The 2. Paragraph.

TAlia dixerunt in inferno hi, qui peccaverunt. Wis. 5. This was the Discourse of sinners in hell, and tell mee what was their dis­course, O holy Spirit? for it will appeare no vaine nor idle curio­sitie to bee inquisitive what the damned say in hell, and for us who are so covetous of newes, what is done in this Kings Pal­lace, in this Princes Court, to heare what is done in hell, if it be not ungratefull, will much lesse be unprofitable, especially since these are no uncertaine hu­mours, such as commonly passe currant in reporting newes; What therefore are the discour­ses of the damned? Wis. 5. Ergo er avi­mus, a [...]v [...] â veritatis, & Iustitiae [Page 8] lumen non luxit nobis. Therefore we have erred (say they) from the way of truth, and the light of righteousnesse hath not shined up­on us. Therefore we have erred: This is the consequence, but where is the antecedent to it? Venite & fruamur bonis, quae sunt; vino precioso, & anguento nos impleamus, & ne praetereat nos flos temporis, coronemus nos Rosis, antequam marcescant; nul­lum pratum sit, quod non pertran­seat luxuria nostra. Come (say they) and let us enjoy those com­modities which are; let us take our fill of pretious wine and sweet perfumes, and let us not lose the flower of our time, let us crown our selves with Roses before they fade away, let no meddow he untra­vers'd by our riotousnesse. What could Kine or Oxen doe more, than invite one another in this manner unto the flowry Med­dowes? And this is the antece­dence they put in the world, un­to the consequence, which they make in hell. What miserable Logick is this? Where they made [Page 9] their antecedence, there they should have added the conse­quence, and when they said, come let us enioy those commodities which are, they ought instantly to have concluded: Therefore wee have erred, since either wee must repent in this life, or burne for it in the next; this is a place to repent our selves of our sins, and not to make no end of sinning, wee are rather now to thinke of Crosses than delights, here wee are put to fight, wee must expect to triumph in another place. Therefore you have erred, it is a good, and true consequence; but all t [...]o late, and the light of righ­teousnesse hath not shined upon you, and what is this light of righteousnesse? if it bee righte­ousnesse, as Lawyers affirme, to afford every one his right, then is it likewise a part of righteousnes. to set a right value and esteem on things, whence that light of our Soule, whereby we d scerne what account we are to make of them, is deservedly stiled the light of righteousnes; our unde [...]standing, [Page 10] and this is that which the dam­ned so lament they were deprived of. To judge of pleasant wines, to crown their heads with choise garlands, to please their palats with exquisite fare, and pursue their pleasure through every pleasant gro [...], none were more exactly skil'd than they; but that all these pleasures were no ways to bee preferred unto eternall ones, they wilfully chuse for to be ignorant of. They were so addicted to their vaine, and igno­minious pastimes, as all the joyes of the blessed seemed of small moment, b [...]t compared to them, they affected so passionat [...]y their delicious Wines, their Banquets, Roses, and Voluptuousnesse, that they ever dared to contemne the felicity of heaven, and made no account of all eternity in comp­rison of that liberty of sinning which they had; but this was a most unjust esteeme of things, as the light of understanding e­vidently declares, which teaches us to prize e ernity at so high a rate as for its sake alone to [Page 11] despise all other things. There­fore you have erred, the event doth plainly shew it, and the light of Righteousnesse hath not shone upon you, now it is too apparant. Many there are, who whilst they obstinately follow their depra­ved wayes, refuse utterly to learne what it is to goe aright, but are content to be so missed by their wilfull and ingratefull ig­norance: and such as these were you, O yee miserable wretches, wherefore now crie, and howle, for you are like everlastingly to sing no other note, but ergo erra­vimus, therefore wee have erred, therefore the ligh [...] of righteous­nesse hath not shined upon us. This is the ditty of the damned soules, this is the mournfull song they shall sigh for [...]h for all eternity.

The 3. Paragraph.

O Christians, therefore take heed that you deprive not your selves of this same heavenly light, Baruc. 1. May our Lord bestow upon us his vertue, and inlighten our eyes, for by the least glimpse of this light of understanding, it wil be no hard matter to apprehend, that wee are not to make more account of men than God; of ri­ches then of conscience, nor to set more by humane favour, than divine; that no pleasure whatso­ever is to be preferred to heaven, nor these instable things unto e­ternall ones. And truely saies St. Chrysostome. He can find nothing on earth to bestow his affection on, who hath but once savoured of celestiall things.

This light of understanding our good God was pleased should shine most plentifully on St Au­stins soule, when being advi­sed sayes he) to make reflection on my self, I entred into the inmost of all my selfe, and there saw with [Page 13] such an eye as my soule afforded me, the invariable light of God, which whosoever knowes, doth know e­ternity, and I perceived my selfe to be so farre estranged from thee, in an uncouth land; and not much unlike to this light of understan­ding, was that light of devotion, of which St Bernard speaketh. Beseech for thy selfe, (sayes hee) the light of devotion, a bright Sunny-day, together with a Sab­both and repose of mind, where like on old souldier priviledg'd with rest, for his long service, thou maist passe over all the labours of thy life, without any labour at all, in running with a dilated heart the way of the Commandments of God, whence it will arrive, that what at first thou underwentest with force and bitternesse of mind, thou shalt afterwards performe with much sweetnesse and conso­l [...]t on; to which likewise the royall Psalmist invites us, where he sayes, Accedite ad eum, & illuminamini. Taste and behold the sweetnesse of our Lord. And this is he delightfull light of [Page 14] heart, that flame burning with the very spirit of plea­sure, which God makes us eve­ry day more and more partakers of, and with proportion to this light inkindled in our bo­somes: God, who is incapable of all augmentation, and and every way immense, doth yet after a won­drous manner re­ceive increase himselfe.

The first Paragraph.

VVHosoever lyes in a hard, and painfull bed, makes little difficulty to rise at any time, onely they seek excuses and delayes, who lye lazing in their softest downe, and are unwilling to forgoe their warmer nests. Is thy life irk [...]ome to thee? I trust then thou wilt not be sorry to passe to a better one; hast thou thy hearts content? in my opini­on then it is high time for thee to close up thy dayes, before thy prosperity overwhelme thee (as it hath many more) with some disasterous ruine at the last: Wherefore (sayes Tertullian) we are no wayes to fear that which [Page 20] secureth us from all other feares. God delivers that man from a long torment, to whom he al­lowes but a short terme of life. Which con [...]deration made the holy Martyr Saint Cyprian, when the Emperour Valerian pronoun­ced this sentence a [...]ainst him: We command that Thracius Cy­prian bee executed by the sword; to lift up his hands and eyes to heaven, and cheerefully answer, God be ever praysed, Lib. de bono mortis. who vouch­safeth to deliver me from the fet­ters of this body of mine. St. Am­b [...]ose could not but wonder at some, who when they were to die, would rather expect till they were thrust out by force, than leave their bodyes prison wil­lingly; and what is there in this world & life, sayes he, but strife, with anger, lust, and gluttony, and the like? Of the same opi­nion was St. Chrysostome, when he demands: In c. 1. ad Colos. O man, what canst thou say? Thou art invited to a Kingdome, to the Kingdome of the sonne of God, and art thou so stupid to stand shrugging at [Page 21] it like a lazy sluggard, and doubt whether thou shouldst accept of it or no? If thou wert dayly to expose thy selfe for such a for­tune to a thousand deaths, oughtest thou not to encounter with them all? And whilest there is nothi g, thou wouldst not attempt to gaine some petty Princedome on the earth, wilt thou n [...]t outdare a thousand swords, wilt thou not leap into the fi [...]e, to become a joynt-inhe­ritor with the onely Sonne of God? nay out of a too inordina [...]e love unto this body of thine, thou do'st even lament and weep [...]or to bee t [...]ken hence, and clingst un [...]o the poore commodities of this present life; can it be that death should appeare unto thee such a [...]orrid thing? Without doubt th negligence, and plea­sure thou livest in is the cause thereof, for those who live in misery, desire nothing more than to be freed from the thrall of li­ving, and flye away to rest. Me thinks we can be compared o nothing more fitly than to birds, [Page 22] sluggish young ones, who by their good wills would never leave their nests, and yet the lon­ger they abide in them, the more faint and unweldy they become, and with good reason I compare this present life to such a nest, whose best materia [...]ls are straw, and dust, for shew [...]re your most magnificent Pallaces, and even those Courts of Princes which shine the brightest with bur­nisht gold, and precious stones, and I will account them nothing superiour to the swallowes nest, s [...]nce at the first approach of winter you shall behold them all come dropping downe.

Even so (S. C [...]rysome thou gol­den Orator) even so it is, at last they must all fal indeed, and we for company, and for the most part they are the safest who get the soonest downe. In w [...]ich re­gard the wise man congratulates with the Iust, that he was ravi­shed away before malice had in­fected his understanding, and the Angels so sharply reprehended him who shewed such unwilling­nesse [Page 23] to dye: You are afeard to suf­fer (sayd he) and will not depart, what shall I do with you? He hath no faith of the future resurrection, who makes no speed to a better life. If our house threatned us with ruine, should wee not all avoyd it presently? if our Ship in the midst of a stormy Sea, should be in danger of making wrack, would not our longing wishes be all set on land? In this world we heare the fearefull cracks of ru­ines every where, the dreadfull ro­ring of Stormes and tempests on every side, and why then doe we not seek to make for land? Why doe we not retire our selves unto our heavenly Father for securi [...]y, where all our deare friends expect our comming, secure of their own safety, solicitous of ours? O hap­py dead who die in our Lord, in that they rest in his bosome as if they dyed, and in that delightfull sl [...]mber do dye no otherwise, than if they went to rest. So St. Steven in the midst of such a violent shower of Stones, Acts 7. of such a noise and murmur of those that stoned [Page 24] him, did notwithstanding fall a­sleep in our Lord, as the Scripture testifieth. Iohn 11. The like our Saviour himselfe affirming of Lazarus, whom he loved so well, Lazarus amicus noster dormit; Deut. 34, So Moses the holy servant of Almighty God at his appointment dyed, and even as a tend [...]r mother kisses her child thats sleeping in her armes, and with deare imbraces laies him downe to rest, so there wants not some who affirme that passage of Scripture to beare such a sence as if God should have taken Laza­rus, like a sleeping infant in his arm [...]s and in midst of his tender kisses, and imbracements, layd him downe in Abrahams bosome, Psal. 126. as in a bed to rest: for so, cum d [...]de­rit dilectis suis somnum, ecce haere­ditas Domini; when hee hath layd his beloved to sleep, beh [...]ld (hee bestowes on him) his inheritance; thrice happy are such dead as these, Apoc. 4. of whom the Spirit can say, from henceforth now they rest from their labours, for their works follow them, no otherwise than servants doe their Lords, children their Pa­rents, [Page 25] Noble men their Princes, & attend upon them even to the very throne of God. They usher and conduct them to Gods supremest Court, where never any attendants under their ranke and dignity are admitted in; whosoever then is predestinated to everlasting life, will prayse death as the most ex­cellent invention, which nature hath, as knowing that they can arive unto it by no other way. And such a one who is alwayes prepared to dye, will keep himself in appetite by such like Discourses as these.

The 2. Paragraph.

WHy should I feare to dye; 'tis but to goe the way which my Fathers went before, nay more, the common beaten road of eve­ry thing: What priviledge is th s, which I alone of all others doe pretend unto, when I doe shunne to dye? Had I not better doe that willingly, which I must doe whe­ther I will or no? since the perfor­mance is light of that which is [Page 26] willingly undertaken, and necessi­ty gives place, where our will be­comes a party. Rather why should I not imbrace that willing­ly, by benefit of which I shall cease to be mortall, which I have unwillingly beene so long, I recei­ved my body upon no other condi­tion, than to restore it backe a­gaine, and am to restore it for no other end than to resume it a­gaine to my more commodity. I have been detained hitherto from beholding of my God, onely by the tardinesse of my death, which is but the fore-runner of that better life, and that day which so many stand in feare of, as the last of all their life, is but the birth­day of an eternall one; and I take it no wayes heavily, that the Sunne sets upon me here, since I expect the dawning of a light a­gaine, which never shall be obscu­red by any gloomy night. O how gladly shall I embrace that d [...]y, which shall assigne me my habi­tation, and replant mee in Para­dise, delivered from hence, and loosned from those bonds which [Page 27] detain'd me here so long? I am not ignorant that I stand guilty, and convicted of many crimes, but thy mercy, O my God, is an Ocean, and a boundlesse sea: in­to which death shall bee no rea­dier to precipitate me off of this turfe of earth, whereon I stand, than I to commit my self unto the vast bosome of so deare a sea, as shall set a period to all the mise­ries of my mortall life. O God, that death would mend its pace; it can never come so suddenly, so at unawares, as not to finde mee ready, and desirous to goe to rest; I am not such an enemy of repose to bee sor [...]y when a holy day comes, which may bring with it a cessation from [...]roubles and af­flictions, but will rather rejoyce for so good an opportunity, of shutting up this wretched shop of life, fraught with so many and innumerable miseries, to shake off the heavy yoak of death, and for­tune, and begin with a day which shall never end in night. O what happy tidings will it be to heare, that my King calls for mee out [Page 28] of this prison where I am, and ranks me in a state of higher dig­nity. Open but the cage unto a bird, and there will be no need to chase it out, but it will flye out of its owne accord: Even so I will willingly issue forth into those a­zure plaines, as one who long since have beene over cloyed with life. Touching the place, or hour of my death, I am nothing soli­citous, let him who made mee dispose of me as hee ple [...]se, his wil shall be both the rule of life and death to me, neither can I expect any thing of him, who is all good­nesse, but the best. And is it not in the potters hands, aswell to frame the vessell on his act ye wheele, as to new mould it, if it seem good unto him? I am a ves­sell of that great potters making, and what reason have I to com­plaine, if he who made me please to unmake me? or to speak more properly, to make me new again, and render mee happy, who was miserable before? Is hee pleased to have me live? then I will live as long as it pleases him: Is [Page 29] he ple [...]sed that I should dye? I I will not desire to have my death respited a moments sp [...]ce; both my beginning and ending are wholly depending on his ho­ly will. Wherefore I will not onely embrace willingly, but also gladly whatsoever he shall ordain. Mihi vivere Christus est. Phil. 1. & mori lucrum; for unto mee to live is Christ; to dye is gaine. I love thee, O my most amiable God, & desire yet to love thee more ardently: O that my heart might wholly melt away in the flame of such a love, since nothing can make me happy beside thy selfe. And when and where, O my God, shall I take my flight hence unto thee? I will follow thee, O most loving father, and at neerer di­stance thou shalt call mee, the more readily I will obey thy call.

The third Paragraph.

THis feeling he hath of death, who desires to bee transpor [...]ed unto heaven, and live with Christ, [Page 30] neither is this such an uncouth thing, for as a Physitian (sayes Theoph [...]lact) when hee pe [...]eives his patient to have an aversion from the food and physick which he doth prescribe, doth first take an assay of them himselfe, to in­courage his patient to an appe­tite; so Christ vouchsafed to taste first of death himselfe, that Chri­stians might have no horrour of dying after him. And why then dear Christian, tho thou be of na­ture never so timorous at the ap­prehension of death, wilt thou not put on such a resolution, as that which I have set before thine eyes, and with an assured and un­daunted mind, burst forth into these ex [...]lamations; Psal. 116. Caelicem sa­lutarem accipiam, & nomen Domini invocabo. J will receive the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. I cannot deny but it is a bitter one, yet it is no other than that which my Saviour drunk of unto my health, upon his bloody Crosse, and le [...] to me to pledge. It is no other than that fatal cup of death, which [Page 31] Christ dranke out of his owne free election, and all others must drink of inevitable necessity, and why then should I alone refuse it? All whose lives have a begin­ning must likewise have an end, but to begin a fresh a life againe which neve [...] shal have end. What a vaine feare then is this that startles me? what a silly pensive­nesse that tempts my constancy? Calicem, quem dedit mihi Pater, &c. and shall I not drink of the Chalice which my father hath presented mee withall, which Christ himselfe hath drunke of to me, and fild me out again; am I a mortall man, and shall I not learne to die? Alexander lying once dangerously sick, some of his friends more solicitous than needed for his health, advised him to beware of Philip his Phy­sitian, as one who had a designe to poyson him. The King, the next time the Physitian visited him, with a potion he had pre­pared to administer unto him, did no more but receive the po­tion in one hand, and reach him [Page 32] out in the other the letter to read, containing the advice which his friend had given him, and whilst he prepared himself, to drinke it off, hee stedfastly regarded the Physitians face, to note whether in the reading thereof he might discover any signes of guiltinesse, but per­ceiving the innocencie of the man, from the constancy of his countenance, without any more delay he drunke it up. In this manner receiving that cuppe which Christ my onely Physitian and Saviour hath ordeyned, and presented me withall, to cast me into a profound, and quiet sleep, I will fasten my eyes upon my Physitian whilst I drinke it off; I will stedfast­ly regard the countenance of my crucified Lord, wherein I shall read written in lively Cha­racters the countenance of that infin [...]te love he beares me, and with a constant and unappaled mind will I drinke it up: which will conferre so much the more of health, the more affectio­nately [Page 33] I shall welcome it. And thus (deare Christian) death when it arrives, will easily be overcome, if before it ar­rives, we arme our selves against the feare of it, by often revolving it in our me­mories.

The first Paragraph.

Luke 14. ET ceperunt omnes simul excu­sare: and they began all to excuse themselves, saith the Go­spell. This had bought a farm, this a yoke of Oxen, that other was newly married, so that none is at leasure to repaire to Christ: but examine these excuses, and for all their faire glosse, you will find them meere sencelesse ones, for what were it for one of us, for a short houres space to leave his c [...]res at his farme, his oxen in the stable, and his wife at home, and apply our selves to that which so neerely concerneth our salvation; If wee were re­quested to prune a vineyard, or to till the ground, we might with good reason chuse rather to sleep at home, than work abroad: But when we are invited to a banquet, to be guests of our Saviour Christ, where our food is to be no other than himselfe, [Page 39] to excuse our selves, and refuse to goe, shewes a most rusticall behaviour, and speakes us either extreamly mad or impudent. We should appeare right Adams off-spring, if we shund God Al­mighties sight, when he were angry, but to avoyd him thus, when out of his great mercy he beholds us with so gracious an eye, when he calls, and loving­ly invites us to his Table, so richly furnished with all celestial rarities, is the part of brute beasts, and not of men. But to set off our excuse with a fairer co­lour, we pretend nothing disho­nest, or lesse becomming us, as theft, adultery, or the like, but excuse our offence and negli­gence with as faire pretences as can be imagined. For what [...]arm [...]s there say you, in matrimony, and the solicitude of our dome­sticall affaires, in buying cattell, purchasing of land: and what good can there be in these, when once they avert us from the [...]overaignst good of all, from our soules salvations? We are so to [Page 40] cherish our bodyes as our soules receive no detriment the while, so to purchase land, as not to de­prive our selves of Heaven; when we are invited to this great sup­per, we ought presently to goe, laying aside the care of all other things, no thought of our farmes, our oxen, our wives, no solici­tude of any businesse ought to interrupt us then, when we en­tertaine discourse, at this royall banquet with the King of An­gels, but also many many times we become so impudent as not to be ashamed to answer flatly, non possum venire, I cannot come, and what is that but to say, I will not come; Oh deare Christians, is this the way think you, to obtaine his favour? mise­rable as we are, and to none more injurious than to our selves, what is this but to flye fron the fire when we freeze for cold, to abuse our Physitian when we lye desperately sick, the more needing his helpe, the lesse sen­sible we are of our owne infir­mity, and to have the sweet and [Page 41] delicious Manna in loathing, whilst we passionately long after Garlick and Onions. God for­merly signified unto the people of Israel by Moses, that they should gather Manna every day, except the Sabboth, on which they were appoynted to take their rest. This holy Sacrament is our Man­na by infinite degrees more ex­cellent then theirs which wee may take our fill of during our tearme of life, till the Sabboth of death invite us to our rest. But what doe we the while but imitate our first parent, for as he (sayes Gerson) not eating of the tree of life whilst hee might, was afterwards justly punished in be­ing debarred to eate of it, when he desired it; So we behave our selves so fastidiously, as we will not approach unto this holy re­fection, whilst we may, but whilst we gladly accept of the least invitation to anothers bo [...]rd, we never come to this of our Saviour, but very rarely and much against our wills. We are negligent in nothing so much as [Page 42] in the point of our salvation, in this we are onely carelesse, in other things we are vigilant e­nough. For this respect God in these words sends us to schoole unto the Ant, Vade ad formicam ô piger, Prov. 6. & disce supi­entiam. Goe O thou sluggard un­to the Ant, and learne wisedome of her. This little creature can tell onely by instinct of nature, that winter is no fit season to make provision in, and there­fore it provides its selfe of food in the summer, which it hoords up till then, how far more dili­gent ought we to be than they, since our Saviour commending unto us this food of immorta­lity, doth affirme that, Si quis man ducaverit ex hoc pane, vivet in aeternum. If any shall eate of this bread, hee shall live eternally. Wherefore those who are prede­stinated to this eternall life, never cease to make provision of this vitall food, ag [...]inst the win­ter of ensuing death, and this was his intent who bequeathed this Sacrament unto us, not to bee [Page 43] adored, but to nourish us, and as we maintaine our bodies health, by duely receiving of our corpo­rall food, who otherwise by that naturall heat which is pre­dominant in us should be con­sumed away, so likewise the soule by repairing often to this f od is conserved in life, which otherwise would be destroyed by the impu [...]e fire of his concupi­scence▪ Hence it is that Saint In [...]ocentius so carefully admo­nishes us, to take heed least by deferring too long the receaving of this holy Sacrament, wee might incurre t e danger of a spiritual death And S. Hilarion to the same effect, it is to be fear'd (sayes he) least those who farre absent themselves from the body of Christ, be likewise far estran­ged from their salvation; For whosoever abstaines from sin­ning, ceaseth not to communi­cate, but this is that which we desire, this is but our common impediment, we rather chuse to abstaine from holy communion, then from sinne, and will sooner leave [Page 44] of to frequent this table, then our lewd behaviour. Even this way which of all others our Saviour invented as the most sweet & ef­ficacious, we cannot be brought to correct our manners, and a­mend our lives. We believed the lying Serpent affirming to us, we should become like to God, and yet hardly credit our Sav our the truth it selfe, who assures us that by eating of this food, we shall be changed into him, Qui man­ducat meam carnem & bibit meum sanguinem, Iohn. 6. in me manet, & ego in eo, Our Saviour Christ appoynts us to receive this Sacrament in memory of his death, and who can doubt but he commends withall the often frequenting it, yet we who on the one side can­not but approve his ordination as most just, on the other trans­gresse it by our tardy receiving it. All the holy fathers commend most earnestly unto us the fre­quent use of this holy mystery, and wee attribute much unto their counsel and authoritie, but more unto our owne vitious [Page 45] inclinations; wee have many Saint-like and holy men for guides, we see the lights of their good examples, but will not fol­low them.

The second Paragraph.

IF as often as one received the blessed Sacrament he should improve by some great summe of money his temporall estate, there were no need to perswade any to frequent it oft, none but would bee sensible enough of such golden reasons, nay it would be rather requisite to take some order to represse the multi­tude of communicants, than to invent motives to incite them for to come. Miserable blindnesse! wee see gold, and are taken with it, and we despise the hid­den treasures of the Euchari [...] onely because we doe not consi­der them. And what is all the gold in the world, but a little dust compared to this peerelesse Iewell, which no living crea ure can value to its worth? This [Page 46] sacred Eucharist protecteth us f [...]om committing deadly sinnes, it enervates the vitious propensi­ons of th [...] mind, enlightens our understanding, excitates our will, sereneth our conscience, armes us against the assaults of the enemy, enables us to with­stand adversity, defends us from falling in prosperity, and care­fully directs not to fail in going right. This holy Sacrament gives us a pledge of future glory, and withall begets in us a con­tempt of death, and a desire of Heaven, the moderation of our passions, a horror of sinne, a love of vertue, an entire victory over our selves, and perseverance in good. But you will say, perhaps my minde is so aride, vaine, 'tepid, and defiled, as I even tremble to repaire unto it. This excusation is either evill, or none at all, th [...] more of these imperfections thou discoverest in thy selfe, the more nec [...]ssary [...]t is thou shouldst frequent this holy Sacrament. Is thy mind polluted? make haste then unto [Page 47] this Sacrament, which is the ve­ry fountaine of purity. Art thou ill disposed? it is a soveraigne re­medy, an approved antidote a­gainst all the diseases of the mind. Art thou hungry? behold the bread of Angels. Art thou be­numbed with cold? make speed unto it, it is an ardent fire. Doe thine enemies molest thee? take courage, this Arsenall will furnish thee with all sorts of weapons to defend thy selfe. Art thou sor­rowfull and afflicted? this is that wine which cheeres the hearts of men. Dost thou seek often dain­ties? they are no where to bee found but here in this banquet, the repast of Kings. Dost thou long to bee in heaven? here thy charges are defraid, here thou wilt be furni [...]hed with farre better pro­vision fo [...] thy journey than Elias wa [...], travelling towards Mount Horeb: If the very touch of our Saviours garment could stop a bloudy fluxe, what disease is there which the touch of his sacred body cannot cure? But I am un­worthy you will reply again, who [Page 48] approach too often to this sacred Communion, which I can never receive with reverence enough. D [...]are Christians for his blessed sake, let us not entitle our want of reverence to our slothfulnesse: believe St. Thomas that Angeli­call Doct [...]r, melias est ex amore ac­cedere quam ex timore abstinere. It is better to repaire to it out of love, than to abstaine for feare: And Saint Ambrose interpreting th [...]se words of our Saviour, pa­nem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, of the blessed Sacrament; If it be our dayly bread (sayes he) why is it a yeare before you re­cei [...]e it? rather why doe you not rec [...]ive that dayly, which dayly will prof [...]t you? live so as you may worthily receive it every day, for hee who is unworthy to re­ceive it every day, wil not be wor­thy to receive it once a yea [...]e. And in another place, if our Sa­viours blood (sayes he) as often as it is shed, is shed for the remis­sion of sinnes, I ought alwa [...]s to be receiving, that alwayes my sinnes may be remitted me, and it [Page 49] behoves me who [...]ver sinne, to be ever providing [...]e [...] of a remedy. Gennadius Marsiliensis sayes, Lib. de dogm. Eccl. cap. 13. I neither praise nor dispraise the custome of communicating every d [...]y; but this I would advise and counsaile all to communicate eve­ry Sunday, alwayes provided that wee come with no determinate will of sinning any more, which kinde of pr [...]paration is more ea­sily prescribed, than the riddance of our mind of all affection to any vitiousnesse, that is, never thereafter to offend God more; for certainly he should shew him­selfe very ungratefull towards his Maker, who would not at least have a will for his sake never to staine his conscience with any sin, for touching such as these, the Master of the feast with good reason professed, dico vobis quod nemo virorum illorum gustabit coe­nam meam. I say unto you, that none of those men shall taste of my Supper. But alas, O Lord, are they not the selfe same men who refused to taste of thy Supper, and dost thou now decree it in punish­ment [Page 50] of their offence? Even so it is, that which they desire is their owne torment, and what wicked­nesse they voluntarily embrace, is nothing else but their owne pu­n [...]shme [...]t Samaria being oppressed with the misery of a grievous fa­mine, the Prophet Elizius fore­told that shortly they should see the price of corne incredibly abated: whereupon one of the Nobles in deriding his Prophesie Si nubes pregnantissimae frumenti pluant, nunquid ideo sa [...]ina tam vi­lis erit p etii: If the clouds, (said hee) should bee great with co [...]e and raine it downe upon us, yet it would never be sold at so vile a price; to whom Elize [...]s answered: Thou shalt see it with thy owne eyes, but shalt not eate of it, and so it came to passe. This is right the punishment of many in these days, they see plenty of this heavenly bread but never taste of it. They see men communicating in every Church they looke into, but Communicate not themselves: They are bid Depart; because they will goe whether the P [...]iest [Page 51] will or no. They are excluded f [...]om this holy Table, for no o­ther reason, but because they ex­clude themselves.

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AS for the Holy men to be deprived long of this bread of Life, they like true Sonnes of GOD interpret it as a signe of their Fathers high displeasure, and indignation: farre they are from neglecting any occa­sion of receiving it, for they are not ignorant with how great and Fatherly a providence Al­mighty GOD hath provided for every severall Creature their proper food; Eagles prey on lesser Fowle, the Whale de­voures the lesser Fish, the Ly­ons other savage Beasts, Hor­ses and more Domestick Cat­tell feed upon Oates and Hay. And for Man, bread growing [Page 52] on the Earth is ordained for Food of such as have no higher ambition but to bee sonnes of men; but for those who aspire to become sonnes of God, this bread descending from heaven is their chiefest sustenance; this celestiall bread, this bread of the Sonnes of God, this bread of Angels with an ardent desire, with a humble affection, with a tender reverence they receive most frequently, and rather chuse out of piety to incurre the note of presumption by declaring them­selves Children, than of ene­mi [...]s, out of a too faulty bash­fulnesse. During which ban­quet, if our blessed Saviour should addresse his speech in this manner to any of the number of predestinate: Consider seriously what I have suffered for the love of thee, thou mayst well count the thornes my head pierced, but canst never number those torments I have sustained for t [...]ee in every part of me besides; [...]y body was all goard with boudy whips and nailes; but [Page 53] how much my heart hath suffered is beyond expression. It was little lesse than a death, I suffered for thee even in the garden, when the anguish of my minde drew as much bloud from mee, as the Souldiers afterwards in my fla­gellation: And now consider with t [...]y selfe, what mine enemies inflicted on me, when even my best friends spared me not; thou knowest upon how hard a bed I was content for thy sake to ren­der up my Ghost, and my love (that thou maist know what an ardent one it was) would resolve on no death to dye for thee, but the most bitter and ignominious of all, when it finding none more bitter and ignominious than the Crosse made choyse of it. And thus behold how I have dyed for thee, and have been still ready to dye for thee a thousand times; Wherefore tell me, what wilt thou suffer for mee againe? if thou desirest that my love to thee should be perpetu [...]ll, thou must love me againe, who have so loved thee. For my part, I [Page 54] have loved thee unto death, even unto the death of the Crosse, it rests that thou wilt declare, how farre thou wilt extend thy love for me againe. Who now all of that happy company will not pre­sently answer him, all bathed in affectionate teares, even unto the death, O my most loving Lo [...]d, even unto the Crosse it self, so it bee thy divine pleasure my love shall extend it selfe: And who shall grant unto me that hap­pinesse to dye for thee, O Iesus, my sweetest Iesus! or who am I, that I should be thought worthy for to dye for thee! O what a love was this of thine my dearest life, that thou wouldest suffer thus, that thou wouldest dye thus for me, without any the least me­rit or desert of mine; such sighes as these, such most chaste aspira­tions use commonly to bee the table talke at this sacred banquet, and thus a soule becomes inti­mately united unto Almighty God.

For which reason wee place this frequency of Communion (pro­vided [Page 55] that our affections be sin­cere at least, though otherwise not so inflamed as wee could wish) among the principall signes of Predestination. But alas, there are but too too many Christians yet, who whatsoever is delivered to them by way of Sermon, or of written books are so dead asleep in the Lethargy of their deboysht lives, as nei­ther the examples of the more pious sort, nor admonitions of holy Saints, can stirre them up to a more frequent use of this holy Sacrament.

O Christians, what Rocks of Ice, what deadly cold is that which freezes up your hearts, that thus you avoyd the com­fortable beames of this all-chee­ [...]ing Sun? Do you not perceive that this is nothing else than the meere stratagems of your ene­my, who endevours all he can to extinguish wholly in us the fire of this divinest love, to the end that being all stifly frozen with this pernicious cold of mind, we may live no otherwise [Page 56] then if we were wholly dead, pe­rish in the filth and sordidnesse of sinne, and never arrive to the kingdom of the l [...]ving? but those who love our Saviour Christ with constant affections, are delighted with nothing more than in often repairing to him: for as Cassiodorus saith admi­rably well, Inaudita est ditectio quae amicum amat, & praesentiam ejus non amat. It is such an af­fection as was never heard of, that one should love his friend, and not be delighted in his company.

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STi [...]pon having lost together with his Count ey, his wife and children, and [...]scaping him­selfe, the onely, but happy re­mainder of the publike ru [...]ne, was demanded of Demetrius whether he had l st all hee had or no? To whom he answered, he [...]ad lost nothing at all; for Omnia mea mecum sunt, I carry [Page 63] with me, saith he, all the goods I have: The like Bias (in the like mischance,) affirmed of himselfe, that he carried his sub­stance not on his shoulders, but in his breast, not where mens eyes might see it, but where their minds may judge of it. This con­tempt of earthly things, which in Heathens was accounted the signe of a great spirit, in Chri­stians is an assured signe of Pre­destination to eternall life; and he is a valiant souldier indeed of Iesus Christ, who after some mighty losse can say, Omnia mea mecum porto, I beare all my ri­ches along with me; my God is all.

It is reported of St Francis of Ass [...]sum that with incredible de­light he passed over whole nights together, in the onely considera­tion, and with often repeating of these foure short words, Deus meus & omnia, My God and all. The example of which admi­rable Saint we ought all to imi­tate, and to glorie with him in all our necessities, in saying, Deus [Page 64] meus & omnia. Let others seek after what other things they please, let them be taken and de­lighted with what else they will, I seek for God alone: God is onely my desire, all my delight, O Deus meus & omnia. I free­ly resigne to others all share in honours & all my part in what­soever pleasures and delights; give me my God, and I shal have every thing. I surrender whole worlds to others, and envy them not their mountaines of gold, and precious stones; I care not for their exquisite delights; my God is unto me in place of all. There is nothing so good, no­thing so delicious or so fair which the chiefest and supremest good doth not surpasse both for good, faire, and delicious by infinite degrees; O Deus meus & omnia! Alas how many desires do often inflame my breast? with what severall fires, for the most part doe I burne, what a tide of va­rious fancies doe carry my [...]eart away, insomuch as like the fran­tique youth in the Gospel, M [...]. 17. some­times [Page 65] I am dragged into the wa­ter, sometimes into the fire, and what are all these things which I pursue with so much eagernes, but vaine, fading, and for the most part infamous, such we never have any long assurance of, but either they soone dye unto their owne, or he must dye to them. O my God, my love, and my all, what is it that I can pos­sibly desire, whose want thou canst not abundantly supply? O God art thou not all u [...]to m ? my drink, my food, my rest, my joy, my pleasure, the height of all my honour? O God, thou art all and more than all to me. For though I feed on those vi­ands which most take my appe­tite; refresh me with that drink which best relishes my taste; enjoy that pleasure which most affects my mind; yet what is all this feeding, this refreshing, this joy to me? Deus meus & omnia. Ah one refreshing of thine, one enjoying of thee, is to be refre­shed indeed, is to enjoy the quin­tessence of every good. But in [Page 66] the meane while, labour oppres­seth, griefe afflicteth, ca [...]es di­stract us, our riches diminish, our friends forsake us, our lives consume away, and we become th [...] subj [...]ct of others inju [...]ies and scorne: Nothing of all this tou­ches my feare (sayes the holy A­postle) neither doe I mak [...] my life more precious than my selfe, Acts 20. so that I may consummate my course, neither can all these, though they altogether rush upon me, any wayes indammage me, if God that soveraigne good undertake but the defence of me, Deus me­us & omnia. Thou art unto me, O my good God, O good­ness [...] it selfe, rest in my labours, pleasure in my griefe, security in my cares, and the onely true riches in my poverty. Thou art my strong Bulwark against all the furious assaults of men, thou art my refuge whatsoever evill oppresses me, and finally thou art all unto me whatsoever I can wish for, or desire. All aboun­dance which is not God, I will account but as meere beggary. [Page 67] Wherefore then doe we seek to [...]uench our thirst with these [...]uddy streams, when we have so Crystall a fountain head as this, where we may drink our fills? In having God we have all whatso­ev [...]r we can desire. If poverty af­flict any one, if fortune frowne upon h [...]m, as his joy may be lesse, so certainly wi l be his griefe; when fortune can chal­lenge nothing of him as its own, nor death bereave him of any thing that is another mans.

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NEither doth this poore man yeeld to him in felicity, who being rich in his possessions, is yet contented with nothing, that he hath, since he keeps his riches in his Coffers not in his heart, and would never pine away for sorrow should he lose it all, for, Sine dolore amittitur quicquid sine amore possidetur, quae verò ardenter diligimus babita, gravi­tèr suspiramus ablata, we lose that without grief (saith St. Gregory) [Page 68] which without affection we en­joyed, and [...]nely s [...]gh grievously to depart with that which wee loved tenderly whilst we were poss [...]ssed of. But that good which can onely render others so, none c [...]n be possest or bereaved of a­gainst his will: Neither is any thing to bee acc [...]unted good of which we may ever be deprived of. Goe then Satan and coun­terfeit thy selfe a messenger, the family of most patient Job is not so wholly exting [...]ished yet, as there remaine none of that lineage who can renounce all they have. Run therefore and cry as loud as rhou wilt, tell such an one, you have lost all you had, you are wholly impoverished; heare what an answer he will give, Nisi ego illam, fortassis illa me perdidisset. If I had not lost it, perhaps it would have proved the losse of me; I am but so much the lighter to goe on my way towards heaven. God in freeing me from a deere, but pe­rillous burthen, hath best provi­ded for my security, wherefore I [Page 69] will not account that my losse which God intended for a bene­fit. An [...] why should I to no end and in vaine afflict my selfe for it? I knew when I possessed it I must forgoe it once, and now I am the more mine owne, when I can say that is mine owne no more. Dost thou heare this O Christian? and thou too, dost thou heare this, O thou hellish fiend? This discourse, this fee­lin [...] have they of their riches who are predestinated to everla­sting life; neither can they ever lose so much, as not to retain this liberty to say; It is no losse we sustain, but onely a gainful kind of trade, where for a little ex­pence we purchase our selves u [...] ­va [...]uable wealth, we buy heave [...] for a small portion of ground we tread on.

The first Paragraph.

IT is not the wont of the eternall providence to nourish a vertuous person in delights, but it tryes hardens and apts him to its pe­culiar ends: Yet so, as in the meane while it assures him, Cum transieris per aquas tecum ero: When thou shalt passe by waters I will be with thee, and the flouds shall not overwhelme thee; when thou walkest in fire thou shalt not burne, neither shall the flames scorch thee; for so God uses to drench us both in water and fire, but suffers us neither to be bu [...]nt nor swallowed up, he makes triall of us both in freezing cold, and glowing heat, but for those whom he hath predestinated to everlasting life, he neither permits the fire to consume them, nor waters drowne them, for God is [Page 77] faithful (saith the Apostle) who wil not suffer you to bee tempted above that which you are able, but will make your profit of temptation that you may be able to sustaine.

Blosius doth treat excellent well of this signe of predestination, where he affirmes that there is no more infallible signe of divine e­lection, than when a man under­goes affliction or what else ad­versity, not onely without repug­nance, but with patience and due submission, since nothing, saith he, is more profitable for him than to suffer; And this is the inestimable jewell of that ring, with which God espouses to him­selfe a pious soule; whose prero­gative is so great as St. Chryso­stome doth solemnly affirme. Ni­hil esse melius quam male pati pro­pter Deum. That nothing is better than to suffer evill for Almighty God. For then the elect may wel be said to drinke of the torrent in the way, Psal. 109. for which their heads shall be exalted, afterwards even to heaven. Now they are pressed downe and trodden under foot, [Page 78] that afterwards like palmes they they may rise the higher for it: It is [...] verity which God would have us throughly penetrate, that the good which wee aspire to, is infinite, and of difficile accesse, a d therefore not to be atta [...]ed to bu [...] by much p [...]ine and lab [...]ur, in conf [...]rmity to which t [...]at holy Ancho [...]i [...]e said excellent well, Marcus. that God well knowing our [...]m­becillity [...]oth use to bestow no remarkable favour upon any one whom he hath not first apted for the receiving of it by s [...]me or other [...]rud [...]nt calamity. So Mo­ses had no [...]oon [...]r forsaken the Court of Pharaoh by the e [...]press command of God himselfe, but presently both poverty, ignomi [...]y, and contempt, with the extreme danger [...]f his life, by the procure­ment of the King: And lastly, his flight and banishme [...]t did all consp [...]re to work his destruction. We m [...]y perceive saith St. Grego­ry, th [...]se whom God elects by their pious actions, and bitter sufferings; whom likewise it may be gathered how rigorously our [Page 79] just Iudge will punish the repro­bate at the latter day, when he is so severe now towards those, wh [...]m hee affecteth most.

Wherefore those Chistians doe much deceive themselves; who imagine to goe whole (as it were) to heaven, without be­ing well bruised before, for let them but take a generall view of of all, and they will find, that the richer men are in vertue, the more they are stored with tribu­lations, and that those common­ly who most abound in wealth, and are the greatest favourites of fortune, are those who most excell in wickednesse. Such beasts as are designed for the shambles, we see are suffered freely to grase in the best pastures, whilst others are tired out with toyle and la­bour; even so those who are pre­destinated to heaven, and not suffered at liberty to disport themselves, but are alwayes with afflictions. Insomuch as the same Blosius truely affirmes from the authority of another holy person. Quemcunque Deus potioribus donis exornare subli­miterque [Page 80] transformare decrevi [...], eum non blandè & mol iter lava­re se [...] totum in mare amaritudi­ [...]is i [...]mergere consuevit. That when God once decrees to ad­vance a man to any eminent de­gree (of perfection) and endow him with his rich [...]st favours, he uses not only to dip him lightly in, but even to plunge him into a whole sea of bitternesse.

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THE Doctrine of Hippocra­tes and Galen is, to preserve and cherish our selve [...]: to hate and abnegate our selves is the Doctrine of C [...]rist. Insomuch, as all those who have ever attai­ned to celestiall beatitude, may appropriate to themselves that saying of Them [...]stocles, 1 Cor. 12. Periera­mus nisi periissemus, we had pe­rished, if wee had not perished. Many have beene preserved by being lost, and without doubt as many had b ene as unhappily lost, if God by their happy losse had not prevented it. And So [Page 81] Saint Paul, when others imagi­ned him utterly to be lost, began then first of all to think that he had found himselfe, Placet mihi in infirmitatibus, &c. I am de­lighted (saith hee) in my infir­mities, in contumelies, and ne­cessities, in my distresses and per­secutions for Christ, seeing I am th [...]n (most) potent, when I am (most) infirme; and St Bernard as if he were tired with seeking out Almighty God, Circumire Domine possum coelum & terram, m [...]re & aridam & nusquam te inve [...]iam nisi i [...] Cruc [...]; ibi dorm s, ibi pascis, ibi cubas in meridie: I may circuit heaven and earth (saith he) O Lord, the sea, and the dry land, and yet find thee no where but on the Crosse; there thou sleepest, there thou feedest, there thou reposest thee at noone-day. Wherefore let us follow our Lord like dutifull servants, and avoyd eternall tor­ments, by the compendious way of our short sufferance here. Athanasius being condemned to banishment by Iulian the Apo­stata, [Page 82] and perceiving the Chri­stians of Alexandria to weep bit­terly at his departure, bade them be of good comfort, for (said he) this is but a little cloud which will bee blowne over presently, and truely all that seems most terrible in this mortall life, is but as a hovering cloud, that will soone be dissipated and c [...]anged into eternall serenity. The ancients had their Ap [...]lles so industriou [...], as he never omit­ted day, wherein hee had not drawne some line; so in like manner, all Christians who would live exemplarly, ought to d [...]sir that no day might passe withou such clouds [...]s these, wherein they might suffer some­what for God Almighties sake. The h avens appeared to holy Iob, not onely cloudy but even as ob [...]urate as [...]ro, and yet as Tert [...]llian sayes) he resisted the enemy with a great variety of pati [...]nc as h of calamities as­saulted him, in [...]omuch, as neither all his substance mad [...] a prey un­to the enemy, nor all his chil­dren [Page 83] oppressed in one universall ruine, nor lastly his bodies in­tollerable infirmities, could any wayes remove him from his pa­tience: Oh! what a trophee did God erect of that man, to his enemies shame! what a glorious standard of him did he advance! when at the report of each one of his heavy losses, he answered nothing [...]lse, but God be thank­ed, a saying in which God re­joyced, and the devill was con­founded utterly; a saying for which hee deserved to have all doubly restored to him againe: therefore we may conclude that in suffering, we doe but (as it were) by great iournies make to­wards our heavenly Countri [...].

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AMong those many wayes which lead to heaven, there is none more sure, nor direct, than the Kings high way, the Crosse, pe [...] multas tribulationes oportet nos intrariin regnum Dei. And e [...]en as the furnace trye the [Page 84] potters vessells, so are iust men men proved by adversity; but wee must know that straw doth consume in that furnace, where gold is purified: and whilst the one is converted into ashes, the other is burnished from its drosse. This furnace is the world, in which the iust are gold, tribulation is the fi [...]e, and the Gold-smith Almighty God: now if gold had sence and speech without doubt it would say, let the workman dispose of me as he please, I will endure wheresoever he places me, and let the straw burne as much as it will, with intent wholly to con­sume me, I shall but become the more refined for it, whilst it shall vanish away in filthy smoake: wherefore marke well all you who are gold, Aug. in Ps. 60. all you who are but straw, in that very fire in which the straw blazes a­way to nothing [...], the gold be­comes more bright: and so the wicked blasphemes and accu­ses God for sending him the same afflictions, for which the [Page 85] patient man doth glorifie him the more, and they encrease in strength in the midst of adversi­ties, as fires waxe greater, t [...]e more the winde doth blow, and become more forcible by that, which threatens wholly to extinguish them.

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WHerefore let every ser [...]ant of thine (O God) assure himselfe, that if he shall have past in this life, this probat on, he shall bee crowned for it in the next; since it is thy manner of proceeding to send a calme and [Page 87] serenity after stormes; and aft [...]r teares and sorrow to replenish a soule with consolation. Where­fore Beatus homo qui corripitur á Deo, &c. Iob. 3. Job. 7. 2 Tim. 2. Blesse [...] is t [...]at man whom God rebukes; for if wee susteine any thing for him, we shall likewise reigne with him. Let none therefore feare this scourge of God, but rather feare this dis-inheritance; by these stripes we are but prepared for our eternall inheritance, least if otherwise we should be too con­ver [...]ant with those delights which occur e unto us here up n our way, we should insen [...]bly forget those we aspire unto, at our celestiall home: If thou beest exempted from correction (saith Saint Augustine) thou art also excluded out of the number of the sonnes of God: be not then [...]o inconsiderate or childish, e­ [...]er to utter such complaints as [...]hese: My father cherisheth my [...]ro the [...] more than me, since [...]e permits him to do what he [...]st; whilst [...]f I but stirre without [...]is comm nd, I am chastised for [Page 88] it; but you ought rather to glory in your sufferings, since it is an evident signe that he reserves an his inherita [...]ce for you, whilst those whom he spares for the present, [...]e intends afterwards to punish eternally: Those who runne on the way of this lifes prosperiti [...]s to their destruction, are but [...]ike men lead to prison (saith St. Gr [...]gory) thorow some pleasant fields. Iob 5. It hath be [...]ne observed, that the Rose never savours more sweetly than when it is planted neare to garlick, nei­ther doth our heaven y Gardner want his fragrant Roses here of those whom he hath predestina­ted for Paradise, whom he so disposes for the most part, as they are still annoyed by the neighbourhood of others, with whom they have the gre [...]test an­tipathy, in that the more vertu­ous a man is, the more subiect he is to the scorne of the wic­ked, the more open he lie [...] unto adversities; and thus these Roses become the more odoriferous by the aire, which other ungratefull [Page 89] odours breath. It is likewise an observation that such Roses, as by art grow without prickles, have no scent at all; and even so the sweet odour of vertue is lost, specially of patience, when we suffer nothing of adversity. Assuredly none can know how much he profits but by afflicti­on, neither doe any begin to understand themselves, till they become acquainted with misery; for as the starres lye hid by day, and onely become trans­parant by night, so true vertue, which rarely appeares in pro­sperity, shines forth most bright­ly in adversity. Neither is our Lord halfe so delighted with the glorious exployts of his ser­vants, as when he sees them suffer cheerefully, and confi­dently Tribulations, as the Eagle doth prove its young ones by exposing them face un­to the Sunne, as the Gold­smith by the touchstone tryes the goodnesse of the metall, so God Almighty experiences his [Page 90] servants in the furnace of affli­ction, whence with much more reason then the Romans wee may say, & facere & patifortia, hoc [...]hristianum est: to doe and suffer difficile things, doth most become Cristians; and that way which our head doth lead us on, best befits us his members for to follow.

The fi [...]st Paragraph.

ANd who will account such an one not diseased in soule who will lend no eare to truth, whilst he wholly bestoweth them upon frivolous things; and whilst vices by words in Churches are in­veighed against, by his deeds, commits them frequently at home! who in lieu of pious ex­hortations, gives himselfe wholly to drinking or gaming, or else in hunting or hawking trifles out his time; or lastly, whilst the Prea­cher is ho [...]ly in the Pulpit repre­hending vice, lyes wallowing in his soft bed, all drowsie and lan­guishing, and is not ashamed, like a sleepy Dor-mouse to be taken a [...] noon day, yet buried in his fea­therie [Page 97] Sepulcher. It is a shamefull thing I know, to write this of. Christians, but it is a greater shame for Christians to be guilty of so great abuse. These are but signes of men in desperate estate, and farre different from those by which the Predestinate are knowne: Luke 5. Factum est autem cùm turbae irruerent in eum, ut audirent verbum Dei, &c. It came to passe, that the multitude pressed upon him to heare the word of God.

Their holy hunger was so vehe­ment, that neither the circuit of the Synagogues, nor Temple could containe them, no not the spatious walls of the City it self, but they even thronged out into the open fields, as a place onely capable of so great a multitude, and whilst they might satisfie their desire of following and hea­ring him, not one, either man or woman, made any difficulty to go to any place how solitary or desert soever it were, whereas wee doe oftentimes think much, even when we live nighest the Church, to stir a foot out of doores to heare that [Page 98] which is necessary for the refor­mation of our lives, so far wee are from running even halfe fa­ [...]ished after the Preacher unto the Sea side or Wildernesse, wee a e even come to that passe as there is nothing so tedious to us, as to heare the word of God: there is no want now a dayes of Preachers, but of auditors, whilst they faine a hundred excuses to absent thems [...]lves, and rather than fail of any, there want not those who of pu [...]pose abstaine from frequenting Sermons, for feare their wretchles [...]e Conscience should perchance be touched: so fearefull guilty men are even tost, and unto the judgement of them­selves, as they dare not appeare befo [...]e the tribunall of their owne consci [...]nces.

The Prophet Ieremiah sayes in his Lamentations, that the wayes of Syon made their moane, for that none repaired to her solemni­ties: and truely the way [...]s of the Church have no lesse cause now a dayes to make the same com­plaint, since the wayes of gaming [Page 99] and Tavernes have all the fre­quency; there is no thronging to heare the preacher now, whereas if a prating Mountebanke but pro­mise to make us some ridiculous sport, if any publike f [...]ire or as­sembly invite our curiosity, we can presently finde our legs, we be­stow our eyes and eares wholly upon it, and go flocking by heaps unto the specta [...]le: whereas in the meane time, if those who p [...]each the word of God, can bu [...] scape the being derided for their la­bours, they thinke it well, though for the rest we make never so light account of what they say; an a­buse of which the holy Scripture doth grievously complaine. Yet we cannot deny, but there are ma­ny who give willing eare to Ser­mons, although the number of those is but small, who endevour to become the better for what they heare: they have eares, but they want hands, they heare what they ought to doe, but doe it not, and so receive no benefit by hea­ring it. Another sort there are, who frequent sermons onely to [Page 100] satisfie their pious curiosities, o­thers onely to passe away the time: some out of custome, o­thers to become at least the lear­neder, though not better for what they heare: some againe frequent the Church onely to bee seene and others to have the commodity of seeing certaine persons there, of whom they could not so com­modiously come to a sight abroad. Some finally there are who goe onely to laugh, and carpe at that which they shall heare, others who resort thither with intent to sleep, or entertain some idle dis­course the while, or at most to afford the Preacher such an eare, as is so furred with taking in other impertinent things, as it is able to receive no more. There are but a few, and those onely of the more vertuous sort, who carry thither a minde prepared to receive instru­ction, and have no other intenti­on, than to depart from thence better than they came; who learn not to better their knowledge, but their lives, who hearken as if their eares were chained to the [Page 101] Preachers words, and willingly give not over hearing, til they find themselves more vertuously incli­ned than they were before.

The fold of Christ are discerned from other straying flocks, by this distinction in their eare, in that they heare and obey the word of God with great avidity.

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TH [...]t serious saying of St. Au­gustine makes a deep impres­sion in the minds of the Predesti­nate; That they are guilty of no lesse a crime who negligently hear the Word of God, than those who thorow their carelesnesse suffer the body of Christ to fall unto the [Page 102] ground. Wherefore we are not so much to regard in the Prea­cher, who it is that speaks, as who it s that dictate a to him what he is to s [...]y; since he sayes nothing, but what he hath in charge to de­li [...]er from A [...]mighty God him­selfe. Plom. 26. in [...]ib. 5. For my owne particular (sayes Saint Augustine) what am I but a sowers basket, into which he vouchsafed to poure the seeds, which I am but to scatter among you againe, and so you are not so much to consider the unworthi­nesse of the basket as the wor [...]h of the seeds, and the sowers dig­nity.

A good Christian gathers some­what for his instruction out of every thing, and is alwayes ma­king his profit out of it, and he may take this for a cleare signe of Predestination, if sitting with Mary Magdalen at the feet of our blessed Lord, he remaines so fast hanging on his words by the strong chaines of his attentio [...], as no care of any domesticall busi­ne [...]se, no sisters murmuration, nor no allurements of any friend can [Page 103] possibly draw him thence. Yet neither to heare the Word of God onely, nor what is m [...]re, to remember it, is any such Signe of predestination, unlesse with­all we proceed to put that which we have heard in execution For w [...]at availes it us to have eaten any thing, if as soon as we have swallowed it we cast it up again.

The Mother of God among other her rare vertues was par­ticularly praysed for conserving all these words, Luke 2. and laying them up in h [...]r heart. And the royall Psalmist sayes, In corde meo ab­scondi eloquia tua, ut non pe cem tibi. I have hid thy word in my heart, that I should not sinne against thee. Those who hearing of this word doe conserve it in a pure and pious heart, and bring forth fruit thereof in patience, are fitly compared to a fruitfull soyle; and like as to read and not to understand, even so to hear, and not to remember what they have heard, is as good as wholly to to have neglected it Th t pa n­ter doth both lose his time and [Page 104] labour, which drawes out upon a table some curious picture in light water colours, which presently with a spunge he doth deface again: And even as great a folly is it those Christians, who hearing do presently forget what they have heard. We are there­fore to strive to remember i [...], and that in such a manner, as it be no dead remembrance nei­ther, but rather a quicke and active one, which may urge that on to performance which wee have heard. Iohn 13. Si haec scitis, beati cri­tis si feceritis ea: no man ever ar­rived to heaven by knowing what was to be done, but by do­ing it: and he is farre from acti­on, who will not so much as give eare to what he is to do. The books of the holy Scriptures are of all others the purest fountain of knowledge, out of which though never so many draw, and that never so often, yet it is im­possible for to draw it dry: for such is the nature of this rich veine, that the deeper you dive into it, the more it abounds with [Page 105] divine sence, and can never bee exhaust. As the Ant makes pro­vision of food in the summer, a­gainst the winter season; so Chri­stians, during the calme of their affaires, should store themselves with the Word of God against the stormes of future calamities. This is most certaine, that never any yet contemned to make his benefit in this kind, but they were at last so punished for it by Almighty God, that both them­selves to their cost did feele it, and others evidently perceived the same, God hath so ordeined, that one man should learne of a­nother, and submit himselfe to his direction; and so we see that King David although of him­selfe he was most wise and pru­dent, and had besides in many things, ever the helpe of the ho­ly Ghost for his instruction, did not yet open his eyes to repent for his grievous sinnes of mur­ther and adultery (although he could not but know that they were severely forbidden by the Law) untill the Prophet Nathan [Page 106] had sharply reprehended him. Our Saviour did (as we may say) preach himself out of the Clouds unto S Paul, and yet he sent him to Ananias for his further instru­ctions: Cornelius was certified by an Angel, that his prayer and almes-deeds were acceptable to Almighty God, and yet he inti­m [...]ted unto him withall, that he was to repaire to St. Peter for his better information Queen Candace's Treasurer, whilst he read the Prophet Isaiah in his Coach, had no [...] an Angel assigned him for his instructour, but Saint Philip the Apostle: And finally, Mose [...], who in regard of his neare familiarity with Al­mighty God, may well be stiled of his privy Counsell, was not­withstanding instructed by his fathe [...] in law, a forrainer, no otherwise than a little Child and taught, not without many b tter taunts how he should be­have himself in poynt of gover­ning the Children of Israel: ay, even Christ himselfe, the eter­nall wisedome would sit among [Page 107] the Doctors demanding their vice; so as t [...]ere are none of what sexe, of what estate or condition soever they be, that are exempted from hearing the word of God.

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BVt you will say perhaps you have the reputation of a lear­ned man, I know it well, and what sequells such great Doctors use to inferre from t [...]ence. Be­hold the proud erudition of a mortall wit! and who I pray ever arrived to such a height of knowledge or yeares, as not to be ignorant of farre more than ever he had learnt! but grant that you were the learnedst man a­live, and had such a proheminen­cy of understanding above all the rest, as you could heare nothing at a sermon you had not known before: But what becomes of your wil and memory the while? are they never to be inflamed, never to be stirred up, is not the one sometimes to be incited, the other afresh renewed? how easie is [...]t for the memory to mistake, [Page 108] and how prone to errour is the will, unlesse there be dayly helps invented to rectifie the first, and rightly informe the second: for which reason it is not on ly ve­ry profitable, but even absolutely necessary, that all doe repaire to sermons t [...]e evil for their amēd­ment, the good for their per­s [...]verance, the ignorant for their instruction, and the learned to revive the memory of what they k [...]ow; that so at least if they learn nothing a new, they may not forget the old. Audiens sa­pen s [...]p entior eri [...], Prov. 1.18. & au [...]is sa­pientium quaerit & Doctrinam: the wise man by hearing be­comes more wise, and the eares of the wise are still seeking af­ter learning. Herod, though o­therwise infamous for his mani­fol [...] wickednesse, yet in this was not so rude and barbarous, as not to heare willingly the ordinary preacher of his Court, and doe many things at his instigation; & licenter audivit, Mach. 6. & audito eo multa faciebat. Whence we may perceive, that there was in Herod [Page 109] not onely as great willingnesse to heare, but also an unwearied patience the whilst: for certain­ly St Ioh. Baptist could never h [...]ve moved him to have done so much unlesse he had both f [...]equently heard him, and that too in tou­ching ma [...]y particulars; for we are not indeed to imagine t [...]at he would onely in grosse admonish the King of his many flagitious crimes, but he at large by maine force of reasons confuted them, and both set his vices before his eyes, and withall powerfully dis­swaded him from the commit­ting them It was impossible that St. Iohn with one onely sermon could sufficiently argue the Kings incestuou [...] adultery, and his other grievous crimes, but it was requisite that he should be­stow a sermon upon each one of them, or rather indeed many in onely taxing one; for his mind obdurate in wickednesse, was by an often iterated battery to be expugn'd, and neverthelesse li­benter eum audiebat; he gave wil­ling eare unto him. And al­though [Page 110] St. Iohn often publikly exprobrated unto his face his im­piety in retaining of his brothers wife, non licet tibi habere uxorem fratris tui, and without doubt with abundant reasons proved the unlawfulnesse of the fact; yet still libenter eum audiebat. So great a desire had Herod of he [...] ­ring him, whilst the Sain [...] persi­sted with so great a constancy in reprehending him, neither are we to think, that he smother d in the meane time, under a political silence [...]he rest of his enormous crimes, no, St. Luke is his wit­nesse, where he sayes that Herod the Tetrarch was rep ehended by him, Luk. 3. both for Herodiana his bro­thers wife, as also for the rest of the evill which he did. So as he neither spared to tell him of his tyranny in so many civill slaugh­ters, of his exaction on the peo­ple, in taxes & imposts, nor lastly of his rioto s spending it againe for the maintenance of his lust, and yet for all this, libenter cum aud ebat; and so great was He­rods patience in hearing him, as [Page 111] neither at his first sermon, the most vehement of all, not his se­cond or third, nor any of the rest, he ever shewed himself offended, or agrieved, Luke 3. but libenter eum au­diebat: nor ever thought he prea­ched too often, or too long, too sharp, or biting for him, or too plaine, and simple for the popu­lar eare: libenter eum audiebat & audito eo multa faciebat; so that well he might complaine, that he persevered not in the perfor­mance of that which the Saint so earnestly inculcated, but never (with Seneca) that fortune had envied him the knowledge of the truth. l. 6. de bene [...]s. c. 3. Et monstrabo tibi cui rei la­borent magna fastigia quid omnia possidentibus desit, scilicet, ille qui verum dicat Non vide [...] quem­admodum ill [...]s in praeceps agat ex­tincta libertas, dum nemo ex animi sui sententia suadet, dissua­detque, & unum amicorum omnium officium est, una contentio, quis blandissime fallat? I will unfold unto you, sayes he, the discom­modities which great men are subject to, and what i [...] wanting [Page 112] to those who possesse every t [...]ing; that is, one to tel them the truth; doe you not perceive how for want of that liberty they are all driven to ruine? whilst they have no faithfull friend either to per­swade or disswade them any thing, but all take it for their du­ties, and make it their studies to deceive him with their servile flatteries. A crime which St. Iohn for his part in regard of Herod was so far from being guilty of, as he seemed to be incapable of nothing more, than concealing of the truth, whilst he performed the duties of a faithfull admoni­sher with all sincerity of heart, and liberty of speech, still plying the Kings eare with non licet tibi Herodes, non licet tibi: it is not lawful for thee, O Herod, it is not lawfull for thee: and that to keep him stil sensible of his offence. And where now are those nice and dainty eares, who if they but imagine themselves glanc't at by any words, thogh misunderstood, and wrested to a doubtful sence, protest presently against the [Page 113] Preacher, and all such assemblies. It [...]s hard to say, whether in this they out-strip not Herod in wickednes, or no; since whilst they refuse as well [...]s he to amend their lives, they abstain from sermons, the onely remedies to amend them; which Herod would never doe. He who refuseth to be per­swaded by his teacher, doth but yeeld [...]o the perswasion of the enemy, and [...]ommends but a scholler to a fooles direction, who will be taught by no other than himselfe: so whosoever [...]onceives so highly of himselfe as to [...]corne all other Masters besides, [...]hewes more arrogancy in it than eru­dition. Neither can there be any love of vertue in him who either hates or despises the knowledge of heavenly [...]hings. The beginning of estranging our selves from God, is our disdaine of hearing his word; and he loves not God, who is not desirous of spirituall [...]nstruction; for as gold is tryed by [...]he touchstone, so are the thoughts of man revealed by the Gospell of Iesus Christ.

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MElius est hanc artem dandi elee­mosynamscire, quam esse regem, Hom. 55. & 36. ad pop. sayes St Chrysostome, it is better to be conversant in this art of bestow­ing Almes, than to be a King; as that which builds us everlasting man­sions in heaven, and teaches us the way to become like to God. It is a [Page 118] great thing to be a man, [...]ut to be a mercifull man is a pretious thing, qui pronus est ad miseri [...]ordiam, Prov 22. benedi­cetur, de panibus enim suis dedit paupe­ri, he who is prone to mercy, shall be blessed, for he hath bestowed his bread upon the poore. Wherefore [...]hi [...] benificence (to speak still with the same golden mouth'd St. Chrysostome) is that which resembleth us to God: this is the Mother o [...] Charity, Chry. hom. 6. in ca [...]. 3. ep. ad Tritem. and the proper badge of Christian perfection, which distinguishes Christ [...] Disciples from other men. This i [...] that which cures our infirmities, which washes a­way the staines of our soule: this, that ladder whi h was reared up to Heaven Thes [...] rizate vobis thesauros in caelo, Matth. 6. hoard up treasures for your selves in heaven, sayes our Saviour Christ: Hearken O ye rich, and learn a new art, which heaven it selfe doth teach, a new way of gathering riches together, spargere: be liberall of it, you were mista [...]en hitherto, the way to become rich is to give your wealth away, and not to hoard it up: he who in this world distributes his treasure among the poore, doth but lay it up so his owne use in the next. Nei- is it necessary that we discharge our money by whole handfulls on the [Page 119] poore; give but halfe-pence, give but farthings, or a crust of bread, (so you do it freely and willlingly) and in inter­change thereof you shal receive whole worlds of treasure and possessions. The Censours in ancient time were wont now and then to visit the Citi­zens houses, and survey their garments, to see whether they were not moath­eaten, their bread mouldy, meat tain­ted, or the like, neither without rea­son; and I feare me that if any such visit should bee made now a dayes, there would be some found who feed vermine with that they have, rather than they will bestow it on the poore. But now we know how to dispose so of our substance, as neither rust, moath, nor any other vermine can an­noy it. Matth. 6. Thesurizate vobis thesauros in caelo, ubi neque erugo, neque tinea de­molitur, &c. Lay up tresure for your selves in heaven, where neither rust, nor moath can do it any harme, where neither any thief can break in and steal it thence. Manna did not corrupt, un­lesse it was layd up for the next day, neither doth any stock so much dimi­nish as theirs, who are too carefull to preserve it still entire; you can secure it no better way, than by [...]rusting it in the hands of the poore and their sto­macks, [Page 120] as the best Granaries to stacke up our corne, since there it is secure from fire, and ye are sure to receive it with increase againe. Had Absalom but cut his bright tresses off, his haire had beene an ornament to his head, and not the occasion of its confusion; and so if the wealthier sort would but contribute part of their substance to­wards the maintenance of the poore, they should have as many friends at command, as now they have crownes; whereas now they affect nothing by their covetousnesse, but that the more money they have, in the more dange­rous estate they live in. The sonne of Sirach perswades us, Perdere pecuni [...]m propter fratrem, Eccl. 29. & amicum tuum, & non abscondas illam sub lapide in perdi­tionem: To cast away our money for (the behalfe of your friend and brother, and not to hide it under a stone to our own perdition; and our Saviour Christ bids us dare, Eccl. 29. & dabitur vobis, To give, that we may receive againe. Wells become fowle, if they be not often used, and the more water you draw from them, the more pure you render them. The Predestinate, if it were possible, when they bestow an almes, would give their hearts withall, so willingly they impart their substance to the poore, and in [Page 121] this sence our blessed Saviour pronoun­ces the mercifull to be blessed, to wit, not onely such as have ability to afford much, but also those who have a desire so be beneficiall unto all. It was Py­thagoras opinion, similia non nisi a si­milibu [...] comprehendi. That like was not attained but by its like, and so it happens in this kinde of Merchandise, where one commodity is not purchased, but by exchange of the same commodity againe. Oleum emitur oleo: wilt thou obtaine mercy? by works of mercy it is to be purchased. But you will say, perhaps, by giving unto others you may happen to impoverish your selfe? what a vaine caution is this, rather to trust to our owne forces than to the promi­ses of Christ? How many have been beggered by their covetousnesse, whilst never any was undone by charity to the poor? God contends with us in libe­rality, and wil not give over but on the better hand. King. 3.7. King, 4.4. The poore widow gained more by Elias, than his slender refresh­ment came to, and Eliseus hostesse was more obliged to him, than he to her.

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THere are many (but those not of the number of the predestinate) [Page 122] who give rarely any almes but malig­nantly: To give malignantly, is to be­stow that onely on the poore which we have our selves in loathing, which we know no thow otherwise to be rid of, it is so wholly unfit for any use, such, if they have any meat tainted with long keeping, if the bread bee mouldy: or the drinke be sowre, if they have any thing in fine so loathsome, so stinking, as they could not find in their hearts to bestow it on a dog, can then thinke of giving it to the poore, a great benevolence no doubt. Alas deare Christians! how often with soothing perswasions doe we deceive our selves? This is not (as the Prophet Baruch ex­probrated to some) to offer oyle, but onely the Olive stones. And what was the reason that God rejected Cain and his offerings, but onely because having ability to offer better fruits of the earth, he offered him the worst: Our good wills of giv [...]ng more, suffices when we have not much to give, but if we have large ability, we are inexcu­sable, if we give sparingly. When thou canst not help the poor with thy deeds, at least afford them comfort in thy words, and pitty them in thy heart, whom thou canst not succour in thy actions: neither those Israelites, nor [Page 123] their offerings were despised, who pre­sented onely flower, goats hai [...]e, and bristles, because it was all they were able to bestow; whereas (as St. Chry­sostme notes) should they have presen­ted nothing else, who had ability to of­fer more, they had incurred by it a hea­vy malediction. Others there are for­wards enough in giving Almes, but whilst they are no lesse prone to their filthy pleasures, than to Almes, they defile the oyle of mercy, with the sor­didnesse of their licentious lives. The Anazarboei, a people of Cilicia, were wont to att [...]biute their fertility of O­lives to their virgins chastities, for which cause they suffered none to ma­nure and plant them but onely them. For Christians let them assure them­selves, that there is such an antipathy betwixt this Olive of mercy, and Ve­nus lascivious Myrtle, that in one com­mon inclo [...]ure they can never be con­tained, and that Almes which goes ac­companied with dishonest life, cannot be pleasing to Almighty God; neither will he regard the liberality of our hands, which is proceeding from a li­bidinous mind. Others againe there are wholly not wallowing like those in the mire of carnall pleasures, but yet in that they affect prayse, and a kinde [Page 124] of ostentation in their Almes, they effect nothing with all their bootlesse paynes, but onely profuse this oyle of liberality And why deare Christian, wilt thou let thy left hand be privy to what thy right hand doth? as i [...] such as those were not justly, by that myr­ror of patience, Iob 15. holy Iob, compared to the Olive casting of i [...]s flowers which tree, Greg. lib. 12. mor. 26. according to St. Gregory, though it never bee so well t [...]ken with blos­soms, yet if it be nipt with any bleake ayre, becomes wholly destitute of fruit: Even so, although thou beest ne­ver so charitable to the poore, if thou dost it because others see thee, or to be seene by others, the breath of their commendations blasts all the fruit thereof. As for the Almes which the Predestinete bestow, no living eye is conscious of it, except that from which nothing can be hid, neither doe they expect any praise for it, but onely his, from whom they hope likewise for their reward. And St. Chrysostome tea­cheth, though Almes have golden wings yet they are not of the nature of the Peacocks, to Court admiration here, whilst the reward which attends it is in heaven, but thither it soa [...]es up upon its glittering wings, and takes its stand before our Saviour Christ, [Page 125] whom it acknowledges in the person of the poore; yea, their Almes-deeds is so farre from the desire of divulging of it selfe, as if it were possible it would be latent to those who dispose of it; so little doth a good man care how few be of counsaile to what he doth, so long as he is sure, that he is not igno­rant of it, who onely can and will re­ward him for it. For which reason St. Cyprian calls a mind thus propense un­to the poore, a most sure caution of our security, whereby wee have engaged God our debtor, and endeared our selves into the favour of our soveraigne Iudge.

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AT the day of Iudgement we shall be most rigorously examined on this particular, when those who shall be convicted to have beene sterne, hard hearted, and unmercifull to the poore; shall be condemned by a legall, and most terrible sentence; Ite maledicti in ignem aeternum, Goe ye accursed into everlasting [...]re. On the contrary, those whom the divine predestination had from all eternity designed for the So­ciety of Angels, may approach unto the Iudge, and confidently say, deale [Page 126] liberally now with us, as we have de [...]lt with others; bestow thy selfe upon us, since for thee wee have be­stowed our Almes upon the poore, we have had compassion of others, where­fore now have compassion on us a­gaine, we have performed that which thou didst require, it rests that thou performe that which thou hast promi­sed. When the Iudge farre from of­fence to be so confidently challenged of his promises, will ingeniously con­fesse the obligation, and they shall be­hold in his wide and open side, this inscription ingraven in his very wounds in Characters of pretious stones: Venite benedicti possidete reg­num; Come yee blessed, possesse your Kingdome, enjoy your hearts desires. I remember my promises, and commend your deserts, which worthily preferre you to so great a recompence, come and receive your reward, interminable in date, invaluable in worth; all the good offices you did to my poore, were done unto my selfe, your charity pro­vided me of meat and drinke, your garments cloathed me when I was a stranger, your Roofes received and lodged me; neither could the strong bars of prisons debar your pitties from visiting of mee there; nay I even owe [Page 127] my life unto your compassion, Ve­nite benedicti; for those crusts of bread, you bestowed in Almes upon the poore, come and feast with me for all eternity; for harbouring strangers in your house [...], I have pro­vided a habitation with the Angels for you: for cloathing the shivering members of the naked, I here invest you with the royall purple of immor­tality, venite Benedicti. O what com­mutation, what recompence is here! a stole of glory, the riches of hea­ven, interminable felicity and de­lights, for rags, odd farthings, a few crums of bread. Omnis m [...]sericordia facit locum unicuique secundum meri­tum operum tuorum, &c. Eccl. 16. All mercy shall make a place to every man ac­cording to the merit of his workes, and according to the understanding of his peregrination. I would to God this were as perswasive to every one, as it is true; then there is none but would purchase heaven at so cheap a price. It is a most true and excellent saying of St. Augustine; Ces. Arclit. Rom. 13. Si vis mer­cator esse optimus, &c. If thou wilt play the wise Merchant indeed, forgoe that which thou canst not keep possession of, in exchange [...]f that which thou canst never lose; depart with a [Page 128] little, for the returne of a hundred fold; give a piece of money to the poore, to obtaine a whole Kingdom for it of Christ our Lord; bestow a bit of bread, to receive forgivenesse of thy si [...]s, disfurn sh thy selfe of a slight garment, to merit by it a stole of lasting glory; give these despicable things, to purchase eternall ones. What extreme folly is it, In Mat. 6. sayes Saint Chrysostome, illic tua relinquere, unde exiturus es: & illuc non praemittere quo es, to leave thy substance there behind thee, from whence thou art to depart, rather than to send it before thee thither where thou art to goe: wherefore let it it be our chiefest care to furnish that place with our trea­sures, w [...]ere afterwards we are to make our residence.

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PRide is the ruine of all vertues, and the steep precipice of Angels and of men. Good God, what a change, what a commu [...]ation was then between heaven and earth, when the most glorious amongst Angels was cast headlong downe from hea­ven to earth, whilst the miserablest po [...]rest soule on earth was elevated by the hands of Angels unto heaven? Lucifer through his pride did fall from thence, whither poore ulcerous Lazarus was exalted for his humility, who it is credible did not so often number his vertues as his sores; no doubt out of genuine selfe con­tempt of his, seemed more patient unto all, than unto himselfe, It is a very true and significant saying of a certaine Saint, [...]arum valet qui se ali­quid valere censet, nil penitus valet qui se multum valere autumat. He is worth but littl [...] who in his owne [Page 138] account seems to [...]e w [...]rth any thing, and he nothing at all, who conceits himselfe much worth. With whom St. Bernard doth well accord, where he saith, Omnia ill [...] d [...]sunt, qui nihil sibi deessepu [...]at, That he wants all, who imagines himselfe to want nothing: And we may add, that they scarcely seeme to be borne for heaven, who whilst they are selfe-conceited of their owne actions, become as sharp censurers of others lives, as they are foolish admirers of their owne; and whilst with an affected blindness they bleare their owne judgements of themselves, can never judge aright of other men. Out upon this vanity! Can we think that heaven will ever give admittance unto such pride as this? no, it is onely for the predesti­nate, who censure nones lives so ri­gorously as their owne: who oftner [...]t in judgement on their owne man­ners, than on other mens, and are so farre mo [...]e severe unto them elves than to all besides, as they easily par­don others, never themselves, when they have d [...]ne amisse. Miserable as we are [...] [...]ho being but dust and sha­dow s dayly gliding away after those who are v [...]nished before, can yet glory in our own Progenitor, & sh [...]w ong [Page 139] ranged statutes of our Ancestours, as if he were a man who can number more men of his linage past. Homo vanitati simil s factus est, die ejus sicut umbra praetereunt. Man is become like unto vanity, and his dayes doe vanish away like a shadow. Where­soever we reflect our eyes, we finde cause sufficient to dissolve them into teares. If we fixe them on heaven, whilst we behold our Country aloof we cannot but consider our selves in banishment,; if on earth, it is but the upbraiding remembrance of our grave, and however we betrample it for the present with our feet, it makes full account to have the disposure of our heads at last: finally, if on our selves, O what a fair and ruddy fruit! but alas all worme-eaten within; where ordour, stench, corruption, death it selfe have taken their lod­gings up. If we con i [...]er our owne hearts, what a foule abysse, and depth it is, all beset with knotted beds of Snakes and Add rs? woe, woe's us, we even swarme with vices, and yet cannot cont [...]mne our [...]elves: we bee oppr ssed with a world of follies, miserie, and sinnes, and ye [...] aff ct the reput [...]tion of wise, happy, learned, and holy men. The predestinate the [Page 140] while convert all this unto their grea­ter profit, & out of the considerations of their daily actions and themselves, doe draw forth motives of their own contempt These can easily with St. Paul be induced to slight and con­temne all other things, who have first learned to slight and contemne themselves. This b [...]ing so, whosoe­ver desires to be truely happy indeed, must procure to take diligently out this lesson of his owne contempt; from whence he is to proceed (ex­cepting God) to contemne all other things. The Predestinate can best relish that excellent saying of Saint Chrysostome, Hom. 3. in Mat. Minimum de se sensisse tam m [...]gram est, quam es maximas fe­cisse, It is as great matter for a man to account but little of himself as to have exployted mighty things. As also that of our Saviour Christ, he who aspires to be greatest among you, shal be the least in the Kingdome of heaven (if ever they arrive to so much happi­nes) They are not ignorant how the way of humility is craggy and paine­full at the first, but afterwards it be­comes more easie and delightsome. They know there rests [...]f their jour­ney but this one steep ascent, and so gratefull unto all who direct them on [Page 141] their way, they climb it up with all alacrity. They love to be contemned, they affectionately imbrace the occa­sions, they reioyce to see themselves despised, and more insult over them­selves in the meane time, than any e­nemy. These when they are injured are so far from revenging their quar­rell by the sword, as they utter not a word in their owne defence. H [...]re none stretches forth an arme, or bran­disheth a sword to vindicate a wrong, as knowing the more profit redounds unto them, the more they are con­temned. The predestinate only know, as [...]en deeply read in the schoole of Christ our Saviour, that they are ne­ver the worse for m [...]ns deriding, nor lesse for t [...]eir contemning them Tan­tus est unusquisque, 1. Kin [...]s 16. quantus est in oc­culis Dei: A man is no more than just as hee appeares in God Almighties eye: non pilo major, &c. not a haire greater, neither doth God judge by mens esti­mation. When we seeme little to our selves we seeme great to God, and then least to him when we ap­peare the greatest to our selves. The deeper a Well is, the more purer is it water: and the mo [...]e vile esteem one conceiveth of himself, the more gratefull he is unto Almighty God: [Page 142] All which seems eminent in us, is to be abased, our high spirits level ed with the ground, an [...] the universall fabrick of our pride buried under the heaps of our miseries, ignorances, and imperfections. Musk, as they say, having lost its savour, by being bu­ryed in some stink [...]ng dunghill reco­v [...]rs it gaine; and so if we [...]ut true­ly enter into the consideration of our owne vilenesse and surquedy, we shal exhale not any such odour as we did before, but that of the amendment of our selves, the onely conducing meanes to our salvation.

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A Holy religions man being de­manded once, which in his opi­nion was the most expeditious way to heaven, answered. Si se homo sem per accusat. For a man ever to accuse himselfe. Lib de virg. c. 31. And this according to St. Augustine, is the very sum of all Christian learning: and St Ambrose avouches, Lib de virg. c. 31. A pol. de dau. c. 9. Signum electorum est, male de [...]e sentire, & vulnus suum agnosce­re. That it is an infallible signe of the [...]lect when one ackn w edges his infirmities, and thinks contemp­tibly of himselfe: on the contrary, [Page 143] Reproborum est proprium semper prava agere, In. c. 5. Iob. & nunquam quae egerint retra­ctare, &c. sayes St. Gregory, It is the custome of the reprobate to bee al­wayes committing evill, and never wil­ling to amend their wickednesse, but they passe over all they doe in the blindnesse of their minds, and nothing but punishment can make them sen­sible of the harme they doe; whereas the elect doe dayly trace out their actions to the very fountaines head of those thoughts, from whence they sprung. Neither for this are they ever the more secure, since they know there are many things may escape their ob­servation, which onely the all-sear­ching eye of Almighty God perceives. The Sonne of Syrach counsailes us, Eccl. 3. quanto magnus es humilia te in omnibus & coram deo invenies gratiam. The greater thou art, humble thy selfe the more in every thing, and thou shalt finde grace before Almighty God; seeing the power of God is onely great, and hee is honoured in the humble. Assuredly among all others it is the greatest perfection to have a true knowledge of our owne imperfe­ctions, and that soule merits more of true praise, in understanding it selfe, [Page 144] than in neglecting that, to know the course of the Starres, the li­mits of the Earth, the vertues of Plants, the abstruse sublimity of Heaven, and the Earths unfatho­med profundity: Aug. Wouldst thou con­trive some edi [...]ce of eminent altitude? thinke first of laying the foundation in Humility; all naturally aspire un­to the top, but Humil ty is the fi st st [...]p unto it. Our Co [...]ntrey is high, the way unto it low; and who can seriously wish to arrive unto it, who refuseth to goe the way? But alas, it is a misery, which Saint Hierom doth worthily deplore, Hier. epist. 27. Multi humilitatis umbram, veritatem pauci sectantur, that many follow the shadow of hu­mility, but few the substance; few in­deed, but those few [...]nely happy, those few of the Predestinate, who the more they behold, the more they disl [...]ke themselves; and those the more pretious in the eyes of God, the more they appeare contemptible in their ow [...]e Qui minus se vident, Greg. lib. 33 [...]oral. c. 5. mi­nus sibi displicent, sayes Saint Gregory. Those who least consider themselves, are those who displease themselves the least. Many whilst they know many things are ignorant of themselves, and [Page 145] in Gods eyes seeme the lesse the grea­ter they seeme in their owne. To con­clude, the best and safest ascent to Al­mighty God, is by the way of the knowledge of our owne unworthi­nesse; and Cassiodorus said excellent well, Psal. 6. descendendo coelum ascendi­tur, That by descending wee ascend to heaven.

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IT is of all others the most gene­rous and noble kind of victory, to pardon thine enemies when thou hast opportunity to revenge thy self, and is farre more glorious to over­come an adversary by silence, than by open contestation: honor est homini qui se separata contentionibus: Prov. 20. it is honourable for a man to dec [...]ine con­tentions: and vindicare se non est actus fortitudinis, Lib. 1. Of­fic. c. 36. sed abjectionis & ti­miditatis, saith St. Ambrose; to re­venge ones selfe is no act of valour, but of a base and cowardly minde; and he who vindicates himselfe is ra­ther overcome by his enemy, then o­vercomes. Neither was that Prince of Philosophers of other opinion: Sicut debelis est stomachi cibum durio­rem non posse concoquere, Arist. li. 4. Ethic. c. 4. ita hom­nis pusilanimis est verbum duriusculum [Page 152] non posse sustinere, as it is a s [...]gne of a queasie stomach (saith he) not to be able to digest solid meats, so is it of a pusillanimous man, not to be able to brook h [...]rsh and offensive words. We can give no clearer testimony that we are Christians, than by loving our enemy. To be well exercised in ver­tue, we have need either of a faithfull friend, or a malitious enemy, and may rest assured that none can ever injurie us, but they must doe themselves a greater injurie; Chrys. Hom. 41. in Act. Apost. Vindicta in corde po­sita nocentior est viperâ: for revenge (sayes St. Chrysost [...]me) unto that heart which harbours it, is more pernicious than a viper; n [...]ither is it a lesse crime to requite an injurie, than to be before hand with one. Hast thou struck th [...]ne enemy? then t [...]ou hast mortally wounded thy selfe and as he w [...]o snatcheth up burning coales out of the herth to throw at others, first burnes his owne hands; even so those who endevour to harme others, are ever the first on whom it lights, and most commonly the last, when those shift the danger whom we intend to mischiefe, and so thee blowes turne upon our selves. Who­soever conceives hatred against ano­ther, doth first of all wound his own [Page 153] soul and he who lives out of Charity, hath but death for his residence. Yet it is hard (let them say what they wil) it is hard for one to love his enemy. It is true, but it will be more hard to burne in hell with so many enemies; it is difficile to love him, whom we account scarse worthy of our hate: but it will be more difficile to heare those terrible words; Ite male dicti in ignem aeternum; Goe yee cursed into everla­sting fire: Can I suffer him to scape harmlesse, who hath so often beene the occasion of harming me? Those who decline all steep ascents will ne­ver mount up a hill; and he doth but estrange himselfe from heaven, who refuses to forgive his enemies. There are, that will undertake long pilgri­mages, from whe [...]ce commonly they returne more vicious than they went; we make our offerings at the Altar, but all this while our whole hearts are stone; we are carefull to desire Gods mercy, and pardon, whilst we still urge on revenge to execut on. O deare Christian, God hath afforded thee a plenary Indulgence in thy self, thou maist gaine it with one word speaking: doe but say Ignosco, I par­don and thou hast obtained a full re­mission of all thy sins; Dimitte, & di­mittetur [Page 154] tibi. Luke 6. Otherwise, if thou shalt deliver thy body to the fire, 1 Cor. 13. and in the mean time hast no charity, e­ven for thine enemies, all will availe thee nothing. Hee according to the worlds account is most rich, who hath most debtors. Thine enemies owe thee satisfaction for many inju­ries; keep them still thy debto [...]s, and so enrich thy selfe. Make up thy accounts, see what thou owest to o­thers, and what residue is remaining for thy selfe; without doubt thou would [...]t esteeme thy selfe a wealthy man if all thy debts were cleared. How deeply art thou indebted to Al­mighty God? insomuch as through thy negligence thou art wholly unabled to give him satisfaction: take then a provident course; assigne him over to the debtors, and so by their inte [...]vention quit thy bonds, which of thy selfe thou couldst never have can­celled. Dimitti, & dimittetur tibi, forgive thy neighbour when he of­fends against thee, Eccl. 28. and then at thine humble petition thine owne offences shall be forgiven thee; if thou forget those small reckonings betwixt thee and thy neighbour, God will release thee thy mighty arrerages. You k [...]ow well that saying of St Hierom: ô [...]or­midolosa [Page 155] sententia, &c. O horrible sentence (sayes he) God will not re­mit us our great debts, unlesse we remit our brothers their smaller ones; and we are to expect at Gods hands againe such pardon, as we afford our enemies.

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WHerefore, whosoever thou art, have compassion at least of thy selfe, and rather than to hate thine owne se fe, love t [...]ine enemy: the plea ure of revenge is short, but that of mercy is perpetuall: Wherefore Noli vinci a malo, Rom. 12. sed vince in bono ma­lum: Be not overcome (I beseech you) of evill, but overcome evill with good. If thine Enemy be a hungry, bestow food upon him: if thirsty, as­swage it but with a draught of water, a d thou shalt heap hot burning coales upon his head, Prov. 25. and God will reward thee for it: vince in bono malum. St Chrysostome speaking of this victo­ry sayes, that in the Olympick gam s, where the Devill was president, it was enacted, Male faciendo vincere, In c. 12. ad Rom. that they should overcome by vio­lence, and all fou e meanes: but in those where C [...]r st presides, there is [Page 156] a decree quite opposite to this, where not he who strikes, but he who is strucken meriteth a Crowne. If we did strive to excell in meeknesse, how invincible should we be, how farre above all iniurie and wrong? O then never utter such odious words as these, reddam malum, I will repay evill, Prov. 20. but expecta Dominum & libera­bit te, doe but expect our Lord, and he will undertake thy cause. Neither say, I will deale with him as he hath dealt with me. Alas, why to your owne losse should you seek anothers harme and detriment? why doe you bite those stones which are throwne at you, like some Mastiffe Cur, and not rather turne upon the hand which threw them? Ridiculous blind­nesse! why art thou so furious against thine enemy? 2 Kings 16 Dimitte eum, ut male­dicat: dominus enim praecepit et ut malediceret tibi: let him revile thee still, for it is God who hath appoyn­ted him. Those who are condem­ned to dye, are not angry with the E [...]ecutioner, but with the Iudge; and why, silly as thou art, dost thou bend thy forces against him who in­flicts upon thee thy sufferings, and not rather co [...]sider by whose warrant it is done? Is it not God, who for thy [Page 157] greater good hath singled thee out such an adversary as this, to the end to punish thee for thy passed crimes? The Devill could not have bereaved Iob Iob of one herd of cattell, but by ex­presse permission of Almighty God: whe [...]fore he said well, (not the devil) but the Lord bestowed them on me, and deprived me of them againe. Our Saviour Christ told Pilate when he gloried in his power: Iohn 19. non haberes po­testatem, &c. Thou shouldst have no power over me, unlesse it were given thee from above. And this were an excellent answer to give an enemy. Divers have more profited by their enemies, than by their dearest friends. The Church had had no Martyrs if all its Tyrants had beene exti [...]pated: and should we have no enemies, we should be deprived of many a glori­ous Crowne. Dioclesian did no lesse advance and propagate the Church by his inhumane cruelty, than Con­stantine by his reverence towards it and liberality. That rich [...]armer in the Gospell commanded that both the corne and weeds should be suffe­red to grow up together: Sinite utra­que crescere; whereas we over-hasty and violent to our owne perditions, no sooner can espy a weed above the [Page 158] ground, but we cry out presently, to the fire with these Thistles, let this Darnell be burnt, let our enemies be destroyed. Stay, stay deare Christi­ans, we ought not to take this violent course as yet: when t [...]e harvest comes, there will be order given to the husbandman, to gather, first of all, the Cockle and Darnell into bundles, and cast them into the fire: and why then should we discredit our owne zeale with our owne in consi­derate haste; why are we so forward to drag ou [...] ene [...]ies to deserved pu­nishment? Never feare it, such weeds as these shall not escape the sikle & the fire; but as yet the harvest is not come, Matth. 6. expect a wh le. Our Sa­viour Christ teaching his Disciples a forme of Prayer, consisting of se­ven Petitions to his heavenly Father, doth not without profound mystery particularly repeat and expound that which concernes the forgivenesse of offences, to signifie thereby without doubt, that for the rest it might suf­fice to have only insinuated them unto the [...], but that this could never bee inculc [...]ted enough: Nunquam enim nimis dicitur, quod nunquam satis dicitur. And even in this respect the royall Psalmist enlarges himselfe in Psal. 118. [Page 159] commendations of the law: Latum mandatum tuum nimis, thy law (saith he) O Lord, is exceeding broad, in­deed so broad, as to command us to extend the bosome of our loves, not onely to our acquaintance, but to meere strangers, as well to our adver­saries, as those who are beneficiall to us, to the worthy and unworthy, unto friends and enemies alike. No exte­riour marke of any dignity doth so testifie a man to be learned, wealthy, or noble, as the actuall loving of our Enemies doth us, to be the Sons of Almighty God. But, who (you will object) is so absolute a master of himselfe, as not to be transported sometimes, through violence of pas­sion & danger, to some extraordinary expression of our aversion from an e­nemy. But we must know that it be­comes a Christian, to refraine his anger, and curb such violent motions as these. St. Augustine sayes rarely well Audîsti convitium? ventus est. Ser. 3. inter. 17. Hom. Iratus es? fluctus est Vento igitur flan­te, fluctu surgente periclitatur navis, periclitatur cor tuum: audito convitio vindicari vis, & ecce vindicando te fecistinaufragium, Dost thou heare thy selfe ill spoken of? (sayes he) it is but a wind: art thou offended at it? it [Page 160] is but a billow; but when this winde and billowes meet, thy heart is in jeopar­dy, the poore ship is in danger to be cast away, Thou resolvest to revenge thy selfe for those offensive words, and be­hold it is the wrack of thee. And he proceeds to give the the reason for it, & quare hoc? Why is all this? sayes he: quia dormit in te Christus, oblitus es Christum nimirum excidit tibi Chri­stum cum crucifigeretur inimicis suis non Crucem, sed veniam a patre lachri­mis exorasse, Because Christ is a sleep in thee, thou hast forgotten Christ, thou dost not remember how Christ, whilst he was crucified, besought his Father even with teares, to pardon, and not to punish his enemies. And now behold how Christ is a sleep in thee, who taught thee not onely to watch, but e­ven to dye to pleasure thine enemies. O therfore awake Christ within thee by expostulating in this manner with thy selfe: And who am I, that I should revenge me of mine enemies? Who knowes whether I may not soo­ner meet with death, than my revenge can meet with them? and then O mi­serable as I am, what will become of me, when Christ shall disclaime my departing soule, when he shall reject me, who hath taught mildnesse, not [Page 161] anger, who hath profest himselfe a master of submission, not of revenge, of charity and pardon, not hate and rancorous spight?

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BVt revenge hath neither eyes nor eares, it is carryed blind and deafe away by the swing of every suddaine passion, so as with good reason that ancient Poet declares himselfe agrie­ved.

It is the fashion now of the richer sort, if you doe them any pleasure, their thanks are lighter than a fea­ther, for it; but if once you displease them the memory of it lyes as heavy as lead upon their galled mindes. Where he seemes to have lively dis­ciphered such as now a dayes suffer their friendships to be blown away, and vanish with the least wind of an offence, whilst they rivit the hate of an injury as deeply in their minds, as if it were sodered there with sheets of lead O Christians for shame be more prone to pardon, least we be found more defective herein than very Hea­thens themselves, least we be con­vinced [Page 162] with so many cleare examples and testimonies of theirs, as to have no colorable excuse left to pretend for pardon at that last generall day, Pompey the great is no lesse famous in History, for his constancy to his friends, his easinesse in forgiving of­fences, and facility in admitting of a­ny satisfaction, than for his three glo­rious triumphs over the third part of the universall world. Augustus Caesar in these expresse tearmes pardoned Cinna, who had conspired against his life: O Cinna, once more I grant thee thy life; the first time as to an Enemy, now as to a Traytor and a Paracide: and hereupon he bestowed upon him the Consular dignity: and the issue of this his clemency was, that he expe­rienced him ever after most loyall to him, and Cinna dying, left him inheri­tor of all he had. Phocian, a man of most innocent life, and one who had borne Offices of highest dignity in the Common wealth, being condem­ned to dye, some of his friends, as the hang-man was presenting him with the poysoned Cup, asked him, What service he would command them to his Son? Nothing (said he) but that he would never cal to mind what a draught the Athenians inforce me this day to [Page 163] drinke. It is recorded of Iulius Caesar, that he was unmindfull of nothing but injuries. But who is there of us, who would not think it a blemish to t [...]eir reputations, to have such an opinion as this conceiv'd of them? how freshly doe we beare injuries in mind? how sensible are we of them, and whilst we write down benefits in light dust, we record them in solid flint, manet altâ mente repôstum: neither can the authority of Almighty God himself prevaile, to bring us to reconciliation. God long agoe hath sev [...]rely prohibi­ted all revenge, in declaring, Deut. 32. mea est ultio & ego retribuam in te [...]pore; Re­venge belongs to me, and in time I will reward them: and notwithstanding, how many are there who impiously answer him again, No, ô Lord, revenge belongs to me, and I will requite them: Our Lord replyes, It is my revenge, let me alone with it; And yet man desists not: nay, rather mine, leave the mana­ging of it to me; you O Lord are too soon appeased, your revenge is too too slow. And thus with most intollerable pre­sumption we usurpe the authority of Almighty God, and dare even impi­ously to wrest the sword out of Gods hands to strike our enemies, whose punishment he reserves to himselfe, [Page 164] and against a [...]l right put on the seve­rity of a [...]udge, whilst we are parties in the offenc [...] our selves.

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IT is recounted by divers credible Authors, how a certain person who had received an injury had recourse once to one Sisovius an ancient holy man; Rufin. Aquil l. 3. n. 7 [...]. Paschas [...]e. 10. Pelag. libell 1 [...]. r. 10. Palla [...]l. in a [...]pen Puusi Hist. n 13. to whom after he had declared his agrievances, as the manner is, with all exaggeration of circumstance, he besought him to let him declare him­self a man, and revenge himselfe. The same with al instancy of prayer desired him not to shew himselfe so farre a man, as to become a Devill: For his revenge, God would have care to dis­pose all for his greater good; where­fore he was to commit it wholly unto him, and even according to true for­titude this was the sufficientest re­venge that he could take, who might assure himselfe that his enemy should never escape the divine hands unpu­nished. The other replyed, Father I am fully resolved never to pardon him, nor to desist till I have requited him with the like injury. For heavens love, answered the holy man, be a man, but so as you be a Christian withall, and consider more what rea­son may perswade you, than what [Page 165] your violent passion may suggest: Why, said the other, it is no other than reason which puts me upon this resolution, not to spare him, who cares not for sparing any. O but, said Sisovius, you cannot determine your owne right your selfe, nor execute what you have determined; it is one­ly in Gods power to punish his crea­tures, he is the Lord of vengeance, and therefore may freely take revenge; for us we ought not intermeddle in it. Besides I am sure you are not igno­rant how Christ hath not only counsel­led but even cōmanded us to pardon, nay to pray for, to love, and do good unto our enemies. Father, sayd he, never perswade me, my heart is a tempestuous sea, & can never be cal­med untill I have taken vengeance of mine enemy. Then answered Sisovius, since you are so resolved, respit at least your anger untill we have commen­ded ou [...] selve [...] to God in prayer. And thereupon they both fell down upon their knees: when the holy man be­gan, prescribing unto the other (as it were) this for [...]e of Prayer. O God we have no need of thy assistance any more, neither doe we request thee here­after to be solicitous for us. We will sufficiently provide for our selves; re­venge [Page 166] belongs unto us, and we will re­ward our foes as they deserve. Behold even now we are upon the poynt of sub­jecting our enemies as foot-stooles un­der our feet. These words so lively touched the heart of that other man, that casting himselfe all along at Siso­vius feet, he vowed with many teares there in the place, so wholly to lay a­side all thought of his revenge, as ne­ver thereafter, by the least word to call it to mind againe. And this is that, which he, who onely by excel­lence is just, commanded us; this is the peculiar distinction of the sonnes of God, not onely to make no difficul­ty to remit offences, but even to re­compence them with benefits. 2 Thes. 5. Videte nequis malū pro malo alicci reddat, &c. looke (sayes the Apostle) that none of you requite evill for evill, but al­wayes that which is good, pursue to­wards each other, and towards al [...]; But our Saviour Christ in more ex­presse termes doth oblige us unto more perfection. Vobis dico qui audi­tis, [...]uke 6. &c. to you I say that doe heare me, love your enemyes doe good to them that hate you, and blesse those who curse you; and according as you will that men doe to you, doe you also the like to them againe. And, if you love [Page 167] them that love you, what thanks is it to you? for sinners love those who love them: and if you doe good to those, who doe you good, what thanks is it to you? For sinners also doe the like; but doe you love your enemies, and your reward shall be much, and you shal be Sonnes of the highest, because himselfe is beneficiall to the evill and ungratefull. This with good reason thou dost enjoyne us, this with great liberality thou dost pro­mise us. But, O deere Lord, how ma­ny are there who will not heare thee? How many that care so little for thy Commandement, as their hates and lives have both but one peri­od? They protest against that effemi­nate basenesse, as they title it, to be ea­sily perswaded to put up a wrong. For their parts they should account it their only felicity to repay the injurer in his owne coyn againe: and if Solomon-like they might be masters of their wish, a hundred times rather than Wisedome, they should desire Revenge. These are they who never cease to importune Almighty God: Da mihi Domine ini­micorum meorum animas; Grant me, O Lord the soules of mine enemies; as for the rest I referre it unto thee. This is the true spirit of revenge indeed, nei­ther to regard the Law of God, nor to [Page 168] be terrified with his threats, to bee so far from putting up an injury, as to re­turne it as soone as it is offered them, at every light word to vent their cho­ler, and when anger hath once stirred them up, to follow every impulse of their enraged minds, seeking with all earnestnesse their enemies destruction. Haec ulciscendi libido, according to Ter­tullian, negotium curat aut gloriae aut malitiae: sed gloria ubique vana est, & malitia Domino odiosa; hoc quidem loco maxime, quia malum duplicat quod se­mel factum est. This lust of vengeance doth labor either to satisfie its malice, or desire of glory: for glory it is a meere vanity, and malice is an odious thing to Almighty God, especially in these circumstances where of a single offence we make a double one. All the differene betwixt him who provokes unto an injury and him who is provo­ked, is onely this, that the one hath his hand first in mischiefe, the other last, and both are alike guilty of offen­ding God. For he counsailes us, when we are strucken on the one cheek, pre­sently to offer the other, and not to de­sist till we have tyred out our enemies malice with our patience: assuring our selves that so we shall annoy him more, than if wee put our selves upon [Page 169] our owne defence, since he for whose sake we suffer all, will for our sakes chastice him with deserved punish­ment. Why then should wee arrogate unto our selves the right of our defence, which God unto our greater glory hath reserved unto himself? He is the under­taker for our patience; whosoever trusts him with his wrongs, he will revenge them; with his losses he will redresse them; with his griefes he will remedy them; finally with his death, and he will restore him unto life againe.

The 5. Paragraph.

BVt you will object with the Poet: Iuu. 1. Saty.

Never (deare Christian) never, al­though a hundred, although a thousand times, if thou wilt declare thy selfe a true Son of God, commit thy cause to him, and the while suffer, Baruch. 4. and be si­lent. Nocentes peribunt qui te vexaverūt & qui gratulati sunt in tua ruina pu­nientur: The wicked who have vexed thee shall perish, and those who rejoy­ced in thy ruine shall be punished. Colos. 3. He who hath done an injury, shall be re­warded according to his misdeeds. You [Page 170] will say perhaps, I am content to for­give mine enemy, but yet I will not forget the injurie, I will remember him. If this be all thy charity, be assu­red th [...]t God will requite thee with the like: Homo homini reservat iram, & a Deo quoerit medelam? &c. M [...]n to man (saith the Son of Syrach, Eccl. 28. reserveth anger, and doth hee seek for remedy of God? He hath not mercy of a man, like unto himselfe, and doth he intreat for his own sinnes? he, flesh as he is, reser­veth anger, and doth he demand propiti­ation of God? Who shall obtain any thing for his sin by prayer? It is but a vaine pretext of clemency to say, I will not revenge my selfe, but yet withall I wil not fo [...]ge the injurie; either give that which th [...]u resolvest to give, without any reservation at all, or never expect by it to purchase heaven. You know what threatning language our Saviour uses, Sic & Pater meus coelestis faciet vobis, Matth. 18. &c. So my heavenly Father will deale by you if each of you doe not for­give your brother from your hearts, &c. But you will say for my part I should be ready enough to pardon him; nei­ther am I so jealous for mine owne [...]onour; but that publike office which I sustastaine is interest in it, that no injury offered to my private person do [Page 171] passe unpunished. For Gods love, deare Christians, let us not stand too much on ceremonies, in things which so nearely concerne our salvation; this is but a flourish of a few ayry words. Stephen was a publike officer as well as you, and yet we see hee was no wayes imboldned by it, to take up stones, and deale by his persecutors as they dealt by him: neither did he suppose that a­ny convenient course to defend his dig­nity, but with a most sincere heart hee cryed out, Domine Iesu ne statuas illis hoc peccatum: O Iesus doe not impute this sin unto them. And so our crucified Lord, not onely as he was son of man, but of Almighty God, besought his Father, even with teares, to pardon his enemies. Pater dimitte illis. No, there is no mortal creatures of so high a dig­nity to whom it can be any losse of reputation to forgive an injury, especi­ally if it concerne no other than him­selfe: Levit. 1 [...] non quaeras ultionem nec me­moreris injuriae Civium tuorum, doe not seeke for vengeance not beare in minde the injuries of your owne Ci­tizens. But you will say, he hath in­jured you without a cause. Had it not beene causelesse, it had been no injury; where both are alike faulty, neither are injured. But what doe [Page 172] I talke of cause? What cause did Io­seph give unto his brethren in only ma­king relation of his dreame? And yet afterwards being chiefe Governour of Egypt, in a generous kind of silence, he buried all offence. But this of yours is of exorbitant strain. And wherefore all this exaggeration? If the offence were light, your reward for pardoning of it would be but small. We can ne­ver rise to any eminent degree of per­fection, but by the way of suffering great injuries. Harken what St. H [...]e­rome saith in this particular: Deus fa­ber est, S. Hier. in c. 5 Matth. inimici lima sunt, & mallei, quibus nos ille expurgat Sanctosque soul­pit. God is the statu [...]ry, and our ene­mies are his chissells and hammers, with which he polishes us, and m [...]kes us into Saints. H [...]th your enem [...]es e­ver stoned you, as they did Saint P [...]ul, or scourged and crucified you, as they did our Saviour Christ? But you will alledge you are noble, and he who in­jured you is but some base borne pe­sant some Son of the earth. O Sami­an Pot-sheard art thou not of the same Clay (or little better) of which thine enemy is made? thou noble? if thou permits thy selfe once to be over come by this appe [...]ite of revenge, know thou art no longer the off-spring of a [Page 173] noble family; but the slave of sinne. Wherefore be advised by the wise man: Memento novissimorum & define inimi­cari, Remember the last things, Eccl. 28. and cease to bee at enmity. You will tell me, though you would never so faine forgive your enemy, yet you cannot o­vercome your selfe therein. The reason is, because you will take no paines to get the victory I know that as long as you nourish grudgings in your m [...]ndes, all your thoughts which arise from thence, taste of nothing but bit­ternesse, whilst your bosome is no o­ther but a nurcery of nettles, thornes, and bryars, with which your ulcerated Conscience is stung, and smarts unto the very bloud. Doe you burne with desire of revenge? haste with all speed to extinguish the flame, least in de­barring your owne entrance into hea­ven, you but accelerate the fire of hell, where you shall burne for all eternity. The sustaining of injuries is the ga [...]es of heaven, and, qui vindicari vult, a Domino inveniet vindictam & peccata illius servans servabit; Eccl. 2 [...]. he who will be revenged, shall finde vengeance of our Lord, and with great observancy he will keep his sinne. You can take no sleep perhaps, nor have an appetite to any food, as long as you behold a [Page 174] Mardocheus sitting securely at the Pal­lace gate, as long as you see your ene­my uncontrolled, conspiring your ru­ine. How bravely we deceive our selves to our owne perdition? Ezekiel tells of cerraine Souldiers, qui posuerunt gladios suos sub capitibus suis, Ezek. 32. & descen­derunt ad infernum cum armis suis, who layd their swords under their heads, and so descended together with their weapons into hell: behold a new man­ner of pillow, to sleep on swords. And truely they take their rest upon no other, who are so desirous of revenge, as they never rest but when they are fighting, quarrelling, harming of o­ther men. In this manner Cain, that primitve disciple of the Devill (as St. Basil tearmes him) for no other end sought his brothers destruction, but up­on the ruine of his glory for to build his own, though the effect was far con­trary to his expectation. Esau found no place for any mercy, although hee sought it with instancy of many tears: so Saul, Ad. Heb. 12 so Antiochus were shamefully repulst even from the Altar of mercie, to which they fled; and that deserved­ly, since they never spared any whom they held for enemies: Eccl. 28. Iudicium sine misericordia fiet illi qui uonfecerit mise­ricordiam, Hee shall have judgement [Page 175] passe upon him without any mercy, who hath not afforded mercy unto o­thers; whereas King David redoub­led his wickednes with a foul relapse, and dyed his infamous Adultery in bloud, and yet he no sooner began to shew himselfe contrite, he had no soo­ner pronounced these two short words Peccavi Domino, 2 Kings 12. I have sinned against the Lord, but he heard presently from the mouth of the Prophet Nathan Do­minus peccatum tuum transtulit. The Lord hath remitted your sin. How often did Antiochus confesse that he had sinned, and with grievous cries im­plore the Divine pitty, vowing offe­rings to the Temple, & promising for the time to come an intire conversion; and yet his petition never would be heard; and from whence proceeded this differeece of favour, but from their different carriages towards their enemies? For David wilst he was in­feriour to no King, in prowesse and deeds of armes, was superior unto all in pardoning his foes, insomuch as he esteemed revenge the most unworthy his dignity of all other crimes; where­as that other Tyrant behaved himself in more than hostile manner towards his own Citizens, breathing forth no­thing but swords, fire, bloud, slaugh­ter, and revenge.

The 6 Paragraph.

THough Physitians most common­ly use not to give over t eir pati­ents till they see them so faint as they require a tombe (as it were) to leane their bones against; yet the [...]e are some maladies so pestiferous as at first sight of the patient, the can say, He is but a dead m [...]n, go and provide him a grave. In like manner though in this life we are not to dispaire of the salvation of any, how wicked so­ever they be; notwithstanding this is such an incurable disease, wher the vitiated bowels even swim with gal, and the m [...]nde is tortured with the pangs of hatred, and desire of revenge, that St. Iohn plainly declares his opi­nion of such an one: 1 Iohn 5. Make ready a Sepulcher for this miserable wretch, for his sinne is mortall, and to the death; neither would I advise any to pray for him. They rarely recover who are once obstinate in revenge, and there is no sense, where there is nothing but bitternesse. Eccl. 22. But although all the wise and learned men in the world crye out against us: though all the Prophets threaten us, Angels ex­hort us to bury our iniuries in for­getfulnesse, and enter into league of friendship with our enemies, yet [Page 177] we despise them all, and desperatly persever in pursuit of our revenge. La [...] of all, the Learnedst and wisest of all wise and learned men, the in­struction of Prophets, and King of Angels with soveraigne power, su­preame authority, doth visit us him­selfe not so much by way of perswa­sion as by authority to bring vs to ac­cord, not to give us counsaile, but an absolute law, and yet with extreame audacity we remaine still obstinate. But mark this Dialogue, how Christ our Soveraigne King commands, and how his subiects contrary his cōmand. Here stands our Saviour Christ, & in his fathers name com [...]ands them: Matth. 5. Luke 6. Ego autem dico vobis, diligite inimicos ve­stros: I say unto you, love your enemies. [...]here stands his rebellious subiects, and answer him presumptuously a­gain: O Christ this is lost labour you do command in vaine. To you I spe [...]ke, to you who are Christians. Wee side our selves presently with Hea­thens, and none gives eare to Christ. I say unto you, resist not evill; So we shall be counted cowards and weak spirited. Pray for those who persecute & calumniate you. How seldome, & how cold this prayer is; That you may be Sons of your Father who is in Heaven. [Page 178] We shall buy this title at too deere a price. Doe good to those who hate you. It is against our natures, O Lord command us somewhat more tolle­rable. Forgive others, and you shal be forgiven your selves. It is impossible, content your self, we cannot do it. In briefe, we will not restrain our anger, bridle our selves, nor containe our hands; as for our thoughts, how is it possible to governe them? If you shal remit to men their offences, your hea­venly father will remit you yours. For us, we are resolved to perish, so our enemies perish with us.

The 7. Paragraph.

O Christians, and is Heaven then such an odious thing as you must needs make such impetuous haste to hel? Do you not remember the dayly petition which you make, Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut & nos dimit­timus, And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive? Do you not perceive your obligation from hence, to love your enemy, under paine of binding your selfe unto the forfeiture, as of­ten as you supplicate Almighty God to forgive you, as you forgive other men, when you do but say in a man­ner, For me, I am resolved to pardon no man, but to take revenge on all, and [Page 179] persecute them with implacable hatred to the death; wherfore do thou, O Lord if thou please, requite me with the like. No this is the language of the repro­bate, the predestinate are of a far dif­ferent straine: it is impossible to pro­voke them by any injury beyond their custom of interceding in this manner for their enemies; Father forgive them, and impute not this sin unto them; for my part, I freely pardon them, I freely forgive them, without all thought of ever revenging it. This is the stile of the Predestinate. And here, before I draw to a conclusion, I would desire to know of thee whoso­ever readest this, and yet bearest a grudge unto thine enemy in thy mind, whether thou believe all this to be true or no? without doubt you will not deny it, unlesse you can be­lieve the truth would conspire with falsehood to deceive you, Christ with untruth. Supposing then that all is true, as most true it is, what impious contumacy is this in you? what ob­stinate contempt of the Law of God? what presumptuous contradicting of the will of Christ? Christ exhorts you with all earnestnesse to pardon, for­give, and love not only y ur friends, but even your enemies, be they [Page 180] whom they will; and yet doe you re­maine obstinate, yet doe you hate your foes? Will you yet afford them no forgivenesse? yet cannot you love those who maliciously have detracted you? Doe you care so little for Christ, so little for Almighty God? doe you set so light by heaven, by your eternall salvation so light? can­not all this extort from you one such word as this, seriously uttered, and proceeding from your heart: Ignosco, dimitto, I pardon, I forgive, and be­seech Almighty God to doe the like, if perchance any have offended me? Yet dost thou stand like a sencelesse statue, without all voyce and motion of forgivenesse? Yet out of that iron bosome of thine, dost thou breath no­thing but such ominous sounds as these: away with mine enemies, an evill death be with them, and all that is evill else? Yet dost thou blow out nothing but revenge, death, and de­struction against thine enemies? Is your hate of your enemies not yet ex­tinguished, doe you yet refuse to o [...]ey the commandements of our Saviour Christ? If so, go with other Christi­ans your like, take what way you wil, you can never be out of it; one way or other you will arrive infallibly [Page 181] unto your journies end, the kingdom of everlasting woe and wretchednes. Goe on confidently, blind-fold as you are, and assure your selves that every path you can take will lead you unto hell; the certain course you can take to arrive thither, is by mista­king of yo [...]r way, in the mean while, hold this for certaine, Non potest a­mare Deum qui non cessat odisse inimicum, That he cannot love God, who ceaseth not to hate his E­nemie.

The first Paragraph.

CHrist having healed the Paraletick in the Gospell, Iohn 5. commanded him to take up his bed and walk, which he performed instantly: & sustulit grabatū suum & ambulabat. The occa­sions of sinning are first to be avoy­ded, and removed out of the way, and then we are to proceed to a most ver­tuous course of life The Prodigall-child being almost starv'd with hunger said, Surgam & ibo ad patrem meum. I will rise, and goe to my Father. Nei­ther did he onely say he would goe, but he went indeed; whereas we, for the most part, when it comes to this, through our owne negligence doe lose both us [...] of hands and feet, we are [Page 186] onely active in words, nothing in deeds; mighty of our tongues and feeble of our hands; we bend the bow, but never sho [...]t the arrow; we purpose much, but never performe a­ny thing; we are sorry when we are fallen i [...]to any sin, but use no d [...]li­gence in providing not to fall againe. And as those who wish to have their wounds cured, but apply not the re­medy, so we would avoyd the falling into sins, but divert not the stream of affections which carries us towards them Age finds us still procrastina­ting, and seeking of delayes; our li [...]e hastes away, whilst we doe nothing, but purpose, and make faire promises, and is past before we put them in execution; when death arrests us in midst of our long purposes, and de­rides us for having consumed so many yeares in resolving what to do, with­out doing any thing Such an one was St Augustine once, but not long such an one: he [...]id not diferre that till he was old, which no man can undertake too yong: Dicebam apud me intus, Ec­ce m [...] do fiat, 8 Cons. c. 11. modo fiat: Et cum verbo jam ibam in placitum, jam pene facie­bam, & non faciebam nec relabebar tamen in pristina, sed de p [...]oximo sta­bam, & r [...]sp [...]rabam. Retinebant me [Page 187] nugae nugarum, & vanitates vanita­tum antiquae [...]micae meae, & succu [...]ie­bant vestem me [...]m carneam & submur­m rabant: dimittis ne [...]os? I said in my selfe (sa [...]th he) behold I wil doe it shortly, and [...]or [...]ly it shall be done. And having said this, I was satisfied, I was even upon the poynt of perfor­mance, but performed nothing; yet I returned not wholly to my old cu­stomes again, but stood panting not far of. I was stayed and detained by those old friends of mine, the toyes of toyes, and vanities of vanities; and shaking me by this same vestment of flesh, they muttered these words, Will you forsake us then? Yes truely he forsook you, and wholly discarded you, he shook off your intollerable yoke, and detested in such manner the wayes of his former life, as he never thereafter set foot in them againe.

The second Paragraph.

WE often undertake a better course of life, but we persever not in it, and so whilst we goe not forwards with our web, it unravels againe, and becomes as mi [...]hapen as it was before. We want not (as we may well sup­pose) many pious endevours, ho y thoughts, pure intentions, and wise deliberations; and in all which, wee [Page 188] are but like the Athenians, who ena­cted excellent lawes, but were starke nought to urge them on to executi­on, or provide they might not be an­tiquated by the times abuse. We pre­scribe to ou [...] selves a most laudable course of life, and most conducing to our salvation, but at every little te­diousnesse, and molestation we desist from it; we fortifie our selves with many holy, and fiery purposes, but at th [...] first parley of our rebellious flesh, at the first solicitation of our alluring enemy, seconded with others of that flattering crew, we render up our selves, and without any resistance suffer our selves to be trailed into the filthy pu [...]dle of our former sinnes, so unconstant is o [...]r Repentance, and so little durable. O deare Christian, thou hast resolved to lead a life most pure, to decline all occa [...]ons which may blemish it, to refrain thine eyes, the [...]ollicitors of lust, and mortifie the unrulinesse of thy flesh, and thou dost well therein. Thou beginnest to deb [...]t thy tongue from mis-beseeming words; to harbour an aversion from reading lascivious books. And all this very well Thou purposest to suppress thy anger, to moderate thy passions, to reject all enmity, and banish envy [Page 189] wholly from thy mind, and thou dost excellent well. Thou resolvest to be more reserved in speech, to be silent whilst others are detracted of, and pa­tient when th [...] selfe art injured; and all this excell [...]nt well. But how far more excellent were it to remain still constant to our purposes? whereas, alas how many are there, who yester­day could bridle their tongues, con­taine their lubricities, suppresse their angers, and overcome themselves, who to day are wholly effused on their former licentiousnesse, and in receiving againe the servile yoke of unruly lust, and a licentious tongue, and giving the reines of their furious passions, become as very sl [...]ves to vi­ces as they were before It is no true repentanc, wihich is not stable, and permanent, but rather inconstancy and light volubility of mind. We are like those cowardly fencers, who at blunt can handle their weapons skil­f lly, and make great flourishes, but being challenged to the field at sharp, the glaunce of the naked weapons so dazles their eyes, as they run dastard­ly away, and expose their backs to those wounds which make them fearefully turne away their face. We are like unexpert foot men, who at [Page 190] their first setting out do keep a migh­ty adoe, ut they are presently all in a sweat, and forced to take up, b [...]fore they have halfe run the race. How often doe we undertake matters of great consequence, which we begin lauda [...]ly, and for a time hopefully pro [...]cute, until [...] by degrees wee lan­guish, afterwards come to fall, and at th [...] len [...]th lye groveling all along? That [...]ice makes vaine ostentation of blossoms, which onely promises fruit, b t never produces any; That Architect lays but a bootlesse founda­tion on which he never ra [...]seth a buil­ding up; and what doth it availe a Mariner to hoise up sayle, weigh An­chor, and betake him to the sterne, if he never put to sea, or else make for land againe, as soon as he is out of the havens mouth? And what do we but lay the foundation with this Ar­chitect, and never goe forward with the building we have in hand? Begin our Exordium with t [...]e Oratour, but rarely come to our peroration? Set Saile with the Mariner but for every little blast, stand for the harbour a­gaine: What have we more frequent­ly in our mouths, than I will amend my manners, I will reclaim my life, and yet, what is lesse seriously performed? [Page 191] Straight from the receiving of the Sa­craments we start out couragiously to­wards the Goale, but before we have runne halfe way, we faint and lay us downe for wea [...]inesse. When none can discerne in us any memoriall of good purpose we ever had, or of that sacred refection; so mindfull we are still of injuries, so forgetfull of what we piously resolved; so as with good reason Polybius saith, Man is accoun­ted the wisest of all animated things, bu [...] for my part I hold him the fooli­shest of all: for other Animals are ever wary after they have once recei­ved harme: The Fox is never taken in the same Gin againe: the Wolfe shuns the pi [...]-f [...]ll, the dog a cudgell the se­cond time; but onely man is so un­wary, so oblivious a thing, as from time to to time be falls most common­ly into the same sins againe.

The third Paragraph.

GOd complaines by the Prophet [...]saiah, Non posuisti haec, &c. Thou hast not taken this to heart, Isaiah 4 [...]. n [...]ither re­membred the latest things; and I have s [...]id, even when thou hast committed all this, returne unto me, and she hath not returned: Repentance, (saith St. Bernard) without amendment [...]vails us nothin [...]; For if one build an edifice, and another [Page 192] demolish it, what obtaine they but their labour for their paine: Eccl. 34. Qui enim baptizatur à mortuo, &c. For he who is w [...]sh [...]d from the dead, and toucheth him againe, what doth his washing be­nefit him? True repentance goes ever accopanyed with amendment; when gluttony is stinted, luxury amortized, [...]ride depressed, and our bodies subje­c [...]ed unto holinesse, whi [...]h were before slaves of iniquity. And all this wee promise faithfully to execute; and yet a day scarcely pasteth, sometimes not an houre, before all our promises are forgot, and wee returned to our f [...]rmer bent againe: And what Isaiah doth so much deplore, of a wholsome sadnesse, we make our meriment, Ve­nite sumamus vinum, Isaiah 56. & impleamur e­brietate, & erit sicut hodie, sic & cras, & multò amplius, Come give us some wine, and let us take our fill of drun­kennesse, as we doe to day, so let us tomorrow, and that with advantage. We are just of Pharaohs condition, for he, as soon as he perceived the raine, haile, and thunder to be passed over, began to sinne more licen [...]iously than before; so we, after we have obtained remission for our former sins, doe commonly fall into more grievous ones. How often doe we seeme Lambs in the morning, [Page 193] and become Lyons before night, wea­ring Tygres natures, mask [...]d under hu­mane shapes? How often doe we ap­peare Angels when we rise, and yet be­fore th [...] evening becom [...] scarcely men? So often we change viz [...]rds, and most commonly the most ugly is that which best pleaseth us. And thus of vessels of glory, alas, with too frequent change, and vicissitude, we become the vessel [...]s of ignominy and shame: Sicut autem aegrotantes, Hom. 3. ap po [...]. (saith Chrysostome) nisi sem­per ordinate vixerint nulla ipsis disci­disciplinae per tres aut quatuor dies ser­vatae utilitas, sic & peccantes nisi sem­per sobrii sint, nihil prod [...]rit ipsis duorum, aut trium dierum correctio. As infi [...]me persons, unlesse they have lived order­ly before, receive no ben [...]fit by tem­perating themselves onely for a day or two: so unlesse sinners doe get a ha­bite of maturity, the amendment of three or foure dayes will nothing pro­fit them. Have you not marked young Chickens, how whilst they are strag­l [...]ng up and downe to pick up wormes, and flies, the Kite so [...]ring aloft, singles out one of them, and stooping suddain­ly snatches it away with her, when all the rest runne c [...]ying to hide them­selve under their mothers wings; but not being able long to containe them­selves [Page 194] there, they must out againe, and utterly unmindfull of their former danger, they are all dispersed, as busie as before; when the Kite watching its opportunity againe, ketches up ano­ther, and flyes away with it: then in as grear a fright as they were before, they flock again unto their feathery refuge; where after they have lurked a while, all their feare and danger is forgot again, and so they sally out, and meet with the like encounters, so long, untill the poor d [...]m have never a Chic­ken left: even just in this manner death doth play with us; h [...]re he seizeth up­on a neighbour, there on a kinsman, o [...] neere friend of ours, whose losse, in that so ne [...]re a blow hath reference to our selves, not without reas [...]n, mak s us tremble and lament, and seriously bethink our selves of amending our lives; but how long do h this terrour, these lamentations last? Some day or two, and then we pu [...]sue our wonted traines againe, and forgetting wholly our sorrow and heavinesse, we burst forth into immoderate laughter, and our old rio [...]ousnes, we seek out unjust wayes to thrive, we return to our owne forsworne intemperance, and all our other circular vices, effusing our selves with unrestrayned licentiousnesse, on [Page 195] the accustomed excesses, of our passed life, and so long we continue in this dead security, untill death with its cold hand doth gripe our hearts, and make our eyes run with the last teares wee shall ever shed. Then that will onely profi [...] us which we have done, and to wish to have done this or that, will availe us nought: Then our most of comfort will bee to remember that which cost us most paine to effect it. But we neither sufficiently credit our selves, nor others, in poynt of this veri­ty: to day we conceive a detestation of our sinnes, and to morrow commit the like, or more grievous ones againe, dallying in this manner with Almigh­ty God, when we have scarsely washed away one sin, with repentant teares, but we commit another worthy of as many more, connecting (as it were that chain of iniquity, which Isaiah the Pro­phet so condoles, Isaiah 5. and yet so menaceth withal. Vae qui trahitis iniquitatem in funibus, & quasi vinculum plaustri pec­catū. Even so we adde sin to sin, and for the most part, the latter more enormious than the first: so we are alwaies incli­ning unto the worse, like Antiochus E­piphanes, of whom it was said, That he was a good child, an ill youth, and a wicked man. By the addresse of [Page 196] Repentance and Confession being de­livered from our sins, wee are fervent for the first week after, the second we grow tepid, and the third wax wholly cold; insomuch, as losing all spirit, we become dead againe. O men, more changeable than the Moon, who not onely every moneth, but every week, nay often every day have their increase, waine, excesses, and defects! How many tides doe dayly ebbe and flow within the Euripus of a narrow breast? How often from fruitfull O­lives doe we degenerate into wild and savage plants? O volubility, O incon­stancy of ours, more variable than fortune it selfe, which when it ceaseth to be good, onely by degrees, at least becommeth bad. Prov. 11. Impius facit opus in­stabile, The worke of the impious is unconstant and wavering.

But on the contrary, the pathes of the just are like a resplendant light, Procedit, Prov. 4. & crescit usque ad perfectum diem, which gains of the skie encreases to a perfect day. The Predestinate have such a horror from any sin, as they wholly break of all commerce with it, thy know how dangerous a thing it is, to dally in this manner with Almigh­ty God, to repent us of one sin to day, and to morrow to commit others, to [Page 197] repent afresh. They never remember without hearty sorrow, on what guilty tearmes they once stood with Almigh­ty God; not forget how hamously then they offended him; which is our onely efficatious way to obtaine grace and favour of Almighty God, who then forgets himselfe offended by us, when we with sor­row remember our offence.

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IN Cities according to the principal clock the common ones use ordina­rily to be set, and why likewise should not the wills of every man conforme themselves like little clocks, unto the great celestiall one onely, the Will of Almighty God? Sicut fuerit volun­tas in coelo, sic fiat. As the Will shall be in heav [...]n, so let it be. It is in­credible how [...]ratefull unto God is such an act as this. God congratula­ted with himselfe, as for some extra­ordinary happinesse: Inveni David fi­lium lesse virum secundum cor meu [...], qui faciet omnes voluntares meas, I have found David the sonne of l [...]sse, a man according to mine owne heart, who performes my will in every thing. God had long sought for such a man, he layd wayt for one of that mind and disposition, who in all occurrences [Page 203] should propose unto himselfe, no o­ther aime than the performing of his wil; and having found such an one, even like one overjoyed, our most bountifull father cryes out, I [...]veni qui faciet omnes voluntate [...] meas I have found him who will doe my will in every thing. And t [...]is was the reason why the Son of God was so exact himselfe in fulfilling his fathers will: Descendide coelo non ut faciam volun­tatem meam sed voluntatem ejus, Iohn 6. q i misit me. I have descended from h a­ven, not to doe mine owne will, but the will of him who sent me From the rule of this direct and soveraigne Will, they are but too farre swarved, who not onely not obey at a beck, but ever stir not for its absolute com­mand; Prov. 14. Sapiens timet & declinat a malo, stultus transilit & confidit, the wise man feares and so escapes evill, whilst the foole is confident and boldly leaps into it. And this is as the Scripture sayes, Prov. 30. comedere ac ter­gere os & dicere non sum operatus malum, to eate and wipe their mouth clean againe, and say I have done no harm. Those who are of this mind do but laugh whilst they engage their soules unto the devill; they lose their part of heaven, and do not feele [Page 204] the losse, as accounting it but a light and triviall one.

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BVt on the contrary, the predesti­nate doe lay so sure a foundation of vertue in their minds, that they conceive a horror from all kinde of offence, and from the least shadow of any sin, & never consent to take plea­sure in that which may be displeasing to Almighty God, but they put on this firme resolution to perform that which may be most acceptab [...]e unto God, although thereby they should incurre the displeasure of all the world Thither they bend all their thoughts, and hence all discourse is derived, neither may we doubt, but from their inflamed wills with grea­ter ardor then Ep [...]ctetus did, they will burst forth into these lowder excla­mations, O my God, and my love, farre be it from me, that I should not ever have the same will with thee: no, no, my will is thine, or rather indeed I have no will lo [...]ger of mine owne, since all I have is thine. And now of necessity I must f [...]llow thy wil, since it is all I have. I neither doe, nor ought to desire any thing, O my God, but that which plea­seth thee. Is it thy pleasure then that I be sick? then be it so; or poore? and [Page 205] that too; to endure much paine? and that; wouldst thou have mee suffer contumelies and injuries? I am resol­ved to be despised and contemned, al­though it would touch me to the quick, I am prepared; wilt thou deprive me of all solace and delight? I am resol­ved to be perplext in minde, although it should last to the [...]orlds e [...]d, I am content; wilt thou bereave me of all that a hich I most affect? although it is most hard to depart with that we love, yet I likewise will, since thou wilt have it so; wilt thou have me dye? of all difficile things, this is most difficile, and yet I should not refuse to dye a thousand times, so I might [...]ut breath my last in the dea [...]e armes of thy most sacred will: and that a violent death? In spight of nature I would embrace it too: w [...]lt thou have me a Saint in Heaven? O my God, it is my hearts de­sire; or a damned soule in Hell? [...]las sweet [...]esus if ever thou hadst beene so minded, it had beene done, since I have deserved it, but it is apparant it is a [...]ing thou never desirest, since thou shedst thine owne pretious bloud to hin­der it. But yet if it were possible (as it cannot be) and I might have my choyse whether thy will should be tra [...]sgressed, and I a Saint in heaven, or else I dam­ned, [Page 206] and thy blessed will fulfilled, O my God, I should make no difficulty to con­clude, that it were farre better for mee to be damned, than thy will left undone. But, O thou soveraign goodnesse, I am sure thou desirest not my death, since thou wast pleased that thine owne Son should dye, to the end that I might live I beseech thee therefore, O hea­venly father, for the most hitter death of that onely Son of thine, that thou wouldst preserve mee from eternall death Look upon those wounds, looke upon that bloud which for my sake was sacrificed, when to spare thy servant, thou wouldst not spare thy sonne. Be­hold me thy humblest servant, O thou immortall [...]ing at the least signe of thy good pleasure, ready at thy command; all that, shall be most gratefu [...] unto mee which proceeds from vertue of thy holy will; Paratum cor meu [...], Deus, pa­ratum, Psal. 127. cor meum, my heart, my God, is prepared, my heart is ready. Such servants as these their heavenly ma­ster hath in high esteem, who with such a vigilant eye observe every least signe of his sacred pleasure, as they make it no other than a law to theirs. And with a chearefull countenance are ever ready to say, Dominus est, quod bonum est in oculis faciat, &c. [Page 207] Hee is our Lord, let him doe that which is best pleasing in his eyes, for there is nothing better than to have regard to Gods Commandements.

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THE Grecians doe commend that celebrated saying of theirs, ne quid nimis, not too much of any thing; but thou, O Lord, hast ex­pressely commanded, mandata tua custodiri nimis, that thy commande­ments should be very much observed. God would have all his servants so ready and prompt at every command of his, at every beck, as they should never passe a day, no not so much as that whereon they should suffer the greatest affliction, without repea­ting over this short sentence a thou­sand times both in heart and mouth, quod vult Deus fiat, be it as it pleases God; and by this meanes the will of men so vertuously disposed be­comes to be the will of God himself, since they hold themselves constant to this resolution, never to will any thing which may be displeasing to his Divine Majesty; whence it comes that whatsoever they desire, they obtaine, since they desire nothing else than onely to conforme them­selves to the will of God, as know­ing [Page 208] that to be most true which St. Hierome writeth unto Paula upon the occasion of Blella's death. God is good, (saies he) and therefore of ne­cessity being so good as he is, al must be likewise good, which he ordaines; neither can men of God receive a­ny thing in ill part, which is procee­ding from so good a God. Are they in health? they render than [...]s then to their Maker for it; are they disea­sed? even in this they acknowledge and praise their Makers will; are they deprived of their dearest friends? they cannot but bewayle so sad an accident, but yet in remembring that God hath disposed it so, they beare their losses with an equall mind; hath death ravished away an onely child? a losse how ever grievous, yet to be sustained, since he who lent it, de­mands it back againe; are they o­vertaken with extreame poverty, or more grievous infirmity, afflicted to be contemned, and opprobriously dealt withall, subiect to a thousand inluries and scornes? For all this you shall never haare them utter o­ther words, but sicut Domino placuit, ita factum est, ita bene factum, etiam in hoc laudetur Deus. God hath done as it pleased him, and thrrefore hee [Page 209] hath done well, for which cause even in this be he likewise blessed and praysed; Benedictus Deus in aeter­num, God be blessed for ever. Who­soever are fastned to God, as by an Anchor with such a Will as this, doe awayt their latest houre with all se­curity, and account all misfor­tunes in the meane time for short, which with so fortunate an end are to be clo­sed up.

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BLessed are those (sayes St. Augu­stine) who make peace within themselves who so governe all the motions of their mind as to render them obsequious unto reason; and blessed are those who in subduing [Page 214] the concupiscences of their flesh, become the Kingdome of Almighty God, where the mind enjoyes an ab­solute dominion, the corporall senses bring all in due subordination, and as inferiour serv [...]nts no wayes resi­sting to that superiour power This is that peace which the Angels pro­claimed at Christs Nativity, to which neverthelesse none can attaine, but by warre and violence. Hence it is, that God delivered the Commande­ments to Moses, at the sound of war­like Trumpets, when we should ima­gine that soft and harmonious musick should have better sympathized with those religious Rites to which the lawes had peculiar reference; that trumpets had more proportion with warres, than with the Church. But so it is (deare Christians) we are drawne forth into the field, we are prest unto the wars by this our hea­venly Law-giver, neither can any truely observe his Lawes, who refuses to fight against those who impugne them. None can overcome their flesh by cherishing it, none without a bat­taile conquer he tempting enemy, or the frowns or smiles of the incon­stant world: We are to hold every affectio [...] for an enemy, which the ad­versaries [Page 215] of the divine Law shall op­pose against us, and as such resist it with our uttermost power. He that is offended at his crimes, and yet favours his passions, doth but lop the bran­ches from an evill tree, whilst hee permits the root to furnish the stock with mosse. St. Chrysostome in pon­dering these words of our blessed Sa­viour; qui viderit mulierem ad concu­piscendam illam, &c. He who shall be­hold a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart, sayes, non modo morbum, sed & morbi radicem evellit Christus, &c. Christ doth not onely take a­way the disease, but even the root thereof. The root of adultery is this evill of concupiscence, and so together with adultery he condemnes the mo­ther of it, concupiscence. In like man­ner, he doth not onely prohibite mur­ther, but likewise anger which pro­vokes us to it, and the firebrands of anger, opprobrious speech. Of all passi­ons two of the most vehement are love & anger, & without extream rigor ne­ver to be restrain'd. Gentlenes & mild perswasion can doe no good with them; and as for anger it doth not im­portune the mind like other vices, but carries it away headlong with it. [Page 216] Who would desire to wound his ene­my on that condition to leave his hand incorporate in the wound, and not be able to withdraw it backe? and yet such is the n [...]ture of anger to engage us so farre as we can never come clearely off againe. It will not stick at any wickednesse, and whoso­ever it hath designed to strike at with its thunder, it is never appeased, till it have discharged upon him a deadly wound. He whom it rules is like the stone called Pyrites, which is set on fire wheresoever you strike it with the flint. Prov. 29. An angrie man provokes quar­rells, and he who is apt to take excepti­ons, will be the readier to sinne. Wrath and anger are execrable things, and there is scarsely any plague hath cost mankinde so deare, for Vtrum stultum interficit iracundia, & parvulum occi­dit in vidia. Anger killeth the foole, and envie murdereth the little one. Wherefore, deare brethren (sayes St. Augustine) ne obsecro tantum malum nobis inducamus, Lib. 4. de Ci­vit. Dei. c. 6. &c. I beseech you let us not call such a plague upon our selves, the soules sicknes, the night of reason, an alienation from God, ob­livion of frendship, the overture of war, the plenitude of calamity, & the worst of devills; which is the more wa­rily [Page 217] to be avoyded, more it infects with its dayly incursions. In omnes personas hic ardescit affectus, tam ex amore [...] scitu [...] quam ex odio, non minus inter seria, quam inter lusus & jocos; nec interest ex quam magna causa nascitur, sed in qualem proveni at animum: sic ignis, non refert quam magnus, sed quo incidat, nam arida scintillam quoque fovent usque ad incen­dium. Sen. Ep. [...]8. This passion (sayes Seneca) conceives a heat burning against all sorts of persons, and is begotten as well out of love as hate, no less from serious businesses than sports and meriment: neither are we so much to regard from what cause it arises, as in­to what bosome it lights: for so it makes no matter how great the fire be, but where it takes, since any dry thing will nourish, even a sparke till it waxe a mighty fire. But (sayes hee in another place) there is nothing yet so hard and difficile, which the mind of man cannot overcome, and there are no passions so head-strong and vio­lent which cannot bee restrained by sk lfull managing, L [...] der [...]. c. 1 [...] quodcunque sibi im­peravti animus obtinuit, let but the mind absolutely command, and it will obtaine any thing. What a happinesse were it then to be delivered from such mighty evills, as anger with frenzy, [Page 218] rage and cruelty, furiousness and other the like passions with which it ever goes accompanyed.

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THat which this wise Roman said of anger, we may also apply to pride and envy, those two ordinary furies which hant humane breasts, as like­wise to those equall sisters in wicked­nes; and to conclude, to all the other crew of vicious affections. And say, what a happines were it, to be delive­red from such maine evills, and have our mind composed to a blessed tran­quillity to a certaine harmony, and concordance of all our copidities? He therefore is blessed, who is the lesse indulgent of liberty to his affections, the more free hee desires to bee him­selfe from vices servitude, who to se­cure reasons dominion in him, cruci­fies his unruly passions. For Gally-sl [...]ves they have some cessation from labour, some time, though never so short allotted them to rest; but those who are slaves to their affections doe never enj [...]y any rest, but their mind is in continual agitation, by the turbulent motions of their restlesse thoughts. Servietis diis alienis die ac nocte, Hier. 16. qui non dabunt vobis requiem, you shall serve strange Gods day and night, [Page 219] which will not give you rest. And therefore the sonne of Syrach advises us, post concupiscentias tuas non eas, Eccl. 18. doe not follow thy concupiscence; but as a head-strong horse is to be reined hard, and one that is ready, pricked on with the spurre; so wee are to ma­nage our affections, by urging some, whilst, for the most part, we do curb the rest. None can more truely hate himselfe, than hee who loves him­selfe with such a pernicious love, as becomming by it wholly dis­solved in voluptuousnesse, he is nei­ther able to obtaine any thing of him­selfe, or deny himselfe any thing. Let such as these consider what the A­postle presages of them: Rom. 8. Si s [...]cundum carnem, &c. If you live acco ding to the flesh, (saies he) you shall dye, but if you shall mortifie the works of the flesh, you shall live. The command of ones selfe is the greatest Empire as man can aspire unto, & consequently to be subject to our passions the most grievous slavery; neither is there any triumph more glorious, then that of the victory obtained of our selves, where whilst the conflict is but short, the reward shall ever last. He over­comes his affections, who refuses to serve them, and he serves them, saith [Page 220] S. Ambrose, Quicun (que) metu frangitur, vel delectatione, Li. 2. de Iac. & vita beata irretitur, vel cupitatibus du­citur, vel indignatione exasperatur, vel maerore d [...]icitur: whosoever is dismay­ed by feare, enthralled by pleasure, in­ve [...]gled with desires, exasperated by of­ffences, or dejected with sadnes. Neither is there any viler servitude, according to Seneca than that which is volunta­rily undergone, Ep. 47. where one serves his lust, another his avarice, a third ambi­tion. A good man (as witnesses Saint Augustine) albeit hee serve, is free, whereas a wicked, although hee be a Monarch, is a slave, and that not to one man alone, but (what is more intollerable) to as many Masters as he hath vices. The desires of men are as various as their visages, and out­ward lineaments; and even as in those among men of the same kinde, there is strange diversity, so is there no lesse in the affections and propensi­ons of our mind: here one burnes in the fire of concupiscence, another is led captive in golden chains, a third consumed with envy, this by drinking destroyes his health, this too much gi­ven to gamning, and this to idlenesse, the whilst, none will ever be perswa­ded, (as if one could not be drowned aswell in wine as water) that their [Page 221] ruin can arise from thence, where they have placed their chiefe felicity. Saint Gregory sayes excellently well, Lib. 4. in Reg. c. 4. Repro­bae menti valde placet quod concupiscit, sed in aeterna poena quod ei modo est dul­ce amarescet. A reprobate minde is pleased above measure with its owne desires, but that which now is so svveet unto it, will afterwards to its eternall paine be changed into bitternesse. Dan. 13. O wretch, thou art deceived with speci­ous shew, and desire hath subverted thy heart, and made thee long after fleeting waters, with a frustrated appe­tite. What felicity can a man receive frō his libidinousnes, which according to St. Ambrose doth burne us worse than a feaver, farre more inflame us, & sooner cast us downe; Febre libido flagrantior est, graviusque inflammot, & praecipitat; but when that violent heat is asswag [...]d, when the fit is past, then the eyes of our conscience doe open, and a man becomes all confoun­ded and ashamed at the ugliness of his reproachfull fact; then he stands in dread of Almighty God, and faine, if he knew how would hide his guilty head; but in vaine, for the deformity is so manifest, and all secrets lye un­folded before Almighty God, and therefore the thought of judgement [Page 222] doth strike him into horror, out of the conscience of his selfe-guiltinesse. And what is the thirst of wealth, but a notorious spur to every wickednesse, which is rather more provoked than quenched by possessing that which it desires; which torments the minde no lesse with sollicitude of that it en­joyes, than that it wants? And where­as all other vices grow old with man, this then becomes most youthfull and vigorous. Hate and envy are two im­portunate evills, which unlesse you kill (as it were) in the cradle, there is little hope of overcomming them thereafter with that facility as you doe other affections. As for gluttony, those who serve it have a pernicious mistris of it, which the more obsequiously you serve, the more insolent it growes, and by reason of its neare affinity with lasciviousnes, in humouring and fee­ding it, you doe but nourish an enemy of Chastity. Who then is there, and we will give him deserved praise, who can justly glory wi h holy Tobias, Tob. 3. mun­dam servavi animam meam ab omni concupiscentia, I have preserved my soule pure from all concupiscence? Such a soule were like a Lute indeed, with all its strings in tune.

The third Paragrah.

SAul being commanded by Al­mighty God to kil Agag the King of the Amalikites, did notwithstan­ding onely imprison him; and this is our way of proceeding with our pas­sions, which so they break not forth to any exorbitancy in the exteriour, wee take no thought for rooting of them out, how ever seditiously in our interiour they behave themselves. And what is this but thorow a vitious pitty, to confine those to prison, whom we should condemne to die; & whilst we spare a concealed enemy to arm him to proceed against us in pub­like hostility? For so those vices which at first were only committed by chance, and unawares, are conver­ted by degrees into nature & custome, till at last they impose upon us a ne­cesity of sinning, and make us cry out, when we perceive our selves brought every way into straits by our dome­sticall enemies; I cannot overcome my selfe in this, it is impossible for me to abstaine from that to wh [...]ch I have been accustomed so long; you had as good bereave me of my life, as debarre mee the fruition of such and such a pleasure And by this manner our vices be­come incorporate to our manners, and by neglecting to root up our [Page 224] passions whilst they were but little shrubs we perceive our selves at la through our connivance overgrowne with whole woods of them, and encompassed with so vast a wilder­nesse, as it exceeds our forces to ex­tricate our selves. Yet even then we are no wayes to despaire, since one custome may be expelled by a better one, and the richer our Crown will be, the more the fight is dangerous and difficile. Volenti cum bono Deo vincera certa est victoria. Let but a Moses with his rod check the waves of the sea, and for the rest GOD will provide that the children of Is­rael may finde a safe passage thorow them, whilst they swallow up the whole hosts of the Egyptians. Let us but take armes, and inure our selves to fight, and we shall repulse the Ammorites and the Cannanites from infesting us? [...]ob 7. Militia est vita hominis supra terram, mans life is (but) a warfare on the earth. And above all let each one hold himselfe suspected, since no man hath a more trayterous enemy. There is no com­ming to any agreement with this foe, no trusting to any treaty or composi­tion, but onely that day will set an end to his hostility, which closes up [Page 225] our lives. It is a divine sentence of St. Cyprian, Voluptatem vicisse voluptas est maxima, nec ulla major est victoria, quam ea quae à cupiditatibus refertur. Qui enim hostem vicit, fortior fuit al­tero; qui vero libidinem represserit fortior fuit seipso, There is no greater pleasure than to subdue our plea­sure, nor truer victory, than that we obtaine over our desires. For he who overcomes his enemy is onely stron­ger than another man, but he who resists his libidinousnesse is stronger than himselfe. A curious Musitian never leaves tampering with his in­strument, till it be in tune, and so the predestinate ceases not to compose his affections, till they agree among themselves in a harmonious peace. If we will believe Plato the body is but a Lute, and the soule the Lute­nist, which now tunes one string, now another, as it finds occasion: now it moderates the eyes, and now the tongue; now it containes the eares, and now the hands; and whensoever the passion of anger, or lu [...]urie chance to rise too high, it re­duces them to the right pitch of rea­son againe. He was a skilfull Musi­tian indeed who said: Castigo corpus meum & in servitutem redigo, 1 Cor. 9. I chast [...]se [Page 226] my body, and bring it into subjecti­on. And so the principal care of the predestinate, is, daily to examine the instrument of his affections, and now to strive against his choler, now represse his envy, now excitate his drowsinesse, now moderate his sad­nesse, and now refraine his joy; he is still practising on it, and so long tunes up some strings, and lets down others, till it agree in perfect harmo­ny. The predestinate permits no­thing to his affections, he favours none lesse then himselfe, nor suffers any the least offence of his, to passe unpunished. Therefore to con­clude, it is a true signe of prede­stination, and that they are of Christ who crucifie their flesh, with its vices and concupi­scences.