be the fulnes of light to our vnderstanding the aboundance of peace to our will and the continuance of eternity to our memory There the wisedom of Salomon shall seeme ignorance there the beauty of Absalon shall seeme deformity there the strength of Sampson shall seeme weakenes there the life of those men that liued at the beginning of the world shall be as it were death to conclude there wee may worthily call the treasuries of all Emperours and Kings starke beggerie and pouertie If these things be so ô wretched man as they are in deede wherefore and to what end doost thou desire to stay longer in the Land of Egipt and to gather stubble Why doost thou drinke troubled and foule water out of all cesternes despising the vaine of felicity and the fountaine of liuing waters Why doost thou loue to begge and â—o liue of almes when thou shalt finde such aboundance in heauen If thou desirest pleasure lift vp thine hart and see how delightfull that good is that contayneth in it the delight and pleasure of all good things If this life created doth please thee how much more shall that life please thee which created all things If health giuen make thee merrie how much more shall he make thee merry that giueth all health If the knowledge of the creatures be sweet and acceptable how much more sweeter shall the Creator himselfe be If beauty be acceptable vnto thee it is hee at whose beauty the Sunne and Moone admire If thou desirest nobility hee is the fountaine and originall of all nobility If thou desirest long life and health he is eternal life If thou desirest satiety and aboundance he is the fulnes of al good things If thou delightest in the wel-tuned musicke harmony of mortall men there Angels doe sing most sweetly the Organs of the Citty of God are heard there with great delight and pleasantnes If the friendship familiarity and society of good men doe like thee there thou shalt finde all the elect hauing one minde and one hart If thou thirstest after riches and honours in that house of the Lord they are found in great aboundance To conclude if thou desirest to escape all kinde of punishments tribulations and miseries there thou shalt finde libertie and freedome from them all God commaunded in the olde law that vpon the eight day Circumcision should be celebrated that secretly he might let vs vnderstand that vpon the eight day of our Resurrection which succeedeth the seauenth day of this life God will circumcise and cut off all the griefes sorrowes miseries and calamities of them that for his loue whilst they liued haue circumcised and cut off their appetites lusts and sinnes What thing then can be found out more blessed or happy then this estate of liuing most free from all kinde of misery What sayth Saint Augustine is more blessed then this life where there is no feare of pouerty no infirmity of sicknes No man is hurt none angry none enuieth no concupiscence is kindled no appetite of meat no ambition of honour or dominion doth vrge or moue thee There is no feare of the deuill no deceipts of deuils the terror of hell is farre of there is neyther death of body or soule but a pleasant life through the gift of immortality Then there shall be no mischiefes no discords but all agreement because there shall be one concord of all the Saints Peace and ioy embrace all things all thinges are at quiet and rest there is continuall brightnes and shining not that which is now but much more bright and cleare because that Citty as it is reade needeth neyther Sunne nor Moone but the Lord almighty shall enlighten it and the Lambe is the light of it Where the Saints shall shine as the brightnes of the firmament and they that turne many to righteousnes as the starres for euer and euer Wherefore there is no night no darknes no concourse of cloudes neyther anie distemperature or vnseasonablenes of heate or cold but there shall be such a temperature and moderation of all things which neyther the eye hath seene nor the eare hath heard neyther hath it entred into the hart of man except of them who are found worthy to enioy it whose names are written in the booke of life But aboue all these things it is to be consociate with the assembly of Angels and Archangels and of all the celestiall powers to behold the Patriarches and Prophets to see the Apostles and all the Saints to see also our parents These are glorious but much more glorious is it to behold the countenance of the Lord and to see that light not to be circumscribed that will be superexcellent glory when we shal see God in himselfe wee shall see and shall haue him in vs whom to behold there shall be no end O my soule sayth the same holy man if wee daily should suffer torments if for a long time we should endure hell it selfe that we might see Christ in his glory and haue society with his Saints were it not a thing worthy to suffer all bitternes and all crosse that we might be pertakers of so great good and so great glory Therfore let the deuils lye in waite for me let them prepare temptations let fastings weaken my body let hard and course cloathing afflict my flesh let labours oppresse mee let watchings dry me vp let this man cry out against me let this or that disquiet mee let cold benum me let my conscience murmur against mee let heate burne mee let my head ake let my hart boyle within me let my stomach faile mee let my countenance waxe pale let euery part of me be enfeebled let my life forsake me in griefe and let my yeeres end in sorrow let rottennes enter into my bones and flow vnder me so that I may rest in the day of tribulation and that I may ascend to the holy hil For what shal be the glory of the righteous How great the ioy of the Saints when as euery face shal shine as the Sun Hetherto S. Augustine If this good be so great and so vniuersall what shal the felicity and glory be of those blessed eyes which shal behold all these things How excellent a thing wil it be to see the beauty of this Citty And the glory of the Cittizens The face of the Creator The magnificence of the buildings The riches of the Pallace and the common ioy of that Countrey How pleasant a thing wil it be to see the orders of the blessed Spirits The authority of that holy Senate And the maiesty of those venerable Seniours and Elders which Saint Iohn saw Sitting vpon thrones in the sight of God clothed in white rayment and hauing on their heads crownes of gold How sweet and how pleasant wil it be to heare those sweet angelical voyces the consent of theyr musicke most excellently composed of maister singers such Psalmody of such holy singers such Symphonie
of sinne might be destroyed that hencefoorth wee should not serue sinne The Apostle in thys place by the old man and the body of sinne vnderstandeth our sensuall appetite with all the euill inclinations that proceede from it Hee sayth that thys together with Christ is crucified-vppon the Crosse for by thys most noble and excellent sacrifice we haue obtayned grace and strength to weaken and debilitate this Tyrant so that wee are free from the seruitude of sinne as before I haue shewed Thys is that great victorie that great benefit which the Lord promiseth by Esay saying Feare thou not for I am with thee be not afraid for I am thy God I will strengthen thee and helpe thee 〈◊〉 I will sustaine thee with the right hand of my iustice Behold all they that prouoke thee shall be ashamed and confounded they shall be as nothing and they that striue with thee shall perrish Thou shalt seeke them and shalt not finde them to wit the men of thy strife for they shall be as nothing and the men that warre against thee as a thing of naught For I the Lord thy God wilâ— hold thy right hand saying vnto thee Feare not I will helpe thee Thys sayth Esay Tell me who shall faile hauing such an helper Who will be faint-harted and discouraged who will feare or dread his owne wicked passions seeing that grace doth thus vanquish and ouercome them ¶ An aunswer to certaine obiections IF thou shalt say vnto me that alwayes some reliques remaine in a man which accuse him and doe beare witnes against the righteous as we reade in the booke of Iob. The same Prophet answereth vnto this saying They shall be as though they were not For although they remaine they remaine onely for our exercise and not to our ruine they remaine that they may stirre vs vp not intangle vs in the snares of sinnes they remaine that they may yeeld vs occasion to attaine a crowne and not to ouerthrow vs and cast vs downe they remaine for our tryumph not for theyr conquest to be briefe they remaine so to profit vs that they are for our tryall humiliation that we may know our selues and our owne weakenes that thereby wee may acknowledge the glory and grace of God so that thys remainder doth redound to our commodity Whereupon euen as wilde beasts according to theyr nature are hurtfull vnto men and yet when they are tamed doe them good seruice so when as the purturbations of our soule are gouerned and moderated they helpe vs in many exercises of vertue Goe to then tell me If God doth thus strengthen and defend thee who vpon the earth shal be able to hurt thee if God be for thee who is against thee The Lord is my light sith the Prophet and my saluation whom shall I feare the Lorde is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid When the wicked euen mine enemies and my foes came vpon me to eate vp my flesh they stumbled and fell Though an host pitched against mee myne hart should not be afraid though warre be raised against me I will trust in this Truely my brother if thou beest not mooued by thys promise to serue God thou art very slothfull and vild I will not say vncleane and corrupt And if these words are not of credite with thee thou art a very Infidell It is God who saith vnto thee that he will giue thee a new essence and will make thy stony hart fleshy and will mortifie thine affections and that he will so change thine estate that thou shalt not know thy selfe when thou seekest for thine affections and passions thou shalt not finde them he shall make them so weake and infirme What could he promise more what canst thou further expect and hope for what is wanting vnto thee but a liuely Fayth and aliuely Hope that thou mayst trust in God shroud thy selfe vnder his almighty arme Surely I thinke that thou canst aunswer nothing at all vnto these things except perhaps thou wilt say that thy sinnes are many and great and therefore this grace is denied vnto thee Vnto this I aunswer that thou canst not offer greater iniury vnto God then to say so seeing that by these words thou doest signifie that there is somthing for which God eyther will not or cannot helpe his creature when as he is conuerted vnto him and desireth mercy and pardon at his hands I would not that thou shouldest credite me credite that holy Prophet who then seemed mindfull of thee and was willing to helpe thee meete with thine infirmities when he writ these things saying Now when all these things shall come vpon thee eyther the blessing or the curse which I haue set before thee and thou shalt turne into thine hart among all the nations whether the Lord thy God hath driuen thee and shalt returne vnto the Lord thy God and obey his voyce in all that I commaund thee this day thou and thy children with all thine hart and with all thy soule then the Lord thy God will cause thy captiues to returne and haue compassion vpon thee and will returne to gather thee out of all the people where the Lord thy God had scattered thee and will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed and thou shalt possesse it And a little after The Lord thy God will circumcise thine hart and the hart of thy seede that thou â—ayst loue the Lord thy God with all thine hart and with all thy soule that thou mayst liue O that the Lord would now circumcise thine eyes and take thee out of this darknes that thou mightest clearely see this manner of circumcision Be not so ignorant and rude that thou shouldest deeme this circumcision to be corporall for of such a circumcision our hart is not capable What circumcision then is this which the Lord here promiseth Surely it is the superfluity of our affections and of our euill appetites which springeth from our hart and bringeth great hinderance to our Diuine loue He promiseth therfore that he will circumcise and lop off all the barren and hurtfull branches with the knife of his grace that our hart being so pruned and circumcised may imploy and bestow all his strength vpon the branch of the Diuine loue Then thou shalt be a true Israelite then thou shalt be circumcised of the Lord when hee shall take away and cut out from thy soule the loue of this world and shall let nothing remayne in it besides the entire loue of God I would haue thee diligently to marke that that which God in this place promiseth to doe that he doth commaund thee to doe in another place that when thou art conuerted vnto him thou shouldest doe it thy selfe saying Circumcise the foreskinne of your hart c. And how Lord that which thou promisest to doe thy selfe now thou commaundest that I should doe it my selfe if I must doe it how
Christ might doe and whether he might turne he knew not whom torments had not conquered nowe pleasure ouercame At length beeing inspired from aboue hee bit off his tongue and spet it in the face of the harlot kissing him and so he quenched the heate of his lust by the greatnes of his paine Surely a deed maruailous heroick and such an one as hetherto hath not been found eyther in the histories of the Greekes or Latines Let these suffise to shew with howe cheerfull and manly a courage these Saints resisted sinne I could also alledge other examples of them who had rather be tumbled naked vppon thornes and in the deepe of Winter be rouled vpon snow and Ice then they would satisfie the lust of their flesh which burned in them the deuill blowing the coales Wherefore that man that determineth to enter into this way ought firmely to fasten this purpose in his mind more to esteeme the fauour of God as a iust Iudge of things then all the treasures of thys world and alwayes to renounce the lesser that the greater may be kept when he is in the like need In this he ought to ground his life this ought to be his obiect in all his actions let him earnestly craue thys of God in all his prayers to this end he receiueth the Sacraments of the Church Let him gather thys out of Sermons and out of the reading of godly Bookes let him take this out of the creation of the world the forming of all creatures let him reape this fruite especially out of the passion of Christ and out of the rest of the Diuine blessings for the fruite of these is not to offend him to whom so great things are due and according to the soundnes of this holy feare and determination let him measure the quantitie of his profit equalizing the strength and firmnes of his purpose according to the greatnes of the profit so that by how much that is greater or lesser by so much his resolution may be greater or lesser Furthermore euen as he that would fasten a naile into a wall is not content to haue giuen one two or three strokes with a mallet but he so long smiteth it and forceth it forwards vntill it stick fast so this purpose and resolution ought not to be sufficient for a man there to stay let it be what it will but he must daily labour and endeuour that of all things that he seeth heareth readeth or meditateth vpon he take an occasion whereby the loue of God may more and more increase in him that hee may hate and abhorre sinne more and more For by how much the hatred of sinne shall more and more increase in him by so much shall he perceiue himselfe to haue profited and fructified in the Diuine loue and consequently in all vertue But that hee may more firmely persist and continue in thys resolution let him perswade himselfe assuredly beleeue that if all the euils paines and sorrowes of the world from that time it first began to this present houre were put in one ballance together with all the punishments which all the damned suffer in hell and in the other ballance one onely sinne were put it is certaine that he should rather preferre the escape from this sin before all the rest and flye from it more speedily then from all those tribulations and punishments albeit the blindnes of thys Egipt or of thys world is so great that men thinke far otherwise Neyther is it maruell that the men of this world being blind do not see this so great an euill or that they being deade doe not feele a wound so hideously gaping for it is not giuen to blinde men to see any thing although it be very great neyther to the dead to feele a wound albeit it be deadly Therefore I beeing about to handle in this second Booke the doctrine of Vertue which hath sinne for her contrary in the first part I will entreate of the irreconcileable hatred of sins and specially of the remedies of them for the rootes of sinnes beeing pluckt out of the soule the plants of vertues may bee more easily ingrafted of which wee will speake in the second part Neyther onely will we speake here of those sinnes vvhich are accounted horrible and abhominable amongst men but also of those which the world reckoneth not of and which they make no scruple to commit We will begin with those seauen mortall and deadly sinnes which are called capitall because they are the heads and rootes of all other This doctrine will be profitable that a man when he is mightily assaulted and tempted may haue refuge and recourse to this doctrine as to a spirituall defence and that out of many remedies which are set downe in this part hee may select and choose those for himselfe vvhich are more conuenient for his purpose It is true that many of these remedies are common for all kinde of vices yet some are particuler sette downe for certaine vices as when I say against Pryde against Couetousnes and so in the rest Of these in this part we will speake setting downe speciall remedies for euerie sinne that the prouision and furniture of spirituall Armor may be in a readinesse alwaies for vs to vse at all needes We must consider note in this place that we haue no need of Hercules his strength to fight in this spiritual combat neither of winged feete to flie away but of cleere and bright eyes to see for eyes are the chiefest weapons and instruments of this warre for wee are not to fight against flesh blood but against most peeuish and peruerse deuils who are spirituall creatures The reason is because the first roote of all sinnes is the errour of the vnderstanding which is the counsailour of the vvill For thys cause our aduersaries doe especially labour this that they may corrupt our vnderstanding for the vnderstanding beeing corrupted the vvill also is corrupted which is gouerned and guyded of it therefore they endeuour to colour euill with good and to 〈◊〉 vice vnder the show and semblance of vertue and so to hide the temptation that it seemeth not temptation but reason For if they assault any man by ambition by couetousnesse by wrath or desire of reuenge they perswade him that it is altogether agreeable vnto reason to desire this that this or that affection desireth and that it is against reason not to lust after that that it lusteth after After this manner they pretend reason that they may so much the more easily deceiue them who are ruled by reason Wherefore it is very necessary that we should haue sharpe-sighted eyes that wee may see the hooke lurking within the baite least wee be deceaued with the shadowe and likelihood of goodnes Eyes also are necessary vnto vs that wee may see the malignity filthines dangers and losses which vices bring with them that our desires may be restrained by this bridle may feare to
that which the Lord sayd The vvorld shall reioyce and yee shall sorrow but your sorrow shall be turned into ioy Or hath it slipt out of thy memory which the same Lord sayth in aâ—other place Wâ—e be to you that now laugh for yee shall 〈…〉 weepe Many words and much babling sayth He is not faulty that speaketh many words so they be good 〈◊〉 he that speaketh few and those ill Discreet 〈◊〉 answereth It is true that thou sayst but whilst many good wordes are vttered it often happeneth that the speech begunne of good words often endeth in ill Thys the holy Scripture telleth In 〈◊〉 â—â—rds there cannot want iniquâ—ty Is it possible that in many words there should be none faulty But can idle and vnprofitable words be auoyded of which thou art sure to render an accouâ—t hereafter Luxury sayth Why doost thou not wallow thy selfe in pleasure seeing that thou knowest not what will become of thee Therefore thou oughtest not to lose the time alotted vnto thee in want because thou knowest not how soone it may fade away For if GOD would not haue had man no take his pleasure with woman at the beginning hee would haue onely created male and not female Undefiled Chastitie answereth I would not haue thee to sayne thy selfe ignorant what shall become of thee after thys lyfe For if thou liuest religiously and chastly thy ioy shall be without end but if thou leadest thy life irreligiously and luxuriously thou shalt be tortured with eternall paynes Spirituall fornication sayth Doth he doe any thing damnable who consenteth to lust in his hart and doth not effect the deede of his desired lust Cleannes and purity of hart aunswereth He offendeth very deeply that keepeth not purely the cleannes and chastity of his hart Wher-vpon the Author of cleannes and chastity saith in the Gospell Whosoeuer looketh on a wâ—mâ—n to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already iâ— his hart To auoyde this holy Iob saith I made a couenant 〈◊〉 â—iâ—e eyes that I should not thinke on a mayde The loue of this world sayth VVhat can be more beautifull honest or delectable then that we daily behold in this present life O how admirable iâ— the glorious vaute of heauen in the tralucent ayre in the light of the Sunne in the increase and decrease of the Moone in the variety and course of the starres how delightfull is the earth in the flowers and flourish of vvoods in the sweetnes of fruites in the pleasantnes of meddowes and riuers in the ripenes plenty of corne in the fruitfulnes of Vineyards loaden with clusters of Grapes in the shades and chaces of woods in the running and coursing of Horses and Doggs in the skippings and iumpings of Harts and Goates in the flying of Hawkes in the necks and feathers of Peacocks Doues and Turtles in the paynted walls and carued roofes of houses in the sweet and pleasing sounds and tunes of Organes and all musicke in the beautifull aspects of vvomen in their fore-heads in their hayre in their eyes and cheekes in their lips and necks in their nose and hands and especially if they be beautified and adorned with gold and precious stones with Bracelets Ouches Carcanâ—ts and Tablets and such other Ornaments which I cannot in any wise reckon The loue of the heauenly Countrey aunswereth If these things delight thee which are vnder heauen if the prison be so beautifull what is the Countrey the Citty and the house If they be such and so excellent which the strangers enioy what be they which the children possesse If they that be mortall and miserable be so rewarded in this lyfe how are they that be immortall and blessed inriched in that life Wherefore let the loue of this present world goe where none is so borne that he doth not dye and let the loue of the future world come in the place where all so liue and are reuiued that they dye no more Where no aduersity disturbeth no necessity pincheth no greefe disquieteth but euerlasting ioy raigneth and remayneth for euer and euer If thou demaundest what is there where there is such and so great felicity it cannot be aunswered otherwise but that whatsoeuer good is that is there and whatsoeuer euill is that is not there Thou askest what that good is Why doost thou aske me It is aunswered thee of a Prophet and of an Apostle The things which eye hath not seene neyther eare hath heard â—eyther hâ—th entrâ—d intâ— mâ—ns hart hath God prepâ—red for them that loue him VVhatsoeuer hath hetherto beene spoken of vs hath this â—yme that it may moue vs to haue alwayes our spirituall weapons in a readines which are necessary for vs in this warfare for the attaynement of the first part of vertue which is the flying and eschewing of vices and to defend this fraile house of ours in which God hath placed vs least it should be surprized of enemies For if we shall faithfully keepe this Mansion and Habitacle there is no doubt but that heauenly guest will turne in vnto it and will lodge and dwell in it Seeing that Saint Iohn sayth God is loue and he that dwelleth in loue dwelleth in God and God in him But he dwelleth in loue who doth nothing contrary to loue and the opposition and contrary to loue is onely sinne And against this sinne all that fighteth and warreth vvhich hetherto hath beene spoken of vs. ¶ The end of the first part of the second Booke THE SECOND PART OF THE SECOND BOOKE OF THE SINNERS GVYDE In which wee entreate of the exercise of Vertues Of the three kinde of Vertues in which the vvhole summe of Christian righteousnesse is contained CHAP. XIII SEeing that in the former part of thys Booke wee haue spoken largely and sufficiently of sinnes by contagion of which our soules are polluted and obscured now we wil intreat of Vertues which beautifie them with spirituall graces and adorne them with the ornaments of righteousnesse making them seeme fayre and beauteous in the sight of the Diuine Maiestie Euen as it pertaineth vnto iustice to giue to euery one that is his owne belongs vnto him that is to God to our neighbour to our selues so also there are three kindes of vertues pertayning to righteousnes and iustice and which concurre to the effecting and perfecting of it One is by which we render to GOD that which is due vnto him the second is by which wee giue to our neighbour that which is his and the third by which man is bound vnto himselfe When man hath attained these three kindes of vertues nothing is further required to fulfill all that righteousnes vvhich he professeth But if thou wouldest learne in fewe words and very summarily howe thys may be brought to passe I will tell thee by thys triple duty and bond man shall repay most exactly all his debt that is if towards GOD he hath the hart of a sonne towards his
him and leaping at him began to bite him by which thing the wickednes of this priuy murtherer was layd open and vncouered What sayst thou ô man if a dogge be so faithfull for a peece of bread and with so great loue doth affect his Maister Doth ingratitude so please thee that thou wilt suffer thy selfe to be excelled of a dogge in the law of gratitude If thys brutish creture burned with so great anger against the murtherer of hys Maister why art not thou also displeased and out of patience at these which haue killed thy Lord What be they They are thy sinnes these apprehended him these bound him these scourged him these violently drew him to the Crosse. Thy sinnes were the causes of thy Lords death Those cruell butchers and hangmen had not had so great force and power ouer Christ vnlesse thy sinnes had armed them Why then art thou not mad angry why doost thou not whet thy furie against thē which haue slaine thy Lord Wherefore when thou seest thy Lord slaine before thy face and in thy sight and that for thee is not thy loue increased towards him Why doost thou not fret and chafe against thy sinnes which haue procured his death especially seeing that thou art not ignorant that the end of all his sayings dooings and torments was no other then that he might stirre vp anger and hate in our harts against sinne He died that he might kill sinne and that hee might binde and restraine the power of our hands and feete hasting to mischiefe he had hys hands and feete nayled to the Crosse. With what face therefore darest thou liue that all the labors and sweats of Christ for thee should be vaine and of none effect whilst thou still wilt remaine in the same seruitude from which he hath freed thee with the effusion of his owne blood Can it be that thou doost not tremble at the onely mention of sinne when thou seest that God vnder-went terrible and horrible torments that he might destroy and abolish it What could he doe more that he might draw and hold back men striuinglie rushing into sinne then that God himselfe hanging vpon the Crosse might be sent to meete them Who will be so rash and foole-hardie that he dare offend GOD when he seeth before him both Paradice open and hell enlarging her mouth yet it is much greater then that to see God hanging vpon the Crosse. He that is not mooued with thys sight I know not truly vvith what other thing he will be mooued THE FIFT TITLE How wee are bound to follow Vertue by reason of our Iustification CHAP. V. WHat had the benefit of Redemption profited vs if the benefit of Iustification had not followed by which the vertue of that most excellent benefit is applyed vnto vs For euen as a plaister is of no vse if it bee not applyed to the wound or to the diseased place so there had beene no profit of that heauenly medicine if it had not beene applyed by this benefit Which dutie especially appertaineth to the holy Ghost to whom the sanctification of man is attributed For he it is that by his mercie preuenteth a sinner afterwards calleth him and beeing called iustifieth him and beeing iustified directeth him by the paths of righteousnes and so bringeth him by the gyft of perseuerance to the end of his course and race vntill at the length he bestoweth vpon him the crowne of glory for this benefit comprehendeth in it all the other benefits Amongst all these benefits that of Vocation and Iustification is the first which is when as by the vertue of this diuine Spirit the chaynes and snares of sinne beeing broken and burst man escapeth the rule and tyrannie of the deuill is raysed from death to life of a sinner is made righteous of a child of curse malediction is made the child of God Which cannot by any meanes be brought to passe without the peculier help ayde of God which the Lord testifieth in plaine words vvhen hee sayth No man can come to mee except my Father draw him signifying that no strength of mans nature can deliuer a man from sinne and bring him vnto grace vnlesse the arme of the diuine power helpe him Thomas Aquinas dooth thus comment vpon these words Euen as a stone sayth hee alwaies of his owne nature falleth downevvards neyther can lift it selfe vpwards without externall helpe so man by reason of the corruption of sinne dooth alwayes tend downewards that is he doth alwaies slide to the loue and desire of earthly things but if hee be to be lifted vp aboue that is to the loue to a supernaturall desire of heauenly things he hath neede of the right hand of the highest and of the Diuine helpe Thys sentence is to be noted and obserued for by this a man doth come to the knowledge of himselfe and vnderstandeth the corruption of his owne nature and knoweth how necessary the continuall prayer for the Diuine helpe is Therefore that we may returne to our purpose man by his owne strength cannot be deliuered from sinne and brought to grace because necessarily the hande of the Lorde is required which must deliuer him But who can declare what other great benefits are contained in this alone For seeing without all controuersie that by this sinne is banished and expelled out of the soule which ingendereth many euils in it howe great a good will that be which doth cast and driue out all these euills But seeing that the consideration of this benefit doth very much stir vp man to gratitude and to the desire of vertue heere by the way I will declare the great blessings which this onely good is wont to bring with it First by it man is reconciled to God and is brought and admitted to his fauour and friendship For the first and chiefest of all euils which sinne bringeth to the soule is that it maketh man an enemie to God who seeing that he is infinite goodnes aboue all things he hateth and curseth sinne Therefore sayth the Prophet Thou hatest all them that worke iniquitie thou shalt destroy them that speake lyes He addeth furthermore that God abhorreth and detesteth the bloody man and deceitfull Thys is the greatest of all euils and the roote and fountaine of all the rest as on the contrary side to be loued of God is the greatest of all blessings and the cause and originall of them From thys so dangerous an euill by this benefit of Iustification we are deliuered by which wee are reconciled to God and of enemies made friends vnto him and that not in a common degree of friendship but in the highest which may be found of the Father towards the sonne The Euangelist Iohn worthily commendeth this fauour and friendship when he saith Behold what loue the Father hath shewed vnto vs that we should be called and be indeede the sonnes of GOD. He is not content to say
it enlightneth the vnderstanding it inflameth our will it strengtheneth our memorie it tempereth and moderateth our part concupiscible least it runne into all euil it cōfirmeth the part irascible least it be slow too sluggish to work well Moreouer because all our natural passions which are found in these two inferiour powers of our appetite are as it were step-dames vnto vertue dores wherby deuils oftentimes enter into our soules it hath appointed as it were Sentinels in each of these parts which watch and keepe it that is a certaine infused vertue comming from aboue vvhich doth helpe man and maketh him secure in danger which ariseth by meanes of those passions So to defend the soule frō the appetite of gluttonie it sendeth Temperance to defend it frō the lust of the flesh it sendeth Chastitie and to defend it from ambition it sendeth Humilitie and so in the rest But there is one thing which exceedeth all the fore-sayde that is that grace maketh God to dwell in our soule that dwelling in it he may gouerne it defend it direct it in the heauenly way God therefore sitteth in our soule as a King in his kingdome as a Captayne among his armie as a Maister in his schoole and as a Pastour among his flocke that there he may exercise and vndergoe spiritually all these offices and administer all prouidence Goe to therefore if this precious pearle out of which so many good things come be a perpetuall companion vnto Vertue who will not willingly imitate that wise Merchant in the Gospell who sold all that he had that he might buy this alone ¶ Of the third priuiledge of Vertue which is a light and a certaine supernaturall knowledge which our Lord giueth to them who seeke after Vertue CHAP. XV. THE third priuiledge which is graunted vnto Vertue is a certaine speciall light and a certaine wisedome which our Lord doth bestow vpon them that are righteous which also proceedeth from that grace of which we haue hetherto spoken The reason is because it is a function and duty of grace to heale and recure nature beeing weake feeble and decayed Euen as therefore it healeth the appetite and will weakened through sinne so also it recureth the vnderstanding being exceedingly obscured and darkned by the same sinne that by this benefit the vnderstanding may know what it ought to doe and by the will there may be ability power to doe that which now it vnderstandeth is needefull for to be done Not vnlike to this is that Saint Gregory hath in his Morals Not to be able to fulfill that which man vnderstoode was a punishment of sinne as also that was a punishment of the same not to vnderstand that Therefore sayd the Prophet The Lord is my light against ignorance and my saluation against impotencie In one is signified what is to be desired in the other strength is giuen by which we may attaine vnto it And so as well this as that pertayneth to the same grace Hence it is that besides fayth and prudence infused which enlighten our vnderstanding that it may vnderstand what it ought to beleeue what also to doe the gifts of the holy Ghost doe increase also in vs foure of which pertaine to the vnderstanding that is the gift of wisedome which is giuen for the knowledge of high and lofty matters the gift of Science which is giuen that wee may vnderstand lower matters the gift of vnderstanding by which we come to the knowledge of the misteries of God and to the congruencie and beauty of them and the gift of counsaile and aduice by whose helpe we know the actions of this life and how to gouerne and rule whatsoeuer happeneth to vs in it All these beames come from the splendour of grace onely which therefore is called in the holy Scriptures an Annointing or Vnction For it teacheth all things as Saint Iohn speaketh Wherefore euen as oyle among all liquid substances is the fittest to preserue light and to cure wounds so this diuine Vnction doth cure the wounds of our will and doth illuminate the darknes of our vnderstanding This is that most precious oyle better then all oyle of which the kingly Prophet speaketh Thou hast annoynted mine head with oyle It is certaine that he speaketh heere not of a materiall head nor of materiall oyle but of a spirituall head that is of the superiour part of our soule in which our vnderstanding is as very well sheweth a learned man wryting vpon this place and of spirituall oyle which is the light of the holy Ghost by which our lampe is preserued that it is not put out Of the light of this holy oyle this good King had much who thus speaketh of himselfe Thou hast taught me wisedome in the secret of mine hart An other reason may be also giuen of this For seeing that it is the office of grace to make a man endued with Vertue it cannot execute this vnlesse first it moue a man to sorrow and repentance of his former life and stirre vp the feare of God in him Vnlesse before it worketh that man doth deadly hate sinne and desire heauenly blessings with great feruency and altogether contemne these worldly vanities But the will cannot obtayne these and the like vnlesse before it hath the light of vnderstanding and a knowledge proportionable by which the will may be stirred vp For the will is a blind faculty which is not mooued except the vnderstanding goe before carrying a light and shewing good and euill in all things that the affection towards them may encrease or decrease Hence it is that Thomas Aquinas sayth euen as the loue of God doth encrease in the soule of a righteous man so also encreaseth the knowledge of the goodnes fauour and beauty of the same God and that by an equall proportion that if one of them encrease an hundreth degrees so many also encreaseth the other For hee that loueth much he vnderstandeth many causes of loue in the thing beloued but he that loueth little vnderstandeth but few And that which is cleerely vnderstoode of the loue of God this also is vnderstoode of feare hope and of the hatred of sinne From which men would no more abhorre then from other things vnlesse they vnderstood that it was an euill then which nothing in this world is more worthy of horror and execration Seeing therefore that the holy Ghost willeth that these effects should be in the soule of a righteous man he willeth also that there should be causes in it from whence they may come As hee willeth that there should be diuersity of effects in the earth so also he willeth that diuers causes and celestiall influences should be wrought in it Furthermore seeing that it is true as we before haue proued that God doth dwell by grace in the soules of the righteous and that God is light Enlightning euery man that commeth into the world as Saint
sayth The age of the righteous shall appeare more cleare then the noone day because hee knoweth how great clearenes and brightnes remayneth for him when now he beginneth to goe out of this world And so at that time when the wicked are heauy and faynt the righteous reioyce and haue confidence in the Lord. This Salomon testifieth in his Prouerbs The wicked sayth he shall be cast away for his malice but the righteous hath hope in his death Tell mee I pray thee what greater hope or confidence can be wished for then that which a certaine holy man did ioy in at the houre of his death Death drawing on and he seeing the enemy of mankinde sayd Thou cruell beast why standest thou there thou shalt find nothing deadly in me for the bosome of Abraham shall receaue me in peace How can hee feare or be disquieted who at the very poynt of death had so great hope of the heauenly glory Therfore the righteous doe not feare death yea they reioyce and prayse God when they dye and doe render vnto him great thanks for theyr ende for by the benefit of death they are deliuered from all their labours and enter into their happines Saint Augustine writing vpon the Epistle of Saint Iohn sayth Hee that desireth to be dissolued and to be with Christ dyeth not patiently but lyueth patiently and dyeth delightsomly Therefore the righteous hath no cause to sorrowe neyther to feare death yea rather â—â— is to be sayd of him that like vnto a Swan he dyeth singing yeelding the glory to God who calleth him He feareth not death because he feared God and he that feareth him neede not feare any other He feareth not death because he feared life but feares of death are the effects of an euill life Hee feareth not death because throughout all his life he learned to dye and prepared himselfe to dye but a man prepared and prouident feareth not his enemy Hee feareth not death because so long as he liued he sought for those things that might helpe him that is for vertues and good works He feareth not death because he hath the Iudge fauourable friendlie vnto him and this was the comfort of Saint Ambrose when he was departing this life I haue not so liued sayth he among you that I am ashamed to liue any longer neyther doe I feare to dye because we haue a good and a gracious Lord. To be briefe he feareth not death because to a righteous man death is not death but a sleepe it is not death but an end of all labours it is not death but the way vnto life and a ladder vnto Paradice For he knoweth very well that death hath lost all the bitternes of death after that it hath passed through the veines of life and that it hath receaued the sweetnes of life Hee is not discouraged for any other accidents which oftentimes happen vnto him at this last cast for he knoweth that those sorrowes are the sorrowes of the birth by which he is borne vnto eternity for the loue of which he hath alwayes desired death and led his life in patience He is not terrified through the memory of his sinnes because he hath Christ his Redeemer whom alwayes he did striue to please He feareth not the Diuine iudgement because he hath Christ his Aduocate he sereth not the presence of deuils because he hath Iesus his defender and Captaine he feareth not the horrour of the graue because he knoweth that his body is sowne a corruptible body but shall rise againe an incorruptible body And after this manner prayse is sung in the end The last day iudgeth all the praecedent as Seneca sayth and giueth sentence of the life past for this is it which eyther iustifieth or condemneth but seeing that the end of the righteous is so quiet and peaceable and the death of the wicked so troublesome and dangerous what is further required to make vs flye an euill life and to embrace a good besides this difference What doe all pleasures riches and sauours of this world profit and what auaileth prosperity if I am at the last to be cast into hell fire And what haue all the miseries and calamities of this life hurt me if I shall sleepe and rest in peace tranquillity and if I shall passe hence hauing a pledge and pawne of eternall life Albeit a sinner be wise in the busines of this life vvhat profit reapeth he by this wisedome vnlesse he heape and scrape together those things whereby he becommeth prouder vainer more delicate and of greater power to worke mischiefe but more vnfitte and vnapt to any good worke Hence death is so much the more bitter vnto him by howe much lyfe vvas sweeter There is no wisedome nor prudence more excellent in this life then so to dispose of all affaires that the end may be ioyfull and happy For it is the propertie of a wise man conueniently and fitly to direct the meanes to the end Wherefore if he be called a skilfull Phisitian who can so temper his medicine that it bringeth health which is the end of his medicine so he shall be termed truly wise who hath so learned to lead his life that a good death may follow that is that he be prepared to giue an account which in that day shall be exacted vnto which all the life is to be disposed aymed and leuelled at ¶ The Conclusion of those thinges which haue beene spoken of in this second part THou hast heard therfore my brother what how great be these twelue priuiledges prerogatiues which are granted vnto Vertue in this life which are as the twelue most notable and excellent fruites of that most noble tree which S. Iohn saw in his Reuelation which was planted by the side of a Riuer bearing twelue manner of fruites and yeelding fruite euerie month For what other thing can thys tree be after the Sonne of GOD then Vertue herselfe which yeeldeth fruites of holines and of lyfe And what other fruites more precious then these can be desired which throughout this whole part we haue remembred For what fruite is more pleasant to the sight then that fatherly prouidence by which God preserueth his What fruite is sweeter then the Diuine grace the light of wisedome the consolations of the holy Ghost the ioy peace of a good conscience the good euent of hope the true libertie of the soule the inward peace of the hart to be heard in prayers to be helped in tribulations to be prouided for temporall necessities and to conclude to be ayded and to tast of heauenly comforts in death Surely each one of these priuiledges is so great and so excellent of it selfe that if it were thorowly known each I say were sufficient to moue a man to embrace Vertue to alter and change his life and it would make a man truelie to vnderstand how well it was said of our Sauiour That whosoeuer shall forsake the
doest thou promise that thou thy selfe wilt performe it This question is aunswerrd by the words of Augustine who sayth Lord giue that thou commaundest and commaund what thou wilt So that he be the same vvho commaundeth me what I ought to doe and he that giueth me grace to doe it Therfore in one and the selfe same thing both the commaundement and the promise are found and God and man doe one and the selfe same thing he as the principall and chiefest cause but man as a cause lesse principall So that God in this busines carrieth himselfe to man as a Paynter who guideth the pencill in the hand of his Scholler and so maketh a perfect picture two perfit this worke but more honour belongeth to the one then to the other So also God worketh with vs in this busines after an absolute manner man hath not wherein to glory but to glory with the Prophet and say Lord thou workest all our works in vs. Therefore be thou mindfull of these words for by them thou mayst interpret all the commaundements of God For all that he commaundeth thee to doe he promiseth also that he will doe it with thee When as therfore he commaundeth thee to circumcise thine hart he sayth also that he will circumcise it so when he commaundeth thee that thou shouldest loue him aboue all things he bestoweth grace vpon thee that thou mayst be able so to loue him Hence it is that the yoke of the Lord is sayd to be sweete For there be two that draw it God man and so that which seemed and was difficult vnto nature the Diuine grace doth make it light and sweet Wherefore the Prophet after the fore-sayd words doth proceede further and say This commaundement which I commaund thee this day is not hid from thee neyther is it farre of It is not in heauen that thou shouldest say who shall goe vp for vs to heauen and bring it vs and cause vs to heare it that we may doe it Neyther is it beyond the Sea that thou shouldest say Who shall goe ouer the Sea for vs and bring it us and cause vs to heare it that we may doe it But the word is very neere vnto thee euen in thy mouth and in thine hart for to doe it In which words the holy Prophet would altogether take away that difficulty which carnall men imagine to be in the precepts of the Lord for they onely looking to the law of the Lord without the Gospell that is to those things that are commaunded and not to the grace which is giuen to obey and walk in those commaundements they accuse the law of difficulty saying that it is greeuous heauy difficult not considering that they expresly contradict Saint Iohn who sayth For this is the loue of God that we keepe his commaundements his commaundements are not greeuous for all that is borne of God ouercommeth the world That is all they that haue conceaued the spyrit of God in their soules by meanes of whom they are regenerated and made his sonnes whose spirit they haue receaued all these haue God in them who dwelleth in them by grace and they can doe more then all that that is not God and so neyther the world nor the deuill nor all the power of hell can hurt them And here-vpon it followeth that although the yoke of Gods commaundements be heauy and burthenous yet that newe strength and fortitude which is giuen by grace doth make it light and tollerable ¶ How Charity also maketh the way easie and pleasant which leadeth vnto heauen WHat wilt thou think if to all these precedent another help be ioyned which is deriued in vs from Charity For it is certaine that it is one of the most principall conditions of Charity to make the yoke of the Diuine law most sweet Wherfore as Saint Augustine sayth by no manner of meanes the labours of louers are burthenous or combersome but are delightfull and pleasurable as the labours of Hunters Fowlers and Fishers For in that which is loued eyther there is no labour or the labour is loued And in another place He that loueth sayth he laboureth not For all labour is contrary vnto them that doe not loue It is onely loue that blusheth at the name of difficulty What is it that maketh that a mother doth not feele the continuall labours and troubles which she hath in bringing vp her children but onely loue What is it that maketh an honest and a good vvife to attend night and day vpon her weake and sickly husband but onely loue What doth moue beasts also that they are so carefull to bring vp and foster their young ones and to giue them meate from their owne mouthes that theyr yong may haue to eate what doth moue them I say so to trouble and torment themselues that they may liue safely and what doth moue them so strongly to defend them endangering their owne lifes but true loue What is the cause why Saint Paule sayd with so magnanimous a spirit Who shall seperate vs from the loue of Christ shall tribulation or anguish or persecution or famine or nakednes or perill or sword As it is written For thy sake are we killed all day long we are counted as sheepe for the slaughter Neuertheles in all these things we are more then conquerers through him that loued vs. For I am perswaded that neyther death nor life nor Angels nor principalities nor powers nor thinges present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to seperate vs from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord. What is the cause why the holy Martyrs of Christ so feruently desired martirdome as the hart desireth the water brookes but true loue What is the cause why Saint Lawrence lying vpon the Gridiron in the midst of his torments sayde cheerefully that the flames did comfort and refresh his limbs but that great desire by which he longed for martirdom which was kindled with the flames of this loue For true loue thinketh nothing hard nothing bitter nothing greeuous nothing deadly as Petrus Rauennas sayth What sword what wounds what paynes what death can preuaile against perfect and true loue Loue is an impenetrable coate offence it resisteth darts it beateth backe the sword it tryumpheth ouer dangers it scorneth death if it be loue it ouercommeth all things Therefore ô man loue God loue him wholy that thou mayst ouercome and subdue all sinnes without labour The warre is pleasant and the combat delicate onely by loue to carry the victory ouer all crimes and vices This sayth he Neyther is true loue content if it conquer all labours and troubles but the very nature of loue desireth to sustaine moe labours and troubles for his sake whom it affecteth Hence ariseth that ardent desire of martyrdome which righteous and truly religious men haue that is to shed and poure forth
profit let Angels vtter it and not men For what greater profit can there be then to enioy eternal glory to be freed from euerlasting paine which is the reward of Vertue If the temporall commodities of this world doe rather moue vs what commodities can be more excellent or of greater valuation then those twelue priuiledges and prerogatiues which Vertue and the vertuous doe solace and delight themselues the least of which is of more force and validity to quiet a disturbed mind then al the dignities and treasuries of this world I kow not truly what more may be put into the ballance to weigh and peise those things which are promised to Vertue and to her louers The excuses also cauillations which the men of this world are wont to bring for their defence are so ouerthrowne spoiled of vs that I doe not see where such may find a small hole or crany to escape through vnlesse perhaps of set purpose pretenced malice they shut their eyes and eares that they might not see nor heare this manifest and euident truth What remaineth but that the perfection and beauty of Vertue being seene and knowne thou say with Salomon speaking of Wisedome the companion and sister of Vertue I haue loued her and sought her from my youth I desired to marry her such loue had I vnto her beautie In that she is conuersant with God it commendeth her nobility yea the Lord of all things loueth her For shee is the Schoolemistresse of the knowledge of GOD and the chooser out of his works If riches be a possession to be desired in this lyfe vvhat is richer then wisedome that worketh all thinges For if prudence worketh what is it among all things that worketh better then shee If a man loue righteousnes her labours are vertuous for shee teacheth sobernes and prudence righteousnes and strength which are the most profitable things that men can haue in this life If a man desire great experience shee can tell the things that are past and discerne things to come she knoweth the subtisties of words and the solutions of darke sentences she fore-seeth the signes and wonders or euer they come to passe and the successe of seasons and times Therefore I purposed to take her vnto my company knowing that shee would counsaile mee good things and comfort mee in cares and greefes Hetherto the Wise-man Therefore nothing remayneth but that we conclude this matter with the words of Saint Cyprian taken out of an Epistle to a friend of his written of the contempt of this world Therfore sayth he there is one peaceable and faythfull tranquility one solide firme and perpetuall security that if any one be taken out of the whirle-winds of this turbulent world and be founded and anchored in the hauen of safety he lifteth vp his eyes from the earth to heauen and being admitted to the Lords fellowship and now being neere vnto his God in his minde whatsoeuer amongst humane things seemeth great and lofty vnto others he glorieth that it lyeth within the circumference of his conscience Now he can desire nor couet nothing of the world who is greater then the world How stable and vnfoyled a defence is it how celestiall a gard abounding with perpetuall good things to be deliuered from the snares of this entrapping and enthralling world to be purged from these earthly dregs and incorporated into the light of eternal immortality Let him consider of this and view it well ouer whom the deceitful dangerousnes of this pernicious enemy before raged tirannized we are compelled more to loue when we know and condemne what we were and see what we now are and shal be Neyther is this worke brought to passe by rewards bribes and the power of man but it is the free gift of God and easily obtayned As the sunne shineth of his owne accord the day is enlightned a fountaine streameth and a shower falleth so the heauenly spirit infuseth it selfe Afterwards the soule beholding heauen and knowing her Maker she being higher then the earth and more noble then any earthly power beginneth to be that which she beleeueth her selfe to be Onely thou whom the heauenly warfare hath appoynted a Souldier in these spirituall warres hold and keepe thy standing incorrupt and fenced with religious vertues vse continually eyther praying or reading Somtimes talke thou with God and somtimes God with thee let him instruct thee with his precepts let him haue the guiding and ordering of thee whoÌ„ he maketh rich no man shal make poore There can be no penury where the heauenly bounty hath filled and blessed Now coffers stuft with crownes now stately Pallaces and gay buildings will seeme base and vild vnto thee when as thou knowest that thou thy selfe are more beautified and adorned being a house in which the Lord sitteth as in his temple and where the holy Ghost dwelleth Let vs trimme vp this house with the ornaments of innocency let vs enlighten it with the sun-shine of righteousnes This house shall neuer decay through age neyther shall the deckings of it waxe old Whatsoeuer things are counterfet are not lasting neyther doe they yeeld any stability to the poâ—â—â—ssors which haue not the truth of possession This perpertually continueth with a colour vndecayed with honour vntaynted and with splendour vnobscured it cannot be abolished nor extinguished it may be only conuerted into further perfection the body being glorified Hetherto Cyprian Whosoeuer therfore is moued with the reasons and arguments which copiously we haue handled in this booke the grace of God and Diuine inspiration assisting without which all is done in vaine and desireth to embrace so great a blessing of Vertue let him reade the booke following which deliuereth and handleth the method and order how to come vnto Vertue The end of the first booke of the Sinners Guide the Sinners Guyde Written in the Spanish tongue by the learned and reuerend Diuine F. Lewes of Granada ¶ Since translated into Latine Italian and French And now perused and digested into English by Francis Meres Maister of Arts and student in Diuinitie Romans 12. verse 2. ¶ Fashion not your selues like vnto this vvorld but be yee changed by the renuing of your minde that yee may prooue what is the good will of GOD and acceptable and perfect AT LONDON ¶ Printed by I. R. for Iohn Flasket and Paule Linley Anno Dom. 1598. THE PROLOGVE of the second Booke IT sufficeth not to haue perswaded man to embrace Vertue vnlesse also we teach him the manner way how to come to Vertues pallace Therfore after wee haue in the former Booke deliuered many reasons and those verie forcible and perswasible to moue the harts of men to the loue of Vertue now it is meete that we come to the practise and vse of it and that we set down many counsailes and sundry documents which are profitable and which as with a hand may leade men vnto Vertue It is the first steppe vnto Vertue
new or vnthought of and that he remember that most prudent counsaile of the Wiseman My sonne if thou wilt come into the seruice of God stand fast in righteousnes and feare and prepare thy soule to temptation For this ought to be most assured vnto him that comming to the seruice of God he commeth not to playes pageants not to banquets or feasts but he must take vp his shield and speare being harnessed with his coate offence for the battaile For albeit that it is true that we haue many helps and supportations in this life as we haue sayd before neuertheles it cannot be denied but that many difficulties doe offer themselues in the beginning which the young Souldier of Christ ought to haue premeditated least they come as at vnawares and discourage him and let him alwayes haue in mind the reward and price for which he fighteth that it is of so great value that it deserueth this and much more But least this feare inflicted of his aduersaries should discourage him or dash him out of countenance let him thinke that they are much moe and more powerfull that are for him then they that are against him For althogh on that side that sin standeth there area great multitude of cōspiratours yet on Vertues side the fauourers and defenders are stronger and more powerfull For as we haue sayd the Diuine grace is opposed to our corrupt nature God to the deuill good custome to euill an army of Angels to the multitude of euil spirits good examples and the fellowship of the Saints to euill examples and persecutions and the consolations and comforts of the holy Ghost to the delights pleasures of the world Neyther is it to be doubted but that euery one of these is stronger and mightier then his contrary Because grace is stronger then nature God then the deuill good Angels then euill and spirituall delights and pleasures are much more forcible and effectuall then carnall THE FIRST PART OF THE SECOND BOOKE OF THE SINNERS GVIDE VVhich entreateth of vices and theyr remedies Of the firme and resolute purpose which a Christian ought to haue that he may not doe any thing hereafter which is sinne CHAP. III. THE two former instructions being set downe as the principall foundations of this vvhole building the first and chiefest thing that a man must doe that he may be disposed and fit to offer and consecrate himselfe to the Diuine worship and to the exercise of Vertue is to plant in his soule a firme and resolute purpose that he will neuer heereafter fall into sinne by which he might lose the fauour of his Sauiour and the enioying of his blessings This is the chiefest foundation of a spirituall life this is that by which the friendship and fauour of God is kept and the hope of the kingdome of heauen In this Charity consisteth and the spirituall life of the soule This is that that maketh the sonnes of men the sonnes of God temples of the holy Ghost liuely members of Christ and maketh them pertakers of all the spirituall blessings of the Church So long as the soule perseuereth in this determination it abideth in Charity in the state of saluation but so soone as it steppeth back from it it is blotted out of the booke of life and is registred in the volume of perdition and is transported to the kingdome of darknes So that this busines being well considered of it seemeth that as in all things as well naturall as artificiall there is a substance and an accident betweene which there is this difference that the accidents being changed the substance still remayneth euen as the pictures of an house being defaced and the furniture spoyled the house notwithstanding standeth firme on the foundations albeit not with the same perfection but if the house fall which is the substance then nothing remayneth after the same manner as long as this holy and sanctified purpose standeth firme and fast in the soule the substance of Vertue standeth vnmoueable but if that faile forth-with all things fall The reason of this is because the whole foundation of a godly life consisteth in Charity which is to loue God aboue al things but he loueth God aboue all things who aboue all things hateth sinne for only through sinne this charity and loue of God perisheth For euen as adultery is the most contrary thing to mariage so that which is most contrary to a godly and vertuous life is sinne for this killeth Charity in which this life consisteth For this cause the Martyrs haue suffered so greeuous and horrible torments not refusing to be rosted to be fleane and to be cut in peeces to be bowelled to be racked to be torne in peeces of wild beasts rather then they would sinne by which they might lose the fauour of God yea although it was but for a moment not being ignorant in the meane time but that they might repent after the offence done and might be againe entertayned into fauour as Saint Peter was after that hee had thrice denied Christ. Neuerthelesse they had rather suffer all the torments of the vvorld then for so short a time to want the Diuine fauour Of this euery where we haue many examples but amongst others of three vvomen one of the old Testament the mother of the seauen sonnes in the Machabees and two vnder the new Testament one of which is called Felicitas the other Symphorosa each of them in like manner the mother of seauen Sonnes All these three were present at the tortures and martyrdome of their sonnes and seeing them to be rent and torne and the flesh with the skinne to be pulld from the bones vntill theyr bowels and intrals gushed out they did not only not faynt beholding so sorrowfull a spectacle but they comforted their sonnes and encouraged them admonishing them to fight manfully for the fayth and obedience of God At length they also with theyr sonnes for the same cause most constantly yeelded vp their lifes But after these famous illustrious examples I will here set downe another which is rehearsed of S. Ierome in the life of Paule the first inhabiter of the Wildernes The Tyrant saith he commaunded another in the florish of his young yeeres to be brought into a most pleasant Garden and there amongst the white Lillies and the redde Roses where a bright Riuer made a delectable noyse the winde made a pleasant ruffling among the leaues of trees he commaunded a soft bed of Downe to be made and that he might not roule himselfe off from it he caused him to be left lying vpon it fettered with bonds of silke to whom when all the rest were departed came a very beautifull harlot who began to coll kisse him vse al daliance to ripen lust and that which is a shame to be spoken shee dallied vvith his priuities that his body beeing thus prouoked to lust shee might gette the maistry ouer him What this souldier of
tast that which being tasted bringeth death Hence it is that those beasts in Ezechiell which are the figures of holy men were full of eyes round about that thereby might be signified howe necessary these spirituall eyes are for the seruants of GOD that they may defend themselues from vices Therefore of this remedy we will in this tractate especially entreate to which we will also adioyne all others which seeme to bring any profit as shall be more plainly seene in the discourse following Of the remedies against Pryde CHAP. IIII. WE handling in thys former part sinnes the remedies of them will take our beginning from those seauen which are called capitall as it were the heads and fountaines of all other For euen as the rootes of trees beeing cut vp the boughes branches which receiue life from the rootes doe foorth-with wither and perish so those seauen generall vniuersall rootes of all other vices beeing hewen in sunder and vtterly eradicated suddenly also the vices will dye which are deriued from them For this cause Cassianus with great diligence writ eyght bookes against these vices in which kinde of studie many other learned and graue men haue imitated him 〈◊〉 they did see that these enemies being ouerthrowne others could not lift vp their heads The reason of this is because all sinnes doe originally flow from selfe-loue because euery one of them is committed through the loue desire of some particuler good to desire which this selfe-loue pricketh vs forwards From this loue those three branches do spring of which S. Iohn speaketh in his Canonicall Epistle which are The lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life Which that I may expresse them by more known names are the loue of carnall delights pleasures and the loue of riches and honours These three loues are deriued from that first For from the loue of pleasure three sins are engendered Luxurie Gluttony Idlenes From the loue of riches Couâ—tousnes ariseth and from the loue of honour Pride The other two Wrath and Enuye serue each one of these peruerse corrupt loues For Wrath proceedeth thence that a man cannot obtaine that he desireth and Enuye thence that any one is preferred before vs or that any one hath obtayned that we desired Seeing therefore that these three are as the vniuersall rootes of all euils from which all these seauen sinnes proceede these seauen beeing destroyed the whole Armie of other vices shall be ouerthrowen Therefore all our studie ought to be to thys end that we fight valiantly against these Gyants if we will tryumph ouer all other enemies who possesse the Land of Promise Among these vices Pryde is the most powerfull which is an inordinate appetite of our owne excellencie The Saints doe call this the Mother and Queene of all other vices Wherefore not without cause amongst many other instructions holy Toby said to his sonne Suffer not pride to raigne in thine hart or in thy mouth for in pride destruction tooke her beginning Therefore when as this pestilent beast doth assault thy hart thou maist defend thy selfe with the weapons following Consider first that horrible punishment with which Lucifer and his Angels are punished because they were proude for in a moment in the twinckling of an eye hee with his Angels was cast from the highest heauen downe to the deepest hell See 〈◊〉 darke and blinde this vice made him who was more cleâ—â—â—n the starres who not onely was an Angell but the Prince of Angels but now is made not onely a deuill but the wickedst and the filthiest of all deuils If it could doe so much in Angels what can it not doe in thee who art dust and ashes For God is not contrary to himselfe neyther is hee an accepter of persons and as he suffered not pryde in Angels so also in men it dooth displease him in whom he looketh for humilitie Hence it is that Saint Augustine saith Humilitie maketh men like vnto holy Angels pride of Angels maketh deuils And that I may speake plainly Pride is the beginning end cause of all sinnes because it is not onely a sinne but that no sinne is or hath been or shall be without it This saith he And Bernard saith Pride casteth downe from heauen to hell Humilitie rayseth from the lowest place to the highest an Angell falleth froÌ„ the loftiest height to the lowest pitte and man ascendeth from out the world to heauen Then with this punishment let vs consider of the inestimable example of the humility of the sonne of God who for vs tooke vpon him the most abiect nature of man and for vs in like manner was obedient to his father euen to the death of the Crosse. Learne therfore ô man to be humble learne ô earth to obey learne ô dust to be despised Learne ô man of thy God for he is meeke and humble in spirit If it seemeth not honorable inough vnto thee to imitate the example of other men imitate the example of the God of Gods who became man not only that he might redeeme vs but also that he might teach vs humility Cast thine eyes also vpon thy selfe for in thy selfe thou shalt finde that may perswade humility Consider what thou wast before thou wast borne what thou art now being borne and what thou shalt be after death Before thou wast borne thou wast filthy and obscene matter not worthy to be named now thou art dung couered ouer with snow and a while after thou shalt be meate for wormes Why then art thou proud ô man seeing that thy natiuity is sinne thy life misery and thine end putrefaction and corruption If the possession of temporall goods doe puffe thee vp stay a while and death will come who maketh the begger equall with the King and the cottage with the crowne For as we are all borne alike and equall as much as pertayneth to the condition of nature so we all dye alike and equall by reason of the common necessity that being excepted that after death they haue the greater count to render who here haue possessed more Wherfore Chrisostome sayth excellently well Looke into the Sepulchers of the dead seeke amongst them for tokens and notices of that magnificence in which they â—â—ned seeke and enquire for their riches seeke for the solaces of this world which they enioyed whilst they liued Tell me where are now their ornaments their precious and costly apparell their delights and pleasures they are all past away all gone all their magnificent and riotous banquets laughters sports and all the mirth of this world is faded and vanished away Come neerer to the Sepulcher of whom so euer thou wilt and thou shalt find no other thing here but dust ashes wormes and putrified bones Here then is an end of all bodies yea although fed and nourished with the greatest delicates and dainties of the world And I would to God that here were an end of
lusts which drowne men in perdition and destruction For the desire of money is the roote of all euill The naughtines and malignitie of this vice cannot be described more cunningly or curiously For it is manifest by these words that that vnhappy man who is subiect to this euill is the seruaunt and slaue of all other sinnes Wherfore wheÌ„ this vice doth assault thine hart thou shalt defend thy selfe with these weapons following First therefore ô thou couetous man consider that vvhen the Lord and thy GOD descended from the highest heauen to the earth he would not possesse riches which thou so greatly desirest yea he loued pouerty so wel that he would take flesh of a Virgin most poore and lowly and not of a Queene rich mighty When he was borne he would not lodge in a stately and wealthy pallace he would not lye vppon a soft bed he refused dainty swadling-clothes embraced for his cradle a hard Cratch So long as he lyued in the world he alwayes loued pouerty and contemned riches He chose his Apostles and his Embassadours not Princes and great men but base and abiect Fishers What preposterous order then is this that the most vild worme should seeke riches which the Lord of al the world and of all creatures contemned for his cause Consider furthermore the exceeding great basenes of thine hart that when as thy soule is created according to the image similitude of God and redeemed by his owne blood in comparison of which all the world is nothing yet thou art not ashamed to lose it for so small a gaine God would not haue gyuen his life for the whole world which notwithstanding he willingly layd downe for the soule of man Therefore thy soule is worthier and of more price then the whole world True riches are not gold nor siluer nor precious stones but they are found in Vertue which a good conscience bringeth with it Relinquish the false opinion of men and thou shalt see that gold and siluer are no other things but yellow and white earth which through the errour of men is crept into so great credit That which hath been despised by all the Phylosophers of the world doost thou beeing a disciple of Christ so much esteeme it that thou shouldest make thy selfe a seruant and slaue vnto it For as S. Ierome saith he is a seruant vnto riches who keepeth and tendeth them as a seruant but he who hath cast off that yoke deuideth them as a Lord. Consider also what the Lord sayth in the Gospell No man can serue two Maister God and Mammon that is riches The soule cannot freely serue God if it follow and hunt after riches so greedily and with so open a mouth Spirituall delights doe shunne a hart busied and occupied about earthly matters neyther doe things counterfeit and true agree together nor things hie and low temporall and eternall spirituall and carnall neyther can any man reioyce and recreate himselfe in them both together Consider in like manner that by howe much more prosperously earthly matters succeede with thee by so much perhaps thou art more miserable by reason of that pledge which here is giuen vnto thee that thou maist relye vpon vaine felicity which heere is offered vnto thee Ah that thou knewest what great euils and how many inconueniences thys small prosperity bringeth with it thou shouldest see the loue of riches more to afflict by desire then to delight by vse For it enwrappeth the soule in diuers temptations and bindeth it in infinite cares it allureth it with sundry delights prouoketh it to sinne and disturbeth the quiet no lesse of the body then of the soule And that vvhich is greater riches are neuer gotten without trouble nor possessed without care nor lost without griefe and that which is worser they are sildome gathered without sin and offence to God Hence is that prouerbe A rich man is eyther a wicked man or the heâ—re of a wicked man Consider moreouer how great an errour it is without intermission to desire those things which albeit they be most plentifull yet they can neuer satisfie the desire of man yea they prouoke it and inflame it more as drinke in a Dropsie is the cause of greater thirst so that although thou hast yet thou alwaies couetest that which thou wantest and alwaies couetest more and more So that the miserable and wretched hart wandering through all the things of this world is wearied but neuer satisfied it drinketh but the thirst is not quenched for it esteemeth not those things which it hath vnlesse also it possesse in like manner those things which further it may haue and there is no lesse trouble for things which it compasseth not theÌ„ there is pleasure in things which it possesseth neyther is the heart more satisfied with gold then the body with wind or ayre Wherefore not without cause Saint Augustine maruelleth saying What greedines sayth hee of desire is this seeing that the beastes haue a meane For then they rauine when they are hungry but they spare the pray when they feele fulnes Onely the couetousnes of riches is vnfatiable it alwayes raueneth and is neuer satisfied neyther feareth GOD nor reuerenceth man neyther spareth Father nor acknowledgeth Mother neyther yeeldeth vnto brother nor keepeth fayth with friend Consider that where much riches is there are many that eate and deuoure them many that couet them and many that lye in waite to steale them What hath the richest man of this world more of all his riches then whereof he may necessarily lyue of thys yrksome care thou maist disburthen thy selfe if thou wilt cast thy care vpon God and commit thy selfe to his prouidence for God neuer confoundeth them that trust in him For whom God made he will not suffer to die through hunger He that feedeth the foules of heauen and clotheth the Lillyes of the field how is it possible that he should forsake man especially seeing that so small a thing sufficeth the necessity of man The life is short death followeth at our heeles what need is there then of so great prouision for so short a iourney What wilt thou doe with so much riches especially seeing that the lesse thou hast the more lightly and freely thou mayest walke and when thou shalt come to the end of thy pilgrimage if thou beest poore thy estate shall not be worser then rich mens who are loaden with much gold Yea it shall be much better for thou shalt feele lesser griefe in forsaking this trash and pelfe of the world and a smaller account is to be rendered before God On the contrary part rich men in the end of their iourney leaue their mountaines of gold not without great griefe of hart which they adored as GOD neyther without exceeding great danger and hazard vnto them an account is to be rendered of those things they possessed Consider also ô thou couetous man for whom thou gatherest so
these may be entertained as friends and those expelled as enemies They that are negligent and remisse in this respect doe let oftentimes those things enter into their soules which doe not only take away the deuotion and feruour of the spirit but also charity and loue in which the life of the soule consisteth Whilst Isboseth the son of Saul slept on his bed his murdering seruants came in vpon him slew him and tooke away his head In like manner when as discretion lyeth slumbering whose duty it is to purge and seuer the fruite from the chaffe that is profitable and good cogitations from the bad and hurtfull those oftentimes enter into the soule which kill it and depriue it of life This diligence is not onely conducent for the preseruation of life but to keepe silence and it much furthereth prayer For an vnquiet and a troubled imagination doth not suffer a man to pray without variety of cogitations and vagaries of the sences but that which is quiet and reduced into order very easily perseuereth in prayer ¶ Of the reforming of the vnderstanding and of the duties of wisedome AFter that we haue entreated of all the fore-sayd parts powers of man it remayneth that we speake something of the excellentest and noblest of them which is the vnderstanding which amongst other vertues is to be adorned and beautified with the most rare and beautifull vertue of discretion and wisedome The duty and office of this vertue in a spirituall life hath great proportion with that which the eyes are in the body the Pilot in a ship the King in his kingdome and the Charret-man in his Charret who holding his whip in his right hand and the raines of the bridels in his left directeth and driueth his Horses whether he will Without this vertue the spirituall life is altogether blind disordered and full of confusion For this cause a certaine excellent writer doth place this vertue in the first place as the Captayne and guide of all others Wherefore all the louers of vertue before all things ought to cast their eyes hether and diligently behold this vertue that they may proceede with greater fruite in all others This vertue not onely hath one duty and office but many and those diuers for it is not only a perticuler vertue but a generall which concurreth with the exercises of all vertues conueniently and fitly reducing and bringing them into order According to this generall duty we will heere speake of certaine actions which belong vnto it First and formost it belongeth vnto wisedome fayth and charity being presupposed to direct all our actions to God as to the last end by examining subtilly and ingeniously the intent which we haue in working and acting that we may see if we simply and purely seeke God or rather our selues For the nature of our owne selfe-loue as a certaine famous Doctour sayth is very subtill and full of fetches and seeketh it selfe in euery thing yea in the noblest exercises It is also the dutie of Wisedome to know how to conuerse with thy neighbour without quarrell or complaint to helpe him and not to offend him and scandalize him It is needfull therfore wisely to discouer euery mans vaine that is euery mans condition and of what spirit he is and to leade conduct him by those meanes which are most profitable for him It is vvisedome to know how to beare patiently other mens defects and to dissemble them not to take knowledge of them and not to search theyr wounds to the bones remembring that all humane affayres are composed of act and potentiall power that is of perfection and imperfection neyther that it can bee otherwise but that alwayes there must be infinite imperfections and defects in mans life especially after that great and grieuous lapse of nature by sinne And therefore Aristotle sayth that it is not the part of a Wiseman in euery matter to seeke for like certainty and demonstration For some things may be demonstrated and some cannot the truth and certainty of one thing may be found out which of another thing cannot In like manner it is not the part of a wise man to looke that all the affayres of man should be peysed in a like ballance neyther that any thing should bee wanting for some things can carry this and somethings cannot He that stiflie vrgeth the contrary perhaps shall more hurt those meanes that he worketh by then he shall profit by the end hee intendeth albeit the thing take effect according to his minde It is wisedome if a man know himselfe and all things within him that is all his sences cogitations euill appetites and his sinister intents to be briefe his owne ignorance and his small vertues that his soule be not puffed vp with vaine glory to presume any thing of it selfe rashly and that he may better vnderstand with what enemies he is continually to warre vntill hee hath cast them all out of the land of Promise that is out of his soule It is also vvisedome to consider with what great diligence a man ought to prosecute and attend this worke It is wisedome to be able to gouerne the tongue according to the prescript of Gods law and the circumstances before remembred To know also what is to be spoken and what to bee concealed with their due times and seasons For as Salomon sayth There is a time to keepe silence and a time to speake For it is certaine that a wise man may with greater praise hold his peace then speake at the table at bankets and at such like places and oppertunities It is wisedome also not to beleeue euery body not forth-with to poure foorth all the spirit in the beginning heate of disputation neyther to speak rashly or giue iudgment on a suddaine what he thinketh of matters for Salomon sayth A foole vttereth all his minde at once but a wise man keepeth it in till afterward He that trusteth him whom he ought not to trust shall alwayes liue in danger and shall alwayes be his slaue whō he hath trusted and concredited himselfe vnto It is wisedome if a man hath learned to fore-see a farre of dangers comming to diminish blood in the time of health and to discerne warre a farre of That is to preuent and turne away the difficulty or strife that might growe of thys or that matter and to auoyde all euill by prayers or such like remedies Thys is the counsaile of Ecclesiasticus when he sayth Before the griefe be growen vse Phisicke Therfore when thou art to goe to bankets or to any solemnitie when thou art to haue busines vvith litigious or contentious men or with those of a peruerse disposition or if thou art to goe to any other place where perhaps thou mayst be endangered alwayes come aduisedly thether and prepared for all things which may happen It is wisedome to know how to handle the body with discretion and
his neighbour hath fulfilled the Law What greater prayse may be vttered or spoken of any other vertue Besides all thys the most beloued disciple of Christ I meane Iohn in his canonicall Epistles doth repeate nothing so often neyther commendeth any thing so much as this vertue And that he teacheth in his Epistles he confirmeth in his history nothing was so cōmon in his mouth as Bretheren loue one another and that through the whole course of hys lyfe yea when he was conuersant among the Disciples hee would often and sundry times on one day repeate it and when he was demaunded why he repeated it so often he answered the demaunders Because it is the precept of the Lord and if it alone be done it is sufficient ¶ Of the duties of Charitie HE therefore that would satisfie the Diuine will let him assuredly knowe that amongst all the principall matters that GOD commaundeth there is not one so much beate vppon and so often required as this commaundement of loue yet so that we vnderstand not thys to be a bare and a naked affection but to haue annexed vnto it all the effects which are wont to concurre with true loue for otherwise it were not woorthy of the name of loue as the same Euangelist showeth saying Who so hath this worlds good and seeth his brother haue neede and shutteth vp his compassion from him howe dwelleth the loue of God in him My babes let vs not loue in word neyther in tongue but in deed and in verity Therefore vnder the name of loue amongst many other sixe things are comprehended To loue to counsayle to releeue to beare to pardon and to teach by good examples which workes are so ioyned with Charitie that as any one hath moe or fewer of them he hath more or lesse Charitie Thys we say to this end because there are found some who say I loue but theyr loue hath no effect but the name onely There be others who loue and by good admonitions and counsailes doe giue some relish of it but they doe not open theyr coffers neither put theyr hands into theyr Chest that they may releeue the necessities of theyr brethren and neyghbours Againe there be others that helpe theyr neyghbour with theyr aduice releeue hym with that they possesse yet they beare not the iniuries and infirmities of theyr brother nor follow the counsaile of the Apostle who sayth Beare ye one anothers burden so fulfil the law of Christ. Some beare patiently the iniury offered vnto thē but they do not pardon mercifully him that hath iniured them and although in their harts they beare no hate yet outwardly they doe not show forth their loue by benefits by pliantnesse and by fauour These although they doe not faile in the first yet they doe not profit in the second neither doe they come to the perfection of this vertue There be some that haue all the fore-said effects but they edifie theyr neighbor neyther with words nor with good examples which surely is the noblest among the duties of Charitie According to this order euery man may examine himselfe that he may vnderstand what he hath and what is wanting vnto him in this vertue For we may say hee that loueth is in the first degree of charitie hee that loueth and giueth counsell in the second he that loueth counsaileth and releeueth in the third he that loueth counsaileth releeueth and suffereth in the fourth he that loueth counsaileth releeueth suffereth and pardoneth in the fift but he that loueth counsaileth succoureth suffereth pardoneth and teacheth edyfying by examples or godly words which is properly of those that are perfect and who are Apostolike men he hath ascended the sixt steppe and standeth vpon the vpmost staire And these be the positiue or affirmatiue acts which are required in charitie for they showe what we ought to doe for our neighbour There be others negatiue which teach what wee ought not to doe to our neighbour of which sort these are Not to iudge another not to detract another mans estimation not to couet his goods not to lust after the dignity or the wife of our neighbour not to giue him an offence or scandalize him eyther by raylings or vnhonest words or those that are superfluous much lesse by examples or ill counsailes He that diligently obserueth all these he fulfilleth whatsoeuer is required in the perfection of this diuine commaundement And if thou desirest a particuler and a briefe memory of all these comprehended in one worde see that thou hast as wee sayd before the hart of a mother towards thy neighbour and thou shalt altogether fulfill whatsoeuer hath hetherto been spoken Consider how a wise a religious mother louing her sonne admonisheth him if any danger be neere vnto him she succoureth him in need she beareth his errors and faults with patience sometimes chasticing them with iustice some-times couering and concealing them vvith wisedom For all vertues do waite vpon this one as the Queene and mother of all other Vertues Consider also howe the same mother reioyceth at the good and sorroweth at the ill hap of her sonne no otherwise then if they were her owne With vvhat great zeale she affecteth his profit and honour how deuoutly and diligently she alwayes prayeth vnto GOD for him to be short how shee is more carefull for the health and safety of her sonne then for her owne and that shee is cruell and seuere towards herselfe that shee may be gentle and good to her sonne If thou canst come thus farre that thou louest thy neighbour with such an hart then thou art come to the perfection of chatie but if it be not giuen vnto thee to ascend so high yet at least let this be the scope of thy desires and alwayes direct thy lyfe hether that thou maist be lifted higher and higher and that thou mayst not sticke in lower matters But if thou shalt aske mee howe thou mayest be induced with such an hart to loue a forreiner I say that thou oughtest to consider of thy neighbour not as a forreiner or an alian but as the image of GOD the workmanshyp of his hands his sonne and the liuely member of Christ. Hence it is that Saint Paule so often admonisheth vs that all we are the members of Christ therefore by sinning against our neighbour wee sinne against Christ and by dooing good vnto our neighbour vvee do good vnto Christ. So that thou must consider of thy neighbour not as a man or such a man but as of Christ himselfe or a liuely member of him And although thy neighbour be not such an one in respect of the matter of his body yet hee is such an one in regard of the participation of the same spirit and of the greatnes of the reward remuneration seeing that Christ sayth He that receaueth his neighbour receiueth him neyther shall his reward be other then if hee had receiued Christ hymselfe
Remember also all the commendations of thys Vertue before sette downe of vs and howe greatly it is commended of God For if there be a liuely desire in thee to please God wilt thou not endeuour to performe thys one thing so acceptable vnto him Consider what the loue of one kinsman is to another for the onely participation of flesh and blood which is betweene them and let it shame thee if the grace of the spirituall vnion be not as forcible in thee as carnall parentage or kindred If thou shalt say that in this there is a communion and a participation in one and the selfe same roote and in the blood of eyther consider howe much more noble that coniunction and communion is which is betweene the faythfull as the Apostle showeth while we haue all the same Father the same mother the same Lorde the same baptisme the same hope the same fayth the same meate and the same spirit who quickneth vs. We haue all the same Father GOD the Church our mother and Christ Iesus our Lord. We haue one fayth which is that supernaturall light of which we all pertake and which seuereth vs and maketh vs differ froÌ„ all other Nations one hope which is the very glory of the heauenly inhearitance in which wee all shall be of one hart and one mind We haue one Baptisme by which we are all adopted the sonnes of the same father made one anothers brethren We haue one and the selfe same spirituall meate euen the blessed body of Christ Iesus which incarâ—ateth vs together and maketh vs one with him no otherwise then as one loafe is made of diuers cornes and one wine of many grapes Besides all thys we participate of one and the selfe-same spirit which is the holy Ghost who dwelleth in all the soules of the faythfull whether it be by faith or by fayth and grace together quickning and sustaining vs in this life If the members of the same body albeit hauing diuers duties and functions and differing also in forme doe so tenderly and mutually loue one another because they liue by one and the selfe same reasonable soule how much more mutually ought faythfull Christians to loue one another who are made aliue by that Diuine Spirit who by how much he is more noble by so much also he is more powerfull to knit and vnite those together in whom he dwelleth If onely the kinred of flesh blood can procure so great loue between kinsfolke how much more shall so great an vnitie procure it and the participation and communion of so noble and excellent things Let that notable rare example of that singuler loue wherewith Christ hath loued vs neuer slip out of thy minde vvho hath loued vs so strongly so sweetly so graciously so perfectly not for any profit or neede to himselfe not for any merrit of ours that we being strengthened by so noble an example and bound by so great a benefit may forth-with prepare our selues and as much as lyeth in vs dispose our selues to loue our neighbour with such loue that we may satisfie and obserue that commaundement which our Sauiour Iesus hath giuen vnto vs and so commended vnto vs when he ascended to his Father left thys earth saying This is my commaundement that yee loue one another as I haue loued you Of that which man oweth vnto God CHAP. XVI AFter that we haue showne and declared what we owe to our selues and to our neighbour now we will set down what we owe vnto God This is the chiefest and noblest part of Christian iustice and righteousnes vpon which three Theologicall vertues doe attend Fayth Hope and Charity which haue God for their obiect with that vertue which of Diuines is called Religion whose obiect is the Diuine worship A man shall satisfie all the bonds and obligations which are contayned vnder this vertue if towards God he hath such an hart as a sonne hath towards his father For euen as a man shall satisfie content himselfe if he hath the hart of a good Iudge and his neighbour if he hath the hart of a mother so after a certaine manner of speaking he shall satisfie God if he loue him with such an hart as a sonne is wont to loue his father for it is one of the especiall functions and operations of the Spirit of Christ to giue to man such an hart towards God Now therfore consider diligently what the hart of a sonne is towards his father what is his loue his feare his reuerence his obedience towards him and the zeale of his fathers honour how he serueth him freely with what affiance and boldnes he runneth vnto him in all his needs how patiently he beareth his correction and chasticement with all other duties and obseruances Of such an hart and mind be thou towards God and thou shalt absolutely fulfill this part of iustice and righteousnes To prepare and procure such an haâ—t nine vertues seeme especially necessary vnâ—o me the first and principall of which is loue the second feare and reueâ—ence the third trust and confidence the fouâ—th 〈◊〉 of the honour of God the fift a pure intent in the â—â—â—rcise of the Diâ—ine worship the sixâ— prayer and refuge to God in all needs and necessities the seauenth thanksgiuing for Diuine benefits the eight obedience and conformity of our will to Gods will the ninth humility patience in all scourges and tribulations which God sendeth vnto vs. According to this order the first and the especiall thing that we ought to doe is to loue God after that manner as he hath commaunded himselfe to be loued that is with all the hart with all the soule and with all our strength so that whatsoeuer is in man it is to worship and embrace God according to his kind the vnderstanding by meditating vpon him the will by louing him the affections by inclining theâ—selues vnto that which his loue requireth the strength and vigour of all the members sences by exercising themselues in those things which his loue hath appointed The second thing that is required after this holy loue is feare which springeth of this loue for by how much more we loue any one by so much we feare that we doe not onely not lose him but also that we doe not offend him This is manifest in the loue of a good sonne towards his father and of a wife towards her husband who by how much she more tenderly loueth him so much the more diligently she endeuoureth least any thing be found in the house that may offend her husband This feare is the keeper of innocency and therefore it is necessary that it take deepe rooting in our harts which thing the Prophet Dauid long agoe desired of God when hee sayde Pierce through my flesh with thy feare for I am afrayde of thy iudgments It was not inough for this most holy King to haue feare planted in his hart but also he
especially the Psalmes and the Prophets in which nothing is so vsuall and common as hope in God and assurednes of the Diuine ayde and assistance which remayneth for them that trust in him The fourth vertue is the zeale of Gods honour that is if all our cogitations be to this end that the honour of the Diuine maiesty may be encreased and be preferred sanctified and glorified before all other things and that his will may be done in earth as it is in heauen and that we haue this minde in vs that no greater griefe can happen vnto vs then to see the Diuine honour impugned or abused Such a will was in the harts of those Saints in whose name it is sayd The zeale of thine house hath 〈◊〉 eâ—teâ— me For their harts were so afflicted for this cause and so great griefe of mind did feede vpon their bodies that euident tokens of it were seene in them If we did burne with the like zeale forth-with we should be marked in our foreheads with that glorious signe of Ezechiell and wee should liue free from all punishment and scourge of the Diuine iustice The fift vertue is the purity of the intent to which pertayneth that in our actions we seeke not our selues or our owne commodity but the glory good pleasure of our Lord God certainly perswading our selues that as they that play at the game called He that winneth looseth by loosing they winne and by winning they loose so also we by how much more we traffique negotiate with God without purpose of our owne profit by so much we make the greater gaynes and contrarily Therefore in this poynt we must diligently aduice our selues and examine all our actions with an vpright and an impartiall iudgement as men iealous that our mind doth respect no other thing in working but God himselfe for the property of naturall selfe-loue is very subtill as we sayd before seeketh it selfe in all things Many are rich in good works which if they were tried by the touch of the Diuine iustice would be found without this purity of intendment which is that Euangelicall eye which when it is cleare and simple it maketh the whole body cleare but if it be wicked it maketh the body full of darknes Many men in great places and dignities placed as well in the common-wealth as in the Church seeing vertue laudable and beautifull in her functions haue endeuoured themselues so to walke in her trackt that they haue been reputed for good men and haue purged their hands from all filthy luker aud vncleannes which might by any meanes haue polluted their honours Yet they haue done it for this respect that they might not fall from that authority they were placed in and that they might be fauoured of theyr Princes and graced with great dignities and honours And therfore theyr good works proceeded not from the liuely sparke of loue or from the feare of God neyther had they his obedience and glory theyr purposed end but sought for their owne commodity and the glory of man But what soeuer is doone after thys manner although it seeme somwhat in mans eyes yet in Gods sight it is as smoake and a shadow of righteousnes not true righteousnes For before God workes are not acceptable commended onely by the strength and grace of morrall vertues neyther doe corporall actions and businesses please him no not if a man should sacrifice his owne sonne but onely that spirit of loue sent from heauen all that which groweth on this roote is acceptable in the Diuine sight In the Temple there was not any thing which eyther was not gold or that was not couered with pure gold so it is not lawfull that any thing should be in the liuely Temple of our soule which is not eyther charitie or ouer-guilded deaurated with charity Therefore the seruant of God should not so much respect that he doth as the end which he intendeth and destineth it for For workes very base and of low account beeing doone for an excellent intent become most â—â—ellent and contrarily For God doth not so regard the body of the worke as the soule of the intention which proceedeth of charity Thys is to imitate after a certaine manner the most noble and most gracious loue of the sonne of God who commaundeth in his Gospell that we should loue after the same manner as he before loued that is of pure good will and not for the cause of any profit And seeing that among the circuÌ„stances of charitie which is in God this is most admirable he shall be the happiest who in all the works that he doth endeuoureth to imitate this Hee that doth thus let him assuredly beleeue that he is entirely beloued of God as beeing very like vnto him in the perfection of beautie and puritie of intent for similitude and likenes is wont to get and winne loue Wherfore let man turne his eyes from all humane respects when he dooth good and let him haue them fixed vpon God neyther let him suffer that those workes which are in so great reckoning and price with God serue humane regards If a noble and a beautifull woman worthy of a Kings bed should be married to a foule Collyer it would mooue all to compassion that beheld her after the same manner and much more effectually shall he be mooued that seeth vertues woorthy of God and diuine reward to be made vassals to compasse the drosse dung of thys world But because this purenesse of intent is not so easily obtained let man desire it instantly of God in all hys prayers especially in that part of prayer which the Lord himselfe taught his Apostles where it is said Thy wil be done in earth as it is in heauen That as all the heauenly Armies doe the vvill of GOD with a most pure intent onely that they may please him so also let man as much as lyes in him heere in earth imitate that heauenly custome and stile not because besides that that we please God we may not come to his kingdome but because workes are so much the more perfect as they are voyder and nakeder of all priuate and selfe commoditie The sixt Vertue is Prayer by meanes of which we ought to haue recourse to our Father in the time of tribulation as chyldren haue who when they are feared or daunted foorth-vvith runne to the bosome and lappe of their Father We haue neede of this prayer that 〈◊〉 â—ay haue our Father in continuall remembrance and standing in his sight wee may often conuerse and haue conference with him For all these things are annexed to the bond and duty of a good sonne towards his Father But because the vse and necessity of this vertue is knowne to euery body seeing we labour to be briefe in this place we will speake no further of it The seauenth Vertue is giuing of thanks to which belongeth to haue alwaies
doth me so great dishonour as he that killeth a man he that killeth a sheepe for me knetcheth a dogge hee that bringeth me meate offerings offereth swines blood who so maketh me a memoriall of incense prayseth the thing that is vnright O Lord whence comes this vvhy are they now abhominable and vild in thine eyes which in times past thou didst ordaine and commaund Presently after he addeth the reason saying These haue they done according to their owne wayes and their soule delighteth in these abhominations Thou seest therefore my brother in what base account those outward works are with God without this inward foundation Of these outward works he saith thus by another Prophet Though yee offer me whole burnt offerings and meate offerings I will not accept them neyther will I regard the peace offering of your fat beasts Take thou away from me the multitude of thy songs for I will not heare the melody of thy Vials And in another place with greater vehemency And I will sayth he cast dung on your faces euen the dung of your solemne feasts What neede we moe words to vnderstand how little these externall works doe profit although very excellent if that foundation of righteousnes be wanting which consisteth in the loue and feare of God and in the hatred of sinne But if any shall aske me why GOD doth so greatly condemne this worship comparing the sacrifices to murthers and the incense to idolatry calling the singing of Psalmes iangling and their solemnities dung I aunswere because besides that such works are not acceptable wanting the foundation of which we spake a little before many also hence take an occasion to be proud to presume great matters of themselues and to despise others because they doe not like them and that which is worser at length they come into a false security which ariseth from this counterfeit righteousnes and this is the greatest danger that meeteth with men in this life for they being lulled a sleepe with this vaine security doe not study nor striue to compasse those things they want and which are of greater waight I would not that thou shouldest credite me reade that which the Gospell speaketh of the prayer of the Pharisey who praying sayd God I thanke thee that I am not as other men are extortioners vniust adulterers or as this Publicâ—ne I fast twice in the weeke I giue tithe of all that I possesse Thou seest heere how plainly those three most dangerous rocks are discouered of which we spake a little before Presumption when he sayth I am not as other men Contempt of others when he sayth As this Publicane False security when he giueth thanks to God for the condition and quality of his life he led supposing that by it he was safe and secure neyther that he had any cause to feare Hence it is that they that are iust and righteous after this manner doe runne into most dangerous hipocrisie For we are to note in this place that there are two kinds of hipocrisie one is open and vild as that is in them whose wickednes is publique and knowne to many and yet neuertheles in outward conuersation they pretend great sanctity that they may deceaue the people The other is more subtill and more secret by which a man doth not onely deceaue another but also himselfe which kind of hipocrisie was in that Pharisey who not onely deceaued other men but also himselfe for when he was the worst he would haue beene thought the best Of this hipocrisie the Wise-man speaketh There is a way which seemeth right vnto a man but the end thereof are the wayes of death And in another place among the foure kinds of euils he reckoneth vp this also saying There is a generation that curseth their father and doth not blesse their mother There is a generation that thinke themselues cleane and yet is not clensed from their filthines There is a generation that hath a proud looke and doth cast vp their eye lids There is a generation whose teeth are as swords and their iawes as kniues to deuoure the poore from of the earth and the needy from among men Salomon here rehearseth these foure conditions of men as the most peruerse and pernicious of all that are in the world and amongst them he also putteth in this hipocrisie of which we now speake that is when as most impure men as this Pharisey was would be deemed pure and holy The state of that man that is entangled with this vice is most dangerous Certainly the euill is lesser if a man be euill and would not be accounted good then if he be vniust and would be esteemed iust For be it that a man be wicked yet the knowledge of himselfe will be the beginning of his saluation But when his wickednes is not knowne and he although sicke would be accounted sound and in health what remedy or what medicine shall be applied to him Therfore our Sauionr sayth to the Phariseis The Publicanes and harlots shall enter into the kingdome of heauen before you For Shall enter the Greekes read Doe enter in the present tense and so that is more expresly declared which we would say The same thing also those terrible fearefull words of the Lord in the Reuelation doe most manifestly testifie I would thou were hot or cold but because thou art luke warme neyÌ„ther cold not hot I will spew thee out of my mouth What meaneth this Why doth God wish that man were cold and sayth that luke warme is in worser estate then cold seeing that luke warme is nearer vnto hot I will tell thee what is the reason of this He is hot who by the fire of his charity which he hath in himselfe possesseth all vertues as well internall as externall as we haue sayd before On the contrary part he is cold who by reason of the absence want of charity hath neyther internall nor externall vertues He is luke warme who hath some externall vertues but not any internall no not a spark of charity Therfore the Lord signifieth here that he that is luke warme is in much worser estate then he that is cold not because he is burthened with moe sinnes but because he is more hardly deliuered from them For he is so much the more farther of from remedy by how much he thinketh himselfe more secure and freer from all euill for from this superficiall righteousnes if I may so call it which he hath he taketh an occasion to beleeue that he is some body when in truth he is no body Wherfore the Lord expounding whom he had termed luke warme addeth Because thou sayest I am rich and encreased with goods and haue neede of nothing and knowest not how that thou art wretched and miserable and poore and blind and naked Doe not these words liuely and in orient colours depaynt the image of the Pharisie that sayd God I thanke thee that I am
they that are newly inaugurated into Gods Church are to be admonished of a notable error which oftentimes happen vnto them Who perchaunce reading in some spirituall booke of the greatnes of the sweetnes and consolations of the holy Ghost and how great the pleasant allurements and enticements of charity be forth-with they suppose that this whole way is plaine full of deliciousnes and that no labour nor trouble is to be found in it wherefore they prepare themselues to walk in this way as to an easie and delectable matter neyther doe they arme themselues as those who goe to warre but they put on a soft and a delicate robe as if they were to goe to a mariage or a banquet They doe not consider that although the loue of God is sweet and pleasant in it selfe and of it owne nature yet that the way vnto it is straight and bitter For it is needfull aboue all things to conquer and ouercome selfe-loue and to striue alwayes against thy selfe which fight is greater then any other Both of them that Euangelicall Prophet insinuateth when he sayth O Ierusalem shake off the dust arise and sit downe It is certaine that in sitting there is neyther labour nor difficulty but it is labour to shake off the dust of earthly and carnall affections and to arise from the sinne in which we sleepe which is necessary to doe before we come to that sitting and rest It is true that God bestoweth many and wonderfull comforts vpon them that faithfully labour and in like manner vpon them who now desire to change the delights of the world for the pleasures of heauen yet if this change be not made and if a man will not leaue the pray he hath taken beleeue me this refreshing and comfort shall not be giuen him as neither Manna was giuen to the children of Israell in the wildernes before the dowe was spent which they brought vvith them out of Egypt Returning therefore to our purpose I say let those seeke for rest as long as they will who are not armed with this fortitude and let them know that vnlesse they first change theyr mindes and purpose they shall not finde it Let them knowe and assuredly beleeue that quietnes is not purchased but by labor that a crowne is obtayned by fighting that ioy is atchiued by sorrowing and that the most sweet loue of God is procured by hatred of our selues For thys cause this idlenes is so often reprehended in the Prouerbs but fortitude and diligence commended because the holy Spirit the Authour of this doctrine knew very well that vertues are very much hindered by laâ—nes but ayded and perfitted by fortitude and diligence ¶ Of the meanes by which this fortitude is obtained PErhaps some man will aske by what meanes this fortitude may be procured and atchiued seeing that it is no lesse difficult then the other vertues Wherfore not without cause the Wise-man thus beginneth his Alphabet full of spirituall instructions Who shall finde a strong and a valiant woman for her price is farre aboue the pearles As if he should say shee is more precious then all the treasure and Iems which may be brought out of all the Coasts of the world How then may we compasse a thing of so great price and value We shall compasse it first if diligently we consider the dignity excellency of it for that ought to be in great account with vs which openeth vnto vs the treasuries of all vertues If it be otherwise tell me why the louers of thys world doe after that manner flie froÌ„ vertue Not for any other cause but because it is hard and difficult vvhich difficulty sluggards doe shunne and flie The slothfull man sayth as the Wise-man speaketh A Lyon is in the way and a Lionesse in the streetes in the midst of the way she will deuoure me And in another place The foole foldeth his handes and eateth vp his owne flesh saying Better is a handfull with quietnes then two handfulls with labour and vexation of spirit Seeing therefore that there is no other thing that hindereth vs from comming vnto vertue but this onely difficultie if wee will embrace this fortitude to ouercome it we haue already obtained the kingdome of vertue together with the kingdome of heauen to which no man shall come but hee that is valiant strong and vndaunted In like manner by this fortitude the loue of our selues is cast vnder foote with the whole Army of her complices and confederats which enemy when it is ouerthrowne and cast foorth behold presently entereth in the loue of God or if you had rather God himselfe For as Saint Iohn sayth God is loue and he that dwelleth in loue dwelleth in God and God in him The manifold examples of the seruants of God doe much auaile and profit vs whom we see heere in the world poore naked bare-foote and bare-legged leaue hungry restlesse hauing not where to lay theyr heads and wanting all those things which are requisite for the maintenaunce of this life Some of them doe so hasten to labours and austerenes of life where they may liue religiously and strictly and not be entangled with the pleasures of this life as a Merchant to some rich mart or a student of the liberall Sciences to some famous Vniuersity What I pray thee can be more contrary to the custome of this world and to the desires of her louers then that a man should seek out those places where his body may be pinched his soule made heauie and his life exposed to many greeuances and troubles These are assuredly most contrary to flesh and blood but very agreeable vnto the Spirit of GOD. But yet more especiallie our pleasures are condemned by the example of the Martyrs who haue entred into the kingdome of heauen by so many so cruell torments Consider howe one of them was rosted another had his skinne pulld ouer his eares the third drowned in the water the fourth cast head-long from a steepe Rocke a fift layde on a peece of vvood with a sharpe ridge his flesh being scraped and rent of with a ragged tormenting Curry-combe and his bowels beeing slitte out yeelded vp the ghost a sixth hath so many Darts sticking in him that he is liker an Hedg-hog then a man the seauenth is fryed in a frying pan or boyled in scalding lead others tormented with other extreame tortures Consider how many of them haue beene tormented not with one kinde of punishment but with all kinde of torments which humane nature hath beene capable of and so haue passed to death For some haue been taken from the filthines vncleannesse of the pryson to be whipped and scourged from whipping scourging to be singed with burning coales from burning coales to the bastinado from the bastinado to yron combes then to the sworde which alone had beene sufficient to take away the life of the Martyrs but not to make them shipwracke theyr fayth or
those things of which he should haue taken and receaued greater causes of louing his Creator of those he receaued and tooke greater occasion of treason and disloyalty Therefore he was thrust out of Paradice and cast into banishment yea and was adiudged to hell fire that as hee was made a companion with the deuill in sinne so hee might be his companion in punishment The Prophet Elizeus sayd to his seruant Gehezi Thou hast receaued siluer and garments of Naaman therefore the leprosie of Naaman shall cleaue vnto thee and to thy seede for euer Like was the iudgement of God against man who seeing that he had affected the riches and treasure of Lucifer that is his pride and ambition it was meete that he should be infected with the leaprosie of the same Lucifer which was the punishment of his pride Behold then man made lyke vnto the deuill being a follower of his fault Therfore when man was so abhominable in Gods eyes and had incurred so great displeasure our most gracious and most mercifull Lord did not disdaine to respect vs he did not looke to the iniurie done to his supreame Maiesty but to the misfortune of our owne misery more lamenting our errour then desirous of reuenge for the contumely offered vnto him he determined to repaire man and to reconcile him vnto him his onlie begotten sonne being our Mediatour But how hath he reconciled man vnto him What humane tongue shall declare this vnto vs Christ hath procured so great friendship between vs and God that not onely God hath pardoned to man all his fault hath receaued him into his fauour hath made him one and that same with himselfe through a certaine vnion of loue but that which passeth all greatnes hath made such a likenes and similitude betweene himselfe mans nature that amongst all things created there can be found no greater conformity thē are the Deity and humanity for they are not one and the same through loue and fauour but also in person Who euer durst haue hoped that a wound so largely gaping should after this manner haue beene drawne together Who euer could haue thought that these two natures betweene which there was so great difference both of nature and of offence that euer they could haue beene so neerely ioyned together not in one house not at one table not in one loue but in one and the selfe same person What two greater contraries may be giuen then God and a sinner And what two things are now more straightly and narrowly combined together what more commixt then God and man There is nothing higher or nobler then God saith Bernard and there is nothing lower or baser then that clay of which man is formed Neuerthelesse with so great humility GOD descended vpon the earth to man and with so great sublimitie earth ascended to God that whatsoeuer God hath done earth may be said to haue done it and whatsoeuer earth hath suffered God may be sayd to haue suffered it Who would haue said to man when he was naked knew that he had incurred the wrath of God when he sought lurking holes and corners in Paradice wherein he might hide himselfe vvho I say would haue then said that the tyme should come when this vild substance should be vnited to God in one and the selfe same person Thys vnion is so neere straight and faithfull that when it was to be dissolued which was in the tyme of the Passion it would rather rent and breake then faint and forsake Death might seperate the soule from the body which was the vnion of nature but it could not pluck GOD from the soule nor frō the body for that vvas the vnion of the Diuine person For what it once apprehendeth with so strong a loue it neuer forsaketh This is that peace this is that health and saluation which wee receaue by the benefit of our Mediatour and Sauiour Although we are such and so great debtors for thys benefit that no mans tongue can vtter it yet we are not lesse bound to God for the manner of our Redemption then for the redemption it selfe O my Lord I am bound to thee in a high degree of dutie that thou hast deliuered me from hell and hast reconciled me vnto thee but much more owe I vnto thee for the manner it selfe by which thou hast deliuered me then for the liberty it selfe which thou hast giuen me All thy works are admirable in all things and although a man doth thinke when he hath considered one thing that not any thing remaineth which may be added to further admiratio◠foorth-with all that wonderment vanisheth when he turneth his eyes to contemplate an other thing O lord the glory of thy greatnes is not diminished if one wonder dooth seeme to expell and put out another but these are tokens of thy greater glory But what was the meane ô my Lord by which thou wouldest take away my euils and wickednesses There were infinite meanes by which thou couldest haue helped me and giuen me perfect saluation without labour and without any price Notwithstanding so great and so admirable is thy liberalitie that to show me more manifestly the greatnes of thy loue goodnes thou wouldest helpe me with so great dolours that the onely cogitation of them was sufficient to extract bloody sweat from all thy members thy passion a little after through dolor to cleaue a sunder the hardest Rocks O my Lord the heauens doe praise thee and the Angels sette forth thy wonders What didst thou neede our good or were our euils any preiudice vnto thee If thou sinnest sayth Iob what doost thou against him yea when thy sinnes be many what doost thou vnto him If thou be righteous what giuest thou vnto him or what receiueth he at thy hand Thys GOD so rich so voyde of all euill he whose riches whose power whose wisedome cannot increase or be greater then it is he that was neither before nor after the creation of the world greater or lesser then he is now he that is neither more illustrious or lesse glorious because Angels sing his prayse and men doe glorifie him nay if all the creatures should curse and blaspheme him thys great Lord not of necessity but of meere charitie it not hindering him that we were his enemies he dyd not disdaine to incline and bend the heauens of his maiestie and to descend into this valley of misery to be clothed with the flesh of our mortalitie and to take all our debts vpon him to cancell them to suffer and vnder-goe greater torments then euer any suffered heeretofore or shall suffer heereafter Ah my Lord for the loue of me thou wast borne in a stable and layd in a Cratch for me thou wast circumcized the eyght day for me thou flying into Egipt liuedst there in banishment seauen whole yeeres and for mee thou diddest sustaine diuers persecutions and wast molested and vexed with infinite iniuries For the loue of
me thou didst fast thou didst watch thou didst run hether thether thou didst sweat thou didst weepe and thou didst proue by experience those miseries which my sinnes deserued and yet thou wast without any sinne neyther was there guile found in thy mouth neyther hadst thou offended but wast offended To be briefe for me thou wast taken forsaken of thine denied sold presented now before this Iudge now before that falsely accused before them beaten with fists spette vpon mocked whypped crowned with thornes reuiled with blasphemies hanged vpon the Crosse dead and buried At the length thou didst free me from all euill dying vpon the Crosse and ending thy life thy mother looking on at which time thou wast found in so great neede and misery that in that thine intollerable thirst a small drop of water was denied vnto thee by which thou mightest refresh and coole the heate of thy mouth Not onely thou wast forsaken of all externall things but also of thine owne Father What is worthy of greater admiration then that the God of so great a maiestie should end his lyfe vpon the cursed tree of the Crosse with the title of a malefactour When any man yea of meane estate commeth to that misfortune that he is to be punished with like death for his offence and fault and thou by chaunce dost know him seeing his countenaunce thou canst not sufficiently wonder considering into what an vnhappy estate his misery hath cast hym that hee must vnder-goe a death so cruell and ignominous Wherefore if it be an admirable thing to see a common man of inferiour degree to be compassed with so miserable calamitie what will it be to see not a man but the Lord of all creatures to be so plunged Can a thing be seene with greater admiration then God himselfe to be brought into so great misery for the offences of one malefactour And if by how much the person is more worthy and more noble who is slaine by so much hys case is more admirable and more miserable O yee Angels to whom the height and excellencie of this Lord is so perfectlie knowne vnderstood tel me what was your griefe and discruciatement What was your admiration astonishment when ye saw him hanging vpon the tree The Cherubins whom God in the old Testament commaunded to be placed at the two ends of the Arke of the Couenant theyr faces beeing turned one to another towards the Mercie-seate as though they beheld it admiring wondering doe signifie vnto vs that those high and supreame spirits were astonished when they did see and behold a worke of so great pietie when I say they did see God made the propitiatorie sacrifice of the worlde hanging vpon a tree Nature herselfe stoode astonished and all the creatures were suspended from theyr functions the principalities and powers of heauen were amazed considering this inestimable goodnesse which they knew to be in GOD. What then shall they doe who doe not swimme in waters of so great admiration of the Sea What shal they doe who are not drowned in the Ocean of this goodnes How cannot he but be amazed as another Moses astonished then in the Mount when the figure and patterne of this misterie was reuealed vnto him and he cryed out with a loud voyce The Lord the Lord strong mercifull and gracious slowe to anger and aboundant in goodnesse and truth Beeing able neyther to say nor doe any thing but to proclaime with a high voyce that mercy which God then shewed to him What shall hee doe that couereth not his face as Elias dyd when he saw God passe by him not in the figure of his maiestie but in the forme of his most lowly humility not ouerthrowing Mountaines renting in sunder Rocks by his infinite power but presented to the eyes of a froward Nation commaunding Rocks to be rent and clouen in sunder through his compassion Who then will not shut the eyes of his vnderstanding who will not open the bosome of his will that he may perceiue the greatnesse of thys loue and benefit and loue thys Lord without any meane or measure O the height of loue ô the depth of vnmeasurable humility ô the greatnes of mercy ô the bottomlesse pitte of incomprehensible goodnes O Lord if I bee so greatly indebted to thee because thou hast redeemed me what doe I not owe thee for that manner by which thou hast redeemed me Thou hast redeemed mee with most great dolours with contumelies and ignominies not to be borne in so much that thou wast made a reproch of men and the scorne of the whole vvorld Through thy reproches thou hast honored me through thy accusations thou hast defended me through thy blood thou hast washed me through thy death thou hast raysed me and through thy teares thou hast freed me from euerlasting weeping and gnashing of teeth O good Father who so tenderly louest thy chyldren thou art that good and true Sheepheard which giuest thy selfe foode for thy flocke O thou most faythfull Keeper who lavest down thy life for thy Sheepe which thou tookest to defend keepe vvith what rewards shall I recompence this so great a benefit vvith what teares shall I requite thy weeping vvith what lyfe shall I remunerate thy holy and pure liuing There is too huge and great a difference betweene the life of man and God betweene the teares of the Creator and the creature But if ô man it be apparent vnto thee that thou art not onlie indebted vnto God that hee dyed not onely for thee alone but for the whole world beware thou be not deceiued For so he dyed for all that also he dyed for euery one For by his infinite wisedome all they for whom he suffered were so present to his eyes that they were all comprehended as it were in one and with his vnmeasurable loue he embraced all in generall and euery one in particuler and he so shedde his blood for all as if it had beene for one To conclude his loue was so great and so exceeding that as the holy men of GOD doe say if but one onely amongst all men had been guiltie and faultie yea for him alone he would haue suffered all that which he suffered for all Marke therefore and ponder with thy selfe howe much thou art indebted to thys Lord who hath doone so great thinges for thee and would haue doone much greater if thy necessitie had required greater ¶ Of this afore-said it is gathered how great an offence it is to offend our Sauiour I Would that all creatures would tell mee if any benefit greater if a greater bond if greater fauour thē this may be found Let the whole assembly and company of Angels tell me if God did euer such things for them Who then is he that will refuse to offer himselfe vp wholy a sacrifice to GOD For three causes saith Anselme ô Lord I owe all that to thee that I am First because thou hast created mee