the Fire of Concupiscence of Anger of Pride the Soul begins in a manner to melt away to be dissolv'd and the Image that it bore of its Maker is quite effac'd A facie ignis says Novarinus à sole ab aestu concupiscentiae sic perit in eis In Elect. efluit imago dei ut fluit cera à facie ignis Consider then Sinner what thou do'st when thou puttest thy self in occasion of offending God when thou follow'st ill Company givest ear to idle Discourse this is to hold the Wax out to the Fire 't is to wipe off the Likeness of God from thy Soul and exchange it for that of the Devil O if thou did'st but behold how foul and ugly thou art within at the very Instant thou consentest to any wicked Thought if thou did'st but see how horrid and deform'd thy Soul is rendred by every mortal Sin It may be call'd indeed the Image of its Creator but so abus'd and disfigur'd that there 's no Likeness left Stay therefore on this Consideration a little and tell me for the present what would'st thou say if thou should see in the middle of the Street some wicked Jew or any other profane Miscreant treading under his feet the Image of our Blessed Redeemer and full of Contempt and Spite defacing it with a thousand irreligious Blows What would'st thou say Christian in this case Would not thy Zeal put thee on to rescue it from such an unchristian Abuse and the Respect thou owest to him whom it represents oblige thee to place it some where with Decency out of the reach of such a hellish Malice Why look then Sinner see where thy Soul is it lies under the feet of the Devils Do'st thou know it Cujus est Mat. 22. Imago haec Whose is this Image Is it not the Image of thy God and of thy Maker and Redeemer See how 't is abus'd how disfigur'd how 't is without all Beauty and Grace Egressus est à filia Sion omnis decor ejus Why do'st not thou without delay redeem it from these Injuries How can'st thou have Patience to see it trampled on by these infernal Furies Ah! force it away snatch it up and by a sincere and hearty Repentance deliver it into the hands of thy God that he may cleanse it and restore it to its former Beauty Da illi honorem secundum meritum suum But as yet we have not seen the full worth of the Soul it deserves a yet higher esteem from us if we consider at The Excellency of the Soul redeem'd with the Blood of Jesus Ho. 2. de Symb. how great a rate it was held by Jesus Christ and how much he gave for it Quam pretiosus sis said Eucherius si Factorem forte non credis interroga Redemptorem If thou know'st not O Soul to set a value upon thy self for being the Image of thy Creator turn to thy Redeemer and learn of him how much thou art worth O how much St. Hilary after a thorough Consideration of this Point says that the Son of God gave so much for the Soul that it seems in some manner Ap. Eus hum 8. to be worth even God himself Tam copioso munere ipsa Redemptio agitur ut homo Deum valere videatur St. Augustin said it more expresly Sanguinem fudit Vnicus Filius in Ps 102. Dei pro nobis O Anima erige te tanti vales The only Son of God shed his Blood for us O Soul look up for so much art thou worth Yes Christian Soul have an esteem for thy self the Son of God gave his Blood for thee Thou art that Lost Sheep for whose Recovery the Heavenly Pastor undertook so laborious and chargeable a Journey Thou art that precious Drachm that was lost for the regaining of which that inaccessible Light the second Person in the Blessed Trinity was brought forth in our Humanity God being made Man for the Redemption of Man Thou art that precious Jewel for the purchasing of which the Divine Lapidary who knew well its Value gave all that he had he gave his Blood his Life his Honour he gave all he gave his whole self that he might have thee not thinking any price too high in such a Purchase See then Christian how much thou ought'st to prize thy Soul since Jesus Christ valued it at so high a rate that he did not only lay down his Life for thee but if 't were necessary would return and do it a second time O blessed be such Love blessed be such Goodness But thou Sinner tell me after all this to whom does thy Soul belong to whom hast thou deliver'd it Imagine with thy self that here comes in at present Jesus Christ on one side and the Devil on the other both with a Design to buy this Jewel thy Soul Christ offers thee for it all that thou hast already heard The Devil gives thee a little Smoak which he calls Honour a little Dross which he calls Interest a short Imagination which he calls Gust or Pleasure Now what hast thou accepted To which hast thou given thy Soul In iniquitatibus vestris venditi estis At the very Instant that thou consented'st to sin you made a sale of your Soul but to whom To Jesus Christ who gives so high for it or to the Devil who gives you nothing O vile Contract of a Sinner thou hast sold it to the Devil St. Augustin declares it to thee in plain terms Vnusquisque peccando Ep. ad Rom. prop. 42. animam suam diabolo vendit accepto tanquam precio dulcedine temporalis voluptatis Whosoever sins says he sells his Soul to the Devil at the price of some vain and fading Delight But stay Sinner what do'st thou do Do'st thou make a delivery of thy Soul to the Devil being a Jewel which cost the Son of God no less a price than his own Blood Give ear a little to David at that time when the Philistins had laid Siege to Bethlehem O siquis mihi daret potum aquae de cisterna quae est in Bethlehem O says 2 Kin. 23. he that some Man would give me drink of the Water of the Cistern that is in Bethlehem Which when some of his Captains had heard three of them broke through the Camp of the Enemies and having drawn Water out of the Cistern of Bethlehem they brought it to David But he noluit bihere he would not drink but offered it to our Lord. Libavit eam Domino And he gives the reason Num sanguinem hominum istorum animarum periculum bibam Shall I drink says he the Blood of these Men and the peril of their lives Water that cost so dear is not proper to be drunk but to be made a Sacrifice so that he seems to have reason'd thus with himself This Water I may now either give to my self in satisfaction of my Appetite or else to God to whom it is due But seeing in the procuring it
which is due to it Da illi honorem secundum meritum suum Come therefore Christian Miserere Animae tuae take Compassion on thy poor Soul Enter a while retire within thy self says St. Augustin and thou wilt find thy Soul necessitous and miserable asking thee an Alms begging for Relief Redi ad conscientiam tuam ibi Ser. 31. de verb. Dom. Isa 46. invenies egentem mendicantem animam tuam Look in and thou wilt behold the Mistress serving and the Slave commanding Look in and thou wilt see the Image of God under the feet of the Devil Look in and thou wilt see that which Jesus Christ bought at the Price of his own Blood sold and made over to Satan for a little Air for nothing Look in Sinner and thou wilt find that which was created for an everlasting Kingdom to be now obnoxious to an eternal Ignominy Look in and thou wilt behold thy poor Soul without God without Life Semiviva relicta waiting every Instant to be thrown into Hell Miserere animae tuae Take pity on thy Soul Behold her made a publick Mansion of Devils where they enter and dwell without any opposition by wicked Thoughts profane Words and worse Works Fac ergo eleemosynam animae tuae Bring therefore some Vbi sup Relief saith St. Augustin to thy Soul in this her extremity of wants give ear to her Petitions and be not deaf to her sad Complaints in these her Miseries And for the present be attentive to this Relation We read of a certain wretched Man who living unmindful of Tho. de Cantipr l. 2. apum c. 56. God and his Soul gave himself up wholly to Licentiousness and Debauchery On an occasion he was making merry with his Companions eating and drinking without measure and amongst other things they began a Discourse of What was to be after this Life Many things had been said when behold a Stranger comes in desiring to know the matter of their Dispute to whom this miserable man Here says he we are entertain'd with a pretty Debate of what is to become of our Souls when they have left the Body but for my part if I could find a Chapman I would sell my Soul and feast my Friends with the price of it At which the Stranger answer'd that he would buy it and forthwith the Bargain being agreed on paid the Money with which the other entertain'd the whole Company But night being come he that had made the Purchase said 'T is now time we should break up and therefore I declare to you all that I am the Devil this Wretch hath made a delivery to me of his Soul and I have Command of the Highest to carry him away both Soul and Body and immediately taking him into the Air he disappear'd and hurried him into the bottomless Pit of Hell where he is now consuming in those never-ending Flames and shall be as long as God shall be God without hopes of Ease or Relief See now Sinner what is the Conclusion of those who neglect their Soul the same miserable Fate attends thee if thou dost not amend thou hast yet time to prevent all by a serious and hearty Repentance at that time when thou didst sin against thy God thou mad'st over thy Soul to the Devil but the Contract may be yet broken off and made null by a true Sorrow and an hearty Contrition Come then make haste to revoke thy Word and undoe so unjust a Bargain Alledge that there was fraud in the Sale that the Purchaser has abus'd the Jewel and cheated the Owner Let the abundance of thy Tears cancel the Writings and the Intenseness of thy Repentance make void all the Obligations by which thou delivered'st thy self to the Power of Satan Christian there 's enough of Blindness You have only one God you have one Soul alone and but once can you expect to dye Why is it that you continue in Sin Your Soul in Possession of the Devil Your Soul in danger to be damn'd eternally Oh why don't you prostrate your selves at the feet of your merciful Redeemer of your Crucified Jesus See what he gave for your Soul he spilt his Blood once for you and would do it again a thousand times for your Salvation and will you still continue Slaves to Sin and the Devil Sons of my Blood he says to you Children of my Love for your Soul 's Good was I nail'd to the Cross and my Wounds yet fresh are crying aloud to you to forsake your evil ways and to follow me And what Answer do you return Christians to these Complaints of your Loving Redeemer Do you say you will not O never never let it be so but rather with a true sense of your Sins and a hearty sorrow for having liv'd so long in Blindness fall down at his Feet and say from the bottom of your Heart My Lord Jesus Christ my God my Father my Redeemer in whom I believe in whom I put my Trust and whom I love more than my own Life more than my Soul and above all things whatsoever it repents me Dear Lord it repents me from my heart that I have offended against thee O infinite Goodness O my Jesus O that I had never broken thy Commandments O that I had died a thousand Deaths rather than have sinn'd against thy Divine Majesty I am sorry for thy sake alone for being who thou art so infinitely holy so good so amiable I am sorry Dear Father that I have injur'd thee with my Offences And here I make a firm purpose by the assistance of thy Grace never more to sin I offer here a thousand Lives rather than return to my Iniquity and resolve to avoid all Occasions and Dangers of committing any Crime against thee I here intend to make a sincere Confession of all my Wickedness and to comply with all the Obligations that shall be laid on me and I trust that through the Merits and Passion of my loving Redeemer I shall obtain pardon of all my Offences I have sinned Lord I have sinned but thou my God have Mercy on me Mercy Blessed Saviour Mercy my Jesus I love thee above all things O my Jesus Let thy Love let thy Faith live and encrease and replenish us with thy Grace the Pledge of eternal Glory ad quam nos perducat Sancta individua Trinitas Pater Filius Spiritus Sanctus to which God of his infinite Mercy bring us Amen FINIS
whole World if he lose Mat. 26. his Soul Quid prodest homini Supposing therefore this Order according to the Worth of things let us proceed and see what Comparison there can be betwixt the Soul and Body as to the Esteem that is due to them And for the setting forth of this I 'll ask this one Question Seeing that the Soul of Man according to the Psalmist is a Spirit like to the Angels what can be the Reason that God should confine and shut up this so noble a Creature within the Limits of a Body so infirm and subject to so many Miseries If she had been exempt from this clog of Earth and liv'd alone as the Angels do she had been freed from the Treachery of her Companion the Flesh But no says the great Nazianzen this was not Orat. 2. post Pasc agreeable to the Divine Providence Ne sicut Angelus homo superbiret periret God made choice says he of this means so to secure her against the Temptation of her own Excellency He created the Angels noble and glorious Spirits but Lucifer with the third part of that celestial Host viewing their own Excellency and Beauty soon fell into Pride and so from Heaven God therefore to prevent the loss of the Soul enclos'd it within a Case of Earth thus to remove all Occasions and that Pride as in the Angels might not be her Ruine Ne sicut Angelus homo superbiret periret Such therefore O Christian is the Greatness of thy Soul that God thought fit to cast over it a gross and heavy Body that so it might be out of danger of losing it self in the Contemplation of its own Beauty and Perfection This is the Poise which Job says God made to the Winds c. 28. to wit the Souls of Men as St. Gregory expounds it L. 19. mor. c. 4. Qui fecit ventis pondus That as the little Bee grasping a Peeble secures it self from the Violence of a stormy Air so the Soul being check'd and kept down by a weight of Clay may remain steddy and fix'd and frustrate all the Attempts of Pride endeavouring to raise her above her self so much care has the Soul cost her Creator in providing means for her security And according to this Doctrine now What is the Body But only the Case of this Jewel the Slave of this Empress the Ballast of this Ship This is the Order they hold from the Appointment of God But how are they rank'd by the Inordinacy of thy Malice The Soul is the Lady and Empress Dominamini said God to Adam Subter te erit Appetitus tuus Gen. 1. he said to Cain Consequently she ought to be honour'd Gen. 4. and serv'd by the Body Da illi honorem cui honor competit Give that Deference to the Soul which is due to it as being the Chief Honor animae debitus est writes C. A. lapide ut illa quasi Regina imperet Corpori sensibus 10 Eccl. quasi subditis ancillis The Body with all its Senses ought to attend on and serve the Soul for the obtaining Life everlasting How unreasonable therefore is it that the Flesh design'd for nothing but to be a Servant and Slave should be caress'd and waited on and the Soul a Queen and Monarch should be made to drudge What a monstrous kind of Disorder is this says St. Bernard Could any Christian with Patience see L. Med. c. 3. this in his House Why then does he suffer and allow of that within himself which in his Family 't is not possible he should endure There are three things says Solomon Prov. 30. which disturb the Earth and the fourth it cannot sustain Per tria movetur terra quartum non potest sustinere The first is when a Servant reigns the second a Fool that is fill'd with Meat the third an odious Woman that is taken in Marriage these are the three things by which the Earth is mov'd But what is that which is insufferable and cannot be sustain'd Per ancillam cum fuerit haeres Dominae suae which the Septuagint read thus Serva cum Dominam suam ejecerit 'T is a Servant that commands and domineers over her Lady and turns her out of doors And hear now St. Antony of Padua expounding what this is 'T is the Flesh says he when 't is rais'd up and takes the Command in hand is in all things observ'd obey'd and waited on while the Soul being dethron'd is neglected scorn'd despis'd and made a Servant to her Slave this it is that is intolerable Domina est Ratio ancilla est sensualitas quam etiam terra sustinere non potest cum sibi ipsi dominationem usurpaverit Ser. Dom. 9. Pent. Rationis But I 'll come now to Particulars Come hither therefore first you Covetous Men you The Sinner makes his Soul a Slave who according to the Character of St. Ambrose water your Fields with the Tears of the Poor you who concluding your selves Lords and Sovereigns of all that God Am. Ser. 59. de Au. has lent you for your use shut your Ears to the Cries of the Needy and spend nothing but on Vice or your selves you who consume your whole Care in encreasing your Heaps and matter not how much you trample under Foot the Law of God and your injur'd Neighbour so you can but advance upon them your Wealth and Possessions Come hither I say and tell me does your Soul command or serve is she Mistress or Slave But let the Royal Prophet answer for you Dormierunt somnum suum nihil invenerunt omnes viri divitiarum in Ps 75. manibus suis They slept their sleep says he and all the men of Riches found nothing in their hands Where tho' the Words seem to import no more than that Riches cannot exempt their Owners from dying nor redeem them from Hell if they are condemn'd to those Flames yet St. Ambrose has found a Criticism in them a direct L. de Nabuc c. 15. Answer to our Question for he takes notice that Covetous Men are here call'd Viri divitiarum Men of Riches Bene viros divitiarum appellat non divitias virorum there being a great difference between the Riches of Men and Men of Riches We must see therefore which belongs to which Does the Master belong to his Servant or the Servant to his Master 'T is out of doubt the Servant is his Master's But by what are we to know which is the Servant This too is evident for Servants are labouring and toyling in their several Employments while the Master is taking his Ease or divertising himself in some Recreation Now let us look into the House of a Covetous Man and we shall be soon satisfied as to our Query there we shall behold his Bags his Treasure laid up and oh with how much Care and Sollicitude all still and quiet But he how busie how uneasie hard at work in
securing and as earnest in drawing in more In this his Memory is wholly taken up 't is the Concern of his Vnderstanding and his Will and Affections are in a perpetual rack And now which here belongs to which Which the Servant which the Master He 's slaving it all day while his Riches lye undisturb'd and without Employ 'T is certain therefore the Riches are not of the Man but he 's the Man of his Riches Viri divitiarum says St. Ambrose ut ostenderet eos non possessores divitiarum Sup. esse sed à suis divitiis possideri aliena custodit ut famulus non tanquam Dominis suis utitur And this is the Answer of the Psalmist calling Misers Men of Riches to signifie to us that while they wait on their Bags like Servants and do not use them like Owners they are not the Masters of their Money but its Slaves And is not this an intolerable Blindness of Men that whenas God has given them Souls that should command and rule they subject them to the Body and make them Servants to dross O base Slavery of Covetousness and this is the Injury every Miser does his Soul thus does he debase it But let us come now to the unclean and luxurious man This is in all Propriety a Slave to his Flesh O poor Soul did God create thee to serve the Body in these filthy and brutal Desires Is it not strange that a Soul so noble which its Maker enrich'd with a Memory to reflect on his Benefits with an Vnderstanding to know his Greatness and with a Will to love his Goodness should now employ all his Thoughts his Desires his Memory and Affections in serving the Body in its Uncleanness and waiting on it in those its swinish Delights O Baseness to be lamented with Tears of Blood O Soul unworthy of that Name O that thou would'st be asham'd and confounded to see thy self a Slave to such a bestial Appetite We read in Genesis that Potiphar's Wife full of Concupiscence cast her Eyes upon c. 39. Joseph then a Servant in her House And 't is very observable how the Septuagint follow'd by St. Chrysostom and St. Ambrose word it Injecit uxor domini oculos in Joseph And it came to pass that his Master's Wife cast her Eyes upon Joseph Now 't is plain that she was not only his Master's Wife but also Joseph's Mistress and Joseph was her Servant And it had been a more compendious Expression to have stil'd her his Mistress than his Master's Wife 'T is true says St. Ambrose it had been more compendious but not so proper for why should she be call'd a Mistress who was such a Slave to her Lust No rather his Master's Wife Vxor Domini is more agreeable for she is unworthy of the Name of Mistress who is at the Command of so brutish a Passion Rectè Vxor Domini they are the Words of St. Ambrose non ipsa Domina L. 1. de Jos c. 5. dicitur Quomodo Domina quae dominandi non habebat affectum quae servilis libidinis incentiva praestabat Scorn therefore Christian to be led along by a Beast Be asham'd thus to debase thy Soul and to make it a Servant to thy Body which it ought to command Tell me Christian what would'st thou say if thou should'st see passing through the Streets a Horse nobly deck'd his Saddle embroider'd with Gold his Bridle of Silver his Trappings wrought with Diamonds and the Owner on his Back scarcely cover'd with Rags Would'st not thou think that he had lost his Judgment And what if thou should'st behold the Sight which the Wise-man saw Vidi servos in equis Principes ambulantes super terram quasi servos I have seen says he Servants upon Horses Eccl. c. 10. and Princes walking on the Ground as Servants Would not this have surpris'd thee What! Peers and Princes at the Horses Heels waiting on their Servants What a Madness and yet no other Madness than thou art guilty of when pamp'ring thy Body and giving it all Respect and Attendance imaginable thou neglect'st thy Soul leaving it basely disfigur'd and cover'd over with the filth of Vice and Debauchery no other Madness Christian than thou art guilty of as often as thou permittest thy Soul that noble Lady an Empress created for the Possession of the Kingdom of Heaven to be basely dragg'd through all the Mazes of Sin in Obedience to the slavish Commands of thy unruly Flesh O how disorderly and preposterous is this And yet this every Sinner does as often as he offends against his Maker and is it not a Madness enough to fill your Hearts with Horror and Confusion But this is not all says the Reverend Master Avila a Sinner when he offends yet goes farther he does not only make the Av. in andi silia c. 11. Slave ride in state and the Prince go on foot but even makes the Beast lead the Prince bridled where it lists The Beast governs and commands and the Prince likes well to be at such a Beck What Sense would'st thou have Christian of such a monstrous Spectacle A noble Man a Prince one admirable both in Learning and Arms to be at the Command of a Bit while a Brute has the Management of the Bridle What would'st thou say Christian but that such an one is only fit Company for Mad-men Why then say it to thy self Thou art he For what is thy Body but a kind of Animal void of Reason and Understanding and what is thy Soul a Spirit Prince of all Creatures and capable of enjoying God and thou permittest thy Body with its bestial Appetities to lead thy Soul without either Law or Reason wheresoever they list What is this Sinner what is this luxurious Man Where is thy Understanding and whither wilt thou go at last drag'd by this wild and untam'd Beast whither but to thy eternal Ruine And what can be the Conclusion of this disorder'd Government where the whole Command is in the hand of a Slave Give ear a little 'T is related in History that Semiramis from a Slave became Empress in Babylon and it happen'd thus Ninus Aelian l. 3. de Var. hist then King blind in Love oblig'd himself to grant her whatsoever she should ask she desir'd that she might have the Management of the Empire for one day and immediately by his Consent the Slave was rais'd to be a Sovereign And being thus enthron'd she ordered several things and was forthwith obey'd Amongst the rest she commanded that Ninus should be seis'd and have his Head cut off this also was immediately done For what else could be expected where Slavery rul'd the Scepter but Blood and Tyranny And what is to be expected Sinner from this Dominion which thou hast delivered to thy Flesh What is to be the end of this Obedience which thou yieldest to thy lustful Appetites What but an eternal Death O! how this was lamented by the Prophet Jeremy Principes
cost these Men the hazard of their Lives I 'll never let it be spent on a Gust of my own but I 'll offer it up to my God Libavit eam Domino Ah Christians Christians If David put so high a Value on a little Water for respect of the Danger these men underwent how ought you to esteem your Souls which have been purchas'd not only with Dangers and an uninterrupted toil of 33 Years but even with the Life and Blood of Jesus Christ Quanti quaeso says a Learned Author facienda est salus nostra non quidem hausta periculo Labat sanguinis vitae puri hominis sed sanguine ipso vita ipsa hominis dei nostri Thou hast cost O Soul not only the danger of Life but even Life it self and that not of Man but of thy Redeemer God and Man And this Soul which has been so dearly purchas'd thou basely deliverest into the hands of thy greatest Enemy And this as the Prophet has it Propter pugillum hordei fragmen Ez. 13. panis for a handful of Barley and a morsel of Bread for any of these little and inconsiderable Nothings of this World and how many times even for less how many times without Gain without Gust without Honour how many times hast thou laid it down before hand sinning to day on some design for the next Year and how many times without all Hopes of any advantage but rather with Discontents Poverty and publick Disgrace How often hast thou gone forth and like the Apostate-Disciple invited the Devils to take thy Soul at their own rate Quid vultis mihi dare ego eum vobis tradam What delight will you give in Exchange of my Soul O unreasonable Vileness of Sinners O monstrous Ingratitude What a Madness is this exclaims St. Bernard that a Christian should so disesteem his Soul and make less Account of it than the Devil does Satan offer'd to Christ for his all the Kingdoms in the World when as yet he did not know him to be the Son of God and the wicked Christian delivers his without any Agreement but standing wholly to the Devil's Courtesie Quis furor tam viles habere animas quas etiam Daemon pretiosas habet But tell me Sinner Ap. Hortig coron c. 9. §. 4. what would'st thou take to be a Slave under the inhumane Turks where thou art to expect nothing but a most cruel Usage Hunger Blows and Tyranny without Ease Rest or Sleep or any satisfaction whatsoever Is there any Price that can hire thee I believe not And yet of thy own Accord thou makest thy self one of the Devil's Slaves thou puttest thy self under him where thy Captivity shall be far more intollerable and without all hopes of Redemption since thou unworthily tramplest under foot the Blood of thy Redeemer Quare tibi tam vilis es qui tam pretiosus es Deo Why says St. Chrysologus art thou so base to thy self who art so highly esteem'd by the God Think of this with Shame and Confusion esteem thy Soul as God esteems it at least esteem it more than the Devil himself does Da illi honorem secundum meritum suum The Respect due to the Soul is rais'd yet one degree The Excellency of the Soul created for Glory higher inasmuch as the design of its first Creation was for the Enjoyment of an eternal Felicity being made capable of God himself and the Possession of the clear and beatifical Vision of its Maker in Glory Secundum meritum suum spe futurae mercedis says Rabbanus Give it its L. 3. in Eccl. c. 3. due says he on hope of a future Reward God did not create thy Soul Christian for the empty Vanities of this World no raise thy Thoughts higher Hearken to Holy Job Homo ad laborem nascitur avis ad volatum Man is born to Labour and the Bird to Flight which according to the Moral Gloss signifies that the Body was intended for Labour and Toil but that the Soul was created Gl. mor. in Job c. 5. for to take its Flight to Heaven and raise it self to God This Honour this Title to the Kingdom of Heaven was purchas'd for us by Jesus Christ who by his own most precious Blood did wipe out the Hand writing which the Devil held against us for our Exclusion from Glory Delens quod adversus nos erat chyrographum decreti O Soul and what an Honour is this that thou wert not made Colos 2. for Eating Cloathing and the little businesses of the Earth Thou hast a Right to an eternal Crown O how would'st thou esteem thy self if thou did'st but know what thou art Ochozias King of Juda being dead Athalia his Mother full of Cruelty and the Ambition of Ruling immediately slew all the King's Sons excepting only Joas who was snatch'd from the Slaughter by Josaba his Aunt who keeping him in Disguise six Years brought him up in the Temple till at length he was crowned King Eratque cum 4 Kin. 11. ea sex annis clam in domo domini Now those that were not privy to the Secret and knew him not to have a Right to the Kingdom we may easily imagine gave him no other Respects than to other Youths to whom his Education made him a Companion while those few that were conscious of the whole Intrigue honour'd him as a Prince and serv'd him as their Sovereign knowing that in a short time he would come to be vested with his Imperial Robes and sway the Scepter of Judah tho' then he was but in a mean rank and reputed as ordinary Ab iis says the Eusebius Eus Nier ho. 8. sect 5. of our Age qui filium Regis noverant magno habebatur honore non quia regiis ornabatur insignibus sed quia ornandus erat O Christian Souls says the holy Evangelist St. John now while you are in this Life your great Dignity is known but by few you are as yet hid and in disguise and like young Joas without your princely Robes without the Ensigns of Bliss Nondum apparuit quid erimus but there 1 Jo. 3. 〈◊〉 will come a time when you shall be call'd to your Kingdom and crown'd with Glory Cum autem apparuerit similes ei erimus c. O admirable Greatness and is there any that knows how to respect you according to desert but have you Christian made any Reflection upon this Excellency of your Soul I wish the gross and foggy Delights of this transitory Life have not rais'd a Mist before your eyes and quite clouded your Understanding 'T is very remarkable what Lyra relates of the famous Nebuchodonozor Lyr. in Dan. c. 1. King of Babylon He says that he was no sooner born but expos'd in the Woods where he was brought up at the care of a wild Goat till at length a poor Country-man passing by took him and brought him up amongst his Children without any distinction of