one thing and therefore multiplyeth words not onely of the mind but of the mouth and mans will must produce many acts of love if it will love many things But GOD by one Word speaketh all true things and with one act of love loves all good things 10 Lastly the soule of Man while it is in the body hath this property that though it be not seene heard nor moved and is hardly conceived to be in it and that leaving it the body seemes to want nothing it had before yet it is that which causeth all good to the body sense motion speech subsistence beauty and strength for what is the cause that while a man liveth hee seeth heareth talketh walketh and is strong and beautifull nothing but because he hath a soule in him and why cannot a man see nor heare nor speake but lies deformed unprofitable and unserviceable after hee is dead but that his soule is departed from him from whence all these benefits and good things were derived to him So thy GOD whilst
Prophet Esay and not have compassion on the Sonne of her wombe though she should forget yet will I not forget thee And the Psalmist Like as a Father pittieth his owne children even so is the LORD mercifull to them that feare him And least any should say that there may be parents found whose love is sometime changed into hatred The mercifull goodnesse of the LORD endureth for ever and ever upon them that feare him and for the continuance of this his mercy the Apostle maketh us secure when he calls GOD The Father of mercies and GOD of all consolation and therefore hee is not onely a Father of them that feare him but a most mercifull Father and most ready to comfort his children for hee taketh away and easeth them of the miseries of their afflictions and tribulations which hee judgeth fit to deliver them from and in that respect shewes himselfe a Father of mercies and in those miseries which he thinketh not expedient for them to be taken away hee endueth them with unspeakeable comfort whereby they may beare them with ease and in that regard hee declares himselfe to bee a GOD of all consolation Now the Apostle calleth him the GOD of all consolation for two causes 1. Because GOD knoweth how to comfort his in every kind of tribulation which certainely the world cannot doe because it oftimes understands not the cause of the affliction and therefore it was that Job called his friends miserable comforters because they knew not the cause of his disease and misapplyed the cure Or else sometimes the tribulation is so great that no humane comfort can asswage it but GOD is a most wise and omnipotent Physician hee can cure any disease and therefore the Apostle saith that he comforteth us in all our tribulation 2. Secondly GOD is called GOD of all Consolation because hee knoweth how to comfort us so plentifully that it is better to suffer tribulation with such comfort then to want both as in the case of Martyrdome Therefore no mervaile if the Apostle said I am filled with comfort and am exceeding joyous in all our tribulation and againe Which comforteth us in all our tribulations that we may be able to comfort them which are in affliction And what thinkest thou of this so large deepe daily pure and immense mercy of GOD who needs none of our goods and yet out of the abundance of his love is so sollicitous of his poore servants as if all his good depended on them What thankes therefore wilt thou returne to him what canst thou ever doe to avoyd the staine of ingratitude for such mercy at the least endeavour asmuch as thou canst to please him And because it is written Bee mercifull as your heavenly Father is mercifull and Love thine owne soule begin first carefully to finde out the miseries of thine owne soule for the miseries of the body are obvious enough and there is no need to admonish a man to pittie his body for if it want meate or drinke but one day or sleepe but one night or by chance receive a wound presently we bewaile the case of it and seeke remedy for it But the soule may fast whole weeks without food or lye languishing with infirmities or peradventure lye dead and no body lookes after it no body hath compassion of it Therefore visite thy soule often examine the severall powers of it whether they be well or not whether they profit in the knowledge and love of the true good or on the other side whether it be ill affected with ignorance or languish with concupiscences of diverse kinds whether the mind be blinded with malice or the will corrupted with the disease of hate or pride and if thou findest thy soule in this evillstate call unto GOD and say Have mercy upon me ô LORD for I am weake Seeke spirituall Physicians and use remedies in time Then pitty other poore soules where of a number perish and yet CHRIST died for them O if thou didst but know and well weigh the price of soules that is the pretious blood of the Son of GOD and withall the exceeding great slaughter of them by the infernall wolves and roaring Lyons the Devils certainely thou couldst not choose but with all thy heart take compassion on them and labour aswell by prayer to GOD as by all other meanes to obtaine their deliverance Lastly have compassion also upon the corporall necessities of thy neighbour and that not in word onely but in workes and truth remembring alwaies that Blessed are the mercifull for they shall obtaine mercy DEGREE XV. By the Consideration of GODS Justice compared with a Corporall magnitude THe Iustice of GOD in holy Scriptures is taken foure wayes 1. For Vniversall Iustice or Righteousnes which containes all vertues and is the same with sanctity or goodnesse The Lord iâ— righteous iâ— all his waies and holy in all his workes 2. Secondly it is taken for Truth or faithfullnes as in another Psalme That thou mayest be justified in all thy sayings 3. Thirdly for dâ—stributive Iustice Iustice in rewards according to that of St. Paul A Crowne of righteousnesse is layd up for me which the Lord the righteous Iudge shall give me at that day 4. For revenging Iustice Iustice punishing offences as it is in another Psalme Vpon the ungodly he shall raine snares fire and brimstone storme and tempest this shal be their portion to drinke The greatnesse therefore of this divine Iustice will appeare the better if we consider the latitude of universall Iustice the length of it that is his truth and faithfulnes the height of it in Gods distributing rewards in heaven the depth of it in scourging the wicked with eternaâ—l punishments in hell To begin with the latitude That is said to be universall Iustice or Righteousnesse in men which disposeth a man to carry himselfe in all his dealings according to all Lawes and by that hath in him all vertues aswell theologicall as morall But there is one vertue above the rest which containeth all other vertues and commands and rules the acts of them directing them to the last end and this is called love which vertue although in it selfe it be but particular and but one of the Theologicall vertues yet it may be truly called universall for it disposeth a man to behave himselfe well both to God and towards his neighbour and thereby fulfilleth the whole Lawe for so speaketh the Apostle Love doth not evill to his neighbour therefore is Love the fullfilling of the Lawe and he that loveth another hath fulfilled the Law And therefore St. Angustine saith Love begun is Righteousnes begun Love increased is Righteousnesse increased Great Love is great Righteousnes perfect Love is perfect Righteousnes Now in GOD are all vertues which presuppose no imperfection and instead of those which presuppose imperfection there is some what far better and more excellent where by it is
Essentia Dej Omnipotentia Dej Iustitia Dej Sapientia Theorica Dej Sapientia practica Dej Misericordia Dej Angeli Aêr SOL. Luna Stellae Ignis Aqua Mundus Terra Anima Hominis Homo IACOB'S LADDER Consisting of fifteene Degrees or Ascents to the knowledge of GOD by the Consideration of His Creatures and Attributes 1638. LONDON Printed for Henry Seile and are to be sould at the Tigres-head against St. Dunstans Church in fleetstreet Will Marshall sculpâ—it To the Christian READER IT is the receivedopinion of all that of all the creatures which GOD the Soveraigne Creator made from the beginning â—one was created by him more noble and excellent next to the Angels then Man and that for his sake all things were made as Heaven Earth Sea and all that â—re in them yea that the Angelsâ—hemselves â—hemselves and Principalitiesâ—ere â—ere ordayned to be subservient â—o him But Man being so richly enâ—owed and tyed to his maker in â—o greater bonds then benefits and blessings became rebellious and unthankfull to his so liber all Benefactor and not duely understanding his dignity and excellencie nor satisfied with such extraordinary favours out of those things from which he should have taken occasion to love GOD his Maker extracted that matter which produced his treason and affecting no lesse then a Deity rebelled and brake the commands of his Creator for which he was justly expelled Paradise and deprived of that honour which he formerly possessed and is now compared to the Beasts that perish This was a wofull Metamorphosis an unhappy change from the best to become the worst oâ— Creatures and that so sodainly Nor was this the worst of hiâ— misery for by his fall the wholâ— masse of Man-kinde his posterity became so corrupt as thaâ— the Devill excepted Man waâ— the most miserable of all other creatures by nature fraile and weake headlong in affections tormented with cares and anxieties mad in desires blind in understanding weake in will corrupt in memory obnoxious to all diseases miseries and troubles and lastly liable to infernall punishment and not without just cause for he which became a companion with the Devill in sinne was worthily made his associate in sufferings Now Man being thus wretched and miserable by incurring GODS high displeasure it pleased the same most good and gracious GOD not perpetually to looke upon the injury done to his high Majestie but to compassionate his misery and rather pittying his error then desiring revenge determined to repayre his wofull condition and to reconcile him to himselfe But what tongue or pen is sufficient to expresse the manner of this attonement Nay who can conceive what it was that wrought this reconciliation Surely nothing but his owne meore compassion and that by such a way as may breed astonishment in the most sencelesse heart By His Sonne His onely Sonne CHRIST JESUS GOD and Man brought he this great worke to passe who made such a peace betweene thâ— Creator and Man such an agreement or pacification as that he not onely pardoned the offence but received the delinquent to grace making him one and the same with himselfe by the bond of love And as we are infinitely indebted for this high benefit in generall so are we no lesse obliged to him for the manner of our Redemption then for the Redemption it selfe For there were many wayes whereby he might have saved us without labour without price yet so wonderfull was his bounty to us so great his goodnesse and love that he would have it wrought by the infinite paines and sorrowes even to the losse of the dearest blood and life of His onely Sonne and that by the shamefull Death of the Crosse and all this I say for the love of us without benefit to himselfe For as it is in Job What profiteth it thee and what avayleth it me if thou sinnest If thou sinnest what canst thou doe unto him If thou be righteous what givest thou unto him or what receiveth he at thy hands that is What prejudice could GOD receive by our evill or what benefit by our good For he is nothing the worse if men blaspheme him nor the better if they praise him It was His love then to us and nothing else which repayred our miserable condition This love therefore requires love againe the love of the Creator the love of the Creature Certainly in diverse respects we are bound infinitely to him For our Creation for our Preservation for our Redemption and indeed for so many inestimable blessings as cannot be conceived much lesse expressed What great matter then is required of us when we are onely injoyned to require this love with love We should and ought to imitate a fertile Field or piece of ground which renders much more seed then it receiveth but GOD helpe us poore miserable creatures if this were exacted of us we should come farre short of this retribution Why yet if for the infirmity of our natures while we live in this pilgrimage we cannot doe that which we should yet let uâ— doe what we may Without question love him we may nay love him we must if ever we intend to take the benefit of his Sonnes passion But thou wiltsay how shall I love him that I know not if I knew him I would love him with all my heart with all the affections of my mind and soule Surely this is no difficult worke For GOD himselfe hath made us capable of the knowledge of him and therfore he knowing our capacity sufficient for that act hath commanded our performance of it and that by seeking him No man can come to the knowledge of anything but by paines and labour and the more sublime that is of which we are ignorant the more paines the more labour it will cost before the knowledge of it be attained And certainely GOD being the most excellent object the worthiest of all other our knowledge let us not spare any paines any travaile to possesse our selves of it that knowing we may love him which is a duty chiefly expected from us for all the unvaluable benefits we have and continually doe receive from him Now that in the search or seeking after this knowledge We grope not as blind men of whom holy Iob and the Prophet Esay speake nor that we gaze not gazing being an Act so contrary to seeking as that it was not onely condemned by the Angels in the Acts of the Apostles but forbidden by GOD himselfe gazers being for the most part a sort of people desirous onely of new fangles and novelties and no setled searchers or seekers It will not be amisse by prescribing some rules of seeking to take away filmes from the eyes of the former and to strengthen the sight of the other that so they may be the better enabled to proceed in their search But before we come to the directions we will looke a little into the necessity of this duty that we may understand that a seeking and
thereby a knowing and consequently a love and service of him is necessarily required of us That it is commanded as a speciall duty appeares by many places in holy writ of which I will select a few Seek the LORD and his strength seeke his face continually and Set your hearts and your soules to seeke the LORD your GOD. And GOD himselfe by the Prophet Amos Seeke ye me and live Secondly it was ever the counsaile of GODS Prophets and servants as of King David to his Sonne Know thou the GOD of thy Fathers c. If thou seek him he will be found of thee He adviseth him to know him by seeking him The same King gives the same counsaile to his Princes as also to his Quire and Church-men in the two places before mentioned to shew that neither Prince Nobility nor Clergy are exempt from this duty Againe it hath alwaies bin the practise of Godly Princes and others King Iehosaphat set himselfe to seek the LORD King Hezekiah prayed for those that prepared their whole heart to seeke the LORD King Iosiah when he was yet a child began to seeke after the GOD of David his Father It was also the fame King Davids practise For when GOD said Seeke my race he answers presently Thy face LORD will I seeke And in another place I have set GOD alwaies before me And surely not without reason was this duty either câ—mmanded counsailed or practised for there is a promise of reward annexed we shall not lose our labour but receive much good in seeking to know him In the Booke of Deuteronomie GOD promiseth not onely to be found of them that seeke him but to deliver them from misery and heape blessings upon them King David found by experience that GOD never failed them that seeke him And seeke ye after GOD saith he and your soule shall live And GOD himselfe by the Prophet Esay I said not in vaine to the seed of Jacob Seeke ye me And lastly not to trouble you with many The LORD is good to the soule that seeketh him saith the Prophet Ieremie Lastly it is the end for which Man was created St. Paul after he had beaten much upon the point that a GOD was to be sought out whom men should worship and had made it plaine by the creation of all things who that GOD was came to the end of Mans creation which was to seeke him Man being created for that purpose and end adding that it would be no great labour to find him as being not farre from every one of us He then which shal be negligent in this duty is not worthy of his creation and deserves not to live it being a most absurd and undecent thing for a Manto be ignorant of his Creator having recerved from him the guift of understanding and made capable to know him We see that Rivers naturally returne to the Sea whence they come and all things elso to their first being Wherefore then should not Man returne in his thoughts and desires to GOD who-gave him his being and why should his heart be as rest till be returne to him considering as I said that he made the understanding whereby he might know him the memory that he might ever be mindfull of him and the will ever to love him And now since we have in some sort seene that it is a duty enjoyned by GOD to seeke him that it hath beene the counsaile and practise of many holy Kings and Prophets that we shall not lose our labour but receive benefit by our seeking and lastly that it is the onely end for which we were created let us take a further view how we may so seeke that we may find and know him To the due performance of which act we must observe these cautions 1 That we prepare our hearts carefully and diligently to seeke 2 That we seeke him in sincerity and simplicity without hypocrisie 3 That we be humble and not curious seekers 4 That we seek him in Faith without wavering 5 That wee be earnest and zealous and not cold or luke-warme seekers This carefull preparation of the heart hath ever been commended as most necessary before the undertaking of any pious act and indeed is the foundation and first degree to this seeking Iehosaphat prepared his heart to seeke the LORD as you have seene Iothan became mighty because he prepared his waies And S. Ieâ—ome saith that purgandus est animus ut perspicere illam lucem valeat a man shall never be able to see the clearenesse and beauty of that light if he first prepare not nor fit himselfe before-hand if hee seeke him not in due order It was the Wisemans advice to seeke GOD in simplicity of heart and it is the Pure in heart that shall see GOD. as our Saviâ—â—r speakes The Sun beames shâ—ne brightest upon a cleare glasse and in a cleane heart the beames of Divine grace shine most The uncleane shall not see GOD saith the Apostle Saint Ierome calls the humble Man DEI Templum the Temple or habitation of GOD. He shall not onely see GOD but GOD will abide with him GOD giveth grace to the humble And CHRIST himselfe while he was conversant upon Earth delighted not in great or proud company but chose fishermen to converse with and the Centurions non sum dignus with the Publicans humble confession pleased him more then all the proud vaunts of the Scribes and Pharises He desires not but abhorres to be looked on with curious and prying eyes and therefore St. Augustine writing against the Manichees saith and his counsaile is Compescat se humana temeritas id quod non est non quaerat ne illud quod est inveniat after the fearfull example of Vzza Faith is the beginning of cleaving to GOD saith the Sonne of Syrach And Fides humanae salutis initium saith St. Augustine For by it we understand what soever is necessary for us to know concerning GOD. Now that there is a GOD some Deity all people even the Heathen that had their intellectualls held as a maxime Hee in the Psalme that said there was no GOD said it but in his heart was not so impudent as to speake it out and yet for his thought onely had the brand of a foole This Faith St. Augustine saith Valet ad cognitionem DEI non tanquam omnino incogniti sed quò cognoscatur manifestius And Si quis hic non ambulaverit per Fidem non perveniet ad speciem beatae visionis By it the children of light are distinguished from those of darknesse and per ipsam discitur veritatis scientia et percipitur cognitio Divinitatis By it the knowledge of the truth is learned and of the Divinity perceived Lastly zeale love and hearty affection is of all vertues the clearest sighted and will see GOD soonest For it is the affection to a
thing that drawes a mans desire to see it And yet this vertue naturally depends upon the former of Faith For if Faith be wavering love and affection is soone cool'd Fall from the one and fall from the other quickly For no Man can affect or love that which he beleeves not to be But yet this vertue is so necessary as that without it none can ever attaine to the sight of GOD. St. Augustine saith Quantò flagrantius DEUM diligimus tantó certius sereniusque videamus We shall see GOD the surer and more perspicuously by how much the greater our zeale affâ—ction and love is to him And being thus prepared and fitted with these qualities we must seeke him as the Prophet counsaileth while he may be found Wee must doe it in due time that is while we are in this vale of misery we must seeke and apply our selves to see and know him as much and as soon as we may here that we may see him face to face to our comfort as he is hereafter Time is first either past and that is not we cannot make use of that Secondly or to come and that we know not whether we shall have it to use or no it is onely in GODS power Thirdly or it is present and that we must lay hold of and make use of it Therefore in what condition of what age soever thou art seek the LORD and that instantly And if thou shalt take hold of this time with this preparation no doubt but GOD will be favourable to thee and thou shalt see his face with joy Thou shalt finde him if thou seeke him and the rather if thou doe it early with David or with King Iosias while thou art yet a child and finding him thou shalt know him and being come to the knowledge of greatnesse and goodnesse thou shalt certainly love him which is the chiefe duty he requires of thee And now give me leave to offer to your view a generation that have neither eyes nor hearts aright and with Esay Let me bring forth the blind that have eyes that is to say such as have their sight yet wander like Jeremies blind men and grope at noone day with those in Deuteronomie That have eyes and see not have understanding but make not true use of it for which GOD gave it but it is darkned as St. Paul saith because of the hardnesse of their heart Among which I will set before you the chiefe Woâ—ldlings Ambitious Selfe-lovers Rebellious Covetous and Idle All which sorts of people as I said before have filmes before their eyes that hinder their sight and seeking The love of this World in generall doth so blind the eyes of men that worldlings cannot distinguish betweene good and evill they are not able have neither power nor time to see the true GOD. For the World being once fixed in their hearts they cannot find out the things which GOD made from the beginning that is they cannot think of their Creator And as St. Paul speaketh The God of the World hath blinded their eyes least the light of the glorious Gospell should shine to â—hem and therefore in another place he calls it the darknesse of the World It was this love of the World that caused Demas to for sake St. Paul And St. Iohn affirmes plainely that he which loveth the World hath not the love of GOD in him and therefore neither can nor desires to see him Againe the World as a false glasse deceives the sight it 's a very hypocrite promiseth faire but beleeve it not rather feare the reward of its service for breve est quod delectat aeternum quod cruciat It is impossible to looke to Heaven with one eye and to the Earth with the other It was the dung of a Sparrow or Swallow that deprived Tobias of his sight and the Apostle calls the things of the world Terrena stercora and therefore while we dote on this world and the dung there of falls upon our sight we may be justly reputed blind we grope for the wall like the blind and grope as if we had no eyes we may apply that to our selves which David did unto himselfe The light of our eyes is gone from us while we are in this estate we shall never see God The filme of preferment much darkens the sight and the smoke of honour is so prejudicious to the eyes that it hinders men from the sight of their Creator For though they carrie their eyes loftily yet look they not so high as they should the myst of ambition is so thick before their eyes and the Sun-beames of honour so dazles them that in comparison of a true and cleare sight these may also bee justly reckoned among the blinde Not much unlike to the Ambitious is the Selfe-lover proud and vaine-glorious he is also blind for his eves his sight is wholly reversed and turned inward The Pharisee lost his sight by this vanity and so did Nabuchadonozor and the Angels their blessed vision The proud have not so much as a thought of GOD much lesse a desire to see him but all their desire is to see themselves and that so long in the burning glasse of selfe conceit that in the end they lose their sight And this disease of the eyes begets another worse then the former namely Rebellion For the proud thinks none better then himselfe presently with pharaoh saies Who is the LORD The vice of pride makes the heart rebellious as Ieremy speakes and while a man is in rebellion he never desires to see his Prince It so hardens the heart that it can receive no impression of goodnesse but their eyes are as it were set in their heads as it is said of Ahia in another case They have eyes but see not as Ieremy saith in the same Chapter and as our Saviour seeing they shall see and not perceive because they have closed their eyes And this is that blindnesse of heart which the Apostle St Paul meanes For indeed the cause of this blindnesse is as of all other evills the heart it being to the soule as the eye to the body For the eye is but as a conduit or channell through whose optiques all good or bad desires passe to the heart Riches are as great an eye-sore as any of the former for the eye of the covetous is ever fixed upon a wrong object Avarus est caecus The covetous Man is blind saith St. Augustine and therefore not without cause did our Saviour bid men to be ware of covetousnesse For these terrena stercora of riches the mucke of the World blind the eyes even of the wise they divert the eyes of the mind from seeing GOD. The Prodigall having his porâ—ion went from his Father Place â—â— looking-glasse upward and you shall see Heaven but downward â—nd the Earth is in your sight â—t is not wealth but poverty
hast thou receivest from him if what thou hopest thou hopest from him Why boastest thou not of such a Father Why dost thou not love him with all thy heart why dost thou not contemne all things in respect of him but sufferest thy selfe to be overswayed with vaine desires and delights Lift up thine eyes to him feare not what any mortall creaâ—ure can doe to thee Say with David I am thine save me Certainly if thou wouldst but seriously consider how gracious GOD is to thee in that he who needs none of thy goods neither if thou perish doth he lose any thing hath his eye of providence still and continually over thee yea so loveth directeth and cherisheth thee as if thou wert his greatest treasure thou wouldst be moved with these his extraordinary favours and put thy whole confidence in him thou wouldst feare him as thy Lord love him as thy Father and loath those things which should divert thee from his love The second quaere is Of what matter was Man created The resolution is easie even of that which is most vile and contemptible and by how much the â—aser the better occasion is ministred to every one of us to labour for that most pretious and profitable vertue of humility And doubtlesse the matter of which the prime part of Man the soule was made was nothing and what can be imagined or thought to be of lesse esteeme then nothing Now what was the first materiall to the making of the body but menstruous blood a thing so loathsome as that the eye flies the sight of it the hand the touching of it and the mind abhorres to thinke of it Thirdly the matter whereof the first Man Adam was made was but red and barren earth or dust or mud Out of the earth wast thou taken saith GOD to Adam because thou art dust and to dust thou shalt returne Which caused Abraham remembring the vile materialls he was made of to say to GOD I am but dust and ashes And yet we have not said all which may be spoken concerning the vilenes of these materialls For the earth or dust it selfe of which his body was created came not from any matter but of nothing also For in the beginning GOD createâ— heaven and earth and surely he created them not of any otheâ— heaven and earth but even oâ— nothing So that this proud thing Man whether you consider soule or body coming from nothing in the end must be reduced to nothing What then hath he to boast of but that which he hath received from GOD. Other things as the workes of artificers vessels of gold and the like if they had sense might boast and expostulate with their workemen in this manner It is true lowe to thee for my form but not for my materialls and that which I had of my selfe before thou tookest me in hand is farre more pretious then that which I received from thee But Man that hath nothing of himselfe and is altogether nothing of himselfe can glory in nor of nothing And therefore St. Paul saith What hast thou that thou hast not received If thou hast received it why boastest thou as though thou hadst not received it and If any man seeme to himselfe that he is somewhat when he is nothing he deceiveth himselfe in his imagination To which St. Cyprian agreeth when he saith we ought to boast of nothing when there is nothing that we may call ours But thou wilt say men doe many excellent things for which they are worthily commended that according to the proverb virtus laudata crescat goodnes having due praise may increase It is true Men doe many good workes for which they may deservedly be praysed and of which they may boast but with this limitation that they rejoyce in the Lord and not in themselves as it is written He that rejoyceth let him rejoyce in the Lord. For let me aske these questions When a Man doth any good worke of what matter by what power by whose aid and direction doth he it surely oâ— the matter which GOD created by that power and strength which GOD gave him and lastly by GODS direction and assistance without which hee could doe no good thing For GOD doth many good things in Man without Man but Man doth no good but that which GOD giveth him power to do And therefore he vouchsafeth to use the Ministery and service of Man in doing good which of himselfe he could do without Man that thereby he might acknowledge himselfe the greater debtor to GOD and not by growing proud to rob God of his honour Therefore if thou be wise in the good thou dost give to thy selfe the last place steale not Gods glory from him neither in little or much enter into thine heart and consider well that nothing of thine which is onely and all that thou hast and all the World shall not be able to puffe thee up And because this pretious vertue of true humility was almost clean gone out of the World and was neither to be found in the Books of Philosophers or in the lives either of the Gentiles or Jewes it pleased the Mr. of Humility himselfe to descend from Heaven Who when he was in the form of God equall to the Father made himselfe of no reputation and tooke on him the forme of a servant and humbled himselfe c. saying to mankind Learne of me that am meeke and lowly of heart and ye shall finde rest to your soules So that if thou perhaps art ashamed to imitate the humility of Men be not ashamed to follow the humility of CHRIST Who resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble The third question followes now to be answered that is What forme was given to Man at his creation Surely by how much the viler the matter was of which he was made by so much the forme is found to be the more excellent To omit the out ward shape of the body which yet may justly challenge eminencie above the shapes of all other creatures for this is not the substantiall but the accidentall forme The substantiall forme therefore of a MAN which makes him to be a MAN and distinguisheth him from other creatures is the immortall Soule indued with reason and will the Image of GOD for so we read that GOD said when he would make Man Let us make Man in our Image according to â—ur likenesse and let him rule over the fish of the Sea and over the foule of Heaven and over the â—easts and over all the Earth and over every thing that creepeth and moveth on the Earth Man therefore is the Image of GOD not in respect of his body but of his spirit For GOD is a Spirit not a body And there is the Image of GOD saith St. Basil where that is which commands the other creatures Now Man commands and rules over the beasts not by the members of his body
too fearefull a thing to fall into the hands of the living GOD. It remaines that we speake of the last consideration which is the Beauty of things created of which King David said Thou hast made me glad by thy workes and I will rejoyce in the workes of thine hands And certainely as GOD made all things good so are they all beautifull if they be rightly considered But to omit some consider we those which by the judgement and approbation of all men are beautifull Without doubt great is the beauty of a greene meadow of an orchard well trimmed of pleasant groves of the sea in a calme of the ayre when it is cleare of fountaines rivers cities of the bright Heaven bedeckt with innumerable starres like so many gemmes or jewells How are we taken with the beauty of flowers and fruit-bearing trees with the various shapes of foure-footed beasts with the flying and melody of birds and the playing of fishes what shall we say of the beauty of the Starres of the Moone and especially of the beames of the most cleare and resplendent Sun which by his rising glads the universe and lastly of Men and Women whose shape and beauty doth breed the greatest delight Many have perished by the beauty of Women It hath often hapned that Men otherwise most prudent have been taken with their beauty and on the other side many grave matrons and honourable to have been brought to that madnesse with the love of Mens beauty that they have neglected their estates goods children and parents their lives nay I feare their everlasting happinesse for the fond love of Men. The stories of David Solomon and Sampson are notorious in holy Scripture with others If then such beauty be infused in the Creatures by GOD how wonderfull beauty may we imagine to be in the Creator himselfe no Man can give to another what hee hath not to give and if Men beeing delighted with the forme of the Sunne and Starres thought those lights of Heaven to be Gods yet they should have knowne how much more beautifull Hee is that made them for the first Author of beauty hath made these things saith the Wiseman How much this beauty of GOD may be is not onely knowne certainely by this that the beautie of all the creatures after a more eminent manner is found to bee as it were gathered and compact together in him but also hereby that whereas hee is invisible to us while wee are in this Pilgrimage and may bee knowne onely by us through Faith in the Scriptures and in the glasse of the Creatures yet many holy Men have been so enflamed with His love that some of them have withdrawne themselves into desert and solitarie places wholly to spend their time in contemplating on this beautie and others have willingly opposed their lives to many dangers to come to the sight of this excellent beauty If then this heavenly beautie which as yet cannot perfectly bee seene but onely beleeved and hoped for kindles such a zeale of desire what will it doe when the veyle shall bee removed and that hee shall be seene as Hee is No mervaile then if the Angels and blessed soules ever see the face of the Father without yrkesomenesse or satietie when GOD himselfe beholding his owne beautie from eternity rests and takes delight onely in it Seeke then after this beautie desiring and longing earnestly after it night and day saying with the Kingly Prophet My soul is athirst for God yea even for the living God when shall I come to appeare before the presence of God and with the Apostle We are bold and love rather to remove out of the body and to dwell with the LORD Neither need wee to feare that wee shall be defiled with the ardent love of this beautie for it perfects not infects sanctifies but pollutes not the heart But if thou affectest and desirest the sight of this increate beauty of thy Creator thou must doe that which the same Apostle addes in the same place strive to be acceptable to him If the beauty of GOD please thee thy workes must please him and if thou wilt walke before GOD in the land of the living thou must strive to walke before him uprightly in this pilgrimage and thou must keepe his Image undefiled from staines and spots DEGREE III. By the Consideration of the Earth WE have considered the corporall World in the Vniverse now we will take a view of the particular principall parts of it that we may thereby come as neere as we can to the sight and contemplation of the Creator and first we will begin with the Earth This though it holds the meanest and lowest part and seemes to be lesse then the other elements yet in truth is not lesse but excelleth all the other in dignity and value We read in diverse places of Scripture that GOD made Heaven and Earth as the principall parts of the World the Heaven as a Palace for himselfe and the Angels the Earth as a Palace for Men as it is in the Psalmes All the whole Heavens are the LORDS the Earth hath He given to the children of men And for this cause it is that the Heaven abounds with glittering Stars and the Earth with immense riches of mettalls pretious stones herbes trees living creatures of many kinds whereas the water onely is stored with fish and the ayre and fire are poore and almost empty elements But to let these passe The Earth hath three qualities by the consideration of which the mind if it be not asleepe may with ease ascend to GOD. First the Earth is the surest foundation of the whole World which it we wanted we could neither walke rest worke nor live He hath made the round World so sure saith the Psalmist that it cannot be moved and againe He hath laid the foundations of the Earth that it should never be moved at any time Secondly the Earth is as a good Nurse to Man and other creatures it daily produceth herbs corne fruit grasse and other things of that kinde innumerable for so GOD speaketh Behold I have given â—nto you every herb bearing seed which is upon all the Earth and every tree wherein is the fruit of a tree bearing seed that shal be to you for meate Thirdly it bringeth forth stones and tymber to build and mines of brasse and iron for many uses and gold and silver for money and traffique The first property of the Earth in that it is a place in which our bodies may rest whereas neither in ayre fire or water they cannot is an Embleme of the Creator in whom onely the soule of Man may finde a place of rest Thou ô Lord saith Saint Augustine hast made us for thy selfe and our hearts are not quiet untill they rest in thee If ever any it was King Salomon that found rest in riches Kingdome command and pleasures he was possessed of a most large and peaceable
gold and silver is cankered and the rust of them shal be a witnesse against you and shall eate your flesh as it were fire as if he should say Because you were rich you accounted your selves happy but indeed you are miserable yea more wretched then all poore men and have great cause to weepe and howle for the great calamities which surely shall befall you for the overplus of your riches which you suffered to corrupt rather then to bestow them on the poore and your supersluous garments which you suffered the mothes to eate rather then to clothe the naked shall rise up and beare witnesse in the day of judgement against you And therefore we will conclude with the Kingly Prophet Happy are the people say the unwâ—se that are in such a case that is abounding with all manner of wealth when as indeed blessed are the people and they onely blessed who have the LORD for their GOD. DEGREE IV. By the Consideration of Water especially of Rivers and Fountaines AMongst the Elements of the World Water challengeth the second place by which also we may raise our thoughts a step higher to Godward First we will consider Water in generall and afterward â—raw one speciall ascent O GOD out of Fountaines and Rivers Water is moist and cold and in these respects hath five properties First to wash and clense from spots Secondly to extinguish fire Thirdly to coole and temper the heat of thirst-Fourthly to joyne many and diverse things into one Fifthly and lastly it ascends or riseth as high as it falls lowe All these are apparent resemblances or Emblems of GOD the Creator of an things Water washeth and taketh away corporall steines and spots so doth GOD spirituall Wash me and I shal be whiter then snow saith King David for though contrition the Sacraments the Priest almes and other workes of piety wash out the spots or steines of the heart sinne yet all these are but instruments or dispositions and the onely author of this clensing is GOD I even I saith GOD by Esay am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for myne owne sake And therefore the murmuring Pharisees though they beleeved not in CHRIST but blasphemed him yet were in the right when they said Who can for give sinnes but GOD onely Besides God doth not onely wash our sinnes as water doth spots but will be called water also for so writes St. John He that beleeveth on me out of his belly shall flow rivers of living waters But this he spake of the spirit which they that beleeved in him should receive for the holy Ghost was not yet given because that Jesus was not yet glorified therefore the Holy Ghost which also is God is living water and of this Water Ezechiel speaketh I will powre cleane water upon you you shall be cleane from all your filthines Now because this heavenly and uncreate water far surpasseth the power of created water you may observe 3. differences between them 1 Created water washeth away the spots or staines of corporall things yet not of it selfe without the help of sope or other meanes but uncreate water washeth out all staines fully as you see in the place last before quoted 2 Water created doth seldome so cleanse as to leave no signes or markes of a spot uncreate doth so wash as that the thing washed becomes much whiter and fairer then before Wash me and I shall be whiter then the snow saith David and God himselfe by Esay If your sinnes be as crimson they shall be made white as snow though they were red like scarlet they shall be as white as wooll 3 Lastly Created water cleanseth naturall spots that resist not but yeeld to the Washer Uncreate not onely washeth away voluntary spots which cannot be cleansed without the soules consent but withall such is the admirable force and vertue of it it sweetly entreth into stony hearts and therefore is rejected of no hard hearts because it worketh so in them that they have no power to oppose as St. Augustin rightly saith Who can conceive in what admirable manner thou O Lord inspirest faith into the hearts of unbeleevers humility into the hearts of the proud and charity or love into the hearts of thine enemies c. It is much that I should search into these thy secrets and I would rather have experience of the efficacy of thy grace then search into it And because I know that this water is avotuntary gracious raine sent by thee upon thine inheritance as the Prophet David speaketh I humbly dâ—sire that I may be found to be of thine inheritance and that it would please thee to descend into the earth of my heart least it continue as a land without water barren and drie as of it selfe it is so that it is not able of it selfe to thinke a good thought The second property of created water is to extinguish or put out fire and this heavenly water that is the grace of the Holy Spirit quencheth the fire of carnall concupiscence after a wonderfull manner And to this quenching afflicting of the body by fasting and the like doe much avayle as they are instruments of grace onely and not otherwise for of themselves they are nothing avaylable For love is the prince or principall of all affections and perturbations of the mind it rules over them all and they all obey it onely Love will not be forced and if the way or passage be stopped to it one way it will breake through another It feares nothing it overcomes all things it accounts nothing hard or impossible lastly love yeeldeth to nothing but to a love greater and more powerfull then it selfe and in this last case carnall love whether it follow either the riches or pleasures of the world if once the water of the holy Spirit begin to distill into the heart of a man it presently waâ—eth cold and gives place to the love of God Saint Augustin testifieth this in his owne case who having accustomed himselfe to follow too much his owne lusts yet when he began to tast of the grace of the Holy Spirit he cryed out How suddenly became it pleasant to me to want the sweetnes of toyes and that which before I was afraid to lose now it was pleasure to me to let goe Thou O Lord the onely true joy didst cast these from me and entredst into me in their stead being sweeter then all other pleasure although not to flesh and blood c. Againe this created water qualifieth and asswageth thirst and the uncreate heavenly water can onely give an end to the manifold grievous and almost infinite desires of mans heart This Christ the Truth plainly teacheth us by that speech of his to the Samaritane woman Whosoever saith he drinketh of this water shall thirst againe but whosoever shall drinke of the water which I shall give him shall never thirst Thus stands the case The eye is not
instruct many men in the way of righteousnesse These also are very acceptable and pleasing to Almighty GOD according to the saying of the wisedome of GOD. He that shall observe and teach them shal be called great in the Kingdome of Heaven Jewels and pretious stones are the workes of a chaste soule of which it is said in Ecclesiasticus There is no weight to be compared to a continent or chaste minde And how this pure Virginity pleaseth GOD we may understand by that which Esay speaketh of Eunuchs upon which place St. Augustine speaking doth so commend Virginity in men and women that he made a long Oration upon it And these be the three workes to which are given great rewards and to their possessors or workers namely Martyrs Doctors and Virgins To Martyrs for the excellencie of their love Greater love then this hath no man when any man bestoweth his life sor his friends To Doctors for the eminencie of their wisedome of whom Daniel saith They that turne many to righteousnesse shall shine as the starres for ever and ever To Virgins for the inestimable and incomparable worth of their puritie for whose sake the Virgin harpers in the Revelation sung a new song which none could sing but they These are they which are not defiled with Women for they are Virgins these follow the Lamâ— whither soever he goeth And not onely the love of Martyrs the wisedome of Doctors or purity of Virgins shall be tryed in the fire of Gods judgement and receive their full reward but all other good workes also so they be done in faith and love and shal be reputed among the golden vessels and be tryed by that fire and receive their reward for to those also Christ shall say at the day of judgement Come ye blessed of my Father take the inheritance of the Kingdome prepared for you from the foundation of the World even to them which gave bread to the hungry drinke to the thirsty lodging to the stranger apparell to the naked and comfort to the sicke or captive Nay our Saviour hath promised a reward to those who shall give but a cup of cold water to any in the name of a disciple in love Thou mayest by this easily understand what difference there is betweene one worke and another and what is more foolish more miserable then in the same place and time wherein if thou beest wise thou mayst get gold silver and pretious jewels thou hadst rather and that with no small labour gather dry wood straw and stubble O that thou wouldst be wiâ—e and understand and provide for the last day when all these things shall be examined and tryed by the fire of Gods judgement when the former shal be commended and crowned and the latter burnt and turned into smoke and ashes Why dost thou now choose that which without all doubt will cause thee to repent that ever thou didst choose it and why dost thou not reject that which with thy advantage thou mayst now cast off when a while hence thou shalt without thy profit nay to thy great disadvantage be forced to condemne If perhaps thou dost not now perceive this because the veylâ— of things present hangs over thine eyes so that thou canst not discerne the pure and cleare truth pray then to God and with earnest affection with the blind man in the Gospell say Lord grant that I may see that I may receive my sight or with the Prophet David Open mine eyes that I may see the wonderfull things of thy Law For certainly it is almost a miracle that workes done in love should become gold silver and precious stones and that they which are not done in love should be converted into dry and seare wood straw and stubble Now come wee to consider the other property of fire Hitherto wee have onely learned from the nature of that Element what God worketh in those which depart this world with good workes or end their dayes with evill Now by another similitude drawne from the same fire wee may understand what God worketh with those whom he calleth from sinne to repentance A sinner is compared to Iron which when it is farre from the fire is blacke cold hard and heavy but being put into the fire it is made cleare hot soft and light Every Sinner wanteth his inward light and walketh in darknesse and in this respect may be well resembled to the blacknesse of Iron for though in the knowledge and commerce with men he may seeme to bee wise and of great judgement yet in discerning the true good and evill he is blind and more miserable then any blind man For a blind man seeth nothing and therfore stirreth not nor is moved without a guide but a Sinner thinketh hee seeth that which he seeth not or taketh one thing for another and judgeth good evill and evill good great to be little and little to be great long to be short and short to bel ong and therfore is ever deceived in his choyce And this is it which the Apostle speaketh of in the idolatrous Gentiles Having their understanding darkned through that ignorance that is in them because of the hardnesse of their heart This is that also which our Saviour in the Gospell so often upbraideth the Scribes and Pharisees withall that they were blind leaders of the blind The Prophet Esay also speaking to the Iewes of his time saith Heare you deafe and looke ye blind that ye may see And a little before in the same Chapter prophecying to them of the comming of Christ who should open the eyes of the blind and speaking of the new Testament in the person of God saith I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not and lead them by pathes that they have not knowne I will make darknesse light before them c. Lastly doe not the wicked themselves confesse as much after this life when paine shall begin to open their eyes which sinne had closed Therefore have wee erred from the way of truth and the light of righteousnes hath not shined unto us and the Sun of understanding rose not upon us Nor is it a wonder that they should be blind who are averse from God in will and mind For God is light and in him is no darknesse saith St. Iohn Whereupon the same Apostle concludeth that He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother is in darknesse And a little after He that hateth his brother is in darknes and walketh in darknes and knoweth not whither he goeth because that darknesse hath blinded his eyes Neither is it the onely cause that sinners are in darknesse because they are averse from God who is the light but because also their owne wickednes hath blinded them as the Wise-man speaketh For the passions of the mind hatred anger envy and the like which are comprehended under the name
of malice doe so blind the mind that they suffer it not to perceive the truth but are like coloured glasse which maketh white to shew like red and the contrary or like optique glasses which make great things seeme small and small great or those things are a farre off to be neere and they which are neere a farre off Whatsoever thing a man loves fervently he ever judgeth it to be most faire and amiable most beneficiall and profitable most excellent and necessary for himselfe and despiseth all other things in comparison of it Againe whatsoever he hates vehemently hee reputes it the most deformed unprofitable evill and pernicious But if once this black and foule iron be put into the fire that is if a sinner begin to be turned from his sinne and be converted to God according to that of the Psalmist Then the Lord shall make his darknesse light then he begins by little and little by degrees to bee enlightned and by that light to perceive the truth according to that in the Psalme in thy light shall wee see light then the false glasse of his passions being broken and a true one look'd upon which is pure love hee esteemeth eternall things great and temporall small and almost nothing as indeed they are and perfectly perceives that all beauty and forms of things created are not to bee compared at all with the light of truth and wisedome which is in God and is God and therfore cryeth out with St. Augustine I have loved thee too late O thou beauty I have loved thee too late And because Christ saith You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free hee that is so enlightened and freed from the bonds and shackles of concupiscence covetousnes ambition and all other passions by the light of truth shall rejoyce with the Prophet and say Thou hast broken my bonds in sunder I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thankesgiving and will call upon the name of the Lord. Secondly fire as it makes iron cleare which formerly was blacke so of cold it maketh it hot yea so scorching and burning as that it seemeth to bee fire it selfe Great is the Lord and great is his power that a man by nature cold fearefull and timorous not daring of himselfe to speake much lesse to attempt any hard or difficult designe yet being once heated with the fire of Love he can make him as bold as a Lyon who terrifies all others with his roaring and overcomes by his power and that nothing shall seeme difficult or hard to him insomuch as being kindled with this fire hee shall say with the Apostle I can do allthings through Christ which strengthneth me But let us speake of the two parts of the efficacie of this fire severally namely of the power of it in words and in deeds 1 There are many now adayes and ever were in the Church of God Preachers and teachers of great note yet what is the reason that with so many of their Sermons so few are converted that so little alteration of manners and conversation appeareth for still the same vices the same sinnes the same coldnes and dissolute behaviour continueth I can ascribe it to no other cause but that in these Sermons though they be learned fluent and elegant there wants the life the fire and love which onely is of power and efficacie to quicken heat and inflame the hearts of the Auditors I deny not but there are many Preachers who can thunder as it were and beat the Pulpit but they are like Gunnes charged with powder onely and can give a crack as great as a peece of Ordinance but fruitlesse because they preferre not the glory of God and the salvation of soules before the applause of men Saint Peter was no Rhetorician but knew only how to steere a Ship and mend a net and to cast it abroad but as soone as the Holy Ghost came upon him in the shape of fiery tongues and filled him with most ardent love he began presently even in the midst of Ierusalem to preach with such power and efficacie that at one Sermon of his many thousands were converted And yet wee read not that he used much clamor or laying about with his body or banging the Pulpit from whence then proceeded such moving of the Auditors from whence such gaining of soules certainly by this that the holy Preacher was as a fire and his Word burnt like a Lamp as it is said in Ecclesiasticus of Elias his words came from him as from a heart burning and sparkling with Lâ—ve 2. Againe this divine fire hath as much efficacie in deeds as in words God had decreed to subject to himselfe the Citie of Rome the head of the Empire by the preaching of the Apostle St. Peter and to send abroad other of his Apostles some for the conversion of the Ethiopians others of the Indians others to the Sâ—ythians and some to the Brittaines and by them not onely to destroy the Idols of the World but to erect â—nd advance the Trophee of the Crosse to alter the rites of the Gentiles and to subvert the â—yrannicall Kingdome of the Devill If any man should have foreâ—old these things to the Apoâ—tles when they were fishing in the Lake of Genesareth or when during the time of our Saviours Passion they lurked in corners they would have been beleeved no more then dreames or old wives fables yet after a while all these things came to passe and that by no other meanes then the power of most ardent love which the holy Ghost kindled in their hearts for as St. Iohn speaketh Perfect Love casteth out seare and againe Love suffereth all things hopeth all things endureth all things thinks nothing impossible but cryes with the Apostle I am able to doe all things in him which strengtheneth me So that wee see that by the endeavour of these men armed with Love onely Idolatry was expelled the whole world with little labour and Churches of Christianity established every where in alâ— Kingdomes without the force of Armies or warlike provision Thirdly fire hath this property that it softens hard Iron that it may be lengthned out into plates and being made thinue fitted to any forme at the Artificers pleasure It is true that this is a great efficacie of fire in iron yet farre greater is the power of GOD over the obstinate and obdurate hearts of men St. Bernard describes a hard heart thus That is not onely a hard heart saith he which is not terribly afraid of it selfe because it is insensible What then is a hard heart That which is not cut with compunction nor mollified with devotion nor moved with prayers yeelds not to threats is hardened with scourges is unthankfull for benefits unfaithfull in counsailes that neither feares GOD nor reverenceth men All these things were verified in Pharaâ—h who the more he was plagued the more he was hardned and the
more Gods mercy appeared to him by removing the plagues the more he was animated to despise him But whensoever it pleaseth GOD to kindle a sparkle of the true fire of His love in a heart though never so hard presently it growes soft and melteth like waxe nor doth it any way resist the power of it but is of a stony become a heart of flesh and the breath of Gods spirit thawes the congealed snow therof into water We have an example in the Gospell of that woman who being a notorious sinner in the City could not be perswaded either by the admonition of her brother or the chiding of her sister or the honour of her family or her owne disgrace to amend her life yet one of the beames of our Saviour pierced so deepe into her heart and kindled a sparkle of his divine love there so that she was sodainely transformed as it were into another woman insomuch as she being of a noble stocke was not ashamed at a publique feast to fall downe at Christs feet and being wholly turned into tears of them made a bath for his feet and with her owne haire in stead of Linnen wiped them and moved with the vehemencie of that love kissed them and annointed them with a most costly oyntment signifying by these her acts of Repentance that from thenceforth she purposed wholly to devote her selfe to his service and therefore shee worthily heard that comfortable speech of our Saviour Many sins are forgiven her for she loved much And these effects hath the power of divine fire wrought which no hardnes of heart can resist The last property of fire is that it maketh Iron light which formerly was heavy And it is the chief cause that men which are not heated and inflamâ—d with divine love are heavy in heart and to such the Kingly Prophet thus speaketh after some translations Vsquequo gravi corde How long will ye be heavy in heart loving vanity and seeking after lyes and the Wiseman saith the corruptible or earthly body weigheth downe the soule And in Ecclesiasticus A heavy yoake is upon the sons of Adam Which heavy yoake he afterwards explaines to be wrath envy feare trouble and unquietnes and the like which are usually stiled the passions of the mind These doe so loade and burden a man that he looks upon nothing but the earth to which hee cleaveth and can neither rise to seeke God nor to run the way of his commandements But as soone as this divine fire begins to inflame the heart of man those passions forthwith decrease and are mortified and that heavy burthen is made light so that hee is able to saâ— with the Apostle Our conversation is in Heaven and with an enlarged heart to say with King David I will runne the way of thy Commandements when thou hast set my heart at liberty Certainely after our Saviour had said I am come to put fire on the earth w see how light many 〈◊〉 became by casting off the affections and desire of honour flesh and riches insomuch as they cryed with the spouse in the Canticles Draw me we will run after thee O blessed fire which enlightens but consumes not and consumes the ill humour onely if it consume but kills not Who will give me this correcting fire 1. that will take away the blacknesse of ignorance and purge the darkenesse of my conscience with the light of true wisedome 2. That will change the coldnesse of my sloth into the heate of devotion and of my negligence into the fervencie of love 3. Which will never suffer my heart to be hardned but keep it soft with its heate and make it obedient and devâ—ut 4. Which will lastly remove and take away the heavy yoke of earthly cares and will so lift up my heart with the wings of contemplation which nourisheth and increaseth love that I may say with the Psalmist Comfort the soule of thy servant for unto thee ô LORD doe I lift up my soule DEGREE VII By the Conâ—ideration of Heaven that is of the Sun Moone and Starres IT will be no hard taske out of the consideration of Heaven to erect one step for our ascent to GOD for the Kingly Prophet hath done it to our hands The Heavens saith he declare the glory of GOD and the firmament sheweth his handie-worke Now forasmuch as there are two times wherein we should ascend to GOD by the wings of contemplation namely the day and night of the former of them the same Prophet saith in the same Psalme In the Sun hath he placed his Tabernacle according to some translations or as others In them hath he set a Tabernacle for the Sun which cometh forth as a Bridegroome out of his chamber and rejoyceth as a Giant to run his course His going forth is from the end of Heaven and runneth about to the ends of it and there is nothing hid from the heate thereof Of the latter he writes in another Psalme I will consider the Heavens the worke of thy hands the Moone and the Starres which thou hast ordained We will begin with the first Of the Sun which is seene by day the Psalmist in the former mentioned place sets down foure severall prayses or commendations 1. That it is the Tabernacle of GOD. 2. That it is most beautifull 3. That it ever runnes most speedily and without wearinesse 4. That by enlightning and heating it chiefly manifests its power In regard of all which qualities the Sonne of Syrach calls it A merveilous vessell the worke of the most High 1. First therefore GOD the creator of all things according to the old translation of St. Jerom hath placed his Tabernacle in the Sun as in a most noble thing to reside in that is he hath chosen the Sun among all corporeall things as a royall palace or divine sanctuarie to dwell in for though GOD fill Heaven and Earth and the Heaven of Heavens cannot containe him yet he is said to dwell more there where he hath manifested the greatest signes of his presence by working wonders But because in the originall it is said In them hath he set a Tabernacle for the Sun that is in Heaven we may gather out of this place in the Pâ—alme another excellencie of the Sun not contradicting or opposing the former The Sun is a great thing for whom GOD hath prepared a large faire and noble palace for as he would have heaven to be the palace of the Sun wherein he might freely walke and worke so hee would have the Sun to be his owne palace So that as we may apprehend the greatnesse and excellencie of the Sun by this that the heaven is its tabernacle so may we conceive the greatnesse and excellencie of GOD in that the Sun an admirable vessell and then which nothing corporeall is more wonderfull is his tabernacle 2. Secondly the Psalmist to denote unto us the great beauty of
live among most cruel enemies and the danger is that they may be circumvented and taken by them and be deprived thereby of their possession Hence are these complaints Heu mihi quia incolatus meus prolongatus est as St. Jeromes translation and as others Heu mihi quia exulo in Mesech they are both to one purpose Woe is me that my dwelling here is prolonged or Woe is me that I am constrained to dwell in Mesech the Mesâ—kites were Arabian Pagans descâ—ndâ—d from Japhet that is alas that I am forced to live so long among prophane and wicked men But though in this regard men are lesse then the Angels yet GOD of his goodnesse hath wonderfully comforted us in that out of our kind he hath preferred one to be above all Angels and Principalities even CHRIST IESUS blessed for ever And men need not so much complaine of their long living here seeing that while they are here they may many times amend and repaire their lapses and faults and by repentance obtaine remission of them It remaines now that we speake of the offices of the Angels which are five in number 1. The first is that they alwaies sing praises and Hymnes unto their Creator And that we may understand how great account GOD maketh of this service we must consider that the chiefest of the Angels are appointed to this office and these are the Seraphims with whom as chiefe chanters or Rectores chori as we may call them the other Angels doe beare their parts of whom you may heare the Prophet Esay I saw the LORD sitting upon a high throne and lifted up and the lower part thereof filled the Temple The Seraphims stood upon it every one had sixe wings with twaine he covered his face and with twaine he covered his feet and with twaine he did flie And one cryed to another and said Holy Holy Holy is the LORD of hosts the whole world is full of his glory In which place you heare the name Seraphim who are the chiefe of that high order and you see that they cover their face and feet in token of reverence as though they durst not behold his face and you see that they continually flye while they sing to signifie their affection and desire more and more to approach neere to GOD which two qualities are necessary for those which desire to please GOD while they sing and chant his praises to joyne love with reverence and reverence with love which also the Prophet David expresseth in saying Serve the LORD with feare and rejoyce in him with trembling Hence we may learne what honour GOD is worthy to receive from us when the Princes of heaven who are alwaies in his presence and see his face continually dare not neglect their feare and reverence while they praise him neither for their high degree nor for their long familiarity with him And what shall many of us dust aâ—dashes answer when at the day of judgement we shal be reprooved for our drowsines wandring thoughts carelessenesse and irreverence in his service Learne therefore at the least henceforth by so great a patterne to performe thy due prayses and to sing hymnes unto thy GOD with feare and trembling with attention and vigilance and with love and desire 2. Another office of the Angels as some are of opinion is to offer the praiers of mortalls to GOD for so speaketh the Angell Raphael to old Tobias when thou didst pray I did bring to memory your prayer before the holy one and afterwards saith that he was one of the Angels which present the prayers of the Saints and St. John as he testifies in his Revelation saw an Angel standing before the Altar with a golden censer and much odors was given unto him that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints upon the golden Altar which is before the throne of GOD. And in this the almost incredible goodnesse and mercy of GOD is seene for being not contented first by his Prophets and afterwards by his Son and his Apostles to exhort us to pray and aske but addeth a promise of giving whatsoever we shall require Aske saith he and it shal be given unto you and againe Whatsoever ye shall aske the Father in my name he will give it you And not contented with this promise he addeth that he will give a reward to petitioners When thou prayest saith he enter into thy chamber and when thou hast shut the doore pray unto the Father in secret and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly a reward besides those things which thou hast prayed for But neither contented with this argument of Fatherly goodnesse he hath appointed Angels as it were of his privy chamber that should take care of the prayers of poore men and offer them in his sight What earthly Prince was ever heard to promise reward to those which petitioned him for favour or justice and yet they are made of the same mould as other men are and subject to the same Prince of Princes GOD. 3. A third office of the Angels is to be Gods Ambassadors or Messengers to signifie his pleasure but especially concerning the worke of our redemption for so St. Paul speakes Are they not all the Angels ministring Spirits sent forth to minister for their sakes which shal be heyres of salvation And we see in diverse places of the old Testament Angels appearing to the Patriarchs and Prophets declaring to them what GOD gave them in charge to reveale as also in the new we reade that the Angell Gabriel was sent as a messenger to Zacharie and to the blessed Virgin Mary to the Shepheards to Ioseph and after the resurrection of our Saviour to the women at the Sepulchre and after his ascension to all the Disciples And the reason why GOD who is every where and can easily speake by himselfe to the hearts of men yet would send Angels is that men might understand that he hath a spirituall care of humane things and that all things are directed and governed by him for men are prone enough to perswade themselves that revelations are their reasons and counsailes but when they see or heare that Angels are sent by him and that those things come to passe which are foretold by them they cannot doubt but GOD hath a providence over humane affaires and that those things which pertaine to the eternall salvation of the elect are especially directed and disposed by him 4. Their fourth office is the protection of men either of a particular or of the multitude of men For it pleased the divine goodnesse of GOD to commend the infirmities of mortalls to his most powerfull servants and to set them over men as Schoolemasters or Tutors to children as patrons to clients shepheards to sheep physicians to the sicke defenders of orphans and protectors of those who are not able to defend themselves Of this protection and
guard over every one David witnesseth He shall give his Angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy wayes and Christ the most faithfull witnesse saith Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones for I say unto you that in heaven their Angels alwaies behold the face of my Father which is in heaven Concerning protectors of Provinces and Kingdomes Daniel testifieth of Michael the Angel who is there called a Prince Lastly for protection of the Church take S. Iohn for a witnesse who mentioneth the Angell of the Church of Ephesus of Smyrna and so of the rest Consider then how carefull GOD who needeth none of our goods is over us his poore servants What could he have done to manifest his great love to us and hath not he hath loaden us with blessings that we might abide in him he hath compassed us with protectors that we might not flye from him he hath environed us with keepers that we should not be snatched from him what would he doe for us if we were his treasure as indeed he is ours Therefore at the last yeeld to his love and being overcome with the love of so great a lover give thy selfe wholly to his service and will let nothing trouble thee which thou seest but thinke upon invisible things and desire them earnestly For the things which aâ—e seene are temporall but the things which are not seene are eternall 5. The last office of Angels is to be Souldiers or Captaines to execute Gods vengeance upon Nations and threats to people They were Angels that burnt the infamous Cities of Sodome and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone They were Angels that slew all the first borne of Aegypt It was an Angell that slew 185000. Assyrians and they shal be Angels that in the last day shall sever the bad from among the just and shall cast them into a furnace of fire Wherefore let every good Man love his fellow Citizens the holy Angels let wicked men tremble at the power of the Angels being Ministers of the wrath of Almighty GOD out of whose hands none can deliver them DEGREE X. By the Consideration of the Essence of GOD by the similitude of his Corporall greatnesse WE have ascended as high as we can by Created substances and yet cannot attaine to that knowledge of GOD to which by speculation we may come even in this valley of teares It remaines therefore that we see whether by such dimensions of corporall quantities as we know we may ascend to the latitude longitude height and depth of the invisible essence of GOD. For those things are accounted great among the creatures which have these foure great dimensions And GOD in the Psalmes and other places of Scripture is called great and that of his greatnesse there is no end Certainely St. Bernard a great contemplative man of these dimensions made himselfe degrees to know GOD in the Book which he wrote to Pope Eugenius about consideration Neither was he the first finder out or inventor of the degrees of this kind but learned this manner of ascending from the Apostle who searched into the third heaven and to Paradise For thus he saith That ye may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the bredth and length and depth and height for if a man shall duely consider with himselfe he shall finde that there is nothing full and solid without GOD but all things are narrow streight short poore empty or superficiall but that in GOD is true latitude his immensity true longitude his eternity true height the sublimity of his nature true depth his incomprehensibility without bottome Againe true height his omnipotence true depth his infinite wisedome true latitude his bowels full of mercy true longitude his ful perfect justice But it will not be sufficient to touch these considerations lightly if a man would ascend and finde what he lookes for but to comprehend these dimensions as the Apostle hath set them downe in the verse before quoted And he it is that comprehends them which seriously thinking on them is fully perswaded that they are so in him indeed and being so perswaded sells all that he hath to buy this knowledge And the Apostle fitly addes with all Saints for onely the Saints comprehend it or there is none that comprehends it as he ought but it will make him a Saint St. Augustine is not repugnant to that which hath been said when in an Epistle to Honoratus he writes that when the Apostle describes these 4. dimensions he describes or depicts the Crosse of Christ The latitude in the transverse or crosse piece to which our Saviours hands were fastned the longitude in the upright piece to which his body adhered the sublimity in that piece above or on the upper part of the Crosse whereon the title was written and the depth in that piece which was fastned into the ground he doth not I say oppose our intention but rather helpes it For the Crosse of Christ is the true way to obtaine and comprehend these 4. dimensions for though the Crosse of Christ to mens eyes seeme streight short shallow and not high yet in truth Christ extended and stretched out his armes from East to West and from North to South that is he spread his glory farre and neere by the preaching of the Apostles and erected the crowne of his head to the highest heaven which like a key opened it to the Elect and lastly pierced downe to the depth of hell which he barred and closed from the Elect for ever We will begin from his Essence and then proceed to his Attributes The Essence of God may be truly called most broad and is of the greatest latitude in many respects 1. First it is most broad in it selfe and altogether immense because it comprehends and containes all the perfections of created things as also of those which may be created and so endlesse without number For whatsoever is or shal be or can be made without doubt are contained in God after a more excellent manner Therefore other things are good with an addition as a good man a good horse a good house good apparell and the like But GOD is all good When Moses desired GOD to shew him his glory GOD answered I will make all good goe before thee Suppose a man had some one thing which comprehended all the objects of the sences in full perfection so that he need not goe out of dores either to see heare smell tast or touch any thing having as great delight and pleasure at home in that one thing as any voluptuous man could wish were not this a very pretious thing but if this also contayned in it asmuch wealth as would satisfie a covetous man were it not more pretious or if this one thing besides pleasure and wealth brought with it asmuch honour and dignity as would content the most ambitious would it not seeme to exceed all
obedience nothing can be imagined greater or more meritorious or more honourable to GOD then that humble obedience of CHRIST wherefore most truely said He in the Gospell I have glorified thee upon earth for he truely glorified GOD his Father with an unspeakable glory in the sight of the Angels and spirits of the holy Prophets and others who could take notice of it and if the Angels at Christs nativity in respect of the humility of the Cratch did sing Glory to GOD on high with much greater exultation and joy did they sing the same song for the humility or the Crosse So that whereas if man had not sinned he had onely attayned to be equall with the Angels now mankind hath obtained by the redemption which is in CHRIST JEsus that one man being exalted above all the Angels sits at the right hand of GOD and is become head and Lord of Angels and men for so St. Peter writes of CHRIST Hee is gone into heaven to whom the Angels and Powers and might are subject and St. Paul Wherefore also GOD hath highly exalted him and given him a name above every name That at the name of JESVS should every knee bowe both of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth So that the Son glorified the Father by the humility of his passion after an unspeakable manner and the Father glorified the Son after an unutterable manner also by exalting him to his right hand which glorification resulted upon all mankinde in such a manner that whosoever shall not acknowledge this great benefit and give GOD thankes for it may justly be called most unthankfull And as the holy Angels were much grieved at the fall of the first man as for a heavie affliction befallen their younger brother so also are they taken and affected with much joy and delight for the plentifull redemption of him by IESUS CHRIST for if there be joy in heaven with the Angels for one sinner repenting how great may wee beleeve their joy to bee when they saw that the justice of GOD was fully satisfied for mankind by CHRIST the man and that by the key of his Crosse the Kingdome of heaven was opened to all beleevers Nor is it to be thought that the holy Angels did take it grievously that the man CHRIST was exalted by GOD above them for they have neither spite or â—nvy in them but are replete with all ardent and true love and Love is not puffed up grieveth not at the good of others but sympathizeth and rejoyceth together congratulateth no lesse for it then if it were its owne for the Angels understand that this was a most just act of Gods who doth nothing but most justly and wisely and they also have their will so unseparably proportionable and agreeable to the will of GOD and tyed with such an indissoluble knot of love that whatsoever is pleasing to GOD is most acceptable to them But the Devill who for a time rejoyced for his victory over the first Man was much more sorrowfull for the conquest of CHRIST the man then he was joyfull before For by the victory of CHRIST it is come to passe that not onely men such as Adam was but also children and women shall insult and triumph over the Devill It had not beene a disgrace for him to have beene overcome by Adam in Paradise when he wanted ignorance and infirmity and was armed with originall righteousnesse which so subjected the inferiour parts to reason that hee could not have rebelled if his minde had not beene rebellious to GOD before but now to be subdued by a mortall man a pilgrime obnoxious and subject to ignorance and concupiscence is a disgrace in the highest degree and yet by the grace of Christ he is many times so overcome as that diverse erect trophees of chastity patience humility and love not withstanding his fiery darts of tâ—ntations and persecutions And here we are againe to admire the altitude of the divine wisedome even beyond admiration For GOD foresaw that the contempt of riches pleasures and honour and the like which are snares of the Devill and lead men captive to utter perdition was necessary to withstand the tentations of the Devill What course did then GOD take that these pleasures and the like might grow bitter to men and chastity poverty humility patience and contempt of the world might seeme pleasant and delightfull Why surely this he came down himselfe from heaven and having taken the shape of a servant and by his example made this bitter but wholesome medicine so pleasant and sweet that many men had rather fast then feast be poore then rich delight in virginity rather then marriage and in martyrdome then pleasure to obey rather then to command to be despised then to be magnified to be humble then to be exalted for who is there that truly considers GOD in the shape of a man full of wisedome and grace and who can neither deceive nor be deceived to be poore humble patient chaste and which is more wonderfull for the redemption of mankinde to be nayled to the Crosse and to dye voluntarily having shed his most pretious blood plentifully even out of a most ardent love but wil be incouraged to imitate his example And this was a high invention of the wisedome of GOD though to the wise of the World and to carnall men enemies to the Crosse of CHRIST it seeme to be foolishnes But let us gather honey out of the rocke and â—yle out of the hardest stâ—ne that is Wisedome out of foolishnes the wisedome of GOD from the foolishnes of the Crosse Search and examine diligently who that is that hangeth on the Crosse and why he should so hang and we shall finde it to be the same which sitteth betweene the Cherubims yea at the right hand of GOD and we shall also finde that he hung not on the Crosse for his owne faults nor his owne infirmity nor by the power of others but voluntarily out of his earnest desire to satisfie Gods justice for the sinnes of the whole world for the honour and glory of his Father and for the eternall salvation of all the elect and as the Apostle speaketh that he might make unto himselfe a most glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle Lastly for the love of us for he loved us and hath given himselfe for us to be an offering and a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour to GOD. And when we shall have found all these to be true as they are most true let us lift up our selves in our greatest and most intimate love to so great a benefactor and in imitation of him begin ardently to thirst after Gods glory the salvation of the Gentiles but chiefly the Churches beauty and honour and our owne eternall salvation let us begin to have a hate to iniquity and to love purity of heart to partake of the Crosse of Christ to glory in tribulations
their just reward being faithfull in all his words 4 Lastly he cannot dye being immortall and all things live to him so that there is no danger that any shall be prevented or hindered by any meanes from receiving their due rewards and therefore in all these respects it is most safe to transact with GOD as amost just Judge and a dangerous and foolish thing to put any confidence in man or to expect from them any just recompence for our paines and labour 2. Let us now compare rewards with rewards divine with humane heavenly with earthly and I would demand what it is that men can retribute to those who all their lives long labour for them breaking many nights sleepe and putting their lives in danger for them O the blindnesse of men what can men repay but small base transiâ—â—ry and things of small continuance But GOD giveth great sublime and eternall things and yet those are much hunted after and these despised St. Chrysostome compares Palaces Cities and the Kingdomes of this world which worldlings so much admire to those brittle fabriques which children make of chalke or clay which being made by them with much labour are derided by those of elder growth and are spoiled with the kicke of a mans foot and so are all those great stately Palaces Towers Castles and Kingdomes but cotages of lome in respect of the celestiall and eternall and derided by the Angels and easily subverted by our heavenly Father whereby we may understand that all earthly things are altogether vaine and transitory which although there be but few who now consider it yet all of us at the last day shall fully understand how little they have profited us and St. Hilary confirmes this when he saith The day of judgement will discover how vaine and how little worth all these things have beene But let us more narrowly looke and consider what manner of rewards Gods are which are so sleighted of most men in respect of these petty earthly recompences I First in that heavenly Kingdome there shal be all the good things which may be desired for they which shall inherit that Kingdome shall be blessed and blessednesse is a perfect accumulation of all good things heaped together There shall be all the good things of the mind Wisedome and vertues of the body beauty health and strength externall good riches pleasure and honour Lastly all these shall be in full perfection and eminencie For GOD who shewed his power in the creation of the World of nothing and his wisedome in governing and providence and his love and goodnes in the redemption of mankinde by the mystery of the incarnation and passion of his Son will then manifest the magnificence of his glory and the munificence of his bounty in the distribution of rewards prizes and crownes to those who have triumphed here over their enemy the Devill And this wisedome shall not be a speculation of the divinity in things created but the very open vision of the essence of God the cause of all causes and of himselfe the chiefe truth by which most resplendent sight the soules of the Saints shall shine with so cleare a light as that St. John speaking of that future glory saith We shal be like him because we shall see him as he is From this excellent wisedome shall proceede love so ardent as that adhering alwaies to that chiefe good it neither will nor can beseparated from it So that the whole soule and all the powers of it shall ever remaine in this excellent state and condition The body shall shine as the Sunne as our Saviour speakes and that shall be its beauty the health of it shal be immortality the strength impassibility lastly the body which is now a creature shall then be spirituall that is obedient to the command of the spirit so that it shall surpasse the winds in agility and pierce even walls with its subtilty The riches of it shall be to want nothing as also to possesse all things in and with God for he shall make him ruler over all his goods What shall I say of pleasure seeing it is said They shal be satisfied with the plenteousnes of thy house and thou shalt give them drinke of thy pleasures as out of theriver now what mind can conceive the delight of enjoying the chiefe happinesse of seeing beauty it selfe of tasting pleasure it selfe of entring into the joy of our Lord that is being made partakers of his pleasure which makes him happy Now the honour and glory of the Saints exceeds all that can be spoken for in the Theatre and view of the whole world of all men and Angels shall the Saints be praysed and crowned by GOD himselfe which exceeds all honour and shall be placed in Christs throne as partakers or partners of his Kingdome for so we read in the Revelation To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne even as I overcame and sit with my Father in his throne And if to all these we will adde eternity as an unspeakeable seasoning and relish to them who then can conceive the greatnesse of this heavenly happinesse and all this which we cannot conceive by thought we shall finde to be true by possessing if by our sober just and godly life we shall attaine to that blessed Countrey for certainely those good things shall endure for ever which the servants of GOD by his grace shall procure with a little labour here What sayest thou then hadst thou rather please thy selfe with children in framing these little buildings of lome then to strive to get possession of an everlasting Kingdome art thou better contented to delight thy selfe with the pleasures of beasts which is horrible to thinke then to enjoy the ineffable joyes which the Angels GOD by his mercy forbid rather pray to GOD to give thee his feare and that the obedience of his Law may be more sweet unto thee then the honey and the honey combe and that crucifying the flesh with the concupiscences thereof thou mayst aspire to the spirituall and everlasting delights of his Paradise and pray to him to give thee grace to follow the steps of thy Saviour Christ who was meeke and lowly in heart Who when he was reviled reviled not againe when he suffered he threatned not and that he would give thee grace to live soberly justly and piously in this present world that thou mayst with some boldnesse expect and wayt for that blessed hope even the coming of the glory of the great GOD and of our Saviour the Lord Iesus Christ It remayneth that we consider the justice which GOD executeth in punishing sinners in the 〈◊〉 aâ—yssâ— of hell which if we will doe seriously we shall understand that to be very true which the Apostle tells us It is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of the living God For to follow the order which we held in his rewarding
a resemblance with GOD his Creator that I know not whether a Man may ascend with more facility to the knowledge of GOD any other way then by the consideration of his owne soule And therefore man is inexcusable if he have not knowledge of him seeing he may attaine to it Gods grace assisting without difficulty by knowing his owne soule First then Mans soule is a spirit for so doe the holy Fathers expound those words in Genesis And the LORD formed Man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nosthrils the breath of life and Man became a living soule and that of Tobias Command my spirit to be taken from me and that of the Preacher Then shall the dust returne to the earth as it was and the spirit shall returne to GOD that gave it For although the word spirit agreeth to the wind also of which it is said in the Gospel Spiritus spirat ubi vult The wind bloweth where it listeth and in the Psalmes Spiritus procellarum as S. Ierome Wind and storme as our translation yet without doubt that spirit the wind is a most thinne body which for its great subtilty and raritie doth more imitate and resemble the spirituall nature then any other body But the soule of man is properly a spirit not a body neither is it produced or made of any matter but is immediately created by GOD. And here begins the excellencie of the soule in the resemblance to GOD for GOD is a spirit as our Saviour saith and they which worship him must worship him in spirit and truth But though GOD be a spirit and mans soule be a spirit also yet GOD is a spirit uncreated and the Creator and mans but a spirit created by which it followes that there is a great disproportion betweene the spirit which is the soule and the spirit which is GOD. And in this respect how greatly may the soule rejoyce that it is in the kind of a spirituall substance and so of a higher and more noble nature then heaven or the Starres and againe it should be the more humble and obedient to GOD because it was made of nothing and of it selfe is nothing Againe the soule of man because it is a simple spirit is also immortall for it hath nothing in it from whence it may be divided or severed And in this regard how much may it boast above the soules of bruit animals which die with their bodies and so behold and admire the great excellencie of the creator who is not onely immortall but everlasting For the soule of man sometime was not and came to a being by the onely will of GOD and by the will of the same GOD may againe be reduced to nothing although in it selfe it have no beginning of corruption therfore truly said the Apostle of GOD Who onely hath immortality for he onely cannot be dissolved neither by force chance or ought else because it is his property to be he is life it selfe and the fountaine of being and life Thirdly mans soule is endued with the light of understanding for it is not onely able to know and distinguish of colours tasts smells and sounds heate cold hard soft and other things of the like kind which are plaine to the sences of the body but is able to judge of substantialls and of things singular and universall and knoweth not onely things present but can conjecture at things to come transcends the heavens dives into the deep searches effects from causes and from effects hath recourse to causes Lastly by the eye of the mind it comes to the knowledge of GOD himselfe which dwelleth in inaccessible light and this is the light of which Saint John speakes This was the true light which enlightneth every man that cometh into the World which David calls the light of Gods countenance Of the light of the understanding the same Kingly Prophet saith Be ye not like to horse and mule who have no understanding Certainely this is a great priviledge and dignity of the soule by which man becomes like to GOD and unlike the beasts and by this a man may also conjecture of the excellent sublimity of his creâ—â—â—â— for though the soule of man be endued with this light of understanding yet GOD is the light and understanding The soâ—lâ— as is said runnes from causes to effects and againe from effects to causes and therby hunts as it were with great labour to attain this knowledge but GOD with one aspect and at the first sight knoweth all things The soule understandeth those things which are so that his knowledge depends upon things GOD by his understanding bringeth to passe that things are so that the existence or being of things depends upon his knowledge The soule doth but conjecture of things to come GOD beholds all things past and to come as perspicuously and plainely as if they were present The soule wants many things to exercise the office of its understanding as the object forme fancie and the like GOD wants nothing for essence it selfe is his all things even his owne essence is his understanding Lastly the soule whiâ—e it is in the body neither seeth GOD the Angels nor it selfe nor any substance though corporeall properly and is deceived in many things is ignorant in many of many things he hath but an opinion and of few things the true knowledge but GOD is ignorant of nothing thinks nothing is never deceived never erreth All things are naked and opened c. Therefore if Man hath such an opinion and esteemeth so much of his knowledge as that according to the Apostle his knowledge puffe him up how much ought he to admire the knowledge of his Creator to whose if mans be compared it is no knowledge but ignorance There is also another kind of knowledge in the soule of Man which consists not in speculation but in action from whence it cometh that there are so many Bookes of Philosophers which treat if vices and vertues so many Lawes of Princes Lawyers and others so many institutions to acquire the art of living well In which appeâ—â—eth mans admirable light of reason by which alone he differs farre from beasts in excellencie but all this is nothing to the eternall Law which is powerfull in the mind of the Creator from whence as from a most plentifull fountaine all other Lawes flow and are derived for there is one Law giver and Iudge which is GOD as St. Iames tells us He is Truth Justice and Wisedome By whom Kings raigne and Princes decree Iustice So that we shall never find out the Art of living well and happily till we come to the Schoole of CHRIST who is the true and onely Master by whose word and example we shall learne that righteousnesse which exceeds the righteousnes of the Scribes and Pharisees yea and of Philosophers too whose end is love out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and
of Faith unfained Againe the soule of Man hath a third kind of knowledge which consisteth in artificiall manufactures you will say that other creatures have the like faculty as the Spider in weaving her web Birds in making nests and Bees hony and combs and Foxes their deunes for houses but it may be answered that these creatures by the instinct of nature make them and those they make are but of one and the same fashion but mans soule endued with reason and judgement invents many Arts by which he hath dominion over other creatures will they nill they for neither doe the wings of a Bird helpe her nor the depth of waters availe the fish nor sâ—rength profit the Lion or Beare nor wildnesse preserve the Horse or Mâ—le nor swiftnesse advantage the Hart and Goate for we see even little Children catch Birds with nets sâ—ares and lime-twigges and Fishermen take Fish with netâ— Hunters by wit and art take Lions and Beares leading them about the Countrey Bores and Deere either taken with stalls or slain with bowes and speares Horses and Mâ—les made gentle with the bit and subject to the service of Man What shall I say of the Art of navigation what light of wit shined in the soule of Man when he invented and taught great Ships and heavily â—aden to cut the Seas not onely Boats and Galleys to runne with â—ares as it were with feet but great vessels to â—ly as it were through the vast Seas with their sailes as with wings What shall I further say of husbandry who wonders not at the severall inventions of Man if he seriously consider after what manner the earth is tilled vines dressed orchards planted gardens trimmed ponds for fish aqueducts to service gardens fields and cities What may be said of architecture in stately Palaces Temples Cities Towers Amphitheaters Pyramides and Obeliskes To omit the excellent Arts of painting and graving by which as by another History things are so expressed to the life as though they were not painted or graved but living things indeed Leaving all other Arts either for pleasure or necessity let us give humble and hearty thankes to GOD that hath made so great difference betweene the nature of Man and other living creatures and withall let us lift up the eyes of our minds to the same GOD Creator of all things in whom is the true fountaine of wit and invention for from him flowes whatsoever is derived to our nature And if we admire the wit of man in that he hath learned by industry and art to tame and have dominion over other creatures which want reason then let us admire the wisedome of GOD to whom all things are obedient and subject not onely things that have but those which want life And if it seeme so great a thing to us that the wit of Man hath found out the Arts of navigation tillage and architecture why should it not rather seeme greater to us that the wisedome of GOD hath made the fabrique of the universe the heavens â—â—rth sea and all things in them and by his power and providence governeth and preserveth them all Lastly if we admire the Arts of painting and graving after the life why wonder we not at the art of the Creator which of the earth made a true and living Man and of the rib of that Man a true and living Woman especially if we take this into our consideration that the things which are made by man cannot be done without Gods cooperating and those which GOD doth are done by his owne power without the helpe of any other Sixthly mans soule is endued with free will onely common to him with GOD and the Angels and wherein he differeth farre from other things created This is a great priviledge and honour yet the liberty and will of GOD the Creator so farre transcends that of mans that if they be compared together mans will is scarse a shadow of Gods For first the liberty even of a regenerate Mans will is weake and prone and facile to choose evill things and hurtfull to him the liberty of Gods will is most strong that it cannot faile or encline at all to that which is evill for as it is the infirâ—ity of a mortallbody that it is subject to dye and the soundnesse of a glorified body that it cannot dye so also it is the weaknesse of free-will to be in subjection to sinning and perfection or strength not to be able to sinne which will come to passe when GOD in our celestiall Countrey shall conferre this power upon us by grace which he alwaies hath by nature Againe our free-will is free indeed so that it can will and not will or to will and nill but it is not able to doe what it wills you may heare the Apopostle lamenting his case in this very point I doe not the good thing which I would but the evill which I would not that doe I. And is not this every mans case I will and desire to pray attentively and seriously to GOD and I command my imagination not to wander while I am at my prayers nor to draw me to any other cogitations yet I cannot containe it in its duty for while I am lesse sollicitous of this I finde my selfe abused by my imagination and instead of praying I fall into other thoughts Againe I will not to covet and not to be angry without reason and I command by my will the irascible and concupiscible faculty which is in me should be by right subject to reason to submit them selves wholly to reason and not suffer themselves to be seduced by any senses of the body but I am oftentimes not obeyed neither is that done which I will but what I will not But that which is admirable and miserable the mind commands the body and presently it obeys but the mind commands it selfe and is disobedient from whence comes this merveilous thing to passe saith St. Augustine The mind commands that the hand move and it doth it with such facility that the distance betweene the execution and the command is hardly perceived and the mind is and the hand is the body The mind commands that the mind would doe somewhat yet though it be the same it doth it not but it wills not wholly therefore commands not fully It is not then a monster but a sicknesse of the mind because it riseth not wholly levated or lifted up by the truth being over burdened before by custome But the freedome of the will of GOD is so joyned to full and absolute power as that it is said of it He doth whatsoever he will and There is none that resist thy will Wherefore if thou be wise boast not too much of the strength of thy free-will untill thou comest to the glorions liberty of the Sonnes of GOD when the heavenly Physicion shall heale all thine infirmities and satisfie thee with good things In the meane time pray daily and fervently