kingdome of God and is called carnall and to be wise according to the flesh is death Therefore according to the rule of either of them the man obtaineth his name in Scripture according as the carnall man or the spirituall man speaketh But if the concupiscence with his strength be overcome it will be argument of the strength which the spirit hath in the inward man and if it faint it is a signe of the weaknesse of the faith and spirit because these two are one thing according to that of 2 Cor. 4. having the same spirit The spirit and faith are suteable of faith for which we speak Moreover when one hath himselfe and his proper lusts tamed and keepeth them in their duties he is stronger then he that overcometh a most strong Tower according to the holy Proverb Chap. 14. The patient man is better then a strong man and he that ruleth over The greatest victory to overcome himself his mind then he that gaineth a Citie If therefore thou hast a desire and settest thy heart upon the greatest victory and to obtain it then conquer thy selfe thy privat wrath pride covetousnesse and evill concupiscence What it is to overcom the kingdome of the Devlll and thou hast overturned the kingdome of the Devill which ruleth in the world by such things and means of which sort of victors and conquerers there be very few to be found and there be many The victory of the soul keepeth the whole man conquerers of Cities Here consult with me and advise if thou pamper the flesh overmuch thou slayest thy soul but it is better to overcome the soule that the body therewith may be preserved then that this overcomming it with the soule doth perish for our Saviour Christ once said John 12. He that loveth his own life loseth it and he that hateth his own life in this world keepeth it to eternall life But howsoever this strife may have in it sharp things to bee born yet it bringeth forth in the end a famous victory and most beautifull Crown Be thou faithfull unto death saith the Sonne of God Apoc. 2. and I will give thee a crown of life And 1 John 5. This is the victory which overcommeth the world even our What it is to overcom the world faith that is to say the world within us and in the inwards of our hearts which being overcome we become more stronger then our selves What if some should say unto me Shall I then be damned if sinne sometimes subject me unwilling to it therfore to be put out of the number of the sonnes of God according to that of 1 Joh. 3. He that sinneth is of the Devill God defend For if thou finde a conflict of the spirit and a strife with the flesh that thou dost those things that thou wouldst not which are the words of S. Paul it is a manifestation of a faithfull heart and that the faith or the spirit is averse to the flesh for St. Paul by his own example teacheth that this strife is to be found in good and faithfull The strife of faith souls when he professeth plainly that he perceived another law in his members resisting the law of his mind which is the new creature the new and inward man and taking him captive in the law of sinne causing him to do the things he would not and to will is present with him but to finish that which is good he could not for he could not do the good that he would but to do the evil he would not that was present Therefore most lamentably he exclaimeth Vnhappy man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death Like unto which is that which Christ pronounceth Matth. 14. The spirit truly is ready but the flesh is Sinne reigning not dwelling doth damne weak Therfore sinne doth not rule in man so long as this strife is perceived in him neither is it to be said that sinne exerciseth his dominion over him against which he daily fighteth and that which doth not rule the spirit resisting it that consequently cannot damne a man It is the equall condition of all Saints to have sinnes according to that of Paul I know because it dwelleth not in me that is in my flesh good dwelleth not Also that of blessed John Epist 1. Chap. 1. If we say wee have no sinne wee deceive our selves which vulgarly we call Sinne dwelling in us to distinguish it from sinne reigning whose property it is onely to condemne for that sinne we contend with and doe not consent unto that is not imputed unto us Paul speaking to the Rom. 8. Now then there is no condemnation to those which are in Christ Jesus who live not after the flesh that is they doe not suffer it to beare rule But as many as are not exercised in this daily strife these are not born again having sinne reigning and therefore overcome and servants of Sinne and Satan and damned so long as they suffer sinne to rule over them This strife is shadowed unto us in the type of the Canaanites Josh 13. 15. whose remainder in the promised rest was suffered to dwell amongst the children of Israel but Mystical Canaanite not to rule over them even so the holy men of God every one of them feele and suffer their imperfections remaining who in the mean time suffer them not to rule over them as becommeth the new man I say a true Israelite and Champion of God as contrariwise it is fitting the old Adam should be subdued and brought under Therefore the daily strife against the old man sheweth the new man and argueth it plainly strength and victory sheweth a true Israelite and a new born man Lastly the warfare approveth him to be a Christian for the Land of Canaan is conversant The spirit ought to look lest the flesh do rule long and occupied in warfare but if it happen sometimes the flesh or the Canaanites doe invade the territories it is the part of Israel and the new man not to suffer a tyrant long but having gathered his new strength and aid by the grace of God in Christ and by serious repentance and remission of sinnes to arise from his fall and implore and intreat the true Iosua to give him victory even that true Prince of his people to lend him aid to overcome the Canaanites which being done first the sinne is covered blotted out of mind and pardoned and the man is again renewed to life and transplanted into Christ Wherefore they who feele many imperfections in their flesh and cannot doe and perform all things according to their mind let me perswade them again and again as true converts and true repentants to impute them upon the merits of Jesus The imputation of the merits of Christ is onely belonging to the penitent Christ effectually and intreat him to hide their spots under his most perfect obedience This I say is the meanes and this
is to be done to us and no other matter more heavie and more worthy of tears then the sinnes and impenitencie of men If it came to mind so often unto a man that he should die and that he was to plead his cause before God as often as he in a pensive manner Cause of mourning discusses the matter with himselfe of the helps of this life surely he would be more sad and more diligent in the amendment of his life and of repentance And if the same man should call to mind the eternall torments he could not but despise the world and in comparison of them think all the afflictions of this world pleasant From which opinion and fervency of devotion we are the more distant because we are so much inveagled with the inticements of the flesh In brief it behoveth The life of the flesh is the death of the spirit a Christian most firmly to perswade himselfe that if it goe well with his body and that he flow in pleasures of this world that his spirit is dead but that hee liveth if hee crucifie his flesh with his desires and concupiscences for the one is the death of the other if the spirit live it must needs be the body shall spiritually die and be offered a living sacrifice Rom. 12. Which way of life all the Saints from the beginning of the world did observe eating and drinking with thanksgiving the bread and cup of The bread of tears tears according to that of David Psalm 80. Thou shalt feed us with the bread of tears and thou shalt give us drink of teares by measure And Psalm 41. My teares were unto me my bread both day and night And this bread of teares faith by a wonderfull sweetnes doth mix and temper and the drink of teares is pressed from the tender grapes of devout hearts by true repentance and sorrow which worketh to stedfast salvation As The fruit of worldly sorrow contrariwise the sorrow of this world bringeth forth death witnesse St. Paul the losse of honour temporall and frail goods and it is often so sharp and bitter and impatient that men catch themselves in a net or bring themselves to their own death by divers wayes of which there be many examples in the histories of the Ethnicks for which it were better to be more moderate and shew themselves better Christians who know it to be far unworthy their profession for the loss of frail goods to lose their souls which the whole world will not recompence Far be it from us that for temporall goods we should not mourn or thirst after eternall seeing the use of them is most short ends with death When a man departeth saith the Psalm 49. he taketh not all neither doth his glory descend with him which law is equally spoken to all no lesse to the King then to the meanest Begger the dead body putrifieth and so a living Dogge is better then a dead Lion as saith Solomon Eccles 9. yet the Lord will set the death at all times and the face of them that are in bonds among all people and he wipeth the the teares from every face as it is written Isa 25. Therefore remember to carry moderatly the losse of earthly things and that the whole world is not worth one soul for The love of the world bringeth sorrow which Christ vouchsafed to die But if thou prosecutest not these frail things with so unruly a love thou shalt be lesse troubled with the losse of them seeing this that it is the condition of things beloved that things lost are more desired and so the labour of fools afflicteth them which are the From whence the pertur bations of the mind words of Eccles 10. The sons of this age doe gather goods with great labour with no lesse fear doe they possesse them and with greatest griefe forgoe them which is the sorrow of the world begetting death Apoc. 10. we read of those that followed adored the Beast had no rest to whom all these are like that adore the goodly Beast of earthly wealth and avaritious desires thereof a kind of men most wretched unquiet and full of sorrows whom perhaps we shall shall not evilly compare to Camels or Mules for as they by rockes and steep hils carrying Silken Garments Pearls Aromatick Spices and generous Wines on their backs doe draw many servants with them for security sake and so at evening coming to their stables their pretious ornaments and painted cloathes and garments are taken from them and now being weary and stripped nothing but the prints of stripes foul marks of blows are to be seen So those which in this world did shine in Gold and Silkes the day of their death being come have nothing but the prints and skars of sinnes through the abuse of riches committed unto them Learn then O learn to leave the world The world in the world iâ— to be left before it leave thee with most bitter pains which he who doth and first separateth his soul from the world to this man it is easie to be separate in body from it neither doth he grieve for the losse of it For as the Israelites even now being about to leave Egypt were daily pressed with greater burdens by Pharaoh going about utterly to overthrow their whole progeny or stock so We carry nothing out of the world the infernall Pharaoh envying our eternall salvation when we are neer to death so much greater care and rapacious desire of earthly things is hee wont to infest our soules withall which blindnesse is the more remarkable because we cannot carry the least dust with us of all those heaps of mony which we have gotten into the Kingdome of heaven because that way is so strait as all earthly things and of the body doe exceedingly hinder the passage of the soule The way is strait which leadeth to heaven and few there be that find it Matth. 7. As the Husband-man on the Barn-floore separateth the Wheat from the Chaffe so death setteth free the seed of the faithfull souls from the chaffe of the world neither are they any other thing else indeed but chaffe carried hither and thither with the wind Psalm 1. Therefore do that with all thy might and let not that depart out of thy mind which we brought before out of St. Paul The sorrow which is according to God worketh repentance to a firm salvation but the sorrow of the world bringeth death CHAP. XXI What is true divine Worship Levit. 10. The sonnes of Aaron did offer to the Lord strange fire and there went fire from the Lord and devoured them THis fire is said to be strange fire because it was other then that which burned perpetually on the Altar and which by the commaandement of God did burn the Offering and it is a type of the false divine The false worship of God worship The sonnes of Aaron did deserve to be burned with the
should shadow mine own honour under them and expect any thing besides the honour of God and the good of my neighbour therefore all are abomination accursed before Almighty God according to that of Matth. 7. Many Why God respecteth not the gifts shall say unto me in that day Lord Lord have we not prophesied in thy Name and cast out Devils in thy Name and have done many miracles in thy Name And then I shall say unto them Because I know you not depart from me The alms of the ambitious is damnable you workers of iniquity and you have not respected me sincerely but your selves Of the like mind is Saint Paul If I should give all that I have unto the poore and have not charity it profiteth mee nothing Even that love which exerciseth or sheweth liberality for Gods cause alone and not for his own praise or profits sake Such as was the righteousnesse of the Pharisees who offered many sacrifices and drew on others that they might adorn their Temples with their gifts and offer costly offerings the slaverie of which ambition drew them to forget the offerings of the poore whose gifts ought rather to bee preferred out of pitie alone Which preposterous charity in them Christ upbraideth Matth. 23. Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites because under long prayers you devoure widowes houses In which perverse religion there be now followers which bequeath large legacies to Temples and Monasteries that their Clerks and Monkes may make long prayers for them which truly is false love seeking themselves and if you scan it well not respecting divine honour but themselves But we who know to live justly by faith let us rather be penitent aâ—d offer our selves to God by mortifying and crucifying our flesh then all our works of charity not out of selfe-love nor for the cause of praise or profit whatsoever but let us doe it for the love and sincere love of God being sure if we doe it otherwise they will not profit us a haire Therefore although thou give thy body to be burned and want love which is due to God alone and his praises and honour thou doest nothing saith Saint Paul Neither doe they profit any more which whip and burn their bodies by humbling and afflicting their souls as speaketh Isai 58. because indeed they are conceited in their singular sanctity and affect their own proper praises and their presumptuous religion in their private judgement doe not respect God but applause popular praise and estimation whereby many of them are so blinded God suffering them the work of error 2 Thess 2. that they make no doubt to suffer themselves to be burned for the defence of their False Martyrs conceived heresie and if God be pleased to become Martyrs of Christ when yet they doe not serve Christ but themselves neither doth the punishment but the cause make a Martyr Such Martyrs as these the Devill even amongst the Ethnickes hath many were so blinded in their understanding they were contented to die for their Altars and Idols And the same is done this day amongst Christians under the shew of the Christian faith seeing the Ethnicks themselves to gain an immortall name to perswade themselves they doe well in so doing To whom for self-love and glory or praise there were like unto them certain Monks devout persons in our age which are called Catholicks which for the cause of propagating Religion will perswade Princes and Monarchs that they are to doe the like unto them even die for the Catholicks cause Whose madnesse is so much the more manifest being they beleeve that they suffer for Christs cause and they become his Martrys when contrariwise they become the Martyrs of Roman Bishops and of their private renown and praise And thus much of coated or cloak charity powerfully seduced and carried on by a false light It remaineth therefore without the sincere love of God and our neighbour and a holy and Christian life all Arts Sciences Faculties profit nothing wisdome how great soever and if it be as great or greater then that which was in Solomon is nothing the knowledge of the whole Scripture and universall Theology is nothing lastly all works whatsoever and Martyrdome it selfe if you will so call it yea to know the will of God and his word and to live after the prescript rule thereof that onely augmenteth the guilt of eternall damnation according to that of Saint John 15. If I had not come and spoken unto them they had had no sin but now they have no excuse for their sin CHAP. XXXVI Of those that live not in Christ but have their heart fixed to the world although they possesse the outward letter of the Word and do not tast the inward force of it and the hidden Manna Apocalypse 1. To him that overcometh I will give the hidden Manna I will give him a white stone and in the stone a new name written which no man knoweth but he that receiveth it BY this Sentence it appeareth wee are taught that no man doth taste the inward sweetnesse of the heavenly joy and solace hidden in the word of God which doth not overcome his own flesh and the Who be apt to tast heavenly sweetnesse world with all the pomps and concupiscences thereof and lastly the Devil himselfe that is to say they who crucifie their own flesh daily by their serious contrition and repentance with all the desires and concupiscence thereof who die to themselves and the world daily lastly to whom this life is a meer crosse I say these are divinely fed with heavenly Manna and drink the Nectar of Paradise Contrariwise those that follow none but worldly pleasure it is unprofitable for those to taste the hidden Contraries ioy not together Manna For like things are delighted in their like and seeing that the word of God is spirituall it is no marvell if worldly minds be not delighted therewith For even as the soul receiveth no strength of the food which the stomack hath not concocted so the soule of the divine Word or Manna receiveth no strength unlesse it bee converted into it selfe that is into life Yea as a man sick of a Fever distasteth all things and are bitter unto him so those that are sick of the worldly Ague that is of the love of the world covetousnesse pride and lust these I say doe loath the word of God and distast it as bitter Contrariwise With whom the word of God hath no savour those that have the Spirit of God these doe find in it the hidden Manna never to be tasted by them that are carried away with the world which is the cause that many by the daily hearing of the Gospel doe feele little desire and spirituall joy because they are not carried by the Spirit of God nor have any heavenly but earthly minds But he that will fully and soundly understand the word of God and eate Manna it behoveth him to study to
no delay By which beside other places may bee known who those are who are inwardly fed with Gods word to wit those that are poor in spirit and in God alone who place their trust and delight Those I say are worthy to tast heavenly gifts of whom David Whom God feedeth with his eternal word speaketh Psalm 84. How delightfull O Lord are the Tabernacles of thy dwellings my soule sainted and was moved in my inwardnesse in the entries of the Lord. My heart and my flesh were exalted in the living God Whereby one may understand that the least pleasures of eternal life doe farre exceed all the joyes of this present world and that one day there is more excellent then here to live in worldly pleasure one whole year which whosoever hath once made triall of and found to be so the world bringeth unto him a loathing and tediousnesse and as one accustomed to better things can relish it no more Hereto appertaineth that which the eternal Wisdome speaketh in Ecclus. 24. saying God alone filleth the soule My spirit is sweet above the hony and my inheritance is above the hony and the hony comb Who eat mee doe yet hunger and who drinke me doe yet thirst And his hunger thirst no creature but God alone can fill w th his love wherewith the Saints are made drunk according to the Canticle of Canticles Eate O friends drink he drunk O my dearest friendâ— Therefore Almighty God for that purpose doth make such delicacies for his dear The type of eternall life friends as being inamored with this bait of delight they may forget all wordly delight Now if in this life it be better for us to leave all the pleasures thereof for a few crums of hidden Manna and a few drops of Nectar and of the heavenly Vine how much more plentiful abundant shall that bee which wee shall attain to in the other life That our Saviour might stirre up this thirst in us it was expedient he should thirst upon the Crosse For even as he alone can stanch our hunger and thirst so we in like manner can restrain his most flagrant desire of loving He thirsteth after us more vehemently then we thirst after him according to that of John cap. 4. My meat is to doe the will of him that sent mee that I may finish his work And what is the wil of God but that we may attain eternal life And if we equally thirst after him as he thirsteth after us then of a truth should we drink and be intoxicated with his Spirit most liberally and sweetly so that out of our bodies should flow rivers of living water that is there should be nothing in us that would not be spiritual amiable comely nay no The greatnes of the humane soul and the humility otherwise then if we were filled as from a torrent of goodnesse and consolation divine in our whole mind and conversation we should rejoyce in God For nothing is of more account with God then the humane soul or greater when it conceiveth God and heaven and earth by way of enjoyment freely and nothing lesse then it when it humbleth it self before God and â—asteth it selfe below all creatures CHAP. XXXVII Those that doe not follow Christ in their life cannot be freed from the blindnes of their heart but do remain in perpetual darknes Moreover he cannot truly know Christ or participate of him or earnestly repent 2 John 1. God is light and there is no darknesse in him if we shall say we have fellowship with him and walk in darknesse we doe lie and are not in the truth But if wee walk in the truth even as he is in the truth we have joynt fellowship with him THat we may understand the nature of Light and Darknesse it is necessary to seek into the definition of Light which no man can give a better then that which blessed John himselfe delivereth God saith he is light And what is God A spiritual being eternal infinite almighty merciful gentle just holy true all-knowing lastly of love and faith ineffable God the Fathet the Sonne and holy Ghost one in essence three in persons the chiefe and all good essentially And this is the true and eternall light whence every one from True light true darknes God and his love mercy justice and virtue turneth himselfe when it is evident hee passeth from light to darknes seeing without God there is nothing but darknesse For if he be light it followeth contrariwise that the Devil is darknesse it selfe if he be charity the Devil is nothing but wrath envie hatred sinne and torment it must needs be so To which whosoever joyneth himselfe he is changed to darknesse and the Devil from which he is not delivered before he shall convert himselfe from darknesse to light from sinne to righteousnesse and lastly from the Devil to God That which is the work of faith alone by which our hearts are purified Acts 15. For whosoever beleeveth in Christ he repenteth daily and converteth himself from sinne that is from the Devil to Christ For as Adam by sinne converted himselfe from God to the Devil so it behoveth every one of us to flye by true repentance and remission of sinnes from the Devil to God Whereupon it followeth that man without returning and conversion to God cannot be inlightned For what fellowship hath justice with unrighteousnesse or what place of society is there for light and darknesse 2 Cor. 6. This darknesse is unrighteousnesse but the light is the true knowledge of Christ which can no wayes enter into fellowship so that it is impossible that those should be inlightned by the Spirit and light of eternall â—ruth who live in the darknesse of unrighteousnes To which appertaineth the saying of Paul concerning the Jews When tâ—ey shall be converted to the Lord the vail shall 2 Cor. 3. be taken away that is darknesse blindnesse and ignorance shal cease Christ shall inlighten them For what greater blindnesse or thicker mist can cover the minds of men then infidelity with the fruit thereof as pride covetousnesse wrath lust therefore where they be it cannot come to passe that a man should acknowledge Christ the most true light until hee beleeve in him confide in him and bee saved by him For how shal he understand the humility of Christ whose mind knoweth not himself through pride How should he know his meeknes that is altogether full of wrath and envie How his exceeding wonderfull patience which rejoyceth in revenge and imitateth The true knowledge of Christ the brute beast in cruelty For whosoever understandeth not the lowlinesse humility and patience of Christ hee never knoweth Christ in his faith And that you may truly and rightly know him it behoveth thee by faith to have the heart understanding of Christ and to perceive his lowlinesse patience and humility within thee in thy heart For as a plant is known by the tast and
impossible for him to taste and receive Christ into his heart Herod being dead Christ returned into Judea Matth. 2. The document is plain so long as the mind doth play the Fox with the World Christ cannot enter into it and therefore thou must die to the Fox First die unto Adam that Christ may live in thee Herod that the child Christ may live in thee All which returnes to this that you must die unto Adam or the old man before Christ can live in thee Paul to the Galat 2. saith I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me And to the Coloss 2. You are dead yet he writes to the living and your life is hid in Christ for then every one is truly dead when he ceaseth to be that he was before Those which are of the spirit doe understand the things of the spirit saith St. Paul Rom. 8. and to the Galat. 5. If we live in the spirit we walk also in the spirit Neither is it sufficient to boast of the faith and the spirit in words but words are to be approved by the fruits and works for it is spoken to all men by the Apostle If you live after the flesh you shall die but if you mortifie the works of the flesh by the spirit you shall live wherein very many are like unto Saul who did not slay Agag the King of the Amalekites Concupiscences are to be morâ—ified not hidden as God commanded him but put him into prison so these men doe nourish and hide closely their concupiscence when they should be eradicated utterly and not any part of the root left behind let us doe this unlesse with Saul we lose our Kingdome The scope of the whole Scripture requireth the new man that is lest we be deprived of our eternall life In briefe the whole Scriptures with the consent of all Histories Types and Figures doe point out Christ whose life we ought to imitate and doe set out the scope thereof neither doe I speak here of the great world and of his exceeding testimonies of God and divine love There is a sort of men that not unfitly may be compared to Winter trees for as they receive easily their leaves which were cast off the yeare changing and becomming favourable so many in adversity doe retaine their pleasures within and hide them which yet doe forthwith in prosperity having as it were gathered a troop breake out on a sudden A true Christian is most unlike to those hypocrites who in prosperity and adversity liveth according to piety equally just and faithfull to his Christ and taketh all things indifferently his lot doth cast upon him When our great God did grant to Achab victory over the King of Syria upon that condition that being taken he should hold him in prison that he should remain an example to shew that God was stronger then all his enemies and did require just punishment against those that did blaspheme his Name he despising the Name of God and his Commandements having taken his enemy in battell saluted him as his brother and let him goe for which disobedience and giving life to a man deserving to die the Prophet pronounceth the pain of death to Achab by Gods appointment To whom these are most like who nourish and feed their own concupiscences when they should pull them up by the roots therefore willingly without mortification of the flesh there is no good in man do draw eternall death upon themselves And therefore it is most true that without mortification of the flesh no prayer nor piety Lastly without mortification no work of spirituall devotion can abound in the soule which was the cause God Almighty Exod. 19. appointed all those beasts to die that should approach unto the mount Sinai and by how much more ought we to kill our beastly concupiscences if we ascend to the holy mount of God and offer our prayers to God and if we meditate on the word of God lest if we do otherwise we die the death Gen. 32. we Iacob thou must be before thou be Israel read that a new name was given unto Jacob to wit Israel which signifieth a Champion or a Prince of God because in wrastling with the Angell of God he beheld his face But before this Jacob which signifieth a Supplanter or Vnderminer for so he was not onely in name but in deed after whose example unlesse thou first through the holy Ghost doe tread down thy concupiscences to become Israel or the Prince or Captain of God thou shalt never attain Man must displease himselfe to please God the place of a Captaine or see the face of God The same Jacob that he might enjoy the beautifull maid Rachâ—l he was constrained to take Lea with bleared eyes doe thou such a thing and if thou art in love with Rachel that is if thou darest marry with Christ the true Jacob first doe not despise Lea that is despise thy self as a beast-like and sinfull man displease thy selfe and force it to death But there be very many who like unto Jacob are deceived of their owne life thinking verily he had met with Rachel that is that he had led a Christian life pleasing to God inwardly declared in truth afterward then see that they live with Lea that is they have not yet learned Christ and therefore not in the favour but in the hatred of God and that most deservedly Therefore let us doe this Before all let us displease our selves and as Lea in the house of her father be counted unworthy so let us contemne our selves taking to us humility lowlinesse and patience that at the last we may obtain faire Rachel for whom as Jacob served constantly the whole seven yeares her love The service of mystical Iacob mitigating the hardnesse of his labour and wearing out the time without tediousnesse so the most faithfull spouse of our soules Christ Jesus served full thirty three yeares in this world a most hard service or servitude for our cause according to that of Matth. 20. The Sonne of man came not to be ministred unto but to serve others and give his life a redemption for many And according to that of Jacob which he indured after a sharper manner for our love This twenty yeares saith he I served thee in thy house abiding both heat and cold and frost and I watched both day and night And shall we doubt yet to love Christ again and make warre all our life against his capitall enemy the world CHAP. XIII For Christ and eternall salvation to which we were created and redeemed every Christian ought willingly to die to themselves and the world 2 Corinth 8. You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ because for you he was made poore being rich that by his poverty yee might be made rich FOr thy Christ thou must die to thy selfe thy sinnes and the world thou must doe good and live a holy and innocent life not that thou canst
canst not live with him in this life It remaineth therefore whose life in this world is not in Christ he shall not have life in the other world Here I pray thee now examine thy life and see whether it be more like to Christs or the Vnion with Christ or the Devill Devils Certainly with one of them thou shalt be joyned eternally after death But who is dead to himselfe he is in love with no businesses yea is dead to the world what other thing is it to die unto the world then not to love the world and the things of this world according to that of John Epist 1. chap. 2. He who loveth the world is not of God For what should he doe in the world who inwardly and in his heart is dead to it Whom also whosover loveth he is no otherwise then Samson of Dalila overcome of it and condemned to all the torments and vexations which the He is overcom of the world that loveth it worldly life containeth or affordeth Moreover the love of the world belongeth to the old man not to the regeneration because the world hath nothing but honours The old man delighteth in the world the new man in Christ wealth concupiscence of the eyes and of tâ—e flesh with the pride of life in which the old Adam is conversant and delighteth it selfe And contrariwise to the new man he hath all things in Christ as joy honour wealth and pleasure for what can be more The Image of God the great est dignity of man honorable to a man or is more to be desired then the Image of God renewed by Christ Or if we seek pleasures what man in his wits can doubt that God doth give delight to his above all creatures and delight The man is made for greater things then this world them more as the words of Taulerus say Furthermore what think you of that which the Scripture teacheth Man was not made for the worlds sake but the world for mans sake nor to fill his belly with delicate meat pamper his own wit heap up riches spread his Empire abroad to get most ample possessions grounds and fruits of the earth to be gorgeously attired to abound in gold and silver to be Lord of the earth to put all his delight and joy therein as in his paradise to place it and know hope for nothing but what is before his eyes Or lastly for any terrene cause whatsoever or any thing that is fraile although of it selfe it be good pleasant and pretious No truly he must goe hence he is but a tenant and a life-renter of this great world into which we enter many at one instant as it were by heaps yet death calls for us also As it is not profitable for any of us to carry with us a grain of all the treasure we have heaped whereby it evidently appeareth that we were not created for this temporall life To what man was created neither this world to be the principall end of our creation seeing that we live therein as prilgrims and guests therefore another cause brought us into this world and for whom we were born which is God himselfe and the image of God which we bear in Christ and unto whom we are renewed In this we are convinced evidently to wit that we are especially created for the kingdome of God and life eternall which Christ hath recovered for us and to whom we are regenerate by the holy Ghost How preposterous then is it for one to fix his heart to the world and give his minde to earthly things when we know the other to be more noble then the whole word I say for a man to attend and spend his time on earthly things which is the most excellent of all creatures which carrieth about him the image of God in Christ and is renewed to this image Wherefore as I said before the man for the world was not created but the world was created for man and therefore carrleth about with him the image of God in Christ of which the excellency and nobility is so great that all men with all his workes and power could not repaire one soule or renew the Image of God But for this cause it was necessary that Christ should die that because the image of God was defaced and destroyed in man it should be renewed by the holy Ghost and he should become forthwith the habitation and house of God And this being known and called to mind if he be right minded he will never compare the riches of the world honours To preferre earthly things before heuvenly is great madnes and pleasures with the price of his soule which Christ hath redeemed at such a price for what is it to cast pearls in the mire and before swine if this should not be That which our Saviour saith Matth. 16. pertaineth to this place What profiteth it a man to get the whole world and lose his owne soule For seeing the world is mortall and the soul of man immortall the world with all his pomp cannot recover one soul CHAP. XIV A true Christian ought after the example of Christ to contemne the world and hate his life in this world John 12. He that loveth his soule loseth it and he that hateth his soule in this world doth preserve it to eternall life HE that will hate himselfe he must first not love himselfe so that he may daily die to sinne and therefore he must continually Selfe-love the chiefest enemy of the soul Idolatry wrastle with himselfe and his flesh for nothing is more hurtfull to a man that is desirous of his salvation and more hindereth him then selfe-love I say that carnall Philautia of which this following discourse in all this book is the subject I doe not say that care of preserving our selves but loving our selves is forbidden For seeing that God alone is to be loved it followeth that he who loveth himselfe is an Idolater and maketh himselfe God what every one loveth in that his heart is fixed neither can we be taken but with the love and servitude of something so as we become servants despoiling our selves of our proper liberties and consequently having so many Lords we are subject unto as we have objects to love but if thy love be sincerely and simply towards God then thou art subject to no object but it is manifest thou art at liberty wherefore thou must be very circumspect that thou follow nothing that may hinder the divine love in thee And if thou desirest to possesse God alone as much as thou art able so much in like The law of God brings forth tranquillity the world perturbation manner of thy all must thou consecrate to him But if thou love thy selfe and please thy selfe much pensivenesse sorrow feare and sadnesse will befall thee Contrariwise if thou love God and rejoycest in him onely and dost dedicate thy selfe onely to him then will he be thy
is the way and lawfull appointment of the imputation of the merits of Jesus Christ when daily repentance goeth before and alwayes ariseth from his fall Which when the impenitent doe not cockering and pleasing the flesh in every thing and sitting at rest under sin reigning therefore such as these cannot challenge the merit of Christ to belong unto them for the bloud of Christ troden under foot can be no medicine CHAP. XVII The Inheritance and goods of Christians are not of this world therefore they must use them as strangers 1 Timoth. 6. We brought nothing into this world neither shall we carry any thing out of it having therefore meat and raiment let us be content therewith SEeing that God Almighty created temporall goods to that end did bestow All things are to be used for necessity onely with feare them on man as certain helps and necessary furtherances it is meet that they should not be otherwise converted but to be used and taken from our most loving God with thanksgiving and feare trembling and whatsoever is more then necessary Riches are trials and proofs of men abound and are superfluous as are gold and silver meat and drink and raiments these are left to man as a triall by God for to try man that by these things it may be seen how his mind standeth between these terrene things and God himselfe that is whether he cleave onely to him alone rest in him alone and seek onely after celestiall and invisible goods or contrariwise sucking in and feeding on the inticement of earthly things addict himselfe to this temporall life and preferre this earthly paradise before that of heaven Therefore God Almighty by reason Man is unexcusable of temporall things and in them only gave unto man his election and choice whom by riches honours graces and goodly gifts it might be manifested in some sort whether he did cleave unto God respect him live in him or being seduced with their splendor and false shewes turn his mind from God and live without him and contrary to him After which manner every one by his owne sentence and triall is declared and remaineth inexcuseable according to that of Moses Deut. 30. Consider what I have propounded this day before thee Life and Goodnesse and on the contrary Death and Evill Superfluous things are proofs of the feare of God that thou mightest chuse life and thou mightest blesse thy selfe All things therefore in this world are exposed to our eyes not for the cause of deliciousnesse and pleasure but as proofs and trials in which the fall is easie when we fall from God and this is that forbidden tree with the fruits thereof the eating whereof is so forbidden lest our mind resting in them doe take delight and play the adulterer after the manner of men now who know no other pleasure but what is taken and received from earthly things abusing thereby the creatures of God meat drink and apparell to the pleasures of the flesh and vain delights wherewith most men at this day are drawn from God But it is the part of a true Christian to think that they be strangers or Pilgrims A Christian is not delighted in worldly things whose necessity these earthly things should serve not for delicatenesse and that they should not set all their delight and pleasure in the world but should place it in God alone but if they doe otherwise they intangle themselves in sinne and being seduced with wicked concupiscence being womanly wanton and effeminate no true Israelites with Eva they eat of the forbidden fruit Therefore Christians do not desire curiously deliciously dainty meats so that they may gormondize them but they hunger after meat which corrupteth not they follow not the pomp of apparell that is earthly but otherwise they aspire to the cloathing of divine light glorified bodies In briefe to true Christians all Worldly things are a crosse to a Christian things whatsoever in this world doe please others are nothing but a crosse temptation allurements of sinne gall and venome and rightly indeed for whatsoever a man to obey his concupiscence and pamper the flesh usurpeth without the feare of God that cannot but be venome or poyson to the soule howsoever to the body it may seem healthfull But such is the indocibility of man no man layeth to heart to know the forbidden tree but every man most intemperatly A Chrstian doth use the creatures with feare is fed with the concupiscence of the flesh the fruit I say of the forhidden tree but a Christian which useth all things with the feare of God and as a stranger using diligence and having great care that he offend not his heavenly Father in meat drink cloathing houses or any fraile good thing by his intemperance or his table-friends taking heed of all abuses most diligently and with the eyes of faith he beholdeth future good things in like manner for what profiteth it the body by by to be eaten with worms if in this world it swell in all kind of pleasure Naked saith Job came I out of my mothers womb and naked shall I return againe that is to say naked infirme and brickle body we bring into the world as an unprofitable burden we bring it into the world which as the spoyle of death when we goe out of the world we carry it out again and in truth poorer then when we entred for being born we have body and life and things not yet ripe are at hand cloath cloathing The bread of Christistians is the bread of grief meat and drink all which being dead we leave behind and so now whatsoever we had even from our birth to the houre of death in this world the solace of miserable necessity yea the bread of mercy and griefe they were whose use and possession in a moment death hath interdicted and taken away therefore nothing is more wretched then a dead man and especially he who is not rich in God Goe to then O yee mortals because we are strangers and Pilgrims in this world and because we must leave all these things when we die will we nill we let us leave at least to be grievous to our souls in such things In death all are alike riches covetousnes is a kind of madnesse and let us acknowledge it to be a kind of madnesse to gather wealth with great labour for a brickle and fraile body which it cannot carry out of the world especially seeing there is another world and another body and another life Call these things I say O yee mortals to mind to you I speak who in truth are strangers and Pilgrims before the eyes of God as it is in the Psalmes although very few of you doe testifie that you think so by your deeds and if we be straugers in this world it followeth that our countrey is elswhere that which is manifest to man of it selfe if we conferre or compare time with
eternity the visible world with the invisible the earthly habitation with the heavenly mortall with immortall things frail with eternall things The meditation of eternall and temporall things doth introduce wisdom In which comparison or meditation of contrary things our soule is enlightned and by faith we behold many things to the knowledge whereof they are not admitted those which to this contemplation are not at leasure and therefore like a Sow in the mire so they wallow in earthly matters drowned in covetousnesse fixed to the cares and study of earthly things given to usury and as concerning the soule blind howsoever otherwise they have a quick sight and have Lynxes eyes Because such as these thereby have addicted themselves to this fraile and worldly life and thinke this alone most pleasant the best and most To Christians the world is a crosse and exile noble when true Christians esteeming all things with a sound judgement and right estimation accounteth it an exile a valley of teares a den of misery a prison of griefe and sorrow Therefore those which love the world do not exceed brute beasts in prudence and die like a beast as saith the Psalmist they think not on heavenly things they rejoyce not in God they are pleased onely in earthly things in these things they take sweet delight and rest and having obtained these things doe thinke they are exceeding well Men in deed and truth wretched all manner of wayes blind and meere animals sitting here in the darkness of ignorance and hence removing to that of death and eternall damnation Christians are strangers in the world But we must firmly imprint this in our mindes that we are strangers and Pilgrims in this world after the example of Christ whose doctrine and life wee we ought alike to love and to him as an Image and pattern for all true Christians to follow and set before them to conform our manners thoughts and the whole course of our lives conversations Who when he was the most noble of all men he chose voluntarily that life in which nothing is notable as for himselfe besides extream poverty and contempt of honour wealth and pleasure which three the world hath for their three Gods Therefore thereupon Matth. 8. he confesseth that the Sonne of man hath not whereon to rest his head David before he was called to the Kingdome was poore vile and contemned and being made King esteemed all Kingly splendor as nothing in comparison of life eternall whereupon the Psalmist singeth Psal 84. How delightfull are thy Tabernacles O God of power my soul fainted and failed me in the Courts of the Lord my heart and my flesh were exalted in the living God Better is one day in thy house then a thousand elswhere I have indeed a Kingdome I have subjects and people subdued unto me I have Kingly Palaces and the Tower of Sion but these are nothing in respect of thy Tabernacle O Lord. Neither was blessed Job of another mind when he rejoyced in his Redeemer nor Peter nor Paul nor the other The Saints live in Christ Apostles which intended not the riches of this world but sought after the riches of another world took upon them the life of Christ walking in his charity lowlinesse and patience they contemned the world they prayed for them that cursed them they thanked them that reproached them in persecutions they praised The Saints were dead to themselves and the world God by many tribulations it behoveth us to enter into the Kingdome of heaven And last of all when they were slain they with Christ prayed Father forgive them And what is it to die to wrath revenge bitternesse of mind ambition pride the love of the world and himselfe also what is it to live in Christ and in his charity lowlinesse humility and patience Lastly what is it to be made alive in Christ by faith if this be not it Which most noble way of living to the lover of this world is altogether unknown Therefore because they live not in Christ being ignorant that the true life is in him Eph. 4. it commeth to passe that they are dead in their sinnes wrath hatred envie covetousnesse usury pride and covetousnesse of revenge in which so many as are drowned therein those for that cause are without true repentance neither live in Christ by faith whatsoever they perswade and boast of themselves Contrariwise true Christians doe understand that it is their duty to follow the steps of Christ to conform their lives to the life of Christ and to take from him as from a book and an authentick author the Rule of life and doctrine And these are found to be such that none but this is the onely true life which is in Christ Jesus according to that saying The life of Christ can teach us all things these say with the Apostles 2 Corinth 4. We doe not contemplate those things which are seen but those things which are not seen For those things which are seen are temporall but those things that are not seen are eternall And Hebrews 6. 13. We have no abiding Citie here but seek after one to come Which if it bee true that we be strangers and have not any abiding place in this world it followeth that we were not created for the cause of this world and it followeth then that there remaineth for us another world another countrey other dwellings for which we shall think it gain to lay down hundred worlds yea our life it selfe which a true Christian well knowing he rejoyceth in his inwards that he was ordained to eternall life and attending this one thing that he may grow rich in God he laugheth at the madnesse of those that are made blind with the love of the world who feareth not miserably to afflict their souls for these brickle and frail things and so unhappily to lose them CHAP. XVIII That God is grievously angry with those that prefer frail things before eternall also why and how farre we ought not to set our heart on creatures Behold burning among them in wrath the fire of the Lord hath devoured the extream part of the Tents Numb 11. THe people of Israel that murmured against Moses saying Who shall give us flesh to eat We doe remember the Fishes The type of the true false Christian and Cucumbers which wee did eat in Egypt is a type of men of this time who under the pretext of the Gospel and title thereof seek after nothing but earthly and carnall things as honours wealth and pleasures they use more diligence to be sumptuous then to become blessed and happy they study to please men more then God And lastly attribute more to the concupiscence of the flesh then to the poverty of the spirit Contrariwise the Character of a true Christian is to have more care of eternal honour and glory then this momentary to thirst after heavenly and let earthly goe to seek after invisible and neglect
present things and lastly to crucifie the flesh that the spirit may live in him Truly in this is both the foredeck and the poop of Christianity to imitate our Saviour or as Augustine saith The chiefest Christ is the rule of our life of religion is to imitate him whom thou lovest from which opinion differeth not much that saying of Plato drawn from the law of Nature The perfection of men consisteth in the imitation of God whereupon nothing else is left unto us then that Christ ought to be the example and square of our life and that all our counsels studies and cogitations should respect that one thing how we should come to him by him be saved and live with him eternally All things are to be done in faith expecting with joy the dissolution of our prison And that we shall attain if we direct all our labours actions businesse and vocations by faith and goe on with desire and hope of eternall life or to speak more significantly if we never lay aside the memory The love of the world is extinguished by faith of eternall happinesse in all our actions because through this feare of God is begotten in man a certain holy desire of eternal things and withall the desire coveting of earthly things insatiable in its own nature is restrained according to that saying of St Paul to the Coloss 3. Whatsoever you doe in word or deed doe all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ giving thankes to God the Father through him And the name of God is nothing but the honour praise and glory of God According to thy Name let it be O God and thy praise to the ends of the world saith David Psal 48. Which Whâ—â— the name of God iâ— scope if all our works and life doe chiefly respect then we think of eternity and our works are done in God and consequently our selves are in God Briefly God our chiefe good and the eternall life of all our thoughts works and words should be the first mover if we will not faile of eternall salvation That which Paul most elegantly expresseth to 1 Tim. chap. 6 But thou O man Who iâ— the man of God or the man of the world of God flie these things to wit covetousnes He calleth a Christian a man of God because borne of God and living in God hee is the sonne and heir of God Even as contrariwise a man of the world is he who liveth after a worldly life whose inheritance is the world and whose belly is filled with the goods of the earth as it is in Psalm 17. Which way the Christian is farre from seeking after faith and love and unsatiably covetous of eternall life to which he was created alone which if it come not to passe then the man linketh himselfe to enormous sins which our just God doth punish with eternall fire prefigured by the burning of the Tents sent from heaven and from an angry God to punish and revenge the excesses of the Israelites The wrath of God from whence Wherefore so often as such like plagues are sent upon the wicked as inundation fire warre hunger pestilence let us alwayes call to mind and remember that these are the most just punishments of a moved and angry God because the people of Israel unmindfull of heavenly things did follow after transitory things did prefer present things before future and had more care of the body then of the soule which things let us not erre in It is an extream point of ingratitude and contempt A great contempt ingratitude to God of God both here and hereafter to be punished to wit to contemne God for whom we beare about both body and soule and from whom we received them and instead thereof to worship Idols of the creatures the work of mens hands to esteem eternall things after transitory For these creatures Why creatures are given to us are given to us for necessity and not to set our hearts and minds after them that which God alone deservedly challengeth to himself and that they might be as prints and testimonies of God whereby we come neerer to the knowledge and love of God the author of them all which divine institution when the love of the world dare abrogate it then the same by the most just vengeance of God together with the proper Idolaters are turned into the fire The love of the world Is converted into the fire of Sodom and infernall flood of which Sodom and Gomorrah is a type and this burning of the Tents of which we speak Truly all creatures are of themselves good but when men set their hearts upon them and that not after a lawfull manner but doth worship them as Idols then they become abomination How the creature becometh abomination before God Almighty no otherwise then the detestable and execrable Images of gold and silver and therefore matters of eternall fire although gold and silver of themselves are good creatures In brief the love of Christians joy wealth and honour are circumscribed in eternity whereupon there followeth even life eternall for where thy treasure is there is thy heart Luke 1â— On the contrary from the concupiscence The fruit of worldly love and love of the world nothing can follow but eternall damnation for the world passeth away with all the pomp thereof but he that doth the will of God continueth for ever whereupon B. John 1. Epist chap. 2. beseecheth the faithfull saying Little sonnes doe not love the world nor those things that be in the world which being so manifestly shewed thee that God would not have us love any creature first Why the creatures are not loved because love is the heart of man and the most noble of all affections which therefore is due to God alone as to the chiefest and onely good Secondly because it is a great folly to love that which cannot love us again whereupon in vain are frail and transitory things beloved by good right is God alone to beloved above all creatures who out of his exceeding love created us to eternall life redeemed and sanctified us Thirdly because naturally like things are Why man was created after Gods Image loved therefore God made thee after his own image and likenesse that thou mightest love him and thy neighbour Fourthly although our soule be like to wax ready The soule is the lookingglasse of God to take any impression put upon it rather like a glasse representing all objects set before it whether of heaven or earth yet it is born onely to set God before it Fifthly as the Patriarch Jacob when he lived in Mesopotamia amongst strangers and after twenty yeares service demanded his two What our mind ought alwayes to respect wives and his wages and being provoked with the sweet memory of his country did think and desire to return to the same so our soule among worldly occupations and businesses of our
truly humbled think themselves worthy of nothing Jacob Gen. 32. who pronounceth himself unworthy of all divine favour and temporall blessings Therefore to his example and pattern a heart truly humbled contrite acknowledging himselfe unworthy of the least heavenly visitation and consolation be it never so little crieth O Lord my soule thine handmaid is unworthy of thy great love and mercy which thou hast shewed it in Christ Jesus behold since thou gavest me thy Sonne I come with two troops with the blessings I say of grace and glory And indeed if a man would weep a sea of teares it were not sufficient price for the least heavenly favour or consolation Therefore the grace of God is meerly pure and free gift and the merit of man is nothing else but punishments and eternall damnation which every one knoweth What misera men God respects through faith and acknowledgeth freely man consequently is guilty of his own misery and is pardoned of God that which cannot befall man without this zealous acknowledgement and so to obtain the favour of God Wherupon S. Paul 2 Cor. 12. saith I would boast of the infirmities in me that the power of Christ might awell in me For such is the mercifulnes of God he will not see his workes suffer corruption but so much the weaker it is in it selfe so much more fortitude is divinely infused into it according to that the Lord said unto Paul My grace is sufficient for thee for my power is made perfect in infirmity Wherefore by how much a true Christian in his own judgment is more wretched by so much doth God pardon more freely to the manifestation of the riches of his glory in a vessell of mercy Rom. 9. not looking to any merit of his by heavenly consolations more sincere then all human joyes Furthermore we call not him a miserable man not he that is poore Why a man is wretched and destitute of human succour and comfort but he that from the bottome of his heart acknowledgeth and is grieved for his sinnes for if sinne were not there would be no misery in the world and so much could not befall man but that he is worthy of much more Far be it from us to grieve because many heavenly benefits are not bestowed Man is worthy of no divine grace seeing we are not worthy of the least no not the life we carry about with us Which saying although our flesh think it a very unworthy and hard saying yet if we will obtain the grace of God the truth is to be spoken and every true repentant sinner most be a most bitter Judge and upbraider of himselfe for his sinnes Wherein then and wherefore should a man open his mouth Truly thus I think what ever man thou be it is better for thee to say thou canst say nothing in these two words Lord I have sinned Have mercy upon me a sinner certainly God himselfe requireth nothing else of a man but that he should deplore his sins and crave pardon which two whoso The best work of man neglecteth may be said that he hath omitted the best part Take heed therefore O man to powre forth teares for thy body because it is naked because it is afflicted with hunger and cold and because it suffereth persecutions because it is restrained in bands or because it is weak and sick but bewaile and send forth tears for thy soule which is constrained to dwell in flesh and bloud obnoxious to sinne and death Vnhappy man that I am cryeth blessed Paul Rom. 7. who shall deliver me from this body of sinne And this Christian acknowledgement and conscience of his proper and inward misery this grace-thirsting repentance Faith is the door of grace this faith fastened on Christ alone opening the doore of grace in Christ by which God cometh into the soule therefore repent and amend saith John chap. 3. Behold I stand at the doore and I beat or knock if any shall heare my voyce and shall open it to me I will enter therein and I will sup with him and he with me Which supper is nothing verily but the remission of sinnes consolation life and happinesse at this doore of faith our most loving God at his own time doth meet the wretched soule here the truth ariseth from the earth and justice looketh from heaven here Mercy and Truth meet one another Justice and Peace doe kisse each other Psalm 85. Here the offender Magdalene I say the soule of Mystical Magdalen man all confused and powring forth tears anointeth the feet of our Lord washeth them with teares wipeth them with the hairs of her head of most profound humility Here the spirituall and mysticall Bishop in the holy ornaments of faith offereth the true sacrifice the contrite heart and lowly and the frankincense of true repentance and contrition I say the teares for sins committed that true cleansing water The misticall Bishop and sacrifice of a Christian wherewith the mysticall Israel are washed and made clean by faith and efficacy of the bloud of Christ And thus much Christians it appeareth how by the acknowledgement of your proper misery and faith in Christ you may attain the grace of God so that by how much every one in their own judgement is more wretched so much the more dearly beloved of God and by him is adorned with great favours CHAP. XX. By Christian contrition our life is daily amended and made more and more fit for the Kingdome of Heaven and life eternall 2 Corinth 7. Godly sorrow worketh repentance to eternall salvation but worldly sorrow worketh death TRue Christianity consisteth in pure Faith true Charity and holy life which have their beginning out of serious Holiness from whence contrition repentance and a strict and severe knowledge of himselfe perceiving daily more and more his defects and amending them daily and participating the righteousnesse and holinesse of Christ by faith 1 Cor. 1. and cannot be obtained The fear of God by any other means in which if we walk in the continuall feare of God after the example of good children and subjects we doe not nourish any thing belonging to the flesh All things are lawfull for me saith Paul 1 Cor. 6. but are not all expedient in me making me better For even as a sonne in his fathers house doth not all things which many times the lust of the flesh prompteth him unto but warily observeth his father and as it were by the eye doth counsel with him before hee cometh to say or doe any thing So a true Christian and the Child of God will chastice his senses with Christian modesty neither will doe or speak any thing without the fear of God But for The ioy of the world doth extinguish the fear of God the most part all men are without the feare of God do addict themselves to worldly pleasures not knowing it is better continually to feare God then to wallow in
the pleasures of the world for the fear of God is the foundation and beginning of wisdome and devotion all which the concupiscence and delight of the world doth extinguish For even as by daily contrition or sorrow for sinne and mortification The renewing of the man with his soule of the flesh the man is daily renewed according to that of the Apostle 2 Cor. 4. Although our outward man be daily broken yet our inward man is daily renewed in bearing heavenly fruits and celestiall of unexplicable sweetnesse So contrariwise the pleasure of the world bringeth heavinesse vexation and wound of conscience yea so great The losse of the soul by worldly pleasure is the calamity of the mind and so heavie is the losse of heavenly gifts which flow from the pleasure of the flesh and worldly delights as he that calleth them to mind or would call them to mind he cannot overcome or detest any of the worldly joyes Two things there be which whosoever disputeth and seriously pondereth The fruit of the meditation of eternal ioy and misery with himselfe hee must be neither affected with worldly pleasures nor moved with calamities The one is the pain of the damned which whosoever shall bee willing to consider of deeply truly the more for that cause because it is eternal he is never heartily merry or joyous The other is life eternal which he cānot for that cause neither take out of his mind nor The impedimēt of spirituall ioy and sorrow mitigate do what he can neither whereof because we sometimes doe revolve them in our mind seriously can we revolve hereupon it is no wonder that wee are both without wholsome contrition and sorrow as also ignorant altogether and unexperienced of celestiall joyes and it is the property The true cause of ioy and sorrow of a true Christian to be equally minded who rejoyceth very sparingly in earthly things being full of divine pleasures and life eternall neither is he carried away immoderatly with calamities or dejected in adversity but against the losse of the soule only he beareth it so as for that cause all his life time he doth not refuse to account it a thing worthy of lamentation for a Christian loseth nothing that is never so little of these fragill things which perish but he shall receive a thousand fold in another world but if the soule once perish it cannot be repaired or recovered Blessed then is the man that findeth this divine sorrow and besides that celestiall and spiritual pleasure But oft times we perversly and crookedly doe laugh when we ought rather to weep seeing there is no true liberty or delight but in the feare of God and a right conscience which without faith and holy life can neither be had nor kept For faith accompanied with divine sorrow by the holy Ghost doth correct The hinderāces of the king dome of God the defects of man daily which daily means every man neglecteth and he loseth the best cause and part of living thereby he is adversary to the new life hindereth the kingdom of God in himselfe neither can Who is truly wise he be set free of the blindnesse of his heart Whereupon it followeth that he onely deserveth the name of a prudent and wise man who declines w th all study what he understandeth shall be an obstacle to amendment of life and proficience of heavenly gifts neither doth he determine to flie those things only whereby any calamities might arise to the body and the faculties thereof but much more those things which he understands to be grievous to the mind or any wayes burdensome Be of good cheare then and learn to warre like an enemy and so continue a valiant man can best resist a wicked custome according to that of Saint Paul Rom. 12. Be not overcome of evill but overcome the evill with goodnesse For there is no cause why thou shouldst think thy selfe sick of incurable evils if thou reflect thy thoughts upon thine own mind cogitations first view thine own proper defects and do not curiously first cast a rash censure of judging thy neighbour in admonishing him before thou hast controlled thy selfe first Wherefore if this daily sorrow and spirituall contrition beget reproach and reports and for that cause the good will of men grow cold towards thee take heed therefore that you grieve not at it but rather complain of thy selfe as becometh a Christian and live Christian-like as thy mind desireth and that thou mightest in good works equall the dignity of the name of a Christian For it is meet for thee to be afflicted by the world grieved at it that therefore in like maner God might delight in thee according to that of Isai 57. I doe The ioy of the world and of heaven are quite contrary dwell on high in the holy place and with a contrite and humble spirit that I might quicken the humble spirit contrite heart It is impossible that divine worldly joy at one time reside in the heart of man so contrary they are and so different in their off-spring when the pleasure of the world begetteth one in prosperity the other of heaven is begotten in adversity I acknowledge it indeed to be beside yea against nature to rejoyce in adversity according to that of Paul 2. Cor. 6. As heavy yet rejoycing as poor yet being rich as having nothing yet possessing all things But the grace of God doth mend and purifie change nature whereupon the Apostles rejoyced because they were accoūted worthy to suffer some things for Jesus Christ Act. 4. Neither do all true Christians otherwise who are made the new creature and become other men for they rejoyce and are glad in adversity and indeed those things that disturb the old man cānot disturb the new man who with S. Paul Rom. 8. glorieth in tribulation The joy that is from above is more noble then earthly pleasures which he perceiveth very well by the contumely and contempt of Christ who belongeth to him of whom if we be ignorant let us perswade our selves again and again that this happeneth by reason of the love of the True humility world A man truly humbled thinketh himselfe worthy of afflictions and tribulation and unworthy of divine consolations But by how much he thinketh himselfe unworthy so much more largely is he visited of God And by the more and the oftner he deploreth his sinne so much the lesse is he affected to the world yea it becometh more grievous and bitter to him thereby He who considereth himself as is meet findeth More causes of mourning then ioy more things wherein to mourn then wherein to rejoyce And he who examineth another mans life shall gather more things worthy pitie and compassion then arguments of envie thereby When Christ wept over Jerusalem which persecuted him and followed him to death even because he deplored the sinnes and blindnesse of it let us think the same
what measure we measure to our neighbour with the same measure shall it be meted unto us For those three Cities should effectually represent Christ who is the sole merit as Bezer soundeth that by interpretation is a Tower of Defence according to the Proverb 18. The Name of the Lord is a most strong Tower Jesus Christ to that runneth the just and shall be exalted the same is true Ramoth which Christ our refuge voyce signifieth Exalted to whose Name every knee shall bow in heaven in earth or in hell Phil. 2. Neither is there for us another Golan besides him which according to the etymology of the name is nothing but a heap of thankesgiving or graces and gifts celestiall as a certain overflowing vessell Whereupon Psal 29. we read With the Lord there is mercy and with him is abundance of redemption And Rom. 10. The Lord is rich to all those that call upon him And thus much of the third part of the internall spirituall and true divine worship flowing from the knowledge of God which is likewise the fountain of repentance as this is of remission of sinnes which three indeed are one and set forth and declare the solid knowledge of God And God did shadow unto us this third part by the Priest which was to eat of the oblation of God which what other thing did it imply then the application of the merits of Christ by faith in the holy place wherein is signified repentance For the faith by the vertue and merit of Christ and his bloud doth make the man before the just God as if he had never been defiled with any sinne according to that of Ezekiel 18. If the wicked shall repent him of all his iniquities that he hath committed I will not remember them And after this manner the Law of Moses is changed into the spirit Moses Lawes holy things are chāged into spirit or life internall holy and another life and his sacrifices into repentance by which we offer our bodies and souls a living sacrifice and give thanks unto him because hee hath manifested unto us what is the true conversion acceptable unto him which is the justification and remission of sinnes that God alone be all things his grace as it is meet should be acknowledged and with gratefull minds and tongues be praised for ever and ever This then as we have often said heretofore is the true divine worship of which Mich. chap. 6. speaketh I will shew thee O man what the Lord requireth of thee that thou execute judgement and love mercy and walk carefully before the Lord thy God Because therefore O mortals doe we repent to get remission of sinnes seeing but by this alone we cannot come to remission of sinnes for neither can those sins bee remitted whose sense and griefe the mind never yet found by grace divine and consequently never to grieve for them nor hee which never had it in his mind to change The true worship of God consisteth in the heart is not external his life and mend his manners Which true and safe-making conversion that God for his Christs sake would bestow it upon us I humbly pray whose favour also it is that now it appeareth that his true worship consisteth in the soule and mind in the knowledge of God in true repentance by which the flesh is mortified and the man renewed after the image of God whereby he is made the Temple of God wherein by the holy Ghost the true and divine worship of the holy Trinity is exercised I say Faith Love and Hope Humility Patience Prayer giving of thankes and praises to God And although this worship respecteth God himselfe and is performed to him alone let us not think or beleeve Why called the worship of God that God for his own cause and because it joyneth with his profit that he inviteth us unto him but rather let us be so assured that he is willing through his boundlesse mercy to bestow and communicate all himselfe to us with all his benefits and to live work and dwell in us if so be we be ready through his true Knowledge Faith and Repentance to receive him For no work is gracious and acceptable to God of which hee was not the authour of in us What kind of works are pleasing to God therefore he commandeth us to repent to beleeve to pray to fast not as to him but that the fruit thereof might be ours No man can give or take any thing from God nor hurt nor profit him for we sow and we mow to our selves if we be good but we create evill to our selves if we be evill And what dammage hath God if thou wilt not doe well therefore he commandeth thee to serve him not for his owne cause but for thine who seeing he is Charity it selfe therefore amongst things acceptable and deare and so fit accounteth it that there be many be who participate of his charity yea of himselfe that is to wit as a mother loveth her Infant cannot but rejoyce that it sucketh her milk from her so God is to be thought of out of his most loving communicating of himself after his manner to receive singular delight CHAP. XXII As we know a tree by the fruit so a true Christian by no other token is known then by love and amendment of life daily Psalm 92. The just man flourisheth as a Palm Tree as a Cedar of Lebanon he shall multiply being planted in the House of the Lord They shall flourish in the entrance of the House of God they shall flourish Moreover they shall be multiplied in a fruitfull old age and they shall be very patient that they may shew it forth because just is our Lord God and there is no iniquity in him IT is not the name but the life of a Christian that maketh a true Christian whose daily and onely study ought to be that in him Christ might be manifested and be made conspicuous by love humility and humanity In whom therefore Christ liveth not it followeth that this man cannot be a Christian Furthermore it behoveth this life to be from the bottome of the heart and spirit even as the Apple is derived and commeth from the naturall branch of the Tree faculties and vegetable power yea it is necessary that our life be informed by the Spirit of Christ and fashioned after his life according to that of Paul Rom. 8. Those which are carried by the Spirit of God those are the sonnes of God But if any have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his or belongeth not to him to wit every life cometh of the Spirit which even as the All life is from the Spirit inward man moveth driveth and is carried so in like manner the outward man fareth or is carried whereby it is manifested how much it availeth to a Christian life to have the grace of the Holy Ghost which therefore Christ did command us to seek
circumference of his heart In the tents of the Lord our God the plants of the Lord doe flourish as the Cedar in Labanon These tents are the meeting-place or inward and spirituall Sabbath of our heart and the flourishing Lebanon is in the desart and solitarinesse of the spirit which solitarinesse thou oughtest to follow diligently that thou mightest search thy selfe and contemplate the benefits and wonders of God Neither are those to be followed or imitated who are delighted in the reading of Whatsoever doth not make us better is to be avoided subtile and quaint things whereby the heart is more provoked then amended whatsoever doth not further or disturb the quietnesse of the heart or is not a furthering to amendment of life let it be farre from thine eares thy mouth eyes and thought for the trees of the Lord doe attend nothing but to grow and profit in Christ such as was Paul who desired to know nothing but Christ crucified so did all the Saints of God who strived with all diligence to live in silence and by inward devotion after a divine manner to emulate the heavenly and holy Intelligences and to hide themselves in God alone which is the onely rest of our souls of which number I have heard one say so often as he conversed with men he was made lesse in some part or other For seeing humanity consisteth in the similitude of God and therefore The definition of man God defined man to be an Image like to him it follows by how much the liker he is to God he hath put off so much the more of his humanity and the neerer he is joyned to God by so much he shall become liker unto him But no man can be joyned to God who first doth not forsake the world The same reason is of all seeds that The seed of God bringeth divine fruit they bring forth fruit like themselves therefore if the seed of God be in thee as the holy Spirit and Word divine it followeth that thou become a tree of righteousnesse and plant of the Lord to glorifie him Esay 61. Nothing is more frequent Scandalous words offend the soul then that a word may fall from thee or another whereby the heart afterwards is pricked and the soul abhorreth it wherefore no man is more secure safer and more at tranquillity then he that keepeth himself at home so containeth his thoughts words and his senses within the threshold of his heart When Diogenes the Philosopher was met by a certain man who being impertinently acute accosted him after this manner Man or no man What I am thou art not But I am a man therefore thou art none He merrily taxing his foolish acutenesse answered It will be truer if thou begin with me He who will speake laudably let him first learn to hold his peace for to speak many things is no eloquence it is garrulity or pratling He that will rule his heart Vertue ariseth froÌ„ contraries well let him learn first to keep it well seeing it is an impossible thing rightly to excell others unlesse he learn to serve obey God He that loveth peace and tranquillity of the minde let him keep his tongue and study to preserve a good conscience True rest for that which is evill foameth as the sea unlesse it return to its rest which is Christ by contrition and repentance The Dove which Noah sent out of the Ark when it found no rest returned to the Ark. This Ark is Christ and the Church having only one Doore or Window that is repentance by which we must goe to Christ for aid As the Dove having made her flight returned to the Ark of God so doe thou remember so often as thou fliest into the sea of the worldly businesses that thou return by and by to Christ and thy rest yea whilst thou art conversant amongst men and attendest worldly affairs The fear of God let it be done with feare and humility yet let it be without secure and precipitate rashnesse but be thou like the Shrub bound to the pearch of distrust and the feare of God lest perhaps the wind of perturbation doe break thee then which nothing is more frequent amongst men little conversant with the inward man and using the world more freely Wherefore perswade thy selfe there is no more trust to be given to the world then to the sea and that the externall calm of the world doth easily turn it selfe into a whirl-wind and an evill conscience doth obey the delight thereof True peace and rest But if men would seek no pleasure in ftail things if they were not intangled with the world lastly if they would trust lesse to their worldly goods then they would by experience find more peace and tranquillity in their consciences and divine consolations and visitations would be oftner manifest but seeing that they will not beleeve these things it cometh to passe that they lose that conversion amendment and devotion amongst men which they might find in themselves For what things within and in the heart are found by resting they are by seeking here and there unwarily and hastily lost and this followeth upon course As a tree no where profiteth better then in his naturall soile so the inward man in no place groweth in goodnesse sooner then in the profound inwards of the heart where Christ is Joy and heavinesse is in the hand of the conscience which if thou usest and imploy it in inward and The nature of the conscience divine things it will return thee again sweet and delightfull pleasures but if in outward and worldly things thou dost rest it will return thee vexation and torment As often as a faithfull soul grieveth and is sorrowfull for his sinnes so often Wholâ—some sorrow he mourneth secretly and in the fountain of teares many nights washeth himself therein and cleanseth himself in the Spirit and Faith in Christ that he may become holy and worthy to enter into the Temple and most holy place where the Lord may have most secret speech with him And because God is an unknown God it behoveth the soul to be most familiar with him if he will have him to communicate his divine mind unto it Psalm 85. I will bear what Divine communication the Lord will speak in me Psal 34. I sought the Lord and he heard me and took me out of my trouble he being poore he cried and the Lord heard him and he delivered him out of all his troubles Psalm 5. But I will pray unto thee and thou wilt heare my voyce right early I will meet thee early and I shall see thee By how much more our soul departeth from the world so much more familiar it becometh with God so did the Patriarch Jacob when he estranged himself from his countrey and kindred he had conference with Angels and with God Neither can it be sufficiently expressed by any words with how much love God and the
blessed Spirits embrace an holy soule CHAP. XXIV Of the Charity or Love towards God and our Neighbour 1 Timoth. 1. The end of the Commandement is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and faith unfained THis being delivered blessed Paul describing the most noble vertue that is to say Charity doth insist chiefly on foure things concerning it First of all that it is the end of the Law or a brief and short collection of all the commandements because by this or in this the law is fulfilled The reason is because in it all the commandements are fulfilled and lastly because without it all the gifts of vertues are unprofitable idle and fruitlesse And whereas he saith in the second place that Charity ought to proceed out of a pure heart that The sincerity of divine love pertaineth to charity towards God wherto it is requisite that the heart be void of all worldly love according to that of 1 Ioh. 2. Little children do not love the world nor the What a cleane heart is things that be in the world because every thing that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh and the concupiscence of the eyes and the pride of life The world passeth away and the concupiscence thereof but he that doth the will of God abideth for ever Therefore whosoever hath his heart free and at liberty from all love of the creatures so as he rest not in any fraile creature neither put his trust in them but onely from the bottome of his heart longeth and seeketh after God alone after the example of David who in the Psalmes saith My flesh faileth me and my heart it fainteth O God of my heart and my portion for ever O God For what is there in heaven that I regard or in earth that I preferre before thee This mans charity proceeded out of a pure heart Also if any take singular delight pleasure and joy in the love of God such a purity of heart as the holy Ghost sheweth in the Psalm 18. I will love thee O God my strength the God of my health and my refuge my rock my protection the horn of my salvation and my Redeemer The Charitie out of a good conscience third thing requisite to charity was a good conscience which respecteth our neighbour who is to be loved of us for no profit sake for this is the property of false love and that which proceedeth from an evill conscience neither in word nor deed proudly to offend him and diligently to beware neither openly nor closely to detract from him or hate him nor with envie wrath or disdain to maligne him lest our heart doe check us in our prayer 1 Joh. 3. The fourth thing requisite in Charity Love from fraile consciscience is faith unfained lest we determine any thing against the rule of Faith and Christian profession and lest we deny God openly or secretly in prosperity or adversity Goe to now let us consider apart the singular heads Paul saith Charity is the end of the Law For Charity or Love which proceedeth out of true faith is the most noble of all fruits and works of God then which a man can doe nothing better or more acceptable to God for God requireth God requireth not of us costly gifts and workes not of man any heavie things nor lofty nor great workes to his service and worship but rather he hath contracted the most rigid religion of the old Testament and a multitude of Commandments and the variety of them in Faith and Charity and hath added thereunto the gift of the holy Ghost according to that of Saint Paul Rom. 5. The love of God is infused into your hearts by the holy Ghost which is given unto us By which words he insinuateth unto us the originall of Charity Moreover Charity is not a heavie work but a pleasant and easie work to a good and faithfull man according to that of St. John 1 Epist chap. 5. His commandments The easines of charity are not heavy that is to say to illuminate Christians to whom the holy Ghost hath given a cheerfull heart and a free will moved and stirred up Furthermore God God requireth not much learning requireth not of us much learning or teaching but only charity which if it be sincere burning vehement is far dearer then arts and wisdom of the whole world so that all other things Arts Sciences works and gifts without it are unprofitable and thought of as dead works 1 Cor. 13. For without Charity every work is of no momēt learning is indifferent and common equally as well to Christians as to Ethnicks and the works of the faithfull and the Infidels in that are alike But charity onely is the sure Badge and Character of a Christian discerning the false from the truth For where charity is wanting there is no goodnesse whatsoever externall shew of greatnesse and excellency it commendeth it selfe by For God is Charity and he that abideth in Charity abideth in God and God in him 1 John 4. Whereupon it followeth where Charity is not God is not there Charity maketh all things easie is heavy to no man Charity is pleasant and acceptable with God and also the man that exerciseth it For where other Arts and Sciences and Wisdomes are gotten with great labour care and griefe and with the losse of their strength charity onely cheereth the body and mind doth adde vegetation and mendeth the soule neither is it losse to any but rather of it selfe bringeth ample fruits For love is the reward of the lover and vertue is a reward unto it selfe like as vice in like manner doth punish and torment it selfe And when other faculties of the body What is done out of charity hath God the Author pleaseth him and mind are weakened and tired and wearied only charity is never weary nor ever ceaseth howsoever Prophesie may passe away Tongues may cease and Sciences may be destroyed yea and faith it self shall fail 1 Cor. 13. What God will accept must necessarily proceed from God He that loveth God praieth wel and freely for he approveth of nothing which he doth not first work in us And seeing that God is love therfore that ought to proceed from faith which is pleasing to God and out of love without hope of any profit that it shall profit our neighbour And so should our prayers arise from love Oh then you mortals imagine what prayers those can poure out to God whose hearts are ful of wrath and rancor which if such should recite the whole Psalterie they can neverthelesse be nothing else but abomination before God when true adoration consisteth in Spirit in Faith and chiefly in Charity not in words Let Christ be in our memory who out of his abundant mercy prayed Father forgive them In a word he that loveth not God that man prayeth not in whom the love of God is that man preferreth nothing before God
nor esteemeth any thing so sweet He that loveth God serveth him from his heart he that loveth not God he serveth not him although he heap mountains upon mountains So then nothing can befall a man better or more profitable then that the love of God should wax warm in his heart Whatsoever faith worketh in man and all things ought to be done in faith Faith in charity should doe all things in man ought to be done in charity no otherwise then the soule through the body seeeth heareth tasteth smelleth speaketh and doth all things I say after that manner should charity doe all things in thee that All things ought to be done in charity towards our neighbour whether thou eat or drink hear or speak praise or dispraise all things should be done in charity after the example of Christ in whom most pure love wrought all things Wherefore if thou dost look upon thy neighbour let sincere charity fix thine eyes upon him if thou hearest him let charity erect thine eares if thou speakest unto him let most loving commiseration governe thy tongue Lastly have a care and study this one thing that charity through faith may be the root and beginning and cleave unto thee alwayes which can beget in thee nothing but what is good and wherewith thou beginnest the law of God whose love also is the fulfilling of the law or the true abridgement thereof Which majesty of the divine love all the old Saints of God with admiration exclaime O Charity The praise of Charity of God in the holy Ghost the sweetnesse of the soul and the divine life of man he who hath not thee is dead though alive he that hath thee never dieth before God where thou art not there the life of men is continuall death where thou art there the life of man is a fore-tast of the eternall life And thus much of Charity so farre as it is the end of the Law Let us God is mans soveraigne good come now to the other attribute the purity of the heart which consisteth in this That the mind being void of worldly love doth rest upon God as his chiefest good according to Psalm 16. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup thou art he that dost restore my inheritance to me Psal 37. The Lord knoweth the dayes of the unspotted and their inheritance shall be for ever And therefore the mind of man ought to take his chiefest delight and pleasure in God alone because he is the chiefest good and consequently good it selfe and vertue it selfe verily meer favour grace love lowlinesse patience faith truth consolation peace joy life and happinesse all which he bestowed upon Christ also so that he Why vertue is to be loved which hath him hath all things Wherefore he that loveth God ought to love also his truth mercies goodnesse and all vertues For the true lover of God loveth all things that are acceptable to God and contrariwise abhorreth and hateth all things that be against God Therefore justice is to be beloved truth mercy because God is all these meeknesse humility by reason of the example of our most humble and meek Saviour Contrariwise a true lover of God hates every vice as the adversary and enemy of God and the work of Why vice is to be hated the Devill therefore he hateth a lie because the Devill is a lier and consequently other sinnes because they are part of the Devill And whosoever loveth sinne as a lie and injustice this is a sonne of the Devill as it is in John 8. Even as he that loveth Christ our Redeemer and Saviour he also loveth the example of his most innocent life I say his meeknesse humility and patience he is the sonne of God But thou must remember that thou pray to God for this purity of love who certainly willingly and freely through the love of Christ doth kindle it in thee if so thou incessantly with daily prayers cease not to importune him and offer up thy heart unto him every houre and moment But if thy charity be could and weak so that sometimes thou faile and fall goe to rise again and goe to work and renew thy Charity be sure the eternall light of the divine love is not extinguished God our most gentle Saviour will enlighten thee again which albeit it be so yet thou shouldest The charity of God and our neighbour cannot be severed pray unto God daily lest at any time hereafter he suffer the most bright fire of divine love to be extinguished And thus much of the Charity from the heart purged from the love of the world and the creatures Let us see now the charity of our neighbour out of a pure conscience The charity of God and our neigbour is one and they cannot be severed neither is the love of God more manifest in any thing then by and in the love of our neighbour If any man say that he loveth God and hateth his neighbour he is a lier For hee that loveth not his brother whom he seeth how can he love God whom he seeth not And this is the commandement we have received from God That he that loveth God should love his brother also 1 John 4. For the love of God cannot dwell in the heart of a man-hater or hostile revengefull man Whereupon if thou hast no pitie on thy brother and knowest that he hath need of thy help how canst thou love God that hath no need of thy help As by faith we are united to God so by charity wee are to our neighbour joyned 1 John 4. He that abideth in charity abideth in God and God in him As a man consisteth of body and soule so faith and charity of God and our neighbour doth make a true Christian And seeing that God is well affected towards all men who is so indeed it followeth that he is of one mind with God and so consents It is the property of Charity to bewaile a sinner to him he that doth contrary is adversary to God because he is an enemy to mankind Furthermore it is the property of this charity to bewaile humane errors because they represent as in a glasse our own proper defects and bring to our memory the most infirm condition of our humanity whereupon it followeth that we are to bear the infirmity of our neighbour with patience humility and meeknesse Truly such as sin through want of strength We are to bear with the weak more then of purpose and whereof they soon recollect themselves doe rebuke and punish themselves and doe of themselves acknowledge their sinne these truly are to be pitied and condoled and doe deserve pardon He that denieth this surely hath not the spirit of Christ For to punish the fallings and infirmities of our neighbour rashly and with severe judgement without mercy or commiseration onely is proper to him that is without the most mercifull law of God the Father Sonne
and holy Ghost and without God himselfe Contrariwise a true Christian and he which is anointed with the spirit of Christ doth beare with all men in condoling commiserating and loving him after the example of Christ And this is the Touch-stone whereby every one is to be tried whether Where charity is not there God is not he be of God or not But if he find he hath no love of his neighbour in him let him assuredly perswade himselfe he hath not the charity of God in him rather let him feare God himselfe hath forsaken him wherewith he ought to be afraid and be sory from his heart and seek to return into his neighbours favour Which being done God through his love will marry himselfe unto him and whatsoever thereafter he shall doe in faith and charity is and will be accounted for good holy and divine Moreover by reason of the inherent love of God of his free will he embraceth all with his mercy and love neither is any thing more acceptable then to doe good or as Jeremy speaketh He rejoyceth in them he will doe good unto them Without charity in man all things are altogether evil and Devillish neither is there Why all things that the devill doth are evill other cause why the Devil can do no good but because he is destitute of the love of God and his neighbour and thereupon what he doth is altogether evill neither doth his workes and counsels whatsoever tend to other end then the reproach of God and damage of mankind and that he may satisfie his malicious mind and rancor against God and man For which cause he useth such cruell and vengeable mindes to execute and bring to passe the counsels and contrivement of his wrath envy And this is the mark of the sonnes of Satan whereby they are discerned from the sonnes of God Charity proceedeth from faith not fained which cleaveth and adhereth to God equally in prosperity and adversity Whosoever loveth a man heartily he cannot be ungratefull because what God He that loveth God all his works he loveth all his punishments hath appointed against him he doth after the example of Christ who with a cheerfull mind tooke up his Crosse which he knew to be put upon him by his Fathers will whereupon Luke saith chap. 12. I have a baptisme to be baptized with and how grieved am I untill it be finished which all the Martyrs of the Church did imitate bearing his Crosse with joy And for a truth whosoever loveth God heartily he cannot but beare his Crosse easily which he knoweth to be the yoak of Christ And if a Load-stone can lift up a weight of Iron and draw it unto it selfe what cannot that celestiall Load-stone of love divine do Shal not it take up the worst weight of our Crosse and mitigate the feeling of it Also why doth Sugar rather correct the bitternesse of the hearb and medicine then the sweetnesse of love take away the ungratefull and inhumane savour of our crosse whose force is such as the holy Martyrs had no other where that strength of their incredible and cheerfull constancy but they did draw it out of this fountain of Love wherewith being most sweetly intoxicated they did not feele the paines of their torments CHAP. XXV Of love to our Neighbour in speciall 2 Peter 2. Of whom any man is overcome he is that mans servant AMongst all kinds of servitude none is The servitude of the affections is most heavie more hard and sharp then to be under the subjection of affections neither of these is any more cruell then hostility or inhumanity because that wearieth and bindeth all the powers and strength of the body and soul and so leaveth to a man not the least thought free but he that exerciseth or remaineth in charity he is free in his minde neither is he the servant or captive to wrath envie covetousnesse usury pride lying and slander from all which being free by charity he suffereth not himselfe to be brought into slavery by his evill concupiscences but remaineth a freeman of Christ through the spirit of liberty 2 Cor. 3. For where the spirit is there is liberty whosoever therefore walketh in the charity of Christ he ceaseth to be the slave of sinne and servant to affections and carnall lusts For by the spirit of divine charity we are purged and set free And The universality of divine Charity charity divine is equally reached and extended to all men so that not onely out of the word of God but by nature universall also it is made known for we are all equally and alike covered with the heavens and we have the use of the Sunne Aire Earth Water both high and low degree alike Moreover with what mind God Almighty is towards all mankind so ought our mind to be affected towards our neighbour seeing what things even now we shewed thou dost not say it happened for that cause God would have it so but that by his example he might teach us and make it manifest that he loveth all with like equall affection and that it is without reâ—pect of persons and prerogative of dignity or merit in Christ to love every one alike so that as hee sheweth himselfe towards us such ught we to be and to carry our selves toowards our neighbour whom after the same manner as wee shall deal with God will deale with us Which Law God writ in our hearts that evidently he might convince and teach us with what mind he was affected to us lest we should be mistaken and overtaken unawares we ought to carry the same mind towards our neighbour every one of us Wherefore he that would know what respect hee is in with God it is sufficient to ask his conscience for that thing will tell him presently as his mind is towards his neighbour whereby he The triall of divine love may gather how God is affected towards him For like as we have done to our neighbour so it is meet God should doe to us And in this sense the great God is good to the good and averse to the averse neither doth hee deserve to have God his friend that is an enemy to his neighbour Now seeing that God hath no need of our works as our neighbour hath it appeareth by this counsell that the charity towards our neighbour gives us in charge that it should be as a Load-stone a most certain argument of our charity towards God For if these things were otherwise he would not have directed these things to our neighbor so exactly as to a certain sope nor bound us to this as a law but that we might know his affection to us thereby and we should approve the same mind every houre and moment to our neighbour Wherefore though Christ Jesus by his death once sufficiently made satisfaction for the sinnes of the whole world and all men therein for which all men are to give thanks no man can warrant him who
bring the wayfaring man and the needy into thy house when thou seest one naked cover him or cloath him and doe not despise thine owne flesh Then shall thy light break forth as the morning and thy salvation shall arise betimes and thy justice shall goe before thy face and the glory of the Lord shall gather thee together All which with one voyce do cry That God will not accept the repentance of any man or his prayer unlesse he first be reconciled to his neighbour CHAP. XXX Of the fruits of Love 1 Cor. 13. Charity is patient courteous charity striveth not it doth no wrong it is not puffed up it is not disdainfull it seeketh not his own it is not easily provoked it thinketh no evill it rejoyceth not in iniquity but rejoyceth in the truth it suffereth all things it beleeveth all things it hopeth all things it sustaineth all things EVen as in the middest of Paradise the Tree of Life was planted the fruits whereof whosoever should eat hee should lead an immortall life according to that of Gen. 3. Now therefore lest he hap to put his hand thereto and take of the Tree of life and The life of the faithful is Christ eat and live for ever the Lord God sent him out of the Paradise of pleasure that he might labour the earth from whence he was taken So Almighty God in the midst of the Paradise of the Christian Church set Christ Jesus that all the faithfulll from him might draw life and spirit and be comforted For all Christian discipline consisteth in Faith and Charity and the summe of Christian life in generall by reason of faith in Christ is pleasant acceptable to God So in like manner we cannot approve or allow of the reasons of our neighbour but through charity And so true it is that all vertues without charity are nothing and dead that faith it self is not excepted which although it onely justifieth when it onely apprehendeth the merit of Christ neither in the businesse of justification any reason of workes going before present or to come or to follow but Christ onely is accounted of yet it is most sure where charity doth not follow there is not true faith but hypocriticall although it work by miracles For even as a body destitute of a soule is dead so the spirituall or inward man whose members are vertues if charity be wanting with all his members ought to be accounted for dead Whereupon B. Paul hath set it as a Loadstone of faith and such faith doth require as worketh by charity Truly I know well in the work of justification that faith without works doth consist Rom. 4. but that it should want works I professe it cannot be when it shall have to doe amongst men in the market of charity Wherefore to the Galatians chap. 5. it is called Faith which worketh by charity And 1. Cor. 13. the fruits of this most beautifull Tree are remarked to bee fourteen And the first of these is Patience and Long-suffering whose nature and constitution no man better expresseth then Christ himselfe the true tree of life whose goodly fruits we ought to eat and turn them into the juice and bloud of Christ Therefore even as he by his wonderfull long-suffering did beare the malice and sinne of the world that he might allure and draw sinners to repentance Rom. 2. So then also order thy life and manners that the most gentle Christ may live in thee and thou in him as a member united to his head and breathe together The second fruit is Benignity or well-doing which was chiefe and principall in Christ according to Psalm 45. All grace did drop from thy lips And Luke 4. They wondred at the words of grace which proceeded out of his lips Which doe thou heare that thou mayst follow and to cause thee love thy neighbour Christ will speak by thy mouth and thou shalt remain united to him in perpetuall charity The third fruit is not to be emulous or revengefull but to remit and pardon then which nothing is more proper to God Psal 103. David saith He will not be angry for ever threaten thee eternally He hath not done to us according to our offences nor rewarded us according to our iniquities To which like is that of Ezekiel chap. 18. If the wicked shall repent him of all his sinnes and iniquities that he hath wrought he shall live by his life and shall not die I will not remember all his iniquities which he hath wrought And in Jeremy 31. In perpetuall love have I loved thee therefore have I drawn thee to me in mercy I will have pitie on them I will be reconciled as concerning their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more And in Esay chap. 43. I am I am he that blotteth out thy iniquities for my own sake and I will not remember thy sins Therefore doe thou the same remit I say pardon and forget thy neighbour and in like manner Christ will pardon thine offences and thou shalt have his Spirit and shalt remain in him The fourth fruit is not to mis-judge thy neighbour nor causelesly or crookedly or perversly to deride thy neighbour before others or by sycophantizing or collusion to damnifie him but contrariwise let thy heart bee seen in thy brow and doe all things ingenuously and clearly without hypocrisie Example whereof Christ gives unto us who carried himselfe equally to his friends and foes and from the bottome of his heart would that all should be most rightly guided both in deeds and counsell in which foot-steps whosoever doth insist in him doth remain the candor and ingenuity of Christ Therefore let all of us from the heart study the good of others by which means we shall remain united as true members to Christ our head The fifth fruit is Not to be puffed up to insult or wax proud but behold Christ Jesus the tree of life to whom the woman Luke 11. with a loud voice in a great assembly and concourse was bound to say Blessed is the womb that bare thee and the paps that gave thee suck He turned this praise most worthily due from himselfe to them that feared and loved God yea rather subjecting himselfe saying Happy are they that heare the word of God and keep it And this is the character of true love to transferre all his praises due to himself upon his neighbour which if thou after the example of Christ dost resolve to doe then truly humble Christ liveth in thee and thou in him In the sixth place true charity is not cruell not disdainfull not rough not discourteous in manners but tempered and composed to all humanity which Charity Christ used according to the prophesie of Esay chap. 42. who was not rigid nor turbulent but with admirable gentlenesse and sweetnesse of tongue hee accommodated The worship of God profiteth not God but our selves himselfe to his neighbour and commanded the same to others Whosoever studieth to imitate
conform all his life to it and Christ Which being done hee feedeth the humble with grace comforteth the meek and maketh his yoak pleasant and his burden light unto them For the sweetnesse of the heavenly Manna cannot bee tasted but under the yoak of Christ according to that Hee will fill the hungry with good things and send the rich empty away The words that I have spoken are spirit and life saith Christ John 6. Whereupon it followeth a voluptuous heart and carnall that is a man that hath no spirituall understanding cannot possibly understand those things For in spirit in rest in silence with great humility holy and vehement desire is the word of God to bee received which if it be not converted into life then truly it is no better then the external letter and a sound of words Even as he that heareth the noyse of a Harp onely or a Song and understandeth it not receiveth no pleasure by it so no man is partaker of the virtue that is in the Word unlesse he endeavour to expresse it in his life And this is that which was said before out of John I will give thee a white stone and in the stone a new name written which no man knoweth but hee that hath Hee which cleareth to the Lord. it This is that I say even a testimony of the hidden spirit which hee giveth to the word of God Rom. 8. And in like manner the Spirit of the Word giveth testimony to our spirit whereby both doe conspire and consent together and so become one spirit which is that New Name unknown but to A new name the receiver For as no man knoweth the sweetnesse of hony but he that tasteth it so the name of the testimony divine in the hearts of men no man knoweth but hee that proveth it This man onely knoweth the consolations and divine visitations because he perceiveth them whose name is also called New because they are the works and fruits of the new birth Blessed is the man to whom God hath given himself to be so tasted in his heart Blessed are the Prophets whom from the beginning of the world he hath fed with his bread so heavenly and by the conference of his eternall word which because it was so done unto them therefore out of sense feeling and experience they have spoken of it and composed holy Scripture And in truth even all this day he speaketh unto all men and feedeth them inwardly with his word in the soule but almost all men have shut their eares against his voice and had rather The living word is meat of the soul heare the world then God and be driven by their own concupiscences then by the Spirit of God Whereupon it cometh to passe that they cannot tast the hidden Manna swallowing up in the mean time both apples of the tree of death and carnall concupiscences contemning the tree of life Which men are not a little mad whilst they can understand that God can give greater pleasures to his lovers then the world so that he that hath once tasted the goodnesse of God to him the whole world with all the pleasures they will seem The tree of death to him as meer gall and bitternesse Now seeing we know our first progenitors were beguiled with the world and by eating of the forbidden tree have acquired death yet we are so blind and mad as fed with eternall death of carnall pleasures so dearly bought wee may remember If any shall eat of me saith Christ the true tree of life and true bread of life he shall live for ever John 6. And what is it to eat of it but to beleeve in him in him to joy and take delight lastly to rest and take pleasure in him alone Great therefore O mortals is the carnall blindnesse to serve the world for trifles vain and fraile things with such affection and desires and not to doe the same to God who rewardeth his worship and service with eternall things and farre more noble goods For who performeth to God so much and so great faith obedience and diligence as the vulgar we see doe perform to Mammon and the World We see them many times for small matters or a little mony make journies and for heavens cause it grieveth us to move a foot Hereupon the holy Prophets reproach Tyre and Sidon with emphaticall upbraids for taking in hand most vast and sea journies for the advance of their earthly causes when in the mean time they would not deigne for the soveraigne good to change their place And in our time men of all sorts and conditions doe prefer the world before God it is a thing most manifest The sons of the world Thereupon we see many Doctors doe study day and night to attain to honour in the world who hardly or not at all wil take so much leasure as sufficeth to say the Lords prayer if they might attain eternal honours and dignities celestial with so little labour Therefore you see the same men to avoyd no labour in warfare to attaine to fame and honour and yet will not enter combat with their own vices although they may attain heavenly nobility thereby Therefore you shall likewise see that the Lords and Victors of many Nations and vast Kingdomes doe not care for overcoming themselves lastly that infinite many doe not regard the losse of their soule and eternall happinesse to attaine to fraile and momentany goods And all these have not The true victory tasted the Hidden Manna of the divine Word and therefore doe not overcome the world but are overcome of the world Which whosoever dare contemne in respect of God he truly finds the most sweet visits of the holy Ghost and is filled with the heavenly pleasure which no man The divine sweetnes is tasted when the world is despised knoweth but hee that receiveth it This therefore is to be done the tree of life is first to bee planted in us that wee may eat the fruit thereof and our heart that wisheth to be recreated with the celestiall consolations ought first to bee converted from the world to God but wee being made drunk with worldly pleasures and bewitched do not incline our hearts and minds to think that heavenly joyes and those of God are rather to be wished then those which the world offereth or affordeth Although truly that is more true that God offereth and doth and are more noble then that which the creatures doe bring to passe Wherfore the learning which cometh from above by the inspiration of the holy Ghost True consolation and wisdom is of God is much more excellent then that other which humane understanding with great labour doth obtain For even as an Apple or a Lilly produced by nature is far more noble and much better then that which a workman maketh of gold be the gold never so fine so one drop of consolation divine The venity of worldly ioy is more
smell so Christ which is the tree of life by tasting and by triall is understood I say by tasting in faith his lowlinesse and humility and patience and by eating of his fruit whereby consequently his soule might find rest and tranquillity and be made capable of divine grace and consolation Which two into a heart void of faith and unfenced with the humility and lowlinesse of Christ cannot enter to fructifie seeing that God giveth grace only to the humble Seeing then it is thus what doth Christ profit a man who hath no society with him Such are all those who living in the darknesse of sinne cannot be companions of light according to that of Saint John If we say we have society with him and walk in darknesse we are liers and want the truth But if we walk in the light as hee is in the light we have joynt fellowship with him Which in the second chapter hee addeth The darknessc is passed over and the true light now shineth hâ—e which saith hee is in the light and hateth his brother is in darknesse untill now He that loveth his brother abideth in the light and there is no offence in him But he that hateth his brother is in darknesse and walketh in darknesse and knoweth not whither he goeth because darknesse hath blinded his eyes And how long a man remaineth in that terrible cloud of sinnes he cannot bee lightned of Christ which is the true Light and come to the knowledge of God For the true knowledge of God and Christ consisteth in that hee understands God to be meere The true knowledge of Christ Grace and Charity which who hath not and exerciseth this man knoweth it with the most ignorant So all knowledge consisteth ariseth out of the understanding experience and works of truth and so certain it is that hee which doth not exercise charity howsoever hee make many words of it yet he perceiveth not the perfect nature of it In like manner Christ is meere love humility meeknesse patience and vertue the which who hath not is ignorant of Christ although hee can prattle many things of him and usurp his name After the same manner the word of God is nothing but Spirit whereupon they which live not in the Spirit these consequently doe not know what the word of God is although they fable and dispute of it every where Therefore it belongeth not to him to judge of love who never exerciseth it For all knowledge as we said even now beginneth with feeling experieÌ„ce Knowledge ariseth out of experience Nor is it his part to speak of the light that never moved a foot out of his own darknesse to see the light and what is light in man but faith and charity according to the saying of Christ Matth. 5. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorifie your Father which is in heaven Now seeing that the most holy life of Christ is nothing but meer love if we endeavour to drink and draw from him true faith humility lowlinesse and patience as it is given in commandement to us by the severe Law of Learning then truly we are transformed into his image and we are beautified and adorned with his love no otherwise then if we were covered with Christ himselfe which is the eternal and true Light according to that of the Ephesians chap. 5. Arise thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ will inlighten thee Whereupon it followeth again that as many as doe not awake from the sleep of the world that is concupiseence of the eyes of the flesh and pride of life their soule cannot truly be illuminated by Christ Contrariwise they which assume the life of Christ and follow him in faith these truly are illuminated according to that of Saint John chap. 8. I am the light of the world he which followeth me in faith charity hope patience lowlinesse humility feare of Onely the martyrs of Christ illuminated God and prayer walketh not in darknesse but shall have the light of life As if he should say Onely those that imitate me have the light of life and the true illumination and knowledge of mee By reason of the same Faith and Life of Christ or Christian life blessed Paul Ephes 5. calleth the faithful the Light You were saith he sometimes darknesse but now light in the Lord. And 1 Thess 5. You are all the sonnes of light and the sonnes of God we are not of the night nor darknesse having put on the breast-plate of faith and love and the helmet of salvation To this belongeth that of the Book of Wisdome which faith That the holy Ghost doth flye wicked persons but comes into holy souls and of them makes Prophets and friends of God Which if it flye the wicked it is plain that they cannot be inlightened of it To which that is like that Christ denieth the world that is carnal minds not repenting them at all can they receive the holy Ghost But that there might be a perfect and absolute example amongst men and an Idea of vertue therefore the Son of God became Man and by his most holy life became the publick Light of the world that all men might follow him beleeve in him and be illuminated from him Now seeing the false Christians themselves know not Christ to be the most perfect and absolute righteousnesse or vertue therefore they did not care for following him it is manifest that the Ethnicks the most rigid observers lovers of vertue did goe far beyond them Of whom the wisest as Plato Aristotle Cicero and Seneca determined If the virtue of the body may be seen or could bee seen it would appeare more cleare then Lucifer or the day starre But those that shal behold Christ with the eye of faith he being the true Lucifer or Day-star doth far excel them and Faith in Christ illuminateth the heart those shall so see and contract the word of life 1 John 1. But if the Ethnicks did so esteeme virtue and desired to see it how much more ought Christians to esteem it above all things seeing Christ is meere virtue meere The love of Christ is to imitate Christ lowlinesse yea God himselfe Whereupon not without cause Saint Paul preferreth the love of Christ before all Sciences or knowledge for that he which loveth him it necessarily followeth that hee doe embrace his lowlinesse and humility out of his meere and most sincere love towards him whereby he is further illuminated and daily Light grace is given by humility transformed into the image of Christ from glory to glory 2 Cor. 3. For God giveth grace to the humble saith Saint Peter 1 Epist chap. 5. And Saint Bernard The floods of grace doe flow downwards not upwards By all which it cometh to passe that the grace of the light and of knowledge divine is not communicated to a man that liveth not in Christ but walketh in the
all things having promise both of this life and the life to come IN this admonition is contained a briefe description of a Christian life by which wee are taught that a Christian ought to spend all his time in the study of piety which is the compendium of all Christian virtues first because it is profitable for all things in all our words and deeds blessing them if so be we use it in them Secondly because God doth reward it both in this life and the life to come where wee shall receive the everlasting harvest of our labours Rule I. First although thou canst not live so perfectly as the word of God commandeth and as thy spirit would yet thou God alloweth the good will for the deed must never but wish ardently the same For after this manner the holy desires of the Saints were acceptable unto God who also alloweth them because he is the beholder of the hearts not the works In the mean time having a special care of one thing to crucifie thy flesh and not to suffer it to rule II. In all things that thou thinkest or The concupiscence of the flesh is the dore of the Devil doest study to preserve thy heart lest thou be defiled with proud thoughts words and works or lastly by wrath and such like Devillish actions For by this meanes thy heart is open to the Divel and shut up from God III. Strive for it lest it happen that thou lose the liberty of thy mind through evil concupiscences of earthly things making thy selfe a servant and slave of the creatures For seeing thy soule is more noble then all the world it were a very unworthy thing to put it under and sell it to the world and addict thy heart to frail and frivolous things of the world IV. Avoid studiously the sorrow of this world that bringeth and worketh death and by covetousnesse envie and too Dâ—vine and worldly sorrow much care of a family and also by incredulity and impatience is begotten But on the contrary embrace divine heavinesse which proceedeth from the meditation of his sinnes and infernal punishment and thereby worketh a stable salvation and also peace and joy in God 2 Corinth 7. Indeed man ought to beare the losse of no worldly goods so heavily as his owne sinnes V. If thou canst not bear thy crosse with such joy as is meet yet at least take it with The crosse how to be boâ—n patience and humility resting upon the divine wil and pleasure of God For this is alway good neither doth it respect or intend other things then our profit and salvation Therefore whatsoever God shal appoint or determine for thee in making thee merry or sad poore or rich in spirit exalted high or low and humble and lastly vile or excellent think alway this It seemed good to him and expedient for thee therefore that which pleaseth him let it not displease thee but rather rejoyce if hee carry all things according to his wil and thy salvation All the workes of God are good saith Sirac chap. 39. And Psalm 144. The Lord is just in all his wayes and holy in all his works Wherefore it is more excellent The wil of God alwayes good never evill that God in thee doe his wil that never swarveth from good or his own end which thou oughtest to suffer willingly who art by nature alwayes inclineable to evil VI. Consolations and heavenly visits are to bee received with humble thankes Contrariwise if they doe not move thee then know that the mortification of the flesh is more profit for thee then the joyes of the Spirit For unto us that bee subject to sinne and dwelling in flesh and blood griefe is farre better then joy and delight For many by reason of plenty of spiritual Sorrow and drinesse of the spirit how it is to be born consolation fall into spiritual pride But the Lord knoweth who are fit to bee led by a pleasant and lightsome way to eternal life and who are fit to be led by a crooked sharp sorrowful fearful and stony way Alway think it fit for thee that thou mayst come to life by that way the divine wisdome hath chosen although it differ from thy opinion and desire Better is sorrow then laughter saith Solomon Eccles 7. Because by sorrow the mind of the offender is corrected The heart of a wise man is where sorrow is and the heart of a foole where joyfulnesse and mirth is VII If thou canst not bring great offerings of devotion prayer and thanksgiving to God offer to him that thou hast and canst commending and adorning thy smal sacrifices with good wil and holy desires that thy religion and devotion may become acceptable before God because to have even that pious desire or be willing to have is no smal grace and most acceptable sacrifice to God because so much as we wish to perform before him of devotion prayer praises and desire of heavenly things even so much it is before God For he requireth nothing of thee but that his grace and favour may worke in thee neither canst thou return him any more then he hath first bestowed on thee In the mean time desire this of Jesus Christ with humble prayer Our perfection is in Christ that he would supply thy sacrifices with his most perfect sacrifice because he is our perfection ours on the contrary all of them are lame and unperfect Wherefore say my God and Father let my devotion be acceptable unto thee my faith my prayers my thanksgivings in thy most beloved Sonne and those not for their own worth but esteem them for the merit of Christ and it cannot be but that his most perfect works be and shall be pleasing unto thee For he he shall copiously supply what is wanting in me And by this means our piety prayer and thanksgiving how unperfect soever obscure and small it be the greatest weight of glory and dignity is given in exchange In faith Christ all our things are perfect for the merit of Christ As an infant if it be naked and defiled is not seemly nor amiable but if it be honestly clothed and adorned is pleasing to all so all thy works are of themselves and their own nature nothing which yet if they bee adorned with the perfection of Christ they are most acceptable to God the Father Even as Apples otherwise of no great value or price if they bee placed in golden Scutcheons or Sockets are more excellent and beautifull then themselves so our prayers our piety and thanksgiving in Christ is more worthy more pretious and more noble made according to that of the Ephesians chap. 1. He hath gratified us in his beloved Son VIII When sins and manifold imperfections doe make thee sad let them not A Christian may sorrow but not despair make thee to despaire Although they bee many think this There is mercy with the Lord and plenteous redemption with him Psa
contempt persecution contumely and reproach the crosse death martyrdome and punishment whereupon Moses preferred the contumely of Christ before the treasure of Aegypt which is true illumination XV. The true name of Christians written The name of Christians in heaven is the true knowledge of Christ in faith by which we are transplanted into Christ and written in him as in the book of life from whom do flow living virtues which God in that day will beautifie with an honorable testimonie Mat. 25. bringing forth all those treasures which we have layed up in heaven 1 Tim. 6. and bringing to light every work which is wrought in God Joh. 3. None of the Saints hath made himselfe famous by any vertue which will be forgotten Psal 112. And this vertue of his as faith charity mercy patience and the like are that name written in heaven and the note and character of the Saints and the eternall names of heaven Of which more in the second Book CHAP. XLI In which is repeated the summe of the whole Book That the whole Christian Religion doth consist in the restauration of the divine Image in Man and extirpation of the Image of Satan 2 Corinth 3. We all beholding with a revealed face the glory of the Lord are transformed into the same Image from glory to glory as it were by the Spirit of the Lord. IN the true knowledge of Christ and of his person offices benefits and heavenly gifts doth consist the blessed life which the H. Ghost doth enlighten in us as a certain new light which in it selfe becometh more and more cleare as a certain metalline body Wherin consists eternall life or a glasse by making it cleane becommeth more neat and clearer or as an infant daily augmented in stature and growth For even as righteousnesse is given to a man by faith in Christ and then hee beginneth his conversion or regeneration or to bee begotten in his conversion and daily to be renewed after the Image of God neither is he by and by a man but is an infant whom afterwards the holy Ghost doth nourish and from day to day doth more and more conform him to Jesus Christ For the whole life of a Christian man upon this earth What Christianity is ought to be nothing else then a reformation of the image of God so that hee might live continually in the new birth and on the contrary mortifie the old man daily Which manner of life is onely begun in this world and perfected in the world to come Therefore he that before the day of the last judgement and so of his death hath not made his beginning in this man the Image of God shal never be erected to all eternity Wherefore I hold it very needfull forthwith to inculcate and inform what is the Image of God and also what the Image of Satan is seeing that in the knowledge of these the whole Christian religion consisteth and from this one head many other doctrines of originall sin of freewill and so of repentance of faith of justification of prayer of regeneration renovation sanctification and of the new life and obedience come to be explained Therefore the soul of man is an immortall spirit indued by God with excellent powers and faculties as understanding will memory and other motions and affections of the mind And this ought to be turned to God in him to be made the image of God so The soul of man is the glass of God that as the object in a glasse so in it God may be manifested and made conspicuous In which sense Saint Paul speaketh 1 Cor. 3. That the glory of God in the image of God renewed doth shine as in a glasse Moreover as God is good and holy himself so the substance and essence of the soule in the beginning The conformity of our soule with God in the state of inâ—ocency was originally good and holy And as in God there was no evill so the soul of man was without all evill from the beginning as in God nothing is but good Deut. 32. Psal 92. so in the soule there was nothing that was not good as God is all-knowing and wise the humane soule was full of divine knowledge and spiritualls celestiall and eternal wisdome as the divine wisdome disposed all things in number weight and measure and knew the strength of all creatures as wel celestial as terrestrial so the mind of man was enlightned by the same light Neither was the will inferiour to the understanding as equally holy and conformable to the divine wil in all things Therefore as God was so the soule of man was just benigne merciful long suffering patient meek courteous true and chast Which conformity of the humane wil with the divine all the affections appetites desires motions of the heart did participate emulating or following most perfectly the motions and affections of the divine wil even as God is charity so the affections of the man did breathe nothing but meer charity and as God Father Sonne and holy Ghost are joyned together and conspire in ineffable and eternal love so all the affections motions and desires of the humane soule by a meer most pure most perfect and most ardent love from the bottome of the heart did grow warm and Thâ— body of man is the temple of God prosper together so that the man loved God and his honour more dearly then himselfe Moreover even as in the soule so also in the body the image of God did shine most gloriously which therefore in all the faculties thereof was holy chast subject to no filthy concupiscences or motions beautiful comely of perfect health immortal and was without molestation tediousnesse passion griefe vexation and old age In brief the whole man both in mind and body was perfect holy just and acceptable to God every way For as the man was the image of God it followeth necessarily that the body it self be holy and conformable to God according to blessed Paul who commanded to sanctifie the body soule and spirit together For seeing that the man consisteth of soule and body and therefore bodily and spiritual functions going together it is necessary that a soule holy and just accomplishing its workes through the body and in the body should have an observant instrument and equally holy as it selfe Therefore as the soule did burn or was zealous in the most pure love of God so all the faculties of the body did imitate the same gesture in the love of God and his neighbour As the soule was all mercifull so the body with all the powers thereof did incline to clemency As in the divine soul chastity did shine so all the body with all internall and externall senses and powers did use perfect purity and chastity In brief the perfections of virtues were conspicuous no lesse in the body then in the mind or soul Wherefore it was easie What heart signifieth in Scripture for a man in the
state of innocencie to love God with all his heart with all his soule and all his strength and his neighbour as himselfe Hereupon it is that when Almighty God requireth the heart of man the whole man as concerning body soule and all his strength is to be understood In which sense the name of heart in Scripture is understood every where so that with it doe come all the strength of the soul and â—â— it were the nerves the understanding memory affections and desires Neither is it for other reasons when God requireth the soule understanding by that denomination the whole man so much as in him is which indeed is to bee conformed to Iustice righteousnesse and ioy cleave together him to bee renewed in Christ and that he ought to walk in spirit or in a new and spirituall life But the perfection of most sincere joy doth accompany the perfection of holinesse righteousnesse and love in the man wherewith he was most sincerely affected God so disposing it that where divine holinesse is there also should be divine joy which two as they cannot be separated so they make the Image of God But we who in this life doe attain to onely an unperfect and begun righteousnesse of God and his holinesse for these beginnings of the righteousnesse of Christ living in all the faithfull if we be devout if we be exercised in the Kingdome of God we shal do participate thereof in this world and have the fruits thereof even the first fruits of that heavenly joy Therefore how much every Christian profiteth in love so much divine pleasure and joy hee doth find in himselfe Which holy and divine love because in that day it shal receive the last hand and its perfection therefore also our joy shall be then perfect Christ bearing witnesse John 16. For charity or love is life and joy as contrariwise where love is not there is neither life nor joy but death it The greatest ioy for the love of God selfe wherein the Devil and wicked impenitent men shall remain to all eternity This love maketh the father of the son the bridegroome of the bride draw an incredible delight yet it is a far greater love that is perceived from the love of the Creator which most lovingly kisseth us with the kisses of his mouth that is in Christ and in him by the charity or love of the holy Ghost cometh upon us and taketh up his dwelling with us And of this image of God the Image of God differ God which consisteth in similitude with God when wee make mention of it we doe not mean that a man should be every way like God in justice righteousnesse and holinesse and become like God himselfe for God is incomprehensible and he is immense as concerning his essence virtue and properties but onely to carry about the image of God as is declared in divers places of this book Where what wee have commented of the Image of God those are no conjectures but things indeed neither can it be denied of the most perverse that Almighty God created man that he might be his most cleare looking-glasse so that if one were desirous to know the nature of God he might look back to himselfe and counsell with himselfe contemplate God in himselfe as in a glasse might see his Image within and in his heart as his life and happinesse But the Devil beholding this Image The acts of the Devil to abolish the Image of God of God in man with wicked envious eyes laid in wait with many deceits and machinations until at last through disobedience and an hostile mind conceived against God hee overthrew that Image and destroyed it which he hath attained unto with such craft as never any thing was attained unto or shall be Neither was it an obscure thing unto him if the man had remained in that state he had been his Pride the original of all sin Lord but so soon as he fell from him hee became a tyrant to him Therefore when all his forces of malice and craft displayed hee found nothing more fit to perfect his cogitations then that sinne by which hee was bewitched and pulled from God hee began to insinuate into our mother the affectation of the divine Majesty by sweet and flattering speeches with the help of the Serpent that old and deceitful Parasite and the atchiever of so great The fall of Adam a wickednesse which proud thought once entied into the heart and admitted there followed Apostasie disobedience and transgression of the precept concerning the Tree of knowledge not to bee touched Hereby came the image of God to be overthrown the holy Ghost to fly away and the image of the Devil to bee set up in the place of the divine Majesty and both of them to become the bondslaves of the Devil and he their Lord to handle their souls most cruelly and as a Giant handleth a child to blind the understanding to turn the will from God to accompany all the powers of the whole heart against God and intoxicate them with Satanicall malice to overthrow all the image of God in man to plant his own in the roome to infect them with the contagion of his own nature to beget after his own image children not now of God but his own to fulfill all kind of sinne and enmity against God and lastly to slay them with eternal death For even as in the image of God life eternall and the happinesse of man was contained so death and condemnation did follow its losse This death those doe best understand which fall and are cast into most grievous spirituall temptations being exposed to the tyranny of the Devill by infesting the miserable soule of them most cruelly with the custome of sinning Spiritual death and eternall by the fall of Adam under which crosse being depressed and troden down only unlesse the holy Ghost doe under-prop him and comfort him then the Devil doth fasten his death upon them and tormenteth their soules with pains grief infernal whereupon it must needs be that all the powers of the body doe faile the heart waxeth dry and the marrow to be consumed Psal 6. and the Spirituall temptation 38. and the word of God if any go about to be without life with juice and with all devotion and spirituall life Into which Spiritual death state when the businesse is to bee brought then the man is converted in the agonie of a true spirituall death esteeming nothing of the holinesse of all men righteousnesse dignity strength power glory honour arts and wisdome of all men without doubt this man shall perish unlesse the grace of God doe prevent him Therefore learn of me O man that Originall sin is the most terrible of terrible sinnes that is the losse of the hereditary righteousnesse of God and contrariwise the hereditary unrighteousnesse What our originall sin is of the Devil and man planted in the place for which the