and Qualities that make it contribute to our design And therefore we shall with Gerard call it Adam's Apple-tre The merciful man which in the Latine Tongue is called Misericors is he who hath a sorrowful and compassionate heart for anothers misery a heart inclining him to relieve and succour such as stand in need of his assistance in their extream wants Such a merciful man may be design'd by this Tree whose Roots being as it were but small threads or fibres do shoot forth leaves that are five or six foot in length and near three in breadth Insomuch that they serve for Table-cloaths and Napkins and being dry'd they may serve for Mattresses and Quilts very convenient and soft to lye upon Behold here the Emblem of a merciful Man who parts with his leafy substance to cloath the naked to relieve the poor to supply the wants of the needy to succour the necessitous This is the man who by his charitable endeavours conceals the miscarriages and imperfections of his Neighbour For mercy when it is the issue of Charity hath the same prerogative with the Parent which is as St. Peter saith To cover a multitude of sins Moreover this Tree which groweth above the reach of an Elephant would continue a low shrub and the Leaves would bend downwards to the ground if they were not cut off from time to time by which means the Tree grows up higher and the Leaves become larger What can more pertinently denote the Merciful man who by a voluntary defalcation of the things of this World is rais'd so much the nearer Heaven I and the more freely he parts with the transitory goods of this life the greater treasure does he lay up for that hereafter By these advantages doth he still ascend higher and higher while others keeping all to themselves do like shrubs lye groveling on the Earth in their covetous desires There is this further Remark made upon this Tree that it needs be planted but once though it bears but one year For it continually shooteth forth new stalks as the old decay and in some Countries they are soon ripe after they spring and the Inhabitants will have ripe fruit from some of the Plants at all times The case is the same with the Merciful man who as soon as he hath done one act of Charity is ready to do another and so successively as if he were oblig'd to exhaust himself to supply others and this from time to time till his own be come to its period and that he leaves the young shoots of his posterity to succeed him in his good works Hereto we may add this further observation that besides this Tree there is only one other that hath a strange property to wit that which way soever their fruit be cut when it is come to maturity the meat thereof which is white as snow represents in the midst of it the figure of a Cross especially if it be cut in thin slices as commonly we do Cow-cumbers Thence is it that the Spaniards and Portugueze think it a crime to put a knife into it and are extreamly scandaliz'd to see it broken otherwise then with the teeth Hath not this some resemblance to the heart of a Merciful man who hath a certain fellow-feeling of the miseries and calamities of the poor whom he views with affliction of mind Which way soever he casts his eye of pity and beholds the distressed he compassionates them as if the like cross of adversity were fix'd in his heart If he behold his Saviour on the Cross his heart is wounded with pity as if the passion were figured in it Again if he view his Neighbour oppressed with wrongs or miseries he is so sensible thereof as if that very cross of affliction were engraven in his heart In a word he sees no man poor whom he pities not no man miserable whom he does not compassionate still like the fruit of this Tree cut bearing in his heart a cross by which he suffers with him Nay more while he beholds Christ in a poor man whom he pities and relieves he bears Christ's shape in his heart whom he likewise relieves Happy therefore is the merciful man that bears such a cross as renders him for ever blessed who no doubt may say with St. Paul God forbid I should glory in any thing but in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ Now fix thine eye on the bleeding side of Christ whose blood issued from a wounded heart where was always engraven a cross not only the instrument of his passion but as many crosses as were the sins of the World And as many as were the acts of mercy and compassion which he produc'd towards sinners Verè pius verè misericors And shall he evacuate not only his veins but likewise his heart Shall he disburse all the treasure of his most precious blood and yet wilt thou be so penurious and pitiless as not to relieve the necessitous with part of thy dross Ah! view and view again that bountiful and pitiful heart that streameth forth at his side and proclaims them blessed who are merciful and promiseth they shall obtain mercy CONSIDERATIONS ON THE V. BEATITUDE On the side of our Blessed Saviour bleeding FRom his sacred Mouth descend to his pierced side which may be likewise term'd a mouth as were all the wounds of his body that speak and proclaim him a bounteous and merciful Lord who having given all the blood of his body and veins for our Redemption would finally suffer his heart to be pierc'd that the last drops of his precious bloud might stream from thence for a fuller satisfaction or rather expression of his infinite Love Whereas the least drop thereof might have redeem'd many Worlds and reconcil'd to his Father as many Nations as he shed drops of blood Consider what a merciful giver was God the Father who so exceedingly loved man that he gave unto him his only begotten Son a Son likewise so good bounteous and merciful that he would annihilate and lessen himself by taking upon him the form of a Servant And after as the Factor did for one precious Pearl gave all his precious blood and life to purchase and redeem thy Soul and thereby obtain mercy for it Which notwithstanding thou shalt never find unless thou also be Merciful To whom To thy self and thy Neighbour To thy self according to the words of the Son of Syrach Take pity and compassion on thine own soul pleasing God Think how many Souls are languishing in sin How many starve for want of the food of Life the Blessed Sacrament How many groan under the heavy burden of sin And how merciless they are to themselves that rescent not the dangerous estate of their own souls To these thou art merciful when thou prayest for them or by word or example endeavourest to reclaim them Thou art merciful likewise when thou forgivest injuries or when thou dost commiserate and condole the defects and imperfections of others Contrari-wise
Kingdom of Heaven The First BEATITUDE Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven EMBLEME I. The Cornel-Tree Tam nudus natus homo-1 So naked Blossom-like you see A Man is born Ah! but if he In Spirit were as poor Then which ' Mongst Mortals here could I term Rich THis Cornelia or Cornel-Tree in February begins to bloom and bears blossoms long before there is any appearance of Leaves to secure and shrowd them from the injuries of Wind and Weather This is the true Embleme of Man who is born naked and springs forth like a tender Blossome As Job saith Naked came I from the womb of my Mother and naked shall I return From which we may learn this Lesson That as man is born poor and naked in Body so should he be in Spirit that is in Will and Desire seeing that as he brought nothing into this World so shall he not carry any thing out of it Now forasmuch as man is naturally too apt to be over-sollicitous for the things oâ— this World he may learn from this Cornell-Tree That if he make it his first Endeavour to bud and blossome and fructifie in Virtue a short time will furnish him with all the consequent Advantages and Conveniences of Humane Life For this Tree does afterwards plentifully bring forth Leaves to shelter and shadow its Fruit As if it should say according to our Blessed Saviour's expression First seek the Kingdom of Heaven first bloom in Virtue nourish'd by the sap of Grace spreading it self from the Root of Christian Humility into all the Boughs and Branches that is into all your Actions and all other things shall be added unto you Leaves shall not be wanting that is Cloaths to cover you besides other Necessaries which are all in fine but Leaves Nay Honours and Dignities what are they but withering Leaves What Wealth or rich Apparel but Leaves whereof Man is soon despoil'd and left poor and naked What voluptuous Pleasures but Leaves which so soon as enjoy'd shrink up and vanish Oh! what a bleak Autumn and Fall of the Leaf sudden and unexpected is that we find in this our Vale of Misery Who then would not be poor in Spirit and naked in his Affections to the leafy Creatures of this transitory Life that he may bloom to Eternity This is the poverty which lightneth the heart of Man formerly clogg'd with too much care and follicitude With this poverty of Spirit a Man runs freely towards Heaven his Country With this is accompanied Humility which lesseneth Man to himself that he may lie hidden and secure like a Blossom under the Leaves never to be blasted with Pride On this Humility Patience attends and enables a Man to suffer with Christ It is the Enemy and Self-love that surcharge Man with worldly cares riches and vices which are but Leaves without the Blossoms of Virtue These are they which puff up Man with ambitious thoughts that he high aspiring may find a precipice These incite great Spirits to toil and labour yet so as that out of breath even to the World they may happily at last reflect on Christ crucified and in his nakedness read Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Might not he be said to be poor in Spirit that lies gasping and labouring for breath while every minute he apprehends Death at his Elbow ready to stifle him To be as poor in Spirit in another sense is to conceive the like That death is neighbouring as neer unto us which when it comes dismantles the covetous Heart of Man as well as his Body Why then shall not I prevent him by being disengag'd from the extream desire of Riches and verifie what S. Jerome assures us to be true Caput jam canescit prope est aest as vitae falx acuitur instat messor terribilâ— Gr. Nazianz. That He easily contemns all things who is always thinking that he shall die That if his Body be a flourishing green Meadow Death the Mower is at hand That if it be a beauteous Flower in an instant 't is cropt And finally If his Life be but a vapour it is soon dispell'd Ah! what an earthy substance interposeth 'twixt the Heart of Man and the Sun of Justice And what a dark Eclipse is thereby caused in their Souls who are not poor in Spirit CONSIDERATIONS ON THE I. BEATITUDE Of our Blessed Saviour's Nakedness upon the Cross THe Crucifix or Representation of our Blessed Saviour crucifi'd is a Book wherein may be read the Eight Beatitudes preached by him when he was upon Earth as some conceive on Mount Thabor and afterwards exemplifi'd in him on Mount Calvary At first aspect as your eye reflects on Christ crucified you behold him naked by which you may read the first Beatitude Blessed are the poor in Spirit that is to say poor in Will and Desire of having any thing of this World and therefore he would die as naked as he came into it Teaching us hereby how naked we should be in our Affections ready to be despoil'd of worldly Riches for his sake And so poor in Spirit as to lose our last breath rather then deny our Faith or him by preferring his Creatures before him Consider how poor our Lord and Saviour was in Spirit who did annihilate and evacuate himself taking upon him the form of a Servant And how for thy Redemption he gave himself unto thee and for thee to restore thee to thy self who wert lost and utterly undone by sin Now seeing he may wholly claim thee by right of Creation whereby he gave thee to thy self what hast thou left to render unto him for thy Redemption In the Creation of the World he spake the word and it was done but to redeem Man he spake did and suffered that for which thou art infinitely indebted Say then with the Prophet David What shall I render to our Lord for all that which he hath given me He desires but my self poor in Spirit and naked in mine Affections to the transitory things of this Life which cannot be till I abandon my self whom while I cherish and pamper through disordinate love I shall still be coveting the pelf of the World pleasures dignities and self-esteem so far from being poor in Spirit Will and Desire that I am involv'd and cloath'd as it were with a burthen of earthly Cares and Concupiscences which having cast off by poverty of Spirit we walk more freely towards Heaven our Country A Begger the more naked he appears the more he moves to pity and compassion and with more confidence intrudes to receive an Alms then another in better Apparel So to beg an Alms from God from whom every good and perfect gift descends present thy self as naked and poor in Spirit as thou canst Acknowledg thy self to have been hitherto an unprofitable servant naked as to all desert poor and abject in Spirit not having serv'd him with alacrity in time of afflictions crosses or
compunction and pierc'd with sorrow which before while it was green was not in a capacity to receive the influences of the Sun of Righteousness and consequently could not be ripned till a passage was made for the evacuation of the peccant humour that so the beams of grace might efficaciously work upon it Let us then consider that if this delicate fruit does upon its piercing or wounding distil tears and that in order to its attainment of maturity it is much more requisite that the devout Christian should endure the stings of remorse and compunction in order to his being advanc'd to that perfection which is requir'd in the pure of Heart To this end is it that a Man ought sometimes as Saint Augustine sayes to make his appearance at the Tribunal of his own Soul where his own Thoughts will be his Accusers his Conscience the Witness and Grief the Executioner to wound the sinful Heart Then saith he let the blood as it were of the Soul fâ—w and issue forth by tears Notwithstanding all this Who saith Solomon will glory that he hath a clean Heart True it is no Man should glory herein but give the Glory onely to God Yet since the pure of Heart shall onely see God such purity of Heart is required as is produc'd by the expulsion of sin and infusion of Grace Therefore David humbly desired that his sin might be blotted out and that within him might be created a clean Heart Not a new Heart created but purity therein which being produc'd without any precedent merit of the finners part may be term'd a Creation Therefore Saint Paul tells us That Charity which is the same spiritual quality with Grace is transfus'd into our Souls which gives life and vigour in some sort as the Soul created and infus'd informs and gives life and motion to the body Me-thinks a Fig when but green pierc'd and wounded as it were by the Gnat lies expos'd to the bright and hot beams of the Sun as the Heart of a sinner doth to the Sun of Justice when 't is plerc'd by compunction Ah! what Light of Faith and heat of Love enters through those new â—ade passages of the Contrite Heart by which it becomes as it were a new Heart ripened by Virtue and embellished by Grace Now elevate thine Eyes to behold the wounded Heart of our Lord not with the sting of a Gnat but with a sharp Spear not to receive any light or heat of Consolation but to lay out the entire summ of that infinite treasure of his precious blood besides water to purifie thy impure Soul that thou mayst be blessed and see God thereby to enjoy eternal Beatitude CONSIDERATIONS ON THE VI. BEATITUDE On our Blessed Saviour's wounded Heart HAving in the Fifth Beatitude like a Dove nestling in the hole of a Rock as at the Gate of Mercy entred by Contemplation into Christ's wounded side now make a step farther or rather with reverence stay and view his wounded Heart most pure and clean where sin could never find entrance and say with the Patriarch Jacob Verily here is no other than the House of God and the Gate of Heaven This is the Blessed One pure of Heart who ever had the happy sight of God Consider what it is to be clean of Heart It is to be the Temple of the Holy Ghost To be in the state of Grace that is not guilty of any mortal sin And since the Heart is the Source and Fountain whence our thoughts perpetually flow to suppress all impure cogitations as they are rising is to have a clean Heart when it is accompanied with a pure intention directing all our actions to the Honor and Glory of God And as Saint Augustine saith Whatsoever we do whatsoever we laudably desire must tend to obtain the Vision of God beyond which nothing can be desired Think of the Question propounded by King David O Lord Who shall dwell in thy Tabernaele or who shall rest in thy holy hill And then attend to the Answer which is this He that liveth uprightly and worketh righteousness c. This is a hard saying Must the Heart be so clean as not to have one spot The Child but a day old is not free and in his Angels God found iniquity Who then shall be justified in his sight Or who can be clean of Heart while the All-seeing Eye of Heaven beholds it Appeal then to the pure Heart of thy Saviour rely on his Innocence not on thine own on his merits not on thine Seeing that Vessel of Election said he was guilty of nothing and yet in that he was not justified yet doubted not to say A Crown of righteousness was due unto him which the just Judge would give him I will therefore say with David O Lord turn away thy face of thy severe Justice from my sins And with him add further Shew me thy face that is to say of thy mercy and I shall be saved According to thy great mercy and multitude of thy mercies cancell my iniquity wash me again from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin that I may be clean of Heart to enjoy thy sight O my Soul Keep thy Heart as the Wise man adviseth thee with all kind of custody for out of it saith he proceeds life Keep it pure let not in one mortal sin to defile it for then from the Heart would proceed Death destruction of Grace and loss of the sight of God for Grace is the seed of Glory Let thy Heart be ploughed by Contrition harrow'd and cleans'd from the weeds of sin that this divine seed may be sowen in thy Heart which springs up by holy desires and is ripened by virtuous exercises O my God thou hast commanded me to love thee with an entire pure and sincere Heart Give me I beseech thee what thou commandest by creating in me a clean Heart and renewing a right Spirit in my bowels that I may love thee with all my Soul that my Will may be resign'd to thine without any contradiction with all my Mind and Memory alwayes to think of thee and with all my powers that I may employ them in thy service To perform all these things I must observe four things First Seeing all I am and have Body and Soul spiritual and temporal blessings I have from God I must be alwayes mindfull of his benefits Serve honour and thank him for all love him above all and for him my Neighbour Secondly I must consider the excellency of God And seeing he is infinitely greater than our Heart though we serve him with all our Heart and powers of our Soul yet are we defective and insufficient and must therefore think we never do enough Thirdly We must not suffer the world to usurp the least corner of our Heart by disordinate Love for that were injurious to God as was the placing of the Idol Dagon by the Ark. He is too covetous saith Saint Jerom whom God cannot satiate And he loves God less
then he should do who loves any thing besides him according to Saint Augustine's opinion Fourthly He that is in mortal sin hath an impure Heart and loves not God Therefore to be clean of Heart and thereby blessed and by Grace in the way to see God I must imitate the pure white Ermine a little beast which rather chooseth to fall into the hands of the Hunter than make an escape through a dirty place and defile it self Me-thinks Christ our Saviour stretch'd and nail'd to the Cross resembles a Cross-bow which while I behold his Heart darting forth fiery Arrows of Love a clean and pure Heart seems like the White plac'd in the midst of a Butt at which it is aimed upon which representation I shall here insert a short Descant I long since made in Verse Tender Arms for our offence Drawn and stretch'd with violence Like a Bow-string now I see While upon the bloody Tree Cruel nails both long and rough Sacred Hands are piercing through Thus while tender Arms extend The string 's fastned at each end Jesus Heart is like the Nutt Of the Cross-bow where are put Nimble shafts with vigour sent Thus the Bow stands ready bent Sinners then prepare your Hearts From this bow flie wounding darts Stand his Butt th' Arrows glow As th' are flying from this bow Midst the Butt to place the White Stand his mark and let him smite Let him pierce and wound thy Heart With his torments pain and smart Shafts of sorrow grief and pain For thy sins return again So thy Soul being cleans'd from sin And by Grace made pure within Stand Christ's Butt that when contrite A clean Heart may be the White Such is a Heart disengaged and disenteressed from all inordinate desires that may soil or streighten that habitacle design'd and resign'd to God In such an absolute manner is this to be imagin'd that one may confidently say with King David Tuus sum ego Lord I am totally thine not mine own nor the worlds nor of the flesh nor of sin but entirely thine by a full resignation submission and oblation of my self To thee I dedicate an entire Heart with all my senses and cogitations all my words and works And restore unto thee what I had from thee a Soul washt and purified by Baptism and a Heart contrite with Grief and cleans'd again by true Repentance Yet still again and again to be wash'd and more and more purified If by the least mote the corporal Eye be obscur'd much more that of the Soul If I never cease till I have cleans'd and clear'd the one that I may have a perfect sight of each object which occurrs shall I not alwayes be cleansing and purifying that inward Eye which is capable when clear of the sight of God The Seventh BEATITUDE Blessed are the Peace-makers for they shall be called the Children of God EMBLEME VII The Wood-Bind Pacis conjunctio firma Thus while two foster deadly hate A third steps in to end debate Makes Peace unites both Hearts and Hands How blest is he who makes such bands TO make a better comprehension of this Beatitude the Devout Christian is to imagine that he sees two limber Stands or young shoots hardly able to support themselves on their tender roots and in perpetual agitation by reason of the violence of the wind which causes them to assault and injure each other till the Peace-making Wood-Bind gently twining it self about them takes away that opposition and disposes them to a certain reconciliation and friendship According to this representation the Wood-Bind which bears the Honey-Suckle a name derived from sweetness may well be the Emblem of the blessed Peace-maker who by the sweetness of his Couversation and Amicable Interposure in the Differences of his Neighbours endeavours to reconcile them In the Latine Tongue the Wood-Bind is called Mater Sylvae viz. The Mother of the Woods And peradventure it is for this reason That as a loving and indulgent Mother huggs and embraces her Child so this Plant clasps and twines it self about every other Tree that it can fasten on In like manner is it the endeavour of the blessed Peace-maker to dispose all those between whom he heareth there are any differences to Unity Peace and Concord making all other interests and concernments subservient to that grand one of bringing all things to composure and quiet And this is that whereto the Apostle writing to the Ephesians exhorts them viz. to walk with all lowliness and meekness long-suffering and forbearing one another in love endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace For Peace is the Hand-maid of Charity whose property it is to unite and take away all animosities jealousies distrusts and heart-burnings Justly therefore hath our Blessed Saviour pronounc'd him Blessed and the Child of God who like the Hony-Suckle by a sweet insinuation and affability endeavours to compose the Minds of the litigious and like the Wood-Bind is as ready to unite the contentious and dissatisfi'd into Amity as he is to make Peace within himself as in Charity he is bound And to this is it that the Apostle exhorts us when he sayes Have Peace and the God of Peace and Love will be with you But how comes it that the Peace-maker hath this particular prerogative and advantage to be called the Child of God We may imagine it proceeds hence that as God our Father is the God of Peace so we may pretend to the title of his Children if we are like him and look on it as our concernment to make Peace between Men. We may also upon this further consideration be called the Children of God that he who came into the world to reconcile it and to bring us that Peace which passeth all understanding hath vouchsafed to call us Brethren Nay that great Saviour and Peace may seem to have their birth at the same instant for then was it that there was a Proclamation made by Celestial Heralds to wit the Angels that Peace should be on Earth and good will towards Men. Then like the chearful break of day appear'd that beauteous Peace fore-told by the Prophet Esay whereof there should be no end inasmuch as it came with that Son whose other titles are clos'd with this that he was to be the Prince of Peace It is no other then our Blessed Saviour Christ himself who is the great Peace-maker and came like the Wood-Bind to unite a pair of shoots as I may term them to wit Justice and Mercy which were opposite while the wrath of God like a violent wind incited Justice to Revenge which Mercy oppos'd What a conflict was between these two till our Lord on the Cross like a Wood-Bind united them in one As David by a prophetique spirit said Mercy and Truth that is to say Justice have met together Justice and Peace or Mercy have kissed each other like two branching shoots surrounded by a Wood-Bind which onely Christ could do the great
I never mourn but for my sins nor grieve but for the loss of thee IV. On thy sacred Mouth crying out I thirst I read thou didst hunger and thirst after righteousness that I might be justified by thy Death and Passion Grant sweet Jesu I may ever hunger and thirst after this V. By thy wounded Side I find thou wert merciful giving all thy precious blood for my redemption May I be merciful to thee in thine that I may finally find mercy VI. Let thy pierced Heart most pure and exempt from all fin teach me to prepare a pure and clean heart for thee VII By thy sacred Hands nailed I understand thou wert the grand Peace-maker Vouchsafe to infuse into my soul true and perfect Charity that I may have peace withall for thee and during this life make my peace with thee VIII Lastly By thy Feet pierced with nails I read they are blessed that suffer persecution which thou didst even unto the death of the Cross Grant me grace to suffer for thee to bear afflictions patiently that with thee I may reign eternally Amen O good Jesu to reign with thee is to suffer with thee On the Cross thou art surrounded with the eight Beatitudes Here I must seek them exemplified in thy self on Mount Calvary to find them perfected on Mount-Sion the heavenly Jerusalem I. I behold the Cornel-tree where without leaves to shrowd it the blossom lies naked and expos'd to the blustring winds And on the Tree of the Cross as naked I behold my Saviour poor in Spirit poor in Will and Desire as naked dying as born for us Uncloath thy self then O my soul and be as naked in thine affections to the leafy vanities and riches of this life which is but a so journing for poor mortality II. I see the arch'd Indian-Fig-tree greedy to possess the Land with a thousand shoots which descend to take deep root in the earth And on the Tree of the Cross I behold our Lord meekly bowing down his Head humbled even to the death of the Cross to take possession of the Land of the Living for me an exile by as many shoots as sighs prayers tears and drops of blood as he shed for me a lost sinner O my soul where are thy humble shoots that should descend that they may ascend to the Land of promise where are thy submissive thoughts that should lowly bend to the earth by acknowledgment of thy unworthiness and ingratitude to so good and merciful a Lord Thou art now in possession of a barren Land thy body where thou canst not nor must not take deep root Heaven is thy Land this thy place of banishment Thither let thy thoughts ascend to be deeply rooted by an eternal possession III. I view the Myrrhe-tree weeping drop after drop but when prick'd and wounded it more abundantly distills Thus came I weeping and mourning into a vale of tears like a taper by the wind soon extinguish'd like a spark in the Sea as soon swallowed up like a froth suddenly vanishing and a vapour scatter'd in the air Have I not then cause to weep to prevent a future mourning and acquire a happiness and consolation which is promised to Mourners Then I cast mine eyes on Christ crucified and weeping on the Cross why for my sins Why like a Myrrhe-wee wounded over all his body distilling blood To give light to my glimmering taper fire to my spark substance to my frothy soul and purer air to my dusky vapour Thirdly I will summon my heart and expostulate with my soul why she would be usher'd by her eyes to the aspect of vainer objects yet never made use of them to bewail her sins with tears And if the Myrrhe tree stab'd or launc'd with a knife dissolves it self into tears why doth she not procure by her sighs and prayers that my heart woulded with true compunction may be liquified into tears of grief IV. I seem to behold the Clove-tree hungring as it were and thirsting after the strengthning moisture of the earth which it continually attract Then I seem to hear my Saviour cry out I thirst to express his ardent desire of our Salvation And then O my soul say I canst thou hear thy Lord crying out I thirst and yet present him with no other potion then a cup full of absinth thy sins which are more bitter to him then Vinegar and Gall of which he tasting would not drink O my soul taste and see how sweet our Lord is who to revive and refresh thee which wert like dry and barren earth showred down his precious blood from his wounded body veins and heart till it was totally exhausted O what an excessive thirst did this cause in thy Saviour what a Consummatum est was this what bounty when hereserv'd not to himself so much as one drop of blood O my soul if he gave thee all that was most precious doubt not to say with his royal Prophet What shall I give unto our Lord for all he hath given me what less then an entire heart and soul with all her powers to love honour and serve him V. Next I imagine I see the fruit of Adams Apple-tree cut in two which presents us with a cross which bare the Saviour our of the World in whom I behold as many crosses as stripes and scourges enterlac'd in his tender flesh It was the fruit of the forbidden Tree wherein being eaten were included as many crosses as miseries now incident to wretched man As hunger thirst cold heat infirmities c. which render him miserable and consequently to be pitied O my soul commiserate at least thine own self encompassed with so many frailties casualties and anxieties of mind Turn which way thou wilt thou canst not be long exempted from one calamity or other Wherefore seeing to be Misericors that is to say merciful is to have an agrieved and pitiful heart as it were always bearing a cross let thine he dolor sorrow and compunction for thy sins VI. Imagine you behold the green Fig pick'd and pierc'd by a little Gnat or Fly whence distills a drop as it were of hony And then say O my green hard and immature Heart where is that compunction that is requisite for thee O that thou wert thus pierc'd and wounded with grief for thy fins that sweet delight like a honey-drop might issue forth for while it resides within thee thou canst never come to maturity for where sin predominates Grace must needs be an Exile Then reflect your Eye on our Saviour's Heart wounded with a Spear and say Lord Were not thy larger wounds in thy Hands and Feet sufficient pledges and testimonies of thy excessive Love Why then after thy death wouldst thou receive so deep a wound in thy Heart Ah! If Death were stronger than Love in thee when by him thou wert vanquisht he seizing by Heart Love again even after Death was more powerful by opening that sacred rift whence issued the Sacraments and where the Gate of
Heaven is as it were opened to such as truly repent VII Sometimes I reflect mine Eye on the Wood-Bind which wheresoever it grows is alwayes binding and uniting branch with branch or winding round about a Tree to teach me that Peace Unity Union and Concord are the special Objects at which I must aim both in respect of God and my Neighbour Love must be like a pair of Wood-Bind shoots issuing from the same stock which lay hold of two neighbouring boughs or branches If by Love I unite my Heart and Soul to God by Love I must likewise be united with my Neighbour And in like manner if I have made my Peace with God I must do the like with my Neighbour offended For as I forgive so I desire to be forgiven And consequently as I have Peace with my Neighbour so I desire God would be pacified So shall I have inward Peace accompanied with outward Charity and Love like a Honey-Suckle odoriferous that breath snothing but sweetness Then I reflect on the Wood-Bind Christ Jesus on the Cross the grand Peace-maker stretching forth his Arms and pacifying his Father justly incens'd against Sinners O what an amorous far-spreading Wood-Bind was our Lord Stretching from end to end strongly by fastning the Hands of Justice and disposing all things sweetly like a Honey-Suckle breathing nothing but sweetness of Peace even for his greatest Enemies crying out Father forgive them for they know not what they do And to the penitent Thief This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise As if he had said I have made thy Peace and prepared for thee a place of Repose Thy remove shall be from a turbulent world and stormy Sea to a quiet and secure Haven O my Soul Canst thou yet be so unsetled in thy Resolves So wavering and inconstant in good purposes Christ is thy Wood-Bind to fasten thee and hath as many bands to tie thee as pains he endured and drops of Blood which he powred out for thy Redemption Consider seriously how infinitely thou art oblig'd How innumerable the ties of his transcendent Love like so many Tendrels or Wood-Bind wreathes circling and clasping round about thee to attract and draw thee unto Himself who exalted from the Earth promised he would draw all things But how In the bands of Adam and links of Charity VIII When I walk into the garden where every Plant invites the Eye to behold and the Heart to consider I oftner cast a glance on the Vine which when I view prun'd and despoyl'd of her branches this think I would move an ignorant Man to Compassion to see a flourishing Vine so cut and mangled and fast nayl'd to a wall that knows not that this kind of Cruelty is Courtesie and favour for thereby it becomes more fruitful The like happeneth to Christians persecuted who in the sight of the unwise seem to be wretched and dye and their departure destruction yet they a little chastised shall be greatly rewarded for God prunes and proves them and finds them worthy for himself saith the Wiseman Then let the true Vine Christ Jesus occurr prun'd and despoyl'd humbled unto death for which God gave him a Name above all names who invites us to suffer with him that we may reign with him in a Kingdom acquired by them who suffer persecution for righteousness sake In a Kingdom which is conquered as it were by force and shatch'd by violence O my Soul thou likewise art a Vine and must be prun'd Nay more if thy Hand offend thee if like a Vine-branch it spread too far by coveting earthly things it must be cut off If thine Eye offend thee by presenting thee with objects of vain delight it must be pulled out and cast from thee That is what ever Creature or whatever delight as dear unto thee as thy Hand or Eye must be deserted and cast off if they with-draw thee from the Service of God or go about to betray thee to everlasting destruction O my Soul there is but one thing necessary the grand concernment Salvation which relates to Jesus that is a Saviour O that thou couldst tru'y say Now I begin to be the Disciple of Christ desiring nothing visible to the Eye that I may find Christ Jesus Seek him then in these ensuing Ejaculatories Vpon Christ's Nakedness O Good Jesu I read in thy nakedness that thou wert poor in Spirit poor in Will and desire of having any thing in this world So poor in Spirit that as thou cam'st naked into the World so as naked thou wouldst depart hence So poor in this World that living and dying thou hadst not whereon to rest thy Head What is then in Heaven for me or what do I desire on Earth but thee O the God of my Heart my portion my God for ever On his Head inclining Against Pride and Impatience O Good Jesu I behold thy Head meekly bowing down while the ungrateful Jews blaspheme and revile thee All which thou enduredst with infinite Patience and Meekness to possess the Land for us Sinners who transported by Pride and Impatience are tost by the waves of violent perturbations Ah! who can behold thee on the Cross humbly inclining thy dying Head Who can be impatient that beholds thee so meekly suffering O my Soul that thou mayst possess thy self and the Land of the Living learn of thy Saviour to be humble meek and patient On Christ's Eyes Against Excessive Mirth O Good Jesu I behold thy sacred Eyes distilling bloody tears and I hear thee say Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted If thou O Lord wert comforted by mourning because by thy tears thou wert to redeem me a Sinner Great cause have I to mourn with thee since my sins were the cause of thy weeping and sorrow Great cause have I to weep and bewail my sins that I may be comforted yea and rejoyce seeing by thy dolorous Passions I obtain a full redemption to my Soul On his Mouth Against Fear and Pusillanimity O Good Jesu I behold thy sacred Mouth and hear thee say I Thirst Whereby I learn that thou didst hunger and thirst after righteousness that my poor sinful Soul might be justified What then should my hunger and thirst be but a desire to suffer with thee that I may reign with thee Why then should I fear Why should I be so much dejected Thou art my Captain I must follow thee Thou art the Way I must not leave thee Thou art Life and therefore I cannot live without thee O my God and all things As the Hart thirsteth after the fountain of waters so doth my Soul unto thee On his Side Against Unmercifulness O Good Jesu I behold Blood and Water issuing from thy wounded Side and seem to hear thee say Blessed are the merciful for they shall find mercy Thou O Lord wert so merciful so bountiful that thou gavest the last dropps of thy precious Blood which streamed from thy wounded Heart for my redemption O hard Heart of mine