the hidden Manna of my Soul its Food and Refreshment in all Conditions in Afflictions my Support in Poverty my Treasure in Reproaches my Glory in Darkness my Light in Sickness my Health in Troubl my Repose in Prosperity my Defence in Life and Health my Joy and Consolation that Christ being thus formed in me I may through Him who giveth us the Victory overcom the Vanities of the World the Lusts of the Flesh and the Temtations of the Devil til He becom my Life in Death and my Happiness in Heven Amen THE Soul's Communion WITH HER SAVIOR The First Book Containing so much of the Gospel-History as relates to the Infancy of the H. Jesus and that time of his Privat Life which passed before He entred on his Publick Ministry Cap. I. Of His Incarnation §. 1. O Holy and Ever-blessed Jesu Eternal Son of the eternal God who didst descend from thy Father's Bosom from the highest Hevens thy Royal Throne to this Vale of Misery that by taking My Nature upon Thee Thou mightest not only suffer and satisfy for Me but also impart Thy Nature unto Me. I prais and magnify thy Name For this thine unspeakabl Lov. I adore thee for thine infinit Wisdom and Goodness I am astonished at thy stupendious Humility and Condescension to lost and undeserving Man Bow the Hevens O Lord once more and com down touch my Heart with thine Almighty Power and having cast out whatsoever may be offensiv to thy Sacred Majesty fill it with thy blessed Presence for ever §. 2. O Blessed Jesu whose Incarnation was so sublime a Mystery that to usher in a matter of such extraordinary Concernment to the World the Angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a City of Galilee named Nazareth to a Uirgin espoused to a man whose Name was Ioseph of the Hous of David and the Uirgin's Name was Mary I magnify thy Glorious Name For making thy Spirits Ministers unto them who shal be Heirs of Salvation As the Angels and Arch-Angels prais Thee the Cherubim and Seraphim adore Thee and all the hevenly Host bow down unto Thee not only fitting upon thy Throne but even at the lowest Degree of thy Foot-stool wherunto thou hast voluntarily humbled thy self in thine Incarnation So let me I beseech thee in concurrence with the Celestial Choir celebrat this Mystery of thy Lov on Earth worship the Majesty of thy Glory in Heven til my Life becom Angelical by rejoicing in Thee and in Thy Salvation §. 3. When the Angel came in unto her and said 〈◊〉 thou that art highly favored the Lord is with thee blessed art thou among Women she cast in her mind what manner of Salutation this should be I prais thy Holy Name O Blessed Jesu for the greatness of thine Eternal Lov to this Holy Virgin and to all Mankind in her O make me sensibl how highly I my self am favor'd in this great Transaction since She was thus blessed among Women that all the Families of the Earth might be blessed in her Seed A Salutation of such infinit Importance doth worthily deserv to be frequently revolved in our minds which being particularly brought to a privat Family in Jewry hath prov'd of universal Concernment to the whol World O let me also tast and see how gracious the Lord hath been to my Soul No matter for the Favor of Men so we find Grace with God §. 4. While she was troubled at his saying the Angel said unto her Fear not Mary for thou hast found favor with God And behold thou shalt 〈◊〉 in thy womb and bring forth a Son and thou shalt call his Name Iuses He shal be great and shal be called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God shal giv unto him the Chrone of his Father David And he shal reign over the house of Iacob for ever and of his Kingdom there shal be no end I prais and magnify thy Name O Jesus for thy great Glory and endless Soveraignty for as much as thy Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and thy Dominion endureth throu-out all Generations O thou Root and Off-spring of David vouchsafe to extend thy Scepter over all Nations and be for Salvation to the Ends of the Earth that under thy Government all Peopl being saved from their Sins may liv and prosper in Peace and Holiness Sit upon the Throne of my heart by the Power and Presence of thy Holy Spirit reign over all the faculties of my Soul subdu them to thy Will and be thou my God and King forever §. 5. Then said Mary to the Angel How shal this be seeing I know not a Man Wherunto the Angel answered The Holy Ghost shal com upon thee and the Power of the Highest shal overshadow thee therfore also that Holy Thing which shal be born of thee shall be called The Son of GOD. I prais and magnify the Name O thou Son of God for thine in finit Condescension to becom the Son of Man It is not less Blessed and Mysterious to conceiv Thee in the Heart by Faith than to carry Thee in the Womb of Flesh Send therefore I befeech thee the same Spirit and Power to rest upon mine Affections til Christ be formed in me that thy Humility and Holiness thy Life and Lov may be brought forth in my Conversation and so adapt me to be called the Son of God §. 6. Holy Jesu who for the more rational Engagement of the Virgins Faith didst further acquaint her by the same Angel Behold thy Cousin Elizabeth who was called barren she also hath conceived a Son in her old Age. I magnify thy H. Name Becaus with God nothing shal be unpossibl This Maxim may suffice to silence all the Cavilling Inquiries of human Reason How this should be For the same Power that makes the barren Womb fruitful can with the same facility dispens with those Laws of Nature that render it unlikely there should be a Virgin-Mother And that Spirit which by breathing on them was abl to make dry Bones liv may be very rationaly believed of sufficient Power to impregnat a Virgin 's Womb. And therefore in Considering this transcendent Mystery of my Savior's Incarnation I will rather admire and recount his Goodness and Truth than question his Power or pry into the manner of its Accomplishment and in all his Trials of my Faith or Pati nce my Soul shal say as the 〈◊〉 of the Lord did Be it unto me according unto thy 〈◊〉 §. 7. Upon this Information the Blessed Virgin Mary arose and went iuto the Hill-Country to the Hous of 〈◊〉 to visit her Cousin Elizabeth who no sooner heard her Salutation but the Babe leaped in her Womb and she was filled with the 〈◊〉 Ghost so that she said with a 〈◊〉 voice Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb whence is it that the Mother of my Lord should com to me I prais thy Name For this marvelous Effect of thy
THE Soul's Communion With her SAVIOR OR The History of our Lord Jesus Christ Written by FOUR EVANGELISTS Digested into Devotional Meditations The First Part. LONDON Printed for W. Crooke at the Green Dragon nigh Devereux-Court without Temple-Bar 1685. THE PREFACE TO THE Devout Reader SIr Edwyn Sandys in his Europae Speculum observs That as one principal Means used by the Papacy to countermine the Progress of the Reformation they took such Care to fill all Countries with Books of Prayer and Piety in their own Language that they forbore not to reproach the Protestants who had upbraided them for confining the Peepl to the dark Devotion of an unknown Tong with their Poverty Weakness and Coldness in that kind as being forced to take the Catholick Books for their Supply therein And since the time wherin he made that Observation the Reformed Churches hav been too long exposed to the same Reproach and Inconvenience for as it was the highest Mark of deplorabl Servitude that the Israelits went down to the Philistins to sharpen evry man his Share and his Coulter and his Ax and his Mattock so it must needs prov a very dangerous Snare to the most religious Protestants that they were constrained to hav Recours to the Church of Rome for their best Helps to Devotion whose Care of Souls in making that necessary Provision for Piety carried with it so fair a shew of tru Sanctity and Godliness as invited too many of the unwarily Devout first to a favorabl Opinion and then to the absolute Espousal of her Errors and Superstition craftily mingled and recommended in those Prayers and Meditations that were hammer'd out at her Forge And what was so 〈◊〉 a Temtation to win her Adversaries may wel be thought a more forcibl Argument to establish and confirm her own Friends and Abettors to her 〈◊〉 So that without a proportionabl Care to countermine her Policy there could be littl hope either of with-drawing any of her Members or withholding many of our own from her Communion But now the Church of England hath both exprest her self sufficiently sensib of that Defect and made abundant Provision for its Supply in compiling and publishing such and such store of Books of Devotion in her Mother-Tong as neither the Roman nor any of the Reformed can boast of more or better It may therefore be questioned to what purpos this littl Tract should be super-added to those many excellent pieces of Devout Meditation already in Print which makes me judg it requisit to giv the Reader som short Account both of its Occasion and Design A most Excellent Person eminent not to mention her quallity which is very considerabl as wel for her Devotion as Intelligence being by a just and rational Conviction of those gross Errors and Forgeries on and by which the Church or rather Court of Rome hath founded and upheld her Greatness reclaimed from her Communion to that of the Church of England to evidence how far she was from being induced therunto by any other Motiv besides that of disinterested Religion resolved to confine her self to the same strict Rules of Devotion and Abstinence in the Exercise of her Protestant Principls whereby she had exprest her exemplary Zeal in the Popish Superstition And that her Soul in those many hours which she daily allotted for Retirement might not grow languid and dull in the same Act either of Prayer or Reading as the Body is apt to becom stiff and unweildy if long held to the self-same Posture or Motion these brief Aspirations on the Gospel-History were composed to diversify her Entertainment and fill up those Intervals which a pious Difcretion thought requisit for the better Improvment and more orderly Disposal of the time set apart for such Religious Exercises And what hath been thus used and approved in the Devout Solitude of a Privat Closet now appears in Publik with Design to supply the vacant Hours of other pious Votaries especially at such times as either the wise Authority of our Superiors or their own particular Resolution shal dedicat a whol day to the Duties of Prayer and Humiliation But lest that different Order wherinto the several Evangelists hav cast their Relation of our Savior's Acts and Speeches which the Holy Ghost hath thought fit to transfer unto succeeding Ages upon Record might occasion a fruitless Repetition of any one Part or an unseemly Confusion in the Whole I have reduced it to such a Method which Gerard and Chemnitius hav digested their Harmony of the Four Gospels into that the Religious Peruser may more regularly pass throu the entire History or the more readily hav Recours to any particular Transaction in it which may best suit with the present Scope of his Devotion Wherunto if this small Essay prov any way serviceabl it will at once recompens my present Labor and encorage me to proceed being ardently desirous to express my Self in Communion with my Savior A sincere Lover of Souls P. Traheron A General Prayer Preparatory to the ensuing Meditations O Father of Mercies and God of all Consolation who art the Fountain of Life and Salvation my So◠and all that is within me bless thy Holy Name for sending thine Only-begotten Son into the World to redeem Me and all Mankind to thine Eternal Glory I beseech Thee withdraw mine Affections from this World that I may serv Thee in Spirit and in Truth Enlighten my Understanding and reform my Will that my Heart may be entirely united to Thee and all other Business set apart as well secretly among the Faithful as openly in the Congregation adore and prais the God of my Salvation And since the Mercies of GOD do at once oblige and encorage me to present my Soul and Body a Living Sacrifice at thine Altar let this my Reasonabl Service be so acceptabl unto Thee that neither Death nor Life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor Things present nor Things to com nor Hight nor Depth nor any other Creature be abl to separat me from the Lov of God which is in Christ JESUS our LORD Giv me a clear Sight into all the Mysteries of His Life and a du Sense of all the Miracls of His Lov unto Death til I be so ravished with the Contemplation of their gracious Design upon my Soul as to count all things but Loss for the Excellency of the Knowledg of Christ Jesus my Lord and be ready to suffer the Loss of all things and count them but Dung that I may win Christ and be found in Him not having mine own Righteousness which is of the Law but that which is throu the Faith of Christ the Righteousness which is of God by Faith that I may know Him and the Power of His Resurrection and the Fellowship of His Sufferings being made conformabl unto His Death And let the constant secret Meditation of His Life and Lov His Sufferings and Glory His Virtues and Graces His Precepts and Promises His Presence and Power be
Presence O Blessed Jesu and for the powerful Influence of thy Spirit manifest therin even before thy Manifestation to the World Help me O Lord so to correspond with Thee in thy gracious Visitations as to discharge all the Offices of Lov Friendship and Christian Piety incumbent on me toward all Relations that I also may be a Joy unto thy Servants and they such unto Me as Thou art unto us all And let the voice of thy Salutation sounded in mine Ears by the Ministry of thy Word make me Blessed in believing that there shal be a Performanre of those things which were told us from the Lord as wel concerning the second Coming to judg the World as hath already been of thy first Coming to redeem it §. 8. O my dear Redeemer who in making choice of this Holy Virgin to be thy Happy Mother hast regarded the low Estate of thy 〈◊〉 preferring that before all the outward Pomp and Grandeur wherwith we are too fondly taken to giv us an instructiv Instance that Humility is the Fountain and Fore-runner of Honor for behold from thenceforth all Generations do call 〈◊〉 Blessed My Soul doth magnify the Lord For He that is Mighty hath don great things and Holy is his Name He hath shewed strength with his Arm when He put down the mighty from their Seats and exalted them of low degree to help his Servant Israel in remembrance of his Mercy Lord since the Poor and Lowly in heart are so acceptabl in thine Eys teach me to lov Retirement and delight in Devotion as this Elect Virgin did and make me truly content and happy in the lowest degree wherin thy Providence shal think fit to place me And since thou art graciously inclined to fill the hungry 〈◊〉 good things let her Faith in relying on God's ancient Promises of Mercy which he spake to our Fathers to Abraham and to his Seed for ever her Wisdom in treasuring up all thy Sacred tho Mysterious Verities her constant Obedience to thy revealed Will her exemplary Humility amidst all thy Graces conferr'd upon her and that Spirit of Prais and Thanksgiving wherwith she rejoiced in God her Savior added to her modest Chastity and holy Fear replenish and adorn my Soul and Life in all Estates and Conditions for thy Mercy is on them that fear Thee from Generation to Generation §. 9. O thou Day spring from on high who throu the tender Mercy of our God hast visited us to giv Light to them that 〈◊〉 in Darkness and in the Shadow of Death to guide our Feet in the way of Peace Blessed be the Lord God of Israel For he hath visited and redeemed his Peopl and hath raised up an horn of Salvation for us in the house of his Servant David Lord grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hands of our Enemies may serv Thee without fear in Holiness and Righteousness before Thee all the days of our Life till we acquire the saving 〈◊〉 of thy Salvation given unto thy Peopl by the Remission of their Sins §. 10. Holy Jesu With what Wisdom didst thou delay thine Incarnation so long With what Mercy no longer Thou didst defer it so long that the Scriptures fore-going it might testify of Thee according to that saying In the Volume of the Book it is written of Me to the end all holy Souls in the sundry Ages and Nations of the World might be filled with Expectations Desires of Thy Coming in the Flesh and confirmed in their Faith by the Prophecies accordingly fulfilled Yet wouldst thou not delay it longer that the Over-flowings of thy Lov in the Fulness of Time might satisfy all holy Longings with the Accomplishment of thy wonderful Incarnation in order to our compleat Redemtion I prais and magnify thy Name For the exceeding Riches of thy Grace and Wisdom treasured up in this thy mysterious and sacred Dispensation Beseeching thee that as Thou art the 〈◊〉 of all Nations so to render thy self altogether lovly in mine eys O vouchsafe to com into my Soul in the fulness of thy Compassion for the Pardon of my Sins in the fulness of thy Grace to subdu my Lusts and in the fulness of thy Power to strengthen me in resisting Temtations as thou camest in the fulness of thy Lov to redeem me from their malevolent Influence §. 11. O Blessed Jesu who didst endure nine Months Confinement in thy Mother's Womb til the days were accomplished that she should be delivered that beginning at the Root of our Nature thou mightest throuly cleans its Original Corruption I magnify thy Sacred Name For thy patient Conformity to thine own Laws of Nature attending till her ordinary Time and Method should open the doors of the Matrix for thy Releas Lord moderat that Impatience wherwith we usualy crave any expected Good and that Eagerness of mind which precipitats us into irregular Courses to evade whatsoever we fancy uneasy or troublsom And when I am reduced to any great Strait enabl me with a contented Patience and humbl Resignation to wait on Thee my best Aid and Exemplar for Deliverance in thy good time §. 12. When as his Mother Mary being espoused to Joseph was found with Child before they came together and that just man not willing to make her a public Exampl was minded to put her away privily the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a Dream saying Joseph thou Son of David fear not to take Mary thy wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost and she shal bring forth a Son and thou shalt call his Name Jesus for he shal save his Peepl from their Sins I celebrat thy saving Name For fulfilling that which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet saying Behold a Uirgin shal be with Child and shal bring forth a Son and they shal call his Name Emmanuel Evidence thy self O Jesus to be God with Us. in making us tender of our Neighbor's Reputation and instead of judging rashly according to appearance let us rather follow the Dictats of thy Grace if not from the immediat Direction of thy Holy Spirit yet according to the charitabl Prescriptions of thy Holy Word §. 13. Then Joseph being raised from Sleep did as the Angel of the Lord had bidden him laying aside all the unkind Determinations of his mistaken Jealousy I prais and magnify thy Name O God For that steddy Faith and perfect Resignation wherwith this thy Servant entertained the Intimation of thy Divine Will who was not disobedient to the hevenly Vision but readily submitted to the Authority of the Message without disputing the Truth or Possibility of the Mystery therin revealed Lord render me more inclinabl to employ my Talent in a hearty Obedience to thine express Commands than spend my Time in the fruitless Disquisition of those unaccountabl 〈◊〉 which thou hast been pleased to reveal from Heven And let his unparallel'd Abstinence who took unto him his Wife and yet
Inhabitants thereof may at length be induced to beat their Swords into Plow-shares and their Spears into Pruning-hooks And in order to the publick Peace put an end to mens privat Animosities and pacify the particular Commotions of their Minds Compose all our tumultuous Passions whensoever they arise regulat our disorder'd Appetits subdu our pervers Wills and reduce all our unbridled Affections and Faculties to so serene a Temper as is meet for the Reception and Obedience of that Great and Only Potentat whose Name is Wonderful Counsellor The mighty God The Ever lasting Father The Prince of Peace §. 8. O thou Eternal Son who art the Wisdom of the Father and hast endued thy Church with such a Degree of Prudence and Gratitude as to institute and observ an Annual Feast for a constant Memorial of thy Nativity to confirm our Faith re-inforce our Duty redoubl our Praises and repeat our Thanks so that being filled with thy Graces by a du participation of thy H. Sacraments in a grateful Commemoration of the Word made Flesh we may all conspire to celebrat thy salutiferous Birth with Eucharistical Joy I magnify thy Name For the great and diffusiv Efficacy of thy outwardly mean and 〈◊〉 Nativity the Fame wherof hath so marvelously prevailed over all the Earth that the Gentils are com to thy Light and Kings to the brightness of thy Rising Strengthen and direct thy Church the Pillar and Ground of the Truth to maintain the Beauty of Order and the Virtu of H. Disciplin together with the Form of sound Words in her Doctrin throu-out all Ages that all her Members may with one Mind and one Mouth glorify God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ by celebrating all such Festivals with holy Joy in Unity of Spirit and the Bond of Peace as are instituted for the Honor of thy Mercy the Glory of thy Wisdom and the setting forth of thy Goodness Power in this great and inscrutabl Mystery of Godliness God manifest in the Flesh. Ever-blessed God who evry year refreshest us with a re newed Birth of devout Affections by the Welcom Memorial of our Savior's Nativity Grant that we may entertain this humbl Rising of the Sun of Righteousness with such ardent Devotions as may better dispose and engage us to follow Him who enlighten'd the World with his Truth and enflamed it with his Lov til we acquire as great Abilities as we hav Obligations to join with the Celestial Choir in Singing the Angels Carol Glory to God in the Highest on Earth Peace Good Will towards Men. Cap. III. Of His Circumcision §. 1. When eight days were accomplished for the Circumcising of the Child tho the Power and Innocence of my Gracious Redeemer might well hav exemted Him from that rigorous Ceremony yet did the Holy Jesus freely submit therunto at once to obey the divine Law acquit Us from that bloody Rite and giv us many useful Instructions I prais and magnify thy Name O Christ for substituting a more easy Sacrament instead of that sharp Ceremony wherunto Thou thy self hast submitted and teaching me by this thy voluntary Condescension to yield ready Obedience to all the Ordinances of God how severe and grievous soever they seem to Flesh and Blood Let the Endearment of thy tender Lov in undergoing those hard and painful Rules from which thou hast thought fit to releas thy Church engage evry Member therof to wave all Pleas of Dispensation or Priviledg which may seem to countenance any Remisness in the discharge of our Religious Duties And when the Iniquity or Violence of unreasonabl Men who frequently impose greater Burdens than themselves are willing to bear shal make it necessary for me either to observ any unwarrantabl Injunctions or undergo any severe Penalties rather than transgress thine express Will inspirit me with Grace and Corage patiently to submit therunto but withal render me cheerfuly conformabl to all those wel advised Constitutions wherby our lawful Superiors either in Church or State hav thought fit to regulat our Deportment in things indifferent §. 2. O thou tru Messiah whose Name was called JESUS being so named of the Angel before thou wast conceived in the Womb I giv thee all possibl Thanks and Prais For making good the gracious Purport of this thy Name in saving thy peepl from their Sins O Blessed Jesus since by the Imposition of this adorabl Name the Holy Ghost hath made a publick Declaration that Thou art com into the World to save Sinners save me I beseech thee who am the chief of Sinners let me tast and see how gracious the Lord is in the Healing Influence of this Name A Name that doth charm the dullest Ears and revive the drooping Hearts of miserabl Sinners infinitly beyond the sweetest Accents of Musick and therefore is exalted abov evry Name even by God himself which hath made it highly reasonabl whatever any cavelling Hypocrits either by their irreligious Doctrin or Deportment argu to the contrary that at the Name of Jesus evry knee should bow in 〈◊〉 in Earth and under the Earth and that evry Tong should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father In Obedience to which Divine Decree I prostrat my Self before Thee O Lord I worship Thee O Christ and humbly beg Thee on my Knees to be my Jesus my Savior §. 3. O Holy Jesus who in this first tho small Effusion of thy Blood didst pay the Earnest of that Debt which thou hadst undertaken to satisfy as our Surety I bless thy saving Name For thus obliging thy Self to fulfil the whol Law and expiat its Violation on our 〈◊〉 How early began my 〈◊〉 to suffer He shed his Blood almost as soon as he drew his Breath O my Soul defer not to execute His Will who seem'd impatient to procure thy Welfare at the price of his Blood and instead of abusing his exact Obedience for a Cloak of Libertinism let the Exampl of his Perfection engage thee to follow his Steps in all holy Conversation And do thou O Jesu at once supply and satisfy for all the Defects of my frail Obedience §. 4. This bloody Character of Circumcision left the Impression of God's Seal upon Believing Sinners that they bearing in their Bodies the Marks of the Most Holy might be put in mind whose Servants they are and what Duty they ow. I humbly adore Thee O Jesus for submitting to the Imputation of Sin and the Penalties consequential therunto tho thou knewest no Sin Lord Let this Prospect of thine Exinanition in taking upon Thee the form of a Servant yea a Sinner who art God blessed and holy for ever not only banish all those irregular Desires of Esteem which lurk in my bosom but also render me industrious to be truly Holy not to be thought 〈◊〉 And may this beginning of Sorrows in Thy 〈◊〉 abate all the Vanity and Niceness of Mine §. 5. O my immaculat Lord Thou hadst no Lusts to 〈◊〉 no
Corruptions to renounce no new Nature to put on and yet didst permit thy Fore-skin to be circumcised that we might learn therby to put away all 〈◊〉 and superfluity of 〈◊〉 tiness I prais thy H. Name For this Visibl Sign of that 〈◊〉 Grace we stand in need of Let this thine Infant-Wound O J su circumcise our Hearts purify our Hands and 〈◊〉 our whol Man blameless and undefiled And since there is a Fountain open'd to the Hous of David for Sin and for Uncleanness let the Blood of Christ who throu the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 offer'd himself without Spot to God 〈◊〉 our Conscience from dead Works to 〈◊〉 the living God that being 〈◊〉 from all 〈◊〉 of Flesh and Spirit 〈◊〉 may perfect Holiness in thy Fear To this end I beseech thee mortify the Deeds of my Body cut off the Occasions of Sin and disappoint the Temtations most apt to betray me 〈◊〉 for He is not a Jew which is one outwardly neither is that Circumcision which is 〈◊〉 in the Flesh but he is a Jew which is one inwardly and Circumcision is that of the Heart in the Spirit and not in the Letter whose Prais is not of Men but of God §. 6. O my Soul Who could imagin so small privat an Action in a Country so remote and an Age so long past should be of such marvellous Concernment to thee and evry Family in the Earth besides I prais and magnify thy Name O Christ for that 〈◊〉 Wisdom and Goodness wherwith thou hast enlarged my Joys in making all thine Actions conduciv to the Benefit and Instruction of the whol World Grant me Grace I beseech thee so to use those Faculties wherwith thou hast enabled me to reflect on and consider Objects so far distant in Time and Place that duly weighing the great Confequence and wide Concernment of evry Thought Word and Deed enrolled in the Volum of Eternity I may becom the more cautious of ordering my Conversation aright til Divine Lov Entire Obedience and Uniform Devotion compleat my Life in this World and prepare a delightful Spectacl for God Angels and Just Men made perfect in the next Cap. IV. Of His Epiphany §. 1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of verse 1 〈◊〉 in the days of Herod the King 〈◊〉 there came Wise men from the East to Jerusalem saying Where is he that is born King of the 〈◊〉 for we 〈◊〉 seén his Star in the East and are com to worship him I prais and magnify thy Name O thou Wisdom of the Father for the gracious and 〈◊〉 Influence of the Eastern 〈◊〉 whose Appearance and Motion being wholy 〈◊〉 did attract the Eys engage the Faith and guide the Feet of these Learned Sages in Quest of Thee In deed they are the only Wise men who use their Learning to find out Heven Lord as thou didst illuminat their Souls by a diviner Light to discern the Benefit and Design of that created Star so be thou graciously pleased to accompany the hevenly Oracls of thy Word with such a convincing Power and Demonstration of thy Spirit as shal be effectual to bring in the Fulness of the Gentils to whom thou hast extended the Scepter of thy Mercy as well as to the Jews having made both one and broken down the middl Wall of Partition between us §. 2. O Blessed Jesu who didst withdraw the Conduct of that Star as soon as the Wise men were com to Jerusalem leaving them to be informed by the ordinary Ministry of the chief Priests and Scribes of the Peépl whom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 gathered together demanding of them where Christ should be born they said unto him In Bethlehem of Iudea for thus it is written of 〈◊〉 Prophet And thou Bethlehem in the land of Iuda art not the least among the Princes of Iuda for out of 〈◊〉 shal com a a Governor that shal rule my Peépl Israel I prais thy H. Name For the seasonabl Use of Miracls and the transcendent Excellency of the Means of Grace It is unreasonabl to look for Manna when we are once enter'd into the Land of Promise Reclaim therfore I beseech thee all pervers and ignorant Schismaticks from that gross presumtion of temting Thee for new Lights and needless Revelations now thy Will is so expresly revealed in thy Word and let the Priests Lips to whom thou hast committed the ordinary Dispensation of thine Oracls always preserv sufficient knowledg to direct thy peepl in the way of Salvation by that more sure Word of Prophecy which was of old written for our Instruction and is to this day a standing Record taken from the mouths of those holy men of God who spake as they were moved by the H. Ghost And as thou didst lead these honorabl Pilgrims by the Conduct of a Star to the Means of Grace and by the ordinary Preaching and Explanation of thy Word unto thy Self making both those Methods useful in their respectiv places so let thine ancient Miracls confirm and quicken us in the Use of such ordinary Means as are adapted to these later Times for the Light of thy glorious Gospel is as much more instructiv than the obscurer Language of a Star as the shining Splendor of the Day outvies the gloomy Shades of Night this being no less powerful to draw Men from all Quarters of the Earth to thy Worship than that was to invite these few from the East §. 3. The 〈◊〉 men having received so full and plain an Answer from the Priests in the 〈◊〉 of a Truth which neither their fear of Herod nor their own Enmity was abl to suppress continu their Progress toward Bethlehem nothing discoraged either with the disappearing of their Oriental Guide or by the Troubl which the bold and open Declaration of their Embassy had given Herod and all Ierusalem with him I magnify thy Sacred Name O Christ For this their Exemplary Corage and Resolution Be thou the delightful Object and Answer of all mine Enquiries the sole End and Recompence of all my Travel and let my Soul depend on Thee in the greatest destitution of all Outward Helps and Encoragements that those Obstacls which the World is apt to cast in my way being furmounted by a firm purpos of Mind to follow Thee I may throu a du Use of thine Ordinances be brought out of the Maze of Error and Ignorance 〈◊〉 the Knowledg of thy Truth and walk in the right way to thy saving Presence §. 4. O H. Jesu who to reward the Faith and Zeal of these devout Pilgrims didst not only signify to them the Birth of the Messiah in general but conduct them also to Jerusalem and at last when they departed thence attend them even to Bethlehem by the Star which they saw in the East that went before them til it came and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where the yong Child was to their great joy I bless and prais thy Name For being found of them that seek Thee according to thy faithful Promise I
〈◊〉 or not By thee the very Priests and Levits are redeemed who themselvs were taken from among the Children of Israel instead of all the first-born which had been 〈◊〉 to the Lord. I beseech thee by 〈◊〉 of the Price thou hast paid for my Soul enrol me among the general Assembly and Church of the First-born which are written in Heven who having received the Spirit of Adoption are not only the Children but Heirs of God and joint-Heirs with Christ. And that thine infinit Merit which sufficeth to make evry one of thy Brethren a compleat Possessor of thine Eternal Inheritance may qualify us all to receiv a Kingdom which cannot be moved let us hav Grace wherby we may serv God acceptably with Reverence and godly Fear as becoms persons redeemed from their Iniquities §. 4. When the Parents brought in the Child JESUS to do for him after the Custom of the Law Simeon a man just and devout to whom it was revealed by the Holy Ghost that he should not see Death before he had seen the Lord's Christ came by the Spirit into the Templ where he took him up in his Arms and blessed God for the Consolation of Israel which he had long waited for and now happily found I prais and magnify thy Name O my Dear Jesus as wel for the singular Graces conferr'd on this reverend person as for the publick Testimony he gave of Thee to them that were present Pardon I beseech thee my Neglect of Waiting for Thee wherby I have justly forfeited the peculiar Manifestations of thy 〈◊〉 and Favor and now that I am not only ready but earnestly desirous to receiv Thee in mine Arms yea to lodg Thee in my Heart vouchsafe to purify and enlighten me with the H. Ghost that I taking Delight in thy Sanctuary and carefully attending Thee there with a Soul ful of Joy and a Mouth ful of Praises may also bless Thee my God and speak of thine Honor in thy holy Templ §. 5. Thus did pious Simeon whose Eys were no sooner blest with that desirabl Interview but his Tong exprest the Contentment of his Heart in this Swan-like Song Lord now 〈◊〉 thou 〈◊〉 Servant depart in peace according to thy Word For mine Eys hav seen thy Salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all 〈◊〉 I prais Thee O Christ For being both A Light to lighten the Gentils and the Glory of thy peepl Israel No wonder that Ioseph and thy Mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of Thee especialy hearing him that blessed them say 〈◊〉 Mary Behold this Child is set for the Fall and Rising up of many in Israel and for a Sign that shal be spoken against in so much that a Sword should pierce throu her own Soul also Lord endu my Soul with a like sens of this inestimabl Benefit that I may rehears this Song with equal Pleasure and Concernment since mine Eys also see the Longings and Expectations of former Ages turned in to Joys and Praises for all 〈◊〉 Generations it being highly reasonabl for our Satisfaction to be as strong in Delight as their Expectation was great in Desire For the principal Design of thy Coming into the World was to remedy not occasion the Fall of any either in or out of Israel that such as fall throu their own Default might rise agen by Faith in Thee and those who hav spoken most bitterly against Thee may upon Repentance be forgiven when the Thoughts of all Hearts shal be revealed §. 6. This notabl Testimony of old Simeon was seconded by Anna a Prophetess of the Tribe of Aser who was of a great Age being a Widow of about fourscore and four Years which departed not from the Templ but served God with Fastings and Prayers night and day for she coming in at that Instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord and spake of him to all them that looked for Redemtion in Ierusalem I prais and magnify thy Name O Redeemer of Israel for rewarding that godly Matron's Devotion with so happy a Change of her Fastings into Jubilees and her Prayers into Praises Lord since those to whom thou revealest thy Self must be qualified for that blessed Priviledg by so much Diligence and unwearied Devotion enable me by thy Grace to apply my utmost Endevors therunto Night and Day as well in Fastings and Prayers to deprecat my own and my Nations Sins as by Feastings and Praises to congratulat thy Manifestation to the World and the saving Consequences thereof uniting in my Devotions all the pious Longings and earnest Wishes of the Old World with the transporting Joys and inexpressible Satisfactions of the New Cap. VI. Of His Flight into Egypt §. 1. WHen they had thus performed all things according to the Law of the Lord they returned into Galilee to their own City Nazareth but were not allowed any long Continuance there for soon after the 〈◊〉 of the Lord appeared to Ioseph in a Dream saying Arise and take the yong Child and his Mother and 〈◊〉 into Egypt for 〈◊〉 wil seek the yong Child to destroy him he took them by night and departed 〈◊〉 I celebrat thy Name O Son of the Highest for exposing thy Self to so many Hazards and Inconveniences for my sake and for the constant Vigilance of thy Father's Ey to serv and secure Thee by the Ministry of Angels Thy Lov alone moved thee to descend from the Region of Bliss and Glory to this Vale of Misery and Troubl and nothing but thy gracious Design to free us thence inclined thee rather to retire into the Hous of Bondage than yield thy 〈◊〉 to the Tyrants Cruelty lest Our hope should hav been unseasonably cut off Watch over me I humbly beseech thee in all the Dangers wherwith I am beset in this World of Iniquity and either instruct me to escape them or strengthen me to sustain them Let no Devices of the Wicked prosper against my Soul but reflecting on this thine own Peril be thou ever ready to deliver me from the malicious Designs of unreasonabl and cruel Men. §. 2. O my blest Redeemer who in thy tender Years for the avoiding of Herod's Rage didst endure a tedious Banishment to let us know there is no less ground of Contentment in a voluntary Exile when thy Providence makes it necessary for us than in the Enjoyment of our nativ Soil I bless thy H. Name For being equaly near us in all places of thy Dominion for the whol Earth is thine Lord whatsoever thy Wisdom and Authority thinks fit to enjoin me let thy Grace incline me cheerfuly to obey how much soever it seem to thwart my worldly Interest or Eas and in all my Endevors to execute thy Will conduct and defend me with thy good Providence Obeying Thee I may be safe in Egypt the Hous of Bondage while encompassed with Perils and throu Disobedience to thy Commands may perish in Bethlehem the Hous of Bread tho surrounded with
the Preaching and Baptism of S. John §. 1. O My Gracious Redeemer thou didst send thy Servant John who grew and waxed strong in Spirit being in the Wilderness til the day of his Shewing unto Israel as a Messenger before thy face to prepare thy way before Thee by 〈◊〉 the Baptism of 〈◊〉 for the Remission of Sins wherin he exprest The Uoice of one crying in the Wilderness Prepare ye the way of the Lord make his Paths strait as it is written in the Prophets I prais and magnify thy Name For this suitabl Beginning of the Gospel of 〈◊〉 Christ the Son of God Let me learn I beseech thee from the Austerity of thy Fore-runner both in Apparel and Diet for the same John had his Raiment of Camel's hair and a leathern Girdl at 〈◊〉 his Loins and his Meat was Locusts and wild Dony so to comply with the Doctrin of Mortification and Repentance which he preached and practised that I may 〈◊〉 the Salvation of God And as the Peepl who went out to him from Jerusalem and Judea and all the Region round about were baptized of him in Jordan confessing their Sins so do thou baptize me with the H. Ghost and with Fire to the forsaking of mine that being effectualy warned to flee from the Wrath to com I may bring forth fruits meet for Repentance rather glorying to hav Abraham my Father in Faith than after the Flesh since God is abl of the very Stones to rais up Children unto him And now that the Axis laid 〈◊〉 the Root of the 〈◊〉 be graciously pleased to direct the hand that guides it to cut off the dead or luxuriant Branches of Sin and Folly that evry 〈◊〉 may bring forth good Fruit in stead of hewing down the whol Body to be cast into the fire §. 2. When the Peepl the Publicans and the Soldiers which came forth to be baptized of John asked him What shal we do Instead of requiring them to forsake their several Callings as unlawful or irreligious He recommends Charity upright Dealing and honest Contentment to their Practice in the du Use of them I giv thee Thanks and Prais O Jesus For making the Duties of Religion consistent with those of our Worldly Vocations Lord bless my conscionabl Industry in that lawful Emploiment wherunto thy Providence hath called me that by my honest Diligence therin I may do Thee Service in my Generation and working with my hands the thing which is Good may hav and hav the Heart to giv to him that needeth And yet let not my earnest Concernment for the things of this Life be pleaded in Excuse for my Neglect of a better but among all my most justifiabl Cares allow som Time and Thought so to attend on the Ministry of thy Word and the Administration of thy Sacraments as may best make a practical Expression of and giv a proper Answer to this Inquiry on the behalf of my Soul What must I do to be saved §. 3. As the Peepl were in 〈◊〉 and all men mused 〈◊〉 their hearts of John 〈◊〉 he were the Christ or not so that the Jews sent Priests and Levits who were of the 〈◊〉 from Jerusalem to Bethabara beyond Jordan 〈◊〉 he was baptizing to ask him Who art thou He denied not but confessed I am not the CHRIST nor Elias neither that Propher I indeed baptize you with Water but there standeth one among you whom ye know not He cometh after me and is preferred before me for He was before me tho born after me the latchet of whose shoos I am not worthy to unloos whose Fan is in his hand and he wil 〈◊〉 purge his 〈◊〉 and wil gather the Wheat into his Garner but the Chaff he wil burn with fire unquenchabl I prais and magnify thy Name O Christ For this Record of John who 〈◊〉 witness of Thee without seeking the Enhancement of his own Reputation by the envious Concealment of thy Person or Office Lord purge the floor of my Heart from all that Chaff of Vanity and Pride which renders me at any time inclinabl to deck my self with the spoils of that Honor which is only du to Thee that being littl in mine own Eys I may cheerfuly magnify Him who is mightier than I of whose fulness we hav all received even Grace for Grace which alone can fit us to be laid up in store for the Master's Use in his Hous not made with hands eternal in the Hevens for the Law was given by Moses but Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ who being the only Begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father hath declared that God whom no man hath seen at any time And since the same John being a man sent from God came for a Witness to bear witness of the Light that all men throu him might believ let this his publick Testimony hav its designed Effect upon 〈◊〉 man that cometh into 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not only confirming the tru Faith where it hath been already planted but creating it also where 't is yet wanting with so great a Power and Demonstration of the Spirit that altho the World which was made by him without whom was not any thing made knew him not while He was in the World yet it may never more be said He came unto his own and his own received him not but being now no longer born of Blood or of the Wil of Man but of God All Flesh may see thy Salvation and behold the Glory of the Word made Flesh as that of the only begotten of the Father who as verily was in the beginning and was with God and was God as he dwelt among Us ful of Grace and Truth And the good God of the Spirits of all Flesh grant that the Son of thy Lov in whom was that Life which was the Light of Men may shine in the Darkness that hath benighted the Children of this World til the Power or rather Priviledg to becom the Sons of God which He gave to them that believ on his Name 〈◊〉 graciously imparted to all the Families of the Earth by embracing the true Faith which hath saved as many as received him §. 4. Then cometh Iesus from Galilee to Iordan unto Iohn to be baptized of him having quitted his dear Relations and privat Occupation the more freely to begin and attend his Father's business I celebrat thy Name O my Dear Redeemer For leaving the Sweetness of a peaceabl Retirement to enter upon a State not only encumber'd with Sweat and Travel but also 〈◊〉 to Censure and Persecution for thy Church's sake I humbly beseech Thee let no Self-ends or more pleasurabl Enjoyments detain any one from undertaking such publick Duties as he is lawfuly called unto but when a more open Exposure may any way conduce to the general Good and Benefit of thy Peepl be a safe Retirement never so desirabl encorage us all to abandon our
particular Eas and Satisfaction preferring thy Church before all our privat Concernments or domestick Interests whatsoever §. 5. O B. Jesus tho Iohn 〈◊〉 thee saying I hav need to be baptized of Thee and comest Thou to me yet didst thou persist in thy Resolution of submitting to his Disciplin and Baptism who owned himself 〈◊〉 to carry thy Shoos requiring him to suffer it to be so now I magnify thy Gracious Name For thus expressing how well it becometh us to fulfil all Righteousness O giv me and all that call themselves after Thy Name the Christian Humility of conforming to all the Rules of Godly Disciplin which shall be found requisit for thy Church's Peace and of submitting to any Service how much soever abased that may tend to the Benefit of the smallest in thy Flock or end in the Advancement of thy Glory §. 6. Most H. Jesus who when all the Peepl were baptized didst descend into the River to be baptized among them that thy Father's Declaration being made from Heven in the Audience of a Multitude might be the more publickly known and undeniably confirmed I glorify thy Name Because thy Delights are among the Children of Men. Be present I beseech thee in all the devout Assemblies of thy Saints and Servants and so bless thine Ordinances unto them that the Wil of God revealed from Heven 〈◊〉 be effectualy divulged and obey'd among all Nations And now thou hast thus sanctified the Element of Water to becom Sacramental for the Remission of Sins having in a Symbol purified human Nature of that Guilt and Pollution which thou hadst undertaken to expiat and remov so making good the Baptist's further Testimony of Thee when he saw thee O Iesus coming unto him and said Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the Sins of the World Lord Pardon those many heinous 〈◊〉 which hav miserably defiled my Life and Conscience since I received Baptismal Grace and so renew thy Covenant of Mercy unto my Soul that I may never so ungratefuly violat the Conditions or forfeit the Advantages of it any more §. 7. O thou Anointed of the Lord who receivedst not the Spirit by measure for being baptized and praying the Heven was 〈◊〉 And the H. Ghost descended in a bodily Shape like a Dov upon Thee And 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 from Heven saying This is my Beloved Son in whom I am wel pleased What could be a more glorious Attendant on thy Publication than so express a Discovery of the B. Trinity Thy Relation to God the Father the Being and Office of the H. Ghost and the Good Wil of the whol God-head to Mankind being jointly display'd therin I prais and magnify thy Name For exhibiting so many Sacred Mysteries as in a littl but accurat Picture which in other Ages were not made known unto the Sons of men Lord let me be ravished and instructed with this marvellous Vision as Thy Forerunner was who openly professed I knew him not but that He should be made manifest to Israel therfore am I com baptizing with Water for he that sent me said unto me Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him the same is He which baptizeth with the 〈◊〉 Ghost And I saw and bare Record that This is the Son of God Enlighten the Ey of my Soul to behold this inconceivabl yet evident Manifestation of the Ever-blessed Trinity and exalt mine Understanding to such a right Apprehension of that Sacred Mystery that all my Acts of Adoration may be duly directed and graciously accepted May the Hevens which were open at thy Baptism never be shut against my Prayers or Praises and since thou hast opened the Kingdom of Heven to all Believers grant the same Spirit that descended upon Thee may abide with Me and thy whol Church for ever that we who are in Baptism adopted Sons of God according to the good pleasure of his Wil may be charm'd and honor'd with the Eccho of that 〈◊〉 from Heven which proclaimed Thee Beloved And since thou my merciful Savior hast made choice of such proper Emblems to shadow forth thy Glory make them suitably impressiv on my Memory and Affections for wheras the Promulgation of the Law was attended with terribl Thunders and thick Darkness to express the Dreadfulness of God's Presence unto the sinful Transgressors of it Thy Preaching of the Gospel of Peace is usher'd in by the H. Ghost in the likeness of a Dov to bring the Oliv-branch of Reconciliation to Mankind and shew what Meekness of Spirit is the proper Badg or Cognisance of thy tru Discipls The End of the First Book THE Soul's Communion WITH HER SAVIOR The Second Book Containing what occurs in the First Year of his Publick Ministry Cap. I. Of His Retirement Fasting and Temtation §. 1. O Blessed Iesus who being ful of the Holy Ghost immediatly after thy return from Iordan wast led by the Spirit into the Wilderness I prais and magnify thy Name For thus chalking out the Way to divine and spiritual Atchievments O thou the only Comfort of all my Solitudes giv me Grace to set apart fit times for Prayer and Contemplation after thine Exampl before I enter upon any great Emploiment that what I undertake with du and devout Consideration may be so blest and accepted by thy Goodness as may render it succesful to thine Honor And whensoever it shal pleas Thee to inspire me with holy Thoughts and Resolutions incline my Heart cheerfuly to follow the Motions of thy B. Spirit that I may never incur the Guilt of Resisting the H. Ghost §. 2. O thou high and holy One of Israel who hast abased thy self to co-habit with the wild Beasts of the Desert for my sake whose nativ fierceness was so much awed by thy Sacred Presence as left them neither Power nor Inclination to hurt Thee I glorify thy Great Name For submitting to the disconsolat Inconveniences of that inhospitabl Place and Company Lord disdain not to visit the uncultivated Wilderness of my Soul too and subdu therin all those brutish Appetits those untamed Passions that would utterly destroy me til thou bring all the Imaginations of my Heart into Subjection to thy H. Will. §. 3. O my most Gracious Redeemer who didst fast 〈◊〉 Days and forty Nights and 〈◊〉 afterward an hungred I prais thy H. Name For teaching me both the Duty and Benefit of Fasting Lord let me not at any time eat or drink without such a Temper and Moderation as may better enabl me for thy Service but on all the Seasons and Occasions of Fasting prescribed either by Thee or thy Church make me impartialy strict and severe to my self in Communion with thy Saints in Sorrow for my Sins and in Memory of Thy Sufferings denying my self not only pleasant Bread and palatabl Drink but all manner of Sustenance for a time proportionabl to my frailty in Conformity to thine Exampl who in those
days 〈◊〉 eat nothing as a just Acknowledgment how unworthy I am of enjoying that Priviledg which the first Man's unruly Appetit forfeited in Paradise and a fit Occasion to remind me of Hungring and Thirsting after Righteousness by the Sens of my bodily Wants And whensoever thou givest me Grace or Leisure to retire my self for the Exercise of Devotion help me both to sanctify my Retirement by Prayer and Fasting and to spend my Time in judging my self that I be not judged of the Lord in punishing my self that Thou may'st spare me and in turning from my Sins that thy Judgments may be averted from me O my Dear Jesu be thou my Company in Solitude my Food in Fasting and the sublimest Joy of evry Feast I celebrat Be thy divine Graces my choicest Viands thy Laws my Study thy Works my Praises thy Mercies my Enjoyments thy Majesty my Fear thy Lov my Comfort thy Wisdom my Instruction thy Goodness my Guide and thy sacred Presence my Guard all the days of my Pilgrimage in the Wilderness of this World §. 4. Most Holy and Invincibl Savior thou didst not only fast but wast forty days temted of the Devil whose Craft and Importunity thou hast utterly defeated by the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God I magnify thy Name That being assaulted with the subtil Insinuations of Necessity Curiosity Vain-glory Presumtion Ambition c. thou hast experimentaly discover'd with what Weapon I may best resist and subdu all manner of Temtations Lord whensoever I am to encounter with any of those Enemies which war against my Soul let me never be sollicitous for any other Armor of Defence than thy Word but hav Recours therunto in a du Sens of my own Weakness by such devout Fasting and Prayer as may endu me with an holy Reverence to what is written the du Remembrance and Application wherof may at all times secure me from the mischievous Influence of any Temtation and succesfuly enabl me at once to resist and conquer the Temter And since we hav an High-Priest which can be touched with the feeling of our Infirmities having been in all points temted like as we are yet without Sin so that we may com boldly to the Throne of Grace to obtain Mercy and Favor for an 〈◊〉 Relief I humbly beseech Thee O faithful God suffer Vs not to be temted abov that we are abl but with evry Temtation make a way for our escape that we may be abl to bear it Let no Arguments drawn from any sensual Wants or Comforts with-draw me from my Duty to Thee or Confidence in Thee since it is written that Man shal not liv by Bread alone but by evry Word that 〈◊〉 out of the mouth of God Let not the bewitching Prospect of worldly Power and Glory ever make me stagger in mine Obedience to that divine Command Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him 〈◊〉 shalt thou lerv And let 〈◊〉 soothing Flatteries seduce me to 〈◊〉 the Lord my God by any unwarrantabl Act of Presumtion lest by leaving those Ways wherin thou hast given thine 〈◊〉 Charge over me to 〈◊〉 me 〈◊〉 lose the Benefit of their Protection and dash my foot against a Stone §. 5. O B. Lord With what gradual Artifices did Satan attack thee With how great a Stock of Impudence did he renew his Sollicitations He begins to work upon thy Need expecting that an hungry Appetit would soon induce thee to swallow his first Bait Command that these Stones be made Bread Then 〈◊〉 taketh thee up into the H. 〈◊〉 and sets 〈◊〉 on a Pinacl of the Templ in hopes to see thee cast thy self 〈◊〉 from thence craftily gilding over these two devilish Suggestions with so plausibl an Argument as that of proving whether Thou be the Son of God or no And at last as if the Want of Success had animated him to greater Villanies he proceeds to shew thee all the Kingdoms of the World falsly supposing the Glory of them might induce thee to depend upon his falser Promise All these things will 〈◊〉 giv thee tho it were upon the basest Condition imaginabl if thou wilt fall down and worship me I celebrat thy great Name For thine unparallel'd Patience in bearing with his irksom Importunity and that powerful Severity wherwith thou didst rebuke his Impudence Enabl me also I humbly beseech thee whensoever the Temter seeks to delude me by his glosing Fallacy in mincing the Truth of God revealed in Scripture or impose upon me by any gross and apparent Falshood forged in his own Mint of Lying of the same nature with what he affirms concerning the Disposal of this World's Pomp and Power That is delivered unto me and to whomsoever I will I giv it so to descry his Fraud and detest his I alshood as to defeat his Malice and be released from his further Sollicitations by thy divine Aid who didst banish him and his Temtations from thee with a word saying unto him Get thee 〈◊〉 me Satan §. 6. My B. Redeemer when the Devil had ended all the Temtation thy Constancy having rather baffled his Attemt than abated his Malice he departed from thee for a Season and no sooner did the Devil leav thee but behold Angels came and 〈◊〉 unto thee I prais and magnify thy Name For this glorious Issu of thy Conflict with our Arch-enemy and for the grand Encoragement thou hereby givest us to persevere unto the end having thus made that inspired Advice an experimental Truth Resist the Devil and he wil flee from you Lord whensoever thy Grace hath succesfully armed me against the fiery Darts of the Wicked One so that he retires with Disappointment let me not grow secure as one ignorant of his Devices but be the more cautious in expectation of his speedy Return and vigilant in preparing to frustrat his next Assault for if when he lost the day he did not quit the field without thoughts of rallying his shatter'd Forces against the Captain of our Salvation What shal deterr him from re-attacquing such pusillanimous Soldiers as we are And as we hav all the Reason imaginabl to stand upon our Guard in respect of the danger we are in so we hav no small Encoragement to 〈◊〉 our selvs like Men in regard of the Recompence attending it for as soon as we can get rid of the Temter's Sollicitations we shal be refreshed with the consolatory presence of the Holy Angels the Operations of Grace herein conforming to the Laws of Nature which admit of no Vacuity Cap. II. Of our Savior's Entertaining two of S. John's Discipls and his Conference with Simon Peter Philip and Nathanael §. 1. ST John the Baptist who bare Record of Christ both Before and At his Baptism did also After it repeat his Testimony looking upon Jesus as he walked wherupon two of his Discipls which heard 〈◊〉 say Behold the Lamb of God followed Jesus and abode with
Copartnership with the Holy Trinity wherunto the inordinat Devotion of some Superstitious Christians hath erroneously exalted and inshrined thy Virgin-Mother in these later and more corrupt Ages of thy Church Lord I beseech thee inlighten my Soul with such a discreet and tru Distinction between the Honor or Respect I may justly bear to thy Earthly Mother or any other of thy Saints enrolled in Heven among the Spirits of Just Men made perfect and that Homage and Adoration which I am bound to pay unto Thy Self in the Unity of thy Hevenly Father and the Eternal Spirit that while I commemorat the Grace Thou hast conferred on Her whom thy H. Angel hath authorized us to call Blessed among Women I presume not to rob God of his peculiar Honor who declares expresly I wil not giv my Glory unto another And herein I shal best comply with that Advice which She her Self gave to the Servants that attended on this Nuptial Solemnity Whatsoever he saith unto you do it for thence we may rationaly infer That our resolved and activ Obedience to Thy Divine Commands is much more likely to gratify her holy Soul in Heven than any irregular Expression of Religious Worship unwarrantably tender'd to her Self on Earth Cap. IV. Of His Acts at the first Passover §. 1. AFter this he went down to Capernaum with his Mother his Brethren and Discipls but they continued there not many days for the Jews Passover was at hand and therefore Jesus went up to Jerusalem where finding those that sold Oxen and 〈◊〉 and Dovs and the Changers of mony sitting in the Templ he made a Scourge of small Cords and drove them all out thence 〈◊〉 out the Changers Mony and overthrew their 〈◊〉 saying unto them Take these things hence I prais and magnify thy Name O Lord of Hosts thou Mighty God of Sabaoth who for the more publick and notabl Declaration of thy Power didst signalize the very Commencement of thy Ministerial Function by purging thy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an 〈◊〉 Authority from 〈◊〉 gross Prophanation of those 〈◊〉 made it an Hous of 〈◊〉 which was an Act so extraordinary as gave thy 〈◊〉 occasion to 〈◊〉 that it was written The zeal of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hous hath eaten me up May all Places religiously set apart for thy Worship be ever 〈◊〉 in a venerabl manner I beseech thee and in thy Sanctuary let evry man speak of his Honor that dwels there that when we 〈◊〉 upon Thee O God in the midst of thy Templ our Hearts being 〈◊〉 from all Sacrilegious Thoughts of Secular Negotiations which like a Cage of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are apt as wel to 〈◊〉 as keep a place in thy holy Habitation the Templ of thy more especial Presence may be as it ought a Hous of Prayer not a Den of Thievs §. 2. Most H. Jesus When the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thou 〈◊〉 these things questioned 〈◊〉 Authority saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thou unto us Thou 〈◊〉 briefly make Answer unto them 〈◊〉 this Templ and in three days 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rais it up I celebrat thy Sacred Name For the hidden Mystery and yet most undoubted Truth couched in this thy prudent Reply which became easily intelligibl when thou wast risen from the Dead after that both Jew and Gentil had employ'd their utmost Power and Malice to destroy thee for then thy Discipls not only remembred that Thou hadst said this unto them but they 〈◊〉 understood that to be spoken of the Templ of thy Body which the 〈◊〉 misapplied to their material Templ in the building wherof forty and six years were elapsed I humbly beseech thee O Lord That the actual Accomplishment of all thy mysterious yet most infallibl Predictions may so enlighten the Understanding of thy Discipls in this later Age of thy Church as to engage Our Faith with no less efficacy than it did that of thy primitiv Followers who hereupon believed the Scripture and the Word which Jesus had said §. 3. O B. Jesus tho many 〈◊〉 in thy Name when they saw the Miracls which thou didst in Jerusalem at the 〈◊〉 in the Feast-day yet didst not thou commit thy Self unto them becaus thou knewest all Men I glorify thy great Name For this eminent Expression of the Divinity of the Son of Man who was so far abov the necessity of depending or relying on the faithless or feebl Generation of Adam that He 〈◊〉 not that any should testify of them for He knew what was in Man even while he vouchsafed to be conversant with them upon Earth in the likeness of Men. I humbly beseech Thee O Christ let the same Spirit which rested upon Thee be my Comfort and Support that from 〈◊〉 I lean not on any Child of Man for there is no Hope no Help in them but fully settl my whol Trust in God and commit the Keeping of my Soul to Him in Wel-doing as unto a faithful Creator And further teach me by this thine instructiv Exampl so much discreet Caution both in my Dealings with Men as may prevent the betraying of my Self to their deceitful Practices and in my Deportment towards God as may ever express me duly sensibl of 〈◊〉 Omniscience Cap. V. Of His Conference with Nicodemus §. I. WHen a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus came to Thee O Jesus by night with a privat Acknowledgment of thy Sacred Mission and unparallel'd Miracls which he wanted the Corage to avow in publick Thou wast gracioufly pleased without upbraiding either his Infirmity or Ignorance to discours the Mysteries of Regeneration to him in such a new and unheard-of manner as far exceeded the Knowledg of any Master of Israel I prais thy H. Name For all the profound and singular Excellencies of thy hevenly Doctrin wherby we know Thou art a Teacher com from God and for that convincing Method Thou hast made Use of to confirm it which was of force enough to make a Ruler of the Jews confess No man can do these Miracls that thou dost except God be with him Tho the Laws of Nature do not allow a Man to be born when he is old or enter the second time into his Mother's Womb yet by the Power of thy Grace let me I beseech thee 〈◊〉 born agen not of Water only but of the Spirit too that as I am naturally Flesh born of the Flesh so I may becom really Spirit born of the Spirit and be therby qualified both to 〈◊〉 and to enter into the Kingdom of God §. 2. O most holy and hevenly Doctor who didst represent to Nicodemus the unaccountabl yet apparent Motions of the H. Ghost in the mysterious Regeneration of evry one that is born of the Spirit by this apt Similitude The wind 〈◊〉 where it listeth and thou hearest the Sound therof canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth which drew him that was learned in the Matters of the Law to own his Ignorance in the Method of the Gospel by putting this Question 〈◊〉 can these things
of partition between us having abolished the Enmity not only by thy Death but in thy Life thine Exampl as wel as Precept engaging us to lay aside those distinctions wherby Schism and Faction curtail our Kindness and hinder our mutual Edification And tho unnecessary Conversation with leight or scandaIous persons is to be industriously avoided and very warily admitted yet when a just Occasion or accidental Providence brings a vicious person into my Company let me rather improv the Opportunity to reclaim an Offendor than be deterr'd from using my best endevor to save a Soul from death throu the Shame or Fear of being censured a Friend of Publicans and Sinners as thou my Lord and Master hast often been who like a merciful Physitian wouldst rather inspect our very Corruptions than neglect the Cure even of a lascivious Harlot such as this Samaritan seems to be for when thou didst bid her Go call thy husband and she replyed I hav no husband thou couldst tell her In that thou saidst truly for thou hast had five husbands and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband implying that in case he were husband to some other she lived in Adultery if not yet she lived in Fornication with one not espoused to her self §. 4. This particular Discovery of the privat Transactions of her own life made by one that was wholy a Stranger both to her Country and Person induced the Woman to confess unto him Sir I perceiv that thou art a Prophet and on that consideration she enters upon the Debate of a publick Controversy which had been so violently maintained between their two Nations that the Iews would hav no Dealings with the Samaritans supposing a person so extraordinarily qualified very fit to decide the matter in Dispute which she states thus Our 〈◊〉 worshipped in this Mountain and ye say that in Ierusalem is the place where men ought to worship I prais thy Holy Name O thou Reconciler of the World not only For asserting the Truth of the Jewish Church and the Error of the Samaritan in this thy positiv Reply Ye worship ye know not what we know what we worship for Salvation is of the Iews but likewise for opening a way unto their Reconciliation and removing the Occasion of the Difference by saying unto the Woman Believ me the hour cometh and now is when ye shal neither in this Mountain nor yet at Ierusalem worship the Father but the tru Worshippers shal worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth Lord since thou hast no longer confined thine Adorers to attend thy Service in one determinat place but dost will that men pray evry where lifting up holy hands I humbly beseech thee let this our Christian 〈◊〉 engage us to the more hearty and sincere Attendance as wel on thy publick Ordinances as our privat Offices of Religion remembring that God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in truth for the Father seéketh such to worship him §. 5. The Woman being hereby convinced of her Error the better to express her readiness to embrace the further Revelation of the Gospel saith unto him I know that Messias cometh which is called Christ when He is com he will tell us all things I celebrat thy Gracious Name O Iesus For saying unto her I that speak unto thee am He. With what plainness dost thou own the truth and power of that thine Office to this Alien nay Enemy to the Commonwealth of Israel which thou didst with so much care reserv from the Notice of thine own Peepl the Mystery which thou didst couch under obscure Parabls and 〈◊〉 Sayings in thy many publick Sermons to them thou hast clearly unvailed in one short and plain Expression to this Samaritan O the depth of the Riches both of the Wisdom and Knowledg of God! how unsearchabl are his Judgments and his Ways past finding out My Gracious God since thou hast thus reduced into Practice what thou hadst long before professed to thy Servant Moses I will have Mercy on whom I will hav Mercy I humbly beseech thee hav Compassion on my Soul and vouchsafe to make thy self effectually known unto me who am wors than a Samaritan by Nature a Sinner of the Gentils in Conversation §. 6. As soon as thou O Christ hadst given her this open Evidence and Acknowledgment of thine Office and Authority the Woman as having forgot her corporal Necessities and tasted the Grant of the Request she had made unto thee Sir giv me this Water that I thirst not neither com 〈◊〉 to draw left 〈◊〉 Water-pot and went her way into the City and 〈◊〉 to the Men that-lived in her Neighborhood Com and see a man which told me all things that ever I did Is not this the Christ I magnify thy Name For the communicativ Virtu of the Christian-Faith and the gradual Propagation of thy Gospel therby Many of the Samaritans of that City having believed on Thee for the Saying of the Woman which testified He told me all that ever I did Let those apparent Notices of thy Will O my God which hav enlightned mine Understanding and engaged mine Affections in the Profession of the tru Faith render me zealous and succesful in publishing those sacred Truths wherof I my self am convinced that I may becom an happy and industrious Instrument to promote thy Glory and the Good of others whether they be my Brethren and Neighbors in the flesh or not since throu him who came and preached peace to us which were afar off as wel as to them that were nigh we are no more Strangers and Foreiners but are made capabl of becoming fellow Citizens with the Saints and of the hous-hold of God by being built upon the foundation of the Apostls and Prophets Jesus Christ himself being the chief Corner-stone §. 7. In the mean while his Discipls who were newly returned with the Provisions which they went unto the City to buy and marvelled that He talked with the Woman prayed him saying Master eat But he said unto them I hav meat to eat that ye know not of I prais and magnify thy Name O Jesus Becaus wheras thy Discipls were apt to mistake thy words in a carnal sence as appears by their questioning one with another Hath any man brought him ought to eat thou hast fully explained the spiritual Meaning therof by this thy gracious Declaration My Meat is to do the Will of him that sent me and to finish his Work O hevenly Father create in me I beseech thee the same Mind which was in thy Son Christ Jesus that I also may prefer doing good in my Generation before my necessary Food and esteem the Performance of those things which are agreeabl to the Will of thy Holiness my chief Repast and Satisfaction such Acts of Obedience and Charity being capabl to 〈◊〉 my Soul unto Everlasting Life while the daily Bread which my Body stands in need of doth perish in