which was only stop'd for want of Enemies He caus'd seven thousand Citizens of Rome to be slaughter'd at once and some of the Senators being startled at their crys that were heard in the Senat-house let us minde our business says Sylla this is nothing but a few Mutineers that I have order'd to be sent out of the way A glorious Spectacle says Hannibal when he saw the Trenches flowing with humane blood and if the rivers had run blood too would hav lik'd it so much the better O most gracious Saviour how couldst thou suffer such monsters of nature to live upon Earth or how came it that the ground did not swallow them into it's bowels But alas why should I admire such cruelty among men being they were set on by the Devil who has been always a most cruel Tyrant to Mankind but especially when they are deliver'd over into his power We are amaz'd to hear of such unhumame and barbarous actions we are astonish'd to think of that hellish invention of Phalaris to roste men alive in his brasen Bull But alas all these torments and bloudy slaughters are meer toys in respect of what is exercis'd in Hell for the torments there are so great that they can't be express'd and no wonder being that the only pain of fire comprizes as many torments as the body of man has Limbs Joynts Sinews Arteries c. and especially being caus'd by so penetrating a fire in respect of which our temporal fire tho' it were made of all the combustible matter in the world is no more then a painted fire And in those flames of Hell the Souls of the damn'd must burn not for an hour nor a year De cadaveribus eorum ascendet faetor Isa 34.3 Famem patientur ut canes Psa 5.7 8. nor an Age but for an Eternity and have the Pestilential vapours of so many damn'd bodys perpetually at their noses and all that time suffer hunger as dogs which is one of the greatest torments in Hell Quintillian says that Famine is the most pressing of all necessities and the most dreadfull of all evils that Plagues and Wars are felicities compar'd with this affliction If then a famine of so many months or of a shorter time as that which the Inhabitants of Jerusalem suffer'd when they were brought to that distress as to eat their Children be the greatest of temporal evils what must we believe of the famine which the damn'd shall suffer in Hell for an Eternity O Epicures and ye that make your Gods of your bellys give ear unto what the Son of God foretels of you you shall finde it in St. Luke Wo says he unto you who make it your work to pamper your bodys and fill your paunches with the most delicious viands wine that can be purchas'd for Silver or Gold for the day shall come that you shall be hunger-starv'd and with a hunger that shall continue for an Eternity A Temporal hunger may bring men to such extremitys as to eat Dogs Cats Rats Mice Snakes Toads Leather and Dung nay it has already brought several Countrys and whole Cities to that calamity and forc'd Mothers to devour their own Children and men to eat the flesh of their own arms as it happen'd to Zeno the Emperour If hunger be so great a chastisement in this life how will it afflict the damn'd in the other where they shall tear one another to peices not for a year or an Age Apoc. 18. but for an Eternity Consider my Soul how the Devil measures his torments to the damned by their offences and how God commands him as the Executioner of his Justice in-in-Hell to make them suffer their pains proportionable to the pleasures they took in this life this puts me in minde of a very Remarkable passage of a Noble-man who took all his pleasure in Tilting and running at the Ring this was his constant exercise which he prefer'd even before the practise of devotion and piety so that he was a perfect Worldling without any care of his Soul or the least apprehension of Hell and in this neglect of his Salvation he dy'd his Lady being otherways inclin'd and very much addicted to contemplation always earnestly imploring of God the favour to let her understand the State and condition her Husband was in which was at last granted and he was represented unto her in the same shape as she had seen him alive but not attended by the same company for he was now encompass'd with a multitude of Devils the chief commander of them in her hearing gave orders they should fit their new Guest with a pair of fiery shoes whose flames might reach his very head then he commanded they should put him on a red-hot coat of Male made full of sharp Spikes Camtip l. 2.9.2 Joan. major v. Inf. Exemp 6. Werm Mon. Carthu in fasci morum which might pierce his body in all parts to accouter him like a compleat Champion he commanded a helmet to be put on him with a pointed nail that might pierce his head and be clench'd below his feet and after this a Target was Put about his neck of so great a weight that it might crush all the bones in his body All this being punctually and speedily perform'd the Prince of darkness made a speech to his Officers to let them know that this worthy Person after he had entertain'd himself in Tilting and the like atchievements of valour and gallantry was accustom'd to refresh his weari'd limbs with sweet Baths and then to retire to some soft bed where he usually sported with other dalliances of sensuality wherefore let him now have somewhat of those refreshments which our Palace does afford to welcome so deserving a Person who has been in his life so faithful to serve us and so obedient to our Suggestions whereupon they presently hurl'd him into a fire which was prepar'd for him then forsooth to ease him they plac'd with him in a bed warm'd red hot a Toad of a huge size with most dreadful eyes which clipp'd the noble Spark very closely kissing embracing him in so rufual a manner that he roar'd out like a furious Lion and brought him even to the pangs of death Another man she saw seated in a chair of fire and certain women thrusting into his mouth burning torches and drawing them out at other parts of his body these Women she was told were his accomplices and the instruments of his Sins But what are all these torments to the eternal loss of the fruition and sight of thee my Saviour wherein our Divines do place the everlasting beatitude and Supream felicity of mankinde in the next life St Thom. part 1.7 1 art 4 7.12 art 1. 7.6 art 3. c. for the Angellical Doctor says the sight of God or to see God in his own nature or Essence is the whole substance of our everlasting happiness in the life to come what a deplorable loss then will it
whom he may devour I do grant that the allurements to sin are great and numerous but the motives that I lay before all mortals to adhere to make use of on all such occasions are incomparably more in number and of greater force to repulse all temptations they are also very prevalent to induce 'em to lead a virtuous and godly life The world thou sayst invitest thee to unlawfull and wicked actions but God prohibits them nay he commands the contrary and if thou dost obey him he intails on thee a glorious and everlasting inheritance but if thou hast so little regard of his commands as to trangress them he threatens thee with everlasting damnation and torments The flesh inclines thee to evil but the spirit and reason too bids thee resist manfully such base and rebellious motions the one tells thee that the body is created to be a slave to the Soul not the Soul to the body th' other informs thee what a madness it is to forfeit an eternal happiness for a passing pleasure which ever leaves a sting to pierce and gall thy heart Sodom and Gomorrha were too much led by the flesh but consider well the terrible chastisement they suffer'd in this world yet it is but a shadow to what they shall suffer for an eternity Moreover that gnawing worm of a guilty Conscience should quell in thee all such foul and unlawfull pleasures Thou wilt plead that Satan with the rest of his infernal Confederates never desist perplexing thee with their frequent and strong suggestions and art thou the only man that he assaults no no his quarrel is with all mankind and since that fatal overthrow which he gave our first Progonitors in the garden of Eden he never ceas'd neither will he ever leave off pestering and plaguing their descendants with suggestions to evil Latrare potest Sollicitare potest sed mordere non potest nifi volentem Aug. Angelis suis Deus mandavit de te Mat. 4.6 for nothing makes them so furious and cruel as to see men in a fair way of possessing their forfeited and glorious Seats but thy chief comfort and security lyes within thy own breast he is like a Mastive-Dog at a chain he may indeed bark at thee but can never bite thee unless thou dost come within his reach and consent to thy own destruction Moreover God has deputed an Angel even from thy Mothers womb to protect and defend thee from all such accidents and he will perform his charge if thou wilt but obey him and listen to his wholsome inspirations and dictates If Satan does spur thee on to the Precipice of Sin thy good Angel will teach thee Non coronabitur nisi qui legirtime certaverit 2. Timo. 2.5 how thou mayst in thy conflict secure thy self either by a vigorous opposition or an immediate flight to God for Sanctuary He will also tell thee that thou art created to fight the mortal enemy of mankind and must foil him too if thou hopest to gain a crown in Heaven As for the wicked whom thou thinkest to be of the number of Gods happy favorites because thou seest them prosper in all their ways and that nothing crosseth them that they have plenty of Gold and Silver Horses and all other Cattle in abundance no mortality visits them Prosperitas Stultorum perdet ilios Prov. 1. Non audivit populus mens vocem meam Israel non intendit mihi dimisi eos secundum desideria cordis eorum ibunt in adinventionibus suis Psal 80. Multae tribulationes Justorum Psal 7.20 Non sunt condigâ—ae passiones hujus temporis ad fu turam gloriam quae revelabitur in nobis Rom. 8.18 Rain Wind Storms Thunder Lightnings do pass by them and by all they possess as well abroad as at home but believe me says the wise Solomon that this Prosperity of the wicked which thou dost so much extol and make so great an estimate of as to think them in that to be the Minnious of God will at the cancelling of their life hurry their Souls to the Abbiss of Hell Let the Stiff-necked people of Israel serve for a president to convince thee that I delight not in the wicked They would not hearken to my voice neither would they acknowledge me to be their God and what was the effect of their disobedience and infidelity I withdrew and wholly left them to be guided by their own sensual appetites and they took their self-pleasing courses and follow'd the directions of their own Councels This is the greatest punishment that can be inflicted on a Nation for then their reprobation is sign'd never to be recall'd Many indeed are the tribulations of the Just but my worthy Apostle telleth thee from me that the sufferings of this present time are infinitly less then the Glory which shall be reveal'd in my faithful and devoted Servants hereafter I deal with them on earth as a skilful Physitian with his Patients I cleanse their Souls of all their sinfull spots by giving them to drink of that bitter Chalice of tribulations by which they are disposed to partake of a more abundant grace and brought to a nearer conformity with me who exhausted the same Chalice of its very dregs by this remedy they are secur'd from th' everlasting pains of hell which are incomparably greater and of a longer tract then all the tribulations and crosses that were suffer'd by all mankinde in this world and the same intitleth them my Associates in Heaven to sit at my table to enjoy my presence for ever and all the happiness that my celestial Court can afford Ego quos diligo arguo castigo Apoc. 3. Thou seest by this what unspeakable advantages the Just do reap by their tribulations and how the tenderness of my love to them appears even in the severity of my chastisements No Father can be more indulgent to his Child then I am to the Sinner for tho' the greatness and multitude of his heinous offences deserve no mercy at my hands but rather the utter severity of my Justice yet commonly I for bear with him still expecting his amendment but the longer I let him run in the way of iniquity the more he should be terrified for sins never escape without condign punishment and the longer it is deferred the heavier it will fall at last T is true the sinner has my parole for a pardon at any time when he comes to me with true repentance Qui poenitenti veniam promisi Eundem de die crastino nequaquam certificavi 12. Aug. Terra miseriae terra tenebrarum ubi nulius ordo sed sempiternus horror inhabitat Job 10.12 that is a gift from God and which he is not sure to receive no more then he is certain to live till next day That fatal delay of repentance has replenish'd the Dominion of Satan with millions of poor Souls and if any should set them the question what brought them to that
Land of everlasting darkness and misery where there is neither rest union comfort or order but a perpetual toil hatred sorrow confusion and horrour they all will unanimously answer our procrastinate conversion our delai'd repentance and our groundless hopes to have a peccavi at will tho' Death should on a sudden surprize us with an Arrest this was the fatal overture through which we fell into this endless misery And it stands with a great deal of reason for the longer a man loiters in his vicious and wicked ways the more obdurate his heart will be and the less inclin'd to produce an act of Contrition nay should his Confessarius break his brain to bring him to it his answer will be that which David gave to Saul when he was to encounter the Philistian Giant Saul would have him to put on his own Armour and to fight with his Sword Usum non habeo 1. Reg. 17.39 but David made answer that he was never accustom'd to it and therefore would not accept of his offer it s the same with an inveterate Sinner let his Confessor cry out Sir one Act of contrition one sincere and hearty Peccavi for God is mercyful and will be the same to thee if thou wilt reclaim and beg him most heartily pardon Ah Sir he will reply I was never bred to that divine Art 't is a lesson I never learn'd 't is a strong weapon against the Devil and all his power I must confess yet I never made use of it and therefore 't is but a folly to pretend to it at present Thou seest by this example O Man that the longer a sinner perseveres in sin the farther he will be from any desire of a true Contrition his heart will grow the more obdurate his Conscience more blinde his Soul so oppress'd with evil custome even as with a huge and weighty Stone that makes her wholly insensible of what concerns her Salvation But if any of such like reprobates should seem to repent 't is to be fear'd that his chief and only motive is the fear of Hell-fire not the reall product of Justice nor any true Contrition Nolo mortem impii sed ut convertatur impius a via sua vivat Ezek. 33.11 however I would not have any inveterate Sinner despair neither would I have him be so careless of his Salvation as to neglect it whilst he has time and leisure to secure it and a saving God who is so easily mov'd to compassionate him and so ready to grant him so grateful a request as is the remission of his Sins and Life everlasting For a resolve of thy last objection that the way which leads to Heaven is both narrow difficult and craggy consequently that thy nature which is very fond of her own ease can hardly be brought to walk therein I answer that it is a million of times more tollerable to strike into that roade tho' never so irksome to thy corrupt nature then to suffer the pains of Hell for an eternity Quam areta est via angusta porta quae ducit ad vitam pauci inveniunt eam Mat. 7.14 Venite ad me omnes qui laboratis onerati estis ego reficiam vos jugum enim meum suave est onus meum leve Matt. 11.28 nay even the pains of Purgatory which are but temporal 'T is true I told thee and am still of the same opinion that Strait is the gate and Narrow is the way which leads unto life and few there be that finde it I told thee moreover that from the days of John the Baptist untill now the Kingdome of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force But thou didst likewise hear me say Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Take my yoak upon you and learn of me for I am meek and humble in heart and ye shall finde rest unto your Souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light For what is of it self burdensome to nature is made easy by the assistance of my grace and is sweeten'd by custom for wherever the Love of God is lodg'd and increas'd to the height and prime of its fervour all Tribulations Persecutions Crosses Losses nay Death it self will be look'd upon as the chiefest favours and blessings of a most loving Father so that there is nothing in the world more to be hated and abhorr'd then Sin which alone can cause the displeasure of God and his fatal Seperation from man MAN O Lord my God! thou art my Life my Treasure and all my happiness but what am I that I should prefume to speak to thee what but a poor and despicable servant a most vile and abject worm far more miserable and contemptible in thy sight then I can or dare imagine Remember therefore o' Lord that I am nothing have nothing and am absolutely the most indigent and sordid of all thy Creatures Thou alone art good thou only art both just and holy Thou alone canst do all canst give all canst fill all and I poor Soul am void of all that can be call'd good for nothing but misery is to be found where Sin predominates Forget not then o' Lord thy miserations to me and vouchsafe to replenish my heart with thy grace that I may carry my Cross cheerfully and follow thy steps with all alacrity whilst I continue my Pilgrimage in this tempestuous and miserable life Thou knowest that of my self I can perform nothing that may be grateful to thee or any way meritorious Psal 142. to my own Salvation wherefore o' Lord assist me with thy grace on all occasions turn not away thy face from thy poor and wretched Creature delay not thy gracious visit withdraw not thy consolations from me lest my Soul should remain a barren and dry Tree and become fuel for that unquenchable fire of Hell O' Lord teach me how I may fulfill thy blessed will instruct me in thy ways that I may walk therein with safety and in all humility Thou hast indeed resolv'd all my objections and hast broke all the chains which might detain both me and all other Sinners in the bondage of Sin and Slavery of the Devil thou said'st as much of virtue and vice as much of Satans rage and of thine own clemency to all poor Sinners as much of the joys of Heaven and of the torments of Hell as are able to move the most obdurate hearts and hasten them out of hand to give an everlasting farewell to th' one and to make their constant and happy choice of the other But alas I know by a fatal experience how weak I am in my resolutions how far from the love of God how much a stranger to virtue and therefore have great need of comfort and strength from thee to go through with what I resolve for the future Thou art my heavenly Physitian from thee I do expect a cure for all
who had kill'd his Master this animal runs at him and holds him fast looking on the by-standers with such a mournful countenance as if he had desir'd Justice whereupon the murderer was apprehended and forc'd to confess his crime for which he was immediately sentenc'd to dy O man If a Dog for a piece of bread had so great a love for his master and was so faithful to him as to lament and vindicate his death wilt thou not be displeas'd at thine ingratitude and principally when a dumb beast reprehends it and teacheth thee to be grateful If that irrational creature was so much incens'd against the murderer of his Master why art thou not displeas'd with those that have slain thy gracious Lord and Master and what are they but thy Sins 'T is true O man thy Sins have taken me have tyed me have scourg'd me have crown'd me have nail'd me to the Cross and were the sole occasion of my bitter death for the Jews could never have the power to crucify me but that thy Sins did both arm and incourage 'em to it Wherefore then art thou not highly displeas'd with them why dost thou not bend all thy wrath and fury against them seeing thy divine Master crucify'd by them before thine eyes and especially since my Death and Passion was design'd to breed in thy heart an eternal hatred of Sin It was in order to destroy Sin that I suffer'd death It was to set a stop to thy feet and hands which are so prone to evil even from thy very cradle that mine as an oblation for their evils were nail'd to the Cross How art thou so impious as to live after such a manner that all my pains taken for thy Salvation will signify nothing Why dost thou not tremble at the very mention of Sin seeing me suffer such cruel torments to destroy and root it clean out of the world How canst thou be so rash and so great an enemy to thy poor Soul as to dare to offend me seeing Heaven open to cast forth its thunder bolts upon thy criminal head and Hell with a dilated mouth ready to swallow thee both body and Soul MAN O My God my King my Saviour my Judge and my only comfort Thou art I confess the Eternal Wisdom and thy words to me are Spirit and Life for they have made me resolve to bid adieu for ever to Sin and to plant virtue where vice was before in great request but give me leave to ask thee what would the benefit of my redemption avail me if that of my Justification had not ensu'd for by this it is that the virtue of the former is appli'd to the diseases of my Soul and even as a plaister tho' never so soveraign will signify nothing except it be laid unto the wound so that heavenly medicine would be of no use or advantage to me if it had not been appli'd by the mediation of this unspeakable benefit to the bruises which I receiv'd in that fatal field of Eden where all mankinde were shamefully foil'd and quite overthrown in the Person of Adam The Sanctification of man does chiefly appertain to the Holy Ghost 'T is his prerogative to prevent the Sinner with the sweetness of his mercy then to call him being call'd to justify him and being justifi'd to direct him and leade him on to the end of his course and then to gratify him with a crown of glory wherefore I may justly say that this very benefit is the happy complement of all others for by this man is register'd in the number of Gods children discharg'd of the main weight of his iniquities deliver'd from the dominion and Tyranny of the Devil reviv'd from Death to Life brought from the state of Sin to that of Justice and of a child of malediction and woe he becomes the Son of God and Co-heir with thee in thy Glory Nemo potest venire ad me nisi Pater meus traxerit illum Joa 44. But this cannot be perform'd without the peculiar help and assistance of the holy Ghost as thou hast declar'd to thy beloved Disciple in these words No man can come to me except the Father who has sent me draw him whereby I conceive that neither free will nor the power of humane nature can withdraw a man from Sin and bring him to Grace unless he be help'd on by the vertue of thy divine power The Angelical Doctor St. Thomas commenting upon these words says even as a Stone by its nature still falls downwards and can never ascend without some exteriour assistance so man overpress'd by the corruption of Sin tends always downwards and is powerfully hurri'd on by his inbred inclinations to the love and desire of terene and transitory things but if he be minded to aim higher that is at the love and supernatural desire of heavenly things he must implore the assistance of thy Divine Spirit without which he shall never be able to make any progress in virtue SAVIOVR O Man thou sayst well but I would have thee practise well what thou sayst for 't is the practise and not the discourse of good things that can make thee grateful to me the serious consdieration of this unspeakable benefit should indeed press thee to it make thee most diligent to atchieve it which is a matter of greatest moment to thee for by this thou art reconcil'd to me and cleans'd from Sin which is the worst of all evils and the only evil I most hate and abhor it alone is able to bring my indignation and wrath upon thee Odisti omnes qui operantur iniquitatem perdes omnes qui loquntur mendacium Psal 5. as thou mayst unerstand by my Prophet who says of me Thou art not a God which taketh pleasure in wickedness neither shall evil dwell with thee The foorish shall not stand in thy sight Thou hatest all workers of iniquity Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man Thou seest by this that Sin is the greatest of all evils nay 't is the very root and origine of them all On the contrary to be in my favour the object of my most tender affection is a real happiness the fountain of all goodness and the solid foundation of all other favours and virtues Why dost thou then delay thy endeavours refuse to concur with my holy inspirations If thou wouldst once firmly resolve an amendment imploy all thy faculties to destroy Sin in thee thou shouldst then receive the benefit of Justification by which thou art deliver'd from that pernicious evil and of a mortal enemy thou art made my friend not in a common degree of friendship but in the most supream that can be thought of which is that of a Father to his Son Videte qualem charitatem nobis dedit pater ut filii Dei nominemur fimus 1. Jo. 3. My Evangelist extols this extraordinary favour very highly where he says behold
Lucum if I do not weep and lament for my Sins while I have time and conveniency Woe 's me if I do not rise at midnight with the Prophet royal to confess unto thee O Lord Woe is me if ever I wrong bely or bring My neighbour into any evil inconvenience or trouble woe 's me if I do not speak truth at all times or if ever I be found in a ly For the Ax of Death is now perhaps at the root of my Tree of life or at least will be ere long 't is the same case with every one therefore it behoves us all to be watchful to be constantly in the practise of Pennance and in the exercise of all good works in hopes we may be one day of the number of thy beloved in Heaven SAVIOVR O Man Omnia toleranda pro caelesti gloria Aug. had'st thou known what a Supream happiness it is to be of the number of my beloved in Heaven thou wouldst be of St. Augustins opinion and say with him were I to suffer every day the greatest torments that the Rage and Malice of the most bloudy Tyrants could invent nay were I to endure even the anguishes of Hell for a long time to see Christ in his Glory I would think my self extraordinary well rewarded nay I would freely and with all my heart undergo all the afflictions imaginable upon condition to be made Partaker of so great a blessing Let the Devils therefore ly in Ambushes for me let them prepare as many temtations against me as they can contrive let my body be even consum'd with abstinence and constant fasting let hair-cloth chains of Iron depress my flesh let labour and continual toil extenuate my body let watching and lying on the hard ground wither it and make it as dry as a rotten tree let this man exclaim against me and th' other pursue me to death let the cold seize upon me and make me stoop to the Earth let my conscience murmure let the scorching heat of the Sun parch me let my body grieve let my breast burn let my stomack swell let my countenance wax pale let me from head to foot be full of ulcers let my whole life hours days years pass over in tears in grief and in sorrow let the dust inter my bones and cover me all over so that I be shelter'd in the day of Tribulation and plac'd at thy right hand O Lord among the number of thy Elect. O how great will be the glory of the Just and how infinite will be the joy of the Saints when every ones face will shine as the Sun But thou must know O man that the principal joy of the blessed is the peaceable enjoyment and possession of me whom they Behold clearly as I am in my self and that as Honourable profitable and delectable are not divided in Heaven so the blessed Souls have three gifts essential and inseparable from that happy state which correspond to those three kinde of Blessings which your Divines call vision comprehension and fruition The first consists in the clear and perfect sight of me Ego Protector tuus Sum. merces tua magna nimis Gen. 15.1 which I give to the Just as a reward of their merits and by this they receive an unspeakable honour in as much as their works and virtues are rewarded in the presence of all my Arch-angels Angels and heavenly Spirits with no less a recompence then my self The second is the full and ample possession which the Soul has of me who am all her treasure all her delight and all inheritance And the third is the ineffable joy which evermore accompanies this blessed sight and ever-peaceable possession This joy is adorn'd with two singular qualities the first whereof makes it so vigorous and powerful that it excludes all grief all pain and in a word St. Aug. medita 22. all manner of evil This is consonant to what St. Augustin says where he crys on t O Lord the life which thou hast prepar'd for thy friends is a blessed life a secure life a quiet life a life that knows no death a life without sadness without labour without grief without trouble without corruption without fear without variety without alteration A life replenish'd with all beauty and dignity where there is neither Enemy that can offend nor delight that can annoy where love admits of no mixture of hatred or disdain where the day is everlasting where the spirit of all is one where God is seen face to face who is the only meat whereupon they feed without any nauseating hitherto St. Augustin Cicero de Fin. 5. Tuscul Many of your ancient Philosphers were of opinion that the exemption from evil pain and grief was the chief felicity of man it 's therefore that the best of prophane Orators and Philosophers did place the chief happiness of man in the freedom from grief Jero Rodius Diodorus Philoso Perip but here lies their error they Judg'd that to be the Summum-bonum which was only the consequent and product thereof For the love and joy which springs from the clear vision of my divine Essence is so powerful that it 's enough to convert even Hell into Heaven in so much as if to the most tormented Soul in hell were added all the torments of the rest of the damned both men and Devils and that I should vouensafe him but one glimpse of my knowledge that only vision tho' in the lowest degree were sufficient to free him from all those evils both of sin and pain so that his Soul being extasi'd by that unspeakable beauty which he beheld would not be sensible of any grief or pain whatever By this thou mayst easily conceive the omnipotency of that joy which I confer upon my beloved in Heaven which if I should impart to the most damn'd in hell it would convert all his great torments into far greater consolations The Second stupendious wonder which the greatness of my joy produces in the Souls of my belov'd is the manifold pleasures which spring from it as from a most fruitful root Art thou not astonish'd to hear that the happiness of the Souls should cause so many and marvellous effects in the bodies of my Blessed as St. Augustin relates dost thou not wonder when he tells thee that my beatifical vision carries so unspeakable a joy with it into their Souls that it wholly changes their bodies makes them as beautiful as so many Angels resplendent as the Sun immortal as a Spirit and as impassible as even my self What miracles and prodigies it works in their bodies by the redundancy of the unspeakable comfort which they feel in their spirits Art thou not seiz'd with admiration when St. Anselme tells thee that if the body of one of my Blessed endow'd with the four gifts of glory full of clearness splendor and beauty were plac'd in any part or corner of the world it would perfume the whole universe with a fragrancy
perpetual decree that it can't pass it and tho' the waves thereof toss themselves yet can they not prevail tho' they roar yet can they not pass over it as if he had said hast thou not a great deal of reason to dread the Arm of so powerful a God whose omnipotency is sufficiently discover'd by this prodigious work And if he be so great in all his works thou must likewise acknowledge him to be great in the chastisement of Sinners The same Prophet was Innocent and free from the least spot of Sin being Sanctifi'd in his Mothers womb yet he trembles at the very noise of my Severity to Sinners and says there is none like unto thee O Lord thou art great and thy name is great in might Who would not fear thee O King of Nations for to thee does it appertain For as much as among all the wisemen of the Nations and in all their Kingdoms there is none like unto thee My heart is replenish'd with the fear of thy wrath and therefore have sequester'd my felf from the converse of all men into a remote wilderness to prevent thy fury and appease thy Anger with sorrow with Sighs and with a continual flood of tears Respicit Terram facit eam tremere tangit montes fumigant Psa 105. Stellae Columnae Coeli pavent contremiscuntad nutum ejus Job 26.11 Ideo sn uno die venient plagaeejus mors luctus fames igne comburetur quia fortis est Dominus Deus qui Jndicabit illam Ap. c. 18.8 Tho' this holy man was certain that my Indignation and wrath was not against him yet seeing it so great and ready to fall with all its weight upon the criminal and guilty heads of Sinners he had no less then cause to tremble being that even my looks put the Earth in a quaking fit and make the Mountains groan nay they make the Stars and even the Pillars of Heaven to tremble they are astonish'd at my reproof and why not being that the Angels and Archangels the Cherubins and Seraphins the Principalities and Powers of Heaven are all Struck into an amazement at the very aspect of my most dreadful Majesty and angry countenance not that they fear to be depriv'd of their glory but because the greatness of my indignation is such that they can't but be astonish'd at the very sight of me By this thou mayst Judge in what a deplorable condition the Damn'd will be for these are the unhappy wretches which are to feel the weight of my wrath all their plagues shall come upon them in one day everlasting death mourning and famine shall be their inheritance for ever they shall be utterly burnt with fire for strong is the Lord God who judgeth them My Apostle had a sufficient tryal of my Strength when I forc'd him out of the way of iniquity Horrendum est incidere in manus Dei viventis Heb. 10.31 and of a Persecutor of Christians made him the Defender and powerful promoter of Christianity therefore he says it 's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God not into the hands of men for they are not so powerful but criminals may fly from their violence and decline from their anger moreover they have not the authority to cast a Soul into the Dungeon of Hell It 's therefore I had warn'd my Disciples not to fear them which kill the Body Mat. 10.28 and are not able to kill the Soul but rather to fear him which is able to destroy both Soul and body in Hell And these are the hands which my Apostle calls dreadful they are them also that the wise man speaks of where he says unless ye do pennance and give that slender attonement of tears and of a hearty grief to God for your sins ye shall undoubtedly fall into the hands of the Lord and not into the hands of men By what is already said thou mayst easily conclude that as I am omnipotent and great in my power in my Majesty and in all my works I am the same in my wrath in my Justice and in the punishment which I have decreed for the Damned If thou wilt examine Scripture thou shalt finde there such dreadful effects of my Justice upon the wicked even in this life which is the only season for mercy that thou shalt be forc'd to confess that the pains of Hell must be as intollerable as they are unspeakable and that it were better for the dam'd they had never been born then to endure them for an Eternity without any hopes of redemption or of the least abatement What a terrible punishment was that of Dathan and Abiram and of all their Complices in the sight of that numerous People of Israel at the request of my Servant Moises to vindicate his innocency and punish the wrong which was intended to him by those Peoples rising in Rebellion against him I commanded the Earth to open its bowels and to swallow them alive together with all their Earthly substance down into the bottomless pit of Hell which was no sooner commanded then put in execution The punishment of Sodom and Gomorah if well consider'd is able to terify the stoutest Bully that ever appear'd on the Stage of this world to mollify his obdurate heart and force from his mouth Lord what wilt thou have me do They were so much addicted to that brutish pleasure Domine quid me vis facere Act. 9.6 and sordid Sin of the flesh that they must attempt even upon my very Angels and strive to make them the subject of their Lust this was a general corruption and therefore requir'd a general chastisement their Sins cry'd for vengeance Gen. 19.24 and tho' I was sollicited by my Servant Abraham to spare their lives for the sake of ten Just men knowing there was none but Lot who was already secured and under the safeguard of my Angels I pour'd down wild-fire and brimstone upon them and cast them headlong into Hell-fire there to increase the fatal number of the damn'd and to become partakers of their torments as they had been of their crimes on Earth Didst thou ever hear such terrible menaces as are set down in Deuteronomy Deut. 28.16 17. c. and which were exactly put in execution against the transgressours of my Law Hear how the Prophet speaks to them in my behalf Cursed shalt thou be in the City and Cursed shalt thou be in the field Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in enrfed shalt thou be when thou goest out The Lord shall send upon thee cursing vexation rebuke in all that thou set'st thine hand unto for to do untill thou be destroyed and until thou perish quickly because of the wickedness of thy doings whereby thou hast for saken me The Lord shall smite thee with a Consumption and with a Fever and with an inflamation and with an extream burning and with the sword and with blasting and they
amara est memoria tua homini habenti pacem indivitijs suis Eccl. 41. that had conquer'd most part of the World in less then twelve years to see himself seiz'd on by Death and Summon'd to appear before thy most dreadful Tribunal when he desir'd most to live and tast of the joy and delight of all his victories What a heart-breaking will it be to those that employ all their time in building of houses purchasing estates increasing riches procuring dignities making up matches laying out vast sums to use when they shall see themselves even as so many Princes Mules discharg'd of their treasure and turn'd off with backs gaul'd into some nasty stable nay it will be far worse with them for after their long travelling in this World loaden with gold and Silver which had extreamly gall'd their wretched Souls they shall be disburthened at the day of death and sent away with their wounded consciences to the dark and loathsome Stable of Hell there to continue for an Eternity O my Saviour these considerations well meditated are able to mollify a heart of Steel to move any man to a true repentance of his past follys to breed in him an abhorrence of the world and of all its vanitys and make him resolve to employ the remainder of his days in thy Service that art absolutely the best of Masters and whose rewards to thy faithful Servants are far surpassing the pleasures treasures of this deluding world as thou dost exceed the creatures Eternity the Time the eternal joys of thy heavenly Court the short and transitory joys and delights of this Land SAVIOVR HE must be a most perverse and hard hearted man indeed that will not love me after all the several benefits and manifold favours which I have confer'd even in this life upon the generality of mankinde which are in a manner nothing to what I have prepar'd for my Elect in the other for these are so incomprehensibly glorious that eye has never seen nor ear has ever heard neither is man's understanding capable of conceiving their excessive greatness for I am by nature infinitely good amiable and liberal consequently what I have promis'd prepar'd and decreed from all Eternity to bestow upon my Elect must be no less then my self objective as your Divines call it and formaliter the most clear the most delicious the most pleasant the most blessed union and fruition of my divine Essence for all Eternity O the Immense the inestimable the glorious the Interminable felicity of a blessed Soul that shall live and reign with God who is infinite in beauty in glory in power in wisdom and in finite in all his Attributes that shall enjoy clearly and without any interruption his blessed Vision so unspeakably comfortable satisfactory to all her senses and this too for an Eternity A God likewise that is the abundant headspring of all delights the inexhaustible fountain of all goodness the most opulent treasury of all riches pleasures Joy Perfection and of all things desirable or necessary to compleat her everlasting happiness This is the essential and principal reward of the Blessed But besides these there are other innumerable joys which I call Secundary rewards and these are also so great and so many that they do absolutely transcend all measure and number and wilt thou not O man love a God who has lov'd thee gratis and to that excess as to give thee himself all that 's in his power A God that most mercifully lov'd thee when thou wert in actual rebellion against him wilt thou not love the Eternal Father who in the excess of his love for thee did not spare his only and dearly beloved Son but deliver'd him into the power of most cruel Enemies that crucify'd him this was for thy sins alone as well as for those of all mankinde wilt thou not love him that has by the effusion of his most precious bloud free'd thee from the power and unspeakable anguishes of Hell and it 's eternal torments to place thee in the most happy company of his beloved in glory wilt thou not love him who has chosen thee even before the worlds Creation who has call'd thee by his Grace and has predestinated thee in Christ from all Eternity wilt thou not love me who am the only Son of God in whose Faith and Grace thou liv'st who has lov'd thee who has suffer'd for thee who has call'd thee to his Service who has redeem'd thee from the intollerable burthen of the Old Law from the damnable yoke of Sin and from the everlasting thraldom of Hell O man Wilt thou not love me who am so fervent a lover as to purchase thy lost Soul not with the Worlds contemptible Coin Gold or Silver but with the most precious and Sacred bloud of my whole body Wilt thou not love me who am thy Creator thy Saviour and Judge and who was in mercy pleas'd to become thy Brother and Advocate too nay I am so much in love with thee that the day before I departed the world I bequeath'd unto thee my most precious body and bloud to seed thy Soul as a perpetual monument of my tender affection to all mankind In fine wilt thou not love me who besides the aforesaid Mercys Benefits and Blessings have given thee so compassionate and so potent a Mediatrix in Heaven as is my most dear and Superexcellent Mother Saluted before my conception in these very words by my Angel Ave gratia plena Luc. 1.28 Hail Mary full of Grace the Lord is with thee Blessed art thou among Women Blessed is the fruit of thy Womb. Since I the Essential truth do affirm this they must be impertinent and reprobately Wicked who deny her that Special Prerogative Thou shouldst love as much the Holy Ghost for by his Wisdom thou wert Created and by his Providence thou wert govern'd in so much that thou can'st not produce one meritorious act without his divine Inspiration or actual motion Therefore 't is his gracious goodness which gives thee the Will and the Power to perform any good thing 't is He that is pleas'd to inhabit illnstrate and inflame thy heart with an ardent desire of thy eternal Salvation In a word thy Obligation to love and honour the most glorious Trinity is the very same as thou hast to each Sacred Person therein contain'd It being the sole Source and cause of thy eternal Happiness For what the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost have done the very same thing has the Blessed Trinity done being but one the same God in those three distinct persons O Man shall not all these powerful motives replenish thy Soul with divine love even as the Dew of Heaven doth fill the Vegetives with vivifying juice or shall not this make my grace shine in thy Soul as Davids burning Lamps of affection Psa 63.5 which no terene waters could ever extinguish I say in thy Soul that it may disperse those filthy
for they live as if they were under no Law and do Sin even against the Law of Nature whereas the Heathens have a veneration for modesty and honesty and for all other moral virtues which are now adays totally neglected by Christians nay they are so much avers'd from them that the description which my Prophet Ezechiel gives of the Sinagogues abominations and villanys may be very well appli'd to their enormous crimes offences This general dissolution and sinful liberty of Christians gave occasion to several virtuous and zealous men to shed many bitter tears and induc'd them to believe that the generality of Christians had conspir'd even with all the Devils of Hell to dishonour and despise me and that so publickly and with so much impudence that even the very Heathens abhor their impietys and are opinionated that God has forsaken and deliver'd them up into their power to chastise them for their abominations and wickedness even as the People of Israel were expos'd to the rage and fury of Nebuzardan cheif Commander of the King of Babylon's Army He himself tells Jeremy Jerem. 41.2 that he had his commission from me to destroy them The Lord thy God says he has pronounc'd this evil upon this place and all it's Inhabitants and now the Lord has brought it upon them and has done according as he has said Psal 21â—8 because they have sinn'd against the Lord and have not obey'd his voice The Prophet Royal is no less dreadfull in his description of my Anger against the Wicked thy hands says he shall finde out thy enemies thy right hand shall finde out those that hate thee Thou shalt make them as a fiery open in the time of thine Anger The Lord shall swallow them up in his Wrath and the fire shall devour them Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the Earth and their Seed from among the Children of men for they intended evil against thee they imagin'd a mischievous device which they are not able to perform Job 20 22. Nay holy Job says that the wicked in the fulness of their sufficiency shall be in straits that every hand of the wicked shall come upon them that when the wicked is about to fill his belly God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him and it shall come upon him while he is eating The Heaven shall reveal his iniquity and the Earth shall rise up against him the increase of his house shall depart and his goods shall flow away in the day of his Wrath this is says he the portion of a wicked man from God and the Inheritance appointed unto him by God Thou wilt tell me perhaps that Christians would not be so very prone to vice and wickedness but that their Rulers and Superiours do spur them on by their ill examples and that I am rather to be blam'd because I had committed my Flock to such mercenaries ravenous Wolves who could not be ignorant of what might follow in so scandalous a government and chiefly for that I have said according as the Judge is so the people will be and that such will be the Inhabitants of the City as are the Magistrates That the Pastors and Rulers which I have set over my Flock have acted rather like Tygers then Pastours to them for the whole generality of Christians are so missed by them that they fix their affections only upon such terene objects as are most pleasing to their criminal inclinations But what is thy intention by making this objection Wouldst thou indeed make me the Authour of thy Wickedness That is not possible for thou know'st that I am just in all my ways holy in all my Works Thou canst not be ignorant but that my choosing such scandalous Pastors is an evident sign of my anger against the People nay Dabo Regem in furore meo Principes in indignatione mea Ose 13.11 Esa 3.4 thou hast heard me say by one of my Prophets I will give thee a King in my anger and Rulers in my indignation and by another I will give Children to be their Princes and Babes shall rule over them And the People shall be oppress'd one by another and every one by his Neighbour The Child shall behave himself proudly against the Ancient and the base against the honourable Nay Job 34.30 I will make the Hypocrite to reign for the sins of the People By this thou maist infer that if I withdraw the assistance of my grace from the wicked the fault is their own and not mine for I am always ready to comply with Sinners Prov. 1.26 when they answer my expectation and call otherwise I will laugh at their calamity and mock when their fear shall come As for those Superiors and Rulers that do by their ill examples bring their Inferiours and Subjects to utter destruction and loss of their Souls I will certainly require them at their hands and they shall answer to me Soul for Soul Ezec. 3.17 for tho' I make use of them in this life to chastise my Flock yet after all I shall condemn them to Hell even as a compassionate Father does cast the rod into the fire after he has whip'd his dearly belov'd Childe therewith A Check to the Religious Man ANd thou O religious Man in naming thee I mean all those of thy profession whom I have chosen amongst all nations to be a peculiar People to my self to adhere unto me alone in all sincerity to love me with all thy heart and to serve me with all the purity perfection and fervour imaginable Wilt thou also be of the number of those ungrateful Christians that combine with the World to persecute me hast thou not declar'd thy self a mortal Enemy to it as well by thy Solemn vows as by thy Baptismal protestation The three fatal Armies the World brings into the field to fight poor Souls and worst them too if they can are the concupiscence of the Flesh concupiscence of the Eyes and Pride of Life to these three thou hast declar'd thy self an implacable Enemy by thy vow of Chastity thou hast depress'd or at least hast sworn to destroy the concupiscence of the flesh by thy vow of Poverty thou hast utterly renounc'd the concupiscence of the Eyes and by thy vow of Obedience thou hast made thy self an absolute stranger and a profess'd Enemy to the Pride of Life And besides thou hast solemnly in the presence of God and his Angels protested to renounce all proper love as the only ofspring and fatal source of all manner of vice I call proper love that whereby a rational creature loves himself in himself and another for his own advantage honour and pleasure without any reference to God or his last end This is a monstrous crime and a Soul-killing sin but the only way to destroy it is to love thy self and all things whatsoever purely in God and for God alone and to love God sincerely for himself more then all
Issue I hope the same favours will attend your Lordship and be the reward as well of your Charitable Inclinations for the Poor in general as of the rare examples of Piety and Devotion you give your Children and which they are faithful to follow as well at home as abroad Moribus vita nobilitatur homo and the rather that they know them to be the essential Ornaments of true Nobility and that without them a Gentleman born is no more than he who is a Clown by his Extraction They know full well my Lord that whoever converses with the proud shall be puft up that a lustful acquaintance makes a Man lascivious and the way to secure a man from wickedness is to withdraw from the examples of it it is too much to have them near us but more to have them in us They know likewise that ill examples pleasure and ease are without doubt great corrupters of manners and as an ill Air may endanger a good Constitution so may a place of ill examples endanger a good Man There be some even of the highest rank who ought to influence their Inferiours with Piety and Devotion that take a Priviledge to be licentious so that the meaner sort are hurri'd on by their ill examples to all manner of dissolution And this perfect knowledg of the present Corruption of this unhappy Land prevents them from hankering after such places or persons and makes them take more pleasure in their Clossets than they can expect to find in their debauch'd Company 'T is this vertuous and godly disposition of your noble heart and Family which mov'd me to bring this pious work newly model'd under the shadow of your gracious Protection The very Title of the Book is able to make your Lordship affect the perusing of it and I am certain the substance thereof will give a further increase to your Devotion and also contribute much to the reducing strai'd Souls to the right understanding of their Duty to God which will redound to your greater Glory being it is by your means it appears to the World out of the obscurity of my Confinement who am Your Lordships most humble and most Obedient Servant Jo. Weldon C.J. THE Preface WHen God the grand Architect of the Vniverse had compleated the vast Fabrick of this visible World and brought out of nothing the Heavens the Earth the Seas and all that is contained within their Prccincts to exhibit as yet a more remarkable instance and a more glorious evidence of his Eternal Wisdom he did fully resolve to start out of the Bowels of the Earth with a Faciamus that Microcosm Man and give him an ascendent power to keep all other Creatures in Subjection He was moulded indeed as to his Body not very unlike to Terrene and Bruit Animals but as to his Soul if not equal with the Heavens and heavenly Spirits at least be was not much inferior to them for its certain that in the whole Vniverse thore's nothing worthy any difference if compar'd with the Soul Gold Silver Jewels Pearls Fire Moon Stars and the very Sun it self which with its resplendent Beams brings a solemn joy over the whole surface of the Earth are of no Estimate in her regard because that with a Word only God gave them all both their rise and their office which was to serve Man and give him all their attendance The wonderful Structure of humane Body is a sufficient demonstration of his Excellency for where as God had created all other things with a sole Dixit as David says he must come himself in person to the Creation of this little great Master-piece Gen. 1 26. first he prepares the necessary matter for this Construction then he Breaths into it the Spirit of Life and after he shapes him to the likeness of the primitive and principal Beauty But to what end It was says Scripture with an effectual resolution to devolve upon him an absolute Supremacy over all the Fishes of the Sea Ibid. 28. the Fowls of the Air and the Beasts of the Earth so that Man even before he was wafted over from Nothing to a Being was openly declar'd Lord of the whole Vniverse and was after introduc'd thereinto at to his Royal Palace already furnish'd with all Necessarys and Varieties both for his subsistence and pleasure But you must conceive that all this Honour was exhibited to him only upon the account of his participated resemblance of the Divine Trinity by which alone he does infinitely exceed all terrene Creatures so that every mortal Man may be deservedly term'd a petty Divinity especially when the Grace of God resides in his Soul Psal 81.6 For you must know that he does not bear this resemblance of God in his Body but within his Soul because that God is a pure Spirit without any terrene medley and consequently can't be perfectly represented by any Corporeal Image It s then within the facultys of his Soul that Man bears that resemblance which gives him an ascendent power over all other earthly Creatures viz. in his Memory Vnderstanding and Will where God is still President and constantly present as in his Image and Throne so steady that he is more intimate to the Soul than she is to her own Substance For the Eternal Father does replenish her Memory with his Omnipotency the Son does illustrate her Vnderstanding with his Wisdom and the Holy Ghost does enflame her Will with his Charity and even as God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost are not Three but One God in Three distinct Persons so the Memory is the Soul the Vnderstanding is the Soul the Will is the Soul yet not three Souls but one in each Body bearing those three distinct Dignitys wherein the Image and likeness of God does shine to admiration 'T is true our Sins may deface this Image within our Souls however they can't utterly blast it for it is an inherent property in the Wicked as well as in the Just but with this distinction that the Righteous are a lively Image of God whereas the Wicked are indeed a sort of an Image of God but a very obscure one however the Divine Bounty is so much enamour'd with the Soul he devoted to himself with the impression of his Image to be his dearly beloved Spouse that he can't be removed thence though the Devil should worm out her consent to debase his Image with all the enormity Imaginable Moreover the Soul leans over and tends towards God her Spouse with so great a weight of natural inclination that nothing in this World is able to replenish her capacity or satisfy her mind but he alone who of his own Nature is Infinite good incircumscript and Immense The Dignity and Excellency of the Soul must therefore be truly great that all th'alluring objects and attracting pleasures of this World can't content her though they may barter her affections for a tract of time and may perhaps now and then
provoke her to their earnest and hot pursuit yet they will never make her happy for when she thinks to possess them they fly away and leave her nothing but an everlasting displeasure to have settled her affections upon 'em she is of so unsatiable a capacity that all the munificence of the Vniverse is not able to content her none but her Heavenly Spouse can afford her true Consolation perfect Tranquillity and Joy without any medley of displeasure Whatever Species she receives within her besides that of her Creator whatever object she embraces besides her God is Seditious Killing Vain and savours more of perfect Gall than of the sweet Honey of real Comfort As for the Body who is able to express the wonderful Fabrick thereof let us consider how the wise and Heavenly Architect has united those two Natures the Body and Soul so contrary one to th' other in all respects and has link'd them together with so sure a knot of true friendship that they can't be separated without a deal of Violence and Grief Let us also consider how man as if he were naturally avers'd to the Earth looks with his face Heaven-wards whence he receiv'd his Creation and Dignity and where he does expect his final repose This favour he receiv'd from God above all other Creatures as a peculiar evidence of his good Will for him 't is also a memorial to him of his incumbent duty to God that by his upright look he might conceive the weighty Obligation he lies under to think always of heavenly things to tread under foot all earthly affairs and never to harbor any vile or sordid thoughts in his mind This was the happy State and Condition of Man before his dismal Fall for then all his Senses his Inclinations and Powers were perfectly united far from the least motion of any Rebellion and entirely submitted to th' Empire of the Will Then Reason paid her humble Submission perfect Obedience and a compleat Homage to her Creator alone and that perfect submission of Man together with his faithful concurrence to the Will of God brought upon him the great Blessings of a profound Tranquility of a grateful Accord of a firm Peace of perfect Justice of candid Innocency of unspeakable Purity of heart so that he was a plentiful Source of all good Qualities of all Vertues and of all kind of Happiness But alas no sooner did he expell from his heart the Love and Fear of God to give ear and obedience to the malicious dictates of the Infernal Serpent no sooner did he forsake his Heavenly Spouse to prostrate himself to his Rival and mortal Enemy the Devil no sooner was he so impiously bold as to cancel the Divine Precept at the fatal request of his silly Wife but he was miserably degraded of all those glorious Prerogatives and suddenly dejected from that happy State into an Abyss of such Evil and Woe that you would hardly believe him to be the same Man His little Republick which was before his Rebellion in a profound Peace fell into so great a disorder that no two were of one mind the Will was contrary to the Understanding and Reason was opposite to both the Spirit repin'd at the Flesh the Flesh rebell'd against the Spirit and gave him no Respect or Obedience because he did the same to his Creator Why should I aggravate his misfortune more than really it was I will only say what is most deplorable and likewise most true all things happen'd to poor Man after his Rebellion quite contrary to his expectation which was to be happy for ever His Memory which was whilst he remain'd in the state of Innocency and whilst he tugg'd at the Oar of Obedience replenish'd with all good and even with the Summum Bonum had taken so great a draught of Oblivion not out of the River Letheos but from the Forbidden Apple that he hardly knew or retain'd any thing but Wickedness and Vanity The Vnderstanding which was a little before wonderfully Illuminated with the Knowledge of God became so desperately involv'd in the darkness of a profound Ignorance that he knew nothing in a manner of his Creators Projects and was altogether ignorant of his ways The Will which was all in a Flame of Divine Love became so perverse that like a Blind Mole she imbrac'd Falshood for Truth Temporal for Eternal Evil for Good Carnal for Spiritual and undervaluing those things which might make her happy for ever she retain'd nothing of her Innate and Primitive Goodness nay she followed such disordinate courses as were enough to carry poor man headlong to everlasting Perdition Reason which as a Monarch should keep those petty Princes of Man's disjointed Republick in subjection having abdicated his Scepter together with all his Royalties became Tributary and paid Homage even to his Vassals nay he suffer'd himself to be rul'd and seduc'd by those who were created to pay him their constant and most humble submission and obedience O sad Misfortune What Man that noble Creature who had from God as due by his Creation an absolute Supremacy over all terene Creatures to be so deluded and worm'd out of all his Prerogatives by the Devils craft that he had not the full command of himself He was heretofore upright both of body and mind and was look'd upon as a divine Creature But alas he was soon after reduc'd to that low condition as he might be very well compar'd if not to a Brute at least to a prodigal Child who had revell'd away all his Birth-right However God of his infinite mercy was pleas'd to receive him again into favour and after he had wash'd off his sinful spots with the sacred Blood of the New Testament he Espous'd him to Christ by Faith This was an extraordinary Grace and the wonderful product of a most merciful God It was able to force Man's concurrence though he were never so ungrateful to love and serve him for ever Never-the-less this miserable Wretch has been an Enemy to God even from his blooming years and publickly forsook Jesus his gracious Redeemer nay he has impudently committed so many Adulteries with his Rival and mortal Adversary the Devil as were able to divert him from having any futher compassion of his misery What then must be done with Man must he always persevere in so foul and horrid a Relapse Nunquid qui cadit non adjiciet aliquando ut resurgat Aug. Must not he that falls strive to rise again If the Devil had the power and malice to debase him to that extream misfortune has not Jesus a far greater power to cancel his Contract with that mortal Enemy of mankind and bring him again into his Flock Rom. c. 5. v. 15 16 17 c. as a straid Sheep For St. Paul says that Sin is not so powerful to destroy as the gift of Grace is to repair If the sin of one Man has been the fatal occasion of the loss of many Souls the Grace of God
necessary things and that he is firmly resolv'd to break off with Vice C. P. 52. How a Sinner by his frequent relapse into Sin may reasonably fear he never was really contrite for his Sins C. p. 56. That a Sinner must fix his hope in God of whose mercy he can't despair without a mortal offence C. p. 57. The nature and necessary conditions of a true and perfect contrition p. 60. The fatal consequences of Venial Sins and how by degrees they bring a Man to commit Mortals C p. 65. The greatness of Gods Love for Man is a most pressing motive to a sorrowful contrition M. p 67. The means which God was pleas'd to take in order to redeem Mankind is another pressing motive to a sorrowful contrition M. p. 71. What Christ has suffer'd from his Cradle to the Cross was only for the love of Man M. p. 74. His Death and Passion should breed in our hearts a mortal hatred and abhorrence of Sin M. p. 78. Several other Considerations upon the same subject able to move even a Heart of Steel to love God above all Creatures M. p. 82. The benefits of our Justification lays a weighty obligation on us to love God with all our hearts p. 88. Several other deep considerations of the same benefit Mp. 91. The manifold disasters and miseries occasion'd by Sin and how we are happily deliver'd from 'em all by the benefit of our Justification M. p. 95. The manifold and wonderful advantages of a Justifi'd Soul M. p. 99. The benefit of our Justification exceeds that of our Creation and Redemption M. p. 103. The certainty of Death and th'uncertainty of the hour of Death with the several and dreadful circumstances thereof is a most pressing motive to detest Sin M. p. 106. The particular Judgment which is given of the Soul at her departing the Body M. p. 114. How dreadful will the sight of her Judge be to her and what anguishes she shall suffer at her Trial M. p. 120. Of the most strict account which will be taken of the Soul in this particular Judgment M. p. 126. How remote is the Judgment of God from that of Man and of the severity of his Chastisements even in this Life by which we may easily conceive th'unspeakable rigour of his punishments in th' other M. p. 133. Of the Torments which the Damn'd suffer in Hell M. p. 140. Of the Glory of Heaven in what it consists of its great estimate and what we ought to suffer for the everlasting purchase thereof M. p. 148. Of th'everlasting happiness of the Saints in Heaven and of their glorious Prerogatives M. p. 162. The little value that Christians set upon Vertue and how their dissolutions surpass the debauchery even of the worst of Heathens M. p. 173. The Godly feelings and Heroick exploits of Heathen Philosophers will certainly confound the Christians in the Day of Judgment M. p. 188. Of Hell and of th'unspeakable and various Torments which the Damn'd shall suffer there for an Eternity M. p. 201 Of the severity of Gods Justice the rage and malice of the Devils and the horrid confusion of the Damn'd occasion'd by the full Knowledge of their Vanities main Folly and wilful neglect of their Salvation M. p. 217. The wonderful Austerities of Gods Servants as well in the Old as in the New Testament in order to avoid the Torments of Hell will be a main confusion to such Christians as live deliciously in this World M. p. 226. If men be so outragiously cruel one to th' other how excessive cruel must the Devil be to the Damn'd in Hell being a professed enemy to all mankind even from the Creation M. p. 234. An habitual Sinner that puts off his Conversion to the hour of Death in expectation of a good Peccavi lies under a moral impossibility to be sav'd M. p. 248. The Love of God should replenish our hearts to that degree to leave no place for any terrene or carnal affection M. p. 266. An ample description of th'ingratitude inconstancy treachery cruelty and vanity of the World with several presidents relating thereunto M. p. 278. The Lust of the Flesh with its fatal attendance and branches are most abominable in themselves most odious to God and the most destructive enemies of our Souls M. p. 293. Th' only thing that the Nobility should value themselves upon is Vertue how vain is the Wisdom of the World Of Corporal Beauty and Rich Apparel and how th' one as well as th' other has been the ruine of many Millions of Souls M. p. 310. That the State of Poverty is far more advantageous to the Soul than that of Riches though it may not be so pleasant to the mind which is never content M. p. 327. The Charming expressions of Christ and the several employments he takes upon himself in order to save our Souls are able to withdraw all our scatter'd affections from the World and settle them upon him alone M. p. 346. That the World is both a Cheat and a Lyar for his Promises ars false his Honours are vain his Pleasures are Poyson and his Treasures are Soul-Killing Thorns M. p. 368. That they who after all Gods sweet Inspirations loving Invitations and gracious Admonitions do not love him reciprocally shall be in danger of eternal Destruction M. p. 384. A Check to Man p. 391. A Check to the Christian Man p. 395. A Check to the Religious Man p. 402. A Wholesom Advice to Mankind in general p 410. Errata P. 10. L. ult R. remit P. 26. M N. R. hac P. 249. L. 4. R. double P. 254. M. N. R. transiit messis P. 255. M. N. R. quo P. 259. L. 12. R. axiom P. 265. L. 27. R. Prophet P. 271. L. 13. R. no more P. 315. M. N. R. putredini p. 329. L. 26. R. not P. 336. L. 8. R. the. P. 344. L. 27. R. be P. 352. L. 18. R. so P. 368. L. 22. R. doorkeeper P. 371. L. 6. R. martial P. 374. L. 17. R. Micheas P. 376. L. 21. R. were P. 384. L. 6. R. as A Dialogical Discourse betwixt the Saviour and Man wherein all Souls desirous of the Love of God are copiously suppli'd with means powerfull to attain it and to gain the happy accomplishment of their Salvation MAN SPeak O Lord for thy Servant hears thee 1. Reg. 3. grant me a right Understanding to know thy ways and lead my will to walk therein let the sacred Dew of thy divine Inspirations flow down from thy heavenly Throne into my obdurate Heart Psal 118. that I may more easily observe thy Commands and steer my course directly without any Remora towards the Region of everlasting Bliss Loquere tâ— nobis audiemus non loquatur nobis Dominus ne â—orte moriamur Exod. 20. for which thou didst Create my Soul Heretofore the Children of Israel would have Moises only speak to them not thou O Lord fearing thy words might strike such a terrour to their Hearts
they may be worthy Presidents to others or it is to practise their virtue and perfect resignation to his holy will in order to gratifie them with a more eminent degree of glory MAN O My most gracious Lord thou hast now made a full and Satisfactory answer to all my complaints objections and Queries but notwithstanding I am still so perplex'd with anguishes and so troubled in mind that I do not know what to make of my self or where I may be eas'd of this worm that gnaws my guilty conscience and all my trouble proceeds from a well-grounded apprehension that I was never really contrite for my Sins never made a sincere sorrowful confession of them and that I never pray'd to my God as I ought or had that great care to amend my Life and to avoid the occasion of Sin SAVIOVR O Man be not at all dismay'd thou hast often heard that virtue does consist in the middle nay 't is the middle of too vitious extreams even as liberality is a medium betwixt prodigality and tenacity and therefore I would have thee to place thy self betwixt despair and presumption betwixt an impertinent Security and an immoderate fear fix a firm hope in thy God of whose mercy thou canst not despair without a mortal offence However I do not disallow thy fear when it is in a reasonable degree for the wise man will fear upon all occasions but especially where the matter is in doubt whether it will go well or ill with him as in this case thou dost not know for certain whether thou art worthy of Gods love or deserving of his hatred whether thou art in the state of Grace or in that of Sin whether predestinate or damn'd for ever MAN O My Saviour to consider seriously how strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leads to Salvation no rational man can choose but admire the blindness the vanity the great folly or rather madness of wicked men they know that they have a Soul which informs and gives motion to their body that this Soul is stamp'd with the likeness and Image of her Creator that she is entail'd to an eternity of glory and yet they run like so many mad wild Boars seeking where to satisfy their lustful and evil inclinations without the least thoughts of that ever-blessed Mansion Heaven of that radient day of Eternity of that day which never will admit of any darkness But let the wicked if they will be so obstinate run their course as for my self I shall never desist sighing after that Land of Promise whilst I remain in this vail of misery where poor man is inviron'd with so many afflictions and crosses tainted with so many Spots of Sin pester'd with so many brutal passions plagu'd with so many fears and cares disturb'd with so many foolish and vain curiosities subject to so many changes and errors consum'd with so many labours and toils liable to so many temptations snares sometimes sick with over-much eating and drinking sometimes also famishing with hunger and thirst O Lord when shall I see an end put to all these evils when shall I be free'd from the intollerable slavery of vice when shall I have thee for the sole object of all my thoughts when shall I throughly rejoyce in thee Quis me liberabit de corpore morcis hujus Rom. 7.24 or when wilt thou deliver me out of this mortal prison to enjoy the liberty of thy beloved in heaven when shall I be bless'd with a solid peace void of all trouble as well of mind as of body O Sweet Jesu when shall I be so happy as to see thee and to stand for ever in the deep contemplation of the glory of thy heavenly Court and Kingdom when shalt thou be to me all in all when shall I sit at that magnificent table which thou hast prepar'd from all Eternity for thy belov'd Alas here I am left a poor and banish'd creature in an enemies land where nothing is to be seen but constant mutinies dayly wars and great miscarriages O Lord be graciously pleas'd to Comfort me in my banishment and to lessen my sorrow for all the pleasures of this world seem now a burden to me and not any satisfaction it 's therefore that I long to be intimately united with thee but my weakness will not admit of that great happiness I would willingly hear and think of heavenly things but my worldly affairs will not allow it no more will my immortifi'd inclinations and brutish passions my mind would fain be above the World and look with a disdaining eye on all it's allurements but my flesh depresses my Spirit and keeps all my senses captive Hasten then O Lord and set an end to this intestine War take my Soul to thee her Creator and my Body to its primitive nothing Thus do I unfortunate man fight against my self both night and day the Spirit would fain have an absolute supremacy over the flesh but the flesh does thwart her and will dispute the matter with the dint of her furious and headstrong passions and I poor Wretch must be the fatal field where these two mortal foes do fight hand to hand but alas the flesh always remains Conqueror marches off with display'd colours There is no likelyhood of a peace without thy grace grant therefore O Lord that these two adversaries may joyn in a right understanding and come to thee with a true sense of their long and obstinate rebellion with a sorrowful and contrite heart and with a firm resolution to live submissive to thy divine laws for the remainder of their mortal life SAVIOVR O Man even as thou art oblig'd to love thy God with all thy heart and to that degree that thou wouldst sooner loose even thy life and suffer all the losses and afflictions imaginable rather then to offend him by giving consent to the least of mortal Sins so thou art bound to grieve more for the committing of one mortal Sin then for any painful evil or earthly damage tho' it were the total destruction and ruin of thy Family This is the grief which I call contrition and which may be absolutely accounted the greatest in nature Conc. Trent Sess 14. c. 4. My Council of Trent gives thee a perfect Idea of this great and sorrowful Sacrifice when it defines it to be a grief of mind and detestation of Sin with a resolution to avoid it for the future It is a grief of minde Sacrificium Deo Spiritus contribulatus Psal 50.19 that is a great regret and an inward displeasure which is conceiv'd in the heart of man for having offended his God 'T is also a detestation which is hatred and an aversion which one has to Sin when he considers it to be a most wicked thing a mortal enemy to God and destructive to his own Salvation But there must be a firm resolution made to avoid Sin for the future and likewise the occasion which
nothing can go beyond it it 's so prodigious in his eye yet when he brings his minde to the serious contemplation of another of thy wonders his former amazement is over and his eyes are totally fix'd upon this Et Sanctus in omnibus operibus suis even to the annihilation of his senses This his judgment of the matter does not at all diminish the greatness of thy glory but rather gives it a more resplendent lustre and makes appear how wonderful and holy thou art in all thy works But by what means O Lord wert thou pleas'd to release me out of my bondage Quis potest facere mnndum de immundo semine nonne tu qui solus es Job to cleanse my Soul of all her iniquities Thou mightst indeed have restor'd me several ways to a perfect health of Soul even by a word of thy mouth without any further labour or cost but thy liberality was so great and so wonderful towards me that to give me a perfect demonstration of the excess of thy goodness and love thou wert pleas'd to help me out of my misery with such excessive pains and anguishes that the very thoughts of them brought a bloudy Sweat over all thy limbs and thy bitter Passion which did immediately follow was of force to rent and split even the hardest Rocks with grief Let the Heavens therefore praise thee O Lord and all the Saints and Angels extoll thy wonders and the greatness of thy mercy Thou canst live of thy self independent of man who is at his best but a handfull of clay and consequently could neither be a hindrance to thy glory nor give it any further increase and if the perpetual destruction of all mankinde had ensu'd the dismal fall of Adam Si peccaveris quid eum nocebis si multiplicatae fuerinâ— iniquitates tuae quid facies contra eum porro si justus eris quid donabis ei aut quid de manu tua accipiet Job 35. it could not have been in any respect prejudicial to thee for as holy Job says if thou Sinnest what dost thou against him or if thy transgressions be multiply'd what dost thou unto him If thou be righteous what givest thou him or what receiveth he of thine hand Thou art O Lord so rich that thy wealth cann't be increas'd so potent that thou canst not be more powerful and so wise that thou wantest not the counsel of any Thou art neither greater nor lesser before nor after the Creation of the World Tho' all the orders of Holy Angels should incessantly sing thy praises and tho' all Sublunary creatures should be constantly imploy'd in the like affair thou canst not be more glorious then thou art nor less tho' they should all combine to curse and Blaspheme thee When we were all thy profess'd Enemies thou wert pleas'd to debase thy self so low as to descend from thy heavenly Throne into this Land of misery to put on the habit of our mortality make thy self liable to all our debts and for the satisfaction thereof to suffer the greatest torments that the malice and rage of Man or Devil could ever invent SAVIOVR THou sayst true O Man for thy Love I was content to be born in a stable laid in a manger betwixt an Ox and an Ass to receive a little heat by their breathing wrap'd up in clouts and was eight days after my Nativity circumcis'd so early did I make an effusion of part of my blood and spent the remainder to the last drop on the Cross for thy Redemption It was for the love of thee that I fled into Egypt where I continu'd full Seven years in want and misery and after my return what Persecutions and troubles I suffer'd from the hands of that ungrateful and stiff-necked Nation of Israel was meerly for Love of thee My fasting my watching my journeys from one place to another and often disappointed tho' weary and faint of a place to shelter me from th' inconveniencies of foul weather was wholly for thy sake In Fine all the miseries and tortures which thy Sins had deserv'd were experienc'd by me solely upon th' account of thy Love For I was innocent and without the least spot of Sin free from all fallacies or circumventions and never offensive to any tho' I was wrong'd and highly injur'd by all For thy sake O man was I betray'd by my own Disciple apprehended by an unruly and Malignant Rabble forsaken by my Friends deny'd by the chief of my Apostles sold to my Enemies for a trifle Arraign'd before a Judge accus'd as a Criminal Sentenc'd and condemn'd as a notorious Malefactor expos'd to the Scoffs and derisions of the Multitude Before my Execution I was scourg'd with no less cruelty then shame and disgrace deliver'd over to th'insolence of insulting and bloudy Soldiers who Crown'd me with Thorns as a Mock-King in derision and Scorn In Fine I was led to execution nail'd to a shameful Cross expos'd to the view of all the World between two Thieves as if I had been an Impostor a Cheat and the worst of Men. At last O man amidst these excessive pains of my Body Pater in manus tuas commendo Spiritum meum Ecce ego mitte me and far greater anguishes of my Soul over whelm'd with sorrow and confusion I pour'd out my last Breath in th' arms of the Cross recommending my Spirit into the hands of him that sent me at my own request to purchase thy Redemption Give ear O man to the sorrowful description which my Prophet gives thee as well of my Person as of the torments which I have suffer'd for thee There was no beauty in him says he nor comeliness and we have seen him despis'd and made the most abject of Men he was a man of sorrow and knowing infirmities We hid as it were our faces from him he was despis'd and we esteem'd him not He surely hath born our infirmities and our sorrows he hath carry'd Propter Scelus populi mei percussi eum Isa 53 and we have thought him to be as it were a Leper and stricken of God and humbled and he was wounded for our iniquities he was broken for our Sins The discipline of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are heal'd God says he again has laid on him all our iniquities and hath stricken him for the Sins of his People Acknowledge therefore Agnosce homo quam gravia sunt vulnera pro quibus necesse fuit unigenitum Dei filium vulnerari Sinon essent haec ad mortem ad mortem sempiternam nunquam pro his filius Dei moreretur Bern. Ser. 3. de nati Dom. Pudet itaque dilectissimi propriam negligenter dissimulare passionem cui rantum a Majestate tanta video exhiberi Compassionem compatitur filius Dei plorat Homo patitur ridebit Bern. ibid. O man how great those thy evils were that oblig'd me the only and dearly belov'd Son of God to
ready to drop down upon their criminal and guilty heads the sweet perfumes of thy divine virtues and the rare examples of thy Saints cann't prevail with them no they cann't tast of thy Chalice nor feel thy Scorges nor acknowledge thy Benefits tho' they are sufficient to melt a heart of Steel In fine Sin takes quite away the peace the joy and the tranquility of a good eonscience it does extinguish the fervour of the Spirit and leaves poor man sordid maculate deform'd and abominable in the sight of God and of all his Saints Yet by the benefit of thy Justification we are happily deliver'd from all these plagues evil consequences of Sin and the abyss of thy divine mercies is not content to have forgiven us our offences and receive us into favour but does also expell all those evils which are inseparable from Sin leaving our interiour man in the real possession of his former prerogatives and likeness to God Thou dost heal up our wounds wash off our spots break loofe the fetters and chains of our iniquitys destroy the yoke of our evil desires retrieve us from the slavery of Satan qualify the fury of our unruly passions and the heat of our vicious affections Thou dost likewise restore to the Soul her former freedom and beauty revive her interiour fenses dispose them to the exercise of all good works and to the abhorrence of any that 's bad Thou givest strength to resist manfully all the temptations of the Devil and to go through all the difficulties that might hinder the practise of virtue and their increase of devotion In fine my Sweet Saviour thou dost so absolutely revive and repair our interiour man and all his faculties that thy Apostle Scruples not to call such men Justifi'd Souls metamorphos'd natures new modell'd Spirits Creatures of another stamp This innovation is so great and so much to be admir'd that it 's worth our labour to finde out how and after what manner it is perform'd O my Saviour thou alone canst tell me truly the nature of it and the only one that can impart so great a blessing to my poor and languishing Soul wherefore let me hear thy solution to the matter SAVIOVR THou must know then O man that this so great a renovation when 't is perform'd by the means of Baptism may be call'd Regeneration but if it be done by Contrition and with the assistance of Pennance then 't is call'd resurrection not only because the Soul is rais'd from the Death of Sin to the Life of Grace but by reason it resembles so nearly the glorious beauty of future Resurrection No mortal tongue is able to express the radiant Splendor and supereminent beauty of a Justifi'd Soul 't is a mistery reserv'd to my Holy Spirit who made her so glorious with a design she should be his own Temple and place of residence Were all the wealth of the World all the imaginable dignities and honours of this life all the natural Graces and gifts together with all the acquir'd virtues and all other earthly advantages that can be thought of conferr'd with the beauty and treasures of a Justifi'd Soul all in comparison with her is vile obscure ill-favour'd and of no value No for there is as much difference betwixt the life of Grace and the life of Nature betwixt the beauty of the Soul Justifi'd and that of the body betwixt the interiour Riches of such a Soul and the exteriour of the body as there is betwixt Heaven Earth betwixt the Spirit and the body or betwixt Time and Eternity Because all these are circumscrib'd with certain limits they are temporal they appear handsom to corporal eyes and require only my general concourse to support them whereas the other depends on my particular and supernatural influence and have no prefix'd bounds because I am their object and they are so precious in my sight and of so great an estimate that they provoke even my divine Essence to be ardently enamour'd with their beauty I might have wrought all these wonders with my sole presence yet I would not but was pleas'd to adorn the Soul with my infus'd virtues and the Seven gifts of my Holy Ghost whereby not only her Essence but even her very faculties are cloth'd and adorn'd with those habitual and heavenly dresses Besides all these divine favours and benefits she is made happy with the constant presence of my divine Spirit and of the most adorable Trinity for all resides in a justifi'd Soul to teach her how to manage so great a treasure to her best advantage Matt. 12. wherein I act the part of a most loving Father who is not satisfi'd to have given Riches to his Son but gives him withal a Futor that knows how to Administer them well Luc. 11. Thou know'st that a multitude of vipors Serpents and Dragons I mean of evil Spirits enter into the Soul of a Sinner and makes her their habitation as thou mayst reade in my Gospel but 't is otherwise with a justifi'd Soul for I with my Father and Holy Spirit dwell there and having banish'd thence all evil Si quis diligit me Sermonem meum servabit Pater meus diliget eum ad eum veniomus mansionem apud eum faciemus Joan. 14. and Infernal Spirits we make her our temple our throne and Garden of pleasure as thou mayst finde in St. John where I say if a man love me he will keep my words my Father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him All the Doctors of my Holy Church as well Ecclesiastick as Scholastick grounded upon these my words do firmly believe that my Holy Ghost dwells in a justifi'd Soul after a certain and peculiar manner and say moreover that he does not only confer his Gifts upon her but comes himself along with them with a fix'd resolution to clense Sanctify and adorn her as well with his constant presence as with all his heavenly treasures O man if all these extraordinary favours be not able to mollify thy flinty heart and force it to leave and forsake the paths of Sin and to gather also all thy Scatter'd affections and lead them towards me who am the most deserving of them I shall add more pressing motives to bring thee to so good so gracious and so benificial a resolution The First that occurs is that all the justifi'd are my living members so that I love and cherish them as my own and am no less careful to provide for them to protect and comfort them then were they all parts of my proper body nay without any intermission I influence them with my inspirations and graces even as the head communicates his vital Spirits into all the rest of its members moreover my Eternal Father beholds them with a gracious eye as being my living members united concorporate with me by the participation of his divine Spirit and therefore all their deeds are
of wine in his hand and Blasphemy in his mouth another may be stab'd in a quarrel another crush'd with the fall of a horse In fine they have several ways to their end but the end it self which is Death is still the same For whether they dye by a sword by a halter by a potion or by a disease 't is all but Death which is so certain that thou can'st not doubt of it without a blemish to thy Faith none is exempted from drinking of this Chalice Regum Turres pauperumque Tabernas aeque pede pulsat Mors. Vir. Popes Kings and Princes must taste of it If there were any immunity or priviledge in the case surely I might have been exempted from Death as being the Law-maker and Promoter of that unavoidable sentence which I had pronounc'd against thy Progenitour for his transgression of my Commandment No the day shall come that thou wilt be alive in the morning and dead at night It will come sometime but when whether this day or to morrow 't is uncertain Thou art now in perfect health strong of body and found of minde thou dost measure thy life by the length of thy desires and by the multitude of thy business but the day will come that thou shalt be stretch'd on a bed candles lighted about thee thy Relations and Friends lamenting and weeping thy whole family in a great consternation expecting thee to breath out thy Soul every moment but when this day shall come 't is uncertain perhaps when thou dost least expect it perhaps when thou thinkst thy self secure from all dangers and when all thy thoughts are busi'd about building of Houses purchasing Lands matching thy Children settling their Fortunes 't is therefore said of Death Thess 5.23 that it comes like a Thief who takes that time to seize on his prey when men are in their dead sleep secure and without the least apprehension of being rob'd The day of the Lord says St. Paul shall come as a Thief in the night upon thee and when thou shalt say peace and security then sudden destruction shall come upon thee as Travail upon a Woman with Child and thou shalt not escape To consider seriously the preludes of death with their attendents which are a grievous sickness Aches and pains over all thy Limbs thy Stomach loaded with Apothecarys Stuffs so many sorts of loathsome drugs on a table before thy face which thou must of necessity swallow because thy Physician has order'd it so then art thou peevish and fretful continually tumbling and tossing from one place to another always restless this with several other emergencies weakens thy body and opens the gate for Death to come in even as when an enemy is resolv'd to Storm a City he first batters down its walls with his great Cannons and makes a breach large enough for a general assault then he commands his forces to stand to their Arms and he at the head of them marches on and makes himself Master of the place So before Death a mortal infirmity leads the van beats down thy natural Strength dismounts all thy senses gives thee no rest night or day batters down thy body with its violent fits so that the Soul is at last forc'd to withdraw from her old habitation to take up her quarters the Lord knows where But when the Infirmity is come to that height that thy Physitian and thy self too have no hopes of further life O what Anguishes what apprehensions what grief what trouble seizes thy poor heart and tares it asunder Videbunt quibus sacrificaverunt Eccl. then the whole series of thy former life comes into thy minde and thy dearest objects will then become the subjects of thy greatest sorrow thy Wife and Children thy Friends and Relations thy Riches thy Honours thy Titles thy Imployments with the rest which thou hast made thy Gods on Earth shall come in a croud to discompose thy Soul Soon after this alteration of thy minde comes another which is the forerunner of death thy forehead is harden'd and thy skin cleaves close to thy skull a cold sweat trickles down thy face thy eye-strings are already broken and thy eye-lids are fall'n down thy ears are deaf thy nose grows thin and sharp thy nostrils stuff'd up with corruption thy face turns to its original colour which is that of clay thy mouth is contracted thy tongue is stupifi'd and can no more perform its duty thy tast is gone thy lips are pale thy breath finks down to the bottom of thy breast thy hands are cold thy nails black thy pulse slow and weak sometimes at a stop and now and then revives thy feet have no more life they have lost their natural heat Infine all thy flesh is in a short space to be turn'd into corruption This is thy end O man but as thou art a Christian hear what shall enfue before the Separation of thy Soul from thy Body Then thou shalt imagine the Judgment of God to be at hand then thou shalt have a full view of all thy fins both great and small then all thy abominations and crimes shall come in a body to accuse thee before the dreadful Tribunal of my divine Justice Then thou shalt acknowledge tho' too late how sordid how heinous and how horrid were the crimes which thou hadst so easily so desperately committed against me without the least apprehension of my indignation wrath O what curses what bitter imprecations wilt thou utter at that fatal hour against the day in which thou hast offended me thou wilt curse even the place the occasion and complices of thy sins Thou wilt curse and condemn thine own folly and the wickedness of those which brought thee by their ill examples to forfiet the everlasting joys of Heaven for such trifles as are all the false and treacherous pleasures of this world pereat dies inqua natus sum c. Job 3.3 The afflictions of Job were nothing to those that shall be heap'd upon thee in that dreadful day of my visitation yet he cries out let the day perish wherein I was born and the night in which it was said there is a man-childe conceiv'd and what will thy feeling be when thou shalt see thy self depriv'd of all happiness and excluded from Heaven for an Eternity by the means of those vain sordid and transitory pleasures which thou hast taken in thy life-time when thou shalt behold thy self surrounded on all sides with tribulations and anguishes without any hopes of a longer life when there shall be no place for pennance when the days of grace are past when even those whom thou hast lov'd beyond all measure and reason cann't afford unto thee the least comfort but rather will kill thee with displeasure because they were thy beloved Idols and the only objects of thy adorations but now they shall become the subject of thy Eternall confusion Tell me O man when thou shalt see thy self brought to this deprorable state
and condition where wilt thou go what wilt thou do to whom wilt thou call for help To return to life 't is impossible and to ease thy self thou wilt not be able In illa die occidet Sol in meridie tenebrescere faciam terram in die luminis c. Amos. 8. what shall become of thee when I will cause the Sun to go down at noon and when I will darken the Earth at mid-day what wilt thou say when I shall turn thy feasts into mourning and all thy Songs into lamentation when I will bring up Sackcloth upon all mens loins and baldness upon every head and when I shall make it as the morning for an only Son and the end thereof as a bitter day hast thou not therefore a far greater subject then Job to curse the day wherein thou wert born for he was so just a man that my eternal Father glori'd in having so good so gracious and faithful a Servant nay In omnibus his non peccavit Job labiis suis c. Job 1.22 the Holy Ghost avers that he sinned not in all what he had spoken in his troubles and calamities which I had permitted to come upon him not as a punishment for his Sins but as a trial of his patience to make him a worthy president to all mortals of virtue of constancy and of perfect resignation to my holy will in all their afflictions He himself does protest that his conscience did not accuse him yet he was so apprehensive of the strict judgment which a Soul is to undergo at her departing the body that amaz'd at the severity of my Justice he crys out protect me O Lord Dionys. Rikel Art 16. de novis and hide me in hell whilst thy fury passes Whereupon one of my devout Servants affirms that the instant wherein I give judgment of a Soul is not only more terrible then Death but more terrible then to suffer even the pains of hell for a certain time not only to those who are to be damn'd but even unto my very Elect. O man reflect seriously upon this and Judge what will become of a Sinner at the hour of his Death and at the lively representation of all his offences and crimes what a consternation he will be in how he will tremble and shake every limb of him at the very sight of me his Creator and Redeemer whom he had so often offended and injur'd in the course of his sinful life that very presence will be more dreadful to him then the suffering of the pains of hell it self MAN O Most gracious Redeemer I cann't deny what thou sayst of a dying man and of the Anguishes which he shall suffer at the departing of the Soul from his body she shall enter into Judgment alone naked poor and without any to patronize her cause except her good works if she has any to shew her Conscience will be the Deponent the Triall will be either for life or death not temporal but eternal and thou an injur'd Judge shall appear to her in a dreadful Throne to give sentence for her or against her either of Salvation or of her everlasting damnation If she be grievously indebted and not able to ballance her accounts O what a horrible confusion she will be in grief and sorrow sighs and tears dreadful lamentations and crys will be her woful entertainment and the only motives she can produce to mollify thee O Lord but all will be to no purpose her repentance comes too late 't is totally fruitless at that hour all her protestations of amendment will be in vain no bills or bonds of performance will be accepted of no bail shall be taken her lease is out she must remove her nobility her riches her honours cann't obtain for her a further respite of time the sentence is pronounc'd the decree is unavoidable she must submit O the unfortunate Sinner what will he do what will he say how can he express the greatness of his misfortune otherwise then by these words of thy Prophet Psa 18.4.5 The sorrows of Death have compassed me and the flouds of iniquity have made me afraid The sorrows of hell have compassed me about and the snares of Death have prevented me O what a woful circle is that into which his Sins have brought him and unexpected too when he had not the least thought of death what will his friends avail him now his dignities his riches his lands and all that he took most delight in they will remain after him to other Masters that will soon wast and consume 'em in a worse way perhaps then ever he gather'd them tho' that perchance was bad enough The Sins which he had committed in heaping them up are the only companions he is like to have along with him to another world where he is to be tormented for them according to their enormity If I should make my addresses to worldlings in hopes to be farther instructed in this so necessary a matter to Salvation Alas they know nothing of it and which is worse they will not believe it for they live as if they had no account at all to give after death and why should I think it strange being they live in Egypt that is in a land of darkness in a willful blindness overwhelm'd with all sorts of errors where scarcely two are found of one opinion in matters of Faith and manners I am then resolv'd to go farther off and streight into the land of Geshen where the light of verity is allways in its full splendour Non intres in Judicium cum servo tuo Domine quia non justiflcabitur in conspectu tuo omnis vivens Psa 143. and to consult with the Inhabitants thereof in this case they will certainly teach me not only by their words but also by their examples how much this dreadful day of so strict an account is to be fear'd The first I meet with is the holy'st man of his age a man according to thine own heart O Lord yet he is so terrifi'd even at the very remembrance of this accompting day that he begs thee with all the tenderness of a contrite heart not to enter into Judgment with thy Servant and the reason he gives for his request is that in thy sight shall no man living be justifi'd The second that appears to me In vitis Patrum Sect. 2.153 is that most renown'd and holy Arsenius a man of wonderful austerity a man always in prayer always in contemplation yet tho' he was so virtuous and so great a Saint tears were seen to trickle down his cheeks when he was a dying and all his body to tremble in his deep consideration of this reckoning day His Disciples that stood round his poor and hard bed setting him the question why he cry'd and whether he was afraid of death he made answer yes my dearly beloved Children I fear Death and I tremble at the approach of my dreadful Judge
for tho' I cann't say that I am guilty of any Sin that might deprive me of his grace yet he will scearch so narrowly into the most hidden corners of mens hearts at that departing day that I have great reason to fear he may finde some subject of his displeasure within my breast Another no less commendable for the holyness of his life tells me of a most dreadful example which was in his days exhibited on the Person of one Stephen a Monk a great lover of a quiet and Solatary life This holy man after he had pass'd over several years in a monastical conflict and adorn'd his Soul with extraordinary graces and virtues by his continual fasting weeping and chastising his body with St. Paul lest it should bring his Soul to subjection he went into the desart and built a little cell for himself at the foot of that famous mountain where the Prophet Helias had formerly a most Sacred and heavenly vision a place remote from all worldly consolation almost inaccessible to men and very near a hundred miles distant from any human habitation After he had continued there a long tract of time in the height of all manner of mortification and Pennance and being in his declining Age he return'd to his former habitation where in a few days he fell into a fit of sickness whereof he dy'd Joan. Climachus in Schola Parad graduer but the day before his death he awaked suddenly out of his slumber and looking frightfully towards the right left side of his bed he was heard by all that were about him to say as if he were brought to an account for his past life 't is true that is so but for that Sin I have fasted so many years To another objection he answer'd that is true likewise but for that fault I often shed most bitter tears To another he would reply that 's a grand lye I am innocent of that crime Again he would answer 't is so indeed I have nothing to say against it but leave my self wholly to God's mercy Certainly this was a spectacle able to terrify the hearts of all them that were by and especially for that the poor man was accus'd of what he never committed so eager his mortal Enemies were to get possession of his Soul by endeavouring to push him into despair He was indeed a lover of retir'd and solitary places and a Monk of forty years approbation endu'd with the gift of working miracles yet he trembles at the hearing of his accompts some he denys and some he owns but he relys upon Gods great mercy for a pardon and in this conflict he dyes without leaving any certainty of what became of him or how favourable his Judge was to him at the end of his trial O Saviour of mankinde if such great Saints were so much terrifi'd at the sight of death and so apprehensive of thy dreadful Judgements what will become of Sinners at that hour and of such Sinners as do spend their whole life in the vanities and transitory pleasures of the world of Sinners that make nothing to offend thee by all manner of wickedness of Sinners that live in so great a neglect of their Salvation as if they had no Souls to be sav'd and no account to be given after death If the Just are seiz'd with so great a terrour at the hour of Death what a deplorable condition will the habitual Sinner be in what will become of the weak shrubs of the desart that have no shelter from the raging storms of Death and Judgment when the tall Cedars of Liban are laid even with the ground Si Justus vix salvabitur Impius peccator ubi apâ—râ—bâ—nt 1 Pet. 4.3 18. If the Righteous scarcely be sav'd where shall the ungoldy and the Sinner appear who walk'd all his life in Lasciviousness Lust excess of Wine Revellings Banquetings and all abominable Idolatries what can be safe in Babylon when there is so strict a search made in Jerusalem SAVIOVR THou sayst well O man what will become of a Sinner indeed at the hour of death when I who am the spotless Lamb was seiz'd with so great an apprehension of it Tristis est anima mea usque ad mortem Mar. 14.34 that my Soul was sad even to death and terrifi'd to that degree that my body was all in a bloudy sweat But what will become of a Sinner when I shall appear to him who am to be not only his Judge but also a most irrefragable witness against him St. Augustin will tell thee he had rather suffer even the unspeakable torments of Hell Chrys hom 24. in Matth. then to behold the face of his angry Judge And St. Chrysostome declares it were better for Sinners to be struck with as many thunderbolts as the magazine of Heaven can afford then to see that countenance so meek and so full of sweetness heretofore altogether estrang'd from them at that most dreadful hour And if thou wilt give credit to the deposition of a learned Authour he will tell thee that even an Image which was only my representation on the Cross appear'd with such wrathful and incens'd eyes to a congregation of People that they all fell unto the ground senseless without any motion and that they cuntinued in that amazement several hours What a consternation then will Sinners be in when they shall behold not my Image which is at best but a dead figure but my self alive not in the humility of my Cross but seated on a Throne of Justice and Majesty not in a time of mercy but in the due season of a just vengeance not with naked hands pierc'd through with nails but arm'd against them with the Sword of Justice Thus I shall come to Judge and revenge the injuries which they have done unto me I am righteous in my Justice as I am in my mercy and as I have allotted a time for mercy so I will for Justice and as in this life the rigour of my justice is as it were repress'd and suspended so in that point of Death when the Sinners are to receive their final Sentence I will suffer it to break forth like an inundation and drown them all in the deluge of my indignation and wrath Imagine with thy self a great and rapid River that has had it's current violently stop'd these forty years Dan. 7. and now it were to have free passage what a condition the Country round about would be in with what a fury would it overrun the whole land and beat down all before it Citys Towns Villages Castles Trees Walls Houses Men Cattle and all without any resistance Thou knowst that my Prophet Daniel compares my Justice not to an ordinary River but to a River of fire to express the greatness and severity of it thou knowest likewise that the current of this River is frequently repress'd thirty forty years nay sometimes during the whole life of Man O what an infinite deal of
wrath will it have heap'd together with what an impetuous fury will it burst out upon a wretched sinner at the point of his death Tunc incipient dicere montibus cadite super nos Luk. 23.50 The same Prophet goes on with his description of this dreadful River which shall issue from my Countenance and says that it shall be so terrible that the wicked will invite even the Rocks and Mountains to fall upon them and shelter them from it's scorching waves The Prophet Isaiah sets forth my Justice in a more dreadful manner Isa 56. he says that I will come cloth'd in garments of vengeance and cover'd with a Robe of zeal and that I will give unto my Adversaries my Indignation and that my Enemies shall have their reward The Wiseman comes yet closer to the matter for he says that my zeal shall take up arms and that I shall animate all creatures to revenge me of my Enemies that I shall put on Justice as a brest-plate take the head-piece of righteous Judgment and shall sharpen my wrath as a lance nay I shall not only appear to Sinners at the hour of death as an enrag'd arm'd man Ose 13. but as a Bear that has been robb'd of her whelps that I shall tear their entrails in peices and devour them as a Lyon 'T is certain there is not among the Beasts a more fierce by nature then a Lyon or a more furious then a Bear especially when she has lost her young ones and that I who am by nature infinitely good mild and loving should compare my self to such monsters of nature for fierceness and cruelty is to express sensibly the terrors of my Justice and rigour against Sinners in that day of wrath full of calamity and misery Dies irae dies illa calamitatis miseriae dies magna amara valde miss de req in that great sorrowful and most bitter day O man take notice of this dreadful expression 't is able to terrify thy heart and to bring a trembling over all thy body Consider well how many poor Souls hast thou led astray from my paths by thy poysonous doctrine and evil examples how many poor Souls are now in Hell-fire solely upon the account of the damnable principles which thou hast still'd into their ears and hearts and which they carry'd along with them to their graves How many innocent and virtuous young Maids and Women hast thou forc'd out of my service to satisfy thy lustful desires I say forc'd them because that perceiving them in a wanting condition thou hast wrought upon their necessity and weakness both by giving them what thou shouldst have kept for the maintenance of thy proper Wife and Children Assure thy self that in the hour of thy death I shall appear unto thee as a Bear whom thou hast robb'd of so many young ones yea and shall tear thy entrails in peices for all thy misdemeanours extortions and oppressions I will devour thee as a Lyon as well for working the destruction of thy own Soul as for contributing to the loss of many others by thy bad examples 'T is by reason of the severity of my Justice against Sinners in the hour of their death that Daniel says there shall proceed from my face a River of fire because this Element of all others is the most active and so pure that it will not admit of any mixture whereas Earth will lodge in its bosom Mines of several mettals and Quarries of divers sorts of Stone Water will entertain a pleasant variety of Fishes the Air gives liberty to all sorts of Fowl to fly through all it's region and does also harbour a vast multitude of vapours exhalations and several other bodies but Fire endures nothing it melts the hardest mettals reduces even stones into Cinders consumes living Creatures converts Trees into its own Substance and turns all that is contrary to it into its own nature The same shall happen in that day of my wrath all shall be rigour and Justice without any mixture of mercy nay the very mercies which I have exhibited to sinners in their life time shall then be both a motive to kindle my indignation and fuel to blaze up my incensed Justice against them O man consider therefore whilst thou hast time to repent nay and seriouslytoo what a sad condition thou shalt see thy self in at that instant when neither my bloud shed for thee nor my self crucifi'd for thy sake nor the powerful intercession of my most blessed Mother nor the prayers of my Saints no nor my divine mercy it self shall contribute any thing to thy safety No this life once past thou art to expect no Patron no Protectour but thy virtuous actions thy Angel Guardian and all the Saints thy Advocates shall abandone thee thy vast riches the greatness of thy Authority thy numerous Servants thy learned Counsels will not avail thee nor defend thy Process thy good works alone will defend thee from the rigour of my Justice when the Treasures thou hast heap'd up in the world and been so careful to preserve shall fail thee Thine Alms bestow'd upon the poor shall stick close to thee and pleade for thy pardon in a powerful manner Thy Wife thy Children thy Kindred Friends and Followers shall go no farther then the grave with thee but the Strangers which thou hast lodg'd the sick which thou hast visited and the needy which thou hast succour'd will bear thee company even before my dreadful Throne and place thee at my right hand among the number of my blessed for ever MAN O My most gracious Saviour withdraw thy hand far from me and let not thy dread make me afraid Job 13. Wherefore hidest thou thy face holdest me for thy Enemy wilt thou break a leaf that is driven to fro with every little puff of wind and wilt thou so rigorously pursue the dry stubble for thou writest bitter things against me and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks and lookest narrowly unto all my paths thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet who am to be consum'd as a rotten thing and as a garment that is moth-eaten Man that is born of a Woman is of few days and full of trouble He comes forth like a flower and is cut down He vanisheth also as a shadow and continues not And dost thou fix thine eyes upon such an one and bringest me into Judgment with thee Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean These are the words of the most afflicted of mortals and Mirror of Patience admiring the severity of thy Justice against Man a creature so weak so frail and so prone to all manner of evil against a wretch viciously inclin'd from his cradle that drinks up iniquity with as much pleasure and case as he would a glass of Spring-water in his greatest drougth on a hot Summers day It were a subject of
Psal 10. and I shall cast them into a burning fire where they shall not subfist in their miseries nay I shall pour down vengence fire and sulphur upon them fire hail snow Ice and the Spirit of tempests shall be but a small part of their chalice This great misfortune of the wicked is perfectly represented by my beloved Disciple in his Revelations where he says Revel 18.1.2.5.6.7 After these things I saw another Angel come down from Heaven having great power and the Earth was lightn'd with his glory and he cry'd mightily with a strong voice saying Babylon the great is fallen is fallen and is become the habitation of Devils and receptacle of every foul Spirit and a Cage for every unclean and hateful Bird. Her Sins have reach'd unto Heaven and God has remembred her iniquities He shall reward her even as she rewarded him and double upon double unto her according to her works the Cup which she has fill'd he shall fill to her double How much she has glorifi'd her self and liv'd deliciously so much torment and sorrow he shall give her Her Plagues shall come in one day upon her death mourning and famine and she shall be utterly burnt with fire for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her After this a mighty Angel took up a stone like a great milstone and cast it into the Sea saying thus with violence shall that great City Babylon be thrown down and shall be never found more Thus the wicked which are understood by Babylon shall be cast into the precipice of hell into that dark Dungeon overwhelm'd with horror and all manner of confusion O what tongue is able to express the multitude of torments which they shall suffer there for an Eternity their bodies shall burn with living flames never to be extinguish'd their Souls without any intermission shall be gnawed with the worm of conscience which shall never give them the least respit of ease there they shall continue perpetually weeping sighing and gnashing their teeth without any hopes of goal-delivery In this woful place of despair those miserable damn'd wretches in a cruel fury full of rage will send forth their invectives against me and turn their anger against themselves devouring their own flesh tearing their bowels incessantly blaspheming me who had condemn'd them to those unspeakable torments There every one of that damn'd crew will curse his grand misfortune and the unhappy day of his birth always repeating that mournful lamentation of Job let the day perish wherein I was born Job 3. and the night in which it was said there is a man-child conceiv'd let that day be darkness let not God regard it from above neither let the light shine upon it Let darkness and the shaddow of death stain it let a cloud dwell upon it let the blackness of the day terrify it As for that night let darkness seize upon it let it not be joyn'd unto the days of the year let it not come into the number of the months let that night be solatary let no joyful voice come therein Let them curse it that curse the day who are ready to raise up their mourning let the Stars of the twilight thereof be dark let it look for light but have none neither let it see the dawning of the day Because it shut not the door of my Mother's womb nor hid sorrow from mine eyes Why died I not from the womb Why did I not give up the Ghost when I came out of the belly why did the knees prevent me or why the breasts that I should suck For now should I have lain still and been quiet I should have slept then had I been at rest This shall be the musick these the Canticles these will be the Morning and Evening prayers of the damn'd for ever MAN If it be so bad with the damn'd as without doubt it is being thou sayst it O Lord I think they have sufficient reason to curse eternally the day that ever they were born for as thou didst say of Judas foreseeing his treachery and his Damnation which was to ensue it were better he had never come into the world I think the same of those wretched Souls it were better they had perished in their Mothers wombs then to become by their own Sins the fatal object of thy just Indignation and wrath O most unfortunate Souls if it were lawful for me or in the least available to you I would commiserate your condition but your sentence can never be recall'd there you are lodg'd among so many Legions of Devils and there you are like to continue for an eternity O unfortunate tongues that bolt out nothing but blasphemies O unhappy Eyes that see nothing but miseries calamities and new found torments at every moment O sad Ears that hear nothing but horrid crys woful screeks mournful lamentations and constant gnashing of teeth O deplorable bodys that have no other refreshment then scorching flames Whilest you were dwellers in this world you spent all your time in vanities in sinful recreations and pleasures increasing your fortunes and heaping up of earthly treasures far from the least thought of heavenly things but see now what is the end of all your actions what an infinite deal of miseries you have brought upon your selves O foolish and infatuated wretches what does all your unlawful and transitory pleasures avail you now for which you are condemned unto everlasting sorrow and woe what is become of all your wealth where are your treasures what is the end of all your joys and comforts nothing but everlasting misery woe tribulations and sorrow This is well illustrated in holy writ by the great famine which came upon the People of Egypt and which continu'd for the space of seven years O what an extream grief was it unto them that they did not in the seven former years of abundance provide for the seven following years of Dearth they were like men in despair for loosing the benefit of so favourable an opportunity and were vehemently troubl'd in minde for their misfortune and negligence herein but alas their grief is not to be compar'd to that of the damn'd 't is no more then a shaddow that is compar'd with the truth For the Famine of Egypt lasted no longer then seven years but that of hell shall never be at an end there was a remedy found for that of Egypt tho' with vast expences but for this there is no remedy at all to be expected That was soon releiv'd by selling their Cattle and lands to Joseph but this can never be abated with any manner of exchange this punishment can never be recall'd this pain will never be diminish'd The People of Egypt after the seven years of Dearth were expir'd began a little to respire to wade out of their miseries but in hell alas the wicked shall never be quit of their misfortunes they shall never come to the least rest or ease they shall be both night and day
in torments and tortures and that for an Eternity If the People of Egypt fell into despair before the expiration of the seven years Ex Inferno nulla est redemptio Facilis Descensus Averni sed revocare gradum hoc opus hic labor est Varg. being sure of a relief soon after what despair will the wicked be in having an assurance from thy mouth O Lord that their miseries shall never have an end O what miserable and unfortunate wretches are we they will cry what time what powerful means what opportunities of working our eternal Salvation have we neglected The time was that with one cup of cold water we might have purchas'd unto our selves a Crown of glory we might by relieving the poor and other such like works of mercy have merritted life everlasting how great was our blindness our madness and folly to have neglected those favourable occasions of enriching our selves for ever and to suffer those fruitfull years of such great abundance to pass away without making any provision for our Souls Had we been brought up amongst Infidels and Pagans and believ'd that our Souls were mortal as well as our bodies that we were in the same Category with all brute animals whose souls do perish at once with their bodies we might have some kinde of excuse and plead that we knew nothing of what was commanded or what was forbidden by God but being brought up Christians and holding for an Article of our belief that the hour shall come wherein we must give a strict account of all our transactions to God we have been often told by Preachers and Teachers that the kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and that we could not attain to it otherways then by the pass-port of Mortifications and Pennance that it was our incumbent duty to depress our unruly Passions and never to be drawn away by our evil inclinations yet unfortunate Souls we were fondly perswaded that Heaven was for us without any pains at all that God was so merciful that he would not condemn our Souls to everlasting torments ' tho' we were never so wicked and therefore we have justly deserv'd that he should deal with us according to the full rigour of his Justice Come then ye Infernal Furies come and rend us in pieces come and devour our unchristian bowels for we have justly deserv'd to be so cruelly dealt with we have deserv'd to be hunger-starv'd for ever being we have neglected to provide for our selves while we had both the means the time and conveniency of doing it we deserve not to reap because we have not sown We deserve to fuffer want and misery being we never laid up any thing in store we often refused the poor and needy their humble and earnest request and therefore we deserve to be deny'd ours We often have clos'd ears to the sighs and groans of the poor and distress'd and therefore we deserve to sigh and lament for an eternity in vain We deserve that the worm of our conscience should gnaw our intrails for ever by representing unto us our criminal and transitory pleasures the great happiness which we have lost by them Erravimus a via veritatis Justitiae lumen non illuxit nobis Sol intelligentiae non est ortus nobis lassati sumus in via iniquitat's perditionis ambulavimus vias difficiles viam autem Domini ignoravimus Sap. 5.6 7 8. the unspeakable torments which we are to suffer for them and their long continuance which will be for an Eternity We err'd and wander'd from the ways of truth and the light of Justice was not with us nor did the Sun of Wisdom shine upon us We weari'd our selves in the ways of wickedness and perdition and walk'd in paths of difficulty and knew not the way of the Lord. What has our Pride profited us and what has the pomp of our Riches avail'd us all those things have pass'd like a shaddow or like a messenger who passes in hast or like a Ship which cuts the instable waves leaves no mark where it went even so we are now consum'd in our wickedness The cruel and bloudy Tyrants who have afflicted put to death thy holy Martyrs O Lord shall be troubl'd with horrible fear when they shall behold them whom they had so unhumanely treated in this life to be so highly honour'd in Heaven they shall wonder at their unexpected Salvation and say amongst themselves with great regret with much grief and anguish of Spirit These are the men who sometime were unto us matter of Scorn and laughter We insipid wretches imagin'd their life to be madness and that then end will be without nonour but behold how they are counted amongst the children of God and how their lot is amongst the Saints such will be the amazement of those mercenary Judges also who have trampl'd under foot the justice and right of thy poor servants on Earth when they shall behold them Judges in Heaven and themselves condemn'd to Hell-fire for their unjust Sentences Solomon's words verifies this Eccl. c. 3. 10. where he says I saw a great evil beneath the Sun that in the Throne of Judgement was Seated impiety and wickedness in the place of Justice And I said in my heart God shall Judge the good and evil and then shall be seen who every one is Here on Earth the wicked sometimes are exalted and the Godly depress'd but thou O Lord shalt in the day of thy visitation rectify those great disorders and grievances thou shalt Separate the wheat from the tares thoushalt place the good upon thy right hand elevated in the Air that all the world may honour and reverence them as being thy favourites whereas the wicked shall stand all in a confusion far off at thy left expecting their final Sentence and the immediate execution thereof O how they shall at that dreadful hour envy the happy state of the Just seeing them so much honour'd and themselves so much despis'd O how will the Potentates and crown'd heads of the Earth be astonish'd when they shall behold their Vassals in Glory their Slaves amongst the Angels and themselves in the same rank with the Devils O my Sweet Saviour St. Chrys hom 24. in Lucam Armabit omnum creaturam ad ultronem inimicorum pugnabit proâ—eo orbis terrarum contra insensatos what shall I think of my self what shall I say what shall I do or how shall I be able to excuse my self in that day of thy wrath when Heaven Earth Sun Moon Stars Night and Day together with all that is contain'd within the precincts of the whole world shall accuse me bear witness of all my evil and cry vengeance against me before thy dreadful Throne nay were they all silent mine own conscience shall fly in my face and accuse me of all my offences even of the least idle word that ever I have spoken Woe 's me then says St. Ambrose St. Ambr. in
Earth certainly thou wouldst be totally inflam'd with love for so admirable a Creature thou wouldst never be weary of his company much less of his discourse why then dost thou not love me with all thy heart as thou art commanded Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo Matth. 22.37 Cupio dissolvi esse cum Christo Phil. 1.23 why dost thou not often and ardently desire with St. Paul to be deliver'd from that loathsome prison of thy body to enjoy my sight and company who am really adorn'd with all those perfections and graces in an infinite degree above all earthly Creatures and do confer the same upon all and every one of my Saints in Heaven why dost thou not despise the transitory and sordid pleasures of the world to seek after those of my heavenly Court which can beautify and embellish both thy body and Soul and the rather because I am so free to impart them not only to thee but also to all those that shall be faithfull to observe my commands For if I be so magnificent a Lord and so free to confer my favours in this world upon all men without any distinction so that the wicked may pertake of them as well as the Godly is there any ground then to believe that I have not far greater blessings in store for those alone that are my favourits and dearest beloved If I was so liberal as to bestow gratis such vast treasures as are the manifold benefits of nature upon a People that I was not in the least oblig'd to but on the contrary have suffer'd much at their hands Nec oculus vidit reâ— auris audivit nec in cor hominis ascendit quae praeparavit Deus diligentibus se 1 Cor. 2.9 how much more am I indebted to those that have serv'd me faithfully and with the loss of both their lives fortunes It 's impossible for thee O man to express the immensity of the glory which I shall confer upon my Elect in Heaven since that even the benefits which I have imparted to my very Enemies here on Earth are far beyond the reach of thy understanding for my Apostle says that the eye has not seen nor the ear heard neither have enter'd into the heart of man the things which God has prepar'd for them that love him If that be so as really it is why dost thou loyter then in thy banishment and dote so much upon the vaniteis of the world and earthly affairs why art thou so desirous to live any longer in the land of Egypt to gather straw and drink muddy water out of it's stinking Pits despising the headspring of all felicitys and the fountain of living waters why art thou content to beg and gather Alms at every door rather then live in thy heavenly Fathers house where all manner of solid content and pleasure is to be found why dost thou starve with the prodigal Son and feed with the Swine upon Acorns whilst thou mayst fit at his table and eat of the banquet which he has prepar'd for all his belov'd in glory If thou be'st inclin'd to pleasure raise up thy heart towards my heavenly Residence and there thou shalt behold that Supream Good which contains within its self eminently all the pleasures and allurements of all things that can be called good or delectable If this created life be pleasing to thee how much more pleasing must that increated life be which gave it a beginning and without which it cann't subsist one moment If health be a comfort to thee how much more comfort can I afford thee who am alone the giver the promoter and powerful preserver thereof If the knowledge of the creatures be sweet and acceptable to thee how much more sweet and acceptable ought the knowledge of thy Creator be unto thee Cujus pulchritudinem sol luna mirantur Job 38.7 Generationem ejus quis ennarrabit Isa 53.8 If all thy delight be plac'd in beauty I am he whose beauty the Sun and Moon does admire If thou beest taken with Nobility I am the source and offspring of all that can be call'd noble for my extraction goes far beyond the Creation of the world and limits of time If thou delightest in learning here in my heavenly School thou shalt know all my mysteries the profound sense of holy Scriptures thou shalt know the exact number of all my Saints and Angels thou shalt know the Secrets of my Divine providence how many are damn'd and for what thou shalt understand the frame and making of the world the whole artifice of nature the motions of the Stars and Planets the proprieties of Plants Stones Birds Beasts thou shalt not only know all things created but also many more things which I might have created thou shalt not only know them altogether and in the total but clearly and distinctly without any confusion The knowledge of the greatest wisemen and Philosophers of the world even in things natural is full of ignorance deceit and incertainty because they know not the substance of things but through the shell and bark of accidents whereas a poor and silly Servant kept all his life in Slavery nay were he a natural in the world yet in heaven he shall be replenish'd with more learning and knowledge as well of natural as of divine things then Solomon then Aristotle then all the Mathematicians Astrologers Astronomers Philosophers Divines and Doctors that ever were or will be to the worlds end for as St. Gregory says it is not to be believed that the Saints who behold within themselves the light of God are ignorant of any thing without them If thou beest desirous of long life health here thou wilt enjoy life everlasting without any distemper or malady without any danger of death or of any other evil in the quiet and peaceable possession of all manner of pleasure and comfort for there thou shalt rejoyce in what is above thee which is my beatifical vision in what is below thee which is the beauty of Heaven and other corporal Creatures in what is within thee which is the glorification of thy body in what is without thee which is the company of so many blessed Angels so many glorious Apostles so many renowned Patriarks so many famous Prophets such an invincible army of Martyrs a most renown'd assembly of Confessors a vast number of true and perfect religious so many holy Virgins which have overcome both the pleasures of the world and the frailty of their own nature Here I shall recreate and feast all thy spiritual Senses with an unspeakable delight for I shall be both thy gracious and grateful object I shall be a mirrour to the sight musick to the ear sweetness to the tast balsom to the smell flowers to the touch Here In fine there shall be the clear sight of Summer the pleasantness of the Spring the abundance of Autumn and the repose of winter But O man Quem dicunthomines
far worse then that of the Romans which was no other then to indulge their bodies in all that might be pleasing to their Palate Let him yet speak more of his minde to the Romans and thou shalt finde that what enormities he lays to their charge is now adays the common practise of Christians That says he which enhances the esteem of every thing is the price of it In so much that water it self which ought to be gratuitous is expos'd to sale in their Conservatories of Ice and Snow Nay we are troubl'd that we cann't buy breath light and that we have the Air it self gratis And if our conditions be evil our trouble is that nature has left something to us in common But Luxury contrives ways to set a price upon the most necessary and communicable benefits in nature even those benefits which are free to Birds and Beasts as well as to men and serve indifferently for the use of the most Sluggish Creatures But how chances it that fountain-water is not cool enough to serve us unless it be bound up in Ice So long as the Stomach is moderatly satisfi'd Nature discharges her functions without trouble but when the blood comes to be inflam'd with excess of wine or the Stomach overcharg'd with meat simple water is not cool enough to Allay it's heat then we are forc'd to make use of remedyes which remedies themselves are vices And this is the product of heaping Suppers upon Dinners and Dinners upon Suppers without intermission The natural thirst be it never so vehement and not deriv'd from libidinous actions is easily quench'd with a draught of water tho' it be of the River it will suffice but when the palate is grown squeemish we taste nothing that which we take for thirst is only the rage of a Fevour or some other distemper acquir'd by disorder Even the very Women are in some measure guilty of this extravagance for tho' they have not alter'd their natures they have chang'd the course of their lives and by taking the liberties of men they partake as well of their diseases as of their wickedness They sit up late drink as much nay in their very Appetites they are as masculine too in a word they have lost the modesty and other advantages of their Sex by their vices O man are not these the abominations and Crimes now in vogue in that corrupt and licentious Age thou liv'st in What this good moral Philosoper blames in the Romans is it not the common practice of Christians now a days nay they are guilty of far greater crimes for they do not only pamper their Lusts but provoke them as if they were to learn the very art of voluptuousness And wherein is their corrupt nature depress'd all this while for I see nothing deny'd to their craving Appetites no violence us'd to their sensuality no bounds set to their womanish desires They give all the best entertainment they can to their bodies and take no care at all of their Souls It is with them as with an innocent that a certain Noble-man had in his Family She became blind on a Sudden and no body could perswade her she was blind she could not endure the house she said it was so dark and was still calling to go abroad That which the people laugh'd at in her is found to be true in the greatest part of mankinde They are Covetous Luxurious Ambitious and what not but the world shall never bring them to acknowledge it Nay they are the worst of the two for that blinde fool call'd for a guide and they wander about without any and which is worse they will have none It 's a hard matter to cure those that will not believe they are sick This is thy case O man thou hast been told often of thy desperate condition and how thy Soul is in danger to be lost for ever unless that thou dost comply with my instructions and break off that sinful yoak of Satan that brings thee by one evil to make way for another Thou wert told that the Kingdome of Heaven suffers violence that to become an Inhabitant thereof thou must of necessity struggle with thy Passions and overcome them too which is to destroy a numerous company of Monsters and the most glorious action that can be undertaken Horatius Cocles oppos'd his single body to a whole Army till the Bridge was cut down behinde him and then leap'd into the River with his Sword in his hand and came off safe to his own party this was a generous act indeed but it is a more noble exploit to subdue thy corrupt nature thou dost signalize thy self when thou art become thine own Master and triumphs over thy passions which have vanquish'd the greatest Conquerors of the world when thou shalt stand like another Hercules and beat down those inbred monsters of thy old man with as much courage as he did subdue the Hidra's and Minotaures then thou wilt arrive at the highest piteh of felicity Be not surpriz'd that I call thy Passions Monsters of nature for they are not only monstrous in themselves but they make the mind that is harrass'd with them very deform'd and most miserable to boot for they leave no place either for Councel or friendship honesty or good manners no place either for the exercise of reason or for the Offices of life If I were to describe the Passion of anger which is the common distemper of all mankinde I would draw a Tiger bath'd in bloud sharp set and ready to take a leap at his prey or dress it up as the Poets represent their furys with whips Snakes and flames It should be sour livid full of Scars and wallowing in gore raging up and down destroying grinning bellowing and pursuing sick of all other things and most of all of it self It turns beauty into deformity and the calmest councels into fierceness It disorders the very garments of those that are slaves to it and fills their mindes with horror How abominable must it be in the Soul then when it appears so hideous even through the bones the skin and so many impediments Is he not a monster of a man that has lost the government of himself and is toss'd hither and thither by his Raging fury as by a tempest He is the executioner of his own revenge both with his heart and hand and the murtherer of his nearest friends The smallest matter will blow him up to that degree that he is altogether insociable and inaccessible He does all things by violence as well upon himself as others It may be then very well call'd the master of all Passions being 't is the most hard to be surmounted Yet Heathens without the assistance of my grace or knowledge of my glory have wholly subdu'd this predominate Passion encourag'd thereunto only by a popular applause and to get the esteem of being perfect Philosophers Plato was about to strike his Servant and while his hand was in the Air
Philosophers have already so confounded me that I have not a word to say in my own defence and do very much apprehend that my confusion will be far greater in the day of thy wrath when they shall all appear as evidences against me and Judge me worthy to be their footstool in Hell for an Eternity and to be trampled on Ponet illum inconculcationem quasi lutum plarearum Isa 10.6 Castigo Corpus meum in servitutem redigo ne forte cum aliis predicaverim ipse reprobus efficiam 1 Cor. 9.27 like the mire of the streets because they did better things ass isted only by the feeble light of nature then I have perform'd having the powerful assistance of thy Grace St. Paul offers me the same means that himself took to prevent so horrid a confusion I keep my body under and bring it to subjection lest that by any means when I have preach'd to others I my self should be a cast-away but alas this remedy is in a manner as hard to me as the disease for certainly it would shorten my days to be always in prayer still weeping constantly watching lying perpetually upon the ground wearing of haircloth night und day And besides St. Augustin tells me Aug. Hom. ult ex 50.5 it is not enough to do all this to change my life and to desist hankering after vice but I must of necessity make attonement to God for my past Sins by the constant and dayly practise of sorrowful Pennance humble sighs contrition of heart and of giving Alms. St. Cypr. l. de lap l. 5. Epist ad Cornel. And the reason St. Cyprian gives for it is that a prevalent and tedious medicine must be apply'd to a desperate and deep sore and that the Pennance must be of as long continuance as was the fault St. Hierom is much of the fame opinion for he will have our long and sinfull pastime to be expiated with as long lamentations and sorrow Epist 7. ad Eustoch he will have our soft linnen and silk apparel to be chang'd into a sharp hair-cloth And St. Ambrose says positively that as a great malady requires a long course of Physick Ambr. ad Virg. lapsum 8. so great offences must of necessity be cleans'd with a long continn'd Pennance and often reiterated acts of Contrition What shall I do in this case Quid faciam fodere non valeo mendicare erubesco Luc. 16.3 my dear Saviour I know the remedies which thy Holy Doctors prescribe are most wholesome for my Soul but I am not able to swallow such bitter Pills on the other side I am in a strange confusion to see my felf out-done by Pagans even in the most essential parts of Christianity for they have more love for virtue and a far greater abhorrence of Sin then I have Aristotle declares it were better to dy Aristot 3. Eth. then do any thing against the good of virtue Seneca and Peregrinus are more resolute in the matter Tho' I were certain says the former that men should never know it and that God would pardon me yet I would not offend him for the filthiness of sin no says the latter for there is nothing can happen unto man more horrible and more destructive of his fame and fortune then to commit a Sin Nay even those Philosophers Plato in Demetrio who deni'd the immortality of the Soul and the Providence of God were of opinion that nothing no not even the loss of his life should oblige a man to commit it And there have been some who have suffer'd great extremitys to decline a vicious act Democles was one of them for he choos'd to be boil'd in scalding water rather then give his consent to Sin Verterius conceiv'd so great a horrour against uncleanness that he suffer'd Prison whips and other most rigorous torments rather then he would sin against chastity O my Soul if the manifold and rare examples of Heathens the Masculine courage and great exploits of Pagans the powerful and zealous exhortations of Saints be not able to move thee to a speedy resolution of amendment to labour hardly for an eternal weight of glory whilst thou hast time Descendant in Infernum viventes Ps 54.16 and to secure thy self from falling into the everlasting and insufferable torments of Hell by making a plentiful provision of good works in the days of thy life let the Holy Ghost at least perswade thee to undertake so good and so beneficial a work he exhorts thee to learn of the Emmet how to provide in the heat of Summer against the cold of Winter Pro. 20. Run about says he make hast stir up thy self give no sleep unto thy eyes let not thy eye-lids slumber Skip out as a Doe from the hands of him that holds her and as a Bird out of the hand of the Fouler Go unto the Emmet thou sloathful man and consider her doings and learn to be wise she having no guide no teacher or Captain provides meat for her self in the Summer and heaps together in the Harvest that which may serve her to feed upon in the winter The sloathful man says he again will not sow in the winter for that is cold therefore shall beg in the Summer and no man shall take pity of him O my Soul this is the very misfortune that came upon the rich Glutton he forgot to provide for his Soul in this world he fed himself with all the varieties that Gold and Silver could purchase and had no compassion of the poor but now he starves in Hell with hunger and dyes with thirst and none has compassion of him O my Saviour give us I beseech thee a full discourse upon this Subject for that or nothing will do the work with me SAVIOVR O Man Me non timebitis a facie mea non dolebitis qui posui arenam terminum mari praeceptum sempiternum quod non praeteribit intumescent fluctus ejus non transibunt illud Jer. 5.22 thou must know that I am great and wonderful in all my works great in the creation of man great in submitting all creatures to his disposition power to be us'd by him at will great in bringing out of nothing what wonders of nature thou seest dayly before thy eyes great in suppressing the raging waves of the Seas and setting bounds to that tumultuary and aspiring Element which these so many thousand years have withstood its frequent and furious attacks I am great and wonderful also in ordering a Hell and an Eternity of torments for all those that dye in my displeasure I am an Omnipotent God in all my actions omnipotent in my wrath omnipotent in my Justice and omnipotent likewise in the punishment which I do inflict upon the wicked It 's therefore the Prophet says O man fear ye not the Lord and wilt thou not tremble in his presence who has plac'd the land for the bound of the Sea by a
ease of all intermission of all comfort is shut up for ever There is none to be expected from Heaven none from Earth none from the Creatour and none from all the Creatures no were they thy dearest friends and nearest relations there is no consolation to be hop'd for but extream desolation for all Eternity Luc. 16. Thou hast a lively expression hereof in that dreadful Parable of the rich Glutton in Hell see to what an extream necessity he was driven to desire after so pittiful a manner that Lazarus might dip the top only of his finger in water to cool his tongue therewith in the midst of that scorching fire wherein he was tormented and yet this small favour this slender request would not be granted to him O ye rich of the world that make your Gods your treasures consider seriously the severity of my Justice Redde rationem villicationis tuae Luc. 16.2 what a strict account you are to give me of all your expences how and after what manner you have spent the least sarthing consider also what torments you shall suffer in Hell if you have imploy'd your wealth as this unfortunate glutton had done to pamper up your bodys without any regard to your Souls And let this consideration move you to the perfect amendment of your lives now while you do live and the gate of my mercy is open to you This is the only time wherein you may avoid all those everlasting misfortunes now is the only season to prevent my indignation wrath if you be wise you will not delay a matter of such great importance for you do not know what will become of you to morrow no nor what you may be an hour hence Noli te obdurate corda vestra c. Psal 94.8 Do not harden your hearts as the people of Israel did in the provocation as in the day of temptation in the wilderness Iest I swear in my wrath that you shall not enter into my rest If Pharaoh had resolv'd an amendment while Moises was with him how fortunate a Creature had he been If the rich Glutton had taken the time while Lazarus lay at his door how blessed a man had he made himself He was foretold his misery as you are now by Moises and other Prophets according to my directions but he would not take notice of their words he gave no ear to their exhortations but soon after he fell into such detestation of his own folly that he would needs have Lazarus sent from Abrahams bosom unto his Brethren in the world to warn them of his error and evil consequences thereof But Abraham answer'd it was to no purpose in as much as they would give no credit to Lazarus but rather stone him to death for disgracing their honour'd deceas'd Brother by revealing his torments The wicked men now alive would do no less to any that should tell them of their Parents and Friends being tormented in Hell for such offences as themselves are guilty of What could I do more to save their Souls then to send them Preachers and Teachers to give them necessary instructions to work their Salvation They were often told that leading the life they do they can't avoid the misfortune of this unhappy wretch they know or ought to know that many before them have been damn'd for less matters They cann't choose but know that they must shortly dy and receive themselves as they receiv'd living as they did or rather worse They are often told that the pains prepar'd for the wicked are intollerable and eternal too They do acknowledge them to be most unfortunate that for any pleasure or interest of this world have run the hazard of their own Salvation and have made themselves the worthy objects of my everlasting indignation and yet they continue their wicked course of life An divitias bonitatis ejus longanimi atem contemnis ignorans quoniam benignitas Dei ad paenitentiam te adducit secundum autem duritiam tuam impaenitens cor tuum thesanrirasti iram in die irae revalationis justi Judicy Dei qui reddet unicuique secundum opera ejus Rom. 2.4 5 6. despising the riches of my goodness and forbearance long suffering not knowing that my goodness leads them to repentance but after their harden'd and impenitent hearts they treasure up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of my righteous Judgment who wil render to them according to their deeds Tell me O man who ever would be so earnest to heap up a treasure as not to let one day pass without adding something to it and that for the space of fifty or threescore years sure he would then at the opening of his trunks finde a vast treasure this is thy case O unfortunate wretch dost thou not know that there is not a day or an hour that passes wherein thou dost not increase the treasure of my wrath which is reserved for thy destruction and which is augmented by every Sin thou dost commit every lascivious look thou givest every unclean thought every impure desire thy hatred thy revenge thy great oaths thy perjurys thy blasphemys with the rest of thy wicked doings which are enough to fill up a vast volume and going on thus for the space of so many years how immense must be the treasure of my wrath against thee if thou diest impenitent Thou must know that I am thy God and thy Judge too consequently that my duty is to take care that the punishment be equal to the offence Hebr. 10.29 Rursum crucifi gentes sibimet ipsis filium Dei ostentui habentes Hebr. 6.6 Memorare novissima tua in aeternum non peccabis Eccl. 7.40 and satisfactory to the person offended Thou hast troden me under foot and hast counted the blood of the covenant wherewith thou wert sanctifi'd an unholy thing and hast done despite unto the spirit of my grace nay thou hast often crucifi'd me to thy self and put me to an open shame wherefore as I am infinite in all my Attributes and in all respects thy pains must be likewise infinite in all manner of rigour O man thou hast given me hitherto a reasonable account of matters belonging to thy Salvation and as this point is one of the chiefest conducing to it and besides is a main obstacle to the increase of vice I do not doubt but thou art sufficiently instructed herein let me therefore hear from thee what the holy Fathers and Doctours of my Church say of the Damn'd and of the rigour of their punishments MAN Infandum Jehova Jubes renovare dolores Inferni poenas quas detestabile Regnum Ditis habet quarum pars magna est faetor ignis Adde quod aeterno privantur lumine Solis Cunctipotentis ibi torquentur corpora miris Nocte diuque modis Nulli patet exitus ex hoc Ignivomente Lacn Densa in caligine pressi Damnati stabunt manibus pedibusque
brought that I was but skin and bone I sat alone with a heavy heart in sorrow and bitterness The whole compound of my body was at this time so deform and ugly with the continual wearing of my Sackcloth and my skin so black that any man might take me for a perfect Ethiopian I wept dayly and pass'd my time continually in groaning and when at length sleep came upon me against my will I lay down and began a labouring my bare bones that scarce hung together sometimes against the ground and sometimes with as great a Stone as I was able to manage well with my hand Of my meat and drink I will say nothing for in this place we Monks use only cold water even in our greatest infirmitys think it a great delicacy to taste of any thing that savours of the fire But what was all this mortification of S. Jerom for It was says he for fear of Hell that I brought my self to this extremity and retir'd my self to this Wilderness where I have for companions only Scorpions and wild Beasts It was to avoid Sin that I wore out my body with continual fasting that I cry'd unto thee O Lord whole days and nights together that I never ceas'd to beat and knock my breast that I persever'd in prayer for so many years in that forlorn and savage Desart and this I thought my self oblig'd to do for to avoid the scorching flames of Hell remembring what councel thou givest me and all mortals Pro Justitia agonizare pro anima tua usque ad mortem cetta pro Justitia Eccl. 4.33 to fight valiantly for our Souls and strive unto Death for the maintaining of Justice O man consider seriously how remiss and careless thou and the rest of mortals are in the practise of this heavenly Doctrine what do you do or what pains do you take to secure your Souls from Hell what care do you take to depress your passions evil inclinations what resistance do you make to Sin which of you all takes that great care to fly from the occasion of evil there 's none now adays that mortifies his flesh but will rather cherish and pamper it to wickedness there 's none found that takes the pains to repress his unruly appetites that withstands his sensual suggestions nay the whole World run after their own concupiscences they presently yield themselves slaves to every temptation that comes upon them to every assault that the Enemy makes they devour every hook that the Devil lays to intrap them and swallow down every poison'd bait that he casts for their destruction Prove 7.6 7 8. Behold how perfectly the careless and sensual man is describ'd by the Holy Ghost in the Proverbs At the window of my house says he I look'd through my casement and beheld among the simple ones a young man void of understanding walking in the dark night he met with a Woman dress'd like a Harlot prepar'd to deceive Souls She invited him with many alluring speeches to go with her home to her house and immediately he follow'd her as an Ox led unto the Slaughter and as a wanton skipping Lamb that is carri'd to the Shambles like a Bird that makes hast to the Snare so follows he not knowing silly sot that he is drawn to fetters and that the danger of his Soul depends thereon until his heart be stricken through c. This description the Holy Ghost makes to set out the deplorable state of dissolute and foolish Christians who take no care to resist temptations but follow every suggestion of the Devil until at last he brings them into his Slaughter-house and there ties them up fast in the bands and chains of their own wickedness banish'd from Heaven for an Eternity Now O man I leave thee to give them a description of the calamities and anguishes which they are to meet with in this their unfortunate and wofull Exile MAN MOst merciful Redeemer that it is an unfortunate Place replenish'd with miseries none can doubt because thou O God hast said it And it is in the opinion of the chiefest of thy Prophets a Land of Sulpher and burning pitch a Land of Pestilence and corruption a Land of uncleanness and misery and no wonder it should be call'd so being the Angelical Doctor St. Thomas avers that all the most nasty dross and dregs as well of the Earth as of the other elements shall be cast down into Hell for the greater punishment of the Damn'd and the reason he gives for it is that as every Creature does contribute to the joy of the Blessed so every creature likewise shall add unto the torments of the damn'd and as they have separated themselves by sin from thee who art One and plac'd their happiness only in the Creatures they shall also receive their punishment from the Creatures in this common shore Laystal of all the Elements O what a dreadful Dungeon what a lamentable place of Banishment will this be to those Damn'd Wretches What I have to say of Cicero's joyful admiration is If men be thus transported with the difference betwixt some Countrys and others betwixt the humours of some Men and those of others what difference shall the damn'd Souls finde betwixt Heaven and Hell betwixt the joy of the one and the torments of the other and betwixt the conversation of Angels and that of the Devils What grief will it be to them to behold themselves everlastingly banish'd from Heaven depriv'd of thy vision ejected from the company of Angels from the society of Saints and out of that happy Land of the living where all is in peace quietness Charity Joy where all shines all pleases and all parts resound with Alleluia's I am now to consider with what cruelty the Devil treats those wretches in that woful land of their Banishment but before I enter upon this matter it will not be amiss to entertain you with the cruelty of Mortals one to another by which we may easily conclude how outragiously cruel the Devil will be to all men that shall be so unhappy as to fall into his Clutches for he is their professed Enemy even from their Creation It would be more then sufficient matter for a larger Volume then this to treat of the miserable consequences sanguinary effects of mens Rage and malice one to th' other from hence proceed slaughters poisons Wars Desolation rasing and burning of Cities unpeopling of Nations turning of populous Countrys into Desarts publick Massacres Regicids Kings abdicated Princes led in Triumph some murther'd in their bed-chambers others Stab'd in the Senate or cut off in the security of their spectacles and pleasures Some were that took their passion for a Princely quality as Darius who in his expedition against the Scythians being desir'd by a Noble-man that had three Sons that he would vouchsafe to accept of two of them into his Service and leave the third at home for a comfort to his Father I will
of Christians then he did so great was his animosity to both that he murther'd very many thousands of them and destroy'd all their Alters and Churches which were erected and dedicated to my worship and Service will this most wicked and disssembling Prince cry Peccavi in the hour of his death no he will continue his impiety to his last breath which will be the perfect Eccho of his most ambitious and abominable life for receiving a mortall wound in the siege of a Town in the Kingdom of Persia he took a handfull of his blood flung it up as it were into my face with this horrid expression vicisti Nazarene vicisti O Nazarean Cum mens inclinata fugrit ad aliquid non se jam haber aequaliâ—er ad utrum que oppositorum sed ad illud ad quod magis inclinatur fertur nisi per rationis discussionem ab eo quadam solicitudine abducatur St. Tho. thou hast indeed overcome me at last after this he commanded his Gentlemen to put his Corps into a Coffin of lead and cast it into the Sea that his subjects finding not his body on Earth might believe it was carri'd by the hands of Angels into Heaven and seated there amongst the Gods Thou seest by these presidents what a foolish mistake the wicked ly under when they put off their conversion to the very last hour of their life in hopes to have then a hearty Peccavi which may be to me a sufficient Atonement for all their offences and breaches of both my Laws and commandments The Angelical Doctor St. Thomas seems to be much astonish'd at their folly herein for says he when men are viciously inclin'd and taken with a surprize in their evil habits it is out of their jurisdiction to conceive an abhorrence against them and have a love and esteem for a virtuous life unless they make use of their reason to finde out the manifold advantages of the one and the several evil consequences of the other but how can a wicked man that is seiz'd on by Death as he walks in the streets by a tile falling from the top of a house or some other such like unexpected accident make use of his reason in that ample manner 't is impossible and consequently Hac animadversione percutitur percator ut moriens obliviscatur sui qui dum viveret oblitus est Dei St. Amb. Arist whoever neglects his Salvation so far as to put it to such perilous events deserves no mercy at my hands But set the case that an old habitual Sinner should dye of a long and languishing sickness 't is very probable he will never think of me in his latter hour nor have the least feeling of a Peccavi being he forgot to call to me for mercy in his healthful days and this indeed is the usual punishment which I do inflict upon such persons Moreover 't is grounded upon this other Maxim of Philosophy altogether as undeniaable as the former Ab assuetis non fit passio That is to say things which men have dayly before their eyes make no impression upon their hearts the Sun which is the most resplendent and the most glorious Creature that ever was wrought by my hands for the use of men is dayly seen without the least admiration whereas if a Comet appears they are all eyes to behold it A Chirurgion will handle and dress the nastiest wound that ever man had without the least grudge or loathing because he is accustom'd to it A new rais'd Soldier will tremble at the noise of a bullet whereas an old and well-train'd Soldier will never shrink or give ground tho' even Cannons were roaring about him and their bullets flying on every side of him because he is acquainted with such warlike entertainment 'T is even so with a wicked liver in the hour of his death tho' his Ghostly Father his Wife his Children and all his friends were round his bed breaking their hearts and bursting their lungs calling and crying unto him to produce one act of Contrition one sorrowful Peccavi one have mercy on me O Lord he will take no notice of what they say all their exhortations to him intended to bring him to dye a good death will be to no effect he had often heard the like or rather more pressing motives from Teachers and Preachers in their Pulpits yet his heart was Steel-proof to all their fiery words they could never make him think on his Salvation and therefore 't is but in vain to expect he will be sollicitous for it now when the Devil has him fast fetter'd when his heart is over-clouded with the darkness of his manifold and grievous Sins when his understanding is blinded his will altogether corrupted his senses decay'd and the whole commonwealth of his Body and Soul clear out of order by reason of their approaching and dismal separation Thou hast a very remarkable president of this in the old Testament there thou mayst read what wonders I had done in order to mollify the heart of Pharaoh Exod. 9.10 and bring him to a right understanding of his obedience and duty to me who am the powerfull and mighty Jehovah who depress at will and make subject the greatest Potentates of the whole World How I had slain his first-born for refusing to let go the People of Israel out of his Land how I made all the Rivers Streams Fountains Springs within his Dominions run with bloud for the same reason how I cover'd all his Realm with darkness and Frogs which were so numerous that they came in Swarms upon his Table and even into his Bed how I sent a grievous Swarm of Flies into his house and into all the houses of Egypt how I had plagued all the Inhabitants of the Land as also their Cattle which pestiferous Ulcers Boils of which they all died how I had rain'd down such a stupendious shour of Hail upon them as was never seen before or since in the world how I had spread over the whole Land of Egypt Locusts that devour'd and destroy'd all that the hail had left yet all these prodigies could not mollify the obdurate and rebellious heart of Pharaoh till at last my Justice took him to task and drown'd both him and his whole Army in the Red-Seas which was a passage they were to go through to take up their quarters in the unquenchable fire of Hell where they shall repent for an Eternity but to no advantage for their Souls If this discourse so well grounded upon Scripture Fathers and Reason Hos 13.9 as also upon so many presidents out of Holy Writ will not prevail with Sinners not to delay their conversion or put it off to their crasy years I have only this to say Perditio tua ex te Israel let their eternal ruine and the fatal loss of their Souls lie at their own doors However to let them know how much I thirst after their Salvation I will have thee
In an Age of license to all sorts of vanity and wickedness as Lust Gluttony Avarice Envy Ambition Sloth Insolence Levity Contumacy Fear Rashness private Discords and publick Evils extravagant and groundless wishes vain Confidence sickly affections shameless Impiety Rapine authoriz'd and the violation of all things Sacred and prophane Obligations are pursu'd with Sword and Poison Benefits are turn'd into Crimes and that blood most seditiously spilt for which every honest man should expose his own Those that should be the preservers of their Country are the destroyers of it and 't is matter of dignity to trample upon the Government the Sword gives the Law and Mercenaries take up arms against their Masters Among these turbulent and unruly motions what hope is there of finding honesty or good Faith which is the life of all virtues there is not a more lively Image of humane life then that of a conquer'd City There is neither Mercy Modesty nor Religion and if we forget our lives we may well forget the obligations we have to thee and all thy benefits too But let us consider seriously the multitude and greatness of thy divine blessings deal with thee even as one man does with another The wise man says that gifts break Rocks Victoriam honorem acquirit qui dat munera animam autem aufert accipientium Prov. 22.9 and shall not thy divine benefits move a heart of flesh and if they can steal the hearts of the receivers according to Solomon how come we not to be rob'd of our Souls by thee O Lord For thou dost not only give us thy gifts but also dost bestow thy self upon us as a most precious treasure If we consider the benefits which we have receiv'd from thee in our Creation they are as many as we have members of our bodys and faculties of our Souls If those of our Conservation they are equal in number to the distinct natures in Heaven and on Earth The Elements the Sun the Moon the Stars and the whole World were created for our preservation for without them we could not subsist If we look upon the benefits of our Redemption We shall be easily convinc'd that they are as many as there are evils in Hell from which we are happily deliver'd by thy Passion and total effusion of thy most precious bloud Those of our Justification are no less in number then are the Sacraments which thou hast instituted to increase our Merits and work the Sanctification of our Souls then the Graces and Inspirations which thou dost shower down into our hearts and the divine Examples which thou hast left us Nonne haec opportuit Christum pati ita intrare in gloriam suam Luc. 24.26 which should invite us all to tread with a masculine courage in the same paths which brought thee O Lord into thine own glory All these with thousands of other benefits and obligations which we have receiv'd from thee and by thy Creatures cry out unto us to love thee with all our heart with all our Soul with all our Powers and to trample under our feet this false World with all it's vanitys trifles transitory pleasures But alas We make nothing of all thy benefits We give no ear to all their crys but rather will love the World and tast of its pleasures in as ample a measure as our fortunes will afford us wherein we seem to be worse then even the very Heathens for Aristides tho' he was reputed to be one of the greatest Men of Athens yet he was so avers'd to the Pomp and toys of the World and so affected to poverty that he always wore a course broken garment suffer'd Hunger Cold and Thirst not for any want of means or friends to relieve him but meerly for his own fancy Zeno was nothing concern'd when news was brought to him that he had lost all what he had in the World When An xagoras receiv'd the like news he said no more then if my Goods had not perish'd I had been undone Crates flung his whole substance into the Sea with this expression It is better I drown you then you me Diogenes bid adieu to all he had in the World and took nothing with him but a wooden dish and seeing by chance one drink out of the hollow of his hand broke that also And shall we refuse to do in obedience to thy Commands O Lord for the purchase of an eternal weight of glory what they freely and gladly perform'd to pleasure their own fancies and gain the repute of being Philosophers O madness O ingratitude never to be paralel'd Quid retribuam Domino pro omnibus quae retribuit mihi Ps 115.12 Tho' We are thine by so many just titles and thou hast given thy self and all what thou hast unto us yet we never think of what We ought to do for thee nor how We shall express our thankfulness for such and so great benefits This was the greatest care that David took and the sole subject of his most serious consideration what shall I return unto the Lord for all the favours which he has confirm'd upon me But O blessed King and Prophet give me leave to ask thee what are those favours 'T is true he has rais'd thee from the Station of a Shepherd to the dignity of a King He has enabl'd thee to encounter a Giant and to get the better of him too He has often protected thee against the evil Spirit of Saul and has preserv'd thy life from all the wicked and treacherous attempts he made to destroy thee these are great obligations indeed and deserve thy grateful return but are nothing to the benefits which we have receiv'd at his hands his love for us was so great that he suffer'd death to bring us to life everlasting and left unto us for food to our Souls his most precious body and blood certainly these obligations are unspeakable and deserve at least that small attonement of returning back unto him our Souls hearts and bodys for as we had them from him 't is our weighty obligation to let him have them again entirely and free from any love-to the World or affection to the Creatures so that We are to account our selves now and evermore as only his and not our own consequently We are not to debase our love by placing it upon any worldly object but to settle it wholly upon him alone And really if we consider seriously the infinite love which thou hast for us O Lord We shall finde that we have no love left to bestow either upon the World or any terrene object no nor upon our selves for We must know that love consists in action and the more it acts or suffers the greater is the perfection thereof how great then must thy love be O Lord being thou hast wrought such Stupendious works for our Salvation still dost continue to work the like for our preservation the Sun the Moon Omnia subjecisti sub
pedibus ejus over boves universns insuper peccora Campi Volucres Coeli Pisces maris Psa 8.8 and the Stars have their being from thee O Lord upon our account it was meerly for our sake thou hast created them It was for our love thou hast brought out of nothing what wonders of nature we see dayly before our eyes that so great and so beautiful a diversity of odoriferous flowers of sweet herbs of delicate fruit of fine Trees and all other varieties which the Earth produces It was by thy orders and for our entertainment and comfort Do we not see how the Corn grows for to feed us how the wool encreases for our cloathing and all Beasts are left to our disposing thou hast also order'd the very Rocks to open their bosoms and refresh us with their Springs and not only the Earth supplys us with all it's productions but also all other Elements are so many store-houses to supply our wants the Sea the Rivers Brooks have orders from thee to supply us with fish the Air with fowl and the fire with heat Nay the very Angels have their understanding from thee with that obligation to preserve and protect us from all disasters both at home and abroad Angelis suis mandavit de te ut custodiant te in omnibus vijs tuis Psa 90.13 If patience be a trial of love where shall we finde so great an example of that heavenly virtue as thou hast shown to the World in thy most bloody passion and cruel death for us poor miserable and wretched Sinners and also in thy most gracious for bearance with us as often as we transgress thy Laws and rebell against thy self If a King after his Vassals had a thousand times attempted to murther him should not only pardon them but also continue still to heap his favours treasures upon them Rursum crucifigertes Christum in Cordibus vestris Heb. 6 6. certainly We would conclude that his love for them was excessive great what ought We then to say of thy love O Lord who sufferest us incessantly to crucify thee our Creatour our Redeemer and glorious King yet thou art still silent and the excess of thy love sets a stop to the current of thy Justice O Lord says the Prophet royal what is man that thou art mindeful of him but I may add Lord Quid est homo quod memor es ejus Ps 8.5 what is man that the Holy Trinity must have so great a love for him The Eternal Father delivers up into the hands of his mortal enemies his only and dearly beloved Son to suffer the most bitter death of the Cross for our Redemption The Son leaves unto us his Real Body and Blood under the species of Bread and Wine to comfort and strengthen our Souls against all the temptations and snares of the Devil and the Father and the Son together send us the Holy Ghost by whose grace We are made partakers of thy divine nature Divinae narurae consortes efficimur 2 Pet. 1.4 can there be imagin'd a more intense more real or more tender love then this If the right payment of love must be love and that in an equal measure too how shall we be able to requite thy love it 's altogether out of our power unless thou wilt be pleas'd to accept of our offer to have no more love but for thee no will but thine and to requite thy great love with an ardent love hereafter for all good works and a virtuous life for thou art not content we should only love thee with our tongues no thou dost reprehend those who cry unto thee Lord Lord and do not what thou commandest We must therefore love thee in all fincerity we must suffer for thee and make thee partake of all what we have that is good or may be pleasing unto thee We must love thee truly who so much loved us we must resolve to trample the world under our feet and also if occasion be to lose honour wealth and pleasures rather then decline from thy love but that we may the better perform our resolution let us know from thee O Lord what the World is and how dangerous it is to bestow our affections upon it SAVIOVR O Man thou must never repute him happy that depends upon the World for his happiness for nothing can be more preposterous then to place the good of a reasonable Creature in unreasonable things and yet as it is a common mistake to account those necessary that are superfluous so it is altogether as common with men to depend upon the World for the felicity of life which arises only from virtue There is no trusting to its smiles no more then there is to a calme at Sea which will swell and rage in a moment so that the Ships are swallow'd up at night in the very place where they sported themselves in the morning The world has the same power over Princes that it has over Empires over Nations that it has over Cities and the same power over Cities that it has over private men Where 's that Estate that may not be follow'd upon the heel with Famine and Beggery That Dignity which the next moment may not be laid in the dust that Kingdom that is secure from desolation and ruine The burning of Lyons may serve as a President to shew that nothing can be safe or stable in this World it may likewise teach men to stand upon their guard and arm themselves against all surprises The terror of it must needs be great for the calamity is almost without example If it had been fir'd by an Enemy the flame would have left some farther mischief to be done by the Soldiers but to be wholly consum'd was a prodigious accident and perhaps an Earthquake so pernicious as that was never heard of so many rarities to be destroy'd in one night and in a profound peace to suffer an outrage beyond the extremity of war who would believe it but twelve hours betwixt of fair a City and none at all It was laid in ashes in less time then it would require to tell the story That the Inhabitants should stand unshaken in such a calamity is hardly to be expected and their wonder could not but be equal to their grief This dismal accident should teach all men to provide against the possibilities that fall within the Power of so cruel an Enemy as is the World for this Tyrant having all external things under his dominion will sometimes smile at poor Silly Mortals invite them to tast of his pleasures and another while he will turn them off with a frown and destroy them with mischiefs whereof they are to seek for the Author No time place or condition is excepted from his Tyranny he makes their very pleasures painful to them and makes War upon them in the depth of Peace he turns the means of their Security into an occasion of fear he turns
extream addition to his great misfortune Augustus was a most gracious Prince when he had the power in his own hand and so careful of the welfare of his Subjects that they had no less then reason to think themselves most happy under his Government for he kept them in peace with all the World so that they could trade both far and near without any fear of being molested or their Ships in danger of being taken by any Enemy in their voyages abroad or coming home he gave them as much of their Liberty as they could reasonably expect and as much freedom and Priviledge as their hearts could desire but they ungrateful Wretches kick'd at all his kindeness and resolv'd inhumanely to rebell against him and who must be the chief head of their Faction but Cinna a man so much indebted to Augustus for his manifold favours conferr'd upon him and above all other kindnesses for giving him his life which he had before forfeited upon such another wicked action The design was laid and order'd that Cinna with two more of his Confederates should invite Augustus into his Chariot and when he was therein to deliver him unto his mortal Enemies or murther him in the very place If he had made any resistance but another circumstance which does aggravate his ingratitude to the highest pitch is that when he had one hand extended to subscribe unto this horrid Plot against his life he had another ready to receive more of his favours for at the same time Augustus made him a Consul which was an honour as he confess'd himself he durst not so much as desire What shall I say of the monstrous ingratitude of Brutus against so good a friend and Father too as Julius Caesar was to him for he was not only content to heap honours and dignities upon him but did adopt him for his own Son and Heir apparent to all his worldly wealth this so extraordinary a kindness should move the heart even of the greatest of Tyrants to lay down his life in defence of so good a friend yet it was not able to mollify the stony heart of Brutus for he was the very first that approach'd him with his naked dagger to give him his mortal wound in the very Senate-house These and several other such miscariages tarnish'd the Lustre of their glorious actions and forc'd me to remove their Empire into another Nation which is already come to be as treacherous ungrateful in a manner to me as the Romans have been one to another for I see they have combin'd with my Enemies to afflict and oppress my Members upon Earth and lessen the beauty and immunity of my Church-militant These are crimes far exceeding the falshood and treachery of the Romans because they were Heathens without any knowledge of my infinite Attributes of my Supream Majesty of my omnipotent power and also were depriv'd of the light of grace which are the eminent favours I have imparted to them but I see they turn them all to the wrong use which certainly will rise in Judgment against them in the dreadful day of my visitation But alas Interest is the only friendship of the World and where it is not to be had there 's no favour no nor common civility to be shown O Ungrateful World Woe is he that will settle his affections upon thee after all these convincing Presidents of thy most horrid baseness Now Man let me hear thee discourse of its falshood and vanities and give me an account of what my Doctors and able Divines say of it MAN O Most Gracious Saviour thou hast throughly convinc'd me of the falshood and vanitys of the World and hast said as much of its transitory pleasures as is able to breed in the hearts of all men an everlasting abhorrence of them but because thou desirest to hear what the Doctours and the able Divines of thy Church speak of 'em I will begin to relate thy beloved Disciples opinion of them he tells me in the first place 1 Joan. 2.10 11. c that whosoever hates his Brother is in Darkness and walks in darkness and knows not whether he goes because that darkness has blinded his eyes and this I think is sufficient to restrain the malice hatred and mortal animosities which Christians have one against another In the second place he earnestly intreats us all not to love the World neither the things that are in great esteem with the World and the reason he gives for it is that if any love the world or its allurements the love of thy Celestial Father is not in his heart for all that is in the World is the Lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life with their attendants and several branches which thy Father hates mortally and therefore if We pretend to be of the happy number of his Children We must be of his minde and declare by our actions the mortal hatred we bear them and especially because the World passes away and the lust thereof but he that does thy will which is the same with that of thy Father abides for ever To begin with the lust of the flesh I must speak of the pleasures of the Palate which is one of the most dangerous branches thereof for it deals with us like the Egiptian Thieves that Strangle those they imbrace I must confess that I am amaz'd to hear of the Luxury of Nomentanus and Apicius that entertain'd their very Souls in the Kitchen they had the choicest musick for their ears the most diverting spectacles for their eyes the choicest variety of meats and drinks for their Palates and what was all that but a merry madness 'T is true they had their delights but not without heavy and anxious thoughts even in their very enjoyments besides that they are follow'd with repentance and their very frolieks are little more then the laughter of so many people out of their Wits Their felicities are full of disquiet and neither sincere nor well grounded but they have need of one pleasure to support another and of new prayers to forgive the errors of their former Their life must needs be wretched that get with great pains what they keep with greater One diversion overtakes another hope excites hope Ambition begets ambition so that they only change the matter of their miseries without feeling any end of them and shall never be without prosperous or unhappy causes of disquiet What if a body might have all the pleasures in the world for the asking who would so much unman himself as by accepting of them to desert his Soul and become a perpetual Slave to his Senses Those false and miserable Palates that Judge of meats by the price and difficulty not by the healthfulness and tast they vomit that they may eat and they eat that they may fetch it up again They cross the Seas for rarities and when they have swallow'd them they will not so much as give them leave to
Saints to be a perfect madness but now our eyes are open'd to see that they were the wise men indeed and We the only fools I can say no less of corporal Beauty Prov. 31. for it is vain and the grace of a fair countenance is deceivable 'T is the fatal cause of the loss and utter destruction of many Millions of Souls it was the vain complacency that Lucifer took in his fading beauty which gave him that irrecoverable overthrow from the height of Heaven to the bottomless pit of Hell hear how my Prophet speaks to him how art thou fallen from Heaven Isa 14.12 O Lucifer Sun of the morning How art thou cast down to the ground which didst weaken the Nations for thou hast said in thine heart I will ascend into Heaven I will exalt my Throne above the Stars of God I will sit also upon the Mount of the Congregation in the sides of the North. I will ascend above the height of the Clouds I will be like the most High Yet thou shalt be brought down to Hell to the sides of the Pit They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee and consider thee saying is this the Angel of light far surpassing that of the Stars whose beauty did exceed that of all other Angels but alas it is now chang'd into deformity far greater then that of all the Devils in Hell This gave occasion of David's most humble request to me turn away my eyes O Lord that they behold not vanity 'T is a singular vanity indeed which is both dangerous and deceitful O! had mortals duly consider'd what infinite ruines and destructions beauty has caus'd in the World Psa 4. Psa 118. Favus distillans labiam erecricis ne attendas fallaciae ejus longe fac a muliere viam tuam ne appropinques foribus domus ejus Noviffima autem illius amara sunt quasi absynthiam accuta quasi gladius biceps c. Pr. 5.3.4.8 they would be altogether of David's mind and fly from it as from the aspect of a most poisonous Serpent Was it not the beauty of the fair Helena that laid the famous Troy in ashes and put the pious Eneas to the strait of carrying his old Father Anchises upon his shoulders through the flames did not the most valiant Champions of their Age Hector and Achilles dy upon the same account were not all the Inhabitants of that unfortunate Citty Men Women and Children kill'd and most barbarously cut in peices by the Grecians to take a full revenge for the affront which Paris had done to their King by taking his Queen away I might have produc'd as many Presidents of this nature as would be sufficient to fill a larger volume then this but for brevities sake I will only lay down before thee this single consideration how many Souls are dayly hurri'd headlong to Hell for doting upon this fading and deceitful Beauty how many challenges and Duels how many Jealousies and private animosities how many Strifes and great uprores about this and that other beauty and all this noise is but for a painted Snake so the holy Fathers call it which is fair without and inwardly replenish'd with mortal poison add to this the remedy which a most learn'd Doctour prescribes against the temptation of a beautiful Woman consider says he what foul dross lys under that fair Skin for when the fairest face in the world is either scratch'd or scar'd it will be rather a subject of contempt then of any love An Ague of some four or five days will bring a great alteration upon the fairest beauty but half an hours absence of the Soul from the body will make the loveliest face that ever was a most hideous and frightful sight to be look'd upon Issabella Clara was the rarest beauty of her Age but when she dy'd and was in her coffin but two days one of the Grandees of Spain that esteem'd very much her beauty when living desir'd to have a prospect of her face which was then the ngliest that ever man could behold all cover'd with worms and two ill-shap'd ones starting out of her eyes this indeed made the good Nobleman with no less horrour then admiration to utter these words haec ne est illa Issabella Clara is this that fair Issabella whose resplendent beauty had ravish'd the hearts and dazi'd the eyes of all her beholders adieu then to the World and all its vanities this was a Christian Resolution and worthy to be taken notice of by all those who bestow so much labour in procuring or preserving their corporal beauty as tho' all their happiness consisted therein nay many are detain'd even by that only consideration from taking a resolution to serve me so that this precious Jewel as they call it is a great obstacle to their Salvation as it is often the fatal Subject of many a poor creatures eternal damnation But the basest of all Prostitutes are those that dedicate themselves wholly to the extravagance of Embroiderys rich Apparel Paint Gen. 3. Wash Patches perfumes Tire-women c. They have pass'd even the limits of Nature for if Adam had never fallen Men and Women should never have known what belong'd to Apparel It is only a conveniency devis'd to cover the shame of nakedness and other infirmities contracted by his dismal overthrow They are lash'd out into superfluities insomuch that it is now adays only for Beggars and Clowns to content themselves with what is sufficient Their Luxury makes them Insolent and mad They take upon themselves like Princes and Queens and will fly out for every trifle as if there were life death in the case What a madness is it for a man to lay out an Estate upon a Table or a Cabinet a hundred pound for a pair of pendants to his Lady and a far greater Sum for garments that will neither defend her body nor her modesty so thin that one would make a conscience of swearing she were not naked This is the common distemper of all mankind for they take pride and glory in apparel which is as much as if a Begger should glory and take pride in his old clouts that do cover his sores St. Paul seems to be avers'd to this Superfluity of apparel for writing to his Disciple Timothy and setting down a Rule whereby Christians should order their lives Habâ—â—tes autem alimenta quibus tegamur his contenti fimus 1 Tim. 6.8 he says if we have wherewithal to cover our selves let us be content my very dictates and the holy maxims with the rare examples which I have left unto all mortals should condemn their nicety and variety of apparel for I was pleas'd to be content with one only garment during the whole course of my mortal life without Shoes Stockins or a Hat nor even a shirt to my back not for any want for I might have had all the most precious ornaments of the World to adorn my body Qui
a horse we take off his cloths and his trappings and examin his shape and body for fear of being cozen'd And shall we put an estimate upon a man for being set off by his fortune and quality nay if we see any thing of ornament about him we are to suspect him the more for some infirmity under it He that is content in Poverty would not be so neither in Plenty for the fault is not in the thing but in the minde It 's therefore thy Apostle writing to Timothy says command the Rich of this World not to be high-minded nor place their considence in the uncertainty of their Riches Divitibus hujus mundi praecipe non sublime sapere neque sperare in incerto divitiarum 1 Tim. 17. Non proderunt divitiae indie ultionis Pro. 11.4 Divitiarumjactantia quid nobis contulit Sap. 5. Dormierunt somnum suum nihil in venerunt omnes viri divitiarum in manibus suis Psa 75.6 and the ground of his Precept is that Riches shall not profit a man in the day of revenge nor rescue him from the rigour of thy Justice in the day of his death if his sins have put him out of thy favour this the wicked Rich themselves confess tho' too late being already condemn'd to live in torments for an Eternity what has the bravery of our Riches avail'd us nothing at all but have rather increas'd our misery because we made thereof our Gods upon Earth tho' we were often told of their vanity and how they could never afford their Masters any comfort or ease when they were in most need of their help The Royal Prophet seems to commiserate their deplorable condition where he says Alas the Rich men have slept out their sleep and have found nothing in their hands People in their sleep will dream of Mountains of Gold and Silver and think themselves rich for ever but when they awake they finde they are altogether in as bare a condition as before this is the case with the rich whilst they are in this life they do imagine themselves Rich for ever and that their vast treasures will bear them up in all necessitys that shall occur but when they open their eyes in the hour of death they see then that they must depart for another World with as little provision as the poorest beggar in nature I can't but smile to hear the Prophet Baruch laugh at such People where are they now says he those great Estated men those mercenary Judges those deluding Lawyers those flie Attornys those greedy and covetous Merchants those insatiable Usurers that heap'd up such a vast deal of gold silver and that never desisted gathering together Alas they are rooted out of the World cast down into Hell-sire And therefore says St James now ye rich men weep and wail Jacob. 5.1 2 3. c. and howl for your miseries that come upon you now your riches are rotten and your gold and silver is rusty and the rust thereof shall be in testimony against you It shall feed upon your flesh as if it were fire you have hoorded up wrath to your own selves in the last day Tho' he is an Apostle that speaks yet his words are the very dictates of the holy Ghost whereby we may easily conceive the dangerous consequence of worldly wealth and the main folly of them that labour so much to procure the same by injustice and other indirect means and when they are masters of them do not imploy them to the advantage of their Souls but lay out all to support their grandeur and satisfy their Lust I am certain that if an Assembly of the most able physitians of the World had met to determine whether such or such meats were dangerous to feed upon and that they should all conclude they were absolute poyson to the body few or none at all would hazard his health to eat thereof tho' otherwise in sight smell and tast they appear'd sweet and most pleasant And shall not the unanimous votes of all the Saints in Heaven and of all the Catholike Doctors on Earth together with thy most holy and urgent admonitions O Lord be able to remove the disordinate love which mortals bear to this most dangerous Soul-killing vanity Thou sayst by thy Prophet to all mankind Divitiae si affluant nolite cor apponere Psa 61. Qui diligit aurum non justificabitur Eccl. 31. Zacha. 1. set not your hearts upon the love of Riches and why the wise make them this answer because whoever loves Gold that is beyond the precept shall never be justifi'd and thou sayst thy self that thy indignation and wrath shall fall very heavy upon rich nations There 's nothing so often repeated in Scripture as a Woe to the Rich and thou dost confirm it thy self with that usual affirmation Amen Amen I say unto you that a Rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 19. What an extream folly it is then to seek so much after so poisonous a bait as are Earthly Riches which may perhaps afford some little comfort to their owners in this World but with an absolute exclusion from the everlasting pleasures of thy kingdom Woe be to you Rich men for that you have receiv'd your consolation in this life so that in the other you are not to expect any Sad news indeed for the Rich and able to settle in their hearts a perpetual abhorrence against so fatal an enemy to the Salvation of their Souls This expression I fear will not at all rellish with many of our Worldlings who account Riches to be their dearest and only Friend nay had I said their God it would not be contrary to truth for their hearts are more enamour'd with them then they are with thee O Lord tho' thou hast deposited thy sweet life to ransom their Souls from the power of Hell Qui volunt divites fieri incident in tettuionem in laqueum Diaboli defideria malta inutilia nociva quae mergunt homines in interitum perdidonem 1 Tim. 6.9 and Death everlasting And yet if St. Paul may be credited they are grosly mistaken and wide from the mark they aim at for where they expect their consolation and pleasure they meet with their eternal destruction and sorrow for He says that they which will be rich do fall into temptations and into the Snares of Satan as also into many unprofitable hurtful desires which do drown them in the Abiss of destruction and Woe Their main objection to this doctrine is what shall become of our Wives and Children if we be not careful to provide a maintenance for them that they may live in the World with as much splendour as the dignity of their condition requires But the Wife man gives them a satisfactory answer in my minde and a notable check to boot for he calls them fools and besides he tells them in plain terms that their great care
and labour which they take to provide so amply for their Wives and Children is sinful and therefore will create an eternal displeasure to their poor Souls This is confirm'd by the Parable which thou didst rehearse of the Rich-man who said what must I do for I have no place vacant wherein to bestow my Fruits and he said this will I do Lac. 12.20 I will demolish my Barns and erect greater and in them will I bestow all my Fruits and my Goods And then I will say to my Soul Soul thou hast much wealth laid up for many years take now thine ease Eat Drink and be merry And did not God say unto him thou Fool this night thy Soul shall be requir'd of thee then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided So He that impiously or immoderatly lays up treasure for himself his Wife and Family expecting to enjoy it many years deserves the same title and may as suddenly be disappointed because he had improv'd his own Stock and rob'd God his heavenly King of his Custom that is He never according to his capacity bestow'd any part of his treasure in pious works as Gods law doth require And indeed if this be well consider'd We shall finde it an excessive folly and maddness too What can it be term'd else to damn ones Soul to leave ones Wife and Children rich in the world This is certainly the height of madness and a meer delusion of the Devil for one moment after We are dead We shall care no more for all our Kindred then we shall for strangers and one penny given in Alms while we liv'd for thy sake O Lord shall bring us more comfort at that day then thousands of pounds bestow'd even upon our nearest Relations to make them rich It is of such People that the Prophet Royal speaks Universa vanitas omnis homo viveâ—s Psal 39. where he says that all their actions are nothing but meer vanity for what greater vanity is there then to bequeath such vast Sums of Gold and Silver to their own kindred and leave in a manner nothing for the good of their immortal Souls Vae vobis qui trahitis iniquitatem in funiculis vanitatis Esai 56. Were we to go a long journey We would be sure to carry some provision with us for to support our bodys and We shall take no care for our Souls when they are in their departing Agony ready to begin that painful and frightful voyage of Eternity Surely such men walk unprofitably certainly they are disquieted in vain they heap up Riches and know not who shall enjoy them their life is a gathering of all kinde of vansty vanity in ambition vanity in Riches vanity in pleasures vanity in their corporal beauty vanity in their Apparel vanity in all things which they most esteem vanity in all their life vanity in their death In fine vanity in their last Will and Testament wherein their noblest part the Soul has the least share Woe be unto you says the Prophet Psal 3. that do draw wickedness in the ropes of vanity of promotion of dignity of Nobility c. these are the ropes he means and which do always drag with them a vast croud of iniqnity and Sin Thou hast O Lord a mortal hatred for the observers of superfluous vanitys 1 Reg. 17. and thou hast utterly destroy'd the whole Family and Linage of Baasa King of Israel for no other reason but because they had provok'd thee in their vanity Blessed then is that man who has not suffer'd his heart to be seduc'd with the vanity and false madness of this World Beatus vir qui non respexit in vanitates insanias falsas Psal of this Vale of tears of this deplorable banishment of this boisterous Sea so full of disasters that there 's not a day nor an hour nor a moment of our life but is attended with some misfortune or another the best Arithmetician that ever took pen in hand cannot exactly set down or calculate milerys that are incident to humane nature no tongue is able to express the manifold infirmitys of our Bodys the passions of our Souls all the affronts and injurys we receive as well from Friends as from our Foes all the tribulations and crosses that are laid upon us daily both at home and abroad This Man commences a Law-suit against us without either Equity or Justice but meerly for spite and Malice another lys in wait for us to take away our lives a third man will make it his study to blast our reputation Some are in open wars one with th' other others more subtile will bear their neighbours a mortal grudge but will make no shew of it until they meet with a favourable occasion to execute their malice Da mihi in disco caput Joannis Baptistae Matt. 14.8 the hatred of Herodias against St. John the Baptist was not publickly known to the world until she had perswaded her Daughter to ask no greater favour of Herod then to give her in a dish the head of so renown'd a Prophet and of so glorious a Martyr Some to be reveng'd of their Brothers if they can't annoy their Persons will not scruple to produce false witness to criminate them and be themselves of the number too others will make it their whole business to trot up and down like so many infernal Emissaries and publish wherever they go as well the private as the publick imperfections of this or that other body even as they do maliciously and falsely surmise and will never revoke what they had tax'd him with tho' they were even upon the borders of Hell ready to be cast therein both Soul and body so great is the malice of such desperate and unchristian Sonls There are besides thefe usual calamities an infinite number of others that are nameless because they be sudden and unexpected chances one loses an eye in a Skirmish another his arm one gets a fall from his horse and breaks his neck another in a frantick fit flings himself out of a Window and is bruis'd to death a Third man falls into a Pool or a River and is drown'd If all the Writers of this Sinful Age We live in had taken an exact account from every particular man within the same Century of what distasters had happen'd to him in his life they would certainly have matter enough to fill as many volumes as they have hairs on their heads and if all the merry passages sad rencounters that every individual man had met with in his days were put in a balance the latter would much overweigh the former so he would visibly see that for one hour of pleasure true content he had in his life he met with a hundred of misery of tribulation and anguishes now if the life of Man which is so short be intermix'd with fuch a vast deal of sorrow what a small parcel thereof can pretend to any real felicity if
such a thing may be expected in this World But all those calamities I now have mention'd are common as well to the good as to the bad Lassati sumus in via iniquitatis perditionis ambulavimus vias difficiles viam autem domini ignoravimus Sap. 5. because they both sail in the same Sea and are both likewise expos'd to the self-same fortune yet I can demonstrate many other miseries which are peculiar to the wicked alone and these are not improperly term'd the Daughters of iniquity whose description will be much to our present purpose because they render the life of the wicked most abominable and their body and minde both subject to a multitude of miseries Hear what they themselves do confess of them Alas say they we have wearied our selves in the way of iniquity and perdition We have walk'd in most difficult and sinister paths during our whole lives for We know nothing of the way of the Lord by this their own discourse we may very well conclude that even as the Just enjoy a kind of Paradise here upon Earth and do expect a far more happy one in the other life so the wicked have in this World their Hell to which a far more intollerable shall succeed in th' other for evil Consciences proceed from Hell without doubt and they steer their course directly to the same Haven where they shall be tormented eternally And their products have proportionable evils deriv'd from several causes some of them are the effects of thy Justice O Lord for thou art a most just Judge in all thy proceedings sometimes thou dost order the sin to be punish'd as soon as committed and tho' thou dost usually reserve the punishment thereof to the other life yet the wicked are very often afflicted even in this life for the same 'T is most certain that as thou dost govern the whole World with a general providence thou dost also moderate every particular therein with a peculiar Providence so that as the number of our Sins does increase our Punishments shall be multipli'd to the same degree This we know by our many and fatal experiences for what were all our disasters hitherto as so many Revolutions of Government such vast alterations and changes in matters of State and Religion the various fortune of so many Kings and Princes Such horrid disloialty in Subjects to their lawful Sovereigns so many stupendious and destructive Famines and Conflagrations such inhumane and bloudy Wars so many pestilential Distempers such cruel Murthers so many private and publick dissentions and jars They were certainly the just punishments of our manifold and most grevious offences to make good what I say that the punishment immediately follows the sin I produce what thou O Lord saidst to Cain for a confirmation Nonne si bene egeris recipies si autem male statim in foribus peccatum aderit Gen. 7. Deut. 7. If thou dost well shalt thou not be accepted but If thou dost ill Sin lieth at thy door that is to say the pain and punishment of the Sin is at hand and Moises in thy name says as much to the People of Israel know then that the Lord thy God he is God the faithful God which keeps Covenant and Mercy with them that love him and keep his Commandments to a thousand Generations and repays them that hate him to their face to destroy them He will not be slack to him that hates him he will repay him to his face This word Statim so often repeated in Scripture and which signifies a quick return assures me that besides the punishments thon hast reserv'd for the wicked in th' other World thou hast also some in store whereby to chastise them even in this life immediately after the transgression of thy Law So that as often as they fall into Sin so often they feel the heavy weight of thy just indignation they are tost from one misery into another from one tribulation they fall into another this day brought to the bar for their misdemeanours to morrow condemn'd to dye and the next day shamefully put to death without making any reflection upon what might be the fatal cause of their great misfortune For they do not believe the goods of nature to be thy benefits and consequently not deserving their thanksgiving for them neither do they impute their punishment to thy Wrath nor as laid upon them by thy appointment and this blindness it is which prevents the amendment of their lives If there were no other evil in the World then the afflictions and miseries which attend our bodys it were not so much to be hated neither should our fear be so great to trade and converse therein but seeing our correspondence and freedom with it is so pernicions to our Souls also which ought to be the subject of our greatest care as being the principal part of our essence Pluet super peccatores laqueos Psal 10.6 and a precious depositum whereof We must give a strict account to thee O Lord We are necessarily in all reason oblig'd to estrange our selves from it and more especially for fear to be intangl'd in its Snares which are so numerous that the Prophet says of thee upon the wicked thon shalt rain Snares O what an unspeakable number of snares must be in the world then since they are compared to the drops of Rain that fall from Heaven and they must fall upon Sinners too because they of all men have the least care of their hearts of their senses and consciences they are the least solicitons to avoid the occasions of Sin and the least concern'd for Spiritual Remedys so that being intimately acquainted with the World they can't avoid falling into these Snares which come like Rain upon Sinners O Lord thou dost pour down Snares upon Youth Snares upon old Age there are Snares in every state and condition Snares in Riches Snares in Poverty Snares in Honours Snares in opprobrys Snares in Frindship Snares in the Society of Men as well as in the company of Women Snares in the Solitary Wilderness Snares in Prosperity Snares in Adversity Snares in all our senses In fine the Prophet crys out Snares upon all the Inhabitants of the Earth O Lord hadst thou vouchsaf'd to open our eyes as thou didst those of blessed St. Anthony Athanas. in vita St. Antony We should see how the whole World is spread over with Snares and so close that they touch one another and we would also admire as he did that any one should escape what wonder is it then that so many Souls should perish dayly and that St. Bernard should fay of ten Souls that flote upon the tempestious Sea of this World scarce one shall be fav'd and who shall not hate so dangerous a World who should not fear to live in so dreadful a place who will not strive with all his might and skill to avoid those Snares who will dare go bare-foot among so many Serpents
and without Arms among so many Enemies who will believe himself secure among so many occasions of Sin or who will be so desperate as to cohabit with so many mortal infirmities without a Doctor or his prescription to preserve him from falling into one or several of those distempers who will not use all his Endeavours to get out of this Egipt out of this land of darkness out of this Babilonish Slavery who will not ardently desire to be set at liberty out of the scorching flames of this World which do as often provoke thee O Lord to resolve upon our utter destruction as the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorha did solicit thee to so dreadful a chastisement as theirs was Since that the World is so replenish'd with dangerous Snares design'd to intangle our poor Souls therein and send them Prisoners to the dark dungeon of Hell and withall We meet every where with a Precipiece the very flames of vice have in a great measure deform'd tho beauty of our Souls already who will then think himself safe to live any longer in a place so throng'd with mortall Enemies The Wise man sets us this Question Prov. 6. can a man take fire in his bosom and his cloths not by burnt or can one go upon hot Coals and his feet not be burnt He that will handle Pitch Eccle. 13. says another can't be free from a spot no more can a Man that is always conversant with the Proud be exempt from Pride and this is the case of all us poor Mortals for We can't expect to live in the World among so many Snares Aliquando incidam vna die in manum Sauli nonne melius est ut sugiam salver 1 Reg. 27.1 and Ambushes without falling into them frequently David was cruelly persecuted by Saul and often in danger of his sweet life which made him take a firm resolution to avoid his company and never to come into his sight for says he if I do not take this course and secure my life by flying from the danger I shall certainly one time or other fall into his hands let us make use of the same means to secure our Souls from the World and from all it 's false allurements let us fly from them or at least if We be so far ingag'd therein that we can't avoid it let us be sure to give it no place in our hearts which ought to be wholly consecrated to thee O Lord who alone deservest it intirely to thy self without any Rival for thou dost love us still tho' We continue to be thy Enemies and desires only a grateful return of love from us that we may be made happy for ever In our Baptism We gave thee admittance into our hearts with a promise to be faithful to thee hereafter thou art ready to take possession thereof and to adorn it with all thy holy Graces and favours certainly we must be hard-hearted indeed if we refuse so favourable a motion from so good and so gracious a Saviour I am consident thy endearing words and most loving expressions will even force our consent to so charming a request and the rather that it is to our great advantage and the eternal Salvation of our Souls Speak then O Lord for We shall all hear thee and will by the assistance of thy Grace perform what ever thou wilt command us to do SAVIOVR O Man the greatness of my Paternal Providence for mankinde in general and the excess of my love for those among them that are my faithful Servants should win the hearts even of the most obstinate and most rebellious that ever were heard of nay it should force them to pay me that small tribute I only require at their hands which is to love me with all their hearts and to fulfill my commands with the most tender affection of a most dutiful and obedient Servant For the love I bear them does far exceed that of all worldly Fathers to their Children and the care I take to provide for them is altogether as great as my love What Father was ever known to shed his blood for his children as I have done for mine or give that attendance to his Children as I give to mine I am both day and night present with them to protect and defend them from all accidents I stand by them in all their tribulations to comfort them and so temper their afflictions that their extremity make them not despair the Prophet Royal was sensible of the great care I take of my Children in their afflictions by this I know Psal 40.11 12. says he that thou favourest me because thou dost not suffer mine Enemy to triumph over me thou upholdest me in my integrity and settest me in thy sight for ever So great is my love for my beloved Children that I never remove my eyes from off them There 's no better testimony then that of a man who knows what is said to be true by his own experience my Prophet can give thee a true account of my ardent love for those that are so happy as to be of the number of my Children and Favourites and therefore I would have thee to hear what he says of me and to fix thy self upon his undeniable deposition behold says he the eyes of the Lord is upon them that fear him and upon them that hope in his mercy to deliver their Souls from Death The eyes of the Lord are upon the Righteous and his ears are open unto their cry But the face of the Lord is against them that do evil to cut off the remembrance of them from the Earth The Righteous cry and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart and saves such as be of a contrite Spirit Many are th' afflictions of the Righteous but the Lord delivers him out of them all Psa 30.18 Psa 34.15 But evil shall slay the wicked and they that hate the Righteous shall be desolate Whereas the Lord shall redeem the Souls of his own true Servants and Children and none of all them that place their trust and put their confidence in him shall ever perish The greatest treasure that a Christian Man should wish to enjoy in this World is the love and Providence of God the more he knows them and the surer he is of their enjoyment the greater should be his comfort and confidence in the same God Thou must know O man that the testimonies of Scripture relating to the promises I give unto the Faithfull of my love Eccle. 15 20.34 19. my care and protection of them are so many authentick Evidences and ratifications of the same that they are no more to be question'd then is the last Will and Testament of a dying man which none ought to mistrust of falshood Hear then and take great notice of what the wise say of my great love and care for Men. The eyes of the
even as a mist is better seen at a distance then close by it It 's therefore that virtuous and godly men have an absolute abhorrence of it because that in their eminent Station they have a ful prospect of all its vanitys but whosoever has any commerce with it the first entertainment he is to expect is to be led blindfold with the prosperity thereof that he may not see the misery of his own condition nor the way to better himself in this case the world deals with his silly followers even as the Raven does with the poor innocent Sheep the first thing he does before he tramples on his back is to strike out his eyes that he may not see the way to escape his tyranny This is exactly the world's practise no sooner has he bereft his poor wretched Citizen of his Spiritual Sight Matth. 4. and put him in that distress'd condition that he knows not how to judge between good and evil vanity and verity true and false pleasures but he works him asleep bindes him sweetly and deceives him pleasantly torments him in great peace and rest gives him a Proud Spirit which shall place him upon the Pinacle of greedy Ambition and thence shews him all his alluring dignitys and charming Preferments The Worlds projects do not end thus He has his deceitful Merchants that when they make sale of their Cloth and other goods shew the first and last part of them but will not admit the buyer to view search and see throughly lest he should discover the cheat He has several hundreds of false Prophets at his command to flatter and divert him as they did Achab from hearing Michael's counsel 1 Reg. 22. or taking any notice of the torments of his Conscience that tells him of the dangerous state of his deluded Soul He has a thousand slie and cunning fishers that will lay pleasant baits to draw him into further mischief He has a thousand times more Strumpets of Babylon at his pleasure then Solomon had of Queens and Concubines Apoc. 17. and these he imploys to present him provoking liquours out of their golden Cups But alas 't is a draught of deadly poison to their Souls Jud. 4. He has at every door of his enchanted Pallace an alluring Jael to entice him to take off his fatal delights and pleasures each of them having their hammer nails to drive through his brains when he is in a fast sleep 2. Reg. 1. He has also a flattering Joab in every corner ready to imbrace him with one arm and murther him with the other Matth. 24. and a false Judas likewise to give him a kiss betray him at the same time to such enemies as will take delight to torment him O my Soul Jo. 21. let us fly with all speed from so perfidious so pernicious and so dangerous an Enemy for if We should love him he will hate us if we should put our confidence in him he will certainly deceive us If we should serve him he will afflict us if we should honour him he will debase us if we should be of his faction he will undoubtedly damn us In fine if We should be so enamour'd with the World as to love and adore it more then God himself should we make our selves his absolute slaves to be the more in his favour he will certainly prove another Nabal to us at the fag end of our mortal life and give us the same answer and the same entertainment as he gave to David and to his Servants that is 1 Reg. 25. to send us into the next world with a surly kick for all our pains taken in his Service and with a who is David or who is the Son of Jesse that I should know him Let us therefore my Soul take notice of Davids advice to all mortals and look upon the World hereafter not only as a lyer but a meer Impostor let us then fly from all it's pleasures and treasures and principally because thou hast O Lord Psal 4. Matth. 3. Grego hom 5 in Evang. call'd them thorns as indeed they are for even as a Man when he is cast naked among thorns can't chuse but have his body rent and torn and made bloody So any worldly mans Soul harrass'd with the manifold cares and thoughts of heaping up wealth must be strangely perplex'd with the restless pricking of the same neither can she be free from mortal wounds having so many strong temptations and pressing allurements to bring her to Sin We have a vulgar story whose moral part shews that Riches cannot be possess'd without anxiety and great care A certain man of a mecanick calling having nothing to support himself and family but what he purchas'd by his honest labour liv'd notwithstanding very merrily and urter'd dayly so many pleasant strains as evidently avere the products of a minde not only easy contented but void of all tormenting care This being observ'd by an Usurer a dayly witness of his poor but happy life that was not a little amaz'd to see him so necessitous and withal so merry he resolv'd to try whether mony would allay or increase his mirth And thereupon convey'd a hundred pound into his homely habitation really thinking that Sum would augment the poor mans mirth to excess but the conclusion was directly opposite to his expectation the man quits his business is imploy'd in counting his new-found treasure he sung no more that day nor did the night give him any rest only the opportunity to muse more deliberately how he should dispose of his Cash a thousand projects present themselves either to inlarge his shop or to take a whole house and to improve his wealth by letting of lodgings now he was for purchasing a spot of ground to build upon and immediately for putting it to interest in order to prefer his Children in the morning he returns to his usual business but 't was so heavily and with so dejected a countenance that his neighbours admir'd at the sudden change of the man and ask'd him what he ail'd and what the cause might be that interrupted them the hearing his delightful and merry voice that morning above all others among the rest the Usurer came to see him hearing what moan his neighbours made for his so sudden melancholiness he beg'd their excuse expressing himself sorry that the man had lost his mirth that was so recreative and pleasant to them demanding withal his bag of mony which he left there the day before what said the poor man does that treasure belong to you why then take it in Gods name for had it stay'd longer with me I should certainly have run mad No sooner was he quit of his Mammon but he clear'd his brows tun'd his voice and return'd to his business merry notes This is an argument that Riches bring trouble and affliction with them Eccl. 1 2 3 4. Phil. 4. and Solomon the wisest of men
confirms it and St. Paul avers that where the love of Riches is once settl'd the peace of God is utterly excluded and this is a greater loss then our understanding can comprehend in a word that man who puts his heart in his treasure has a restless Soul and this is the greatest misfortune incident to mankinde He is like a Clock which when winded up will never leave it's motion till the weights be down 't is the same with him his mind will never be at rest whilst so many cares and anxietys possess it which are to it as weights to a clock that keep it always going so when others are in their sweet repose he is breaking his brains contriving how to manage his money to the best advantage Of all the Plagues that God was pleas'd to impose upon the Egyptians for their many and grievous sins Exod. 8. that of the flys was most intollerable because they were so cruelly tormented by the very creatures they had ador'd for Gods I may say the same of worldly men that of all the Miserys and troubles which God lays upon 'em for their offences this is one of the greatest to be tormented and grievously perplex'd with the cares even of that thing which they adore as their God and in which they place their chiefest felicity And let them use all their skill to forget these cares they can't possibly expell them and this adds much to their great disaster no they will assault them in the morning and shall bear them company all day neither shall they leave them at night no they will enter the bed with 'em and deprive them of rest they shall be the subject of their dreams Qui nocte nec die non dabunt requiem Jer. 16. Quia abstuli pacem a populo isto dicit Dominus misericordiam miserationes Jer. 16. so that I may well compare them to those unmerciful Tyrants wherewith thou O Lord dost threaten the wicked by thy prophet which shall allow them no comfort or ease either night or day This is a very great affliction I confess and the only reason hereof is that thou hast taken away thy peace from so terrene a People plung'd so extreamly in their pleasures without the least care of their Souls or thought of heaven and therefore have they merited a divorce from thy mercy and a continuance of their deplorable state even without hopes of thy commiseration And really if I give credit to what the Prophet Esay says of them their condition is so bad Esai 59. that it can't be better express'd then by his own words They put their trust in things of nothing says he and do talk of vanitys They conceive labour and bring forth iniquity They break the eggs of Serpents and weave the webs of Spiders He that shall eat of their eggs shall dy and that which is hatched thence shall be a Cockatrice Their webs shall not make cloth to cover them for that their works are unprofitable and the work of iniquity is in their hands There 's not a word in all this the Prophet's description of the Rich of this World but contains a mystery by the first that they put their trust in things of nothing we may very well conceive the vanity of Riches which if enjoy'd to day to morrow they may be snatch'd from us and perhaps our lives too for lucre of them And he who takes them from us may likewise lose them soon after with the same damage if not a greater I mean his Soul's loss for ever They conceive labour O what a deal of toil do poor worldlings take to heap up treasures how many perilous voiages to the East and West-Indies how many tedious journeys by land to this and that other Fair how many dangers of being rob'd and of losing their lives too Day and night they are afraid of Thieves nay they dare not trust their own Servants no nor their Wives with the keys of their treasures for fear they should rob them of their money and if any thereof be taken away O what an angry countenance will he put on what curses what Imprecations will he make What a consternation will the whole Family be in every one striving to clear himself will make his earnest Address to the Conjurer and as he is apt to tell lyes being so great a familiar with Lucifer he may make the innocent criminal and the criminal innocent for with him favour goes by bribing and he that gives him most shall have his best word tho' he were the greatest Knave in the whole Pack this is the labour now let us hear th'Iniquity it brings forth is there not a wo pronounc'd to them which draw iniquity with the ropes of vanity The same Prophet says that they break the Eggs of Serpents Pliny the naturalist tells us and our own experience confirms it that the bird which sits upon the eggs of a Serpent by breaking and hatching them brings forth a venemous brood that will most certainly be the utter destruction of her self 'T is even so with a man that sits as it were in brood upon his Riches and does affect them overmuch they will certainly be the death of his Soul and in the interim will make him a most miserable wretch whilst he lives in this World always in fear of losing them for they are as apt to change Masters as the Spiders web is to be broken with the least puff of Wind this wants no confirmation for the man in the Gospel ratifys it who with excessive care and labour had gather'd so vast a quantity of Riches that he was forc'd to pull down his old barns and build new to lay them in and when that was done he bids his Soul enjoy her self being really perswaded he should live splendidly and fare sumptuously upon them many years but his Soul was snatch'd that very night from him and all his great preparations were useless to him This inconstancy of Worldly wealth occasion'd the said prophet to say that the webs of those weavers shall not make cloth to cover them withal nor shall their works be profitable to them and that none but the works of Iniquity should remain in their hands whereby he lets us know that whoever loves and follows these vanitys shall certainly load his Soul with so great a burthen of iniquity that he will sink into the very lowest Hell where those who had glutted themselves with the World's pleasures delights shall be grievously tormented and then they will know that their riches were thorns indeed that not only rent their hearts in this World but will wound their Souls eternally in the other These thoughts are now far from their minds but when their glass is spent that grim Death appears unto them O how bitter will the remembrance thereof be unto those men that have plac'd all their happiness in Riches What a grief was it to Alexander the great O Mors quam
by so doing thou shalt reign with God in his eternal felicity But if thou dost really aim at so glorious a conquest of thy self thou must make use of the means to attain it which are poverty frugality mortification pennance Fasting and humiliation thou must joyfully suffer derision injurys tribulation persecution Adversity Infirmitys Subjection and all things that are able to debase and depress thy old deprav'd man This is the only way to conform thy self to me who have suffer'd all that 's here rehears'd more too for thy love this is the way also to destroy thy proper love and to become a proficient in all sorts of virtue in humility patience meekness sobriety and Chastity in the love of God and that of thy Neighbour in pennance interiour peace and in all the gifts and fruits of the Holy Ghost In fine there 's nothing contributes more to the utter destruction of that curs'd and proper love then the continual mortification of thy sinful appetite and passions and the powerful hatred of thy self for he that hates his life in this World shall keep it to life Eternal The perfect abnegation of thy self together with the lively and cruciform imitation of me is a most exquisit and powerful means to expel it entirely from thy heart Jo. 12.15 If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his Cross daily Luc. 11.23 and follow me for the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force Mat. 11.12 If thou wilt but learn to love thy self thus in God thou wilt be truly learn'd and wise but Alas the folly and perverseness of men is so great that they will not study this holy science they neglect this heavenly lesson and trifle away their time in riding or discoursing of terrene sordid and impertinent matters contrary to this good advice of the Wife Eccle. 3. think always of those things which God has commanded thee O Religious Man hadst thou imploy'd thy time faithfully in the serious consideration of thy incumbent duty to God and of thy main obligation to quit thy self intirely of that private and proper love which prevents thy increase in virtue and which is also the fatal fource of all disasters and crosses incident to thee in this World thou wouldst certainly enjoy plenty of ease and comfort in thy own mind and thy Soul would swim in the pleasant waters of my Grace thou wouldst also secure thy self from the eternal torments of Hell and purchase a most glorious Crown in Heaven Moreover thou must know that a Religious life is a state of perfection Non progredi regredi est and not to go forward therein is to go backward which is the utter perdition of thy Soul nay the Holy Fathers are of opinion that it is the highway to sempiternal damnation Now lay thy hand to thy breast and examine what progress thou hast made in this School of virtue if after so many years in Religion thou dost find thy self as prone to Pride Psa 26.12 to Vanity to Anger to impatience to foolish and idle words c. as thou wert before thy entring into it where 's thy glory where 's the fruit of all thy labours where 's the faithful performance of thy Vows Does not iniquity bely it self thinking thou art a Religious man when indeed thou art none at all thou only hast the name of one Thou appearest to be living Devisum est cor eorum nunc interibunti Osee 10. but really thou art dead Thy heart is divided and the World has the greater share thereof but what will follow thou shalt undoubtedly perish unless thou dost amend thy life I know thy works that thou art neither cold Apocal. 3.15 16 17. nor hot I would thou wert cold or hot but because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot I will spew thee out of my mouth And because thou sayst I am rich and increas'd with goods and have need of nothing and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable poor and blind and naked Such men do commonly think themselves to be upon very good terms with God and therfore are cock-sure of heaven but alas in the hour of Death they shall find themselves grossly mistaken 'T is a crime of the deepest die in a Christian Pro. 29.20 Ibid. 21.23 but 't is much more abominable in a Religious Person to be incessantly prating and uttering words at random it 's therefore the wise man says seest thou a man that is hasty in his words there 's no more hope of his correction then of a Fool 's he says in another place whosoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps his Soul from troubles But St. Jac. 1.26 James is more plain in the case for he says if any man among you seem to be Religious and bridles not his tongue but deceives his own heart this man's Religion is vain 'T is not the habit that makes the monk neither is it the transporting of thy Body out of the World into a Monastery that makes thee Religious as it is not thy being in the World that makes thee a worldling 'T is the heart that does it if that be fix'd upon God alone thou art a perfect religious man but if thy affections be settled upon terrene and transitory objects thou can'st lay no claim to the title of Religious nor to the least share of God's glory Another touchstone whereby thou mayst easily know whether thou art really a Religious Man Jo. 13.35 or not is if thou beest in Charity with all the World by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another Moreover this is my precept and it alone is enough to work thy Salvation Rom. 13. Pet. 4. If punctually observ'd because that all other Precepts are virtually contain'd therein It 's therefore St. Paul says Eph. 5.1 2. whoever loves his Neighbour fulfils the law and my supreme Vicar on Earth exhorts all mortals to have a mutual love one for th' other because Charity covers a multitude of Sins And the same S. Paul after his return from his sweet and mysterious conference with God in the third Heaven says be ye therefore followers of God as dear Children and walk in love as Christ also lov'd us and has given himself for us an offering and a Sacrifice to God as a sweet smelling Savour so ye ought to expose your lifes for your Brethren And St. Jerome in his Monastical Rule says St. Jerome in his Monastical Rule that Charity revives a man in God she alone compleats the Religious man and the Monk too without her Monasterys are Hells upon Earth and th' Inhabitants are Devils but with her they are Paradises and the Dwellers are all Angels By the Premises thou mayst see that Fraternal Charity is the fundamental Virtue of a Religious state ahd of Christianity too but alas if I
judge of thy Charity by thy behaviour to thy Christian Religious Brethren I shall find thee altogether an Alien to it for 't is said in Scripture 1 Cor. 13.1 2 3 4. c. tho' I speak with the tongues of Men and Angels and have not Charity I am become as sounding Brass or a tinkling Symbal And tho' I have the gift of Prophesy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and tho' I have all Faith so as to remove Mountains and have no Charity I am nothing And tho' I bestow all my goods to feed the Poor and tho' I give my body to be burnt and have no Charity it profits nothing Charity suffers long and is kind Charity Envys not Charity extols not it self is not puffed up does not behave it self unseemly seeks not her own is not easily provok'd thinks not evil rejoyces not in Iniquity but rejoyces in the Truth bears all things hopes all things endures all things This is a rule which St. Paul leaves unto all mortals whereby they may easily conceive whether they be in Charity with all men or not And St. James says if one fulfils the whole Law and yet offends in one point Jacob. 2.10 he is guilty of all This is thy case O man if thou hast Charity for all and withdraws it from one Brother thou hast none either for God or for thy Neighbour no nor for thy self for thou art void of Charity in all respects and as it is impossible thou shouldst be grateful to God without Faith so it is altogether impossible thou shouldst be pleasing to him whilst thou art not in Charity with thy Christian or Religious Brother St. St. Augu. Ser. 20. de verb Dom. Augustin gives this reason for it as the Church of God is grounded by Faith and rais'd by hope so she receives her perfection and complement by Charity alone A wholesome Advise to all Mankind O Man entertain thy self frequently with these Considerations The Conclusion and with the good Instructions which I have given thee in this Book for they are sufficient to move the most obstinate and the most Rebellious of Sinners to a true repentance Remember that it is not enough to be well grounded in thy Faith no thou must be also well vers'd in the Maxims and practices of a Christian life Suffer not thy Mind to be corrupted with the fallacys of the World which will easily deprave as well all thy Actions as thy whole life This was the charge which the Prophet gave to the Jews in their Babilonish captivity Baruch 6.3 You will see says he in Babilon Idols of Gold and Silver carri'd upon Mens shoulders to cause a terrour and respect in their Spectatours but beware you do not adore them with others When you shall see multitudes of People coming in great troops from all parts to adore them say in your heart O Lord thou alone art he who ought to be ador'd I say the same unto thee O man Thou wilt see many in the World adoring Idols that is Pleasures Vanitys Riches Gold and Silver the Flesh and their Passions thou wilt see there that Vice is in great request and highly honour'd and that Virtue is depress'd nay 't is a ridiculous thing in the opinion of Worldlings Thou wilt hear there such Maxims as were never taught in any University but that of the Reprobates whose chief President is the Devil that sits night and day in the chair of pestilence uttering his infernal dictates and dispatching his hellish Agents to disperse them in the World but be thou careful whom thou conversest with and be more wary in choosing thy Company then thy victuals for the worst of this can but anoy thy Body whereas the worst of that will certainly destroy thy Soul But to animate thy self against all evil occurrences let the true Maxims of Christianity be always in thy memory and let the Eternal Veritys thou hast heard from me in this Treatise be the dayly subject of thy serious Meditations have recourse to them when thou art assaulted with the World 's nefarious Allurements and to the end they may serve as certain Rules for the future conduct of thy life and conversation peruse them very often and with the greatest devotion and attention possible If thou shalt faithfully observe what I here prescribe unto thee thou wilt move me to give thee further Instructions in the Second part of this Book In the mean time the Grace of God shall not be wanting to assist thee in performing thy duty to me as well as to thy Neighbours in as ample a manner as it is here set down Thy immediate compliance will contribute largely to the eternal hapiness of thy Soul and therefore I give thee the same advice that I gave St. Augustin which was a happy beginning to his most happy Conversion Tolle Lege Perfice Take Read and practise punctually what thou readest Soli Deo honor gloria FINIS