and Qualities that make it contribute to our design And therefore we shall with Gerard call it Adam's Apple-tre The merciful man which in the Latine Tongue is called Misericors is he who hath a sorrowful and compassionate heart for anothers misery a heart inclining him to relieve and succour such as stand in need of his assistance in their extream wants Such a merciful man may be design'd by this Tree whose Roots being as it were but small threads or fibres do shoot forth leaves that are five or six foot in length and near three in breadth Insomuch that they serve for Table-cloaths and Napkins and being dry'd they may serve for Mattresses and Quilts very convenient and soft to lye upon Behold here the Emblem of a merciful Man who parts with his leafy substance to cloath the naked to relieve the poor to supply the wants of the needy to succour the necessitous This is the man who by his charitable endeavours conceals the miscarriages and imperfections of his Neighbour For mercy when it is the issue of Charity hath the same prerogative with the Parent which is as St. Peter saith To cover a multitude of sins Moreover this Tree which groweth above the reach of an Elephant would continue a low shrub and the Leaves would bend downwards to the ground if they were not cut off from time to time by which means the Tree grows up higher and the Leaves become larger What can more pertinently denote the Merciful man who by a voluntary defalcation of the things of this World is rais'd so much the nearer Heaven I and the more freely he parts with the transitory goods of this life the greater treasure does he lay up for that hereafter By these advantages doth he still ascend higher and higher while others keeping all to themselves do like shrubs lye groveling on the Earth in their covetous desires There is this further Remark made upon this Tree that it needs be planted but once though it bears but one year For it continually shooteth forth new stalks as the old decay and in some Countries they are soon ripe after they spring and the Inhabitants will have ripe fruit from some of the Plants at all times The case is the same with the Merciful man who as soon as he hath done one act of Charity is ready to do another and so successively as if he were oblig'd to exhaust himself to supply others and this from time to time till his own be come to its period and that he leaves the young shoots of his posterity to succeed him in his good works Hereto we may add this further observation that besides this Tree there is only one other that hath a strange property to wit that which way soever their fruit be cut when it is come to maturity the meat thereof which is white as snow represents in the midst of it the figure of a Cross especially if it be cut in thin slices as commonly we do Cow-cumbers Thence is it that the Spaniards and Portugueze think it a crime to put a knife into it and are extreamly scandaliz'd to see it broken otherwise then with the teeth Hath not this some resemblance to the heart of a Merciful man who hath a certain fellow-feeling of the miseries and calamities of the poor whom he views with affliction of mind Which way soever he casts his eye of pity and beholds the distressed he compassionates them as if the like cross of adversity were fix'd in his heart If he behold his Saviour on the Cross his heart is wounded with pity as if the passion were figured in it Again if he view his Neighbour oppressed with wrongs or miseries he is so sensible thereof as if that very cross of affliction were engraven in his heart In a word he sees no man poor whom he pities not no man miserable whom he does not compassionate still like the fruit of this Tree cut bearing in his heart a cross by which he suffers with him Nay more while he beholds Christ in a poor man whom he pities and relieves he bears Christ's shape in his heart whom he likewise relieves Happy therefore is the merciful man that bears such a cross as renders him for ever blessed who no doubt may say with St. Paul God forbid I should glory in any thing but in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ Now fix thine eye on the bleeding side of Christ whose blood issued from a wounded heart where was always engraven a cross not only the instrument of his passion but as many crosses as were the sins of the World And as many as were the acts of mercy and compassion which he produc'd towards sinners Verè pius verè misericors And shall he evacuate not only his veins but likewise his heart Shall he disburse all the treasure of his most precious blood and yet wilt thou be so penurious and pitiless as not to relieve the necessitous with part of thy dross Ah! view and view again that bountiful and pitiful heart that streameth forth at his side and proclaims them blessed who are merciful and promiseth they shall obtain mercy CONSIDERATIONS ON THE V. BEATITUDE On the side of our Blessed Saviour bleeding FRom his sacred Mouth descend to his pierced side which may be likewise term'd a mouth as were all the wounds of his body that speak and proclaim him a bounteous and merciful Lord who having given all the blood of his body and veins for our Redemption would finally suffer his heart to be pierc'd that the last drops of his precious bloud might stream from thence for a fuller satisfaction or rather expression of his infinite Love Whereas the least drop thereof might have redeem'd many Worlds and reconcil'd to his Father as many Nations as he shed drops of blood Consider what a merciful giver was God the Father who so exceedingly loved man that he gave unto him his only begotten Son a Son likewise so good bounteous and merciful that he would annihilate and lessen himself by taking upon him the form of a Servant And after as the Factor did for one precious Pearl gave all his precious blood and life to purchase and redeem thy Soul and thereby obtain mercy for it Which notwithstanding thou shalt never find unless thou also be Merciful To whom To thy self and thy Neighbour To thy self according to the words of the Son of Syrach Take pity and compassion on thine own soul pleasing God Think how many Souls are languishing in sin How many starve for want of the food of Life the Blessed Sacrament How many groan under the heavy burden of sin And how merciless they are to themselves that rescent not the dangerous estate of their own souls To these thou art merciful when thou prayest for them or by word or example endeavourest to reclaim them Thou art merciful likewise when thou forgivest injuries or when thou dost commiserate and condole the defects and imperfections of others Contrari-wise
I never mourn but for my sins nor grieve but for the loss of thee IV. On thy sacred Mouth crying out I thirst I read thou didst hunger and thirst after righteousness that I might be justified by thy Death and Passion Grant sweet Jesu I may ever hunger and thirst after this V. By thy wounded Side I find thou wert merciful giving all thy precious blood for my redemption May I be merciful to thee in thine that I may finally find mercy VI. Let thy pierced Heart most pure and exempt from all fin teach me to prepare a pure and clean heart for thee VII By thy sacred Hands nailed I understand thou wert the grand Peace-maker Vouchsafe to infuse into my soul true and perfect Charity that I may have peace withall for thee and during this life make my peace with thee VIII Lastly By thy Feet pierced with nails I read they are blessed that suffer persecution which thou didst even unto the death of the Cross Grant me grace to suffer for thee to bear afflictions patiently that with thee I may reign eternally Amen O good Jesu to reign with thee is to suffer with thee On the Cross thou art surrounded with the eight Beatitudes Here I must seek them exemplified in thy self on Mount Calvary to find them perfected on Mount-Sion the heavenly Jerusalem I. I behold the Cornel-tree where without leaves to shrowd it the blossom lies naked and expos'd to the blustring winds And on the Tree of the Cross as naked I behold my Saviour poor in Spirit poor in Will and Desire as naked dying as born for us Uncloath thy self then O my soul and be as naked in thine affections to the leafy vanities and riches of this life which is but a so journing for poor mortality II. I see the arch'd Indian-Fig-tree greedy to possess the Land with a thousand shoots which descend to take deep root in the earth And on the Tree of the Cross I behold our Lord meekly bowing down his Head humbled even to the death of the Cross to take possession of the Land of the Living for me an exile by as many shoots as sighs prayers tears and drops of blood as he shed for me a lost sinner O my soul where are thy humble shoots that should descend that they may ascend to the Land of promise where are thy submissive thoughts that should lowly bend to the earth by acknowledgment of thy unworthiness and ingratitude to so good and merciful a Lord Thou art now in possession of a barren Land thy body where thou canst not nor must not take deep root Heaven is thy Land this thy place of banishment Thither let thy thoughts ascend to be deeply rooted by an eternal possession III. I view the Myrrhe-tree weeping drop after drop but when prick'd and wounded it more abundantly distills Thus came I weeping and mourning into a vale of tears like a taper by the wind soon extinguish'd like a spark in the Sea as soon swallowed up like a froth suddenly vanishing and a vapour scatter'd in the air Have I not then cause to weep to prevent a future mourning and acquire a happiness and consolation which is promised to Mourners Then I cast mine eyes on Christ crucified and weeping on the Cross why for my sins Why like a Myrrhe-wee wounded over all his body distilling blood To give light to my glimmering taper fire to my spark substance to my frothy soul and purer air to my dusky vapour Thirdly I will summon my heart and expostulate with my soul why she would be usher'd by her eyes to the aspect of vainer objects yet never made use of them to bewail her sins with tears And if the Myrrhe tree stab'd or launc'd with a knife dissolves it self into tears why doth she not procure by her sighs and prayers that my heart woulded with true compunction may be liquified into tears of grief IV. I seem to behold the Clove-tree hungring as it were and thirsting after the strengthning moisture of the earth which it continually attract Then I seem to hear my Saviour cry out I thirst to express his ardent desire of our Salvation And then O my soul say I canst thou hear thy Lord crying out I thirst and yet present him with no other potion then a cup full of absinth thy sins which are more bitter to him then Vinegar and Gall of which he tasting would not drink O my soul taste and see how sweet our Lord is who to revive and refresh thee which wert like dry and barren earth showred down his precious blood from his wounded body veins and heart till it was totally exhausted O what an excessive thirst did this cause in thy Saviour what a Consummatum est was this what bounty when hereserv'd not to himself so much as one drop of blood O my soul if he gave thee all that was most precious doubt not to say with his royal Prophet What shall I give unto our Lord for all he hath given me what less then an entire heart and soul with all her powers to love honour and serve him V. Next I imagine I see the fruit of Adams Apple-tree cut in two which presents us with a cross which bare the Saviour our of the World in whom I behold as many crosses as stripes and scourges enterlac'd in his tender flesh It was the fruit of the forbidden Tree wherein being eaten were included as many crosses as miseries now incident to wretched man As hunger thirst cold heat infirmities c. which render him miserable and consequently to be pitied O my soul commiserate at least thine own self encompassed with so many frailties casualties and anxieties of mind Turn which way thou wilt thou canst not be long exempted from one calamity or other Wherefore seeing to be Misericors that is to say merciful is to have an agrieved and pitiful heart as it were always bearing a cross let thine he dolor sorrow and compunction for thy sins VI. Imagine you behold the green Fig pick'd and pierc'd by a little Gnat or Fly whence distills a drop as it were of hony And then say O my green hard and immature Heart where is that compunction that is requisite for thee O that thou wert thus pierc'd and wounded with grief for thy fins that sweet delight like a honey-drop might issue forth for while it resides within thee thou canst never come to maturity for where sin predominates Grace must needs be an Exile Then reflect your Eye on our Saviour's Heart wounded with a Spear and say Lord Were not thy larger wounds in thy Hands and Feet sufficient pledges and testimonies of thy excessive Love Why then after thy death wouldst thou receive so deep a wound in thy Heart Ah! If Death were stronger than Love in thee when by him thou wert vanquisht he seizing by Heart Love again even after Death was more powerful by opening that sacred rift whence issued the Sacraments and where the Gate of
Should I behold thee in the poor and not commiserate thee or behold thee in the naked and not cloth thee or in the sick and not visit thee or in the hungry and not feed thee Thou gavest all even to the last drop of Blood to redeem me a vile Sinner O that I could give and surrender all I am and have to thee my God and Saviour O that I could love thee with an entire Heart and with all the powers of my Soul On his Heart Against Impure Thoughts O Good Jesu I behold thy tender Heart pierc'd through with a cruel Spear and seem to hear thee say Blessed are the clean of Heart for they shall see God O that my sinful Heart were transfixt with sorrow for my sins by true compunction that I may have the happiness to behold my God by having a clean Heart and purified Soul by true Contrition Jesu be merciful to me a Sinner that I may have a Contrite Heart deeply wounded and transfixt with sorrow as often as I behold thy wounded Side and Heart whence flowed Blood and Water With which thou O Lord shalt sprinkle me and I shall be clean thou shalt wash me and I shall be whiter than Snow On Christ's Hands Against perturbations of Mind O Good Jesu I behold thy sacred Hands pierced through with nails and seem to hear thee say Blessed are the Peace-makers for they shall be call'd the Children of God Thou O Lord wert the great Peace-maker who didst interpose thy self betwixt thy Heavenly Father and us Sinners Thou hast made our Peace yet still I find disquiet of Mind upon sleight occasions vain fears and worldly respects Therefore I appeal to thee the great Peace-maker and Son of God and beseech thee to assist me with thy powerful Grace that I likewise may be a Peace-maker not onely externally amongst such as are at variance but likewise inwardly that I may pacifie my own Soul and thereby become the peaceful Child of God who seeks repose in a Soul free from anxious thoughts and worldly perturbations Amen On his Feet Against Fear of Persecution O Good Jesu I behold thy sacred Feet pierced through with nails and seem to hear thee say Blessed are they that suffer Persecution for righteousness sake for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Thou O Lord wert persecuted unto death even the death of the Cross For which God gave thee a Name above all Names O Blessed Saviour since thou hast promised a Kingdom to them that suffer with thee and for thee I must not I cannot presume to reign with thee unless I suffer for thy sake And since no Man shall be crowned but he that lawfully fights for thy Honour and suffers for thy Glory why should I be so backward so timorous so unwilling to undergo whatever Persecution it pleases thee to send or to permit which I should receive as a Favour from Heaven and certain pledge of thy Love and Favour who being a Loving Father receivest no Child whom thou dost not chastise Under whose Rod of Correction may I humbly through thy powerful Grace submit and fully resign my Will to be a chosen Member of that Kingdom which thou hast promised to them that suffer Persecution for thy Names sake Amen Amen Part of the 143. Psalm paraphras'd concerning true Beatitude O Rescue me out of the hand Of such as thy behests withstand Degenerate Children they wholly And utter naught but vanity Whose powerful Arms in my distress Were Arms stretch'd forth to wickedness Whose Youthfull Sonns like to a Spring Of vigorous shoots are flourishing Whose Daughters dress'd their Pride display Deckt Temple-like in rich array Whose store of Corn abundant lies Heapt up in their rich Granaries Whose Ewes are fruitful flocks that go Mantling the Earth like drifts of snow Whose Oxen prosper fat and fair And in whose Walls no ruins are Nor noyse of Thieves or Rogues that meet Or hideous out-cries in the Street Such some admire and Happy call Cause they have blessings temporal But I him Blest have understood Whose Lord to him is God all good FINIS
desolations of soul Then make a generous resolution for the time to come with a humble resignation to desire or have nothing but with conformity to his holy Will and Pleasure and say O most poor and most enriching Lord who dost invest and cloath all yet on the Cross art naked Bounteous in thy spiritual Graces and Favours yet so poor in Spirit and Desire that thou hast no place whereon to rest thy dying head yet hast promised a Kingdom to those who with thee are poor in Spirit Behold I renounce here whatsoever the flattering World shall allure me with I abandon all rather than forsake thee Nay not only these exterior things but I also desire to be so naked and poor in Spirit as not to have a Memory but to call to mind and think often of thy infinite Mercy and Love towards me no Vnderstanding but to ruminate and seriously ponder thy manifold Sufferings and Benefits conferred on me no Will but to love thee and my Neighbour in and for thee In such sort that being entirely resign'd to thy holy Will and Pleasure I may say with thine Apostle I live now not I but Christ lives in me Were not he in some sort poor in Spirit that should if it were possible live and breathe move and speak by 〈…〉 own Such was S. Paul's in whom Christ I may say lived and breath'd mov'd and spake Contrariwise How rich were he in Spirit in Will and Desire whose Soul should be wholly addicted to Self-love and proper Interest That breathes nothing wherein Christ is concerned but pursues only Ambition a Spirit that swells and puffs up the heart That moves not but by the agitation of a coveting Spirit Like a Silk-worm in fine to involve it self in a web of darkness and oblivion It is a great and shameful abuse saith S. Bernard for Man a poor and abject Worm greedily to covet Riches for whom the Lord of Majesty vouchsafed to bee poor A shame to be always toiling and weaving like a Silk-worm which as it shrowds it self more and more is the nearer death to leave to Posterity a silken web for Pride as a Parent doth often-time his Inheritance after a life unhappily consum'd in avaritious Desires which like a gloomy Cloud had so darkened the eye of the Soul that she which had been infus'd into the Body like a ray from Heaven was even obscurity it self As S. Augustine complains The blindness of mans heart is so great and the inward ear of the Soul so deaf that he desires to have all things but himself which must be such a Self as he may truly say with David What is there in Heaven for me and being poor in Spirit what do I desire on Earth but thee My flesh and heart faints and languisheth my Spirit is poor and enfeebled to all that which this World presents me with Thou O Lord art the God of my heart my portion my God for ever Unhappy then are the avaritious who have a god Gold their Idol but not for ever rich in the desire of earthly trash but unhappily poor in Spirit that aspire not to the possession of that Treasure which no rust shall canker nor length of time consume How can I behold the naked Blossom springing from the Cornell-Tree in cold February and not remember how I came into this wretched World exposed to Hunger Thirst cold heat weariness Infirmities Death Poor Blossom Man How soon blasted how suddenly withered which all thy leafy Riches cannot prevent Who then would not rather be poor in Spirit as naked in his Affections to worldly pelf as his Saviour dying naked on the Cross But naked to enrich me hungring and thirsting there but to save me cold to infuse into my Soul the ardors of his Love expos'd to heat but to quench my immoderate Desires weary to refresh me weak to strengthen me and finally dying to give me a life of eternal Beatitude in a Kingdom which he hath promised to the poor in Spirit I will consider why King Danid is said to have swept his Spirit meditating with his heart in the night Was it not by sweeping to cast out of doors the dust of worldly cogitations and terrene desires which like dust obscures and even blinds the eyes of the Soul Was he not poor in Spirit when he had swept together and cast out the dust of transitory things that he might contemplate the eternal Therefore he said in the precedent verse That he had thought of the ancient days and time of Mans life wherein he enjoys Riches and worldly felicity to which he opposing the Riches of Heaven and Eternity says He retain'd in mind the everlasting years If we have our several rooms in the vast habitacle of our Soul none is so often to be swept as that where intrudes sollicitude to be harboured accompanied with care and anxiety of mind together with fear that presents us with the future losses or crosses which may occur And therefore for prevention all the powers of the Soul are summoned to be vigilant and cautious for the safegard and increase of wealth by which poverty in Spirit and Will is cast out of doors The Second BEATITUDE Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the Earth EMBLEME II. The Indian Fig-Tree Sic suvat esse tenacem-2 So do the Meek to fix their Roots Humbly let down as many Shoots As good Desires which spring from Love Take root in Heaven the Land above THis Tree above all others may be said to be possessed of or to inherit the Earth For the Branches of it bending downwards to the ground no sooner touch it but they immediately take root and grew up into other Trees which afterwards produce others so that in time they spread over all the ground they meet with and yet all though stragling over a great quantity of ground way be sold to be but one Tree Another thing commonly observ'd of these Trees is that they afford a secure retreat not only to the wild Boars and other Beasts but also to the Inhabitants of those Countries where they grow who having garrison'd themselves within them defie all Enemies In like manner a pious and fructifying Soul in order to her possession of the Land of the Living produceth many active thoughts diffuses her self into good actions which yet obeying the check of Humility descends to be more deeply rooted Thus the Meek 〈◊〉 on and lay hold of that which is their heavenly Inheritance de virtute in virtutem passing from one Virtue to another and saying with S. Augustine As yet I follow yet I profit yet I walk yet I am in the way yet I dilate my self yet I arrive not Behold how like this Indian Fig-Tree the devout Soul makes her progress and advances forward still taking new root still laying faster hold never accounting her self secure or that she hath done enough as submitting to the advice of the same S. Augustine to wit this Let that which thou
art always displease thee if thou wilt arrive to what thou art not For saith he elsewhere wherever thou makest a stop without proceeding any further there thou pleasest only thy self A man must not therefore six a Ne plus ultra to his better thoughts and Actions but go on like this Tree and be continually supply'd with good Desires as that produceth new shoots which as it were grasp the Earth to take a firmer and fuller possession thereof Moreover we finde by experience that when a Tree is slightly planted or its roots decay'd there needs no great storm to overthrow it Such is that man who is not humbly meek and patient One violent puff of anger is able to dispossess him of the Land yea and of his own Soul which cannot be possess'd but by patience nor by any but the meek and humble Now if you demand why the meek are rather said to possess the Land than any other Element I answer While our Saviour was mortal he appeared to his Disciples walking on the waves of the Sea to intimate thereby the mutability of man during this life But after his Resurrection having a glorified Body he stood on the firm Land to signifie as S. Gregory expounds that after this life man shall enjoy a permanent tranquillity and repose in the Land of the Living The Earth patiently as I may say supports all and continues immovable So doth the meek and humble man while the haughty and impatient are inconstant like the Air turbulent like the Sea and crackle and sparkle like the Fire When the like happeneth unto thee reflect thine eye on the sacred Head of thy Redeemer meekly bowing down while the ungrateful Jews revile and blaspheme against him where he saith Learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart and you shall find rest in your Souls tranquillity in your though is and in fine that solid land that shall render you for ever happy the Land of the living which I now purchase for you the Land of Promise into which I am your Joshua to conduct you from Egypt the World a Land of Servitude to a Land of Freedom and Immunity from feeding on Garlick and Onions to taste the sweet Repast of Angels CONSIDERATIONS ON THE II. BEATITUDE Of the bowing down of our Blessed Saviour's Head HAving in the precedent Beatstude learn'd a lesson of Poverty by the consideration of our Saviours nakedness on the Cross behold here his sacred Head meekly bowing down whereby is expressed the second Beatitude Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit or possess the Earth Now as those Waters which lye next the Shore may be said to possess the Shore at least during a Calm so it can only be affirmed of the meek and patient man that he possesseth his Soul according to the words of our Saviour In your patience you shall possess your Souls and Learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart and you shall find rest to your Souls a quiet calm and sweet repose To be meek is to converse without giving offence and to bear injuries without thought of Revenge or perturbation of Mind as our Lord did with head meekly inclin'd while the Jews uttered Blasphemies and Contumelies against him Having this Precedent still before my eyes I will resolve in this Book to study meekness and patience not rendring evil for evil but by good to overcome evil And the better to conceive the excellency of Meekness I will make a lively representation to my self of the Vice which is contrary thereto by a swelling and tempestuous Sea whose Billows rais'd by the Winds violently beat against the Rocks on the Shore Foaming thus with fury are the wrathful and impatient Then reflect thine eye on our Lord meekly bowing down his Head like a calm Sea or like a Sheep despoil'd of his Fleece naked on the Cross opening not his mouth but to pray for his Enemies saying Father forgive them for they know not what they do Think what Land it is which the meek shall possess If the Earth thy Body thou shalt have possession of it and dominion over it by meekness while thy Passions are subject to reason Contrariwise the wrathful are so transported that losing as 't were themselves they are cast out of possession of themselves while the Heart swells with Envy the Eyes sparkle with Fury the Feet are running and the Hands ready to execute Revenge like one fallen into a deep River who not able to swim nor touch ground with his Feet is overwhelmed and in danger of drowning Behold the state of an angry and revengeful Man who possesseth not the Land of solid Patience being wholly drown'd in his turbulent Passions loseth himself utterly for a time as a man distraught whom by meekness God should here possess in the Land of the Dying that he may be possessed of God for ever in the Land of the Living which is promised to the meek Let him therefore who is become so absolutely a slave to that passion make this short Ejaculation to the great Exemplar of Meekness O patient Redeemer and meek Lamb who takest away the sins of the World If by beholding the brazen Serpent the poyson of Serpents was expelled how can I behold thee the pure and unspotted mirror of Meekness and yet retain enmity and rancor in my heart If no storms and blustring winds are predominant at Sea while the Halcyon is nestling and brooding neer the shore grant all stormy Passions may be allay'd by thy powerful presence in my heart by thee only who art the solid Land and my total happiness which I beseech I may possess here on Earth by Grace and afterwards in Glory Let Worldlings contend and vex themselves about recovery or possession of Lands of which they must in fine be dispossess'd It is good for me to adhere to God and seek him in the Land of the Living where the humble meek and patient whose Hearts on Earth were a place of sweet repose enjoy him in eternal tranquillity The Kingdom of Heaven is within you saith our Lord And consequently that firm and compleat tranquillity of Heaven begins on Earth by Grace to be perfected by Glory Within this little Kingdom of ours what a commotion is rais'd by wrath what a perturbation by enmity what a rebellion when Meekness and Patience is banished out of the Soul by Passion When such mutinies therefore arise within me whither shall I hasten for redress To whom shall I seek for assistance but to the wounded Head of my Saviour meekly bowing down to give me the kiss of Peace and infuse meekness into my Soul But now alas he is not able by words to command the storm to cease as he did when his Apostles feared drowning No. But will it not suffice to pacifie thee O my Soul enrag'd to behold thy Lord and meek Lamb more firmly fix'd by patience and meekness then by the nails that transfix'd his hands and feet What a commotion
was then in the Universe the Earth opening Rocks splitting the Temples Veil rending the Thief reviling and the Jews blaspheming And if at that time the Stars were shining they were like so many Eyes to admire the wonderful meekness and patience of our Redeemer In fine If the corporal Eye dull'd and dazled with a long and tedious aspect of glittering objects If I say that be refresh'd by looking stedfastly on a green Emerald shall not the sight of his sacred Head meekly inclining be as powerful to banish from the inward Eye that dark cloud of passionate wrath that circumvolves and stupifies the intellectual part I will go said Moses and behold this great Vision why the bush that burns consumes not For could he expect less than a crackling noise from a thorny Bush environed with Flames If this were miraculous what is it to behold that very God of Abraham God of Isaac and God of Jacob which appeared in the Bush with a Head meekly bowing down wreath'd with a Crown of Thorns amidst flames of Love burning but not consuming meekly hearing the Jews and patiently suffering while they blasphem'd revil'd and scorn'd him O my Soul what a great Vision is this to iuvite thee to meekness and patience Thou likewise art inclos'd as in a thorny Bush thy Body where for a light injury or small affront thou dost not only burn but art even consum'd with the flame of wrath and indignation sparkling and crackling like a Fire amongst Thorns To prevent the like flames of fury go sometimes to see this great Vision the Head of thy Saviour crown'd with Thorns meekly bowing down and as it were beckning unto thee to come and learn of him to be meek and humble of heart learn to possess thy self and thereby take possession of the Land which he hath promised to the meek and humble of heart God placed in the Clouds his bended Rain-bow that he might be mindful of his Covenant and on the Cross he hath fix'd his only begotten Son whose head meekly bending while he beholds he becomes a meek and merciful God to man who by his manifold sins provokes him to wrath How then canst thou elevate thine eyes sparkling with wrath against them that injure thee and not be pacified when thou beholdest this meek wounded Head bowing down to give thee the kiss of Peace meekly hearing and patiently bearing blasphemous words and wrongs that were so outragious and injurious to Innocence What then should a guilty soul patiently suffer for his sake If His sacred head be crown'd with sharp thorns wouldst thou have thine notwithstanding be encompassed with Roses If his head meekly bow down shall thine be rais'd up by pride or threaten revenge to them that offend thee Finally if his brow pierc'd with thorns be not any way contracted with wrinkles against his enemies smooth thy furrowed brow by meekness and for his sake and according to his example love even those that hate thee The Third BEATITUDE Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted EMBLEME III. The Myrrhe-Tree Tam lachrymosus homo 3 So of himself as soon as born The tender Bahe begins to mourn But after pierc'd with griefs and sears Hee 's more and more distilling tears THe Myrrhe-Tree of it self naturally distil's and as it were sheds tears but more abundantly when it is prick'd and wounded Behold the Embleme and Type of Man who is born weeping as being to use Saint Austin 's expression a Prophet presaging his own future calamities Man likewise naturally weeps for the loss or death of a dear friend so doth a Parent for his lost or deceased Child as Jacob did for Joseph and David for his Son Ahsalon Such tears ought to be moderate according to the saying of the Son of Sirach Modicùm plora super mortuum Weep not much over the dead Temporal losses and afflictions do also force tears from those who suffer them as they did from Job cap. 24. v. ult My harp also is turned to mourning and my organ into the voice of them that weep But when a man sheds tears out of remorse and compunction he is wounded like the Myrrh-Tree Thus was David wounded when he said In the night-time I will wash my bed with my tears What sins how great and enormous soever but may be swallowed up in such a flood as Pharaoh and his Army was in the red Sea Or what Flames can be so great as not to be extinguish'd by such a fountain There are likewise tears of Compassion as Job says I wept over him that was afflicted and my soul took compassion on the poor After this manner David weeps for Saul and Tobias for his Countrey men oppress'd with miseries With like tears of Commiseration we may mourn with our Lord while we meditate on his bitter Passion for as S. Agustine says He is not a true member of Christs Body that weeps not with the Head There are likewise tears of Devotion which issue forth out of an ardent desire to enjoy the happy Vision of God Or when a devout Soul replenished with the sweetness of God mourns for the absence of her beloved Spouse For Love saith S. August is impatient neither is there any moderation in tears unless the Lover may enjoy that which he loves Tears likewise are shed by devout persons when they behold grievous sins committed which are so injurious and offensive to Almighty God After this manner Esdras wept and the Apostles for their Lord when he was so cruelly treated by the Jews as he had foretold saying you shall mourn and weep Moreover tears are shed by those who out of Devotion and excess of spiritual joy even melt with the contemplation of heavenly Mysteries Which kind of joy S. Augustine had experienced when he assures us that the more a devout Soul is filled with holy and fervent desires the more abundantly he weeps in Prayer and mourns as David did crying out Ay is me that my sojourning and abode on earth is prolonged I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Kedar my soul hath been a long time a stranger Therefore my tears have been bread to me day and night while it is said unto me Where is thy God Our blessed Saviour speaking of his Passion calls it a Baptism by which his sacred body was bathed in blood and his face in tears like the Myrrhe-tree wounded on all sides and parts of his body with thorns whips nails and spear Behold him in this sad and heavy plight mourn and weep with him while he exemplifies in himself the third Beatitude Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted CONSIDERATIONS ON THE III. BEATITUDE Of the Eyes of our Blessed Saviour weeping IN this third Beatitude consider a happiness opposite to flesh and blood viz. to weep and mourn which our Lord did many times but never was seen to laugh He mourn'd and wept on the Cross and was comforted seeing by the effusion of tears and blood he was
what Saint Jerome saith That it will not suffice to desire Justice but we must hunger and thirst after it Yet never think our selves just enough but must more and more thirst after Justice as our Lord commands He that is just let him be more just and he that is holy more holy Consider what a hunger and thirst that is of the Worldling who still covets more and more Wealth The Voluptuous Man more and more Pleasure And the Ambitious Man more and more Honour Neither of these can have their fill because the Soul is of infinite capacity and therefore cannot be fill'd with all the world can poure into it Unhappy then are those Men who hunger and thirst yet never are satisfied And contrariwise Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness to whom is promised such fullness as shall wholly inebriate and satiate the Soul and Heart whose Capacity is immense and being created to enjoy God is insatiable and restless till it enjoyes his sight As Saint Augustine saith Because thou O Lord hast made us for thee our Heart is never at quiet until it comes unto thee O my soul be ever languishing and thirsting after this compleat happiness Is it possible thou shouldst have such a drought that naturally desiring to be blessed and fill'd with the glory of God thou shouldst notwithstanding hunger and greedily desire things upon earth and not those above O blessed Saviour thou didst thirst and they gave the vinegar and gall but to quench my thirst thou hast promised me the water of life so that I shall never thirst more Give me O Lord of this water for hitherto I have digg'd and sought it in the broken and leaking Cisterns of thy Creatures or in riches dignities and pleasures which never satiate Thou wert hungry after a fast of forty days and the Enemy presented thee with stones to be turn'd into bread But for me if I truly hunger after righteousness thou hast and dost give me the bread of life thy real body to feed and strengthen my soul to life everlasting This is the daily and supersubstantial bread which I should hunger after and for which I daily beg and without which I cannot subsist This was prefigured by Manna which relieved the Israelites in the Wilderness without which they had been famish'd Such is the desart of this world such thy true Body which unless a man eat and worthily eat he shall not have life in him Jesu be unto me a Saviour and redeem me from worldly vanities which like air never fill or satiate an hungry soul Thou art the Way lead and direct me Thou the Life revive and quicken me Thou my greatest and only Good make me hunger and thirst after thee Only after thee because all that can be desired may be found in thee which may incite to love If beauty thou O God art the fairest If benefits thou daily and liberally conferrest them on me If love to invite to love again thine is the greatest As my Creator thou gav'st me a being As my Redeemer thou freedst me from thraldom as a Preserver thou didst and dost deliver me from perils spiritual and corporal Therefore thy Prophet David said My soul hath thirsted after thee the living fountain To thee he thirsted who art the most amiable the most noble and most excellent Good a God and all things To thee he thirsted a strong God a good permanent immutable and eternal To thee a living God operative vigorous intellectual loving and conferring on me innumerable benefits How then can I do less then hunger and thirst after thee who art so good so gracious so bountiful so loving Nay how can I contain my self within the limits of thy Creatures that was created to so noble an end as is the blisful sight of Thee How can I forbear from crying out with thy servant David When shall I come and appear before thy face If I am a pilgrim thou wilt conduct me to my desired Countrey If I am hungry and thirsty thou wilt satiate me with the fruition of thy sight If I am naked thou wilt there cloath me with glory These things have I call'd to mind said David Psa 41. and thereupon I poured forth my soul within my self like a streamling to return to God my Ocean as a river doth to the sea whence it was deriv'd I have dilated my soul and extended her thirsting desire which nothing can satiate and fill but God only Nay more I have poured out my soul upon my self And there alas what could she find but one so poor as not any way able to quench her thirst who is capable of a Good immense Or when I poured out my soul upon my self as water streaming on the superficies of the earth I suffered it not to be suckt and swallowed up by self-love but to stream sorth towards that River which makes joyful the City of God Because I will said David pass on to enter into the place of the admirable Tabernacle even unto the house of God Even as a poor Beggar travelling on the rode in the heat of Summer being very weary leaves the high way to find some good Gentleman's house to be refresht and to quench his thirst so doth David thirsting say He will pass through all difficulties and obstacles whatsoever to arrive at Gods house there to quench his thirst lodg in that admirable Tabernacle But his arrival at the house of God being deferred he resolves to make use of local memory And to this end designs two special places the River Jordan and Mount Hermonijm When he beholds the first it puts him in mind of the River above which makes joyful the City of God and of the Torrent of delight of which the blessed are given to drink And when he casts his eye on the second he calls to mind the holy and blissful Mount of Heaven where God manifests himself to his Angels and Saints Therefore saith he I will be mindful of thee O God from the land of Tordan while I behold this river and likewise when I see the little Mount Hermonijm Who then fixing his eye on Mount Calvary can forget his Saviours sufferings or who can but remember how he hungred and thirsted after righteousness when he hears him cry out I thirst that is to say the salvation of mankind and that righteousness for us sinners whereby we are adopted and made the children of God The Fifth BEATITUDE Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy EMBLEME V. Adam's Apple-Tree Dum detrahis exigis auge Man merciful t' augment his store So cloaths and feeds the naked-poor For giving less he more receaves Such Trees are known by fruit and leaves THere hath such a particular notice been taken of this Tree in the several Countries where it grows that it is accordingly called by several names which yet we shall not give an account of in regard it is not so much the denomination as the Vertues
they are cruel who unbraid and deride them or expose them to the derision of others by discovering their sins to whom they should be as merciful and charitable in concealing as if they were their own not forgetting the severe sentence of S. James Judgement without mercy be unto him that doth no mercy Consider how God is so pleased with mercy shewed to our Neighbour that to such only as do it he hath promised mercy And withall hath commanded us to beg for pardon and remission of our sins as we remit and fully forgive them who trepass against us And that so freely and absolutely as not to retain the least rancor or malice in our hearts Which to accomplish when any enmity or uncharitable thought is slily creeping into thy heart reflect thine eye on Christ crucified who as saith S. Bernard to heap mercies on mercies gave his life and out of his wounded side brought forth the price of satisfaction whereby he fully pacified his Father according to the words of David With our Lord is mercy and plentiful redemption Hereupon thou mayst infer that whosoever seek for mercy and security in Christs wounded side must come like Noe's Dove to the window of the Ark that brought an Olive-branch in his Beak which is the type of mercy and peace To signifie they must be merciful and charitable to others who expect to find mercy there O my soul arise and shake off those dull cogitations of enmity that surcharge thy heart that thou mayst nimbly fly and be like the Dove nestling in the hole of the Rock the pierc'd and patient side of thy Saviour That when thou art pursued by the Enemy like a Dove by the Hawk that shrowds himself in the hole of a rock here thou mayst find succour and secure thy self Here is the gate of mercy and pity which always stands wide-open where at all times thou mayst find habour in the secure calm of mercy To be merciful is to have a grievous and pitiful heart Ah! how pitiful was that wounded heart of thy Saviour which for thy sake was pierc'd through with a Spear Compassionate and have with him a heart wounded with grief and pity Commiserate the distressed members of his mystical Body in him and then thou canst not but be merciful to thy self and find mercy for thy self being one of his O merciful Redeemer I behold blood and water streaming from thy heart and issuing out of thy wounded side By that precious blood I was redeemed and made one of thine And by the water of Baptism I was purified and made one of thine To persevere still and continue one of thine still may that door of mercy thy wounded side be open unto me May I be dead to the world and sin that wounded as with a Spear with true love and charity I may never by sin cause this gate of mercy to be shut against me Thou O Lord didst vouchsafe to give freely the last drops of blood which were in thy heart for a more compleat Redemption Grant I beseech thee that I may spend the remnant of my days in thy holy service in works of mercy spiritual and corporal that finally I may obtain mercy through thee my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen O my soul consider what it is to find mercy through Jesus Christ to which thou so often sayst Amen or So be it It is to find mercy by the vertue and merits of his bitter Passion Yet this will not suffice if thou beest not merciful to him likewise in his So great is the vertue of Mercy saith S. Leo that without it all other vertues will not profit thee No though a man be faithful chaste and sober and endued with singular ornaments yet if he be not merciful he deserves not mercy And remember that thy works of mercy must be done through Christ our Lord to be dignified by vertue of his Passion and for his sake otherwise they shall have no reward The right hand must not know what the lest hand doth No sinister or by-intention must intrude A charitable work must be a work of justice when we render to God the glory only due to him and to our selves reserve the reward which promised we expect Nay more an Alms hath the honour to be call'd Justice it self For our Saviour adviseth us to beware that we do not our Justice before men that we may be seen by them and have the applause and praise of men In fine Who would not in this manner be merciful that knows in the old Law no Sacrifice Ox or Sheep might be offered in the Temple that had not a tail which in a mystical sense might prefigure that even in the Law of Grace no work of mercy which is a kind of Sacrifice to God can be acceptable which hath not an end that is a right intention tending to Gods honour and for his sake If we cry out with Zachaeus Ecce Behold when he gave so great an Alms as the moity of his Goods it may seem to savour of ostentation till we add farther with him Domine Behold O Lord I give to thee what is thine as to Caesar what is his in respect of his figure stamp'd in it So in my Alms I behold thee and contribute thine for thy sake like Zachaeus little considering my poor ability yet present a work like the Widow with her Mite great in regard of a free and willing heart Should I give it to be magnified by others What could I behold therein but mine own shape like a Narcissus enamored with himself court the shadow and lose the substance An Alms is a work of Redemption Redeem thy sins by Alms works of mercy It is an entire Expiation Give Alms and all shall be pure unto you The Sixth BEATITUDE Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God EMBLEME VI. The Fig-Tree Nec Cornisi punctum 6. So pierc'd and pierc'd with sorrow's dart Compunction from a sinners heart And eyes extracteth tears while grace The opposite to sin takes place OF this Tree there are several kinds differing according to the several Countries wherein they grow the name being generally attributed to all those Trees which bear a fruit that hath some resemblance to the Fig. But that which is the subject of the present Emblem grows commonly in Spain and Italy though possibly brought thither at first from some other parts of the World It bears a Fig without the production of any precedent Blossom which as it should seem hath in it during the time of its greenness a raw humour whose crudity is such that it ripeneth not till a certain Fly or Gnat gives it a prick or wound Soon after the Fig hath receiv'd that wound there distills from it a kind of tear which falls to the earth After which the Sun entring in at that narrow passage made by the Fly the Fig by degrees comes to maturity Behold here the Emblem of a Heart truly contrite wounded by
compunction and pierc'd with sorrow which before while it was green was not in a capacity to receive the influences of the Sun of Righteousness and consequently could not be ripned till a passage was made for the evacuation of the peccant humour that so the beams of grace might efficaciously work upon it Let us then consider that if this delicate fruit does upon its piercing or wounding distil tears and that in order to its attainment of maturity it is much more requisite that the devout Christian should endure the stings of remorse and compunction in order to his being advanc'd to that perfection which is requir'd in the pure of Heart To this end is it that a Man ought sometimes as Saint Augustine sayes to make his appearance at the Tribunal of his own Soul where his own Thoughts will be his Accusers his Conscience the Witness and Grief the Executioner to wound the sinful Heart Then saith he let the blood as it were of the Soul fâ—w and issue forth by tears Notwithstanding all this Who saith Solomon will glory that he hath a clean Heart True it is no Man should glory herein but give the Glory onely to God Yet since the pure of Heart shall onely see God such purity of Heart is required as is produc'd by the expulsion of sin and infusion of Grace Therefore David humbly desired that his sin might be blotted out and that within him might be created a clean Heart Not a new Heart created but purity therein which being produc'd without any precedent merit of the finners part may be term'd a Creation Therefore Saint Paul tells us That Charity which is the same spiritual quality with Grace is transfus'd into our Souls which gives life and vigour in some sort as the Soul created and infus'd informs and gives life and motion to the body Me-thinks a Fig when but green pierc'd and wounded as it were by the Gnat lies expos'd to the bright and hot beams of the Sun as the Heart of a sinner doth to the Sun of Justice when 't is plerc'd by compunction Ah! what Light of Faith and heat of Love enters through those new â—ade passages of the Contrite Heart by which it becomes as it were a new Heart ripened by Virtue and embellished by Grace Now elevate thine Eyes to behold the wounded Heart of our Lord not with the sting of a Gnat but with a sharp Spear not to receive any light or heat of Consolation but to lay out the entire summ of that infinite treasure of his precious blood besides water to purifie thy impure Soul that thou mayst be blessed and see God thereby to enjoy eternal Beatitude CONSIDERATIONS ON THE VI. BEATITUDE On our Blessed Saviour's wounded Heart HAving in the Fifth Beatitude like a Dove nestling in the hole of a Rock as at the Gate of Mercy entred by Contemplation into Christ's wounded side now make a step farther or rather with reverence stay and view his wounded Heart most pure and clean where sin could never find entrance and say with the Patriarch Jacob Verily here is no other than the House of God and the Gate of Heaven This is the Blessed One pure of Heart who ever had the happy sight of God Consider what it is to be clean of Heart It is to be the Temple of the Holy Ghost To be in the state of Grace that is not guilty of any mortal sin And since the Heart is the Source and Fountain whence our thoughts perpetually flow to suppress all impure cogitations as they are rising is to have a clean Heart when it is accompanied with a pure intention directing all our actions to the Honor and Glory of God And as Saint Augustine saith Whatsoever we do whatsoever we laudably desire must tend to obtain the Vision of God beyond which nothing can be desired Think of the Question propounded by King David O Lord Who shall dwell in thy Tabernaele or who shall rest in thy holy hill And then attend to the Answer which is this He that liveth uprightly and worketh righteousness c. This is a hard saying Must the Heart be so clean as not to have one spot The Child but a day old is not free and in his Angels God found iniquity Who then shall be justified in his sight Or who can be clean of Heart while the All-seeing Eye of Heaven beholds it Appeal then to the pure Heart of thy Saviour rely on his Innocence not on thine own on his merits not on thine Seeing that Vessel of Election said he was guilty of nothing and yet in that he was not justified yet doubted not to say A Crown of righteousness was due unto him which the just Judge would give him I will therefore say with David O Lord turn away thy face of thy severe Justice from my sins And with him add further Shew me thy face that is to say of thy mercy and I shall be saved According to thy great mercy and multitude of thy mercies cancell my iniquity wash me again from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin that I may be clean of Heart to enjoy thy sight O my Soul Keep thy Heart as the Wise man adviseth thee with all kind of custody for out of it saith he proceeds life Keep it pure let not in one mortal sin to defile it for then from the Heart would proceed Death destruction of Grace and loss of the sight of God for Grace is the seed of Glory Let thy Heart be ploughed by Contrition harrow'd and cleans'd from the weeds of sin that this divine seed may be sowen in thy Heart which springs up by holy desires and is ripened by virtuous exercises O my God thou hast commanded me to love thee with an entire pure and sincere Heart Give me I beseech thee what thou commandest by creating in me a clean Heart and renewing a right Spirit in my bowels that I may love thee with all my Soul that my Will may be resign'd to thine without any contradiction with all my Mind and Memory alwayes to think of thee and with all my powers that I may employ them in thy service To perform all these things I must observe four things First Seeing all I am and have Body and Soul spiritual and temporal blessings I have from God I must be alwayes mindfull of his benefits Serve honour and thank him for all love him above all and for him my Neighbour Secondly I must consider the excellency of God And seeing he is infinitely greater than our Heart though we serve him with all our Heart and powers of our Soul yet are we defective and insufficient and must therefore think we never do enough Thirdly We must not suffer the world to usurp the least corner of our Heart by disordinate Love for that were injurious to God as was the placing of the Idol Dagon by the Ark. He is too covetous saith Saint Jerom whom God cannot satiate And he loves God less
Peace-maker and Son of God who fully pacified Justice by suffering death for Man by which redeem'd Mercy likewise had her desire embrac'd with Justice then pacified when she beheld from Heaven our sins severely punish'd in Christ Never could Man have fully conceiv'd the wrath and hate of God against sin had he not expiated the same by the death of his onely begotten Son Nor could we have apprehended his infinite Mercy had he not given this his onely Son for our Redemption Behold his Hands nailed and thereby know how the Hand of Justice being fastned Mercy and she embrac'd and kissing were united by Christ our Wood-Bind whose design was to make our Peace saying I leave you my Peace I give you my Peace not as the world gives I give you Peace For the world charmes and enchants a Soul slumbering in the conceipt of a sweet repose even when she is amidst the harsh discords of impiety yet hears them not nor sees her present danger Which made David cry out Englighten mine Eyes O Lord that they may not at any time sleep in death CONSIDERATIONS ON THE VII BEATITUDE On Christ's Hands pierc'd with nails FRom his Heart ascend to his Hands tran fixt with Nails that he might thereby fasten and stay the Hand of Justice ready to chastise us for our sins while he himself suffered in his Body what our enormous crimes deserv'd Imagine you see a King enrag'd against his Vassal for some heinous offence with his sword brandish'd and ready to kill him Which the Prince his Son seeing notwithstanding the injury as neere concern'd himself comes in and to save the Delinquent receives the thrust in his own Body pacifies his Father begs his pardon and restores the Criminal to the King 's gracious Favour How infinitely oblig'd you will say was this Subject to the Prince Thus did God the Son incarnate interpose himself betwixt his Father and sinful Man And on the Cross wounded by the Hand of Justice for our manifold iniquities pacified his Heavenly Father and thereby was our Peace-maker Consider now if this Subject reconciled to the King should by the Princes means be made a Vice-Roy of some petty Kingdom with charge given him to govern and preserve Peace with Subordination to his Majesty Notwithstanding should this Vice-Roy forgetting all favours and former Clemency rebelliously conspire against both King and Prince What punishment would you think too great for such a Traytor Is not every Man a kind of Vice-Roy to manage a petty Kingdom which is within him What his Passions Are they not at least should be his Subjects Together with his Appetites and Concupiscences which rebell against Reason And as often as Man sins mortally is he not guilty of High Treason against the Majesty of God his Dread Sovereign Who being every way infinite it follows the punishment due is infinite Hence I will conceive a great hatred and detestation against sin and ingratitude to the great Peace-maker my King and Saviour under whom as a Vice-Roy I must govern and be a Peace-maker And that I may the better preserve Peace withâ—n me I will set a Guard over my outward Senses over mines Eyes that they may not behold vain and curious impertinencies nor curiously prie and search into other Mens Actions Over my Tongue that it may not intrench upon my Neighbours Reputation Over mine Ears shutting them against Detractors c. Thus being outwardly guarded I may the better preserve inward Peace by suppressing inordinate thoughts and desires In such sort that having within me a peaceful Kingdom subordinate to Reason God may quietly inhabit in my Soul whose place as David saith and residence is in a peaceful Heart not disturbed with worldly cares nor embroyled with the Passions of fear and wrath which ordinarily raise a tumult in our little Kingdom But to be a perfect Peace-maker indeed one should be so totally united to God in his affections as not to desire any thing with out him and onely repose in him the onely centre and support of the Soul And remember what Saint Augustine sayes That they are Peace-makers in themselves and for themselves who subject all the tumultuous motions of the Soul to Reason that is to the Mind and Spirit For by subduing and suppressing carnal Concupiscences they become the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth Where being Peace-Makers they are likewise the Children of God and resemble their Heavenly Father to whom it is proper to enjoy himself who is Peace and tranquillity it self extending from end to end strongly and disposing all things sweetly O my soul thou feest what thou shouldst be Now consider what thou art How soon is the little Kingdom within thee disturb'd How suddenly anger disquiets it What perturbations of mind are caus'd when but a lighter cross or slight affliction lights upon thee Yea even an unkind word from a friend breeds a great discontent and trouble within thee And when all succeeds not according to thy expectation thou art so far from being a peace-maker that distracted in thy thoughts thou art vex'd and perplex'd within thy self How then art thou the Child of God in whom he desires to repose Art thou not rather like a whining Babe that for every trifle is crying and thereby disquieting the whole house O blessed Saviour though I dayly say Thy Kingdom come I am yet like that Regulus that little King little in the knowledg of my self and like his Son I lye infirm and weak and subject to my disordinate passions I can do all in thee who strengthen'st me Enable me therefore I beseech thee by thy powerful grace that thy Kingdom may come that thou mayst reign in me and over me the true Solomon and peaceful King that I with all the powers of my soul may rest in peace and be wholly resign'd to thy will Therefore I daily say Thy will be done What is it then can disturb my peace of mind If affliction if sickness or whatever else hapneth be according to thy will or permission it must be done Nay I daily pray it may be done And should I otherwise desire yet if it be thy holy will and pleasure it must be so Why then should not I be a peace-maker and qualifie all passions and disordinate desires which when I have perform'd internally I may and not before make peace amongst others externally O Jesu it was the Will of thy Father which thou didst punctually observe And that which thou didst teach was humility in conversation stability in faith modesty in words justice in deeds mercy in works discipline in manners and not to do but to suffer injuries This is to be a peace-maker and the Child of God This is the peace proclaim'd by the Angels at thy birth-day This is the peace thou didst leave us and with this peace we desire to depart and rest in thee that our peace and Kingdom begun here by grace may by thee be perfected in glory Amen O what a happiness it
will be in the last slumbers of a dying life to say with the Prophet David In peace will I sleep and rest because thou O Lord hast singularly put me in hope to see an accomplishment of that peace which a soul enjoys or should enjoy on earth Which to acquire a man should imitate the Prophet David who sware and vowed to the mighty God of Jacob that he would not enter into the Tabernacle of his house nor go to his bed nor give sleep to his eyes nor slumbers to his eye-lids untill he had found out a place for the Lord an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob So great was his desire to build a Temple And as great should be my care and sollicitude to build at least prepare a place of repose for my Lord which must be in a quiet and peaceful conscience without which who can give sleep to his eyes or slumber to his eye-lids O my soul when shalt thou be so happy as to say with that peaceful King Solomon Arise O Lord into thy rest thou and the Ark of thy strength Where is that repose of mind Where that tranquillity of conscience to which thou shouldst invite him to arise and come into his rest he and the Ark of his strength which is his powerful grace whereby enabled thou mayst silence and pacifie thy mutinous thoughts that rise up against thee to disturb thy peace Here I will seem to behold the Kine yoked drawing the Ark toward Bethsames while their Calves shut up were bleating To which they as it were shut their ears and went on not declining to the right hand nor to the left Thus must he do that bears the Ark of strength What are our brutish appetites what disordinate concupiscence what avaricious desires what are injuries that call upon us for revenge but calves that would be suckled and pampered These are they that disturb our peace these that are so obstreperous as to disquiet the soul never ceasing to allure her to return with loss of that peace and rest which is acquired by bearing the Ark of strength and sanctification which is the peace of God that overcomes all sense fortifies the heart in such sort that it resents not injuries and temporal losses or at least bears all with such patience as if it were insensible Such a heart may be both Altar and Sacrifice resembling the Pacifique oblation in the old Law which was an Ox or a Sheep or Goat being a figure of a triple peace with God our Neighbour and our self With God who by our submission and hearty contrition is instantly pacified With our Neighbour resembled by the Sheep who when good is soon appeas'd if bad figured by the Goat when mov'd and exasperated continues a long time as remote from peace and charity as the Goat leaving the fertile Valleys to climb and graze on barren rocks But when Man is such to himself still in motion unquiet anxious timorous and pensive what is he but a Goat skipping to and fro from a barren rock of distaste to a precipice of desolation O my God and merciful Saviour thou art my rock my safety my peace and only refuge From thee proceeds the Holy Ghost from whom springs the fruit of Charity Joy and Peace Send forth I beseech thee thy holy Spirit and these three shall be created and established in my soul Charity to love and have peace with thee and with my Neighbour for thee Joy and alacrity in serving thee and Peace in thee the rock and support of my heart my God for ever in heavenly Jerusalem the vision of peace where to see thee is to enjoy eternal tranquillity which thou O Lord hast purchased with thy most percious blood Amen The Eighth BEATITUDE Blessed are they that suffer persecution for righteousness sake for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven EMBLEME VIII The Vine Sterilis nisi falce putetur 8 So prun'd a Christian brings encrease To branch too far were to surcease Grow barren when unprun'd What harm Impair'd to spread a larger arm THe Catholick Church in divers places of Scripture is called the Vineyard of our Lord where every good Christian is a flourishing and fruitful Vine And if any Plant or Tree cut or lopt may he said to suffer persecution much more may the Vine the Emblem of a Christian For as the one is prun'd in February a cold and blustring Moneth not impair'd thereby but enrich'd both in branch and fruit So is the other in a time as rigorous when he suffers persecution for righteousness sake Let the Vine dilate it self from year to year in branches without pruning how soon does it become barren Such would a man be that never suffers loss of goods nor feels any grievance or affliction neither in body by sickness nor in worldly substance by persecution or otherwise For seeing it is certain that all who will live piously in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution as S. Paul assures us it follows that they who like a Vine are never pruned in their branching estate nor otherwise afflicted can hardly be numbred amongst the vertuous and devouter servants of God When I behold a Vine in a sunny place pruned and despoil'd of its branches and the residue supported and orderly nail'd and fix'd to a wall it presents unto me a man persecuted and depriv'd of branching superfluities yea and liberty whereby he becomes like a Vine more fruitful not wanting the Sun-shine of heavenly grace to render him as plentiful in Merits as the other in Grapes Now if the Vine to secure it self extend here and there a winding tendrel that clasps about the neighbouring boughs a devout Christian wants not the like while for his support and constant perseverance he produceth like so many tendrels several acts of Faith Hope and Charity All which clasp and wind about the Cross whereon Christ crucified is the Vine of vines Naked like a Vine in the fall of the leaf and prun'd in February Wounded like a Vine bleeding and in Vintage like Grapes in the Wine-press like a Vine with branches extended and fix'd to a wall with his Arms and Feet stretch'd forth and nail'd to the Cross where he lay expos'd to the scorching beams of most severe justice And when I observe the many riffs and chincks in the trunck of the Vine out of which issue the branches I seem to behold my Saviours body full of wounds out of which issued forth his most precious blood But if the Vine have tendrels to twist and wind about what bough or branch soever is neighbouring by what tendrels had our Saviour but rough and sharp nails what support what to lay hold on when he cried out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Ah Sinner it was want of will and desire in thee to suffer with him that made him complain in this manner This he foreseeing notwithstanding all he had suffered was cause of this heavy and sad complaint as if he had said
Heaven is as it were opened to such as truly repent VII Sometimes I reflect mine Eye on the Wood-Bind which wheresoever it grows is alwayes binding and uniting branch with branch or winding round about a Tree to teach me that Peace Unity Union and Concord are the special Objects at which I must aim both in respect of God and my Neighbour Love must be like a pair of Wood-Bind shoots issuing from the same stock which lay hold of two neighbouring boughs or branches If by Love I unite my Heart and Soul to God by Love I must likewise be united with my Neighbour And in like manner if I have made my Peace with God I must do the like with my Neighbour offended For as I forgive so I desire to be forgiven And consequently as I have Peace with my Neighbour so I desire God would be pacified So shall I have inward Peace accompanied with outward Charity and Love like a Honey-Suckle odoriferous that breath snothing but sweetness Then I reflect on the Wood-Bind Christ Jesus on the Cross the grand Peace-maker stretching forth his Arms and pacifying his Father justly incens'd against Sinners O what an amorous far-spreading Wood-Bind was our Lord Stretching from end to end strongly by fastning the Hands of Justice and disposing all things sweetly like a Honey-Suckle breathing nothing but sweetness of Peace even for his greatest Enemies crying out Father forgive them for they know not what they do And to the penitent Thief This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise As if he had said I have made thy Peace and prepared for thee a place of Repose Thy remove shall be from a turbulent world and stormy Sea to a quiet and secure Haven O my Soul Canst thou yet be so unsetled in thy Resolves So wavering and inconstant in good purposes Christ is thy Wood-Bind to fasten thee and hath as many bands to tie thee as pains he endured and drops of Blood which he powred out for thy Redemption Consider seriously how infinitely thou art oblig'd How innumerable the ties of his transcendent Love like so many Tendrels or Wood-Bind wreathes circling and clasping round about thee to attract and draw thee unto Himself who exalted from the Earth promised he would draw all things But how In the bands of Adam and links of Charity VIII When I walk into the garden where every Plant invites the Eye to behold and the Heart to consider I oftner cast a glance on the Vine which when I view prun'd and despoyl'd of her branches this think I would move an ignorant Man to Compassion to see a flourishing Vine so cut and mangled and fast nayl'd to a wall that knows not that this kind of Cruelty is Courtesie and favour for thereby it becomes more fruitful The like happeneth to Christians persecuted who in the sight of the unwise seem to be wretched and dye and their departure destruction yet they a little chastised shall be greatly rewarded for God prunes and proves them and finds them worthy for himself saith the Wiseman Then let the true Vine Christ Jesus occurr prun'd and despoyl'd humbled unto death for which God gave him a Name above all names who invites us to suffer with him that we may reign with him in a Kingdom acquired by them who suffer persecution for righteousness sake In a Kingdom which is conquered as it were by force and shatch'd by violence O my Soul thou likewise art a Vine and must be prun'd Nay more if thy Hand offend thee if like a Vine-branch it spread too far by coveting earthly things it must be cut off If thine Eye offend thee by presenting thee with objects of vain delight it must be pulled out and cast from thee That is what ever Creature or whatever delight as dear unto thee as thy Hand or Eye must be deserted and cast off if they with-draw thee from the Service of God or go about to betray thee to everlasting destruction O my Soul there is but one thing necessary the grand concernment Salvation which relates to Jesus that is a Saviour O that thou couldst tru'y say Now I begin to be the Disciple of Christ desiring nothing visible to the Eye that I may find Christ Jesus Seek him then in these ensuing Ejaculatories Vpon Christ's Nakedness O Good Jesu I read in thy nakedness that thou wert poor in Spirit poor in Will and desire of having any thing in this world So poor in Spirit that as thou cam'st naked into the World so as naked thou wouldst depart hence So poor in this World that living and dying thou hadst not whereon to rest thy Head What is then in Heaven for me or what do I desire on Earth but thee O the God of my Heart my portion my God for ever On his Head inclining Against Pride and Impatience O Good Jesu I behold thy Head meekly bowing down while the ungrateful Jews blaspheme and revile thee All which thou enduredst with infinite Patience and Meekness to possess the Land for us Sinners who transported by Pride and Impatience are tost by the waves of violent perturbations Ah! who can behold thee on the Cross humbly inclining thy dying Head Who can be impatient that beholds thee so meekly suffering O my Soul that thou mayst possess thy self and the Land of the Living learn of thy Saviour to be humble meek and patient On Christ's Eyes Against Excessive Mirth O Good Jesu I behold thy sacred Eyes distilling bloody tears and I hear thee say Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted If thou O Lord wert comforted by mourning because by thy tears thou wert to redeem me a Sinner Great cause have I to mourn with thee since my sins were the cause of thy weeping and sorrow Great cause have I to weep and bewail my sins that I may be comforted yea and rejoyce seeing by thy dolorous Passions I obtain a full redemption to my Soul On his Mouth Against Fear and Pusillanimity O Good Jesu I behold thy sacred Mouth and hear thee say I Thirst Whereby I learn that thou didst hunger and thirst after righteousness that my poor sinful Soul might be justified What then should my hunger and thirst be but a desire to suffer with thee that I may reign with thee Why then should I fear Why should I be so much dejected Thou art my Captain I must follow thee Thou art the Way I must not leave thee Thou art Life and therefore I cannot live without thee O my God and all things As the Hart thirsteth after the fountain of waters so doth my Soul unto thee On his Side Against Unmercifulness O Good Jesu I behold Blood and Water issuing from thy wounded Side and seem to hear thee say Blessed are the merciful for they shall find mercy Thou O Lord wert so merciful so bountiful that thou gavest the last dropps of thy precious Blood which streamed from thy wounded Heart for my redemption O hard Heart of mine