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<DATE>2013-12-04</DATE>
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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<STC T="W">D200A</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">[ocm]12632510</BIBNO>
<VID>200342</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<P>MEDITATIONS COLLECTED AND ORDERED FOR THE VSE OF THE ENGLISH COLLEDGE OF LISBO. <HI>BY THE SVPERIOVRS OF THE Same Colledge.</HI></P>
<Q><HI>Declinate &agrave; me maligni, &amp; &s;crutabor mandata Dei. Depart from me ye malignant, and I vvill &s;earch the commaundements of God.</HI> <BIBL>P&s;alm: 118.</BIBL></Q>
<P>THE SECOND EDITION. In which all the Latine &s;entences are tran&s;lated into English for tho&s;e that vnder&s;tand not Latine.</P>
<P>AT DOWAY, By BALTAZAR BELLERE, 1663.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="introduction">
<PB REF="3" MS="y">
<PB REF="3">
<HEAD>A PARABLE TO A PIOUS SOULE, AS Yet but an apprenti&s;e in loue.</HEAD>
<P>_WEe read of a Gentleman that had two friends, with vvhom for a long time vvas all his conver&s;ation, ioy, and con|tent: but being at lenght con|&s;trained to part company, yet in his ab&s;ence hee &s;till continued his former loue vvith them; and to this purpo&s;e &s;ent them daylie his letters, me&s;&s;ages, gifts, &amp; pre&s;ents; &amp; his friends as often repayed him vvith great thankes and gratitude, both equally extolling his liberality, &s;etting forth the magnificency of his pre&s;ents, and wishing they vvere able in the lea&s;t mea&s;ure to requite him: but yet vvith this difference (as appeared by their letters, and the Gentleman at lenght clearely perceiued) that the one of them in his an&s;wers vvas totally pou|red out in the pray&s;es of the pre&s;ents &s;ent him, &s;etting them out for the mo&s;t rare, mo&s;t excel|lent, and mo&s;t vvelc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">me to him, that no expref|&s;&s;ion could &s;ufficiently declare, how he e&s;tee|med them; next he returned the Gentleman a thou&s;and mo&s;t humble &s;incere &amp; cordiall than|kes, for his loue &amp; fauours; &amp; finally offered him (&amp; this mo&s;t vnfainedly) a thou&s;and pro|te&s;tations of his gratitude &amp; loyall &s;eruice: but in
<PB REF="4">all this not one vvord of any de&s;ire, wish, or lon|ging he had for his &s;peedy returne. Whereas the other friend, though he omitted it not, yet vvas he briefer in the like expre&s;&s;ion of the value and e&s;teem of the pre&s;ents, of his thankes, gratitude &amp; &s;eruice, &amp;c. but to &s;ignifie the other point of the de&s;ires, the longings, the deaths he &s;uffered for the long ab&s;ence of his friend, all time vvas too short, all paper too little.</P>
<P>He asked him an hundred times ouer &amp; ouer, how many vveekes, dayes or houres it would be till he returned: that, if he had time for it, he vvould &s;end him vvord, vvhether &amp; vvhen he should come forth to meet him: or rather that he vvould make &s;uch &s;peed him&s;elfe, that all me&s;&s;ages more might be preuented: finally that he liued in the meane vvhile onely vpon his me|morie, for the pre&s;eruing &amp; refreshing of which &amp; for no other end or content he had in them, he daylie and hourely read ouer the letters, and reuiewed the gifts he had &s;o oft receiued from him: but al&acirc;s being but poore shadovvs vvithout &s;ub&s;tance they could not continue life; &amp; that therefore nothing but his ovvne pre&s;ence, &amp; that &s;peedy too, could ea&s;e his griefe or giue him content &amp; re&s;t. The Gentleman, as I &s;ayd, well perceiued this difference of affections in his friends; &amp; that the one &s;eemed to loue his gifts, the other his per&s;on: yet to make a reall triall of both, he &s;uddenly &amp; vnlooked-for returneth home, &amp; going &s;euerally to vi&s;it his friends, he findeth them both looking ouer the letters, and vnfolding the tokens he had formerly &s;ent the~:
<PB REF="4">but the former, &s;eeing him entring in at his chamber doore, ro&s;e vp, bad him kind<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y vvel|come, &amp; pre&s;ently vvith many thankes shewed him the tokens &amp; Iewells he had &s;ent him, be|ginning afresh to pray&s;e &amp; extoll them: vvhen the Gentleman &s;eeing this his friend e&s;teem his vvealth more then him&s;elfe, departeth as &s;ud|denly as he came, &amp; &s;teppeth ouer to the other; vvho as bu&s;y &amp; poring as he vvas vpon the let|ters &amp; pre&s;ents he had, no &s;ooner e&s;pieth a glimp&s;e of his be&s;t beloued, but leaping vp &amp; throwing all by, falleth in his &s;weete&s;t embra|ces, vvithout memorie or thought of any thing, no not of thanking him for the many gifts and letters receiued: all his longings are tur|ned into fruitions, all his &s;ighs into ioyes, &amp; the teares that yet remaine or rather increa&s;e, are eye-vvitne&s;&s;es as I may &s;ay that he hath in his armes the &s;ole &amp; totall object of his true and candid loue, vvhich vvas of his per&s;on, not of his gifts or benefits.</P>
<P>Our greate&s;t God &amp; true&s;t friend, <HI>A quo</HI> (as vvee may &s;ay) <HI>omnis amicitia in caelo &amp; in terr&acirc; nominatur; fro~ whom all friendship in heauen, and in earth is named;</HI> came dovvne in per&s;on, trea|ted, liued &amp; conver&s;ed vvith vs, according to that; <HI>In terris vi&s;us e&s;t, &amp; cum hominibus con|ver<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">atus e&s;t; he vvas &s;eene vpon the earth, and vvas conver&s;ant vvith men;</HI> teaching vs the vvay to heauen, curing our infirmities, and by his ovvne death freeing vs from the bondage of the deuill and guilt of &s;inne: and all this to gaine our loue, and to &s;ettle a true and la&s;ting
<PB REF="5">friendship vvith vs. This done he departed from vs; &amp; that for our good al&s;o; <HI>Expedit vobis vt ego vadam. It is expedient for you that I Goe.</HI> Novv no &s;ooner a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ent, but he daylie &amp; hou|rely &s;endeth vs the me&s;&s;ages of heauenly in&s;pi|rations, the gifts of the holy Gho&s;t, the pre|&s;ents of all fort of comforts &amp; benefits, nay his &s;vvete&s;t letters too, to vvit the holy Scrip|tures his owne hand vvriting, and other pious &amp; deuout bookes penned by his Secretaries, but &s;igned vvith his ovvne &s;pirit, and loue-&s;eale. Novv, like the aboue &s;ayd Gentleman, he findeth among&s;t vs tvvo &s;ort of friends: for &s;ome (hovv nigh might I &s;ay, all?) looke &s;o much vpon the ble&s;&s;ings they enioy, vvhether temporall or &s;pirituall; take &s;uch notice and content in the comfort, and devotion they fee|le in prayer, holy Scriptures, &amp; deuout bookes, that thinking them&s;elues now full of pietie, and happine&s;&s;e, they neuer ca&s;t vp an eye, a thought, a &s;igh tovvards their ab&s;ent friend: neuer long for his &s;vveet pre&s;ence; neuer re|turne him their thankes and duty for him&s;elfe the&s;e are clearely conuicted not to loue God, &s;o much for him&s;elfe, as for his gifts; nor to re&s;pect his honour, vvill, and plea&s;ure, but ra|ther their ovvne profit and content. Wherefore let &s;uch be &s;ure, they shall neuer enjoy Gods &s;peciall, &amp; as I may call them, per&s;onall vi&s;its; nor haue the comfort and revvard of a true louer.</P>
<P>But the true friend &amp; louer of God indeed (I dare hardly put him in the plurall number,
<PB REF="5"><HI>Ne ille vnicus &s;it, Least there be none but him,</HI>) proceedeth after another manner: he omitteth not to thinke &amp; run inate on the doctrine &amp; commands his Lord hath left among vs, and &s;erueth them mo&s;t exactly; he letteth not a day, nor &s;carce an houre pa&s;&s;e, vvithout a ten|der remembrance of the bitter death &amp; pa&s;&s;ion he &s;uffered for vs: he looketh full often vpon the pre&s;ents his louing Lord daylie &s;endeth him, that is, meditateth with loue and gratitude vpon the innumera le benefits of all &s;orts shovvred dovvne vpon vs all: nay as often readeth ouer his kinde&s;t letters of holy Scriptures &amp; pious bookes. But his &s;ole end in all this his bu&s;y diligence is no other then to &s;eeke &amp; find out, if po&s;&s;ibly, his be&s;t beloued him&s;elfe; but he being ab&s;ent and gone, his labour is by the abo|ue &s;ayd meanes and helpes to retaine at lea&s;t in his &s;oule a liuely memorie of him; and in this &s;ad banishment. <HI>Comedit &amp; vivit de micis quae cadunt de men&s;&acirc; Domini &s;ui: He eates and liues of the crummes that fall from the table of his ma&s;ter:</HI> but al&acirc;s this doth not &s;atisfie his &s;taruing &s;oule; shee cannot liue long vpon &s;uch cour&s;e bread; hence &s;pring her hourely &s;ighes, teares and longings for her be&s;t beloued; <HI>Quem|admodum de&s;iderat <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ervus ad fontes aquarum, ita animae mea ad Te Deum vivum; veniat Dilectus in hortum &s;uum. Euen as the hart de&s;ires after the fountaines of vvaters, &s;oe doth my &s;oule long after thee my living God; O let my be|loued come into his garden.</HI> Novv if her deare&s;t Spou&s;e (as be mo&s;t confident, he vvill and ve|ry
<PB REF="6">often too) come dovvne, as I may &s;ay, in per&s;on, to vi&s;it her, &amp; fill her vvith a feeling pre&s;ence &amp; manife&s;tation of his &s;acred diuinity; &ocirc; how shee then leapes vp and cleaues vnto her beloued, forgetting all her former occupations, lections, meditations; finally vnited, inflamed and immer&s;ed in the depth of the Deity, shee can neither thinke nor &s;ay any more but <HI>Dile|ctus meus mihi &amp; Ego illi. My beloved to me, and I to him.</HI> AN ADVERTISEMENT.</P>
<P><HI>THe&s;e Meditations &s;uffi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e for the vvhole yeare in due and right order, for the great Fea&s;ts thereof, as vvell moueable as immo|veable: onely for the variation of Shrouetide it is to be ob&s;erved, that</HI> the Pa&s;&s;ion of our Sauiour, <HI>&s;et dovvne in the fifth Chapter of the &s;econd Part, is to begin on</HI> Sexage&s;ima <HI>Sunday vvherefore; in ea&s;e the precedent Meditations of our Sauiours life, come short &amp; reach not out to the &s;aid Sunday then make the &s;upply out of the Appendix at the latter end,</HI> of the &s;tate &amp; vocation of a Scholler &amp; Prie&s;t <HI>But if, on the contrary, the &s;ayd Medita|tions of our Sauiours life, exceed and remaine at the &s;aid Sunday of</HI> Sexage&s;ima; <HI>then let tho&s;e that are ouer, come in at the end of the yeare, immedia|tely after tho&s;e of the vocation of a Scholler and Priest, ju&s;t before the Conclu&s;ion of the vvhole yea|re; vvhich is</HI> the examination of our progre&s;&s;e, &amp;c. <HI>VVherein this onely care is to be had, that the number of the con&s;iderations taken in, or left out at either place, bee re&s;pectiuely re&s;tored &amp; &s;et aright in the places &s;pecified; vvhich the Confe&s;&s;arius of the hou&s;e may at the heginning of the yeare peru&s;e &amp; &s;et aright, in a &s;mall note drawne for that purpo&s;e</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="preface">
<PB REF="6">
<HEAD>THE PREFACE OF THE PARTS OF MENTALL PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>_MEntall prayer hath chiefly fiue parts, which ought to be regularly ob&s;erued by all be|ginners: Preparation, Meditation, Thankes-giuing, Oblation, and Pe|tition.</P>
<P>Preparation is in this &s;orte: <HI>Per &s;i|gnum Crucis de inimicis no&s;tris, libera nos Deus no&s;ter: In nomine Patris, &amp; Filij, &amp; Spiritus Sancti, Amen: By the &s;igne of the Cro&s;se, from our enemies our God deliver vs: In the name of the Father, and of the Sonne, and of the holy Gho&s;t, Amen:</HI> then with low revere~ce to the pre&s;e~ce of God almigh+ty; <HI>Gloria Patri, &amp; Filio &amp; Spiritui &s;a~cto: Sicut erat in principio, &amp; nunc, &amp; &s;emper, &amp; in &s;aecula &s;aeculorum, Amen. Glorie be to the Father, and to the Sonne, and to the
<PB REF="7">Holy Gho&s;t: Even as it was in the beginning; and now, and ever, and world without end. Amen.</HI></P>
<LG>
<L>VEni Creator Spiritus,</L>
<L>Mentes tuorum vi&s;ita,</L>
<L>Imple &s;uperna gratia,</L>
<L>Quae tu creasti pectora.</L>
<L>Qui diceris Paraclitus,</L>
<L>Alti&s;&s;imi donum Dei,</L>
<L>Fons, vivus, ignis, charitas,</L>
<L>Et &s;piritalis vnctio.</L>
<L>Tu &s;eptiformis munere,</L>
<L>Digitus paternae dexterae,</L>
<L>Tu rit&egrave; promi&s;&s;um Patris.</L>
<L>Sermone ditans guttura.</L>
<L>Accende lumen &s;en&s;ibus,</L>
<L>Infunde amorem cordibus,</L>
<L>Infirma no&s;tri corporis,</L>
<L>Virtute firmans perpetim.</L>
<L>Hostem repellas longi&ugrave;s,</L>
<L>Pacem&abque;ue dones protin&ugrave;s,</L>
<L>Ductore &s;i te praevio</L>
<L>Vitemus omne noxium.</L>
<L>Per te &s;ciamus da Patrem;</L>
<L>No&s;camus atque Filium,</L>
<L>Te&abque; vtriu&s;que Spiritum</L>
<L>Credamus omni tempore.</L>
<L><HI>Emitte Spiritum tuum &amp; creabuutur, Et renovabis &s;aciem terrae.</HI></L>
</LG>
<DIV2 TYPE="prayer">
<PB REF="7">
<HEAD>OREMVS.</HEAD>
<P><HI>DEus qui corda fidelium S. Spiritus illu&s;tratione docui&s;ti, da nobis in eo|dem Spiritu recta &s;apere, &amp; de eius &s;emper con&s;olatione gaudere; Per Dominum no|&s;trum Ie&s;um Chri&s;tum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit &amp; regnat in vnitate eiu&s;dem Spiritus Sancti Deus per omnia &s;aecula &s;ae|culorum. Amen.</HI></P>
<LG>
<L>COme Creator, Spirit divine,</L>
<L>Vi&s;it novv the &s;oules of thine,</L>
<L>Fill vvith grace di&s;till'd from heav'n,</L>
<L>Hearts, to vvhich thou life has giv'n.</L>
<L>VVhom the comforter we call,</L>
<L>Gift of God tran&s;cending all,</L>
<L>Living &s;pring, fire, fervent loue,</L>
<L>Ghostlie vnction from aboue.</L>
<L>Sevenfold grace thou do'st impart,</L>
<L>And gods right-hand-finger art;</L>
<L>Thou, the Fathers promi&s;e, vvhich</L>
<L>Tongues vvith language doth inrich;</L>
<L>Kindle light in everie&s;en&s;e,</L>
<L>Love into our hearts di&s;pen&s;e,</L>
<L>Strengthen vvhat in flesh is fraile,</L>
<L>VVith a virtue can not fail.</L>
<L>Drive avvay our mortall foe,</L>
<L>Peace vpon vs &s;oone be&s;tovv:</L>
<PB REF="8">
<L>As a guide, before vs shine,</L>
<L>That all vice vve may decline.</L>
<L>By thee may it &s;oe be done,</L>
<L>That we Father knovv, and &s;on,</L>
<L>And in thee believe that do'st,</L>
<L>Flovv from both, the holie Ghost.</L>
<L>Glorious may the Father reign,</L>
<L>And the &s;on vvho ro&s;e againe</L>
<L>Soe the holie Paraclite,</L>
<L>During ages infinite. Amen.</L>
</LG>
<P><HI>Send forth thy Spirit, and they shall be created, And thou shalt renevv the fa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e of the earth.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>LET VS PREY.</HEAD>
<P>O <HI>God which did&s;t teach the hearts of the faithfull by the enlightening of the holie Gho&s;t; graunt vnto vs in the &s;ame Spirit to know the things that are right, and allwaies to ioy in the con&s;olation there|of; through our Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, thy Sonne, who liueth and reigeneth with thee in the vnitie of the &s;ame holie Gho&s;t world without end, Amen:</HI></P>
<PB REF="8">
<P> Thanke God for thy being, and all the re&s;t of his holy benefits in generall; but e&s;pecially for bringing thee at pre|&s;ent to holy prayer. How many are there in the vvorld, who, had they this opportunitie and calling from God, how farre more diligent and devout would they be, then I am? Acknow|ledge next Gods greatnes, maie&s;ty &amp; glorie: then thy owne ba&s;enes and poo|renes; <HI>Natus in immunditi&acirc;, vivens in mi&s;eri&acirc;, moriturus in angusti&acirc;. Borne in vncleanene&s;&s;e, living in mi&s;erie, and to die in anguish.</HI> Certaine it is, thou ha&s;t of|fended God, but not certaine, that thou ha&s;t truely repented and &s;atisfied: therefore with great humilitie and co~|fidence in his goodnes, <HI>loquar ad Do|minum meum, cum &s;im pulvis &amp; cinis, I vvill &s;peake to my Lord whereas I am but du&s;t and ashes.</HI> Next ioyne thy &s;elfe with this familie, which is now in prayer; &amp; with all devout per&s;ons in the whole Catholike Church Militant; then with
<PB REF="9">all the Saints &amp; Angells of heauen, thy Guardian, the B. Virgin, &amp; our Sauiour Chri&s;t, &s;aying <HI>amen</HI> to all the pray&s;es, they giue God; <HI>Laudemus Deum no&s;trum in idip&s;um. Let vs pray&s;e our Lord in the &s;elfe &s;ame.</HI> La&s;tly begge of God, <HI>&V;t illuminet intellectum, inflammet vo|luntatem, &amp; recolligat tibi omnes &s;en&s;us: That he would enlighten thy vnder&s;tanding inflame thy will, and recollect thy &s;en&s;es:</HI> and prote&s;t, that thou come&s;t hither onely to learne to &s;erue him, and to doe his holy will.</P>
<P>Meditation is in this &s;ort: to rumi|nate ouer that, which was read, by little and little; then to draw forth lome affection, as the loue of God, or of our neighbour; hatred of &s;inne; loue of vertue, as the matter shall ad|mini&s;ter: but this not onely in gene|rall tearmes, becau&s;e that doth not &s;tick by vs; but in particular, to re&s;ol|ue vpon &s;ome one thing which is to be put in execution that day, as oc|ca&s;ion
<PB REF="9">is giuen. You mu&s;t take hold of the&s;e good, affections when&s;oeuer they come, whether in the beginning, or middle of your Meditation, for the end of the di&s;cour&s;e is not to &s;tu|dy or know, but onely to &s;tirre vp pious affections; and therefore they mu&s;t haue their way. Good purpo&s;es being concluded on, rai&s;e your &s;elfe a little higher to God almighty.</P>
<P>Thankes-giuing is in this &s;ort: Thanke God as the &s;ole origen of all good thoughts and purpo&s;es, and that he hath giuen thee the&s;e. Then for thy creation, con&s;ervation, redemp|tion, vocation to the Catholike faith, ju&s;tification, v&s;e of his Sacraments, illuminations, in&s;pirations, pre&s;erua|tion from many &s;innes; and other par|ticular benefits. Then thanke him for all he hath done the Saints and An|gells, with all the Church militant, but e&s;peciaily for all the graces, pri|viledges, and prerogatives be&s;towed
<PB REF="10">vpon our B. Sauiours humanity and on his B. Mother. La&s;tly thanke him aboue all for that infinite loue and &s;weetnes, with which he doth gouerne all things. But to the end that this be not onely a verball acknowledgement of what we owe to God, make thy.</P>
<P>Oblation in this &s;ort: &s;ince all is from God, and all his, <HI>Redeant flumina vnde manarunt, vt iterum fluant: Let the floods returne from whence the &s;prung that they may flow againe:</HI> offer vnto him, as an humble &s;laue to his Lord, all that thou ha&s;t, or art: thy &s;oule with all her powers, vnder&s;tanding, will, and all the good purpo&s;es before made; then thy body with all its &s;en&s;es, and labours; that thy life hence forward shall be onely to &s;erue him without proper intere&s;t or re&s;pect &amp;c. Then offer vnto him all the vertues, merits, and labours of his holy Sonne; for that is our trea&s;ure, by which one|ly and fully God is &s;atisfied for all:
<PB REF="10">then the merits of the B. Virgin &amp;c. and de&s;ire all creatures both in hea|uen &amp; earth, to thanke, pray&s;e, and &s;erue him. <HI>Beati qui habitant in domo tua Domine, in &s;aecula &s;aeculorum lauda|bunt te. Ble&s;sed are they that dwell in thy hou&s;e, &ocirc; Lord, for ever and ever they shall pray&s;e thee.</HI> La&s;tly</P>
<P>Petition is in this &s;ort: acknowled|ge thy owne weakenes and nothing, and that <HI>Omne bonum de &s;ur&s;um e&s;t, de&s;|cendens &agrave; patre luminum. All good is from above, de&s;cending from the Father of lights.</HI> Here thou mu&s;t bend all thy forces and begge mo&s;t earne&s;tly (for this pro|perly is prayer) that for his owne &s;ake, goodnes, clemency &amp; loue, he hath to his creatures, for the merits, vertues, nay promi&s;e of his &s;weete&s;t Sonne our Lord IESUS, who &s;ayd, <HI>quidquid petie|ritis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis: what&s;oeuer you aske the Father in my na|me, he will give it you:</HI> for tho&s;e al&s;o of the Virgin Marie, and of all his Saints
<PB REF="11">and &s;ervants, he will, not regarding thy vnworthines, giue and graunt thee a perfect loue of him, and that in all things thy will be conformable to his; and apply this in particular, that in &s;uch and &s;uch occa&s;io~s I will doe this, or this, which I know to be his will to doe.</P>
<P>Then begge of him a perfect chari|ty towards thy brethren and compa|nions for his &s;ake. La&s;tly thou mai&s;t adde for the vniver&s;all &s;tate of his Church militant; &amp; for all infidells and all in mortall &s;inne, and for all the &s;oules in Purgatory, for this fami|lie, the Protector and Superiours of it &amp;c: &s;o de&s;iring him to ble&s;&s;e thee in thy good purpo&s;es now conceiued, &s;ay <HI>Actiones no&s;tras quae&s;umus Domine &amp;c. Prevent wee be&s;eech thee, &ocirc; Lord our a|ctions by thy holie in&s;pirations, and carrie them on by thy gracious a&s;&s;i&s;tance, that everie prayer and work of ours may begin allwayes from thee and by the be happilie
<PB REF="11">ended,</HI> with <HI>Gloriae Patri, &amp;c. Glorie be to the Father &amp;c.</HI> end with a low reve|rence. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
<P>Remember in the day and occa&s;ions following, to put in practice the good re&s;olutions, and purpo&s;es thou ha&s;t made in particular.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="instructions">
<HEAD>THE GENERALL ORDER or divi&s;ion of matters for Meditation.</HEAD>
<P>THe e&s;tates and degrees of tho&s;e; that tend to perfection, in gene|rall are three, according to the three wayes of purgation, illumination and vnion: in the purgative way are Prin|cipiants or beginners, who&s;e de&s;ire and labour is to purge their &s;oule from &s;inne, vices, pa&s;&s;ions and di&s;ordinate affections, the reliques of &s;inne; and to lay the deepe foundation of their owne ba&s;enes or nothing: next to the&s;e, walke the proficients, in the il|luminative
<PB REF="12">way, who&s;e ayme and ex|erci&s;e is, to adorne, lighten and enrich their &s;oules with the ornaments of true, and &s;olid vertues, of all &s;orts: the la&s;t are the Perfect, who by the way Vnitive attaine a mo&s;t perfect charitie, clo&s;e vnion, and quiet con|templation of the divine e&s;&s;ence and goodnes, the highe&s;t &s;light of a Chri|&s;tian &s;oule.</P>
<P>According to the&s;e three E&s;tates or wayes to perfection, the generall matters of Meditation may be di&s;tri|buted into three &s;orts; To beginners in the purgative way, may be a&s;&s;igned for matter of Meditation, the true knowledge of them&s;elues and their nothing; the grievou&s;nes and defor|mity of &s;inne: the mi&s;eries incident to mans life; the foure la&s;t thing of man, to witt, death, judgement particular and vniver&s;all, hell and heauen; all which are fit to engender a feare of God, the beginning of wi&s;edome, and
<PB REF="12">contempt of the world.</P>
<P>To the Proficients in the illumina|tive way may be appointed all the Theologicall and Morall vertues, or rather all the My&s;teries of our B. Sauiour his life, pa&s;&s;ion and death, in which all vertues, not in &s;peculative definitions, but practicall examples, shine as in their fount or fir&s;t origen. Finally to the perfect, in the vnitive way, may be propo&s;ed the glorious my&s;teries of our B. Sauiour after his triumph ouer death, together with tho&s;e of the B. Virgin his Mother; next the divine perfections of the Godhead in it &s;elfe, as well affirmatively as ne|gatively; la&s;tly the divine benefits be&s;towed on man and other creatures, all motives to a perfect vnion of loue.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="licenses">
<PB REF="13">
<HEAD>LICENCAS.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="license">
<P>VI e&s;te livro de Meditacoe~s. Na~o tem cou&s;a contra a F&egrave;, ou bons cou&s;tumes, antes con&s;idera&ccedil;oe~s muyto &s;olidas, devotas, &amp; doutas, &amp; de grande proueito pera os que &s;e ex|ercitarem nellas. Lisboa 25. de Ian. 1649.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>P. Thomas Bartono.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="license">
<P>VI&s;ta informa&ccedil;a~o inclu&s;a pode&s;e imprimir o livro de que&s;e fas men&ccedil;a~o &amp; depois de impre&s;&s;o tornara a con&s;elho para &s;e conferir com o Ori|ginall &amp; &s;e dar licen&ccedil;a para correr &amp; &s;em ella na~o correra. Lisboa 26. de Ian. 1649.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><LIST>
<ITEM>F. Ioa~o de Va&s;concellos.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Franci&s;co Cardo&s;o de Torneo.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Pero de Silva de Faria.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Pantalea~o Rodrigues Pacheco.</ITEM>
</LIST></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="license">
<PB REF="13">
<P>POde&s;e imprimir. Lisboa 30. de Ian. 1649.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Bi&s;po.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="license">
<P>QVe &s;e po&s;&s;a imprimir o livro de Medita&ccedil;oe~s de que trata vi&s;to as licen&ccedil;as do S. Officio &amp; ordinario que offere&s;&s;e &amp; depoys de impre&s;&s;o torna|ra a e&s;ta me&s;a para &s;e taxar &amp; &s;em i&s;&s;o na~o correra. Lisboa o 1. de Fevreiro, 1649.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Pinheyro. Meno&s;es. Andreda. Ribeyro.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="license">
<P>ESta conforme com o Original, Ago&s;to. 27 anno 1649.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>P. Thomas Bartono.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="license">
<P>VI&s;to e&s;tar conforme com o Ori|ginal pode correr e&s;to livro. Lisboa 31. de Ago&s;to 1649.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><LIST>
<ITEM>F. Ioa~o de Va&s;concellos.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Franci&s;co Cardo&s;o de Tornee.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Pero de Silva de Faria.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Pantalea~o Rodrigues Pacheco.</ITEM>
</LIST></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="illustration">
<PB REF="14" MS="y">
<P><FIGURE>
<P>LaVs Deo, MarIae, &amp; &s;anCtIs eIVs.</P>
</FIGURE></P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 N="1" TYPE="part">
<PB N="1" REF="14">
<HEAD>THE FIRST PART, MEDITATIONS FOR Beginners or for the Purgatiue way.</HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>THE FIRST CHAPTER. <HI>Of mans ba&s;enes or annihilation.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_ALL men de&s;ire finally to &s;ee and know God, but many faile and come short, becau&s;e they begin at the wrong end, and &s;triue to fly, before they can goe: the right path is, to begin with a true and cleare view of our&s;elues, and with an im|partiall and &s;ettled iudgement of our owne being and ability. <HI>The&s;e beginne to be read on the</HI> 9. <HI>of &s;ept? at night.</HI></P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FIRST MEDITATION. <HI>VVhat man is according to his body.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1 COn&s;ider fir&s;t, the&s;e words of the Scriptu|re <HI>Formauit Deus hominem de limo ter|ra; God formed man of the &s;lyme of the earth.</HI> The earth is the lowe&s;t and ba&s;e&s;t of
<PB N="2" REF="15">Elements, euer trodden and trampled with the feet of men and bea&s;ts; but mud, &s;lime, or clay is &s;o low and foule, as both men and bea&s;ts flie and auoyde it, knowing how euery light touch thereof defileth: yet of this earth, of this clay, how foule, how &s;limy &s;oeuer, are formed and framed the talle&s;t, the &s;toute&s;t, and mo&s;t beautifull bodies of the greate&s;t Monarchs, and Ladies of the world: nay durt and clay are more noble, then &s;uch bodies, if antiquity be a &s;igne of nobility: <HI>Vt quid &s;uperbis puluis &amp; cinis? vt quid &s;uperbis? vvhy art thou proud thou du&s;t and ashes: vvhy art thou proud?</HI> be ashamed, &s;eing all the world knoweth thy beginning, be as ha|med I &s;ay, to carry thy &s;elfe &s;o bigge, &s;o &s;plen|didous, as if no le&s;&s;e then gold and precious &s;to|nes were the ingredients of thy being: paint it ouer as much as thou plea&s;e&s;t, it is but earth, but durt and &s;lime: vnle&s;&s;e thou will perhaps &s;ay; tis true, Adam was no better, being framed of the clay of the earth; but I not &s;oe, being begot|ten of another fashion, and complexion: poore gallant, deceiue not thy &s;elfe; for the manner of thy begetting is &s;o foule that the name, nay the lighte&s;t thought of it, defileth the pure&s;t minde, &s;o that our B. Sauiour refu&s;ed none of our mi|&s;eries, but onely that; and the matter &s;o horrid, &s;o foule, that all other dung is plea&s;ant and gratefull in re&s;pect of it; nay we dare not in di&s;cour&s;e giue it a name, for our owne shame &amp; others offence.</P>
<P>Conclude hence with thy &s;elfe neuer to boa&s;t
<PB N="3" REF="15">nor grow proud of thy &s;trength, comeline&s;&s;e &amp; beauty, nor of thy ancient &s;tock and nobility, &s;ince the ground worke of all is euer clay and durt, or if thou wilt needs &s;triue further, thou wilt find for the fountaine-head iu&s;t nothing, <HI>Nam ex nihilo omnia: for all are out of nothing.</HI> Hence beginne a true knowledge of thy &s;elfe.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, what mans body is in the wombe, in the cradle, and in the re&s;t of its life: I cannot imagine any pri&s;on &s;o darke, &s;o &s;traight, &s;o loath&s;ome, as the wombe of a wo|man, in Which the child is inclo&s;ed, &amp; enwrap|ped in mo&s;t foule, bloudy and matterous skin|nes or membranes, for no le&s;&s;e, then nine whole moneths; &s;o &s;traighned &amp; pre&s;&s;ed, that neither hand nor foot can he &s;tirre or moue: his food, the filthy men&s;truous bloud of his mo|ther, a thing &s;o na&s;ty, and poi&s;onous, as that what &s;oeuer it toucheth, it infecteth, like the plague or lepry; &s;uch is his hou&s;e, &s;uch his diet. Now at his birth, &ocirc; how mi&s;erable, how poore, how naked? couered onely with a thin but mo&s;t foule and bloudy net; out of which being vn|ca&s;ed, the fir&s;t thing mu&s;t be done, is to wash it, ere it can be well touched or viewed: and then &s;o weake and &s;eeble, that it can neither moue, not helpe it &s;elfe; all that it can doe, is to cry and bewayle the generall mi&s;erie of man kind; and in this e&s;tate, accompanied with a thou&s;and more mi&s;eries, and dangers, it pa&s;&s;eth its cradle &amp; infancie. Being growne vp to mans e&s;tate, I will grant it thee, let it be the &s;tronge&s;t,
<PB N="4" REF="16">faire&s;t, and be&s;t tempered body, thou wilt or can&s;t imagine (which yet is granted to verie few) thou shalt find it but a painted wall, or a &s;epulcher pargetted with chalke, white without, but within more &s;tinking, then any dunghill, more foule, then any puddle; witnes the filth, that continually flowes from all its conduits &amp; pores, witnes the &s;weete&s;t meats, no &s;ooner, eaten, then turned to the loath&s;ome&s;t froth or ordure in the world &amp;c.</P>
<P>Conclude as formerly a true iudgement of what thou art, and imprint it &s;o in thy mind, that it may euer check all ri&s;ing fancies to the contrary.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly the condition of mans body after death; the &s;oule being once departed, behold how pale, how &s;tarke, how grie&s;ely the body remaineth, how gallant and faire &s;oeuer it formerly had beene; a man can hardly &s;ee or touch it without a certaine horrour of mind: no &s;ooner &s;tiffe and cold but pre&s;ently it beginnes to corrupt &amp; &s;mell, hence is that great ha&s;t and bu&s;tling of its deare&s;t friends and kindred, to heaue it &s;oone out of doore, and lay it low vn|der ground, for feare of infecting the aire, and cau&s;ing pe&s;tilence; whereas a dunghill may lie for weekes behind the doore without offence, and in the &s;treets a dead dog or cat without much annoyance. Con&s;ider now the graue, its &s;econd wombe; &s;ome what larger, I confe&s;&s;e, then the former, but in other re&s;pects I &s;ee no great choice; as darke, as foule, as that, be&s;ides
<PB N="5" REF="16">&s;warmes of wormes &amp; maggots for our re&s;tles bedfellowes: &ocirc; were it but opened after &s;ome twenty dayes, what a &s;ight, what a &s;ent should we haue; let him, that can, expre&s;&s;e it. It is &s;ayd that a certaine Tyrant tyed dead bodies to the quicke for a torment': &s;urely he was Ma&s;ter in that blacke art, for the embracements of &s;nakes, and the ki&s;&s;es of toades are farre more tolerable, then tho&s;e of mans carca&s;&s;e halfe corrupted.</P>
<P>Conclude, neither to e&s;teeme, nor pamper thy body, &s;inc&eacute; it is all at la&s;t but fo&ocirc;d for wor|mes: remember allwayes the words of our ho|ly mother the Church; <HI>Memento homo quod puluis es, &amp; in puluerem reuerteris: Remember &ocirc; man, that thou art du&s;t, &amp; into du&s;t thou shalt returne.</HI> If du&s;t be my beginning, and du&s;t my end, what doe I deceiue my &s;elfe or others, as though I carried about mee &s;ome rich cabi|net of pearles, or pretious &s;tones? when being opened, I am found &s;o &s;tinking a puddle.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>VVhat man is according to his &s;oule.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how that, if thy body were originally clay and durt, thy &s;oule, be|fore God created it, was iu&s;t nothing, that is, a pure priuation of all being, and of all tho&s;e things which accompany a being: &ocirc; who can de&s;cribe vnto mee, what or where this no|thing is? It is neither in heauen, hell, nor earth,
<PB N="6" REF="17">nor in any of the vnknowne worlds; it differs more from the lea&s;t &s;and, the lea&s;t moat in the &s;unne, then the heauens va&s;t orbes from an em|mot, then the infinity of God from the lea&s;t of his creatures, for here at lea&s;t we find &s;omething to ground a compari&s;on; but nothing? good Lord what can be made of it, but iu&s;t nothing? vnle&s;&s;e thy omnipotent hand de&s;cend power|fully into its aby&s;&s;e, and draw thence this my &s;oule into a noble, &s;pirituall, and intellectuall &s;ub&s;tance, little le&s;&s;e then the Angelicall, nay repre&s;enting thy owne immen&s;e E&s;&s;ence? but coulde&s;t thou merit or procure this thy being from his hand? &ocirc; nothing le&s;&s;e, for nothing can &s;ay and doe nothing: it was his gratious bounty and liberality, that freely be&s;towed this being vpon thee, otherwi&s;e thou woulde&s;t haue re|mained for all eternitie as thou wa&s;t, nothing; nay should God but for one minute withdraw from thee his con&s;eruing hand, in that very &s;ame in&s;tant woulde&s;t thou fade away into thy owne habitation of nothing: bragge hence for|ward vaine man of nothing, but thy owne, that is, of thy nothing in being, &amp; againe vanishing into nothing.</P>
<P>Conclude and &s;ay with the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Quid ha|bes, quod non accepisti, &s;i autem acceperis, quid gloriaris? VVat ha&s;t thou, that thou hast not receiued? and if thou ha&s;t receiued, vvhat doest thou glorie,</HI> and vpon this bottemle&s;&s;e ground of thy nothing lay the pure foundation of thy &s;pirituall building; for all be&s;ides is not thy
<PB N="7" REF="17">owne, but giuen, but lent by thy Maker.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly how true that &s;entence of the Wi&s;eman is; <HI>Corpus, quod corrumpitur, aggrauat animam, &amp; terrena inhabitatio depri|mit &s;en&s;um multa cogitantem: the bodie, that is corrupted burdeneth the &s;oule, &amp; the earthlie ha|bitation pre&s;&s;eth dovvne the vnder&s;tanding, that thinketh many things.</HI> And marke how many wayes this is true; fir&s;t, at her fir&s;t vnion with the body shee is defiled &amp; &s;potted with originall &s;in|ne, &amp; &s;o &s;ubiect to all the mi&s;eries both te~porall, &amp; eternall, which &s;pring from that &s;ource: then for the fir&s;t eight or nine yeares, in what, J pray, doth the &s;oule of a child differ from that of a bea&s;t, in any exteriour action or di&s;cour&s;e? Af|ther that pretious iewell obtained, the v&s;e of rea&s;on; who is able to recount the darknes, ig|norance and errours of our vnder&s;tanding? the backwardnes of our will to good, &amp; pronene&s;&s;e to ill? the di&s;tractions and failings of the memo|rie? the tempe&s;tuous &s;tormes &amp; conflicts of the inferiour powers, both ira&s;cible and concupi&s;|cible? and the poore &s;oule, like a boat betwixt two waues, to&s;&s;ed and beaten from the one to the other, from loue to hatred, from hope to feare, from ioy to griefe, from anger to pu&s;illa|nimitie &amp;c. hardly &s;ettled or quiet for a mo|ment; and the&s;e waues of pa&s;&s;ions bring her at la&s;t, not to know what shee would haue; this euery one will feele in him &s;elfe, more or le&s;&s;e, if he will &s;incerely exam&icirc;ne and ponder his in|ward di&s;po&s;itions and daylie inclinations, hither and thither.</P>
<PB N="8" REF="18">
<P> Conclude and frame a true conceit of the &s;tate and condition of thy poore &s;oule, dwelling in the mid&s;t of &s;o much ignorance, and among&s;t &s;o many pa&s;&s;ions all violently drawing the contra|ry way: then humble thy &s;elfe before the diuine maie&s;ty, and begge of him, <HI>Vt imperet fluctibus, &amp; mari &amp; fiat tranquillitas magna; that he vvould command the vvaues and the &s;ea, and that there might en&s;ue a great calme.</HI> That the poore pa&s;&s;enger our &s;oule, perish not at la&s;t in &s;oe terrible and neuer-cea&s;ing &s;tormes.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly the mi&s;erable condition of a &s;oule, ouer which the bea&s;tly lu&s;t of the &s;en|&s;uall part hath once gotten the dominion; how she is led in fetters from &s;inne to &s;inne, from lu&s;t to lu&s;t, contrary to her owne actuall rea&s;on and iudgement; nay often with a certaine abhorring and griefe, to doe what shee is compelled vnto, to goe whether shee is dragged by her &s;lauish, but now all-ma&s;tering appetites: &s;o that there is verified, what S. Paul &s;ayth; <HI>non quod volo bo|num, hoc ago, &s;ed quod odi malum, illud facio. Not the good vvhich J vvill, the &s;ame doe I, but the ill vvhich I hate, that I doe.</HI> O mo&s;t deplorable con|dition! haue you &s;eene or heard of a Lady, noble, beauteous, rich, heire apparent to her fathers kingdome, deliuered ouer to a &s;lauish varlet, to be commanded, domineered &amp; cro&s;&s;ed in euery thing, nay bound and dragged by her &s;laue, to vvhat shee mo&s;t abhorreth and hateth? truely I haue neuer heard of the like ca&s;e: and yet &s;o it pa&s;&s;eth with a poore &s;oule, once giuen ouer to
<PB N="9" REF="18">her pa&s;&s;ions, a noble &s;pirit, faire as the Angells, marked with the character of God, heire to the kingdome of heauen, &s;ubiected to a ba&s;e, car|nall, and hellish &s;lauery. <HI>O quis me liberabit de carcere corporis huius? O vvho shal deliuer me from the pri&s;on of this bodie.</HI> This is the condi|tion of our &s;oule, comming into this hou&s;e of clay; and this is her liuing in it: but vvhen she mu&s;t goe forth againe, vvhat thinke you then? vvhat griefe, to be plucked from her old com|panion the body, and together from all her old acquaintance and commodities of this vvorld? and vvhat a &s;trangene&s;&s;e, to vvander into an vn|knowne, an vnheard of Region? but vvhat a horrour to be pre&s;ented to the iudgement &s;eat? vvhat trembling at &s;o heauy an accu&s;ation of all her life? and vvhat anguish in expecting, vvhat the doome and &s;entence vvill be? if at length it come of eternall damnation, vvhat then, &s;ad vvretch? vvhat then, poore caytife?</P>
<P>Conclude to looke about, vvhile time &s;erues, and fir&s;t to regaine the dominion ouer our pa&s;|&s;ions; next vvith humble feare to &s;ecure our &s;al|uation: for vvhat greater folly, then not to pro|uide for a certaine danger?</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, or rather conclude out of the former con&s;iderations, both of thy body and &s;oule, both their beginning &amp; ending; con|clude I &s;ay, and &s;ettle vvith thy &s;elfe, once for all, a true, &s;incere, and cleare knowledge of thy &s;elfe: for re&s;t mo&s;t a&s;&s;ured, that this knowledge is the onely ground and foundation of a ver|tuous
<PB N="10" REF="19">life; the readie&s;t vvay to know God, and the mo&s;t efficacious meanes to loue him; and the vvant of it, the high vvay to all perdition: &s;ettle therefore fir&s;t vvith thy &s;elfe this iudge|ment; that by thy body &s;ide thou art originally clay, then a painted ma&s;&s;e or muck hill, la&s;tly a companion and food of vvormes; and by thy &s;oules &s;ide, fir&s;t iu&s;t nothing, <HI>priuatio entis; a priuation of being.</HI> Next defiled vvith &s;inne; and &s;ubiect to mo&s;t &s;lauish pa&s;&s;ions; la&s;tly God knowes, vvhat her lot and de&s;tinie vvill b&eacute;. Hauing thus humbly, yet truely iudged of thy &s;elfe; next, de&s;ire or at lea&s;t &s;uffer all others to thinke &amp; iudge the &s;ame of thee: for it vvere great folly, nay hypocri&s;ie, to de&s;ire all men, to thinke and &s;peake as vvee doe in other matters, and in this onely to bee of a different opinion, both of vvhat vvee are, and vvhat vve e&s;teeme our &s;elues: doe therefore this, and thou ha&s;t gotten true humility; that is, a true knowledge of thy owne ba&s;enes, and a de|&s;ire, that all others should, know and vote thee for &s;uch: &amp; &s;o art thou armed to double proofe; fir&s;t again&s;t all invvard rebellion of pride, vaine glorie and &s;elfe conceit, vvith a, <HI>Quid ha|bes quod non accepi&s;ti; vvhat ha&s;t thou that thou ha&s;t not receiued?</HI> Next, again&s;t all out|ward a&s;&s;aults, both of flatterie and contempt; for neither can others contempt depre&s;&s;e thee below vvhat thou art, nor their prai&s;e and flat|terie rai&s;e thee, to vvhat thou art not. And this humilitie is the more &s;olid, becau&s;e common
<PB N="11" REF="19">to all creatures, being grounded not on &s;inne, or other ca&s;uall imperfections; but vpon the pure and &s;imple nothing of our&s;elues, and the all things, vve haue from God: this therefore humility, the Saints, the Angells, the Virgin Mary, nay our B. Sauiour according to his hu|manity, had in mo&s;t high degree: and there|fore let vs neuer bee ashamed to imbrace it, and really to practice it?</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE THIRD MEDITATION. <HI>Of the mi&s;eries of mans life.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t both the shortnes and vn|certainety of mans life: make the lon|ge&s;t a hundred yeares (and yet not one in a hundred thou&s;and doth attaine thither) vvhat is that compared to Eternitie? not &s;o much as a moment, or the twinkling of an eye; looke backe on vvhat is pa&s;&s;ed, and thou vvilt &s;carce find a dreame, a shadow: but &s;tay; out of the&s;e hundred yeares, vve mu&s;t yet cut of a large share, fir&s;t the time of childhood, vvherein it cannot bee &s;ayd, vvee liue like men: then the time of &s;leepe, a full third part vvith mo&s;t men, of the &s;ayd hundred; next vve may vvell cut of the latter part of old age al&s;o, vvhich is not <HI>vita, life;</HI> but <HI>labor labour,</HI> and <HI>dolor, griefe;</HI> and <HI>&s;enex an old man:</HI> you know is <HI>bis puer: vvice at child:</HI> J dare not di&s;count all the time vvhich is comonly lo&s;t or ill &s;pent, lea&s;t J
<PB N="12" REF="20">should leaue nothing, and yet it may very vvell bee done. The Wi&s;e man compareth it to a sha|dow, to a po&s;t riding by, to a ship vnder full &s;aile, to a bird vpon the vving, to an arrow from the bow; <HI>Sic &amp; nos nati continu&ograve; de&s;iuimus e&s;&s;e. Soe vve al&s;oe being born, forthvvith cea|&s;ed to be.</HI> Yet vvere this shorte&s;t moment of life but &s;ure and certaine, &s;ome &s;mall comfort might be fancied: but al&aacute;s! nothing in the vvorld &s;tands &s;o ticklish and vncertaine; daylie chances teach vs &s;ufficiently, vvhat ground vvee &s;tand vpon: <HI>Neque diem neque horam &s;cimus. Neither the day nor the hour doe vve knovv.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude therefore to play both a good Mer|chant. and a good &s;ouldier: a good merchant in prouiding rather for Eternitie, then for this pre&s;ent moment: a good &s;ouldier, in keeping a vigilant &s;entinell vpon this our Ca&s;tle, lea&s;t the enemie a&s;&s;ayle vs, as commonly he doth, vna|vvares, or a &s;leep: &ocirc; take heed, for on this mo|ment depends Eternitie.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly the frailtie of our life, noe gla&s;&s;e more brickle, no flovver &s;ooner bla|&s;ted: a cold, a vvind, a vvarme Sunne, the pricke of a pin, the bite of a vvorme, a great griefe, nay the exce&s;&s;e of a &s;udden ioy are &s;uffi|cient to take avvay the breath and life of the &s;tronge&s;t man in the vvorld: hovv oft doe vvee heare this and that man &s;uddenly fallen dead? or going healthy and &s;ound to bed, found in the morning vvithout life or motion? and yet noe skill of Phy&s;itians can tell hovv, nor vvhy? Hovv
<PB N="13" REF="20">vvell did the Prophet cry out? <HI>Omnis caro foe|num, &amp; omnis gloria eius, &s;icut flos campi; All flesh is gra&s;&s;e, and all the glorie therof as the flovver of the fielde.</HI> Faire and beautifull to be|hold, but bla&s;ted and vvithered vvith the lea&s;t puffe of vvinde.</P>
<P>Conclude from hence the de&s;perate folly of mo&s;t men, that vvake and &s;leep &s;oe confidently in mortall &s;inne, hauing noe more betwixt them &amp; hell then the &s;lender thread of a life &s;o fraile; farre madder certainely, then hee that should hang by a haire ouer a &s;ulphurous fire-pit, and yet not endeauour to free him&s;elfe thence: mad|der I &s;ay, becau&s;e the fall into hell hath noe re|turne. Walke therefore alwayes in the feare &amp; grace of God, that when &s;oeuer this thread shall breake, his holy hand may &s;u&s;taine &amp; &s;upport our poore &s;oules from &s;oe hideous a precipice &amp; downefall into the eternal dungeon of hell.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly how full of mi&s;eries, di&s;a&s;ters &amp; calamities is this our life, how short &s;oeuer; from the cradle to the graue, what doe wee euery where behold, but obiects of mi&s;erie? what doe wee heare, but either wranglings and complaints one of an other? or the groanings of euery one vnder his owne burden? no man con|tent with his owne e&s;tate, but all in perpetual motion to &s;eeke re&s;t &amp; content, where it is not to be found. Let vs &s;ee and heare S. Aug. in the 20. chap. of his Meditations: how can we call this a life, in which we liue? which humours &s;o alter, griefes weaken, heates drie vp, the aire in|fects,
<PB N="14" REF="21">meates oppre&s;&s;e, fa&s;ting quaileth, &s;ports di&s;&s;olue, &s;adnes con&s;umeth, cares rend a&s;under, quiet &s;ecurity de&s;troyeth, riches puffe vp, po|uerty abateth; youth lifts on high, old age boweth downe, infirmity breaketh: and after all this, what &s;ucceeds, but furious death, the full point and period of all her delights? &s;o that fitly may it be tearmed, a liuing death, or a dying life. And yet, good God? how doe men pa&s;&s;e by all this? with what little feeling doe they drinke vp the&s;e bitter potions? nay like &s;piders di&s;em|bowell them &s;elues to weaue a thinne net to catch flyes.</P>
<P>Conclude with thy &s;elfe, to &s;eeke thy content and happines, not in this life, &s;o mi&s;erable, &s;o fraile, &s;o short; but in the eternall life, where neither force, nor chance, nor durance of time can bereaue vs of it: and &s;o let all our cares and toyles here be directed to the bli&s;&s;e, and happi|nes, that there wee hope for.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="4" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FOVRTH MEDITATION. <HI>VVhat man is according to his morall, or &s;pirituall Being.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that if man be nothing of him&s;elfe, but all from God according to his naturall being; truely it is farre more euident, that his &s;pirituall and &s;upernatu|rall Being is from God alone, after a more &s;pe|ciall and immediate manner: all grace, all ver|tues,
<PB N="15" REF="21">all gifts &s;upernaturall are &s;o purely &amp; freely from the liberall hand of God, &s;o independent from any merit or de&s;ert of nature, that not all the wi&s;dome of Philo&s;ophers, &s;trength of Giants, power of Kings and Emperours, not what&s;oeuer art or force the whole world can apply, are able to merit, or fetch downe from heauen the lea&s;t graine or degree of grace, faith, hope, charitie or any other &s;uper|naturall vertue; &s;o that euery one mu&s;t &s;ay with S. Paul, <HI>Gratia Dei &s;um id, quod &s;um. By the gra|ce of God I am that vvhich I am.</HI> Nay, which may more humble vs, beggers can cry &amp; begge for an almes, but poore man can neither begge nor cry, no neither wish nor de&s;ire the lea&s;t &s;u|pernaturall grace or vertue, vnle&s;&s;e God of his owne pure goodnes, doe fir&s;t, moue, &s;tirre, and helpe him to doe it: <HI>Non &s;umus,</HI> quoth S. Paul, <HI>&s;ufficientes cognitare aliquid ex nobis; tanquam ex nobis; &s;ed Deus e&s;t, qui operatur in nobis &amp; velle &amp; perficere pro bona voluntate. VVe are not &s;uf|ficient to thinke any thing of our &s;elues, as of our &s;elues, but it is god that vvorketh in vs both to vvill, &amp; to accomplish according to his good vvill.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude and &s;ettle in thy &s;oule a full per&s;wa|&s;ion, that all thy good is from God, both in the de&s;ire, in the obtaining, and in the con&s;eruing thereof; acknowledge thy continuall depen|dance of him, and thanke him for all gifts be|&s;towed on thee.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how according to S.
<PB N="16" REF="22">Augu&s;tine wee are, not onely, what wee are, by the grace and gift of God, but al&s;o what wee are not; that is to &s;ay, all the ills wee want, all the &s;innes wee haue e&s;caped, is from no &s;trength or worth of ours, but from the &s;ole gracious prote|ction of God; for as the &s;ame S: Augu&s;t. mo&s;t truely &s;ayeth, there is no &s;inne &s;o great, no cri|me &s;o horrid, that any one man hath commit|ted, but any other man what&s;oeuer may as ea&s;ely perpetrate and commit the &s;ame, or greater, if God with-draw his all-&s;uccouring hand from him, and leaue him <HI>in puris naturalibus vvi|thout grace,</HI> to him &s;elfe. This at fir&s;t &s;ight may &s;eeme &s;trange; yet mo&s;t true, if we con&s;ider, how all men are framed of the &s;ame clay, all equally &s;potted with originall &s;inne, and con&s;e|quently equally &s;ubiect to the like infirmities; this thou shalt perceiue, if thou examine well thy naturall inclinations, &s;udden pushes, and interiour motions to diuers &s;orts of vices, be&s;i|des what outward occa&s;ions may vnawares bring vs into.</P>
<P>Conclude, that according to this doctrine, all the &s;innes, all the crimes, which thou ha&s;t &s;eeue or heard in the world, nay all which thou can&s;t imagine po&s;&s;ible, fall all within the &s;pheare or compa&s;&s;e of thy weakenes, and ere now thou <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ad&s;t been guilty of mo&s;t or all of them, had not god pre&s;erued thee: &ocirc; what acknowledge|ment do&s;t thou owe him? what humilitie? what thankes giuing?</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, what a poore worme
<PB N="17" REF="22">man is, compared with God almighty: what is one drop of deaw to the va&s;t Ocean? what one graine of &s;and to the huge earth? &s;urely almo&s;t nothing: if then this &s;ame Ocean, this &s;ame earth, with the immen&s;e orbes of the heauens, together with all the number and vniuer&s;ality of creatures; in a word, the whole created ma|chine, compared with God, be but as a drop to the Ocean, as a &s;and to the earth; what J pray, do&s;t thou expect to be, in compari&s;on of God? who in re&s;pect either of this world, or of that of Angells, art &s;o &s;mall a portion, &s;o already vpon the point of nothing; &s;urely thou can&s;t not but confe&s;&s;e thy &s;elfe, a meere nothing, a con&s;umed, vndi&s;cernable atome, before that va&s;t immen|&s;itie and diuinitie of God. O how true? <HI>Sub&s;tan|tia mea qua&s;i nihil ante Te Domine. My life is as nothing before thee &ocirc; Lord.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude out of all, what hitherto hath been con&s;idered, two principall points, or re&s;olutions, which may &s;tand by thee at all occurrences, and vpon all occa&s;ions: the fir&s;t is, to carry alwayes before thy eyes, but e&s;pecially when thou co|me&s;t to pray, or to &s;peake before God, that wonderfull greatnes and exce&s;&s;e of maie&s;tie, aboue thee and all other creatures; and &s;o with mo&s;t profound humility and reuerence, to &s;toop euer before him, as a poore &s;laue before a Mo|narch; and to tremble, as a moat before the Sun|ne. The &s;econd is, that what&s;oeuer abilities or perfections thou art endowed with, as of &s;trength, health, beauty, nobility, vnder&s;tan|ding,
<PB N="18" REF="23">knowledge, vertue, nay working of mi|racles &amp;c. thou neuer for the&s;e conceit thy &s;elfe before an other, that wanteth them; becau&s;e now thou knowe&s;t, that all proceed from God alone, when, how, and to whom he plea|&s;eth. The&s;e two points will keep our &s;oule in equall poi&s;e, neuer to rebell again&s;t God, nor to exalt our &s;elues aboue our neighbour</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>THE SECOND CHAPTER, <HI>Of the multitude and foulene&s;&s;e of &s;innes.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THE grounds, we haue hetherto layed for our humiliation, are common to all men, great and &s;mall, iu&s;t and &s;inners: now let vs &s;ee what euery one hath added to this gene|rall mi&s;erie by his owne proper will and malice, to wit by the multitude and grieuou&s;ne&s;&s;e of his &s;innes again&s;t God, him&s;elfe, and neighbour.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FIRST MEDITATION. <HI>Of the deformitie and multitude of the &s;innes of men.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that neither earth, nor hell it &s;elfe, hath a mon&s;ter &s;o foule, &s;o vgly, as is any one lea&s;t mortall &s;inne: this is made cleare, fir&s;t by the &s;ad effect it wrought in the Angells, creatures &s;o noble, &s;o beautifull, &s;o curiched with all giftes, both of nature &amp; grace;
<PB N="19" REF="23">yet for one onely mortall &s;inne, and that al&s;o onely con&s;ented to in mind, not put in execu|tion, were in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, turned eternally into mo&s;t foule diuells, mon&s;ters &s;o vgly, that the very &s;ight of any one of them, is &s;ufficient to &s;trike dead the &s;toute&s;t Gyant: what effect, doe wee thinke, may &s;inne haue in man, durt and clay? if it bla&s;t &s;o foulely the &s;tarres of heauen. Secondly, as mans &s;oule giueth life and being to the body, &s;o grace is the &s;upernaturall life of our &s;oule; behold then how foule, how &s;tarke, how horrid a thing mans body is, dead without a &s;oule; and be &s;ure, that a &s;oule without Gods grace, is farre more foule, &s;tinking and hideous, wor&s;e then any toad or &s;pider in the &s;ight of God and his Angells.</P>
<P>Conclude, and begin at length to conceiue a true horrour of mortall &s;inne, which hetherto thou ha&s;t &s;et &s;o &s;light by: and to lament the mi|&s;erable e&s;tate of poore blind worldlings, who glittering &s;o outwardly, feele not their owne in|ward &s;tench, and filthine&s;&s;e, <HI>Sed bibunt &s;icut aquam, iniquitatem. But drink iniquitie as it vvere vvater.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, that a &s;oule in mortall &s;inne, is compared to a ca&s;tle or citie &s;eized on, &s;poyled and &s;acked by a bloudy enemie. <HI>Sicut ciuitas, quae va&s;tatur &amp; de&s;olatur &s;icut in va&s;ti|tate hostili. As a cittie that is vva&s;ted, and made de&s;olate as in the &s;poile of enemies.</HI> A &s;oule, in the &s;tate of grace, shineth as beauteous, as the face of an Angell, is adorned and enriched with all the
<PB N="20" REF="24">graces, vertues and gifts of the holy Gho&s;t; the adoptiue daughter of God; the true &s;pou&s;e of Chri&s;t; the Temple of the ble&s;&s;ed Trinitie; the throne of the eternall Salomon; the &s;eat of the diuine wi&s;edome; &s;i&s;ter to the Angells; heire apparent of heauen; a glorious Queene in her princely robes. But &s;ee the deplorable change, the &s;ad alteration, cau&s;ed in her by a mortall &s;in|ne, con&s;ented vnto; in&s;tantly the holy Gho&s;t, with all his gifts, leaueth her; the Angells fly away from her; Chri&s;t with his holy Mother &amp; Saints for&s;ake her: and therewith the diuells come tumbling in, and take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of her: behold her now poore, wretched, infirme, ri|fled of all, foule as a diuell, become the vvhore of Satan, the dunghill &amp; puddle of &s;wine &amp;c.</P>
<P>Conclude to haue a care of the purity of thy &s;oule, &s;eeing it importeth thee no le&s;&s;e, than to liue with Chri&s;t, or the diuell, in heauen or in hell: which depend on the&s;e two e&s;tates: of being in grace, or in mortall &s;inne.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly the multitude &amp; number of thy &s;innes: count the yeares, the moneths, the weekes, the dayes, thou ha&s;t liued; and thou wilt find them farre short of the number, thy &s;innes will amount vnto; for, <HI>Septies in die cadit iustus: Seuen times in the day doth the iust fall.</HI> pa&s;&s;e ouer briefely, and in generall, yet not <HI>&s;ine amaritudine animae tuae, vvithout the bitterne&s;&s;e of thy &s;oule,</HI> the whole cour&s;e of thy life; next, the powers of thy &s;oule, and &s;en&s;es of thy body, and &s;ee, which of them hath happily been free
<PB N="21" REF="24">from offending God: then the v&s;e of the holy Sacraments, if thou haue neuer &s;inned again&s;t tho&s;e diuine conduits of grace, at lea&s;t by &s;o ma|ny relap&s;es into &s;innes, againe and againe con|fe&s;&s;ed &amp; pardoned. La&s;tly how many ha&s;t thou drawne into &s;inne, either voluntarily or by thy ill example; &s;ee here vvhat a &s;warme of other mens &s;innes occa&s;ioned by thee, come vpon thy head! and when all this is done, be &s;ure there are many yet behind, either vnknowne or forgott|ten; &s;o that our daylie cry mu&s;t be, <HI>ab occultis meis munda me Domine, &amp; ab alienis parce &s;erue tuo. From my &s;ecrett &s;innes clean&s;e me &ocirc; lord, and from other mens &s;pare thy &s;eruant.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude truely to humble thy &s;elfe before the diuine maie&s;ty; and &s;eing vve haue &s;o often offended him, let vs as often and earne&s;tly begge pardon of him: and, as yet neuer a day pa&s;&s;eth vvithou &s;ome &s;inne, &s;o let neuer a day pa&s;&s;e wi|thout a new and &s;peciall &s;orrow for the &s;ame.</P>
<P>Con&s;ider fourthly, thy pre&s;ent daylie &s;innes, and imperfections, &s;ince God hath freed thee from tho&s;e grieuous ones of thy life pa&s;t, and called thee particularly to &s;erue him: and thou vvilt &s;oone vvonder at thy owne frailtie &amp; mi&s;e|rie: fir&s;t marke, how little thy loue is of God al|mighty; J &s;peake not of an imaginarie loue, vvhich vve may frame to our &s;elues of God, but of a reall and actiue loue vvhich &s;aith little, and doth much; how cold vve are to plea&s;e him? how &s;eldome doe vve preferre in effect his holy vvill before our owne appetite, commo|ditie,
<PB N="22" REF="25">&amp; plea&s;ure? &s;ee in particular vvhere, when, and how oft, thou ha&s;t really done it, or rather not done the contrary; and vhen thou ha&s;t hap|pily done &s;o, ob&s;erue vvell the imperfections, the coldne&s;&s;e, the by-intentions, that haue crept into the be&s;t of thy actions: how little profit haue vve made of his bounteous benefits? and how &s;lack to follow his holy in&s;pirations and callings? Secondly, &s;ee what thy carriage is, towards thy neighbour, vvhom Chri&s;t hath commanded thee to loue, as thy &s;elfe; is this &s;o really in effect? do&s;t thou neuer vvrong, offend nor &s;candalize him in vvords, in rash iudge|ments, in deed? art thou in all things obedient to thy Superiours, louing to thy equalls, care|full and gentle towards, thy inferiours? hovv many of vs can &s;ay halfe this vvithout a great preiudice to truth, and our con&s;cience?</P>
<P>Conclude and aske pardon of God, and thy neighbour, for the &s;mall loue shevved to either; and purpo&s;e, yet vvith humilitie and feare, to amend thy carriage tovvards both really and effectually.</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fiftly, hovv thou &s;tande&s;t vvithin thy &s;elfe; hovv full of proper vvill &amp; loue, hovv vvedded to thine ovvne iudgement &amp; opinion; hovv vvith ob&s;tinacie thou art ready to main|taine and make good, vvhat&s;oeuer thou ha&s;t erroneou&s;ly or vnadui&s;edly &s;poken or done: vvhat little mortification interiour and exte|riour: hovv full of pride, vaine glorie, pre&s;ump|tion, boa&s;ting, ea&s;e, delight, gluttony &amp;c.
<PB N="23" REF="25">examine vvell thy thoughts, affections and de|&s;ires, vvhether they commonly goe, vvhether they are carried; for there &s;urely lyeth thy <HI>&s;ummum bonum, thy greate&s;t good,</HI> thy trea|&s;ure: marke againe thy vvords and conuer&s;a|tion, hovv vaine, hovv incon&s;iderate, hovv oft &s;vvaruing from truth; thy tongue, hovv little mortified or bridled, but euer vvagging. La&s;tly &s;ift thy deeds and good vvorkes, and thou shalt find a great deale of chaffe among&s;t them, a great many imperfections. But aboue all ob&s;erue the boyes-play, thou do&s;t v&s;e in the performing of thy good purpo&s;es and de&s;ires, both of prayer and other things, euery day nevv purpo&s;es, and no &s;oouer made, but bro|ken, forgotten, or let &s;lip; and in this vveauing and vnvveauing, this vvinding vp vvith one hand, and vnvvinding vvith the other, pa&s;&s;eth avvay the vvhole time of our life.</P>
<P>Conclude to &s;ettle in thine vnder&s;tan|ding a true iudgement of thy &s;elfe, as thou art at pre&s;ent; and thou shalt find no great matter to boa&s;t of: make at length a manly re&s;olution once for all, to amend thy faults, and to &s;erue god con&s;tantly: but doe this vvith great humility, for feare, lea&s;t this purpo&s;e vanish avvay vvith all the former.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="24" REF="26">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>Of the grieuou&s;ne&s;&s;e of &s;inne, as it is an offence of God.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that the malice and defor|mity of the lea&s;t mortall &s;inne is infi|nite, that is, vvithout limit or compa|ri&s;on foule and horrible; and that by rea&s;on of the infinity of God, the per&s;on offended. A blovv or affront giuen to a pe&s;ant, is an offence, but &s;mall; to doe the like to a Citizen, is greater; to a gentleman, greater; to an Earle, Duke, Prin|ce farre more enormous; but to a King, or an Emperour, novv it &s;eemes to exceede all the limits, all the bounds of humanity. What then shall vve &s;ay of an affront, an offence done again&s;t almighty God? vvho is euery vvay infi|nit and boundle&s;&s;e, in maie&s;ty greatne&s;&s;e, no|blene&s;&s;e, povver, beauty, riches, vvi&s;edome, goodnes &amp;c. c&eacute;rtainely, as hee in him&s;elfe is in|finitely vvorthy of all reuerence, loue, obedien|ce; &s;o, vvho &s;oeuer doth mortally offend him, doth vvith mo&s;t infinite and boundles blame offend again&s;t all tho&s;e his titles and re&s;pects.</P>
<P>Conclude, and &s;tand amazed to &s;ee vvhat little accou~t vvordlings make of a mortall &s;inne, and &s;o committ them vvithout number or re|mor&s;e, <HI>Bibentes &s;icut aquam, iniquitatem: drin|king iniquitie as it vvere vvater.</HI> But re&s;olue thou vvith thy &s;elfe, to be vvi&s;er, than to offend
<PB N="25" REF="26">the infinite wi&s;edome of God; what a malice is it to contemne infinite goodnes? what a ba&s;e|nes, to &s;light infinite noblenes? but what a fren|zie, to &s;trike at boundles maie&s;ty? and what a madnes, not to feare omnipotencie?</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly the particular ingrati|tude and di&s;obedience of mankind aboue all other creatures: no creature in the world hath receiued halfe the fauours from God, that man hath; and yet none of them all, euer offendeth God, but onely man. To them God is onely a Creatour, a Con&s;eruatour, a Gouernour; but to man, he hath shewed him&s;elfe al&s;o a Sauiour, a father, a friend, &amp; what&s;oeuer el&s;e can oblige or force loue: and yet all the va&s;t heauens; the Elements, Earth and Sea with all the bea&s;ts, fish, &amp; fowle contained in them, mo&s;t prompt|ly and readily obey euery becke of their Crea|tour; and that with &s;uch an vnre&s;i&s;table propen|&s;ion, that &s;ooner will they &s;inke into nothing, then &s;warue from the lea&s;t of his commands: onely proud man, more obliged to obedience than all, lifteth vp his head again&s;t him, brea|keth his commandements with facilitie, con|tradicts his will, to comply with his owne plea|&s;ure and appetite. But tho&uacute; wilt &s;ay, other crea|tures of nece&s;&s;ity doe, what they doe, &s;o that they cannot gaine &s;ay or offend; but man is in|dued with free will, and &s;o may re&s;i&s;t. Alas! this increa&s;eth his ingratitude; to abu&s;e &s;o noble a gift again&s;t the giuer; and to dishonour his Creatour in that very thing, which he be&s;towed
<PB N="26" REF="27">on him, to honour and &s;erue him, in a more no|ble way than the re&s;t. Conclude, and when any temptation a&s;&s;ayleth thee, &s;ay; hold, what do&s;t thou man? toades and &s;nakes offend not god; &amp; dare&s;t thou offend him &amp;c.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly the goodnes, the loue, the clemency, the benignity, the mercy, the &s;weetnes, the tenderne&s;&s;e, with which our good God doth gouerne, cherish, and maintaine vs all in generall; be&s;ides what he hath, &amp; daily doth for thee &amp; mee in particular, worthy euery ones ponderation and gratitude: con&s;ider the&s;e, I &s;ay, and &s;urely if wee haue any feeling in vs, wee shall neuer will fully offend or &s;purne again&s;t &s;o great, &s;o good a Lord; <HI>In quo viuimus, mouomur, &amp; &s;umus. Jn vvhom vve liue moue and be.</HI> But if any heart be found &s;o &s;tony, as not to relent at &s;o great a fire; let him lift vp his eyes, and be|hold before him Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, his Sauiour, &s;tret|ched and nailed vpon the cro&s;&s;e, bathed in his owne bloud, &amp; teares for thee; &s;truggling with the agonies of a mo&s;t horrible and opprobrious death; and crying out from that height to all faithfull &s;oules, that they would take heed of &s;inne; that is, &s;pare to crucifie him continually, who hath once mo&s;t willingly died for them. O what a shame, what a confu&s;ion is it for men? who &s;o ea&s;ily tread vnder feet, and defile the bloud of Chri&s;t with their daily &s;innes and abo|minations.</P>
<P>Conclude thou to be none of that number, but w&icirc;th true &s;orrow and contrition, for what
<PB N="27" REF="27">is pa&s;t, &s;eriou&s;ly to amend thy life for the future; and that out of gratitude to God &amp; thy Sauiour, &s;eeing that &s;inne doth &s;o much offend him, and let this his complaint of vngratefull children, &s;erue thee for an antidote; <HI>Haeccine reddis Domi|no, popule stulte &amp; in&s;ipiens? nunquid non ip&s;e est Pater tuus, qui fecit te, po&s;&s;edit &amp; creauit te. The&s;e things doest thou render to our Lord thou foolish and vnvvi&s;e people? is not he thy father that hath made thee, po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed and created thee?</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, the mon&s;truous trea|&s;on, and affront done again&s;t God in euery mor|tall &s;inne: for vpon the coming of a temptation, God almighty on the one &s;ide, placeth him&s;elfe before the &s;oule, with all the titles and obliga|tions, that shee hath to loue and &s;erue him, of Creatour, Redeemer, Spou&s;e &amp;c. offering her his loue and friendship for euer, promi&s;ing her heauenly and eternall rewards, if now she will not for&s;ake him, but keepe his law. On the other &s;ide the deuill with his &s;lights, and deceits offereth her &s;ome little and ba&s;e toy or other, of a &s;mall intere&s;t, <HI>puntillo</HI> of honour, of a bea&s;tly delight &amp;c. The &s;infull and wretched &s;oule con&s;idering and hearing, what both allead|ge, at length with horrible impietie turneth her back to her God, her Sauiour, and adoreth the deuill, reiecteth Gods friendship, de&s;pi&s;eth his promi&s;es, renounceth heauen, &amp; in &s;tead of all, maketh choyce of that intere&s;t, that delight, for her finall end and happine&s;&s;e. O accur&s;ed frenzy! &ocirc; vnheard of treachery of a mi&s;creant wretch!</P>
<PB N="28" REF="28">
<P> Conclude with the profounde&s;t humility, shame, confu&s;ion and &s;orrow thou can&s;t for the oftentimes thy &s;oule deceiued, blinded, begui|led, hath committed this &s;o horrible a trea&s;on, and made this de&s;perate trucke: with a &s;olemne prote&s;tation, neuer to commit the like any more.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE THIRD MEDITATION. <HI>Of the hatred God beareth to &s;inne.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how not with&s;tanding the great loue, that God beareth to men in generall, and the true amitie, hee hath with the iu&s;t and deuout: yet let the iu&s;te&s;t man in this world, nay the greate&s;t Angell or Saint in heauen (were it po&s;&s;ible) commit but one of the lea&s;t mortall &s;innes; God at that very in&s;tant, declareth him&s;elfe his bitter enemy, ca&s;teth him out of his fauour, and banishing him from his right to heauen, condemneth him to the gallies and &s;lauerie of hell. So that it is a common phra|&s;e of Scripture, to terme &s;inners the enemies of God, and God their enemy; what can be more fearfull and terrible, then for a poore caytife to haue omnipotent maje&s;tie his angred enemy? &amp; con&s;equently all creatures both of heauen and earth, mo&s;t ready and forward to take reuenge of their Creatours wrong, and nothing, but a becke of his is wanting, to put it in &s;udden exe|cution; according to that: <HI>Et pugnabit cum illo
<PB N="29" REF="28">orbis terrarum contra in&s;en&s;atos. And the round vvorld shall fight vvith him against the &s;en&s;le&s;&s;e.</HI> O mi&s;erable wretch, how can&s;t thou looke? how can&s;t thou breath? &s;urrounded with &s;o many potent and enraged enemies. Farre better were it, quoth S. An&s;elme, to liue in hell among&s;t the deuills, in the grace and fauour of God, than in all the plea&s;ures of this world, in his enmitie and di&s;grace.</P>
<P>Conclude with admiration of Gods patience and longanimity with thee in thy &s;innes, when all creatures crying for reuenge again&s;t thee, and ready to take it, he alone, the party offended, hath &s;o often held their hands, and his owne: thanke him; repent in time; and take heed, how thou putte&s;t thy &s;elfe in like danger any more; for he is <HI>Patiens redditor. A patient revvarder.</HI></P>
<P>Con&s;ider &s;econdly the hatred God beareth to &s;inne, by the rigorous and fearefull cha&s;ti&s;ing of the &s;ame. And fir&s;t, in the Angells that fell; crea|tures by nature mo&s;t noble, in dignity next to their Creatour, adorned with all &s;upernaturall graces and vertues: yet for one onely &s;inne of pride, and that but once onely con&s;ented to in minde, they were in an in&s;tant, without a mo|ment of repentance granted, ca&s;t for euer from that happy &s;tate, into the flames of hell, turned into foule&s;t deuills, and made an eternall &s;ubiect of Gods reuenging wrath. O eternall God, who will not feare thy anger and indignation? Se|condly in our fir&s;t parents Adam and Eue, crea|ted with originall iu&s;tice, endowed with all
<PB N="30" REF="29">graces, Lords ab&s;olute of the whole world, pla|ced in a Paradi&s;e of delights, ca&s;t out by Gods <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">u&s;tice, made &s;ubiect to a corporall and &s;pirituall death, and to the calamities, which wee all feele, &amp; cannot helpe: and for what? for the ea|ting of an apple, which God had forbid him. And, which is mo&s;t terrible to thinke, for that one &s;inne, not onely they, but all their of-&s;pring, that is, all men without any new &amp; actuall &s;inne of their owne, haue been, are, and to the worlds end shall bee borne to the &s;ame doome of death and mi&s;erie.</P>
<P>Conclude fir&s;t, with mo&s;t humble thankes to the diuine goodnes, for &s;ending his onely Sonne to redeeme thee out of &s;o great a mi&s;erie, and danger of greater in the next world: &s;e|condly tremble to thinke of a &s;inne; lea&s;t Gods heauy hand light vpon thee, with a &s;inall ven|geance once for all.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly the paines of hell which exceed all compari&s;on, all imagination; yet all due to one mortall &s;inne, by the diuine iu&s;tice mo&s;t exact and vpright. God is of mo&s;t infinite compa&s;&s;ion and mercy, as all his workes doe te|&s;tifie; and yet he hath heart, to &s;ee a poore &s;oule, created by him&s;elfe, and redeemed with the bloud of his onely Sonne, lie howling and gnashing her teeth in tho&s;e eternall flames, without euer hauing the lea&s;t pitty of her<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> nei|ther will that moment euer come, that he will remit her the lea&s;t of her paines; but after mil|lions of millions of ages, will be as fresh in his
<PB N="31" REF="29">anger, as the fir&s;t day he threw her into that pit|tile&s;&s;e gulfe. O terrible indignation! that can endure &s;o long in a heart &s;o mild, &s;weet and no|ble: or rather; &ocirc; mo&s;t deadly malice of mortall &s;inne, that can cau&s;e and &s;tirre vp &s;uch an end|le&s;&s;e wrath! But the&s;e are his enemies, you will &s;ay, &amp; are duely punished: &s;ee then the &s;oules of Purgatory, his friends, his future courtiers; who, &s;et a &s;ide eternitie, &s;uffer equall torments to tho|&s;e of hell; and yet the &s;inne is pardoned, the guilt blotted out, onely full &s;atisfaction hath not been made.</P>
<P>Conclude, what wee are to expect at Gods hands, whether foes or friends, if we &s;inne again&s;t him: and be not &s;o mad, &s;o de&s;perate, as world|lings commonly are; who thinke &s;inne, but a trifle, a fleabite, that can be wiped of with a wet finger.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly; that nothing doth &s;o much expre&s;&s;e the great hatred God beareth to &s;inne, as the death and pa&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t, a per|&s;on of him&s;elfe of infinite dignitie, holines, and innocency; and con&s;equently beloued of his Fa|ther with infinite loue, <HI>Et in quo &s;ibi bene com|placuit: And in vvhom he vvas vvell plea&s;ed.</HI> Not-with&s;tanding, hauing taken vpon him the di&s;charge of our &s;innes, &s;ee with what rigour the diuine iu&s;tice handled him; and although the lea&s;t drop of his &s;acred bloud, was a &s;uper|aboundant &s;atisfaction for all, yet his heauenly father, that man might practically &s;ee, how he dete&s;teth &s;inne, he would haue him &s;uffer all the
<PB N="32" REF="30">torme~ts, he did, with a mo&s;t ignominious death on the cro&s;&s;e amid&s;t theeues and villaines; <HI>Prop|ter peccata populi mei percu&s;&s;i eum: for the &s;innet of my people haue I &s;triken him.</HI> So that, not onely Pilate &amp; the Iewes were the authours of our Sa|uiour his death, but al&s;o the iu&s;tice of his Eter|nall father, to reuenge him&s;elfe vpon &s;inne.</P>
<P>Conclude with a timely feare for thy &s;innes: for if Chri&s;t our &s;uretie hath payed &s;o deare, what shall the tran&s;gre&s;&s;our him&s;elfe expect? &amp; if in the greene and innocent wood the fire of Gods wrath take &s;uch hold; what will it doe in the drie &s;tubble of &s;infull &s;oules?</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="4" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FOVRTH MEDITATION. <HI>Of the malice of &s;inne by the dammages it brin|geth to the &s;inner.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, what a &s;oule doth loo&s;e by a mortall &s;inne; to wit, the grace and friendship of Almighty God, the ver|tues and gifts of the holy Gho&s;t, an ine&s;timable trea&s;ure; and faith and hope, which remaine, lie dead, void and vnprofitable. She lo&s;eth the title of the daughter of God; the fatherly protection, that he hath of the iu&s;t; the title &amp; right to the kingdome of heauen; the gracious robe of &s;an|ctitie with which the holy Gho&s;t had ve|&s;ted her. She loo&s;eth the reward for all the good workes done in the whole cour&s;e of her life; and remaineth &s;poiled of all, poore and na|ked:
<PB N="33" REF="30">in a word she loo&s;eth God, that is, all that can be &s;ayd good, and remaineth like an other Job, couered from head to heeles with an vni|uer&s;all leprie, hauing nothing to &s;it on, but a dunghill of her owne foule crimes; nothing left her, to &s;crape her vlcers, but a broken shard of free will, which, though not de&s;troyed by &s;inne, becometh notwith&s;tanding mo&s;t feeble, weake and &s;ubiect to euery bla&s;t of her enemie.</P>
<P>Conclude with a &s;trong hatred again&s;t &s;inne: for &s;eeing, that all creatures doe naturally hate that, which hurteth or wrongeth them, is it not great rea&s;on, that man abhorre the mon&s;ter of &s;inne? which is onely able to bereaue him of his la&s;t end, and eternall felicitie; a dammage, which all the world be&s;ide cannot doe him.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, vvhat the &s;oule getteth by a mortall &s;inne, that is, vvhat m&iuml;&s;eries she fal|leth into: fir&s;t she &s;elleth her &s;elfe, and that, at a very vile and low rate, as a &s;laue to the deuill &amp; to &s;inne it &s;elfe; <HI>Qui facit peccatum, &s;eruus e&s;t peccati: he vvho committeth &s;inne is the &s;eruant of &s;inne:</HI> turned hereby from a plea&s;ant garden, that Angells delighted in, to a dunghill, a puddle, for &s;wine to wallow in; from a retiring chamber of the holy Gho&s;t, to a den of Ba&s;ilis|kes &amp; dragons. Secondly she incurreth the &s;en|tence of death and eternall damnation, which is giuen in the in&s;tant that the &s;inne is commit|ted; and although by penance it may be recal|led, yet no man is fully certaine, that euer it is recalled: a fearefull ca&s;e to be &s;ure of the &s;inne,
<PB N="34" REF="31">but not &s;ure of the pardon. Thirdly, &s;inne is a di&s;ea&s;e incurable, for nothing le&s;&s;e then Gods omnipotencie can euer cure or remedie it; &s;o that, who &s;inneth, of him&s;elfe remaineth eter|nally in it, vnle&s;&s;e God mo&s;t powerfully free him: and who knoweth, when and how oft, God vvill doe &s;o? Finally a &s;inne &s;eldome co|cometh alone, but bringeth others, either with it, or after it.</P>
<P>Conclude with an humble acknowledgement of Gods mercy tovvards thee, vvho hath &s;o long &s;uffered thee vvith patience, and &s;o oft pardoned thee thy &s;innes: and re&s;olue to doe true and &s;e|rious penance for vvhat is pa&s;t, and to liue more vvarily he reafter, and to beare a con&s;tant ha|tred to &s;inne, bereauing vs of &s;o much good, &amp; heaping on vs &s;o many euills.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, or rather out of vvhat hath beene hetherto con&s;idered of the malice and hurt of &s;inne, &s;ettle in thy &s;oule this mo&s;t true and nece&s;&s;ary conclu&s;ion; tovvit that all the creatures of the vvorld ioyntlie, cannot doe thee &s;o much harme, as one onely and lea&s;t mortall &s;inne: &s;o that, although all the men in the vvorld should con&s;pire to afflict thee; all the fiercenes of tygers a&s;&s;aile thee; the poi&s;on of ad|ders &amp; toades infect thee: nay though all the Angells of heauen, and deuills of hell, vvith a large and generall licence from God Almighty, should ioyne in one, to doe thee al the hurt, their vvit and povver could reach vnto; yet could they not touch thee &s;o to the quicke, nor hurt thee
<PB N="35" REF="31">&s;o much, as thou, poore &s;oule, doe&s;t thy &s;elfe, by con&s;enting to one mortall &s;inne: for all the&s;e haue no povver ouer thy vvill, by vvhich alone thou adheare&s;t, or flye&s;t from God, thy la&s;t end and onely good. And is this the vttermo&s;t? no, for I &s;ay further, that God Almighty him &s;elfe, vvith all his omnipotence, cannot hurt or an|nihilate thee &s;o much, as doth one mortall &s;in|ne: vvonder not at this; for all that God can in|flict on thee, is but paines, torments and pu|nishments, vvhich are all le&s;&s;e euills, then the euill of &s;inne. So that S. An&s;elme e&s;teemeth it better, to be in the paines of hell vvithout &s;inne, then vvith it in the glorie of heauen; according to that Ecele&s;i 28. <HI>Vtilis potius infernus qu&agrave;m il|lud. Hel is more profitable then it.</HI> Conclude the|refore <HI>Malorum omnium maximum e&s;&s;e pecca|tum, &s;inne of all evills to be the greate&s;t.</HI> And he our greate&s;t en&eacute;mie, that cau&s;eth it in vs, that is our &s;elues.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, for the auoyding al&s;o of veniall &s;innes; that they al&s;o doe truely and really offend God Almighty, as it appeareth, both by that he admitteth no man into heauen vvith them, and al&s;o punisheth them &s;o terribly in the flames of Purgatorie. Ueniall &s;inne, al|though it de&s;troy not charitie, yet it vveakeneth and cooleth the feruour, she other vvi&s;e vvould shevv in all our actions: it is like a mi&s;ty &amp; darke &s;ome cloud, that ob&s;cureth the brightnes, gra|ce, and beauty of our &s;oule: it hindreth the in&s;|pirations of the holy Gho&s;t from vvorking; it
<PB N="36" REF="32">dulleth the &s;pirit and feruor of prayer; it lea|ueth the &s;oule feeble, drovv&s;ie and in a certaine lethargy, benumming, as it vvere, her povvers and vitall parts. Finally vvhich is vvor&s;t of all, veniall &s;innes di&s;po&s;e to mortall, according to that <HI>Qui negligit parua, cadet in magna: he that neglecteth &s;inall faults, vvill fall in to great ones:</HI> for it is almo&s;t impo&s;&s;ible, that, who &s;etteth light by veniall &s;innes, should not fall into mortall.</P>
<P>Conclude therefore, carefully to auoyd all manner of &s;inne; and like a loyall &s;eruant to thy Lord, to forbeare, not onely great &s;innes, for vvhich he may turne thee out of doores, but al|&s;o any the lea&s;t thing, that may di&s;plea&s;e him, or make him frowne at thee: or like a true friend, that vvill not in the lea&s;t matter di&s;agree, or contradict his friend, and know that a veniall &s;inne ought not be committed to gaine the vvhole vvorld, or to &s;aue all the infidells and &s;inners in it. This is mo&s;t true, and yet how few doe practically thinke &s;o?</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>THE THIRD CHAPTER, <HI>Of Death.</HI></HEAD>
<P>ALthough death were fir&s;t cau&s;ed by &s;inne, yet nothing doth more vvithdravv, and &s;trengthen a man again&s;t &s;inne, then the &s;erious con&s;ideratian of death; according to that &s;entence of the holy Gho&s;t <HI>Memorare noui&s;&s;ima tua, &amp; in aeternum non peccabis. Remember thy
<PB N="37" REF="32">later ends, and thou vvilt not &s;inne for euer.</HI> If therefore the auoyding of &s;inne be nece&s;&s;ary to &s;aluation, &s;urely the meanes to auoyde it, that is the con&s;ideration of death, mu&s;t be requi&s;ite, &amp; not much le&s;&s;e nece&s;&s;arie.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FIRST MEDITATION. <HI>Hovv much it importeth vs to prepare in time for death.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that as nothing is more certaine, and ineuitable, then death; &s;o nothing is more vncertaine, and vn|knowne, then is the day and the houre of it: for the fir&s;t; the rule is generall without exception, that all mu&s;t once die; neither the mother, nor the Sonne of God haue beene exempted from this law. So that, the houre will once come to me, that am now young, healthy and lu&s;ty, in which I mu&s;t for euer bid adieu to this world &amp; all that is in it: once will the day come, who&s;e night I shall neuer &s;ee; or the night, who&s;e mor|ne will neuer shine vpon me. Neither can this day or night be farre of from the younge&s;t of vs; for death comes by the po&s;t and mo&s;t common|ly when lea&s;t expected: as the rich man in the Go&s;pell, hauing hoarded vp for many yeares, &amp; intending nothing but a merry life; receiued &s;uddenly the &s;ad tydings, <HI>Stulte, nocte hac ani|mam tua~ repetent &agrave; te: thou foole, this night they shall require thy &s;oule of thee.</HI> Death therefore is
<PB N="38" REF="33">shortly mo&s;t certaine; but when? what yeare? what day? what houre? J will tell you: the yeare, the day, the houre, a man lea&s;t expects, or feares it; &amp; when he is making greate&s;t proiects for a long life: and this is all the certainety I can tell you; and the comfort J can giue you, is, that death cometh like a theife. Wherefore</P>
<P>Conclude to follow our Sauiours coun&s;ell, <HI>Semper vigilate, quia ne&s;citis diem neque horam: vvatch allvvaies, becau&s;e you knovv neither day, nor houre.</HI> be &s;ure it will come, be therefore &s;ure al&s;o to looke for it daylie.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, the &s;ad ca&s;e of mortalls; who of death know nothing, but that once it will come, but when; but where, but how, it is altogether concealed from them: whether it will be &s;udden, or fore&s;een; naturall or violent; by fire, water, or &s;word; by the fall of a tile, pricke of a pin, &s;lippe of the foot, or any other of tho&s;e million of chances, which happen in the world euery day. O how di&s;a&s;trous &amp; dangerous are the&s;e &s;udden claps! But &s;uppo&s;e thy good hap bring thee to thy bed, with the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of thy friends, the &s;uccour of Phy&s;itians &amp; the comfort of the holy Sacraments (for neuer hope to ex|ceed this) can&s;t thou yet tell me what thy infir|mitie will be? whether long or short? gentle or sharpe? cleanly or noy&s;ome? bereauing thee of thy wits, or giuing thee time and abilitie to di&s;|po&s;e of thy &s;oule, e&s;tate and familie? nothing le&s;&s;e; no &s;trength, no riches, no wit or learning, can helpe any man to the knowledge of the lea&s;t of the&s;e.</P>
<PB N="39" REF="33">
<P> Conclude therefore, that &s;eing thou ha&s;t no priuiledge or <HI>Carta de &s;ecuro, letter of &s;afetie,</HI> aboue thy fellowes, to be euer in a readines for all houres, all chances, to purge and clean&s;e thy &s;oule of what is pa&s;t; &amp; for the future, to liue &s;o, as thou would&s;t wish to haue liued, when death comes; &amp; doe nothing now, that thou woulde&s;t then repent to haue done.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, that death being &s;o cer|taine and the time, the place, the manner &s;o hid|den and vncertaine; yet &s;ome comfort would it be, if it might be twice done, that if a man should erre the fir&s;t time, he might learne his le&s;&s;on the better again&s;t the &s;econd: but alas&punc; we can die but once, and how&s;oeuer that happen, well or ill, no le&s;&s;e then an vnchangeable Eter|nity depends vpon it: if well, tis well; but if ill, no retraiting backe, no redre&s;&s;e vnder the ab&s;o|lute power of God: which way the tree falleth, when it is cutt downe, there it remaineth for euer; &amp; if it fall to the North of hells &s;corching colds and flames, dying in mortall &s;inne, no|thing remaines but eternall torments without pittie, patience or ea&s;e. <HI>O momentum, &agrave; quo d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|pendet tam longa aeternitas! &ocirc; moment, on vvhich depends &s;oe longe eternitie!</HI></P>
<P>Conclude and conceiue great feare of that dreadfull moment, on which &s;o much depends &amp; which &s;o few con&s;ider or prepare for, till it be too late; v&s;e thy be&s;t endeauours, to gett per|fect this le&s;&s;on of dying well; that thou be not out, when thou come&s;t to putt it in practice: and
<PB N="40" REF="34">if thou like&s;t my coun&s;ell, allot at lea&s;t one day in the weeke to this purpo&s;e, dedicating all thy prayers, actions and deuotions of the &s;ayd day to God Almightie for a happy death, and com|mending thy &s;elfe to the B. Virgin Marie, thy Angell Guardian, and other thy e&s;peciall Pa|trons, that they a&s;&s;i&s;t &amp; helpe thee at that houre: this hath beene the practice of many Saints.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly the great, yet generall errour of men; who thinke then, when they are &s;icke and like to die, to doe great acts of deuo|tion, as loue of God, &s;orrow for their &s;innes, &s;trong purpo&s;es of amendment &amp;c. but al&agrave;s! how wee deceiue our &s;elues? beleeue me, wee shall be &s;o farre then from gaining any thing a new, that I pray God, the be&s;t of vs all may retaine then, and hold, vvhat he hath gotten in his life and health time. Ob&s;erue what thou art able to doe in matter of deuotion, if thy head ake, thy teeth paine thee, or any other &s;mall indi&s;po&s;i|tion trouble thee: and then tell me, what thou art like to doe, when a mortall anguish comes vpon thee, and the pangs of death inuade thee, with all the troope of griefes, feares, and de&s;ola|tions, which are v&s;uall at that time. O delu&s;ion of the Deuill! and iu&s;t al&s;o permi&s;&s;ion of God! for why or how should a man gaine that, at the houre of death, which, he hath all his life time &s;lighted and neglected? why shall he haue his iournie pence, that neuer put his hand to worke, till the &s;unne was &s;etting? No, no, deuotions, good workes, prayers and the like done in
<PB N="41" REF="34">health, they are &s;ecure and of great e&s;teeme, &amp; will &s;tand by vs, euen at the houre of death; when God knowes how wee shall otherwi&s;e helpe our &s;elues; or vvho el&s;e vvill helpe vs: for commonly in what e&s;tate &s;icknes findeth vs, in the &s;ame death carrieth vs hence.</P>
<P>Conclude to follow the coun&s;ell of the Wi&s;e man, <HI>Quodcunque facere potest manus tua, in|&s;tanter operare, quia nec opus, nec ratio, nec &s;apien|tia, nec &s;cientia erunt apud inferos, quo tu prop<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|ras. VVhat&s;oeuer thy hand is able to doe, vvorke it in&s;tantlie; for neither vvorke, nor rea&s;on, nor vvi|&s;edome, nor knovvledge shall be in hell vvhither thou do&s;t ha&s;ten.</HI> &amp; beg in&s;tantly of God for his grace, to di&s;po&s;e &amp; prepare thy &s;oule in time for that la&s;t houre.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>Hovv Terrible and fearfull Death is.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, the terrour &amp; feare, that naturally &s;eizeth on man, vvhen his death is nigh, &amp; knocketh at the doore; that is, vvhen the infirmitie &s;eizeth on all the vi|tall parts; vvhen the Phy&s;ition for&s;aketh him; vvhen his friends, if any truely &s;uch, be at hand, tell him, he mu&s;t novv die; and finally vvhen the &s;icke man him&s;elfe is at length fully per&s;ua|ded, that he mu&s;t pre&s;ently &s;eaue this life; part &s;oule from body; and pa&s;&s;e from this habitation of men into an vnknowne &amp; vnheard of region.
<PB N="42" REF="35">This feare is &s;o generall, that the greate&s;t Saints, nay the Saint of Saints our Ble&s;&s;ed Sauiour vvas not free from it. <HI>Caepit timere, taedere &amp; moestus e&s;&s;e: he began to feare, vvaxe heauie, and &s;ad:</HI> and the Philo&s;opher defineth Death, <HI>Terribilium om|nium terribili&s;&s;imum. Of all dread full things the most terrible.</HI> Yet vvordlings in their health and iollities doe little feare death; both becau&s;e they euer thinke it farre of, and neuer con&s;ider vvhat it is; but vvhen they &s;ee it pre&s;ent at their beds-head, then they &s;ing another &s;ong.</P>
<P>Conclude to meditate oft vpon death, and daylie, as it vvere, to expect it, for <HI>Tela praui&s;a minus feriunt; fore&s;eene darts hurt the least:</HI> and children are le&s;&s;e frighted at a beare or lion, vvhich they often &s;ee. Make al&s;o many acts of Re&s;ignation, vvillingly to accept and admit of death, vvhen&s;oeuer God shall &s;end it thee; for the&s;e good acts vvill at that time bow and con|forme thy will to thy Creatours.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly the extreame griefe &amp; &s;adnes, which tho&s;e vvill feel at the houre of death, vvho&s;e affections are &s;ett vpon the things of this vvorld, vvhen they shall &s;ee and feel their departing from this life, and all that they loued in it, neuer for all eternitie to returne againe: vvhen that long <HI>a dios: adieu,</HI> mu&s;t be giuen to the vvhole vvorld; vvhen hereafter, there shall be no more day nor night, &s;unne nor moone, &s;pring nor autumne, friends nor kindred nor ac|quaintance; no more riches, offices, dignities, &s;ports, braueries nor iollities: all mu&s;t be left
<PB N="43" REF="35">behind, nothing &s;aued or carried vvith vs: but mo&s;t of all thinke vpon the &s;ad &amp; heauy fare|vvell, vvhich the &s;oule is forced to giue the bo|dy, her mo&s;t ancient and indiuiduall friend, &s;i|&s;ter and companion, borne and bred together, partakers of one anothers coun&s;ells, actions and fortunes; &amp; novv, like to runne the &s;ame doubt|full doome of Eternitie: this it vvas, that made King Agag cry out; <HI>Siccine &s;eparat amara mors? doth bitter death thus &s;eperate?</HI> and the Wi&s;e man to &s;ay: <HI>O mors, qu&agrave;m amara est memoria tua, homini pacem habenti in &s;ubstantijs &s;uis? O death hovv bitter is thy memorie to a man that hath peace in his riches.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith a timely re&s;olution and cou|rage to di&s;affect and vvithdravv thy &s;elfe from the&s;e vvordly baites of riches, honours, plea&s;u|res: &amp; e&s;pecially to mortifie thy body and cut short all di&s;ordinate loue towards it; for &s;o shall the &s;oule, vvhen the time cometh, be more free from the&s;e cloggs, to flie vpvvard to her Crea|tour; &amp; the body vvill be more vvilling to part vvith &s;o sharpe a Mi&s;tres.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, that vn&s;peakeable an|guish and confu&s;ion of the poore &s;oule at the point of her departure, to &s;ee her &s;elfe at the brinck and entrance of Eternitie, an endle&s;&s;e aby&s;&s;e of durance, an Ocean, to vvho&s;e yonder shore the poore &s;ayler neuer reacheth; and yet mo&s;t doubtfull of her lott; vvhether it vvill be damnation, or bli&s;&s;e: &ocirc; vvhat feare, vvhat hor|rour vvill it be, to &s;ee her&s;elfe &s;o nigh, &s;o long,
<PB N="44" REF="36">&s;o endles an age? not knovving, vvhether it mu&s;t be of life, or death. Then are our eyes &s;ett vvide open, to &s;ee, both vvhat Eternitie is, and al&s;o vvhat a moment, shadow, and dreame our pa&s;&s;ed life hath beene: then shall we wonder and groane, both for hauing endangered the lott of Eternitie, for a life &s;o short, for delights &s;o ba&s;e; and al&s;o, for falling &s;o late into the rec|kning of time, &s;o precious, yet &s;o idly &s;pent; &amp; yet in vvhich &s;o much might haue been gained. O what vvould vvee then giue for one of tho&s;e dayes, which now wee &s;o &s;lightly pa&s;&s;e ouer, and &s;pend in vanities, idlenes or vvor&s;e; and if vve had it; how well and holily vvould vve &s;pend it?</P>
<P>Conclude to be prouident, while time is, and to &s;pend it, as then vve vvould wish: follow our Sauiours coun&s;ell, to worke while the day la|&s;teth, for vvhen the night of this life is come, it vvill be too late.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fo&uacute;rthly, vvhat frights vvill then a&s;&s;aile poore man, euen now forced to appeare before the dreadfull barre of Gods iudgement &s;eat; vvhere all the thoughts, vvords, and deeds of the lea&s;t moment of his life, shall be exami|ned, and accordingly rewarded, without fauour, appeale, or dilation. O vvhat an army of &s;innes of all &s;orts, great &amp; &s;mall, vvill then shew them|&s;elues before the eyes of our memorie, many of vvhich vve now little e&s;teeme or remember; &amp; like vipers of our owne brea&s;ts, cry vpon vs, that they are our brood, and therefore vvill not leaue
<PB N="45" REF="36">vs, till vvee come together before the high Jud|ge: &amp; alas, vvee cannot hinder them from going vvith vs, becau&s;e vve are &s;ure, vvee once com|mitted them, but not &s;ure they are forgiuen vs: this it is, that mu&s;t be tried at the &s;ayd barre. On the other &s;ide; &s;ee how the deuill inuadeth vs with all his skill and force, knowing this to be the la&s;t ca&s;t; &s;ome he tempteth with de&s;paire, others with pre&s;umption, others with impatien|ce, but mo&s;t hee deludeth with the hope of yet recouering, and that then they vvill performe a &s;erious, and perfect repentance &amp;c.</P>
<P>Conclude firmely the&s;e three good purpo&s;es: fir&s;t carefully now to flie all &s;ort of &s;inne, which onely at that houre can torment vs: &s;econdly to worke now a perfect pennance for all thy &s;innes pa&s;t, vvhile time and health &s;erueth: finally to &s;erue God now faithfully, and as thou oughte&s;t; and to procure before-hand the ayd &amp; a&s;&s;i&s;tance of the ble&s;&s;ed Angells and Saints.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE THIRD MEDITATION. <HI>Of the &s;oule and body novv &s;eparated.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, the condition of mans body after the &s;oule hath left it; dead, &s;tiffe, cold, pale, vgly, heauy as a logge; ha&s;ting &s;o fa&s;t to corruption, that the great ha&s;t the be&s;t friends make to heaue it out of doore, can hardly preuent a &s;en&s;ible &s;tench &amp; ill &s;mell: finally &s;o horrid, that not many are to be found,
<PB N="46" REF="37">who dare &s;leep a night, I will not &s;ay, in the &s;ame bed with it, but in the &s;ame roome onely: and wee read of a tyrant that ioyned dead bo|dies to the quick, for the greate&s;t torment hee could inuent. But how is it treated by its deare&s;t friends, father, mother, vvife, or child? a teare or two may be shed out of tenderne&s;&s;e, but mo&s;t commonly for fashion or proper intere&s;t; and pre&s;ently a graue made, a vvinding sheet, and it may be a coffin prepared; carried out of doores, layed in the hole, the earth vell trodden and bea|ten dovvne: a <HI>requie&s;cat, God haue mercie on his &s;oule:</HI> and <HI>a dios: a dieu.</HI> And who hath more than this? now in the grave, vvhat companions, but &s;warms of maggotts and worm&eacute;s what con|dition, but of a loath&s;ome corruption? and fi|nally what end, but of earth and du&s;t, from whence it came?</P>
<P>Conclude with a true de&s;ire of mortification and pouerty: to vvhat purpo&s;e are riches and brauery, vvhereas a poore sheet mu&s;t be our la&s;t liuery?</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, the difference be|tweene the body and &s;oule now parted &amp; tra|uelling diuers wayes, according to their nature: the body immediatly tendeth to corruption; but the &s;oule remaineth eternally, as long, as God shall be God: the body dead &amp; vncapable of ioy or paine; but the &s;oule capable of both, and &s;ure of one for all eternitie, the body is carried to the graue, vvell accompanied vvith kindred and friends; but here the &s;oule is for&s;aken of all; and
<PB N="47" REF="37">poore &s;illy creature is to vvander all alone through dark&s;ome and vnknowne Regions, &amp; euery where be&s;ett &amp; rounded vvith mo&s;t cruell and fierce high vvay-robbers, to vvit legions of deuills the inhabitants of tho&s;e fearefull shades. O vvhat vvould the poore &s;oule then giue for a good and faithfull guide, &amp; tvvo or three good companions to a&s;&s;i&s;t her? tis true, she neuer wan|teth the pre&s;ence of her good Angell; but al&aacute;s! that vvill comfort her but little, vnle&s;&s;e her other company be futable, to wit her workes &amp; deeds done in this life; if the&s;e be good; &ocirc; then she pa&s;&s;eth merrily vnder the vving of her Guardian but if bad, then all is eternally lo&s;t.</P>
<P>Conclude &s;eriou&s;ly to prouide good compa|ny again&s;t that &s;ad time, &amp; haue a care to shake of ill company in time: next labour to make friends, the B. Uirgin, thy good Angell, and other Patrons.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, the great difference that is betwixt the death of the iu&s;t, and that of &s;in|ners: of the&s;e it is &s;ayd, <HI>mors peccatorum pe&s;&s;ima: the death of &s;inners is verie ill:</HI> but of tho&s;e; <HI>Pre|tio&s;a in con&s;pectu Domini mors Sanctorum eius: Precious in the &s;ight of our lord is the death of his &s;aints.</HI> A &s;inner at that houre hath all the afore &s;ayd cau&s;es of feare, without any ground of com|fort or ea&s;e: and I &s;peake not onely of great &s;in|ners, of vvhom vve may &s;ay, <HI>Quod iam iudicati &s;unt; that they are allreadie iudged.</HI> Who&s;e ca&s;e is totally de&s;perate and terrible; but of weake and feeble Chri&s;tians al&s;o; &s;uch as the world is
<PB N="48" REF="38">full of: vvhat feares, doubts, and tremblings vvill the&s;e &s;uffer, whether they shall be &s;aued or no; &ocirc; what would they giue for a little &s;e|curity? but &s;uppo&s;e they haue this; then pre|&s;ently they fall into the mo&s;t vn&s;ufferable paines of Purgatorie, vntill the la&s;t farthing be payd: and &ocirc; Lord how long will that be? But a iu&s;t and holy man, &ocirc; how re&s;igned, how de&s;irous, how &s;ecured of eternall bli&s;&s;e! how comforted with the pre&s;ence of his Sauiour, the ayd of the B. Virgin, Angell Guardian &amp;c. and fi|nally how willing to pa&s;&s;e from his former toyles to a pre&s;ent re&s;t? from the mi&s;eries of this world to the now appearing ioyes of heauen?</P>
<P>Conclude now diligently to prouide for what then thou wilt &s;o much lament, if thou want it, as reioyce, if thou haue it; to wit a liuely hope of thy pre&s;ent &s;aluation: and no|thing in heauen or earth can &s;ecure thee this, but a holy and vertuous life: let this finally be thy daylie prayer: <HI>O bone Ie&s;u, illumina oculos meos ne vnquam obdormiam in morte; nec di|cat inimicus meus, praeualui aduer&s;us eum. O good Ie&s;us illuminate mine eyes, that I &s;leepe not in death at any time, nor let my enemie &s;ay, I haue preuailed again&s;t him.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="4" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="49" REF="38">
<HEAD>THE FOVRTH MEDITATION. <HI>Of the particular Iudgement after death.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that the greate&s;t terrour of death ari&s;eth not &s;o much from death it &s;elfe, as from the iudgement, that followeth at its heeles: the time therefore of this iudgement is the fir&s;t in&s;tant or moment, af|ter the &s;oule is parted from the body: in vvhich the vvhole cau&s;e is punctually and iuridically concluded and &s;entenced, as if it vvere a proce&s;&s;e of a hundred yeares: vvherein the accu&s;er and accu&s;ed shall &s;tand at the barre; the charge ma|de vp, the plea and an&s;wer receiued; proofes ta|ken, vvitne&s;&s;es examined, and a finall and defi|nitiue doome and &s;entence pronounced: and no vvonder, for the Judge is both omnipotent in power, and thence commandeth all at a beck; and al&s;o infinite in vvi&s;edome, and hence &s;ear|cheth the deepe&s;t &s;ecrets of hearts. The place of this iudgement is co~monly thought, to be that, vvherein a man dieth; &s;o that God being im|men&s;e and euery vvhere, rai&s;eth in that very place his inui&s;ible &s;eat, before vvhich the poore &s;oule, &s;carce yet out of the body, &s;uddenly ap|peareth.</P>
<P>Conclude hence tvvo things: the fir&s;t a great feare and care of that moment, on vvhich eter|nitie immediately dependeth, neuer to be reco|uered, neuer recalled: the &s;econd, that vvhereas men ordinarily die or may die in the hou&s;e,
<PB N="50" REF="39">chamber nay bed, vvhere they liue and &s;leep; neuer to dare to commit any &s;inne therein, but euer te looke on them, as the place of iudge|ment: &amp; vvho dare offend at the barre?</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, hovv &s;uddenly the poore &s;oule is bereaued and for&s;aken of all her friends; for all leaue her at deaths doore, none can goe to the barre vvith her; none there plead for her; onely her Angell-Guardian pre&s;enteth her before the Iudge, and the Deuill pre&s;ently follovveth at her back; and layeth home her charge to the full, not &s;paring the lea&s;t vvord, vvorke or thought of all her life; but charging &amp; exaggerating euery thing; and produceth two infallible vvitne&s;&s;es for vvhat hee &s;ayth, to vvit the Iudge him&s;elfe, the knovver of all &s;ecrets, &amp; the guilty con&s;cience of the &s;oule accu&s;ed: on the other &s;ide the good Angel pleadeth &amp; allea|geth for her, vvhat po&s;&s;ibly he can, as both the good vvorkes she hath done, as al&s;o the &s;orrovv and repentance she hath had of her &s;innes. O! vvith vvhat angui&s;h &s;tandeth the poore creature expecting the eternall doome of mi&s;erie, or happines? vvhat vvould she giue novv for a dramme of repentance, to giue a generall an|&s;vver to the Deuills accu&s;ations? and vvhat for a pound of good vvorkes for her Angell to bring in, and to vveigh dovvne the &s;cale?</P>
<P>Conclude vvith a mo&s;t &s;erious and &s;trong re|&s;olution, to &s;ett all things again&s;t this moment; fir&s;t by cro&s;&s;ing the black booke of &s;inne, by a true repentance &amp; confe&s;&s;ion; next to augment
<PB N="51" REF="39">and adde daylie to the booke of good vvorkes: <HI>Age, age nunc, chari&s;&s;ime, quidquid agere potes: doe novv, my beloued Brother, doe novv vvhat thou thou canst.</HI> Quoth Thomas a Kempis.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, hovv terrible a thing it is, to enter into iudgement vvith God almighty, vvho is of infinite purity, &s;anctitie, and perfe|ction: hence King Dauid cryed, out, <HI>Non intres in iudicium cum &s;eruo tuo Domine, quia non iusti|ficabitur, coram te omnis viuens: enter not into iudgement vvith thy &s;eruant, becau&s;e noe man li|uing shall be iustified in thy &s;ight.</HI> hence S. Paul trembling &s;ayd; <HI>Nihil mihi con&s;cius &s;um, &s;ed non in hoc iustificatus &s;um, e&s;t enim Deus qui iudicat. I am not guiltie in con&s;cience of any thing: but I am not iu&s;tified herein, for he that iudgeth is god.</HI> For fir&s;t the &s;innes vvhich vve account light, and mo&s;t veniall, vvill appeare in the eyes of god, great, foule and hainous: doe not holy men here vvith vs e&s;teeme &s;innes great and heauy, vvhich vvordlings thinke either very &s;mall, or nothing at all? doth not a curious paynter find a fault, a blemish, vvhere others thinke all per|fect, and compleat? vvhat e&s;timation then, thinke vvee, vvill the infinite holines of God haue of the lea&s;t of our &s;innes? what &s;potts and defects will that diuine paynter finde in this our mould of clay and du&s;t? Next, he will &s;ift &s;o na|rrovvly our iu&s;t &amp; good vvorkes, that very fevv of them will be found perfect and cleare in his eyes; but full of &s;elfe loue, by-intentions and other imperfections.</P>
<PB N="52" REF="40">
<P> Conclude to worke thy &s;aluation vvith feare and trembling; neuer to pre&s;ume of thy good deeds, nor to &s;light and le&s;&s;en thy ill deeds: re|membring alwayes, that God is the iudge of both, in vvho&s;e pre&s;ence the heauens are not pure.</P>
<P N="4">4, Con&s;ider fourthly the&s;e fiue qualities of our iudge at that day: the fir&s;t is, that hee is the par|tie offended and iniured by our &s;innes, vvho is novv to take his owne reuenge of the guilty: &ocirc; vvho vvill not tremble to be iudged by him, whom hee hath offended? Secondly, hee is mo&s;t wi&s;e and able to &s;earch the very depth of our hearts, and to ballance aright euery thought, vvord and deed. Thirdly he is omnipotent, &s;o that no man can &s;top his hand, no man re&s;i&s;t his vvill. Fourthly he is &s;upreme &s;oueraigne: no power created or increated aboue him, &amp; hence his &s;entence is finall, &amp; vvithout appeale. La&s;tly, hee vvill come then &s;o full of vvrath and indig|nation again&s;t the vvicked, that if all heauen &amp; earth should ioyne in petition for the lea&s;t &s;in|nes, that were, he would remaine inexorable and immoueable.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith thy &s;elfe this nece&s;&s;arie and vvhole&s;ome re&s;olution: that vvhereas on the one &s;ide, the Judge is mo&s;t terrible, and mo&s;t inexo|rable; on the other, the cau&s;e to be iudged of the greate&s;t importance and con&s;equence, that can be imagined: re&s;olue, I &s;ay, euer to liue in feare of the Iudge; euer to &s;ecure thy cau&s;e vvith the greate&s;t diligence thou can&s;t.</P>
<PB N="53" REF="40">
<P> Con&s;ider fifthly, how after that the whole plea is concluded, the Judge pronounceth the defini|tiue and eternall &s;entence of life or death: if of death, he ca&s;teth the foule &s;oule from him, with an vn&s;peakable di&s;daine and cur&s;&s;e neuer to &s;ee the glorie of his face any more: then the good Angell de&s;erteth and for&s;aketh her al&s;o: goe, ac|cur&s;ed wretch, that ha&s;t de&s;pi&s;ed my coun&s;ells; and reiected all the remedies, I haue v&s;ed for thy &s;aluation; goe with this thy black guardian, &amp; now eternally thy &s;ad companion: &amp; la&s;tly the &s;ayd deuills laying hold on her, impetuou&s;ly throw her into the pit of hell, for euer and euer. But if the &s;entence be of life, then the Iudge with an amiable, countenance, inuiteth her to the euerla&s;ting ioyes of his Kingdome; the deuill flyeth away conquered &amp; confoun<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> ded: the good Angell taketh her by the hand, &amp; accompanied with many more leadeth her to the pallace of eternall bli&s;&s;e; or at lea&s;t, vvith comfort depo&s;itateth her in Purgatorie for a time, till the diuine iu&s;tice be &s;atisfied.</P>
<P>Conclude with this prayer of S. Augu&s;tine: &ocirc; Lord my God, cha&s;tize me now, while this life dureth, vvith all the rigour, thou plea&s;e&s;t; tor|ment me in all my &s;en&s;es and members; burne me, quarter and cut me, vvhat vvay thou vvilt; in my health, in my honour and fame, in my goods and in what&s;oeuer els; on condition that at the day of iudgement thou pronounce &s;entence in my fauour,</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="54" REF="41">
<HEAD>THE FOVRTH CHAPTER, <HI>Of the vniuer&s;all iudgement at the la&s;t day.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THree rea&s;ons are commonly a&s;&s;igned for this vniuer&s;all iudgement at the end of the world: fir&s;t, that the bodyes al&s;o, as well as the &s;oules of the good and bad may haue their iu&s;t reward: Secondly, that the iu&s;t may receiue a publike honour, and the bad a publi|ke confu&s;ion: Thirdly that our Sauiour Chri&s;t may be iudge of all, for the vniu&s;t &s;entence he receiued here of men.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FIRST MEDITATION. <HI>Of the &s;ignes and vvonders that shall forerunne the la&s;t day.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, what the terrour of that day will be, by what the old Prophets haue &s;ayd of it: &amp; fir&s;t, harken to I&s;aias <HI>c.</HI> 13. <HI>Vlulate quia prop&egrave; e&s;t dies Domini; crudelis &amp; indignationis plenus, &amp; irae, furori&s;que ad po|nendam terram in &s;olitudinem; &amp; peccatores eius conterendos de ea. Hovvle ye, becau&s;e the day of our Lord is nere; cruel, &amp; full of indignation, &amp; of vvrath, and furie to bring the land to a vvilder|ne&s;&s;e, and to destroy the &s;inners thereof out of it.</HI> Next Ioel cryeth our, as vvanting a tongue to expre&s;&s;&eacute; his feare: <HI>A, A, A, dixi, quia prope est dies Domini: vlulate in monte &s;ancto meo, quia ve|nit
<PB N="55" REF="41">dies Damini, quia prope e&s;t dies tenebrarum &amp; caliginis, dies nubis &amp; turbinis: ante faciem eius ignis vorans, &amp; post eum exurens flamma, a facie eius contremuit terra, moti&s;unt caelt, &s;ol &amp; luna obtenebrati &s;unt, &amp; &s;tellae retraxerunt &s;plen|dorem &s;uum, &amp; quis &s;u&s;tinebit eum? A, A, A, be|cau&s;e the day of our lord is at hand: hovvle in my holie mount, becau&s;e the day of our Lord cometh; becau&s;e the day of darkene&s;&s;e, and of mist is nere, the day of cloude, and vvhirlevvind; before the face thereof a deuouring fyre, and after it a bur|ning flame; at his pre&s;ence the earth hath trem|bled, the heauens are moued, the &s;unne and moone are darkened, and the starrs haue vvithdravvne their shining; and vvho shall &s;u&s;teyne it?</HI> Neither doth Sophonias &s;peake in a lovver &s;traine: <HI>Iuxta est dies Domini magnus, vox diei Domini amara, dies irae, dies illa, dies tribulationis &amp; angu&s;tiae &amp;c. The great day of our Lord is nere; the voice of the day of our Lord is bitter; that day, a day of vvrath, a day of tribulation and di&s;tre&s;&s;e &amp;c.</HI> And note, that all call it <HI>diem Domini,</HI> the day of our Lord; for till then all are the dayes of men, to doe and &s;ay vvhat they plea&s;e; and our Lord is &s;ilent and &s;eemeth not to take notice of any thing: but vvhen his day cometh, then <HI>Loquetur vt parturiens, di&s;&s;ipabit &amp; ab&s;or|behit &s;imul. He vvill speake as a trauailing vvo|man, he vvill di&s;&s;ipate and &s;vvallovv vp toge|ther.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude with the&s;e holy Prophets, with S. Hierome, and other Saints to get and con&s;erue in,
<PB N="56" REF="42">thy brea&s;t a whole&s;ome feare, of that terrible day which may on all occa&s;ions &s;erue thee, as a bridle from finne.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly the terrible &s;ignes, mi|&s;eries and di&s;a&s;ters, vvhich forerunn&eacute; and pre|pare for the day of iudgement. Fir&s;t great tu|mults, and warres, nations again&s;t nations, and Kingdomes again&s;t Kingdomes: then earth quakes, plagues and famines: next, the per&s;e|cution of Anti Chri&s;t, vvhich our Sauiour &s;ayth, shall be the greate&s;t tribulation, that euer was. After this the heauens shall tremble, the Sunne grow darke, the moone be couered with blood; inflamed comets, like flakes or balls of fire, shal &s;all from the skie. The aire in a horrid confu|&s;ion, rumbling with windes, tempe&s;ts, thun|ders, lightnings and fire-bolts. The &s;ea roaring with hideous &s;tormes, &s;welling amaine aboue the earth, as ready to &s;wallow all at once? and then as fearefully falling back into the aby&s;&s;e of the Ocean. The wild bea&s;ts leauing for terrour the woods and de&s;arts, and with lamentable cryes and howlings flying to hou&s;es, villages &amp; townes for shelter. And what doth poore man doe all this while, for whom all this fea&s;t is made. <HI>Are&s;centibus hominibus prae timore, men vvithering for feare:</HI> quoth Chri&s;t, wann, pale, and dried vp for feare, terrour, and anguish not knowing which way to turne or helpe them&s;elues.</P>
<P>Conclude to follow the coun&s;ell of the Ec|cle&s;ia&s;tes: <HI>Memento Creatoris tui in diebus iu|uentutis
<PB N="57" REF="42">tuae, antequam veniant dies, in quibus dicas, non placent: antequam tenebre&s;cat &s;ol, &amp; luna, &amp; &s;tella. Remember thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth, before the dayes come, in vvhich thou mai&s;t &s;ay they plea&s;e not; before the &s;unne and moone, and &s;tarres be darke.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly the rea&s;ons of this gene|rall &s;uffering of all creatures. The fir&s;t, that as, vvhen man the le&s;&s;er world, is to be di&s;&s;olued, hee &s;uffereth tho&s;e cruell fits and conuul&s;ions of his whole body and &s;oule; &s;o this greater world or vniuer&s;e drawing to its la&s;t &amp; fatall period, cannot but feele the &s;ame shakings: her eyes, that is, the Sunne and moone mu&s;t needs grow darke: her bre&s;t, that is, the earth and &s;ea mu&s;t heaue and &s;well; and her armes and leggs, that is, heauen and earth cannot but tremble with thunder &amp; earth-quakes. The &s;econd, for that the lo&s;&s;e and damnation of men created to glo|rie &amp; redeemed with the bloud of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, is a thing &s;o worthy of pitty and &s;orrow, that the Deity it &s;elfe were it &s;ubiect to &s;uch pa&s;&s;ions, would grieue and lament their di&s;a&s;ter, and the|refore his will is, that all creatures lament and mourne for them. The third, for that all crea|tures both of heauen and earth which now &s;er|ue and attend, by Gods commandment mans profit and plea&s;ure, mu&s;t then &s;tand vp, &amp; fight for their God again&s;t his &s;infull &amp; vngratefull creatures, according to that. <HI>Et pugnabit cum illo orbis terrarum contra in&s;en&s;atos. And the round vvorld shall fight vvith him again&s;t the &s;en&s;le&s;&s;e:</HI></P>
<PB N="58" REF="43">
<P> Conclude two things, the fir&s;t, a feeling feare &amp; &s;orrow for the ruine of &s;o many noble &s;oules? the &s;econd, a horrour to thinke that God him|&s;elfe with all his creatures shall one day reuenge the wrongs, he now patiently beares, and for|beares from the hands of &s;inners.</P>
<P>Con&s;ider fourtly, what the end will be, where &s;uch terrours fore runne: at la&s;t there shall come an vniuer&s;all deluge of fire, &s;o great, &s;o violent, that it shall carry and de&s;troy all before it, without rubbe or re&s;i&s;tance: then shall be turned into ashes all the va&s;t buildings and Pa|laces of the world; then shall all the rocky bull|warkes, and marble pillars fall to du&s;t: then shall all the riches, gold, &s;iluer, diamonds, and pre|cious &s;tones vanish into &s;moke and ayre: then shall dye all men and bea&s;ts of the earth, ayre &amp; &s;ea: then finally shall cea&s;e, and be at a &s;tand all the motion of the heauens, of Sunne, moone &amp; &s;tarres, &amp; what&s;oeuer on them depends. Behold, this is the finall end, the fatall period of this &s;o much beloued, &s;o much adored world; thus fa|deth all its glorie, pompe, riches, plea&s;ures; and forfaketh its courtiers, when they haue mo&s;t need of helpe, &ocirc; glittering shadow! &ocirc; pain|ted bubble!</P>
<P>Conclude out of all, to follow our Sauiours coun&s;ell vpon this very matter Luc. 21. <HI>Atten|dite vobis, ne fort&egrave; grauentur corda ve&s;tra in era|pula &amp; ebrietate &amp; curis huius vitae; &amp; &s;uperue|niat in vos repentina dies illa; tauquam laqueus enim &s;uperueniet in omnes, qui &s;edent &s;uper faciem
<PB N="59" REF="43">omnis terrae. Uigilate itaque omni tempore orantes, vt digni habeamini fugere i&s;ta omnia quae futura &s;unt, &amp; stare ante filium hominis Looke vvel to your &s;elues, le&s;t perhaps your hartes be ouercharged vvith &s;urfetting, and drunkenne&s;&s;e, and cares of this life; and that day come vpon you &s;odenly; for as a &s;nare shall it come vpon all that &s;it vpon the face of all the earth. VVatch therefore, praying at all times, that you may be accounted vvorthie to e&s;cape all the&s;e things that are to come, and to &s;tand before the &s;onne of man.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>Of the generall Re&s;urrestion and comming of the Iudge.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how the world being fi|nished and reduced into the foure fir&s;t elements; an Archangell shall &s;ound the trumpet, and rai&s;e his voice with a <HI>Surgite mortui, &amp; venite ad iudicium: ri&s;e you dead and come to iudgment.</HI> A voice &s;o shrill, that it shall be heard ouer the whole world, nay pierce the highe&s;t heauens and the deepe&s;t hell: and &s;o powerfull al&s;o, that all the &s;oules, that euer were created, shall &s;uddenly, without de|lay, obey the call; and vniting them&s;elues euery one to her owne proper and indiuiduall body, shall all meet in the Uale of Io&s;aphat. O the om|nipotent power of our great God! which is able to rai&s;e &s;uch a multitude of bodyes, &s;o many
<PB N="60" REF="44">wayes, &s;o many ages agoe con&s;umed and tur|ned into a thou&s;and changes; &s;o that not the lea&s;t bone, nerue, or &s;inew shall be wanting to any one. And what an admiration will it cau&s;e in the &s;onnes of Adam, to &s;ee &s;uch a multitu|de together, all of the &s;ame and equall condi|tion, without any difference of poore or rich, ma&s;ter or &s;eruant, king or &s;ubiect; except onely that of the good and bad, which shall be won|derfull and eternall?</P>
<P>Conclude to obey now with prompt dili|gence another like &s;ummon of S. Paul the trumpet of the holy Gho&s;t: <HI>Surge qui dormis &amp; exurge &agrave; mortuis, &amp; illuminabit te Chri&s;tus: ri&s;e, thou that &s;leepest, and ari&s;e from the dead: and Christ vvill illuminate thee.</HI> Ri&s;e from &s;inne and &s;en&s;uality to a vertuous and &s;pirituall life, which is the fir&s;t re&s;urrection, that &s;o the &s;e|cond may be to thy comfort and ioy.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly the happy condition of the good and pious &s;oules in this re&s;urrection &amp; reunion with their bodyes, which shall ari&s;e mo&s;t glorious, immortall, impa&s;&s;ible, more be|autifull then the &s;tarres, more re&s;plendent then the Sunne. O with what ioy and content will the happy &s;oule enter into &s;uch a body? what embraces, what congratulations will there pa&s;&s;e betweene &s;o &s;weet a couple? ble&s;&s;ed be thou my body, will the &s;oule &s;ay, for helping me to gaine this glorie, by &s;ubmitting thy &s;elfe to mortifica|tions, fa&s;tings, di&s;ciplines, and other acts of pe|nance; mo&s;t iu&s;t it is, that thou partake of my
<PB N="61" REF="44">glorie and happines. Behold the bodyes of Mar|tyrs, rent, torne, burnt, deuoured by wild bea&s;ts &amp;c. now more shining, then any orientall pearle, more florishing and glittering then any Rubie; more &s;olid &amp; impa&s;&s;ible, then any dia|mond. See al&s;o tho&s;e of Confe&s;&s;ours, Virgins, Doctours, &s;o beautifull, &s;o glorious, that no tongue is able to expre&s;&s;e it. O happy penances, au&s;terities, afflictions, which haue de&s;erued &s;o great glorie and immortalitie!</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly the altogether contrarie condition of the damned: their bodyes immor|tall, tis true, but onely that they may &s;uffer im|mortall torments: foule, black, filthy, heauy as lead, rotten and &s;tinking, as when halfe corrup|ted in the graue: &s;o that tis none of the lea&s;tpai|nes for the &s;oule to enter and be shut vp for euer in &s;o loath&s;ome and horrid a dungeon. What de&s;peration, what cur&s;es and execrations will pa&s;&s;e betwixt the&s;e two vnfortunate &amp; wret|ched companions? Accur&s;ed body, quoth the &s;oule, that to feed, pamper and plea&s;ure thee, haue ca&s;t both my &s;elfe and thee into the&s;e euer|la&s;ting torments: nay rather thou accur&s;ed &s;ou|le, quoth the body, that hauing the rule and power ouer me in thy hand and knowing my naturall and prone inclination to &s;en&s;uality, did&s;t not gouerne &amp; &s;ubiect me as thou oughte&s;t to the rule of rea&s;on and pietie. The&s;e and &s;uch like are to be their morning and euening &s;alu|tations for all Eternitie.</P>
<P>Conclude which of the&s;e two &s;tates &amp; con|ditions
<PB N="62" REF="45">thou do&s;t like be&s;t; for now free leaue is giuen thee to chu&s;e either: I thinke no man will con&s;ult much vpon the choice: wherefore re|&s;olue to rule, mortifie, and &s;ubiect the pa&s;&s;ions and appetites of thy body in this life, that in the next they may be a comfort and bli&s;&s;e, one to the other: and when&s;oeuer the body shall offer to rebell, checke it with repre&s;enting the two &s;tates of the next world.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly the terrour &amp; maie&s;ty of our. B Sauiour, coming to iudgement: fir&s;t shall appeare in the ayre the &s;tandard of the holy cro&s;&s;e, to the comfort of the good, and terrour of the wicked: next shall come all the nine Qui|res of Angells in their orders, and all the Pa|triarchs, Apo&s;tles and Saints both of the Old and New Te&s;tament; la&s;t with mo&s;t infinite &s;plen|dour &amp; maie&s;ty shall appeare the Sonne of man Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, like an other Salomon with his ble&s;&s;ed Mother &s;eated on his right hand; not then to begge for &s;inners, as now she doth, but ioyntly to condemne tho&s;e, who would not make v&s;e of her interce&s;&s;ion. O what a ioyfull fight will this bee to the iu&s;t, and tho&s;e that are already &s;ecured of their &s;aluation? but how ter|rible to the wicked? the flames of hell are more &s;ufferable, then the inflamed countenance of the angry iudge: then would they, if they could, hide them&s;elues in rockes and caues, in the center of the earth, in hell it &s;elfe, rather then abide this encounter: then will they cry to the mountaines and rockes; <HI>Cadite &s;uper nos, &amp;
<PB N="63" REF="45">ab&s;condite nos &agrave; facie &s;edentis &s;uper thronum, &amp; ab ira Agni, quoniam venit dies magnus irae ip&s;o|rum. Fall vpon vs, and hide vs from the face of him that &s;itteth vpon the throne, and from the vvrath of the lambe, becau&s;e the great day of theire wrath is come.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude &s;eriou&s;ly to embrace the vertue of of humility; for this it vvas, that rai&s;ed our Sa|uiour to this dignity of iudging: begge of him this vertue, and that he vvill haue mercy on thee at that day.</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fiftly, how at command of the Iud|ge, the holy Angells pa&s;&s;e through all that va&s;t multitude, ch&uuml;&s;e and picke out the good &amp; iu&s;t from among the bad; &amp; place them on the right hand of the iudge, leauing the re&s;t on the left; neuer to meet or liue together any more for all Eternitie. O vvhat furie, vvhat confu&s;ion and enuy vvill po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e and torture the &s;oules of the vvicked, e&s;pecially tho&s;e of Princes, Potentates, and rich per&s;ons in this vvorld, to &s;ee them&s;el|ues &s;o contemned, and the poore and &s;imple &s;o exalted? then vvill they groane and cry out: <HI>Hi &s;unt, quos habuimus aliquando in deri&s;um &amp; in &s;imilits. dinem improperij: nos in&s;en&s;ati, vitam illorum ae&s;timabamus in&s;aniam &amp; finem illorum &s;ine honore: ecce quomodo computati &s;unt inter fi|lios Dei, &amp; inter Sanctos &s;ors illorum est? ergo er|rauimus a via veritatis &amp;c. The&s;e are they whom vve had &s;ometime in deri&s;ion, and in a parable of reproch: vve &s;en&s;ele&s;&s;e e&s;teemed their life madnes, &amp; their end vvithout honour behold hovv they are
<PB N="64" REF="46">counted among&s;t the children of God, and their lot is among&s;t the &s;aints? vve therefore haue erred from the vvay of truth &amp;c.</HI> On the contrary, vvhat ioy and content vvill the good haue, to &s;ee them&s;elues &s;o honoured by God and his An|gells, in the &s;ight of the vvhole vvorld, that is heauen, earth and hell.</P>
<P>Conclude to bend all thy endeauours in this vvorld, that thou mai&s;t de&s;erue to be placed on the right hand, at that great meeting: nothing vvill &s;o enrich thee then, as voluntary pouerty now; nothing &s;o exalt thee then, as humilitie, <HI>Nam qui &s;e humiliat, exaltabitur: becau&s;o euerie one that humbleth him&s;elfe shall be exalted:</HI> learne therefore pouerty and humilitie.</P>
<P N="6">6. Con&s;ider &s;ixthly, how pre&s;ently vvill be o|pened the booke of con&s;cienc&eacute;s, vvherein shall appeare to all, that are pre&s;ent, that is, to all the Angells and men both good and bad, that euer haue been created, the thoughts, vvords, and deeds of euery one in particular; &s;o clearly and di&s;tinctly as if all vvere vvritten in their fore|heads, or in the beames of the Sunne. What glo|rie and honour vvill it be to the iu&s;t, to haue all their good vvorkes come now to light, vvhich in this vvorld they laboured to hide, and con|ceale in humble &s;ilence: and although their &s;in|nes shall be expo&s;ed to view, yet they shall be &s;o adorned and accompanied vvith holy <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">penance, that it vvill rather turne to their honour, then any &s;ort of shame or confu&s;ion. But not &s;o vvill the &s;innes of the wicked, but vgly, deformed,
<PB N="65" REF="46">and in their owne shape: &ocirc; what confu&s;ion, e&s;|pecially for tho&s;e, vvho liued here in &s;acred dig|nities, or in e&s;teeme and repute of holy and ver|tuous, to &s;ee then layed open all their hipocri|&s;ies, deceits, and other enormous crimes?</P>
<P>Conclude to haue a great care, what thou wri|te&s;t here in this &s;ayd booke, for euen &s;o shall it there appeare, if gold, gold; if inke, inke; &amp; be &s;ure of our Sauiours &s;aying, <HI>Nihil ab&s;conditum, quod non manife&s;tabitur: there is nothing hid, vvhich shall not be made manife&s;t.</HI> Jt is therefore more vvi&s;edome to refraine altogether from what thou woulde&s;t not haue knowne, then by doing it, to expo&s;e thy &s;elfe to a certaine confu|&s;ion and shame.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE THIRD MEDITATION. <HI>Of the forme of Iudgement and the &s;entence that follvveth.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how the account here to be made, and the examination to be ta|ken will not be done in gro&s;&s;e, and in generall termes onely, as &s;ome may imagine; &s;umming vp the great &s;innes and leauing out the le&s;&s;er: but it will be mo&s;t exact and in par|ticular of euery thought, vvord, and deed, as it shall appeare in the booke of con&s;ciences, and more in the great Regi&s;ter of God and booke of life. This our Sauiour forewarneth in the 12. of S. Mathew: <HI>Dico autem vobis, quoniam omne
<PB N="66" REF="47">verbum ocio&s;um, quod locuti fuerint homines, red|dent racionem de eo in die iudicij. But I &s;ay vnto you that euery idle vvord that men shall &s;peake, they shall render an account for it in the day of iudgement.</HI> This made holy Iob euer tremble at the thought of this day, <HI>Quid faciam cum &s;ur|rexerit ad iudicandum Deus? &amp; cum quae&s;ierit, quid re&s;pondebo illi? non enim potero ei re&s;pondere vnum pro mille: vvhat shall I doe, vvhen God shall ri&s;e to iudge? and vvhen he shall aske; vvhat shall I an&s;vver him? for I can not an&s;vver him one for a thou&s;and:</HI> and againe; <HI>Si fortitudo quae|ritur; robusti&s;&s;imus est; &s;i aequitas iudicij, nemo audet pro me te&s;timonium dicere: if &s;trength be demauned, he is mo&s;t strong: if equitie of iudge|ment, noe man dare giue testimonie for me:</HI> So that his finall re&s;olution<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s, <HI>Si habuero quicquam iu&s;tum, non re&s;pondebo, &s;ed meum iudicem depre|cabor. All though I haue any iust thing, I vvill not an&s;vver, but vvill be&s;eech my iudge.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude thou to doe the &s;ame, and to make now a rigorous and exact examen of all thy a|ctions, and this <HI>In amaritudiue animae tuae: in the bitterne&s;&s;e of thy &s;oule,</HI> for this onely preuention is able to &s;aue thee; for as S. Paul &s;ayeth, <HI>Si nos met ip&s;os di judicaremus, non vtique iudicaremur; if vve did iudge our &s;elues, vve should not he iud|ged,</HI> To our shame, viz: or hurt. This holy Da|uid ob&s;erued, and then prayed vnto God; <HI>Feci iudicium &amp; iu&s;titiam, nou tradas me calumnian|tibus me. J haue doue iudgement and iu&s;tice, deli|uer me not to them that calumniate me.</HI></P>
<P N="2"><PB N="67" REF="47"> 2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly; that the fir&s;t que&s;tion &amp; interrogatory will be, how we haue imployed our &s;oule, with all her powers created to Gods image, &amp; redeemed with the bloud of his onely Sonne: and how our body vvith all its members, giuen to execute the externall acts of vertue. The &s;econd, what, v&s;e and profit wee haue made of all the gifts of God, both naturall and &s;uperna|turall; of the life, health, &s;trength, and vnder|&s;tanding, he hath giuen vs: of all the fauours and graces be&s;towed on vs; of all the illumina|tions: in&s;pirations and mouings to good: of all his benefits, and Sacraments, where vvith he euer fed vs; and finally of the precious bloud of his deare&s;t Sonne, vvith vvhich he redeemed vs. The third, how vve haue complied vvith the obligation of the &s;tate, he hath placed euery one in, as that of a &s;choller, of a Religious man, of a Prie&s;t, of a Prelat &amp;c. Now thinke vvhat a large &amp; heauy charge vvill be layed to euery one, and how many vvill be able to cleare them&s;elues.</P>
<P>Conclude, hovv nece&s;&s;ary it is to haue our eyes open, and to ob&s;erue vvell, vvhat vve &s;ay, doe, &amp; thinke: and daylie to be&s;eech our Iudge, to haue then mercy on vs; for now he vvill heare vs for then, but then he vvill be inexorable.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly how the examinations taken, and the proce&s;&s;e concluded; the iudge cometh to giue the la&s;t and definitiue &s;entence, vvhich vvithout appeale shall &s;tand for Eterni|ty: and fir&s;t turning him&s;elfe towards the iu&s;t vvith a mo&s;t amiable countenance, inuiteth
<PB N="68" REF="48">them vvith: <HI>Uenite benedicti Patris mei, po&s;&s;i|dete paratum vobis regnum &agrave; con&s;titutione mun|di. Come ye ble&s;&s;ed of my father, po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the vvorld.</HI> O what comfort, vvhat ioy, vvhat glorie vvill this be to the iu&s;t, to &s;ee them&s;elues novv &s;etled and &s;ecured in the Eternall bli&s;&s;e &amp; fruition of God? and againe vvhat confu&s;ion, &amp; raging enuy to the vvicked, to &s;ee their old ac|quaintance, friends and Kindred &s;o exalted, &amp; honoured vvith the company of God and his Angells, and them&s;elues reiected, contemned, ca&s;t out? Again&s;t vvhom the Iudge vvith &s;ire in his eyes, and terrour in his countenance, thun|dereth out this horrid doome: <HI>Di&s;cedite &agrave; me maledicti in ignem aternum, qui paratus e&s;t dia|bolo &amp; Angelis eius. Get ye avvay from me you cur&s;ed into &s;ire euerla&s;ting, vvhich vvas prepared for the deuil, and his Angels.</HI> O good God, whe|ther shall they goe, vvhen they goe from thee, their God, their Creatour, their Redeemer, their la&s;t end and <HI>Su<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">num bonum? there chiefe good, and finall happine&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>Conclud vvith a twofold re&s;olution; the one, to &s;pare no labour now, nor yeeld to any diffi|culties, for the &s;ecuring and gaining to thy &s;elfe the happy &s;entence of the iu&s;t: the other, neuer to &s;eparate thy &s;elfe here from Chri&s;t by mor|tall &s;inne, lea&s;t then he doe the like to thee for euer.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, how the &s;entence is no &s;ooner giuen, but put in execution; for the earth
<PB N="69" REF="48">will &s;uddenly open, &amp; &s;wallow vp at once all that confu&s;ed ma&s;&s;e of damned men &amp; diuells; <HI>Et clau&s;a est ianua, and the gate is shut,</HI> neuer more to be opened for Eternity. What doe we thinke, will tho&s;e a thou&s;and-times vnhappy creatures doe, finding them&s;elues shut vp body and &s;oule in the dark&s;ome dungeons of hell, without euer hoping for any ea&s;e redre&s;&s;e or re|medy, as long, as God shall be God? then will they rent &amp; teare them&s;elues, out of de&s;paire &amp; madne&s;&s;e: then will they cur&s;e their father and mother, kindred and whole world: then will they bla&s;pheme God and all his Saints: then shall they cry for death, but find no other then this neuerdying. O &s;wete&s;t Ie&s;u, who did&s;t hang on the cro&s;&s;e for me; cha&s;ti&s;e me here, as thou plea&s;e&s;t, but free me then from &s;uch a damna|tion. On the other &s;ide, the earth leueled into a Paradi&s;e, and the Sunne, moone &amp; &s;tarres &s;et in order, shall Chri&s;t mount the skies, rounded with all that ble&s;&s;ed company: where &s;orrow neuer enters, nor ioyes cea&s;e.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>THE FIFTH CHAPTER, <HI>Of the painos of Hell and Purgatorie.</HI></HEAD>
<P>NOtwi&s;tanding the common &s;aying; <HI>Ode|re peccare mali formidine paenae; the ill hate &s;inne for feare of punishment:</HI> many holy Saints, as S. Hierome, and others, haue v&s;ed the con&s;ideration of the paines of hell, to &s;tirre
<PB N="70" REF="49">them&s;elues vp to the dete&s;tation of &s;inne, &amp; to the workes of pennance and au&s;terity: whereas therefore loue &amp; feare are the two &s;purres, wee mu&s;t v&s;e to encourage our heauy nature, and feare the fir&s;t for beginners, let vs ponder the chiefe obiect of feare, which is paine.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FIRST MEDITATION. <HI>Of the paines of Hell in common.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that as it is &s;aid of the ioyes of heauen. <HI>Nec oculus vidit, nec auris audiuit, nec in cor hominis a&s;cendit, quod praeparauit Deus diligentibus &s;e; neither the eie hath &s;eene nor eare hath heard, neither hath it a&s;|cended in to the hart of man, vvhat God hath prepared for them that loue him.</HI> So of the paines of hell it may be as truely &s;ayd, that neither the eyes nor heart of man can conceiue or ima|gine them. Some ri&s;en from death, and others in vi&s;ions haue &s;een them, who affirme that all the tortures and torments imaginable in this world, are but toyes and trifles in re&s;pect of the lea&s;t of tho&s;e, and that they had rather &s;uffer all the&s;e together till the day of iudgement, then the lea&s;t in hell for a day. Diuines define beati|tude a perfect, and neuer-ending &s;tate of all that is good, without the lea&s;t mixture of ill, or con|trariety: if damnation therefore be the oppo&s;ite &s;tate and condition, it mu&s;t needs be an euer|la&s;ting deluge of all that is ill, without the lea&s;t glimp&s;e of good, ea&s;e or comfort; a <HI>chaos</HI> of all
<PB N="71" REF="49">mi&s;erie, and a totall priuation of good. The af|flictions of this world, come but one by one, &amp; after a time end, at lea&s;t vvith death, but the paines of hell come all together, and endure for eternitie.</P>
<P>Conclude and conceiue a whole&s;ome feare of hell, which may withdraw thee from &s;inne, which onely can bring thee thither: and won|der at the blind &s;ecuritie of worldlings, fea|ring the &s;ting of a gnat and laughing at the fire of hell.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, a poore &s;ick man bur|ning with a pe&s;tilent feauer, together with an vniuer&s;all paine through out his whole body; his brea&s;t on fire, his head rent a &s;under, his eyes ready to fly out. his teeth raging, his &s;ides pier|ced with &s;titches, as with &s;words or kniues; his feet, and ioynts racked with the gout; &amp; finally his heart euen bur&s;ting with anguish: and hee crying out for one drop of water to coole his tongue: vvhat heart vvould not relent and melt with compa&s;&s;ion of &s;uch a &s;ight? And yet this poore creature might haue &s;ome mixture of ea&s;e and comfort; as a bed to lie in, a friend to comfort him, and grieue for him; a good con|&s;cience to ea&s;e him, and a vvill re&s;igned to God: finally, that the&s;e torments vvould once end, at lea&s;t with death. But in hell are millions of tor|ments together without the lea&s;t fancie of comfort: for his bed a fiery cauldron of lead &amp; brim&s;tone; for his companions, tormenting de|uills; his &s;oule racked with &s;inne, his will in a
<PB N="72" REF="50">perpetuall hatred of God: and finally without all hope that euer his paines shall end, or relent.</P>
<P>Conclude &s;eriou&s;ly, to doe for the auoyding of the&s;e torments, what thou or any prudent man vvould, to free him&s;elfe from the &s;ad con|dition of our &s;ick man: vvhich if thou doe, thou may&s;t be confident and &s;ecure.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, that God in all his attri|butes is infinite, and as vvee may &s;ay, euery vvay a God; as in vvi&s;edome, in povver, in goodnes, in mercy, in iu&s;tice: hee is a God as vvell in hell, as in heauen; as vvell in cha&s;ti&s;ing the ob&s;tinate, as in revvarding the penitent: noe vvonder then if S. Paul &s;ayd, <HI>Horrendum est incidere in manus Dei viuentis; it is horrible to fall into the hands of the liuing God.</HI> Who onely hath povver and skill to punish the foulene&s;&s;e of &s;inne, as it de&s;erueth. By the vvorkes of his mercy here, vvee may mea&s;ure, vvhat vvill be the effects of his iu|&s;tice then: by his mercy vvee &s;ee his onely Son|ne become man, expo&s;ed to torments &amp; death for vs; by his mercy he pardoneth the greate&s;t &s;innes, for the lea&s;t act of true &s;orrovv; by mer|cy he expecteth, and re-expecteth the conuer|&s;ion of a &s;inner to the la&s;t ga&s;pe, neuer leauing to in&s;pire &amp; inuite him therevnto: vvhat novv can vvee thinke his iu&s;tice, his anger, &amp; vvrath vvill be tovvards the ob&s;tinate and impenitent? certainely to reuenge his Sonnes death, and his ovvne contempt, mo&s;t grieuous and terrible.</P>
<P>Conclude a timely repentance out of the&s;e vvords of S. Paul; <HI>An diuitias bonitatis eius, &amp;
<PB N="73" REF="50">patientiae, &amp; longanimitatis contemnis? ignoras, quoniam benignitas Dei ad paenitentiam te addu|cit? &s;ecundum autem duritiem tuam &amp; impaeni|tens cor the&s;aurizas tibi iram in die ira, &amp;c. dost thou conte~ne the riches of his goodne&s;&s;e, &amp; patience; &amp; longanimitie, not knovving that the benignitie of God bringeth thee to penance? but according to thy hardne&s;&s;e, and impenitent hart, thou heapest to thy &s;elfe vvrath in the day of vvrath &amp;c.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>Of the exteriour paines of hell.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, the de&s;cription of hell out of holy Job: <HI>Terra tenebro&s;a, &amp; operta mortis caligine; terra mi&s;eriae, &amp; tenebru|rum, vbi vmbra mortis, &amp; nullus ordo, &s;ed &s;empi|ternus horror inhabitat. The darke land, that is couered vvith the mist of death: the land of mi&s;e|ri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> and darkne&s;&s;e, vvhere is the shadovv of death, and noe order but euerla&s;ting horrour inhabiteth.</HI> A va&s;t, darke and hideous caue, below in the bowells or center of the earth, &s;o shutt vpon all &s;ides, that no beame of light, or breath of ayre hath euer entered there: all filled with a thick &amp; mo&s;t &s;tinking flame of brim&s;tone, like a fornace of burning gla&s;&s;e, Iron, or other &s;uch mettall: a pond or lake of fire, as the Scripture calleth it, which by diuine power tormenteth euen &s;pirits and &s;oules. A caue full of horrour, &s;tench and darknes; for that fire lighteth no further, then to
<PB N="74" REF="51">torment the &s;ight with vgly shapes &amp; figures: nothing is there to be heard, but the in&s;ulting clamours of the tormentours, and the shrikes, cryes, howlings, gnashing of teeth, cur&s;es and bla&s;phemies of the poore tormented pri&s;oners, &s;mothered &amp; crouded vp in tho&s;e eternally tor|menting flames.</P>
<P>Conclude to liue alwayes in feare of this dun|geon; and at the a&s;&s;ault of &s;inne, a&s;&s;wage the re|bellion of thy pa&s;&s;ions with this demand of I&s;aias: <HI>Quis poterit habitare cum igne deuorante? quis habitabit cum ardoribus &s;empiternis? vvho can dvvell vvith deuouring fyre? vvho shall dvvel vvith euerlasting heats?</HI> and re&s;olue, neuer to aduenture the fire of hell till thou can&s;t &s;uffer thy finger in the flame of a candle.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how euery &s;en&s;e shall haue its particular torment and paine: the eye shall &s;ee nothing but the shapes of Deuills, and other horrid &s;pectacles, fleeting vp and downe in tho&s;e shady and dark&s;ome flames. The eare shall euer re&s;ound with cryes, groanes, how|lings, gnashing of teeth, cur&s;ing of one an other, &amp; bla&s;pheming of their Creatour. The ta&s;t shall be tormented with an vn&s;peakable hunger and thir&s;t: neither hath the rich glutton obtained yet that drop of water to coole his tongue, which hee hath &s;o long begged of his father Abraham. Be&s;ides this, the Scripture &s;ayth; they shall be drenched with the bitterne&s;&s;e of wormewood &amp; the gall of dragons. The &s;mell shall be alwayes filled with mo&s;t noy&s;ome &s;tenches &amp; pe&s;tilent
<PB N="75" REF="51">&s;mells. But the touch, that la&s;t and generall &s;en|&s;e, shall be continually to&s;&s;ed betwixt the two extremes of heat &amp; cold, fire and yce; a torment not to be conceiued: next the bitings of &s;erpents and adders, the &s;corpion-&s;tripes and lashes of the deuills, and the heauy and pre&s;&s;ing load of chai|nes and shackles, shall neuer cea&s;e, nor giue one minute of re&s;pite.</P>
<P>Conclude to attend a little, &amp; giue eare to the confu&s;ed lamentations of tho&s;e wretches; &ocirc; ac|cur&s;ed tongues, that shall neuer vtter but bla&s;|phemies! &ocirc; mi&s;erable eares, that shall neuer heare but groanes and howlings! &ocirc; eyes, &ocirc; bo|dy, that shal neuer &s;ee, neuer feele, but eternall mi&s;eries for &s;o short plea&s;ures &amp;c!</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, that as good company is a great comfort to men in affliction, &s;o nothing is more mi&s;erable, then odious, in&s;ulting &amp; ha|tefull companions. See then, how thou can&s;t pa&s;&s;e eternity in company of Deuills, inueterate enemies to mankind; reuenging and wreaking on him the hatred they beare to God; and vpon the damned at their full and plea&s;ure, hauing them vnder &s;ure hold, as gally-&s;laues. Moreouer the hatred, that the damned there beare one the other is vn&s;peakable; no re&s;pect there of per|&s;ons, blood, kindred or acquaintance; all bla&s;|pheme God and his Saints, and cur&s;e, rent, and teare one another; &s;ubjects their Princes, chil|dren their parents, wiues their husbands: and e&s;pecially tho&s;e, that haue &s;inned here together, and been the occa&s;ion of their mutuall damna|tion;
<PB N="76" REF="52">&ocirc; what rancour, vvhat bitternes, what gall will they &s;pit at one the other? and yet mu&s;t needs be fellowes and companions for eternity: &ocirc; mi&s;erie, that shall neuer &s;ee the face of a friend to pitty him!</P>
<P>Conclude to be a louer and procurer of peace to thy vttermo&s;t endeauour; <HI>Sic enim filius Det vocaberis: for &s;oe theu shalt be called the &s;onne of God.</HI> And be &s;ure to contract no friend ships at all, but grounded on true and fincere, vertue and loue of God; for that all other are in them&s;elues both fickle and vncon&s;tant, and in the end turne to iealou&s;ies, di&s;contents and hatred: let vs the|refore loue now, that wee may loue euer.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE THIRD MEDITATION. <HI>Of the interiour paines of the &s;oule.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that the interiour anguish and torment of a &s;oule in hell, is wi|thout compari&s;on greater, then all tho|&s;e of the body; though but few can imagine it &s;o. Fir&s;t therefore, the vnder&s;tanding vvill be imployed in nothing but in fal&s;e and erroneous iudgements of God and his iu&s;tice, condemning him of partiality in damning them and &s;auing others; of cruelty in punishing them &s;o grie|uou&s;ly for &s;o &s;mall and light &s;innes; of hatred al|&s;o and ill vvill, in not giuing them grace to re|pent, as ea&s;ily he might; and a thou&s;and other bla&s;phemous iudgements, vvithout re&s;t or ea&s;e.
<PB N="77" REF="52">Next the memory repre&s;enteth euer, &amp; compa|reth the pa&s;&s;ed plea&s;ures vvith the pre&s;ent tor|ments; the breuity of tho&s;e, vvith the eternall durance of the&s;e. Hence proceedeth that <HI>Vermis con&s;cientiae, qui nunquam moritur: the vvorme &amp; remor&s;e of con&s;cience vvhich neuer dies:</HI> which is a de&s;pitefull &amp; raging de&s;paire, a repentance &amp; &s;orrow vvithout truit; a fad and &s;ullen me|lancholy, con&s;idering vvhat they haue lo&s;t, and for vvhat they haue lo&s;t it; and the oportunities, they had not to lo&s;e it, but to haue gained and &s;ecured all vvith little paines; &s;eeing on the other &s;ide, that others of their friends &amp; compa|nions haue made v&s;e of Gods fauours, and gai|ned vvhat they haue lo&s;t: hence they bur&s;t out into an enuy again&s;t their companions, rage and fury vvith them&s;elues, and cur&s;es again&s;t all they know.</P>
<P>Conclude to lay hold on time, &amp; Gods grace, vvhile thou mai&s;t haue it; &amp; aske god pardon for thy negligence hetherto, in lo&s;ing &s;o much.</P>
<P N="2">2. Confider &s;econdly, how the vvill is obdu|rate &amp; ob&s;tinate in the affection of &s;inne; to&s;&s;ed vvith a thou&s;and de&s;ires, not able to accomplish any one, hating and bitterly cur&s;ing her God &amp; Creatour, vvhom she vvas made to loue and ble&s;&s;e; enuying him &amp; his Saints their beatitude &amp; glory: and vvishing nothing more, then that she could pull God dovvne from his throne of maie&s;ty: but &s;eeing her&s;elfe inferiour to &s;uch a reuenge, all her rage and fury falleth on her owne head. The inferiour and &s;en&s;itiue appetite
<PB N="78" REF="53">is mi&s;erably rent a&s;under with whole troopes of mo&s;t violent, and withall contrary pa&s;&s;ions, as of feares and frights, &s;adne&s;&s;e, hatred, fury; enuy, longings, &amp; heauy de&s;paires of obtaining any thing. The fancy and imagination are per|petually po&s;e&s;&s;ed with a thou&s;and horrid &s;pecta|cles, mon&s;trous shapes, and vgly shadowes of wilde bea&s;ts, dragons, lions, &amp;c. &s;o that, the whole &s;oule is a hell to her &s;elfe, and by the&s;e in|teriour di&s;orders her owne cruell executioner.</P>
<P>Conclude, for the auoyding of the&s;e mi&s;e|ries, to imploy thy will here in the loue of thy God; to bridle thy appetites and &s;ubdue them to rea&s;on; and to accu&s;tome thy imagination to pious and holy obiects: for as wee doe here ha|bituate them, &s;o shall they doe or &s;uffer in the next world.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, that all the torments hitherto mentioned, are nothing in compari|&s;on of the <HI>Paena damni,</HI> that is <HI>an eternall priua|tion of our last end,</HI> for which wee are created, &amp; to which our nature carrieth vs, like a &s;tone to the center: a perpetuall banishment from the face of God, the e&s;&s;entiall obiect of beatitude; from the court of heauen &amp; the company of the ble&s;&s;ed Angells &amp; Saints. O if wee could appre|hend aright, what it is neuer to &s;ee God, our vniuer&s;all and infinite good, the ayme and butt of all our de&s;ires: and who&s;e want con&s;equent|ly, mu&s;t needs be an infinite euill, a priuation of all, that can be imagined good: and if this be &s;uch a paine for all in generall, what will it be
<PB N="79" REF="53">for Chri&s;tians, who by faith haue had a greater knowledge of this good, and by hope haue been nigher vnto it? and how far greater for Prelates, Prie&s;ts &amp; Religious men, who by their &s;acred functions and vowes haue, as it were, ra&s;ted &s;o|mewhat of this &s;weet, and who&s;e hands <HI>Qua&s;i contrectaueru~t de verbo vitae? haue as it were euen handled of the vvord of life,</HI> a thou&s;and hells, ac|cording to &s;aint Chry&s;o&s;tome, ioyned in one, cannot parallel this onely &s;eparation from the &s;ight of God.</P>
<P>Conclude therefore to lo&s;e all, and to be de|priued of all, rather then of God: pray that all the mi&s;eries of this world and torments of the next, may come vpon thee, &s;o thou may e&s;cape this one; <HI>Fac me, Domine, tuis &s;emper inhaerere mandatis &amp; &agrave; te numquam &s;eparari parmittas. Amen. Make me, &ocirc; Lord, allvvayes to abide in thy commaundements, and neuer permit me to be &s;eperated from thee, Amen.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourrhly, that how grieuous &s;oeuer the torments are, yet &s;ome &s;mall com|fort would it be, if either there were any re&s;pi|te, or di&s;continuance of them; or at lea&s;t, that once they would haue an end: but alas! neither is in hell to be expected; any truce, or ce&s;&s;ation of torments, no nor change but to a greater tor|ment: neither doth here, as in other things, v&s;e and cu&s;tome any way a&s;&s;wage the &s;mart, or obdurate the &s;en&s;es again&s;t the paines; but after ten hundred thou&s;and yeares of &s;uffering, the feeling will be as fresh &amp; sharpe, as it was the
<PB N="80" REF="54">fir&s;t day or houre. But, which is mo&s;t fearefull of all to thinke on, the durance of them shall be for euer and eternall without end; as long as God shall be God, shall the&s;e paines endure in their full vigour &amp; &s;trength; this shall the dam|ned know &amp; neuer cea&s;e to thinke on. O feare|full Eternitie, who can comprehend thee? who can looke beyond thee? count ten millions of yeares for euery &s;tarre in the skye, for euery moat in the Sunne, for euery &s;and in the &s;ea; &amp; shall the&s;e tormenrs then come to an end and expire? &ocirc; nothing le&s;&s;e: they shall then beginne afresh and runne ouer the &s;ayd millions a mil|lion of times for euer.</P>
<P>Conclude to imprint well in thy memory this eternity, it will arme thy patience in the way of vertue, and again&s;t the short plea&s;ures of &s;inne.</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly, or rather conclude out of what hath hitherto been con&s;idered; fir&s;t a &s;trong re&s;olution to prepare for this day of eter|nitie, that neuer hath night: fir&s;t by purging thy &s;oule from all mortall &s;inne by true penance &amp; confe&s;&s;ion; for hell can &s;wallow nothing, but what is infected with mortall &s;inne: this done, and all &s;ecured for what is pa&s;t; then carefully prouide for the future by mortification and the practi&s;e of a vertuous life; hauing alwayes be|fore thy eyes, the eternity of paines on the one &s;ide; and this will &s;trengthen the again&s;t the la|bours and difficulties of vertue; &amp; on the other fide, how few there are, that e&s;cape them; <HI>Multi vocati, pauci electi: many are called, fevv
<PB N="81" REF="54">dect.</HI> This vvill worke in thee a watchfull fea|re: were there but one in ten thou&s;and to be lo&s;t, how should I feare, le&s;t I should be that man? Secondly, wonder and admire the &s;tupid negli|gence of mo&s;t Chri&s;tians, who beleeuing that euery mortall &s;inne carrieth to hell, yet commit them with that facility as they doe; and liue ne|uerthele&s;&s;e &s;ecurely without feare!</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="4" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FOVRTH MEDITATION. <HI>Of the paines of Purgatorie.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that as the place of Pur|gatory is next doore to hell, &s;o all the exteriour and &s;en&s;ible torments are wholly the &s;ame, excepting the durance of them: &s;o that the greate&s;t tortures of this world are nothing in compari&s;on of tho&s;e. And al|though the interiour powers are all &s;etled, and well ordered; the vnder&s;tanding &s;etled in the light of faith; the will inflamed with the loue of god: the imagination &amp; the re&s;t all quieted: yet the pre&s;ent re&s;traint &amp; banishment from the fight of God, and the company of his Angells and Saints corre&s;pondeth, and (&s;etting apart Eternity) in &s;ome &s;ort afflicteth more inten|&s;ely, then the <HI>Paena damni the priuation of our last end,</HI> doth tho&s;e in hell: fir&s;t, becau&s;e the&s;e holy &s;oules, hauing by faith a cleare apprehen|&s;ion of Gods perfections, and by charity a mo&s;t inten&s;e loue of his Goodnes; and by con&s;e|quence a mo&s;t longing de&s;ire to be with him,
<PB N="82" REF="55">and enioy him, doe from hence &s;uffer an vn|&s;peakable anguish and paine, to be &s;o detained from him: &s;econdly, becau&s;e they know not certainely, how long this will endure; it may be for a hundred yeares, it may be till the day of iudgement.</P>
<P>Conclude to frame a different iudgement of the paines of Purgatorie, them worldlings doe? who thinke, if they e&s;cape hell, that the re&s;t is but a fleabite: endeauour al&s;o to auoyd veniall finnes, &amp; to labour to &s;atisfie for all here, at a farre eafier rate, then it can be done there.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, the rigour of Gods iu&s;tice, in cha&s;ti&s;ing &s;o terribly &s;innes &s;o light, &s;o veniall, as we e&s;teeme them; and this in the damned of hell, would be no &s;uch wonder; for they are his enemies, and ob&s;tinate in their ha|tred again&s;t him; but the&s;e poore and holy &s;ou|les are his friends and faithfull &s;eruants, re&s;ig|ned in all things to his ble&s;&s;ed will; nay with a wonderfull re&s;ignation actually thanking him, as much for this his iu&s;tice &amp; heauy hand vpon them, as for the glory and bli&s;&s;e he will shortly giue them: and yet &s;uch is his hatred to all &s;ort of &s;inne, that for no former &s;eruices done him, for no re&s;pects of pre&s;ent or future amity, will he abate the lea&s;t <HI>puntillo</HI> of his iu&s;tice, <HI>Sed &s;ol|uent v&s;que ad vltimum quadrantem. But they shall repay the la&s;t farthing.</HI> Verily, &s;etting apart the pa&s;&s;ion of our Sauiour, in no other thing doth appeare &s;o much, either the &s;euerity of Gods iu&s;tice, or the enormity of &s;inne, as
<PB N="83" REF="55">in the torments. the&s;e poore &s;oules endure in Purgatory.</P>
<P>Conclude chiefly two things; the fir&s;t, a right apprehen&s;ion of finne, how light &s;o euer it &s;eeme; with a re&s;olution to auoyd all, as much as thou can&s;t, &amp; to &s;atisfy here for them; for beleeue it, a penny here will goe further, then a pound in Purgatorie. The &s;econd is, to a&s;&s;i&s;t and &s;atisfie for the holy &s;oules by prayer and good workes, what thou can&s;t; for it is mo&s;t gratefull to God, mo&s;t profitable to thy &s;elfe, &amp; comfortable to them, who allwayes cry; <HI>Mi&s;e|remini mei, mi&s;eremini mei, &s;altem vos amici mei. Haue mercie vpon me, haue mercie vpon me, at the least you my friends.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>THE SIXT CHAPTER, <HI>Of the glorie of heauen.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THE common baite of man kind is gaine, intere&s;t, and reward; and as the feare of punishment deterreth from ill, &s;o the hope of reward allureth to paines and labour: &s;ee then the wonderfull prouidence of our good God, who as he deterreth vs from &s;inne by the feare of Hell and Purgatory, &s;o he doth encourage vs to vertue by the vn&s;peakable ioyes of heauen.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="84" REF="56">
<HEAD>THE FIRST MEDITATION. <HI>Of the glory of heauen in common.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how it is in vaine for vs to hope, that we can frame here a true conceit of the ioyes of heauen: for the Scipture telleth vs, <HI>Quod oculus non vidit, nec auris audiuit, nec in cor hominis a&s;cendit, quae praeparauit Deus ijs, qui diligunt illum: that neither the eie hath not &s;een, nor eare hath heard, neither hath it a&s;cended in to the hart of man, vvhat things God hath prepared for them that loue him.</HI> If we cannot fully apprehend the lea&s;t paine of hell or Purgatory, being borne, bred and inured &s;o to mi&s;eries; how shall wee fancy the ioyes and glories of heauen, hauing &s;o little a &s;macke of them here? yet let vs &s;ee, what by di&s;cour&s;e we can reach vnto. God almighty is infinite in all his astributes, in Maje&s;ty, in iu&s;ti|ce, in power; but his mercy, goodnes, lebera|lity, and bounty ouer&s;well, as it were, the ban|kes, and exceed the re&s;t; <HI>Mi&s;ericordia eius &s;uper omnia opera eius; his mercie is aboue all his vvor|kes.</HI> If then his iu&s;tice has ordained &s;uch tor|ments for his enemies; what banquetts, do wee thinke, will he make for his friends, where the Father, Sonne &amp; holy Gho&s;t concurre to honour them? that is, where goodnes giueth, wi&s;edome ordaineth, &amp; omnipotency putteth in execution? againe if by the co&s;t &amp; price of a
<PB N="85" REF="56">thing, vvee gue&s;&s;e at its worth; what shall vvee thinke heauen to be, which hath co&s;t the life &amp; blood of the onely Sonne of god? &amp; which al&s;o mu&s;t co&s;t &s;uch paines for men to obtaine it?</P>
<P>Conclude to rai&s;e vp thy de&s;ires and endea|uours that vvay, and let heauen be the But of thy labours.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, the definition of Beati|tude, viz. <HI>Status omnium bonorum congregatione perfectus: A perfect &s;tate replenished vvith all good.</HI> A permanent &amp; con&s;i&s;tent being for euer, and euer, furnished &amp; replenished vvith, all that can be imagined good or delightfull; without the lea&s;t mixture or blemish of ill, feare, or di&s;|content; a generall and vniuer&s;all good, filling brimfull the va&s;t capacity of our affections and de&s;ires, and &s;ecuring from all vvant, or feare of change. The dignities, honours, and delights of this vvorld, vve imagine them great and emi|nent, vntill vve haue them; but vve lay no &s;oo|ner hand on them, but I know not how, all the former e&s;teeme of them &s;uddenly vanisheth, &amp; and the &s;oule remaineth hungry and vnquiet as before; S. Au&s;tin giueth the rea&s;on: <HI>Fecisti nos Domine ad Te, &amp; inquietum est cor nostrum, donec requie&s;cat in te: thou ha&s;t made vs naturallie tend to thee, and our hart is neuer quiet vntill it re&s;t in thee:</HI> which is onely obtained in the &s;tate of beatitude; where as the P&s;almi&s;t &s;ayes, <HI>Inebria|buntur ab vbertate dom&ucirc;s tuae, &amp; torrente vo|luptatis tuae potabis eos: quoniam apud te e&s;t fon<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> vita &amp;c. They shall be inchriated vvith the plen|tie
<PB N="86" REF="57">of thy hou&s;e, and vvith the torrent of thy plea|&s;ure thou shalt make them drinke: becau&s;e vvith. thee is the fountaine of life. &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude with mo&s;t humble thankes and gratitude to our good God, who before wee were borne, hath prepared for vs &s;uch gloryes &amp; delights; &amp; let our humble prayer euer bee. <HI>Vt non perdat iniquitas no&s;tra, quod pro nobis fecit bonitas &s;ua: that our iniquitie may not fru|strate, vvhat his goodne&s;&s;e hath performed for vs</HI> and remember, that vvho vvill re&s;erue him&s;elfe for the plea&s;ures of heauen, mu&s;t not cloy him|&s;elfe with the&s;e here below, for they are incon&s;i&s;tent.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>Of the e&s;&s;ential Glory of the Soule.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that the e&s;&s;ential beatitude of the &s;oule con&s;i&s;teth in a mo&s;t perfect, pure, and amiable vnion with God; that is, in a cleare vi&s;ion of his e&s;&s;ence, attributes, &amp; perfections, by which the &s;oule is transformed into God, deified, or made God by participation; <HI>Scimus</HI> quoth S. Iohn, <HI>quoniam cum apparuerit &s;imiles ei erimus, quoniam videbimus eum &s;icuti e&s;t. We knovv that vvhen he shal appeare, vve shal be like to him, becau&s;e vve shal &s;ee him as he is.</HI> Haue you &s;eene gla&s;&s;e or iron in the furnace, &s;o penetrated and incorporated with the fire, that in heat, in &s;plendour, in colour, and all
<PB N="87" REF="57">other qualities, it &s;eemeth no more it &s;elfe, but all flame and fire: &s;o the &s;oule by this &s;pirituall and intellectuall vnion with god, is thoroughly penetrated with the &s;plendours of the diuine e&s;&s;ence, no more now her&s;elfe, but a &s;econd Demi God. Hence it is that the &s;oule re&s;teth &s;o full, &s;o &s;atisfied and &s;ecurely contented, hauing within and without her the well-head, or Ocean of vniuer&s;all good and bli&s;&s;e, neuer more to want, neuer more to feare.</P>
<P>Conclude with wonder and admiration of Gods infinite bounty and liberality, to rai&s;e a poore and fraile creature, who&s;e origen was no|thing, who&s;e being a bla&s;t, to that heigth, and dignitie, that the omnipotency of God him|&s;elfe, cannot mount her to a higher &s;tate or degree.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly the happy functions of the three powers of the &s;oule; the vnder&s;tanding, will, and memorie: the vnder&s;tanding &s;eeth mo&s;t clearely the diuine E&s;&s;ence, and nature with all its attributes and perfections, of Infi|nity, Eternity, Immen&s;ity, Omnipotency &amp;c. Next is layed open to her view that mo&s;t hid|den my&s;terie of the B. Trinity; how one God &s;ub&s;i&s;teth in three Per&s;ons; how the Sonne is from eternity begotten of his Father; and how the holy Gho&s;t without generation proceedeth from both: then the my&s;terie of the Incarnation is di&s;couered, how one per&s;on can &s;ub&s;i&s;t in two natures &amp;c. Finally all the &s;ecrets of our faith; all the wondrous workes of God, both of nature
<PB N="88" REF="58">and grace; all his now hidden iudgements of prouidence, prede&s;tination &amp;c. shall be then with infinite delight knowne and penetrated. Hence the will of nece&s;&s;ity is inflamed and &s;et on fire with a mo&s;t ardent and feruorous loue of God, as of her father, benefactour, friend, e&s;pou&s;e, &amp; what &s;o euer other title she can in|uent. Now the memorie is drowned in God: as in an Ocean of delights; neither can she thinke of any thing, but of God: looking backward, she &s;eeth all the benefits, he hath done for her; and how she hath e&s;caped, where others haue peri|shed; and that by his grace onely: looking for|ward, shee &s;eeth nothing but eternall conti|nuance of felicity: &ocirc; happy &s;oule!</P>
<P>Conclude to imploy here, as much as thou <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">an&s;t, the&s;e three powers in the like actes by faith, loue, and contemplation; &s;o to begin a heauen in this world, &amp; continue it in the next: <HI>Videre &amp; amare, amare &amp; laudare, laudare &amp; laetariin &s;aecula &s;aeculorum. To &s;ee and to loue, to loue and to prai&s;e, to prai&s;e and to reioice for euer.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly the exce&s;&s;iue bounty of our good God, who giueth his &s;eruants in re|ward of their loyalty, as much as he is able to giue; that is, him&s;elfe fully and clearely, as he is in him &s;elfe; that is, <HI>Bonum infinitum, vltra quod, nec est, nec dari pote&s;t aliquid. An immence ocean of goodne&s;&s;e, &s;urpa&s;&s;ing all Imaginarie li|mitts.</HI> Ble&s;&s;ed bee all his creatures be his good|nes; which would not haue our felicity boun|ded within the compa&s;&s;e of any thing, vnder
<PB N="89" REF="58">him&s;elfe. What shall we here &s;ay or thinke? the Angells of heauen, tho&s;e &s;o noble powers, &s;o cele&s;tiall princes, haue no other obiect of their bli&s;&s;e, then this: nay, what doe I &s;peake of An|gells? God him&s;elfe, the B. Trinity, Father, Sonne and holy Gho&s;t, haue no other ioy or bli&s;&s;e, but in them&s;elues; and the very &s;ame e&s;|&s;entially and &s;ub&s;tantially haue wee: and can wee doubt but what &s;ufficeth to make God, &amp; his Angells ble&s;&s;ed, will al&s;o &s;uffice to make men happy? verily a &s;ilent a&s;tonishment will &s;peake more in this place, then can all the ton|gues of heauen and earth together. Finally note out of S. Thomas, how our deare&s;t God is who|ly ours: <HI>Se na&s;cens dedit &s;ocium, conue&s;cens in edu|lium, &s;e moriens in pretium, &s;e regnans dat in prae|mium. In his hirth making him&s;elfe our compa|nion, in his last &s;upper our food, in his death our Redeemer, in heauen our revvard.</HI> And shall not wee be altogether his, in life and death, <HI>In tem|pore &amp; aeternitate? In time and eternitie.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude with an humble oblation of thy &s;elfe, to be euer his; and conceiue an ardent de|&s;ire, to &s;ee and enioy that &s;oueraigne beauty of his diuine E&s;&s;ence; to which nothing doth more neerly di&s;po&s;e, then purity of heart; <HI>Beati mun|do corde, quoniam ip&s;i Deum videbunt. Ble&s;&s;ed are the cleane of hart, for they shal &s;ee God.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly two conditions more of this felicity, which make it perfect &amp; com|pleat; <HI>viz:</HI> that it is to endure for all Eternity, as long as God shall be God; and neuer to grow
<PB N="90" REF="59">tedious or weary&s;ome, as the plea&s;ures of this world doe; but is alwayes new, alwayes fresh. O what a &s;ecure and &s;etled ioy doth it cau&s;e, to thinke and know, that this happy &s;tate shall neuer haue an end? after millions and mil|lions of yeares, I am as farre of from the pe|riod of my ioyes, as at the fir&s;t houre, I entred into them: tho&s;e that cannot conceiue, what this is, let them reflect, what a cooling bla&s;t it is to the greate&s;t Monarchs of the world, in the height of their glorie, to thinke that all this mu&s;t be left, God knoweth how &s;oone; but by death infallibly; and what would they giue for the &s;ecurity of a hundred yeares? <HI>&ocirc; beati qui ha|bitant in domo tua Domine, in &s;aecula &s;aeculorum laudabunt te: &ocirc; hle&s;&s;ed are they, that dvvel in thy hou&s;e, &ocirc; lord, for euer and euer they shal prai&s;e thee.</HI> Againe, the diuine E&s;&s;ence is &s;o infinite in beauty and delights; that the more, and the lon|ger the &s;oule doth behold it, the greater content she receiueth, and the more doth shee de&s;ire to behold it; &s;o that there is, <HI>Sitis ab&s;que paena: thir&s;t vvithout paine,</HI> becau&s;e the thir&s;t is euer &s;atis|fied; and againe, <HI>Saturitas &s;ine fastidio; abun|dance vvithout cloying;</HI> becau&s;e that doth a-new whet and refresh the appetite.</P>
<P>Conclude with a manly re&s;olution, to &s;corne the fraile and muddy delights of this world, which are no &s;ooner had, but both leaue vs, and cloy vs: too ba&s;e for &s;o noble a &s;oule, capable of a ioy, that shall neuer end; and yet euer content and fill her to the brim.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="91" REF="59">
<HEAD>THE THIRD MEDITATION. <HI>Of the glory of the Body.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, the wonderfull liberality God v&s;eth towards his &s;eruants: for not content to rai&s;e the &s;oule to &s;o great a degree of glorie, as shee is capable of, and hath de&s;erued; he doth al&s;o for her &s;ake and re&s;pect, glorifie her body too, which did rather hinder and decline the poore &s;oule from heauen, by her gro&s;&s;e inclinations and &s;en&s;ualityes, then any way aduance her thither. This was, that he pro|mi&s;ed to Abraham, to wit, that he vvould not onely bli&s;&s;e his &s;onne I&s;aac, his true and legiti|mate heire, but al&s;o he would haue an e&s;peciall care of I&s;mael, begotten on a &s;laue; becau&s;e he was a thing belonging to him. So becau&s;e the body belonged to his &s;eruant, as well as the &s;ou|le, he doth al&s;o rai&s;e it out of the dirt, &amp; place it among&s;t the Princes of glory: &ocirc; what power is this that can clen&s;e and purge &s;o &s;tinking a puddle, as our body is, and bring it to &s;uch &s;plen|dour &amp; brightnes, as tho&s;e great Courtiers and Grandees of heauen di&s;daine not, to admit it to their company, and giue it a &s;eat amid&s;t their Thrones. This is, what the Prouerbe &s;ayes: <HI>Om|nes domestici eius vestiti &s;unt duplicibus; all his houshoulds are clothed vvith duble.</HI> All his &s;er|uants haue double Robes of glory, one of the &s;oule, another of the body.</P>
<PB N="92" REF="60">
<P> Conclude to get here the full ma&s;tery and do|minion ouer thy body; and e&s;pecially endeauour to purge it, <HI>Ab omni gula &amp; luxuria; from all gluttonie and luxerie.</HI> for nothing is more odious in the &s;ight of Angells, then the&s;e two &s;winish vices; and con&s;equently nothing more defiling the &s;oule, and making it vncapable of their company; and nothing more gratefull, then temperance and cha&s;tity.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly the foure <HI>dotes,</HI> or <HI>gifts</HI> be&s;towed on the body, to wit, Clarity, Sub|tility, Agility and Impa&s;&s;ibility. Clarity con&s;i|&s;teth in a beauty and &s;plendour, farre &s;urpa&s;&s;ing that of the &s;tarres or Sunne; more bright then pearle, more tran&s;parent then any chry&s;tall or diamond; &s;o that the whole anatomy &amp; frame of the body, as veines, ioynts &amp; arteries, appeare and reflect mo&s;t glorious to the eye. Subtility maketh the body &s;eeme more like a &s;pirit, then body, more &s;ubtill, then the ayre, or beame of the Sunne; &s;o that it can penetrate any &s;tone or mettall, neuer &s;o gro&s;&s;e and hard, without rup|ture or diui&s;ion. Agility or &s;wiftnes is &s;o great, that no eagle, no arrow, no not the Sunne can come neere it; rather like the ca&s;t of an eye, or glance of a thought, it flyeth at the becke of the &s;oule, millions and millions of leagues in a mo|ment, without &s;top or wearynes: by this, though heauen be neuer &s;o wide, the Ble&s;&s;ed conuer&s;e one with an other, as in the &s;ame roome. Impa&s;|fibility is an immortality, free from death, and infirmityes, from paine and toyle hunger and
<PB N="93" REF="60">cold &amp;c. euer vigorous, healthy &amp; &s;ound: and all the&s;e for all eternitie. Pardon ble&s;&s;ed Angells and flaming Cherubins, that &s;uch carca&s;&s;es may &s;tand among&s;t you without shame and confu|&s;ion.</P>
<P>Conclude with infinite thankes to our good God for &s;uch &s;urpa&s;&s;ing priuiledges: &amp; re&s;olue to &s;uffer and beare what&s;oeuer shall befall thee, patiently and couragiou&s;ly, knowing. <HI>Quod non &s;int condignae pa&s;&s;iones huius temporis ad futuram gloriam. That the pa&s;&s;ions of this time, are not con|digne to the glorie to come.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly that the delight of the fiue corporall &s;en&s;es shall not be there wanting, as &s;ome may feare; but shall be in a farre higher degree: for what a ioyfull and glorious obiect shall the fight haue in the beauty of tho&s;e hea|uenly Palaces, who&s;e twelue gates are &s;o many precious &s;tones, who&s;e walls and pauement are of burnishd and pellucid gold? then the glo|rious bodyes beautified with the foure radiant qualities, as before, and aboue all the humanity of our Sauiour Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, what gracious &s;plendours, what delightfull Rubyes from tho&s;e wounds will it di&s;play on all &s;ides? Expect not for the like in this gro&s;&s;e and foggy climate be|low. Now for the eare, tho&s;e &s;weet conuer&s;a|tions one with an other, that perpetuall mu|&s;icke and narmony of the diuine pray&s;es, euer re&s;ounding and redoubling in the Empyriall regions, none can conceiue them, or who is in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of them. The &s;mell shall euer be re|freshed
<PB N="94" REF="61">vvith mo&s;t &s;weet and fragant odours proceeding both from the place, &amp; more from the glorious bodyes: neither shall the &s;en&s;es of ta&s;ting and touching, hovv gro&s;&s;e and ba&s;e &s;o euer they are, vvant their proper delight; hea|uenly dewes shall &s;teep them all in plea&s;ures according to their nature.</P>
<P>Conclude to mortifie here thy &s;en&s;es, that there they may the more freely drinke. <HI>De flu|minis illius impetu qui laetificat ciuitatem Dei. Of the violence of that riuer vvhich maketh the titie of God ioyfull.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="4" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FOVRTH MEDITATION. <HI>Of the glory of the heauenly Pallaces, and of the company, or inhabitants there.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that becau&s;e wee cannot conceiue the excellencies, and beauties of the heauenly Ieru&s;alem, as it is in it &s;elfe, and as the ble&s;&s;ed find it; therefore the ho|ly Scripture and Fathers, to whet and sharpen our dull apprehen&s;ion, doe de&s;cribe it vnto vs by the &s;imilitude of tho&s;e things, wee haue here in mo&s;t e&s;teeme and admiration; as riuers, me|dowes, trees, groues, flowers, gold, precious &s;tones and the like. So S. Iohn recounteth, how God shewed him a mo&s;t-glorious City, who&s;e walls were mo&s;t high and large, all of precious &s;tone, con&s;i&s;ting of twelue deepe foundations ingraued with the names of the twelue Apo&s;t|le<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">; and as many gates, euery one of a di&s;tinct
<PB N="95" REF="61">precious &s;tone; with an Angell at euery one for Porter. The &s;treets were paued with mo&s;t pure and tran&s;parent gold, like-cry&s;tall: no need there of Sunne or moone, <HI>Quia claritas Dei illumi|nat eam, &amp; lucerna eius-e&s;t Agnus: for the glo|rie of God doth illuminate it, and the lambe is the lampe thereof.</HI> From who&s;e &s;eat &s;treameth forth a large cry&s;tall riuer; on who&s;e each banke are planted &s;tately trees of life, bearing each moneth new fruit; <HI>Et folia ligni ad &s;anitatem gentium. And the leaues of the tree for the curing of the Gentiles.</HI> A thou&s;and fountaines of fragant bal|&s;ame, and &s;prings of &s;weete&s;t hony; no winter, nor &s;ummer, but a perpetuall &s;pring and au|tumne conioyned; &amp;c. what &s;o euer thy fancy can imagine.</P>
<P>Conclude to direct thy voyage to the finding out of this &s;o rich a City: behold a little the in|du&s;try &amp; toile v&s;ed in the voyages to the Indies, both ea&s;t and we&s;t; and be ashamed to &s;ee Chri|&s;tians &s;o eager for the Indies, and &s;o &s;low for heauen, being yet more &s;ure by faith of the&s;e ri|ches, then of tho&s;e.</P>
<P N="2">2, Con&s;ider &s;econdly the glorious inhabi|tants and company of this heauenly City: fir&s;t the Angells are <HI>Millia millium, &amp; decies centena millia Thou&s;andes of thou&s;andes, and tenne hun|dred thou&s;and.</HI> That is innumerable, all contai|ned in three Hierarchies, and diuided into nine quires, differing each from other, as in nature, &s;o al&s;o in degree of glory. Secondly the number of men, S. Iohn confe&s;&s;eth, cannot be told;
<PB N="96" REF="62"><HI>Vidi multitudinem magnam, qua numerari non potest; I &s;avv a great multitude vvhich can not be numbered.</HI> the&s;e are intermingled among the Angells in higher or lower degrees, according to their merits: and the B. Virgin mother of God &s;eated aboue all the Angells, as highe&s;t in her merits and prerogatiues. All the&s;e, as well men, as Angells, are mo&s;t noble, mo&s;t illu&s;trious; all of the blood Royall; all &s;onnes and heires of the mo&s;t high God; and con&s;equently all Kings, with crownes of gold on their heads: all mo&s;t wi&s;e, mo&s;t holy, mo&s;t prudent, and vvithall mo&s;t affable, louing and courteous. But aboue all the loue and charity they, from the highe&s;t to the lowe&s;t, beare one another, is mo&s;t admi|rable, mo&s;t vnfained, mo&s;t con&s;tant, as though they had all but one heart, one vvill, one &s;oule: hence the ioy and content of each one is increa|&s;ed &amp; redoubled as manyfold, as he hath friends; that is, as there are ble&s;&s;ed &s;oules or Angells in heauen; for according to S. Au&s;tin, euery one reioyceth as much at the glorie of an others as at his owne; calculate this, if thou can&s;t.</P>
<P>Conclude, if thou de&s;ire to dwell vvith &s;uch friends, to imitate their vertues? fir&s;t their vnion and conformity to the vvill of God: next their loue and charity one to an-other; obeying our Superiours, louing our equalls, reioycing at the good of all, as our owne; content with our owne lot and place, vvithout enuying of others &amp;c.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, or rather conclude out of vvhat hath been &s;ayd, to for&s;ake vtterly the
<PB N="97" REF="62">dro&s;&s;e of earthly plea&s;ures, &amp; to re&s;erue thy ap|petite for that heauenly and eternall banquet. O &s;oule of mine, vvhat do&s;t thou? vvhether do&s;t thou vvander thorough the land of Egypt, pic|king &s;travves, and drinking of puddle-vvater; vvith &s;o great toile and &s;vveat of thy brovves? vvhat do&s;t thou &s;tand &s;craping of dunghills for old raggs, vvhich cannot couer thy nakednes? lift vp thy head, and looke to heauen-vvards; there lieth that hidden trea&s;ure, thou &s;o gape&s;t after. Doth thy heart defire plea&s;ures? there one|ly doe they flovv in full mea&s;ure: doth long life, doth health plea&s;e thee? there onely is life im|mortall, and health impa&s;&s;ible: doth beauty al|lure thee, or abundance, or melody, or friend|ship, or noble and good company? &s;eeke them vvhere they are, <HI>In terra viuentium; in the land of liuing.</HI> not in this de&s;ert, <HI>Et valle morientium. And vaile of fading mortalls.</HI> Doth honour, glo|rie or riches mo&s;t prouoke thy appetite? all there are Princes &amp; Kings, &amp; tread vpon gold &amp; pre|cious &s;tones. Finally vvilt thou be free from paines, quit of feares, and &s;ecure from vvants? onely immortality can arme thee to proofe a|gain&s;t all. <HI>Quare in&s;idientur Daemones,</HI> quoah S. Au&s;tin, <HI>frangant corpus ieiunia, premant carnes ve&s;timenta; labores grauent, vigiliae exiccent, cla|met in me i&s;te, inquietet me ille vel ille, frigus in|curuet, con&s;cientia murmuret, calor vrat, caput doleat, pestus ardeat, infletur stomachus, palle&s;|cat vultus, infirmer totus; deficiat in dolore vita mea &amp; anni mei in gemitibus, ingrediatur putre|do
<PB N="98" REF="63">in o&s;&s;ibus meis &amp; &s;ubter me &s;cateat; vt requie&s;|cam in die tribulationis &amp; a&s;cendam ad populum accinstum no&s;trum. VVherefore let the deceits of deuills molest me, the rigour of fasts vveaken my bodie, the au&s;teritie of hearclothes pinch my flesh the tire&s;omene&s;&s;e of labours grieue it, the conti|nuance of vvatching drie vp its naturall moi&s;ture; let this or that man trouble me vvith invectiue clamours, let the violence of cold bend my limmes, let my con&s;cience murmur, let the heat &s;corch me, let my head ake, my bre&s;t burne, my &s;tomach, be inflamed, my face vvax pale, let me all be infirme, let my life decay for &s;orrovv, and my yeares for gronings, let rottene&s;&s;e enter in my bones and &s;vvarme vnder me, that I may rest in the day of tribulation, and a&s;cend to our girded people.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="conclusion">
<HEAD>The Conclu&s;ion of the Purgatiue vvay.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, and recapitulate vvhat thou art according to thy body; earth and clay in thy beginning, mi&s;erie and Infirmity in thy life time, and after death du&s;t and corruption. Next according to thy &s;oule, thy origen is nothing; thy being &s;pirituall, no|ble and immortall, tis true; but here impri&s;o|ned in a corruptable body, to&s;&s;ed vvith the vva|ues of a thou&s;and pa&s;&s;ions, and at la&s;t to pa&s;&s;e hence into an vnknovvne Region, doubtfull of thy future condition of eternall bli&s;&s;e or cur&s;e. La&s;tly thy &s;pirituall and &s;upernaturall being by grace, is a pure grace and gift indeed; totally
<PB N="99" REF="63">depending on the liberality &amp; goodnes of God, vvithout the lea&s;t di&s;po&s;ition or &s;eed thereof in nature: &s;o that by this &s;ole grace vve are vvhat vve are, that is the &s;onnes of God, and heires of heauen; as al&s;o vvhat vve are not, that is free from all the &s;innes, vve haue not commit|ted, and from the punishment of tho&s;e vve haue committed.</P>
<P>Conclude hence tvvo firme and principall re&s;olutions, mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary for thy &s;pirituall progre&s;&s;e. The fir&s;t is to purge thy &s;elfe of all pride or &s;elfe conceit, for vvhat thou art, or vvhat thou ha&s;t; knovving novv, that all is from Gods meere goodnes, both in the giuing and in the con&s;eruing: &amp; this is &s;o generall that the highe&s;t Angell is no vvhit exempted, nor the Mother of God nor the humanity of our Sa|uiour: and hereon mai&s;t thou ground a true and euerla&s;ting humility. The &s;econd is euer to loue. reuerence and thanke God for all the gifts and graces be&s;tovved, as vvell on others, as on thy &s;elfe, reioycing in thy ovvne nothing, that &s;o all may be a&s;cribed to God alone, to his greater ho|nour and glory, <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econly, that if our nature and being doe giue vs &s;uch ground of true humility; vvhat feare, vvhat abiection, vvhat tremblings vvill the con&s;ideration of our ovvne vvilfull &s;in|nes, or death, Iudgement, and hell being vpon vs? by &s;inne vve haue mo&s;t &s;tubbornely rebelled again&s;t &s;ouueraigne Maje&s;ty, &amp; mo&s;t vugrate|fully prouoked goodnes it &s;elfe to vvrath; hence
<PB N="100" REF="64">follovveth the terrour of death, <HI>Terribilium om|uium terribili&s;&s;imum, of dreadfull things the mo&s;t terrible.</HI> Were not yet the Judgement follovving more terrible, both in it &s;elfe, for that &s;entence is finall for eternity, as al&s;o if it come out again&s;t vs, no le&s;&s;e then the endle&s;&s;e paines of hell-fire, &amp; as long a banishment from the face of bli&s;&s;e, is to be our lot &amp; doome. O poore caytife! vvith vvhat face can&s;t thou looke to heauen? hovv can&s;t thou entertaine a thought of pride, or pre|&s;umption? hovv can&s;t thou de&s;pi&s;e the lea&s;t vvorme, that cravvleth on the earth? vvho ha&s;t &s;o deba&s;ed thy &s;slfe by finne, and &s;o often &s;tood guilty of eternall damnation; and hovv thou &s;tande&s;t yet, God onely kuovveth; <HI>Culpae certi&s;|&s;imus, veniae autem incertus. Certaine of thy &s;in|nes committed but vncertaine of their pardone.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude finally a nevv and lovver degree of humility; that vvhereas hetherto by nature thou ha&s;t been as good, or no vvor&s;e, than thy fellovves, vvhich onely inferreth humility towards God, but not ab&s;olutly one to an other; thy &s;innes novv haue made thee &s;o ba&s;e, that all creatures are aboue thee, and therefore novv no shame, but vertue to &s;ubmit to all, and abiect thy &s;elfe beneath all for God.</P>
<P><HI>The&s;e follovving Meditations are to begin to be read on the fifth of December at night.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="2" TYPE="part">
<PB N="101" REF="64">
<HEAD>THE SECOND PART, MEDITATIONS FOR Proficients, or for the Illumi|natiue way.</HEAD>
<P>_THE garden of our &s;oule being clean&s;ed, and the weeds of &s;in|ne ca&s;t out; the next &s;tep is to furnish and plant it vvith all &s;orts of flovvers and &s;vveet hearbs; that is all &s;ort of ver|tues, vvhich haue relation to God, our neigh|bour, or our &s;elfe. To this purpo&s;e shall &s;erue at pre&s;ent the holy my&s;teries of our B. Sauiours Incarnation, life and pa&s;&s;ion; in vvhom are found all &s;orts of vertues po&s;&s;ible, not in their &s;peculatine definitions, but as they are to vs v&s;efull and profitable; that is, in their practicall &s;ource and cau&s;e: for our S&agrave;uiours life and pa&s;&s;ion vvas not onely <HI>Redemptio ab omni malo, a redemption from all evill;</HI> but al&s;o, <HI>Exem|plum ad omne bonum, &amp; lumen oculerum no|&s;trorum, an example to all good and a light for our spirituall eies to guide vs in the vvay of virtue.</HI></P>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="102" REF="65">
<HEAD>THE FIRST CHAPTER, <HI>Of the Incarnation of our Sauiour Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THis my&s;tery of the Jncarnation hee one|ly can vnder&s;tand, vvho is the authour &amp; vvorker of it; yet S. Augu&s;tine, S. Tho|mas &amp; other Saints haue &s;tudied to find out the rea&s;ons &amp; conueniences, vvee are capable of; for our comfort, gratitude and &s;pirituall progre&s;&s;e.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FIRST MEDITATION. <HI>Of the conueniences of the Incarnation.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that the my&s;tery of the holy Incarnation vvas mo&s;t conuenient for the honour &amp; glory of God him&s;elfe; fir&s;t becau&s;e mo&s;t conforme and agreable to his nature; vvhich being <HI>Summa bonitas, mo&s;t &s;urpa&s;&s;ing goodne&s;&s;e,</HI> is al&s;o, <HI>Sui &s;umm&egrave; communicatua, mo&s;t free in communicating it &s;elfe,</HI> and in this my&s;tery vniting mans nature to the diuiue per|&s;on, hee hath in a manner communicated him|&s;elfe to all creatures, <HI>Nam homo quoad aliquid e&s;t omnis creatura. For man in &s;omethinge parti|cipates of euerie creature.</HI> Secondly the &s;inne of man vvas infinite, becau&s;e again&s;t infinite Ma|je&s;ty; and &s;o the &s;atisfaction vvas al&s;o to be infi|nite; but hovv should this be done? God vvas
<PB N="103" REF="65">infinite, but being the per&s;on offended, could not &s;atisfie; man had offended, and &s;o vvas to &s;a|tisfie, but being finite and limited, couldnot doe it &s;ufficiently, that is infinitely: here the diuine vvi&s;edome making one of God and man, &s;ound out a vvay, that man might &s;atisfie, and God giue to the &s;atisfaction infinite vvorth. Thirdly, by this My&s;tery all the diuine attributes &amp; per|fections haue appeared more, then by all the creatures be&s;ides: but mo&s;t of all, his mercy &amp; iu&s;tice haue here met in one; for vvhat greater iu&s;tice, then that the &s;onne of God should pay vvith his blood and life for the &s;innes of men? and vvhat greater mercy, then that men should enioy and offer to God this price as their ovvne, and &s;atisfie him there vvith?</P>
<P>Conclude vvith admiration of his vvi&s;edome, and loue of that goodnes, vvhich hath been &s;o bountifull tovvards thee: and here at the begin|ning offer thy &s;elfe vvholly and &s;incerely to his vvill and &s;eruice.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, hovv much this My|&s;tery hath conduced to the honour and profit of mankind; for vvhat greater honour, then that a man should be truely &amp; &s;ub&s;tantially God, ado|red and &s;erued of all creatures? that all other men should be truly brothers of God? that men and Angells making vp one church, and one quire, the Prince &amp; head of both should be, not an Angell, but a man? that the Creatour, Re|deemer and Iudge of all things, should be a true and reall man? ponder this &s;eriou&s;ly, not as a
<PB N="104" REF="66">fancy or conceit, but as a reall and &s;olid truth. Now the profits and vtilities, that haue hence acrued vnto mankind, what memorie can &s;umme them vp? or what tongue can vtter them? in a word, man by this my&s;tery hath been redeemed from the &s;lauery and &s;ubiection of the diuell, &amp; all mi&s;eries temporall and eternall following thereof; and is adopted the &s;onne of God, heire of heauen &amp;c. Secondly we haue, in God made man, a pre&s;ent remedy and cure for all our pa&s;&s;ions and di&s;tempers: for vvhat can better cure our pride, than his humility? our bra|uery and couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, than his pouerty? our fury, than his patience? our rebellion, than his obedience? finally, our coldnes, and hardnes of heart, than his &s;o tender &amp; inflamed loue of vs &amp;c.</P>
<P>Conclude with this &s;entence of S. Leo: <HI>Ag|no&s;ce, &ocirc; Christiane, dignitatem tuam, &amp; diuinae con&s;ors factus naturae, noli in veterem vilitatem degeneri conuer&s;atione redire. Acknovvledge, &ocirc; Chri&s;tian, thy dignitie, and being novv made a companion in chri&s;t of the diuine nature &s;corne through a degenerous conuer&s;ation to deba&s;e thy dignitie, and through &s;inne to returne to thy for|mer vilene&s;&s;e.</HI> Haue a horrour to defile thy na|ture with &s;inne, which God hath &s;o honoured and vnited to him&s;elfe.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, that vvhen two parties haue been long and old enemies, to bring them into a true &s;etled peace and amity, &s;uch a Media|tour mu&s;t be found out, as is mo&s;t powerfull
<PB N="105" REF="66">with both &s;ides, and al&s;o mo&s;t tru&s;ty and faith|full to both; without &s;u&s;picion of inclining more to one than the other, God almighty and man|kind had been at long variance and enmity, euer &s;ince the &s;inne of Adam; and a Mediatour could no where be found; God was the offended, man the offender; the Angells had little acquaintance with men, and depended totally of God; and &s;o might haue deliuered man wholy ouer to Gods vvrath and iu&s;tice: when behold beyond expe|ctation &s;teppeth forth Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, true God, &amp; true man, and con&s;equently a Mediatour vvi|thout exception; for who more powerfull, more faithfull and carefull of the honour of God, then the onely &s;onne of God? and vvho more tru&s;ty in the cau&s;e of men, then hee who is man him|&s;elfe, and <HI>Filius hominis? the &s;onne of man.</HI> Su|rely if any may be vvithout &s;u&s;pition tru&s;ted in his owne proper cau&s;e, Chri&s;t mu&s;t needs be &s;o; for con&s;i&s;ting him&s;elfe of both natures, the bu&s;ines on both &s;ides mu&s;t needs be his owne proper cau&s;e.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith gratitude to the diuine vvi&s;e|dome and goodnes, for inuenting a vvay and meane &s;o equall and honourable for both &s;ides, though &s;o co&s;tly to our deare&s;t Mediatour: and and re&s;olue from hence forvvard not to rule and &s;quare thy actions according to thy owne ea&s;e and commodity, but only as it shall appeare conducing to Gods glorie and honour, how contrary &s;oeuer is proue to thy &s;elfe.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="106" REF="67">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>Of the Annuntiation made to the Virgin Mary.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, the mi&s;erable and &s;ad con|dition of the vvorld at that time; all but the little corner of Iury, vvas totally po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed and &s;wayed by the Diuell; all Europe, A&s;ia, Africa, and the mo&s;t va&s;t America knew nothing but Idolatry, and adoration of &s;tocks, &s;tones and diuells, &s;laughtering and &s;acrificing vnto them one an other; nay men for&s;ooth vvould be al&s;o adored for Gods? as for other &s;in|nes and enormities, they were &s;o in fashon among&s;t all, that euen among&s;t the Romans, the more ciuill and politick people of all, there vvas hardly a vice, but authori&s;ed by &s;ome godhead or other. Now in Iury where onely the true God was adored, it is lamentble to read in Io|&s;ephus, how it vvas oppre&s;&s;ed by the Romans; rent a&s;under by Herod and by &s;ectaries, by hy|pocri&s;ie, couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, pride, ambition; and vvhat not? Behold euen then, vvhen noe man &s;ought, or thought of their remedy and &s;alua|tion, but rather &s;tudied how to offend God more and more; euen then I &s;ay, vvas our mo&s;t good God commi&s;erating from heauen our mi&s;eries, and prouiding in that highe&s;t Con&s;i&s;tory of the B. Trinity for a &s;peedy remedy; which vvas, that the Eternall Word should become man: ble&s;&s;ed be euer his goodne&s;&s;e.</P>
<PB N="107" REF="67">
<P> Conclude vvith mo&s;t humble thankes to his diuine Maie&s;ty, fir&s;t in generall for this his mer|cy to mankind; and then in particular for thy &s;elfe; calling to mind, how oft vvhen thou ha&s;t been plunging thy &s;elfe into all &s;ort of &s;inne, euen then hath his goodnes been protecting thee from further euill, and procuring meanes for thy &s;aluation.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how forthwith the Angell Gabriel was di&s;patched from the highe&s;t heauens to carry the decreed emba&s;&s;ages: but to vvhom? to the Empre&s;&s;e, thinke you, of Rome, to &s;ome great Queene, Prince&s;&s;e, or La|dy, noble in blood, and famous for riches and pompe? nothing le&s;&s;e: harken to the Go&s;pell: <HI>Mi&s;&s;us est Gabriel Angelus &agrave; Deo, in ciuitatem Galileae, cui nomen Nazareth; ad Virginem de|&s;pon&s;atam viro, cui nomen Io&s;eph, de domo Da|uid, &amp; nomen Virginis, Maria. The Angel Ga|briel vvas &s;ent of God into, a citie of Galilee, cal|led Nazareth, to a virgin de&s;pou&s;ed to a man vvho&s;e name vvas Io&s;eph, of the hou&s;e of Dauid, and the virgins nam vvas Marie.</HI> To a low &amp; humble Maid, e&s;pou&s;ed to a trade&s;man, liuing in the poore village of Nazareth; preferred in the eyes of God before all, for her puritie, hu|mility, and vertue. To this Uirgin therefore being at midnight in her deuotions, appeareth this glorious Angell, and vvith low reuerence &s;aluteth her vvith the&s;e three titles of honour: haile full of grace, our Lord is vvith thee, and ble&s;&s;ed art thou among&s;t vvomen: at vvhich
<PB N="108" REF="68">the Uirgin being troubled kept her &s;elfe in &s;i|lence and expectation, of vvhat vvould follow: her trouble vvas not the &s;ight of an Angell, for that vvas not vnu&s;uall to her; but the high titles shee heard giuen her; <HI>Cogitabat qualis e&s;&s;et i&s;ta &s;alutatio, she thought vvhat manner of &s;aluta|tion this should be.</HI> Farre aboue her mo&s;t hum|ble thoughts,</P>
<P>Conclude to enrich thy &s;elfe vvith vertues, vvhich onely can make thee noble in the &s;ight of God: but chiefly to imitate the B. Virgins hu|militie, which will cau&s;e a trouble in vs, not a tickling, vvhen we are prai&s;ed.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly: the wonderfull e&s;teeme and tender care, the B. Virgin had of her purity and cha&s;tity, vowed and offered to God Al|mighty: for hauing vnder&s;tood by the Angell, that shee was cho&s;en to be the Mother of God, and that shee was to conceiue and bring forth the onely &s;onne of God; at what doe we thin|ke, did shee demurr? at the Angells promi&s;e, or at Gods omnipotency? nothing le&s;&s;e: but, vvith a <HI>Quomodo fiet istud quoniam virum non eogno&s;co? hovv shal this be done; becau&s;e I knovv not man.</HI> She onely de&s;ired to know, how her virginity might be &s;ecured; how shee could ioyntly be a Mother and a Uirgin: shewing her &s;elfe readier to forgoe the dignity of being Mo|ther of God, then the lea&s;t way to bla&s;t, or taint her pure&s;t flower of cha&s;tity. A rare paterne for all tho&s;e, that liue vnder the banner of Virginity or cha&s;tity. Wherefore being &s;ecured &amp; &s;atisfied
<PB N="109" REF="68">by the Angell, that the holy Gho&s;t vvould ouer|shadow and protect her from all heat of &s;en&s;ua|lity: shee pre&s;ently falling vpon her knees, and bowing downe her head, gaue her humble con|&s;ent in the&s;e words: <HI>Ecce ancilla Domini, fiat mihi &s;ecundum verbum tuum. Behold the hand maid of our Lord, be it done to me according to thy vvord.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith humble and harty thankes to the B. Virgin for this her happy con&s;ent, on which depended the Redemption of man: begge of her al&s;o, that shee will obtaine for thee of God her &s;onne, a pure and cleane heart, a zeale and care of cha&s;tity, like that of hers; and be asha|med, that &s;o &s;mall and light occa&s;ions can ouer|throw thy con&s;tancy, as v&s;ually they doe.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly the mo&s;t heroike ver|tues of the B, Uirgin in this pa&s;&s;age: her faith of this mo&s;t high my&s;terie, and that shee should remaine iointly both a Mother and a Uirgin: her hope and confidence of Gods promi&s;es: her ardent loue of God, and charity towards man kind her perfect obedience and re&s;ignation to the Diuine will in all things, with a <HI>Fiat mihi &s;eeundum verbum tuum. Be it done to me accor|ding to thy vvord.</HI> But aboue all her mo&s;t admi|rable humility; that after the great titles and re&s;|pects giuen her by an Arch-angell; after she &s;aw her&s;elfe exalted to the greate&s;t dignity that Gods omnipotency could rai&s;e a creature vnto, to wit to be true and naturall mother of God, shee was yet &s;o farre from being puffed vp with
<PB N="110" REF="69">pride and &s;elfe conceite, that pro&s;trating her &s;el|fe below all creatures, shee a&s;&s;umed no other title then. <HI>Ancilla Domini, the hand maid of our lord.</HI> The hand maid and &s;laue of our Lord; which, as holy Fathers affirme, shee euer v&s;ed in all her life, and no other.</P>
<P>Conclude to imitate to thy vttermo&s;t the&s;e her vertues, both Theologicall and Morall; and of all the morall, chiefely that of her humility, which she had in mo&s;t e&s;teeme; as al&s;o her &s;onne Ie&s;us Chri&s;t. Let thy heart and mouth euer v&s;e this &s;aying: <HI>Seruus tuus &s;um ego Domine, &amp; fi|lius aucillae tuae: I am thy &s;eruant, &ocirc; lord, and the &s;onne of thy hand maid:</HI> let this be euer thy An|tidote again&s;t all a&s;&s;aults of pride or vaine glorie. Learne therefore the conditions of being a true and loyall &s;laue: fir&s;t he is to be totally his Lords, all his labours, all his gaines, all his endeauours are for his Lord, nothing for him&s;elfe: &s;econdly he &s;erueth not onely his Lords per&s;on, but all his children, &s;eruants, and family, a &s;laue, a drudge to all, beaten and contemned of all: and yet if loyall, hee beareth all with patience &amp; cheerfullnes. Till thou comply with this, thou art not truely <HI>Seruns Domini tui; the &s;eruant of thy lord.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="111" REF="69">
<HEAD>THE THIRD MEDITATION. <HI>Hovv the Sonne of God vvas made man in the vvombe of the Uirgin Mary.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that no &s;ooner had the Virgin Mary giuen her full con&s;ent with, <HI>Fiat mihi fecundum verbum tuum; be it done to me according to thy vvord;</HI> when the holy Gho&s;t framed of her mo&s;t pure and virginall blood, a mans body, though in quan|tity &s;mall and little, as others v&s;e to be; yet in quality mo&s;t perfect, that is, with all its mem|bers, and &s;en&s;es as compleat and exact, as after|wards he had: then created he in it a mo&s;t ex|cellent &s;oule, and withall tooke this humanity con&s;i&s;ting of a body and &s;oule, and vnited it to the eternall Word hypo&s;tatically and per&s;onally: whence re&s;ults this Catholike verity: God is truely man, and the Virgin Mary is truely Mo|ther of God. And thus was celebrated in the wombe of the Virgin Mother, that wonderfull vnion and matrimonie betwixt the &s;onne of God and humane nature, a knot &s;o &s;trong and indi&s;&s;oluble, that death it &s;elfe could neuer loo&s;e or cut it a &s;under; <HI>Quod enim &s;emel a&s;&s;ump&s;it nunquam depo&s;uit. For vvhat he once a&s;&s;umed, he neuer depo&s;ed.</HI> What vnder&s;tanding can here conceiue, or tongue expre&s;&s;e the acts, affections, and raptures, which po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed and tran&s;ported the &s;oule of the B. Virgin in this pa&s;&s;age? The Diuines hold for mo&s;t probable, that with a &s;in|gular
<PB N="112" REF="70">priuiledge shee &s;aw clearely the diuine E&s;|&s;ence, and the my&s;teries wrought in her, as the Angells and Saints now doe in heauen; and &s;o no doubt shee excelled them all in knowledge and loue.</P>
<P>Conclude with the affections of admiration, loue and thankes-giuing: &s;alute the B. Uirgin with the <HI>parabien</HI> of her new dignity of Mother of God: &amp; offer thy &s;elfe for her perpetuall &s;er|uant hence forward: and be &s;ure the be&s;t &s;eruice, thou can&s;t doe her, is to imitate her vertues, e&s;|pecially tho&s;e three of charity, purity and humi|lity, the chiefe gemmes of her diadem.</P>
<P N="2">2 Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how the humanity of our B. Sauiour at the very in&s;tant of his concep|tion &amp; vnion with the Word, was in the highe&s;t degree endowed with all the gifts of nature, grace, and glorie: his &s;oule in cleare vi&s;ion and fruition of the diuine e&s;&s;ence, his body, though litle, yet euery way perfect, both in naturall and &s;ubernaturall gifts, except tho&s;e of immortality and impa&s;&s;ibility, both mo&s;t due vnto it, as well for the dignity of his per&s;on, as al&s;o for the glory of his &s;oule, which should haue redoun|ded to the body: but he would haue it both mor: tall and pa&s;&s;ible, that he might &s;uffer and die for man. This is the head of Angells and men, <HI>Ex cuius plenitudine omnes accepimus. Of vvho&s;e ful|ne&s;&s;e allvve haue receiued.</HI> This is the King and Emperour of all that is without God; into who|&s;e hands the Father hath deliuered all power, to di&s;po&s;e at his plea&s;ure of heauen, earth and
<PB N="113" REF="70">hell; <HI>Data e&s;t mihi omnis pote&s;tas in calo &amp; in ter|ra. All povver is giuen to me in heauen &amp; earth.</HI> That is the high Iudge and &s;earcher of hearts <HI>Qui iudicaturus e&s;t viuos &amp; mortuos. VVho is to iudge both the liuing and the dead.</HI> This is the <HI>end or Finis.</HI> of all Creation and Prede&s;tination; for who&s;e &s;ake all things are made; for who&s;e ho|nourall the elect are prede&s;tinated; <HI>Omnia ve|&s;tra &s;unt,</HI> quoth S. Paul, <HI>vos autem Chri&s;ti: Chri|&s;tus autem Dei. All are yours, and you are Christs and Chri&s;t is Gods.</HI> This finally is the high Prie&s;t and Mediatour betwixt God and man; <HI>Deus homo, compendium omnium mirabilium Dei. God and man, the compendium of all gods vvonders.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude with all the affections, thy heart can find, without feare or &s;cruple of attributing to much vnto him. Adore him with all the An|gells of heauen: giue his humanity the <HI>parabien</HI> of this new dignity of vnion with the Deity: &amp; offer thy &s;elfe as his mo&s;t humble &s;laue, to wate vpon him, and &s;erue him, as long as he shall liue vpon earth.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, how that mo&s;t noble &amp; glorious &s;oule of thy Redeemer, at the in&s;tant of her creation and vnion with the Word, ca|&s;ting the eye of her vnder&s;tanding round about, found her &s;elfe inclo&s;ed and &s;teeped in the Diui|nity, as in an Ocean of bli&s;&s;e: for her obiect of beatitude she hath the Godhead clearely &s;een, and &s;ecurely po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed; for her being or &s;ub&s;i|&s;tence she hath no le&s;&s;e, then the Diuine per&s;o|nality;
<PB N="114" REF="71">for her companion, in the &s;ame being, no le&s;&s;e then the Diuine nature: for her Father the fir&s;t per&s;on, the &s;econd for her &s;pou&s;e, the third for her loue and ioy: <HI>Intus, feris, &s;ur&s;um, deor&s;um, vndique &amp; vndique Deus. VVithin and vvithout, beneath, and aboue, and euerie vvhere God.</HI> Who can conceiue tho&s;e her adorations, humiliations, thankes giuing to God, for draw|ing her &s;o graciou&s;ly from one extreame of no|thing, to the other of the highe&s;t Being po&s;&s;i|ble? what loue of God? &amp; thence what hatred to &s;inne? what loue of man? and what compa&s;|&s;ion for his lo&s;&s;e? and knowing it to be his Fa|thers will, what ready offerings of him&s;elfe? what large promi&s;es to doe, to &s;uffer &amp; die for mans &s;aluation? and this out of pure gratitude to God for his fauours, loue and pity to man, &s;o beloued of God: and hatred to &s;inne and hell, enemyes to God: &s;o that from the beginning to the ending all is God in Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Conclude to ioyne with thy Sauiour in than|kesgiuing to God, for all the prerogatiues and fauours be&s;towed on him, and by him on thee Offer thy &s;elfe freely and really to his &s;eruice; <HI>Paratum cor meum, Deus, paratum cor mium, vt faciam voluntatem tuam. My hart is readie, &ocirc; God, my hart is readie to doe thy vvill.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, how &s;oone our &s;weete&s;t Sauiour began to comply with his Fathers com|mand, and his owne promi&s;e, to &s;uffer for man|kind: being shut vp for nine moneths in the darke wombe of his mother, not able to moue
<PB N="115" REF="71">or &s;tirre him&s;elfe, bound hand and foot; vnable to &s;ee, heare or v&s;e any other &s;en&s;e: which in other infants is no paine; becau&s;e they want the v&s;e both of &s;en&s;e and rea&s;on; but in our Sauiour, who had mo&s;t per&s;ectly the v&s;e of rea&s;on, it mu&s;t needs be a great paine and affliction of mind, as it would be to any other perfect man. O how truely is it verified in him, <HI>Ne&s;cit tarda moli|mina Spiritus &s;ansti grace? the grace of the holie Gho&s;t knovvs noe delayes in its vvorkes,</HI> he alone could thinke him&s;elfe able to &s;uffer, ere he was able to be borne: to teach vs a good le&s;&s;on, not to shuffle &amp; driue of from day to day the co~plying with our obligations, and good purpo&s;es, as commonly wee doe. Behold againe &amp; conceiue, if thou can&s;t, how this great Giant, whom the heauens cannot containe, in re&s;pect of who&s;e greatnes the whole created machine is but as a moat in the Sunne, is him&s;elfe shrunck vp into this little point of a child, a moat, an atome; thus is Immen&s;ity become a point, and the cir|cumference a center.</P>
<P>Conclude two principall things, the one to mortifie and cut short thy appetites &amp; libertyes betime, making all other pretences giue place to Gods &s;eruice: the &s;econd, the higher thou art in place or dignity, to hum<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">le thy &s;elfe &s;o much the more; according to the coun&s;ell of the Wi&s;e man, <HI>Quanto magnus es, humilin te in omnibus &amp; coram Deo inuenies gratiam. The greater thou art, humble thy &s;elfe in all thinges, and thou shalt find grace before God.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="4" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="116" REF="72">
<HEAD>THE FOVRTH MEDITATION. <HI>Hovv the Mystery of the Incarnation vvas reuealed vnto S. Io&s;eph.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how &s;ome moneths being pa&s;&s;ed, it could no longer be concealed from S. Io&s;eph, but that his Spou&s;e was with child: Who can conceiue the griefe and perplexity, which oppre&s;&s;ed the pious &s;oule of this holy man? on the one &s;ide, the &s;ignes grew day lie more and more &s;o euident, that at la&s;t they could beare no excu&s;e, on the other &s;ide, he vvas &s;o &s;ecured and &s;atisfied of her &s;anctity, cha&s;tity and other rare vertues, that he could not force him&s;elfe to cen&s;ure her innocency: what should he doe? accu&s;e her he dur&s;t not liue with her he could not, being again&s;t the law: <HI>Cum e&s;&s;et iu&s;tus, being a good and iu&s;t man,</HI> he re&s;olued to leaue her, and &s;eeke his liuing in the wide world: a rare re&s;o|lution, to take vpon him&s;elfe the punishment, rather then dishonour or di&s;quiet his neigh|bour: a rare meecknes, to fall into no ex|po&s;tulation or hard termes with her: in a ca&s;e that &s;o highly touched his honour. The B. Vir|gin could not but perceiue his griefe by his loo|kes and &s;ighes; and knew very vvell the rea&s;on of it, and how iu&s;t it was on his &s;ide vvhich you may be &s;ure grieued her to the heart, honou|ring and louing him &s;o tenderly, as shee did:
<PB N="117" REF="72">yet shee would not di&s;clo&s;e any thing of the di|uine &s;ecrets, but remitted all to Gods goodnes and prouidence.</P>
<P>Conclude with great compa&s;&s;ion of this holy couple; and wish thou could&s;t afford them any comfort; re&s;olue to imitate this rare vertue, of not iudging or &s;peaking again&s;t the honour of thy neighbour, pre&s;uming vpon euidence, which God knowes, how &s;eldome wee haue: la&s;tly not to di&s;quietthy neighbour for thy owne commodity.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how true that &s;aying of the P&s;alme is; <HI>Multae tribulationes iu&s;torum, &s;ed de omnibus his liberabit eos Dominus: Many are the tribulations of the iu&s;t, and out of all the&s;e our lord vvill deliuer them,</HI> God almighty doth v&s;e to &s;end great afflictions to his be&s;t and mo&s;t beloued &s;eruants; and vvhen all &s;eemeth to be lo&s;t and pa&s;t remedy, then cometh he in, and in a trice cleareth vp all &s;tormes, and reduceth the &s;unne of comfort. So it happened with holy Jo|&s;eph; for <HI>Haec eo cogitante, as he vvas thus thin|king,</HI> and finding no way to &s;olue and quiet &s;o conuincing doubts, an Angell vvas &s;ent vnto him, to reueale vnto him the My&s;terie of the Incarnation; to te&s;tifiie the innocency of his Spou&s;e, <HI>Noli timere accipere Mariam Coniugem tuam; Feare not to take Mary thy vvife.</HI> And to con&s;titute him chiefe Tutour, nay fo&s;ter-Father of the onely Sonne of God: a charge of greate&s;t confidence and dignity vnder heauen. What amazements po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed the holy man, at &s;uch
<PB N="118" REF="73">vvonders and my&s;teries? what ioyes enlightned and ouerflowed his heart, to find &s;o great inno|cency, where he mo&s;t de&s;ired it? vvhat gratitu|de and thankes to God, for &s;o great a dignity? hovv vvith confu&s;ion in his heart, shame in his countenance, and teares in his eyes, did he goe to the B. Uirgin, and aske her forgiuene&s;&s;e for the &s;u&s;pitions and iealou&s;ies, he had conceiued of her &amp;c. where the&s;e two Seraphins of the earth fell into new thankes and pray&s;es of the Diuine prouidence and goodne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Conclude to receiue aduer&s;ities, which vvay &s;o euer they come, as from the hand of God, &amp; as &s;peciall pledges of his loue tovvards thee; and recurre vnto him vvith humility &amp; confidence for the redre&s;&s;e of them. Congratulate with this holy couple for the ioy and comfort which God hath &s;ent them; and offer thy &s;elfe mo&s;t ready to their &s;eruice.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="5" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FIFTH MEDITATION. <HI>Of the rare &s;anctity of the B. Virgin, and Saint Io&s;eph her Spou&s;e.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that if it be true, as it is mo&s;t true. that according to the charge, office and place. to vvhich God Alinighty rai&s;eth a man, he doth proportionably be&s;tovv vpon him his gifts and graces, fit for the executing and complying vvith the &s;ayd dignity: it mu&s;t follow mo&s;t certainely, that no creature of this world
<PB N="119" REF="73">hath or shall ouer attaine to the perfection and &s;anctity of the B. Virgin and S. Io&s;eph: for none haue, or euer shall come nigh the dignity of their place and calling. For fir&s;t the Virgin Mary, vvas euer ioyntly a Virgin and Mother: <HI>(Priui|legium Mariae quod nulli dabitur) A Priuiledge of Marie, vvhich shall be giuen to no other.</HI> And Mother of the true and liuing God, conceiuing him really in her vvombe, bringing him forth, feeding him at her bre&s;t, treating him as her child, her Sonne; and he againe euer calling her Mother, obeying and re&s;pecting her for &s;uch. <HI>O cui aliquando Angelorum distum e&s;t, Mater men es tu? To vvhom of the Angels vvas it euer &s;aid, thou art my mother.</HI> S. Io&s;eph al&s;o hath two wonderfull titles; true and reall Spou&s;e and hus|band of the Virgin Mother of God, and con&s;e|quently her head and Superiour, and &s;o reue|renced and honoured by her: next the cho&s;en Tutour and <HI>Nutricius, the foster father,</HI> of the Sonne of God, and his e&s;teemed Father; &s;o called by the Euangeli&s;t and the Uirgin Mother her &s;elfe; and no doubt but Chri&s;t al&s;o common|ly called him Father, re&s;pecting and &s;eruing him no le&s;&s;e, then if he had been &s;o really &amp; naturally.</P>
<P>Conclude to frame and &s;ettle in thy minde a true opinion and e&s;teeme of the&s;e two Sera|phins of the earth; and neuer doubt to attri|bute vnto them, what&s;oeuer is not E&s;&s;ential to God, but may be communicated to creatures: offer thy &s;elfe for their deuout &s;eruant and
<PB N="120" REF="74">prai&s;e and thanke God for their &s;anctity &amp; dignity.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly the happines S. Jo&s;eph had to be the fir&s;t man, that &s;aw the Sonne of God incarnated and borne in the shape of man; who tooke and lulled him in his armes; who led and carried him in his bo&s;ome many a time; and as oft ki&s;&s;ed that diuine face, <HI>In quem de&s;iderant Angeli prospicere: on vvhom the Angels de&s;ire to looke.</HI> vvho hath earned bread for the Sonne of God and for his B. Mother, vvith the labour of his hands, &amp; &s;weat of his brovv. Finally taught him to &s;peake, vvho is <HI>Verbum Patris; the vvord of God the father.</HI> Taught him the trade and art of a Carpenter, vvho is <HI>Artifex &amp; fabricator mundi; the artificer and maker of the vvhole vvorld.</HI> Gouerned, ruled and bred him, as his Father, Ma&s;ter, and Tutour. On the other &s;ide he vvas obeyed, followed and vvayted on by our Sauiour, no le&s;&s;e, then vve &s;ee other pious children doo their parents. Behold if thou can&s;t Io&s;eph &s;itting at the head of the table, as Lord &amp; Ma&s;ter of the hou&s;e, vvith the Virgin Mo|ther by his &s;ide, and the Sonne of God vvayting at table, bringing and carrying of, vvhat vvas ne|ce&s;&s;ary &amp;c. to the infinite confu&s;ion of his pa|rents, and the a&s;tonishment of Angells. Novv vvho can conceiue the inward gifts and vertues, vvhich this Diuine child in&s;tilled into the bo&s;o|me of this his father, at all times &amp; occa&s;ions? vvhat illu&s;trations? vvhat raptures? vvhat ar|dours? doubtle&s;&s;e no vertue vvas vvanting,
<PB N="121" REF="74">vvhere the &s;ource and fir&s;t &s;pring of all vertues vvas an Attendant and &s;choller.</P>
<P>Conclude te imitate this holy Patriarch as thy &s;peciall patron in two things; the one is, to &s;erue and doe for the &s;eruants of Chri&s;t, vvhat|&s;oeuer shall lie in thy power at all occa&s;ions; re|membring his vvords, <HI>Quod vni ex minimis meis feci&s;tis, mihi fecistis. VVhat you did to any one of my least you did to me.</HI> The &s;econd, to haue a vvonderful zeale &amp; care of purity both of minde and body: for beleeue it, hell is not &s;o foule and di&s;plea&s;ing to the company of <HI>Ie&s;us, Maria, Io|&s;eph,</HI> as is the lea&s;t taint of vncha&s;tity.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, the innumerable &amp; vn|&s;peakable graces, priuiledges, and prerogatiues of the B. Virgin Mary. Fir&s;t her naturall com|plexion of body vvas mo&s;t beautifull and rare, and the compo&s;ition of her mind mo&s;t &s;etled &amp; perfect; &s;o that shee &s;trucke mode&s;ty and reue|rence into any that be held her. Next for her &s;u|pernaturall gifts; shee vvas conceiued vvithout the &s;pot of originall &s;inne, vvhich all the chil|dren of Adam are &s;ubiect to: hence followed that shee vvas free from <HI>Fome peccati, all in ward motions, and inclinations to &s;inne.</HI> And that in|ward vvarre, vvhich vvee all feele &amp; groane vnder; &s;o that her inferiour parts vvas euer at the becke of her vvill and rea&s;on. Then vvas her &s;oule filled brim-full with grace, charity, and all the vertues and gifts of the holy Gho&s;t: nay &s;oe &s;ingularly confirmed vvas shee in grace and &s;anctity that shee neuer committed the lea&s;t
<PB N="122" REF="75">veniall &s;inne in all her life: a rare vvonder, that a humane creature in a fraile and mortall body, should in &s;o many incident occa&s;ions neuer erre, neuer offend in the lea&s;t word, thought, deed or motion interiour or exteriour; but all ruled with rea&s;on, and leuelled to the will of God. Againe no &s;oouer conceiued, but endowed vvith the perfect v&s;e of rea&s;on, actually to know &amp; loue God, &amp; the&s;e acts shee neuer intermitted in the vvhole cour&s;e of her life, but vvhether vvaking or &s;leeping, shee vvas in a perpetuall act of the knowledge &amp; loue of God: &amp; hence followed an augment &amp; increa&s;e beyond imagination, of grace, charity &amp; &s;anctity in her &s;oule; farre &s;ur|pa&s;&s;ing the &s;anctity of all the Saints &amp; Angells together, as Diuines doe hold: &s;ee how vvor|thilie the Angell &s;aluted her <HI>Plenam gratiae, full of grace,</HI> aboue all other creatures.</P>
<P>Conclude with &agrave;dmiration, thankes-giuing, and vvhat el&s;e thy deuotion to the B. Uirgin Mary doth afford.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, that be&s;ides all the titles &amp; prerogatiues of the B. Uirgin, the&s;e two are mo&s;t &s;ingular and proper vnto her: the fir&s;t, that all the gifts of grace and glorie, vvhich come from God, come to vs all <HI>Mediante Maria, by her incerce&s;&s;ion: Totius boni plenitudinem,</HI> quoth S. Bernard, <HI>po&s;uit Deus in Maria, vt proinde &s;i quid spei in nobis e&s;t, &s;i quid gaatiae, &s;i quid &s;alutis, ab illa nouerimus redundare. God hath placed in Marie the abundance of all vvhat is good, that thereby if vve find in our &s;elues the lea&s;t either of
<PB N="123" REF="75">hope grace, or &s;pirituall health, vve might ac|knovvledge her as from vvhom they all proceede.</HI> So that as God the Father will haue all our prayers and petitions &s;ealed or &s;igned vvith the name of his onely Sonne <HI>Per Dominum no&s;trum Ie&s;um Chri&s;tum; through our Lord Ie&s;us Christ</HI> So God the Sonne will haue all our petitions to him pre&s;ented and di&s;parched by his Mother: hence S. An&s;elme vvas not afraid to &s;ay, <HI>Velo|cior nonnunquam est &s;alus inuocato nomine Maria qu&agrave;m iuuocato nomine Ie&s;u; non quod illa poten|tior &s;it (nam per illum ip&s;a potens e&s;t) &s;ed quia matrem vult filius &s;ic honorare. That vve &s;ome times find a readier graunt of our demaunds as|ked in the name of Marie, then of Ie&s;us, not that she is more povverfull then him vvho is the &s;ource, of all her abilities but that the &s;onne would by this prerogatiue honour his mother.</HI> The &s;econd, that a great &s;igne of ones prede&s;tination or reproba|tion, is his deuotion or neglect of the Virgin Mary, S. An&s;elme; <HI>Sicut omnis, &ocirc; beati&s;&s;ima, &agrave; te auer&s;us, &amp; &agrave; te de&s;pectus, nece&s;&s;e est vt intereat; ita omnis ad te conuer&s;us, &amp; &agrave; te respectus impo&s;|&s;ibile est vt pereat: as it is nece&s;&s;arie, &ocirc; ble&s;&s;ed Vir|gine that he vvho loo&s;eth thy fauour, should vvith it loo&s;e his eternall &s;aluation, &s;oe it is impo&s;&s;ible that any in thy fauour should perish.</HI> And S. Bo|nauenture; <HI>Qui dign&egrave; coluerit illam, iu&s;tificabi|tur, &amp; qui neglexerit illam, morietur in pecca|tis &s;uis: the grace of God vvill &s;anctifie that hart, vvhich vvorthilie &s;erueth thee, and he that ne|glected thee shall die in his &s;innes as a punishment
<PB N="124" REF="76">of &s;oe dangerous a neglect.</HI> And then concludes thus; <HI>Non &s;olum in te peccant, &ocirc; Domina, qui tibi iniuriam irrogant, &s;ed etiam qui te non rogant. It is a &s;inne against thee, &ocirc; ladie, not onlie to abu&s;e thy dignitie in derogating, but likevvi&s;e not to v&s;e it in demaunding.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude, as thou hope&s;t for the fauours of God, &amp; as thou tendere&s;t thine owne &s;aluation, to &s;ettle in thy &s;oule a con&s;tant and &s;olid deuo|tion towards the B. Virgin Mary; not a verball and outward show onely of deuotion, as many v&s;e, but a true and &s;olid one, vvhich con&s;i&s;teth in an vnfained imitation of her vertues; e&s;pecially of her burning charity to God and man, her pu|te&s;t cha&s;tity in mind and body, and her lovve&s;t humility: imitate the&s;e and then confide in her, as in a mo&s;t louing Mother; for she hath two brea&s;ts, the one of fauours &amp; graces for the iu&s;t, the other of pity and mercy for &s;inners.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>THE SECOND CHAPTER, <HI>Of the Natiuity of our B. Sauiour Christ Ie&s;us.</HI></HEAD>
<P>OF all the my&s;teryes of our B. Sauiour, this of his Natiuity is the &s;weete&s;t, and of mo&s;t delight to a deuout &s;oule: for of this day the Prophets &s;ing, <HI>Montes &s;tillabunt dulcedinem, &amp; colles fluent lac &amp; mel: The moun|taines shall distill &s;vveetne&s;&s;e and the hilles shall flovv vvith milke and hony.</HI> This day the An|gells
<PB N="125" REF="76">begin, <HI>Gloria in excel&s;is, glorie in the highe&s;t &amp;c:</HI> and the holy Church; <HI>Melliflui facti &s;unt Caeli &amp;c. Out of the heauens hony flovveth &amp;c.</HI> Here shall vve find all the motiues of loue and compa&s;&s;ion, vvith rare examples of all vertues.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FIRST MEDITATION. <HI>Hovv our Sauiour vvas borne in Bethlem?</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, hovv God hauing promi|&s;ed by his Prophets, that his Sonne, the Me&s;&s;ias, should be borne in Bethlem, he moued now the Roman Emperour, by his edict to command all forthvvith to repaire vnto the City or place of their origen or of-&s;pring, and there to regi&s;ter or enroll them&s;elues, as his &s;ub|iects and va&s;&s;als, paying al&s;o a peece of mony for tribute: hence S. Io&s;eph and the B. Uirgin being both of the Royall &s;tock of Dauid, repai|red forthwith to Bethlem the ancient place of Dauids birth: &s;o &s;vveetly doth the diuine pro|uidence order things, that vvhat hee hath &s;o fir|mely determined, yet &s;eemeth to &s;ucceed by chance. See the humility of the Sauiour of the world; vvho, yet vnborne, di&s;daineth not to offer tribute as va&s;&s;all to a terrene King: &s;ee the obedience of Io&s;eph and Mary, that is the Fa|ther and Mother of the Sonne of God, vvithout delay or excu&s;es (hovv many &s;o euer they might lavvfully haue made) taking this long &amp; trou|ble&s;ome iourney; to teach vs humilitie &amp; obe|dience
<PB N="126" REF="77">to our Superiours, hovv bad &amp; vnvvorthy &s;o euer they bee. See the&s;e holy trauellers, vvhat toile and di&s;commodities they endure, being &s;o poore as they vvere; our Lady great vvith child; the iourney long, of foure dayes trauell; the ti|me rigorous, being the depth of vvinter and cold; the vvayes full of people; lodgings hard to be found &amp;c.</P>
<P>Conclude to imitate on all occa&s;ions the&s;e vertues of humility &amp; obedience, vvithout feare of dishonouring, forfooth, thy per&s;on or digni|ty: then compa&s;&s;ionate the&s;e poore pilgrims, &amp; offer thy &s;elfe vp, their &s;eruant, that is, ready to trauell or labour in any thing vvhich shall be to Gods honour, and theirs: in the interim offer all the actions and labours of thy pre&s;ent place, of|fice, or condition.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, hovv coming to Beth|lem, vveary, vvet, and benigted; and &s;eeking for a lodging, all the tovvne could or vvould af|ford them none: al&agrave;s the King and Queene of heauen are poore, vvithout mony and atten|dance; and &s;o are at euery doore freely and re|gardle&s;&s;ely ca&s;t of, and bad, Bee gone; vvhereas the gallants of the vvorld, and among&s;t them mo&s;t horrid &s;inners, are before their face inui|red and conducted in vvith cap &amp; torch. Hovv <HI>ad literans literallie,</HI> is it novv verified, <HI>In propria venit &amp; &s;ui eum non receperunt? he came into his ovvne, and his ovvne recei|ued him not.</HI> Hovv many of his linage and nighe kindred vvere the fir&s;t, that ca&s;t him of?
<PB N="127" REF="77">vvhat shall they doe? or vvh&egrave;ther shall they goe to shelter them&s;elues from the rigour and vio|lence of a winter night? But &s;tay; holy Io&s;eph after long &s;earch, hath found out a caue, a &s;ta|ble, or &s;tall, on the out-&s;ide of the towne-wall; a very commodious lodging, you may be &s;ure; for as yet in all that throng of people, noe man had taken it vp for their hor&s;e or a&s;&s;e. O diuine Sauiour; hovv doth thy voluntary pouerty and want of all things confound our ea&s;e, intempe|rance, and exce&s;&s;e in our apparell, diet and bed? at home in Nazareth, thy mother, though poore, yet could not want &s;ome accommoda|tion, of a fire, a bed, a &s;toole: but here thou wilt find nothing but a manger.</P>
<P>Conclude with shame and &s;orrow for thy owne ea&s;e, indulgence and pampering of thy &s;elfe: if thy meat or drinke be not iu&s;t to thy palate, all the hou&s;e shall heare of it; if thy bed be not vvell made, or thy &s;leep di&s;turbed, what grumblings the next morning? &ocirc; Chri&s;tian &s;ou|le, for shame looke vpon thy Sauiour, and his Mother in the &s;table of Bethlem. Aske al&s;o humble pardon for the thou&s;and of times, that he hath knocked at thy heart for entran|ce, and thou ha&s;t reiected him, and entertained &s;inne and vanity.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, how the B. Virgin en|tring into the &s;table, &amp; knowing how nigh her time was at hand; pre&s;ently conceiued, that that was the place, which the Eternall Wi&s;edome had cho&s;en for his entrance into this world, the
<PB N="128" REF="78">&s;table his palace, and the manger his Salamons bed or couch: wherefore clean&s;ing it, as well as they could, they &s;at them downe to a short re&s;t. When behold after a while the Uirgin Mo|ther, finding in her &s;oule new and &s;udden ioyes, and a heauenly &s;weetnes in her heart, &s;o great and ouer&s;welling, that knowing her houre was come, at the point of midnight shee ca&s;t her&s;elfe vpon her knees, with eyes, heart, and hands lif|ted vp to heauen, rai&s;ed aboue her: &s;elfe in diuine contemplation, and being altogether in bur|ning flames of loue, behold shee &s;eeth lying be fore her on the ground a child, naked &amp; trem|bling vvith cold; more cleare than the &s;tarres, more bright than the Sunne; falling from her vvombe, like ripe fruit from the bough, vvi|thout touch or &s;pot of her Virginall integritie; as the ray of the Sunne pa&s;&s;eth the gla&s;&s;e without hurt, and with new lu&s;tre. Shee quickly taketh him into her armes, vvith a mo&s;t feeling affe|ction, both of re&s;pect and loue; re&s;pect, as to her God and Creatour; and &s;o ki&s;&s;eth his &s;eet; of loue, as to her true and naturall child &amp; Sonne, and &s;o layeth him betweene her brea&s;ts, che|risheth his cold face with her owne, wrappeth him in the poore clouts, shee hath &amp;c. awake &ocirc; my &s;oule, awake, and con&s;ider the&s;e things, as thou can&s;t, for all vvords fall short of ex|pre&s;&s;ion.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith all the affections of thy heart together, for here are motiues for all; of ioy, for thy Redeemer is borne; of compa&s;&s;ion, for he
<PB N="129" REF="78">weepeth; of contrition, for thy &s;innes are the chiefe cau&s;e of his teares; of well comes to him, &amp; congratulations to the Virgin Mother, <HI>Virgo ante, in, &amp; po&s;t partum. A Virgine before, in, an after her bringing forth.</HI> Offer thy &s;elfe a fresh to <HI>Ie&s;us, Maria, Io&s;eph;</HI> for now they may haue need of thee, if thy carriage make thee not vn|worthy.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, and behold him layed in the manger, vpon a little hay or &s;traw, be|twixt an oxe and an a&s;&s;e; terd and &s;wadled vp in poore and cour&s;e bindings, yet &s;o &s;trongly, that he can &s;tirre neither hand nor foot, without his mothers helpe: &ocirc; who hath tyed vp this mighty Giant? who hath contracted this va&s;t immen&s;i|tie beyond heauen and earth, into the narrow compa&s;&s;e of a manger? is not this the <HI>Sapientia Dei, quae extendit &s;e a fine ad finem? the incom|prehen&s;ible vvi&s;edome of God, vvhich reacheth from end to end?</HI> the <HI>Aeternum</HI> &amp; <HI>coaequale ver|hum Patris? vnde ergo ade&ograve; extenuatum, ade<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> abbreuiatum? the coeternall, and coequall vvord of the father? hovv therefore becomes it &s;oe con|tracted, &s;oe extenuated?</HI> is not this as man, the Emperour of the world, the commander of life and death? and who feedeth the birds of the aire? how then &s;o poore, &s;o abiect, &s;o in want of &s;u&s;tenance? is not this he, vvho is &s;o high, as none can be aboue him? and now againe &s;o low, as no man beneath him? vvhat force or art hath brought together the&s;e two ends, &s;o ex|treme and di&s;tant? truly nothing but the force
<PB N="130" REF="79">of goodnes, and the art of loue: <HI>Quid violen|tius?</HI> quoth S. Bernard; <HI>triumphat de Deo amor: quid tamen tam non violentum? amor est. VVhat more violent then loue? it triumphes ouer God: &amp; yet vvhat le&s;&s;e violent? &s;ince it is loue.</HI> The loue of thee and the de&s;ire of thy &s;aluation haue vvrought the&s;e wonders: and yet (&ocirc; blind vn|gratitude!) more there are that vvill not be|lieue them, then the belieuers, that render due thankes or gratitude for them.</P>
<P>Conclude to be mo&s;t gratefull to the diuine goodnes, <HI>Non verbo, &s;ed opere, not in vvord onlie but in deede.</HI> By imitating thy Sauiours lowli|ne&s;&s;e, humility and pouerty: remember, that his bands and re&s;traint pay for thy liberties and wanderings: thanke him for it, and giue him no further occa&s;ion for the like.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>Of the Angells &amp; shepheards ioy at our Sauiours birth.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how true that &s;aying of our B. Sauiour is, <HI>Omnis qui &s;e humiliat, exaltabitur; euerie one that humbles him&s;elfe shall be exalted.</HI> For the &s;upreme and Eternall Father, being vvonderfully plea&s;ed at this his Sonnes extreame humility, cau&s;ed pre|&s;ently all the Citizens of heauen to honour and &s;olemnize this birth day of his onely Sonne and Heire, <HI>Sicut in ortu primogeniti Regis: As in the
<PB N="13" REF="79">birth of a fir&s;t-begotten of a Kinge.</HI> And as S. Paul &s;ayes, commanded all his Courtiers and Gran|dies to adore him for their Lord and Ma&s;ter: vvhich they all mo&s;t promptly and humbly per|formed, de&s;cending inui&s;ibly vvith all their Hie|rarchies and Quires vnto the &s;table and manger of Bethlem; vvhere this great Infant-Prince lay; vvhere bowing full lovv their tall heads with &s;ingular humility, reuerence, and loue, they acknowledge, &s;weare, and adore him for their highe&s;t God of glory, and &s;ole Monarch of the created vniuer&s;e: &ocirc; how the eagle-&s;ighted Cherubins shrinke vp, confe&s;&s;ing their ignoran|ce in re&s;pect of his wi&s;edome and knowledge? how the Seraphins flaming in the loue of God, e&s;teeme them&s;elues ycie and frozen in re&s;pect of his charity? how doe the Thrones &s;toope; the Powers tremble &amp;c. and all begin here with Cele&s;tiall melody their Chri&s;tmas Caroll of <HI>Gloria in Alti&s;&s;imis Deo &amp;c. Glorie in the highe&s;t to God &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude and enter in after all the Angells &amp; Princes of glorie; yet with leaue of the Uirgin Mother thy Lady; and pro&s;trating thy &s;elfe at the feet of thy young Lord, acknowledge him, for thy Lord, thy God, thy Sauiour; and thy &s;elfe for his creature, his va&s;&s;all, his &s;eruant: thanke and ble&s;&s;e both him and his Father for his natiuity, &s;o humble, &s;o poore; and la&s;tly &s;ay <HI>Amen.</HI> to all the Angells pray&s;es: remem|bring that he is not borne for them, <HI>Sed prop|ter nos homines &amp; propter no&s;tram &s;alutem.
<PB N="132" REF="80">But for vs men and for our &s;afetie.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how the holy Angells going from the &s;table, where they found and adored their God become man, began thence forward to treat more familiarly with mankind, as their friends, and companions, which for|merly they &s;eldome or neuer did; but alwayes in thunder, terrour and maie&s;ty: and with good rea&s;on, &s;eeing our nature is now nigher allied to the Godhead then theirs. But &s;tay; to vvhom are they ha&s;ting &s;o at midnight to giue the&s;e ioyfull tidings? to the Kings or Potentates of the world? &ocirc; no; they giue noe audience at that time of night? noe entrance, but to their plea|&s;ures, ea&s;e and &s;leepe: to the great clarkes and polititians? nothing le&s;&s;e: they are all too bu&s;ie in their plots, wiles and circumuentions: and ge|nerally all full of pride, pre&s;umption, wanton|nes and ea&s;e; and &s;o mo&s;t vnworthy both of the me&s;&s;age, &amp; the Me&s;&s;engers. They goe to poore, &s;imple, innocent shepheards, vvatching and guarding their flocks vvith labour &amp; diligence; and &s;o mo&s;t fit and prompt to receiue the com|fort of this heauenly me&s;&s;age, and to find out the Sauiour of the vvorld in a cottage, &s;table and manager, places and termes vvell knowne to their vocation.</P>
<P>Conclude two things, if thou de&s;ire&s;t the vi|&s;itation of Angells and heauenly tidings or in|&s;pirations: the fir&s;t, to empty thy heart from the affections of honours, riches, and plea&s;ures; and to weane thy body from ouer much &s;leepe,
<PB N="133" REF="80">ea&s;e &amp; gluttouy, vvhich quitte choake vp the plants of vertue: the &s;econd, to be euer carefull and vvatchfull ouer the charge, which God hath put thee in, be it great or &s;mall: and then neuer doubt but God vvill in&s;pire thee, and his Angells a&s;&s;i&s;t thee in all thy endeauours.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, how the&s;e poore and de|uout shepheards had no &s;ooner heard the good tidings of the Sauiour of the world borne in Bethlem, and laid in a manger; but pre&s;ently cutting of all delayes &amp; excu&s;es, that very night hied them&s;elues thither: <HI>Et venerunt fe&s;tinantes, &amp; inuenerunt Mariam &amp; Io&s;eph &amp; infantem po|&s;itum in prae&s;epio. And they came vvith speede, &amp; they found Marie, and Io&s;eph, and the infant laid in the manger.</HI> Where giuing fir&s;t account to S. Io&s;eph and the B. Virgin how they vvere &s;ent thither by an Angells voice, to adore their little God, and new-borne Sauiour; vvith leaue they crept to the manger, and vvere the fir&s;t that in this vvorld beheld that diuine face, <HI>In quam de|&s;iderant Augeli pro&s;picere: on vvhich the Angells de&s;ire to looke.</HI> O vvith vvhat humility did they ki&s;&s;e his feet? vvith vvhat heartine&s;&s;e did they thanke him for his coming, to redeeme the lo&s;t vvorld? vvith vvhat deuotion did they offer him their poore and &s;mall gifts, a chee&s;e, a loafe of bread, or a dozen of egges? vvith vvhat feeling did they pity his hard, needy &amp; poore e&s;tate? &amp; finally vvith vvhat diligence did they labour to helpe and comfort him, fetching vvood, making a fire, &s;topping vp &s;ome breaches again&s;t the
<PB N="134" REF="81">vveather &amp;c. &ocirc; hovv gratefull vvas this their &s;er|uice to the diuine child? how vvas hee plea&s;ed? how thankefull for it? how did hee reward and &s;end them away vvith their hearts brim-full of ioy and heauenly light? <HI>Et reuer&s;i &s;unt Pa&s;tores glorificantes &amp; laudantes Deum. And the she|pheards returned, glortfying and pray&s;ing God.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to follow Gods in&s;pirations &amp; cal|lings vvith promptne&s;&s;e, shaking of all &s;loth &amp; tergiuer&s;ation: and vvhat thou do&s;t doe or giue for God almighty his &s;ake, though neuer &s;o &s;mall, though a cup of vvater, doe it vvith a rea|dy heart and &s;incere intention.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, the&s;e la&s;t vvords of the Euanheli&s;t; <HI>Maria con&s;eruabat omnia verba haec, conferens in corde &s;uo. Marie kept all the&s;e vvords, conferring them in her hart.</HI> The mo&s;t Sacred Virgin ioyned hence forward in one both the parts and exerci&s;es of Martha and Mary: as Mar|tha, that is a true and louing mother, shee vvas mo&s;t carefull and watchfull ouer her little &s;on|ne, &s;wadling &amp; vn&s;wadling of him, giuing him the brea&s;t, lulling him a &s;leepe, &amp;c. &ocirc; vvith what reuerence, humility, &amp; loue did shee performe the&s;e things? shee neuer tooke him in her ar|mes, but fir&s;t falling on her knees, shee adored him as her God; shee neuer gaue him &s;ucke, but on her knees; shee neuer vvrapped him vp, but ki&s;&s;ed his feet. Neither did all the&s;e functions any way hinder, but rather increa&s;e the contem|plations of Mary: vvhen the diuine child vvas &s;leeping or &s;ucking, then vvas shee <HI>Conferens
<PB N="135" REF="81">in cerde &s;uo, comferring them in her hart,</HI> compa|ring the two extreames, vvhich encountred in the&s;e my&s;teries: as fir&s;t, the immen&s;ity &amp; ma|ie&s;ty of her Sonne vvith his pre&s;ent litlenes and vveaknes: his cele&s;tiall Palace, and throne vvith the &s;table and manger: the reuerence the Angels did him, vvith that of the poore shepheards pre|&s;ently following: vvhat the Prophets had &s;aid of him, to what shee now &s;aw: the&s;e vvith others vn&s;peakable, vvere her hourely conferences.</P>
<P>Conclude to imitate the B. Virgin and her &s;pou&s;e S. Io&s;eph, in both the&s;e vvayes; &s;o that thy function or charge hinder not thy contem|plation and meditation, but let both runne to|gether. reflect and be ashamed, vpon what light occa&s;ions and pretences, the fir&s;t thing left off or omitted are thy meditations; the lea&s;t toy is &s;ure to be pre&s;erred before them: &ocirc; for loue, shame, or our owne good, let vs amend this &s;loth: let God be fir&s;t &s;erued, and our &s;oule fir&s;t fed.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE THIRD MEDITATION. <HI>Of the Circumci&s;ion of our Sauiour.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. Con&s;ider fir&s;t, how our Sauiour though euery vvay free from the law of Cir|cumci&s;ion, yet hee vvould vndergoe it, out of the de&s;ire hee had to &s;uffer for man; and to giue him example, how hee ought to obey, and comply vvith Gods lavv; and not, as wee v&s;e to doe, &s;eeke all excu&s;es, ca&s;es, and e&s;capes
<PB N="136" REF="82">wee can to auoyd it. Behold S. Io&s;eph vvith the knife in his hand, trembling to giue &s;uch a blow: the B. Virgin her heart pierced vvith griefe, her eyes &s;wimming in teares, yet vvith inuincible courage offering her naked Sonne to the knife: and the infant him&s;elfe, well kno|wing the bitternes of the &s;troke, feared it won|derfully, and yet ioyntly would haue them giue it. Which no &s;ooner done, and his mo&s;t pure and precious bloud running all about him; as on the one &s;ide hee cryed out bitterly, vvith teares and &s;obs, as other infants v&s;e to doe, &s;o on the other &s;ide hee manfully bore it and offered it to his Eternall Father, as a pledge, that one day hee vvould pay in the &s;ame coine the la&s;t drop in all his body. Who can conceiue here the tea|res and compa&s;&s;ion of his parents? how his mo|ther wrapped him in her armes, laid him to her brea&s;t and bo&s;ome? &ocirc; my Sonne, quoth shee, my Lord, my God, my Spou&s;e; &s;uffer quietly, what thou ha&s;t voluntarily vndergone; <HI>Nam ver&egrave; &s;pon&s;us &s;anguinism tis mibi es &amp;c. For thou ar<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> a blouddie &s;pou&s;e to me &amp;c.</HI> as thy deuotion shall &s;erue.</P>
<P>Conclude two things; the fir&s;t, vvillingly to &s;uffer &s;oem what for thy owne &s;innes; &s;eing thy Sauiour beginneth &s;o &s;oone to shed his bloud for them: the &s;econd, to obey mo&s;t promptly the diuine law vvithout tergiuer&s;ation or excu|&s;e; as al&s;o to comply vvith all the obligations of thy &s;tate and condition, what&s;oeuer it co&s;t thee; &s;eing it hath co&s;t Chri&s;t his bloud to doe it.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="137" REF="82"> 2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, the admirable charity and mo&s;t profound humility of our B. Sauiour in this act of Circumci&s;ion: his charity both in shedding his precious bloud at eight dayes old, whereas the promi&s;e and contract, as J may &s;ay, vvith his Eternall Father, vvas onely to doe it at thirty three vpon the Cro&s;&s;e: as al&s;o in taking on him&s;elfe the &s;mart, paine, and shame of cir|cumci&s;ion, to free his Church and faithfull peo|ple from &s;o heauy a yoke; and that holy Bapti&s;|me &s;o &s;weet, &s;o ea&s;y, should &s;ucceed in its pla|ce; &s;o that, like the Pelican, hee wounds him|&s;elfe to feed vs; and as a louing nur&s;e takes the purge to cure the child: ble&s;&s;ed be euer &s;uch loue, &s;uch charity. Now his humility farre ex|ceedeth here, that of being whipped, crowned &amp; nailed to the Cro&s;&s;e; for all tho&s;e vvith vvhat|&s;oeuer els, may happen to innocent men; but circumci&s;ion is the badge, the <HI>Sanbenite</HI> of a Iew, that is, a &s;inner, in&s;tituted by God him|&s;elfe to that end; and to that onely end v&s;ed and plied by that his people: &s;o that our mo&s;t pure and innocent Sauiour by this act of Circumci|&s;ion in fact acknowledged him&s;elfe like other infants <HI>In &s;imilitudinem peccati,</HI> or <HI>like a &s;inner:</HI> a thing point blanke oppo&s;ite both to his di|uinity and al&s;o humanity, as vnited to that per&s;on. In his Incarnation hee became man; in his natiuity a poore man; but in the Cir|cumci&s;ion hee put on the linery of a &s;infull and vvicked man: <HI>Obstupe&s;cite Cali &s;uper hoc. Be a&s;to|nished &ocirc; ye heaue us vpon this.</HI></P>
<PB N="138" REF="83">
<P> Conclude vvith shame in thy face, &amp; teares in thy eyes, to condemne thy wonted pride and hypocri&s;ie, that is, to be a &s;inner in thy life and actions, and yet to &s;corne and &s;well, if any man call or e&s;teeme thee &s;o: turne to thy Sauiour with humility, de&s;iring at lea&s;t not to be e&s;tee|med better then thou art; and with loue in la|bourlng to giue him content in all things, what &s;o euer it co&s;t thee; and in hauing a mo&s;t tender care and zeale of his honour in all occa&s;ions.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, that although our B. Sa|uiour freed vs, and ended in him&s;elfe the cere|moniall and carnall circumci&s;ion: yet he would haue vs imitate him, and practice in our &s;elues the &s;pirituall one, which is called <HI>Circumci&s;ia corais. The circumci&s;ion of the hart.</HI> He shed his bloud for vs &s;eauen &s;euerall times; in his cir|cumci&s;ion; in the garden, where he &s;weat bloud; when &s;courged at the pillar; when crowned with thornes; when &s;tripped on mount Calua|ry, where all his wounds bled a fresh; when he was nailed on the Cro&s;&s;e with foure nailes: and la&s;tly when his &s;ide vvas opened vvith a lance, vvhen his la&s;t bloud came forth mixed vvith vvater. The&s;e are the <HI>Septem ho&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a: the &s;eauen vvell heads,</HI> whence the 7, Sacra|ments and all other graces flow into the lap|pe of the Church. The&s;e are the &s;euen Cir|cumci&s;ions, he vvould haue vs imitate; the fir&s;t in our exteriour &s;en&s;es; the &s;econd in the inte|riour, e&s;pecially in tho&s;e two of Anger &amp; Con|cupi&s;cence; the third in our proper and &s;elfe;
<PB N="139" REF="83">vvill; the fourth in the &s;tubbornne&s;&s;e of our vn|der&s;tanding; the fifth in our temporall aboun|dance, to helpe our neighbour; the &s;ixth in all our vanities, riots, and &s;uperfluities: the la&s;t in the very middle of our heart lancing &amp; opening a pa&s;&s;age for all gro&s;&s;e and noxious humours to runne out at and thus pure and holy, to enter our &s;elues among&s;t the familie and true children of our B. God and Sauiour.</P>
<P>Conclude to circumci&s;e and purge thy &s;elfe two wayes; fir&s;t by thy owne hand, in morty|fying and bridling all thy pa&s;&s;ions, appetites, and di&s;ordinate affections; &s;econdly, in bearing vvith patience, vvhat cro&s;&s;es &s;o euer shall fall vpon thee by others, vvith vvhat intention &s;o euer they doe it, good or bad.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="4" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FOVRTH MEDITATION. <HI>Of the mo&s;t holy name of Ie&s;us.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. Con&s;ider fir&s;t, how true it is, <HI>Qui &s;e humi|liat, exaltabitur; he that humbles him&s;elfe shal be, exalted.</HI> For vvhereas the Sonne of God did ca&s;t and aba&s;e him&s;elfe &s;o low in the act of circumci&s;ion, as to &s;uffer the marke or brand of a &s;inner to be imprinted on his virginall body: pre&s;ently his Eternall Father would honour and exalt him vvith the name of Ie&s;us, that is the Sa|uour or Redeemer of &s;inners; to giue all the vvorld to know, how farre his mo&s;t innocent &s;onne vvas from being a &s;inner him&s;elfe; &s;o far|re;
<PB N="140" REF="84">that he onely vvas able to pay and &s;atisfie for all the &s;innes of the vvorld. And againe this na|me of Ie&s;us vvould he haue preferred before all his other names and titles; and &s;o authori&s;ed, e&s;teemed and reuerenced of all, both men and Angells; <HI>Vt in nomine Ie&s;u omne genu flectatur, terre&s;trium, caele&s;tium &amp; infernorum; that in the name of Ie&s;us euery knee bovve of the cele&s;tials, terre&s;trials and infernals.</HI> Men and Angells with loue and reuerence; the deuills vvith feare and trembling. O vvith vvhat ioy &amp; &s;pirituall &s;weet|nes did Io&s;eph &amp; the Virgin mother pronounce fir&s;t this mo&s;t delicious name; &s;aying. Ie&s;us is his name; as vvell knowing in the excellencies and <HI>grandezas</HI> included therein: &amp; the Angells, no doubt, pre&s;ent made lovv reuerence &amp; obey|&s;ance at the fir&s;t &s;ound thereof. But aboue all the holy Infant accepted this name vvith greate&s;t ioy and content, thanking and promi&s;ing his <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ternall Father, to comply entirely vvith the obligations it brought vpon him, vvhat labour and paines &s;o euer it should co&s;t-him.</P>
<P>Conclude euer to vvorship &amp; reuerence this holy name of Ie&s;us vvith all thy heart, tongue and knee: thanke the Eternall Father for all the honour he hath donne his Sonne by this name; and begge of him, thou mai&s;t euer feele the &s;vveetnes and vertue of it in thy heart.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, hovv derectly our B. Sauiour complyed vvith the obligations of this name of Ie&s;us; for his vvhole life and death vvas ordained to nothing el&s;e, but to our good and &s;ula|tion;
<PB N="141" REF="84">well may he be compared to the <HI>Lig|num vitae, the tree of life</HI> &s;pecified in the A|pocalyps; <HI>Per men&s;es &s;ingulos reddens fructum &s;uum, &amp; folia ligni in &s;anitatem gentium; ren|dring his fruite euery month, and the leaues of the tree for the curing of the Gentiles.</HI> Where vvee find the trunke, the fruit, the leaues: The Tree or trunke vvas of life; for in his life he taught vs, by his death he redeemed vs, vvith his re&s;urrection he receiued vs, in his a&s;cen&s;ion and &s;itting at his Fathers right hand, he pleadeth and &s;ecureth our &s;alua|tion, and is our Ie&s;us: The fruit came euery mo|neth, that is continually through the vvhole yeare; for he neuer cea&s;ed day nor night, &s;lee|ping nor waking, to contriue and perfect our &s;al|uation; for this he fa&s;ted, watched, prayed, trauelled, rounded ince&s;&s;antly &s;ea and land, poore, needy, bare-foot, and euery vvhere per|&s;ecuted, &s;landered, calumniated; and all this to shew and proue him&s;elfe our Ie&s;us. The leaues were <HI>Salus gentium, the health of nations:</HI> for how many thou&s;ands did he heale, both corporally and &s;piritually, where&s;oeuer he vvent? his vvords rai&s;ed the dead to life, a glance of his eye turned &s;inners to Saints; the touch of his hand cured all infirmityes; the &s;pittle of his tongue cured the blind; the hem of his garment &s;lopped the fluxe, in fine; <HI>Virtus de illo exibat, &amp; &s;anabat omnes; Virtue vvent forth from him, and healed all.</HI> his &s;acred huma|nity had not a leafe, a thought, a motion, but
<PB N="142" REF="85">was to vs health and Je&s;us; though to him&s;el|fe paine, &s;weat and bloud.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith humble, yet hearty thankes vnto this thy Ie&s;us for all: confide in him in all thy aduer&s;ities and &s;ay; <HI>Ecce Deus Saluator meus, fiducialiter agam &amp; non timebo: Behold God is my &s;auiour, I vvill doe confidentlie, and vvill not feare.</HI> Let health, life and all faile me; <HI>Ego tamen in Domino gaudebo &amp; exultabo in Deo Ie&s;u meo: Yet vvill I be glad in my lord, and reioice in Ie&s;us my God.</HI> Re&s;olue al&s;o to comply vvith the obligations of the names thou beare&s;t, of Chri&s;tian, Scholler, Prie&s;t, Superiour, or &s;ubiect &amp;c.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, that this name of Ie&s;us, <HI>Est nomen &s;uper omne nomen: it is a name aboue all names.</HI> Infinite are the titles and names of our Sauiour, both as God, and as Man; as God, the Lord God of Sabaoth, the God of ho&s;ts, Ie|houa, omnipotent, mo&s;t fearefull, mo&s;t terri|ble: as man, Chri&s;t, <HI>Emanuel, admirabilis, Con&s;iliarius, fortis, Princeps pacis &amp;c. Emanuel, that is God vvith vs maruelous, coun&s;eler, &s;trong, Prince of peace &amp;c.</HI> But forgetting, as it were, all his other titles, he hath exalted this of Ie&s;us aboue all; in this doth he glory, this he receiued at the fir&s;t shedding of his bloud: this did he fixe ouer his Cro&s;&s;e, vvhen he triumphed ouer death: this doth he keepe now in heauen: and this shall come thundering before him at the day of iudgement: to this alone doth he com|mand all heads to incline, all knees to bow; with
<PB N="143" REF="85">the &s;ound of Ie&s;us doth he comfort the hearts of his faithfull in their aduer&s;ities, and mo&s;t at the houre of death; with this doth he rai&s;e the dead; that is, &s;inners to pardon and grace; with this doth he rout and di&s;pell all the foule legions of hell and his enemies; finally, <HI>Non est aliud nomen &s;ub caelo datum hominibus, in quo oporteat nos &s;aluos fieri. There is noe other name vnder hea|uen giuen to men; vvherin vve mu&s;t be &s;aued.</HI> The rea&s;ons why our Sauiour doth him&s;elfe glory &s;o much in this name, and will haue vs to reue|rence it &s;o much, may be two, the fir&s;t is his loue to men, for Ie&s;us &s;ignifying the Sauiour of men, keepeth vs in memorie of his infinite charity towards vs: the &s;econd, becau&s;e it is not a name de&s;cending to him from his Ance&s;ters, or giuen him by chance, but atchieued by his owne va|lour, and the co&s;t of his bloud, and &s;o hee trium|pheth by it ouer his enemies.</P>
<P>Conclude to glory, reioyce &amp; con&s;ide alwaies in this mo&s;t &s;weet and delightfull name of Ie|&s;us; haue it euer in thy heart vvith loue, in thy mouth vvith re&s;pect, in thy knee with re|uerence.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, that as Chri&s;t, that is, the Sonne of God, become man, containeth in him&s;elfe as in &s;tore-hou&s;e all the perfections both of God and all his creatures: &s;o doth this name of Ie&s;us as a <HI>compendium</HI> or <HI>epitome</HI> in|clude all the other names both of his godhead and manhood: for Ie&s;us &s;ignifieth the Sauiour of men; now to be &s;uch a Sauiour, fir&s;t he mu&s;t
<PB N="144" REF="86">be true God, that is Eternall, Omnipotent, Infi|nite, Immen&s;e &amp;c. all the&s;e therefore doth the name of Je&s;us containe: againe that he might merit and &s;uffer for vs, he vvas to be al&s;o true man; and not onely that, but a man al&s;o mo&s;t wi&s;e, mo&s;t holy, mo&s;t innocent, iu&s;t, humble, patient; and aboue all mo&s;t &s;weet and louing: &amp; as a man to haue perfect health, hee mu&s;t be &s;ound in euery lim and member of his body; &s;o to be a perfect Sauiour, as ours vvas, he mu&s;t be endewed vvith all &s;auing qualityes &amp; per|fections: he mu&s;t be therefore our Father, our Pa&s;tour, Ma&s;ter, King, Prie&s;t, E&s;pou&s;e, Friend &amp;c. and all the&s;e doth this &s;weet name of Ie&s;us import: &s;o that, who nameth Ie&s;us, nameth God and Man, that is, all perfections, all ex|cellencies created and increated.</P>
<P>Conclude, to &s;ettle in thy heart a &s;ingular de|uotion to the name of Je&s;us vvith <HI>S.</HI> Paul, vvho nameth it in his Epi&s;tles aboue fiue hundred ti|mes, and his head being cut of, yet kept the name of Ie&s;us in his mouth; with S. Ignatius in who&s;e heart it vvas found written in letters of gold; and with all, that euer haue been deuout and holy &s;oules: &s;econdly doe all to the honour and glory of this holy name: <HI>Omne quod facitis,</HI> quoth S. Paul, <HI>in verbo, aut in opere, omnia in nomine Domini Ie&s;u Christi. All vvhat &s;oeuer you doe in vvord or in vvorks all things in the name of our Lord Ie&s;us Christ.</HI> Thirdly confide aboue all things in this name <HI>Quodeumque petierilis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis: vvhat &s;oeuer
<PB N="145" REF="86">you aske the father in my name, he will giue it you.</HI> in all occa&s;ions, in all nece&s;&s;ities &s;ay with S. An|&s;elme: <HI>O bone Ie&s;u, propter honorem nominis tui, esto mihi Ie&s;us, &amp; &s;alua me. O good Ie&s;us for the honour of thy name be to me a Ie&s;us, &amp; &s;aue mee.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="5" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FIFTH MEDITATION. <HI>Of the adoration of the three Kings.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, the great loue and care, that our good God hath of vs: the Sa|uiour of the world was no &s;ooner bor|ne in the &s;table of Bethlem, but pre&s;ently he &s;ent out his me&s;&s;engers to call vnto his know|ledge and &s;eruice all &s;orts of people; an Angell to the Iewes, a &s;tarre to the Gentiles: but who gaue eare to this me&s;&s;age? who followed this calling? &ocirc; how fearefull is that &s;entence, <HI>Multi+&s;unt vocati, pauci ver&ograve; electi: many are called, but fevv elect.</HI> But three poore shepheards from Jury, and but three Wi&s;e men from the Ea&s;t: &amp; yet the &s;tarre was &s;een and wondred at by many more; and the shepheards al&s;o told many more in Jury, that the Me&s;&s;ias was borne. See the &s;peed, zeale, and re&s;olution of the&s;e deuout Princes; in thirteen dayes, and tho&s;e short and trouble&s;ome, in the mid&s;t of winter to po&s;t ouer &s;o long and va&s;t a iournie: to enter into for|raine Dominions without licence, and vvithout feare to proclaime a new King borne to the Ie|wes, in the mid&s;t of Ieru&s;alem, in the very
<PB N="146" REF="87">court and face of Herod, the bloudie&s;t Tyrant, that euer liued, and euer quaking at the &s;ound of a &s;ucce&s;&s;our; and vvho afterward for feare of one, killed his owne Sonne: then to make, no &s;tay in the viewing of that mo&s;t ancient and fa|mous City, but hied them pre&s;ently to Bethlem, as they vvere directed.</P>
<P>Conclude to imitate the&s;e holy Kings, as well in following readily Gods callings and in|&s;pirations, vvithoutregard of vvordly re&s;pects or difficulties; lea&s;t thou proue one of the <HI>Vocati &s;ed non electi: one of the called, but not one of the elect:</HI> as al&s;o hauing once embraced the vvay of vertue, to follow it vvith all diligence, zeale, &amp; feruor, vntill thou find thy Chri&s;t: &ocirc; vvho can tell me vvhat vve lo&s;e &s;ometimes by our &s;loth, &amp; tepidity in our prayers, meditations, and com|munions?</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly how departing from Ieru&s;alem towards Bethlem, the &s;tarre re-appea|red, and led them to the &s;table of Bethlem; vvhere ca&s;ting forth greater light, new rayes, &amp; &s;plendour, gaue them to vnder&s;tand, that they vvere at their iourneys end; <HI>Et graui&s;i &s;unt gaudio magno vald&egrave;: and they reioyced vvith ex|ceding great ioy:</HI> but as their ioy vvas great, &s;o no doubt their vvonder and a&s;tonishment was nothing le&s;&s;e, to &s;ee how farre otherwi&s;e things outwardly appeared, then they had hitherto imagined; they thought to haue found a new|borne King, mo&s;t powerfull, mo&s;t rich; &s;ump|tuous in his palaces, courtiers and &s;eruants;
<PB N="147" REF="87">and therefore they vvent fir&s;t to Ieru&s;alem the regal City, vvith <HI>Vbi est qui natus est Rex Iu|daeorum? vvhere is he that is borne King of the Ievves?</HI> but here vvhat doe they find? <HI>Intran|tes domum</HI> (vvhich vvas a &s;table) <HI>inuenerunt puerum cum Maria matre eius, entring into the hou&s;e they found the child vvith Marie his mo|ther,</HI> a young maid vvhich a child in her armes; for it is not mentioned that S. Io&s;eph vvas there: &ocirc; vvhat vvould humane iudgement, vvhat vvould the great Sages &amp; Politians of the vvorld haue thought here? marry haue torned their backs, and thought them &s;elues deceiued: but not &s;o the&s;e holy and truely Wi&s;e men; they gaue more credit to the diuine calling, then to humane rea&s;on; &amp; &s;o entring &s;aluted mo&s;t hum|bly the Uirgin Mother; gaue her account of their calling, &amp; all that had pa&s;&s;ed at Ieru&s;alem, and by the way; begged leaue of her, that they might adore that her little Infant, vvhom they acknowledged for their God and Creatour &amp;c.</P>
<P>Conclude to thanke God daylie for calling thee to the Catholike faith, by the &s;tarre of his holy grace &amp; in&s;pirations: next take heed of cu|rio&s;ity in matters of faith; for belieue it, they fol|low not the rule of shallow rea&s;on or policy, but a more hidden and higher &s;traine; &s;o that, <HI>Qui &s;erutator e&s;t maie&s;tatis, opprimetur &agrave; gloria. He that is a &s;earcher of the maie&s;tie shall be oppre&s;|&s;ed of the giorie.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly how the&s;e deuout Prin|ces, and the fir&s;t pllgrimes of the holy land,
<PB N="148" REF="88">hauing obtained licence to make their adora|tion; pre&s;ently opened their coffers and rich trea&s;ures, vvhich they had prouided; and pro|&s;trating them&s;elues at the Infant Je&s;us his feet, acknowledged him for the true and liuing God; for the &s;oueraigne King of the vvhole vniuer&s;e; and for a true mortall and pa&s;&s;ible man; &amp; the|refore offered them&s;elues vnto him, as creatu|res vnto their Creatour, as &s;laues and va&s;&s;alls to their Soueraigne; and as &s;eruant to wait and a&s;|&s;i&s;t him in his nece&s;&s;ities: which al&s;o they &s;ig|nified by the gifts they offered; for the Incen&s;e &s;ignified their adoration of him as God; the Gold, their tribute, as to a King: the Myrrhe to comfort and &s;trengthen him as a mortall man: <HI>Aurum, thus, myrrham, Regi&abque; homini&abque;ue Deo|&abque;ue dona ferunt. Gold, incen&s;e, and myrrhe they pre&s;ent to a King man, and God.</HI> The diuine Jn|fant &s;poke not vnto them with outward voice, but in his countenance he shewed his ioy and content; and in their hearts he &s;poke a new language vnto them, filling them full vvith the three &s;pirituall gifts corre&s;pondent to theirs; to vvit faith, hope, and charity: by faith; as in a cloud of incen&s;e, they &s;aw the vvhole, my&s;terie of the Incarnation vvith the re&s;t of our holy faith: by hope; as in the bitternes of myrrhe, their expected mans redemption by his death &amp; pa&s;&s;ion: and by the pure&s;t gold of charity their &s;oules vvere inflamed and vnited vnto him.</P>
<P>Conclude to make after them thy adoration in like &s;ort; and vvith gifts of thy heart, not vn|like,
<PB N="149" REF="88">offer him the incen&s;e of faith and religion; the gold of loue and piety; the myrrhe of pe|nance and mortification: &amp; if thou doe this fee|lingly, and &s;incerely, thou vvilt find him <HI>Lar|gum remuneratorem. A large revvarder.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly the vn&s;peakable ioy &amp; content, vvhich the diuine Infant Ie&s;us concei|ued in his &s;oule, to &s;ee &s;o timely fruits of his In|carnation and Natiuity: for in the&s;e three men vvas principiated the calling of the Gentiles to &s;aluation; the conuer&s;ion of the vvhole vvorld; the confu&s;ion and di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing of the Deuill of that vniuer&s;all tyranny, he had &s;o long borne ouer poore man; thence the infinite glory of God, conquering the deuill and vvorld in his Saints and Martyrs of all &s;orts: no man can ex|pre&s;&s;e this his ioy, but him&s;elfe, vvho onely knowes the true value of &s;oules, and the loue his Eternall Father beareth them. The B. Virgin al&s;o and S. Io&s;eph bore a great share in this his ioy: &ocirc; with what Iubilees of her heart, vvhat inflamed thoughts, vvhat vvatry eyes, did shee ble&s;&s;e, thanke and pray&s;e the Eternall Father, for that now the clouds of iufidelity began to di&s;|per&s;e, and the light of Gods knowledge to ex|tend it &s;elfe beyond <HI>Iudea,</HI> ouer the face of the whole earth: that now began the Reigne and Kingdome of her Sonne, &s;o long &s;ince foretold by the Prophets, and lately promi&s;ed her by the Angell.</P>
<P>Conclude &amp; ioyne thy &s;elfe vvith <HI>Ie&s;us Maria Io&s;eph,</HI> and adde one hearty <HI>Amen,</HI> to all their
<PB N="150" REF="89">prai&s;es, and thankes giuen to God: and know that this is the Chri&s;t-ma&s;&s;e day of vs Gentiles; vvherein Chri&s;t began to leaue the blind Iewes, and pa&s;&s;e ouer to vs: receiue him vvith an hum|ble heart, vvelcome him vvith all loue &amp; grati|tude: and take heed of lo&s;ing him againe, as the Iewes did; and as many Chri&s;tians al&s;e doe of all e&s;tates; for noe &s;tate can &s;ecure any man.</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly, how the&s;e holy Kings hauing performed their homage and offerings, and taking leaue of the B. Uirgin and S. Io&s;eph, vvith great humility &amp; reuerence, leauing their hearts behind them in the &s;table, began their re|turne and iourney homeward: when it was re|uealed vnto them, that they should not returne by Jeru&s;alem to Herod, as he had reque&s;ted them for his owne vvicked ends, and they had promi|&s;ed, but take an other vvay, as they did: &amp; being returned home, tooke al&s;o an other vvay and cour&s;e of life: for&s;ooke their crownes and e&s;ta|tes to practice and imitate the better the humi|lity and pouerty, they had &s;een in their new|borne Sauiour; and &s;o went vp and downe tho&s;e va&s;t countries, preaching and communicating to tho&s;e blind, and barbarous people the great &amp; heauenly my&s;teries, they had &s;een; vntill at length for the &s;ayd truth, they lo&s;t their liues, &amp; receiued the glorious and neuer-fading crownes of martyrs. In all vvhich vve may plainely &s;ee the vvonderfull prouidence, care, and loue, that God hath of tho&s;e, vvho totally ca&s;t them&s;elues into his hands, &s;eeking onely to &s;erue and plea&s;e
<PB N="151" REF="89">him; <HI>Ver&eacute; in manibus &s;uis portabit eos, ne vnquam offendant ad lapidem pedem &s;uum; he vvill truly beare them in his hands, lea&s;t perhaps they knoch theire feete again&s;t a stone;</HI> as he did the&s;e holy men, vvho &s;incerely aod deuoutly &s;ought him.</P>
<P>Conclude to ca&s;t thy &s;elfe, &amp; all that thou ha&s;t into the hands of his diuine goodnes; &amp; be con|fident he vvill neither faile, nor for&s;ake thee, if thou fir&s;t for&s;ake not him and his commands: re&s;olue al&s;o now to vvalke an other vvay then formerly, &s;ince Chri&s;t hath been plea&s;ed to call and place thee &s;o night about him; take heed of returning to thy old vomit, le&s;t he ca&s;t thee off, and quite for&s;ake thee.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="6" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE SIXTH MEDITATION. <HI>Of the Purification of the B. Virgin Mary.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how forty dayes being ex|pired, the law commanded the woman to repaire vnto the Temple in Ieru&s;alem, there to be purified, and to offer her fir&s;t borne Sonne vpon the Altar, as a tribute and duty to God Al|mighty: but vvhat vvas this law to the B. Virgin or her Sonne? vvas either shee defiled in the childbirth, or he borne a &s;laue? &s;ee and imitate this obedience and humility of the B. Uirgin: her deare&s;t Sonne vvould be circumci&s;ed, and &s;o take on him the badge of a &s;inner, vvho came to redeeme all from &s;inne: his Virgin Mother
<PB N="152" REF="90">vvould now be purified, as other vvomen, by vvhich she lo&s;t in the vvorld the opinion and e&s;teeme of a Virgin; &amp; vvas held no better then other married vvomen: and yet she vvas the fir&s;t that &s;et vp the banner of Uirginity, she that de|murred vpon this point onely of the Angells me&s;&s;age, she that vvas more ready to leaue to be the mother of God, then to endanger the lea&s;t &s;taine of her purity: she finally, who&s;e &s;ingular title vvas to be, <HI>Virgo ante partum, in partu, &amp; post partum: a Uirgine before in, and after her bringing forth.</HI> Who can now, but her &s;elfe, con|ceiue the profoundnes of this humility, that not vvith&s;tanding all the&s;e re&s;pects, she had to her virginity, and no obligation at all to this law of purification; yet she vvould obey it, and &s;o lo&s;e vvith the vvorld the reputation of a Virgin? &ocirc; how like her Sonne <HI>Sine peccato, &s;ed non &s;ine &s;i|militudine peccati? VVithout &s;inne, but not vvi|thout the likene&s;&s;e of &s;inne?</HI> but vvee, how vnlike to either? <HI>Qui cum peccatores e&s;&s;e volumus, tales haberi aut apparere non volumus? vvho vvill be &s;inners, and yet vvill not that vve appeare &s;oe?</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to accompany them in &s;pirit vp to Ieru&s;alem: embrace the vertue of humility; be not as hamed to be e&s;teemed, at lea&s;t vvhat thou art; if thou can&s;t not yet ouercome thy &s;elfe fur|ther; re&s;olue al&s;o to comply with the law of God, and tho&s;e of thy obligation, vvith a free, large &amp; franke heart, &s;corning as vnworthy of a noble &s;oule, this shuffling &amp; hackling vpon euery toy, as afraid to ouer doe.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="153" REF="90"> 2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how leauing the &s;table of Bethlem, a rich &s;tore hou&s;e for all that should deuoutly vi&s;it it; they tooke their vvay to Ieru|&s;alem: vvho can expre&s;&s;e vvhat pa&s;&s;ed in the brea&s;t of the diuine Infant Ie&s;us, when he came vvithin view of that euer rebellious City? vvhat contradictions, affronts, per&s;ecutions he vvas to &s;uffer of that vngratefull people? now he &s;aw him&s;elfe enter into it in the pious armes of his Mother; but then dragged and haled by the fury of his enemies: certainely vve may piou&s;ly thin|ke, that he began now to weepe ouer thet mi|&s;erable place, as afterward wee read he did. Co|ming thither, and entring into the Temple, there met them old Simeon, a iu&s;t and holy man, &s;ent thither by the in&s;tinct of the holy Gho&s;t; vvho had promi&s;ed him, that he should &s;ee the Sauiour of the vvorld, ere he died: here he met him, adored him for his Soueraigne and God; vvith the Virgin Mothers leaue tooke him in his armes; and full thereby vvith new light in his vnder&s;tanding, new heat in his brea&s;t, lifting his aged face to heauen, full of deuotion, ioy, and raptures, like the dying &s;wan, celebra|ted his owne funeralls vvith a, <HI>Nunc dimittis &s;eruum tuum Domine; novv thou dost dimi&s;&s;e thy &s;eruant, &ocirc; Lord;</HI> vvalking on in this proce&s;&s;ion with Ie&s;us in his armes, till he came to the ho|ly Altar. This is that proce&s;&s;ion, yearely repre|&s;ented by the Church on Candle-ma&s;&s;e-day; and the mo&s;t &s;olemne that euer vvas made on earth, if you con&s;ider the per&s;ons in it.</P>
<PB N="154" REF="91">
<P> Conclude with a new deuotion to this holy My&s;terie, and to the parties therein &s;pecified: be confident, as old Simeon was, of Gods promi&s;es, but &s;o, as thou al&s;o be euer a loyall &amp; faithfull ob&s;eruer of his commandements: finally, when|&s;oeuer thou entre&s;t the Church, to meet thy Sa|uiour, doe it vvith the faith, deuotion and zeale of this good old man.</P>
<P>Con&s;ider thirdly how coming before the Al|tar, the B. Virgin receiued of old Simeon her beloued Sonne, and falling on her knees offered him vpon the Altar vnto his Eternall Father, due vnto him by both the titles of his and her <HI>Primogenitus; fir&s;t borne &s;onne;</HI> and vvithall dra|wing forth a paire of turtles or pigeons, gaue them vnto the Prie&s;t, according to the law, to &s;ignifie vnto vs, that although Chri&s;t offered on the Cro&s;&s;e, or on the Altar in &s;acrifice, be an offering of infinite value; yet it will little a vaile vs, vnles vvee ioyne therevnto our owne good vvorkes and &s;atisfactions. But vvho can here ex|pre&s;&s;e vnto me the &s;pirit and deuotion, either of the Mother o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> the Sonne in this pa&s;&s;age? the Mother laying him on the altar, quitted &amp; gaue vp her right she had in him, vnto the Eternall Father, well knowing the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ue, and vvorth of vvhat she offered; yet begging notwith&s;tanding vvith all humility &amp; &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion, to returne him vnto her, if it were his plea&s;ure; that the might both &s;erue him, as his true hand-maid, &amp; nur&s;e him as his mother. The Sonne, how willingly and contentedly did he lye on the Altar? as the
<PB N="155" REF="91">fir&s;t gratefull &s;acrifice, that euer vvas offered to Fis Father, and as a figure of the Altar of the Cro&s;&s;e, whereon he was to be offered <HI>In holocau|&s;tum vespertinum: as an euening holocau&s;t:</HI> here is fulfilled that of the P&s;alme, <HI>Holocau&s;tum &amp; pro peccato non po&s;tula&s;ti, tunc dixi, ecce venio. Holocau&s;t and for &s;innes thou aidst not require, then &s;aid I behold I come.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude, when&s;oeuer thou &s;ee&s;t thy Sauiour offered vpon the Altar, to offer thy &s;elfe al&s;o vvith him; thy heart, thy affections, thy good workes; that thorough his worth, and value of his merits, thou al&s;o mai&s;t be an acceptable oblation in the &s;ight of God: ioyne al&s;o vvith the B. Virgin in her prayers and deuotions; that &s;o her Sonne Ie&s;us may the &s;ooner heare and grant thy de&s;ires.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, how here is verified the &s;aying of the P&s;alme: <HI>Su&s;copimus Deus mi|&s;ericordiam tuam in medio templi tui: vve haue receiued thy mereie, &ocirc; God, in the middes of thy temple:</HI> for God the Father by the Prie&s;t, his publike Mini&s;ter deliuered vs againe his onely Sonne from of the Altar of the Temple; vvhere the Virgin Mother as our procuratre&s;&s;e recei|ued him in our name before vvitne&s;&s;es old Si|meon, Io&s;eph, and the holy vvidow Anna; &s;o that the act vvas publike, &s;olemne, and euery vvay authenticall, and an act not of pure gift and donation onely, as fomerly in the Incarna|tion it vvas, vvhen was verified that, <HI>Sic Deus dilexit mundum vt filium &s;uum vnigenitum da|ret;
<PB N="156" REF="92">Soe God loued the vvorld, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> that he gaue his ouly begotten &s;onne;</HI> but an act al&s;o of &s;ale or buying; for the B. Uirgin ere she could recouer him of the Prie&s;t, gaue him in his hand fiue &s;icles, that is ten shillings, for him; otherwi&s;e he had remained there a &s;acrifice to his Father. Ble&s;&s;ed for euer be the goodnes, the &s;weetnes, the loue of our Ie&s;us; that giueth vs leaue to tal|ke in this &s;ort of him, and yet with truth: that hath ginen him&s;elfe vvholly ouer to be ours, for our good, our &s;aluation, our bli&s;&s;e; &s;o that when vvee offer any things of his vnto his father, wee offer nothing, but what goodnes hath made ours. Reioyce &ocirc; my &s;oule, and take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ionf of &s;o great trea&s;ures; <HI>Intra in the&s;auros Domini tui. Entre into the trea&s;ures of thy Lord.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith mo&s;t humble thankes to all the parties, that concurred in this &s;ale and deli|uery of thy deare&s;t Sauiour; and e&s;pecially to the Lambe, that vvas bought and &s;old, <HI>Quia voluit. Becau&s;e he vvould.</HI> The &s;ure&s;t way to en|ioy him, is the vnion and exchange of hearts with him; deliuer vvhat&s;oeuer thou art vnto him, and thou art &s;ecured of what&s;oeuer he is, or can doe for thee: then mai&s;t thou &s;ay, <HI>Dile|ctus meus mihi, &amp; Ego illi. My beloued to me, and I to him.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly how the &s;olemnity being ended, and the B. Virgin full of ioy and heauen|ly comfort, ready to returne vvith holy Jo&s;eph and her little Ie&s;us, to dwell in her owne home at Nazareth; behold old Simeon in&s;pired by the
<PB N="157" REF="92">holy Gho&s;t, began to declare vnto her the con|tradictions, per&s;ecutions, and roproches, which that diuine child vvas to &s;uffer in the vvorld, and e&s;pecially in that vngratefull City: <HI>Sed &amp; tuam ip&s;ius animam pertran&s;ibit gladius; and thine ovvne &s;oule shal a &s;word pearce;</HI> the &s;word to wit of compa&s;&s;ion, griefe &amp; &s;orrow for his &s;o vnde &s;erued &s;ufferings. O diuine vvi&s;edome! <HI>Qu&agrave;m in&s;crutabilia iudicia tua &amp; inue&s;tigabiles vitae tuae? hovv in comprehen&s;ible are thy iudgements, and thy vvaies vn&s;peakeable?</HI> what nece&s;&s;ity was there, that the&s;e obiects of griefe should be fo|retold to thy mo&s;t innocent Mother &s;o long be|fore hand? vvas it not &s;ufficient, that then, when they vvere to happen, her &s;orrowes should <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ell according to the mea&s;ure of her loue, that is, beyond all mea&s;ure? but that she should liue alwayes vvith this corro&s;iue of her heart; with this bitter worme wood in her palat; to infect and bla&s;t the ioyes and delights she mu&s;t needs enioy in thy heauenly pre&s;ence and company? can either her loyalty towards thee euer faile, that she may de&s;erue a check: or thy loue to|wards her &s;lacken, that she need merit it euer a|new by her anguishes for thee? &ocirc; nothing le&s;&s;e; both vvere grounded vpon a &s;urer foundation, then to faile: it vvas nothing but the effect of his loue towards her; and therefore he vvould liken her in all things to him&s;elfe: that is, as he pa&s;&s;ed not a minute vvithout a mo&s;t fresh &amp; piercing memorie of his future pa&s;&s;ion &s;o she al&s;o should neuer looke on his diuine face, vvhich reioyceth
<PB N="158" REF="93">both heauen and earth; but pre&s;ently she should &s;ee there his afflictions and her owne griefes &amp; feares.</P>
<P>Conclude to contemne all the pro&s;perities, &amp; iollities of this life, and to embrace aduer&s;ities, vvhich vvay &s;oeuer they come, as &s;peciall gifts and pledges of Gods loue towards thee and re|member, that in this thou shalt liken, thy &s;elfe to thy B. Sauiour, and his Virgin Morher, the Lady and Mi&s;tres of thy heart.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>THE THIRD CHAPTER, <HI>Of our Sauiours child-hood ond education till his Bapti&s;me.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THe holy Euangeli&s;ts haue left little, or no|thing to vs of our Sauiours actions till his age of thirty yeares, vvhen he began to teach and preach, except his flight in to Egypt, and returne from thence; his lo&s;ing him&s;elfe in Ieru&s;alem, and his &s;inding in the Temple; and la&s;tly his returne to Nazareth, his liuing in obe|dience vnder his parents, vvith his increa&s;e in age and grace before God and men.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FIRST MEDITATION. <HI>Of our Sauiours flight in Egypt.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how truely it is &s;ayd of our Sauiour Chri&s;t, <HI>In laboribus &agrave; iuuentu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e
<PB N="159" REF="93">mea: in labours from my youth.</HI> You haue feen the pouerty and nakednes, in vvhich he vvas borne; witnes the cold and ruinous &s;table of Be|thlem: but now they are come home to Naza|reth little al&s;o and poore, yet better, becau&s;e at home; and welcomed by their friends and kin|dred: S. Io&s;eph falleth to his trade, to earne bread for his houshold, the Sonne and Mother of God; the B. Virgin &s;ettleth and accommoda|teth vvith in doore, a poore houshold &s;tuffe for a quiet life at lea&s;t, how &s;paring &s;o euer. When behold a &s;udden &amp; fearefull voice of an Angell, at midnight, rou&s;eth Io&s;eph out of his &s;leep, vvith a <HI>Surge &amp; accipe puerum &amp; matrem eius, &amp; fuge: ari&s;e, and take the child, and his mother and flee:</HI> but vvhither; &ocirc; Lord? to Bethlem againe? noe, you vvere there among&s;t your kindred and vvell v&s;ed. To Ieru&s;alem the royall City? no, <HI>Qui in domibus Regem &s;unt, mollibus ve&s;tiuntur. They that are in Kings hou&s;es are clothed in &s;oft garments.</HI> To the furthe&s;t countryes of the Ea&s;t, to the late three Kings. nothing le&s;&s;e; but <HI>Fuge in Aegyptum; flee into Aegypt.</HI> that barbarous nation, that oppre&s;&s;ed you &s;o long, and made you &s;laues a nation, that euer hated a lew, &amp; v&s;ed him cruelly; thither mu&s;t be your banishment, till you heare further from me. O vvho can expre&s;&s;e the fright of pore Jo&s;eph? the affliction of the B. Uirgin, vvhen shee &s;aw him come halfe di&s;tracted vvith feare to tell her of it? and yet the &s;udden re&s;ignation of both to the vvill and command of God?</P>
<PB N="160" REF="94">
<P> Conclude to vnder&s;tand at length &amp; embrace willingly and promptly the vvayes and exerci|&s;es, vvherewith God doth v&s;e to traine vp his be&s;t &s;eruants; not &s;uffering them to fa&s;ten a foot in the ea&s;e and commodities of this vvorld; but rai&s;e their hopes euer vpward to him&s;elfe: re|member what Chri&s;t hath told thee; <HI>Non est &s;eruus maior Domino &s;uo; &s;i me per&s;ecuti &s;unt &amp; vos per&s;equentur. The &s;eruant is not greater then his maister; if they hane per&s;ecuted me, you al&s;oe vvill they per&s;ecute.</HI></P>
<P>Con&s;ider &s;econdly, vvith vvhat ha&s;t they de|part away before day, without taking leaue of their neighbours and kindred; vvithout making any proui&s;ion for their long iourney; vvithout leauing order about their hou&s;e or furniture, for|cibly left behind; all vvhich vvould haue co&s;t other go&s;&s;ips a fornights time: but this holy couple take care for nothing, but to &s;aue their be&s;t iewell, that is, Je&s;us Chri&s;t from the hands of his enemies; for the re&s;t they remitted all to Gods prouidence; <HI>Execunt de domo &s;ua &amp; de cognatione &s;ua, they goe forth out of theire hou&s;e, and out of theire kindred.</HI> And take a long iour|ney of twenty dayes, at lea&s;t, ere they enter into Egypt, going the nighe&s;t vvay; but farre lon|ger, trauelling as they did, (as it is thought) tound about, thorough the &s;ame de&s;art, by vvhich the I&s;raelites had anciently pa&s;&s;ed; for feare, le&s;t going, through peopled places, they should be de&s;cryed and &s;topped. Ponder novv vvho can, the toile, vvants and di&s;commodityes
<PB N="161" REF="94">incident to &s;uch a way, &s;o long, &s;o barren; and to &s;uch trauellers &s;o poore, &s;o vnprouided, &s;o ha|&s;tened with feare. O my &s;oule compa&s;&s;ionate at lea&s;t, the B. Virgin vvith her Sonne in her armes &s;o oft in the day tired, vvearied and &s;iting dow|ne; S. Io&s;ephs care al&s;o and anguish for a bit of bread in the day, and a poore lodging in the night. O potent Infant, Lord of heauen and earth; could&s;t not thou vvith one of thy millions of miracles for the freedome of others, haue now freed thy parents from all the&s;e mi&s;eries?</P>
<P>Conclude vvith a mo&s;t tender compa&s;&s;ion of the&s;e holy pilgrimes; vvishing from thy heart thou could&s;t doe them any the lea&s;t &s;eruice: le|arne of them to breake through all naturall affe|ctions, obligations and commodities, vvhen any thing of the &s;eruice and vvill of God comes in thy vvay: and hauing once receiued thy Chri&s;t into thy brea&s;t, fly rather into a thou&s;and Egypts and &s;laueries, then hazard to lo&s;e or be robbed of him.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly; how being at length ar|riued in Egypt, we may well &s;ay, that though their iourney vvere at an end, yet their labours and di&s;commodities began a fresh: for if in Be|thlem among&s;t their owne nation and kindred they found no better entertainment than a &s;ta|ble for their lodging: vvhat comfort, may vvee imagine, could they find in a nation barbarous, infidell, and a peculiar enemy to that of the He|brews? &ocirc; my &s;oule, open thine eyes and thou thalt &s;ee great and large matter of pity and com|mi&s;eration,
<PB N="162" REF="95">in the &s;pace of &s;euen or eight yeares, vvhich, as it is thought, this their banishment endured S. Io&s;eph getting &s;ome &s;mall cottage or roofe to couer his head in, fell pre&s;ently to his trade of carpenter, to earne daylie food for the Sonne and Mother of God: neither vvas the B. Virgin idle, but vvith her heauenly mode&s;ty, humility and gracious be hauiour, gaining fa|uour vvith the graue&s;t matrons of the place, got of them &s;ome worke to &s;pin, &s;ow, or the like; vvherwith she holpe to feed and cloth her little Ie&s;us; vvho, as he increa&s;ed in age, doubtles in|crea&s;ed al&s;o their ioy and comfort vvith his ble&s;|&s;ed company: and gained among&s;t the neigh|bours more loue and e&s;teeme by his more then Angelicall &s;weetnes and demeanour.</P>
<P>Conclude to accompany in &s;pirit &amp; deuotion this diuine family of <HI>Ie&s;us, Maria, Io&s;eph;</HI> offe|ring and wishing thou coulde&s;t &s;tead them in any thing: and learne of them &s;uch humility, mode&s;ty and mildnes of carriage that thou mai&s;t liue vvith, nay gaine vpon the fierce&s;t and mo&s;t vntamed di&s;po&s;itions, and vvay vvard|nes that, can be.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, how the bloudy Herod vvith neuer heard of cruelty and rage, hauing ma&s;&s;acred all the Infants of Bethlem, and the places round about; nay, to be &s;ure, his ovvne Sonne al&s;o; and yet mi&s;&s;ing of his intent, which vvas among&s;t &s;o many, to kill Chri&s;t, fell after|wards into infinite mi&s;eries and di&s;ea&s;es &s;o that vvith de&s;paire he killed him&s;elfe, and died euer|la&s;tingly.
<PB N="163" REF="95">When the Angell returning to Io&s;eph, bad him take the child and his mother and re|turne home into the land of J&s;rael; <HI>Defuncti &s;unt enim, qui quaerebant animam pueri: for they are dead, that &s;ought the life of the child.</HI> Ioyfull ti|dings for all, and for little Ie&s;us him&s;elfe, when his parents told him of it. See how they goe to take leaue of their neighbours, and tho&s;e to whom they had been any vvay beholding: than|king them for the courte&s;ies receiued of them, and humbly asking pardon, if they had any way offended or mole&s;ted them: &ocirc; vvhat heart &s;o frozen, as vvould not be inflamed? vvhat eyes &s;o &s;tony, as vvould not melt into teares; at the thankes &amp; farevvell of &s;uch Saints? no doubt but many vvere heartily grieued to lo&s;e their com|pany; many conducted them to the tuwnes end, many gaue them &s;ome almes, to helpe them on their vvay: and vvas there none, thinke you, that ki&s;&s;ed little Je&s;us vvith melting &s;oules &amp; filled his apron or pockets, vvith &s;ome &s;mall knekes or plummes? &s;urely I cannot belieue, but that he had in &s;o long time wonne vnto him the hearts and &s;oules of many.</P>
<P>Conclude to leaue Egypt, that is thy vicious and inordinate affections and pa&s;&s;ions; that thou mai&s;t goe vvith thy Chri&s;t, thy Je&s;us, into the land of promi&s;e, take heed thou bee not left be|hind. Fly ambition, nothing vvill bring thee &s;ooner to ruine; <HI>Deus enim &s;uperbis re&s;i&s;tit, humi|libus autem dat gratiam. For God re&s;i&s;teth the proud, and giueth grace to the humble.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="164" REF="96">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>Hovv our Sauiour vvas left in Ieru&s;alem, and found in the Temple.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how the B. Virgin and S. Io&s;eph returning from the fea&s;t of Ea|&s;ter; for vvhich they v&s;ually vvent vp to Ieru&s;alem euery yeare; our B. Sauiour, beeing now &s;ome twelue yeares old, remained behind; vvho, the one &s;uppo&s;ing him to be in the com|pany of the other, mi&s;&s;ed him not, till they came to their fir&s;t nights lodging; vvhere finding him not, nor among&s;t their kindred and acquain|tauce; how, doe you thinke, did the&s;e tvvo Che|rubins, &s;et to couer and guard the Arke of God, looke one vpon the other? vvhat amazement, what anguish, vvhat de&s;olation oppre&s;&s;ed their hearts? and if according to the quantity of loue, be al&s;o the mea&s;ure of griefe, vvho can explicate or imagine the &s;ad plight of his &s;acred Mother? &s;ure that shee had lo&s;t her deare&s;t Iewell, but why, where, &amp; hovv, mo&s;t vncertaine: &ocirc; how did shee (and S. Io&s;eph al&s;o) pa&s;&s;e that night in prayers, teares, and &s;ighs for her beloued? and before day hovv did she &s;ay, <HI>Surgam &amp; quae|ram quem diligit anima mea; I vvill ri&s;e, and I vvill &s;eeke him, vvhom my &s;oule loueth.</HI> but alas! <HI>Quae&s;iuit &amp; non inuenit, he hath &s;ought him, &amp; hath not found,</HI> through all the vvayes, lodgings and &s;treets of the va&s;t City of Ieru&s;alem. Novv
<PB N="165" REF="96">shee feared, Simeons prophecy vvas come vpon her; and that this vvas that &s;vvord of griefe, should pa&s;&s;e her thorough. one vvhile she feared &s;ome &s;ecret enemy had carried him avvay; an other vvhile, that he had ab&s;ented him&s;elfe for &s;ome mi&s;demeanour, fault, or vnvvorthines of hers &amp;c.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith a mo&s;t tender compa&s;&s;ion of this di&s;tre&s;&s;ed couple: pity the poore Uirgin, novv tired, and not able to dravv her legges af|ter her; vvithout meat, drinke, or &s;leepe, for two dayes and nights, together; and yet hourely vvith le&s;&s;e and le&s;&s;e hope of finding him, than at the beginning: vvish from thy heart<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, thou could&s;t giue her any good tidings of her &s;onne, and learne of her to beare vvith patience and re|&s;ignation all afflictious and di&s;comforts, vvhich God shall giue thee.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how our B. Sauiour fore&s;aw very vvell the great griefe, his ab&s;ence vvould cau&s;e in the tender heart of his mother, and felt in him&s;elfe no doubt, a mo&s;t filiall com|pa&s;&s;ion and pity for her: yet vvith diuine mag|nanimity &amp; courage, he vvould both leaue her for a vvhile in all tho&s;e anguishes of &agrave; comfort|les mother, and al&s;o breake him&s;elfe of the na|turall affection and duty of a Sonne; to leaue vs a perfect example, that flesh and bloud is not to be re&s;pected, when the honour of God, &amp; the &s;pirituall profit of our neighbour calleth an other way. O my &s;oule, &s;tay now in Ieru&s;alem, in the temple vvith thy Sauiour, follow him
<PB N="166" REF="97">clo&s;e, and lo&s;e him not for a vvorld: &s;ee vvhat he doth the&s;e three dayes, vvhere he eateth, vvhere hee &s;leepeth Behold him all the day vpon his knees in the Temple in prayer &amp; &s;up|plications to his Father; farre short was Salo|mons &s;olemnity, and dedication to this, <HI>Quia plus qu&agrave;m Salomon hic: Becau&s;e more then Salo|mon here:</HI> at the euening he goeth about beg|ging a peece of bread for his &s;upper: &ocirc; at how many doores might he &s;uffer a repul&s;e, or a cold, God helpe thee? At night, he either reti|reth him&s;elfe into &s;ome ho&s;pitall for lodging, or lyeth, it may be, vvithin the Churchporch vpon &s;ome bench or &s;tall: and yet he it is, vvho fee|deth and clotheth the bea&s;ts of the field, &amp; the birds of the aire; <HI>Panis hominum &amp; Angelorum. the bread of men and Angles.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to imitate thy &s;weete&s;t Sauiour, in his pouerty, humility, and feruency of prayer: offer to his Eternall Father, vvhat&s;oeuer he hath done, or &s;uffered for thee, in &s;atisfaction &amp; ac|complishment of vvhat&s;oeuer thou come&s;t short in: let nothing take place in thy heart of Gods &s;eruice and the good of thy neighbour.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, how the third day the Scribes and Doctours of the lavv meeting toge|ther in the Temple to conferre vpon points of the holy Scripture; our B. Sauiour came among&s;t the re&s;t of thy young people, and children, to heare and learne. Here he began to aske que|&s;tions, and reply vpon the Doctours an&s;wers, vvith &s;uch vigour, prudence, and vvi&s;edome, &amp;
<PB N="167" REF="97">yet vvith &s;uch mede&s;ty and humility; that as by the one he a&s;tonished the greate&s;t Clerkes, &s;o by the other he rauished the hearts of all that vvere pre&s;ent. And vvhat may vve imagine vvas his di&s;pute vvith them? it is not &s;pecified; but vve may vvell pre&s;ume, that it vvas to open their eyes to &s;ee and acknowledge the true Me&s;&s;ias: let vs therefore &s;uppo&s;e he asked them; vvhen the Me&s;&s;ias &s;o long promi&s;ed vvould come, for the computation of Daniels vveekes vvas novv ended; and the Kingdomes &s;cepter vvas pa&s;&s;ed from the tribe of Iuda: vvho vvere to be his pa|rents, poore or rich vvhat kind of Kingdome vvas his to be: in temporall riches, power and lu&s;tre; or in &s;pirituall gifes, pouerty, meeknes &amp; humility: vvhat vvere tho&s;e Kings, that &s;ome yeares pa&s;t came from the Ea&s;t, and enquired for the King of the Iewes newly borne; &amp; vvhat vvas become of that King? finally vvhat&s;oeuer they an&s;wer&eacute;d, he shevved them: clearely out of the Scriptures and prophecies, that the Me&s;|&s;ias vvas already come, vvould they haue &s;een it.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith ioy and comfort of heart to &s;ee thy young Ma&s;ter begin to di&s;play the rayes of his heauenly light and truth: begge of him, that he neuer leaue thee in darknes, as he left tho&s;e Doctours and Scribes.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourtly, how the di&s;tre&s;&s;ed, and novv hopele&s;&s;e Uirgin, hauing in vaine vvande|red for tvvo dayes and a halfe in the &s;earch of her mo&s;t beloued; shee came at length into thee
<PB N="168" REF="98">Temple, to make her prayers and deuout com|plaints both to him and his father: vvhere ca|&s;ting vp her eyes, shee &s;avv him in the mid&s;t of the Doctours, arguing &amp; di&s;puting vvith them. O my &s;oule neuer thinke to couceiue the ioy, comfort, and nevv life, that &s;uddenly reuiued &amp; dilated the heart of this euer glorious Virgin: for as farre off as thou art from the degree of loue shee bare him, &s;o farre vvilt thou euer come short, either of the &s;orrow shee &s;uffered in his ab&s;ence, or the ioy shee felt in his pre&s;ence: yea &s;ome vvill preferre this before that vvhich shee had at his re&s;urrection, becau&s;e of that shee had a certaine hope and confidence, but at pre&s;ent shee knew not, vvhat to hope or thinke. Behold how shee embraceth and huggeth him; <HI>Inueni quem diligit anima mea, tenebo &amp; non dimittam. I haue found vvhom my &s;oule loueth I vvill hold him, and vvill not let him goe.</HI> Harken to her &s;weet and amorous complaint: <HI>Fili, quid feci&s;ti nobis &s;ic? ecce Pater tuus &amp; Ego dolentes quaereba|onus Te. Sonne, vvhy ha&s;t thou &s;oe done to vs? be|hold thy father and I &s;orrvving did &s;eeke thee.</HI> Tell vs deare&s;t Lady, how comes S. Io&s;eph to be his father, and yet thou a Virgin Mother? noe humility but thine, could euer &s;toope &s;o low, as to honour thy deare&s;t &s;pow&s;e vvith the ob|&s;curing of thy pure&s;t virginity in the opinion of men.</P>
<P>Conclude to imitate in euery point this &s;earch of the B, Virgin, when&s;oeuer thy Sauiour shall &s;eeme to ab&s;ent him&s;elfe from thee: that
<PB N="169" REF="98">is, fir&s;t to &s;ee and be &s;orry, for vvhat thou mai&s;t haue offended him in; then let thy &s;earch be vvith humility and per&s;euerance: thirdly com|plaine vnto him with a lowly confidence; <HI>Vt quid Domine po&s;uisti me contrarium tibi? factus &s;um mihimetip&s;i grauis &amp;c. vvhy ha&s;t thou &s;et me contrarie to thee? I am become burdenous to my &s;elfe &amp;c.</HI> la&s;tly &s;eeke him in the Temple, <HI>In domo orationis, in the hou&s;e of prayer.</HI> And thou shalt &s;oone find him, <HI>In medio cordis tui. In the midds of thy hart.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly our Sauiours an&s;wer vnto the complaint of his parents: <HI>Quid e&s;t, quod me quaerebatis? ne&s;ciebatis quia in his, quae Patris mei &s;unt, oportet me e&s;&s;e. VVhat is it that you &s;ought me<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> did you not knovv, that I mu&s;t be about tho|&s;e things vvhich are my fathers?</HI> Which although tho&s;e great Doctours vnder&s;tood not, &s;uppo&s;ing none other to be his father, but Jo&s;eph, as the B, Uirgin had &s;tyled him; yet he gaue hereby plai|nely to vnder&s;tand, that his true and naturall Fa|ther vvas he in heauen; vvho&s;e &s;eruice therefore vvas to be pre&s;erred before all re&s;pects of carnall parents, &s;elfe ea&s;e, and content, or any corporall commodities vvhat&s;oeuer. O if vve could once learne this le&s;&s;on perfectly of our Sauiour; to doe in all things his vvill, as he did his Fathers, and not our owne, how happily and contented|ly should vve liue, euen in this vvorld? Hauing &s;aid thus vvith a diuine maie&s;ty, and a &s;weet frowne, he pre&s;ently yeeldeth him&s;elfe vnto his Mother, and with prompt obedience and hu|mility
<PB N="170" REF="99">goeth home vvith her: and by the way recounteth, no doubt, vnto her, the rea&s;on of vvith drawing him&s;elfe from them in that &s;ort: the di&s;pute he had vvith the Doctours in the Temple; &amp; how he had pa&s;&s;ed tho&s;e three dayes and nights; promi&s;ing her vvith an all-rauishing grace and &s;weetnes, neuer more to leaue her in the like manner: and how vvarilly did this chance &amp; her loue force her to looke vnto him euer after, vvell knowing the trea&s;ure shee had, or lo&s;t in him?</P>
<P>Conclude vvith two re&s;olutions; the one to direct thy ayme and intention, according to the vocation, God hath placed thee in, really and &s;incerely to comply vvith his vvill and plea&s;ure; and prefer this euer before all other re&s;pects: the other; that hauing by Gods mercy recouered once his grace, vvhich thy &s;innes had lo&s;t thee, looke to it more vvarily for the future; &s;uch trea&s;ures are not &s;o ea&s;ily recouered.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE THIRD MEDITATION. <HI>Of our Sauiours education at Nazareth vntill his Bapti&s;me.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how vvee find nothing vvritten of our Sauiour from his age of twelue to thirty. but onely that he went to Nazareth vvith his parents, and vvas &s;ubiect and obedient to them; <HI>Et proficiebat &s;apientia, &amp; gratia, &amp; aetute apud Deum &amp; homines. And
<PB N="171" REF="99">he proceeded in vvi&s;edome, and grace, and age vvith God and men.</HI> So that in preaching &amp; tea|ching the vvhole Euangelicall law and doctrine, he &s;pent but three yeares, and thirty in the pra|ctice of humility and obedience; to teach by a mo&s;t efficacious example all tho&s;e, that pretend to be preachers and teachers, to lay fir&s;t in them|&s;elues the deepe and &s;ure foundation of true obe|dience and humility; vvithout which no other vertues are &s;ecure; and all &s;cience and eloquence but a bla&s;t of vvind. Nay S. Paul &s;eemeth to re|duce all the merits of Chri&s;t, vnto the&s;e two onely vertues: <HI>Humiliauit &s;emetip&s;um, &amp; factus est obediens v&s;que ad mortem, propter quod &amp; Deus exaltauit eum &amp;c. He humbled him&s;elfe, and vvas obedient vnto death, for the which thing God al&s;oe hath exalted him &amp;c.</HI> For his obedience and &s;ubiection: &ocirc; how different is the pre&s;ent proctice of the vvorld? how many skip into the pulpit, and leape into the chaire, before they know the A. B. C. of the&s;e, or other vertues? how many are there, vvho for thirty yeares of prelacy or command, can count three of true humility or &s;ubiection to their &s;uperiours? and yet Chri&s;t being the Creatour of all things, and monarch of the vvorld, obeyed for thirty yeares a poore Virgin and a &s;imple trade&s;man; and vvould be a Ma&s;ter, and gouernour but three.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith confu&s;ion in thy heart to &s;ee, how promptly thy Sauiour hath obeyed his in|feriours and creatures, and how &s;cantly and im|perfectly thou do&s;t the &s;ame to thy Superiours
<PB N="172" REF="100">and Prelates: re&s;olue at length &s;eriou&s;ly to ground thy &s;elfe in true obedience and humi|lity, <HI>Omni humanae creaturae propter Deum, to euery humane creature for God,</HI> ere thou venture to be a Prelat or Teacher: purpo&s;ing from hence forward in things indifferent, to doe rather the vvill of others then thy owne.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how great &amp; wonder|full vvas the humility of our B. Sauiour; vvho being a per&s;on of that dignity, as he was; who&s;e knowledge comprehended all, that vvas in hea|uen and earth and penetrated the &s;ecret of all hearts; vvho&s;e vvi&s;edome and prudence excee|ded that of men and angells, who&s;e power vvas ouer life and death, vvithout controll, in fine, vvho&s;e gifts and graces were all in the highe&s;t degree: yet he could and vvould hide &amp; couer all the&s;e talents, for &s;o many yeares together, vvithout euer opening his mouth or &s;tretching out his hand to preach, teach or correct any one: but in all his conuer&s;ations behaued him&s;elfe like an hone&s;t &s;imple young man, as others of his age and vocation; &amp; vvas e&s;teemed no other|wi&s;e of his kindred and neighbours: nay &s;ome, who had heard the vvonders of his birth and in|fancy, and had thence conceiued great hopes of him; now as farre &s;leighted and contemned him, &s;eeing him not incline him&s;elfe to any &s;ort of learning or higher &s;traine of conuer&s;ation, than the trade of a Carpenter and poore Mechanick. Schollers, I doubt not, vvill ea&s;ily conceiue, how great humility and mortification this
<PB N="173" REF="100">was: for vvho of vs all, J pray, that is entred the alphabet of any &s;cience, or pretendeth any other qualitie of e&s;teeme, can vpon the lea&s;t oc|ca&s;ion hold his tongue or conceale it? neither thinke that our Sauiour vvanted occa&s;ions to shew him&s;elfe, vvhere he daylie &s;aw &s;o much ignorance of men, and &s;innes again&s;t God.</P>
<P>Conclude and learne this &s;ort of humility cho&s;e rather to be a hearer then a talker, a &s;chol|ler then a teacher, as farre as thy &s;tate permitteth: at lea&s;t giue place to thy betters and equalls to &s;peake before thee: trie this a while, and then tell me, if it be a mortification or no.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, the daylie exerci&s;e and ocupation of our Sauiour, from his child hood vpward to the e&s;tate of a man; &amp; thou vvilt find a mo&s;t large and delicious field of &s;pirituall &s;weetnes &amp; deuotion. His parents vvere poore, and without any &s;eruant; &s;ee then vvhat fell to his lot to doe, and doubt not, but he did mo&s;t di|ligently all what&s;oeuer could be expected from a mo&s;t obedient and humble child: as, to couer the table, to &s;weepe the hou&s;e, make the fire, waite on his parents, goe on errands, and the like; vvhich thou neede&s;t not be ashamed to con&s;ider in particular, as he vvas not ashamed to practi&s;e them for thee; and to that end in&s;pired and willed his parents to command and treat him, as others v&s;e to doe. Being now growne bigger, he takes the harchet and &s;aw in hand, and vvorkes as a prentice to Io&s;eph, not for re|cteation or complement, but with full iourneys,
<PB N="174" REF="101">and daylie toile, to helpe his parents to earne their bread; and S. Io&s;eph being dead, then was he to vvorke harder to maintaine his mother. Stand &ocirc; my &s;oule, and vvith all the Angells and Povvers of heauen, behold vvith amazement this great and <HI>Primus fabricator mundi, the chiefe maker of the vvorld,</HI> &s;wearing now to make a hou&s;e, a &s;toole, a forme: this great Pa&s;tor who feeds the birds of the ayre, &s;ubiect him&s;elfe to Adams cur&s;e, <HI>Comedens panem &s;uum in &s;udore vultus &s;ui. Eating his bread in the &s;vveat of his face.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith shame of thy owne pride, who being a poore worme, and for thy &s;innes vvorthy of no higher place then the bottome of hell, expecte&s;t nothing le&s;&s;e, then to be waited on, and treated vvith all re&s;pect and e&s;teeme; &s;corning to put thy hand to any thing, that may any vvay di&s;parage thy bloud for&s;ooth, breeding or authority: &ocirc; for shame at lea&s;t, shake of &s;uch pre&s;umption, looke vpon thy Sa|uiour, and &s;ure thou vvilt neuer bri&s;tle thy fea|thers, as thou do&s;t.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, how our Sauiour in|crea&s;ed in age, vvi&s;edome and grace before God and men: in age he truly and really increa&s;ed, by the &s;ame degrees as others doe; but of vvi&s;edome and grace he vvas euer full, and &s;o could not in|crea&s;e in them; yet he vvent daylie shevving them more and more in his carriage, conuer&s;a|tion and outward exerci&s;es: as the Sunne is euer the &s;ame in greatnes and lu&s;tre, in him&s;elfe,
<PB N="175" REF="101">yet be giueth more heat, and sheweth more light at noone, than in the morning or euening. Ovvho can con&s;ider his &s;weet conuer&s;ations in the day time? and tho&s;e rayes of diuinity, which at times fell from him, and rauished the hearts of all? or his prayers and contemplations in the night? and all to teach his children, that is, all true Chri&s;tians to labour alwayes to increa&s;e &amp; goe forward in the vvay of piety and vertue; <HI>De virtute in vircutem v&s;que ad domum Dei: from vertue to vertue vnto the hou&s;e of God,</HI> for, <HI>Iu|storum &s;emita qua&s;i lux &s;plendens, procedit &amp; cre&s;cit v&s;que ad per&s;ectam diem. The path of the iust. as shyning light, proceedeth euen to perfect day.</HI> To goe back in our &s;pirituall exerci&s;es, is a mo&s;t dangerous ca&s;e and hardly to be recoue|red; as greater is the fall from a high place, than from a plaine: againe it is well knowne, that it is impo&s;&s;ible here to &s;tand &s;till; <HI>Recedit enim, qui non proca. iit, &amp; qui non pretendit melior fieri, de&s;init e&s;&s;e bonus. For he goeth back vvho doth not proceede, and vvho doth not pretend to be better, leaues of to be good.</HI> If therefore vvee can neither &s;tand &s;till vvithout going back; not goe back vvithout danger of vtter ruine, vvhat remai|neth, but that all, vvho hope for &s;aluation, &s;triue euer forward?</P>
<P>Conclude to doe &s;o &s;eriou&s;ly, both to imitate thy Sauiour, and to &s;ecure thy owne &s;aluation, but &s;ee thou doe &s;o, <HI>Tam coram Deo qu&agrave;m ho|minibus; as vvell before God as men;</HI> that is, both inwardly in thy con&s;cience, &amp; out vvardly
<PB N="176" REF="102">in thy actions, and good-example: pray mo&s;t heartily to thy Sauiour, that he vvill giue thee his grace to doe &s;o</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly the&s;e vvords; <HI>Et mater eius con&s;eruabat omnia verha haec in corde &s;uo: and his mother kept all the&s;e vvordes in her hart:</HI> for the mo&s;t vvi&s;e and prudent Uirgin ob&s;erued mo&s;t diligently all the actions, vvords, and pa&s;|&s;ages of her Sonne, vvel knovving from vvhom, and to vvhat end they proceeded; &amp; laid them vp in her heart, to di&s;pen&s;e them aftervvard to the Apo&s;tles, and the Church, as it should be ne|ce&s;&s;ary. Who can con&s;ider almo&s;t any thing, vvhat pa&s;&s;ed betvvixt her and her Sonne for the &s;pace of thirty yeares, liuing and conuer&s;ing euer together, both day and night, vnder the &s;ame roofe, and at the &s;ame table? how oft did shee pa&s;&s;e whole nights by his beds &s;ide in con|templation, to &s;ee him &s;leep, vvho&s;e eye euer vvatcheth ouer the vvhole vvorld? how oft did shee &s;it at table in a dumbe &s;u&s;pence, to &s;ee him feed of her dish, vvho&s;e &s;ight iu&s;taines the An|gells? how many houres did shee pa&s;&s;e vvith him in mo&s;t &s;weet and familiar di&s;cour&s;e? asking him a thou&s;and que&s;tions and receiuing from him as many in&s;tructions of the highe&s;t my&s;te|ries and &s;ecrets of heauen: vvhat continuall ad|miration did shee &s;iue in, to &s;ee alwayes before hee eyes the&s;e two, extremes ioyne and meet in &s;o &s;weet a harmony, the dignity, to vvit, of his per&s;on, vvith &s;o lowly and humble carriage &amp; be hauiour &amp;c.</P>
<PB N="177" REF="102">
<P> Conclude to liue euer in the company of ihy Sauiour and his B. Mother, that is in contem|plation of their actions and vertues, ioyntly with imitation; and shou shalt be &s;ure of a thou&s;and illuminations and comforts. Study al&s;o to lay vp in thy heart and memory, vvhat&s;oeuer thou shalt heare, read, or &s;ee good, and for thy &s;piri|tuall profit; and then in time of need thou art &s;ure to find a &s;tore.</P>
<P N="6">6. Con&s;ider &s;ixthly, how our Sauiour being now towards twenty nine yares of age, he com|municated vnto his parents, how the time of his preaching, teaching and redeeming the world vvas nigh at hand; and this vvith more particu|larities to old S. Io&s;eph, now about &s;eauenty yeares of age; becau&s;e he vvas not to liue to &s;ee and be a party in his &s;ufferings, as the B. Virgin vvas; but to pa&s;&s;e ouer and re&s;t vvith his fore fa|thers in Abrahams bo&s;ome. O vvith vvhat fee|ling and teares did the good old man heare the&s;e things? vvhat pangs did he feele to part vvith his &s;weete&s;t Ie&s;us and Mary? and yet vvith vvhat conformity to the will of God? how did he aske them both forgiuenes and pardon for the offen|ces he might haue done them, and the &s;mall &s;er|uice he had performed for them? &ocirc; my &s;oule thinke and di&s;cour&s;e a little, vvhat might pa&s;&s;e betwixt three hearts &s;o inflamed and vvounded vvith mutuall loue and tendernes; and I know thou can&s;t not, but by he thine eyes in teares of compa&s;&s;ion. The old man dravving to his end, vvith hands &amp; eyes &s;ixed on his pre&s;ent Sauiour,
<PB N="178" REF="103">and begging of him his la&s;t benediction and ple|nary indulgence, gaue vp mo&s;t &s;weetly his hap|py &s;oule into his hands: vvhich he receiuing &s;ent it pre&s;ently by the hands ef many Angells into the re&s;ting place of the old fathers: and vvith his his owne hands &amp; the helpe of the Virgin Mo|ther, shrowded the holy and virginall body, and vvith the accu&s;tomed rites and mournings laid it in it's graue &amp;c.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith the be&s;t affections thy deuo|tion can afford thee: begg of all three, that they vvill be by thee at the houre of thy death: and receiue thy poore &s;oule into their protection; conceiue a &s;peciall deuotion to S. Io&s;eph for doubtles it cannot but much auaile and profit thee.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>THE FOVRTH CHAPTER, <HI>Of our Sauiours Bapti&s;me &amp; preaching vntill his Pa&s;&s;ion.</HI></HEAD>
<P>HITHERTO vve haue &s;eene our Sa|uiour's childhood and priuate life, and tho&s;e rare vertues he left vs to practi&s;e; hence forvvards he beginnes to shew him|&s;elfe, and the end for vvhich he came; let vs al&s;o follow him this &s;tage vvith meditation and imitation.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="179" REF="103">
<HEAD>THE FIRST MEDITATION. <HI>Of the Bapti&s;me of our Sauiour Chri&s;t.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how the time being at length come vvhen this &s;unne of iu|&s;tice, &s;o long hidden and eclip&s;ed, vvas to di&s;clo&s;e him&s;elfe and &s;end out his rayes to on|lihhten and vvarme the darke &amp; frozen vvorld; before his departing from Nazareth, he gaue an account of all to his B. Mother; thanked her for his education and paines taken vvith him, asked her leaue and licence to leaue her for a vvhile; and no doubt, but as a loyall &s;onne, asked her motherly ble&s;&s;ing, and as her Lord and Crea|tour, gaue her a thou&s;and of his, vvith as many embraces and mutuall farevvells, full of tender loue and dewy eyes on both &s;ides. O my &s;oule, take thou al&s;o leaue of the B. Virgin and follow thy Sauiour; and neuer feare of her very good leaue. See thy Lord goe forth poore, pennile&s;&s;e and barefoot (for in that &s;ort he v&s;ed to preach) a long iourney of foure dayes, to the riuer Ior|dan; vvhere his Precur&s;or S. Iohn vvas prea|ching pennance and bapti&s;ing all &s;orts of &s;inners: &amp; being come thither, he adioynes him&s;elfe, as one of them, to publicanes, &s;ouldiers, murde|rers, theeues and &s;uch like gentlmen; harkens, to S. Johns preaching, and is ready, like a true conuertite, to doe publike pennance, and then be vvashed by him from all his &s;innes. Heauens!
<PB N="180" REF="104">vvhat hath &s;o humbled that Eternall Maje&s;ty? vvhat hath defiled that &s;potles &s;anctity? thy &s;in|nes, &ocirc; my &s;oule, among&s;t the re&s;t.</P>
<P>Conclude to follow thy Sauiour one &s;tep higher in imitation of his vertue: but be &s;ure to begin as he doth, vvith one &s;tep lower of humi|lity, and beare thankfully if thou be &s;landered, or accu&s;ed of any thing, being in thy &s;elfe inno|cent; for thy Sauiour vvill now be e&s;teemed an actuall and vvilfull &s;inner; one &s;tep more then originall.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how our Sauiours tur|ne being come, he vuclothes him&s;elfe, enters into the riuer of Iordan, asketh of S. Iohn to be baptized and washed from all his &s;innes, pro|mi&s;ing to doe pennance for all, hovv many and grieuous foeuer. O mo&s;t innocent lambe? hovv &s;trange is this thy language? and yet hovv true? &s;trange, for hovv can &s;inne be thine, vvhich is &s;o oppo&s;ite to thy nature, and di&s;plea&s;ing to thy per&s;on? and yet mo&s;t true; for all the &s;innes of the vvorld are laid on thy shoulders, and are thine, to beare, to vvash, to &s;atisfy: vvash him therefore, &ocirc; Bapti&s;t, from head to feet, or rather vs in him: But he by, diuine in&s;tinct knovving vvho he vvas, all amazed and a&s;tonished, cried out, <HI>Tu venis ad me baptizari? thou comest to me to be Baptized?</HI> thou, the Sonne of the liuing God Sauiour of mankind? mo&s;t innocent lam|be, <HI>Qui tollis peccata mundi? vvho taketh avvay the &s;innes of the vvorld?</HI> thou, vvho did&s;t &s;an|ctifie me in the vvombe, &amp; vvho art to in&s;titute
<PB N="181" REF="104">a bapti&s;me of the holy Gho&s;t? to mee a poore creature, thy &s;laue, <HI>Et filius ancillae tuae, and the Sonne of thy hand-maid,</HI> conceiued in &s;inne and &s;ubiect to it? shall I be e&s;teemed a Prophet, and thou a &s;inner? or shall I lay my hand vpon that head, <HI>In quo reconditi &s;unt the&s;auri &s;apientia Dei? in vvhom all the trea&s;ures of God the father his wi&s;edome and knovvledge are hidde?</HI> neuer vvill I doe &s;uch a thing: neither vvould he euer haue done it, had not our B. Sauiour commanded him to it: <HI>Sine modo, &s;ic enim-decet nos implere omnem iustitiam: &s;uffer me for this time; for &s;oe it becometh vs to fulfil all iustice.</HI> And vvhat? but, I mu&s;t <HI>Implere omnem gradum humilitatis, fulfil the vtmo&s;t degree of humilitie,</HI> and thou <HI>omnem obedientiam. all obedience.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to learne this holy iu&s;tice; that is, imitate thy Sauiours humility, in acknovvled|ging and doing penance for thy &s;innes: practi&s;e S. Johns obedience, in &s;ubmitting thy iudge|ment vvithout di&s;pute, thy vvill vvithout relu|ctance, to vvhat &s;oeuer Chri&s;t by him &s;elfe or Mini&s;ters shall command thee.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, hovv our Sauiour co|ming out of the riuer, and falling to prayer, pre|&s;ently the heauens open, the holy Gho&s;t co|meth dovvne like a doue; and &s;itteth ouer him; and his Eternall Fathers voice vvas heard, <HI>Hic est filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi complacui: this is, my beloued &s;onne, in vvhom I am vvell plea&s;ed.</HI> In vvhich pa&s;&s;age are figured vnto vs the vvon|derfull effects of our holy Bapti&s;me; in vvhich
<PB N="182" REF="105">are inuoked and concurre all the three per&s;ons of the B. Trinity; the holy Gho&s;t cometh downe, <HI>Et diffunditur in cordibus no&s;tris; and is povvred into our harts.</HI> And of God the Sonne it is &s;aid, <HI>Hic e&s;t qui baptizat in Spiritu Sancto: he it is that baptizeth in the holy Gho&s;t.</HI> By this the hea|uens are fir&s;t opened, and men made heire to bli&s;&s;e. See moreouer the effects of holy prayer: it is that <HI>Penetrat &amp; rumpit caelos; penetrateth and pear&s;eth the heauens.</HI> Prayer calleth downe the holy Gho&s;t into our &s;oules, openeth our ea|res to the voices and in&s;pirations of God the Fa|ther, and rai&s;eth vs to be vvorthy children of God, <HI>In quibus &s;ibi complaceat. In vvhich hee may be plea&s;ed.</HI> See finally, hovv God doth neuer faile to exalt the humble and lowly: Chri&s;t vvhen he vvas borne in a &s;table, vvas reuerenced by Angells, and adored by Kings: when circum|ci&s;ed, had the name giuen him. <HI>Quod e&s;t &s;uper omne nomen: vvhich is aboue all names.</HI> When crucified betwixt theeues, had both earth and heauen to mourne for him: and now vvhen baptized like a &s;inner, vvas honoured vvith the pre&s;ence of his Father and the holy Gho&s;t.</P>
<P>Conclude againe to humble thy &s;elfe in this vvorld <HI>Omni creaturae propter Deum, to euery creature for God,</HI> that he may afterwards exalt thee <HI>In die illa: in that day:</HI> re&s;olue al&s;o to follow the exerci&s;e of prayer, and e&s;pecially mentall prayer; bend all thy forces to profit therein, as thou hope&s;t for heauenly comfort, and the vi&s;i|tation of the holy Gho&s;t.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="183" REF="105">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>Of the Fa&s;t &amp; Temptation of our Sauiour.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how our B. Sauiour no &s;ooner bapti&s;ed, but he enters into the pennance, he had promi&s;ed to doe; &amp; &s;o betakes him&s;elfe into a va&s;t and barren de&s;art, vvhere among&s;t will bea&s;ts and birds of the ayre, he pa&s;&s;ed forty vvhole dayes vvithout euer ea|ting or drinking, in perpetuall prayer &amp; morti|fication: if thou aske vvhy, &s;ince neither his vir|ginall body could de&s;erue &s;uch rigour, nor com|pany any vvay hinder his contemplation and re|collection? the rea&s;on is now giueu in his Bap|ti&s;me, both to &s;atisfie in him&s;elfe for thy &s;innes, and by example to moue thee to doe al&s;o &s;ome|vvhat for thy &s;elfe. O happy de&s;art vvhere&s;oeuer thou art, &s;anctified by &s;o diuine an Hermit. holy caue, the bed chamber of our heauenly Salo|mon, rude and cold in thy &s;elfe, but mollified now and warmed by the ardent &s;ighes of his in|flamed brea&s;t Ble&s;&s;ed ground, vvhich &s;erued for his bed and couch, and thrice happy &s;tone on vvhuch his &s;acred head reclined vveary &amp; heauy; full oft vva&s;t thou bedewed vvith the &s;alt teares that &s;o oft came trickling downe his cheekes. O &s;oule of mine, more barren than that de&s;art, more hard than tho&s;e &s;tones, if thou can&s;t not afford one pious teare to vvarme his naked and frozen feet; if thou can&s;t not breathout one
<PB N="184" REF="106">&s;igh for his &s;ake, vvho doth both vveep &amp; &s;igh &s;o much for thee.</P>
<P>Conclude to enter into the de&s;art of pennance vvith thy Sauiour; helpe him to &s;atisfie for thee, that is, helpe thy &s;elfe by like mortification to ioyne his vnto thee, and make them fruitfull: but fir&s;t be bapti&s;ed, that is, vvashed and clean|&s;ed from thy &s;innes. <HI>Scimus enim quod peccatores Deus non exaudit; vve knovv that &s;inners God doth not heare,</HI> that done, make no dilations, for pre&s;ent &s;atisfaction is more plea&s;ing and &s;ecure.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how our B. Sauiour &s;eeing him&s;elfe &s;o much honoured by the voice of his Father, and appearing of the holy Gho&s;t flies pre&s;ently into the de&s;art, both to auoyd the flatteries and acclamations of the people, as al&s;o vvith the increa&s;e of Gods fauours, not to neg|lect &amp; &s;lack, but rather increa&s;e al&s;o the rigour and au&s;teritie of a vertuous life; and this not for him&s;elfe, <HI>Sed vt nobis relinquat exemplum, vt &s;equamur vestigia eius. But that he might leaue vs an example that vve may folovv his &s;teppes.</HI> Soe this mo&s;t humble and meeke lambe of God conuer&s;ing and liuing among&s;t the vvild bea&s;ts of the vvoods; and certainely vvith more quiet and content would he haue pa&s;&s;ed for all his life, then liuing among&s;t men, to &s;ee and beare vvith their be&s;tiall vices and abominable &s;innes and bla&s;phemyes; had not his pre&s;ence, doctrine &amp; example been nece&s;&s;arie for our amendment &amp; &s;aluation. Ble&s;&s;ed be this his &s;weetnes and gent|lenes
<PB N="185" REF="106">to &s;uffer and conuer&s;e vvith &s;inners: and Ble&s;&s;ed be his charity and goodnes, in preferring alwayes our &s;aluation before his owne content; in &s;paring no labour, or toyle how difficult &s;o euer, vvhence might re&s;ult any good of ours. O my &s;oule, if vve could <HI>vice ver&s;a againe</HI> but doe and &s;ay as much for him, his honour and content.</P>
<P>Conclude two things, fir&s;t to flie withall the &s;trength of thy hart, all prai&s;e and flattery of men; and be &s;orry at lea&s;t, that thou can&s;t not feele in thy &s;elfe this di&s;like: <HI>Magnam,</HI> quoth Thomas of Kempis, <HI>habet cordis tranquillita|tem, qui laudes nec curat, nec vituperat. He en|ioyes a great tranquilitie of mind, vvho neither cares for nor di&s;commends but is indifferent to hu|mane prai&s;es.</HI> The &s;econd, to imitate thy Sa|uiours meeknes and gentlenes in words &amp; car|riage, that thou mai&s;t liue vvith the fierce&s;t and wilde&s;t men that are.</P>
<P>Con&s;ider thirdly, how our Sauiour to teach vs in him&s;elfe, the vvay to a vertuous and cele|&s;tiall life, makes his fir&s;t entrance by fa&s;ting &amp; prayer: for fa&s;ting keepeth downe the body, &amp; prayer rai&s;eth vp the mind. His fa&s;t vvas mo&s;t ri|gorous, for in forty dayes and nights he ta&s;ted not a bitt of bread nor drop of vvater; yet his prayer vvas &s;o ardent, and his mind &s;o ray&s;ed in continuall contemplation, as both holy fathers, and Diuines doe thinke, that in all the &s;aid time, he felt not the hunger and vvant that his body &s;uffered; <HI>Sed po&s;tea e&s;uriit, but aftervvards he
<PB N="186" REF="107">felt both hunger,</HI> feeblenes and weaknes of body. So doe the&s;e two vertues of fa&s;ting and prayer concurre to the aduancing one the other, for fa&s;ting lifteth vp prayer to her full pitch, and prayer maketh fa&s;ting ea&s;ie and in&s;en|&s;ible, as it hath been verified in many thou&s;and of Saints: bel<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">eue it, &ocirc; Chri&s;tian; this is the vvay to vertue and life euerla&s;ting; for both a like labour in vaine, as well he who hopeth to ouercome his other vices and bad inclinations without ma&s;tering his <HI>Gula, his gluttonous de&s;i|re,</HI> and appetite by fa&s;ting; as vvho thinketh to make his fa&s;ting fraitfull or tolerable vvithout diligent prayer and meditation; <HI>Nam &s;piritus viri &s;ustentat imbecillitatem &s;uam: for the spirit of a man &s;u&s;taines his vveakne&s;&s;e:</HI> &amp; take cou|rage, for though neuer &s;o vveake of our &s;elues, yet <HI>Omnia po&s;&s;umus in Deo qui nos cenfortat<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> VVe can doe all things in God vvho comforteth vs.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude, as thou euer hope&s;t to attaine to a vertuous and &s;pirituall life, to &s;eeke no other inuentions nor by-paths, but to follow this high and beaten vvay that Chri&s;t and his Saints haue trodden before thee, of fa&s;ting and prayer; let vs be ashamed, that the elde&s;t of vs, is yet &s;o farre from either; from fa&s;ting, as that vvee murmure at euery di&s;plea&s;ing bit; from prayer, as that e|uery toy can ea&s;ily carry vs from it; if not meere floth it &s;elfe.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly the&s;e vvords of the E|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">angeli&s;t. <HI>Accedens ad eum tentator dixit ei: the tempter approching, &s;ayd to him,</HI> this <HI>Tentator or
<PB N="187" REF="107">tempter</HI> is the deuill, <HI>per antonoma&s;iam; by excel|lencie, as one may &s;ay,</HI> hauing he&s;ides the long ex|perience of thou&s;ands of yeares, foure principall qualities, that make him Ma&s;ter in this black art: the fir&s;t, is the exqui&s;ite skill &amp; knowledge he hath, of our naturall di&s;po&s;itions, inclina|tions and de&s;ires; the &s;econd, his vvonderfull, power, to vvhich all the power of this world is not comparable: the third, his inueterate malice again&s;t mankind, the fourth, his neuer-vvearied &s;edulity, diligence and &s;agacity to worke his owne ends, to apply his &s;nares in due time, and on fit occa&s;ions, and neuer to be wearied vvith repul&s;es, nor tired out vvith durance of time: This <HI>Tentator or tempter</HI> therefore hauing ma|ny yeares vvatched about our Sauiour, now at length catcheth hold of his hunger, <HI>Dic, vt la|pides isti panes fiant, commaund that the&s;e &s;tones be made bread.</HI> Seeke thy food by &s;ome mordi|nate and vnu&s;uall vvay: but being repul&s;ed by the confidence vvee are to haue in Gods proui|dence; he pre&s;ently trieth him vvith pre&s;ump|tion, bidding him throw him&s;elfe downe from the &s;teeple, vvith tru&s;t that God would pre&s;er|ue him: but reiected againe, and &s;eing him to be a man not of ordinary valour ond vvorth, to be catched with &s;mal baites; behold he offereth him the Empire of the vvhole world, for one bend of his knee vnto him: &amp; note how at fir&s;t he offered nothing but &s;tones, but finding re&s;i&s;tance, an empire vvas too little; &s;o doth he proportion his baites according to the vvaters he fisheth in.</P>
<PB N="188" REF="108">
<P> Conclude to liue in great feare of this &s;o pow|erfull, &s;o cunning and malitious an enemy; ne|uer thinke thy &s;elfe &s;ecure, take heed of giuing him any the lea&s;t occa&s;ion; and flie euer vnder the vving of thy Sauiour for his &s;uccour and defence.</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly, and note the&s;e three or foure points vpon this matter: the fir&s;t is, that the deuill neuer te~mpted our Sauiour, vntill he entred into the de&s;art to liue a hard and au&s;tere life; and then he vrged him to turne &s;tones in|to bread: &s;o doth he with vs; as long as vve liue at our ea&s;e and plea&s;ure, he troubleth vs not, but letteth vs &s;aile on vvith a plea&s;ant gale; but if vve once turne about, and looke towards hea|uen, pre&s;ently he &s;etteth vpon vs, and per&s;uadeth vs to turne &s;tones into bread, that is our hard &amp; au&s;tere beginnings into our former ea&s;e and de|light. The &s;econd; he tempted not our Sauiour, till he &s;avv him with hunger and de&s;ire of meat; &s;o it is, vvere it not for our appetites and de&s;ires, the deuill could hardly find a vvay open to enter vpon vs; <HI>Unu&s;qui&s;que tentatur &agrave; concupi&s;centia &s;ua ah&s;tractus &amp; illectus: euery one is tempted of his ovvne concupi&s;cence, abstracted and allured:</HI> &s;ee therefore, how much it behoueth vs to beare all our affections free and aboue terrene obiects. The third, the deuill tempted our Sauiour to precipitate him &s;elfe from the highe&s;t pinnacle, and to pro&s;trate him&s;elfe before him: &s;o doth he treat with vs, that vve throw our&s;elues head long from the highe&s;t top of grace, and Gods
<PB N="189" REF="108">fauour to the bottome of hell &amp; de&s;paire; adore him or other creatures in &s;tead of our Creatour; for in euery mortall &s;inne &s;o it really pa&s;&s;eth; and to obtaine his end, he letteth little by lying or promi&s;ing impo&s;&s;ibilities; for if he be catched in them, he vvill neuer bluch, &s;o he can catch fir&s;t poore &s;oules in his &s;nares.</P>
<P>Conclude to enter vpon a vertuous life &s;tout|ly and vvith courage: to bridle thy appetites &amp; inordinate de&s;ires: not to beleeue the Deuills flatterings, promi&s;es or fawnings, la&s;tly, to thanke thy deare&s;t Sauiour for shevving thee the vvay hovv to re&s;i&s;t and vanquish him; as al&s;o for breaking his force fir&s;t vpon his ovvne &s;a|cred per&s;on.</P>
<P N="6">6. Con&s;ider &s;ixthly, hovv vvhen the Deuill ro&s;e to that height of pride, as to demand ado|ration, our meeke&s;t Lord could brooke him no longer; but vvith a <HI>Uade Satana, Deum tuum a lorabis, &amp; illi &s;oli &s;eruies, a vant Satan, thy God shalt thou adore, and him onlie shalt thou &s;erue,</HI> &s;ent him packing vvith confu&s;ion &amp; de&s;|paire: and the holy Angells came vi&s;ibly round about him; and pre&s;ently adored him for their true Lord and Ma&s;ter, to the greater confu&s;ion of the Deuill; and &s;ung him &s;ome glorious hymne for his victorie ouer that great and fear|full Golias. Learne hence my &s;oule vvhat to doe in the day of battle &amp; temptation, if thou yeeld. the good Angells fly away vvith &s;orrow, and the deuills grin and laugh ouer thee; if thou fight valiantly, the deuill is confounded, the Angells
<PB N="190" REF="109">are reioyced and keep thee company. <HI>Et mini|strabant ei, and mini&s;tred vnto him</HI> that is, they brought him &s;omewhat to cat, a piece of bread and a jarre of water, to relieue his feeble and ouertired body: &s;ee the wonderfull temperance and decencie vvith vvhich he taketh this &s;mall repa&s;t: &ocirc; creep in among&s;t the feet of the ble&s;&s;ed Angells, <HI>Vt comedas de micis, quae cadunt de men|&s;a Domini tui: that thou mayst eate of the crum|mes that fall from the table of thy lord &amp; mai&s;ter.</HI> And runne thence vvith &s;peed to giue tidings to the B. Uirgin of her long-wanted and looked|for Sonne; relate vnto her all what hath pa&s;&s;ed, vvhat he hath done and &s;uffered &s;ince his depar|ting out of her doores.</P>
<P>Conclude to fight euer &s;toutly again&s;t temp|tations, vvith great confidence in thy Sauiour &amp; his holy Angells: prouide thy &s;elfe vvith&s;ome fit &s;entence again&s;t the temptations thou mo&s;t fea|re&s;t, either out of holy Scripture, or els vvhere, they will &s;erue like &s;o many two edged &s;words, to &s;trike thy enemy thorough.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE THIRD MEDITATION. Hovv our B. Sauiour called his Di&s;ciples and his conuer&s;ation vvith all &s;orts of people.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t how our B. Sauiour after thirty yeares humility, pouerty and obe|dience; after a Bapti&s;me in the vvaters of Jordan; after fourty dayes fa&s;t and prayer, and
<PB N="191" REF="109">the triple temptation of the Deuill ouercome; thinking him&s;elfe, in our manner of &s;peech &s;ufficiently armed and prepared for all encoun|ters, comes forth at length into the field, to fight again&s;t the great Goliah of &s;inne and ignorance, to plant his new and heauenly doctrine in the vvorld, and by his owne death to redeeme man|kind. A perfect example for all tho&s;e vvho a&s;pi|re to the preaching of Chri&s;ts word &amp; the con|uer&s;ion of &s;oules, how to prepare them&s;elues at home and vvithin them&s;elues ere they venture out to &s;o dangerous and hard a combat. See how our Sauiour goeth about to gather vp di&s;ciples, vvith vvhich to found and begin his Apo&s;toli|call Colledge and Semmarie, Andrevv &amp; Peter, Iames &amp; Iohn, Mathevv &amp;c. vvhere tvvo things are to be noted: the one, the quicke and ready obedience, vvith vvhich they all follovved his call, leauing &s;uddenly all they had, &amp; follovving him: the other, that he called none vnto him, but poore ignorant and &s;imple fishermen, or the like, <HI>Stulta mundi elegit Deus vt confundat &s;apientes, &amp; infirma vt confundat fortia: the fo|lish things of the vvorld hath God cho&s;en, that he may confound the vvi&s;e, and the vveake things that he may confound the &s;trong.</HI> The&s;e are the <HI>Cerethi</HI> and <HI>Phelethi</HI> of our King Dauid, the day|lie life-guard of our great Salomon; the great coun&s;ellours &amp; polititians, that the Sonne of God cho&s;e to reduce the rebell vvorld to obe|dience and loyalty.</P>
<P>Conclude to follow promptly thy Sauiours
<PB REF="110">vocation and in&s;pirations; and that thou mai&s;t be worthy te be called into his Colledge &amp; com|pany, be a true Deuote to humility, pouerty &amp; &s;incerity: la&s;tly vvhen thou art admitted, venture not out to the field, vntill thou ha&s;t prepared &amp; armed thy &s;elfe to proofe by penance, fa&s;ting, prayer, and ouercoming thy three enemyes, the flesh, vvorld and deuill.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly how it is &s;ayd of our Sauiour <HI>Cepit Ie&s;us facere, &amp; docere: Ie&s;us began to doe and to teach:</HI> his life and conuer&s;ation vvas a perfect mirrour and patterne of all vertue and &s;anctity, for he vvas <HI>Sanctus Sanctorum: the Saint of Saints:</HI> his outvvard conuer&s;ation vvas not vvith tho&s;e corporall au&s;terities and rigours as S. Iohn Bapti&s;t and other Saints haue v&s;ed; nei|ther are they the e&s;&s;entiall part or perfection, but onely helpes therevnto; neither were they conuenient for our Sauiour, vvho coming to teach, cure and conuert all &s;orts of people, vvas to accommodate him&s;elfe to all companyes and places, But the e&s;&s;ential perfection vvas in him <HI>Tamquam in fonte &amp; centro, as in its &s;ountaine and centure,</HI> as humility, meeknes, patience, pouerty, temperance, &s;weetnes &amp;c. <HI>O di&s;cite a me, quia mitis &s;um &amp; humilis corde: O learne of me, becau&s;e I am meeke, and humble of hart:</HI> but aboue all, his inflamed and burning loue and zeale of the honour of his Eternall Father, and the curing and &s;auing of poore &s;oules; for this did he labour both day and night; for the fin|ding of this lo&s;t sheep, vvere bent all his
<PB N="193" REF="110">thoughts and endeauours; for this vvere his trauells by &s;ea and land, from city to city, from people to people, thorough heat and cold, raine and &s;novv, poore, hungry, euer on foot and tho&s;e al&s;o euer bare: &ocirc; how oft did he &s;it downe vveary and tired! how oft vvas he benighted in the cold fields without shelter or reliefe!</P>
<P>Conclude &s;ince now thou art an Apo&s;tolicall di&s;ciple of Chri&s;t, to ground thy &s;elfe here with true vertues, but aboue all in humility and chari|tie; and vvhen thou shalt be &s;ent to thy poore country, thinke not of thy ea&s;e &amp; commodity: but know that thou art &s;ent to goe thorough thick and thin vvith danger of health, vvealth, life and all, and this for the lea&s;t &s;oule that there liueth.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, the terrible oppo&s;i|tion and contradiction the world made again&s;t our Sauiour in this enterpri&s;e, in his good name, honour and life: in his owne towne at the very beginning they layed hands on him, and would haue throwne him ouer a great &s;teep to breake his neek: his owne kin|dred once vvould haue tied him vp for a foole or madman: in Iury how oft vvould they haue &s;toned him to death; &s;o that once he fell into this &s;weet expo&s;tulation vvith them, <HI>Multa bona opera feci vobis, propter quod horum vnltis me lapidare? many good vvorkes haue I done to you, for vvhich of tho&s;e vvorkes vvil you stone me?</HI> In Samaria they vvould not
<PB N="194" REF="111">receiue him, nor giue him a nights lodging: the <HI>Gera&s;eni Gera&s;ens</HI> begged of him to leaue their country, preferring the &s;afety of their hogges before his company. O my &s;oule how oft ha&s;t thou done the like, preferring thy foule &amp; hog|gish plea&s;ures before his &s;weete&s;t pre&s;ence? how oft did they call him glutton, tipler, friend &amp; companion of Publicans, vvhores and ba&s;e people; profane, wicked and breaker of the Sab|both day: at length Samaritan, (vvhich is now as much as Iew) coniurer, vvitch; <HI>Daemonium habet, &amp; in Beelzebub Principe daemoniorum eijcit damonia: he hath a deuil, and in Beelzebub the Prince of the deuils he casteth out deuils.</HI> And vvhat&s;oeuer els rancour and malice could in|uent and &s;pit out again&s;t him: all vvhich our mo&s;t humble and meek Lord bore vvith patien|ce; nothing could vveary him or make him de|&s;ert his enterpri&s;e.</P>
<P>Conclude to imitate thy deare&s;t Ma&s;ter: ha&s;t thou entred the li&s;ts of vertue? expect then en|counters, oppo&s;itions, blowes from all &s;ides, friends, foes, and kindred: but re&s;olue to &s;tand to it, for in this &s;pirituall combate two thingss are mo&s;t certaine and rare, fir&s;t that the victour shall neuer be defrauded of his laurell; next he is &s;ure to be victour, vvho doth not willingly lye|downe and yeeld.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly the &s;peciall and &s;ingular care and &s;weetnes our B. Sauiour shewed vpon all occa&s;ions to poore and helple&s;&s;e &s;inners, not onely in receiuing and cherishing them vvith
<PB N="195" REF="111">gentlenes and charity, vvhen they came them|&s;elues vnto him; but al&s;o in &s;eeking all occa&s;ions to meet and treat vvith them, to allure, cure, &amp; conuert them: for this end he went oft among&s;t them to their meetings and fea&s;tings, without being inuited and called; in &s;o much that the Phari&s;ees, a preci&s;e and puritane &s;ect of the Ie|wes, vvere &s;candalized thereat, and vvilled his di&s;ciples to put him in mind, how it little be&s;ee|med his per&s;on to frequent &s;uch company, ea|ting and drinking vvith publicans and &s;inners: vvhereat out Sauiour pre&s;ently ra&s;e vp vvith the&s;e vvordes, <HI>Non est opus valentibus medicus, &s;ed mal&egrave; habentibus; tho&s;e that are vvhole neede not the Phy&s;icion hut they that are ill at ea&s;e,</HI> &amp;, <HI>Non veni vocare iu&s;tos &s;ed peccatores: I came not to call the iust but &s;inners.</HI> And vvithall exten|ded his di&s;cour&s;e more at large vvith the para|bles of the shepheard &s;eeking his lo&s;t sheep, and bringing it home on his shoulders; the vvoman al&s;o hauing found her lo&s;t <HI>Dragma, or grote</HI> and calling together her goships to reioyce with her: and la&s;tly of the Father receiuing vvith open armes his prodigall Sonne, vvho hauing &s;pent all, returned home a beggar, vvas welco|med and fea&s;ted: la&s;tly, vvith the&s;e vvordes he concluded his &s;ermon: <HI>Dico vobis quod ita gau|dium erit in caelo &s;uper vno peccatore paenitentiam agente &amp;c. I &s;ay to you that &s;oe there shal be ioy in heauen vpon one &s;inner that doth penance, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith mo&s;t humble &amp; hearty than|kes to thy Sauiour for his goodnes towards
<PB N="196" REF="112">poore &s;inners, and towards thy &s;elfe in particu|lar, for hauing &s;o often inuited thee, in&s;pired thee, called thee to amendment, and how oft ha&s;t thou reiected all his vi&s;its? and contri&s;tated both him &amp; the Angells of heauen? &ocirc; returne yet at length vvith humility &amp; a &s;incere re&s;olution, and he vvill not reiect, but embrace thee.</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly, how to shew the loue &amp; care he had of &s;inners; he tooke Mathew a Pu|blican and v&s;urer into the Colledge of his A|po&s;tles, and made him moreouer an Euange|li&s;t: let no &s;inner then de&s;paire how great &s;oeuer, to mount vnto perfection through his grace. Zacheus a Prince of Publicans had but a de&s;ire to &s;ee him, and pre&s;ently our mo&s;t &s;weet Lord inuited him&s;elfe to his hou&s;e and made him a Sonne of Abraham, Magdalene a famous &amp; pu|blike &s;inner came creeping vnto him; he recei|ued her, &s;uffered her to touch, vvash and ki&s;&s;e his feet, to the great offence and &s;candall of the proud Phari&s;ee; from vvho&s;e &s;landers he defen|ded her, pardoned in publike her &s;innes, &amp; &s;ent her avvay &s;o great a Saint, as all knovv. But the conuer&s;ion of the Samaritan vvoman is mo&s;t &s;vveet and delightfull; a vvoman of ba&s;e &amp; lovv condition, &amp; of a vvor&s;e life, hauing been mar|ried to fiue husbands, and novv liuing vvith one, that vvas none of her owne: our B. Sauiour like a cunning fowler of &s;oules, lay vvatching for her at a vvelhead in the heat of the day; began to parly vvith her, and by little &amp; little drew her on &s;o farre that shee threw downe her pitcher,
<PB N="197" REF="112">and ran into the Citie, a preacher and Euange|li&s;t to her people. Finally he defended the poore vvoman taken in adultery, ab&s;olued her, &amp; &s;ent her home free from &s;inne and death: he pardo|ned the theefe at the la&s;t ga&s;pe on the Cro&s;&s;e: in fine his generall proclamation for all is; <HI>Venite adme omnes qui laboratis &amp; onerati estis, &amp; ego reficiam vos. Come to me all that labour, and are burdened, and I vvill refresh you.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to runne vnto this fountaine of &s;weetnes, vvhen&s;oeuer thou finde&s;t thy &s;elfe de|filed vvith &s;inne; but runne vvith humility and confiden ce: be al&s;o euer diligent and vvatchfull to helpe poore &s;inners to their conuer&s;ion: no|thing is more gratefull to Chri&s;t; <HI>Docebo iniquos vias tuas; &amp; impij ad te conuertentur. I vvill teach the vniu&s;t thy vvayes, &amp; the impious shall be conuerted to thee.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="4" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FOVRTH MEDITATION. <HI>Of the miracles &amp; doctrine of our Sauiour.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how as the fruit of the tree in Paradi&s;e gaue life, and the leaues health to the nations; &s;o, though our B. Sauiours principall end, and intent vvas to giue life &amp; &s;aluation to &s;oules, yet the aboundan|ce of his goodnes &s;pread out his leaues al&s;o to the health of the body, vvith &s;uch prodigious miracles, that &s;urpa&s;&s;e all vnder&s;tanding and lan|guage: Let vs con&s;ider the&s;e two points; the
<PB N="198" REF="113">fir&s;t is the number of them, vvhich S. Iohn af|firmeth to be &s;o great, that if all vvere vvritten, he thinkes the vvhole vvorld could not hold the volumes: &s;ee the Scripture, and at euery &s;tep vvee shall meet vvith the lame, the blind, the deafe, the leprous, the dumbe, the dead, the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, all perfectly cured, rai&s;ed, freed; <HI>Quia virtus de illo exibat &amp; &s;anabat omnes. Becau&s;e vertue vvent forth from him, and healed all.</HI> The next is the benignity, facility and prompt|ne&s;&s;e vvith vvhich he did all this; little need of intreating, let him but know the griefe, and the cure vvas at hand: his mother &s;ayd no more, but, <HI>Vinum non habent, they haue not vvine,</HI> and pre|&s;ently the ve&s;&s;els of vvater vvere turned into vvine: the leprous man had no &s;ooner &s;ayd, <HI>Do|mine &s;i vis, potes me mundare, Lord, if thou vvilt thou can&s;t make me cleane.</HI> But &s;uddenly: <HI>Uolo, mundare: I vvill, be thou made cleane:</HI> the Cen|turion, could hardly &s;ay; <HI>Domine puer meus iacet in domo paralyticus. Lord my boy lieth at home &s;ick of the pal&s;ey.</HI> When he vvas cut off, <HI>Ego ve|niam, &amp; curabo eum. I vvill come, and cure him.</HI> S. Martha and Magdalen &s;ent to him; <HI>Domine quem amas, infirmatur, Lord he vvhom thou loueth, is &s;ick:</HI> With vvhich he pre&s;ently came vnto them. Ble&s;&s;ed of all creatures bee &s;uch bo|wells of mercy and &s;weetnes.</P>
<P>Conclude to prai&s;e and thanke him euer for this his heauenly benignity and readines to doe vs good, and to cure our infirmities: re&s;olue al&s;o to imitate thy heauenly Ma&s;ter, to doe freely &amp;
<PB N="199" REF="113">nobly for the good of thy neighbour, either &s;pi|rituall or temporall, vvhat thou art able, without any proper intere&s;t and re&s;pects, and without &s;o much intreating and vvoing.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how farre different is the charity of our deare&s;t Sauiour, from that of men to one an other; vvee fly, excu&s;e &amp; shrinke our shoulders at euery thing, that is asked vs, though neuer &s;o ea&s;ie for vs to doe; though ne|uer &s;o nece&s;&s;ary for tho&s;e that aske; but our B. Sauiour, as he neuer differred the petition of any, <HI>Nec expectare fecit oculum pauperis; nor hath made the eye of the poore to expect;</HI> &s;o he many times out of his ouerflowing loue, preuented the very asking: as vvhen &s;eeing the paralyticke lying at the pond-&s;ide called, <HI>Probatica,</HI> without helpe or hope of cure, hee asked him if he vvould be cured; and pre&s;ently &s;ayd vnto him, <HI>Tolle grabatum &amp; ambula: take vp thy bed, and vvalke;</HI> Againe, moued vvith the teares of the &s;ad vvidow of <HI>Naim,</HI> for the death of her onely Sonne; hee bid the hear&s;e &s;tand, called vp the dead youth to life and deliuered him to his now|a&s;tonished &amp; ioyfull mother; to the great vvon|der &amp; applau&s;e of all the people. So he tooke an other paralyticke, pro&s;trate before him, by the hand and &s;ent him away &s;ound and lu&s;ty. So in the vvildernes he twice fed thou&s;ands of poore people, that followed him, vvith that miraculous multiplying of fiue loaues and two fishes: vvith many more, vvhich are not knowne or &s;pecified, to his owne infi|nite
<PB N="200" REF="114">glory, and comfort of poore creatures.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith great confidence in this thy &s;o good and liberall a Sauiour; for know, that his charity and loue to man is &s;till the &s;ame, euer mo&s;t ready at thy call in all nece&s;&s;ities, both temporall and &s;pirituall: heare him complaine; <HI>Sum, inquit, diues; &agrave; me tamen nemo quicquam postulat: &s;um mi&s;ericors, nemo tamen fidem in me collocat: petite &amp; accipietis. I am, quoth, he rich, and yet no man demandeth any thing from me; I am mercifull, and yet no man placeth his tru&s;t in me; aske and you shall receiue.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly the doctrine of our diui|ne Ma&s;ter, <HI>In quo reconditi &s;unt omnes the&s;auri &s;cientiae &amp; &s;apientiae Dei. in whom are all the trea|&s;ures of knovvledg and vvi&s;edome hidde:</HI> and fir&s;t the excellency thereof; for on the one &s;ide it is mo&s;t plaine and cleare to the lowe&s;t vnder|&s;tanding; &s;o that now euery poore vvoman knoweth more of God and his perfections, then euer did Plato or Tri&s;megi&s;tus: on the other, it is &s;o profound and full of hidden my&s;teries, that the highe&s;t vnder&s;tanding of men and Angells reacheth not halfe way: it's compared to the &s;unne, by vvhich all things are &s;een, and it &s;elfe neuer fully in the face; to the riuer of Nilus, vvho&s;e vvaters ouerflow the bankes of the Church; but the vvell-head neuer fount out, ne|uer knowne: to the va&s;t Ocean, thorough who|&s;e waues vvee &s;aile, but &s;ee neither depth nor end. Next ponder the perfection of this doctri|ne, which is not to fill the braines vvith vaine
<PB N="201" REF="114"><HI>chimeras,</HI> the heart vvith pride and the tongue vvith tatling, as humane &s;ciences commonly doe; but it &s;toreth the vnder&s;tanding vvith &s;olid my&s;teries, and filleth the &s;oule vvith all vertues; <HI>Domine, verba vitae aeternae habes, Lord thou hast the vvords of eternall life,</HI> quoth S. Peter; the Precepts teach the high vvay to heauen; the coun&s;els rai&s;e to a more Angelicall pitch; both, though they &s;eeme rigorous in their co~mands, yet are mo&s;t &s;weet in the ob&s;eruance: for &s;o &s;ayth our Sauiour; <HI>Iugum meum &s;uaue est &amp; onus meum leue. My yoke is &s;weete, and my burden light.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude with mo&s;t humble thankes to the Eternall Father for &s;ending vs &s;uch a Ma&s;ter, to teach vs the way of life: re&s;olue to learne &amp; pra|cti&s;e his doctrine; take it for <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">erne of all thy actions, as S. Francis did; at lea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> as farre as thou art table; <HI>Et inuenies requiem anima tuae; thou shalt find re&s;t to thy &s;oule.</HI> Attend euer to the holy Scripture vvith humility and reuerence, &amp; thou vvilt finde new comforts in thy &s;oule.</P>
<P><HI>The&s;e follovving must beginne to be read on Sexage&s;ima Sunday at night.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>THE FIFTH CHAPTER, <HI>Of the Pa&s;&s;ion &amp; Death of our B. Sauiour.</HI></HEAD>
<P>NOw wee are come to the la&s;t Seene of our Sauiours life and &s;ufferings; which as it is euer more full and patheticall, then all the former; &s;o shall vvee find in this his
<PB N="202" REF="115">period, both the malice and hatred of his ene|mies more violent, then euer; and his patience, loue, magnanimity neuer more per&s;picuous: &amp; la&s;tly for a Chri&s;tian &s;oule, no vvhere greater examples to all vertues; apply therefore, &ocirc; Chri|&s;tian, the mouth of thy &s;oule to the&s;e flowing conduits of life &amp; grace: &s;ucke the bloud of the Lambe of God, &s;acrificed for thy redemption.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FIRST MEDITATION. <HI>Hovv our Sauiour is &s;old by Iudas; and taketh leaue of his Mother.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, vvhat an iniurie it vvas to our B. Sauiour to be &s;old to his enemyes by his owne di&s;ciple; and that for thirty pence: <HI>Si inimicus meut male dixi&s;&s;et mihi, &s;u&s;ti|nui&s;&s;em vtique; if myne enemie had &s;poken euil to me, I vvould verilie haue borne it;</HI> but thou, my beloued Apo&s;tle, <HI>Dux meus &amp; notus meus; my guide and my familar;</HI> vvho liued and &s;lept together, and eate our bread at the &s;ame table; this &s;eemes to &s;urpa&s;&s;e all mea&s;ure: vvere it not, that the vilenes of the price yet goeth further: &ocirc; Iudas, could&s;t thou &s;et the Sonne of God at no higher a price then that of a common &s;laue? vvhy, he bought thee and vs allvvith the price of his bloud. But how came Judas to fall into &s;o de&s;perate a trea&s;on? &s;ee vvhether a pa&s;&s;ion, not at fir&s;t re&s;i&s;ted, carrieth a man: his couetou&s;|ne&s;&s;e made him fir&s;t &s;teale for him&s;elfe out of
<PB N="203" REF="115">the common pur&s;e, vvhich he kept; at la&s;t in|crea&s;ing made him &s;ell his Ma&s;ter, to get thirty pence; and afterward to hang and damne him|&s;elfe. Now vvhat face, what colour could he put vpon &s;o horrid a fact, as to &s;ell this Pa&s;chall Lambe to tho&s;e bloudy wolues; that is; his owne Ma&s;ter to his publike enemies? vvhat rea&s;ons could he alleadge? for&s;ooth, that he was vveary of his company, becau&s;e he broake the law; kept not the Sabboth; kept company with publike &s;inners, glutrons, drunkards, vvhores, Publicans &amp;c. vvas a coniurer, bla&s;phemer, and made him&s;elfe for all this, the Sonne of God: &ocirc; Judas! how again&s;t truth, and thy owne con|&s;cience do&s;t thou bla&s;pheme? but all is there good and holy, the bargaine is made, and the mony payed: and Iudas returnes home to his Ma&s;ters company; followes him, and &s;peakes him faire, as though nothing vvere done; as though his Ma&s;ter knew nothing of it.</P>
<P>Conclude to take heed of thy pa&s;&s;ions at the beginning; &s;leight them not, neglect them not tru&s;t not to any dignity, thou art placed in, none higher then an Apo&s;tle-ship, from vvhich Iu|das fell; examine thy &s;elfe vvell, it thou haue neuer &s;old thy Sauiour for le&s;&s;e, then he did; for a thought, or for a rotten plea&s;ure.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly how the time being come, that our B. Sauiour vvas to enter into the la&s;t and mo&s;t terrible combate of his pa&s;&s;ion; &amp; to take his la&s;t leaue and farewell of his mo&s;t deare Mother; he takes her a &s;ide, and begin|ning
<PB N="204" REF="116">a mo&s;t &s;olemne and &s;ad di&s;cour&s;e; fir&s;t as a mo&s;t gratefull and humble Sonne thanketh her for all the loue and care, she hath shewed him in his education and breeding; and for the bread he hoth eaten at her table: then declareth vnto her, how the time appointed him by his Eter|nall Father to accomplish the redemption of mankind, vvas come; how he vvas novv to goe to Jeru&s;alem; there to be taken pri&s;oner by the treachery of his ovvne di&s;ciple Iudas; to be fal&s;ly accu&s;ed, condemned, hanged on a Cro&s;&s;e be|tvvixt tvvo theeues &amp;c. all vvhich he vvas mo&s;t vvilling to vndergoe, becau&s;e it vvas his Eathers vvill, and for the good of men; and de&s;ired her to doe al&s;o the &s;ame, and to conforme her vvill to Gods, as he did. And vvith this he embraced her mo&s;t tenderly; asked and gaue a mutuall ble&s;&s;ing; tooke his leaue and left her; but in what ca&s;e, expect not to haue it vvritten or expre&s;&s;ed; for he his more dull then lead, vvho cannot ap|prehend &s;omewhat and more &s;tony then flint, vvho cannot drop one teare: but to vvade into the depth it &s;elfe, as it vvas, not the talle&s;t Cedar of Libanus; nor Angell of heauen can doe it.</P>
<P>Conclude therefore; euery one for him&s;elfe, vvith that &s;orrow, teares and compa&s;&s;ion, that &s;uch a &s;tory de&s;erues; and both Chri&s;t and his B. Mother shall in&s;pire.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly here for all that shall fol|low in our Sauiours pa&s;&s;ion; that as on the one &s;ide the &s;orrow, griefe and anguish vvhich the B. Virgin &s;uffered at euery pa&s;&s;age and &s;tation
<PB N="205" REF="116">of her Son's Tragedy, vvas the greate&s;t that euer hath or shall oppre&s;&s;e a humane heart, and exceeded onely by that of her Son; able a hun|dred times, not onely to di&s;may and put her by her &s;elfe, but al&s;o quite to bereaue her of her life: &s;o on the other &s;ide, her mode&s;ty, courage, and comportment vvas &s;uch that being euery vvhere pre&s;ent, and oft an eye-vvitnes of vvhat pa&s;&s;ed; yet she neuer shewed the lea&s;t vveaknes, feare, or imperfection in the vvorld. Her griefe proceeded from her loue, vvhich being by all titles the greate&s;t, that euer vvas, increa&s;ed her &s;orrow in like proportion: her con&s;tancy and fortitude was &s;upernaturall, grounded in that her totall re&s;ignation and conformity to the vvill of God: this vvas &s;o great and intire, that duubtles had God &s;o commanded her, she vvould vvit|hout the lea&s;t flinching or pu&s;illanimity, like an other Abraham, haue &s;acrificed him vvith her owne hands; that is, &s;courged, crowned &amp; cru|cified him; although euery thorne and naile vvould haue pierced her tender heart, more then her Sonnes flesh. O how oft did she v&s;e the prayer of her Sonne in the garden, and cry out to the Eternall Father? <HI>Pater mi, &s;i po&s;&s;ibile e&s;t, tran&s;eat &agrave; filio tuo &amp; meo calix i&s;te, verumtamen non mea, &s;ed tua voluntas fiat. My Father, if it be po&s;&s;ible, let this chalice pa&s;&s;e from mine &amp; thy &s;onn, but yet not my vvill but thine be done.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to accompany the Virgin Lady in this her &s;ad pilgrimage to mount Caluary, vvith true &s;orrow; compa&s;&s;ion and teares; but with as
<PB N="206" REF="117">full a re&s;ignation al&s;o of thy &s;elfe to God, <HI>In tom|pore &amp; aeternitate: in time and eternitie:</HI> take heed thou increa&s;e not her Sonnes torments, &amp; her griefes by &s;inne; for this it is, that pierceth more to the quicke both their hearts, then all the nailes and thornes of his enemies.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>Of his la&s;t &s;upper &amp; vvashing of feet.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how our B. Sauiour ac|companied vvith his Apo&s;tles, went to Ieru&s;alem; and entred into a hou&s;e pre|pared for him, <HI>Canaculum grande stratum: A spatious and vvell furnished dining-roome,</HI> fit and capable of the great my&s;teries, vvhich vvere to be vvrought in it: for here he eate his la&s;t Pa&s;chall &s;upper: here he in&s;tituted the mo&s;t B, Sacrament: here after his re&s;ur|rection he appeared to his Di&s;ciples: here came downe the holy Gho&s;t vpon them all: here was &s;ayd the fir&s;t ma&s;&s;e, and rai&s;ed the fir&s;t Chri&s;tian Altar. Entring here, his fir&s;t vvords were: <HI>De&s;iderio de&s;ideraui hoc Pa&s;cha manducare vobi&s;cum antequam patiar: vvith de&s;ire I haue de&s;ired to eate this Pa&s;che with you before I &s;uffer:</HI> to shew the long and earne&s;t de&s;ire he had to &s;uffer for our redemption: ble&s;&s;ed be that brea&s;t, vvhere &s;uch loue did harbour: vvhen he &s;aw the Pa&s;chall Lambe lie ro&s;ted on the table before him; &ocirc; how did he &s;ee him&s;elfe in this figure,
<PB N="207" REF="117">lying on the table of the Cro&s;&s;e before his Eter|nall Father, the true Lambe, <HI>Qui tollit peccata mundi, vvho taketh avvay the &s;innes of the vvorld,</HI> flead vvith the knife of the diuine iu|&s;tice, and ro&s;ted in the flames of his owne chari|ty? But harken vnto his mo&s;t iu&s;t and amorous complaint; <HI>Amen dico vobis, vnus vestrum me traditurus est: Amen I &s;ay to you one of you is about to betray me;</HI> &ocirc; Iudas how do&s;t thou looke? how do&s;t thou not &s;inke vnder the table, at &s;uch a thunder-bolt? &ocirc; how true is it, <HI>Pecca|tor cum in profundum venerit, contemnit? a &s;inner vvhen he shal come into the depth of &s;inne, con|temneth?</HI> he &s;tirreth not, but vvith the re&s;t of the mo&s;t innocent and fearefull Apo&s;tles dur&s;t aske; <HI>Nunquid ego &s;um Rabbi? &ocirc; Iuda tu dixisti; is it I Rabbi? &ocirc; Iudas thou hast &s;aid.</HI> Yea thou art he; but repent, and be &s;orry; and I vvill yet forgiue thee.</P>
<P>Conclude to prepare in thy &s;oule a <HI>Coenacu|lum grande a great refecterie</HI> for thy Sauiour; that is, a free and noble heart; but let it be <HI>&s;tra|tum;</HI> cleane from filth and <HI>adorned</HI> vvith gra|ces, take heed no Iudas enter, he vvill &s;poile the quiet &amp; &s;weetnes of thy heauenly banquet.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how the Pa&s;chall &s;up|per being ended, and vvith it all the figures and ceremonies of the old law; and our Sauiour in|tending to ordaine and in&s;titute the Sacraments and rites of his new law; to shew the dignity of them before tho&s;e others; and the different re|uerence, they required; &s;ee the &s;olemnity
<PB N="208" REF="118">wherewith he beginnes: <HI>Sciens quia omnia de|dit ei Pater in manus &amp; quia &agrave; Deo exiuit &amp; ad Deum vadit, &s;urgit &agrave; caena, &amp; ponit ve&s;timenta &s;ua, &amp; cum accepi&s;&s;et linteum praecinxit &s;e, deinde mittit aquam in peluim &amp; capit lauare pedes di&s;|cipulorum &amp;c. Knovving that the Father gaue him all things into his handes, and that he came from God, and goeth to God, he ri&s;eth from upper, and laieth a &s;ide his garments, and hauing taken a tovvell, girded him&s;elfe, after that he put vva|ter into a ba&s;on, and began to vvash the feete of the di&s;ciples &amp;c.</HI> Where he hath recommended vnto vs three vertues, mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary for the v&s;e of the&s;e his diuine Sacraments; that is, purity or con&s;cience, humility and charity; the fir&s;t he &s;ignified in the washing his di&s;ciples feet, &s;aying; <HI>Qui lotus e&s;t,</HI> to wit from great &s;innes, <HI>non indi|get, ni&s;i vt vt pedes lauet, &s;ed mundus est totus, He that is vvashed, needeth not but to vvash his feete but is cleane vvholy.</HI> From all vvhat &s;o euer: the other two he practi&s;ed him&s;elfe in the highe&s;t degree. Behold, my &s;oule, the Sonne of God, the Monarch and Ma&s;ter of the vvorld, lying at the feet of poore fishermen, vvashing and vviping them vvith tho&s;e hands, that had done &s;o many miracles; that made both heauen and earth; and vvith the powers of heauen &s;tand a&s;tonished at &s;uch a &s;pectacle; againe his burning loue and charity vvould not admit a &s;eruant, a boy to helpe him in this act, all mu&s;t be done by his owne hands, that belonged to our good and example: <HI>Di&s;cite &agrave; me quia mitis
<PB N="209" REF="118">&s;um &amp; humilis corde. Learne of me, becau&s;e I am meeke, and humble of hart.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude neuer to come to the holy Sacra|ment vvithout &s;ome &s;peciall exerci&s;e of the&s;e three vertues, of purity of con&s;cience, of pro|found humility and &s;incere loue, both of God and thy neighbour; then mai&s;t thou come con|fidently <HI>ad men&s;am Domini tui. To the table of thy Lord.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, how the holy &amp; zealous S. Peter &s;eeing his Lord and Ma&s;ter ca&s;t him|&s;elfe at his feet to vvash and vvipe them, all amazed and affrighted, drew backe his legges and cryed out; <HI>Domine, Tu mihi lauas pedes? Lord, doe&s;t thou vvash my &s;eete?</HI> thou my Lord and Ma&s;ter? thou, vvhom lately by the reue|lation of thy heauenly Father, I haue publikely confe&s;&s;ed to be the Sonne of the euer liuing God? Thou to me a poore vvorme, and vile &s;inner farre too vnworthy to doe the like office to thee? Bee content and yeeld, quoth our Sa|uiour; <HI>Quod facio, ne&s;cis modo, &s;cies autem po|stea: that vvhich I doe thou knovve&s;t not novv, hereafter thovv shalt knovv.</HI> No, no deare Lord, vvhat &s;oeuer it be, J care not; <HI>Non laua|bis mihi pedes in aeternum. Thou shalt not vvash my feete for euer.</HI> Our Sauiour &s;eeing Peter &s;o hot, and out of humility to forget his obedien|ce; vvith a gentle yet piercing frowne &s;ayd; <HI>Si non lauero te, non habebis partem mecum: If I vash thee not, thou shalt not haue part. vvith me.</HI> Where at poore Peter, as one thunder-&s;trooke,
<PB N="210" REF="119">shrinkes vp his shouldyrs, &amp; boweth downe his head vvith, <HI>Domine non tantum pedes meos, &s;ed &amp; manus &amp; caput; Lord, not only my feete but all&s;oe my hands and head;</HI> all what thou wilt good Lord, rather then lo&s;e or di&s;plea&s;e thee. A mo&s;t deuout pa&s;&s;age and containing two nece&s;&s;ary le&s;&s;ons; the one that our duty and obedience towards our Prelates and Superiours mu&s;t not be broken or omitted for any pretence or colour of priuate or publike good, no not vertue it &s;el|fe; for vve &s;ee S. Peters humility could not ex|cu&s;e him: the &s;econd, that vpon the lea&s;t notice, that vvhat vvee doe offends God, pre&s;ently vvee &s;urrender our &s;elues and fly back vvithout any more excu&s;es or di&s;putes.</P>
<P>Conclude to learne and practi&s;e the&s;e tvvo vvhole&s;ome le&s;&s;ons, as thou hope&s;t to haue a share vvith Chri&s;t: &s;ee &amp; marke the daylie occa|&s;ions thou ha&s;t to v&s;e either one or both of them.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, hovv our mo&s;t hum|ble Sauiour vvith the ba&s;on in his hand, and tovvell about his middle, pa&s;&s;ing on from S. Pe|ter to the re&s;t, found in euery one the like ef|fects of admiration, humility and obedience; vntill he came to the traytour Judas; vvhere be|&s;ides &s;ome di&s;&s;embling perhaps, and fal&s;e hear|ted complements, he found nothing, but a &s;inke of &s;inne and trea&s;on; a rock of ob&s;tinacy &amp; ma|lice: noe vvaters &s;o chry&s;tall-cleare, as can clean&s;e him; no bathes &s;o vvarme, as can mol|lify him, See the Lambe of God, vvith more
<PB N="211" REF="119">humility, doubtles, than ordinary, pro&s;trate at this traytours &s;eet, vvashing, vviping &amp; ki&s;&s;ing them, to the a&s;tonishment of heauen &amp; earth; and vvith bedeawed eyes &s;peaking thus vnto his benummed &s;oule: &ocirc; Iudas, friend, di&s;ciple, and Apo&s;tle of mine; vvhy vvilt thou per&s;i&s;t in thy malice and trea&s;on? <HI>Quid feci tibi, aut in quo mole&s;tus fui? vvhat haue I done to thee, or in what haue I bene trovvble&s;ome?</HI> or rather, <HI>Quid non feci pro te? vvhat haue I not done for thee?</HI> I haue made thee my Apo&s;tle; giuen thee power to doe miracles; ca&s;t out diuells &amp;c. <HI>Et &s;i hac parua &s;unt, adijciam tibi mult&ograve; plura: and if the&s;e are litle I vvill add far more,</HI> onely repent and &s;aue thy &s;oule: feare not, I shall &s;uffer for thee &amp; all the vvorld; but vvhy by thy trea&s;on, and dam|nation? thou hearde&s;t vvhat I &s;ayd euen now,; <HI>Va homini illi per quem filius hominis tradetur. vvoe be to that man, by vvhom the Sonne of man shall be betrayed.</HI> But all in vaine; the Traytour feeles nothing: <HI>Daemonium &s;urdum, caecum &amp; mutum. A deafe, blind and dumme deuil.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to imitate thy &s;weete&s;t Sauiour; in vvinning thy enemies by &s;weet and amiable meanes: heare vvhat he &s;ayes: <HI>Exemplum ded<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> vobis, vt quemadmodum ego feci &amp; vos facitatis: I haue giuen you an example, that as I haue done, &s;oe you doe all &s;oe:</HI> next take heed of an obdurate heart: all the deaw of heauen is hardly able to mollifie it: pray to thy Sauiour daylie: <HI>Animo irreuerenti &amp; infrunito ne dederis me. Giue me not ouer to a shamele&s;&s;e and foolish mind.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="212" REF="120">
<HEAD>THE THIRD MEDITATION. <HI>Of his instituting the B. Sacrament &amp; prayer in the garden.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how true are tho&s;e vvords of S. Iohn, &s;peaking of our Sauiour pre|paring him&s;elfe for the in&s;tituting of the mo&s;t B. Sacrament of his body and bloud; <HI>Cum dilexi&s;&s;et &s;uos, qui erant in mundo, in &s;inem dilexit eos; vvhereas he had loued his that vvere in the vvorld, vnto the end he loued them:</HI> that is, shewed greater &s;ignes and gaue greater pledges of his loue at the end, then euer before: let vs for the pre&s;ent ponder onely the&s;e two points: the fir&s;t, vvhat he gaue &amp; left vvith vs; vvhich vvee shall al&s;o finde to be two things, &s;o great and &s;uperexcellent; that heauen and earth are capa|ble of no more: the one is his true and reall body vnder the shape of bread, his true &amp; reall bloud vnder the shape of wine; vvhere vnto is annexed his Diuinity, and in a vvord the whole B. Trinity, or vvhat &s;oeuer is contained in him as God and man: the other is a full ab&s;olute power to all Prie&s;ts good or bad, wi&s;e or &s;imple, vvhen, vvhere: and as oft, as they plea&s;e, to con|&s;ecrate the &s;ame body and bloud, and giue it to vvhom they plea&s;e, good or bad. O you holy Angells, enuy vs not. The &s;econd is, vvhen and vvhy he left vs this holy Sacrament; vvhen did he it? but vvhen the high Prie&s;ts and Iewes
<PB N="213" REF="120">were plotting his death; when Judas vvas betray|ing him; when his Apo&s;tles with all the world vvere ready to runne avvay and for&s;ake him: fi|nally, then vvas he preparing a banquet for vs, vvhen vve vvere preparing vvhippes, thornes &amp; nai&s;es for him: and vvhy, &ocirc; mo&s;t louing Je&s;us? <HI>Haec,</HI> quoth he, <HI>quotie&s;cumque feceritis, in mei memoriam facietis; the&s;e things as often as you doe them you shal doe them for the commemora|tion of me.</HI> The greate&s;t &s;igne of an ardent louer is, vvhen he de&s;ireth to be beloued againe: no|thing but this doth our Sauiour require of vs for all that he hath done and &s;uffered for vs: <HI>Fili, praebe mihi cor tuum. Sonne, giue me thy hart.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to thanke thy Sauiour daylie for this ine&s;timable Sacrament: and for the power, he hath giuen to Prie&s;ts to con&s;ecrate it: repay him in the coyne, he requireth: that is, loue for loue, heart for heart.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how our &s;weete&s;t Sa|uiour hauing communicated all his Apo&s;tles, &amp; Iudas gone about his villany: he maketh vnto them a very large &amp; mo&s;t heauenly &s;ermon, &s;et dovvne by S. Iohn in foure longs chapters: and mo&s;t &s;weet to any deuout &s;oule, that shall read it: euery &s;entence is a flame, and euery vvord a &s;parke of that loue-burning furnace of his diui|ne brea&s;t: taking his la&s;t leaue of his deare and be&s;t beloued Di&s;ciples; and comforting their vveake and heauy hearts: <HI>Filioli, modicum vobi&s;|cum &s;um; Litle children, a litle vvhile I am vvith you;</HI> farewell, for I am going to my Father: but
<PB N="214" REF="121">bee not grieued, it is for your good, to prepare you a place in heauen; to &s;end you the holy Gho&s;t; nay I vvill not leaue you orphans, but I vvill come againe and take you to my &s;elfe: in the meane time, aske my Father vvhat you vvill in my name, and he vvill giue it you; for my Fa|ther loueth you tenderly, and &s;o doe I al&s;o; and the holy Gho&s;t and vvee vvill all come, and liue vvith you to the end of the vvorld; and if you be per&s;ecuted and grieued, know that your griefe shall be turned into ioy; and you shall doe mira|cles and vvonders greater than euer I haue done. I haue much more to &s;ay, <HI>Sed non potestis por|tare mod&ograve;: pacem meam relinquo vobis, pacem do vobis: But you can not beare novv: my peace I leaue to you, peace I giue to you.</HI> Farewell deare&s;t children; and take this command as my la&s;t will and te&s;tament: <HI>Mandatum nouum do vohis, vt diligatis inuicem; &s;icut dilexi vos, vt &amp; vos dili|gatis inuicem: in hoc cogno&s;cent omnes quia di&s;ci|puli mei e&s;tis, &s;i dilectionem habueritis ad inuicem: &s;urgite, eamus hinc. A nevv commaundement I giue to you, that you loue one an other: as I haue loued you, that you al&s;oe loue one an other; in this all men shall knovv that you are my di&s;ciples, if you haue loue one to an other: ari&s;e let vs goe hence.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith all the tendernes, loue and teares that thy heart &amp; eyes can afford thee: loue him, that is, keepe his commandments, and aboue all his la&s;t, that is, loue thy neighbour, keepe mutuall charity, vvhat&s;oeuer it shall co&s;t
<PB N="215" REF="121">thee; deceiue not thy &s;elfe vvith pretences, but looke truly in thy heart, and if thou find not there this loue, thou art not Chri&s;ts di&s;ciple.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, how our B. Sauiour ha|uing at length ended his &s;ermon; he lifted vp his eyes to heauen, and made a long and mo&s;t deuout prayer to his Eternall Father, both for his di&s;ciples then pre&s;ent, and al&s;o for all that should beleeue in him to the end of the vvorld <HI>Vt omnes vnum &s;int, &s;icut tu Pater in me &amp; ego in te. That all may be one, as thou Father in me, and I in thee.</HI> This done, he led them out into the garden of Geth&s;emani, a knowne place to the Traytour, becau&s;e he oft v&s;ed to repaire thither vvith his Di&s;ciples. Behold my &s;oule the Lambe of God, walking now amid&s;t his di&s;ciples and friends, shortly to returne the &s;ame way bound and dragged by his vvoluish enemies: behold him enter the garden, the field and place of battle: our fir&s;t Adam vvith the abu&s;e of his li|berty lo&s;t vs all in a garden: our &s;econd Adam, to re&s;tore vs all vvith the lo&s;&s;e of his owne li|berty, enters al&s;o a garden: but as farre different from the former, as the fruit they both yeelded: that with it's &s;weets brought vs to death this vvith it's bitternes re&s;tored vs to life. Here leauing the eight behind, vvith <HI>Sedete hic &amp; orate: &s;it you here, and pray.</HI> he goeth a little fur|ther vvith tho&s;e three, that had &s;eene his glorie on mount Tabor, to be al&s;o now vvitne&s;&s;es of his bleeding anguish in the garden of Geth&s;e|mani: to the&s;e commending more earne&s;tly,
<PB N="216" REF="122"><HI>Sustinete &amp; vigilate mecum, stay and vvatch vvith me;</HI> he betaketh him&s;elfe to prayer, the onely shield in the day of battell, the &s;ure&s;t helme in a &s;tormy and boi&s;trous &s;ea.</P>
<P>Conclude to accompany thy Sauiour in this &s;ad pa&s;&s;age vvith compa&s;&s;ion, teares and &s;orrow; but aboue all vvith prayer; take heed of vvhat happened to the Apo&s;tles &amp; to that valiant Pe|ter, vvho becau&s;e they &s;lept, vvhen they should haue prayed, ran away, vvhen they should haue fought and dyed vvith him, as they had promi|&s;ed. O take heed; purpo&s;es are to little purpo&s;e, vnles backed and &s;trengthened vvith prayer.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourtly, how our B. Sauiour di&s;|clo&s;eth vnto the&s;e three di&s;ciples, the torrent of griefe, feare and anguish, vvhich oppre&s;&s;ed his tender heart; <HI>Caepit contri&s;tari, pauere, taedere &amp; maestus e&s;&s;e; He began to feare, to be &s;orie heauie and &s;ad.</HI> Which hitherto he had repre&s;&s;ed, that he might comfort and encourage them: but now, &ocirc; my tru&s;ty and beloued di&s;ciples; <HI>Tristis e&s;t onima mea v&s;que ad mortem; my &s;oule is &s;orrovv&s;ull euen till death;</HI> that is, vvith a griefe, that now pre&s;ently vvould &s;trike me dead, did I not pre&s;erue my &s;elfe for the future torments, that is, vvith a griefe, that shall en|dure till my death, vvithout the lea&s;t &s;parke of comfort or relief. Deare&s;t Lord, vvhat &s;udden &s;torme in this? is not thy &s;oule glorious! &amp; can|not shee then di&s;pell the&s;e clouds, &amp; quiet the&s;e thy inward troubles? yes, she is both glorious, and can doe it; but now she doth quite aban|don
<PB N="217" REF="122">the inferiour part to all her naturall pa&s;&s;ions and feares, to &s;uffer the more truly and feelingly for vs: and &s;o con&s;ider him hence forward in all his pa&s;&s;ion, as a pure man, weake, tender and delicate of complexion: and &s;o, as de&s;irous of company, a thing naturall to griefe and feare; he &s;ayd vnto them <HI>Sustinete hic &amp; vigilate me|cum: stay here and vvatch vvith me:</HI> what did the poore Apo&s;tles thinke, to heare this new language from their Ma&s;ter? how did they loo|ke to &s;ee him tremble and all in a cold &s;weat? certainely their vveake hearts vvere all in a con|fu&s;ion, and their griefe bur&s;t out into a floud of teares.</P>
<P>Conclude to keepe them company with a true and louing compa&s;&s;ion of thy deare&s;t Sa|uiours affliction: thanke him mo&s;t humbly for di&s;couering this his tribulation, vvhich being invvard, would otherwi&s;e not haue been know|ne, and &s;o haue lo&s;t the due thankes, vvhich all Chri&s;tians owe him for it, as being &s;uffered for them.</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly the fortitude and coura|ge, vvith vvhich our B. Sauiour tooke from the company of his di&s;ciples, a naturall comfort to griefe; <HI>Auul&s;us e&s;t ab eis; he vvas pulled away from them;</HI> and falling pro&s;trate on the ground before his Eternall Father, cried out; <HI>Pater mi, &s;i po&s;&s;ibile e&s;t, tran&s;eat &agrave; me Calix i&s;te; my Fa|ther, if it be po&s;&s;ible, let this chalice pa&s;&s;e from me.</HI> this vvas the cry of the inferiour part, trembling at the future torments; but pre&s;ently checked by
<PB N="218" REF="123">the Superiour, lea&s;t it might prooue inordinate, vvith, <HI>Uerumtamen non mea &s;ed tua voluntas fiat: but yet not my vvill, but thine be done:</HI> this he repeated three times, for three vvhole houres at lea&s;t, vvith the humility, in&s;tance &amp; feruour, as vvee may imagine: yet hee made notvvith|&s;tanding two interruptions, to vi&s;it his three di&s;ciples, &amp; &s;ee how they behaued them&s;elues, but found them both times al&s;eep. O my &s;oule, how carefull and &s;ollicitous is thy Sauiour for thy &s;aluation, but how drow&s;ie and carele&s;&s;e art thou? Behold him in the &s;adde&s;t plight, that euer happened; going and coming betwixt his Fa|ther and di&s;cipless there petitioning for his owne griefe, &amp; here &s;olliciting their good and &s;aluation; but can get not hearing on either &s;ide: left and for&s;aken of all, in a &s;olitary place, in a dark&s;ome night, in the deepe&s;t anguish of an af|flicted &s;oule. Till at length; an Angell from hea|uen appeared to comfort him. O my God! is it come to that pa&s;&s;e, that an Angell mu&s;t come to rai&s;e vp that head, and cheere vp that face, <HI>In quam omnes Angeli de&s;iderant pro&s;picere? On vvhich all the Angels de&s;ire to looke?</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith the affections, thy deuotion shall giue thee: &s;triue to imitate thy Sauiour in two things, in his humility per&s;euerance and re&s;ignation in his praying: and al&s;o in care and vvatchfulnes, fir&s;t for thy owne &s;aluation, and next for theirs, who are vnder thy charge,</P>
<P N="6">6. Con&s;ider &s;ixthly, vvhat kind of comfort this vvas, that the Angell brought him; it is not
<PB N="219" REF="123">expre&s;&s;ed, but by the effect it had in him, vve may be certaine, it vvas no other, than that his Fathers plea&s;ure and la&s;t command vvas, he should die on the Cro&s;&s;e for the redemption of man: for, <HI>Faitus in agonia,</HI> quoth S. Luke, <HI>prolixius orabat, &amp; factus est &s;udor eius &s;ic<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t gut|tae &s;anguinis, decurrentis in terram. Being in an agonie, he praied the longer, and his &s;vveat be<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a|me as droppes of bloud trikling dovvne vpon the earth.</HI> Who hath euer heard of a &s;weat like this, of drops &s;o thick, &s;o great, and tho&s;e not of vva|ter; but of pure&s;t purple bloud, trickling dovvne a pace, not on his face or garments, as v&s;ually, but round about from all his body, to the very ground vvhereon he lay, <HI>Decurrentes in terram. Trikling dovvne vpon the earth.</HI> If his body &s;uf|fered thus, vvhat pangs then, vvhat agonies did that his noble and tender &s;oule, endure from vvho&s;e &s;ole anguish tho&s;e showers of bloud &s;treamed through his body? in our griefes and feares the bloud recoiles from the outward parts to the heart; but here the heart of our deare&s;t Ie|&s;us is &s;o pinched and pre&s;&s;ed, that it &s;pouts forth it's be&s;t and vitall bloud vpon the ground: pre&s;&s;ed, I &s;ay, on the one &s;ide vvith the naturall feare of &s;o crueell and ignominious a death; and on the other, vvith a vehement de&s;ire to obey his Fathers vvill, and redeeme man; &amp; &s;o great vvas the violence, &s;o &s;trong the impre&s;&s;ion of the Superiour part vpon the inferiour to make her &s;toope and pronounce the&s;e foure words, <HI>Non mea &s;ed tua voluntas fiat; not my vvill but
<PB N="220" REF="124">thine be done;</HI> that it co&s;t her a mortall agony &amp; a shower of bloud.</P>
<P>Conclude at lea&s;t vvith a drop or two of tea|res, if thou can&s;t repay thy Sauiour in no better coine: &ocirc; thanke him for that &s;inall con&s;ent for that, <HI>Fiat voluntas tua, thy vvill be done,</HI> on vvhich depended our eternall happines; by vvhich he bought vs of his Father, and &s;ealed the contract wirh his bloud; by vvhich finally vvee are pardoned &amp; receiued into fauour. Ble&s;|&s;ed be our bleeding Ie&s;us for euer.</P>
<P N="7">7. Con&s;ider &s;euenthly the reall cau&s;es, that &s;o oppre&s;&s;ed the heart of our &s;toute&s;t Dauid, and laid flat on the ground the &s;trength of our Sam|&s;on: the fir&s;t vvas the liuely repre&s;entation of his imminent death vvith all the torments, igno|minies and &s;coffes he vvas to &s;uffer; &s;o that vve may truly &s;ay, that he &s;uffered all his bitter pa&s;|&s;ion twice ouer; once by the hands of his ene|myes, &amp; once by his owne; that is, by his cleare imagination of all at once, vvhat in the execu|tion came but &s;ucce&s;&s;iuely. The &s;econd vvas, a di&s;tinct knowledge and &s;ight of all the &s;innes of the vvorld, from the beginning to the end, how little or great &s;o euer; &amp; that all this black &s;croll vvas now laid to his charge by his Father, to be cro&s;&s;ed and cancelled vvith the la&s;t drop of his bloud. Mo&s;t innocent Lambe! hell doubtle&s;&s;e vvith all its furies, could not affright thy &s;oule like one of tho&s;e mon&s;ters. The third vvas, to &s;ee the little v&s;e and fruit, the very Chri&s;tians vvould make of all his labours and &s;ufferings;
<PB N="221" REF="124">but mo&s;t blind, vngratefull, &amp; obdurate, would rather turne this hony into their poi&s;on; <HI>Et con|culcare &s;anguinem Agni; and tread vnder foote the bloud of the lambe.</HI> Then endeauour thereby to vvorke their owne &s;aluation. The&s;e vvith many others, like a fierce &s;quadron of enemies a&s;&s;ailed at once his noble and tender heart, and made it di&s;&s;olue into &s;ighs, groanes, an not tea|res, but &s;treames of bloud.</P>
<P>Conclude &ocirc; Chri&s;tian &s;oule with a true feeling and hatred again&s;t &s;inne, the &s;ole cau&s;e of all thy Sauiour's mi&s;eries, and thy owne: againe, hate ingratitude, <HI>Quae ex&s;iccat o&s;&s;a; vvhich dryeth vp the bones;</HI> make good v&s;e of his pa&s;|&s;ion, for thou can&s;t not plea&s;e him better. La&s;tly prouide in time for a good death; for if in Chri&s;t, <HI>Et in viridi ligno haec fiunt, and in the greene vvood tho&s;e things be done, to vvitt,</HI> the&s;e feares, the&s;e agonies: <HI>In arido quid fiet? in the dri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> vvhat shall be done?</HI> vvhat vvill a poore &s;inner doe at that houre? how will he looke? vvhether vvill he runne?</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="4" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FOVRTH MEDITATION. <HI>Of our Sauiours being taken pri&s;oner.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t how our B. Sauiour, ha|uing after &s;o long and bloudya combate vanquished all feare and pu&s;illanimity, ri&s;eth from the ground vvith his face and eyes &s;wolne and inflamed, his vhole body and gar|ments
<PB N="222" REF="125">in gory bloud, <HI>Et rubicundi &s;icut calcan|tium in torculari: and red like tho&s;e that treade vvine in the pre&s;&s;e.</HI> But vviping and clearing vp his countenance as vvell as he could hee vvent to his di&s;cipls, vvhom againe he found a&s;leep, little thinking in vvhat ca&s;e their deare Ma&s;ter had been: but he vvas now &s;o farre from chiding them, that as a mo&s;t tender Father he &s;ayd: <HI>Dormite iam &amp; requie&s;cite. Sleepe novv and re&s;t.</HI> But thou &s;weete&s;t Ie&s;u, <HI>Quando dormies? quan|do requie&s;ces? vvhen vvilt thou &s;leepe? vvhen vvilt thou rest?</HI> vvearied, toiled and congealed in thy owne bloud, when or vvhere vvilt thou repo&s;e? no more &s;leep, no more re&s;t for thee, but <HI>In ara Crucis,</HI> the la&s;t &s;leep of death <HI>on the hard bed of the Cro&s;&s;e.</HI> But behold Iudas thy Apo&s;tle, thy di&s;ciple is come as Captaine to a band of &s;ouldiers vvith clubs, bills and &s;words; and of|fers thee a mo&s;t fal&s;e ki&s;&s;e, vvith <HI>Aue Rabbi: haile Rabbi:</HI> &s;trike this Goliath dead, &ocirc; Dauid, confound the&s;e Phili&s;tine troopes, &ocirc; our Sam|&s;on: nothing le&s;&s;e: our Sauiour vvith a &s;etled &amp; vndaunted courage goeth forth to meet him, receiueth the ki&s;&s;e, with, <HI>Amice ad quid veni|sti? Iuda o&s;culo filium hominis tradis? friend vvhere to art thou come? Iudas, vvith a ki&s;&s;e dost thou betray the Sonne of man?</HI> J know and haue told thee vvhat thou come&s;t for: thou ha&s;t betrayed me; be yet ashamed, and repent, and J vvill forgiue thee, and as a friend receiue thee into my fauour and grace.</P>
<P>Conclude with admiration &amp; hatred of &s;uch
<PB N="223" REF="125">obduratene&s;&s;e, vvith feare of &s;o de&s;perate an e&s;tate; with loue al&s;o &amp; con&s;idence in the good|nes of thy Sauiour how much &s;oeuer thou ha&s;t offended him; for he denieth his friendship to none, vvho offered it to Judas. How oft ha&s;t thou betrayed thy Sauiour with a ki&s;&s;e in coming vn|worthylie to the ble&s;&s;ed Sacrament; for he that doth &s;o, inuiteth Chri&s;t in among&s;t his enemies.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how our B. Sauiour, to shew that no force vvas able to take him; had he not freely and of his owne will de|liuered him&s;elfe; he vvrought by his om|nipotent hand no le&s;&s;e then fiue miracles in this pa&s;&s;age. The fir&s;t, that although they had. &s;een Iudas ki&s;&s;e him, vvhich vvas the &s;igne agreed on, yet he blinded them &s;o, as they for all that knew him not; for asking them, <HI>Quem quaeritis? vvhom &s;eeke ye?</HI> Their an&s;wer vvas, <HI>Ie&s;um Naezarenum; Ie&s;us of Nazareth;</HI> not knovving, that it vvas he vvho asked them; and this happened not once but tvvice: the &s;econd, that at the&s;e tvvo vvords, <HI>Ego &s;um, I am he,</HI> like men thunder&s;truck, they all reeled backvvard, and fell flat on the ground; and there had remained, had he not rai&s;ed them againe vvith a &s;econd, <HI>Quem quae|ritis? vvhom &s;eeke ye?</HI> &ocirc; vvho shall be able to &s;tand the thunder of his voice at the day of iud|gement, that <HI>Ite maledicti, goe ye cur&s;ed,</HI> if the&s;e tvvo vvords &s;o mildly vttered throvv dovvne troopes? The third vvas: the curing vvith a touch
<PB N="224" REF="126">of his ble&s;&s;ed hand the eare of Malchus, vvhich the &s;word of valiant Peter had cut of. The fourth, that none yet dur&s;t lay hands on him, but &s;tood like dogs at a bay, vntill after a large di&s;cour&s;e vnto them, and complaint that they came vnto him as to a thiefe, he gaue them leaue in the&s;e words, <HI>Haec est hora ve&s;tra &amp; potestas tenebra|rum: This is your houre, and the povver of darke|ne&s;&s;e;</HI> yet not vvithout the condition (&amp; this vvas the fifth miracle) that they should not touch any of his di&s;ciples; <HI>Si ergo me quaeritis &s;inite hos abire. If therefore you &s;eeke me <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">et the&s;e goe their vvayes.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith ioy and thankes to thy Sa|uiour for this his glory; vvith humble gra|titude<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> for deliuering him&s;elfe &s;o freely into his enemies hands for thy redemption: begge of him that he vvill neuer let thee fall into &s;uch obduratne&s;&s;e of heart as the&s;e blind men did; vvho, for all &s;o many miracles done before their eyes, vvent on vvith their vvic|ked entrepri&s;e.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, how no &s;ooner had our B. Sauiour deliuered him&s;elfe vvith tho&s;e words, <HI>Haec e&s;t hora vestra &amp; potestas tenebrarum; this is your houre, and the povver of darkene&s;&s;e;</HI> but like &s;o many rauenous &amp; hunger y vvolues they rushed in vpon him; and &s;uch vvas their fury and multitude, bore him ouer to the ground, vvhere they buffetted him, kickt him, &amp; pulled him by the haire of the head and heard; <HI>Concul|cauerunt me inimici mei, quoniam multi bellantes
<PB N="225" REF="126">aduer&s;um me; myne enemies haue troden vpon me, becau&s;e they are many that vvarr again&s;t me;</HI> &ocirc; vvhat clamour;, vvhat shouts, vvhat op|probrious out cryes did they make! <HI>Sicut exul|tant victores capta preda: as conquerors reioyce after a pray is taken,</HI> &amp; pre&s;ently, &s;ea&s;t he should &s;lip from them, as before he had often done, they ca&s;t great ropes about him; one, as S, Ber|nard contemplates, about his neck, another about his middle, vvith his hands noo&s;ed be|hind him. O you Phili&s;tines feare no more our Samp&s;on, his Dalila hath betrayed his &s;trength into your hands; a hempen twi&s;t vvill hold him. Thus they dragge him away thorough thick &amp; thin; now running, now falling, now &s;tum|bling in the darke, without a hand to helpe him&s;elfe, or vvithout a friend to lend him one: &ocirc; you Apo&s;tles, vvhere are you! vvhat is beco|me of your valour, your loyaltie, your promi&s;e? all gone, all vanished, and he alone <HI>In medio ini|micorum &s;uorum, in the midst of his enimies,</HI> Is carried to the &s;laughter like an innocent Lam|be, for them and all the vvorld, vvithout ope|ning his mouth, or once complaining.</P>
<P>Conclude from hence forward to follow thy Redeemer from &s;tage to &s;tage, from Iudge to Iudge, vvith prayer, loue and compa&s;&s;ion, but euer remember vvho he is and the dignity of his per&s;on, Judge him not by his pre&s;ent condi|tion, vnles it be to &s;ee, how low he &s;toopeth for thee.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="5" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="226" REF="127">
<HEAD>THE FIFTH MEDITATION. <HI>Our B. Sauiour is brought before Annas and Caiphas.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how the fir&s;t Iudge before whom our innocent Ie&s;us was pre&s;en|ted, vvas Annas Father in law to Cai|phas, high Brie&s;t of that yeare; becau&s;e he was a man of dignity and his hou&s;e lay in their way: behold this proud Prie&s;t &s;itting in his chaire, and vvith &s;weelling pride and content, asking of the King of Maie&s;ty and Judge of the vvorld, im|pertinent que&s;tions <HI>De di&s;cipulis &amp; doctrina eius: of his di&s;ciples and of his doctrine:</HI> our Sauiour vvith his eyes on the ground and his hands tied behind him, an&s;wered nothing touching his di&s;ciples; for vvhat should he &s;ay of them? ac|cu&s;e them he vvould not, and prai&s;e or defend them in this la&s;t action he could not: but for his doctrine he rai&s;ed vp his head and voice, and &s;ayd, <HI>Ego pal&agrave;m locutus &s;um mundo &amp;c. Quid me interrogas? interroga eos, qui audierunt &amp;c. I haue openly &s;poken to the vvorld &amp;c. vvhy aske you me? aske them that haue heard &amp;c.</HI> And it is ob&s;erued that our diuine Ma&s;ter in all his pa&s;&s;ion &s;eldome or neuer made an&s;wer to any but in the behalfe of truth or his doctrine. But here a vile &s;eruant &s;tanding by, vp vvith his &s;i&s;t, and gaue him a blow ouer the face, vvith, <HI>Siccin&egrave; re<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">pondes Pontifici? an&s;vvere&s;t thou the
<PB N="227" REF="127">high priest &s;oe?</HI> to the great content and laugh|ter of all pre&s;ent, but to our meeke Lambe a great paine and greater affront: yet he replied no more, but <HI>Si mal&egrave; locutus &s;um, te&s;timonium perhibe de malo; &s;i autem bene, quid me caedis? If I haue &s;poken ill, giue testimonie of euil; but if well, vvhy &s;trikest thou me?</HI> and this al&s;o in defence of his former vvords.</P>
<P>Conclude to &s;tand vp euer for the Catholike faith &amp; doctrine of thy Sauiour; ne<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">er hide thy head, neuer &s;pare thy voice when or how&s;oeuer thou shalt be que&s;tioned about it; and what buf|fets &s;oeuer thou shalt &s;uffer for it, an&s;wer no otherwi&s;e than our Sauiour did; and how &s;oeuer the vvorld laugh at thee, comfort thy &s;el<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e with this promi&s;e of thy Lord, <HI>Qui me coufe&s;&s;us fue|rit coram hominibus, confitebor &amp; ego eum co|ram Patre meo. Euery one that confe&s;&s;eth me be|fore men, I al&s;oe vvill confe&s;&s;e him before my Fa|ther.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how from thence he was hurried to the Pallace of Caiphas the high Prie&s;t, <HI>Vbi Scribae &amp; Seniores conuenerant; where the &s;cribes and auncients vvere a&s;&s;embled.</HI> All vvith a longing de&s;ire to &s;ee before them this new pri&s;oner, and vvith a full re&s;olution to ma|ke him away by right or by vvrong: and there|fore at his very entring after a &s;cornfull vvelco|me fell pre&s;ently to the examining of witne&s;&s;es; but becau&s;e they could find none true, they con|tented them&s;elues vvith fal&s;e ones, <HI>Multi te&s;ti|monium fal&s;um dicebant aduer&s;us eum; many
<PB N="228" REF="128">spake fal&s;e vvitnes again&s;t him;</HI> yet all in vaine, for &s;uch vvas the innocency of our Sauiour, that euen fal&s;e vvitne&s;&s;es could conclude nothing again&s;t him, <HI>Quia non erant conuenientia te&s;ti|monia eorum, for theire testimonies vvere not con|uenient,</HI> but contradicted one the other, vvhich euen made their galls bur&s;t vvith rage and enuy; &s;o that the high Prie&s;t ro&s;e vp in a &s;torme, as|king him vvhy he an&s;wered nothing to all the&s;e te&s;timonies! But to vvhat, proud man, to what? make fir&s;t thy te&s;timonies agree, hovv fal&s;e &s;oeuer, and then demand an an&s;wer. Whe|refore he tries another vvay, <HI>Et adiuro te,</HI> quoth he, <HI>per Deum viuum, vt dicas nobis &s;i tues Chri|&s;tus filius Dei. I adiure thee by the liuing God that thou tell vs if thou be Chri&s;t the Sonne of God.</HI> Our Sauiour out of reuerence to this Father, &amp; in defence of &s;uch a my&s;tery, wouch&s;afed his an&s;wer, and &s;ayd: <HI>Tu dixi&s;ti: thou hast &s;aid:</HI> 'tis true; but one day you shall &s;ee the Sonne of man coming in the clouds vvith maie&s;ty and terrour: whereat, out of zeale for&s;ooth, they rent their garments, and cried out, bla&s;phemy, bla&s;phe|my! giue &s;entence, vvhat doe you thinke of him? <HI>At illi,</HI> vvithout more adoe, <HI>dixerunt, Reus e&s;t mortis. But they &s;aid he is guilty of death.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude thou to cry out to the contrary with all the Angells of heauen: <HI>Dignus es, Do|mine, accipere virtutem &amp; diuinitatem &amp; hono|rem &amp; gloriam &amp; benedictionem, Thou art vvor|thie, &ocirc; Lord, to receiue povver and diuinitie; &amp;
<PB N="229" REF="128">honour, and glorie, and benediction.</HI> Thanke him for receiuing this &s;o not onely vniu&s;t but al&s;o il|legall &s;entence of death for our &s;ake; and take euer great heed of oppo&s;ing the known truth out of pa&s;&s;ion or any other pretence.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, how this illegall &s;entence had an execution as illegall; for all vvith vnheard of barbari&s;me and cruelty laid pre&s;ently hands on him, and like furies of hell more then men, showred vpon him all manner of blows, bla&s;|phemies and affronts: vvee may reduce them to the&s;e foure heads. Fir&s;t, they &s;pit in his face, and di&s;gorge their filthy fleame on that diuine for|ehead, vvhere beauty and maie&s;ty &s;its: &ocirc; my &s;oule, vvhat can&s;t thou thinke? men &s;eeke a dunghill, or by-corner to &s;pit in, but the&s;e de|uills find no other &s;inke, then that face, in which the Angells are delighted. Secondly, they buffet, kick and &s;trike him vvith merciles rage; and he, vvith his hands tied behind him, not able to+vvard one blow, wipe his face, or helpe him|&s;elfe: heare vvhat he &s;aies by I&s;aias: <HI>Corpus meum dedi percutientibus &amp; genas meas vellenti|bus, faciem meam non auerti ab increpantibus &amp; con&s;puentibus in me. I haue geuen my bodie to the strikers, and my cheekes to the pluckers: I haue not turned avvay my face from the rebukers, and spitters.</HI> Thirdly, they couer and muffle his face vvith &s;ome dish-clout; and then at euery blow aske him in &s;corne; <HI>Prophetiza nobis Chri&s;te, quis te percu&s;&s;it? Prophecie vnto vs, &ocirc; Chri&s;t, vvho is he that strook thee?</HI> The&s;e vil|laines
<PB N="230" REF="129">hide that face, vvhich the old Prophets cried out to &s;ee; <HI>Ostende faciem tuam &amp; &s;alui eri|mus. Shevv thy face, and vve shall be &s;aued.</HI> Fourthly, they pulled him by the haire &amp; beard, vvith a thou&s;and other as namele&s;&s;e, as shame|le&s;&s;e affronts: vvhat shall vv<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e more admire? the meeknes, patience <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nd fortitude of our heauen|ly Samp&s;on, or the madnes &amp; frenzy of the&s;e Sa|tanicall Phili&s;tins?</P>
<P>Conclude, as on the one &s;ide thou can'&s;t not choo&s;e, but dete&s;t their malice, and adore thy Sauiour's patience and magnanimity; &s;o on the other, to beare vvith like patience, vvhat iniu|ries shall befall thee; and to take heed hovv thou ioyne&s;t vvith the&s;e villaines in affronting thy Sauiour; beleeue it, euery mortall &s;inne &s;trikes him ouer the face, and &s;pits at him more than all the Jewes did.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, that none of all his tor|ments, &s;cornes and abu&s;es pierced his tender heart nigh &s;o much, as did the vtter lo&s;&s;e of his di&s;ciple Judas, and the mo&s;t dangerous fall of Peter. Iudas for the gaine of a little money, lo&s;t his Ma&s;ter, his life, his &s;oule, nay and money too; for <HI>Proijciens in templo abiens laqueo &s;e &s;u|spendit. Ca&s;ting it dovvne in the temple he vvent and hanged him&s;elfe vvith an halter.</HI> How many in the world for the like dro&s;&s;e doe daylie the &s;ame, and come to the &s;ame end? &s;ell their Sa|uiour, his faith, his grace; and at one clap lo&s;e all, and gaine hell and damnation. Peter, vvho had receiued more fauours, than all the re&s;t;
<PB N="231" REF="129">vvho like a Giant had vaunted that if all for&s;oke him, yet he neuer; vvho had been vvarned more than once, to take heed; vvho had he knowne it, had doubtle&s;&s;e runne the traytour Iudas through vvith his &s;word: yet now he growes cold, &s;tands by the fire, and at the voice of a &s;illy maid, once, twice and thrice, denyes, &s;weares and damnes him&s;elfe if euer he knew the man: &s;trange, that he should not now know him, for vvhom, but euen now he had fought and cut of Malchus his eare neither could the cock's crowing make him remember him&s;elfe; till his &s;weete&s;t Ma&s;ter amid&s;t his furious tor|tures' &s;ent him a glance of his eye, and vvith one ray opened his vnder&s;tanding, and warmed his brea&s;t anew; &s;o that, <HI>Exiens foras, fleuit amar&egrave;; going forth he vvept bitterly.</HI> Not onely then, but all his life time from the cock-crow till morning, euer vvatering his aged cheekes in penance.</P>
<P>Conclude to take heed by the example of the&s;e two Apo&s;tles, the one for euer lo&s;t, the other hardly recouered: take heed, I &s;ay, in vvhat e&s;tate &s;oeuer thou art, of couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e of any vvordly things, and of pre&s;umption on thy owne &s;trength: then feare a fall mo&s;t, vvhen thou shalt fancy thy &s;elfe mo&s;t &s;ecure Finally learne of S. Peter to doe penance for thy &s;innes, and to thanke thy Sauiour for the million of times, he hath rai&s;ed thee, dead and drow|ned in &s;inne.</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly, vvhat a night our &s;weet|e&s;t
<PB N="32" REF="130">Sauiour pa&s;&s;ed among&s;t tho&s;e his vn&s;atiated enemies: for about midnight the high Prie&s;t with the Princes and Phari&s;es going to take their re&s;t, left him among&s;t the rout to v&s;e him at their plea&s;ure; who out of their owne cruelty and malice, as al&s;o to plea&s;e their Ma&s;ters, fell afresh vpon him vvith all their furie and rage. O vvho can tell, vvhat our deare&s;t Lord endu|red all this &s;ad night? S. Luke pa&s;&s;eth them ouer in the&s;e foure vvords: <HI>Et alia multa bla|&s;phemantes dicebant in eum: And blaspheming many other things they &s;aid again&s;t him.</HI> And S. Hierome affirmeth, that all will not fully be known till the day of iudgement. Yet &s;it by him a vvhile, my &s;oule, and contemplate on the one &s;ide the fury, rage, and ba&s;ene&s;&s;e of the&s;e mini|&s;ters of the deuill; and on the other, thy Lord's inuincible patience, grauity and charity, euen then praying <HI>Pro per&s;equentibus &s;e. For them that per&s;ecute him.</HI> After a vvile &s;tep ouer to thy La|dy, his mo&s;t afflicted mother, (vvho no doubt had quickly tidings of the &s;tate her Sonne vvas in) and &s;ee, if thou can&s;t, the vniuer&s;all eclip&s;e and oppre&s;&s;ion of her &s;oule, the flouds of her eyes, the &s;ighs and groanes of her brea&s;t, the cryes she made to heauen for him; <HI>Pater &s;i po&s;&s;i|bile est, tran&s;eat &agrave; filio tuo &amp; meo Calix i&s;te; Fa|ther if it be po&s;&s;ible, let this chalice pa&s;&s;e from thine and my Sonne;</HI> yet vvith the &s;ame re&s;ignation; <HI>Non mea &s;ed tua voluntas fiat. Sic plorans plora|uit in nocte, &amp; lacrymae eius in maxillis eius; non est qui con&s;oletur eam ex omnibus charis eius.
<PB N="233" REF="130">Not mine, but thy vvill be done. Soe vveeping she hath vvept in the night, and her teares are on her cheekes; there is none to comfort her of all her deare ones.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to accompany thy Lord and Lady &s;ome part of this &s;ad night in vvatching, prayer and compa&s;&s;ion: offer all, that both &s;uffered, to the Eternall Father for all thy hidden and vn|known &s;innes, wrapped vp in the night of thy owne negligence and carele&s;&s;enes: begge light from the&s;e two morning-&s;tars to &s;ee them, amend, and &s;atisfie for them.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="6" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE SIXTH MEDITATION. <HI>Our Sauiour is brought before Pilate and Herod.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how early in the mor|ning, the high Prie&s;t and the Princes of the Iewes meet in a full coun&s;ell, no|twith&s;tanding their late going to bed; &amp; vvhat to doe, but to &s;atisfie their ovvne malice, &amp; ex|tinguish the light of the vvorld? &s;o it is, the wic|ked are farre more vvatchfull and indu&s;trious to obtaine their vvicked ends, than the children of God to obtaine theirs. Our Sauiour is againe brought to the barre; the &s;ame que&s;tion asked againe; <HI>Si tu es Chri&s;tus, dic nobis; if thou be Christ, tel vs:</HI> and the &s;ame an&s;wer returned, that he vvas: vvith that, all ro&s;e vp again&s;t him as a man conuicted by his owne confe&s;&s;ion: <HI>Et
<PB N="234" REF="131">&s;urgens omnis multitudo duxerunt eum ad Pila|tum. And all the multitude ri&s;ing vp, led him to Pilate.</HI> But vvhy did they carry him to Pilate a Gentile and Roman Gouernour? vvhy did they not &s;tone him them&s;elues for bla&s;phemy, as aftervvard they did S. Steuen? for noe other rea|&s;on, but their malice, to haue him die on a Cro&s;&s;e, a death &s;o infamous, that they them&s;el|ues could not inflict it; a death onely for famous theeues, murderers and malefactours. See by this, their rancour again&s;t this mo&s;t innocent Lambe of God: &s;ee how he is hurried away to Pilate's hou&s;e at the further end of the city, abo|ue a mile and a quarter; haled thorough the &s;treets vvith showts and cryes; that now all vvas di&s;couered; that he had confe&s;&s;ed him&s;elfe a bla&s;phemer, cheat and inchanter; and for that, the vvhole Councell re&s;olued to deliuer him ouer to the Gentiles &amp;c.</P>
<P>Conclude to follow thy Sauiour this third &s;tage to Pilate, and at length count them all, and thou shalt find almo&s;t ten miles, that he vvent from thur&s;day euening till friday noone. Take pity of his vvearied limmes; &amp; vvish it lay in thy power to ea&s;e him; but aboue all take heed of increa&s;ing his paine, by &s;inne, &s;loth and in|gratitude.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how the King of glory, <HI>Iudex viuorum &amp; mortuorum, the Iudge of the li|uing and of the dead,</HI> &s;tands bound before a petty Gouernour; and the Princes and chiefe of his owne people &s;tand for his accu&s;ers; but behold
<PB N="235" REF="131">the proce&s;&s;e: Pilate demands vvhat they haue to &s;ay again&s;t that man: they thinking to beare all ouer vvith a kind of &s;corne; <HI>Si non e&s;&s;et hic ma|lefactor, non tibi tradidi&s;&s;emus eum. If he vvere not a malefactour, vve vvould not haue deliue|red him vp to thee.</HI> Wee haue already examined and condemned him, vvhat need&s;t thou aske any more? but vvhen Pilate vvould haue parti|culars, pre&s;ently new ones were inuented: this man di&s;quieteth the people; forbids tribute to be pay'd to Ce&s;ar, and makes him&s;elfes King of the Iewes. O shameles men! did not he per&s;uade the people to obey euen you, &s;uch as you are, becau&s;e you &s;ate in the chaire of Moy&s;es? did not he command all, <HI>Dare quae &s;unt Cae&s;aris Cae&s;ari, to giue the things that are Cae&s;ars, to Cae|&s;an,</HI> and payd for him&s;elfe and Peter? did not he fly, when the people vvould haue made him their King? how many &s;tand there pre&s;ent, that can giue you the lie in all the&s;e things? But though our Sauiour an&s;wered not a word, euen to the great admiration of the Pre&s;ident, yet the force of truth is &s;o great, that he beleeued nothing, what they &s;ayd; onely hee &s;tuck at the vvord, King; and asking our Sauiour about it, receiued full &s;atisfaction, and laboured to to free him.</P>
<P>Conclude to imitate thy Sauiour, vvhen thou art fal&s;ly accu&s;ed, to hold thy peace, or to an|&s;wer briefly and quietly; and hauing done, that, to commit the re&s;t to the diuine prouidence, &amp; force of truth it &s;elfe, vvhich will, in &s;pite of all
<PB N="236" REF="132">her enemies, at length put forth and appeare, to God's glory and thy ju&s;tification.</P>
<P N="3">3, Con&s;ider thirdly, how Pilate &s;eeing the malice of the Iewes, to free him&s;elfe of their importunity, &s;ent our Sauiour away to Herod, as one belonging to his iuri&s;diction of Galilee. O my &s;oule follow thy Sauiour this fourth &s;tage; &s;ee how they hale him againe thorough the &s;treets, vvith shouts and cryes to Herods pala|ce; vvho vvas mo&s;t glad of his coming, &amp; &s;oone gaue him audience; asking him a hundred im|pertinent que&s;tions, and offering him no doubt great fauours, if he vvould but doe &s;ome mira|cle before him; for to that end he had long &s;ince much de&s;ired to &s;ee him&punc; on the other &s;ide the Iewes &s;tood alleadging, all they could inuent, again&s;t him, that Herod vvould put him to death; <HI>Stabant Principes Sacerdotum &amp; Scribae con&s;tanter accu&s;antes eum. The cheefe priests &amp; the Scribes &s;toode con&s;tantly accu&s;ing him.</HI> But our Sauiour vvould not an&s;vver one vvord, either to their accu&s;ations, as mo&s;t fal&s;e, or to Herod's allurements, as mo&s;t vaine and idle; and he a mo&s;t bloudy Tyrant, and ince&s;tuous adulterer, vvho had killed S. Iohn Bapti&s;t, &amp; kept his bro|thers vvife. Whereat in a rage, <HI>Spreuit illum cum exercitu &s;uo, &amp; illu&s;it indutum veste alba. He vvith his armie &s;et him at naught, and he mocked him putting on him a vvhite garment.</HI> O you Cherubins of heauen, vvhat thinke you of this? the Eternall Wi&s;edome of God, clothed in a fooles coat, &s;coffed, kickt and abu&s;ed for a foole
<PB N="237" REF="132">thorough the vvhole court and &s;treets this one|ly title vvas vvanting to all the re&s;t, of a &s;inner, bla&s;phemer, Samaritane, necromantick &amp;c.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith thy Sauiour to learne to hold thy peace, vvhen vaine curio&s;ity is the obiect of di&s;cour&s;e; and if thou be called foole or idiot for thy paines, looke back vpon Ie&s;us-Chri&s;t, and it is impo&s;&s;ible it should grieue thee: remember his rule; <HI>Non est di&s;cipulus &s;uper Magi&s;trum, nec &s;eruus &s;uper Dominum &s;uum: &s;i patrem familias Beelzebub vocauerunt, quanto magis domesticos eius? The di&s;ciple is not aboue the maister, nor the &s;eruant aboue his Lord: if they haue called the good man of the hou&s;e Beelzebub, hovv much more, them of his houshold?</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, how our Sauiour with the new title and liuery of a foole vvas brought back againe to Pilate; and this is the fifth &s;tage; vvherein, no doubt, followed after the B. Vir|gin accompanied vvith S. John and the other holy vvomen; &amp; vvas pre&s;ent at all vvhat pa&s;&s;ed hereafter; but in vvhat plight of griefe and &s;or|row, let euery pious &s;oule conceiue of it, what shee can; and accompany in &s;pirit and deuotion the mother of God in the&s;e pa&s;&s;ions and fune|ralls of her onely Sonne; <HI>Filius vnicus matris &s;uae. The onlie Sonne of his mother.</HI> But Pilate inuented now a new vvay to deliuer him: he had in pri&s;on one Barabbas for rai&s;ing &s;edition and committing murder in the City a notorious and infamous malefactour; and being to &s;et one free at Ea&s;ter, vvhom the people should aske,
<PB N="238" REF="133">made &s;ure they vvould neuer aske &s;uch a fellow: vvherefore; <HI>Quem vultis vobis dimittam? Ba|rabbam; an Ie&s;um qui dicitur Chri&s;tus? VVhom vvill you that I relea&s;e to you, Barabbas, or Ie&s;us that is called Christ?</HI> here the <HI>principes Sacerdo|tum &amp; Seniores, the cheefe Prie&s;t, and auncients,</HI> per&s;uaded the people to aske Barabbas: <HI>Quid igitur</HI> quoth Pilate, <HI>faciam de Ie&s;u? Crucifigatur. VVat shall I doe then vvith Ie&s;us? let him be cru|eified.</HI> O deare&s;t Lambe of God, vvho can con|ceiue the feeling of thy tender heart, to &s;ee thy &s;elfe &s;o reiected and aba&s;ed by that blind and vn|gratefull people, after &s;o many benefits, mira|cles and cures be&s;towed among&s;t them? the&s;e they vvho vvould haue made thee King, vvho cryed but &s;unday la&s;t, <HI>Ho&s;anna in excel&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s, bene|dictus qui venit: Ho&s;anna in the highest, ble&s;&s;ed is he that cometh:</HI> Now wor&s;e than Barabbas, <HI>Opprobrium hominum &amp; abiectio plebis. A re|proch of men and out cast of the people.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude neuer more to repine, if any be pre|ferred before thee in honour, vnder&s;tanding or vertue: for be&s;ides that it may be true, euer re|member that Barrabbas vvas preferred before Chri&s;t: begge of him, that he vvill neuer let thee fall into &s;uch blindnes and vngratitude of beart, as to prai&s;e him in the morning and offend him before night.</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly, how Pilate vvondered at the vnheard of malice of the chiefe Prie&s;ts, and blindnes of that people, to preferre &s;uch a pu|blike villaine, as Barabbas, vvho had de&s;erued a
<PB N="239" REF="133">hundred deaths, before Chri&s;t, in vvhom nei|ther he nor they could finde the lea&s;t colour of a fault; and &s;o, partly out of a naturall hone&s;ty, partly becau&s;e his vvife had vvarned him, <HI>Nihil tibi &amp; iusto illi, haue thou nothing to doe vvith that iust man;</HI> but chiefly Becau&s;e God by him, in &s;pite of all his roaring enemies, vvould declare to the vvorld the innocency of his deare&s;t Son|ne, behold how Pilate and the Jevves conte&s;t: they cry: <HI>Tolle hunc &amp; dimitte nobis Barabbam; quid enim mali fecit, Dispatch him, and relea&s;e vs Barabbas: vvhy, vvhat euill hath this man done;</HI> quoth Pilate; &s;ee, I haue examined him before you, and can find nothing: no nor Herod, as you &s;ee, to vvhom I remitted him: <HI>Crucifige, crucifige eum, Crucifie, crucifie him:</HI> quoth they: but he; <HI>Nullam cau&s;am mortis inuenio in eo: I find noe cau&s;e of death in him:</HI> vvhat haue you more to &s;ay again&s;t him? <HI>Corripiam ergo illum &amp; di|mittam: at illi instabant vocibus magnis postu|lantes vt cruci&s;igeretur &amp; inuale&s;cebant voces eo|rum. I vvill correct him therfore, and let him goe: but they vvere instant vvith loud voices re|quiring that he might be crucified, and there voices preuailed.</HI> O innocent Lambe, how doe the&s;e rauenous vvolues thir&s;t thy bloud? vvas it euer heard, that the Judge should &s;tand vp and prote&s;t the innocency of the accu&s;ed; and the ac|cu&s;ers vvithout shame &s;tand barking like dogs; kill him, kill him, vvithout alleadging of any the lea&s;t crime?</P>
<P>Conclude with ioy of heart and hearty thanke
<PB N="240" REF="134">to God for the honour he did his Sonne, &amp; thy Sauiour before the face of all his enemies, then vvhen he &s;eemed mo&s;t for&s;aken of all: conceiue al&s;o a neglect of vvhat the vvorld shall cry a|gain&s;t thee; and a confidence in God, that he vvill defend thee, if thou <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ee innocent, vvhen thou shalt bee mo&s;t oppre&s;&s;ed.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="7" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE SEVENTH MEDITATION. <HI>Our Sauiour is &s;courged at a pillar.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, the mo&s;t vniu&s;t procee|ding of Pilate, who knowing the ma|lice of the Iewes, and publikely profe&s;|&s;ing the innocency of our Sauiour, yet to &s;atisfie their cruelty, cau&s;ed him to be mo&s;t cruelly whipped; a punishment &s;o ignominious, that it vvas inflicted on none but &s;laues, thieues and vvhores; and a Roman citizen could, for no cri|me vvhat &s;oeuer, be liable to it: and yet the Sonne of God, to free vs from the ga&s;tie &s;tripes of hell, vvould &s;ubiect him&s;elfe vnto it. Behold therefore, my &s;oule, how foure fierce tigers lay hands on this Lambe of God, &s;trip him of his clothes, tie him to a &s;tony pillar hands and feet, naked as he vvas borne, vvithout a ragge to couer him from shame or cold, in publike vview and &s;corne of all the people; and then cry out to the powers and dominations of heauen, to come downe, to couer, defend or reuenge this their vniuer&s;all Lord, as they did afterward
<PB N="241" REF="134">diuers of his Saints in the like &s;treights. Who can apprehend the confu&s;ion, that couered the heart and face of our deare&s;t Ie&s;us, when he &s;aw his Angelicall body, made by the hands of the holy Gho&s;t, and borne of a Seraphicall Virgin, lie open and euery vvay expo&s;ed to the view and &s;coffing of tho&s;e villaines? and vvhat did then his Uirgin Mother feele in her heart, and shew in her countenance? <HI>Ver&egrave; operuit confu&s;io faciem vtriu&s;que. Confu&s;ion hath trulie couered both their faces.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude on the one &s;ide vvith &s;orrow, but on the other vvith infinite thankes to thy Sa|uiour, vvho vndergoes this shame, to &s;atisfie for thy shamele&s;ne&s;&s;es; and &s;uffers this naked|nes, to gaine for thee the robe of grace: &s;ay to him vvith S. Bernard: <HI>Quant&ograve; pro me vilior, tant&ograve; mihi charior. The viler he hath made him|&s;elfe for me, the dearer he shall be to me</HI> But aboue all fly all acts of vncha&s;tity, <HI>Per illam en<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m reno|uas nuditatem Redemptoris. For by it thou re|nevveth the nakedne&s;&s;e of thy redeemer.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how hauing tied him fa&s;t and &s;ure, not able to &s;tirre hand or foot, they begin to thunder vpon is ble&s;&s;ed back &amp; shoul|ders vvhole peales of &s;tripes, lashes &amp; &s;courges vvithout mea&s;ure or number; <HI>Fabricauerunt &s;upr&agrave; dor&s;um meum peccatores &amp; prolongauerunt &s;ulcum &s;uum; &s;inners haue builded vpon my backe; and they haue prolonged their furrovvs,</HI> That is; plowed and harrowed vpon my back and now, the bloud comes &s;pouting forth on all &s;ides,
<PB N="242" REF="135">drops a pace on the ground, and <HI>Tanquam &s;an|guis Te&s;tamenti, as the blood of the testament,</HI> be&s;prinkles the people &s;tanding round about: yet the blowes increa&s;e, the vvounds grow vvi|der, and the flesh opens to the very bone, and entralls; till at length all comes to be but one &s;ore, from neck to heele, <HI>A planta pedis v&s;que ad verticem non est &s;anit as. From-the &s;ole of the foote vnto the toppe of the head there is not health.</HI> See, Chri&s;tian &s;oule, &s;ee how thy Ie&s;us &s;tands as immoueable, as the pillar, to vvhich he is tied; not able to auoid or ea&s;e him&s;elfe of one blow, but onely to shrinke vp is shoulders, &amp; lift his eyes to heauen for comfort: When pre&s;ently they turne him on the other &s;ide, and vvith fresh vvhippes and hands left him not till they had made him all ouer a perfect vlcer; <HI>Qua&s;i lepro|&s;um &amp; percu&s;&s;um &amp; humiliatum. As it vvere a leper, and striken of God, and humbled.</HI> O diuine and princely bloud, how frankly and prodigally art thou shed, <HI>Sicut aquae in plateis? as vvaters in the &s;treetes:</HI> how art thou trampled vnder the feet of tho&s;e hangmen? as though thou vvert not more vvorth than a thou&s;and vvorl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s: &amp; as though thou vvert not the licour, <HI>Ad &s;aluandas gentes. To &s;aue all nations.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to shed at lea&s;t a teare or two, to mingle vvith this thy Creatour's bloud; &s;o of both to make the mixture of that bal&s;ame, that mu&s;t cure and &s;eare vp all tho&s;e gaping wounds of thy &s;oule; but e&s;pecially tho&s;e tvvo of pampe|ring thy flesh in riot and luxury, vvhich now co&s;ts &s;o deare.</P>
<P N="3"><PB N="243" REF="135"> 3. Con&s;ider thirdly, that this flagellation of our Sauiour vvas vnto him a mo&s;t grieuous tor|ment; &s;o that he him&s;elfe neuer &s;peaketh of his pa&s;&s;ion, but maketh euer mention of it, as one of the principall parts: and this for many rea&s;ons; as fir&s;t for the number of &s;tripes vvhich as it hath been reuealed, exceeded fiue thou&s;and; &amp; tho&s;e laid on by foure mo&s;t cruell villaines, with three &s;orts of whips; as rods, twi&s;ted cords or bull's nerues, and little chaines of iron. Second|ly, becau&s;e Pilate cau&s;ed him to be &s;courged to appea&s;e the furious hatred of his enemies, &s;o that it could not but be mo&s;t cruell, according to the proportion of their rage: but mo&s;t of all for the tendernes of his mo&s;t virginall and delicate bo|dy, of complexion more &s;en&s;ible than the body of any little childe; and now al&s;o tired out with a bloudy &s;weat and vvatching, trauells and tor|ments of the night pa&s;t: yet his ardent loue of vs &s;o farre exceeded all, that to leaue vs a mo&s;t co|pious redemption, he bore the&s;e mo&s;t willingly, and was mo&s;t ready to receiue them all ouer a|gaine and againe, if it had been required. O in&s;i|nite goodnes and charity, de&s;eruing a gratitude and corre&s;pondence farre different from that vvee vvretches returne thee! &s;tirre vp thy &s;elfe, &ocirc; Chri&s;tian &s;oule, and de&s;ire at lea&s;t to doe or &s;uffer &s;omewhat for this thy all-&s;uffering Lord.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith a feruent de&s;ire to &s;uffer for Chri&s;t, in vvhat vvay &s;oeuer it shall plea&s;e him, in body or &s;oule, honour or fortune; and be &s;ure the greate&s;t fauour God can doe thee in
<PB N="244" REF="136">this vvorld, is to giue thee matter and grace to &s;uffer for him: honour therefore from thy heart his holy Martyrs and Confe&s;&s;ours, who in thy poore country and els vvhere, <HI>Lauerunt &s;tolas &s;uas in &s;anguine Agni, &amp; dealbauerunt eas. Haue vvashed their robes, and made them vvhite in the blood of the lambe.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, how the&s;e hangmen, tired at length, cea&s;e; and vntying our Sa|uiour's hands and feet from the Pillar, there leaue him helple&s;&s;e to helpe him&s;elfe; but ah! how helpele&s;&s;e? how vnable to moue or &s;tirre? bathed all ouer in his gory and congealed bloud, harrowed as it vvere vvith vvounds and &s;ores; and trembling with vvearines and cold, vvi|thout a hand to vvash his vvounds or &s;tanch his bloud, vvithout any to reach him his clothes &amp; couer him from the cold; vvith brui&s;ed armes and vvearied knees leaning him&s;elfe again&s;t the cold and hard pillar. Runne now vnto him, &ocirc; Chri&s;tian &s;oule, how &s;infull &s;o euer; for neuer shalt thou find a fitter opportunity; offer him thy back and shoulders to leaue and re&s;t his vvearied limbes on, or any other poore &s;eruice thou can'&s;t afford him. See him creeping to the corner, vvhere his clothes vvere throwne, and putting them all on, as vvell as he can, euen to the fooles coat, vvhich Herod had be&s;towed on him: &ocirc; deare&s;t Je&s;u, vvhat doe the&s;e cour&s;e and vvoollen clothes doe, but &s;tick and cleane to thy &s;ores, and &s;o keep thee in a continuall torment? vvho doubteth of this, let him put any vvoollen
<PB N="245" REF="136">ragge vpon the lea&s;t &s;ore he hath; and he shall quickly feele how true this is? &s;o that the vl|cers he now beareth, goe increa&s;ing euery mi|nute&punc; and vpon euery touch vntill his death.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith all the compa&s;&s;ion thy &s;oule is capable of; or, if thou find thy heart &s;o &s;tony, looke about, and find out his afflicted Mother, &s;tanding at a di&s;tance yet vvithin view of this bloudy &s;pectacle, &amp; she vvill teach thee to la|ment and grieue: thanke him for this flood of bloud, shed for thee; and turne thy anger, not vpon his executioners, but on thy owne foule &s;innes.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="8" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE EIGHTH MEDITATION. <HI>Hovv our Sauiour is crovvned vvith Thornes.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, the vn&s;atiable fury of the&s;e mini&s;ters of hell: one vvould haue thought the pa&s;t &s;courging a &s;ufficient punishment for innocency: but now they vvill crowne him for King for&s;ooth; neuer vvas a cruelty &s;o barbarous heard of: they hale him into the <HI>Praetorium, the Pallace,</HI> or Court of Audience, <HI>Conuocant totam cohortem; they call together the vvhole band;</HI> violently &s;trip him againe of all his clothes; &s;et him on a bench or &s;toole; throw about him &s;ome purple ragge; twi&s;t a wreath of long, hard and sharpe thornes; clap it on his &s;acred head; put in his hand for &s;cepter
<PB N="246" REF="137">a cane or reed; bow their knees before him with a &s;cornefull, <HI>Aue Rex Iudaeorum, Egredi|mini filiae Sion; Haile King of the levves Goe fortth ye daughters of Sion.</HI> all Chri&s;tian &s;oules; <HI>Et vi|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">dete Regem vestrum in diademate, quo coronauit eum mater &s;ua, and &s;ee your King in the Diademe vvhervvith his mother,</HI> that is the Synagogue, <HI>In die de&s;pon&s;ationis &s;uae, hath crovvned him in the day of his de&s;pou&s;ing,</HI> with his Spou&s;e the Church. But, vvhat can vvee fir&s;t admire? what fir&s;t lament? the Deuills mon&s;truous inhumani|ty, or our Ie&s;us his prodigious charity and pa|tience? the ripping vp of his former vvounds? the renewing of his nakednes? the piercing of the pointed thornes into the middle of his brai|nes? or the &s;coffes, ieeres and shouts, vvith vvhich they treated him? let euery one conceiue and bewaile, what he can, and yet all together shall neuer reach vnto the thou &s;andth part of vvhat here pa&s;&s;ed.</P>
<P>Conclude as thou hope&s;t one day to &s;ee him in his glorie, and to adore him there vvith the foure and twenty Seniours, not to for&s;ake or neglect him now: accompany him vvith com|pa&s;&s;ion and imitation; be not one of tho&s;e, <HI>Qui regnare cum Chri&s;to volunt, non pati: who would reigne, but not &s;uffer vvith Chri&s;t:</HI> but heare S. Bernard; <HI>Non decet &s;ub &s;pinato capite membra e&s;&s;e mollia &amp; delicata: Soft and delicate members becomes not a head, crovvned vvith thorness:</HI> &s;uf|fer as he doth, if thou meane or hope to reigne with him.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="247" REF="137"> 2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly at lea&s;ure, and imprint in thy &s;oule the image and <HI>Idea</HI> of thy deare&s;t Lord, &s;eated on this throne of &s;corne; and &s;ee, vvhether exceedeth in cruelty, his torment or ignominy: being placed on &s;ome bench or foot|&s;toole amid&s;t a vvhole troope of &s;ouldiers; his face full of shame and con&s;u&s;ion; his eyes &s;wim|ming in teares for all the vvorld; an old ragged cloake ouer his shoulders, rubbing his green wounds, vvithout couering his nakednes from shame and colo; a crowne of piercing thornes on his head; gue&s;&s;e at this torment, by the touch of a pin or needle on the temples or &s;inews of thy head, if thou dare not pierce it deeper; a reed in his hand for &s;cepter, vvith vvhich euer &amp; anon they pre&s;&s;e and beate downe the thornes into his head; <HI>Et percutiebant caput cius arundine; And they &s;mote his head vvith a reede.</HI> Where|vvith the bloud came trickling downe afresh on his face and neck: his enemies &s;aluting him by turnes vvith &s;coffes, buffets &amp; &s;pitting againe in his face; vvhich before being more beautifull than the &s;unne, vvas now all brui&s;ed, bloudy, defiled vvith &s;pit and durt: and he, his hands being tied, not able to vvipe or ea&s;e him &s;elfe: vvhen thou ha&s;t viewed him vvell in this &s;ort, then turne thy eyes vpward, and &s;ee how he &s;its in heauen <HI>Ad dexteram Patris, adorantibus An|gelis; Adored by Angels at the right hand of his Father;</HI> and hauing compared the&s;e two ex|tremes.</P>
<P>Conclude to adore him, loue and prai&s;e him,
<PB N="248" REF="138">as much here <HI>In Praetorio Pilati, In Palats pal|lace,</HI> as there, <HI>In Palatio Caeli; in the court of heauen;</HI> for, <HI>Quant&ograve; pro me vilior, tant&ograve; mihi charior. The more vile he hath made him|&s;elfe appeare for me, the dearer is he to me:</HI> Lend him al&s;o a few teares of compa&s;&s;ion, le&s;t thou proue more &s;tony &amp; vnhumane than the&s;e barbarous &s;ouldiers, or the furious Jewes.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, how Pilate, confident now that the rage of the Iewes would be al|layed; and their malice glutted at &s;uch a &s;pecta|cle, led him forth by the hand as he vvas, and from &s;ome eminent place shewing him to the people &s;ayd, <HI>Ecce homo; behold the man,</HI> you &s;o much feared vvould ri&s;e vvith the Kingdome, trouble and captiuate you all: feare him no more for &s;uch, but rather take pity of him, as of a man of your owne country, flesh and bloud. But they; <HI>Crucifige, crucifige eum: Crucifie, cru|cifie him:</HI> &ocirc; cry of hellish fiends and not of men! Take him you, quoth Pilate, and crucifie him; <HI>Ego enim non inuenio in eo cau&s;am: For I find noe cau&s;e in him:</HI> Wherefore &s;ay and doe, vvhat you vvill, I am re&s;olued to &s;et him free: vvhereat they cryed out vvith open throats; <HI>Si hunc dimit|tis, non es amicus Cae&s;aris. If thou relea&s;e this man thou art not Cae&s;ars friend.</HI> What now poore Pi|late? vvhat vvilt thou novv doe? if thou free the mo&s;t innocent Sonne of God, thou shalt be no more Ce&s;ar's friend vvho can conceiue &s;ome|vvhat of that griefe, vvhich pierced the heart of our dear e&s;t Sauiour, to &s;ee him&s;elfe &s;o banded
<PB N="249" REF="138">again&s;t by his ovvne but mo&s;t obdurate &amp; vvret|chedly vngratefull people? hovv he pleaded al&s;o vnto them his <HI>Ecce homo; loe the man;</HI> promi&s;ed and &s;ent vnto them by his Eternall Father, to re|deeme and teach them the vvay to &s;aluation: he vvho hath done &s;o many miracles, cured all their di&s;ea&s;ed, and preached vnto them the vvord of life &amp;c.</P>
<P>Conclude thou al&s;o vvith tvvo <HI>Ecce homo's; loe the man's;</HI> the one to God the Father, repre|&s;enting vnto him this his disfigured Sonne, that looking fa&s;t vpon his pa&s;&s;ion and merits, he may vievv thee vvith mercy: the other to thy afflicted Sauiour, that for the &s;ad ca&s;e, his loue hath put him in, he vvill looke vpon thy vveak|nes cure thy vvounds made by &s;inne, and giue thee &s;trength to imitate his &s;ufferings: take heed of a Ievvish obduratene&s;&s;e; take heed, thy &s;innes cry not again&s;t him a nevv <HI>Crucifige, Cru|cifie him.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="9" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE NINTH MEDITATION. <HI>Hovv our Sauiour is &s;entenced to death, and carrieth his Cro&s;&s;e.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, hovv Pilate ouercome at length vvith the vvearile&s;&s;e importunity of the Ievves, and vvith the feare of lo&s;ing the &s;auour of his Prince, placed him&s;elf in the iud|gement &s;eat; and yet euen there his con&s;cience accu&s;ing him, made one weake reply more,
<PB N="250" REF="139">&s;aying; <HI>Ecce Rex vester; loe your King.</HI> But they no way relenting; <HI>Tolle; tolle, crucifige dum: Re|gem vestrum crucifigam? Non habemus Regem ni|&s;i Cae&s;arem. Avvay vith him: shall I crucifie your King? vve haue no King but Cae&s;ar.</HI> Then Pilate calling for water, and washing his hands before all the people, made this la&s;t prote&s;tation for him&s;elfe and the innocency of Chri&s;t: <HI>Inno|cens ego &s;um &agrave; &s;anguine iusti huius; vos videritis: I am innocent of the bloud of this iu&s;t man; looke you to it:</HI> But they, &ocirc; blind and de&s;perate nation! tooke this dread cur&s;e vpon them&s;elves &amp; their children yet vnborne: <HI>Sanguis eius, &s;uper nos &amp; &s;uper filios. no&s;tros. His bloud be vpon vs, &amp; vpon our children.</HI> Then Pilate pronounced &s;entence, by vvhich he &s;et Barabbas free, <HI>Ie&s;um ver&ograve; tra|didit voluntati eorum, vt crucifigeretur: but de|liuered Ie&s;us to the vvill of them to be crucified;</HI> in this one act committing two mo&s;t foule in|iu&s;tices; the one in &s;etting a thiefe and murderer at liberty, the other in condemning vvhom he and all the vvorld know to be mo&s;t innocent, &amp; al&s;o a great cruelty, in deliuering him to the will and plea&s;ure of his bitter enemies, vvho, you may be &s;ure, reioyced and exulted not a little thereat. But &ocirc; &s;ee thy Sauiour vvith vvhat humi|lity, charity and &s;ilence he heareth and receiueth this &s;entence, as mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary, as mo&s;t iu&s;t; not from Pilate, but aboue from the decree &amp; plea|&s;ure of his Eternall Father.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith humble thankes to thy &s;weete&s;t Ie&s;us for this &s;entence; which as it freed
<PB N="251" REF="139">Barabbas then from a temporall death, &s;o it freed all mankind from an eternall one: inuoke this his bloud al&s;o vpon thy &s;oule, not to thy condemnation, but to free it from the &s;entence of eternall death, &s;o oft incurred.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how this &s;entence vvas as cruelly put in execution, as pronounced: for pre&s;ently Barabbas vvas &s;et at liberty; and a mo&s;t heauy Cro&s;&s;e of &s;ome fifteen foot long, vvith greatnes proportionable to beare a man, vvas layed on the shoulders of our deare&s;t Sa|uiour, vvith two theeues more to keep him company. OB. Ie&s;us, vvhat is this familiarity &amp; affinitie, thou ha&s;t vvith theeues? a thiefe &s;old and betrayed thee; as to a thiefe they came vvith clubs to take thee; &agrave; famous thiefe was put in ballance with thee, nay and preferred before thee: now two theeues accompany thee, and are to hang by thee; <HI>Et cum iniquis deputatus e&s;t, And vvith the vvicked he vvas reputed.</HI> Come all deuout &s;oules, and view vvith attention this proce&s;&s;ion or la&s;t progre&s;&s;e of your Redeemer and King of glory. A cryer leads the vvay pu|blishing aloud the crimes, murders, trea&s;ons and bla&s;phemies of this neuer heard of malefa|ctour; and &ocirc; how truely? for <HI>Po&s;uit &s;uper eum Deus iniquitates no&s;tras: For God put vpon him our iniquities:</HI> then follow the vvhole band of &s;ouldiers to guard his per&s;on: next the hangmen vvith ropes, ladders; nailes, hammers &amp;c. after goeth or rather creepeth our &s;acrifice. our I&s;aac, vvith a thiefe on each hand, all brui&s;ed, bloudy,
<PB N="252" REF="140">and torne, vvith a ma&s;&s;y beame on his back, and a crowne of thornes on his head, dragging it forward &s;tep by &s;tep: his heauenly Abraham aboue him vvith the &s;vvord of iu&s;tice and fire of charity ready to &s;acrifice him: la&s;tly, round about him all the Psie&s;ts, Elders, Scribes &amp; people cur|&s;ing, reuiling and &s;coffing at him; be&s;ides the multitude of all nations then at Ieru&s;alem, as it is thought, aboue a hundred thou&s;and.</P>
<P>Conclude to follovv al&s;o thy Sauiour this his la&s;t &s;tage or <HI>Cata&s;trophe:</HI> But &s;eeke out the B. Virgin, S. John, and the other holy vvo|men, to keep them company, vvith like af|fections to theirs.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, hovv our B. Sauiour ha|uing vvith vn&s;peakable toile and torment, car|ried his Cro&s;&s;e tovvards a mile through the &s;treets, novv &s;tumbling, novv falling, alvvayes groaning vnder the vveight, and &s;taggering at the kickes and blovves they gaue him to ha&s;t him forvvard; at ledgth falleth flat dovvne, not able vvith all their haling, kicking and pulling, to ri&s;e any more, or cary it a foote further. O &s;vvete&s;t Ie&s;us! vvhat shall a poore and &s;infull &s;oule &s;ay here vnto thee? <HI>Quaerens me &s;edi&s;ti, &s;ee|king me thou hast a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t dovvne.</HI> Or rather, <HI>ceci|di&s;ti la&s;&s;us, redemi&s;ti crucem pa&s;&s;us: vvearie thou ha&s;t falen, and by vndergoing the burden of the Cro&s;&s;e, thou hast redeemed vs:</HI> 'tis not the vveight of this peece of timber, that oppre&s;&s;eth thee, &ocirc; no, thou &s;u&s;taine&s;t the vvhole vvorld vvith thy litle finger; 'tis the vn&s;upportable vveight of
<PB N="253" REF="140">my &s;innes, that lay thee &s;o along: <HI>Quid faciam tibi &ocirc; custos hominum? vvhat shall I doe to thee, &ocirc; keeper of men?</HI> giue me thy Cro&s;&s;e, and I vvill carry it vvith <HI>Cyrenaeus</HI> after thee; <HI>Vel tollam crucem meam &amp; &s;equar te, or I vvill take vp my Cro&s;&s;e and follovv thee,</HI> as thou ha&s;t comman|ded me: in the meane time, I vvill accompany thee vvith my teares among&s;t tho&s;e deuout vvomen, that followed thee, and to vvhom thou &s;ayd&s;t; <HI>Filiae Ieru&s;alem, nolite flere &s;uper me, &s;ed &s;uper vos ip&s;as flete, &amp; &s;uper filios ve&s;tros; quia &s;i in viridi ligno hoc faciunt, in arido quid fiet? daughters of Hieru&s;alem vveepe not vpon me, but vveepe vpon your &s;elues, and vpon your children; for if in the greene vvood they doe the&s;e things, in the drie vvhat shall be done?</HI> If this body more fresh and green than the trees of Paradi&s;e, feele &s;o much this nipping vvinde of per&s;ecution; how vvill your trunkes, dry and rotten vvith &s;inne, &s;eele and endure the all&s;corching flames of hell?</P>
<P>Conclude to vveep and bewaile thy Sauiours, burden, that is, thy owne &s;innes, and tho&s;e of the vvhole vvorld; and take heed, how thou laye&s;t more vveight on his shoulders; but re|&s;olue rather to ea&s;e him, of vvhat he already beareth; that is, take vp his Cro&s;&s;e after him, and beare it for his &s;ake, <HI>Quicumque te anga|riauerit, aut tibi eam impo&s;uerit; VVho&s;oeuer vvill force thee, or put it on thee;</HI> for to this onely end he hath laid it downe.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="10" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="254" REF="141">
<HEAD>THE TENTH MEDITATION. <HI>Hovv our Sauiour is nailed on the Cro&s;&s;e.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how being'arriued at length at mount Caluary about mid|day, in the ca&s;e vvee may imagine; it &s;eemes, that the malice and rancour of his enemies increa&s;ed vvith his torments: for the fir&s;t thing they doe, is, to mixe gall in the cup of vvine and myrrhe, vvhich v&s;ually vvas giuen to comfort and hearten tho&s;e, that vvere to dy: &ocirc; Tygers and not men? vvell did Moy&s;es &s;ay of you: <HI>Uua eorum, vuafellis &amp; botri amari&s;&s;imt; fel draconum vinum eorum: their grape the grape of Gall, and the clusters most bitter; the gall of dragons their vvine:</HI> but vvhat did our mee|ke&s;t Sauiour doe? <HI>C&ugrave;m gu&s;ta&s;&s;et, noluit bibere; vvhen he had tasted he vvould not drinke;</HI> that is, he tooke as much, as vvould torment his ta&s;t, tougue and palate, but vvould not vvithall receiue the comfort it might afford his vveake &s;tomack: that is, to cure vs thoroughly, he would &s;uffer in euery part purely vvithout ea&s;e to the re&s;t. Next they violently &s;trip him againe &s;tarke naked, <HI>Nam nudus pependit in ligno; for he hang naked on the cro&s;&s;e:</HI> &ocirc; vvho can expre&s;&s;e or conceiue the horror of this torment? his in|ner garment vvas by this time congealed to his flesh and vvounds, and the crowne of thor|nes vvas fa&s;t to his head, and intangled vvith his
<PB N="255" REF="141">bloudy and clotted haire: yet both are pulled off vvith mercile&s;&s;e rage, and the crowne vvith no le&s;&s;e clapt &amp; pre&s;&s;ed on a new: all his wounds are opened againe and bleed a fresh; the cold aire pierceth him thorough and thorough; and new shame before &s;uch a multitude confoun|deth his diuine face: &ocirc; &s;ee him, vvhile the Cro&s;&s;e is preparing, falling on his knees vvith his ar|mes cro&s;&s;ed, and offering him&s;elfe to his Eter|nall Father <HI>In holocau&s;tum ve&s;pertinum, an euen|ing holocaust,</HI> to appea&s;e his wvrath again&s;t mankind &amp;c.</P>
<P>Conclude to kneel downe by him, and make the &s;ame oblation: to drinke the bitter Chalice of his pa&s;&s;ion vvith him, vvhich thy &s;innes haue made more bitter then gall: and to imitate his extreme pouerty and nakednes, not a ragge nor leafe of a tree to couer him.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how the Cro&s;&s;e lying flat on the ground &amp; all things in readines, they lay our deare&s;t Redeemer &s;tretched out vpon it; and fir&s;t &s;preading out his vvearied armes, and driuing sharp and gro&s;&s;e iron nailes thorough the palmes of his hands, fa&s;ten them to the vvood; then pulling downe his leggs to the length, doe as much for his &s;acred feet; and all this, vvith &s;uch violent cruelty, that t'is thought vvith &s;tretching and pulling, they mightily &s;trained his vvhole body, and di&s;ioyn|ted it in many parts; according to that, <HI>Fode|runt manus meas &amp; pedes meos, &amp; dinumeraue|runt omnia o&s;&s;a mea. They haue digged my han|des
<PB N="256" REF="142">and my feete they haue numbered all my bones.</HI> O Chri&s;tian or any humane &s;oule, vvhat can'&s;t thou here thinke, &s;ay, or doe? did'&s;t thou euer feele any nerue, &s;inew or veine contracted or pierced but vvith, a pin? or a bone, neuer &s;o &s;mall; or ioynt di&s;placed? or did'&s;t thou euer &s;ee it in an other? tell me then, vvhat cries, vvhat shriekes, thou made&s;t, vvhat re&s;tles paines and tortures thou &s;uffered'&s;t: and what vvere all that to this torment of thy Sauiour; vvho&s;e hands and feet, vvhere all the &s;inews, veines, and bones concurre, are bored thorough vvith nailes of a finger thick? &ocirc; view it vvell, if thine eyes vvill giue thee leaue; thinke on it, if the affright di|&s;tract thee not. Runne to thy bleeding Sauiour, vvho calleth on thee vvith the&s;e vvords: <HI>Surge, &amp; veni amica mea, specio&s;a mea, columba mea, in foraminibus petrae, in cauerna maceria; lectus no|&s;ter floridns, ari&s;e, and come my friend, my beau|tifull one, my doue, in the holes of the rock, in the holovv places of the vvall, our bed is &s;lorishing,</HI> vvith the red bloud that vvaters this bed of my Cro&s;&s;e &amp;c.</P>
<P>Conclude to make good v&s;e of this occa&s;ion; enter into the&s;e caues of the rock, that are open|ed for thee; and shelter thy &s;elf&eacute; here, vvhen&s;o|euer the &s;torme of temptation shall inuade thee; chou&s;e this Cro&s;&s;e for thy bed, pillow, or couch to re&s;t thy wearied &s;oule on.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, how hauing fa&s;t nailed him on the Cro&s;&s;e they begin vvith forkes, hal|berds and ropes to rai&s;e him in the aire: &ocirc; vvhat
<PB N="257" REF="142">shouts, cries &amp; bla&s;phemies made his enemies, vvhen he appeared ouer the peoples heads? but vvhat affrights, &s;ighs and teares ouer vvhelmed his deare&s;t Mother &amp; other deuout friends? At length, they let the foot of the Cro&s;&s;e fall into the hole made for it, and &s;o fa&s;ten it &s;traight vp in the aire: <HI>Et &s;icut Moy&s;es exaltauit &s;erpentem in de&s;erto, ita exaltatus est filius hominis &amp; filius Dei in Caluario: And as Moy&s;es exalted the &s;er|pent in the de&s;ert, &s;oe hath the Sonne of man and Sonne of God bene exalted on Caluarie:</HI> but with &s;uch new torments, that all hitherto vvill &s;eeme but trifles: his body now hangs poi&s;ed in the aire, and it's vvhole vveight on his pierced hands and feet, vvith a new and continuall renting open of the &s;aid vvounds; vvith a horrour and trembling of his vvhole body, vvhich now is become the chiefe torment to it &s;elfe. <HI>Et factus est &s;ibimetip&s;i grauis. And he is become burdenous to him&s;elfe.</HI> O now crucified &amp; tormented Ie&s;u, how doe all things con&s;pire to thy torture? thy Father hath for&s;aken thee, thy mothers pre&s;en|ce pierceth thy heart; thy enemies shouts ama|ze thee; thou thy &s;elfe, thy owne body doth mo&s;t of all torment thee; <HI>Nec habes vbi caput reclines, nor ha&s;t thou vvhere to repo&s;e thy head.</HI> But vpon thornes; <HI>nec vbi manum aut pedem fi|gas, nor vvhere to fasten thy hand, or foot,</HI> but on piercing nailes. <HI>O vos omnes qui &s;ititis venite ad aquas, &ocirc; ye all that thirst, come ye to the vva|ters,</HI> put your mouths to the&s;e foure riuers or conduits, vvhich &s;treame from Paradi&s;e, <HI>Ad
<PB N="258" REF="143">irrigandam vniuer&s;am terr&agrave;m. To vvater all the earth.</HI> Runne and vvash your leaprie into &s;now in the bloud of the Lambe.</P>
<P>Conclude with all the compa&s;&s;ion of thy &s;ou|le and teares of thy eyes; and vvish at lea&s;t, that it lay in thy power any vvay to ea&s;e thy tormen|ted Sauiour, or his afflicted mother; remember the hard &amp; flinthy &s;tones opened at his pa&s;&s;ion; and yet how many be there in the vvorld; and Chri&s;tians too, that neuer drop one teare for him, or &s;carce thinke on him?</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, the infinite charity of our Sauiour, and no le&s;&s;e malice of his enemies; he amid&s;t his torments cryes out; <HI>Pater, dimitte illis, quia ne&s;ciunt quid faciunt; Father forgiue them, for they knovv not vvhat they doe;</HI> they grin and shake their heads at him, <HI>Vah qui do|struis templum Dei; &s;alua te ip&s;um; &s;i filius Dei es, de&s;cende de Cruce; Vah thou that destroyeth the temple of God; &s;aue thine ovvne &s;elfe, if thou be the Sonne of God, come dovvne from the cro&s;&s;e;</HI> and this not onely the &s;ouldiers and common people, <HI>Sed &amp; Principes Sacerdotum illudentes cum Scibis &amp; Senioribus dicebant, alios &s;aluos fe|cit, &s;eip&s;um non potest &s;aluum facere; &s;i Rex I&s;rael est, de&s;cendat nunc de Cruce &amp; credimus &amp;c. id|ip&s;um autem &amp; latrones, qui crucifixi erant cum eo, improperabant ei: In the like manner all&s;oe the cheife Prie&s;tes vvith the Scribes and auncients mocking &s;aid, he &s;aued others; him <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">elfe he can not &s;aue; if he be the King of I&s;rael, let him novv come dovvne from the cro&s;&s;e and vve vvill beleeue &amp;c.
<PB N="259" REF="143">and the &s;elfe-&s;ame thing the theeues al&s;oe that vvere crucified vvith him, reproched him vvi|thall:</HI> this is the mu&s;icke of our Salomons bed chamber <HI>In die despen&s;ationis eiu?. In the day of his de&s;pou&s;ing.</HI> Ob&s;erue notwith&s;tanding and reioyce to &s;ee how in de&s;pight of all, his Eter|nall Father proclaimes him for the true Me&s;&s;ias, and the King of tho&s;e very Iewes, that murder him; by cau&s;ing Pilate to put ouer his head in three languages, that all nations might read &amp; know it, this his title; <HI>IESVS NAZA|RENVS REX IVDEORVM; IESVS OF. NAZARETH THE KING OF THE IEVVES.</HI> neither, doe they what they could, vvould he alter a letter of it. Againe nature by her &s;ufferance acknowledgeth him for her &s;oue|raigne Lord and God; and in token of her griefe to &s;ee him &s;o treated by man, breaketh open her bowells, renteth her harde&s;t rocks a &s;under, &amp; hideth her face in a darke Eclip&s;e for three houres &s;pace; the religious Temple al&s;o ren|teth her &s;acred vaile from top to bottom, not able to beare the horrid &s;acriledge, nor heare the fearefull bla&s;phemies, that her owne Prie&s;ts committed and powred out, again&s;t her God, her manna and Arke of her Te&s;tament.</P>
<P>Conclude to ioyne vvith the Angells of hea|uen in thy Sauiours pray&s;es, vvhil&s;t his ene|mies cur&s;e and &s;coffe him: and in mourning with dame nature, and all good &s;oules whil&s;t his enemies exalt and reioyce at their imagi|ned victorie ouer him.</P>
<PB N="260" REF="144">
<P> <HI>The&s;e follovving mu&s;t begin to be read on Saterday night the Eue of Pa&s;&s;ion Sunday.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>THE SIXTH CHAPTER, <HI>Some pious con&s;iderations and questions vpon our Sauiours Pa&s;&s;ion.</HI></HEAD>
<P>WHILST thy deare&s;t Lord and Sauiour is hanging on the Cro&s;&s;e, &s;truggling vvith three houres vn&s;peakable tor|ments; and his enemies like &s;o many vvolues or dogs &s;tand all howling and barking about him, creep in, &ocirc; Chri&s;tian &s;oule, and place thy &s;el|fe at the foot of the Cao&s;&s;e, nigh his di&s;tre&s;|&s;ed Mother, S. Iohn and the re&s;t of tho&s;e de|uout per&s;ons; <HI>Sub vmbra cius &s;ede, &amp; fructus eius dulcis erit gutturi tuo: Sitt vnder his sha|dovv, and his fruiste vvill be &s;weete vnto thy throate.</HI> From thence contemplate &s;ome cir|cum&s;tances, aske him &s;ome pious que&s;tions, &amp; heare the la&s;t &s;eauen vvords of thy dying Ma|&s;ter; for, <HI>Crux fidelis inter omnes arbor vna no|bilis; nulla &s;ylua talem profert fronde, flore, ger|mine. The cro&s;&s;e of all trees is the &s;oundest &amp; most noble; neuer did any vvood bring forth a tree &s;os excelling in either lea&s;e, blo&s;ome, or branches.</HI></P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="261" REF="144">
<HEAD>THE FIRSTH MEDITATION. <HI>The con&s;ideration of &s;ome circum&s;tances.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, and lifting vp thy eyes &s;ee vvho he is, that there &s;uffers; &amp; againe; looking downeward, &s;ee for vvhom he &s;uffers. He vvho &s;uffers vvhat thou ha&s;t hitherto &s;een, is true God and true man; as God, be&s;ides the common attributes of the diuinity, he is the &s;econd; per&s;on of the B. Trinity, the Eternall Word of the Eternall Father, equally reueren|ced, pray&s;ed and adored vvith him by all crea|tures vvhat&s;oeuer &amp;c. As man, he is ab&s;olute Lord and King of the vvhole vniuer&s;e, as vvell of the Angells aboue, as of men and all below; vvith full power ouer life and death at his plea|&s;ure; heauen and hell are in his hand, <HI>Data est ei omnis pote&s;tas in coelo &amp; in terra: All povver is giuen him in heauen and earth:</HI> this is that power which diuines call <HI>Pote&s;tatem excellentiae, the excelling povver,</HI> by vvhich he di&s;po&s;eth of all the trea&s;ures of heauen at his vvill: his body framed by the holy Gho&s;t in the vvombe of a pure&s;t Virgin, vvas the mo&s;t tender and be&s;t complexioned, that euer hath or shall be: his &s;oule at the fir&s;t in&s;tant full of all knowledge, grace, and glory; called therefore, <HI>Sanctus San|ctorum, ex plenirudine cuius omnes accepimus, The holie one of holies, of vvho&s;e fulne&s;&s;e all vve haue receiued,</HI> not onely men, but Angells: fi|nally
<PB N="262" REF="145">his authority and e&s;teeme among the peo|ple &s;o great, that the like vvas neuer &s;een in I&s;|rael. But for vvhom doth he fuffer? for man onely a poore crawling vvorme; for his friends, but not onely; for his enemies al&s;o; nay for tho|&s;e, that &s;tand barking at him; finally for thee alone, no le&s;&s;e, but euery vvay as fully and as willingly, as for the vvhole vvorld; <HI>Qui dilexit me &amp; tradidit &s;emetip&s;um pro me. vvho loued me, and deliuered him&s;elfe for me.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith a&s;tonishement and admira|tion, to &s;ee this great change of the&s;e two ex|treames; <HI>Noui&s;&s;imi primi &amp; primi noui&s;&s;imi: the la&s;t the first, and the fir&s;t last:</HI> God fallen to the lowe&s;t aby&s;&s;e of mi&s;erie; <HI>Opprobrium &amp; abiectio plebis; A reproch of men and outca&s;t of the people;</HI> and man rai&s;ed to the highe&s;t of hapines; <HI>Filius Dei viui &amp; haeres regni: The Sonne of the liuing God, and heire of his kingdome:</HI> poure thy &s;elfe out into teares for thy &s;ufferring God; and into humble thankes, as much for thy &s;elfe, as for the vvhole vvorld, by him redeemed, exalted, dei|fied.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly; how as S. Thomas &amp; all diuines teach, the paines both exteriour and interiour, vvhich our Sauiour &s;uffered in his pa&s;&s;ion, vvere the sharpe&s;t and greate&s;t that euer vvere &s;uffered in this vvorld: although thou ha&s;t &s;een them hitherto one by one, yet re&s;ume them here againe all together, from Geth&s;ema|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">to mount Galuarie? no part of his mo&s;t deli|cate and tender body hath e&s;caped its particular
<PB N="263" REF="145">and terrible torment; <HI>A planta pedis ad verti|cem capitis non est inuenta in co &s;anitas: From the &s;ole of the foote vnto the toppe of the head there is found noe health therein:</HI> againe he &s;uffered in his fame, by fal&s;e vvitne&s;&s;es, and ignominious titles of &s;editious, foole &amp;c, in his honour by the &s;coffes, mockings and shames, they v&s;ed him vvith. But now what he &s;uffered interiour|ly in his &s;oule, no &s;oule but his owne can feel or expre&s;&s;e; <HI>Secundum magnitudinem amoris, e&s;t &amp; doloris; According to the greatne&s;&s;e of his loue, the more vehement is his griefe;</HI> he loued, honoured and reuerenced the God-head vvith an immen|&s;e and incomparable loue; how then did it grieue and oppre&s;&s;e his noble heart to &s;ee alto|gether all the &s;innes of the world pa&s;&s;ed, pre&s;ent, and to come, like an army of foule Giants ban|ding and &s;corning the Diuinity? how did he feell the eternall lo&s;&s;e of tho&s;e million of millions of poore &s;oules, tumbling hourely into hell flames? againe, the loue he bore his B. Mother vvas vvithout compari&s;on, how then did her griefe for him, increa&s;e his for her? how did the&s;e two fiery coales, inflame and kindle one the other? &s;ay no more, my &s;oule, but looke onely and contemplate them both pre&s;ent by thee, him hanging on the Cro&s;&s;e vvith his eyes ca&s;t downe vpon her; and her &s;tanding at his feet; but vvhe|ther looking vp on him or no, I know not.</P>
<P>Conclude to get fir&s;t a perfect loue of thy Sa|uiour, and then thou vvilt ea&s;ily be a partner in his griefe: de&s;ire heartily to &s;uffer &s;omevvhat
<PB N="264" REF="146">for him, in thy fame, honour, goods, body, &amp; &s;oule; vvho hath &s;uffered in all at once for thee. Fixe thy &s;elfe at the foot of his Cro&s;&s;e, &amp; neuer depart thence.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, from whom or at who&s;e hands he &s;uffered all this; reflect and thou shalt find, that he hath &s;uffered from all &s;orts of peo|ple; Jewes, gentils, great and &s;mall, Princes and plebeians; &s;ome accu&s;ing, others iudging, others executing, all crying out; <HI>Tolle, tolle, crucifige, crucifige: avvay, avvay with him, crucifi&egrave;, cru|cifie him;</HI> from his Apo&s;tles; the one betraying him, the other for&s;wearing him, all flying and leauing him: from the pre&s;ence of his B. Mo|ther, though vvithout her fault, vvho&s;e &s;ight and &s;orrow pierced his very heart, and redou|bled all his paines: from his ovvne body, vvho&s;e vveight on the Cro&s;&s;e cau&s;ed and increa&s;ed his torment beyond mea&s;ure; finally from him&s;elfe and his Eternall Father, both for&s;aking him, &amp; both the chiefe and originall cau&s;es of all this; he by his free vvill, and his Father by the &s;word of his iu&s;tice: &s;o that the vvhole vniuer&s;e con|curred and con&s;pired his death; but not one creature afforded him the lea&s;t helpe or com|fort. <HI>Con&s;iderabam ad dextram &amp; videbam, &amp; non erat, qui cogno&s;ceret me: I looked tovvard the right hand, and &s;avv, and there vvas none that vvould knovv me:</HI> &ocirc; forlorne and for&s;aken Ie|&s;u; how all are at thy left hand to afflict thee? none at thy right, to pity thee? &ocirc; vvhat a ca&s;e wa&s;t thou in, vvhen this vniuer&s;all de&s;olation
<PB N="265" REF="146">made thee cry out to heauen; <HI>Deus, Deus meus, vt quid dercliquisti me? My God, my God, vvhy ha&s;t thou for&s;aken me?</HI> Sweete&s;t Sauiour, giue a deuout &s;oule leaue to aske thee the &s;ame que|&s;tion; <HI>Vt quid dereliqui&s;ti teip&s;um? VVhy hast thou for&s;aken thy &s;elfe?</HI> his an&s;wer is; <HI>Vt nunquam derelinquat te gratia mea. That my grace may neuer for&s;ake thee.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith a &s;trong re&s;olution, grounded on a &s;incere loue, neuer to &s;ide more vvith tho|&s;e, that per&s;ecute thy Sauiour; that is, with &s;in|ne and ingratitude; for onely the&s;e two can now reach and offend him, vvhere he is &s;iting at his Fathers right hand. If thou find thy &s;elfe &s;ad &amp; comfortles, recurre to thy Sauiour on the Cro&s;|&s;e; and be confident, that either he vvill com|fort thee; or, vvhich is to him more accep|table, giue thee his grace to &s;it by him, and keep him company.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly the manner our Sauiour &s;uffered <HI>Ex parte &s;ua, of his &s;ide,</HI> that is, the rare vertues he practi&s;ed and left drawne in purple and sky colour, as vvee may &s;ay, <HI>In carne &s;ua, in his flesh.</HI> As patterns and &s;amples for all his faithfull children: and to begin vvith that, vvhich vvas the fir&s;t &s;ource and &s;pring of the re&s;t, his ardent loue and charity to doe and &s;uf|fer for vs: &ocirc; my &s;oule, thou ha&s;t at lea&s;ure &s;een and pondered all the vvonders, he hath done, and all the per&s;ecutions he hath &s;uffered in thirty three yeares; and tho&s;e he now feeleth, hanging before thee on the Cro&s;&s;e; all tokens
<PB N="266" REF="147">of exce&s;&s;iue loue: but could&s;t thou looke into that burning furnace of his diuine brea&s;t, thou would'&s;t find there &s;uch a fire of loue and cha|rity, <HI>Quam nec aqua Oceani po&s;&s;ent extinguere, nec flumina pa&s;&s;ionum vmquam obruere: which neither the vvaters of the &s;ea can extinquish, nor the floods of pa&s;&s;ions euer ouervvhelme:</HI> euer rea|dy to &s;uffer a fresh all, and more, ouer and ouer, againe and again. Next his infinite humility in expo&s;ing his Maie&s;ty to &s;uch aba&s;ements and contempts; and perfect obedience, <HI>V&s;que ad mortem Crucis, euen to the death of the cro&s;&s;e,</HI> to comply vvith his Fathers command. Then his vvonderfull patience, meecknes and &s;ilence; <HI>Tanquam ouis coram tendente &s;e non aparuit os &s;uum; ita vt miraretur Pilatus vald&egrave;; As a sheepe before his shearer did he not open his mouth; &s;oe that Pilate marueled much;</HI> vvithout the lea&s;t contradiction or an&s;wer for him&s;elfe: his for|titude and per&s;euerance mo&s;t inuincible till the end, till he had conquered death, &s;inne and hell: his iu&s;tice and mercy, in taking on him and paying &s;o to the full our ran&s;ome; his pouerty and contempt of the vvorld in the highe&s;t de|gree &amp;c. vvithout end or limit.</P>
<P>Conclude to follow the &s;teps of thy Soue|raigne Lord and Ma&s;ter: &ocirc; if thou could'&s;t once get &amp; keep one &s;parke of his loue in thy brea&s;t; how it vvould &s;ea&s;on all the actions of thy life? how it vvould inflame thee to &s;uffer for him, as he hath done for thee? hovv it vvould naile thee to his Cro&s;&s;e hands and feet? <HI>Tota vita
<PB N="267" REF="147">Chri&s;ti,</HI> quoth the deuout Kempis, <HI>crux &s;uit &amp; martyrium: &amp; tu quaeris requiem &amp; gaudium? erras, erras, &s;t aliud queris qu&agrave;m pati tribula|tiones. The vvhole life of Chri&s;t is a cro&s;&s;e and martirdome, and doest thou &s;eeke rest and ioy? thou errest, thou errest if thou &s;eeke&s;t any thing, but to &s;uffer tribulations.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>Pious que&s;tions and an&s;wers vpon the Pa&s;&s;ion.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. THe fir&s;t point, and fir&s;t que&s;tion: vvhy did our B. Lord &s;uffer him&s;elfe to be tied vvith cords, and haled vvith ropes like a thiefe? An&s;wer: Adam in Paradi&s;e com|mitted theft, eating the fruit vvas none of his owne, but forbidden him: for vvhich the Deuill had all his po&s;terity tied vp like theeues, in the cords of &s;inne and damnation: to breake the&s;e bands, he that is incomprehen&s;ible, vvould be comprehended, and he that is liberty it &s;elfe, tyed vp like a thiefe</P>
<P>Ki&s;&s;e the&s;e bands, my &s;oule, &amp; pray that they may tie vp thy vnder&s;tanding and affection in the knowledge and loue of thy Sauiour.</P>
<P>The &s;econd que&s;tion: vvhy did he &s;uffer him|&s;elfe to be accu&s;ed with &s;o many fal&s;e vvitne&s;&s;es? An&s;wer: no man is &s;o iu&s;t, but the Deuill vvill find enough to accu&s;e him in, at the day of iud|gement: vvherefore this our &s;upreme Iudge vvould take now on him&s;elfe vniu&s;t and fal&s;e ac|cu&s;ations,
<PB N="268" REF="148">that vvee might then be &s;ecured from tho&s;e iu&s;t and true ones. Thanke thy Redeemer, my &s;oule, and that thou mai&s;t be the better &s;e|cured at that day, follow now his example, and beare fal&s;e calumnies and accu&s;ations vvith patience.</P>
<P>The third que&s;tion: vvhy did he neuer make an&s;wer to any of them, being &s;o fal&s;e, and &s;o oft vrged again&s;t him? An&s;wer: fal&s;ity is of that na|ture, that nothing can &s;o ea&s;ily con&s;ute it, as &s;i|lence; no vvay &s;o facile to di&s;couer a ly, as to leaue it to it &s;elfe; let it alone, &amp; you shall &s;oone &s;ee, how it vvill vanish into &s;moke, and truth thine like the &s;unne; <HI>Nam magna e&s;t veritas &amp; praeualet. For truth is povverfull, and doth pre|uaile.</HI> Learne from this example of thy mo&s;t pa|tient Sauiour, a rare and compendious method, how to end contentions, an&s;wer iniuries. and di&s;couer lies: and conclude vvith mo&s;t humble thankes to thy Redeemer for all.</P>
<P N="2">2. The &s;econd point, and fir&s;t que&s;tion: vvhy vvould our deare Lord &s;uffer his diuine face to be &s;pit on, and mufled vvith a dirty clout? An|&s;wer: Adam in eating the forbidden fruit, did fir&s;t &s;pit as it vvere in the face of his Creatour, contemning his command; and at the &s;ame in|&s;tant the deuill be&s;pit and defiled the &s;oule of him, and all his, vvith the muck of &s;inne: next he aimed at the forbidden knowledge al&s;o <HI>Boni &amp; mali, of good and euil,</HI> and vvas pre&s;ently &s;truck blind vvith ignorance and errour, our Redeemer therefore had his face defiled &amp; muf|fled,
<PB N="269" REF="148"><HI>Vt nos &agrave; tenebris &amp; &s;ordibus, in quas nati &s;u|mus, peccato &s;c: &amp; ignorantia, liberaret: that he might free vs from the darkne&s;&s;e, &amp; vncleanene&s;&s;e to vvitt &s;inne and ignorance, in vvhich vve are borne:</HI> &ocirc; my &s;oule take heed of &s;pitting in thy Sauiours face vvith the Iewes; take heed of co|uering his face of mercy from thee.</P>
<P>The &s;econd que&s;tion: vvhy would he be trea|ted and reiected for a foole? An&s;wer: to quell &amp; quench in vs the heat and vaine curio&s;ity of knowing more then belongs vnto vs, inherited al&s;o from Adam's vaine hopes; <HI>Eritis &s;icut dij, &s;cientes bonum &amp; malum: you shall be like Gods, knovving good and euill:</HI> for if the originall Wi|&s;edome of the Eternall Father, from vvhence floweth all knowledge in heauen and in earth, be once e&s;teemed foolery; how shall man euer &s;well or be proud of his knowledge? But vvoe to vs poore bubbles, &s;welling euer vvith a puffe of &s;elfe conceit till vvee breake our &s;elues.</P>
<P>The third que&s;tion: vvhy vvould he &s;uffer Barabbas, a thiefe and murderer, to be preferred before him? An&s;wer: to giue vs vvarning, how to make our choice, on vvhich depends life or death: Adam erred preferring a creature before his Creatour, and died for it: the Ievves erred, preferring the Prince of thieues before the Prin|ce of Angells, and vvere de&s;troyed for it: take heed, &ocirc; my &s;oule, thou prefer not &s;inne before grace, thy plea&s;ure before thy duty, lea&s;t eternall death be thy doome.</P>
<P N="3">3. The third point, and fir&s;t que&s;tion: vvhy
<PB N="270" REF="149">vvould the Sonne of God be &s;courged &amp; crow|ned vvith thornes? An&s;wer: remember the tr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|ueller, that vvent downe from Jeru&s;alem to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">|richo, <HI>Et incidit in latrones, qui de&s;poliauerunt eum &amp; plagis impo&s;itis abierunt &s;emiuiuo relicto: that &s;el amongst theeues, vvho all&s;oe &s;poiled him, and giuing him vvoundes vvent avvay leauing him half-dead:</HI> this is he vvhom our good Sa|maritan comes to cure; and &s;o he applyes his ovvne vvounds to the curing of his; he maketh a bath of his precious bloud to recouer his ga&s;|ping &s;oule; <HI>Nam anima Christiani in &s;anguine Chri&s;ti est: For the life of a Chri&s;tian is in the blood of Chri&s;t:</HI> hee is crowned with thornes &amp; woun|ded in the head, to mitigate the temptations that neuer cea&s;e to prick and &s;ting our weake, imagination: he is &s;tripped of his ovvne clothes, and couered vvith purple, vvith a cane in his hand; <HI>Ut nos deponamus veterem hominem qu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">: corrumpitur, &amp; indunmas nouum qui &s;icundum Deum creatus est &amp;c. That vve may lay avvay the old man, vvhich is corrupted; and put on the nevv man, vvhich according to God is crea|ted &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>The &s;econd que&s;tion: vvhy vvould this Prin|ce and Lord of Angells, be now accompanied vvith none but theeues? an&s;wer, to abate and confound the pride of that old thiefe Lucifer, who &s;tole man from Paradi&s;e &amp; a great part of the Angells from heauen: but now the wheel is turned; he is the lowe&s;t and foule&s;t of deuills, &amp; man placed among and aboue the Angells.</P>
<PB N="271" REF="149">
<P> The third que&s;tion: vvhat doe the three Cro&s;&s;es of mount Caluary &s;ignifie? An&s;wer; that on the left hand &s;ignifieth the &s;tate of wicked men; vvho how iocund &s;o euer they &s;eeme outwardly, yet their re&s;tles conferences &s;ing vvithin an other tune: that on the right hand &s;ig|nifieth the &s;tate of penitents; vvho&s;e Cro&s;&s;e is contrition and &s;atisfaction: that of our fauiours in the mid&s;t is the &s;tate of the perfect, vvho al&s;o neuer want their Cro&s;&s;es, as long as they liue in this vvorld. Embrace my &s;oule, the foot of this Cro&s;&s;e, vvhereon thy Sauiour hangs, this is the high vvay from mount Caluary to Ieru&s;alem; from &s;inne to grace; from grace to glory.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE THIRD MEDITATION. <HI>Of our Sauiours death and buriall.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t; and giue care to the la&s;t le&s;&s;on or &s;ermon, vvhich thy diuine Ma|&s;ter maketh vnto thee from the chaire or pulpit of the Cro&s;&s;e, con&s;i&s;ting of &s;eauen vvordes or &s;entences vttered as he hung in the la&s;t torment or agonie of death. The fir&s;t vvas, vvhen all the vvorld vvas banding, &s;coffing, and &s;pitting their malice and venome at him, then vvas his &s;oule in a furnace of charity, &s;parkling forth pity and compa&s;&s;ion for them, vvith <HI>Pa|ter igno&s;ce illis, quiae ne&s;ciunt quid faciunt: Father forgiue them, for they knovv not vvhat they doe:</HI> &ocirc; mellifluous Je&s;u! hovv can this be? ha&s;t not
<PB N="272" REF="150">thou yet done &s;ufficiently to make them know thee? remember vvhat thou did&s;t once &s;ay of them; <HI>Nunc autem excu&s;ationem non habent de peccato &s;uo: but novv they haue no excu&s;e of their &s;inne.</HI> But &ocirc;! <HI>Omnis peccator ignorans, &amp; ne&s;cit quid facit; euerie &s;inner is ignorant, and knovves not vvhat he doeth;</HI> vvhom 'he offendeth, vvhat he offendeth, vvhat he lo&s;eth, and vvhe|ther he runneth. The &s;econd vvas, vvhen Damas the good thiefe a&s;tonished and conuerted at the former vvords and vnheard-of charity; repre|hending his companion, accu&s;ing him&s;elfe, de|claring the innocency of Chri&s;t, and turning vnto him vvith, <HI>Memento mei Domine dum ve|neeis in regnum tuum; Lord, remember me, vvhen thou shalt come in thy Kingdome:</HI> receiued this &s;entence of eternall bli&s;&s;e; <HI>Amen dico tibi quia hodie mecum eris in Paradi&s;o: Amen I &s;ay to thee: this day thou shalt be vvith me in Paradi&s;e:</HI> &ocirc; happy thiefe, vvho by this plenary indulgence. <HI>A culpa &amp; &agrave; paena From both crime, and punish|ment dve there vnto,</HI> ha&s;t carried avvay the preuiledge from all the Patriarks, Prophets and Saints of the old law, to leap ouer Purgatory and Limbus immediatly into Paradi&s;e &amp; glory: and had&s;t by thee at thy death Ie&s;us and Mary, thy Redeemer and his mother.</P>
<P>Conclude two things; the one to conne and learne this new le&s;&s;on vvith all thy endeauours to vvit, then to forgiue and pray for thy ene|mies, vvhen they are actually per&s;ecuting of thee; the other, to turne to thy Sauiour vvith
<PB N="273" REF="150">humility and confe&s;&s;ion of thy &s;innes, vvith a, <HI>Memento mei Domine in hora mortis meae; re|member me, &ocirc; Lord, in the hour of my death;</HI> and to his mother vvith, <HI>Ora pro nobis nunc &amp; in hora mortis. Amen. pray for me novv; &amp; in the hour of death. Amen.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly how, <HI>Stabat Mater do|loro&s;a, iuxta crucem lachrymo&s;a, dum pendebat fi|lius; The dolefull mother stood by the cro&s;&s;e vvee|ping, while&s;t her &s;onne hung thereon;</HI> couered ouer with an Ocean of afflicting agonies; &s;uffering all &amp; more in her &s;oule, then did her &s;onne in his body; &s;o that with more aduantage might shee &s;ay that of the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Christo crucifixa &s;um Cruci; vvith Chri&s;t I am nailed to the cro&s;&s;e</HI> and that al&s;o with three nailes, the one of loue in the highe&s;t mea&s;ure, the other of griefe, propor|tionable to the loue; the third of conformity and re&s;ignation, <HI>Fiat voluntas tua: thy vvil be done.</HI> &s;o that, <HI>Viuo ego, iam non ego viuit ver&ograve; in me Chri&s;tus. I liue, novv not I: but Chri&s;t liueth in me.</HI> But her deare&s;t Lord and Sonne looking downe vpon her griefe and &s;olitairnes, and his beloued di&s;ciple S. Iohn by her, &s;ayd vnto them, <HI>Mulier ecce filius tuus, ecc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> mater tua: vvoman behold thy &s;onne, behold thy mother:</HI> the Apo&s;tle was well content, <HI>Et accepit illam in &s;uam; and he tooke her to his ovvne;</HI> but &ocirc; the dolefull mo|ther, how could shee like the change? the di&s;ci|ple for the Ma&s;ter? the Sonne of Zebedeus for the Sonne of God? how could shee take this la&s;t farewell; her owne &s;onne gaue her, and bequea|thed
<PB N="274" REF="151">her to an other? hauing thus taken his leaue of his mother, he turned him&s;elfe to his Eternall Father, <HI>Et exclamauit voce magna: Deus Deas meus vt quid dereliqui&s;time? and he cryed vvith a loude voice: my God, my God, vvhy hast thou for&s;aken me?</HI> mee, thy onely and naturall Sonne? <HI>Vt quid? vvhy?</HI> for what, or for whom? for &s;in|full and vngratfull man? who will hardly euer thanke thee for it; nay many take hence an oc|ca&s;ion to offend thee more: but, be it &s;o deare Father; let me be for&s;aken by thee, &s;o thou ne|uer for&s;ake them.</P>
<P>Conclude to v&s;e this &s;ame cry to God in all thy temptations; and beg his ayde and a&s;&s;i&s;tance for the re&s;pect of what his onely Sonne &s;uffered in being now for&s;aken by his Father, and al&s;o for what his B. Mether felt, in being left by her Son|ne, and, put of to an other; and know, that wee may novv more boldly call her our Mother, then before, for her Sonne hath bequeathed her to vs all in S. Iohn, &amp; shee beareth to all the loue of a mother.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, hovv our dying Sauiour hauing hung on the Cro&s;&s;e &s;ome three houres, &s;ayd, <HI>Sitto: I thirst;</HI> tvvo great and vehement thir&s;ts did he &s;uffer, the one corporall, for ha|uing fa&s;ted &s;o long, &s;pent all the bloud of his bo|dy, &amp; moi&s;ture of his &s;tomack, and pa&s;&s;ed &s;o many torments and trauells how could there chu&s;e but follow a parching drouth thorough all his body? and it vvas fitting vve should know it, as vvell as the re&s;t of his torments, to shew
<PB N="275" REF="151">our due gratitude for it: but the other and greater thir&s;t vvas &s;pirituall in his &s;oule for our good &amp; &s;aluation, and that all the vvorld would come and drinke <HI>Ad &s;ontem aquae viuae pa&s;&s;ionis, At the fountaine of the liuing vvater of his pa&s;|&s;ion.</HI> But &ocirc; the cruelty of &s;auage bea&s;ts! they giue a ga&s;ping and dying man nothing, but foure vineger to quench a con&s;uming thir&s;t; <HI>Et &s;iti mea potauerunt me aceto: in my thrist they gaue me vinegre to drinke:</HI> but yet more cruell &s;inners, vvho in&s;tead of pious gratitude, giue him nothing but the gall and vineger of &s;inne and vvickednes. Our meeke&s;t Lord hauing taken this piercing draught, as one vvell refreshed and &s;atisfied, &s;ayd, <HI>Con&s;ummatum e&s;t; it is con&s;um|mated:</HI> that is, perfected and con&s;ummated is the whole worke of mans redemption; the figures and prophecies of the old law are fullfilled; the papers, writings &amp; accoumpts of &s;iue thou&s;and yeares with the diuine iu&s;tice are quitted and cancelled with my bloud; finally the whole Oe|conomy, for which I came, is now ended with my life. Happy that &s;oule that at the houre of death can truely &s;ay, <HI>Con&s;ummatum est, it is con|&s;ummated:</HI> or, <HI>cur&s;um con<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ummaui, fidem &s;eruat<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e &amp;c. I haue con&s;ummated my cour&s;e, I haue kept the faith &amp;c.</HI> I haue complied with the obliga|tions of my e&s;tate and calling.</P>
<P>Conclude to beg of thy Sauiour for this tor|ment he &s;uffered, that he will quench in thee the heat &amp; drouth of thy carnall &s;en&s;uality; &amp; giue thee that other of &s;pirit, <HI>Vt &s;itiat anima tua
<PB N="276" REF="152">ad Deum fontem viuum. That thy &s;oule may thirst after God the living fountaine.</HI> Beg of him al&s;o and his B. Mother, that at the houre of thy death thou may with joy and comfort &s;ay, <HI>Con|&s;ummatum e&s;t, it is con&s;ummated.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, how the houre being come, that he vvould permit death to &s;eize vpon him; and by the &s;eparation of tho&s;e two indiui|duall and in&s;eparable companions his body and &s;oule, perfit &s;o the worke of our redemption; li&s;ting vp his oppre&s;&s;ed head and vvatry eyes to heauen, <HI>Clamans voce magna ait: Pater in ma|nus tuas commendo &s;piritum meum; &amp; inclinato capite tradidit &s;piritum &amp; expirauit: crying with a loude voice, &s;aid: father into thy hands I com|mend my &s;pirit; and bovving his head, he gaue vp the gho&s;t:</HI> &s;tay a vvhile, Chri&s;tian &s;oule, &s;tay from thy iu&s;t groanes &amp; teares, vvith vvhich I knovv thy brea&s;t and eyes are full, thou shalt pre&s;ently accompany in this his hopeles, com|fortles and &s;onneles mother; &s;ee in the meane vvhile and knovv, that the thundering &s;ound of this his la&s;t cry vvas heard dovvne to the aby&s;&s;e of hell, and made all the&s;e infernall &s;pirits flit vp and dovvne vvith horrour and affrightment, and runne deeper into their dungeons, to hide them&s;elues: it penetrated Limbus, &amp; gaue tho&s;e vvearied &s;oules a ioyfull alarme of their freedo|me; it mounted al&s;o to heauen, vvarning the Angells to prepare their voices and in&s;truments to &s;ound his triumph &amp; victorie ouer all his enemies. Yet (&ocirc; &s;vveete&s;t Je&s;u) lea&s;t men should
<PB N="279" REF="152">feare, as mo&s;t iu&s;tly they might, that he vvent avvay angry or vvrathfull from them, he incli|ned and turned dovvne his head and eyes vpon them, to offer them the ki&s;&s;e of peace; his ar|mes open to receiue them; his feet nayled not to flie from their approches; finally his vvounds all open, that vvee may enter into his shelters &amp; forts euery vvay, and hide our &s;elues there <HI>In die belli; In the day of vvare.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude neuer more to lift vp thy head a|gain&s;t God, &s;ince thy Sauiour hath inclined his his to death in obedience to his Father, and lo|ue to thee: thanke him anevv for all that he hath &s;uffered from the garden of Geth&s;emany to this moment: and neuer thinke thy &s;elfe truely his, till thou &s;uffer vvillingly &s;omevvhat for him.</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly, hovv our ble&s;&s;ed Redee|mer had no &s;ooner giuen vp the gho&s;t, with an <HI>Humiliauit &s;eip&s;um v&s;que ad mortem, mortem au|tem Crucis; he humbled him&s;elfe vnto death, even the death of the cro&s;&s;e:</HI> but his Eternall Father be|gun pre&s;ently to exalt and magnify his name: hence the &s;unne grew darke; the earth trem|bled; the &s;tones cracked; the graues opened; the vaile of the Temple rent from the top to the bottome; the people vvent home knocking their brea&s;ts; the Centurion with many more were conuerted, &amp; publikely confe&s;&s;ed him for the Sonne of God; <HI>Ver&egrave; filius Dei erat iste: indeed this man vvas the &s;onne of God;</HI> when Longinus had with a lance opened his &s;ide, true vvater &amp;
<PB N="280" REF="153">bloud came gushing out: vvhence proceeded the Catholike Church, <HI>Mater viuentium: Mother of the liuing:</HI> and the &s;eauen Sacramentall Con|duits of heauenly graces. Finally his di&s;ciples who before hid them&s;elues <HI>Propter metum Iu|daeorum; for feare of the Ievvs;</HI> and treated vvith him onely by night, novv boldly shew their fa|ces, &amp; <HI>Io&s;eph ab Arimathea intrauit ad Pilatum &amp; audacter petijt corpus Ie&s;u: Io&s;eph of Arima|thea vvent in to Pilate, and boldly asked the bodie of Ie&s;us:</HI> Nicodemus came al&s;o vvith an hundred pound of precious ointments &amp; aromatick &s;pi|ces. O what nevv rancour and hatred did the&s;e things beget in the hearts of his enemies the Iewes, to &s;ee all their malice con&s;umed in vaine &amp; turned to his greater honour; &s;o that, <HI>Sagitta paruulorum factae &s;unt plagae eorum; Childrens arrovves are made theire vvoundes.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude thou with joy and exultation of heart, to &s;ee the iu&s;t glory of thy Sauiour begin to shew it &s;elfe: thanke heartily his Eternall Fa|ther for it: and learne hence to be confident in his &s;weet prouidence; what&s;oeuer &s;tormes of aduer&s;ity ouerwhelme thee.</P>
<P>Thur&s;day night and Friday morning nothing is read. On Fryday night read for Saturday.</P>
<P N="6">6. COn&s;ider &s;ixthly, how Io&s;eph, Nicode|mus &amp; S. Iohn vnnailed the &s;acred bo+dy of our Redeemer from the Cro&s;&s;e,
<PB N="281" REF="153">and with all reuerence and deuotion laid it once more in the armes and lap of the &s;acred Virgin Mother. O vvhat &s;oule can imagine, or tongue expre&s;&s;e the teares, &s;ighs and anguish of her af|flicted heart? Enter, &ocirc; faithfull &s;oule, and falling at the cold and bored feet of thy Sauiour, ac|company the&s;e la&s;t and funerall teares of the B. Lady, S. Iohn, S. Mary Magdalene and the re&s;t: <HI>&ocirc; vos omnes, qui tran&s;itis per viam, videte &s;i e&s;t dolor &s;imilis, &s;icut dolor noster. &ocirc; all ye that pa&s;&s;e by the vvay, attend, and &s;ee if there be &s;orovv like to our &s;orovv.</HI> From hence beginneth that mo&s;t &s;olemne Proce&s;&s;ion of his buriall to the new Tombe of Io&s;eph, <HI>In quo nondum qui&s;quam po&s;itus fuerat. VVherein neuer yet any man had beene laid.</HI> Hither vvas brought the &s;acred Corps richly embalmed, vvrapped in fine linnen, &amp; accompanied, as it be&s;eemed the Sonne of God, vvith his owne Mother, tho&s;e holy and noble per&s;onages of men and vvomen, and vvith all the Angels of heauen, &s;ent dovvne from their great Lord in mourning vveeds, <HI>Et in planctu, &s;icut plangi &s;olet in morte Primogeniti. And to performe tho&s;e funerall ob&s;equies, vvhich are vvont to be performed in the death of a first-be|gotten.</HI> Finally they lay him in his graue, adore him, and with new floods of teares, &amp; &s;peechles &s;obbes taking their la&s;t leaue; <HI>Aduoluu~t lapidem ad o&s;tium monumenti; and they rolle a stone to the doore of the manument:</HI> and returne in compa|ny of the &s;ad Lady <HI>Ad &s;anctum coenaculum. To the holie refectorie.</HI></P>
<PB N="282" REF="154">
<P> But &s;tay thou here a while, my &s;oule, <HI>Et &s;e|dens foris ad monumentum plora, and &s;itting vvi|thout at the monument vveepe,</HI> the death of thy God, the anguish of thy Lady &amp; Mi&s;tre&s;&s;e vvith thy owne &s;olitarine&s;&s;e. Next, <HI>Recogita in ama|ritudine animae tuae, Recount in the bitterne&s;&s;e of thy &s;oule.</HI> All vvhat thou ha&s;t &s;een pa&s;&s;e <HI>Ab horto Geth&s;emani ad &s;epulchrum: from the Garden of Geth&s;emani to the &s;epulcre:</HI> make vnto thy &s;elfe <HI>Fa&s;ciculum Myrrhae, a bundle of myrrhe.</HI> of the&s;e three ingrediens; the cruelty and malice of the Iewes, the enormity of &s;inne; and the ouer|&s;welling charity of thy Lord and Sauiour.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="3" TYPE="part">
<HEAD>THE THIRD PART, MEDITATIONS FOR the Perfect, or for the Vnitiue vvay.</HEAD>
<P>_THE end and &s;cope of the Unitiue vvay is, to vnite our &s;oules vvith God, according to the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Qui adheret Domino, vnus &s;piritus est: he that adheareth to our Lord, is one &s;pirit:</HI> to effect this, three acts are required; the fir&s;t is of the vnder&s;tanding, by
<PB N="283" REF="154">vvhich vvee forme and con&s;erue in our memory the full and perfect <HI>Idea</HI> of our Soueraigne God, and of his perfections, as a liuely and pre&s;ent i|mage of him. The &s;econd act is of the vvill<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, by all her affections, and e&s;pecially by that of loue, extracted from her &s;elfe and all other creatures, and totally vnited and made one vvith her Crea|tour. The third is of imitation, conformity and re&s;ignation to his holy plea&s;ure in all things. <HI>In tempore &amp; aeternitate, in time and eternitie,</HI> the height and top of all Chri&s;tian endeauours. <HI>Gu|stemus ergo &amp; videamus, qu&agrave;m&s;uauis &s;ir Domi|nus. Let vs ta&s;t, and &s;ee, how &s;vveet our Lord is:</HI></P>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>THE FIRST CHAPTER. <HI>Of our Sauieurs Re&s;urrection and apparitions.</HI></HEAD>
<P>OVr Sauiour &s;ayth of him&s;elfe; <HI>Ego &s;um o&s;tium, per me &s;iquis introierit &s;aluabitur; &amp; ingredietur &amp; egredietur &amp; pa&s;cua in|ueniet: I am the doore, by me if any enter, he shall be &s;aued; and he shall goe in, and shall goe out and shall find pa&s;tures;</HI> that is, all hope of &s;aluation, all progre&s;&s;e in vertue, and acce&s;&s;e to God, is by me. Wherefore, as by his mortall life a|mong&s;t vs he hath giuen vs examples and do|cuments for all &s;orts of vertues; &s;o by his immortall life, vvhich beginneth from his re|&s;urrection, we haue a neere and ea&s;y acce&s;&s;e to the contemplation of the mo&s;t hidden an &s;acred
<PB N="284" REF="155">my&s;teries of his Diuinity; <HI>Vbi pa&s;cua inueni<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|mus &amp; inebriabimur &agrave; torrente voluptatis: whe|re vve shall find pasture and shall be inebriated vvith the torrent of plea&s;ure.</HI></P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FIRSTH MEDITATION. <HI>Of our Sauiours Re&s;urrection.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how our Redeemer no &s;ooner gaue vp the gho&s;t vpo~ the Cro&s;|&s;e, but his mo&s;t powerfull and glorious &s;oule, vnited to the Diuinity, tooke her way di|rectly towards the place called <HI>Limbus Patrum;</HI> a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> hollow and dark&s;ome Caue vnder gro|und, next doore, as I may &s;ay, to the hell of the damned; where were kept in pri&s;on and &s;ad mourning all tho&s;e pious &s;oules, who de|parted hence in grace, &amp; had &s;uffered in Purga|tory what paines were due to their &s;innes; but could not yet enter heauen, till the generall rau|&s;ome was paid by Chri&s;t. Hither now went his glorious &s;oule, accompanied with millions of Angells crying out before him to tho&s;e darke Iaylers; <HI>Aperite portas, Principes, vestras, &amp; in|troibit Rex gloria: Open your gates, yee Princes, and the king of glorie shall enter in:</HI> which like thunder put them all to flight &amp; eternall confu|&s;ion; and &s;o, <HI>Conterendo portas aereas &amp; vectes ferreos confringendo, by destroying the gates of bra&s;&s;e, and by breaking the barres of Iron,</HI> he en|tred triumphantly, <HI>Inter mortuos non &s;olum liber
<PB N="285" REF="155">&s;ed &amp; liberator. Among the dead not only free, but theire frceer.</HI> O &s;weete&s;t charity, and mo&s;t pro|fonnd humility! charity, in going downe in per|&s;on to deliuer tho&s;e poore pri&s;oners, whereas his omnipotent word vvould haue &s;erued, or twel|ue legions of Angells at his command: his hu|mility, in vouch&s;afing to vi&s;it in per&s;on tho&s;e foule and ba&s;e dungeons, and remaine there al+mo&s;t forty houres. The Apo&s;tle taketh notice of it; <HI>Quod autem a&s;cendit, quid e&s;t ni&s;i quod &amp; de&s;|c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">dit primum in inferiores partes terrae? that he a&s;cended, vvhat is it, but becau&s;e he de&s;cended al|&s;oe fir&s;t into the inferiour partes of the earth.</HI> A&s;|&s;igning his a&s;cen&s;ion for an effect of &s;uch hu|mility.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith ioy in thy heart for thy Lord's victory ouer death and hell: &s;triue to imi|tate his humility, in vvhat &s;tate and dignity &s;o euer thou bee; and his charity, in &s;eruing his &s;er|uants and children vvith thy ovvne hands, not putting it of to others, as v&s;ually vvee doe.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, hovv our all glorious &amp; triumphant Lord, entring into tho&s;e darke|&s;ome dungeous, vvith the &s;plendour of his pre|&s;ence turned them all into a light&s;ome Paradi&s;e, &amp; gaue vnto tho&s;e pious &s;oules the full &amp; bea|tificall &s;ight and vi&s;ion of his Diuinity. O vvho can conceiue this &s;udden and great change from one extremity to another; from &s;o many thou|&s;and yeares of mourning and expectation, to a &s;ecure Eternity of ioy and bli&s;&s;e? See old Adam &amp; Eue come forth out of their fiue thou&s;and
<PB N="286" REF="156">yeares inpri&s;onment, and, as yet halfe blus|hing, ca&s;t them&s;elues at their Sonnes and Sa|uiours feet, vvith a publike confe&s;&s;ion of their ovvne fault, and of his grace and mercy. Behold the rankes of Patriarchs, Prophets, Prie&s;ts, Kings and Martyrs, all in their due orders fal|ling at his feet, in loyalty and homage, as to their &s;upreme Soueraigne; and &s;inging vvith full Quires: <HI>Dignus es Domine Deus noster, accipere gloriam &amp; honorem, &amp; virtutem, quia redemi&s;ti nos Deus in &s;anguine tuo, ex omni Tribu &amp; lingua populo &amp; natione &amp;c. Thou art vvorthie, our lord, to receiue glorie and honour, and povver be|cau&s;e thou ha&s;t redeemed us &oacute; God in thy blood, out of everie tribe and tongue and people and nation &amp;c.</HI> On the other &s;ide, who can apprehend the ouer&s;vvelling ioyes, contents and iubilees of our Sauiour's glorious &s;oule, to &s;ee &s;uch &s;udden &amp; copious fruit of his death &amp; pa&s;&s;ion? &ocirc; how vvell doth he thinke all be&s;tovved? <HI>Pro eo quod laborauit anima eius, videbit &amp; &s;aturabitur: &amp; dispertiam et plurimos, &amp; fortium diuidet spolia. For that his &s;oule hath laboured, he shall &s;ee and be filled, and I vvill di&s;tribute vnto him verte ma|ny, and hee shall divide the &s;poiles of the strong.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to ioyne vvith the&s;e glorious &s;oules in the prai&s;es of thy Sauiour: vvish them all a thou&s;and ioyes vvith Eternity of bli&s;&s;e: be&s;eech thy Father Abraham &amp; the re&s;t, to remember vs, labouring yet in the toiles of this mortall &amp; dangerous pa&s;&s;age.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, hovv it is mo&s;t credible
<PB N="287" REF="156">&amp; in a manner not to be doubted but the &s;oules in Purgatory al&s;o, vvere partakers of this ioyfull &s;olemnity; and vvith a plenary indulgence vvere freed all <HI>Ab omni poena: from all paine.</HI> For hovv could our &s;vvete&s;t Ie&s;us doe le&s;&s;e, <HI>In die hac iucunditatis eius &amp; laetitiae cordis, in this day of his mirth and ioy of hart,</HI> then apply the yet al mo&s;t vvarme bloud of his death &amp; pa&s;&s;ion to all that vvere any vvay capable of it, as the ho|ly &s;oules of Purgatorie vvere? Angells therefore are &s;ent thither, who &s;vveep cleare tho&s;e fiery caues of that pious fevve&s;t; &amp; conduct them all to the glory of <HI>Limbus.</HI> But did the Hell of the damned and tho&s;e lovver dungeons feele noe alteration to the &s;o nigh pre&s;ence of our trium|phant Dauid? &s;urely they did; but of shame, con|fu&s;ion &amp; greater torment: O &s;ee and laugh, my &s;oule, at the great Goliath, Lucifer, vvith all tho&s;e Princes of darknes &s;inking dovvne into the lovver aby&s;&s;es, <HI>Tanquam &agrave; facie fulguris: As at the pre&s;ence of thunder:</HI> &ocirc; hovv doe they groa|ne to &s;ee, hovv are they deceiued in procuring &s;o malitiou&s;ly and violently his death; of vvhom it is &s;ayd and novv verified; <HI>O mors, ero mors tua, &amp; mor&s;us tuus, iuferne. O death, I vvill be thy death, and thy bite, &oacute; hel.</HI> The like horrour felt the damned &s;oules, and aboue all that of Iu|das, and the wicked Theefe; who fell from &s;o high a dignity, and &s;o nigh and inuiting an oc|ca&s;ion of Eternall bli&s;&s;e &amp; happines.</P>
<P>Conclude thou vvith ioy and iubilee of heart for thy Sauiour's glory; for the good &s;oules deli|uery,
<PB N="288" REF="157">and for the confu&s;ion of hell and the De|uill: but yet vvith feare for thy &s;elfe: for the bloud of Chri&s;t, hovv efficacious &s;oeuer, doth not wash ob&s;tinate and peruer&s;e &s;oules: &ocirc; tru&s;t not to any dignity or vocation vvhat&s;oeuer; but, <HI>Gum timore &amp; tremore operare &s;alutem. VVith feare and trembling vvork thy &s;afetie.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, hovv our Ble&s;&s;ed Re|deemer hauing oft &s;ayd, that he vvas to be three dayes &amp; three nights in the bovvells of the earth, and that he vvas to ri&s;e the third day; &s;uch ha&s;t he made to comfort his afflicted Mother, and novv hope le&s;&s;e Di&s;ciples; that he reduced the vvhole time into le&s;&s;e than forty houres, to vvit from Friday three a clock, that he died, to Sun|day foure in the morning: when accompanied with all tho&s;e happy &s;oules, he left tho&s;e Infer|nall caues robbed and &s;acked of all, and taking his cour&s;e directly to the holy &s;epulcher, found there his &s;acred body, in the &s;ame manner, as it had been laid there on Friday-night, all bloudy, rent and torne. The glorious &s;oules adore it vvith all due reuerence, &amp; poure them&s;elues out into nevv admirations, thankes-giuings, and prai&s;es: but the holy Angells bring together from all places the &s;acred bloud, that had been &s;pilt, and other relikes belonging to the integrity of his body; &amp; his mo&s;t triumphant &s;oule en|tring into it, and shaking of the ointments and linne~, vvith which it vvas buried, clotheth it vvith new immortality, and gifts of glory, more bright and re&s;plendent than a thou&s;and &s;unnes;
<PB N="289" REF="157">the wounds glittering beyond all diamonds or precious &s;tones: &amp; thus he ro&s;e from his three-dayes &s;leep, penetrating all ob&s;tacles, and vnper|ceiued of the Guards.</P>
<P>Conclude to be pre&s;ent in &s;pirit at this &s;o|lemnity of the Re&s;urrection, <HI>Quae facta e&s;t pro|pter iustificationem nostram:</HI> which was done for our iu&s;tification but remember to shake of fir&s;t all carnall and vvordly affections, in vvhich thou ha&s;t hitherto laine buried in the &s;epulcher of &s;inne and vice.</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly, how at our Sauiour's ri|&s;ing a great earth-quake vvas made, and Angells in glittering shapes remoued the &s;tone of the &s;e|pulcher and vvith terrour amazed the &s;ouldiers, vvho vvere &s;et to guard it. But our Lord vvent &s;traight to mount Caluary, vvhere the holy Cro&s;&s;e yet &s;tood; vvhich all the Angells &amp; &s;oules pre&s;ent reuerenced and adored, as the royall and victorious &s;tandard of the vvorlds redemption: and he in the &s;ame place, vvhere he had on the Friday before prayed and offered him&s;elfe as a holocau&s;t to his Eternall Father, now vvith his face and eyes erected to heauen, giueth him im|mortall thankes for the glorious victory be|&s;towed on him ouer the vvorld, the Deuill, death, hell, &amp; all his enemies; applying to him|&s;elfe the vvords of the Patriarch Jacob, vvhen he returned rich and pro&s;perous from Me&s;opota|mia: <HI>In baculo meo, vvith my staffe</HI> (of this Cro&s;&s;e towit) <HI>tran&s;iui Iordanum istum I pa&s;&s;ed ouer this Iordain</HI> (of my bitter pa&s;&s;ion) <HI>&amp; nunc
<PB N="290" REF="158">cum duabus turmis regredior, and novv vvith tvvo troupes I doe returne</HI> (of Limbus and Pur|gatory) rich in that his po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, pro&s;perous in the &s;ucce&s;&s;e, &amp; glorious in the victory; <HI>Con|uertens planctum &s;uum in gaudium &s;ibi. Turning his lamentation in to ioy.</HI> Finally to &s;ecure vs, that he ro&s;e not for him&s;elfe onely, but for vs al&s;o; &amp; to giue vs al&s;o a new pledge of his liberality and omnipotency, he commandeth tho&s;e &s;oules vvho&s;e graues opened on the Friday, to goe take vp their bodies in glory and immortality; who afterward appeared to many in Jeru&s;alem, and at the a&s;cen&s;ion by a &s;ingular priuiledge, moun|ted vvith him to heauen.</P>
<P>Conclude to imitate thy Sauiour, <HI>Qui re&s;ur|gens ex mortuis tam non moritur: vvho ri&s;eing from the dead, novv dieth not,</HI> &ocirc; my &s;oule, <HI>Exua|mus veterem hominem cum actibus &s;uis, Let vs put of the old man vvith his actes,</HI> and putting on the nevv robe of grace, let vs neuer dye more by &s;inne, but liue euer to glory.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>Of our Sauiours apparitions.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how doubtles, the fir&s;t ap|parition our Sauiour made, vvas to his afflicted Mother, though the Euange|li&s;ts &s;peake not of it: but becau&s;e her fea&s;t of ioyes is at hand, vve vvill differre this point till then, as more proper. The next apparition the|refore he maketh, is to &s;inners, S. Mary Magda|len
<PB N="291" REF="158">and S. Peter, and fir&s;t to her, as the vveaker &s;ex. S. Iohn de&s;cribeth the mo&s;t &s;weet pa&s;&s;age in his twentieth chapter: how <HI>Maria stabat ad menumentum foris plorans: Marie &s;toode at the monument vvithout, vveeping:</HI> how two An|gells appeared in vvhite, &amp; &s;aid vnto her; <HI>Mu|lier, qrid ploras? vvoman vvhy vveepest thou?</HI> but she; <HI>Quia tulerunt Dominum meum, &amp; ne&s;cio vbi po&s;uerunt eum: Becau&s;e they haue ta|ken avvay my Lord, and I knovv not vvhere they haue put him:</HI> pre&s;ently shee &s;aw Ie&s;us at her back, but knew him not: vvho asking the &s;ame que&s;tion; <HI>Mulier quid ploras? quem quaeris? vvo|man, vvhy vveephest thou? vvhom &s;eeke&s;t thou?</HI> shee not naming her beloued, &s;uppo&s;ing all the vvorld mu&s;t know him; <HI>Si tu &s;ustuli&s;ti eum, di|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ito mihi, vbi po&s;uisti eum, &amp; ego eum tollam: If thou hast caried him avvay, tell me vvhere thou hast laid him, and I vvill take him avvay:</HI> &ocirc; the pre&s;umption of loue, <HI>Cui nihil videtur dif|ficile; to vvhom nothing &s;eemeth hard;</HI> &amp; vvhat if he vvere <HI>In praetorio Pilati, in the court of Pi|late,</HI> or nailed againe on the Cro&s;&s;e? <HI>Ego eum tollam: I vvill take him avvay.</HI> Our &s;weete&s;t Je&s;us could hold her no longer in &s;u&s;pence, but &s;aid, <HI>Maria; Marie,</HI> and shee, <HI>Rabboni</HI> my Lord and <HI>Ma&s;ter,</HI> and vvith her vvounted bold|nes fell at his feet; but he forbad her vvith. <HI>Nol<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> me tangere, vade autem ad fratres meos. Doe not touch me, but goe to my brethren.</HI> O &s;inners, de&s;|paire no more of your Sauiour's goodnes; &s;ee a vvoman, <HI>De qua &s;eptem daemonia eiecerat, out of
<PB N="292" REF="159">vvhom he had cast &s;euen deuils.</HI> now the fir&s;t in fauour, and &s;ent as an Apo&s;tle. <HI>Euangelizare gaudium magnum quia &s;urrexit Dominus. To Euangelize great ioy, becau&s;e our Lord is ri&s;en.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude not to thinke thy &s;elfe in the fa|uour of Ie&s;us the le&s;&s;e, for hauing been a &s;inner, if thou find in thy heart, true loue of him; for he it is, <HI>Qui non venit vocare iu&s;los &s;ed peccato|res: &amp; qui nunquam de&s;picit cor contritum &amp; hu|miliatum. VVho did not come to call the iu&s;t, but &s;inners: and who doth neuer de&s;pi&s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> contrite and humble hart.</HI> O happy &s;oule, that can make knowne her beloued more by the heart, than by the mouth, more by worke than by vvord!</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how S. Peter vpon the newes the holy vvomen brough of our Lord's re&s;urrection, ran vvith S. Iohn to the &s;epulcher and not finding him there, returned, <HI>Secum mi|rans, quod factum fuerat: maruelling vvith him|&s;elfe at that vvhich vvas done.</HI> When Ie&s;us met him on the vvay, all in glory and &s;plendour: &ocirc; vvho can expre&s;&s;e this encounter? S. Peter fell vvith shame, confu&s;ion, and teare<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> at his Ma|&s;ter's feet, for his late &s;inne yet fresh in his me|mory; not able to &s;peake a vvord; but vvith &s;ighs and &s;obbs expre&s;&s;ing his &s;orrow and re|pentance: but our mo&s;t &s;vveet and indulgent Lord bad him ri&s;e, and comforted him vvith the&s;e <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">r the like vvords: <HI>Pan tecum, noli timere, Ego um, dimi&s;&s;a &s;unt tibi peccata tua confirma fratres tuos: &ocirc; Ie&s;u, qu&agrave;m magna e&s;t multitudo dulcedinis tuae erga peccatores paenitentes? Peace
<PB N="293" REF="159">he vvith thee, feare not, it is I, thy &s;innes are for|giuen thee, confirme thy bethren: O Ie&s;u, hovv great is the multitude of thy &s;vveetne&s;&s;e tovvards penitent &s;inners?</HI> Next, but the &s;ame day, he appeared to the tvvo di&s;ciples on their vvay to Emmaus; asked them the nevves, expounded to them the Scriptures; vvalked vvith them till tovvards &s;unne-&s;et; vvas their inuited &amp; forced gue&s;t; and in breaking of bread di&s;couered him|&s;elfe and vanished. O, quoth they; <HI>Nonne cor no|&s;trum ardens erat in nobis dum loqueretur in via? vvas not our hart burning in vs vvhiles he &s;pake in the vvay?</HI> And hovv could it othervvi&s;e bee, &ocirc; holy di&s;ciples? Ie&s;us vvas in your company, in your mouth, in your heart; and hee is all loue, fire and heauenly charity.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith nevv confidence in the mer|cies of Je&s;us; for he cannot ca&s;t off, vvho confide in him, though it vvere Iudas him&s;elfe, &s;o he become repentant: remember and make v&s;e in all thy nece&s;&s;ities, of tho&s;e vvords of the two Di&s;ciples; <HI>Mane nobi&s;cum Domiue, quoniam ad|ue&s;pera&s;cit &amp; inclinata est iam dies. Tarrie vvith vs, &oacute; Lord, becau&s;e it is tovvard night, and the day is novv farr &s;pent.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, how the &s;ame day of his Re&s;urrection, in the euening our Sauiour ap|peared to all his di&s;ciples together: and againe the eight day after, when S. Thomas was al&s;o pre&s;ent: he entred in vpon them, the doores being fa&s;t shut <HI>Propter metum Iudaeorum, For feare of the Ievves,</HI> and &s;tanding in the mid&s;t
<PB N="294" REF="160">of them, &s;aluted them with, <HI>Pax vobis, nolite timere, Ego &s;um. Peace be to you, feare not, it is I.</HI> They all affrighted and amazed, as if &s;ome &s;pirit or gho&s;t had come among&s;t them, beleeued no|thing le&s;&s;e, than that it was their Ma&s;ter; then, he shewed them his hands &amp; his feet, and bid Thomas, more incredulous then the re&s;t, put his fingers into his wounds and his hand into his &s;ide: called for &s;ome meat and eate with them, as he was wont; till at lenght he won credit, and they beleeued in him, and S. Thomas cried out, <HI>Dominuus meus &amp; Deus meus. My lord, and my God.</HI> A pa&s;&s;age, which sheweth mo&s;t clear|ly the mo&s;t tender care and loue of Ie&s;us; and how blind and wretched all mortalls are wit|hout him; <HI>Sine quo nihil po&s;&s;umus facere. VVit|hout vvhom vve can doe nothing;</HI> Finally redou|bling his <HI>Pax vobis, peace be to you,</HI> and brea|thing vpon them, hee &s;aid; <HI>Accipite Spiritum &s;anctum, Receive ye the holy gho&s;t.</HI> With full power to forgiue &s;innes: and pre&s;ently be|&s;towed vpon them the dignity of Apo&s;tles; <HI>Sicut mi&s;it me Pater, &amp; Ego mitto vos. As my Father hath &s;ent me, I al&s;oe doe &s;end you.</HI> Where ob&s;erue, that our good God to shew the franknes and freene&s;&s;e of his gifts, be&s;toweth them then vpon vs, when wee are lea&s;t di&s;po&s;ed and mo&s;t vn|worthy of them; as it now happened to his weake di&s;ciples.</P>
<P>Conclude fir&s;t, neuer to rely vpon thy owne &s;trenght or worth; for nothing more &s;toppeth the current of God's bounty and mercy: next to
<PB N="295" REF="160">be euer mo&s;t prompt to his holy vi&s;its and in&s;pi|rations, which way &s;oeuer they come, from friend or foe: &ocirc; how many admonitions of his doe wee let &s;lip euery day: and e&s;teeme them ei|ther as not from God, or as not made to vs?</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, how as our B. Lady was the fir&s;t in loue and con&s;equently in &s;orrow for her Sonnes pa&s;&s;ion and death; &s;o doubtle&s;&s;e vvas she the fir&s;t in the vi&s;its and ioyes of his re|&s;urrection. The dolorous Virgin, after the bu|riall of her Sonne, had retired her &s;elfe into her priuate Oratory with heauy heart &amp; flowing teares, for the lo&s;&s;e and ab&s;ence of her beloued; yet with a mo&s;t firme faith and vndaunted hope of his re&s;urrection the third day. O how did shee count the dayes, the nights, the houres, the minutes? e&s;pecially towards the Sunday-morning, hovv did she labour with her cries to rai&s;e this &s;leeping Lion; with, <HI>Exurge gloria mea, exurge P&s;alterium? Ari&s;e my glorie, ari&s;e P&s;alter?</HI> when behold, her deare&s;t Lord, her God, her Sonne, full of glory, full of &s;plendour &amp; maie&s;ty, and no le&s;&s;e full of loue and &s;weet|nes, enters in vpon her, and &s;alutes her by the name of louing, deare &amp; gracious Mother, be|hold thy onely Sonne in the Eternall robes of glory, neuer more to &s;uffer, neuer more to die, <HI>Et mors illi vltr&agrave; non dominabitur? Death shal no more haue dominion over him;</HI> and withall he embraceth her in his armes: &ocirc; my &s;oule, where wilt thou begin? or vvhat can'e&s;t thou fancy or conceiue of the&s;e ioyes, iubilees, embraces, loo|kes,
<PB N="296" REF="161">ki&s;&s;es and &s;oliloquies of our Je&s;us and Mary? &ocirc; how, <HI>Secund&ugrave;m multitudinem dolorum con&s;ola|tiones laeti&s;icant animam eius? According to the multitude of griefes doth con&s;olations make her &s;oule ioyfull?</HI> conceiue vvhat thy deuotion affor|deth, for all vvords lo&s;e here their &s;ignifica|tion.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith nevv ioy in thy heart &amp; coun|tenance, vvith nevv congratulations to thy Lady and Mi&s;tres <HI>In hoc Festo gaudiorum eius: in this fea&s;t of her ioy:</HI> if thou find not thy heart really ioyed and comforted; looke backe and thou vvilt find the rea&s;on to be, becau&s;e thou vvert not feelingly &s;orrie in her griefes &amp; afflictions: and both proceed of vvant of true loue.</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly, hovv our glorious Sa|uiour came not alone and vnaccompanied to vi|&s;it his mother; but like a Conquerour of death and hell, or like vvealthy Iacob returning from <HI>Me&s;opotamia, cum duabus turmis Limbi &amp; Pur|gatorij, vvith twotroopes of Limbus and Purga|torie,</HI> all novv ble&s;&s;ed and glorious &s;oules: and yet all pro&s;trate them&s;elues before the Queene of glory, vvith great reuerence, humble than|kes, and ioyfull congratulations; reuerence to the dignitie of her per&s;on, thankes for the great share shee bore in the vvorke of their redem|ption, and congratulations for the common ioy of their Redeemers Re&s;urrection; in vvhich al&s;o shee bare the chiefe&s;t part. Behold fir&s;t old Adam &amp; Eue blushing yet almo&s;t for their fault, and ble&s;&s;ing this their daughter, vvhich
<PB N="297" REF="161">had turned their <HI>Eva Eve</HI> into <HI>Aue: All haile:</HI> &s;ee next old Abraham, Moy&s;es, Dauid &amp; I&s;aias, with all the troupes of Patriarks, Iudges, Kings and Prophets, all with their diuers &s;alutations &amp; greetings, but vvith one loue and re&s;pect: la&s;tly but not la&s;t in vvorth or place, cometh her dea|re&s;t &s;pou&s;e S. Io&s;eph, John Bapti&s;t, old Simeon &amp;c. neither may vvee thinke that the pre&s;ence &amp; mu&s;icke of Angells vvas vvanting, which vvan|ted not in the &s;table of Bethlem: finally all is bli&s;&s;e, ioy, and heauenly iubilees.</P>
<P>Conclude to enter in la&s;t of all, and pro&s;trate at the feet of thy Soueraigne Lady giue her the <HI>para bien</HI> vvith a <HI>Regina coeli laetare alleluya: Re|ioyce thou queene of heauen alleluia:</HI> happy thou if thou can'&s;t get admittance into &s;uch a Para|di&s;e: learne humility and purity, for the&s;e are the two keyes that giue entrance to the Palace, vvhere Je&s;us and Mary liue.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>THE SECOND CHAPTER, <HI>Of the Diuine perfections or Attributes of God.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THE great S Denis a&s;&s;igneth two man|ners or wayes of con&s;idering the Diuini|ty, and its attributes; the one he calleth the vvay of affirmation, the other of negation: the affirmatiue vvay placeth in God all the ima|ginable perfections of his creatures; but the way negatiue denieth, and taketh off from God all
<PB N="298" REF="162">the conceits and vvords of creatures, as short &amp; vnvvorthy of him. The fir&s;t vvay is compared to that of a painter, the &s;econd, of a caruer.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FIRST MEDITATION. <HI>Of the knovvledge of God by affirmation.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that to frame in our vn|der&s;tanding an image or <HI>Idea</HI> of God Almighty, vvee mu&s;t proceede, as a painter v&s;eth to doe, vvhen he intendeth to paint or draw any perfect image or picture: for fir&s;t, he &s;eeketh our from all parts, tempereth and pre|pareth the pure&s;t and rare&s;t colours of all &s;orts, that he can; then vvith his be&s;t skill and fine&s;t pen&s;ill layeth them on vpon a &s;mooth table, vn|till by little and litle he bring his intended vvor|ke to perfection. So mu&s;t vve, ca&s;ting the eyes of our con&s;ideration through out this vvhole vi&s;i|ble vvorld, gather vp all the rare colours or per|fections, the diuine prouidence and goodnes hath imprinted in it; and vvith curious labour lay them vpon the table of our vnder&s;tanding; to-vvit the cho<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ce&s;t perfections of all creatures, vvithout the dro&s;&s;e and imperfections, that run|ne mixed in them. And vvee shall find a double <HI>Idea</HI> of our greate&s;t God; the one, <HI>In ordine ad &s;e; in relation to him&s;elfe;</HI> Tovvit that he is, a &s;ub&s;i&s;tent being, life, beatitude, eternity, good|nes, beauty, vvi&s;edome, power, &s;anctity &amp;c. the other, <HI>In ordine ad creaturas, in relation to
<PB N="299" REF="162">creatures;</HI> a Creatour, Con&s;eruer, Gouernour. Father, King, Sauiour, Glorifier &amp;c. and all the&s;e mo&s;t refined, mo&s;t pure in him, vvithout the lea&s;t imperfection.</P>
<P>Conclude with reflexion vpon this <HI>Idea</HI> of thy God, thou ha&s;t framed, and giue him a double homage, the one of prai&s;e due to his greatne&s;&s;e; the other of thankes-giuing, due to his good|nes; and ray&s;e thy heart to an ardent contempla|tion of both in one, for in him all is but one.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, and rai&s;e thy thoughts a degree higher; for this fir&s;t draught is but gro&s;&s;e and corpulent: &s;eeke out therefore vvith thy vnder&s;tanding all the cele&s;tiall and &s;uperna|turall gifts of grace and glory of all the Angells and Saints both of heauen and earth; the &s;oa|ring vvits of C<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">erubins, the flaming brea&s;ts of Seraphins, the longanimity of the Prophets, the power and vigour of the Apo&s;tles, the fortitude of Martyrs, the purity of Uirgins, the patience of Confe&s;&s;ours &amp;c. but aboue all, vvhat perfe|ctions &s;oeuer are contained in the two modells or abridgements of the diuinity; towit in the humanity of Chri&s;t and his B. Mother; rumi|nate &amp; pau&s;e on as many of them, as thou can&s;t; and at length looking vp from vvhence the&s;e ri|uers flow, thou shalt find that great &amp; boundles Ocean of the Diuinity, flowing &amp; ouer flowing <HI>Totius faciem Paradi&s;t; the face of all Paradi&s;e;</HI> concentricating in the indiui&s;ible point of his owne being, the quinte&s;&s;ence of tho&s;e perfe|ctions, vvhich his liberall goodnes hath di&s;per|&s;ed:
<PB N="300" REF="163">vvhere againe no imperfection hath admit|tance; and the exce&s;&s;e &s;o great, that hence our B. Sauiour &s;ayd, <HI>Nemo bonus ui&s;i &s;olus Deus. No|ne is good, but onlie God.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to contemplate this &s;econd <HI>Idea</HI> of thy God vvith humility, reuerence and loue: vvhat&s;oeuer thou finde&s;t admirable in the Saints, rai&s;e vp thy &s;oule, and admire it in Gods vvhat&s;oeuer vertue thou loue&s;t in the Saints, loue and &s;eeke it in God; <HI>A quo omne bonum de&s;cendit. From vvhom all good de&s;cendeth.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, how <HI>Deus e&s;t illud, quo maius cogitari non potest; God is that, then which nothing can be thought greater;</HI> nothing higher, &s;eeing therefore, that mans vnder&s;tanding can mount to conceiue him euery vvay infinite, eue|ry vvay immen&s;e, vvithout end or limitation, it followeth that he is really &s;o in him&s;elfe; for o|therwi&s;e mans capacity vvould be greater, than the Being of God; that is, the brooke higher than the &s;prings the cre<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ure greater, than the Creatour. Hence it followeth that his Being is infinite, independent of al<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, and all depending of him: that he is eternall vvithout beginning or end, variety or mutability: that his greatnes is immen&s;ity, comprehending heauen and earth, like a granie of &s;and, and he comprehended of none: that his marefty is terrour it &s;elfe, in who&s;e pre&s;ence the earth doth quake, and the pillars of heauen doe tremble: that his power is ommpo|tency, doing vvhat he plea&s;e, and his evill re&s;i|&s;ted by none: that his iu&s;tice is in rigour infi|nite,
<PB N="301" REF="163">not &s;paring his deare&s;t friends, nor highe&s;t Seraphins, if they offend him: finally, <HI>V&s;que|quaque magnificus, terribilis; &amp; quis poterit stare in con&s;pectu Dei huius? On all &s;ides magni|ficent and terrible, and vvho can stand in the &s;ight of this God?</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to liue in perpetuall feare &amp; trem|bling of &s;o great a Maie&s;ty: neuer dare to appeare before him, but vvith thy knee, head and heart ca&s;t to the ground: &ocirc; poore vvorme:! how dare vvee lift our eyes before &s;uch Soueraigne<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y? or our hands again&s;t omnipotency? <HI>Con&s;ig&egrave;, Do|mine, timore tuo carnes meas. Pear&s;e my &s;lesh, &ocirc; Lord, vvith thy &s;eare.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly out of the &s;ame princi|ple, the more louely and delightfull attributes of our good God; and thou shalt finde them all, I may vvell &s;ay, more then infinite: infinite is his vvi&s;edome, to vvho&s;e &s;ight are pre&s;ent all po&s;&s;ible things; infinite his prouidence, &s;tretch|ing from the highe&s;t Angell to the &s;malle&s;t lea|fe, that falleth from the tree: infinite his truth <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">verity, impo&s;&s;ible either to deceiue or be de|ceiued: infinite his amorous and radiant beauty, on vvhich feed and &s;urfet all creatures, and he him&s;elfe: his riches and glory haue no bound, <HI>Gloria &amp; diuitiae in domo eius: Glorie and riches in his hou&s;e:</HI> his &s;anctity more cleare, then a thou&s;and Chry&s;tals: his clemency, benignity, noblene&s;&s;e, liberality &amp;c. <HI>Quibus maius cogitari non potest. Then vnhich greater can not be ima|gined.</HI> But his goodnes, his &s;weetnes, his loue;
<PB N="302" REF="164">his mercy, <HI>Super omnia opera etus; aboue all his vvorkes;</HI> infinitely &s;urmounting all imagina|tions: his goodnes it is, that maketh him poure him&s;elfe out &s;o vpon his creatures, <HI>Et &s;olem &s;uum facit oriri &s;uper bonos &amp; malos: and ma|keth his &s;unne to ri&s;e vpon Good, and bad;</HI> his &s;weetnes it is, that rauisheth the &s;oules of all, that treat vvith him: his loue it is, that cheri|sheth his little one more than the tendere&s;t Fa|thers or mothers: his mercy it is, that &s;o oft for|giueth, and &s;o patiently &s;uffereth all &s;ort of &s;in|nes and iniquities: finally our God is <HI>Undique &s;pecio&s;us &amp; totus de&s;iderabilis. Most beautifull, and mo&s;t to be de&s;ired.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to poure thy heart forth in the loue of &s;o, both louely and louing a God: hate vvhat he hateth, that is, all &s;inne and impurity: loue vvhat he loueth, that is, all vertue and &s;anctity.</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly, how hauing brought in|to this <HI>Idea</HI> of thy God all the refined perfe|ctions of nature, grace, and glory; and placed in all the&s;e an infinite eminency, <HI>Qua maior cogit ari non pote&s;t; then vvhich a greater can not be imagined;</HI> yet thou art infinitely short, of vvhat God is in him&s;elfe; and therefore &s;triue no further vvith conceits or inuentions; but reflect and behold at lea&s;ure, and as it vvere at a &s;tand, the picture thou ha&s;t already framed: as &s;imple men v&s;e to gaze at a &s;ight, they vnder|&s;tand not: behold, I &s;ay, and gaze vvith humble &s;implicity on this va&s;t Ocean of Maie&s;ty, of greatnes, of beauty, of &s;weetnes, of povver. of
<PB N="303" REF="164">wi&s;edome, of &s;oueraignety &amp;c. and pre&s;ently opening: all the wings of thy affection, poure forth thy &s;oule in loue, pray&s;e and ioy: loue, my &s;oule, this <HI>Summum bonum, this chiefest good,</HI> this <HI>vnicum amabile; this onlie thing to be loued:</HI> and &s;eeke no more abroad by &s;cantlings, what here thou ha&s;t and may&s;t &s;till enioy altogether: pray&s;e, my &s;oule, this &s;ole object of pray&s;e &amp; honour; inuite all the Quires of Angells and Saints to &s;ing <HI>Canticum nouum Domino; A nevv Canticle to our lord;</HI> and an&s;wer thou with a lowly <HI>Amen:</HI> reioyce &amp; congratulate with him, that he is, as he is, euery way in&s;inite, euery way boundle&s;&s;e in his perfections.</P>
<P>Conclude carefully to pre&s;erue in thy heart &amp; memory this liuely image of thy God; let nei|ther &s;inne blot it euer out of thy heart; nor vai|ne fancyes of creatures blemish or ob&s;cure it in thy memorie: <HI>Intus est bonum tuum, ne foris queras. Thy good is vvhithin thee &s;eeke it not vvithout.</HI></P>
<P N="6">6. Con&s;ider &s;ixthly, or rather conclude out of the former con&s;iderations, to harken to and follow the coun&s;ell of our B. Sauiour; <HI>Perfecti estore &s;icut Pater vester caele&s;tis perfectus est: Be you perfect, as al&s;oe your heavenlie Father is per|fect:</HI> and of his Apo&s;tle; <HI>Vt &s;imus imitatores Dei &s;icut filij chari&s;&s;imi. That vve may be follovvers of God as mest deere children.</HI> Wee haue &s;eene how our great God doth with infinite aduantage fill vp all the names &amp; titles, wee can giue him; &s;o that when wee call him good, wi&s;e, powerfull
<PB N="304" REF="165">&amp;c. he is not onely fully, but infinitly good, wi&s;e, and powerfull: thus in proportion may and mu&s;t wee comply vvith the names &amp; titles vvee beare, either of &s;ubiection or &s;uperiority. God is our Creatour, our Father, our Gouer|nour, our Ma&s;ter; hence wee mu&s;t alvvayes beare him the &s;ubiection of a creature, the loue &amp; obedience of a &s;onne, the duty of a va&s;&s;all, the vvillingnes and promptnes of a di&s;ciple: a|gaine, what command vve beare ouer others, as of a Father, a Superiour, a Ma&s;ter, a Prelate, let our fir&s;t &amp; chiefe&s;t care be to comply entirely vvith vvhat tho&s;e names &s;ignifie and oblige vs to, finally vvhat&s;oeuer denominations vve haue or pretend, of equality, fellovv-ship, or cohabi|tation vvith others, or of any vertuous &s;tate and calling vvee profe&s;&s;e, con&s;ider and ponder vvell, vvhat they import, and either ca&s;t them of, or make a firme purpo&s;e to fill them vp, not <HI>Nomi ne tenus, in name onlie,</HI> and bla&s;t of a &s;ound one|ly, but <HI>Reip&s;a &amp; veritate: in realitie:</HI> bearing euer before thy eyes the paterne and <HI>Idea</HI> of thy mo&s;t perfect, holy and immortal God.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>Of the knovvledge of God by negation.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COnfider fir&s;t, the&s;e vvords of the great S. Denis; <HI>In diuinis negationes &s;unt verae, affirmationes incompactae. VVhiles vve &s;peake of God, negations are true affirmations
<PB N="305" REF="165">incompacted.</HI> Wee haue follovved hitherto the vvay of the painter, and added colours to colours of the rare&s;t perfections of all creatures; but rai|&s;ing our &s;oule to a higher pitch of contempla|tion, and reflecting on the <HI>Idea,</HI> vvee haue ma|de, vvee find it <HI>Pror&s;us incompactam; all together incompacte:</HI> &s;o full of created shadovvs, &s;pots &amp; blemishes, that vvee are yet afraid to ack|novvledge it for the true pourtraiture of that incomprehen&s;ible Maje&s;ty: not but that the purenes and quinte&s;&s;ence of the &s;ayd perfections is really &amp; &s;ub&s;tantially in God; but that, both as they are in creatures and al&s;o in our weake vnder&s;tandings, they are mo&s;t short and vn|worthy of his in&s;inite Greatnes; and con&s;e|quently the very names vnfitting to be attribu|ted vnto him: &s;o that the &s;ayd holy Doctour concludeth; <HI>Dei,</HI> inquit, <HI>neque est &s;en&s;us, neque phanta&s;ia, neque opinio, neque nomen, neque &s;er|mo. VVe can attaine, qnoth he, to the knovvledge of God neither by corporall &s;en&s;e, phanta&s;ie, opinion, name or &s;peeth.</HI> What way then, or what reme|die haue wee? shall wee adde the &s;uperlatiue de|gree, and v&s;e the <HI>epitheton</HI> of <HI>&s;uper; more</HI> as <HI>&s;u|perboni&s;&s;imus, &s;uperiusti&s;&s;imus, &s;uper&s;ub&s;tantia &amp;c. More then mo&s;t good, more then mo&s;t iu&s;t, mo|re then &s;ubstance &amp;c.</HI> 'tis true, this way is very good and higher than the former; but yet being an affirmatiue, it is euer incompacted, and car|fieth &s;ome taint of a creature with it, and &s;o faileth to expre&s;&s;e fully the Diuinity.</P>
<P>Conclude, &s;ince thou ha&s;t lo&s;t as it were thy
<PB N="306" REF="166">former <HI>Idea, in qua tibi ade&ograve; complacuit, in vvhich thou hast bene &s;oevvell plea&s;ed,</HI> to hum|ble thy &s;elfe, and with lowe&s;t &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to ado|re him, whom thy weake &s;ight cannot behold; neither let this trouble thee; but reioyce rather, that thy God &s;o &s;urmounteth all thy imagina|tion.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how failing of our ay|me in the way of a painter, our next &s;tep is to imitate the caruer or &s;tatuarie, and by negation to cut of from God Almighty all the per&s;e|ctions, conceits &amp; vvords of creatures, hovv compleat &s;oeuer they &s;eeme to be: &s;o that, as vvee are bound to &s;ay that God is neither &s;unne, nor moone, nor &s;tarre, nor fire, nor ayre, nor man, nor any other liuing thing of tho&s;e here among&s;t vs, by rea&s;on of the imperfection vvhich tho&s;e vvords import; &s;o vvee may al&s;o freely &s;ay, that he is neither, <HI>Ens, nec &s;ubstantia, nec vita, nec intellectus, nec bonitas, nec &s;apientia, nec potentia, nec pulchritudo &amp;c. Neither being nor &s;ub&s;tance, nor life, nor vnder&s;tanding, nor goodne&s;&s;e, nor vvi&s;edome, nor povver, nor beautie &amp;c.</HI> If vvee con&s;ider the &s;ayd perfections, as they are apprehended by vs, or expre&s;&s;ed in our ho|mely language; for as S. Thomas teacheth, all our conceits and vvords, of vvhat kind &s;oeuer, <HI>Afferunt &s;ecum imperfectionem, vel partis, &s;i &s;int abstracta; vel compo&s;itionis, &s;i &s;int concreta; Bring vvith them an imperfection, either of part, if they be ab&s;tracts, or compo&s;ition if they be com|pounds;</HI> and &s;o both vvayes incompacted and
<PB N="307" REF="166">incompetent to God: but if vvee vvill con&s;ider the &s;ayd perfections as they be &s;olely in God, &s;o they are farre &s;urpa&s;&s;ing the &s;phere <HI>Conceptuum &amp; nominum no&s;trorum, of our co~ceipts and names.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude with an humble acknowledge|ment of Gods vnconceiued greatnes; and cry out vvith holy Iob. <HI>Ecce Deus vincens &s;cientiam n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;tram: Behold a God exceeding our knowledge:</HI> open all the affections of thy &s;oule, to admira|tion, ioy, loue, and pray&s;e; for this way shall wee &s;ooner comprehend him, than by any force of vvit or curious &s;peculation; loue reacheth further than knowledge.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, how thou art come at length &s;o farre in the que&s;t or &s;earch of God, that thou ha&s;t altogether lo&s;t him; and if one should aske vs; vvhat finally God is, if he be no|thing of all tho&s;e things vvee apprehend? vve mu&s;t needs an&s;wer, that truely vve know not. Neither mu&s;t vvee therefore be diffident or di&s;|comforted; for that vvee shall find by a feeling experience, vvee know more, and conceiue more &s;ublimely of our great God, by this way of ignorence, than by all the metaphy&s;icall and quaint conceits of our vnder&s;tanding: although vvee lo&s;e our &s;ight in the &s;unne, yet euen blin|ded vve &s;ee as in a cloud the vvonderfull exce&s;&s;e of light he hath ouer all others: this is the <HI>Nebu|la in qua habitat Deus; the cloud vvhich God in|habiteth;</HI> and in vvhich Moy&s;es conuer&s;ed with him &s;o familiarly <HI>Facie ad faciem, &s;icut &s;olet ami|cus cum amico &s;uo; Face to face as a friend is
<PB N="308" REF="167">vvont to doe vvith his friend:</HI> vvhich S. Paul calleth <HI>Lucem in acce&s;&s;ibilem, light not acce&s;&s;ible,</HI> and S. Denis, <HI>The<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">giam my&s;ticam, my&s;ticall di|uinitie,</HI> or <HI>cognitionem Dei per ignorantiam: the knovvledge of God by ignorance:</HI> &ocirc; happy igno|rance, and cleare blindne&s;&s;e! nay vvee haue vvords al&s;o fitly expre&s;&s;ing this our ignorance; as infinite, immen&s;es ineffable, inui&s;ible, incom|prehen&s;ible &amp;c. vvhich by remouing from God all the imperfections of creatures, leaue him in the afore&s;aid cloud and inacce&s;&s;ible light.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith humble pro&s;tration to adore the diuine and inacce&s;&s;ible Maie&s;ty of thy God: but vvith thy face couered and eyes shut, as the Seraphins doe; that is, in &s;u&s;pen&s;ion, admira|tion, loue, ioy, pray&s;e and content, that the God thou do&s;t beleeue and tru&s;t in, is &s;o great, &s;o farre &s;urmounting all the vnder&s;tanding of men and Angells.</P>
<P N="4">4, Con&s;ider fourthly the infinite di&s;tance or di&s;proportion vvhich is betwixt God Almighty and any one of his creatures, or of all together: God is <HI>Ens a &s;e,</HI> that is <HI>euery vvay &s;ub&s;istent and independent; Eus immen&s;um, immen&s;e,</HI> including all vvithout exten&s;ion; <HI>Ens aternum, eternall,</HI> vvithout beginning, end, or change: take now on the other &s;ide all this inferiour and cele&s;tiall globe, how va&s;t &s;oeuer it &s;eemes, together vvith the vvhole Angelicall nature; and fir&s;t, vvhat is all but <HI>Ens ab alio, an in&s;ub&s;i&s;tent entitie,</HI> han|ging and depending <HI>In tribus digitis Dei, poten|tia, &s;cientiae, &amp; bonitatis? Of the tree fingers of
<PB N="309" REF="167">God, to vvitt povver, knovvledge, and goodne&s;&s;e?</HI> &s;o that if any one of the&s;e &s;lip, in an in&s;tant all falls into nothing: &s;econdly all is, <HI>Ens limita|tum; limitated,</HI> greater farre is a &s;tar to heauen, a drop to the Ocean, a &s;and to the earth, than is all together to the immen&s;ity of our great God: finally all is, <HI>Ens momentaneum, mometarie,</HI> compared to his Eternity, millions of ages, and <HI>Aeuum Angelicum, an Angells d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ration,</HI> is but the twinkling of an eye, a moment, an in&s;tant to his indiui&s;ible and euery vvay permanent du|ration. Come now proud man, and compare thy &s;elfe vvith God: <HI>Quota pars hovv litle a part</HI> art thou of this vniuer&s;e, in being, in ex|ten&s;ion, in darance? not a moat in the Sunne, not a graine of &s;and, not an in&s;tant of an in&s;tant of durance: vvhat art thou then to <HI>Ens &s;ub&s;i&s;tens, immen&s;um, aeternum? A &s;ub&s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">tent, immea&s;e, and eternall entitie?</HI> &s;ay truely and &s;ay, <HI>Non ens. No|thing,</HI></P>
<P>Conclude, that as the be&s;t vvay of knovving God, is that of negation, &s;o the be&s;t vvay to know thy &s;elfe, is an other negation: vvhere|fore as thou ha&s;t remoued from God all po&s;i|tiue and affirmatiue vvords or denominations, <HI>Propter exce&s;&s;um; by rea&s;on of his exce&s;&s;e,</HI> &s;o re|moue the &s;ame from thy &s;elfe, <HI>Propter defectum: by rea&s;on of thy deficiencie:</HI> And be confident, that this is the onely vvay to vnite the&s;e tvvo extreames together, God and thy &s;elfe.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="310" REF="168">
<HEAD>THE THIRD CHAPTER. <HI>Of the Diuine Benefits.</HI></HEAD>
<P>OVR loue to intere&s;t is &s;o great, that wee loue no man &s;o ea&s;ily, as him vvho is our benefactour: hence the con&s;ideration of the Diuine benefits is vvith vs the greate&s;t mo|tiue to the loue of God; as al&s;o the be&s;t remedy again&s;t ingratitude, a mon&s;ter that &s;toppeth the liberall hand of God from doing good, and drieth vp the fountaine-head of his Goodnes, from vvhich flovv all the riuers of Paradi&s;e.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FIRST MEDITATION. <HI>Of Gods goodnes tovvards his Creatures.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t how <HI>Bonum est diffu&s;iuum &amp; communicatiuum &s;ui; Good is commu|nicatiue of it &s;elfe:</HI> God therefore being <HI>&s;umm&egrave; bonus, mo&s;t good,</HI> doth <HI>communicare &s;eip|&s;um &s;umm&egrave;, mo&s;t communicate him&s;elfe;</HI> that is, all vvayes po&s;&s;ible to his infinite vvi&s;edome, and the capacity of creatures; &amp; more to that vvhich is <HI>Magis bonum fieri. To participate more.</HI> And here vvee mu&s;t ob&s;erue three vvonderfull ex|cellencies of this diuine and vnlimited goodnes: the fir&s;t is, that although to doe good be mo&s;t naturall to him yet it is al&s;o mo&s;t franke &amp; free, vvithout any nece&s;&s;itie or coaction, but meerly
<PB N="311" REF="168"><HI>Quia vult, becau&s;e he vvill:</HI> the &s;econd is, that he doth it, vvithout any &s;elfe re&s;pect or proper intere&s;t, but purely, as vve &s;ay, to doe good; for neither can any creature yeeld him profit, not he him&s;elfe any vvay better him&s;elfe, being in him&s;elfe euery vvay full and infinite: &amp; this is, <HI>Deum omnia facere propter &s;olam bonitatem &s;uam: that God doth all things for no other rea&s;on then is ovvne goodne&s;&s;e;</HI> that is, his owne nature onely, vvhich is Goodnes, moueth and inclineth him to doe good. The third excellency is, that he doth all good, vvhere and vvhen&s;oeuer he can; &ocirc; how he vvatcheth all occa&s;ions, and oppor|tunities to poure forth his ble&s;&s;ings vpon vs, and as it vvere to di&s;charge his &s;wolne brea&s;t &amp; full hands among&s;t vs? and &ocirc; how little doe word|lings looke vpward, prepare or make them&s;el|ues capable, of tho&s;e bli&s;&s;es, vvhich, if they but open, vvould fall into their mouths?</P>
<P>Conclude to make thy &s;elfe capable of all, by taking awayy the ob&s;tacle of &s;inne, and by an ardent de&s;ire of them, for onely the&s;e two things are requi&s;ite &amp; &s;uffice. Be good al&s;o, that is, imitate thy God in all the&s;e three wayes; doe good to all frankly &amp; freely, for God's and goodnes &s;ake onely; &s;eeke out all occa&s;ions for it, expect not they should knock, nay breake downe thy doores before thou admit them in.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, that as, <HI>Ex fonte Para|di&s;i egrediebantur quatuor fluuij, Out of the spring of Paradi&s;e. I&s;&s;ued &s;ovver rivers,</HI> diuiding them&s;elues into the foure parts of the vvorld; &s;o
<PB N="312" REF="169"><HI>Ex fonte huius bonitatis diuinae, out of the spring of this divine goodne&s;&s;e,</HI> proceedeth the perfe|ction of the vvhole vniuer&s;e, diuided into foure degrees of being, <HI>Corporeum, vegetatiuum, &s;en|&s;itiuum, intellectuum: Corporall, vegetatiue, &s;en|&s;itiue, intellectiue:</HI> as fir&s;t, the va&s;t heauens, ele|ments, and mixts; &s;econdly, the trees, plants, and flowers; thirdly, all &s;ort of bea&s;ts, birds &amp; fishes; fourthly, all the Angelicall Quires &amp; Hierarchies. Pau&s;e a vvhile and con&s;ider the greatnes, and varietie of natures and qualities of euery degree, &amp; yet the concord and harmonie of all together: &amp; then reflect vpon thy &s;elfe, &ocirc; man, &amp; thou shalt find thy &s;elfe none of all tho&s;e; but an ab&s;tract, &amp; abridgement of all to|gether; a Microco&s;me or le&s;&s;er vvorld; vpon vvhom therefore the diuine goodnes hath mo|re copiou&s;ly poured it &s;elfe out, then vpon any other of his vvorkes; <HI>Cui dedit e&s;&s;e cum inanima|tis, viuere cum plantis, &s;entire cum animalibus, intelligere cum Angelis. To vvhom he hath giuen to exi&s;t vvith inanimate creatures, to liue vvith plants, to exerci&s;e his corporall &s;en&s;es vvith liuing creatures, to vnder&s;tand vvith Angels;</HI> &amp; con&s;e|quently man onely is capable of all the benefits, gifts, and ble&s;&s;ings, both corporall and &s;pirituall, vvhich God's goodnes, propt by omnipotency, can be&s;tow vpon the vniuer&s;e; for to euery one of the other degrees &s;omevvhat is vvanting. What follovveth then, but that man alone is as much bound as all the re&s;t together, and more than any one, to thanke, pray&s;e, and loue the
<PB N="313" REF="169">fountaine from vvhence he flovveth.</P>
<P>Conclude to doe &s;o, and be no more vnmind|full or vngratefull: but returne him al&s;o foure &s;orts of loue: <HI>Ex toto corde, from thy vvhole hart,</HI> for thy corporall being: <HI>Ex tot a anima, vvith thy vhole &s;oule,</HI> for thy vitall being: <HI>Ex omnibus viribus, vvith thy vvhole povver,</HI> for thy &s;en&s;i|tiue being: <HI>Ex tota denique mente, lastlie vvith thy vvhole mind,</HI> for thy Angelicall and &s;piri|tuall being. <HI>Tandem ex omnibus &s;imul propter omnia &s;imul: and at la&s;t vvith all together for all together:</HI> that is, for thy &s;elfe, vvho art all.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, hovv the bottomele&s;&s;e goodnes of our God not &s;atisfied vvith be&s;tovv|ing vpon vs the gifts of nature, poureth forth &s;treames of an higher qualitie; and tho&s;e al&s;o foure, by vvhich vve participate the very being, nature and &s;ub&s;tance of God. The fir&s;t is that of Grace, to vvhich is adioyned charity vvith all the gifts of the holy Gho&s;t. By this Grace, vvee that by nature are nothing but &s;laues and <HI>Ma&s;&s;a damnata, A condemned Ma&s;&s;e,</HI> are truely made the friends and &s;onnes of God; <HI>Diuinae con&s;ortes natura, partakers of the divine nature:</HI> and hei|res of heauen. The &s;econd is that of glorie, by vvhich vvee are eternally deified, and penetrated by the diuine e&s;&s;ence, as hot iron by fire; and herein con&s;i&s;teth our incommutable ioy, bli&s;&s;e and content. And the&s;e two are common to men and Angels: but now, leauing Angells, behold how he exalteth man, <HI>Et deliciatur cum filijs hominum; and delights to be vvith the Son|nes
<PB N="314" REF="170">of men:</HI> The third degree is that of the per|&s;onall vnion of the Sonne of God vvith humane nature, by vvhich it is mo&s;t true, that God is man, and man is God; and &s;o our nature moun|ted beyond all that is created. But is this the height, the <HI>Non plus vltr&agrave;, and vtmo&s;t,</HI> of this endle&s;&s;e Ocean of goodnes? truely no, for being to her &s;elfe infinite, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">he is not &s;atisfied vvith her vnion to one onely man, vnle&s;&s;e she doe al&s;o &s;pread her &s;elfe to all and euery one; that is, <HI>In infinitum exten&s;iu&egrave;; vvith an illimitated ex|ten&s;ion:</HI> and this she doth in the mo&s;t B. Sacra|ment, vvhich is the fourth degree, vvhere the true being and natures diuine and humane, are really and alike giuen to euery one, great and &s;mall.</P>
<P>Conclude, &ocirc; my &s;oule, vvith an exta&s;ie of ad|miration, loue and thankes giuing; <HI>Redeant flumina, vnde exierunt; exierunt per bonitatem, redeant per gratitudinem; Let the floods returne from vvhence they flovved, they fl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">vved by good|ne&s;&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, let them returne by gratitude;</HI> loue vvas the origin of all, let another loue reduce them to their origin.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, before vvee come to more particulars, the&s;e three circum&s;tances common to all God's benefits great and &s;mall. The fir&s;t is, vvho is he that be&s;toweth &s;o freely his ble&s;&s;ings vpon vs; for the dignity of the gi|uer doth much increa&s;e the e&s;timation of the gift; let a King giue but a toy, or trifle, vvhat e&s;teeme, brags and boa&s;ts are made of it. But
<PB N="315" REF="170">our benefactour is no le&s;&s;e than the infinite Ma|ie&s;tie of our Soueraigne God, vvhom all creatu|res adore vvith ttembling, and thinke them&s;el|ues happy if he vouch&s;afe but a glance of his eye vpon them: vvhat value then mu&s;t his vnualua|ble benefit be of? The &s;econd is, on vvhom &s;o great a Lord be&s;toweth &s;o rich gifts; and thou shalt find him to be man, that is, by nature a poore and vile vvorme, by &s;inne an enemie, &amp; by ingratitude a mon&s;ter, a viper, gnawing out the bowells of the diuine Goodnes; nay v&s;ing the very benefits as in&s;truments to offend the Benefactour. The third is the manner; that is, no merit or de&s;ert on our &s;ide, but rather ob&s;ti|nate and peruer&s;e vnde&s;erts; but on God's &s;ide an infinite liberality, franknes, &s;weetnes and loue, vvairing on all occa&s;ions to doe vs good; vvishing vs euer capable of more and more: fi|nally euer &s;triuing <HI>Vincere in bono &s;uo malum nostrum. To &s;urpa&s;&s;e our vvickedne&s;&s;e in his ovvne goodne&s;&s;e.</HI> O vvhat heart &s;o hard, as cannot loue &s;uch loue? or &s;o vngratefull, as can forget &s;uch goodnes? or &s;o shamele&s;&s;e, as can &s;purne at &s;uch a benefactour?</P>
<P>Conclude vvith loue, vvith gratitude, vvith shame for thy hitherto neglect, or rather blind|nes in all: &s;ettle vvell the&s;e three circum&s;tan|ces in thy memory; of, by vvhom, to vvhom, and hovv the benefit is done; and thou shalt neuer vvant matter of reuerence, humility and gratitude.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="216" REF="171">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>Of the benefit of our Creation.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that what is nothing can both doe and de&s;erue nothing; thou therefore; that &s;o many yeares agoe wert nothing, coulde&s;t neuer haue made thy &s;elfe, nor de&s;erue that an other should make thee: by vvhom therefore, and vvhy came I to this &s;omething? by thy God and Creatour; not for any nece&s;&s;itie he or the world had of thee, but out of his meere bounty and liberalitie. Ponder, &ocirc; my &s;oule, if thou can'&s;t, the di&s;tance that is, fir&s;t betwixt <HI>&s;omething and nothing, Ens &amp; non ens;</HI> next the aduantage, that man hath aboue all other in&s;en&s;itiue and &s;en&s;tiue creatu|res; and thou shalt find the fir&s;t to be infinite, and the &s;econd little le&s;&s;e; as farre as immortali|tie exceedeth mortalitie, eternitie short time, or rea&s;on gro&s;&s;e &s;en&s;e. And then fall downe and ki&s;&s;e the feet of thy bounteous Creatour, who hath made thy &s;omething an intellectuall and immortall being, and imprinted in thy face the true image of him&s;elfe. Behold what a &s;tately Ca&s;tle thy body is, both for beauty and &s;trength; the rare proportion &amp; harmony euery member, ioynt and nerue keepeth with one another and with the vvhole: then thy &s;oule, a mo&s;t beau|tious Lady and all-commanding Empre&s;&s;e, ru|ling and gouerning the vvhole Microco&s;me as
<PB N="317" REF="171">she plea&s;eth. Finally, God hath giuen thee both the&s;e &s;ound and entire, <HI>Mentem &s;anam in corpo|re &s;ano. A &s;ound mind in a &s;ound bodie.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude, be&s;ides thy cu&s;tomary thankes and gratitude, to looke vpon vvho&s;e image thou art, and returne <HI>Quae &s;unt Dei Deo, The things that are Gods, to God,</HI> that is, all that thou art, body &amp; &s;oule; begging al&s;o, <HI>Vt perficiat in no|bis opus quod operatus e&s;t. That he would accom|plish in us that work vvhich he hath vvrought.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly the end for vvhich God at fir&s;t created man; and thou shalt find a tvvo fold end, both mo&s;t noble and excellent, the one naturall, the other &s;upernaturall; the fir&s;t is expre&s;&s;ed in Gene&s;is, <HI>Vt prae&s;it pi&s;cibus ma|ris, &amp; volatilibus caeli, &amp; bestijs, vniuer&s;ae&abque; ter|rae, omni&abque; reptili quod mouetur in terra: That he might haue dominion over the fishes of the &s;ea, and the foules of the ayre, and the beasts, and the vvhole earth and all creeping creatures that move vpon the earth:</HI> That is, to be grand Lord &amp; Soueraigne of all that is crea|ted, to kill, &s;lay and v&s;e all as he plea&s;eth: and although by &s;inne he hath lo&s;t much of the obedience vvhich creatures ovve him, in pu|nishment of his di&s;obedience towards the com|mon Creatour; yet his dominion and right is the &s;ame, and the mo&s;t of creatures doe vvillin|gly &amp; obediently &s;erue him: great certainly is this dignity &amp; vvorthy of all gratitude, vvere it not &s;o &s;urmounted by the &s;econd &amp; principall end: vvhich is to be heire apparant of the King|dome
<PB N="318" REF="172">of heauen: that is, to &s;ee God, loue God, and prai&s;e God in company of all his ble&s;&s;ed Angells, to liue in his hou&s;e, &s;it at his table, eat of the &s;ame dish that he doth, drinke of the &s;a|me cup of glorie, and vveare the &s;ame robe of immortalitie vvith him: this vvas his fir&s;t inten|tion, this &s;till his greate&s;t de&s;ire, that all men should attaine vnto: for this he made our &s;oule &s;o &s;pacious, &s;o capacious, that nothing vnder God can euer fill or &s;atisfie her appetite: for this he continually giueth his grace and a&s;&s;i&s;tance; &s;o that <HI>Culpa &s;ua perditur, quicunque perditur. VVho&s;oever is lo&s;t, is lo&s;t through his ovvne fault.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude tvvo things, the one, to con&s;erue entirely thy dominion ouer creatures; let none command thee, nor thy affections, but thy Creatour: the other, to haue &amp; conceiue noble and high thoughts; aime at nothing le&s;&s;e then God; e&s;teeme earth and heauen vvithout him belovv thy ambition, &amp; not vvorthy of thy ac|ceptance.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, that as God created man for him&s;elfe, that is to enioy him as his la&s;t end; &s;o he created all the re&s;t from heauen downeward for man onely, for his nece&s;&s;ity, commodity, recreation: for neither he, nor his Angells &s;tand in need of any of the&s;e things. Looke then about thee, and &s;ee what&s;oeuer is in heauen, aire, &s;ea, or earth; and thou shalt find all con&s;piring to thy &s;u&s;tenance, commo|dity or delight; &amp; therefore thy fatherly God made and created them all before man, that all
<PB N="319" REF="172">might be ready at his fir&s;t entrance to receiue, &s;erue, and churish him; euery one vvith his &s;eue|rall dishand liuerie: and vvhen thou ha&s;t vvell pond<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">red this in euery particular, then li&s;t vp thy eyes a little higher, and behold, the loue, the care, the &s;ollicitude, as vvee may torme it, with which &s;ty de<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">re&s;t Father prepareth and furni|sheth this great pallace f<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> thee; not by any in|feriour &s;teward, but vvith his owne hand <HI>Plan|tauit Paradi&s;um veluptatis: he planted a Para|di&s;e of plea&s;ure:</HI> &ocirc; &s;ee him, my &s;oule, vvith ad|miration and vvonder, how he pondereth and vvergheth euery thing in particular, as he ma|kes it; the heauen vvith it's lights; <HI>Et vidit quod e&s;&s;et bonum; and he &s;avv that it vvas good;</HI> the earth vvith it's fruits and bea&s;ts; <HI>Et vidit quod e&s;&s;et bonum; and he &s;avv that it vvas goed;</HI> the are and &s;ea vvith all the fowle and fish therein; <HI>Et vidit quod e&s;&s;et bonum: and he &s;avv that it vvas good;</HI> finally, when all vvas finished, with a new reflection he con&s;idered all together; <HI>Vi|du&abque;ue cuncta quae fecerat &amp; erant vald&eacute; bona, &amp; he &s;avv all things vvhich he had made and they vvhere verie good,</HI> for the v&s;e, to vvit, and plea|fure of man, for vvhom they vvere created.</P>
<P>Conclude two things, the one to make v&s;e of creatures, as God hath created them; that is, &s;o farre as they conduce or further thee in the &s;er|uice of God: the &s;econd to doe vvith like loue and diligence all things, vvhich any vvay tend to his honour and &s;eruice.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="320" REF="173">
<HEAD>THE THIRD MEDITATION. <HI>Of the benefit of our Con&s;eruation.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that Con&s;eruation is no|thing le&s;&s;e than a continuall Creation, a per<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">etuall &s;u&s;taining of the being, once giuen; and con&s;equently an action of the &s;ame power, vvi&s;edome and goodnes, as the fir&s;t crea|tion; but more to be e&s;teemed and gratified, by how much more it is, to giue continually the &s;ame thing, than to giue it but once: by how much more it is to pre&s;erue one euery moment from &s;alling back into nothing, than to draw him but once out of nothing. Ponder here a little, my &s;oule, the boundle&s;&s;e goodnes of our greate&s;t God and Father. The vvhole machine of all that is created dependeth more on the lea&s;t beck of his will, than doth the shade on the bo|dy, or the light on the &s;unne: let him but &s;top one moment his concour&s;e, and in the &s;ame moment, if not &s;ooner, all vvhat&s;oeuer from the highe&s;t Angell to the lowe&s;t atome of the &s;unne, vvill fade and vanish, not into du&s;t, but into nothing: yet, notwit&s;tanding this, and the infinite offences vvhich daylie prouoke him, he could neuer find in that his &s;weete&s;t heart to an|nihilate the lea&s;t creature, he hath made; but &s;u&s;taineth all in their being; and mo&s;t patiently expecteth &s;inners, vvhen they vvill returne vn|to him: &ocirc; &s;ee how he hath protected thee in thy
<PB N="321" REF="173">Mothers vvombe, in thy infancy, in the whole cour&s;e of thy life to this in&s;tant: &s;ee how he hath followed thee, vvhen thou runne&s;t from him to thy owne ruine: how he bore vvith thee, when thou mo&s;t impudently did&s;t prouoke him to thy de&s;truction, &amp;c.</P>
<P>Conclude two things: the fir&s;t is a continuall and mo&s;t profound humilitie <HI>Sub potenti manu Dei: vnder the povverfull hand of God:</HI> the next is a feare; but let it be filiall, to offend &s;o dread a Soueraigne, iointly vvith &s;o deare a Father; <HI>In quo &s;emper viuimus, mouemur, &amp; &s;umus. In vvhom vve allvvaies liue, moue, and be,</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, that all creatures not onely depend of God for their life and being, but al&s;o for euery action, thought, word, and deed they doe; for euery twinkle of the eye, euery breath they draw; for none of all the&s;e can once be done without the immediate &amp; &s;peciall con|cour&s;e and a&s;&s;i&s;tance of God; nay from him all mu&s;t fir&s;t begin, and vvithout him cannot end; <HI>Ip&s;e enim dat incipere &amp; per&s;icere: For the origin and accomplishment of each vvorke is his Gift:</HI> &s;o that at the very in&s;tant, that God should vvith|draw or &s;top his helping and concurring hand, all things in the vvorld, how &s;trong, how &s;wift &s;oeuer, vvould &s;uddenly &s;top and &s;tand like a marble &s;tatue, immoueable: this being mo&s;t true. &s;ee then and behold if thou can'&s;t, the in|finite vvi&s;edome and povver of thy Creatour, extending him&s;elfe at once to all the actions and motions of the vvhole vniuer&s;e; <HI>Nam nec folium
<PB N="322" REF="174">in terram cadit &s;ine Patre vestro; For a lea&s;e doth not fall vpon the ground vvithout your Father,</HI> yet all vvith that quietnes and facilitie, as if he had but one thing or rather nothing to doe; <HI>Omnia mouens, immobilis ip&s;e: mouing all things he remaines immouible:</HI> but his goodnes, vvho can admire and prai&s;e enough? &s;o ready, &s;o pun|ctuall, &s;o con&s;tant, that he neuer yet hath failed his a&s;ti&s;tance to the lea&s;t of his creatures, as if he vvere <HI>Cau&s;a pror&s;us coacta &amp; nece&s;&s;aria: a cau&s;e alltogether forced, and nece&s;&s;arie:</HI> &s;ee in thy &s;elfe, if euer thou ha&s;t &s;ound him vvanting to the lea&s;t motion of thy finger, or breath of thy no&s;trills, euer &s;ince thou vva&s;t conceiued to this in&s;tant; nay in tho&s;e very actions, by vvhich thou did&s;t heauily offend him.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith shame in thy face and confu|&s;ion in thy heart, to &s;ee hovv little thou do'&s;t concurre vvith the motions and in&s;pirations of thy God; vvho is &s;o punctuall vvith thee; hovv little thou follovve&s;t his vvill, vvho hath as it vvere tred him&s;elfe to thine: &ocirc; my &s;oule, let it be othervvi&s;e for loue or shame.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, hovv thy good God held it not &s;ufficient for the con&s;eruation of man, that the vvhole corporall frame of this vvorld should attend and &s;erue him, as the heauens with all the planets, the aire, earth &amp; &s;ea vvith all be|longing to them: but his command and plea|&s;ure al&s;o is that his Angells guard and defend him: <HI>Omnes</HI> quoth S. Paul, <HI>admini&s;tratorij &s;pi|ritus &s;unt, mi&s;&s;i propter eos qui haereditatem ca|piunt
<PB N="323" REF="174">&s;alutis. They are all mimstring &s;pirits, &s;ent for them vvhich shall receiue the inheritance of &s;aluation.</HI> O vvho can vvorthly conceiue or ac|nowledge &s;o great a benefit? &s;o &s;weet a proui|dence? that &s;uch noble Princes by nature grace, and glory, the immediate attendants before the throne of the mo&s;t B. Trinity, Courtiers of tho&s;e Eternall Pallaces, <HI>Et commen&s;ales Dei, ca|ting at the &s;ame table vvith God, and</HI> feeding on the &s;ame food vvith their Creatour should be &s;ent downe as Guardians to &s;o poore a vvorme as man? &ocirc; man! how can'&s;t thou euer harbour a thought of pride ouer thy fellows, if thou pon|der vvell the aba&s;ement of the&s;e Cele&s;tiall &s;pi|rits to thy &s;eruice? Euery Kingdome then hath his &s;peciall Guardian; &s;o hath al&s;o euery com|mon wealth, Prouince, City, Church, Colled|ge, Mona&s;terie, Community: &s;o hath euery King Prince, Gouernour, and Prelate: finall &s;o hath eucry particular man from the highe&s;t to the lowe&s;t, from the Court to the gallie; from the in&s;tant of his birth to the &s;eat of iudgement; euer pre&s;ent, euer by his &s;ide, protecting him from his raging enemie, the deuill, and procu|ring for him all good po&s;&s;ible.</P>
<P>Conclude, whereas God hath appointed all treatures of thy &s;eruice and a&s;&s;i&s;tance, to returne thy &s;elfe and all to him and his &s;eruice, by loue and obedience; but let it be thoroughly. <HI>Toium pro toto: all for all:</HI> breake not thou the order of the vniuer&s;e, which is; <HI>Vt omnia ve&s;tra &s;int, vos autem Chri&s;te, Chri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">tus autem Dei. That all
<PB N="324" REF="175">might be yours and you Chri&s;ts and Chri&s;ts Gods</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly the words of the P&s;al|me; <HI>Angelis &s;uis Deus maudanit de te vt custo|diant te: &ocirc; quantam,</HI> quoth S. Bernard <HI>tibi debet hoc verbum inferre reverentiam, afferre deuotio|nem, conferre fiduciam; reuerentiam pro prae&s;en|tia, deuotionem pro beneuolentia, fiduciam pro cu|&s;todia? God hath geuen his Angels charge of thee; that they keepe thee: &ocirc; hovv much reuerence ought this vvord to &s;trike into thee hovv much devotion ought it to stirre vp in thee, hovv much confiden|ce should it produce in thee; reverence for the pre|&s;ence of &s;uch a guardian devotion for his Good|vvill, and confidence on his custodie?</HI> who can re|count the great and innumerable benefits, that euery one of vs receiueth, euery houre &amp; minu|te, from the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of our good Angell? <HI>Dia|bolus tanquam leo rugiens circuit quaerens quem deuoret; the Deuil as a roaring lion goeth about, &s;eeking vvhom he may devoure;</HI> and from &s;o great power and malice who can defend vs, but our euer pre&s;ent Guardian? when wee &s;leepe, he watcheth ouer vs; when vvee vvake, he goeth vvith vs in all our bu&s;ines, both by &s;ea and land: vvhen vvee &s;inne, he &s;orrovveth; yet leaueth vs not, but v&s;eth all his endeauours to re&s;tore vs to the friendship of God: when vve doe penanes, he reioiceth, and helpeth vs, vvhen vve doe, any good or pray, he pre&s;enteth our vvorkes and pe&s;ition to the throne of God: fi|nal<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y at the houre of death, and at the iudge|ment
<PB N="325" REF="175">&s;eat, vvhen the deuill is mo&s;t violent a|gain&s;t vs, then is our faithfull Guardian mo&s;t follicitous for vs, protecting vs at death, and pleading for vs at the barre. <HI>Et quid &s;ub tanto cu|&s;tode timeo? fidelis est, prudens est, potens e&s;t, quid trepido? And vvhat doe I feare vnder the prote|ction of &s;oe great a Guardian? he is faithfull he is vvi&s;e, he is povverfull, vvhy doe I tremble?</HI></P>
<P>Conclude tvvo things, the fir&s;t, great reue|rence, loue, and re&s;pect to thy holy Angell; be alvvayes pre&s;ent vvith him, as he is vvith thee: con&s;ult vvith him in all thy bu&s;ines, and follovv his in&s;pirations: the &s;econd is, a great confidence in his patronage; <HI>Quoties vrget tent<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">tio, &amp;. tri|bulatio immines, inuoca cu&s;todem tu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">an, ductorem tuum, adiutorem tuum; inclama eum &amp; dic; Do|mine &s;alua nos, perimus. As often as a temptatien vrgeth thee, and any tribulation is at hand call vpon the Guardian thy guider thy helper, inuoke his aid vvith, an &oacute; lord &s;aue us, vve perish.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="4" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FOVRTH MEDITATION. <HI>Of the benefit of our Redemption.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how all manking being lo&s;t in the &s;inne of Adam, was bereaued al&s;o of all hope of redre&s;&s;e or euer reco|uering the fauour of his Creatour; for the diui|ne iu&s;tice would no way be &s;atisfied, without an infinite &s;atisfaction; &amp; that among creatures was no way to be had: &s;o that nothing remai|ned
<PB N="326" REF="176">but a mi&s;erable bondage vnder the deuill and &s;inne in this world, and as certaine and &s;ud|den a pa&s;&s;age to eternall torments in the next: &oacute; ponder this a little with thy &s;elfe, my &s;oule; and then ca&s;ting thy eyes vp to heauen, &s;ee how little it imported God Almighty or his Angells, whether thou vvert &s;aued or damned; neither being more or le&s;&s;e ble&s;&s;ed by thee, &s;ee againe how iu&s;tly God might haue left thee in thy damnation, as he had done the deuills; and what coulde&s;t thou haue &s;aid to it? or if ca&s;ting thee of, as he had done them, he had created &s;o|me new creature, more loyall in his &s;eruice, and worthy of his fauour? But &s;uppo&s;e, as it was, that out of pure mercy &amp; goodnes he was plea&s;ed to forgiue thee, and re&s;tore thee to his fauour; a word, a thought of his, had it not &s;uf|ficed? it vvas &s;ufficient to create both thee and the vvorld: or could he not haue &s;ent an Angell or Seraphin vvith full povver? mu&s;t he needs come him&s;elfe? mu&s;t he needs &s;end his onely Sonne? <HI>O felix culpa, quae talem meruit habere Redemptorem. O happie &s;inne vvhich hath de&s;er|ved &s;uch a Redeemer.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith raptures of admiration &amp; lo|ue of &s;uch goodnes, &s;vveetnes, &amp; mercy: next inuite all creatures to thy aid to prai&s;e and ble&s;&s;e him: la&s;tly put an higher price vpon thy &s;elfe, than hitherto: &s;ell no more thy &s;oule for the fleshpots and onyons of Egypt; she is vvorth the life of the Sonne of God.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how &s;eing he vvould
<PB N="327" REF="176">come him&s;elfe in per&s;on for man's redemption, he might haue come with the authoritie, &s;plen|dour and dignitie that be&s;eemed his &s;acred and royall per&s;on accompanied with all the Powers and Princes of heauen, receiued by all the Kings and &s;tates of the vvorld; and vvith one command of his mouth enforce the Deuill to deliuer vp his pri&s;oners, and hye him&s;elfe away to the dungeons of hell; this had been both &s;uf|ficient for our redemption, &amp; yet honorable for our Redeemer: &ocirc; but the diuine iu&s;tice vvould haue &s;atisfaction vvhich con&s;i&s;teth <HI>In actu ali|quo paeno&s;o; In &s;ome painfull act:</HI> let it be &s;o, a~d vvas not I pray, one teare of his, one &s;igh, or pricke of his finger &s;atisfaction infinite; and con&s;equently &s;ufficie~t for a million of vvorlds? vvhy then &s;uch vnheard of humilitie, pouerty, mi&s;ery, affliction, per&s;ecution, shame, and &s;corne, from his cradle to his Cro&s;&s;e? <HI>Quare vir dolorum, &amp; in dolori|bus &agrave; iuuentute mea? VVhy a man of &s;orovves, and in afflictions from my youth?</HI> &s;tay a vvhile, my &s;oule, vpon this point, and hauing ponde|dered vvell the effect, looke about for the cau&s;e: to doe good, be&s;tovv benefits, di&s;per&s;e his ble&s;|&s;ings among&s;t his creatures, vvee all knovv it proceeds from his infinite goodnes; but for the doing of this, to &s;uffer in his honour, per&s;on &amp; life, as he did, this &s;urpa&s;&s;eth all the bounds of goodnes; and hath no other cau&s;e, but the ouer|flovving of his loue euen aboue his goodnes.</P>
<P>Conclude to corre&s;pond vvith thy Sauiours loue, but let it be, fir&s;t not in complements, but
<PB N="328" REF="177">in reall vvorkes; next not at thy ea&s;e, <HI>Saluo,</HI> as they &s;ay, <HI>labore &amp; honore; vvithout labour or lo&s;&s;e of honour;</HI> but vvhat &s;vveat or bloud &s;oeuer it co&s;t thee; and this voluntary al&s;o, not onely forced.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, hovv the fountaine-head being full, there vvanted yet the pipes and conduits to conuey the riuer of grace into our &s;oules: &amp; here al&s;o our Redeemers &s;vveete&s;t prouidence, at his ovvne charges, vvithout any co&s;t of ours, prouided &s;euen conduits or &s;pouts, all running from the vvell-head of his pa&s;&s;ion, full fraught vvith diuer&s;itie of heauenly graces, according to the &s;euen-fold nece&s;&s;ities vvee are &s;ubiect to in this life; and all &s;o ea&s;y and facill for vs; that of our part nothing is required, but an emptie ve&s;&s;ell of good di&s;po&s;ition, &amp; the put|ting our mouth to the conduit; nothing but, <HI>Aperies os tuum, &amp; implebo illud. Open thy mouth and I vvill fill it.</HI> Con&s;ider &amp; &s;ee with loue &amp; gratitude, &ocirc; Chri&s;tian &s;oule, what reme|dies thy Chri&s;t and Sauiour hath prouided for thee: fir&s;t being borne a &s;laue of the Deuill, by Bapti&s;me thou art regenerated a Sonne of God: but being yet a child, poore and weake, by Con|firmation thou art made a valiant &s;ouldier: art thou faint with hunger and thir&s;t? behold a banquet is prepared for thee, the &s;ame vvhich the Angells and God him&s;elfe feed on, <HI>Comedi|te &amp; inebriamini amici mei: Eat and be inebria|ted, my friends:</HI> art thou &s;icke or vvounded to death? &s;ee the medicine of penance euery where
<PB N="329" REF="177">at hand: art thou a&s;&s;ailed by thy enemy at the houre of death? Extreame vnction is proffered thee: &s;o is Order for thy gouernement, and Ma|trimony for thy weaknes.</P>
<P>Conclude with infinite gratitude to thy Sa|uiour, call all the creatures of heauen and earth to thy ayde, <HI>Quia nomen Domini laudabo: For I vvill prai&s;e the name of my lord:</HI> o&s;&s;er thy &s;elfe for his perpetuall and dome&s;ticke &s;laue, to &s;erue both him and the children of his familie, for him.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="5" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FIFTH MEDITATION. <HI>Of the benefit of our Vocation and Iustification.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how Gods benefits, as they goe on multiplying in number, &s;o they increa&s;e no le&s;&s;e in their worth and greatnes: what would our creation and all the re&s;t haue auailed vs, but to our greater dam|nation, vnle&s;&s;e we had been called, and by Bap|ti&s;me planted in the lap of the Catholike Church? O my &s;oule, looke about thee; and &s;ee how many &s;oules were created at the &s;ame ti|me with thee; and how many of them fell a|mong infidells, Iewes, Turks or Hereticks? nay thy owne fell into a country, where fiue thou&s;and to one are Hereticks; and yet it hath been thy good hap, with a fevv more either to light on Catholike parents; or which is more, being once plunged in the filth of here&s;ie, to be
<PB N="330" REF="178">povverfully dravvne out, and placed in the clea|re light of the Catholike truth: &ocirc; vvhat had be|come of thee, poore vvretch, if thou had'&s;t beene left for euer an enemy of thy God, a ve&s;|&s;ell of &s;inne, &amp; a &s;laue to the Deuill and damna|tion? then &s;ee, vvhat thou art by holy Bapti&s;me, a Sonne of God and his Church, Spou&s;e of the holy Gho&s;t, &amp; fellovv-heire vvith <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;us Chri&s;t, of the Kingdome of heauen. And not onely this, but by a &s;peciall vocation to the &s;tate, thou art in, a dome&s;tick &s;eruant, <HI>In domo Dei, &amp; Ie&s;u Chri&s;ii; in the hou&s;e of God, and of Ie&s;us Christ;</HI> cho&s;en, not onely to &s;aue thy &s;elfe, but al&s;o to cooperate vvith thy Sauiour and his Apo&s;tles for the &s;aluation of others, thy brethren, kin|dred and country.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith mo&s;t humble thanks to thy mo&s;t good and liberall Creatour: conceiue a loyall purpo&s;e to &s;erue him faithfully, and let thy &s;tudie be, to con&s;erue thy &s;elfe, vvhere thou art, and al&s;o to bring others to the &s;ame port of &s;aluation.</P>
<P N="2">2 Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how the benefit of iu&s;ti|fication &s;urpa&s;&s;eth yet all the former, as farre as heauen &s;urpa&s;&s;eth hell; or the &s;tate of grace the foulenes of &s;inne: let vs ponder here three points: fir&s;t, by the lea&s;t mortall &s;inne vvee lo&s;e the vvhite robe of innocency, vvith all the other titles of grace, and claimes to glory, and fall vn|der the &s;entence, of eternall damnation: &s;uppo&s;e then thou vvert &s;corching in hell fire, as iu&s;tly thou mighte&s;t be, and millions of others are for
<PB N="331" REF="178">le&s;&s;e &s;innes, than thine; and that God, of pure pitty, should end an Angell to free thee then|ce, and giue thee an houres time for pe|nance; vvhat profound and harty thankes vvould&s;t thou giue him? vhat vnheard of penan|ce vvould&s;t thou giue him? vvhat then? did'&s;t thou thinke it a le&s;&s;e mercy to be kept from falling into hell, &s;o iu&s;tly thy due, than to be dravvne out from thence? thinke on it vvell, and thou wilt find it othervvi&s;e. Secondly, all the former benefits come from God freely vvith|out any rub on our &s;ides, but this comes from a God offended to his actuall and bitter enemies: thirdly hee mu&s;t begin the friendship, and in|uits vs vnto it; for vvee poore vvretches looke neither after him nor our &s;elues, but po&s;t on to hell. Ponder, my &s;oule, the&s;e points; and &s;ee vvhat father could &s;o oft forgiue his child, as thy &s;weete&s;t God hath forgiuen thee; &s;ought thee round about the vvorld, and finding thee at hell doore, hath brought thee backe to his &s;a|uour and grace.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith humble &s;orrovv, and thankes for vvhat is pa&s;t; and for the future vvith loue &amp; trembling feare, neuer dare to prouoke thy dea|re God more, lea&s;t at length he let thee &s;lip for euer out of his hand.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="6" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="332" REF="179">
<HEAD>THE SIXTH MEDITATION. <HI>Of the benefit of Prede&s;tination.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that although no mans prede&s;tination be certaine vnto him, yet euery one is bound to hope it, as he is bound to hope his owne &s;aluation; this therefo|re &s;uppo&s;ed, ponder the&s;e three chiefe points of this benefit: the fir&s;t, that not onely all other be|nefits hi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">herto &s;pecified, vvere of little value and short durance without this of prede&s;tination; but that all vvhat&s;oeuer, doe flow from this, as from the fir&s;t &s;ource and fountaine; and &s;o by con&s;equence is greater and more to be acknow|ledged and thanked than all the re&s;t. The &s;e|cond, that this benefit is not onely older than the re&s;t, but as ancient as Eternity, or God him|&s;elfe; &s;o that vvhen he begot his elde&s;t Sonne Ie|&s;us Chri&s;t, in the &s;ame in&s;tant he adopted thee for his brother, companion and fellow-heire of heauen among the Angells and the re&s;t of his Saints: <HI>O amor antiquus! &ocirc; bonitas aeternal &ocirc; aun|cient louel &ocirc; euerla&s;ting goodne&s;&s;e!</HI> how long be|fore I vvas, ha&s;t thou had me in thy memorie? loued me as a father? and prepared heauen and earth for my habitation? and placed thy deare&s;t Sonne Ie&s;us our head, Captain and Prince of this thy Cele&s;tiall monarchy? <HI>O veritas antiqua quam &s;ero to cognoui? &amp; qu&agrave;m tard&egrave; te amaui, bonitas aeterna? &ocirc; auncient truth hovv late haue
<PB N="333" REF="179">I knovvne the? and hovv &s;lovv haue I bene in lo|uing thee, &ocirc; euerlasting goodnes?</HI> the third, that although, &s;o few are cho&s;en and drawne out of the generall ma&s;&s;e of damnation, yet he vvould haue thee to be one of the&s;e few; and vvhy but meerely of his ovvne accord, good vvill &amp; loue toward thee.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith all the humility, thankes and loue thy heart can afford thee: call vpon all thy fellow Elect to thy aide, and making vp one quire, begin now that &s;ong of thankes, vvhich here after shall endure for euer, <HI>Sub vno capite Christo Ie&s;u. Vnder one head Chri&s;t Ie&s;u.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, that vvhere as no man is certaine of his Prede&s;tination, nor, for all he can doe, euer shall be in this vvorld; yet many foolishly and mo&s;t vnprofitably vex them&s;elues about that point, vvhich belongs not to them; and in the meane vvhile are totally carele&s;&s;e &amp; neglectiue in their duty to God, their neigh|bour, and them&s;elues; for vvhich they haue cer|taine and expre&s;&s;e commands; and vvithout the ob&s;eruance of vvhich they may be &s;ure they shall neuer be &s;aued; as on the contrary neuer damned, if they comply vvith them: a great temptation of our enemy; but manfully to be repelled by this con&s;ideration: as it is certaine, that God <HI>ab aeterno from all eternitie</HI> hath &s;et downe and decreed vnchangeably our la&s;t lot, &s;o it is no le&s;&s;e certaine, fir&s;t that thou shalt neuer want &s;ufficient grace for thy &s;aluation; &s;econdly that thou shalt neuer be damned, but by thy
<PB N="334" REF="180">owne fault; and thirdly, that it is in thy owne hand to &s;aue thy &s;elfe, if thou vvilt: all the&s;es how&s;oeuer hard to be explicated, are in them &s;elues as infallibly true and vnque&s;tionable, as is the fir&s;t of Gods decree, to vvit all a like certaine by faith. Humbling therefore our &s;elues to things vve vnder&s;tand not: let vs leaue to God vvhat belongs to him, and on our parts follow S. Peters aduice, <HI>Satagamus vt per bona opera certam nostram vocationem &amp; electionem facia|mus; haec enim facientes non peccabimus aliquan|do; Let vs labour, that by good vvorkes vve may make &s;ure our vocacion, and election: for doing the&s;e things vve shall not &s;inne at any time;</HI> and vvithout &s;inne vvee shall neuer be damned.</P>
<P>Conclude a &s;trong re&s;olution to comply with thy duty in all points; and then re&s;igne thy &s;elfe totally body and &s;oule to the vvill of God <HI>In tem|pore &amp; aternitate; in time and eternitie;</HI> yet begging of him, that he neuer permit thee to offend him: and take the&s;e acts for the &s;ure&s;t &s;ignes of thy &s;aluation.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, that not onely all the common benefits of which we haue &s;poken hitherto, but al&s;o the particular, be&s;towed on this and that man, flovv and proceed in the E|lect from that fir&s;t &s;ource of Prede&s;tination. Looke about thee therefore, my &s;oule, and con|&s;ider what thy mo&s;t louing Father hath done for thee in particular; fir&s;t in thy naturall being, as vvell what thou ha&s;t of good, as what thou wante&s;t of euill: a body &s;ound &amp; healthy, a &s;ou|le
<PB N="335" REF="180">perfect in her powers and &s;en&s;es: thy birth of honorable parents, thy education in corporall &s;ufficiency, and in the &s;choole of learning; thy fame vn&s;potted, and thy honour pre&s;erued &amp;c. the euills thou wante&s;t are vvithout number; &s;ee how many lame, &s;ick, mad, ba&s;e, vnlearned, mi&s;erable, di&s;graced, are in the vvorld; and &s;o many benefits ha&s;t thou receiued, in that thou art neither all nor any of them: <HI>Nul|lum enim malum vni hominum accidit, quod alteri accidere non potest. For noe evill hap|peneth to one vvhich may not happen to an|other.</HI> Next the &s;upernaturall gifts of grace, hovv many in&s;pirations, illuminations, occa&s;ions, commodities, examples, coun&s;ells, and helps to vertues ha&s;t thou receiued? againe hovv many &s;innes ha&s;t thou been pre&s;erued from, vvhich are euery vvhere daylie committed before thine eyes? &amp; vvhence all this, but from the &s;weetnes of thy heauenly father? <HI>Nullum enim peccatum vnus homo committit, quod alter committere non pote&s;t. For noe &s;inne doth one committ vvhich &s;a|me an other may not committ.</HI> Be&s;ides all the&s;e, the hidden and vnknowne benefits as well natu|rall, as of grace; as well of good, as from euill; no man can count them, but the giuer him&s;elfe, and yet all &s;tand to our account.</P>
<P>Conclude to returne all the&s;e benefits from whence they proceeded; that is, to the honour, loue and &s;eruice of the diuine goodnes: call on all creatures to thy aide to pray&s;e and ble&s;&s;e him for euer; and take heed of abu&s;ing the benefits again&s;t the giuer.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="336" REF="181">
<HEAD>THE FOVRTH CHAPTER. <HI>Of the A&s;cen&s;ion, vvhit&s;ontide, Trinity Sunday, &amp; CORPUS CHRISTI.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THe&s;e foure great &s;olemnities make vp the period of all our Saniours oeconomie, from his fir&s;t coming downe from hea|uen, to his returne thither againe; and there|fore it behoueth all deuout &s;oules, to follow and mount with him in vnion of &s;pirit, <HI>Vbi videbit &amp; affluet &amp; dilatabitur. VVhere he shall &s;ee and a|bound, and be enlarged.</HI></P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FIRST MEDITATION. <HI>Of the A&s;cen&s;ion of our Sauiour.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how our Ble&s;&s;ed Sauiour, hauing for the &s;pace of forthy dayes af|ter his Re&s;urrection daylie, and almo&s;t hourely vi&s;ited his deare&s;t Mother; and re|paying her forty houres of griefe and &s;orrow for his death, vvith fortie dayes of &s;weete&s;t ioy and heauenly content, he at length appeared vn|to her, with new rayes of beauty and maie&s;ty accompanied with the ble&s;&s;ed &s;oules of her ni|ghe&s;t friends &amp; kindred; and after &s;ome amo|rous di&s;cour&s;es, as before his pa&s;&s;ion, &s;o now againe beginnes to take his leaue of her; shewing her both the nece&s;&s;itie of his going and al&s;o of
<PB N="337" REF="181">her &s;taying for the comfort of his new-growing Church. The heauenly Virgin, as she could not but feele a glance or two of tendernes and griefe for parting with &s;uch a Sonne, &s;o being mo&s;t prompt and re&s;igned to his will and plea&s;ure; fell pre&s;ently, fir&s;t into the amorous embraces of a mother with her deare&s;t Sonne; and then as a creature at the feet of her Soueraigne Lord and maker. See my &s;oule and contemplate, as farre as thou art able, the affections that pa&s;&s;e betwixt them; as al&s;o the re&s;t of her friends, who all &s;alute her with lovv reuerence, and take their leaue and farevvell.</P>
<P>Conclude to prepare thy &s;elfe vvith all dili|gence po&s;&s;ible, that thou mai&s;t a&s;&s;i&s;t vvorthylie at this great &s;olemnitie: and knovv that the be&s;t prepatation is, puritie from &s;inne, and a &s;oule full of loue and re&s;ignation to the vvill of thy Lord &amp; Sauiour.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, hovv the &s;ame day our B. Sauiour at dinner time appeared to all his Apo&s;tles and di&s;ciples; &s;ate dovvne and eate vvith them; and then told them, hovv that day he vvas to a&s;cend into heauen to his Eternall Fa|ther: and becau&s;e he &s;avv the hearts of his poore children, no doubt, quite daunted at &s;uch heauy tydings, vvee may vvell &s;uppo&s;e he repeated againe tho&s;e three rea&s;ons, he alleaged in the &s;ermon of the la&s;t &s;upper to the &s;ame purpo&s;e: the fir&s;t, <HI>Si diligeretis me, gauderetis vtique quia vado ad Patrem, quia Pater maior me est. If you loued me you vvould be glad verily, that I goe to
<PB N="338" REF="182">my Father becau&s;e the Father is greater then</HI> I. O &s;vvete&s;t Ie&s;us, vvho can doe othervvi&s;e than hartily reioyce and be glad at thy honour &amp; ad|nancement, vvhich thou ha&s;t bought at &s;o deare a rate? but is not thy going al&s;o for our good, as all the re&s;t of thy life hath herherto been? the &s;econd; <HI>Vado parare vobis locum, &amp; iterum ve|niam &amp; accipiam vos ad meip&s;um:</HI> I goe to cleare the vvay, and open heauen gates shut vp by &s;in|ne; then at the houre of your death vvill I co|me, and take you to me, and place you in the eternall man&s;ions. <HI>O memento mei Domine c&ugrave;m veneris in regnum tuum. O remember me, &ocirc; lord vvhen thou shalt come into thy kingdome.</HI> The third; <HI>Expedit vobis vt ego vadam; &s;i enim non abiero, Paracletus non veniet ad vos: &s;i autem abiero, mittam eum ad vos: It is expedient for you that I goe: for if I goe not, the Paraclete shall not come to you: but if I goe I will &s;end him to you:</HI> novv of vvhat importance vvas the coming of the holy Gho&s;t, none knevv better than the A|po&s;tles, taught by the late experience of their ovvne vveakenes.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith mo&s;t humble re&s;ignation to the vvill of thy Sauiour, and although he order all things for thy good and &s;aluation, yet re&s;pect thou nothing &s;o much, as his honour and con|tent; and therefore reioyce vvith him in this triumph of his glorious A&s;cen&s;ion.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, hovv, <HI>His dictis, eduxit illos in Bethaniam, in montem qui dicitur Oliueti; The&s;e things being &s;aid, he brought them forth in|to
<PB N="339" REF="182">Bethania, to the mountaine vvhich is called elivet;</HI> making his choice of the &s;ame place to begin the glorie of his triumph, vvhere he had lately begun the combat of his bitter pa&s;&s;ion; for Geth&s;emany lay on the &s;ide of mount Oli|uet; to giue vs to vnder&s;tand, that <HI>Nemo corona|bitur ni&s;i qui legitim&egrave; certauerit; Noe man is crowned, vnle&s;&s;e he striue lawfully;</HI> that is, the field of battle and triumph is one and the &s;ame. But behold our glorious Redeemer, di&s;playing here him&s;elfe to his B. Mother and the re&s;t, vvith new beames of &s;vveetnes and glory, inuiting them in &s;tead of the la&s;t embraces and farevvells, one by one to come and ki&s;&s;e his &s;acred &s;eet and hands, and &s;ucke from tho&s;e fountaines of Pa|radi&s;e the euer liuing vvaters of nevv graces and comforts: &ocirc; how did his deare&s;t mother, and euery one of the re&s;t, de&s;ire to creep into, and hide them&s;elues in tho&s;e <HI>Foraminibus petrae;</HI> &amp; pre&s;ently a&s;cend vvith him to heauen? when he, <HI>Eleuatis manibus, benedixit eis;</HI> lifting vp to hea|uen both tho&s;e hands nailed on the Cro&s;&s;e, and filling them vvith cele&s;tiall trea&s;ures, poureth them freely out vpon them all: &ocirc; runne in my &s;oule and beg thy share of this benediction; take heed thou come not too late with E&s;au, and &s;o lo&s;e thy heauenly inheritance for euer.</P>
<P>Conclude, as thou hope&s;t to arriue to mount Oliuet, to behaue thy &s;elfe fir&s;t manfully in the garden of Geth&s;emani, and when thou can'&s;t thew thy wou~ds gotten in the battle, then mai&s;t thou hope for a &s;peedy and glorious A&s;cen&s;ion
<PB N="340" REF="183">vvith thy Sauiour, and for a crowne of triumph:</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, how <HI>Dum benediceret eis, rece&s;&s;it ab illis &amp; ferebatur in caelum, &amp; nu|bes &s;u&s;cepit eum ab oculis eorum: VVhiles he ble&s;&s;ed them, he departed from them and vvas caried into heaven, and a cloud received him out of their &s;ight:</HI> not as Elias, <HI>raptus curru igneo; taken avvay in fiery chariot,</HI> but by the po|wer of his diuinity rai&s;ing him&s;elfe by litle and litle into the aire, with vn&s;peakable maie&s;tie and glorie, accompanied with the two troupes of Limbus and Purgatorie, and millions of Angells attending &amp; celebrating the triumph of their Lord and maker: the Virgin mother below with the Apo&s;tles and di&s;ciples &s;tanding with their eyes fixed vpom him, all amazed and &s;peechles. O my &s;oule ioyne thy &s;elfe with them in the&s;e three affections that then &s;o tran&s;|ported their hearts; the fir&s;t of admiration at a &s;ight &s;o glorious, &s;o neuer heard of; next of ioy to behold their deare&s;t ma&s;ter to finish all his pa&s;t labours, afflictions and &s;ufferings with a <HI>Cata&s;trophe</HI> of &s;uch glorie and triumph; &ocirc; how happily haue vvee follovved him, and beleeued in him! hovv hath he filled and &s;urpa&s;&s;ed all our thoughts and expectations? the third of mo&s;t ardent de&s;ires and &s;ighs to follovv him in body, vvho&s;e hearts he had rauished vvith him, for of this captiuating of hearts are vnder&s;tood tho&s;e vvords of the P&s;alme; <HI>A&s;cendens in altum capti|uam duxit captiuitatem; Al&s;cending on high he ledde captivitie captive;</HI> corporall eyes are but
<PB N="341" REF="183">short-&s;ighted, <HI>nubes &s;n&s;cepit cum ab oculis no|&s;tris; a cloudpre&s;ently receeued him out of our &s;ight;</HI> and &s;o the heart onely and affection hath the priuiledge <HI>Penetrandi caelos cum Christo. To pe|netrate the heauens vvith Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith an amorous and humble pe|tition to thy &s;weete&s;t Je&s;us; that thou be euer one of his captiues; and that bound vnto him <HI>Vinculis amoris, with the bonds of loue,</HI> thou mai&s;t mount vvith him vnto the heauens, &amp; euer re|maine vvith him, <HI>Vbi &s;edet ad dexteram patris. VVhere he &s;itteth at the right hand of the Father.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly our Sauiours triumphant entrance into heauen; fir&s;t the ouerflowing ioyes and admirations of tho&s;e thrice happy &s;oules, that vvent in his company, vvhen they entred into the va&s;t and glorious orbes of the <HI>Caelum Empyreum, Empyriall heauen.</HI> Farre different from their old habitation of <HI>Limbus; qu&agrave;m dile|cta tabernacula tua Domine virtutum! hovv be|loued are thy tabernacles, &ocirc; Lord of hoastes!</HI> next the millions of Angells encompa&s;&s;ing him on all &s;ides; &s;ome commanding, vvith, <HI>Attollite por+tas Principes, ve&s;tras: lift vp your Gate&s;ye prin|tes:</HI> others vvith admiration, <HI>Quis e&s;t iste, qui venit de Edom tinctis ve&s;tibus de Bo&s;ra: vvho is this that cometh from Edom, vvith died Garments from Bo&s;ra.</HI> and all at length vvith vnanimoue iubilees; <HI>Dignus est Agnus, qui occi&s;us e&s;t ac|cipere virtutem &amp; diuinitatem, laudem, gloriam &amp;c. The lambe that vvas &s;laine is vvorthie to receine povver, and diuinitie, prai&s;e, glorie &amp;c.</HI>
<PB N="342" REF="184">But aboue all the embraces of his Eternall Fa|ther, the vvelcomes he gaue him, and finally the honour in placing him at his right hand; <HI>Dixit Dominus Domino meo &s;ede &agrave; dextris meis;</HI> giuing him full power of life &amp; death, heauen &amp; hell; &amp; <HI>Donauit illi nomen quod e&s;t &s;uper omne no|men, vt in nomine Ie&s;u omne genu flectatur caele|&s;tium terre&s;trium &amp; infernorum. Our Lord &s;aid to my Lord, &s;itte on my right hand;</HI> and <HI>hath giuen him a name, vvhich is aboue all names, that in the name of Ie&s;us euery knee bowe of the celestialls, terrestrialls, and infernalls.</HI> Ponder here in &s;ilen|ce my &s;oule, as thou art able, the ioy, content &amp; fullnes of thy Redeemers heart, to &s;ee him&s;elfe mounted from one extreame to another, from the Cro&s;&s;e to his Fathers right hand; from the company of theeues to that of Angells; from the cryes and bla&s;phemies of the Iewes to the bli&s;|&s;es and pray&s;es of all the heauens; from a crow|ne of thornes, to that of glorie and immortali|ty: <HI>O qu&agrave;m ver&egrave; dixi&s;ti bone Ie&s;u, qui &s;e humi|liat, exaltabitur? O trvly did&s;t thou &s;ay, &ocirc; good Ie&s;us, he that humbleth him&s;elfe shall be ex|alted?</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith all the ioy and congratulation thy heart can afford thy deare&s;t Lord: conceiue al&s;o a new and liuely hope of entring one day tho&s;e heauenly palaces, vvho&s;e gates are this day opened for thee: the ri&s;e of humilitie and the vvings of loue vvill &s;ecurely and &s;peedily carry thee thither.</P>
<P N="6">6. Con&s;ider &s;ixthly how the Virgin Mother
<PB N="343" REF="184">vvith the re&s;t of that holy company &s;tood &s;till like marble &s;tatues, gazing vp into heauen after their beloued ma&s;ter, vvith their &s;oules full of amazement and ioy not able to remoue them&s;elues thence, vntill two Angells appeared in glorious vvhite, and gaue them this gentie re|prehen&s;ion; <HI>Viri Galilaet, quid &s;tatis a&s;picientes in caelum? Ye men of Galilce, vvhy &s;tand you looking into heauen?</HI> your Lord and ma&s;ter Ie&s;us is now arriued and &s;eated at the right hand of his Eter|nall Father, vvherefore &s;tand no more here in idle amazement, but goe and comply vvith the commands he gaue you; for vvee tell you, that one day, <HI>Sic veniet, quemadmodum vidistis eum euntem in caelum: So shall he come, as you houe &s;ee|ne him going into heauen:</HI> partly &s;o, and partly not &s;o; &s;o in maie&s;ty and glorie; but not &s;o in office and function: he is gone now full of loue and &s;weetnes to open heauen gates for you; to be your aduocate and &s;ollicitour vvith his and your Father; to &s;end downe the holy Gho&s;t, vvith all his ble&s;&s;ings among&s;t you: but then vvill he come vvith mo&s;t dread terrour and &s;e|uerity, as <HI>Iudex viuorum &amp; mortuorum, Iudg of the liuing and of the dead,</HI> to take an account of all, &s;paring no man, that shall be found guil|ty. Looke about you therefore, and thinke not, that your Lord is &s;o ab&s;ent, as if he &s;aw not, what you doe; or vvould neuer come any more among you. <HI>Et illi quidem adorantes regre&s;&s;i &s;uns in Ieru&s;alem cum gaudio magno. And they <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">loring returned into Hieru&s;alem vvith great ioy.</HI></P>
<PB N="344" REF="185">
<P> Conclude to obey the Angells vvarning, that is, &s;o to keepe our hearts and thoughts vpon Je|&s;us in heauen, as vvee neglect not our dutyes &amp; obligations here on earth; that &s;o vvee may haue him our &s;weet aduocate there, and here clement and mercifull Iudge.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>Of the coming of the holy Gho&s;t.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, the inexhau&s;tible goodnes of our great God, fir&s;t he gaue vs our being by his owne hand, <HI>Faciens homi|nem rectum; making man right;</HI> but man ca&s;t him&s;elfe into endle&s;&s;e &s;lauery and mi&s;ery: next therefore God gaue his onely Sonne to redeeme vs out of this thraldome; but vvee vvith vn|heard-of blindne&s;&s;e crucified our owne Sauiour: vvhat could be now expected, but a punish|ment due vnto our malice? vvhen behold our &s;weete&s;t Father vvhole goodnes, cannot be aba|ted by our malice, poureth downe vpon vs his holy &s;pirit, the third per&s;on of the B. Trinity: like a tender mother, hauing dryed one brea&s;t vpon her child, &s;pendeth and giueth the other, as long as a droppe vvill runne. O how is the vvhole B. Trinity, imployed and bu&s;ied, as, I may &s;ay, about the good and &s;aluation of man; as though it much concerned him? The Father giueth both Sonne and holy Gho&s;t, &amp; that for euer, <HI>V&s;que ad con&s;ummationem &s;atuli; euen to
<PB N="345" REF="185">the con&s;ummation of the vvorld;</HI> the Sonne co|meth in per&s;on, and vvith his bloud redeemeth vs; the holy Gho&s;t in per&s;on al&s;o to perfect the worke of our redemption, and a&s;&s;i&s;t in the Church by his diuine illuminations and in&s;pi|rations.</P>
<P>Conclude to e&s;teeme thy &s;oule more, then hitherto thou ha&s;t done, &s;eeing the B. Trinitie hath made &s;o much account of it: take heed of &s;inning again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t; what is done again&s;t the Father and Sonne may find pardon; but, <HI>Qui peccat in Spiritum &s;anctum, vvho &s;in|neth again&s;t the holie gho&s;t,</HI> that is, after &s;o many fauours and graces receiued, <HI>Non remittetur ei neque in hoc &s;aeculo neque in fut uro. It shal not be forgiuen him neither in this vvorld, nor in the vvorld to come.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly the ends, for which the holy Gho&s;t was &s;ent downe vpon the Apo&s;tles; &amp; be&s;ides many others, wee shall find tvvo prin|cipall, &s;pecified in holy Scripture: the fir&s;t vvas to &s;ucceed our B. Sauiour in the office of Ma&s;ter &amp; teacher according to that; <HI>Ip&s;e vos docebit omnia &amp; &s;uggeret vobis o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">nia: He shall teach you all things, and &s;ugge&s;t vnto you all things:</HI> vpon vvhich is founded the infallibility of the Catholike Church, and the &s;ecurity of the Chri&s;tian faith. O happy condition of Catholi|kes aboue the re&s;t of the vvorld, vvho alone ha|ue the holy Gho&s;t for their ma&s;ter, teaching them all nece&s;&s;ary truth and pre&s;eruing them from all errours! vvhereas all &s;ectaries hauing
<PB N="346" REF="186">no other mai&s;ter, then their ovvne braine, run|ne round in a giddines of errours vvithout end or re&s;t. The &s;econd end of his coming, vvas to bee our Protectour, Aduocate and comtorter in lieu al&s;o of our B. Sauiour; <HI>Ego,</HI> quoth he, <HI>roga|bo Patrem, &amp; alium Paraclitum da<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters"> vobis, vt: maneat vobi&s;cum ia aternam. I vvill aske the Fa|ther, and he vvill giue you an other Paraclete, that he may abide vvith you for euer.</HI> Thankes, deare&s;t Je&s;us, for &s;uch a Comforter; <HI>In labore requies, in a&s;tu temperies, in fletu &s;olatium, an eaje in labour, a refreshment in heat, and a com|fort in &s;orovv,</HI> to all his faithfull and obedient children: <HI>Po&s;tulans</HI> al&s;o <HI>pro vobis gemitibus ine|narrabilibus; requesting for vs vvith vn&s;peakea|ble groanings;</HI> that is, teaching and helping pious &s;oules to &s;end vp to heauen their amourous &s;ighs <HI>In tempore tribulationis. In time of tribula|tion.</HI> O vvho can be either dubious in his faith, hauing &s;uch a Mai&s;ter; or difident in his troubles, hauing at hand &s;uch a Comforter and Aduocate.</P>
<P>Conclude thou vvith great a&s;&s;urance in this thy God; ca&s;t thy &s;elfe into the armes of his pro|tection; <HI>Con&s;olator optime, dulcis hospes anima, dulce refrigerium &amp;c. O be&s;t comforter, &s;vveet gue&s;t of the &s;oule, &s;vveet refrshment &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly the greatnes and excel|lency of this gift, towit the holy Gho&s;t, and not to &s;peake now of his diuinity euery way equall to the Father and Sonne; the titles vvhich are giuen him, are the&s;e: <HI>Donum Dei alti&s;&s;imi, Fons
<PB N="347" REF="186">viuus, ignis, charitas; the Gift of the most high God, the liuing fountaine, fire, charitie;</HI> not that he is any of the&s;e created things or qualities; but that he is the <HI>Principium, cau&s;a &amp; origo the pri|me &s;oure, cau&s;e, and origine,</HI> of them all. So that, &amp; the diuine goodnes thought it not &s;ufficient to &s;end an Angell, but this onely Sonne for our Redeemer; &s;o vvas hee not content to giue vs onely the &s;upernaturall gifts of grace, charitie and the re&s;t, but hee vvould infu&s;e into our hearts the prime &s;ource and &s;pring of all; <HI>Vt &s;it fons aquae &s;alientis in vitam aeternam. That it might be a fountaine of vvater &s;pringing vp vnto life euerlasting.</HI> Let both heauen and earth neuer cea&s;e to pray&s;e and loue &s;uch bountie. This is that <HI>Fluuius aquae vitae, riuer of liuing vvater,</HI> mentioned in the Apocalyp&s;e, <HI>procedens de &s;ede Dei, &amp; Agni, proceeding from the &s;eate of God &amp; of the lambe,</HI> vvatering the <HI>lignum vitae the tree of life</HI> of Paradi&s;e; <HI>per &s;ingulos men&s;es afferens fru|ctum &s;uum, yelding its fruites euery moneth,</HI> towit the&s;e twelue fruits of the holy Gho&s;t num|bered vp by S. Paul, <HI>Charitas, gaudium, pax &amp;c. Charitie, ioy, peace &amp;c.</HI> This is the <HI>Ignis con&s;u|mens Dominus Deus tuus, cuius thronus flamma ignis; con&s;uming fire is thy lord God, vvho&s;e thro|ne is a flame of fire;</HI> vvhich fir&s;t purgeth in vs all the ru&s;t of our corrupted nature and &s;inne, &amp; then giueth heat, actiuitie, and light to all our actions. This is the <HI>Charitas, amor, nexus, cha|rite, loue, and knot,</HI> mo&s;t &s;weetly vniting our &s;oules to the Father and Sonne, and ma|king
<PB N="348" REF="187">one heart of all the children of God.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith all the affections, the holy Gho&s;t shall in&s;pire thee vvith; but e&s;pecially vvith that of loue. Haue euer in thy heart and mouth, the <HI>Ueni &s;ancte &s;piritus, come &ocirc; holy Ghost;</HI> vvhich the Church neuer cea&s;eth to &s;ing; or tho&s;e mo&s;t &s;weet a&s;pirations vvhich S. Aug. breatheth forth in the ninth Chapter of his meditations.</P>
<P>Con&s;ider fourthly, three principall di&s;po&s;i|tions, that the Apo&s;tles practi&s;ed for the recei|uing of the holy Gho&s;t: the fir&s;t vvas their recol|lection into a priuate hou&s;e or roome from all noy&s;e and traficke vvith the vvorld: for he being <HI>Deus totius internae con&s;olationis, the God of all our in vvard con&s;olation,</HI> findeth no greater im|pediment then a &s;oule vvandeaing about the world &amp; full of the cares and turmoiles thereof; and hence our B. Sauiour &s;ayd, that the vvorld could not receiue the holy Gho&s;t; vvho being compared to the oyle of the Prophet Elizeus ne|uer entreth but into empty ve&s;&s;ells; &amp; as &s;oone as the ve&s;&s;ells are full, cea&s;eth his infu&s;ion. The &s;econd vvas, that they vvere <HI>Omnes pariter in eo|dem loco, all together in the &s;ame place,</HI> all vnited in true charity and brotherly loue, vvith a reall and entire conformitie of vvills and affections: &ocirc; Chri&s;tian &s;oule, deceiue not thy &s;elfe; <HI>Spiritus &s;anctus Deus est pacis &amp; non contentionis; the holy Ghost is a God of peace, and not of conten|tion;</HI> neuer hope for his company or comfort, if thou bee contentious vvith any man, on vvhat
<PB N="349" REF="187">pretence &s;oeuer; know the badge of Chri&s;t is no other, then this; <HI>In hoc &s;ciet mundus quod mei estis, &s;i dilexeritis inuicem. In this ali men shall knovv that you are mine, if you loue on an other.</HI> The third was the feruour &amp; a&s;&s;iduity of prayer, and that al&s;o in the company of the B. Mother of God; for although they were mo&s;t a&s;&s;ured of the promi&s;es of Chri&s;t, yet they knew that <HI>Pa|ter coele&s;tis dat Spiritum &s;uum petentibus &s;e; The heauenlie Father doth giue his &s;pirit to tho&s;e that aske him;</HI> &s;o that none but tho&s;e that aske, obtaine it.</P>
<P>Conclude to prepare thy &s;elfe with recollec|tion, brotherly loue and prayer for the enter|taining of this holy &s;pirit; vvhich if thon per|forme as thou ought, be &s;ure of <HI>Men&s;uram bo|nam &amp; &s;uper effluentem gratiae in &s;inu tuo. Good and oue flovving mea&s;ure of grace in thy bo|&s;ome.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly, how on the day of Pen|teco&s;t, ten dayes after the A&s;cen&s;ion, and fifty after the Re&s;urrection, a &s;olemne day among&s;t the Iewes in memory of the Law giuen on mount Sina; came this diuine Law-giuer vpon the new I&s;raelites, to write and engraue, not a law of feare and terrour in tables of &s;tone, but of grace and &s;weetnes <HI>In tabulis cordis carnali|bus: Et factus e&s;t repente de caelo &s;onus tanquam aduenientis Spiritus vehementis: In the carnall tables of the hart: and &s;odenly there vvas made a &s;ound from heauen as of a vehement vvind co|ming:</HI> his coming was from heauen, <HI>Nam omne
<PB N="350" REF="188">donum perfectum de &s;ur&s;um e&s;t; For euery perfect gift is from aboue;</HI> on a &s;udden, <HI>Nam &s;piritus vbi vult, spirat; For the &s;pirit breatheth vvhere he vvill,</HI> freely of pure grace and liberality wi|thout the merits and de&s;erts of any vvith the noy&s;e of a &s;trong aire or vvind; &ocirc; the breathing aire of our &s;oules, <HI>In quo viuimus, mouemur &amp; &s;umus; In vvhich vve-liue moue, and be;</HI> for as our being, life and motion depends euery mo|ment on this corporall aire; &s;o, and much more, doth our &s;upernaturall being, life and action depend on this gracious aire of the holy Gho&s;t; vvho&s;e &s;peciall notion therefore and title is, <HI>Do|minus viuificans, a life giuing Lord.</HI> Note finally, how he is termed <HI>Spiritus vehemens, a vehement vvind,</HI> giuing towit force, &s;peed and feruour to all our actions; <HI>Ne&s;cit tarda molimina Spiritus S. gratia; qui&aacute; enim aut &s;uauius aut fortius amore? The grace of the holy Gho&s;t knovv noe delayes; for vvhat is more &s;vveet ore &s;trong then loue?</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith mo&s;t humble inuocation of this all-refreshing &s;pirit; open thy &s;oule vnto him, that he may <HI>Perflare animam tuam, breath vpon the &s;oule,</HI> coole all thy &s;en&s;ualities; &amp; giue thee new vigour and courage to all the actions of grace and vertue.</P>
<P N="6">6. Con&s;ider &s;ixthly, how <HI>Apparuerunt illis di&s;pertitae linguae tanquam ignis, &s;edit&abque;ue &s;upra &s;ingulos eorum. There appeared to them parted tongues as it vvere of fire, and it &s;ate vpon euery one of them.</HI> Fire the chiefe of Elements, is for its actiuity and beauty &s;o great a &s;ymbole of the
<PB N="351" REF="188">diuinity, that diuers nations adored it for the true God; and in the old law God appeared for the mo&s;t part in fire, as to Moy&s;es in the bur|ning bush, on the mount Sina, <HI>Qua&s;i ignis ar|dens in vertice montis; As a burning fire on the top of a mountaine:</HI> &s;o that in the 4. of Deuterono|mie, he declareth to the people, that <HI>Ignis con|&s;umens Dominus Deus tuus; A con&s;uming fire is thy lord God;</HI> and almo&s;t all &s;acrifices were per|formed &amp; accompanied with fire. But be&s;ides this, the holy Gho&s;t vvould more e&s;pecially ap|peare in fire, both to declare vnto vs his owne nature, vvhich is a Notionall loue and charity betwixt the Father &amp; Sonne; as al&s;o to expre&s;&s;e the effects of his pre&s;ence in our &s;oules, vvhich is the heat and feruour of loue, that fire towit, <HI>Quem Christus venit mittere in terram, &amp; quid vult ni&s;i vt ardeat? VVhich Christ came to cast on the earth, and vvhat vvill he but that it be kindled?</HI> Next this fire was framed into ton|gues, fir&s;t to cure the malady of that member, vvhich as S. Iames &s;ayth is <HI>Vniuer&s;itas iniquit a|tis, &amp; infiammata &agrave; gehenna; A vvhole vvorld of iniquitie, and inflamed of hel;</HI> &s;o that the fire of heauen may quell in vs the fire of hell. Se|condly that the Apo&s;tles might haue fiery ton|gues to heat and inflame, the cold &amp; &s;tiff frozen hearts of vvorldlings.</P>
<P>Conclude with this or the like exclamation. <HI>O ignis &s;ancte! qu&agrave;m &s;uauiter ardes! qu&agrave;m &s;e|cret&egrave; luces! qu&agrave;m de&s;iderant&egrave;r aduris! vae ijs qui ex te non ardent, qui per te non lucent. O holy
<PB N="352" REF="189">fire! hovv &s;weetly doe&s;t thou burne! hovv &s;ecre|tely doest thou shine! hovv amiable is thy enkind|ling heat: vvoe be to them vvho are not enkind|led vvith thee, nor shine by thy light.</HI> Infla|me this heart, rule and temper this tongue of mine.</P>
<P N="7">7. Con&s;ider &s;euently, how <HI>Repleti &s;unt om|nes Spiritu S. All are filled vvith the holy Ghost.</HI> Euen to the brim, yet &s;ome had more then others, according to euery ones capacitie; more had the Apo&s;tles, then the di&s;ciples, and more the B. Virgin then all the re&s;t. O vvhat heart can conceiue or tongue expre&s;&s;e this their fullnes or repletion? their vnder&s;tanding full of heauenly light; their vvill and brea&s;t full of flaming cha|ritie towards God and their neighbours. <HI>O mu|tatio dexterae excel&s;i! O change of the right hand of the highe&s;t!</HI> how rude and &s;imple they vvere before, euen their birth and education doth &s;uf|ficiently a&s;&s;ure vs; neither, had the three yeares conuer&s;ing vvith our Sauiour much bettered them, &s;o rude and dull they vvere: againe, how fearefull and cowardly they vvere, be&s;ides all vvhat had formerly pa&s;t, euen the pre&s;ent cloy|&s;tering vp them&s;elues <HI>Propter metum ludacrum, for feare of the Ievves,</HI> doth aboundantly vvit|nes. But immediatly vpon the receiuing of the holy Gho&s;t, their skill and knowledge farre ex|ceeded all the Plato's or Ari&s;tot&s;es of the vvorld: and Alexander's or Ce&s;ar's courage vvas a toy to theirs: for pre&s;ently open fly the doores, and out fly they about the Citie, <HI>Loquentes varijs
<PB N="353" REF="189">linguis magnalia Dei: Speaking vvith diuer&s;e tongues the great vvorkes of God:</HI> and &s;oone after, <HI>In omnem terram exiuit &s;onus eorum: their &s;ound vvent forth into all the earth:</HI> and this their heat and feruour vvas &s;o great, that the people thought them drunke or mad: and not vntruely, for being ouercharged vvith this new wine of the Spou&s;e they mu&s;t, like full ve&s;&s;ells, either haue &s;udden vent, or bur&s;t.</P>
<P>Conclude to cry to heauen for one draught of this holy liquor: for till then hope not for &s;trength or vnder&s;tanding: neuer more rely on thy owne ability, but vvholly on the guidance of the holy Gho&s;t, <HI>Sit ille tibi Pater, Magi&s;ter, Spon&s;us. Let him be to the a Father, a Maister, &amp; a spou&s;e.</HI></P>
<P N="8">8. Con&s;ider eightly, how the diuine proui|dence &s;o ordered it, that there vvere diuers then at Ieru&s;alem <HI>De omni natione quae &s;ub caelo e&s;t: of euery nation that is vnder heauen:</HI> vvho as eye|witne&s;&s;es should carry about the vvorld the vvonders of this day: <HI>Quare facta hac voce, vvherefore vvhen this voiee vvas made,</HI> or noy&s;e of the vvind, <HI>Conuenit multitudo; &amp; mento con|fu&s;a est, the multitude came together, and vvas a&s;tonied in mind,</HI> euery one hearing the Apo&s;tles &s;peake their proper language: and here al&s;o ac|cording to the cu&s;tome of the vvorld, &s;ome &s;ayd they vvere drunk; others laughed at them for &s;imple and mad idiots: others more prudent &s;ayd, <HI>Quidnam vult hoc e&s;&s;e? vvhat meaneth this?</HI> euery one according to his di&s;po&s;ition and
<PB N="354" REF="190">humour pa&s;&s;ing their cen&s;ures, of vvhat they vnder&s;tood not: vvhen S. Peter as head of the re&s;t, &s;tanding vp for all, vvith a mo&s;t manly cou|rage and heauenly eloquence in &s;uch &s;ort layd open vnto them the pre&s;ent my&s;terie, vvith the re&s;t of our Sauiour Ie&s;us Chri&s;t; that forthwith he conuerted to the number of three thou&s;and that very day; and &s;oone after farre greater mul|titudes. O vvhat ioy and fe&s;tiuity vvas there both in heauen and earth, at this plentitull harue&s;t of poore &s;oules! reioyce my &s;oule and grue a thou|&s;and <HI>Parabiens</HI> to thy B. Sauiour, his glorious Mother, Apo&s;tles, and new flocke of the Ca|tholike and Chri&s;tian Church: reioyce I &s;ay and.</P>
<P>Conclude to imitate the life and vertues of the&s;e primitiue Chri&s;tians, vvho vvere <HI>Per&s;e|uerantes in doctrina Apostotorum, &amp; communi|catione fractionis panis &amp; orationibus: Per&s;eue|ring in the dostrine of the Apo&s;tles, and in the communication of the breaking of bread, and prayers.</HI> That is, in the doctrine of the Catho|like Church, in the frequenting of the holy Sa|craments, and deuotion of prayers.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE THIRD MEDITATION. <HI>Of the Mystery of the B. Trinity.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how God is and can be but onely one in nature, e&s;&s;ence, power, good|nes and all other attributes: this faith teacheth
<PB N="355" REF="190">vs, vvhen vvee &s;ay; <HI>Credo in vnum Deum; I be|leeue in one God;</HI> and againe, <HI>Vnus Deus, vna fi|des, vnum Bapti&s;ma. One God, one faith, one Bapti&s;me.</HI> This al&s;o naturall rea&s;on conuinceth; for fir&s;t that vvee call and confe&s;&s;e to be God, <HI>Quo maius aut perfectius cogitari non potest; then vvhom nothing greater, or perfecter can be Ima|gined;</HI> that is, vvho comprehendeth in him&s;el|fe all po&s;&s;ible or imaginable perfections: but if vvee admit but two onely, different and di&s;tin|guished in nature, the one mu&s;t haue &s;ome vvhat vvhich the other hath not, from vvhich ari&s;eth the di&s;tinction: and con&s;equently nei|ther can haue all perfections, nor be, <HI>Quo ma|ius cogitari non po&s;&s;it; then vvhom a greater can not be imagined;</HI> that is, God: vvherefore to be truely God, he mu&s;t be but onely one, Second|ly, vvho is God, mu&s;t be <HI>Summus Legi&s;tator, the chiefe&s;t lavv-maker,</HI> gouerning &amp; &s;waying all at his vvill; <HI>Supremus Iudex, a &s;upreme, Iudge,</HI> punishing and rewarding, the ob&s;eruers and breakers of his lawes; and <HI>Finis vltimus om|nium creaturarum. The last end of all creatures.</HI> But none of the&s;e could he be, vvere there any other equall to him; vvho hauing a different vvill, vvould make different lawes, and punish and reward differently from the former; &s;o that vvhom one vvould punish, the other vvould &s;eeke to revvard: and &s;o fall to jarres &amp; diui&s;ions; <HI>Omne autem regnum in &s;e diui&s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m de|&s;olabitur: euery kingdom diuided against it &s;elfe shall be made de&s;olate:</HI> neither could either be
<PB N="356" REF="191">our <HI>Finis vltimus, our last end,</HI> or <HI>Omne bonum, all our good,</HI> for that the other of them vvould haue &s;omewhat <HI>de&s;iderabile. To be de&s;ired.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude therefore to belieue and adore but one onely God, <HI>Vnum Deum &amp; Patrem omnium, quiest &s;uper omnia: one God, and Father of all, vvho is aboue all:</HI> direct all thy intentions and actions to this one &s;upreme end and good: finally lament and pray for all poore infidells, vvho vvander in the multiplicity of their owne fan|cies, <HI>Sed Deum ignorantes. But are ignorant of God.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, that although God be one and the &s;ame in e&s;&s;ence, yet he is as truely and really three in per&s;ons, Father, Sonne and holy Gho&s;t. Here all vnder&s;tanding is captiua|ted <HI>In ob&s;equium fidei; vnto the obedience of faith,</HI> naturall rea&s;on findeth no footing for this my|&s;terie in nature, neither in cau&s;es, effects, nor examples: for here is that mo&s;t true. <HI>Nemo no|uit filium ni&s;i Pater, neque Patrem ni&s;i &s;ilius, &amp; cui voluerit filius reuelare, no ma<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> knovveth <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ix Sonne but the Father, neither doth any knovv the Father but the Sonne, and to vvhom it shall plea|&s;e the Sonne to reueale:</HI> although this be &s;o, yet rea&s;on rai&s;ed once aboue her pitch by the light of faith, may glance at &s;ome &s;eeming con|gruences and &s;imilitudes: and fir&s;t, all perfection is to be acknowledged in God, but not the lea&s;t imperfection; therefore hee is one, for that is perfection, neither is he alone, for that is imper|tection; &amp; hence he enioyeth plurality without
<PB N="357" REF="191">diuer&s;itie, that is, <HI>Trinitatem in vnitate. Trinitie in vnitie.</HI> Secondly vve find a shadow hereof in man him&s;elfe, vvho hath one &s;oule vvith three di&s;tinct powers, vnder&s;tanding, vvill and me|morie; &s;ome vvhat re&s;embling one nature in three di&s;tinct per&s;ons. Harken a little to S. Ber|nard of the foure Trinities he hath found out: <HI>Est,</HI> quoth he, <HI>Triuitaes &agrave; qua homo cecidit, Pa|ter, Filius, &amp; Spiritus &s;anctus; est Trinitas quae cecidit, intellectus, memoria, voluntas: &amp; est Trinitas in quam ista cecidit; impotentia, igno|rantia, &amp; concupi&s;centia. &amp; e&s;t Trinitas per quam Trinitas cadens, re&s;urgit ad Trinitatem de qua ce|cidit; &s;cilicet, fides, spes, charitas. There is a Tri|nite from vvhich man fell, the Father, Sonne, &amp; holy Gho&s;t: there is a Trinitie vvhich fell, vn|derstanding, memorie, and vvill; and there is a Trinitie into vvhich it &s;ell; imbecillitie, ignoran|ce and concupi&s;cence: and there is a Trinitie by vvhich the Trinitie that fell, ri&s;eth to the Trinitie from vvhich it fell, to vvitt faith, hope, &amp; cha|riiie.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to adore in the &s;pirit of humilitie, vvhat &s;o farre &s;urpa&s;&s;eth thy capacitie; reioyce at the incomprehen&s;ibilitie of thy God: la&s;tly comfort thy &s;elfe with an a&s;&s;ured hope of &s;eeing one day the &s;ecret of this my&s;terie, <HI>Quando vi|debitur Deus Deorum in Sion. VVhen the God of Gods shall be &s;eene in Sion.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly the order and manner of the diuine Proce&s;&s;ions: the Father is, <HI>Ingenitus, &agrave; &s;eip&s;o, principium &s;ine priacipio; vnbegotten of
<PB N="358" REF="192">him&s;elfe, a beginning vvithout a beginning;</HI> the Sonne is <HI>genitus, principium &agrave; principio; begot|ten, a beginning from a beginning;</HI> the holy Gho&s;t is <HI>procedens, &s;piratus &agrave; Patre &amp; Filio. Pro|ceeding, breathed from the Father, and Sonne.</HI> For the Father with one indiui&s;ible act of his vnder&s;tanding comprehending his owne e&s;&s;en|ce and being, formeth and produceth within him&s;elfe a mo&s;t perfect and compleate conceit and image of him&s;elfe, and this is named and truely is, his onely Sonne, <HI>Spendor gloriae &amp; fi|gura &s;ub&s;iantiae eius, verbum &amp; &s;apientia Patris. The brightne&s;&s;e of his glorie, and the figure of his &s;ub&s;tance, the vvord, and vvi&s;edome of the Fa|ther.</HI> Next the Father with infinite loue affe|cteth and imbraceth this his Sonne, neither can the Sonne doe le&s;&s;e, then repay his Father with the like loue, hauing all vvhat he is from him: and &s;o by this mutuall reflexion of loue one vpon the other, they produce iointlie a perfect and notionall band of loue, called the holy Gho&s;t, communicating vnto him their owne entire diuinity and e&s;&s;ence. Neither doth this order of proce&s;&s;ions cau&s;e any inequalitie, or prioritie betwixt any of the diuine per&s;ons; for fir&s;t, all hauing the &s;ame indiuiduall diuine na|ture, mu&s;t haue al&s;o the &s;ame diuine attributes, indi&s;tinguished from the &s;ayd nature; and &s;o there can be no inequalitie: next the Father from all eternity knoweth him&s;elfe, and from the &s;amr eternity produceth his Sonne: againe the Father and the Sonne from all eternity loue
<PB N="359" REF="192">one the other, and &s;o from the &s;ame eternity produce the holy Gho&s;t: but in eternity there can be no prioritie or po&s;teriority of duration, therefore all are ioyntlie coeternall.</P>
<P>Conclude to imploy thy vvhole vnder&s;tan|ding and vvill in the contemplation and loue of this mo&s;t high and &s;acred my&s;tery.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly the properties and no|tions of euery one of the diuine Per&s;ons&punc; The fir&s;t Per&s;on is called Father; <HI>A quo omnis pa|ternitas in caelis &amp; in terra nominatur; of whom all paternitie in heauen and in earth is named;</HI> who &s;ayeth of him&s;elfe by his Prophet; <HI>Nun|quid ego, qui alios parere facio, ip&s;e non pariam? Shall not I, that make others to bring forth chil|dren, my &s;elfe bring forth:</HI> &amp; againe; <HI>Filius meus es tu, ego hodie genui te: thou art my Sonne, I this day haue begotten thee:</HI> to wit vnehangeable <HI>hodie or this day</HI> of Eternitie: who can contem|plate either the incomprehen&s;ible manner of this generation, or the infinite loue he beareth his Eternall Sonne? The &s;econd per&s;on is called Sonne, <HI>Vnigenitus qui &agrave; Patre procedit: the only begotten, vvho proceedeth from the Father:</HI> &ocirc; how many vvayes is he <HI>Unigenitus Patris? the only-begotten of the Father?</HI> fir&s;t becau&s;e he nei|ther hath, not can haue any other Sonne, and this he hath vvithout any mother, begotten &s;o|lely of him&s;elfe: &s;econdly becau&s;e he is not <HI>Quomodocumque image &amp; figura Patris, a mere image and figure of the Father,</HI> as other Sonnes are, but the &s;ame indiuiduall &s;ub&s;tance &amp; being
<PB N="360" REF="193">vvith his Father, vvhich no other Sonne can be: thirdly becau&s;e he is <HI>Unigenitus in &s;inu Patris, the only begotten Sonne in the bo&s;ome of the Fa|ther,</HI> that is, neuer departing from his Father, as others doe, but remaining allwayes intrin&s;e|cally vvithin his bo&s;ome; and &s;o the onely be|loued and onely ioy of his Father. The third per&s;on is called holy Gho&s;t, proceeding from the mutuall loue of the Father and Sonne; and &s;o the onely &s;pirit &amp; breathing of both: the onely <HI>Sanctus</HI> or <HI>holy,</HI> as proceeding by loue, the onely &s;pring of all holyne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith all the ioy of thy &s;oule for the bli&s;&s;e and e&s;&s;entiall content, that the&s;e three di|uine Per&s;ons take in one the other: begge of the Father to adopt thee for his Sonne: of the Son|ne, to chu&s;e thee for his brother: and of the holy Gho&s;t, to be his &s;pou&s;e.</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly the words of S. Iohn: <HI>Tres &s;unt, qui testimonium dant in caelis, Pater, Ver|bum &amp; Spiritus Sanctus, &amp; hi tres vnum &s;unt. There be three, vvhich giue testimonie in heauen, the Father the vvord, and the holy Ghost, and the&s;e three be one.</HI> A three fold te&s;timony hath the holy Trinity giuen of it &s;elfe: the fir&s;t in the Creation of the vvorld, and e&s;pecially of man, <HI>Quem &s;ecit ad imaginem &amp; &s;imilitudinem &s;uam; vvhom he hath made to his Image and likene&s;&s;e;</HI> in whom, as it were, he hath &s;tamped an abrid|gement of him&s;elfe. But the &s;econd is yet more cleare and feeling, by his grace in the hearts of faithfull &s;oules; <HI>Qui credit in filium Dei, habet
<PB N="361" REF="193">testimonium Dei in&s;e: vvho beleiueth in the Son|ne of God, hath the te&s;timonie of God in him&s;elfe:</HI> &ocirc; what &s;ignes or te&s;timonies doth God impart to his beloued of his greatnes, &s;weetnes and di|uine beauties? &ocirc; how happy is that &s;oule, which can confidently &s;ay with the Apo&s;tle; <HI>Spiritus ip&s;e te&s;timonium reddit &s;piritui no&s;tro quod &s;umus filij Dei! The &s;pirit him&s;elfe giueth te&s;timonie to our &s;pirit, that vve are the Sonnes of God.</HI> The third and la&s;t te&s;timony is giuen and re&s;erued for the ble&s;&s;ed in heauen, <HI>Ubi videbimus eum &s;icuti e&s;t: &amp; hi tres vnum &s;unt: vvhere vve shall &s;ee him as he is: and the&s;e three be one:</HI> one and the &s;ame being; and the &s;ame te&s;timony in all the three vvayes of creation, &s;anctification and glo|rification.</P>
<P>Conclude to comply vvith the &s;econd part of the text: <HI>Et tres &s;unt qui te&s;timonium dant in ter|ra, spiritus, aqua &amp; &s;anguis: &amp; hi tres vnum &s;unt, there be three vvhich giue testimonie on earth, the &s;pirit, vvater, and blood; and the&s;e three be one,</HI> that is, giue te&s;timony and ac|knowledgement to God of thy duties and obli|gations to him, fir&s;t by the &s;pirit of loue &amp; gra|titude for all his benefits; next in the vvater of humility and thy owne annihilation in pre&s;ence of his greatnes and maie&s;ty: la&s;tly in the bloud of penance and &s;orrow for all thy &s;innes, vvith vvhich thou ha&s;t di&s;plea&s;ed him: <HI>Et hi tres vnum &s;unt; and the&s;e three be one;</HI> that is, to vni|te and make thee one vvith thy Lord and God.</P>
<P N="6">6. Con&s;ider &s;ixthly, or draw rather &amp; frame
<PB N="362" REF="194">vnto thy &s;elfe, to the imitation of the&s;e diuine proce&s;&s;ions, a method and forme of mentall prayer and contemplation. Fir&s;t God the Father comprehending his owne e&s;&s;ence, produceth a mo&s;t perfect conceit and image of him&s;elfe, vvhich neuer fadeth, but liueth euer in his brea&s;t and vnder&s;tanding: &s;o mu&s;t vvee fir&s;t draw a proper and perfect image of our Lord God in our vnder&s;tandings, and vvith all care and dili|gence pre&s;erue it fresh and entire. Next the Fa|ther and the Sonne louing one the other, pro|duce the holy Gho&s;t, the tie and knot of their loue; and he al&s;o euer remaineth vvithin them, vvithout all change or &s;eparation: &s;o mu&s;t vvee &s;tirre vp within our &s;elues the affection of loue towards the diuine &s;weetnes and goodnes, who|&s;e image vvee haue; and in the&s;e two acts of the vnder&s;tanding and vvill con&s;i&s;teth all contem|plation and prayer, the highe&s;t reach of Chri|&s;tian perfection: hence the Spou&s;e &s;aith: <HI>Inueni quem diligit anima mea, I haue found vvhom my &s;oule loueth;</HI> towit by comtemplation: <HI>Tenui eum, I haue held him,</HI> towit by loue: <HI>Nec dimit|tam; nor vvill I let him goe;</HI> becau&s;e the&s;e acts should euer continuc without the lea&s;t inter|ruption, that may be, our frailty and weaknes con&s;idered. Finally as the holy Gho&s;t is the ioy, bli&s;&s;e and content of the Father and the Sonne: &s;o from the&s;e two acts now mentioned, fol|low all the re&s;t of inward ioy, peace, con|tent, and vvhat&s;oeuer can make vs happy in this vvorld.</P>
<PB N="363" REF="194">
<P> Conclude to embrace this <HI>Otium Mariae, Ma|ries contemplatiue vacation,</HI> if thou ha&s;t not yet begun it; and if &s;o, take vp new courage in the pro&s;ecution of it: for belieue it, <HI>Vnum e&s;t ne|ce&s;&s;arium, one thinge is nece&s;&s;arie,</HI> that is per|manent and &s;table; all vvhat&s;oeuer el&s;e, <HI>Tran&s;it &amp; defluit vt aqua. Maria optimam partem elegit. Pa&s;&s;eth and runneth a vvay like vvater. Maria hath cho&s;en the best part.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="4" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FOVRTH MEDITATION. <HI>Of the Solemnity of Corpus Chri&s;ti.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, tho&s;e words of the Euan|geli&s;t S. Iohn; <HI>Ie&s;us c&ugrave;m dilexi&s;&s;et &s;uos qui erant in mundo, in finem dilexit eos; Ie&s;us vvhereas he had loued his, that vvere in the vvorld, vnto the end he loued them:</HI> that is, <HI>V&s;que ad con&s;ummationem &s;aeculi, euen to the con&s;ummation of the vvorld.</HI> The condition and property of true louers is, to be and liue alwayes vvith their beloued; and nothing is &s;o &s;ad and vnwelcome, as a heauy farewell and parting one from the other. Our &s;weete&s;t Ie&s;us, the true&s;t and mo&s;t refined louer that euer vvas, ha|uing liued vvith his di&s;ciples thirty three yeares; and finding it now mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary for their good to depart from them by his death &amp; A&s;cen&s;ion; opened and reuolued the deepe&s;t trea&s;ure of his wi&s;edome to inuent a vvay, hovv notwith&s;tan|ding to remaine vvith them really &amp; per&s;onally
<PB N="364" REF="195">to the end of the world; &s;o to make his vvords good, <HI>Ecce Ego vobi&s;cum &s;um v&s;que ad con&s;um|mationem &s;aeculi. Behold I am vvith you euen to the con&s;ummation of the vvorld.</HI> This he perfor|med by the in&s;titution of the mo&s;t holy Sacra|ment of his pretious body and bloud: and by leauing power in the Prie&s;ts of his Church to continuate and doe the &s;ame to the end of the vvorld. O loue (may I &s;ay &s;o?) <HI>Vltra termi|nos amoris! beyonde the limitts of loue!</HI> &ocirc; inuen|tion. <HI>Vltra limites &s;apientiae? beyonde the limitts of vvi&s;edome!</HI> to goe away, &amp; yet remaine, to be ab&s;ent, and yet neuer more pre&s;ent! &ocirc; mo&s;t diuine and &s;weet contradictions? diuine for the power, &s;weet for the manner, viz: of bread and wine, our daylie food, facill and euery vvhere to be found, and not at Teru&s;alem one|ly, or on mount Thabor, as in his life time. Now vvee need not lie at his feet in the hou&s;e of the proud Phari&s;ee, as poore Magdalen, but take him confidently vvith vs vnto our ovvne ho|mes, and there treat and di&s;cour&s;e vvith him at our full.</P>
<P>Conclude, and begin to open thy heart, to en|tertaine thy loue. Inuent &s;ome vvay how to re|maine euer vvith him, and the way is, a louing memory of him.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly the vvords of Con&s;e|cration; <HI>Hoc e&s;t Corpus meum; hic est Calix &s;an|guinis mei. This is my bodie, this is the chalice of my bloud.</HI> By vvhich vvords are not onely &s;igni|fied or figured but al&s;o truly and really cau&s;ed,
<PB N="365" REF="195">and as J may &s;ay, produced vnder the <HI>Species</HI> or <HI>accidents</HI> of bread and vvine, the true and na|turall Body &amp; Bloud of our Sauiour Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, God and Man: and this, not by peeces or parts, but vvholly and entirely vnder both and either of the kinds. Neither may vvee doubt or aske how this is or can be done, no more than how the heauens and all other creatures haue been made of nothing; for &s;uch things as the&s;e are not <HI>Obiectum rationis, the obiect of rea&s;on,</HI> but <HI>My&s;terium fidei, a Mysterie of faith,</HI> relying vpon the vnlimited power and truth, of our omnipo|tent God, <HI>Cuius dicere, facere est; ip&s;e dixit &amp; facta &s;unt: vvho&s;e &s;peaking is his operation: he &s;aid, and they vvere made:</HI> and no maruell; for if the vvords of men doe fully &s;ignifie the thing they aime at, grant but one degree more of perfection to the words of God, as in all rea|&s;on vvee mu&s;t, and vvee shall find, that his vvords doe al&s;o <HI>Facere quod &s;ignificant. Make vvhat they &s;ignifie.</HI> This being &s;o, ponder the trea&s;ure thou ha&s;t found, towit all that is Ie&s;us Chri&s;t; that is true God, and vvith him the whole Diuinity and the three Per&s;ons of Father, Sonne, and holy Gho&s;t; as al&s;o true man that is, the fountaine and vvell-head of all grace and glorie: in briefe, <HI>Omne bonum tuum ereatum &amp; increatum, all thy good created and increated,</HI> reduced and concentricated into a point, fit for the narrowne&s;&s;e of our brea&s;t and &s;oule.</P>
<P>Conclude with a mo&s;t &s;trong and liuely act of faith, grounded fir&s;t on thy owne humility,
<PB N="366" REF="196">and next on the omnipotent vvord of thy Sa|uiour; <HI>Nil hoc verbo veritatis verius. There is nothing trver then this vvord of truth.</HI> Neither let thy heart lie frozen before &s;o great a fire of loue.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly &s;omewhat more in par|ticular the contents of this mo&s;t B Sacrament: fir&s;t there is the exteriour and vi&s;ible <HI>Species or appearance</HI> of bread end wine, that is, the &s;ole accidents and qualities of them vvithout their &s;ub&s;tance; and this may be compared <HI>Ad pri|mum gradum Entis; cuius est e&s;&s;e tantum. To the fir&s;t degree of an entitie, vvhich is nothing els but to be.</HI> Next, there is the true flesh and bloud of Chri&s;t, framed by the holy Gho&s;t and borne of the Virgin Mary; not vi&s;ible, but hidden vn|der the vailes of bread and vvine: and the&s;e haue likenes to the &s;econd degree <HI>Quorum est e&s;&s;e &amp; viuere. VVho hath life added to their being.</HI> Next is that mo&s;t pure and noble &s;oule of our Sauiour endowed vvith all the gifts of nature, grace, and glory: and this hath analogie to the third de|gree; <HI>Quorum e&s;t e&s;&s;e, viuere, &amp; &s;entire, vvho vvith their being enioy a &s;en&s;itiue life.</HI> Adding more ouer, <HI>Intelligere per participationem. An vnder&s;tanding by participation.</HI> Next is the God|head or Deity, an eternall, immortall and &s;ub|&s;i&s;tent being, the &s;upreme and highe&s;t degree of <HI>Purum intelligere, of mo&s;t perfectlie vnder&s;tan|ding,</HI> to which noe degree of perfection or being can be added. And yet this is not all; for vvith the Deity cometh in&s;eparably, fir&s;t the &s;a|cred
<PB N="367" REF="196">Per&s;on of the Sonne in an hypo&s;taticall vnion to his humanity, and vvith him the Per|&s;ons of the Father and holy Gho&s;t. <HI>Per circumin|ce&s;&s;ionem: by circumince&s;&s;ion:</HI> and all the&s;e vi&s;i|ble onely to the eye of faith. <HI>Ecce talis e&s;t dilectus meus, totus de&s;iderabilis; &amp; ip&s;e e&s;t amicus meus, filiae Ieru&s;alem. Behold &s;uch is my beloued, totallie to be de&s;ired: and he is my friend, ye davghters of Ieru&s;alem.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith all the amazement of thy &s;oule to &s;ee how the order of things is inuerted for thy &s;ake: that whereas man and all things el&s;e were originally in God; now God and all things el&s;e are in the brea&s;t of man, <HI>Per Ie&s;um Chri&s;tum qui est benedictus in &s;aecula. Through Ie&s;us Chri&s;t vvho is ble&s;&s;ed for euer.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly &s;ome circum&s;tances that concurred in the Jn&s;titution of this holy Sacrament; and fir&s;t the&s;e two of the time and place, vvhen and vvhere it vvas in&s;tituted. The time vvas, <HI>Pridie qu&agrave;m pateretur, &s;eu in ip&s;a no|cte qua tradebatur. On the day before he &s;uffer|red, or the very night he &s;ufferred.</HI> O my &s;oule behold thy &s;wete&s;t Ie&s;us be&s;et &amp; rounded vvith a double enemy, <HI>Foris pugnae, intus timores; wi|thout, combats: vvithin, feares;</HI> his heart ouer|whelmed vvith feare and anguish of the tor|ments, ignominies and death now at hand: his enemies, the Prie&s;ts and Princes of his people, nay Iudas his Apo&s;tle, all con&s;piring, contriuing and preparing for his death, euen then, vvhiles he is preparing for them and the vvhole world
<PB N="368" REF="197">a &s;weet and heauenly banquet of his owne pre|cious body and bloud, full of cele&s;tiall &s;weetnes and delight: <HI>Haec &s;ola e&s;t illa charitas, quam aequae non potuerunt extinguere nec flumina obruere. This only is that charitie, vvhich vvaters could not extinguish, nor riuers ouerflovv,</HI> The &s;econd is the place, towit <HI>Coenaculvm grande &s;tratum, A great chamber, adorned,</HI> large, and &s;pacious; a perfect type not onely of the holy Church, but al&s;o of euery Chri&s;tian &s;oule, fit to enter|taine <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">er Sauiour: she mu&s;t be &s;pacious as the heauens, <HI>Dilatione charitatis; in the extent of charitie;</HI> she mu&s;t be adorned <HI>Supellectile om|nium gra<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">arum; vvith ornaments of all &s;ort of graces;</HI> then vvill her Spou&s;e come <HI>Et caenare cum illa; and &s;uppe vvith her;</HI> then vvill he ap|peare to her <HI>In noua re&s;urrectione<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">; in a nevv re|&s;urrestion;</HI> then vvill the holy Gho&s;t de&s;cend vpon her, <HI>Tanquam ignis; as fire;</HI> then, <HI>Man|&s;ionem in illa facient Pater, Filius, &amp; Spiritus &s;anctus. The Father, Sonne, and holy Ghost vvill make aboile vvith her.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to prepare thy &s;oule in this &s;ort, vvhen&s;oeuer thou art to communicate; next, then to adhere vvith more diligence and fer|uour to thy Sauiour, when either inward temp|tations, or outward afflictions shall mo&s;t inuade thee; that thou mai&s;t &s;ay vvith confidence; <HI>Quis nos &s;eparabit &agrave; charitate Chri&s;ti? vvho will &s;eperate vs from the loue of Christ?</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly how our Sauiour being &s;et at table. <HI>Accepit panem in &s;anitas ac venera<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">
<PB N="369" REF="197">biles manus &s;uas; &amp;, eleuatis oculis in caelum, gra|tias egit &amp;c. He tooke bread in his holy, and ve|nerable hands; and lifting his eyes to heauen, he gaue thankes &amp;c.</HI> vvhere euery action, &amp; euery motion is a new my&s;tery: for fir&s;t the taking of a loafe into his hands, nay both his hands, fig|nifieth three things vnto vs; fir&s;t that no le&s;&s;e power then his full omnipotence vvas nece&s;&s;ary for the vvorke he intended to doe; &s;econdly that it vvas a gift of &s;o ouerflovving liberality, that he could giue no more, and therefore, it filled both his hands: thirdly that in this gift, he gaue vs <HI>Omnes labores manuum &s;uarum; All the la|bours of his hands:</HI> towit the whole trea&s;ure of merits vvhich <HI>In &s;udore vultus &s;ui, in the &s;weat of his brovv,</HI> he had been gathering for vs the &s;pace of three and thirty yeares; all vvhich he put as &s;vveet ingredien's in this banquet. Againe he lifted vp his eyes to heauen, to let vs know that this <HI>Panis or bread</HI> vvas <HI>ven&egrave; caelestis, &amp; de&s;|ce<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">dens de calo; trvlie heauenlyo, and de&s;cending from heauen;</HI> not as the dry <HI>Manna</HI> of Moy&s;es, that came onely from the lower cloudes, but as the true bread of Angells, nay of God him&s;elfe: for on the table of glory and beatitude, no other bread is &s;et, then that of the diuine e&s;&s;ence, real|ly contained in the holy Euchari&s;t: &s;o that the common and daylie bread of God, Angells, and men is become one and the &s;ame. Thirdly <HI>Gra|tias egit: he gaue thankes:</HI> for vvho but he vvas euer able to doe it &s;ufficiently? yet that vve might al&s;o doe it to our povver he vvould haue
<PB N="370" REF="198">it called <HI>Euchari&s;tia, the Eucharist,</HI> that is Thankes-giuing.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith all the thankes thy &s;oule can yeeld to thy God and Sauiour, and as he hath giuen him&s;elfe totally to thee, to returne him <HI>Totum pro toto, all for all,</HI> thy body and &s;oule and vvhat&s;oeuer thou ha&s;t; but let it be freely &amp; frankely, as he hath done for thee; not as vvee v&s;e to doe, by halfes as afraid to ouer-doe; <HI>Hila|rem enim datorem diligit Deus. For God loueth a cheerefull giuer.</HI></P>
<P N="6">6. Con&s;ider &s;ixthly, how, <HI>Benedixit dedit&abque; di&s;cipulis &s;uis, dicens, comedite ex eo omnes, bibite ex eo omnes. He ble&s;&s;ed it, and he gaue it to his di&s;ciples, &s;aying cate ye all of it, drinke ye all of it.</HI> Our B. Sauiour to giue a happy and pro&s;perous beginning to the v&s;e of &s;o diuine a Sacrament, did cat and drinke fir&s;t him&s;elfe of the con&s;ecra|ted bread and cup: reioyce my &s;oule, that once at lea&s;t it hath been receiued and treated equally to it's vvorth and dignitie. Then he communi|cated all his Apo&s;tles, euen Iudas the Trai|tour: &ocirc; vvhat new light, vvhat new heat in their brea&s;ts, did the&s;e poore men feele! vvith vvhat reuerence, deuotion &amp; humility did they receiue and vvelcome their beloued ma&s;ter in their hearts! &ocirc; how did S. Peter cry out, <HI>Tu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">es Christus Filius Dei viui? Thou art Chri&s;t Sonne of the liuing God?</HI> and how did the beloued di&s;ci|ple melt away in the loue of Ie&s;us, novv, <HI>Vice ver&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, recumbentis &s;uper pectus eius! Likevvi&s;e leaning vpon his brea&s;t!</HI> Onely the mo&s;t vn|happy
<PB N="371" REF="198">of men, Iudas, remained blind, frozen nay more hardened and obdurate than before, and vvent pre&s;ently forth to perfect his vvicked trea&s;on: &ocirc; my &s;oule, <HI>Vide paris &s;umptionis, qu&agrave;m &s;it di&s;par exitus? See vvhat a different end hath the receiuing of the &s;ame Sacrament?</HI> And learne hence, that although our Sauiour exclude none, not the greate&s;t &s;inners in the vvoald, from this banquet; but &s;aith to all &s;orts, <HI>Comedite &amp; bibite ex eo omnes; eate ye, and drinke ye all of it;</HI> yet, according to his Apo&s;tle, <HI>Qui manducat &amp; bi|bit indign&egrave;, iudicium &s;ibi manducat &amp; bibit. He that eateth and drinketh vnvvorthily, eateth &amp; drinketh iudgment to him&s;elfe.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude therefore, vvhen thou goe&s;t to this holy Sacrament, to &s;earch and clean&s;e all the corners of thy heart, lea&s;t any Traitour lie hid|den there: and then come vvith confidence of a kind vvelcome, and a mo&s;t louing entertain|ment from the Ma&s;ter of the banquet; for <HI>Deli|ti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">cius &s;unt e&s;&s;e cum filijs hominum. His delights are to be vvith the Sonnes of men.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="5" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FIFTH MEDITATION. <HI>Of the v&s;e and fruits of the holy Euchari&s;t.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how as by Bapti&s;me wee receiue our &s;pirituall being and gene|ration, and by Confirmation our full growth and increa&s;e; &s;o by the holy Euchari&s;t, our &s;pirituell food and nourishment. The two
<PB N="372" REF="199">fir&s;t are but once receiued, becau&s;e our being or generation is but one; and augmentation cea&s;eth after vvee arriue to our full pitch and growth: but <HI>Nutritio durat toto tempore vitae, nutrition dureth all our lifetime,</HI> &amp; by con&s;equence &s;o mu&s;t the v&s;e of this mo&s;t holy Sacrament. Now as in our corporall nourishment, vve find fir&s;t the food or aliment, next the body that receiueth it and is fed by it, and thirdly the <HI>Calor naturalis, or naturall heat,</HI> by vvhich the nourishment is perfected and compleated: &s;o in this our &s;piri|tuall nutrition wee find, fir&s;t our heauenly food, the pretious body and bloud of the Sonne of God: next our poore, feeble and hungry &s;oule; thirdle that <HI>Calor calestis, heauenlie heat, that is,</HI> the pure and ardent loue of God; by vvhich this mo&s;t &s;weet and cele&s;tiall nourishment is brought to perfection: for our &s;pirituall life &amp; and perfection con&s;i&s;ting in the vnion with our God and Sauiour. and loue being our onely knot and tie vvith God, it followeth, that our &s;pi|rituall life and increa&s;e of perfection con&s;i&s;teth and vvholly dependeth of loue. Finally as <HI>Calor naturalis, naturall heat</HI> doth conuert the ali|ment into the &s;ub&s;tance of our body, and is it &s;elfe al&s;o con&s;erued and fomented with the &s;ame food; &s;o this &s;weet heat of loue doth not onely perfect our &s;pirituall nutrition, but is it &s;elfe thereby mo&s;t of all fed and increa&s;ed; <HI>Nihil enim magis inflammat amorem qu&agrave;m prae&s;entia Chri|sti realis; For nothing more inflameth loue, then the reall pre&s;en&s;e of Chri&s;t;</HI> and this new feruour
<PB N="373" REF="199">or increa&s;e of loue is the proper effect of this holy Sacrament.</P>
<P>Conclude to pre&s;erue in thy &s;oule this pre|cious heat of loue, vvithout vvhich this holy Sa|crament hath &s;mall operation: and thanke thy Sauiour for his loue, in giuing no le&s;&s;e then him|&s;elfe to be thy &s;oule's food.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly the difference betwixt corporall and &s;pirituall nutrition; for in corpo|rall nutrition the <HI>Color naturalis, naturall heat</HI> doth change and conuert the food and aliment into the being and &s;ub&s;tance of the body, that receiueth contrariwi&s;e, that the &s;oule, vvhich is nourished, is changed and conuerted into the food, she receiueth: and the rea&s;on of this is, be|cau&s;e loue, vvhich here is <HI>Calor nutritiuus; nu|tritiue heat,</HI> hath this nature, <HI>Vt rem amantem mutet &amp; transformet in rem amatam; that it doth change and transforme the louer into the thing loued;</HI> &s;o that, to vvhom &s;oeuer vvee giue or confer our loue, vvee transfer therewith to the &s;ame our heart, our vvill, out &s;oule; and all that vve are or haue, is totally giuen vp to our beloued. See then, &ocirc; Chri&s;tian &s;oule, the happy change, thou make&s;t in receiuing thy Sauiour with loue; vvhere, <HI>Exuendo veterem hoeninem cum actibus &s;uis, ver&egrave; induit Ghristum, putting of the old man vvith his actes, he doth trveli<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> put on Christ,</HI> putting of thy ill habits and affe|ctions to &s;inne &amp; all terrene and wordly dro&s;&s;e, thou art wholy conuerted into the likenes and forme of Je&s;us; &s;o that thou may&s;t well &s;ay with
<PB N="374" REF="200">his Apo&s;tle; <HI>Viuo Ego, iam non ego; viuit ver&ograve; in me Chri&s;tus. O Sacramentum amoris &amp; charita|tis! I liue, novv not I, but Chri&s;t liueth in me. O Sacrament of loue and charitte!</HI> vvhat can there vvant in this baoquet, vvhere <HI>Summum bonum, our chiefe&s;t good,</HI> is the meat and drinke; vvhere a poore yet humble &s;oule is the gue&s;t; vvhere diuine loue, &s;ent downe from the brea&s;t of the holy Gho&s;t, is the Steward or rather the cooke that dre&s;&s;eth and &s;awceth all according to our palate?</P>
<P>Conclude two things; the fir&s;t is, to clean&s;e thy &s;oule of all cold, hard, or tepid affections; they hinder all good dige&s;tion: the next is, to vvarme and mollifie before hand the ve&s;&s;ell of thy heart vvith the fire of loue: this done, feare not, thy food shall doe thee good, <HI>Viues, viues &amp; non morieris. Thou shalt liue, thou shalt liue, and thou shalt not die.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, how the conuer&s;ion of the bread and vvine into the boly and bloud of Chri&s;t, is a mo&s;t cleare &s;igne and type. how a Chri&s;tian &s;oule by the v&s;e of this Sacrament is conuerted into the very &s;oule and diuinity of Chri&s;t. For fir&s;t, as the bread and vvine is &s;ub|&s;tantially and totally conuerted into the body &amp; bloud, &s;o as nothing of them remaineth vnchan|ged: euen &s;o a Chri&s;tian &s;oule is totally conuer|ted into her Sauiour, her heart into his heart, her vvill into his vvill, nothing now remaining of her properr vvill, proper loue, proper &s;en&s;e; but all changed into his vvill, loue and &s;en&s;e: a happy
<PB N="375" REF="200">and ble&s;&s;ed trans&s;ub&s;tantiation. Secondly as the &s;ub&s;tance of the bread and vvine being changed, there remaineth yet the outward appearance of both as formerly; &s;o, though the inward &s;ub|&s;tance and affections of our &s;oule be changed into Chri&s;t, yet outwardly vvee appeare as other men, by our corporall conuer&s;ation vvith them. Thirdly as the bread and vvine are dignified and exalted by their conuer&s;ion the mo&s;t that may be; for vvhat greater dignity in heauen or earth, then to be really changed into the mo&s;t glorious and immortall body and bloud of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, true God and man? So a deuout &s;oule &s;ignified by the bread, receiues the greate&s;t dignity that can be imagined; the body is made mo&s;t pure, cha&s;t and &s;ubiect to the &s;oule; and the &s;oule is as it vvere vvholly deified in Chri&s;t and &s;o the vvhole man is rai&s;ed to the highe&s;t degree and &s;teppe of perfection in this vvorld.</P>
<P>Conclude to open all the veines, that is, po|vvers of thy &s;oule, that this thy conuer&s;ion and vnion vvith Chri&s;t may be compleat and entire; and this cannot be othervvi&s;e done, than by the heat of loue and deuotion tovvards this diuine Sacrament.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, hovv the other Sacra|ments, as for example Bapti&s;me and Confirma|tion, are no longer Sacraments, than they are applying and performing, but the holy Eucha|ri&s;t is, as I may &s;ay, a &s;tanding and permanent Sacrament, vvhether it be receiued or no. The
<PB N="376" REF="201">fir&s;t rea&s;on of this, no doubt, is, to &s;ignifie vnto vs, that the other Sacraments are onely as cha|nells and brookes by vvhich Gods grace is de|riued into our &s;oule, and &s;o haue their effects no longer then they are in running and flovving; but the holy Euchari&s;t is as a &s;tanding Ocean, fountaine or vvell-head of all graces and perfe|ctions <HI>Complementum charitatis, the complement of charitie,</HI> containing in it &s;elfe Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, God and man, <HI>De cuius plenitudine accipimus omnes. Of vvho&s;e fullne&s;&s;e vve haue all receiued.</HI> The &s;econd rea&s;on is, becau&s;e in this Sacrament more e&s;pecially than in others, our &s;oules are conuerted into Chri&s;t and vnited vvith him; now vvhereas this conuer&s;ion and vnion is per|fected by the heat of loue and deuotion, it is mo&s;t requi&s;ite, that our deuotion be vvarmed, and our loue quickened before vvee come to the receiuing of it; that &s;o our &s;pirituall refection &amp; nourishment may be more full and ample: vvhich loue and deuotion of ours can haue no &s;weeter motiue, nor obiect more inflaming, than is the reall and permanent pre&s;ence of our mo&s;t louing Ie&s;us, the mo&s;t true friend and tender &s;pou&s;e of our &s;oules, that euer vvas; who&s;e &s;aying vvas; <HI>Ignem veni mittere in terram, &amp; quid vo|lo ni&s;i vt ardeat? I came to cast fire on the earth, and vvhat vvill I but that it burne.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude as oft as thou come&s;t to holy Com|munion to vvarme thy &s;oule fir&s;t at the pre&s;ence of this great fire, by pondering the great my&s;te|ries contained therein; but mo&s;t of all the loue
<PB N="377" REF="201">and &s;weetnes of him that &s;tands there expecting and inuiting thee, vvith; <HI>Veni &s;pon&s;a mea, a&s;|cende in palmam &amp; apprehende fructus eius. Come my &s;pou&s;e, Goe vp into the palmetree, and take the fruites thereof.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly for the complement of all Chri&s;tian perfection, that this holy Sacrament doth, not onely containe and &s;ignifie the naturall body of Chri&s;t; but al&s;o his my&s;tieall one, of vvhich he is the head, and the faithfull are his members: hence it followeth, that vvho &s;oe re|ceiueth this Sacrament, is vnited by loue, not onely to Chri&s;t, as hitherto hath been con&s;ide|red, but al&s;o vvith all good Chri&s;tians in the per|fect bond of charity, louing euery one as him|&s;elfe, and vvee know that <HI>In duobus his tota le<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> pendet; On the&s;e tvvo dependeth the vvhole law;</HI> to loue God aboue all things, and our neighbour as our &s;elues. This is clearely &s;ignified in the compo&s;ition of the materialls of this Sacrament: for of many graines of vvheat is made one loafe of bread, and of many grapes one cup of vvine: &s;o likewi&s;e of many Chri&s;tians one &s;ociety in Chri&s;t, and one my&s;ticall body: vvhere the knot and tie is no other then true heauenly loue, vni|ting all to Chri&s;t, as members to the head, and euery one to an other as members of the &s;ame vvhole, vnder the &s;elfe &s;ame head, hence is the participation of this Sacrament called <HI>Commu|nio, qua&s;i communis vnio membrorum cum Capi|te &amp; inter &s;e. A Communion, as it vvere a com|mon vnion of members vvith their head, and
<PB N="378" REF="202">among them&s;elfes. E&s;t itaque hoc Sacramentum imago, &s;ignum, mysterium, vnitatis, pacis, con|cordiae, amicitiae &amp; verae fraternitatis: Sacramen|tum omnis dulcedinis, omnis bonitatis, perfectionis &amp; virtutis Chri&s;tianae. This Sacrame~t therefore is a re&s;emblance, &s;igne and my&s;terie of vnitie, peace, concord, friend-ship, and true fraternitie. a Sa|crament of all &s;vveetene&s;&s;e, all goodne&s;&s;e, perfe|ction, and Christian virtue.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude fir&s;t vvith mo&s;t humble and hearty thankes to thy Sauiour for &s;o &s;weet an antidote again&s;t that common canker of our corrupted nature, hatred and enuy of one an other: next conceiue in thy brea&s;t an ardent de&s;ire of this double-branched loue of God and thy neigh|bour: neuer approach to this holy banquet vvithout it, lea&s;t thy &s;ad lot be, <HI>Eijci in tendebras exteriores. To be ca&s;t out into the vtter darkne&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P N="6">6. Con&s;ider &s;ixthly, how <HI>Ex carne &amp; anima fit homo, &s;ed caro est propter animam; man is <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nade of flesh and a &s;oule, but the flesh is for the &s;oule.</HI> For the &s;oule cannot here &s;ub&s;i&s;t and liue vvithout flesh and bloud, as the &s;aying is: pon|der therefore the different fruit shee reapeth by her vnion and fellowship vvith the flesh of our fir&s;t Father Adam, from vvhat shee enioyeth by the vnion vvith the flesh and body of Chri&s;t. Shee hath a double vnion vvith the flesh of Adam; the fir&s;t is naturall <HI>In compo&s;itione to|tius; in the compo&s;ition of the vvhols;</HI> and hence shee reapeth that bitter vvormevvood of origi|nall &s;inne, <HI>Semen mortis aeterna; the &s;eede of euer|lasting
<PB N="379" REF="202">death;</HI> together vvith the &s;tinging netles of concupi&s;cence and pa&s;&s;ion, <HI>Fomes peccati: the nourishment of &s;inne;</HI> the other vnion vvith the &s;ame flesh is voluntary, by delighting and con|&s;enting to the lu&s;tfull and bea&s;tly acts of &s;uch a corruptible flesh. But the vnion that a &s;oule hath vvith the flesh of Chri&s;t, can onely be vo|luntary and free, not naturall; yet &s;uch; as fill and penetrates the pores of the &s;oule farre more than doth that of nature. By this vnion doth the &s;oule enioy all the graces and priuiledges, which wee haue hitherto con&s;idered; &ocirc; vvhat compa|ri&s;on is there between the&s;e two fleshes of Adam and Chri&s;t? that is the flesh of a &s;innefull creature, this of the naturall Sonne of God: that generated in a mo&s;t bea&s;tly manner; this in the mo&s;t chry&s;tall vvombe of a virgin, by the hand of the holy Gho&s;t: that a killing and all-dam|ning flesh; this a healing, viuificating &amp; &s;auing flesh: from that finally comes <HI>Omne malum, all euill,</HI> from this <HI>Omne bonum. All good.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to bid adieu to old Adam <HI>Et concu|cupi&s;centijs eius; and his concupi&s;cences;</HI> and to vnite thy &s;oule to the flesh and body of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t thy &s;econd and &s;auing Adam: make vp this happy marriage vvith humility, purity and loue: let this be thy <HI>Triplex nodus the three fold knot</HI> of loue, vvhich no force or malice shall euer di&s;&s;olue.</P>
<P N="7">7. Con&s;ider <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">euenthly, how there are in all but two prime bodyes or fleshes, to vvit that of Adam &amp; that of Chri&s;t, mo&s;t oppo&s;ite one to the
<PB N="380" REF="203">other, both in them&s;elues and in their effects: the flesh of Adam, like &s;eed &s;owed in a field, cau&s;eth fir&s;t the diui&s;ion and naturall multipli|city of &s;oules; for according to the di&s;tinction of bodyes doth God create di&s;tinct &s;oules: next by being corrupted in it &s;elfe, it cau&s;eth corrup|tion in our &s;oules, fir&s;t that vvhich vvee call ori|ginall; next, that vvhich vvee call concupi&s;|cence or pa&s;&s;ion, from vvhence be&s;ides other vices, floweth that common di&s;cord, hatred &amp; enmity, vvee beare one to an other: hence &s;pring tho&s;e two &s;o much to be lamented diui&s;ions, the one from God by &s;inne, the other from our neighbour by hatred; and con&s;equently all the euills, vvee groan vnder; for all vvhich vvee are beholden to the flesh of our fir&s;t Adam. But on the contrary the mo&s;t pure and cele&s;tiall flesh of Chri&s;t, remaineth euer one, vvithout any diui|&s;ion or multiplicity: and &s;o is able according to the vnion, our &s;oules can haue vvith it, (which is onely that of vvill and affection, not that of nature) to reduce them all to a perfect vnity &amp; identity both with God and among them&s;elues; vvith God, becau&s;e all are vnited to Chri&s;t, our true God; among them&s;elues, becau&s;e all meet in that common vnion vvith the flesh of Chri&s;t, vvhich is the vnion of loue and mutuall charity, <HI>Apex &amp; cumulus omnis boni. The highe&s;t and most abounding perfection of all good.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to renounce for euer the vicious v|nion thou ha&s;t hitherto had vvith the rotten flesh of Adam; and combine thy &s;oule, of her
<PB N="381" REF="203">&s;elfe immortall, to the pure and immortall flesh of thy Sauiour; vvho&s;e fellowship thou vvilt find farre more &s;weet and delightfull.</P>
<P N="8">8. Con&s;ider eightly this <HI>Granum &s;inapis, this mu&s;tard &s;eede,</HI> this little flesh of our Sauiour to vvhat bigne&s;&s;e it groweth an increa&s;eth; <HI>Ita vt fiat arbor &amp; volucres caeli habitent in ramis eius, So that it becometh a tree, and the birdes of the aire may dvvell in its boughes,</HI> that is, pious and deuout &s;oules, may altogether by the vnion of loue feed and be &s;atisfied vvith &s;o heauenly food. The fir&s;t vnion therefore vvhich is made, is vvith the flesh and blood of Chri&s;t, novv glo|rious, immortall and viuificall; but becau&s;e his &s;oule, the mo&s;t glorious creature that euer vvas, is by its naturall vnion conioyned to his flesh &amp; bloud, the next vnion of a deuout &s;oule is vvith the radiant and Deificall &s;oule of Chri&s;t. Againe, the &s;econd Per&s;on of the B. Trinity together vvith the Diuine nature is by hypo&s;taticall vnion euer vnited to his body and &s;oule; and by con|&s;equence the deuout &s;oule al&s;o mu&s;t be vnited to the &s;ame Per&s;on and Diuinity: finally becau&s;e vvhere &s;oeuer the diuine nature is vvith any one of the Per&s;ons, there the other tvvo mu&s;t al&s;o be; it follovveth that the pious &s;oule en|ioyeth al&s;o the other tvvo Per&s;ons, that is the vvhole B. Trinity: and all this by the fir&s;t &amp; im|mediate vnion, shee hath vvith flesh of Chri&s;t. O happy creature, that can &s;cale &s;o ea&s;ilie this Iacobs ladder; <HI>In cuius &s;ummitate Deus con&s;istit; on the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">op of which God all mighty &s;itteth;</HI> and mou~t
<PB N="382" REF="204">this height of Tabor, <HI>Ibi&abque;ue caput inter nubila condere! And there hide its head among the cloudes!</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvhen&s;oeuer thou appeare&s;t before this Arke of the Te&s;tament, to pro&s;trate thy &s;oule in adoration before &s;uch high and hidden my&s;teries; and vvhen&s;oeuer thou communi|cate&s;t, mount thy &s;oule vvith all &s;peed and &s;wiftnes of loue thorough all the&s;e degrees of vnions, till thou come to the top of Sion, <HI>Vbi Dominus videt &amp; videtur. VVhere our Lord, &s;eeth, and is &s;eene.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="6" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE SIXTH MEDITATION. <HI>Of the holy Eucharist, as it is a Sacrifice.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how a Sacrifice is an obla|tion of &s;ome plea&s;ing thing offered to God almighty, by vvhich vve reue|rence and vvorship his &s;upreme excellency and Maie&s;ty. The pa&s;&s;ion and death of our Sauiour Chri&s;t vvas a perfect &s;acrifice, mo&s;t plea&s;ing to God, and fully &s;atisfactory for all the &s;innes of the vvorld: but that is pa&s;&s;ed and gone, though the vertue &amp; efficacy thereof remaine for euer, becau&s;e Chri&s;t ro&s;e againe, <HI>Et viuit Sacerdos in aeternum &s;ecund&igrave;tm ordinem Melchi&s;edech: And liueth a prie&s;t foreuer according to the order of Melchi&s;edech:</HI> now, as things pa&s;&s;ed haue no other being or permanence than that of memo|ry and repre&s;entation; &s;o the pa&s;&s;ion of our Sa|uiour
<PB N="383" REF="204">remaineth vvith vs in a pious memory onely, and <HI>In re aliqua eiu&s;dem reprae&s;entatiua; in &s;ome thing repre&s;entatiue of it.</HI> And this mu&s;t be al&s;o <HI>Sacrificium memoriale, a memoriall Sa|crifice.</HI> An oblation plea&s;ing to God, and &s;atis|factory for our &s;innes; by vvhich vve performe our homage to the diuinity, and really apply vnto our &s;elues the vvhole trea&s;ure of Chri&s;t's merits. But behold now &amp; admire the &s;weetnes of our Ie&s;us; &ocirc; mellifluous Sauiour! he will haue nothing be this &s;acrifice but him&s;elfe and his owne reall pre&s;ence; for he knew, that nothing could &s;o plea&s;e his Father, as him&s;elfe; nothing &s;o &s;atisfie for vs, as him&s;elfe; nothing &s;o pre&s;erue among vs his death and pa&s;&s;ion as his euer reall pre&s;ence vvith vs in the holy Euchari&s;t, which &s;o is become our daylie &s;acrifice <HI>Et memoriale &s;empiternum. And euerla&s;ting memoriall.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith mo&s;t humble thankes to thy Ie&s;us, and begin now to offer him to his Eter|nall Father, after an other fort of deuotion than hitherto thou ha&s;t done: learne al&s;o of him, to performe all thy dutyes to God, by thy &s;elfe, &amp; not to shuffle them of to others.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly tho&s;e vvords of Chri&s;t; <HI>Hac facite in meam commemorationem; doe this for a commemoration of me;</HI> that is, in memory of my death and pa&s;&s;ion: hence it is that al|though the Sacrament be but one, yet in the Ma&s;&s;e, the bloud and body are con&s;ecrated a part, each one by it &s;elfe; not &s;o that one remai|neth really &s;eparated from the other, for <HI>In &s;an|guine
<PB N="384" REF="205">e&s;t &amp; corpus &amp; in corpore &s;anguis, &amp; vtr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|bique totus Christus: in the bloud is the bodie, &amp; in the bodie the bloud, and in each is Chri&s;t wholy:</HI> but &s;o, as by con&s;ecration they are repre&s;ented apart, to expre&s;&s;e how the death of our Sauiour: being violent, con&s;i&s;ted <HI>In &s;eparatione corporis &amp; &s;anguinis, in the &s;eparation of bis bodie and bloud,</HI> that is, <HI>Animae, his &s;oule, quia anima in &s;anguine e&s;t. Becau&s;e the life is in the bloud.</HI> Now as by the con&s;ecration of his body &amp; bloud apart are expre&s;&s;ed &s;ub&s;tantially the pa&s;&s;ion and death of Chri&s;t; &s;o by the other ceremonies of the holy Ma&s;&s;e are repre&s;ented the circum&s;tan|ces of his pa&s;&s;ion; as by the holy ve&s;tments of the Prie&s;t, his Cro&s;&s;e, fool&s;coat, bands &amp;c. by the Offertory, his free oblation, he made of him|&s;elfe to his heauenly Father; by the many Cro&s;&s;es the Prie&s;t maketh, his vvoundes, &s;cour|ging and crowning; by the mixtion of water vvith vvine, the bloud and vvater that flowed from his &s;ide &amp;c. O how our mo&s;t louiug Je|&s;us de&s;ireth to liue vvith vs, fresh euer in our hearts and memory! and vvhy, thinke you, but for our onely good as vvell knowing, how much it importeth our &s;aluation, not to forget our Sauiour?</P>
<P>Conclude to carry euer his death and pa&s;|&s;ion before thine eyes, but e&s;pecially vvhen thou heare&s;t Ma&s;&s;e behold him (and it is no fiction) mounting on the Cro&s;&s;e, bleeding and dying for thee; belieue it, this is the onely vvay to repay, if po&s;&s;ible, &s;ome dram|mes
<PB N="385" REF="205">of that loue, he hath shewed thee.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly; that as our Sauiour came not onely to redeem vs out of the Deuills &s;laue|ry, but al&s;o by his doctrine &amp; example to teach vs the vvay to heauen; &s;o in this holy Sacrament &amp; Sacrifice he reneweth not onely the memory of his death and pa&s;&s;ion, but al&s;o the example of all his heroicke vertues; and &s;o neuer cea&s;eth to meulcate vnto vs tho&s;e his vvords: <HI>Exemplum dedi vobis, vt quemadmodum Ego feci, &amp; vos factatis. I haue giuen you an example, that as I haue done, &s;oe you doe all&s;ee.</HI> Know therefore that when&s;oeuer his precious body and bloud is offe|red vpon the Altar to his Eternall-Father, there is iointly repre&s;ented fir&s;t, his infinite zeale and feruour of his Fathers honour and glory, toge|ther vvith his vvonderfull obedience to all his commands: next his &s;trange loue to man, for vvhom he vvould royntly dye, and yet not de|depart from him: no loue yet euer reached hi|therto; other louers de&s;ire to be allwayes with their beloued, and at la&s;t the vtmo&s;t, they can doe, is to dye for them &amp; &s;o leaue them for euer: but to dy and yet remaine, <HI>Priuilegium e&s;t amo|ris Chri&s;ti non dabitur alteri. It is a priuiledge of Christs loue, that shall not be grau~ted to any other.</HI> Thirdly are repre&s;ented for mans example his purity, &s;weetnes and humility: and &s;o dayly he cryeth vnto vs; <HI>Di&s;cite &agrave; me, quia mitis &s;um &amp; humilis corde: learne of me, becau&s;e I am meeke and humble of hart:</HI> O my &s;oule, heare &amp; learne this daylie le&s;&s;on of humility and meeknes
<PB N="386" REF="206">towards thy neighbour, <HI>Et inuenies requiem ani|mae tuae. And thou vvilt find re&s;t to thy &s;oule.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude as oft as thou do&s;t communicate, or heare ma&s;&s;e, to refresh thy &s;oule-vvith the me|mory of the&s;e thy Sauiours vertues: &s;o shalt thou the better imitate daylie his loue to God &amp; man, his obedience; his humility &amp;c.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, how this holy Sacri|fice hath three &s;peciall and proper effects: the fir&s;t is that of a plenary &s;atisfaction for all the &s;innes of the vvorld; no le&s;&s;e then had the very death and pa&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t: the &s;econd is that of impetration or obtaining of all &s;ort of benefits from God, both temporall and eternall; both corporall &amp; &s;pirituall, for our &s;elues &amp; all others: the third, but the fir&s;t in acceptance and e&s;teem vvith God, is the effect of <HI>Gratiarum actio,</HI> or <HI>thankes-giuing</HI> for all the benefits receiued of his diuine liberality; hence is this &s;acrifice called <HI>Eucharistia, Euchari&s;t,</HI> that is, <HI>Bona gratia, good thankes,</HI> or <HI>Gratiarum actio: thankes-ig|uing:</HI> Our &s;weete&s;t Ie&s;us knew very well, that nothing was more acceptable to his heauenly Father, nor more profitable to vs, then an hum|ble gratitude for his ble&s;&s;ings; for gratitudes alone doth keepe, as I may &s;ay, Gods hands open, and our &s;oules mo&s;t capable of new boun|ties: but &s;eeing againe and pitieing our ca&s;e, as hauing of our &s;elues nothing, but sheep, calnes and other &s;uch trifles to lay on our Altars; poore trash, God knowes, if vvee con&s;ider either the benefactour or his benefits; to remedy this, and
<PB N="387" REF="206">to take this shame out of our faces, JESUS him&s;elfe vvould be our &s;acrifice, our <HI>Oblatie pacifica &amp; munda, our cleane and peacefull obla|tion,</HI> in thankes-giueng, not onely for all other benefits vvhat&s;oeuer, but al&s;o for it &s;elfe, the greate&s;t of all, <HI>Et memoria omnium mirabilium Dei, and the memorie of all Gods vvonders.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to make good v&s;e of &s;o rich trea|&s;ures: offer daylie for all the&s;e three ends, but mo&s;t of all in thankes-giuing; but let thy heart and &s;oule goe with thy oblation; <HI>Vt re&s;piciat Deus ad Abel &amp; munus &s;uum: that God may haue re&s;pect to Abel, and to his gift.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly, &amp; take at once a view of all vvhat hath hitherto been &s;ayd of this divine My&s;tery: and all may be reduced to three heads, according to the threefold obligation wee haue to God, our neighbour, and our &s;elues: our duty to God con&s;i&s;teth in honouring and wor|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hipping him; and this, wee haue &s;een, is done more by the offering of the holy Euchari&s;t, than if heauen &amp; earth were ioined in one holocau&s;t an hundred times ouer; an<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;o it is called <HI>Sacri|ficium oblationis, purum, piacidum &amp; placatiuum. A pure, plea&s;ing, and pacifying &s;acrifice of obla|tion.</HI> Our duty towards our neighbour con&s;i&s;teth in loue, vnion and charity vvith him; and for this, there is no &s;uch <HI>Philtrum,</HI> no &s;uch <HI>loue-cake,</HI> as this heauenly banquet <HI>Sacramentum Commu|nionis, cordium vnitiuum, odiorum expul&s;iuum. A S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">rament of Communion, vniting harts, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">pelling hatred.</HI> Our obligation to our &s;elues
<PB N="388" REF="207">con&s;i&s;teth in our &s;pirituall health, nourture, and vigour; and vvhat food, I pray, can procure vs this, like to the body and bloud of the Sonne of God: <HI>Viaticum refectionis, ne deficiamus in via. The refreshing vvayfare, least vve should faint in the vvay.</HI> O mo&s;t mellifluous JESU! vvhat more could thy wi&s;edome inuent, thy power performe, or thy goodne&s;&s;e poure vpon vs? &ocirc; wordlings, come hither a vvhile, <HI>Uidete &amp; gustate qu&agrave;m &s;uauis e&s;t Dominus IESUS, &s;ee, and ta&s;t hovv &s;vveete is our Lord IE|SVS.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude thou al&s;o with a threefold re&s;olu|tion; the fir&s;t; to offer daylie this holy Sacrifice to the honour of God: the &s;econd, to keep vnion &amp; charity vvith thy neighbour; and the third, to giue thy &s;oule her daylie allowance of this heauenly bread, at lea&s;t in de&s;ire and &s;pirit. Finally to come euer vvith the fire of loue in thy bo&s;ome, <HI>Quia neque &s;ine igne fit holocau|&s;tum, neque nutritio &s;ine calore. Becau&s;e noe holo|cau&s;t is offered vvithout fire, nor is nutrition vvithout heat.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="4" TYPE="part">
<PB N="389" REF="207">
<HEAD>THE FOVRTH PART, OTHER MEDITATIONS belonging to the Vnitiue way.</HEAD>
<P>_ALL Chri&s;tians know and in generall tearmes mo&s;t willingly acknowledge, that they are bound by the lawes of nature and of Grace, to loue their Lord God aboue all things; to feare &amp; honour him, to belieue and tru&s;t in him; and finally to pray&s;e, glorifie &amp; exalt his name aboue all: that therefore &s;o reall obligations of man vanish not avvay in lip-language, but be reduced into a-reall and &s;incere practice, as they ought; the&s;e following Meditations shall giue the true grounds, motiues &amp; fruits of all and euery one.</P>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>THE FIRST CHAPTER. <HI>Of the obligation of loue, vvhich Man ovveth to his God.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THe motiues vvee haue to loue God aboue all other things, are three the fir&s;t, his owne vvorth, beauty and perfection; the obiect of loue: the &s;econd, the infinite bene|&s;its
<PB N="390" REF="208">vvee alwayes receiue from his gracious hand the third, the franke, free and bounteous loue, which he di&s;couereth in the benefits he be&s;tow|eth: all the&s;e vve haue particularly con&s;idered in the la&s;t part, and in the life of Chri&s;t. Novv therefore vvee vvill onely apply the&s;e motiues to man, and shew that they concerne and oblige him, more than all other creatures; euen in tho&s;e benefits vvhich are common to both.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FIRST MEDITATION. <HI>Hovv farre man is obliged, to God, for him&s;elfe and all other creatures.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how man excelleth all other creatures from the heauens dovv|nevvard, not onely in that he hath an higher degree of being or perfection than they haue; but al&s;o that he alone &s;eeth, vnder&s;tand|eth, and knoweth, vvhat, and from vvhom, and to vvhat end, both he and they haue what|&s;oeuer they enioy; vvhich none of all the other creatures doe vnder&s;tand or know. Out of this follow foure degrees of mans excellency aboue other creatures, worthy of our con&s;ideration: the fir&s;t is, that man onely knovveth &amp; clearely perceiueth both the gifts and perfections he hath in him&s;elfe, &amp; al&s;o tho&s;e of all other creatures be&s;ides: the &s;econd, that he onely knoweth, that, vvhat he hath in him&s;elfe, he
<PB N="391" REF="208">hath not from him&s;elfe; the like of other crea|tures, that they haue nothing from them&s;elues, nor yet from Man; but that both haue receiued all from an higher Lord and Benefactour; and this none of them know. The third, that he alone can &s;eeke out, find and know this &s;o good and liberall a Lord, vvhich none of the re&s;t can doe. The fourth; that he alone, hauing found this Lord, can remaine euer with him, offer him due thankes and gratitude; and finally, by lone make him his friend and perpetuall companion, which none of the other creatures can euer reach vnto.</P>
<P>Conclude to open at length thy eyes to &s;ee &amp; ponder the&s;e great priuiledges thou en|joye&s;t aboue other creatures: next, to be euer mo&s;t humbly gratefull to thy Creatour for them.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, that to find out the iu&s;t mea&s;ure of obligation, that follovveth in man out of the prerogatiue of knowledge vvhich he hath aboue other creatures, vvee may ponder the&s;e three heads or motiues; towit, the benefactour, the benefit, and the Receiuer: for according to the greatnes of the benefit, the franknes, of the giuer, and the nece&s;&s;ity of the Receiuer, doth increa&s;e proportionably the greatnes of the obligation, vvhen and where it is knowne and vnder&s;tood. To begin there|fore with the greatne&s;&s;e of the benefit recei|ued, wee find it tvvo fold; the fir&s;t is, that of the creation of the whole vvorld and of all
<PB N="392" REF="209">creatures in it; the next is, vvhat God hath be&s;towed vpon man in him&s;elfe. Fir&s;t there|fore con&s;ider all the degrees of perfection di&s;per&s;ed throughout the vvhole vvorld from the lovve&s;t to the highe&s;t; and vve shall find man onely and alone bound to God for them all; and that for two rea&s;ons; the one, becau&s;e God hauing made all for his owne honour and glory, and the creatures not being able to pay him that tribute as not knowing either vvhat they haue or from vvhom they haue it, as man doth; it followeth that man onely is bound to thanke him for all: againe, all vvhat the creatures haue, they haue it more for the &s;eruice of man than for them&s;elues; <HI>Omnia onim propter hominem, becau&s;e all thinges are for men;</HI> if &s;o, then man &s;urely is more, nay onely, bound to God for vvhat the creatures haue onely for his v&s;e.</P>
<P>Conclude to make a right v&s;e of thy domi|nion ouer the creatures, that is, order them &s;o to thy ovvne commodity, as thou direct vvithall both them &amp; thy &s;elfe to the honour of God the giuer.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly more in particular, hovv all creatures are &s;eruiceable and &s;ubiect to man, according to that, <HI>Omnia &s;ubiecicti &s;ub pedibus|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ius. Thou ha&s;t &s;ubiected all thinges vnder his feete.</HI> Man con&s;i&s;teth of body and &s;oule: fir&s;t therefore for his body and pre&s;ent mortall being, looke about thee, &amp; &s;ee all con&s;piring to thy &s;ub&s;i&s;tence &amp; &s;eruice; &s;ome as altogether ne|ce&s;&s;ary
<PB N="393" REF="209">for thy being, others for thy profit, others for thy recreation and delight, others for thy in&s;truction and example; finally, all &s;o ab&s;olutely for thee, that thou can&s;t haue no being vvithout them; nor they any being at all, vvere it not to con&s;erue &amp; cherish thy being. O man, make v&s;e here a little of the ta|lent of knowledge thou ha&s;t aboue them; and thou shalt perceiue one generall cry or voice of them all to man: <HI>Accipe, Reade; take, restore:</HI> re|ceiue, enjoy and make v&s;e at thy plea&s;ure of the &s;eruice and homage, vvee offer thee; but then; <HI>Redde debitum, re&s;tore thou vvhat is due, and</HI> repay the tribute of gratitude; not to vs; for what vvee doe is of force and nece&s;&s;ity, and &s;o not vvorth thankes; but there aboue to him, vvho mo&s;t freely and frankly hath be&s;towed vs and our &s;eruices vpon thee. The Ma&s;ter is onely obli|ged to be thankfull, for vvhat another be|&s;toweth on his &s;eruants, becau&s;e vvhat is done to them is for his onely re&s;pects and &s;eruice.</P>
<P>Conclude neuer to &s;et thy affection on the creatures, thy &s;eruants; but let thy eye &amp; heart euer bend vpward to the fir&s;t &s;ource and &s;pring of all: and re&s;olue to imitate, not the muddy hog, but the thankfull hen, lifting vp her head to heauen for euery drop of vvater she drin|keth.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, how the re&s;t of Crea|tures pre&s;ent al&s;o to the &s;oule of Man mo&s;t emi|nent &s;eruices and commodities: vve may re|duce them to two heads, the one of learning or
<PB N="394" REF="210">knowledge, the other of ioy and content. For the fir&s;t, vvee find by experienco, that all our &s;cience and knowledge in this vvorld, whether &s;peculatiue or practicall, is drawne from the na|tures and qualities of creatures: and aboue all, that knowledge and feeling vvee haue of our greate&s;t God &amp; his perfections, vvhence haue vvee it, but from the contemplation of Creatu|res, mounting by little and little from the&s;e low valleys, to the <HI>top</HI> and <HI>Non plus vltra</HI> of that incomprehen&s;ible Maje&s;ty? Hence followeth the &s;econd &s;pring of ioy and content, vvhich our &s;oule cannot but conceiue, vvhen she con&s;ide|reth, fir&s;t, the great dignity and excellency, she is po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of aboue all other creatures; next, the noblene&s;&s;e of her la&s;t end and <HI>Summum bonum, chiefe&s;t good,</HI> as not con&s;i&s;ting in the muddy de|ligts common to brute bea&s;ts; but in the radiant &s;plendours of the Diuinity: and la&s;tly the great e&s;teeme her Creatour hath of her, in ordaining all creatures to her &s;ole &s;eruice and delight: &s;o that the va&s;tnes, beauty and light of the heauens, the earth and &s;ea vvith all that's in them, had neuer been but onely for man.</P>
<P>Conclude to calculate and ca&s;t vp, if thou art able, the greatne&s;&s;e of thy obligation to thy mo&s;t bountifull Creatour: and thou vvilt find it in the exten&s;ion equall to heauen and earth; but in the weight and mea&s;ure corre&s;pondent to the loue and e&s;teeme thy Creatour hath of thee, vvhich is infinite.</P>
<P>Con&s;ider fifthly, how if this greater world
<PB N="395" REF="210">created for man, draw &s;uch an obligation vpon him, vvhat shall wee thinke, his owne Micro|co&s;me will doe, &s;o rare an abridgement of his vvonders, &s;o compleat a modell of the Diuinity it &s;elfe? Ob&s;erue fir&s;t the rare &s;tructure of his bo|dy, the &s;tatelines, the proportion of euery mem|ber, more then Geometricall; the b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">uty of hi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> face, the maie&s;ty of his forehead, the &s;plendour of his eyes; the eloquence of his tongue &amp;c. next, the three degrees of being, life &amp; &s;en&s;e, how they are in another &s;ort dignified in him <HI>Per coniunctionem ad partem &s;uperiorem, by a coniunction to his &s;uperiour part.</HI> Than in other common creatures. But of his &s;oule, &s;pirituall, immortall, diuine, vvhat can be &s;ayd or thought? vvho, like an ab&s;olute Queen and Empre&s;&s;e, &s;it|ting in the royall &s;eat of her Vnder&s;tanding &amp; Will, commandeth not onely the outward vvorld, but al&s;o her dome&s;tick family both of the vegetatiue and &s;en&s;itiue part, with that &s;o|ueraignty as none but God hath greater. O pon|der a little the Eagle eye of her Vnder&s;tanding, the vncontrollable <HI>Velle</HI> and <HI>Nolle, volition and nolition,</HI> of her vvill: finelly, how all creature<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> are ioined to man, and man to God by the&s;e two powers; &s;o that man alone is the <HI>Nexus,</HI> and <HI>Vinculum, the knot and bond</HI> of all created and increated being.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith a&s;tonishment of all thy powers, to &s;ee vvhat thou ha&s;t receiued; then re&s;olue neuer to &s;toope thy &s;oule to any crea|ture, vnle&s;&s;e it be to rai&s;e and returne it in an
<PB N="396" REF="211">oblation of gratitude to thy Creatour: &ocirc; let not thy free-vvil be enthralled by any, but by the loue of thy God.</P>
<P N="6">6 Con&s;ider &s;ixthly the condition and nature of the Benefactour, vvho hath be&s;tovved all the vvorld on man, and man on him&s;elfe: and thou shalt find the fir&s;t roote and origin of all to haue been noe other, than his pure loue, magnanimity, and naturall liberality; &ocirc; vvho can fathom all the dimen&s;ions of this all|actiue, and all-producing Loue? if vve looke on it's &s;ub&s;tance, it is God him&s;elfe, euery vvay infinite and immen&s;e; if on it's duration, it reacheth <HI>Ab aeterno in aeternum: from all eter|nitie to all eternitie,</HI> if on it's exten&s;ion and circumference, it gra&s;peth the vvhole, both greater and le&s;&s;er vvorld; finally all that can be called <HI>Ens creatum, a created thinge,</HI> are but effects, &s;ignes, and &s;mall &s;treames of this Ocean. If wee reflect on the nature of this diuine flame, it is mo&s;t pure, &s;incere, and liberall; no pre|cedent motiue could rai&s;e it, being in it &s;elfe before all things; no hope of proper intere&s;t could draw it's intention, being in it &s;elfe <HI>Ens independens nec indigens aliquo. Independent, nor vvanting other.</HI> Finally, ob&s;erue the order of it's progre&s;&s;e; it fir&s;t began vvith man, and fetching a compa&s;&s;e thorough all other crea|tures cometh vvith them all back againe to Man; placing man onely <HI>Principium &amp; finis, The beginning and end,</HI> of all his vvonders. Behold at lenght, &ocirc; Man, to what an height
<PB N="397" REF="211">thy obligation is mounted as high as the Godhead it &s;elfe; then tell me, <HI>Quomodo re|tribues Domino? hovv vvilt thou make retribu|tion to thy Lord?</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith an humble and perfect gra|titude, to clo&s;e vp the circle vvhich God hath begun; that is, as he by loue hath made all crea|tures for thee, and thee the Lord &amp; <HI>Gran Seigner</HI> of them all, &s;o re&s;olue thou to returne both them and thy &s;elfe by loue and gratitude to the honour of thy Creatour.</P>
<P N="7">7. Con&s;ider &s;eauenthly the poore and low condition of the Receiuer, that is of Man. To doe a courte&s;ie for one that &s;tands in &s;mall need of it, may be kindly accepted for the good will of the giuer onely, but otherwi&s;e not much e&s;teemed; which yet, vvere the receiuer in ne|ce&s;&s;ity of it, vvould de&s;erue another &s;ort of re&s;|pect and gratitude. So then it is, God the giuer is no vvay bound, but mo&s;t frankly and freely giueth vvhat and vvhere he plea&s;eth; but poore man &s;tandeth in &s;uch extreame nece&s;&s;ity, fir&s;t of hauing, and then of keeping vvhat he hath; that, as at fir&s;t he is <HI>Pror&s;us nihil, meere nothing,</HI> without the bounty of his benefactour; &s;o would h&eacute; without the &s;ame continuall influence and con&s;eruation &s;oone returne and vanish into his former nothing. Bee not therefore ob&s;tina|tely blind, &ocirc; Man but &s;ee and acknowledge this thy fundamentall duty and obligation, ingraf|ted in thy very being, and written in the booke of Nature; to vvhich the vvhole vniuer&s;e and all
<PB N="398" REF="212">creatures giue te&s;timony, that <HI>Ex parte Dei, of God &s;ide</HI> all is a free and liberall donatiue; but <HI>Ex parte tua, of thy &s;ide,</HI> all is a meere and pure nece&s;&s;ity, as vvell vvhat thou art in thy &s;elfe, as vvhat thou enioye&s;t from the re&s;t of creatures lift not then any more thy head again&s;t God, with tho&s;e vngratefull vipers who &s;ay, at lea&s;t in their herts, <HI>Manus nostra excel&s;a, &amp; non Domi|nus fecit haec omnia: Our mightie hand, and not the lord hath made all tho&s;e thinges:</HI> but rather.</P>
<P>Conclude mo&s;t humbly vvith, <HI>Omma feci&s;ti in nobis, Domine; Thou ha&s;t made all thinges in vs, &ocirc; Lord;</HI> and &s;o &s;ettle once for all in thy heart a true and rationall feeling of thy duty to God, for the vvhole vvorld and thy &s;elfe: the onely motiue to perpetuall gratitude, and the onely antidote again&s;t pride.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>VVhat Man is bound to returne to God for all his benefits; to vvit, Loue.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;idr fir&s;t, how hauing euidently concluded the obligation and debt of man towards God for all his benefits receiued, it followeth now to &s;eeke out, vvhat it is that Man is bound by the law of gratitude to returne vnto him, in recompence and requit|all for all; for &s;ure it is, that, whereas an obli|gation requireth a retribution, at lea&s;t of grati|tude, Man being &s;o much obliged &amp; knowing
<PB N="399" REF="212">him&s;elfe to be &s;o, mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity haue &s;ome|vvhat vvhere with, in &s;ome proportion at lea&s;t, to &s;atisfie his Creatour; for otherwi&s;e, both the obligation vvere void and of none effect; and man vvould liue in continuall anguish, as knowing him&s;elfe mo&s;t obliged, and yet no vvay able to shew him&s;elfe gratefull. Againe, it is certaine, that vvhat he returneth mu&s;t be a thing of his owne; and, as vvee &s;ay, his proper &s;tock; that is, in his owne free power, di&s;po&s;ing and command; otherwi&s;e it would not be a free offer; nor acceptable to his Lord: vvhat thing then mu&s;t this be? it cannot be this outward vvorld, nor any of the creatures in it; for the&s;e may by violence be taken &amp; vvre&s;ted from him, and &s;o not freely at his di&s;po&s;all; the &s;ame may be &s;aid of his body &amp; all his members, nay the &s;ame of his &s;oule and all her inferiour &s;en&s;es? onely therefore his <HI>Liberum arbitrium</HI> his <HI>free vvill</HI> can by no force be taken from him, that is, <HI>Ip&s;o inuito, against his vvill</HI> &s;ubiected to any command; vvho&s;e fir&s;t act and, as I may &s;ay, elde&s;t daughter being Loue, this is the Jewell or Orientall pearle vvhich man may and mu&s;t offer in gratitude to his God.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith thankes to God, for the find|ing a Iewell &s;o acceptable vnto him; and begin from henceforth to make the daylie offering of Loue vnto him; but &s;ee that it be entire and &s;in|cere.</P>
<P N="2">2, Con&s;ider &s;econdly the worth and value of Loue in the &s;ight of God, and how vvell he
<PB N="400" REF="213">re&s;teth content and &s;atisfied therewith. Fir&s;t, Loue <HI>Per&s;e &amp; &s;ine omni alto, alone vvithout any thing el&s;e,</HI> is euer plea&s;ing and acceptable; in &s;o much, that noe man, how rich and full &s;oeuer, refu&s;eth to accept and embrace any man's loue that shall be &s;incerely offered him; nay, what|&s;oeuer is offered vvithout loue or the appearance thereof, is no vvay gratefull or acceptable to any man. Secondly, the gift of loue is onely free, franke and liberall, and all other gifts are &s;tyled &s;o, onely from the loue and good vvill, vvith vvhich they are pre&s;ented. Thirdly, all tho&s;e that loue, de&s;ire nothing &s;o much as to be loued a|gaine; nay indeed they de&s;ire nothing el&s;e; hence they grieue, pine away and die, if they obtaine not that. See then, &ocirc; my &s;oule, the &s;ingular e&s;|teeme and de&s;ire God hath of thy loue: he is full in him&s;elfe of all bli&s;&s;e, <HI>Et bonorum tuorum non egens; and needing none thy goods;</HI> yet he is, as it vvere, a petitioner to thee for thy loue; <HI>Fili, praebe mihi cer tuum: Sonne, gine me thy hart:</HI> and, as one loues&s;ick, de&s;iring nothing but to be loued againe of thee; his vvill and plea&s;ure is, that thou imitate him in nothing but in Loue, and vvhat followes from loue; his other attri|butes he re&s;erueth to him&s;elfe, this one of Loue he will haue common and mutuall: vvith Loue alone he acknowledgeth him&s;elfe fully &s;atisfied for all his benefits: finally to Loue alone he gi|ueth this priuiledge, to doe vvhat thee plea&s;eth, <HI>Ama, &amp; fac quod vis. Loue and doe vvhat thou vvils.</HI></P>
<PB N="401" REF="213">
<P> Conclude vvith great ioy of heart, that thou ha&s;t found out &s;o precious a levvell as Loue; &s;o properly thy owne, &s;o acceptable to God, &s;o &s;a|tisfoctory for all his benefits: re&s;olue to &s;et all other things a&s;ide, and imploy thy &s;elfe wholly in this oblation of Loue.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly the qualities and condi|tions, that this Loue mu&s;t haue, to be plea&s;ing and acceptable; vvhich may be gathered, fir&s;t from the Loue that God beares to Man: next from the &s;eruice which the creatures yeeld him. God therefore loueth man aboue all creatures; nay properly &s;peaking, he loueth none but Man; &s;ince, for man alone he made all: &s;o mu&s;t Man loue God aboue all, or rather God alone; for from God alone, and none other, he receiueth and holdeth, vvhat he hath. God hath &s;ubiected the obedience and &s;eruice of Creatures to Man alone; &s;o let Man dedicate his vvhole loue and &s;eruice to God alone. Finally God's loue to Man is infinite and continuall; &s;o mu&s;t Man's loue to God be vvith proportion, <HI>Ex tota anima &amp; om|nibus viribus. VVith thy vvhole &s;oule, and vvith all thy &s;trength.</HI> Now for the creatures; as they offer to Man the be&s;t they haue; the heauens the be&s;t of their influences, the earth the be&s;t of her fruits, the bea&s;ts, the be&s;t and vtmo&s;t of their la|bours and endeauours: &s;o ought Man offer to his God the be&s;t and vtmo&s;t of his &s;eruice, that is a Loue, pure, actiue and con&s;tant. Creatures &s;erue man by day and night, in hot and cold, faire and foule vveather, and that &s;incerely
<PB N="402" REF="214">vvithout deceir or &s;elfe re&s;pect: &s;o mu&s;t Man loue &amp; &s;erue his God, in vvhat condition &s;oeuer he be, &s;ick or vvell, poore or rich, purely to plea&s;e and content him.</P>
<P>Conclude to learne and practice this le&s;&s;on of Loue; learne from God a loue; ardent, liberall, and noble: learne from the creatures, a loue, humble ready and &s;incere: learne finally from both a loue of one onely, towit of God, vvho euer craueth <HI>Amorem integrum, entire loue,</HI> vvi|thout con&s;ortship of any.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, how man can haue no excu&s;e not pretext from complying vvith his obligation of Loue: for fir&s;t the free vvill of man is equall and the &s;ame in all; that is, ab&s;olutely her &s;elfe aboue all command or power vvhat|&s;oeuer; shee can neither be forced, nor yet hin|dred from affecting and louing, vvhat &amp; vvhom <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">he plea&s;es; nay shee alwayes is in loue of &s;ome thing or other; and vvhy then should not this be of her God onely; vvhom, <HI>Ex tustitia &amp; iure naturae, out of iustice, and right of nature.</HI> She is bound to loue, and vvho onely is in him&s;elfe vvorthy of her loue? &s;urely noe bu&s;ines, noe time, noe place can exempt her from louing, she being euer her &s;elfe in all bu&s;ines, time &amp; place. O my &s;oule, thinke a little on this, &amp; call home at length thy vvandering loue vnto it's proper center. Secondly, in all other occupations either of mind or body, there happeneth paines, la|bour, toile, and at length tediou&s;ne&s;&s;e and vveri|&s;omene&s;&s;e: and for this it is lawfull to admit of
<PB N="403" REF="214">interruptions and vacancies; <HI>Neque &s;emper ar|cum tendit Apollo. Nor doth Apollo allvvayes bend his bovv.</HI> But in Loue all happeneth the quite contrary; &s;o farre is Loue from paines, la|bour and tediou&s;ne&s;&s;e, that her prime and indi|ui&s;ible companions are, ioy, content, liuelines, and infatigablenes: neuer vvas it heard of a true louer wearied or tired out: nay, Loue alone it is that maketh all other difficulties ea&s;y; and all paines &s;eeme plea&s;ures, all torments ro&s;es: what then, &ocirc; Man, can novv excu&s;e thee, but thy ovvne ingratitude and &s;loth, from louing thy God vvith feruour and per&s;euerance.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith nevv admiration &amp; gratitude, to &s;ee the immen&s;e &s;vveetnes &amp; benignity of thy God vvho, hauing obliged man &s;o farre aboue his ability of requitall, yet for all obligeth him to the ea&s;ie&s;t thing of all, to vvit, Loue, and to no|thing els: &ocirc; for loue or shame, returne him vvhat he de&s;ireth.</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly the &s;urpa&s;&s;ing bounty and benignity of our good God: his onely de&s;ire is, that man vvould loue him; for this he be&s;tovved on him all that is created; for this he follovveth him, as J may &s;ay, day and night; for this he vvooeth him by all meanes imaginable, vvithout cea&s;ing or tiring: and for vvhom all this? <HI>Cui bo|no? for vvho&s;e good?</HI> for his ovvne profit or commodity thinke you? &ocirc; nothing le&s;&s;e; he is <HI>Ab aeterno from all eternitie</HI> enery vvay full, <HI>Et non eget no&s;tris; and needeth not any thing of ours:</HI> for vvhom then, but for man<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> alone? &s;o that
<PB N="404" REF="215">this very loue, &s;o much &s;ued for by God, re|doundeth vvholly and &s;olely to the profit, ho|nour and commodity of the &s;ame Man. Come hither all you, vvhom nothing but proper inte|re&s;t and lucre can moue and draw; here is a new way of gaining <HI>Mille per centum, a thou&s;and the hundred,</HI> mo&s;t ea&s;y &amp; yet mo&s;t plea&s;ing to both parties. The &s;eruice of creatures is profitable to Man for his bare being and &s;ub&s;i&s;tance in this life; vvhich, as on their part it is forced &amp; com|manded, &s;o on man's &s;ide it is &s;o nece&s;&s;ary as that vvithout it he pre&s;ently leaueth to be and dyeth: but the &s;eruice of Loue, that Man doth vnto God, or rather vnto him&s;elfe; is free, franke and noble, yet giueth to Man his vvell being for this life, and that to come; and vvithout which he vtterly, nay eternally dyeth. Finally vvhat|&s;oeuer either God, the Creatures or Man doth, is all for the good and profit of Man alone, <HI>Ver<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> grandis Monarcha cui totus famulatur orbis. A great Monark in deed, vvhom the vvhole vvorld &s;erueth.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude therefore euer to loue, if thou meane to liue, beginne hence forward this new way of trading, to get thy be&s;t liuing by louing; more ea&s;y and more honourable than &s;ome, that get it by playing: finally offer thy God peculiar thankes and gratitude.</P>
<P N="6">6. Con&s;ider &s;ixthly another mo&s;t admirable effect of this loue vvhich Man oweth to God; vvhich is the vniting of all other creatures vnto the &s;ame God: for fir&s;t, all other creatures both
<PB N="405" REF="215">in heauen and earth, are by their naturall &s;eruice and obedience to man vvholly for him &amp; vnited to him; next Man is, or at lea&s;t should be vnited to his God by an humble and con&s;tant loue: vvhence it follovveth clearely, that all creatures al&s;o are in and by the loue of man vnited and conioined vvith God, the <HI>Finis</HI> and <HI>Summum bo|num, the last end, and finall good</HI> of all things: Ponder here, &ocirc; Man, both thy dignity and al&s;o obligation; God hath made thee the end of all his creatures, all being created forthy &s;eruice: then againe, he hath appointed thee for the &s;ole mediatour betvvixt him and his creatures, to reunite them by loue vnto him&s;elfe, their fir&s;t beginning: noe &s;mall dignity. Next thy obliga|tion, is, to keepe and con&s;erue vvith all thy po|vver this knot and vnion of all other creatures vvith thy &s;elfe to God; for &s;o thou shalt fir&s;t, aboundantly &s;atisfie the creatures for the &s;eruice they doe thee; next, repay God almighty for all his benefits; and finally, pre&s;erue the order of the vvhole vniuer&s;e, vvhich con&s;i&s;teth in this pro|gre&s;&s;e &amp; combination of creatures vvith them|&s;elues and their God. O the force and preroga|tiue of Loue! The loue of God vvas the fir&s;t and &s;ole cau&s;e of all things; &amp; nothing but the Loue of Man can orderly reduce them to God againe.</P>
<P>Conclude to keepe this chaine vnuiolated; let not God &amp; the vvhole world complaine of thee, for the &s;ole breaker and interrupter of &s;o beau|teous an order, lea&s;t both God &amp; his creature<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> ri&s;e vp again&s;t thee, as their common enemy.</P>
<P N="7"><PB N="406" REF="216"> 7. Con&s;ider &s;euenthly, that although Man owe loue to none but to God, as hauing recei|ued nothing from any but him yet there is ano|ther loue or re&s;pect due to his creatures, meere|ly becau&s;e they are his and belonging to him; &s;o &s;ubordinate and deriued from the fir&s;t Loue, that it may be rather called an exten&s;ion of the &s;ame Loue, than another di&s;tinct: now as the perfecte&s;t of all God's creatures is Man, in who as in fine and &s;oft vvaxe is mo&s;t liuely imprinted the very image and likene&s;&s;e of the Diuinity, in the heigth of his vnder&s;tanding, liberty of his vvill, and the trea&s;ure of his memory; &s;o Man alone aboue all is to be honoured, re&s;pected &amp; loued, merely and &s;olely becau&s;e he is the image of God. Hence it followeth fir&s;t, that becau&s;e this image of God is the &s;ame in all men, as vvell others, as our &s;elues, pe&s;ants as Kings, foes as friends &amp;c. therefore vvee are bound to loue and re&s;pect all alike, our neighbour as vvell as our &s;elues, poore as rich, foes as friends; for there can be noe iu&s;t difference of affection, vvhere the motiue is and can, be but one, to vvit the image of God: and if any other motiue or re&s;|pect be pretended, it vvill proue fal&s;e and iniu|rious to God, as not deriued from him. It fol|loweth &s;econdly, that the obligation vvee haue to loue our neighbour as our &s;elues, is in the &s;a|me ranke vvith our obligation to God; that is, in the rigour of iu&s;tice and the law of nature, and not a thing of ceremony or courte&s;ie, as mo&s;t men thinke.</P>
<PB N="407" REF="216">
<P> Conclude &s;eriou&s;ly to comply vvith this thy obligation better than hitherto; and re&s;olue to loue thy neighbour <HI>Non lingua, &s;ed opere &amp; ve|ritate. Not in vvord only, but in vvorke and in deede.</HI> Let not any vvrong he can doe thee, &s;trike out of thy memory the Image of God he bea|reth; &ocirc; neuer dare, vvith the vvrong of God to reuenge thy &s;elfe on Man.</P>
<P N="8">8. Con&s;ider eightly, how God and the crea|tures doe shew vs the order and manner, the loue of our neighbour mu&s;t ob&s;erue. God hath im|printed indifferently in all men his likenes and image: againe he loueth all men vvith an equall and common loue, becau&s;e they beare his ima|ge: finally he be&s;toweth his benefits equally, <HI>Es pluit &s;uper iu&s;tos &amp; iniu&s;tos. And rayneth vpon iust, and vniu&s;t.</HI> So mu&s;t one man honour loue and a&s;&s;i&s;t an other equally, indifferently, and alike, <HI>In quantum e&s;t imago Dei. In as much as he is the Image of God.</HI> Secondly, the creatures &s;erue and obey all men equally and vvithout ex|ception; the &s;unne, the moone, the &s;tarres, the elements, the trees, the bea&s;ts make no diffe|rence betwixt Pope and Clarke, Prince and pe|&s;ant, rich and poore; shall then Man alone make a di&s;tinction or inequality in his fellow &amp; bro|ther, vvhere God and the Creatures find none? &ocirc; for shame and the honour of our nature, the shape and picture of the God head, let vs ho|nour, loue and re&s;pect one an other, vvith an equall and mutuall corre&s;pondence; &s;o gratefull to God, &s;o comely and decent in it's owne na|ture,
<PB N="408" REF="217">and of &s;o great honour and commodity to Man him&s;elfe. For vvhat greater honour, than for all men to loue one the other? &amp; vvhat grea|ten commodity to all mankind than vvhat this &s;o &s;trong a knot can and vvill afford? if <HI>Vis vnita</HI> be <HI>fortior, if vnited force be the stronger,</HI> noe doubt but the vnion of loue and true amity is <HI>Forti&s;&s;i|ma &amp; inuincibilis. Mo&s;t &s;trong and inuincible.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to embrace and con&s;erue true amity vvith all; but aboue all, in a Commu|nity; &ocirc; vvhat a comfortable &s;ight it is to &s;ee a community in peace and concord? where enery one giueth due re&s;pect and honour to his bet|ters, equalls and &s;uperiours: let not vaine pre|tences of right or vvrong euer driue thee to di|&s;turbe a common peace.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>THE SECOND CHAPTER, <HI>Of the qualities and effects of Loue.</HI></HEAD>
<P>LOUE being the tribute vvee mu&s;t pay vnto God, let vs con&s;ider next the na|ture, conditions and effects of this loue, by vvhich our &s;oules may be the more enamou|red vvith its beauty, as al&s;o fly and abhorre the more its deadly and greate&s;t enemy, to vvit, proper loue; vvho&s;e deformity al&s;o shall be knowne by the effects.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="407" REF="217">
<HEAD>THE FIRST MEDITATION. <HI>Of the nature and conditions of Loue, both good and bad.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that, (as vvee haue al|ready concluded) there is nothing left vs in this vvorld, that vvee may truely and freely e&s;teeme or call our-owne, but Loue; for vvhat&s;oeuer el&s;e be&s;ides Loue, that vvee &s;eeme to haue, is not truely in our power, or at our di&s;po&s;ing; but may be taken from vs, and di&s;po&s;ed of again&s;t our wills. Hence it followeth fir&s;t, that if our. Loue bee good, all that vvee haue of our owne is good, and con&s;equently vvee our &s;elues are good: but if our Loue be bad, then all that vvee haue is bad, and vvee al&s;o with it. Secondly, our Loue is all our &s;tock; then, if wee be&s;tow it on any, vvee giue him all that wee haue; and if vvee lo&s;e it, vvee lo&s;e all vvee haue, and are vndone; and then vvee lo&s;e our Loue, vvhen vvee be&s;tovv it vnvvorthily, and on them to vvhom it is no vvay due. Thirdly, if all that vvee call good and vertuous is nothing el&s;e but good Loue, that is, Loue vvell be&s;tovved; then &s;urely, that man is truely vertuous, vvho&s;e Loue is good and vvell be&s;tovved; and if all our tuillbe loue ill be&s;tovved, then he is ab&s;o|lutely ill and vitious, vvho&s;e Loue is &s;o. O the great force of Loue, vvhich alone, and in|depending of the vvhole vvorld, can make vs
<PB N="408" REF="218">good and bad, vertuous and vitious happy and mi&s;erable!</P>
<P>Conclude to looke on Loue, as on the tree in Paradi&s;e, <HI>Scientiae boni &amp; mali; of the knowledg of good and euill;</HI> or rather <HI>Vitae &amp; mortis. of life and death:</HI> and looke in time about thee, on vvhat obiect thou do&s;t ca&s;t thy loue; e&s;teeme no more thy &s;elfe nor any other, but according to the quality of your loues.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, hovv the nature and property of Loue is, to conjoine, vnite, nay change and conuert the Louer into the thing lo|ued: for Loue is a gift freely and frankly be &s;tovved on vvhom vvee plea&s;e, and as long as vvee plea&s;e; &s;o that our loue is novv totally his, to vvhom vvee haue giuen it; a thing novv vn|der his dominion and command: novv if Loue carry the vvill vvith it, and the vvill command the vvhole man as it doth; it follovveth imme|diatly, that the vvill al&s;o and the vvhole man is &s;olely and totally his, vvhom he loueth, at his command and di&s;po&s;ing; and this &s;ubiection is &s;o much the greater and more durable, in that it is not by violence or force of any, but by a free and voluntary tran&s;action or gift, and &s;o not to be taken of by the command or force of any; but onely vvhen loue and the vvill it &s;elfe plea&s;eth: yet, as long as she is a &s;eruant, she of nece&s;&s;ity vveareth the liuery of her beloued: &s;o that the loue or vvill, vvhich loueth earthly things, be cometh in her &s;elfe earthly; if car|nall, be&s;tiall and &s;uperfluous things, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">he beco|meth
<PB N="409" REF="218">al&s;o carnall, be&s;tiall and &s;uperfluous; fi|nally if our loue be of men, it is humane; if of Chri&s;t, Chri&s;tian; and if of God, it is diuine.</P>
<P>Conclude hereafter to be&s;tovv thy loue on &s;ome noble and vvorthy obiect; for of all mi&s;e|ries and fooleries none is &s;o great, as for one to ca&s;t him&s;elfe voluntarily vnder the dominion of a ba&s;e companion for his mate and fellovv.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, that Loue is due to noe creature vvhat&s;oeuer, but onely to God al|mighty; and this is euident, fir&s;t, becau&s;e by Loue vvee are changed into the thing loued; he then that loueth things inferiour to him&s;elfe, as are all the things of this vvorld, deba&s;eth him|&s;elfe mo&s;t vnworthily, contrary to the nature of all other creatures, vvho euermore adhere to the perfecter, and &s;triue to aduance them&s;elues: vvhereas therefore none but God can any vvay perfect or better our will, &s;urely none but he is vvorthy of our loue. Secondly, our vvill, and vvith her the vvhole man, by loue becometh a &s;eruant and &s;ubiect to the thing beloued; but it is contrary to all rea&s;on and iu&s;tice, that any &s;ubiect him&s;elfe either to his inferiour or equall, but onely to his better, and con&s;equently onely to God by loue. Thirdly, loue requireth loue, vvhich none can returne vs &s;o truely, &s;o to our aduantage, as the infinite &s;weetnes of our lo|uing God; vvhat then doe vvee &s;o hunt after barren and deceitfull loues and friendships, and omit the &s;ource and origen of all true loue, euer open and euer crying vnto vs; <HI>Fili.
<PB N="410" REF="219">praebe mihi cor tuum? Sonne, giue me thy hart:</HI></P>
<P>Conclude, but vvith a &s;trong and manly re&s;o|lution, neuer to &s;toope any more thy loue to any creature; but to mount it vp, and &s;ix it onely in the Creatour, be &s;orry therefor, and from this pre&s;ent, retract all leagues of loue and friendship vvith creatures, and make a new and firme one vvith thy God.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, that as the thing chiefly and principally loued can be but one, &s;o true loue in it &s;elfe can be but one; yet &s;o, as that from this one and head-loue doe flow &amp; depend all other de&s;ires, affections &amp; loues of our &s;oules, as &s;o many boughes or branches from one &s;tock; &s;o that, if our fir&s;t loue be good and ver|tuous, all the re&s;t of our affections are good al&s;o and vertuous; but bad and vicious, if the fir&s;t loue be &s;o. Moreouer, our fir&s;t loue taketh after the nature of the thing fir&s;t beloued, being, as vvee haue &s;aid, conuerted and changed into it: hence it followeth fir&s;t, that if our fir&s;t loue be of God, she becometh mo&s;t high, beauteous, rich and con&s;tant; God in him&s;elfe being &s;o: but if it be of any creature; then she is low, poore, fraile, incon&s;tant, neuer content, neuer &s;ecure; for &s;o are all creatures. It followeth &s;econdly, that if God be her be&s;t beloued, then she beco|meth mo&s;t generous, ample, and common; louing all creatures alike for his re&s;pect, becau&s;e they are his and loued by him: but if any parti|cular creature be her darling, then she is poore and narrow-hearted, full of &s;elfe-re&s;pects, pri|uate
<PB N="411" REF="219">intere&s;ts, and by-intentions; for &s;uch are all creatures.</P>
<P>Conclude againe, to fix thy loue on God alone, that &s;o it may be &s;weet in it &s;elfe for thy owne &s;oule, and for others common and pro|fitable: &ocirc; free thy &s;elfe from the &s;lauery of a ba&s;e and abiect loue, vvhat &s;oeuer it co&s;t thee; marke how-thou hate&s;t in others a narrow-hear|ted mind.</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly, how there can be but two things chiefly and principally loued; towit, either God, or &s;ome creature; and of creatures it mu&s;t be that vvhich is mo&s;t vnited and con|ioined with vs, that is our &s;elues, and our owne proper will; and this loue is called proper loue, a capitall and declared enemy again&s;t the Sacred and Eternall Deity. For fir&s;t, a will for&s;aking God and placing her loue in her &s;elfe, maketh her &s;elfe the but, the fir&s;t and la&s;t obiect of all her thoughts, vvords and deedes; and is in this a traitour to God, and &s;acrilegiou&s;ly &s;natcheth from his head the crowne of his Deity; for it is God's priuiledge onely, to loue him&s;elfe, and to &s;ub&s;i&s;t in the plea&s;ure of his owne vvill. Se|condly the vvill that loueth her &s;elfe, loueth all other things for her &s;elfe onely, &s;ubiecteth all things el&s;e to her owne plea&s;ure honour and glory: vvhich is an other &s;acriledge and theft; for God made all things for his owne honour onely. O horrible mon&s;ter of proper loue, <HI>Qui exaltat &s;e &s;uper omne quod dicitur Deus, aut quod coli|tur! vvhich exalteth it &s;elfe aboue all that which
<PB N="412" REF="220">is called God, or vvhich is vvorshipped!</HI> but alas, she vvill neuer carry is &s;o; for the true God vvill, as he plea&s;eth, take his owne reuenge, and hurry her into eternall obliuion.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith trembling and feare, to &s;ee how ea&s;ily vvordlings contemne &amp; tread downe God almighty's &s;ole prerogatiue; and that for a little intere&s;t, a bea&s;tly plea&s;ure: re&s;olue thou ne|uer to be any more &s;o audacious; but fight on thy God's &s;ide again&s;t &s;o-&s;oule a mon&s;ter.</P>
<P N="6">6. Con&s;ider &s;ixthly, that as the loue of God is the ground and origen of all goodnes content &amp; happines; &s;o the loue of our &s;elues is the ground and cau&s;e of all vvickednes, di&s;content and mi|&s;ery. For the loue of God maketh a &s;oule holy, humble, benigne, &amp; quiet; but proper loue ma|keth her irreligious, proud, cur&s;t and turbulent. The loue of God is like to him, bounteous, am|ple and generous: but proper loue is mi&s;erable narrow and ba&s;e-hearted. The loue of God ma|keth the &s;oule free, exempt, and aboue the com|mand of all her fellow-creatures; but proper loue maketh her a &s;laue, &amp; &s;ubiect to the lowe&s;t and vile&s;t of creatures. The loue of God enri|cheth the &s;oule vvith a thou&s;and con&s;tant and &s;table Iewells; but proper loue vvith nothing but fume and vanity. The loue of God enlightneth the &s;oule to &s;ee and apprehend clearely, both vvhat her &s;elfe is, and vvhat her God, and all other things are: but proper loue blindeth &s;o all the &s;en&s;es, that nothing appeareth as it truely is. O poore vvorldling, rai&s;e vp thy head out of thy
<PB N="413" REF="220">owne bo&s;ome, and looke towards heauen, <HI>Vbi pulchritudo e&s;t &amp; &s;atietas aeterna. VVhere is be|autie and eternall &s;atietie.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to ca&s;t this viper, this refined poi|&s;on out of thy heart; and cordially to embrace the loue of thy God: hereby thou vvilt plea&s;e God more, then if thou shoulde&s;t rai&s;e the dead to life; and thy &s;oule vvill &s;oone feele the diffe|rence betwixt this &s;weet and &s;owre loue.</P>
<P N="7">7. Con&s;ider &s;euently hovv the loue of God is mo&s;t honoured, and prai&s;ed of all; but proper loue mo&s;t odious and hatefull to all: the rea&s;on is manife&s;t; for the loue of God is one and the &s;ame in all tho&s;e that loue God, and &s;o by it all are vnited vvith God and among&s;t them&s;elues, by the conformity of their loues and the vnity of the thing loued: &s;o all mu&s;t needs be peace, concord and content among them; all, mutuall loue and ioy, for the common pro&s;perities of one another. But on the contrary, the obiect of proper loue is different in euery one, for that euery one loueth him&s;elfe chiefely, and other things no further then they conduce, to their owne commodity, content, or honour: the loues therefore, and con&s;equently &s;uch louers, mu&s;t be as different as their obiects beloued; that is euery one for him&s;elfe; &amp; &s;o can hang no other|wi&s;e together then Sam&s;ons foxes, by the taile of &s;ome intere&s;t or plea&s;ures; vvhich once loo|&s;ened, all falls to confu&s;ion, jarres, vvarres, and endles &s;trifes, euery one &s;tanding a loofe from the re&s;t, and vpon the guard onely of his owne
<PB N="414" REF="221">honour and profit: and &s;o oppo&s;ing, enuying, &amp; vvre&s;ting from others by right or vvrong, what he can, &ocirc; vvhat can there be among&s;t &s;uch, but a hellish hatred and malice?</P>
<P>Conclude as thou hope&s;t for a heauen both in this and the next life, to loue thy God. <HI>Ex tote corde, &amp; ex tota anima: From thy vvhole hart, and from thy vvhole &s;oule,</HI> and as for proper loue let it be in thy &s;elfe, as it is in others, the obiect of thy hate: and know, that if euer thou con|curre to the breaking of peace, it is out of &s;elfe-loue that en&s;laueth thee.</P>
<P N="8">8. Con&s;ider eightly, that although &s;elfe-loue be &s;uch a mon&s;ter; yet one excellent le&s;&s;on may be drawne from it; vvhich is, the manner and order how vvee ought to loue God: for ob&s;erue vvhat method a &s;elfe louer v&s;eth in louing him|&s;elfe, &amp; the &s;ame a true louer mu&s;t keepe in lo|uing of God. Fir&s;t then, a &s;elfe-louer loueth and followeth &s;olely his owne vvill and plea&s;ure, &amp; no man's el&s;e; &s;o mu&s;t a true louer follow the vvill of God, and no other. Secondly, a &s;elfe lo|uet &s;eeketh &amp; cherisheth no man's honour but his owne, preferreth it before all others, &amp; would haue all men honour and re&s;pect him onely: in the &s;ame manner mu&s;t a true louer exalt &amp; pro|cure God's honour by him&s;elfe and others, and hate all honour that is not con&s;i&s;tent vvith God's honour; abate and de&s;troy it. Thirdly, a &s;elfe louer &s;eeketh his owne prai&s;e and fame, that all &s;peake vvell and none ill of him; &s;o a true louer mu&s;t &s;eeke Gods prai&s;e onely, inuite,
<PB N="415" REF="221">all <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o his prai&s;es, and not &s;uffer vvith patience the lea&s;t vvord &s;poken again&s;t him. Finally, a &s;elfe-louer expecteth that men loue not onely him, hut all that belongeth vnto him, his cat, his dog: &s;o mu&s;t a true louer loue not onely God, but all that is God's al&s;o, that is all his creatures in their ranke and place, as they appertaine to God.</P>
<P>Conclude to learne and practi&s;e this pious le&s;|&s;on: looke euer vpon thy owne heart, and what thou finde&s;t there plea&s;ing to thee, transfer it all and pa&s;&s;e it ouer to thy God: this may &s;eeme but little for him, but J vvish all vvould giue him that.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>Of the fruits of good &amp; bad Loue, both in this &amp; in the next vvorld.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that as euery tree or plant beareth and yeeldeth a different fruit, according to it's kind; &s;o the two prime loues of God &amp; our &s;elues planted in our hearts, like trees in a field, mu&s;t needs bring forth their different fruits; and that as contrary and oppo|&s;ite as they them&s;elues are. The la&s;t and finall fruit that accrueth to man out of all his labours and endeauours in this vvorld, can be no other than ioy or &s;adnes: for all other effects pa&s;&s;e away, and the&s;e onely remaine; 'tis ioy, content, and quietnes of heart, that man &s;eeketh for, in all
<PB N="416" REF="222">his labours, and hauing found it, re&s;teth him|&s;elfe there and &s;eeketh no further but 'tis &s;adnes, griefe and affliction of mind he flyeth from with all his might. Now &s;adnes is an ill fruit, &amp; &s;o cannot proceed but from an ill tree, that is, from &s;elfe loue; and ioy, being a good fruit, mu&s;t &s;pring from the good tree of the loue of God. See my &s;oule, vvhat followeth hence; the fruit is like the tree, that is, ioy like to the loue whence it proceedeth: true loue is like to the thing loued, that is, like to God; and hence true ioy mu&s;t be like to God, that is immortall, mo&s;t copious, mo&s;t beauteous and mo&s;t &s;weet.</P>
<P>Conclude <HI>Seminare &s;emen bonum in agro tuo, to &s;ovv good &s;eede in thy field,</HI> as thou hope&s;t for a ioy<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ull harue&s;t; &ocirc; plant in thy heart, and pre|&s;erue vvith the morning and euening watering of prayer, the faire plant of the loue of God; <HI>Et dabit tibi fructum &s;uum in tempore &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o. And it shall giue thee its fruite in its time.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly the happines a true lo|uer of God enioyeth in this vvorld: true Loue and true Joy runne on <HI>Aequis pa&s;&s;ibus; vvith aquall paces;</HI> fir&s;t then, as the Loue of God is pure, holy and diuine; &s;o is the Joy, full of pure, holy and diuine delights and plea&s;ures. Second|ly, Ioy, flowing from Loue, is the life of man, <HI>Nulla enim vita, vbi nullum gaudium; For there is no life, vvhere there is no ioy;</HI> all that man &s;eeketh for, is ioy and content, &amp; hauing found that vvhich is true, flowing from true loue, he re&s;teth and feedeth on that; <HI>Gaudium enim di|latat
<PB N="417" REF="222">cor, nutrit &amp; delectat. For ioy dilates, nou|risheth, and delighteth the hart.</HI> Thirdly, as true loue is onely and totally inwardly in the vvill and heart; &s;o is true ioy, and con&s;equently the true happines of man con&s;i&s;teth in the inward content of his heart &amp; vvill; &amp; this ioy, like his loue, can neuer be taken from him by any force, being &s;upported by the liberty of his will; &amp; &s;o he may be euer joyfull and content, if he plea&s;e. O vvorldlings, vvhat &s;eeke you in outward ri|ches, honours, plea&s;ures? content? <HI>Non est, vbi quaeritis; intus est non foris. It is not vvhere you &s;eeke it; it is vvithin not vvithout.</HI> Fourthly, as Loue extendeth it &s;elfe from God to all his crea|tures for him; &s;o doth al&s;o ioy: and hence doth true ioy multiply and increa&s;e as fa&s;t as men doe: &s;o that all is ioy, <HI>Intus &amp; foris; vvithin and vvithour,</HI> all mirth; no enuy, hatred, jealou&s;y, or debates among true louers.</P>
<P>Conclude, as thou hope&s;t for any true hap|pines in this vvorld, to fo&s;ter and cherish in thy heart the true and &s;weete&s;t loue of God. Belieue the Prophet, and thou shall find him to &s;ay true: <HI>Videte &amp; gu&s;tate, quoniam &s;uauis est Dominus. See and ta&s;t, for our lord is &s;vveete.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, that joy, the fruit of true loue, mu&s;t be in the next life in it's height and full perfection; the law of true loue is, that the louers conceale and hide nothing from each other: as therefore the true louing &s;oule hath in this life di&s;couered and opened her &s;elfe totally to her beloued. <HI>Et effudit in con&s;pectu Dei ani|mam
<PB N="418" REF="223">&s;uam; And hath povvred out her &s;oule in the &s;ight of God:</HI> and God hath as yet shewed him&s;elfe vnto her in the cloud onely of faith, or the like; &s;o he by the lawes of loue, mu&s;t open him&s;elfe clearely vnto this louing &s;oule in the next life, that being the <HI>Terminus &amp; non plus vltra end end vtmo&s;t</HI> of all her de&s;ires &amp; actions. The louing &s;oule therefore &s;eeing God clearely with his radiant perfections and attributes, shall there arriue to the height of her loue, for <HI>Bo|num quo magis cognitum, e&ograve; magis amatum; good the more it is knovvne, the more is it loued;</HI> and con&s;equently to the height of her ioy and finall content, for ioy followeth the proportion of loue. Finally, the cleare &s;ight of the Deity being vnchangeable, the loue is al&s;o immoueable, and by good con&s;equence, the ioy perpetuall and &s;ecure; <HI>Et hac e&s;t aterna felicitas, anima mea. And this, my &s;oule, is eternall felicitie.</HI> See, &ocirc; my &s;oule, and admire the &s;oaring vving, and sharpe eye of this Eagle Loue; she neuer &s;top|peth, till she enter and di&s;couer the bo&s;ome of the Deity.</P>
<P>Conclude to poure out thy heart here to thy God in a true, feruent and con&s;tant loue: take heed no creature haue any share in it, as thou hope&s;t to haue God totally in heauen: know, the law of loue is, <HI>Totum pro toto. All for all.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, bow, as next to the loue of God is the loue of our neighbour like our &s;elues; &s;o, next to the ioy the loue of God produceth in vs, is the ioy the loue of our neigh|bour
<PB N="419" REF="223">cau&s;eth; and becau&s;e vvee lou&eacute; our neigh|bour as our &s;elues, it followeth that our ioy of his bli&s;&s;e is equall to the ioy of our owne. See then and conceiue if thou can&s;t &ocirc; my &s;oule, the multiplication and reciprocation of our ioy in heauen; vvhere euery one is to haue and eniy the ioyes of all the ble&s;&s;ed, both Angells &amp; men, according to the mea&s;ure and extent of loue, vvhich is to all and euery one. This is vvhat the Prophet promi&s;eth vs: <HI>Tunc videbis &amp; afflues, &amp; mirabitur &amp; dilatabitur: cor tuum. Then shalt thou &s;ee, and abound, and thy hart shall mar|uaile and be enlarged.</HI> There is yet one tortent more of ioy and delight, <HI>Quo inebriabimur in domo Dei, vvith vvhich vve shall be inebriated in the hou&s;e of God,</HI> vvhich is this. All the Ble&s;&s;ed doe loue God infinitely more than them&s;elues or any other; and con&s;equently reioice in his bli&s;&s;e vvithout compari&s;on more than in their owne or of all the re&s;t; and becau&s;e all are vnited by loue and ioy to God, they all meet and con|curre in one an other's ioyes intrin&s;ecally in the very God head; vvhere after a vvonderful man|ner they &s;ee, loue and enioy one the other: <HI>Nec datur plus vltra. And this is the vtmost.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to practice here the loue of thy neighbour; and to reioyce here at his good hap, both &s;pirituall and temporall; that &s;o thou mai&s;t here begin thy heauen: and let thy loue of him be purely for God, and in God; for &s;o vvill all turne to thy owne bli&s;&s;e and joy.</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly, how our good God is a
<PB N="420" REF="224">mo&s;t true louer, and &s;o according to the P&s;almi&s;t <HI>Voluntatem timentium &s;e faciet, &amp; deprecatio|nem eorum exaudiet. He vvill doe the vvill of them that feare him, and vvill heare their prayer.</HI> The happy &s;oule: finding her &s;elfe in the Ocean, of bli&s;&s;e, to vvhich loue hath brought her, ca|&s;teth downe her eyes vpon her old companion, her body, nay and vpon all the inferiour globe, vvhich haue &s;erued her as foot &s;teps to rai&s;e her to that height; and vvishing them well and al&s;o happy in their degree, God almighty pre&s;ently granteth her de&s;ire, and vvill in due time rai&s;e them both to a perfect con&s;i&s;tence of happines; that is, the body shall be re-vnited to the &s;oule, not as now, gro&s;&s;e, mortall, &s;eoble; but immor|tall, &s;trong, and beauteous; a decent tabernacle for &s;uch a foule: and the vvhole vniuer&s;e shall be clothed in a liuery of parmanent verdure, de|light, plea&s;ure, beauty and brightnes <HI>In &s;acula &s;aeculorum, &amp; erit Deus omnia in omnibus. For euer, and God shall be all in all.</HI> View now and admire, &ocirc; Chri&s;tian &s;oule, the golden and pre|tious chaine of Loue; by loue all things receiued their being and con&s;eruation; by loue they all vvheel about, &amp; at length returne to their fir&s;t origen; by loue they all haue eternall ioy and bli&s;&s;e in him, euery thing according to it's ca|pacity: <HI>Cui &s;it aeternus honor &amp; gloria. Amen. To vvhom be euerlasting honour and glorie Amen.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to buy this Orientall pearle of Loue, vvhat&s;oeuer paines and charges it co&s;t
<PB N="421" REF="224">thee. O make thy &s;elfe vvith men and all other creatures happy in this vvorld and in the next; &ocirc; let none be mi&s;erable, if thou can&s;t helpe it.</P>
<P N="6">6. Con&s;ider &s;ixthly on the other &s;ide, the fruits that proceed from &s;elfe-loue, vvhich &s;ure mu&s;t be oppo&s;ite to the fruits of true loue. And yet vvee mu&s;t grant that &s;elfe-loue yeeldeth al&s;o a certaine kind of joy or content; for vvho&s;oeuer obtaineth the honour, the plea&s;ure, or commo|dity he loueth, mu&s;t needs take &s;ome content and ioy; and this it is that maketh men &s;o merry, laughing, and iouiall: but alas, if vvee looke into the in&s;ide of it, vvee shall find it a painted joy, and a true &s;adnes. For fir&s;t, this kind of ioy is neuer obtained but vvith infinite toile, di&s;gu&s;t, nay dammage of others, and the ruine of our owne &s;oules; whereas true ioy co&s;teth no paines, is &s;weet to others, and profitable to our &s;elues. Secondly, this ioy, being gotten, is mo&s;t op|po&s;ite and iniurious to God; fot to rejoice in a &s;inne committed is vvor&s;e than a &s;imple loue of it; nay it is an ab&s;olute and finall contempt of God: &amp; can this be to any &s;oule a true comfort? Thirdly, this ioy is mo&s;t short, fraile and vncon|&s;tant; nay &s;ure not to hold long, but to end in eternall mi&s;ery and &s;adnes: &s;o that, contrary to true ioy, it is hatefull to God and man; &amp; brin|geth vvith it, or leaueth behind it, a true, bitter and euerla&s;ting griefe and &s;adnes. O vvorldlings, reflect a little on your broken &s;leeps, and daily thoughts; and &s;ure you vvill confe&s;&s;e your ioyes to be meere butterflies.</P>
<PB N="422" REF="225">
<P> Conclude to vndeceiue thy &s;elfe and friends at much as thou can&s;t; open thy eyes, and be not taken with &s;o foolish &amp; bitter a bait: but re&s;olue to lay the axe at the root and cut of &s;elfe-loue.</P>
<P N="7">7. Con&s;ider &s;euently, that if true loue haue for it's fruit after this life, eternall ioy and con|tent, &s;urely &s;elfe-loue mu&s;t, on the contrary, haue eternall &s;adnes and anguish. And this an|guish shall be twofold; the fir&s;t, &s;uch a &s;oule shall be totally and eternally depriued and di&s;|po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of what&s;oeuer she de&s;ireth and lon|geth for; what delights, honours, commodities she enjoyed here, are now left all behind; &amp; yet she longeth more than euer for them; but in vaine: againe, the true good and happines, for which she was created, she then will &s;ee mo&s;t clearely and de&s;ire mo&s;t vehemently; &amp; withall shee &s;eeth her &s;elfe eternally depriued of it, and that by her owne fault onely. O mo&s;t wretched creature, that shal neuer more enioy any glimp|&s;e of either true or fal&s;e good! Secondly, she shall be forced to haue all that is mo&s;t odious, aduer&s;e and grieuous to her: and fir&s;t, for her eternall habitation, a darke&s;ome and &s;tinking dungeon mu&s;t be her hou&s;e; her companions and play-fellowes, no better than deuills; the element she mu&s;t liue in, fire and brim&s;tone; her food, the worme of her guilty con&s;cience &amp;c. and all this for euer, whether shee will or no. O mo&s;t &s;ad and &s;ullen condition, <HI>Vbi nihil adest quod vult anima, &amp; nihil deest quod non vult! vvhere nothing is pre&s;ent, that the &s;oule would
<PB N="423" REF="225">haue, nothing vvanting vvhich it vvould not haue!</HI></P>
<P>Conclude with new hatred to the viper of pro|per loue, that at length deuoureth euen that poore and painted ioy, vvhich vvas at fir&s;t pro|fered &amp; prom&s;&s;ed: &ocirc; turne in time thy thoughts and affections to that good vvhich will neuer faile thee.</P>
<P N="8">8. Con&s;ider eightly, how both God and all creatures will take full reuenge of &s;elfe-loue in the next world O what torments will the om|nipotency of an offended God heape vpon &s;uch a &s;oule, vvhich here &s;o &s;corned his offers. &s;o &s;leighted his goodnes, &s;o abu&s;ed his benefits, &s;o contemned his menaces and threats; and yet knowing for certaine, that he could and vvould reuenge him&s;elfe to the full: finally, which here, by louing, e&s;teeming and preferring her &s;elfe before her Creatour, laboured all shee could to &s;natch from his head the crowne &amp; prerogatiue of the Deity, and v&s;urpe it to her &s;elfe! &ocirc; how will he hurle her downe into an aby&s;&s;e of eter|nall contempt, shame, dishonour, vnder the center of the earth, vvhere all the vvorld shall trample and kick at her <HI>In&s;aecula &s;aeculorum; for euer vvithout end,</HI> vvhere all the creatures vvill ri&s;e vp again&s;t her, <HI>Et pugnabunt contra in&s;en&s;a|tam, and vvill fight against the &s;en&s;ele&s;&s;e,</HI> to re|uenge both their Creatour's vvrong and their owne, in abu&s;ing them for her owne plea&s;ure, again&s;t her and their Creatour's vvill and ho|nour. Who can apprehend the confu&s;ion it will
<PB N="424" REF="226">be, neuer more to hope for one good looke from her Creatour nor any creature; nay nor for one thought of her &s;elfe, vvhich shall not afflict and torment her?</P>
<P>Conclude to abhorre &s;uch a mon&s;ter, as is &s;elfe-loue; and vvith all thy force to loue, &s;erue and obey thy Creatour; and to abu&s;e none of his creatures; but to direct thy &s;elfe and all to his &s;ole &s;eruice and honour: God is <HI>Patiens reddi|tor, a patient revvarder,</HI> that is, mo&s;t terrible, if finally contemned.</P>
<P N="9">9. Con&s;ider ninthly, how the&s;e two Capitall loues, of God and our &s;elues, haue for their la&s;t and finall effect two Kingdomes or Cities, foun|ded by them, and inhabited by their Clients and followers; but more contrary and oppo&s;ite in &s;ituation and condition than are the North and South poles; or, as the phra&s;e is, as di&s;tant as heauen and hell, being indeed no other than heauen and hell: and this is mo&s;t conformable to the diuine iu&s;tice and equity, that &s;uch deadly enemies should be &s;eparated one from an other vvithout any commerce or communication for euer, becau&s;e they are neuer to be reconciled: &amp; then, vvhere mu&s;t the true louers of God be, but vvith him in tho&s;e highe&s;t Palaces of heauen, aboue all creatures? and vvhere &s;elfe-louers, but by them&s;elues, vnder ground, trodden downe, and oppre&s;&s;ed by all creatures, vvronged by them? True louers, vvho&s;e loue is large, moun|ting, heauenly, de&s;erue no le&s;&s;e than tho&s;e va&s;t and high orbes for their habitation; and &s;elfa|louers,
<PB N="425" REF="226">vvho&s;e hearts are narrow, low and ob|&s;cure dungeons. Now as for the condition of the&s;e Cities, let it &s;uffice <HI>Quod in vna e&s;t omne &amp; purum bonum &s;ine mixtura mali; in altera omne &amp; purum malum &s;ine mixtura boni, in &s;ae|cula &s;aeculorum. That in the one is all good. without the least mixture of euill; in the other all euill vvithout the lea&s;t mixture of good, for all eter|nitie.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude, and make now thy choice vvhich of the&s;e Cities thou de&s;ire&s;t to be made free de|ni&s;on of: but re&s;olue this al&s;o, that hauing once made thy choice, thou take and keepe the right way vnto it; let no company, kindred or re&s;pect diuert thy &s;teps; &s;ay alwaies. <HI>Haec est via, non illa. This is the vvay, not that.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>THE THIRD CHAPTER. <HI>Of Mans obligation to feare, honour, and prai&s;e God.</HI></HEAD>
<P>AFTER the obligation of Loue, vvhich is the fir&s;t of pa&s;&s;ions, follow many others, of feare, of honour, of prai&s;e &amp;c. all vvhich Man is bound to pay and offer to God onely, and to noe other creature; much le&s;&s;e to him&s;elfe; although, as in Loue &s;o in the&s;e al&s;o, all the profit and commodity vvill redound to him&s;elfe onely.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="426" REF="227">
<HEAD>THE FIRST MEDITATION. <HI>Of the feare &amp; reuerence Man ovveth to his Creatour.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t how God, being the great Artificer or work man of both the big|ger and le&s;&s;er vvorld, hath made no|thing in vaine, but all for &s;ome particular end and &s;eruice: that is, all other creatures for the &s;eruice of Man, and man immediatly for his owne &s;eruice; for nothing mediateth betwixt God and Man, he being God's image &amp; likenes hence it follovveth, that, as vvhat&s;oeuer infe|riour creatures haue is all for Man's v&s;e, &s;o what|&s;oeuer Man hath aboue them, mu&s;t be dedica|ted to Gods's &s;eruice; and what is that but all the good acts of his vvill and vnder&s;tanding? &s;o that vvhat&s;oouer he is able to doe by any of the&s;e, he is bound to offer it continually all to his Maker: vvhy therefore hath he vnderdanding, vnle&s;&s;e if be to contemplate his Creatour? vvhy a free vvill, but to loue his maker? hath he the power to prai&s;e or extoll? &s;urely he can &s;o iu&s;tly prai&s;e none, as his owne Lord and Father. Can he giue honour or glory to any? and can he then omit to honour and glorify his God, the <HI>Primum prin|cipium, the prime &s;ource,</HI> of all his good? can he reioice in the good of any, &amp; not in the good of his <HI>Sumiuum bonum? his chiefest good?</HI> Finally, vvhom can a creature feare but his Creatour;
<PB N="427" REF="227">or vvhom can a childe reuerence and re&s;pect, but his Father?</P>
<P>Conclude to imploy all the&s;e faculties &amp; acts otherwi&s;e than perhaps thou ha&s;t hitherto done or thought on: labour to reduce, as farre as in thee lyeth, the order and happines of our earthly Paradi&s;e; that is, reduce thy &s;uperiour part to a perfect obedience, and feare of God; and thy inferiour part vvith other creatures vvill &s;oone doe the like to thee.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly that although all other affections follow that of loue, &s;o that giuing our loue to God, vvee cannot but giue him all the re&s;t; yet there is an e&s;peciall rea&s;on and motiue for euery one apart. For fir&s;t, the obiect of loue is goodnes in it &s;elfe, and communicated to others; both vvhich being proper to God alone; he alone is to be loued of all; and mo&s;t of Man, vvho knowes this. Secondly, the obiect of feare is povver and dominion; God then being an omnipotent Lord, and the onely Lord of man, it followeth that Man need feare none &s;aue God; but feare him continually. Againe honour is due to excellency, and prai&s;e to vvi&s;|dome and prudence; God then being the &s;ource of all vvorth and dignity, &amp; his vvi&s;edome being the producer, and prouidence the &s;upreme Go|uernour of all things but e&s;pecially of Man; &s;ure man is bound by the&s;e titles to honour &amp; prai&s;e God aboue all things. The like is to be &s;aid of faith, grounded on verity, vvhich in God is &s;u|preme, <HI>Neque fallitur aut fallit, Neither is hee
<PB N="428" REF="228">deceiued, nor doth hee deceiue,</HI> and &s;o an vnfallible credit is to be giuen him by man. Neither ought his hope to be le&s;&s;e than vndoubted &amp; certaine, hauing for it's ground a power, a knovvledge, a goodnes euery vvay infinite. Finally, all the good affections vvee can imagine ought to be referred &s;olely and euer to God.</P>
<P>Conclude, as in thy loue &s;o in all the re&s;t of thy affections, to regard and re&s;pect none but God: &s;o shalt thou find a happines in this vvorld: &s;ee vvhat a dignity it is to acknovvledge none ouer thee but God; and vvhat's greater then to be vnder him.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, that as loue is the fir&s;t of all affections &s;o vvithout loue none of the re&s;t, are either acceptable to God, or delightfull to the heart that offereth them; &s;o that vvho fea|reth vvithout loue, doth it vvith paine &amp; &s;adnes, and vvho honoureth vvithout loue, is but a flat|terer; and neither &s;uch feare nor &s;uch honour is gratefull to God: and the rea&s;on is, becau&s;e as nothing cometh of freely and frankly but loue, &s;o nothing can be acceptable but loue, or for loue. Let vs &s;ee then hovv Loue and Feare differ, and yet vvith all agree and helpe one the other. Loue is franke and free, vvithout force and co|action, and con&s;equently euer vvith Plea&s;ure and delight; an ab&s;olute and all commanding Lord: but feare of it &s;elfe is the fir&s;t, that is the lovve&s;t of &s;laues, alvvayes forced, euer in paine and anguish: againe, Loue by it's freedome be|gins vvith God, and &s;preadeth her vvings ouer
<PB N="429" REF="228">all creatures for him; but the feare of God &s;tan|deth in avve of him onely, and of no other. Yet they meet together and concurre in this, that loue &s;weetneth feare and maketh it free, that is, filiall; and feare tyeth and fixeth loue fa&s;t to God: &s;o the&s;e are the two chaines that linke and fa&s;ten a &s;oule to God both &s;trongly and &s;weetly?</P>
<P>Conclude to embrace and practice this &s;oe &s;weet and filiall feare, and shake of that other &s;eruile one, fit for &s;laues not children of God: &s;ay euer vvith the Prophet; <HI>Exultate Domino eum tremore; reioyce to our Lord vvith trem|bling;</HI> exult vvith loue, and tremble jointly vvith feare.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly, that as from the loue of God there followeth a holy feare of him, &s;o al&s;o from &s;elfe-loue there ari&s;eth a feare as bad as it; yet vvith this difference; that the feare of God is alone, that is, he that feareth God feareth him onely, and nothing el&s;e either in heauen or hell; but hauing his eye euer vpon his Lord &amp; God, how to plea&s;e and content him, as for all things el&s;e, he treads them vnder his feet, and is moro fearefull to them then afraid of them; and this is ea&s;ily to be perceiued in the very countenance of tho&s;e that &s;erue God. But ala~s a &s;elfe-louer, what is it that he feareth not? fir&s;t his owne perdition and damnation; next death, that dreadfull mon|&s;ter, the nighe&s;t &s;tep to hell; then plagues, warres, &s;ickne&s;&s;es, the harbingers of death: next, all &s;orts of di&s;tempers in the weather, as hears
<PB N="430" REF="229">or colds, &s;tormes at &s;ea or land; euery infirmity of his body, lo&s;&s;e of his goods, noi&s;e of an ene|my: finally, euery shadow of danger, &ocirc; vvhat frights it putteth this poore wrech into? <HI>Et e&s;t vita eius pendens ante oculos eius: And his life is hanging before is eyes:</HI> &s;o that in &s;tead of one feare of God, vvhich he rejecteth, he is euer a&s;&s;aulted vvith a thou&s;and mo&s;t ga&s;tly and vgly feares, &amp; is become the gally-&s;laue of euery the lea&s;t and vile&s;t creature.</P>
<P>Conclude to deliuer thy &s;elfe from the thral|dome of vvordly feare, vvhich bringeth &s;o many and daily frights vvith it; and embrace the feare of God onely, vvhich loue &s;weetneth, &amp; ma|keth free and delightfull: <HI>Timeat anima mea Dominum; &amp; confige timore tuo carnes meas. Let my &s;oule feare the lord; and pearce my flesh vvith thy feare.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>Of the honour, glory and prai<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e Man is bound to giue to God.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, hovv God almighty hath made the vvorld and all therein, princi|pally for his ovvne honour and glory, &amp; &s;econdarily for the profit and vtility of Man: for Man being poore and needy can receiue daily more and more increa&s;e &amp; perfection: but God, being euery vvay full and compleat in him &s;elfe, cannot increa&s;e any other vvay then in outvvard
<PB N="431" REF="229">fame honour and renovvne; and as, all other creatures &s;erue Man's profit and commodity, &s;o ought Man to &s;erue God alone in the propaga|tion of his honour and fame. The honour of povver is to doe things mo&s;t povverfully; and hence Man acknovvledgeth God to be omnipo|tent, <HI>Qui operatur omnia fortiter: vvho vvor|keth all thinges mightely:</HI> the glory of vvi&s;edome is to order things mo&s;t vvi&s;ely, <HI>Et quia Deus di&s;ponit omnia &s;uauiter, And becau&s;e God di&s;po|&s;eth of all thinges &s;vveetely.</HI> Man &s;tyleth him infi|nitely vvi&s;e: the renovvne of goodnes is to di&s;|per&s;e gifes and benefits mo&s;t frankely, freely &amp; aboundantly; and, becau&s;e God doth this beyond all mea&s;ure, <HI>Pluens &s;uper iu&s;tos &amp; iniu&s;tos, ray|ning vpon iu&s;t, and vniu&s;t,</HI> Man cannot but exalt him vvith the titles of mo&s;t good, mo&s;t liberall, mo&s;t magnificent. This all creatures doe in their dumbe language, but Man alone mu&s;t &s;upply for all knovvingly and louingly.</P>
<P>Conclude to e&s;teeme the great fauours God doth thee, fir&s;t in making the vvhole vvorld for thy commodity; next in appointing thee to be the &s;pokes man for all other creatures, and the &s;ole oratour, and dinulger of his name &amp; prai&s;es.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly the &s;trict obligation that Man hath to honour and prai&s;e God, more than all other creatures haue. God, as is aboue &s;aid, hath made all for his ovvne honour &amp; glory, this is the end and aime of all his vvorkes; honour therefore and glory is due vnto him from his creatures; vvhich duty noe creature knovving
<PB N="432" REF="230">and vnder&s;tanding but Man, it follovveth that man alone for him&s;elfe and others is bound to honour, prai&s;e &amp; extoll the name of God, vvith all the povver of his heart, and vpon all occa&s;ions to procure that other men doe the like, in their life, workes and words; for this honour of God is he bound to forgoe friends, fortunes, nay life it &s;elfe, rather than &s;ufler it to be blemished in the lea&s;t point. Nor let man feare to be a lo&s;er hereby; for that our good and liberall God an|nexeth euer to his owne honour the profit of man; and vvith the &s;ame proportion that man multiplyeth and increa&s;eth the honour of God outwardly among&s;t men, doth God increa&s;e &amp; confer his reall gifts and ble&s;&s;ings on Man, Learne, &ocirc; my &s;oule, this new vvay of thriuing, &s;o little practi&s;ed in the vvorld; leaue the cha|dow, and take hold on the &s;ub&s;tance.</P>
<P>Conclude to be hereafter mo&s;t carefull to pro|pagate Gods honour; and to be mo&s;t tender of his good name; &ocirc; &s;uffer not any, either in ear|ne&s;t or je&s;t, to di&s;parage in the lea&s;t point the honour of God, Chri&s;t, his Church, or of any thing that belongeth vnto them; but oppo&s;e them vvhat&s;oeuer they b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, how if the duty of Man be, as it is, to labour and procure in all his actions the &s;ole honour and glory of God, what an enormious &s;inne is it, to endeauour the con|trary; that is to neglect and contemne the ho|nour of God, and to &s;eeke for and hunt after his owne proper honour, fame and e&s;teeme? and
<PB N="433" REF="230">yet vvhat other doe the ambitious and proud vvordlings day and night, by &s;ea and land, and by all the vvayes their proud and re&s;tle&s;&s;e hearts can inuent? on this are their hearts vvholy bent; this is all their imployment, not onely to make them&s;elues their owne Idolls, but al&s;o to per|&s;uade, nay force all others to prai&s;e, honour and adore them onely: in vvhich vvhat doe they at|tempt le&s;&s;e than lucifer, to &s;natch the diadem of glory from the head of their Creatour, &amp; place it on their owne, and &s;ay in their hearts and deeds, <HI>A&s;cendam in caelum &amp; &s;imilis ero Alti&s;&s;i|mo? I vvill a&s;cend into heauen, and I vvill be like to the highest?</HI> Nay the ambitious man, if he examine his heart vvell, vvill find there &s;uch a fury of pride, that to prefer his owne <HI>Puntillo,</HI> hee vvill not onely giue vvay, but euen be vvell content, that Gods honour and reuerence be publikely, and mo&s;t outragiou&s;ly beaten downe and trodden vnder euery Villains feet.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith due horrour of &s;o great a crime; &amp; then admire how Chri&s;tians can dare to venture on &s;uch a bla&s;phemy: reflect al&s;o &s;omewhat on thy &s;elfe, and I feare thou vvilt hardly defend all thy actions &s;o clearely as thou may&s;t &s;ay. <HI>Innocens ego &s;um. I am innocent.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly the dammages &amp; hurts, that an ambitious man incurreth by &s;eeking his owne honour, and preferring it before Gods. For fir&s;t, he breaketh and confoundeth the na|turall and &s;etled order of the vvhole Vniuer&s;e, in drawing all other creatures to honour and exalt
<PB N="434" REF="231">him onely; and &s;o to decline from the honour of God; for vvhich onely they vvere all created and ordained. And this is the root of all the con|fu&s;ions in the vvorld, and maketh it next neigh|bour to hell; <HI>Vbi nullus ordo &s;ed &s;empiternus hor|ror inhabitat. VVhere no order, but euerlasting horrour inhabiteth.</HI> Next it leadeth him to his owne vtter perdition and ruine; for vvhereas God hath re&s;erued all honour and pray&s;e for him&s;elfe, and hath allotted to man his share of profit, and commo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ity; foolish man by intren|ching vpon vvhat belongeth to God lo&s;eth al&s;o all, that might be his owne; for by affronting &amp; putting him&s;elfe in this di&s;tance vvith God, he depriueth him&s;elfe of all, that he might other|vvi&s;e receiue from Gods fauour and goodnes; that is, of all that is any vvay good: and vvhat then remaineth for him, but all that is euill, blindnes, mi&s;ery, and endle&s;&s;e de&s;truction?</P>
<P>Conclude to be a vvi&s;er Merchant, then to de|&s;troy the vvhole vniuer&s;e, and thy &s;el<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e vvith it; giue to God and to his creatures their due, that is, honour him in all, and then be confident that both they vvill willingly &s;erue thee: and God no le&s;&s;e ble&s;&s;e, nay honour thee too.</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly, how the vaine glorious man buildeth the honour he pretendeth vpon the flitting &s;and of his owne nothing, <HI>Ni&s;i quod acceperit; but vvhat he hath receiued;</HI> and being voyd vvith in of reall vertues, yet hunteth after the fume and vvind of other mens opinions; and &s;o in fine can be compared to nothing better,
<PB N="435" REF="231">then to an empty bladder, filled vvith the breath of an other mans mouth; vvhich is againe as &s;oone emptied, as at fir&s;t filled: not ob&s;eruing, poore vvretch, hovv in the <HI>Interim</HI> he lo&s;eth <HI>Oleum &amp; operam, his labour;</HI> for let him neuer hope to be able to erect and e&s;tablis&s;t his ovvne honour in oppo&s;ition to Gods honour: al&acirc;s what can Nothing doe again&s;t omnipotency? no, no, here is veri&s;ied <HI>litterallie</HI> that &s;aying; <HI>Acce|det homo ad cor altum, &amp; exaltabitur Deus; man shall come to a deepe hart, and God shall be exalted;</HI> man may grow proud in his heart, but in the end onely God shall be exalted; for he onely can and vvill &s;u&s;taine his ovvne honour &amp; glory <HI>In &s;aecula &s;aculorum. Amen.</HI> And vvhat then remaineth for the proud man's lot, but eternall confu&s;ion, ignominy and shame? for as he, that honoureth God, shall in the end be eter|nally honoured by him; &s;o he, that here &s;eeketh no honour but his owne, shall be eternally con|founded, shamed and affronted; neither shall all the fire of hell euer purge him of it.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith a finall and &s;etled re&s;olution. vtterly to renounce &s;elfe loue and &s;elfe honour, as the vipers, that con&s;ume the bovvels of our &s;oule: vvhen&s;oeuer others shall pray&s;e thee, or vvhen thy owne heart shall approue thy vvell doing; pau&s;e not there, but pre&s;ently vvith a quicknes of &s;pirit &s;ay; <HI>Non nobis Domine, non nobis, &s;ed nomini tuo da gloriam. Amen. Not to vs, &ocirc; Lord, not to vs, but to thy name giue the glorie. Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="appendix">
<PB N="436" REF="232">
<HEAD>AN APPENDIX. <HI>Of the &s;tate and vocation of a Scholler and Prie&s;t Mi&s;&s;ionary, or Seminari&s;t.</HI></HEAD>
<P>IT is common and naturall to all men, to pray&s;e and &s;et out their owne trade and pro|fe&s;&s;ion, vvhat&s;oeuer it be; and the rea&s;on is, becau&s;e no man vvill be thought by others to haue made his choice of the vvor&s;e. Hence are tho&s;e as vaine, as endle&s;&s;e di&s;putes euen among the profe&s;&s;ours of &s;pirituall perfection, vvhich of them may in right challenge the precedence, <HI>Hic pugnant, hic praelia mi&s;cent; here strifes, there contentions;</HI> fighting for the &s;ound or sha|dow, and letting &s;inke the &s;ub&s;tance and obliga|tion, as it is much to be feared. Wherefore omit|ting all &s;trife of compari&s;ons, let vs nakedly and humbly con&s;ider a little the &s;tate, condition, and obligation of tho&s;e that &s;tudy &amp; are bred vp in our English Seminaries, and are from thence &s;ent in Apo&s;tolicall Mi&s;&s;ion for the conuer&s;ion of their poore Country; and to this haue obliged them&s;elues by a vow ratified with a &s;olemne oath <HI>Coram Deo &amp; hominibus. Before God, and men.</HI> For this alone is the foundation, in&s;titution and practice of all our English Colledges, be|ginning from that of Doway (the Mother of them all, and the very fir&s;t after the Coun|cell of Trent) to this of Lisbo her younge&s;t child and daughter.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="437" REF="232">
<HEAD>THE FIRST MEDITATION. <HI>Of the excellency of learning and condi|tion of a Scholler.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, how learning being the ornament of the mind, mu&s;t as farre exceed all other qualities or faculties of the body, of bea&s;ts or of other creatures; as the minde or &s;oule of man &s;urpa&s;&s;eth them all; which is vvithout proportion. Hence it is that &s;chollers haue the preeminency aboue all other &s;ort of men; for there is no man, but laughes at a foole, how rich &s;o euer; and in his heart re&s;|pects a &s;choller, though neuer &s;o poore, admires his di&s;cour&s;es, and vvillingly &s;ubmits his iudge|ment to a &s;chollers opinion; looking on him as on a creature of a higher <HI>ranke</HI> or <HI>Species:</HI> this made Seneca &s;ay: <HI>Philo&s;ophiae etiam apud pe&s;|&s;imos honor est nunquam tant&ugrave;m conuale&s;cit ne|quitia; vt non philo&s;ophiae nomen venerabile &amp; &s;a|crum maneat: Philo&s;ophie is honoured euen by the vvor&s;t: neuer-doth vvickedne&s;&s;e &s;oe much preuaile, that the name of Philo&s;ophie should not be &s;acred and venerable:</HI> and the Poet; that <HI>Sa|piens vno minor e&s;t loue, diues, liber, honoratus. The vvi&s;eman is inferiour to none but Iupiter, he|is rich, free, and honoured by all.</HI> Princes Go|uernours, and Magi&s;trates are thought to know more then other men; and if they be &s;o, they are truely e&s;teemed; othervvi&s;e not: hence Plato
<PB N="438" REF="233">thought learning as nece&s;&s;ary for a Prince, as is the &s;oule for the body. Neither regularly can a &s;choller be poore, in ca&s;e he &s;eeke after riches &amp; contemne them not; for &s;urely he hath a great aduantage ouer others in the Theoricke; &s;o that a little indu&s;try &s;ufficeth to make the practicall compleat.</P>
<P>Conclude to thanke God Almighty vvith all thy heart for placing thee in the ranke of &s;chol|lers and re&s;olue to be con&s;tant in it; let not idle and flitting fancies of, J. know not vvhat, ca&s;t thee downe belovv thy &s;elfe; a fevv yeares vvill &s;erue to place thee <HI>In apice humanitatis. In the full height of learning.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly the true happines and content a &s;chollers life hath aboue all others: looke about the vvorld a little and ob&s;erue the re&s;tle&s;&s;e toyles, clamours &amp; mi&s;eries of all other occupations, trades &amp; callings from the highe&s;t to the lowe&s;t, from the King to the cobler: euery one complaineth of his &s;tate and calling, and vvisheth he had vndertaken &s;ome other: onely the &s;choller knovveth no other, vvith vvhich to change, if he haue but ta&s;ted a little of the quiet|nes and &s;vveetnes of his ovvne; being mo&s;t free from that common plague, called proper inte|re&s;t, the &s;ource of all contentions and mi&s;eries. The plea&s;ure of learning is mo&s;t pure and Ethe|reall; mo&s;t con&s;tant, gathering &s;trength vvith her increa&s;e: finally mo&s;t &s;ecure and honorable, vvithout any danger of foule di&s;ea&s;es, blemish of fame, or breach of friendship: vvhereas all
<PB N="439" REF="233">other plea&s;ures are gro&s;&s;e, tumultuous &amp; fordid, mo&s;t short and fraile, &s;oone cloyng the appetite, <HI>Et nau&s;eam prouocantes: and prouoking loath &s;omene&s;&s;e:</HI> and la&s;tly all of them mo&s;t hurtfull to the body, dangerous to our credit; and all mo&s;t incompo&s;&s;ible vvith true friendship, the onely jevvell of this mortall life: and yet hardly &s;ound in her ovvne purity and lu&s;tre but among&s;t &s;chollers:</P>
<P>Conclude to enjoy the fullnes of happines, that God hath ca&s;t into thy hands; and pity ra|ther then enuy tho&s;e, vvho like blind moles lye rooting vp the plea&s;ures of corpulent dregs: ply hard the cultiuating of thy mind; that thy de|light may euer goe increa&s;ing thinke not of change, till others a&s;&s;ure thee, of a condition better then thy ovvne; that is, change neuer.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly the admirable excellency and prerogatiue of &s;acred Diuinity. All other arts and &s;ciences are either &s;peculatiue or practi|call; but Diuinity is both together; her &s;pecula|tiue part ray&s;eth, or rather ingulfeth and drovv|neth the vnder&s;tanding in the hidden my&s;teries of the Eternall Deity; and lodged as it vvere <HI>In &s;inu Patris, in God the Fathers bo&s;ome,</HI> plea&s;eth her &s;elfe in the &s;earch of tho&s;e vnconceiuable Proce&s;&s;ions; vvhere to lo&s;e her &s;elfe, is her grea|te&s;t delight and her be&s;t knovvledge. Hence shee taketh her &s;light vvith more ea&s;e thorough the vvhole created machine, vvith the beginning, cau&s;es, gouernement, effects and finall period of the vvhole Vniuer&s;e. <HI>O, quid magis animum
<PB N="440" REF="234">trahit, qu&agrave;m tanta veritas? O vvhat more allu|reth the mind, then &s;oe much veritie?</HI> Her practi|call part, doth regulate and order all the actions, operations and cour&s;es of mans life, from the highe&s;t to the lovve&s;t; none e&s;capeth her: shee &s;etleth and &s;ecureth the my&s;teries of our Faith, shee teacheth hovv to bridle our pa&s;&s;ions; hovv to comply vvith that our three-fold duty, tovv|ards God, our neighbour, and our &s;elues; finally shee alone maketh a man free &amp; exempt from &s;ubjection to others, in all vvhat belongeth to a man <HI>O &s;apientia Alti&s;&s;imi, O vvi&s;edsme of the highest,</HI> hovv vvell did Salomon prefer thee before Kingdomes, &s;iluer, gold, precious &s;tones and health it &s;elfe? <HI>Diuinum lumen, &amp; caele&s;tis ardor. Diuine light, and heauenlie brightne&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith humble thankes to the diuine mercy, <HI>Quae eduxit te de tenebris in admirabile lumen &s;uum: vvhich brought thee out of dark|ne&s;&s;e into its admirable light.</HI> The more thou art exalted, the more humble thy &s;elfe, lea&s;t thou offend again&s;t the fir&s;t principles of this &s;cience; towit; <HI>Solus Deus est Eus &agrave; &s;e, omne aliud ab illo. Only God is from him&s;elfe, euery thing el&s;e from him.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly the dominion &amp; com|mand, that &s;acred Diuinity hath ouer all other e&s;tates, arts and &s;ciences vvhat&s;oeuer; all &s;toope to her, all con&s;ult vvith her, all expect her defi|nitiue &s;entence; expecially in matters of greate&s;t importance and highe&s;t con&s;ideration. Of her doe Kings and Princes learne <HI>Quid licitum, quid
<PB N="441" REF="234">hone&s;tum, vvhat is lavvfull, and vvhat is ho|ne&s;t,</HI> in their politike affaires of peace or war; &ocirc; and how &s;ecure and glad are they, if the con&s;ent of Diuines fauour their de&s;ignes? Next the Ci|uill Magi&s;trate and Lawyer con&s;ult vvith the Diuine vpon the meaning, vnder&s;tanding &amp; ap|plication of the fir&s;t and head principles of the lawes, vvhich they profe&s;&s;e. The &s;ame pa&s;&s;eth vvith Ma&s;ters of familyes, Citizens, Merchante &amp;c. from hence doe they learne their obligation towards their parents, wiues, children, fellowes and &s;eruants: hence mu&s;t Merchants fetch that golden Rule of <HI>Aequum</HI> and <HI>Iu&s;tum, right and rea&s;on,</HI> vvhich &s;o much concernes their eternall &s;aluation, in that mo&s;t dangerous and ticklish occupation they profe&s;&s;e. This makes &s;acred Diuinity an ab&s;olute Lady and Prince&s;&s;e of the life of man; and the Profe&s;&s;ours thereof hovv poore &s;oeuer, yet truely e&s;teemed, honoured &amp; reuerenced.</P>
<P>Conclude to imploy this <HI>Donum Dei this Gift of God</HI> to the good of all men, for vvhich end he hath be&s;towed it on thee. Take heed thou de|ceiue not poore &s;oules, vvhich shall aske thy coun&s;ell, by thy malice or ignorance; for if they perish by thee, their bloud vvill be re|quired at thy hands.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="442" REF="235">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>Of the &s;tate &amp; dignity of Priesthood.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t that the excellency of a Religious &s;tate hath been, the&s;e la&s;t ages, &s;o much &s;amed for the onely &s;tate of perfection; that the Uulgar &s;ort now a dayes, and &s;ome ignorant per&s;ons in particular, dare prefer it before the mo&s;t holy &s;tate and function of Prie&s;thood; to the great dishonor of Chri&s;t &amp; his Mini&s;ters; and contrary to the &s;en&s;e of the Catholike Church vvith all her Doctours, and Diuines a&s;well Religious as Secular; vvho all teach and acknowledge <HI>Statum Sacerdotij &s;ubli|miorem e&s;&s;e &s;tatu Religionis; The &s;tate of Priest|hood to be an higher &s;tate then that of Religion;</HI> &amp; to the proofe of this doth S. Thomas alleadge the&s;e vvords out of S. Denis: <HI>Mona&s;ticus ordo debet &s;equi Sacerdotales ordines &amp; ad eorum imi|tationem in diuina a&s;cendere: The Monasticall or|der must follovv that of Priesthood, and by imita|ting it increa&s;e its deuotion.</HI> S. Ignatius al&s;o &s;ayth; <HI>Sacerdotium est apex bonorum omnium quae &s;unt in hominibus: &s;iquis ergo Sacerdotes inhono|rauerit, Deum inhonorat, &amp; Dominum Ie&s;um Christum primogenitum omnis creaturae. Priest|hood is the highe&s;t of all perfections vvhich are found amongst men: vvho&s;oeuer therefore shall dishonour a Priest, dishonoureth God, and our Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t the fir&s;t-borne of all creaturs.</HI>
<PB N="443" REF="235">For vvhich this generall rea&s;on may at pre&s;ent &s;uffice; that the power and function of Prie&s;t|hood is the greate&s;t vpon earth; as being ouer the body of Chri&s;t, both naturall and my&s;ticall: and its &s;tate is al&s;o made perpetuall by a Sacra|mentall Character; vvhich Religion hath onely by a &s;olemne vow; and for &s;pirituall. Hierarchi|call power, she hath no more of her &s;elfe and vvithout priuiledge, then a Laike; and &s;o is both vvayes farre inferiour to Prie&s;thood.</P>
<P>Conclude, if thou ha&s;t liued hitherto in the common ignorance of the vulgar; to open a little thy eyes and looke vvith a better a&s;pect vpon holy Prie&s;thood; and prepare thy heart vvith humility to make further &s;earch into the great and diuine my&s;teries inherent and an|nexed vnto it.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly; and before vvee enter into further particulars, ponder and imprint in thy mind the&s;e vvords of the mellifinous S. Ambro&s;e, and be confident that in him &s;peake all the re&s;t of the Fathers. <HI>Audite me,</HI> quot he, <HI>beati&s;&s;imi Patres, &amp; &s;i dignum ducitis, &s;ancti&s;&s;imi Fratres: audite me&s;tirps <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">euitica, germen Sacer|dotale, propago &s;ancti&s;icata, Duces &amp; Rectores gregis Chri&s;ti; audite me rogantem vos, pariter &amp; timentem; &amp; henorem Sacerd<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">talem demon|&s;trare volentem; vt cum honorts vobis praerogati|uam mon&s;tramus, merita etiam congrua requira|mus; dignum enim est, vt dignitas Sacerdotalis prius no&s;catur &agrave; nobis, &amp; &s;ic deinde &s;eruetur &agrave; no|bis. Heare me, you mo&s;t happie Fathers, and my
<PB N="444" REF="236">mo&s;t holy brothers, if you thinke it meete: heare me ye leuiticall &s;tocke, ye prie&s;tlie race, and &s;ancti|fied linage, ye Guides and rulers of Chri&s;t's flocke; heare me asking you, as vvell feare full as de&s;irous to declare vnto you Prie&s;tlie honour; that vvhen vve demonstrate vnto you the prerogatiue of that honour, vve likevvi&s;e require proportionable me|rite; for it is fitting, that the dignitie of Priest|hood should first be knovvne by vs, and &s;oe then be con&s;erued by vs.</HI> Thus farre his prologue; then thus he goeth on. <HI>Honor igitur &amp; &s;ublimitas Sa|cerdotalis nullis poterit comparationibus adaqua|ri: &s;i Regum &s;ulgori compares, long&egrave; erit inferior, qu&agrave;m &s;i plumbi metallum ad auri fulgorem com|pares; quipp&egrave; eum <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ideas Regum &amp; Principium colla &s;ubmitti genibus Sacerdotum Nibil est in ho<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;aeculo excellentius Sacerdotibus, &s;i quod &s;umus pro|fe&s;&s;ione, actione potius qu&agrave;m nomine demonstre|mus, vt nomen congruat actioni, actio re&s;pondeat nomini: ne &s;it nomen in ane, &amp; crimen immane; ne &s;it honor &s;ublimis &amp; vita deformis, ne &s;it deifica profe&s;&s;io &amp; illicita actio. The honour therefore and dignitie of Prie&s;thood can vvith noe compari&s;ons be paralled: if you compare it to the splendour of Kin|ges, that is more inferiour to it, then is lead to Gold; &s;ince you may &s;ee Kinges &amp; Princes neckes &s;ubiect to the knees of Prie&s;tes. Nothing is there in this vvorld excelling Prie&s;t, if vve demon&s;trate by action rather then name vvhat vve profe&s;&s;e, that the name may agree vvith the action, and the action, core&s;ponde vvith the name: lea&s;t the name be bare, and the crime great; least the honour be
<PB N="445" REF="236">high, and the life deformed, lea&s;t the profe&s;&s;ion be Godlie, and the exerci&s;e of it vncomelie.</HI> Where ob&s;erue, that the holy Saint no &s;ooner begin|neth to &s;et out the dignity of Prie&s;thood, but &s;peaketh pre&s;ently of the obligation annexed vnto it: vvhence.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith no le&s;&s;e feare then e&s;teeme of &s;o great and diuine a dignity; for <HI>Hoc medio tu|ti&s;&s;imus ibis: In this midle vvay thou vvilt goe &s;afe:</HI> by feare and humility thou maye&s;t tem|per the &s;oaring height of Prie&s;thood: vvhich as S. Chry&s;o&s;tome &s;ayth; <HI>Peragitur in terra, &s;ed in rerum calestium cla&s;&s;em referendum est, tis perfor|med on earth, but is to be referred to the cla&s;&s;e of heauenlie thinges.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, how <HI>Sacerdos e&s;t medius inter populum &amp; Deum; the</HI> publike <HI>Media|tour</HI> and Emba&s;&s;adour <HI>betvvixt God and Man;</HI> offering vp to God the common vowes, &s;acri|fices, and petitions of the people; and againe bringing downe from God vpon the &s;ame peo|ple all heauenly ble&s;&s;ings, fauours and graces. The fir&s;t part of his office, towit, <HI>Vt con&s;titui|tur pro hominibus in ijs quae &s;unt ad Deum, vt offerat dona; As he is con&s;tituted for men in tho&s;e thinges vvhich are in order to God, that he might offer theire gifts;</HI> inuolues two principall digni|tyes, the one is of a publike Ma&s;ter and Doctour, to teach the people their duty, &s;eruice and Re|ligion towards God; for <HI>Labia Sacerdotis cu&s;to|dient &s;cientiam, &amp; legem requirent ex ore eius: the lippes of the prie&s;t shall keepe knovvledge, and the
<PB N="442" REF="237">law they shall require from his mouth:</HI> by this title he &s;urmounteth all other Profe&s;&s;iours of vvhat &s;ciences or arts &s;oeuer. The other digni|ty is, that a Prie&s;t is <HI>Princeps Sacrorum, the di&s;po|&s;er of all holy thinges.</HI> Ordering &amp; commanding all that belongs to the rites and ceremonies of the common Religion; which authority as farre &s;urpa&s;&s;eth that of Kings and ciuill Gouernours, as doth the obligation of the people towards their God exceed that towards their kindred or country; vvhich hath &s;mall proportion. Mo|reouer the Prie&s;t's bu&s;ines is to treat <HI>De bonis &amp; malis animae, of the good and euill of the &s;oule,</HI> as &s;inne and grace for the pre&s;ent; and of heauen and hell, glory and damnation for the future Eternity. O &s;tupid peruer&s;ity, that can&s;t compare any vvordly dignity or authority vvith Prie&s;t|hood! thou may&s;t as vvell compare a moment of our time vvith Eternity.</P>
<P>Conclude to honour a Prie&s;t from thy heart; and how high &s;oeuer thou art in the vvorld, ac|knowledge him aboue thee: and how wi&s;e &s;oeuer thou &s;eeme&s;t harken to his aduice, in vvhat&s;oeuer belongeth to God.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly how a Prie&s;t by the &s;e|cond part of his office, towit, as he is Gods great <HI>Administrator &amp; di<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">pen&s;ator mysteriorum Dei, the administratour &amp; di&s;pen&s;our of the mi&s;teries of God,</HI> di&s;tributing to all the vvorld the trea&s;ures &amp; riches of heauen; beareth with him an vn&s;peaka|ble authority and excellency, &s;o farre aboue the re&s;t of men; as that the va&s;t Ocean doth not
<PB N="443" REF="237">more exceed &s;mall ponds or lakes in aboundan|ce of vvaters; nor the &s;unne more dazell a vvax taper in brightnes; nor the vvhole Element of Fire more ouercome our poore &s;parkes or coales in the vigour of heat; then doth this &s;upreme dignity and prerogatiue of Prie&s;thood &s;urpa&s;&s;e all other &s;ublunary Povver vvhat&s;oeuer: for what are humane Potentates, but commanders of &s;ome poore parcell or corner of the earth, in things of the&s;e inferiour and materiall Elements &amp;c. but Prie&s;thood is an vniuer&s;all command &amp; &s;upremacy ouer the vvhole earth, <HI>Quanta quanta e&s;t; hovv great &s;oeuer it be:</HI> and in mat|ters of Eternity and immortality, aboue the vvhole &s;pheare of Nature; and reaching dovvne vnto vs <HI>Plenitudinem Diuinitatis, the fullne&s;&s;e of the diuinitie,</HI> as farre as the pa&s;&s;ion of the Sonne of God and the effu&s;ion of the holy Gho&s;t can poure vpon vs. <HI>Quaenam ob&s;ecro,</HI> quoth S. Chry|&s;o&s;tome, <HI>pote&s;tas hac vna major e&s;&s;e queat? Pater omnem potestatem dedit Filio; caeterum video ean|dem ip&s;am omnifariam pote&s;tatem &agrave; Deo Filio Sa|cerdotibus traditam. VVhat povver, I pray you, can be greater then this? the Father gaue all power to the Sonne: yet I &s;ee that &s;ame vniuer&s;all power to be geuen to priests by God the Sonne.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith due admiration of the digni|ty, thou art called vnto; but yet faint not, feare not; <HI>Deus qui vocauit, idoneum faciet: God who hath called thee, vvill make the fitt:</HI> onely giue thy &s;elfe vp vvholly into his hands; and then commit thy &s;elfe and all to his diuine &s;weetnes.</P>
<P N="5"><PB N="444" REF="238"> 5. Con&s;ider fifthly <HI>Duas illas claues Sacerdo|tij, that double povver of Priesthood</HI> ouer the Na|turall and My&s;ticall body of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t. That a poore, &s;illy, nay &s;infull man, <HI>Eo ip&s;o meerely</HI> that he is a Prie&s;t, can and doth, vvhen and as oft as he plea&s;e, vvith foure vvords call downe from the right hand of his Father, the Eternall Sonne of the Omnipotent God of heauen; haue and keep him in his power, in his hands, in his brea&s;t; deliuer him, to vvhom he plea&s;e, though to the Jewes againe; and to vhom he plea&s;e, deny him, though the Angells should de&s;ire him: and how? <HI>Obediente Domino voci &amp; di&s;po|&s;itioni hominis; Our Lord obeying to the voice, and di&s;po&s;ing of man;</HI> &s;o that the heauens vvi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l &s;ooner fall, then he faile, in this his obedience. O mo&s;t great and good God! vvhence comes it that a &s;laue &s;o commands his Lord? vvhat hath <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ay&s;ed him &s;o high, or brought thee &s;o lovv? <HI>Ob&s;tupe&s;cite Caeli &s;uper hoc. Be a&s;tonied ye hea|uens vpon this.</HI> The Virgin Mother had the pri|uiledge but once to conceiue him in her pure&s;t wombe; being notwith&s;tanding &s;uch a Lady as shee was: and J and thou, being &s;uch wretches, as wee are, can (let me once &s;ay &s;o) command him euery day. O &s;ee, not Men, Kings, or Mo|narchs: but the Thrones, Powers and Princi|palityes of heauen fall prone at the feet of a Prie&s;t; vvhether more to adore their God in his hands, or the Prie&s;tly power it &s;elfe; truely I cannot &s;o ea&s;ily re&s;olue: <HI>E&s;t enim &s;plendore il|lorum quiddam rutilantius, imperio potentius,
<PB N="445" REF="238">ordine excellentius, &amp; Diuinitati vicinius. For it is &s;ome thing more bright then their &s;plendour, more mightie then their povver excelling each their order, and nigher to the diuinitie.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith a totall confu&s;ion and rap|ture of thy &s;oule: but &s;tay not there; looke vpon the heauens, the Angells, the Virgin Mo|ther; hope at lea&s;t to imitate their purity: turne then to the Sonne of God; and &s;ee if thou can&s;t be euer any more proud or di&s;obedient to thy Superiours.</P>
<P N="6">6. Con&s;ider &s;ixthly the other power of Prie&s;t|hood ouer Chri&s;t's My&s;ticall body; the power to wit of forgiuing or retaining the &s;innes of the vvhole vvorld. O Chri&s;tian and true-belieuing &s;oule; wonder now no more, that the holy Scri|ptures giue to Prie&s;ts the titles of Angell, Son|nes of God, nay of Gods; <HI>Ego dixi, Dij estis: I &s;aide, you are Goddes:</HI> for vvhereas now euery Prie&s;t doth really and efficaciou&s;ly forgiue &s;in|nes, vvhen&s;oeuer he &s;ayth: <HI>Ego te ab&s;oluo; I ab|&s;olue thee:</HI> and againe, <HI>N<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">mo pote&s;t dimittere peccata ni&s;i &s;olus Deus; None can forgiue &s;innes, but only God.</HI> O vvhat followeth le&s;&s;e but that <HI>Sacerdos est Deus. A Priest is a God.</HI> Behold now this &s;econdary and delegated Godhead, &s;itting in his judgement &s;eat ouer cau&s;es, not of hay &amp; &s;traw or &s;uch like trifles; no nor of this tempo|rall life; but of the eternall life and death of the &s;oule; vvhat trea&s;ons shee hath committed again&s;t her Creatour, iniuries again&s;t her neigh|bour, or indignities again&s;t her owne worth:
<PB N="446" REF="239">and this not by doubtfull or ob&s;cure <HI>Probata &amp; allegata; Probations and allegations,</HI> but by <HI>Sim|plicem &amp; claram intuitionem con&s;cientiarum: A &s;imple and cleare beholding of their con&s;ciences: O stupendum! O vvonder to,</HI> &s;ee, Princes, Po|lititians and priuy-coun&s;ellers come creeping on their knees, to di&s;couer to a poore Prie&s;t the mo&s;t hidden &s;ecrets and my&s;teries of their Arts: <HI>Et quod Sacerdos aperit, Deus non claudit, nec aperit quod Sacerdos claudit; &s;ed calum tradidit in manus eius. And vvhat a Priest openeth God doth not shutt, nor open vvhat a Priest shulteth: but hath deliuered heauen into his handes.</HI> And vvill any man that beleeueth and con&s;idereth this, e&s;teeme any other dignity, or feare any other power but this? &s;ure no man is &s;o mad.</P>
<P>Conclude thou to inuoke all the powers of heauen and earth to pray&s;e that great God, <HI>Qui dedit potestatem talem heminibus, vvho gaue &s;uch povver to men,</HI> looke out for knowledge, pru|dence and charity; <HI>Vt &s;acias iudicia iu&s;ta &amp; re|cta coram Domino. That thou may'&s;t doe iust and right iudgements before the Lord.</HI></P>
<P N="7">7. Con&s;ider &s;euenthly the great obligation a Prie&s;t hath to &s;anctity and all &s;ort of vertue; vvhich by good con&s;equence mu&s;t be according to the degree he hath receiued of dignity &amp; ex|cellency, vvhich as vvee haue &s;een, is the grea|te&s;t vpon earth: and according to the &s;trict ac|count that vvill be demanded of him, vvhich al&s;o vvill be the greate&s;t among&s;t men; the grea|te&s;t therefore aboue all other &s;orts of men, mu&s;t
<PB N="447" REF="239">be the &s;anctity, vertue and purity of a Prie&s;t: correct therefore in thy &s;elfe and others, that mo&s;t commonly receiued, yet mo&s;t erroneous conceit, that &s;ecular Prie&s;ts are not bound to &s;eeke perfection, but onely religious men; &s;o cry the ignorant &s;ort, but no man of learning or vnder&s;tanding dare affirme it: read Molina <HI>Tract.</HI> 2. <HI>de Sacerd.</HI> vvhere out of S. Chry&s;o&s;to|me he bringeth the compari&s;on betwixt a mon|ke and a Prie&s;t: <HI>Monachorum certamen ingens &amp; labor multus est; verum &s;i conferre qui volet instituti illius &s;udores cum recte adminictrato Sa|cerdotio, cert&egrave; tantum e&s;&s;e inter illa dua di&s;crimen reperiet, quantum e&s;t inter priuatum &amp; Regem. The exerci&s;e of monkes is great, and theire labour much, but if any one vvould compare the laboures of that institution vvith rightly admini&s;tred Priesthood, truely he shall find as great a diffe|rence betvvixt tho&s;e tvvo, as is betvvixt a Pri|uate man and a King.</HI> Nay he placeth the &s;an|ctity of a Prie&s;t among&s;t that of Angells: <HI>Ne|ce&s;&s;e e&s;t Sacerdotem &s;ic e&s;&s;e purum, vt &s;i in ip&s;is cae|lis collocatus, inter caelestes illas virtutes medius &s;taret. It is nece&s;&s;arie that a Prie&s;t be &s;oe pure, as that if he vvere placed in heauen he vvould stand in the midde&s;t of tho&s;e heauenlie virtues.</HI> The &s;a|me teacheth S. Denis vvith all the Fathers and Doctours. What&s;oeuer holines therefore can be required in liuing men, the fir&s;t and mo&s;t obli|ged vnto it, is a Prie&s;t; &amp; of this a&s;&s;ure thy &s;elfe.</P>
<P>Conclude on the one &s;ide vvith great feare of thy &s;elfe; becau&s;e as a holy Pope &s;ayth: <HI>Vtii&s;&s;imus
<PB N="448" REF="240">computandus est, qui est honore prae&s;tantior, ni&s;i etiam praecellat &s;cientia &amp; dignitate: He is to be thought most vile, vvho excelleth in honour, vnles he likevvi&s;e excell in knovvledge and vvorth:</HI> yet on the other &s;ide be confident in God al|mighty; <HI>Non de&s;erit ni&s;i prius de&s;ertus; he lea|ueth not, vnles he be fir&s;t left,</HI> but giueth allwayes grace according to the charge, he impo&s;eth.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE THIRD MEDITATION. <HI>Of the &s;tate and obligation of an Apo&s;tolicall or Mi&s;&s;ionary Prie&s;t.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that Mi&s;&s;ionary or Apo|&s;tolicall Prie&s;thood is the highe&s;t digni|ty vpon earth; vvho&s;e end being the conuer&s;ion of &s;oules, is in part the &s;ame, for vvhich the Sonne of God became man, and for which the twelue Apo&s;tles were by him di&s;per|&s;ed ouer the whole world: and, as the Cardinalls <HI>De propaganda fide</HI> haue declared, <HI>Est praestan|tior fine Religionis; Is excelling the end of Reli|gion;</HI> vvho giue al&s;o the rea&s;on; <HI>Nam inter di|uina opera diuini&s;&s;imum e&s;t ad &s;alutem animarum cooperari.</HI> Neither can any man vvith rea&s;on doubt hereof; vvho con&s;idereth that diuine cha|rity is the forme and life of euery &s;pirituall &s;tate and profe&s;&s;ion; that is, loue of God and our Neighbour: both vvhich loues the &s;tate of Mi&s;|&s;ion doth require in the highe&s;t degree; hence our Sauiour demanded thrice of S. Peter, <HI>Amas
<PB N="449" REF="240">me? loue&s;t thou me?</HI> and then, <HI>Pa&s;ce oues meas. Feede my sheepe.</HI> For the fir&s;t part of his function is. <HI>Euangelizare, to Euangelize,</HI> that is, to be the head and ma&s;ter of contemplatiues; the &s;econd is, <HI>Gubernare animas; to rule and gouerne &s;oules;</HI> that is, to teach the ignorant, and correct the faulty: <HI>Nullum,</HI> quoth S. Gregory, <HI>Deo omni|potenti e&s;t tale &s;acrificium, qualo e&s;t zelus anima rum: There is noe &s;uch &s;acrifice can be offerred to the omnipotent God, as is the zeale of &s;oules:</HI> Nei|ther feare that preaching or teaching doth any vvay hinder the contemplatiue part; <HI>Non enim impedit, &s;ed extendit charitatem: For it doth not hinder, but extend charitie:</HI> witnes the Apo&s;tles, who euer ioyned Mary and Martha in one.</P>
<P>Conclude to humble thy &s;oule before God for calling thee from nothing, to be a pillar in his Church, and a champion in his battles: whet vp thy courage, pre&s;erue and increa&s;e in thy heart this diuine flame of charity; and let thy workes and fingers <HI>Stillare primam myrrham eius. Di&s;till its principall myrrhe.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly, how many tyes &amp; ob|ligations thou ha&s;t, to goe on in the enterpri&s;e begun; to wit, the conuer&s;ion of thy Country: the fir&s;t is, that thou ha&s;t obliged thy &s;elfe vnto it, by a firme and &s;olemne oath, vvhich is &s;tron|ger then a vow, v&s;ed by Religious men; for as much as this kind of oath includeth both a pro|mi&s;e, vvhich is the &s;ub&s;tance of a vow, and al&s;o the calling of God for a vvitnes; and God him|&s;elfe hath oft v&s;ed to confirme his owne pro|mi&s;es
<PB N="450" REF="241">vvith an oath, &s;o to make vs e&s;teeme them the &s;urer and &s;tronger. Thy &s;econd obligation is of ju&s;tice, fir&s;t on thy owne &s;ide for hauing receiued thy breeding and education in vertue and learning, vpon the condition and contract of a&s;&s;i&s;ting the conuer&s;ion of thy country: next on thy countreys &s;ide, vvhich is in a &s;pirituall extreame nece&s;&s;ity and in imminent danger of eternall damnation vnles thou and &s;uch others a&s;&s;i&s;t her; if then for a temporall nece&s;&s;ity of our Parents vvee may &amp; ought to for&s;ake all other obligations to relieue them, how farre more are vvee bound to prefer the &s;pirituall ne|ce&s;&s;ity of our country before all other vowes, vvhat&s;oeuer are incompetent vvith it? Neither thinke that becau&s;e thou art bound to this by oath &amp; ju&s;tice, thou do&s;t therefore le&s;&s;e out of charity, as &s;ome &s;ophi&s;ters talke; for the order of charity is, to be greater there, vvhere ju&s;tice and duty vrgeth mo&s;t.</P>
<P>Conclude as thou art the fir&s;t in &s;trictnes of duty and ju&s;tice, &s;o to let no man goe before thee in the great worke of thy country's conuer|&s;ion: beg daylie of God <HI>Zelum animarum: the zeale of &s;oules,</HI> con&s;ider &s;ometimes how much God valueth a &s;oule, <HI>Ita vt Vnigenitum daret. Soe much that he vvould giue his only-begotten Sonne.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly the conditions and diffi|culties of thy &s;tate; and deceiue not thy &s;elfe; it is not to returne into thy country, and to liue among thy friends at thy ea&s;e and content; nor
<PB N="451" REF="241">to haue all things prouided to thy hand as in Colledges; no nor to be &s;upplyed in thy nece&s;|&s;ityes out of the common &s;tocke, as the Reli|gious are; but to liue in perpetuall hazard of thy life and liberty from the lawes and Mini&s;ters of thy natiue &s;oyle; euer mo&s;t ready to &s;urrender both <HI>Pro Christo &amp; amico: For Chri&s;t and thy friend;</HI> next for thy per&s;onall nece&s;&s;ityes, to find thy &s;elfe all alone, wandering from place to place vvithout any certaine abode to put thy head in; &ocirc; how many &s;leight putt-offs, or at the be&s;t, dry vvelcomes art thou to meet vvith! how many pretences of dangers &amp; feares vvill againe ha&s;ten thee out of doores! none but vvho haue had the experience can truely conceiue it. Finally if thou come&s;t to vvant thou mu&s;t euen &s;it downe vvith it, for ought J know; and practice that pouerty, vvhich others profe&s;&s;e, and feele not; but are on all &s;ides a&s;&s;i&s;ted, re&s;pected an honou|red; nay vvill be the fir&s;t shall worke thee out of harbour, if good lucke haue any vvay accom|modated thee.</P>
<P>Conclude not to be di&s;mayed for all this; <HI>Sed &s;cias viam vitae te ingredi; but knovv that thou entereth the vvay of life;</HI> vvas not this the life of the Apo&s;tles and of Chri&s;t him&s;elfe, <HI>Qui non habebat vbi reclinaret caput? vvho had not vvhere to repo&s;e his head:</HI> &ocirc; re&s;olue to thinke nothingh honorable, nothing Apo&s;tolicall but this vvay; lea&s;t thou hazard the honour of Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, vvho knovv no other: let others talke as vaine gloriou&s;ly
<PB N="452" REF="242">as they vvill, all vvill proue but vvind.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly the great difficulty of this entrepri&s;e of &s;oules: the charge is twofold; <HI>De malis bonos facere; &amp; iam factos con&s;eruare: to make good men of ill, and to con&s;erue tho&s;e that are m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">e:</HI> &ocirc; vvhat an impo&s;&s;ibility is it, to per|&s;uade vvorldly and carnall men to for&s;ake their &s;en&s;uall plea&s;ures for others, not onely inui&s;i|ble, and to them meerely imaginary or phan|ta&s;ticall; but al&s;o quite oppo&s;ite and de&s;tructiue of tho&s;e, they doe &s;urely and quietly enjoy! gue&s;&s;e &s;omevvhat, by the &s;tiffnes vve &s;ee men haue in a preconceiued opinion, though pu|rely &s;peculatiue, and no vvay concerning their good or harme. Againe the meanes vvee v&s;e, are not aboundance of miracles as in the Apo&s;t|les time, &s;ufficient to &s;trike and molli&s;y the har|de&s;t hearts; but rea&s;ons very &s;peculatiue, &amp; au|thorities of no credit vvith them: neither are tho&s;e wee mu&s;t deale vvith, rude and &s;imple peo|ple, whom at lea&s;t a faire flourish or di&s;cour&s;e might allure; but mo&s;t &s;ubtile, crafty &amp; beaten to all thy arguments; and vvho from their mo|thers brea&s;t, are taught and forewarned not to belieue a Papi&s;t nor Prie&s;t, for that they are im|po&s;tars, and deceiuers, nay murderes, traytours &amp;c. &ocirc; vvhat hope, vvhat helpe in &s;uch an en|counter? truely none but from God and confi|dence in him. Now hauing by Gods mercy gained any to the truth; to con&s;erue them in it, is the &s;econd taske, as hard as the former; for all the lawes of thy country both Ciuill and Eccle|&s;ia&s;ticall
<PB N="453" REF="242">are &s;trongly again&s;t both thee and thy Conuertit's, threatning vtter ruine and death to both: neither ha&s;t thou any meanes left thee vn|der heauen, but vvhat is purely &s;pirituall or <HI>I<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;oro interno c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n&s;cientiae: In the &s;ecre&s;ie of thy con|&s;cience:</HI> a &s;lender thread to hold &s;o great a vveight</P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly, or rather make a &s;trong and finall re&s;olution vvith thy &s;elfe out of all the points hitherto pondered; fir&s;t to make a true and &s;etled e&s;teeme of the E&s;tate and voca|tion God hath called thee vnto, to wit of a &s;chol|ler, Prie&s;t and Mi&s;&s;ionary; that there is none in the vvhole Chri&s;tian Church more worthy, more honorable, or of more perfection; as hath been shewed in particular; &amp; vvhat&s;oeuer other men pretend or talke, pre&s;erue thou this cer|tainety in thy brea&s;t: but by, no meanes be con|tentions vvith any; it cannot but breake peace and charity. Next re&s;olue, <HI>Honorare officium &amp; dignitatem tuam; to honour thy office and digni|tie;</HI> that is, &s;etting all other cares, thoughts and imployments a&s;ide, to apply thy &s;elfe vvholy, <HI>Quantus quantus es, as far as thy abilities per|mit thee,</HI> to get here in the Colledge tho&s;e two talents of vertue &amp; learning, &s;o preci&s;ely nece&s;|&s;ary for thy &s;tate, and the vvorke thou ayme&s;t at: <HI>O miles Chri&s;ti, &ocirc; &s;ouldier of Christ,</HI> be not decei|ued vvith flatteryes; be not tyred vvith prayer &amp; &s;tudy; be not di&s;mayed vvith the poore &amp; &s;mall difficultyes, that can here happen vnto thee: al&aacute;s they are not &s;o much as flea-bites to what poore
<PB N="454" REF="243">vvorldlings groan vnder; or to tho&s;e which thou thy &s;elfe mu&s;t hereafter encounter vvith. Get vvhat learning thy ability &amp; indu&s;try can bring thee to; in thy prayers and Meditations be a&s;&s;i|duous and permanent; and in them ayme euer at the loue of God and thy neighbour, that <HI>Gem|ma caelestis,</HI> that <HI>Donum Spiritus Sancti &s;uper om|nia dona. That heauenlie Gemme, that gift of the holy Ghost vvhich is aboue all Gifts.</HI> Finally in all things obey thy Superious, keep peace vvith thy fellowes, what &s;oeuer it co&s;t thee; and vvhat|&s;oeuer thou &s;ee&s;t good and vertuous in others, &s;triue vpon occa&s;ion to imitate it; but vvhat thou &s;ee&s;t ami&s;&s;e, let it be to thee a warning to auoyde the like. <HI>Haec &s;i feceris, habebis multa bona, &amp; in futuro vitam aeternam. Amen. This if thou vvilt doe, much pro&s;peritie shalt thou haue in this life, and in the future life euerlasting. Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="conclusion">
<HEAD>A CONCLVSION FOR THE WHOLE YEARE. <HI>Hovv to examine our progre&s;&s;e and renevv our purpo&s;es and re&s;olutions.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>COrpus, quod corrumpitur, aggrauat ani|mam &amp; deprimit &s;en&s;um multa cogitan|tem; The bodie that is corrupted burdeneth the &s;oule, and pre&s;&s;eth downe the vnder&s;tanding that thinketh many thinges;</HI> the bad inclinations of our fraile nature lye heauy vpon our &s;oules,
<PB N="455" REF="243">and draw them &s;till downewards; if wee &s;triue not oft times to lift them vp by maine force of re&s;olution. For this purpo&s;e, be&s;ides our daylie exerci&s;e, and a&s;pirations, vvhich are as short flights of our &s;oules; it is m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t requi&s;ite once a yeare at lea&s;t to make a &s;erious &amp; general &s;uruey of our &s;pirituall profit and progre&s;&s;e; and then to renew all our good de&s;ires and purpo&s;es, that &s;o with new life and courage wee may, <HI>Proce|dere de virtute in virtutem v&s;que ad montem Dei: Proceede from virtue to virtute euen to the moun|taine of God,</HI> lea&s;t on the contrary by &s;loth and negligence vvee &s;uddenly tumble downe to our fir&s;t &s;tate, or rather into a farre wor&s;e: for &s;piri|tuall falles haue this property, that they ca&s;t vs allwayes lower, then was the &s;tate from which vve a&s;cended vp to deuotion.</P>
<P><HI>The&s;e mu&s;t begin to be read on the</HI> 26. <HI>of August at night.</HI></P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE FIRST MEDITATION. <HI>How to examine our &s;pirituall progre&s;&s;e.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, and call to mind the pro|te&s;tations or at lea&s;t good purpo&s;es thou mad'&s;t at thy fir&s;t coming or dedicating thy &s;elfe to the &s;eruice of thy Lord God: the fir&s;t vvas, vtterly and for euer to dete&s;t and abhorre all kind of mortall &s;inne: the &s;econd vvas to dedicate thy body, &s;oule, heart and all that thou ha&s;t to the loue and &s;eruice of God: the third
<PB N="456" REF="244">vvas, that if it should happen vnto thee, to fall into any &s;inne or ill action, te procure imme|diatly to ri&s;e againe by Gods grace: all mo&s;t vvorthy and noble re&s;olutions. But to vvhom are they made? to vvhom vvere they offered? to no other then to the Eternall God of heauen, thy Soueraigne Lord and Maker; in the pre|&s;ence of the mo&s;t B. Virgin Mother, and the vvhole Court of heauen, both Angells and Men; with the &s;olemnity that is there vvont to bee <HI>Super vno pecca<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ore paenitentiam agente. Upon one &s;inner that doth penance.</HI> O my &s;oule remem|ber vvith loue and gratitude, vvith vvhat &s;weet|nes thy God did preuent thee, and call thee out of a country drowned in &s;inne and here&s;ie; and leauing millions behind, as good or better then thy &s;elfe, made choi&s;e of thee to be his child &amp; darling; and that in thy young age before &s;inne and the vvorld had taken po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of thy heart: ah vvhat felicity is it, to learne quickly, that vvhich vve cannot know but ouerlate?</P>
<P>Conclude vvith humble thankes to thy good God for &s;o gratious a fauour, and &s;o timely a calling thee to his &s;eruice: pitty and pray for tho&s;e, that are yet behind, that the &s;ame mercy may touch them which hath be fallen thee mo&s;t happily.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly the effects, vvhich by Gods grace this vocation hath already wrought in thee; and I doubt not but thou shalt find a change and alteration remarkeable in thy &s;oule, comparing that vvhich now thou art, vvith that
<PB N="457" REF="244">vvhich thou ha&s;t been <HI>In diebus illis: here to fore:</HI> do'&s;t thou not account it a &s;ingular felicity and honour to knovv, how to talke familiarly vvith thy God by prayer? to haue an enflamed affection, or at lea&s;t a great de&s;ire of the loue of God? to haue appea&s;ed and pacified many a trouble&s;ome pa&s;&s;ion, vvhich did before vex and torment thee? to haue auoyded many &s;innes &amp; &s;crupules of con&s;cience? to liue fenced, and as it vvere hedged in from the dangers and occa|&s;ions of &s;inne, neuer vvanting to tho&s;e poore &s;oules, that liue abroad in the vvide vvorld? and in a vvord, to haue &s;o frequent v&s;e of the mo&s;t holy Sacraments, Penance and Euchari&s;t; by the former healing vp the old &s;oares of &s;innes, and vviping away the daylie &s;pots that may defile thy garment: by the latter vniting thy &s;elfe to the &s;oueraigne vvell&s;pring of euer-during gra|ces? &ocirc; my &s;oule the&s;e are great and ine&s;timable fauours: <HI>Et grandis mutatio dexterae excel&s;ii. And a great change of the right hand of the highest.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude and cry out, <HI>Non moriar &s;ed viuam, &amp; narrabo opera Domini: I vvill not die, but liue: and I vvill tell the vvorkes of our Lord:</HI> re|&s;olue to be euer humble and gratefull to thy &s;wete&s;t God: nothing els but ingratitude can now hinder thy finall felicity: take heed of ta|king any part of this honour to thy &s;elfe; but thinke euer, vvhat thou vvert before God called thee, and account that thy ovvne.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, &amp; in particular examine hovv thou &s;tande&s;t affected tovvards God, thy
<PB N="458" REF="245">&s;elfe, &amp; thy neighbour: and fir&s;t towards God: how do&s;t thou now looke vpon a mortall &s;inne? ha&s;t tbou con&s;erued a firme re&s;olution neuer to commit any, vvhat&s;oeuer it should co&s;t thee? happy &s;oule if, thou do&s;t &s;o; for hereon is &s;ettled the foundation of a &s;pirituall life. Next, how doth thy heart beare it &s;elfe towards veniall &s;in|nes? 'tis true, vvee cannot but now and then fall into them; but let that neuer trouble thee; vnles thou beare a &s;peciall inclination &amp; habituall de|light to any in particular; for that mu&s;t be roo|ted out Againe, how affected towards the com|mandments of thy God? do&s;t thou find them delightfull, &s;weet, acceptable as thy Sauiour hath promi&s;ed? &ocirc; Chri&s;tian &s;oule, he that hath his mouth in ta&s;t, and a good &s;tomack, loueth vvhol&s;ome meats and rejecteth the contrary. Fi|nally, how doe &s;pirituall exerci&s;es now &s;auour vnto thee? do&s;t thou loue and e&s;teeme them? doe they not trouble and di&s;content thee? art thou glad or &s;orry, vvhen vpon a lawfull occa|&s;ion they mu&s;t be omitted? to vvhat &s;ort of ex|erci&s;es do&s;t thou find thy &s;elfe mo&s;t inclined? &amp; if any in particular di&s;like thee, examine the cau&s;e and root of thy di&s;like; and cut it off.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith humble thankes to God, for vvhat thou finde&s;t thy &s;elfe amended in; ack|novvlelge his onely mercy for the cau&s;e: and, on the contrary &s;ide, confe&s;&s;e vn&s;ainedly thy &s;elfe for the &s;ole authour of all that hath beene done ami&s;&s;e, and of thy &s;mall progre&s;&s;e in vertue.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly and examine hovv thy
<PB N="459" REF="245">heart remaines affected tovvards God him&s;elfe&punc; taketh it plea&s;ure in the remembrance of God? feeleth it a &s;weet delight in calling him to mind; as Dauid did; <HI>Memor fui Domini, &amp; delectatus &s;um? I vvas mindefull of the Lord, and vvas de|lighted?</HI> do&s;t thou find a certaine promptnes &amp; facility in thy heart to loue God? and a particular &s;auour in this his loue? doth thy heart recreate it &s;elfe in meditating vpon the immen&s;ity, bounty and &s;vveetnes of almighty God? do&s;t thou amid&s;t thy bu&s;ines vvillingly admit a thought of thy God, vvhen it comes? &ocirc; the&s;e are good &s;ignes of a true louer. Againe, do&s;t thou find in thy heart a true de&s;ire of the outvvard glorie of God? and art thou ready to doe &s;ome|vvhat for his honour and vvorship; for vvee knovv, that <HI>Probatio amoris est exhibitio operis. The tryall of loue is in deedes.</HI> Do&s;t thou loue to talke of God, to di&s;cour&s;e of his vvonders, to pray&s;e and extoll his attributes? for vvhom can a louer talke of but of his be&s;t beloued? Finally, vvhich is the fine&s;t touch&s;tone of true loue, ha&s;t thou &s;uffered any thing patiently for God? ha&s;t thou left any affection, or renounced any de|light for God's &s;ake? &ocirc; &s;ee in particular, vvhat thou ha&s;t in all this time for&s;aken for the loue of God? and ble&s;&s;e him for it.</P>
<P>Conclude according to the &s;tate thou finde&s;t thy &s;oule in: but euer vvith beging of par|don for thy ordinary backwardnes in all the&s;e points? offer him vp afresh thy heart, to the end he may be the &s;ole Ma&s;ter and Lord of it
<PB N="460" REF="246"><HI>In&s;aecula &s;aeculorum. For euer and euer.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly, &amp; ob&s;erue hovv thy heart &s;tandeth affected tovvards Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, true God and man; ha&s;t thou a right e&s;teeme of his great|nes? and do&s;t thou feelingly apprehend vvhat meane tho&s;e his vvords. <HI>Data e&s;t mihi omnis po|testas in caelo &amp; in terra? all povver is giuen me in heauen, and in earth?</HI> that he is &s;ole and ab&s;o|lute Soueraigne of life and death; heauen and hell? that he is the &s;ource of all God's ble&s;|&s;ings vpon vs? and that nothing, comes from God the Father, but <HI>Per Dominum nostrum Ie&s;um Chriflum? through our Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t?</HI> I doubt not but thou beleeue&s;t all this, but do&s;t thou feele it <HI>Practic&egrave; Practicallie</HI> in thy heart: and not, as vvorldlings doe, looke vpon it as a thing a farre of, or in the aire? Next, take&s;t thou plea&s;ure in thinking on his &s;weete&s;t life &amp; bitte|re&s;t death? if thou ha&s;t not this, thou art noe true louer of Je&s;us; but shewe&s;t onely a faire out &s;ide towards him. Againe, vvhat reuerence and re&s;pect do&s;t thou beare towards thy good Angell and the re&s;t of the Saints of heauen? but aboue all, to the Virgin Mother of Je&s;us? do&s;t thou heartily honour her as shee de&s;erueth? doe reuerence to her images, and to her name, vvhen thou heare&s;t it? do&s;t thou place great tru&s;t and confidence in her interce&s;&s;ion? <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ut aboue all do&s;t thou endeauour to imitate &s;ome of her vertues, her purity, her humility, her ardent loue tovvards God? <HI>Pac hoc &amp; viues. Doe this and thou shalt liue.</HI></P>
<PB N="461" REF="246">
<P> Conclude vvith an act of heroick loue towards Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, and begin novv to loue him afresh; for &s;o good is he, that he vvill pre&s;ently meet thy loue vvith his, and a thou&s;and ble&s;&s;ings more: and forget no more his Lady Mother, but offer thy &s;elfe vnto her for her meane&s;t, but mo&s;t humble &s;eruant: this done, feare n&ograve; more, <HI>Se|eurus eris. Thou shalt be &s;ecure.</HI></P>
<P N="6">6. Con&s;ider &s;ixthly, and examine hovv thou ha&s;t gained vpon thy &s;elfe. and fir&s;t hovv doth thy &s;oule &s;tand affected tovvards the vanities of the vvorld? can&s;t thou find in thy heart to for|&s;ake them all for God's &s;ake? do&s;t thou find thy &s;elfe <HI>In preparatione animi in a readine&s;&s;e of mind</HI> to leaue earth for heauen or this vvorld for the next, at vvhat time or houre it shall plea&s;e God to call thee hence? feele thy pul&s;e vvell in this point. Next, do&s;t thou keepe due order in the loue of thy &s;elfe? that is, do&s;t thou loue thy &s;oule better than thy body? do&s;t thou take as much paines to get vertue as temporall commo|dities? heauenly glory, as tran&s;itory honour? ha&s;t thou a tender care to helpe and cherish thy poore &s;oule, vvhen she is &s;piritually &s;ick or di&s;tempered? &ocirc; for&s;ake her not in that ca&s;e, call for the phy&s;ician and apply &s;peedy remedies; eternity depends on her health. Againe, how do&s;t thou e&s;teeme thy &s;elfe? better or wor&s;e than others? to appeare as nothing before God, is no great matter; for what is a flie to a mountaine, or a droppe of vvater to the Ocean? but to thinke equalls our betters, &amp; de&s;ire that others should
<PB N="462" REF="247">thinke the &s;ame, that indeed is a point of hea|uenly courage. Finally, how do&s;t thou v&s;e to talke of thy &s;elfe in company, and of thy deeds? I &s;uppo&s;e mode&s;ty vvill not let thee prai&s;e thy &s;elfe downeright; but on the by, or at lea&s;t giuing &s;ome occa&s;ion for others to prai&s;e thee; looke vvell into this, and if thou be free, <HI>Perfe|ctus es, thou art perfect,</HI> prai&s;e God for it.</P>
<P>Conclude to humble thy &s;elfe before God &amp; man in all thy words and actions: to haue a care al&s;o of thy &s;oule, the faire&s;t pearle vpon earth; let others trim and fo&s;ter their carca&s;&s;es, but let thy &s;ole care be to adorne &amp; beautifie thy &s;oule in the eyes of God and men.</P>
<P N="7">7. Con&s;ider &s;euenthly, &amp; &s;earch all the cor|ners of thy heart, vvhat di&s;po&s;ition thou finde&s;t there towards thy neighbour vvhom God com|mandeth thee to loue as thy &s;elfe; that is to wish him the &s;ame happines in this and the next vvorld, as thou do&s;t to thy &s;elfe; not for this or that priuate re&s;pect, or more to one than the other; but to all equally, and for one and the &s;ame re&s;pect, becau&s;e they are all created to God's image, and redeemed vvith his precious bloud. See now how thou do&s;t comply vvith this precept: art thou kind, courteous, &amp; friend|ly to all? do&s;t thou wrong no man in thought, vvord, nor deed? in thought, by rash iudge|ments, contempts, groundle&s;&s;e &s;u&s;picions? in word, by detractions, calumnies, harsh lan|guage? in deed, by wronging his per&s;on, friends or e&s;tate? <HI>O quis est iste, &amp; laudabimus eum?
<PB N="463" REF="247">fecit enim mirabilta in vita &s;ua. O vvho is this, and vve vvill prai&s;e him? for he hath done mar|uelous things in his life.</HI> But aboue all, how do&s;t thou comply vvith that new precept of our Sa|uiour, <HI>Diligite inimicos ve&s;tros &amp;c. Loue your enemies &amp;c.</HI> this, this is the touch&s;tone of a true louer; if thou find &s;ome of thy companions trouble&s;ome, harsh, intractable, can&s;t thou yet affect them as vvell as thou do&s;t the re&s;t, vvho are louing, courteous and gentle toward thee? &ocirc; if thy heart can truely &s;ay, Yes, how happy art thou? and yet know that till thou can&s;t &s;ay &s;o, thou art no true louer, neither of God nor of thy neighbour.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith great humility, &s;eeing how farre of thou yet art from true perfection: in|uoke the grace of God almighty, and the inter|ce&s;&s;ion of the Uirgin Lady Mother and all thy Patrons, for the gaining of this &s;potles pearle, the true loue of God and our neighbour.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="meditation">
<HEAD>THE SECOND MEDITATION. <HI>Motiues for the renevving of our good purpo&s;es and re&s;olutions.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t the fairenes and beauty of thy &s;oule; vvho&s;e vnder&s;tanding roun|deth the vvhole vvorld vvith an Eagle's eye, and thence mounteth higher vnto the in|ui&s;ible being of Angells, and neuer cea&s;eth till shee reach vnto the vn&s;peakable and incompre|hen&s;ible
<PB N="464" REF="248">nature of the Godheed; lo&s;ing her &s;elfe at length in that deepe&s;t, but al&s;o &s;weete&s;t Ocean of Being&punc; Be&s;ides this, shee hath a free-will, &s;o ab&s;olute a Lady and Prince&s;&s;e, that no povver in heauen or earth can make her &s;toope or incline where of her &s;elfe she li&s;teth not; and yet &s;o &s;oaring, that the Diuinity it &s;elfe e&s;capeth not her embraces; for by loue she reacheth vnto God, and tyeth vp vvith him the true knot of euerla&s;ting friendship. But aboue all ponder the capacity and va&s;tnes of an humane heart, vvho&s;e de&s;ires nothing vnder God can fill vp and &s;atis|fie; vvho&s;e flight can find noe footing but in the Arke of Eternity: for tell me thou riotous &s;oule of our Salomon, ha&s;t thou euer found a full and permanent content in the height of all thy earthly delights? al&acirc;s! heare her vveary and ti|red voice, <HI>Vanitas vanitatum, &amp; omnia vani|tas &amp; afflictio &s;piritus. Vanitie of vanities, and all is vanitie, and affliction of spiritt.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to lift vp thy &s;oule to her naturall pitch; shevv her that shee is immortall and heire of eternity, and teach her to direct her cour&s;e that vvay: &ocirc; my faire &amp; louely &s;oule; thou can&s;t vnder&s;tand and loue God him&s;elfe; vvhy then do&s;t thou entertaine thy &s;elfe in things inferiour to God? thou mai&s;t pretend eternity and heauen for thy inheritance; vvhy then do&s;t thou hunt after moments and molehilis.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly that onely vertue and deuotion can make thy &s;oule to re&s;t content in this vvorld, &ocirc; vvhat excellent beauty is in them?
<PB N="465" REF="248">make a compari&s;on betvvixt the louely vertues, and the hideous vices that be contrary to them: vvhat &s;vveetnes is there in patience, compared to reuenge? in meeknes, in re&s;pect of anger and frovvardnes? in humility, in regard of pride and ambition? in liberality, compared to couerou&s;|ne&s;&s;e and nigardi&s;e? in charity, compared vvith enuie? in &s;obriety, in re&s;pect of intemperance &amp;c. Vertues haue this excellency, that they fill the &s;oule vvith an incomparable delight and &s;vveetnes after she hath practi&s;ed them: whereas vices leaue the &s;oule exceedingly vvearied, ti|red and mole&s;ted. And vvhy endeauour vvee not then to obtaine the&s;e plea&s;ures, that haue no gall nor bitternes mingled vvith them? He that hath but a few vices, is not content vvith the delights they bring him; and he that hath many, is ouerburdoned by them, rent in &s;under by their cro&s;&s;e and oppo&s;ite inclinations; and finally, <HI>La&s;&s;atus in via iniquitatis: vvearied in the vvay of iniquitie:</HI> but he that hath a few vertues, hath a great deale of content in them; and by a &s;ympathie and connexion of them; the more his contentment is, the more his vertues increa&s;e. O deuout and vertuous life, how lo|uely art thou? how honourable? how delecta|ble <HI>Super omne aurum &amp; topazion? aboue all Gold and topazius?</HI> vvithout thee good is euill, and all plea&s;ures bitter vnquietnes.</P>
<P>Conclude to embrace a vertuous life for it's owne &s;ake, that is for the honour and content shee bringeth vvith her: proclaime a publike
<PB N="466" REF="249">hatred to all &s;orts of vice; and be not ashamed to profe&s;&s;e thy &s;elfe a &s;eruant and champion of vertue, as thy onely Mi&s;tre&s;&s;e; cry alwayes to God vvith the Samaritane: <HI>Domine da mihi bi|bere de hac aqua, &s;aliente in vitam aeternam. Lord giue me to drinke of this vvater &s;pringing vp vnto life euerlasting.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly the examples of God's Saints of both &s;exes and all conditions: vvhat is it, that they haue not done, and &s;uffered for their loue and deuotion to God? looke vpon the inuincible Martyrs; vvhat torments haue they not conquered and &s;corned, for the mainte|nance of their faith, and performance of their loyalties? but aboue all, tho&s;e faire and flouri|shing Ladies, vvhiter than lillies in purity, more blushing than ro&s;es in charity, &s;ome at tvvelue, others at thirteene, fifteene and tvventy; &s;ee how they endured a thou&s;and &s;orts of Martyrdomes, rather than to renounce their &s;acred re&s;olutions not onely in profe&s;&s;ion of faith, but al&s;o in the pre&s;eruation of their virginity, and the exerci&s;e of other vertues. O good God, vvhat con&s;tancy, to our both comfort and confu&s;ion, hath that fraile &s;ex shewed in the&s;e occa&s;ions? Againe, &s;ee the millions of glorious Confe&s;&s;ours, as vvell in Cities and the throng of worldlings, as in Mo|na&s;teries and de&s;erts: vvhat immoueable and vnconquered patience haue they shewed? how did they embrace their purpo&s;es of &s;anctity vvithout exceptions or re&s;eruations, and went vvith them vvithout any tediou&s;ne&s;&s;e or faint|nes?
<PB N="467" REF="249">neither thinke that they vvere by nature Angells or Seraphins, &s;o to excu&s;e thy &s;elfe: no, no, they vvere fraile, mortall men as vvee are: they did all for the &s;ame God and by the &s;ame vertues; and vvee haue the &s;ame Sacraments &amp; helpes, that they had.</P>
<P>Conclude then to re-a&s;&s;ume a new courage and firme re&s;olution in the &s;eruice of God and the vocation thou art placed in: vvhen any &s;torme ari&s;eth again&s;t thee, lift vp thine eyes to heauen, and &s;ee the valour of tho&s;e troupes be|fore thee.</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider fourthly the vn&s;peakable loue, vvherewith Ie&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord &s;uffered in the vvorld &s;o much, e&s;pecially in the garden of mount Oliuet and the bitter place of mount Caluary: all that loue of his vvas for thy &s;ake; by the&s;e many pangs and torments he obtained of God the Father good purpo&s;es and holy re|&s;olutions for thee: by the &s;ame afflictions did he moreouer purcha&s;e all things el&s;e nece&s;&s;arie for thy &s;oule, to maintaine, nourish, &s;trengthen, &amp; bring vnto full growth and perfection all thy re&s;olutions. O &s;ee how the deare heart of our Lord Ie&s;us beheld thy heart from the tree of the Cro&s;&s;e and there in a manner fell in loue vvith it; and for loue of it obtained for thee all the good that euer thou had&s;t, or euer shalt haue; &amp; among&s;t the re&s;t, the&s;e good re&s;olutions. O holy re&s;olution! how pretious and nobly borne art thou, being daughter to &s;uch parents, as are the loue &amp; pa&s;&s;ion of thy &s;weete&s;t Sauiour? &ocirc; how
<PB N="468" REF="250">carefully ought my &s;oule to cherish thee, &s;ince thou ha&s;t been &s;o deare vnto my Je&s;us? Alas, Sa|uiour of my &s;oule, thou did'&s;t die vpon the Cro&s;&s;e to gaine me my vertuous re&s;olutions ah, doe me the fauour that J al&s;o chu&s;e rather to die, than to forget or forgoe thee or them.</P>
<P>Conclude to doe &s;o by the grace of God: looke hereafter vpon thy good purpo&s;es and re|&s;olutions not as on creatures of thy owne braine, &s;ubject euery houre to new change and mutability: but as on the deare&s;t darlings of thy Sauiour's brea&s;t; and as &s;uch e&s;teeme, honour and maintaine them; <HI>Et ducent te in vitam aeter|nam. And they vvill lead thee to life euerlasting.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly, how as a woman, as &s;oone as she is vvith child, prepareth her cradle|linnen, &s;wathing bands, and vvith all bethin|keth her &s;elfe of a nur&s;e for her child, vvhich shee hopeth to bring forth, although it be not yet come into the world: euen &s;o our Lord Ie|&s;us, hauing his goodnes pregnant and, as it were, great vvith child of thee, pretending to bring thee forth to &s;aluation, and to make thee his daughter and heire, prepared vpon the holy Rood of the Cro&s;&s;e all that vvas nece&s;&s;ary for thee, and for thy &s;aluation; that is, all the wayes, all the graces, all the fauours, by vvhich he con|ducteth thy &s;oule, and vvill bring it at length to perfection. Ah my God! how deeply ought wee to imprint this in our memorie is it po&s;&s;ible that I haue been loued, &amp; &s;o &s;weetly beloued by my Sauiour, that euery &s;tep of his life &amp; pa&s;&s;ion,
<PB N="469" REF="250">euen as he vvent to mount Caluary, &s;weating and fainting vnder his heauy Cro&s;&s;e, euen then he went bethinking him&s;elfe of my good and of euery one of the&s;e little occa&s;ions by which he hath drawne mee vnto him? how much ought vvee then to e&s;teeme and how carefully to imploy all this to our owne benefit and com|modity? neither vvas this care of his for thee <HI>in generall</HI> or <HI>In confu&s;o;</HI> but &s;o particularly, as though there had been no other &s;oule in the vvorld to take care of: this made his Apo&s;tle &s;ay, <HI>Ip&s;e dilexit me, &amp; dedit &s;emetip&s;um pro me. He lo|ued me, and gaue him&s;elfe for me.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to be euer very vigilant &amp; carefull to attend, entertaine, and follow euery illumi|nation, in &s;piration or motion to good, vvhich thy Je&s;us shall dart into thy bo&s;ome: and craue hearty pardon for thy negligence hitherto in this point, vvhich importeth as much as the be|ginning of all our good.</P>
<P N="6">6. Con&s;idet &s;ixthly vvith an e&s;peciall ponder|ing and gratitude the fir&s;t &s;pring and originall &s;ource of all thy good, temporall and eternall; to vvit, the infinite and eternall loue that thy Al|mighty God beareth towards thee: for thou mu&s;t know and for certaine beleeue that long before our Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t as man &s;uffered for thee vpon the Cro&s;&s;e, the diuine Maie&s;ty did foreca&s;t thee in his all-&s;eeing knowledge, and loued thee infinitely in his &s;oueraigne goodnes. But vvhen, my &s;oule, began this &s;o great, &s;o con|&s;tant, &s;o ancient a loue? &s;ure long before J was
<PB N="470" REF="251">for it gaue me my fir&s;t being; and &s;o it is mo&s;t free and franke, vvithout any de&s;ert of mine: againe, long before earth, heauen, Angells and all other creatures; for being shut vp in the brea&s;t of God, it mu&s;t be of equall durance vvith him; that is euery vvay as eternall as he him&s;elfe is. <HI>O antiqua veritas qu&agrave;m &s;er&ograve; te cognoui! &ocirc; aeterna bonitas, qu&agrave;m &s;er&ograve; te amaui! O ancient veritie, hovv late haue I knovvne thee! &ocirc; eternall goodne&s;&s;e, hovv late haue I loued thee!</HI> This loue then of God it vvas, that from all eternity vvas preparing, fir&s;t my being, and then all other graces and fauours conducing to my vvell being and future &s;aluation: among vvhich the fir&s;t were holy in&s;pirations, and by them pious pur|po&s;es and re&s;olutions to good: vvithout which nothing goeth forvvard <HI>In vitam aeternam. Tovvards euerlasting life.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude to make great e&s;teeme of thy good purpo&s;es, as coming from the fountaine of goodnes: know that all the vvorld is not worth one &s;oule, and a &s;oule is vvorth nothing without good re&s;olutions; leaue not then one good re|&s;olution for all the vvorld. La&s;tly repay, how late &s;oeuer, that loue of thy &s;weete&s;t God with one dramme of true loue.</P>
<P N="7">7. Con&s;ider la&s;tly &amp; making a &s;inall conclu|&s;ion for the vvhole yeare pa&s;t, and a &s;trong re&s;o|lution for the yeare to come; thinke and &s;ay; &ocirc; mo&s;t amiable re&s;olutions! you are to mee the beautifull tree of life, vvhich my God hath planted vvith his ovvne hand in the mid&s;t of my
<PB N="471" REF="251">heart, and my Redeemer hath vvatered vvith his precious bloud, to make it fructifie: rather vvill J &s;uffer a thou&s;and deaths than endure that one of you should be hindered. Neither vanity, nor delights, nor riches, nor &s;orrowes, nor tri|bulations, shall euer, by God's grace, be able to pull me from my holy de&s;ignes and purpo&s;es. O my good Lord, is it thou that ha&s;t planted this tree of good re&s;olutions, and from Eternity kept it in the bo&s;ome of thy fatherly prouidence, to place it at length in the garden of my &s;oule? &ocirc; hovv many &s;oules are there vvhich haue not been fauoured in &s;o high a degree? &amp; how then shall I be able to humble my &s;elfe profoundly enough vnder thy mercy? &ocirc; beautifull and holy re&s;olutions? if I keepe charity, you vvill &s;aue me eternally: if you liue &s;till in my &s;oule, my &s;oule vvill liue in you: liue then for euer my good re|&s;olutions, as you vvere eternally in the mercy of my God, liue and remaine eternally in mee, and I in you. <HI>Amen Ie&s;u.</HI></P>
<P>This done, deliuer vp, con&s;ecrate &amp; &s;acrifice vnto God thy heart, thy &s;oule, thy will, with pro|te&s;tation, that thou vvilt neuer aske or demand them againe, but leaue them entirely and eter|nally in his holy hands; inuoke his grace to &s;eale vp the contract: begge the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of the B. Virgin, thy Angell, holy Patrons &amp;c.</P>
<P><HI>Here and the Meditations for the cour&s;e of the vvhole yeare.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="472" REF="252">
<HEAD>MEDITATIONS FOR PARTICV|lar Recollections according to the order and custome of the Colledge.</HEAD>
<P>FIr&s;t for Prie&s;ts, vvho are to be &s;ent away in Apo&s;tolicall Mi&s;&s;ion; for their three dayes Recollection, may &s;erue the Meditation al|ready &s;et downe <HI>folio</HI> 448. of the &s;tate and obli|gation of an Apo&s;tolicall or Mi&s;&s;ionary Prie&s;t.</P>
<P>Secondly; for the Diuines, vvho goe to take holy orders; for their three dayes Recollection may &s;erue the Meditation already &s;et downe <HI>fol.</HI> 442. of the &s;tate and dignity of Prie&s;thood.</P>
<P>Thirdly for tho&s;e Schollers, vvho in the Va|cancies, holy vveeke, or any other time shall voluntarily make a Recollection; no certaine points can be &s;et dovvne; but they mu&s;t be left to their owne choi&s;e, vvith the aduice of their Gho&s;tly Father. vvho, according to the nece&s;&s;i|ty and profit of euery one, may appoint fit and conuenient Meditations out of &s;ome part or other of this booke.</P>
<P>Fourthly for tho&s;e, vvho come to be admit|ted into the Colledge, for their three dayes Re|collection, may &s;erue the&s;e &s;ix following points or con&s;iderations.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="meditation">
<PB N="473" REF="252">
<HEAD>A MEDITATION FOR SCHOLERS that come to be admitted.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. COn&s;ider fir&s;t, that God almighty crea|ted thee, as all things el&s;e, of nothing; not for any need he had of thee, or commodity by thee, but onely to exerci&s;e and declare his bounty in thee: and this he hath done in a mo&s;t ample manner, making thee ca|pable of his grace and glory; and therefore he hath enriched thee with vnder&s;tanding to know him, memory to be mindfull of him, vvill to loue him; finally, vvith interiour and exteriour &s;en&s;es, to feele, &s;ee and enjoy his benefits; of vvhich the vvhole vvorld is full, and for all vvhich thou art bound to prai&s;e him and &s;erue him. The end therefore of thy Creation being to &s;erue God in this vvorld and to enjoy him in the next; reflect a litle vpon thy &s;elfe, how thou ha&s;t complyed vvith the fir&s;t part of &s;eruing God: vpon what thou ha&s;t hitherto bu&s;ied thy vnder&s;tanding, thy memory, thy vvill, with all the powers and &s;en&s;es of thy &s;oule and body: how little or how much thou ha&s;t performed herein thy owne con&s;cience vvell examined will tell thee: but &s;urely the common cour&s;e of mo&s;t men in the world, is &s;o to liue as though they knew not by vvhom, nor for vvhat end they vvere created; vnles it were to enjoy the&s;e pre&s;ent plea&s;ures, &amp; to &s;et vp their finall re&s;t in this vvorld; to heape vp riches; build faire
<PB N="474" REF="253">hou&s;es and vvallow in &s;en&s;uall plea&s;ures.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith mo&s;t humble thankes to the Diuine goodnes, fir&s;t, for creating thee to &s;o noble an end; &s;econdly, for giuing thee this op|portunity to &s;ee and review thy actions &amp; obli|gations: re&s;olue hence forward, to reject and de&s;pi&s;e all thoughts and actions that conduce not to this end of &s;eruing God: finally offer one hearty prayer to God for poore and blind world|lings.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider &s;econdly the enormity of &s;inne and terrour of death. <HI>Nam per peccatum mors: For by &s;inne cometh death:</HI> &s;inne is a more vgly mon&s;ter than the Deuill, and farre more hatefull to God: Jt vvas &s;inne onely that threw the An|gells out of heauen, man out of Paradi&s;e &amp; both into hell; twas &s;inne onely that made the Sonne of God giue vp his &s;ecred breath vpon the Cro&s;&s;e; finally 'tis &s;inne that vvill at length con|&s;ume the vvhole world vvith fire and brim&s;tone. This being mo&s;t true, &s;ee now how long it is &s;ince thou ha&s;t begun to &s;inne; and how euer &s;ince thou ha&s;t increa&s;ed them again&s;t God, thy neighbour, and thy &s;elfe: &s;weete&s;t God, that I cannot pre&s;ent thee one day of all my life, in vvhich I haue not offended thee! not one of the powers of my &s;oule, or &s;en&s;es of my body free from the guilt of Sinne! not one of thy benefits, in&s;pirations or Sacraments, but J haue abu&s;ed &amp; turned again&s;t thee! After &s;inne comes death, vnpo&s;&s;ible to be either preuented or fore&s;een; &amp; yet mo&s;t terrible; fir&s;t, for being the la&s;t period
<PB N="475" REF="253">of all that belongs to this life, &amp; vvorld; friends, riches, honours, plea&s;ures: &s;econdly, for being the entrance into another world; vnknowne, vnexperienced, &amp; doubtfull whether of bli&s;&s;e or mi&s;ery: &ocirc; vvhat gripes vvill a poore vvorldling feele at that houre for all that he mu&s;t leaue be|hind him? and vvhat groanes vvill a &s;inner then giue for feare of the lot he shall haue in the vvorld now en&s;uing.</P>
<P>Conclude vvith a true and hearty &s;orrow and dete&s;tation of thy &s;innes pa&s;t; vvith a &s;trong re|&s;olution, fir&s;t to confe&s;&s;e, next to amend them all for the future: againe, thinke oft vpon death, and prepare thy &s;elfe for it, hovv young &s;oeuer thou art; for this is the onely vvay to make it ea|&s;y and tolera<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">le.</P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider thirdly, how, as after &s;inne co|mes death, &s;o after death cometh judgement, &amp; then either heauen or hell. O the terrour of that &s;entence, <HI>I te maledicti in ignem aeternum! Get ye avvay you cur&s;ed into fire euerlasting!</HI> hell is a dungeon in the hollow of the earth, vvhere a double paine shall afflict the damned; the one is called <HI>Paena &s;en&s;us, the paine of the &s;en&s;e,</HI> which &s;ignifieth all &s;ort of torments, both interiour &amp; exteriour, that can be thought or imagined; heat and cold, tormenting diuells, howlings and gnashings of teeth: the other is termed <HI>Paena damni, the paine of the lo&s;&s;e</HI> of the &s;ight of God; a torment as farre &s;urpa&s;&s;ing the former, as God &s;urpa&s;&s;eth all his creatures: and yet, vvhich &s;ur|pa&s;&s;eth all, both the&s;e torments are to be eter|nall,
<PB N="476" REF="254">for euer, without end, as long as God shall be God. O Eternity, how intolerable, how full of de&s;peration is thy memory to the&s;e wretches? But how &s;weet, how comfortable to tho&s;e vvho&s;e call shall be; <HI>Venite benedicti Patris mei, po&s;&s;idete regnum &amp;c? Come ye ble&s;&s;ed of my Fa|ther, po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e you the kingdome &amp;c:</HI> The ioyes of heauen none can imagine as they are, but cer|taine it is that they are euery vvay compleat, in body and &s;oule ouer filling all vvith the cleare vi&s;ion of the Deity: vvhere the Palaces are all of precious &s;tones and burnisht gold; vvhere the lambe of God, Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, is the common light, &s;ending out his bright beames from end to end; vvhere the Angells and Saints glitter more then a thou&s;and &s;unnes: finally, vvhere is <HI>Omne bonum &s;ine mixtura mali. All good without any mixture of euill.</HI></P>
<P>Conclude vvith dete&s;tation of all thy &s;innes, vvhich onely can ca&s;t thee into hell; and re&s;olue to imbrace vertue, vvhich alone can rai&s;e thee to Paradi&s;e. Finally make this &s;olemne prote&s;ta|tion. O my gracious God, &s;ince it hath plea&s;ed thee at the length to recall my vvandering &s;teps, and to direct them into the right vvay; neuer hereafter vvill I turne back to tho&s;e by-wayes; neuer here-after vvill I &s;tray from the true path. Let vs goe vvith courage, my deare &s;oule; let vs runne tovvards this ble&s;&s;ed countrey, vvhich is promi&s;ed vs in the kingdome of heauen: vvhat make vvee &s;o long in this beggarly country of Egypt? I vvill therefore di&s;patch my &s;elfe from
<PB N="477" REF="254">all &s;uch things, as may put me out of the vvay, or hinder me in &s;o happy a journay: I vvil clean&s;e my &s;elfe of &s;inne, and then &s;eriou&s;ly imbrace the vvay of vertue.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="confession">
<HEAD>Here may enter the Generall Confe&s;&s;ion, vvhich is to be made.</HEAD>
<P N="4">4 COn&s;ider fourthly, how learning being the ornament of the mind, mu&s;t as farre exceed all other qualities or faculties of the body? of bea&s;ts or other creatures, as the mind or &s;oule of man &s;urpa&s;&s;eth them all; which is vvithout proportion: hence it is, that Schollers haue the preeminence aboue all other &s;ort of men: for there is no man but laughs at a foole, how rich &s;oeuer; and in his heart re&s;pects a Scholler, though neuer &s;o poore; admires his di&s;cour&s;es and vvillingly &s;ubmits his judgement to a &s;chollers opinion; looking on him as on a creature of a higher <HI>ranke</HI> or <HI>Species:</HI> this made <HI>Seneca</HI> &s;ay: <HI>Philo&s;ophiae etiam apud pe&s;&s;imos honor est: nunquam tant&ugrave;m con|vale&s;cit nequitia, vt non Philo&s;ophiae nomen venerabile &amp; &s;acrum maneat: Philo&s;ophie is ho|noured even by the vvor&s;t: neaver doth vvic|kedne&s;&s;e &s;oe much prevaile that the name of Philo&s;ophie should not be &s;acred and venerable:</HI> and the Po&euml;t, that <HI>Sapiens vno minor e&s;t Ioue, di|ves, liber, honoratus: The vvi&s;e man is inferiour to none but &s;upiter, he is rich free, and honoured by all.</HI> Princes, Governours and Magi&s;trates ar<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">
<PB N="478" REF="255">thought to know more than other men; and if they be &s;o, they are truely e&s;teemed, other|vvi&s;e not; hence <HI>Plato</HI> thought learning as ne|ce&s;&s;ary for a Prince, as is the &s;oule for the bo|dy. Neither regularly can a &s;choller be poore, in ca&s;e he &s;eeke after riches, &amp; contemne them not; for &s;urely he hath a great advantage ouer others in the theorick; &s;o that a little indu&s;try &s;ufficeth to make the practick compleat.</P>
<P>Conclude to thanke God almighty with all thy heart for placing thee in the ranke of Schollers; &amp; re&s;olue to be con&s;tant in it: let not idle and flitting fancies of I know not what, ca&s;t thee downe below thy &s;elfe; a few yeares vvill &s;erue to place thee <HI>In apice humanitatis, in the full high of learning.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider fifthly the true happines and content a Schollers life hath aboue all others: looke about the vvorld a little and ob&s;erue the re&s;tle&s;&s;e t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">iles, clamours and mi&s;eries of all other occupations, trades and callings, from the highe&s;t to the lovve&s;t, from the King to the cobler: euery one complaineth of his &s;tate and calling; and vvisheth he had vndertaken &s;ome other: onely the &s;choller knoweth no other, vvith vvhich to change, if he haue but ta&s;ted a little of the quietnes &amp; &s;weetnes of his owne; being mo&s;t free from that common plague, called proper intere&s;t; the &s;ource of all conten|tions and mi&s;eries. The plea&s;ure of learning is mo&s;t pure and etheriall; mo&s;t con&s;tant, ga|thering &s;trength with her increa&s;e; finally, mo&s;t
<PB N="479" REF="255">&s;ecure &amp; honourable, vvithout any danger of foule di&s;ea&s;es, blemish of fame, or breach of friendship: vvhereas all other plea&s;ures are gro&s;&s;e, tumultuous and forbid; mo&s;t short and fraile; &s;oone cloying the appetite, <HI>Et nau&s;eam prevocantes: and provoking loath&s;omene&s;&s;e;</HI> and la&s;tly, all of them mo&s;t hurtfull to the body, dangerous to our credit, &amp; almo&s;t incompo&s;&s;i|ble vvith true friendship, the onely Jewell of this mortall life; and yet hardly found in her owne purity and lu&s;tre but among&s;t &s;chol|lers.</P>
<P>Conclude to enioy the fulne&s;&s;e of happines, that God hath ca&s;t into thy hands: and pitty ra|ther than enuy tho&s;e, vvho like blind moles lie roothing vp earthly dregs: ply hard the cultiva|ting of thy mind, that thy delight may euer goe increa&s;ing: thinke not of change, till others a&s;&s;ure thee of a condition better than thy owne; that is, change neuer.</P>
<P N="6">6. Con&s;ider &s;ixthly, or rather conclude out of vvhat hath hitherto beene pondered; that, vvhereas this life is nothing but a heape of mi&s;eries, &amp; a &s;tage of &s;inne, vvho&s;e finall period is an vnauoidable death; and the next is an eter|nall death in the torments of Hell, or an euer-during life in the plea&s;ures of heauen; the vvi&s;e&s;t vvay &amp; cour&s;e vvill be, to &s;ettle once fo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="4 letters">, this vvhole&s;ome re&s;olution: fir&s;t to e&s;teeme this vvorld no more than it is vvorth; that is, as a short, but trouble&s;ome and dange|rous pa&s;&s;age to the next; &amp; con&s;equently to be
<PB N="480" REF="256">mo&s;t carefull, hovv thou vvalke&s;t; and not to &s;et thy affection vpon any thing in it. Secon|dly, to make choice of heauen for thy eternall habitation after this life, dete&s;ting the King of darknes vvith all his hellish gally-&s;laues: &ocirc; pious &s;oule, this is vvhat thy God de&s;ireth, that thou vvoulde&s;t come to dvvell vvith him, <HI>Qui vult omnes homines &s;alvos fieri: vvho vvill all men to be &s;aued:</HI> to this doth thy &s;weete&s;t JE|SUS, vvith his Ble&s;&s;ed Mother and all the An|gells and Saints of heauen, continually inuite and call thee. Re&s;olue therefore la&s;tly to take the righthand vvay thither; that is, the vva<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> of vertue &amp; devorion. God almighty hath brought thee into the path; here mai&s;t thou be endowed vvith knovvledge to &s;ee, and vertue to imbrace the meanes to &s;alvation. Take cou|rage therefore, the vvay of vertue is not &s;o hard, as vvorldlings vvould make vs beleeue, but full of heauenly &s;vveets. The rules and ob&s;ervances are but ea&s;y and gentle, vvhich thou art to follovv; and yet vvell kept, they vvill bring thee in fevv yeares to a &s;olid and con&s;tant vertue, and vertue vvill crovvne thee in the end vvith a ioyfull and euerla&s;ting bli&s;&s;e. Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="instructions">
<PB N="481" REF="256">
<HEAD>How to heare Ma&s;&s;e well.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">Maledictus qui facit opus Dei negligenter. Cur&s;ed is he, vvho doth the vvorke of God necligentlie.</HEAD>
<P>TO heare Ma&s;&s;e is the greate&s;t honour and chiere&s;t act of Religion a man can offer vnto God; vvherefore our be&s;t endea|uour mu&s;t be to performe it vvell and de|voutly.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t then, entring into the Church, after taking of holy vvater, &s;ay: <HI>Introibo in domum tuam Domine, adorabo ad Templum Sanctum tuum, &amp; confitebor nomini tuo. I vvill enter in|to thy hou&s;e, I vvill adore at thy holy temple, and I vvill Confe&s;&s;e to thy name.</HI> Then placing thy &s;elfe in a decent manner, make thy inten|tion to heare that Ma&s;&s;e to the honour of God and of his Saints; for the good of the Catholike Church, &amp; thine ovvne.</P>
<P>When the Prie&s;t cometh forth, thinke thou &s;ee&s;t our B. Sauiour going to Munt Caluary to offer him&s;elfe for vs; for vvhat is done in the holy Ma&s;&s;e, is not a bare figure, but the &s;elfe &s;ame thing, though othervvi&s;e repre&s;ented. Then either &s;ay thy vocall prayers, or els goe on an&s;vvering the Prie&s;t: At the Go&s;pell attend to vvhat is read; and at the end thanke our B. Sauiour for his holy d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ctrine, begging vvithall his grace to practi&s;e it. From thence till the
<PB N="482" REF="257">Pri&s;t come to <HI>Sanctus,</HI> goe on vvith thy vocall prayers: at <HI>Sunctus</HI> make thy <HI>Memento</HI> vvith the Prie&s;t in this &s;ort. Together with this thy Mini&s;ter, good God, I doe here offer this holy &s;acrifice with the intention of my deare&s;t Saui|our and his holy Church, to thy honour and glo|ry, of the Father, So~ne, &amp; holy Gho&s;t; in memory of my Sauiour's humanity and pa&s;&s;ion; in co~me|moration of the B. Virgin Mother and of the Saints of this day's &s;olemnitie; of &s;uch and &s;uch my holy Patrons, and of all the Saints of heauen: in thankes-giuing for all thy benefits, &s;atisfactio~ for my &s;innes, and obtaining of grace to &s;erue and loue thee; (then adde thy particular nece&s;&s;i|ties) for my happy death, and for mercy at the day of judgement: then adde for all thy friends, &s;uperiours and kindred; that God for his Son|ne's &s;ake and merits vvill ble&s;&s;e and &s;aue thee and all them.</P>
<P>At the Elevation adore thy louing Sauiour, true God and true Man, there really and per&s;o|nally pre&s;ent; and exerci&s;e the three acts of faith, hope and charity towards him.</P>
<P>Next followeth the <HI>Memento</HI> for the dead. I offer al&s;o this &s;acrifice to thee, good Lord, for all that died in the vnity of the Catholike Ch<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rch: then adde thy friends and acquaintance; and all that are dead out of this familie.</P>
<P>Then ad<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">re thy God againe vvith <HI>Omnis ho|nor &amp; gloria, all honour and glorie be vnto him,</HI> &amp; &s;ay the <HI>Pater no&s;ter</HI> vvith the Prie&s;t. At <HI>Agnus De<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> make acts of &s;orrow for thy &s;innes in gene|rall,
<PB N="483" REF="257">and in particularr for tho&s;e tho<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> falle&s;t mo&s;t into, vvith firme purpo&s;e to amend. Next &s;ay with all humility to the B. Trinity and our Sauiour, <HI>Domine, non &s;um Dignus, vt intres &s;ub tectum meum, &s;ed tantum dic verbo, &amp; &s;anabitur anima mea. Lord I am not vvorthie that thou shoulde&s;t enter vnder my roofe: but only &s;ay the vvord and my &s;oule shall be healed.</HI> Then make thy &s;pirituall Communion thus: B. Sauiour, I belieue what&s;oeuer thou do&s;t teach me by the holy Catholike Church, my Mother; and I con|fe&s;&s;e thy reall pre&s;ence in this holy Sacrament; I hope in thee, that thou wilt &s;aue my poore &s;oule, and helpe me in my nece&s;&s;ities: finally I loue thee aboue all things in heauen or earth; &amp; de&s;ire to joyne my &s;oule and heart vvith thee: <HI>Veni dulci&s;&s;ime Ie&s;u, &amp; vni me tecum in perpetuum &amp;c. Come &s;weete&s;t Ie&s;us, and vnite me vvith thee for euer &amp;c.</HI> according to thy devotion, and the&s;e affections that follow for euery day.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, till the end of the Ma&s;&s;e giue Chri&s;t thankes for this benefit, &amp; for his death &amp; pa&s;&s;io~ here repre&s;ented: intreat him to a&s;&s;i&s;t thee in all thy actions for the day following; and &s;o, crauing fir&s;t pardon for all thy di&s;tractions and negligences, depart vvith reverence.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="prayers">
<PB N="84" REF="258">
<HEAD>Affections for &s;pirituall Communion.</HEAD>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>ON SUNDAY, <HI>Vt Deus. As God.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>DEus meus es Tu, confitebor Tibi; Deus meus es Tu, &amp; ex altabo te: my God art thou, to thee vvill I confe&s;&s;e; my God art thou, and I vvill exalt thee:</HI> &ocirc; my God, vvho&s;e habitation is <HI>Cae|lum caeli, &amp; terra &s;cabellum pedum tuorum; The heauen of heauen, and the earth the footestoole of thy &s;eete;</HI> make of my &s;oule a heauen in purity, charity and beauty; and dwell in me for euer. <HI>Amen. Gloria Patri, &amp; Filio, &amp; Spiritui Sancto, &amp;c. Glorie be to the Father, and to the Sonne, and to the Holy Ghost, &amp;c.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>ON MUNDAY, <HI>Vt Rex. As a King.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>TV<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">es ip&s;e Rex meus &amp; Deus meus; adve|niat autem Domine regnum tuum: Thou art my King, and my God; and let lord thy King|dome come:</HI> po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e, rule, and command this poore Ca&s;tle of my &s;oule, &s;o long held by thy enemie, <HI>Domine Deas meus, ne po&s;&s;ideant nos Domine ab&s;que Te; O my Lord God, let them not &ocirc; Lord, po&s;&s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e vs vvithout thee;</HI> but come, <HI>Et &s;tatue legem tuam in medio cordis mei, And im|print thy lavv in the m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">e of my hart.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="485" REF="258">
<HEAD>ON TUESDAY, <HI>Vt Pater. As a Father.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>SI Pater Ego &s;um, vbi est honor meus? vae filijs &s;celeratis. If I am a Father, vvhere is my honour? vvoe be to vvicked &s;onnes.</HI> O Father haue pitty on this poore prodigall &s;onne, vvho hath &s;pent in riot the &s;ub&s;tance thou gaue&s;t him, <HI>&s;ed ibo ad Patrem meum; &amp; &s;altem &agrave; modo di|cam; Pater meus es Tu, &amp; Dux virginitatis moae; neuertheles I will goe to my Father; and heareafter at lea&s;t I vvill &s;ay; my Father art thou, and the guide of my virginitie.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>ON WEDNESDAY, <HI>Vt Amicus. As a friend.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>QVomodo dicis quod amas me, &s;i animus tuus non &s;it mecum? Hovv &s;ayest thou that thou louest me, and thy mind is not vvith me?</HI> O Lord, my &s;oule is vvith thee; and, <HI>Si inveni gra|tiam in oculis tuis, If I haue found grace in thy &s;ight,</HI> giue me grace to loue all for thee, and thee aboue all. <HI>O amice IESU, omnia mea tua &s;unt; fac vt Tu etiam &s;emper meus &s;is in tempore &amp; Aeter|nitate O Deare IESVS, all mine are thine; be thou all&s;oe mine for ever.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>ON THURSDAY, <HI>Vt Medicus. As a Phi&s;itian.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>SAna me Domine, &amp; &s;anabor, &s;alvum me fac, &amp; &s;alvus ero. Heale me, &ocirc; Lord and I shall be
<PB N="486" REF="259">healed, &s;aue me, and I shall be &s;aued.</HI> O good JE|SUS, be vnto me a JESUS a Sauiour; <HI>Et &s;ana animam meam, quia peccavi tibi: &agrave; planta pedis v&s;que ad verticem capitis non e&s;t in me &s;anitas<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Heale my &s;oule becau&s;e I haue &s;inned to thee: from the &s;ole of the foote vnto the toppe of the head there is no health in me:</HI> purge me from all &s;inne, &amp; pre&s;erue me with the antidote of Grace.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>ON FRIDAY, <HI>Ut Redemptor. As a Redeemer.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>VT &s;ervum redimeres, &s;ilium tradidi&s;ti: Thou ha&s;t delivered thy &s;onne to redeeme a &s;eruant:</HI> ble&s;&s;ed bee that goodnes, &amp; ble&s;&s;ed be my Sa|uiour. O free me from the bonds of my owne pa&s;&s;ions: <HI>Confige timore tuo carnes meas; Pearce my flesh vvith thy feare;</HI> that I may tremble at &s;inne, vvhich hath co&s;t thee &s;o deare.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>ON SATURDAY, <HI>Vt Spon&s;us. As a Bridegrome.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>ECce &s;pen&s;us venit, exite obviam ei: Behold the bridegrome cometh, goe ye forth to meete him:</HI> come &ocirc; &s;weet &s;pou&s;e of my &s;oule, and delight of my heart, embrace me; <HI>Et iam me nemo de&s;piciat: ver&egrave; Spon&s;us &s;anguinum es Tu m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hi: &s;ea veniat Dilectus meus in hortum &s;uum; &amp; comedat fructum pomorum &s;uorum. Let novv
<PB N="487" REF="259">noe man de&s;pi&s;e me; a blouddie &s;pou&s;e truelie thou art to me: let my beloued come into his Garden and eate the fruite of his apple trees.</HI> See more of the&s;e and the like affections in Molina <HI>de Sacerdotio.</HI></P>
<P>Remember to offer one day in the vveeke for a happy death: for &s;eeing vvee cannot die twi|ce, t'is good to prouide for that once.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="instructions">
<HEAD>How to make the daily examen of Con&s;cience.</HEAD>
<P>Verebar omnia opera mea, &s;ciens quod non parceris delinquenti.</P>
<P>I feared all my vvorkes, knovving that thou did&s;t not &s;pare the offender.</P>
<P>FIr&s;t, thanke God for all his benefits, e&s;pe|cially for tho&s;e of this pre&s;ent day; for thy life, health, &s;u&s;tenance: for all thou knowe&s;t not of, both of body and &s;oule; &amp; for pre&s;eruing thee from many &s;innes and other dangers.</P>
<P>Next, recall to mind the actions of the whole day, and vvhat thou ha&s;t done, good or bad: then offer all the good to God Almighty; confe&s;&s;ing him to be the &s;ole Authour of all that is good: offer him al&s;o all the good vvorkes and merits of the vvhole Catholike Church militant, and the prai&s;es vvhich the Angells and Saints haue giuen him this day: finally offer him vvith &s;pe|ciall devotion the merits and loue of our B. Sa|uiour
<PB N="488" REF="260">JESUS-CHRIST.</P>
<P>La&s;tly be &s;orry &amp; begge pardon for thy &s;innes, confe&s;&s;ing thy &s;elfe the &s;ole Authour o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> them: dete&s;t them for God's loue, vvith a firm purpo&s;e of amendment. Begge of God his pre|tection for the night coming. Conclude vvit<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> a <HI>Pater</HI> &amp; <HI>Ave</HI> in &s;atisfaction.</P>
<CLOSER>LaVs Deo, MarIae, &amp; &s;an CtIs cIVs.</CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="260">
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
