THE MEDITATIONS, SOLILOQVIA, AND MANVALL OF THE Glorious Doctor S. Augustine. translated into English. THE SECONDE EDITION. PRINTED AT PARIS, By Mrs BLAGEART, M.DC.LU THE PREFACE TO THE READER before the Meditations, Soliloquia, and Manual of S. Augustine. THESE three little treatises of the great S. Augustine, might all well have been called manuals, in respect that they are of so small bulk, as with ease to be portable by every hand. But yet as the are are little manuals, so with all they may be accounted great Cordials, for the relation which they have, and for the place which they deserve to hold, in the hart of man. They principally consist of most sweet affections, and aspirations, which the enamoured soul of our incomparable Saint was ever breathing out to Almighty God; beseeching him in most tender manner, to be drawing it still, nearer to himself. We may see, how he aspired to perfect union with that divine Majesty, but withal we must know, that first, he had taken pains to purge himself entirely, from all error, sin, and vanity; and to plant the habits of virtue in his hart, by a most attentive and faithful imitation of the humility, and charity of Christ our Lord. Vade, & tu fac similiter. For unless thou travail in that high way, thou wilt never arrive to that journey's end. Nor art thou to look for any experimental Knowledge of God's sweetness, till by prayer & practice of solid virtue, the bitter juice of sin, and the offensive smoke of passion be discharged. But that being done, room is made for God, and he will maKe thee Know, and feel, how good he is. THE TABLE OF THE CHAPTERS contained in the Meditations. THE FIRST CHAPTER. THE Invocation of the Omnipotent God for the amendment of his life page 1 Chap. 2. The accusation of man, and the commendation and praise, of the divine mercy, 4 Chap. 3. The complaint of a man who is not heard by our Lord through his disobedience, page 9 Chap. 4. The fear of the judge page 12 Chap. 5. The Father is invoked by the Son, 16 Chap. 6. Here man representeth the Passion of the Son to the Father. page 19 Chap. 7. Here man acknowledgeth that himself by his sins, is the cause of the Passion of Christ our Lord, page 23 Chap. 8. Here man exposeth the Passion of the Son, to God the Father, for the reconciliation of man, page 28 Cap. 9 Of the invocation of the holy Ghost. 35 Chap. 10. The prayer of the servant of God conccaving humbly of himself, 37 Chap. 11. A Prayer to the blessed Trinity, 38 Chapter 12. A Confession of the Omnipotency, and Majesty of God, 39 Chapter 13. How God the Either vouchsafed to help mankind, and of the Incarnation of the word, page 42 Chap. 14. Of the confidence which a soul ought to have in our Lord jesus, & in his Passion, 45 Chap. 15. Of the immense charity of the eternal Father towards mankind, page 48 Chap. 16. Of the twofold nature of Christ our Lord, who pittyeth, and prayeth for us. 52 Chap. 17. Of the thanks which a man owes to God, for the benefit of Redemption, 56 Chap. 18. A prayer to Christ our Lord page 60 Chap. 19 He distinguisheth between that Wisdom, which is called the house of God, and that other Wisdom which is supremely divine, page 65 Chap. 20. He prayeth that the spiritual house of God, may pray for him, page 70 Chap. 21. How full this life of ours, is, of bitterness, 73 Chap. 22. Of the felicity of that life, which our Lord hath prepared, for them that love him, 75 Chap. 23. Of the felicity of that soul which departeth hence. 78 Chap. 24. He invoketh the Saints, 80 Chap. 25. The desire of the soul toward the supernal City of jerusalem, page 87 Chap. 26. A Hymn of Paradise, page 88 Chap. 27. Of the continual praise, which a soul conceiveth by the contemplation of the Divinity, 93 Chap. 28. What it is to see God, and to enjoy him, after a sort, and how we are to think of God, 98 Chap. 29. He declareth many propertyes of Almighty God, 100 Chap. 30. Of the unity of God, and the plurality of Persons in him, page, 107 Chap. 31. A prayer to the blessed Trinity, 112 Chap. 32. That God is the true, and sowereigne life, 114 Chap. 33. Of the praise which men and Angels give to God, 117 Chap. 34. He complaineth against himself for not being moved, with the contemplation of God whereat the Angels tremble, 124 Chap. 35. A prayer which greatly moveth the hart to Devotion, and to Divine love, 128 Chap. 36. A most devoute Prayer by way of thanksgiveing, 138 Chap. 37. A most holy, & most excellent Prayer to almighty God, whereby the soul is greatly moved to devotion, page, 148 Chap. 38. A Prayer to be made in affliction, 161 Chap. 39 Another Prayer to our Lord jesus Christ, 163 Chap. 40. Another Prayer to God. 172 Chap. 41. A Prayer upon the Passion Christ our Lord, 180 THE TABLE OF THE CHAPTERS contained in the Soliloquia. THE FIRST CHAPTER. OF the unspeakable sweetness of God, pag 192 Chap 2. Of the misery and fragility of man, p. 200 Chap. 3 Of the admirable light of God, 206 Chap. 4. Of the mortality of Man's nature, 208 Chap. 5. What it is, to be made nothing, 211. Chap. 6, Of the fall of a soul by sin, 215 Chap. 7. Of the manifold benefits of Almigthy God, 216 Chap. 8. Of the future Dignity of Man, 221 Chap. 9 Of the Omnipotency of God, 226 Chap. 10. Of the incomprehensible praise of God, 228 Chap. 11. Of the hope, which is to be erected towards God, 231 Chap. 12. Of the snares of concupiscence. 234 Chap. 13. Of the misery of man, & the benefits of God, 238 Chap. 14. That God doth consider the works, and purposes of mankind. with a perpetual attention, 243 Chap. 15. That Man of himself can do nothing without divine grace, 248 Chap. 16. Of the temptation of the devil, 255 Chap. 17. That God is the Light of just Persons, 259 Chap. 18, Of the benefits of God, 265 Chap. 19 Of the fervour of charity, 271 Chap. 20. That God hath submitted all things to the service of man, 274 Chap. 21. That the greatness of the divine counsel may be inferred by the consideration of temporal blessings, 277 Chap. 22. That the divine sweetness taketh away all the present bitterness of the world, 280 Chap. 23. That all our hope, aught to be placed in our Lord, 284 Chap. 24. That all our salvation depends upon our God, 286 Chap. 25. That the will of man, wanteth efficacy towards goods works without the grace of God, 289 Chap. 26. Of the ancient benefits of Almighty God. 291 Chap. 27. Of the Angels which are deputed to the custody of man, 293 Chap. 28. Of the profound predestination, and prescience of God, 298 Chap. 29. Of them who first were just, and afterwards became wicked, 303 Chap. 30. That a faithful soul is a Sanctuary of God, 306 Chap. 31. That God is not to be found, either by the exterior or interior senses. 308 Chap. 32. A Confession of true faith, 322. Chap. 33. Of the Confession of our own baseness, 331 Chap. 34. A considerations of the divine Majesty, 333 Chap. 35. Of the desire & thirst of a soul towards God, 338 Chap. 36. Of the glory of our celestial country, 346 Chap. 37. A payer to the blessed Trinity, 352 THE TABLE OF THE CHAPTERS contained in the Manual. THE FIRST CHAPTER. OF the wonderful essence of God, page 355 Chap. 2. Of the unspeakable knowledge of God 357 Chap. 3. Of the desire of à soul which thirsteth after God, 360 Chap. 4 Of the misery of a soul which loves not God, 362 Chap. 5. Of the desire of a soul, 365 Chap. 6. Of the felicity of à soul which is freed from the prison of flesh. and blood, 367 Chap. 7. Of the joys of Heaven, page 369 Chap. 8. Of the kingdom of Heaven, pag 341 Chap. 9 How God doth comfort an afflicted soul, 343 Chap. 10. Of the sweetness of divine, love, 345 Chap. 11. Of the preparation of our Redemption, 349 Chap. 12. Of spiritual joy, 378 Chap. 13. That the Word Incarnate is the cause of our Hope, 381 Chap. 14. How sweet a thing is is to think of God, 382 Chap. 15. How much tribulation endured for Christ our Lord, is to be desired, 384 Chap, 16. How the kingdom of God may be obtained, 386 Chap. 17. What a happy place Heaven is, page 387 Chap. 18. We cannot make any requital to Almighty God, but only by love, 390 Chap. 19 What it is which God rereth of us, that so we may be like himself, 392 Chap. 20. Of the confidence of a soul which loveth God, 394 Chap. 21. What God did for man, 397 Chap. 22. Of the remembrance of the wounds of jesus Christ our Lord, 399 Chap. 23. The remembrance of the wounds of Christ our Lord, is our remedy in all adversity, 400 Chap. 24. An exhortation of the soul to the love of Christ our Lord, 402 Chap. 25. That nothing can suffice the soul, but the supreme Good, page 405 Chap. 26. What the knowledge of Truth is, 407 Chap. 27. What at the mission of the holy Ghost doth work in us, page 448 Chap. 28. Of the working of that soul which loveth God, 411 Chap. 29. Of the heart's true Repose, page 413 Chap. 30. Watsoever doth withdraw the sight of the mind from God, is wholly to be avoided, 414 Chap. 31. How the vision of God was lost by sin, & that misery came so to be found out, 416 Chap. 32. Of the Goodness of God, 419 Chap. 33. Of the delightful fruition of God, 421 Chap. 34. That this supreme Good is to be desired, 423 Chap. 36. Of the mutual Charity of the Saints in Heaven, 426 Chap. 36. Of the fullness of the joy of Heaven, 428 THE MEDITATIONS OF THE GLORIOUS Doctor S. Augustine. THE FIRST CHAPTER. He invokes Almighty God for the amendment of his life and manners. O LORD my God bestow upon my hart. that I may desire thee; that by desiring thee, I may seek thee; that by seeking thee, I may find thee; that by finding thee I may love thee, that by loveing thee, I may be freed from all my sins; and that once being freed, I may return to them no more. O Lord my God grant repentance to my hart, contrition to my spirit, a fontaine of tears to mine eyes, and liberality in giving alms, to my hands. O my King! extinguish all desires of sense, and kindle the fire of thy love in me. O thou my Redeemer, drive away the spirit of pride; and grant me, through thy mercy, the treasure of thy humility. O thou, my Saviour! remove from me the fury of anger, and vouchsafe me (of thy grace) the shield of patience. O thou my Creator! take all rancour from me; and through thy meekness, enrich me with a sweet, and gentle mind. Bestow on me, o most merciful Father, a solid faith, a convenient hope, and a continual charity! O thou my Director! remove from me, vanity and inconstancy of mind, unsettledness of body, scurrility of speech, pride of eyes, gluttony of diet, the offence of my neighbours, the wickedness of detractions, the itch of curiosity, the desire of riches, the oppression, which is imposed by the mighty, the appetite of vain glory, the mischief of hypocrisy, the poison of flattery, the contempt of the necessitous and poor, the oppression of the weak, the biteinge of covetousness, the rust of envy, and the death of blasphemy. Cutt away from me, O thou who art my maker! all ungodly temerity, pertinacy, unquietness, idleness, sleepiness, sloth, dullness of mind, blindness of hart, stiffness of opinion, harshness of conversation, disobedience to virtue, and opposition to good advice, unbridledness of speech, oppression of the poor, violence of the rich, slander of the innocent, sharpness towards my servants, ill example towards mine acquaintance, and hard-hartednes towards my neighbours. O my God, and my mercy, I beseech thee, by thy beloved Son, grant that I may perform the works of mercy, and pity; suffering with the afflicted, advising such as err, succourring such as are miserable, supplying such as are in want, confortinge such as are in sorrow, relieving the oppressed, refreshing the poor, cherishing the spirits which are wounded; forgiveing those that trespass against me, perdoninge such as do me wrong, loveing them, who hate me, rendringe good for evil, dispiseing none, but honouring all, imitating the good, takeing heed of the bade, imbraceing virtue, reiecting vice, having patience in adversity, and moderation in prosperity; and, that, keeping a guard upon my mouth, and shutting the door of my lips, I may despise, all earthly, and aspire to heavenly things. CHAP. II. The accusation of man, and the commendation & praise, of the divine mercy. BEhold, (O thou who haste framed me) how many things I have desired, while yet I deserve not, so much as a few. I confess, woe is me. I confess that not only these graces, which I have begged, are not due to me, but rather many, & most exquisite torments. Yet doth the example of the Publicans, and Harlotts, & murdering thieves, give me heart; who being suddenly drawn out of the very jaws of the enemy, have been embraced, in the bosom of the good shepherd. And thou, o God, the Creator of all things, though in all thy works thou be admirable, yet we believe that thou art much more admirable, in the works of mercy. Whereupon thou saidst, by a certain servant of thine, His mercies are over all his works. And we do confidently hope, that it was, as if thou hadst spoken it of every one of us in particular, when thou didst thus express thyself of the whole people: saying, But I will not remove mercy from it: For thou despisest no man, thou reiectest no man, thou abhorrest no man, unless perhaps it be some one, who is so mad as to abhor thee. When therefore thou art angry, thou dost not only not strike the offenders, but euen impartest blessings to them; if they give over offending. O thou, my God the very horn of my salvation and my upholder, I wretched creature, have offended thee: I have done wickedly in thy sight: I have deserved thy wrath: I have provoked thy fury: I have sinned, and thou hast suffered me: I have offended, and thou yet endurest me. If I repent, thou pardonest; if I return, thou receivest; nay more than this, whilst I am deferring, thou expectest me. Thou dost reduce me when I err: thou invitest me when I resist: thou stayest for me when I am dull, thou embracest me when I return: Thou teachest me when I am ignorant: thou cherrishest me when I am afflicted: thou raisest me whilst I fall: thou restorest me when I am fallen: thou givest me when I ask: thou art found when I seek thee; and thou openest when I knock. O Lord, the God of my salvation! behold, I know not what I may allege: I know not what to answer: I have no refuge, nor hole to retire my serfe into from thee. Thou hast showed me the way of good life, and thou hast given me knowledge how to conduct myself: thou haste treatned me with the fear of hell, thou hast alured me with the hope of the glory of heaven And now, O Father of mercies! o God of all consolation, strike through my very flesh with thy fear; to the end, through fear I may avoid that which thou threatnest; and restore to me the joy of thy saving grace, that by love, I may obtain the things which thou promisest. O Lord! my strength, and my foundation, my God, my refuge, & my deliverer, inspire me with what I ought to think of thee; teach me with what words I should invoke thee; impart the power of performeinge those works, whereby I may please thee. I know there is one thing, whereby thou art appeased, & an other which thou art not wont to despise. To wit an afflicted soul, is a sacrifice to thee: and thou vouchsafest to accept an humble and contrite hart. O my God, and my helper! enrich me, I beseech thee, with these gifts; defend me against mine enemy by these graces; impart this refreshing to me, against the burning heat of sensualityes, and let this refuge be open to me, against the importunity of all inordinate desires. O Lord! the strength of my saluation, do not permit me to be of them, who believe in thee for a season; but in the time of temptation depart from thee. Over shadow this head of mine, in the day of battle O thou who art my hope in the time of affliction, and my saveing health in the time of tribulation. Behold, o Lord! o thou my light, and my salvation! I have begged those things of thee which I need: I have intimated those things which I apprehend and fear, but my conscience fills me with remorse, the secrets of my hart reprove me, and that which love gathered together, fear scattereth; and that which zeal moves me too, distrust draws me from. My sins, give me terror, but thy pity puts me into hope; thy bounty exhorts me, though mine own malignity holds me back. And that I may confess a truth, the images, and representations of my old sins, be still obtrudeing themselves on my memory, & they hold me down from presumeing too far. CHAP. III. The complaint of a man who is not heard by our Lord, through his disobedience. FOr in fine, when a man is worthy of hate, with what face shall he desire favour? To whom punishment is due, what rash boldness is it for him, to expect glory? He provoketh his judge, who instead of giving satisfaction for his offence, pretends to be honoured with rewards. He insults upon his King, who being obnoxious to punishment, will adventure to beg a prize which is not due to him. And that foolish son, would exasperate the tender hart of his father, who (having reproached the same father) would presume to usurp the honour of the inheritance, before he had disposed himself to penance. What is this, o my dear Father, which I say I have done! I have deserved death, and yet I ask life. I have offended my soweraigne King, whose aid I do yet thus impudently implore. I have despised my judge whom thus rashly, I desire to be my helper. Most insolently have I refused, so much as to hearken to my Father, whom yet I am presumeinge, to have for my defender. Woe be unto me, how late do I come: woe be to me, how slack am I in making haste; woe be to me, who am running still, having received fresh wounds and yet vouchsafe not when I am well, to prevent the pearcinge of new arrows. I have neglected to foresee the darts before they came; but now that I behold my death at hand, I am full of trouble. I added wounds to wounds, because I feared not, to add crimes to crimes. My ancient scars, I have broken through with new violence; because my late iniquities, have corresponded with my ancient sins; and that which thy divine physic had cured, and closed; the itch of my frenzy, hath opened again. The skinn which being drawn over my wounds, did conceal my infirmity, hath putrified by the breaking out of filthy blood; whilst that iniquity which I iterated, did evacuate the mercy which thou didst grant. For I well know, how it is written: In what hour soever the just man shall sin, all his justice shallbe forgotten. And now if the justice of the just man shallbe forgotten when he falls, how much more shall the peunance of a sinner be forgotten, if he return again to commit those sins? How often, like a dog, have I returned to my vomit, and like a sow, have I weltered again, in the mire? I may well confess it, for it is impossible, but I should remember it. How many ignorant persons have I taught the way how to sin? how many have I persuaded, who had no mind to it? I have compelled such as resisted; and I have consented to such as desired. For how many have I laid a snare, who were already in the right way? and for others who sought that way, I have digged a pit, and to the end that I might not abhor the doeinge of these things, I feared not to cast them out of my mind. But thou o just judge, who sealest up the accounts of my sins, and who standest watching over all my ways, and haste numbered every one of my steps; thou I say, heldest thy peace, thou hast ever been silent, and ever patient. But woe is me, thou wilt at length cry out, like a woman who is in the torment of child-bedd. CHAP. IU. The fear of the judge. O God, of Gods, O Lord who art too hard for the malice, and sin of man. I know that one day thou wilt appear; I know that thou wilt not be always silent, when the fire shall burn in thy sight, and that strong tempest, shall compass thee inn round about; when thou shalt call the heaven & earth, at such time as thou wilt judge thy people. And behold all my iniquities shallbe discovered then, before so many thousands of nations; and all my grievous crimes not only, deeds, but even words, and very thoughts themselves, shallbe manifested, to so many legions of Angels. Before so many judges, shall I, desolate creature, stand, as there willbe men, who have far outstripped me in good works. By so many reprovers shall I be confounded, as have given me examples of good life. And by so many witnesses shall I be convinced, as have taught me by good speeches; and instructed me, toward an imitation of them, by their good examples. O my Lord, I can light upon nothing which I may say; nothing doth occur which I can answer. And now, whilst I am subject to this sharp trial, my conscience racks me, the secrets of my hart torment me, covetousness streightens me, pride accuses me, envy consumes me, concupiscence inflames me, lust importunes me, gluttony dishoners me, ebriety overcomes me, detraction tears me, ambition supplants me, greediness disquiets me, discord scatters me, anger disturbs me, mirth dissolves me, heaviness oppresseth me, hypocrisy deceives me, flattery altars me, favour exalts me, & slander wounds me. Behold o thou, who art my deliverer from these fierce nations! behold who they be, whom I have lived with all, from the very day of my birth; whom I have observed, and to whom I have dedicated myself. Those very employments which I loved, condemn me; they which I praised, dishonoured me. These are those friends with whom I did so carefully comply; those Masters, whose direction I followed, those Lords whom I have served; those Counseillers whom I have believed; those citzens with whom I have dwelled; & those domestics whom I have consented too. woe is me, o my King, and my God, that my habitation here, is so much prolonged. Woe is me! O thou light of mine eyes, that I have dwelled amongst the inhabitants of Cedar. And if holy David could say that he had dwelled much with them, how much more, may I wretched creature say (O thou my God, and my strong foundation) that my soul hath dwelled too much with them; for in thy sight, no man living can be justified. My hope is not reposed in the sons of men, for if thou judge them (when thy mercy is laid a side) whom wilt thou be able to find just? And if thou prevent not the wicked man by showeing mercy? thou wilt not find any good man, upon whom to bestow thy glory. For I believe (O thou who art my salvation) that which I have been told, that it is thy mercy which bringeth me to penance. Those lips of thy mouth more sweet than Nectar, have sounded forth these words: No man can come to me, unless my Father who sent me, draw him. Because therefore thou haste instructed me: because by that instruction, thou hast mercifully framed me; as now I am; I do with the most inward marrow of my soul, and with all possible strife of my hart, invoke thee, o Omnipotent Father, with thy most beloved Son; and thee, o most sweet Son, with the most excellent soweraigne Holy spirit, that thou wilt draw me towards thee, & that so I may run after the fragrance of thy precious odours: and that I may do it most dear. CHAP. V. The Father is invoked by the Son. Invoke thee, o my God I invoke he, because thou art present, to all such as call upon thee, in the way of truth: for thou art Truth. Teach me, o holy Truth, by thy mercy, how I may invoke thee, in thee, because I know not how that must be done; and therefore I do most humbly beg of thee, to be taught by thee For to be wise without thee, is to play the fool; but to know thee, is perfectly to be wise. Teach me, o divine Wisdom, and instruct me in thy law, for I believe that he whom thou teachest, and whom thou instructest in thy law, shallbe happy. I desire to invoke thee, and I beseech thee, that it may be in all Truth What is it to call upon Truth, in Truth, but to call upon the Father in his Sons. Thy speech therefore, o holy Father, is Truth, and Truth is the beginning of thy words. For this, is the beginning of thy words, that in the beginning was the word. In the very beginning do I adore thee, who art the prime, and supreme beginning. In that very word of Truth, do I also invoke thee o perfect Truth, in which word I beseech thee, who art that very Truth, that thou will direct, and teach me that Truth. For what is more delightful, then to invoke the Father, in the name of his only begotten Son; to induce the Father to mercy, by the remembrance of his Son; & to mollify the King's hart by the mention of his dearest Son. For thus do prisoners use to be freed from their restrainte: So are slaves, freed from their chains; and men who are liable to the sad doom of death, are not only absolved; but grow entitled, sometimes, to extraordinary favour, when they put angry Princes in mind, of the love they bear to their progeny: And when the intercession of the Son is employed, the poor slave is wont to avoid the punishment of his Lord. Just so, o thou Omnipotent Father, I beg of thee, by thine Omnipotent Son, that thou wilt draw my soul out of prison, that I may confess to thy name. I beseech thee, by that only begotten Son of thine, who is coeternal with thee; that thou wilt discharge me, from these fetters of my sins; and that by the mediation of thy most precious issue, who is sitting at thy right hand; thou wilt, of thy goodness, restore me to life, who for my great demerits am threatened with the sentence of death. For I know not what other intercessor I should be able to use towards thee, but him who is propitiation for our sins, and who sitteth at thy right hand pleading for us. Behold, o God the Father, him who is my advocate with thee. Behold that supreme Bishop, who hath no need to be expiated by any others blood, because he is resplendent by being all bathed, in his own. Behold here the holy Sacrifice which is holy, perfect, and well pleasing; & which is offered in the odour of sweetness, & so accepted. Behold the lamb without spot, who is silent before the shearrer; and who being beaten upon the face with blows, and defiled with spittle, and reproached with scorn, did not yet so much as open his mouth. Behold, he who never committed sin, hath borne our sins; and by his own wounds, hath cured our diseases. CHAP. VI Here man representeth the Passion of the Son to the Father. Behold dear Father, thy most holy Son, who hath suffered such bitter pains for me. Behold o most clement King, who it is that suffers, and mercifully remember, for whom he suffers. Is not he, o my Lord, that innocent person, who being thine only Son, was delivered by thee, to the end that he might redeem thy slave? Is not he the author of life, who yet is carried like à sheep to slaughter; and being made obedient to thee, did not fear to undergo a most outrageous kind of death, which was most hydeously grievous? Call to mind, o thou who art the dispenser of all salvation, that this is, that very he, whom although thou didst beget, out of thine own substance, and strength; thou didst yet ordain to be partaker of my infirmity. Yea this indeed is that Deity of thine, which apparelled itself with my nature, & that nature ascended up to the tree of the Cross, & endured bitter torment in the flesh, which it assumed. Send down, o Lord my God, the eyes of thy Majesty, upon this work of thy unspeakable piety. Behold thy sweet Son, being stretched out from head to foot. Behold those innocent hands all distilings with his precious blood, and thou being once appeased, forgive the wickedness which my hands have wrought. Consider that disarmed side of his, which is pierced by the point of a cruel Lance; and renew me in that most sacred springe, which I believe flowed down from thence. Cast an eye towards those immaculate feet of his, which never stood in the way of sinners, but did always walk in thy Law. See how they are fastened, with cruel nails, and do thou perfect my paces in thy pathewayes, and mercifully make me hate all ways of wickedness. Remove the way of iniquity from me, and of thy goodness, make me choose the way of truth. I beseech thee, o King of Saints, by this Redeemer of mine, that thou wilt make me run with speed through the way of thy Commandments, that so I may be united to him in spirit, who disdained not to be vested with my flesh. Dost thou not, o holy Father, observe how that most dear head of thy Son (he being yet but in the flower of his youth) is hanging down upon that neck, which is as white as snow, and doth resolve itself into a most precious death? Behold, o thou most meek Creator, the humanity of thy beloved Son; and take pity upon the weakness of our frail nature. That bare breast of his, is lilly-pale; that side is all read, and gored with blood, those bowels are withered, with being stretched out, those sweet bright eyes do languish; that imperial face is all discoloured; those long and graceful arms, are grown stiff; those marble thighs are hanging down; and those springs of that precious blood, do bedew, & bathe, his transperced feet. Behold o glorious Father the torn lymms of thy most beloved Son; and in thy mercy, remember that he carrieth my nature about him. Behold the punishment of that man, who is God; and release the misery of that man who was created by him. Behold the punishment of the Redeemer, and remit and pardon his offence who is redeemed. This is he, o my Lord, whom thou didst strike for the sins of thy people, though he be still that beloved, in whom thou art so well pleased. This is that innocent person, in whom no guile was found, and yet, he was esteemed to be one of the wicked. CHAP. VII. Here man acknowledgeh that himself by his sins, is the cause of the Passion of Christ our Lord. WHAT hast thou committed, o thou most sweet child, that thou shouldest so be judged? what hast thou committed, o most amiable young man, that thou shouldest be treated so? what is thy wickedness? what is thy crime? what is the cause of thy death? what is the occasion of thy condemnation? It is I, it is I, who am that wound, which puts thee to pain, and I am the crime which kills thee: and I am the man who deserved that death which thou endurest. I am the wickedness, whereof revenge is taken upon thee. I am that sornes of thy Passion: I am the labour of thy torment. O admirable kind of sentence! O disposition of an unspeakable mystery! The wicked man sins, and the just man is punished: The guilty person offends, and the innocent man bears the blows; the impious man errs, and the holy man is condemned. That which the wicked man deserves, the holy man endures; that which the slave borrows, his Lord pays; that which man commits, God undergoes. How low, o Son of God, how low did thy humility descend? how high did thy charity burn up? how far did thy piety proceed? how wide did thy benignity extend? whither did thy love aspire? and where did thy compassion arrive? For it is I, who have done wickedly, and thou art punished. ay, who have committed the crime, and thou art laid upon the Rack. ay, grew proud, and thou art humbled. I was puffed up, and thou art extenuated. I have showed myself disobedient, and thou being obedient, dost answer for the pain due to that disobedience. I have obeyed the temptation of gluttony, and thou art half consumed for lack of meat. Distempered affection drew me on apace to unlawful concupiscence; and perfect charity was that, which led thee on to the Cross. I presumed to do that which was forbidden, thou didst undergo torments. I am delighted with meat, thou art in labour upon the Cross. I am fed with delight: thou art torn with nails. I tasted the sweetness of the apple; thou the bitterness of gall. Eve laughs, & congratulats my sin with me; but Mary weeps and takes compassion with thee. Behold, O King of glory, behold how my impiety, and thy piety, are made apparent by one another. Behold how my injustice & thy justice are made clearly manifest. What! O my King, and my God, shall I render for all those things, which thou hast bestowed on me? For there is nothing to be found in the hart of man, which can bear any portion to thy singular benefits. Can the sharpness of man's conceit, think of any thing, to which the mercy of God may be compared? No, it is not in the power of a creature to perform any service that can make full amends to his Creator. But yet, O Son of God, there is somewhat in this admirable dispensation of thine, there is some what, wherein my frailty may answer, in some small proportion to what I owe if by the visitation of thy holy Spirit, my contrite hart, may crucify my flesh with the vices, and concupiscences thereof. And when this favour is granted me by thee, I do already, as it were, begin to suffer sweetly with thee, because thou didst vouchsafe to die for my sins. And thus by the victory of the inward man, he is prepared through thy help, toward an evident triumph; so that the spiritual persecution being overcome, he fears not to submit himself, for the love of thee, to a material sword. And in this manner, if it be pleasing to thy mercy, the weakness of our condition will be able, according to our little strength, to correspond with the greatness of our Creator. This, O dear jesus, is that celestial medicine: this is the antidote of thy love. I beseech thee, by those ancient mercies of thine, infuse some such thing into my wounds, as wherreby, I (casting up the contagion of vipers, which I have sucked) may be reintigrated to my former health, and that upon the taste of the Nectar of thy divine sweetness, I may be drawn to despise the inticeinge vanities of this world, with my whole hart; and that, by thy goodness, I may not be freighted with any adversity which can happen here; but, being mindful of that nobility which is to last for ever, I may still loath the winds of this transitory world. Let nothing, I beseech thee, be delightful to me, witheut thee. Let nothing be pleasing, nothing be precious, nothing beautiful besides thee. Let all things, I beseech thee, grow base, & odious without thee. That which is contrary to thee, let it be troublesome to me, and let thy good pleasure, be my eternal desire. Let it be à tedious thing to me, to rejoice without thee; and let it delight me, to be grieved for thee. Let thy very name, be a joy to my hart; and let the comfort of thy memory, bring my tears, which may be the bread I feed on, day and night, whilst I seek thy law. And let that law be esteemed by me, beyond thousands of gold and silver. Let it be an amiable thing for me, to obey thee, and execrable to resist thee. I beseech thee, o my hope, by all thy works of pity, that thou wilt have mercy upon my sins. Make mine ears stand open to thy Commandments. And I beseech thee, by thy holy Name, let not my hart decline towards the words of malice, to the makeinge of excuses upon excuses, of my sins: and I beseech thee also, by that admirable humility of thine, that the foot of pride may not come towards me, and that the hand of a sinner may not stir me. CHAP. VIII. Here man exposeth the Passion of the Son, to God the Father, for the reconciliation of man. Behold, O thou Omnipotent God, the Father of my Lord, dispose thou graciously, and have mercy on me. I beseech thee, I say, since whatsoever I have conceived to be best, I have devoutly offerred; and whatsoever I have found to be most excellent, I have humbly presented to thee. I have left nothing in myself, which I have not exposed to thy Majesty; Nothing now remains for me to add, for I have fastened all my hope on thee. I have directed to thee, thine own dear Son, who is mine Advocate. I have placed that glorious offspring of thine, as a mediator between thee, and me. I have placed him, as I said, for an intercessor; by whose means I hope for pardon. I have offered by these words of mine, that Word of thine, who, as I said before, was sent, for the pardon of my sins; and I have recounted to thee, the Passion of thy most Holy Son, which I believe he hath endured for me. I believe that the Deity was sent by thee, and that it took upon itself, my humanity; wherein he disdained not to suffer blows, fetters spittings, and scorns; yea even the Cross, Nailes, and Lance. His Humanity was entertained with the cries of infancy; it was bound in by the swathinge clothes of that tender age; it was vexed by the labour, and sweat of his youth; it was extenuated also by fasting, afflicted by watching, and wearied out by travelling. It was afterwards loaden with stirpes, and torn in sunder with other torments. It was ranked amongst the dead, and when once it was endued with the glory of Resurrection, he introduced it into the joys of heaven. This is that, which must appease thee, and this must propitiate for me. Observe therefore here, O God with mercy, what Son thou hast begotten, and what slave thou hast redeemed. Observe who is the Maker, and despise not the thing which he hath made. Embrace thou the shepherd with joy, and with mercy look upon that sheep, which he hath brought home upon his own shoulders. This is that most faithful shepherd, who with many, and great labours, hath fought this poor sheep, which so long was erring up and down, by those abrupt, and rocky hills, and by those precepices, which overlook those valleys. And who when it was even dying, through the faintness to which it was grown by that tedious error, and exile; yet as soon as he could meet with it, he did with joy put himself underneath it; and with an admirable exercise, and strife of charity, he raised it out of that profound pit of confusion; and having imprisoned it in his own bosom, by dear embracements, he brought that one which he had lost, to the ninty nine which remained. Behold, O Lord my King, and my God Omnipotent! Behold how the good Pastor brings thee, that which thou haste committed to his charge. He undertook the salvation of man by thy direction, and he restores him to thee, free from all infection. Behold how thy most dear Son reconciles thy Creature to thee, which had wandered from thee so far. Behold how that meek Pastor of mine, brings back to thy flock, that which the violent thief had driven away. He restoreth that slave to thy sight, whom his own conscience had made a fugitive; that he, who of himself deserved punishment, by means of him, may obtain pardon; and that he to whom hell was due for his sins, by the means of so great a Captain, may confide that he shallbe recalled to his country. I was well able, O holy Father, to offend thee of myself; but of myself, I was not able to appease thee. Thy beloved Son, O my God, is become my helper, participateinge of my humanity, that he might cure my infirmity; that so from whence the cause of mine offence was grown, from thence he might offer the Sacrifice of praise to thee; and might thereby make me acceptable to thy mercy; since, he showeth himself, sitting at thy right hand, as a comfort of my substance, and nature. Behold, this is my hope, this is all the confidence I have. If thou despise me, as thou hast reason for my sin, yet look back upon me at least with mercy, for the love of thy beloved Son. Consider that, in thy Son, whereby thou maisttake pity upon the slave. Behold the mystery of his Incarnation, and pardon the sensuality of my conversation. As often as thou beholdest the wounds of thy blessed Son; I beseech thee, let my wickedness shrink out of thy sight. As often as thy precious blood, looks read from that holy side, I beseech thee, that the spots of my corruption may be washed away. And as flesh provoked thee to wrath, so let flesh, I beseech thee, incline thee to mercy. And in fine, as flesh seduced us to sin, so let flesh bring us back to pardon. It is much that my impiety diserueth; but yet it is much more which the piety of my Redeemer doth justly exact. My injustice is great, I confess it: but far greater is the justice of my Redeemer. For, as much as God is Superior to man, so much is my malice inferior to his goodness, both in quantity and quality. For in what hath man sinned, wherein the Son of God, being made Man, hath not redeemed him? What pride was able to swell so high, as that so great humility would not be able to beat it down? What dominion of death could be so absolute, which the torment of the Cross, endured by the Sun of God, will not destroy. Infaillibly, O my God, if the faults of a sinful man, and the grace of him who redeemed them, be put into an equal balance, the East will not be found so far distant from the west; nay the lowest part of hell, will not be found so far distant from the highest pitch of heaven, as they two will be. Now therefore, O thou most excellent Creator of light, pardon my faults, through the immense labours of thy beloved Son. Let now I beseech thee, his piety propitiate for my impiety; his modesty for my perversity; his meekness for my rudeness; his humility for my pride; his patience for my impatience; his benignity for my harshness; his obedience for my disobedience; his tranquillity for my unquietness, his sweetness for my bitterness; his mildness for my anger; and let his charity overworke my cruelty. CHAP. IX. Of the invocation of the Holy Ghost. O Love of that divine power, the Holy communication of the Omnipotent Father, and of the most blessed Son, O thou Omnipotent Holy Ghost, the most sweet comforter of the afflicted; slip thou down even very now, by thy puissant virtue, into the most secret corners of my hart, and by the splendour of thy clear light, illuminate, (o thou dear dweller in our souls) these dark retreyts of our neglected habitations; and by thy visitation, and by the abundance of thy dew from heaven, make my soul grow fruitful, which by reason of so long a drought, is all deformed and decayed. Wound thou the most retired parts of this inward man, with the darts of thy love; and inflame, and pierce the very marrow of my dull hart, with those healthful fires of thine. And by the flame of thy holy fervour, illuminate thou and feed the very interior, both of my whole body and mind. Give me once to drink of the torrent of thy delights: that now I may no more have a mind, so much as even to taste, of the pestiferous sweetness of worldly things. judge, me, o Lord, and discern my cause from all wicked people, and teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God. I believe therefore, that whomesoever thou dost inhabit, thou dost build up a dwelling place in him both for the Father and the Son. Blessed is he, who shall arrive to entertain thee; because by thee, both the Father & the Son will remain with him. Come, come even now, O thou most benign Comforter of all woeful souls. Thou, who protectest them, when they have most need, and art their helper in tribulation. Come, o thou cleanser of sins, and curer of wounds. Come, o thou strength of the weak, o thou who stayest such as are falling. Come o thou teacher of the humble, and destroyer of the proud. Come, o dear Father of Orphans, and favourable judge of widows. Come, thou hope of the poor, & thou cherisher of such as faint. Come, thou propitious star of such as sail, & thou haven, against the danger of shipwreck. Come, o thou excellent ornament, of such as live; & the only help of such as die. Come, o most holy Spirit: Come, and have mercy on me; make me fit for thyself, & condescend to me with pity, that my meanness may grow pleasing to thy greatness, and my weakness to thy strength. According to the multitude of thy mercies; through jesus Christ my Saviour, who with the Father doth live ad reign in thy unity, for ever, and ever. Amen. CHAP. X. The Prayer of the Servant of God conceauing humbly of himself. I Know, O Lord, I know, and I confess that I am not worthy, that thou shouldest love me; but yet at least, it is certain, that thou art not unworthy to be beloved by me. It is true that I am unworthy to serve thee; but it is also true, that thou art not unworthy to be served by thy Creatures. Give me therefore somewhat, O Lord, of that which maketh thee so worthy, and so I shall grow worthy, who am unworthy. Make me cease from sin, by what means thou wilt; to the end that I may serve thee as I ought. Grant that I may so address, and order, and end my life, that I may sleep in peace, and repose in thee. Grant that in the end, the sleep of death may receive me with rest; rest with securiry, and security with eternity. Amen. CHAP. XI. A Prayer to the blessed Trinity. WE confess to thee, with our whole hart, and with our mouth, we praise and bless thee, O God the Father, who art unbegotten; and thee, O God the Son, who art the only begotten; and thee, O God the holy Ghost, who art the Paraclete. To thee. O holy, and indeviduall Trinity, be glory for all eternityes. Amen. CHAP. XII. A Confession of the Omnipotency, and Majesty of God. O Supreme Trinity, O thou sole power, & undivided Majesty, O God of ours, O Omnipotent God, I confess to thee, who am the unworthyest of thy seruants, and the weakest of thy members. I confesse to thee in thy Church, and I give thee honour, by offering thee a due sacrifice of praise, according to that little power, and skill, which thou haste vouchsafed to afford me, thy miserable creature. And because I have no external presents, which I can make to thee, therefore these desires, and vows of service and praise, which by the gift of thy mercy are in me, behold, how with an unfeigned faith and with a pure conscience, I offer them to thee, not only with a good will, but with a hart, which is full of triumph, and joy. I believe therefore with my whole hart, and I confess with my mouth, O thou King of heaven, ad Lord of earth, that thou the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, art in Persons three, and in Substance one, & that thou art God Omnipotent, of one simple, incorporeal, invisible, and uncircumscribed nature. That there is nothing either above thee, or below thee, or greater than thou; but that thou art sublymely, and absolutely perfect, without the least deformity. Great, without quantity, good without quality, eternal, yet wholly without Time. That thou hast life without death; that thou art strong without any weakness; true without falsehood; every where present, without being situated any where; filling all things, yet without any extension; occurringe every where, yet without any crossing, or contradiction. Transcending all things, without Motion; remaneinge in all things, without Station; creating all things, without looseinge, or wanting any thing, and ruleinge all things without labour. Giveinge a beginning to all things, thyself having no beginning; making all things changeable, & being yet unchangeable in thyself; being infinite in thy greatness, Omnipotent in thy power, sowereigne in thy goodness, inestimable in thy wisdom, terrible in thy decrees, just in thy judgements, secret in thy thoughts, true in thy words, holy in thy works, & plentiful in thy mercies. Towards sinners, thou art most patiented; towards penitents thou art most pitiful. Thou art ever the same, eternal, sempiternal, immortal, & unchangeable God, whom neither space can dilate, nor littleness of place can straighten, nor any receptacle can keep in, or constrain, nor the will vary, nor partiality corrupt; neither do sad things afflict thee, nor joyful things transport thee. From whom neither forgetfulness takes any thing, neither doth memory restore any thing; neither do things past pass away; nor future things succeed To whom neither the first gave beginning: nor the continuance of time increase: nor shall any accident give it any end. But thou livest for all eternity, both before, and in, and through all aages And let immortal praise, and eternal glory, and sowereigne power, and supreme honour, and a Kingdom, & Empire for all eternity, remain with thee, through those infinite, unwearied, and immortal ages, of ages. Amen CHAP. XIII. How God the Father vouchsafed to help mankind, and of the Incarnation of the word. HItherto, O Omnipotent God the beholder & searcher of my hart, I have confessed the Omnipotency of thy Majesty, and the majesty, of thy Omnipotency. But now, as I believe with the hart to justice, so will I confess before thee, with the mouth to salvation, in what sort thou haste been pleased, at the end of many ages, to relieve the misery of mankind. Thou, O God, and our only Father, wert never to be sent any whither. But of the Son, the Apostle writeth thus, When the fullness of time was come, God sent his Son. When he saith sent, he doth sufficiently show, that then he came sent into this world, when being borne of the ever B. Virgin Mary, he became, and appeared, true and perfect man, in flesh. But what is that, which that chief of all the Evangelists saith: He was in the world, and the world was made by him. He was sent thither in his Humanity, who was ever, and is there, by his Divinity. Now, that this Mission is the work of the whole blessed Trinity, I confess with my whole hart, and mouth. But how then didst thou love us, O thou holy and good Father? how much didst thou love us, O most dear Creator; who didst not even, spare, thine own Son, but didst deliver him up for us wretched Creatures, He was subject to thee, even unto the death, and that, the death of the Cross, takeinge the hand-writinge of our sins and nailinge it to the same Cross. He crucified also sin itself, and killed death: He, who only is free amongst the dead; having power both to lay down his life for us, and afterward, to take it up again. Hence was he both the conqueror and Sacrifice. And therefore the Conqueror because the sacrifice for us To thee he was the Priest, and the Sacrifice; and therefore the Priest, because the Sacrifice. Most justly have I a strong hope in him, that thou for his sake, who sitteth at thy right hand, and is continually interceedinge for us, wilt cure all our languishing diseases. For my infirmities, O Lord, are great and many; great they are and many. The Prince of this world hath much to say against me, I know and confesse it, yet deliver me I beseech thee, by that Redeemer of mine, who sitteth at thy right hand, in whom he was able to find none of his malice By him I beseech thee, to justify me; by him, who commited no sin, nor was there any guile found in his mouth. I beseech thee by that head of ours, in whom there is no one little spot, deliver this member, which yet is his, how weak and poor soever it be. Deliver me, I beseech thee from my sins, my vices, my faults, and my negligence. Fill me with thy holy virtues, & make me of most innocent conversation. And grant, for thy holy names sake, that I may continue even to the very end, in those good works, which thou commandest, according to thy holy will. CHAP. XIV. Of the confidence which a soul ought to have in our Lord jesus, & in his Passion. I Could easily have despaired, through the excess of my grievous sins, and of my infinite negligences, if thy word, O God, had not become flesh, and had not dwelled amongst us. But now I dare not despair, because when we were enemies we were reconciled, by the death of thy Son, & how much more now, we being already reconciled, shall we be saved by him? For all the hope, and stay of all my confidence, doth consist, in that precious blood of his, which was shed for us, and for our salvation. In him do I take breath; and hoping firmly in him, I earnestly desire to come to thee; not having any justice of mine own, but that which is in thy Son, our Lord jesus-christe. We do therefore thank thee. O most Clement, and benign lover of mankind; who when we were not, didst powerfully create us, by jesus-christe thy Son our Lord. And when we were lost, by our own fault, thou didst admirably deliver, and recover us. I give thanks to thy mercy; many thanks do I give thee with the whole affection of my hart; who (through that unspeakable charity, wherewith thou didst vouchsafe, with strange goodness, to love us miserable, and unworthy Creatures) didst send thine only begotten Son, from thine own bosom, for our common good; so to save us sinners, who were then the sons of wrath. I give thee thanks for his holy Incarnation, and Nativity, and for his glorious Mother, of whom he vouchsafed to assume flesh for us, and our salvation; that as he was true God of God, so he might also, be true man of man. I thank thee for his Cross and Passion, for his death and Resurrection; for his Ascension into heaven, and for his seat of Majesty at thy right hand. For vpon the fortieth day after his Resurrection, ascending above all the heavens (whilst his Disciples were looking on) and being seated at thy right hand, he did according to his promise, pour forth the Holy Ghost upon the Children of adoption. I thank thee, for that most sacred effusion of his most precious Blood, whereby we are redeemed; and withal, for that Sacred, and Holy, and quickninge Mystery of his Body and Blood, which daily we eat and drink in the Church, and whereby we are washed and sanctified, and made partakers of that one supreme divinity. I thank thee for this admirable, and unspeakable charity of thine, whereby thou hast so loved, and saved us, unworthy creatures, by that only, and beloved Son of thine. For thou didst so love the world, as to give thy only begotten Son, that every one who believed in him, might not perish, but have eternal life. And this is eternal life, that we may know thee our true God, and whom thou hast sent jesus-christe, by right faith, and by works which are worthy, and suitable to that faith. CHAP. XV. Of the immense charity of the eternal Father towards mankind. O Immense Piety, O inestimable Charity; that thou might free thy slave, thou haste delivered up thy Son; God is made man to the end that wretchd man, might be drawn out of the prower of the Devil. How inspeakably a benign lover of man, is thy Son our God, to whose bowels of mercy, it seemed not sufficient, that he should diminish himself, so much as to be made man of the true Virgin Mary; unless withal, he had undergone the torment of the Cross, shedding so his Blood for us, and for our salvation. Our merciful God came down; he came, through his own pity, and goodness; he came to seek, and save, that which was lost. He sought his lost sheep, he sought and found it, and he brought it home upon his own shoulders into his fold. Being a merciful Lord, and extremely dear Pastor. O Charity! O Piety! who ever heard of such things as these? who is he, that upon the disclosing of these bowels of mercy, will not be amazed? who will not wonder? who will not rejoice, for that excessive Charity of thine, wherewith thou lovedst us; Thou didst send thy Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin, that by sin he might condemn sin, and that we might be made thy justice in him. For he is the true unspotted lamb, who hath taken away the sins of the world who hath destroyed our death, by dying, and restored our life, by his Resurrection. But what can we return to thee, O our God, for the benefits of thy mercy, which are so great? What praises, and what thanks can we give? For althouge we did possess that knowledge and power, which the Angels have, yet should we be unable, to make return of any thing which might be worthy of thy mercy and goodness. If all the parts of our body, were converted into tongues, this meanness of ours would never yet be able to answer thee with due praise. For that inestimable Charity, which thou haste been pleased to show to us unworthy Creatures, through thine only pity, and goodness, doth far transcend all our knowledge. For thy Son our God, did not assume the Angelical nature, but the seed of Abraham, being made like to us, in all things except sin. And so our Lord, takeinge the Nature, not of Angels, but of men upon him, and glorifying it with the Stole of holy Resurrection, and immortality; he exalted us above all the Heavens, above all the Quires of Angels, and above Cherubin, and Seraphine, placing it at thy right hand. And this Nature, do the Angel's praise, and the Dominations adore; and all the Virtues of Heaven tremble to behold above them all, God-Man. This is all my hope, and all my confidence. For there is in jesus-christe, our Lord himself, a portion of the flesh, and blood of every of us. Where then any part of me reigns, there I am confident I also reign. Where my flesh is glorified, there do I conceive myself to be glorious. Where my blood doth bear Dominion, there do I find myself to rule. Though I be a sinner, yet I cannot diffide not to participate in this grace. Though my sins keep me back, yet my substance calls me on. Though my offences shut me out, yet my communion of nature with him, rejects me not. For God is not so cruel, that he can forget man, and not remember the thing which he bears about himself; and which, for my sake, he took upon him, & which for my sake he sought. No, our Lord God is full of meekness, and benignity; and he loves his flesh, his body, and his bowels▪ in the same God, and Lord jesus-christe, who is most sweet, most benign and most clement; in whose person we are already risen, and are ascended into heauen, and are already seated in those heavenly habitations. Our own flesh loveth us, and we have the prerogative of our blood in him. We are his members and his flesh; and he in fine, is our head; and of these parts, the whole body is made, as it is written: Bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh and they shallbe two in one flesh. And again, No man did ever hate his own flesh but he cherisheth▪ and loveth it. This is a great mystery, I say in Christ, & in his Church, saith the Apostle. CHAP. XVI. Of the twofold nature of Christ our Lord, who pitieth, and prayeth for us. I Give thee thanks O Lord our God, with my lips, and with my hart, and with the whole power I have, for thy infinite goodness; and for all those mercies, by which thou didst vouchsafe, to succour us poor creatures, after an admirable manner, by thy Son our Saviour, and Redeemer, who died for our sins, and rose for our justification, and now living in eternity, doth sit at thy right hand, and intercedeth for us. And together with thee, he taketh pity of us, because he is God, of thee, his Father, coeternal, and consubstantial with thee in all things, whereby he may for ever save us. But for as much as he is man, in those respects wherein he is less than thou, all power is given him, both in Heaven and in earth, that at the name of jesus, every knee may bow, celestial, terrestrial and infernal; and every tongue my confess, that our Lord jesus Christ is in thy glory, Omnipotent God the Father. He indeed is appointed by thee, to be the judge of the quick and the dead, but thou judgest no man, but thou haste giuen all judgement to thy Son, in whose breast all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are laid up, and hid. But he is both the witness, and the judge. A judge and witness he is, from whom no sinful conscience can fly; for all things lie open and naked to his eyes. That very he, who was judged unjustly, shall judge the whole world in equity, and the people in justice. I do therefore bless thy holy name for all eternity, and I glorify thee, with my whole hart, O merciful, and Omnipotent Lord, for that admirable, and unspeakable conjunction of thy divinity and humanity, in the unity of one person; not that God might be one, and Man another, but that one and the same should be God and Man, man and God. But although, The word was made flesh, by a strange graciousness and mercy; yet nether of those two Natures, is changed into another substance. There is no fourth person, added to the mystery of the Trinity, for the substance of the word, of God and Man, was united, and not confounded, that so, that might be assumed to God which he had taken from us, and yet that, which had been before, might still continue the same it was. O wonderful mystery, O unspeakable kind of commerce. O admirable, and for ever to beloved benignity of the divine mercy. We were not worthy to be servants, and yet behold, we are made the Sons of God. Nay, we are the heirs of God and coheirs of Christ. Whence came this to us, and who brought us to this? But I beseech thee, O thou most merciful God the Father, by this inestimable goodness and piety, and charity of thine, make us worthy of the many and great promises of thy Son our Lord jesus-christe employ thy strength, and confirm that in us which thou hast wrought. Perfect that which thou haste begun, that we may deserve to attain to the fullness of thy mercy. Enable us by thy Holy Spirit, to understand, deserve, and reverence with due honour, this great mystery of piety, which is manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, hath appeared to Angels, is preached to Gentiles, is believed in the world, and is assumed to glory. CHAP. XVII. Of the thanks which a man owes to God, for the benefit of Redemption. O How deeply are we thy debtors, O Lord our God, being redeemed by so high a price: being saved by so rich a gift: being assisted by so glorious a benefit? How much art thou to be feared, loved, blessed, praised, honoured and glorified by us miserable creatures, whom thou haste so loved, saved sanctified, and exalted? For to thee do we owe all our power, all our being, and all our knowledge. And who hath any thing which is not thine? Thou art our Lord, and our God, from whom all things proceed. For thyself, and for thy holy Name, give us So me part of thy heavenly riches, that by means of those blessings and gifts of thine, we may serve & please thee in truth, and that by way of return we may daily render thee all due praise, for so many benefits of thy mercy. Nor can we serve thee, or praise thee by any other means, then by thy own gift For every good grace; and every perfect gift, is from above descending from thee, the Father of lights, uviht whom there, is no change, nor so much as any shadow of mutability. O Lord our God dear God, good God, Omnipotent God, unspeakable God, whose nature cannot be circumscribed, God the ordeyner of all things, & the Father of our Lord jesus-christe, who didst send the same beloved Son of thine, our most sweet Lord, out of thy bosom, for our universal profit, to take our life upon him, that he might bestow his life upon us, and that he might be perfect God, of thee the Father, and perfect Man of his Mother, all God and all Man, and one, and the same Christ, eternal, and temporal, immortal and mortal: Creator, and creature; strong & weak triumphant, and yet overcome; the nurse, and the creature which is nourished; the Pastor & the sheep: he that died for a time, and died in time, and yet is living for all eternity. He promiseinge to such as loved him, that they should be provided for, said thus to his Disciples: What soever you shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you By this Supreme Sacrifice, and true Priest, and good Pastor, who offered himself in Sacrifice to thee, laying down his life for his flock, by him I beseech thee, who sitteth at thy right hand, and intercedeth for ut, being our Redeemer and Advocate before thy pity and goodness, I beseech thee, I say, O God, the most dear and benign lover of mankind, that thou wilt give me grace, with the same Son of thine, and the Holy Ghost, to praise, and glorify thee in all things, with great contrition of hart, and a fountain of tears, with much reverence and trembling, because theirs whose the substance is, theirs also are all the accessaries thereof. But because the body which is corrupted, doth depress the soul, I beseech thee, to rouse up my dullness by thy virtue and make me persevere with strength in thy Commandments, and praises day and night. Grant that my hart may wax warm within me, and that, whilst I am in meditation, the fire may burn. And because thy only Son himself did say: No man cometh to me, unless the Father who sent me, draw him, and no man cometh to the Father but by me, I beseech, and humbly pray thee, be thou ever drawing me to him, that at last he may bring me thither to thee, where he is sitting at thy right hand. where there is an eternal life eternally happy, where there is perfect love, and no fear, where there is an everlasting day, and one spirit of them all; where there is certain and supreme security, and secure tranquillity, and serene alacrity, and sweet felicity, and happy eternity, and eternal beatitude, and a blessed praise, and vision of thee, which never ends. where thou with him, and he with thee, and both, in the communion of the same Holy Ghost, do sempiternally live, and being God, dost reign, for ever, and for ever. Amen. CHAP. XVIII. A Prayer to Christ our Lord. O Christ my God my hope Sweet lover of mankind, Light, life, way, health And beauty most refined; Behold those things which thou Didst suffer, us to save; The chains, the wounds, the Cross, The bitter death, the grave, Rising within three days From conquering death and hell, By thy Disciples seen, reforming minds so well, Upon the fortieth day, Climeing the Heavens so high, Thou livest now, and thou Shalt reign eternally. THou art my living and true God, my holy Father, my dear Lord, my great King, my good shepherd, my only instructor, my best helper, my most beautiful lover, my living bread, my Eternal Priest, my guide into my country, my true light, my holy sweetness, my right way, my excellent wisdom, my pure simplicity, my peaceable concord, my safe custody, my good portion, my everlasting salvation, my great Mercy, my invincible patience, my immaculate Sacrifice, my holy Redemption, my firm hope, my perfect charity, my true Resurrection, my eternal life, my excessive joy, and most blessed Vision, which is for ever to remain. I pray thee, I beg of thee, I beseech thee, that I may walk by thee, pass on by thee, and repose in thee, who art the way, the truth, and the life, without whom, no man cometh to the Father. For thou art he, whom I desire, O thou most sweet & most beautiful Lord, O thou splendour of thy Father's Glory, who sittest above the Cherubins, and beholdest from thence, the most profound Abysses, which are below; thou light, which declareth truth; illuminateing light: light, which never leaves to shine, whom the Angels desire to behold Lo my hart is before thee; disperse the darkness thereof, that by the clearness of thy love, it may be yet more fully strucken, and beaten through with light. Give thyself to me, O my God, restore thyself to me. Behold I love thee, and if it be to little, make me love thee more. I cannot measure out, to know, how much of my love is wanting to thee, of that which ought to make it up enough. Let my life run on towards thine embracements, and let it never look aside, till it be all hidden up, in the hidden joy of seeing thy face. In the mean time this I know, that it goes ill with me, when I want thee O Lord. And not only is it ill with me, in respect of the things which are without me, but in respect of them also which are within me. For whatsoever plenty there may be in the world, which is not my God, is no better to me, then mere beggary. For it is thou alone, who canst not be changed, either into better or worse; thou, who indeed, and simply, art alone; thou to whom it is not one thing to live, and an other thing to live happily, beccause thou art thine own Beatitude. But thy creature, to nhom it is one thing to live, and another thing to live happily, must not attribute either happy life, yea or so much as life, to any other thing, than thy grace. Therefore is it, that we stand in need of thee, and not thou of us. For although we had no being at all, yet there would be nothing wanting to thee, of that complete good, which thou art. It is necessary therefore that we adhear still to thee, O Lord, that by thy continual assistance, we may be able to live holily, and uprightly. For we are drawn down fast enough, by the weight of our frailty; but by thy safety we are kindled, and carried upward, and we are inflamed, and we fly on, whither we are going, which is towards the peace of jerusalem. For I have rejoiced in those things, which have been said to me, let us go into the house of our Lord. There, hath a rectified and good will placed us; and so, as that we can desire no more, but that we may remain there for ever. But because whilst we are in this body, we wander as pilgrims from thee, therefore we have not here any permanent City, but we expect another which is to come, for our habitation is in Heaven And therefore, by the conduct of thy grace, do I go into the most retired corner of my hart, and I sing love songs to thee, O my King, and my God; groaninge out certain groans, which indeed cannot be described, in this place of my pilgrimage where thy law is the song in which I delight myself. And calling jerusalem to mind, I extend, and stretch the whole power of my hart towards it: jerusalem which is my Country, jerusalem which is my Mother; And towards thee also who art the ruler, the illuminator, the father, the tutor, the defender, the pastor, the chaste and strong delight thereof, the solid joy, & all wnspekable good things; yea all of them together, because thou art the only supreme and true good. Nor will I be drawn aside from this exercise, till thou, O my God, and my mercy, shalt draw together all that which I am, from this despersion, and deformity wherein I find myself, and till thou shalt conform me to thyself, and confirm me therein for all eternity, in the communion of that most dear Mother of mine, whither the flower and first fruits of my spirit, are already gone before. CHAP. XIX. He distinguisheth between that wisdom, which is called the house of God, and that other wisdom which is supremely divine. THis is that house of thine, O God, no earthly house, nor yet built of any corporeal thing in heaven, but I mean that spiritual house, which is partaker of thine eternity, because it is for ever to remain without spot; For thou hast appointed that it should remain for ever, and for ever thou haste imposed a precept, and it shall not pass away. Yet that creature, O God, is not eternal, as thou art eternal; because it was not without beginning; for it was made. Of all the Creatures, this Wisdom is that which was created first. I mean not that Wisdom, which was absolutely coeternal, and coequal with God the Father, whereby all things were created, and in which Beginning, heaven and earth was made: but I mean the Wisdom which is created; namely that spiritual nature, which by the contemplation of thy light, is light; for even this, although it be created, is called Wisdom. But as much difference as there is, between the light which doth illuminate, and that which groweth to be light by being illuminated; so much difference also there is, betweane thee, who art the supreme wisdom, creating all things, and this other which is created; as also there is between that justice which justifieth, which is thyself, O our God, and that justice which is produced in us by our being justified. For we also are called the justice of God the Father, in thee, who art his Son our Lord, by the testimony of the Apostle. Though therefore the first of all the creatures was a kind of Wisdom (Which was made to be a rational, & intellectual mind; inhabiting thy holy City, our mother which is above, and which is free, and eternal in the Heavens) & what Heavens but those Heavens of the Heavens, which praise thee, because this is that, whereof it is said, The Heavens of the Heavens to our Lord, & although we find no Time before that Creature, because it was before the creation of Time, as being the first of all the creatures; yet nevertheless thou art before it. O Eternal God, the Creator of all things, from whom, as soon as it was made, it took a beginning, though not indeed, of Time, because Time was not then created; but yet a beginning of that nature, which it was come to have. It came therefore so from thee; O Lord our God, as that it is clearly another thing than thou art. For although I find no Time neither before it, nor in it; it is yet nevertheless fit to behold thy face; neither is it ever diverted from thence, Hence it comes that it is not subject to any change. Yet a kind of mutabillity is still in it, whereby it would grow all dark and cold, unless, by adhering to thee, with an excessive love, it did (like a sun which were ever bright as noon day) both shine, and boil up with heat towards thee. In fine, that creature doth so adhear to thee, our true God, who art truly eternal, that although it be not coeternal to thee, yet nevertheless it is not discharged, nor distracted from thee, into any variety, or vicissitude of tyme. But it reposeth in the most true contemplation of thee alone. For to such, a one o Lord as loves thee, as much as thou commandest, thou dost clearly discover thyself, and it sufficeth him. And from hence it grows, that the Angels do never decline, either from thee, or from themselves; but perpetually they remain in the same state, incessantly beholding thee, and incessantly loving thee, who art the true light, and the chaste love. O how blessed and sublyme is this Creature of Creatures, most happy in eternally adhering to thy beatitude; happy and excessively happy, in having thee to inhabit, and to illuminate it, and that for ever. Nor can I find what I may more fitly call this heaven of the heavens to our Lord, than that house of thine, which is contemplateinge thy delight, without any defect at all, and without the least inclination to depart from that to any other; that pure mind, most entirely one, that establishment of those blessed spirits in the foundation of peace, in those heavens above, which are yet above these heavens which we see. Hereby, my soul (whose pilgrimage is so far of from thee) may understand, if now it thirst affer thee; if now her tears, are not made her bread; if now she desire that one thing, and beg it again and again, that she may inhabit thy house all the days of her life. And what is the life of that house, but thou thyself; and what are the days thereof, but thy eternity, as thy years are, which never fail. Let therefore the soul understand here, as well as it can, how sublymely thou art Eternal before all times, since that house of thine, which never wandered from thee (although it be not coeternal with thee, yet by reason that it adheareth to thee, without any failing, or ever fainting) undergorth no variety of time: but sucking up thee, her immutability, with a perpetual & persevering purity of mind, she doth at no time, and in no place depart from thee, to whom she cleaves with unseparable love, & to whom thou art ever present. And so, having no future which it may expect, nor any transitory thing passing by, which it may remember; it is not varied to and fro by turns, nor extended into future times. CHAP. XX. Here man prayeth that the said spiritual house of God, may pray for him. O Thou bright and beautiful house of God, I have loved thy comeliness, and the place of the habitation of the glory of my Lord God, who did both build thee, and doth possess thee. Let this pilgrimage of mine, send sighs to thee, day and night, let my hart pant towards thee; let my mind think on thee; and let my soul desire to attain to the Society of thy beatitude I say to him who made thee; that he would possess me in thee, for it is he who made both thee & me. Or rather do thou desire and beseech of him, that he will make me worthy of the participation of thy glory. For I do not challenge thy holy Society, nor thy admirable beauty, by any merit of mine; but I despair not to obtain it, by the Blood of him who redeemed me. Only let thy merits help me, let thy most holy and most pure Prayers, which cannot but be effectual with Almighty God, secure my sinfulness. I confess that I have wandered like a lost sheep, and my habitation here is prolonged, and I am cast far of from the face of my Lord God, into this blindness of banishment. where, being driven from the joys of Paradise, I am daily lamenting with myself, the miseries of my captivity; and I sing a mournful song, and I make huge lamentations, when I remember thee, O jerusalem who art my mother: & whilst I find my feet standing in thy outward Courts, O thou fair and holy Zion, but am not able so much as to look into those interior parts of that Temple. But yet I hope that I shall once be brought into thee, upon his shoulders, who is my Pastor, and who was thy builder, that I may triumph with thee, in that unspeakable joy, wherewith they rejoice, who stand with thee before God our Saviour himself, who discharged our enmytyes in his flesh, and who pacified all things which are both in Heaven and in earth, by his blood. For he is our peace, who made both to become one; and who joined in himself, those two walls, which went by contrary ways. ordaining thy permanent felicity, and promising that he would give himself to us, according to the same measure, saying: And they shallbe equal to the Angels of God in Heaven. O jerusalem, thou eternal house of God, be thou (after the charity of Christ our Lord) my joy, and my comfort, and let the sweet memory of thy blessed Name, be a solace to my sorrows and heaviness of hart. CHAP. XXI. How full of biterness this life of ours, is. O Lord I am extremely weary of this life, and of this woeful pilgrimage. This life, this miserable life, frail life, uncertain life, laborious life, unclean life. Life which is the lady of wicked men, the queen of proud men, full of miseries and errors, which deserves not to be called a life, but a death, since we are dying in every moment, by divers kinds of death, through the several miseries and changes, which we are subject too. Doth therefore this, which we live in this world, deserve to be called life; when humours make us swell, and grief extenuates, and unnatural heat dries up, and impressions of the air infect. Meat maketh fat, fasting maketh lean, mirth makes dissolute, sorrows consume, care straitneth, security makes dull. Riches puffs us up; poverty casts us down; youth extols us; and old age makes us stoop; sickness breaks, & sorrow oppresses us. And to all these miseries, furious death succeeds, and at a clapp doth so impose an end upon this miserable life, that as soon as it hath left to be, it is scare believed, that ever it was. This vital death, and this mortal life, although it be all sprinkled with these, and many other bitter miseries: alas, alas, it doth yet take very many, by the inticeinge pleasures thereof, and it deceives them, by the false promises which it makes. And although, of itself, it be so very biting, & so bitter, as that it cannot be concealed from her blind lovers; yet are there an infinite number of fools in the world, whom she entertains & inebriates, with the golden chalice which she hath in her hand. Happy are they (but they are to few) who refuse her familiarity, who despise her sleight entertaniements, and joys; & who forsake all society with her, lest they be forced to perish together with her who deceived them. CHAP. XXII Of the felicity of that life, which our Lord hath prepared for them that love him. O Thou life, which our Lord hath prepared for them who love him. O thou vital life, happy life, quiett life, secure life, beautiful life, pure life, chaste life, holy life; life which knows not what belongs to death, which knows not what belongs to sorrow; life without spot, without grief; without anxiety, without any perturbation without corruption, without variety and mutation: life, toppfull of all excellency, and dignity; where there is no adversary to impugn us; no inticeinge bait of sin to allure us; where there is perfect love, & no fear; & an everlasting day, and one spirit of us all; where God is seen face to face; & where the soul is full fed with this food of life, without all defect. I am resolved to look earnesly towards thy light; Thy felicity, and delights draw me to thee with a greedy hart. The more I consider thee, the more do I languish with thy love, and with a vehement desire of thee; and I am extremely delighted with the sweet remembrance of thee. I am therefore resolved, I am resolved to cast up mine eyes to thee, to erect the state of my mind, and to conform the affections of my will to thee. I am resolved to talk of thee, to hear speak of thee, to write of thee, to confer with others of thee; daily to read somewhat of thy felicity & glory; & when I shall have red it, to revolve it very often in my hart; that at least by this means, I may pass on from the burning heats, and dangers, & toiling labours of this mortal, & dying life, to the sweet refreshing of that vital air of thine; and that I may proceed at last, (when I shall lay myself down to sleep) to repose my head a little, in that bosom of thine. To this end, I enter now and then, into those sweet fields of thy holy Scriptures; and whilst I am turning over those leaves, I gather the fresh flowers of sentences from thence. By reading them I eat; by frequenting them I ruminate; and by gathering them up at last, I lodge them in the deep receptacle of my memory; that, by this means, having taken a taste of thy sweetness, I may feel the biteernes of this most miserable life, so much the less. O thou most happy life, O Kingdom which art truly blessed, free from death, and far from having an end, to which no times shall ever succeed, where that day which is still continued without night, admits of no Time; where the conquering soldiers being associated to those chantinge quires of Angels, sing that Canticle of the Canticles of Zion, to Almighty God, without ceasing; the garland of triumph imbraceinge their glorious heads, & that for ever. I would to Christ, that my sins being once forgiven me, and then this burden, being laid down, I might be assigned to eternal rest; & might enter into thy joys, within those excellent and beautiful walls of thy City; receiving the crown of glory from the hand of my Lord. That I might be present, with those most holy Quires of Angels; That together with those blessed Spirits, I might concur to glorify our Creator; that I might view the present face of Christ our Lord; that I might for ever behold that supreme, unspeakable, & uncircumscribed light: and that so not being subject to any fear of death, I might for ever rejoice, in the everlasting endowment of incorruption. CHAP. XXIII. Of the felicity of that holy soul which departeth hence. HAppy is that soul, which being discharged from this body of earth, goes freely up to heaven, and is in peace, & safety, not fearing, either any enemy, or death itself. For it will then have present, and shall for ever behold, that most beautiful Lord, whom it hath served, and whom it hath loved, and to whom at length it arriveth all full of glory, and joy. This glory of so great beatitude, no time shall diminish, nor wicked enemy be able to bereave us of. The Daughter of Zion saw this soul, and did publish it to be most happy: The queens and the concubines saw it, saying, Who is this, which goeth forward like a riseinge morning, fair like the Moon, bright like the Sun, and terrible like a pitched field of armed men? How joyfully doth she go forth, make haste, and run, when with astonished ears, she hears her spouse say thus: Rise up, and make haste, O thou my friend, and my beautiful creature, and come with me: for now the Winter is overpassed, the Storm is gone, and hath hid itself: the flowers have appeared in our Land, the time of pruninge is now come, the voice of the turtle hath been heard in our land, The fig tree, hath brought forth her young fruit, the vines are in flower, and send forth their odour. Rise up, maKe haste, O thou my friend, my fair Creature, my dove, in the holes of the Rock, in the allows places of the wall: Show me that face of thine, let thy voice sound forth in my ears: for thy voice is sweet, and thy face is full of comeliness, and grace. Come my elected, and my beautiful Creature, my dove, my immaculate, my Spouse, Come, and I will place my throne in thee, because I have had a greedy desire of thy beauty. Come, that thou mayst rejoice in my presence, with my Angels, whose society I have promised thee. Come, after many dangers, and labours, and enter into the joy of thy Lord, which none shallbe able to take from thee CHAP. XXIV. A prayer to the sanites to secure us in our dangers. HAppy are all you, O Saints of God, who now have passed through the sea of this mortality, and have obtained to arrive at the gate of eternal quietness, security, & peace, yourselves being peaceful and secure, and perpetually full of triumph and joy. I beseech you, by your own Charity: you, who are secure concerning yourselves, be yet solicitous concerning us. You are secure, concerning your own incorruptible glory; be you solicitous of our manifold misery. By him I beseech you, who choosed you, who made you what you are; in the fruition of whose beauty you are satiated: by whose immortality you are now immortalised: by whose most blessed vision, you are continually in joy: be you also continually mindful of us. Help us miserable creatures, who in the salt waters of this life, are tossed, with storms round about us. You are those most beautiful gates, who have been erected, to a huge altitude: O give some help to us▪ who are no better than a base pavement lying so far underneath you. Stretch forth your hand, & raise us up upon our feet, that we recovering out of our infirmity, may become strong, and fit for war. Intercede, & pray with constancy, and perseverance for us miserable, and most negligent sinners; that by your Prayers, we maybe joined to your holy society, for otherwise we shall not be saved. For we are extremely frail; and of no strength or virtue, miserable, base wretches: beasts, who care but for the belly, the slaves of flesh & blood, in whom the very shadow of goodness, doth scarce appear. And yet not withstanding, being placed under the confession of Christ our Lord, we are borne up, by the wood of his Cross, whilst we sail through this great and spacious sea; where there are creeping creatures without number: where there are wild beasts, great and small, where there is á most cruel dragon, ever ready to devour us; where there are places full of dangers, as Scylla and Charybdis, and innumerable others; where careless persons, and they who are of a wavering faith, suffer shipwreck. Pray you to our Lord, pray, O you who are full of pity, pray all you troops of Saints, and all you compagnies of blessed Spirits, that being assisted by your Prayers, and merits, we may, with our ship and merchandise obtain to arrive sound & safe, at the haven of eternal salvation, & quietness, and continual peace, and of that security which must never have an end. CHAP. XXV. The souls desire to attain to the heavenly City of jerusalem. O jerusalem, that art my mother, O thou Holy City of God, thou most dear Spouse of Christ our Lord, my hart loves thee, and my soul is extremely desirous to enjoy thy beauty. O how graceful, how glorious, and how noble art thou? Thou art all fair, and there is no spot in thee. Exult, and rejoice, O thou fair Daughter of the Prince; for the King hath earnestly desired thy beauty: and he who excelleth all the Sons of men in beauty, hath been enamoured with thy Comeliness. But what kind of man is that beloved of thine, who is so much beloved, O thou fairest of women? My beloved is white and read, the choice of a thousand. As a fruite-tree in the midst of a wild wood, so is my beloved, amongst the Sons of men: Under his shadow, whom I have desired, behold I sit down with joy, and his fruit is sweet to my throat. My beloved put forth his hand through a division in the wall, and my belly trembled upon that touch of his. I have sought him whom my soul loves, in my little bed by night, I have sought him, and I have found him: I hold him fast, and I will not let him go, till he introduce me into his house, and into his chamber, which is this glorious mother of mine. For there, wilt thou afford me those most sweet breasts, more abundant and more perfectly; and satisfy me with so admirable a satiety, as that I shall hunger, and thirst no more for ever. O happy soul of mine, happy for ever, and for ever, if I may merit to behold thy glory, thy beatitude, thy beauty; those gates and walls of thine, thy streets, thy many mansions, thy most noble citizens, and that most powerful King of thine our Lord, seated in his Majesty. For thy walls are of precious stones, thy gates are of most Orient pearl, thy streets are paved with purest gold, wherein that joyful Alleluya is perpetually sung. Thy many mansions have their fondation of squared stone, built up with saphires, & covered with plates of gold, where no man shall enter who is not clean; no man inhabit who is defiled. Thou art made fair, and sweet in thy delights, O jerusalem our mother. There is no such thing in thee, as we suffer here, nor such things as we see, in this miserable life of ours. There is nor darkness, nor night, nor any diversity of times in thee. In thee there shines no light of the lamp, no splendour of the Moon, no beam of the Stars, but God of God, light of light, the Sun of justice, is ever illuminateing thee. The white and immaculate lamb, is that clear, and most beautiful light of thine. Thy Sun, and thy brightness and all thy Beatitude, is that indeficient contemplation of this most beautiful King. The King of Kings himself, is in the midst of thee; and his Children, are circlinge him inn, round about: There are those musical Quires of Angels, there is that congregation of heavenly Citizens. There is the sweet solemnity, of all them, who are going into thy joys, out of this sad pilgrimage of theirs. There is that Choir of the prophets; There is the entire number of the Apostles; There is the triumphant army of innumerable Martyrs; There, is the holy Congregation of blessed Confessors; There, are those true, and perfect Monks; There, are those holy women, who have overcome the pleasures of this world, and the infirmity of their sex: There, are young men, and maids, who have outrunn their years, by the Sanctity of their actions: There, are those sheep, and lambs▪ who have escaped from the snares of terrene pleasures, and they all triumph in their propter mansion. The glory of every one is different, but the joy common to them all True & perfect charity reigneth there, because God is there, who is all in all, whom they see without end, and by ever seeing him, they are all burning in his love. They love and praise him, & they praise & love him. All the work they do, is the praise of God without end, without ever leaveing off, and yet without ever labouring. Happy shall I be, and for ever truly happy, if, after this poor body of mine comes to be dissolved, I may obtain to hear those Canticles of celestial melody, which are sung to the praise of that eternal King, by the inhabitants of that supernal City, and by those troops of blessed spirits. Happy shall I be, yea too happy, if I also may obtain to sing my part there, and to stand in the presence of my king, my God, and my guide, and to see him in his glory, as he hath vouchsafed to promise, saying: Father, I Will that they whom thou haste given me, may be with me, that they may see my glory, which I had with thee, before the creation of the world. And else where, he saith. Let him who ministereth to me, follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant also be. And yet again he saith: He who loveth me, shallbe beloved of my Father and I will love him, and I will manifest myself to him. CHAP. XXVI. A Hymn of Paradise. Unto the springe of purest life, Aspires my withered hart; Yea and my soul confined in flesh, Employs both strength, and art, Working, suing, struggling still, From exile, home to part. And whilst she sighs, to see herself In furious tempests tossed; She looks upon the glorious state Which she by sinning lost. And present ills, or past contents, Do make us think of most. But who can fully speak the joy Or that high peace unfold; Where all the buildings founded are On Orient pearls untold. And all the works of those high rooms, Do shine with beams of gold. The structure is combined with stones, Which highest price do pass; Nay even the streets, are paved with gold As if it were but glass. No trash, no base material, Is there, or ever was. The horrid cold, or scorching heat Hath no admittance there; The roses do not lose their leaves, For Spring lasts all the year: The lily's white, the Saffron red, The Balsam droops appear. The fields are green, the plants do thrive, The streams, with honey flow. From spices odours, & from gums, Most precious liquors grow. Fruits hang upon whole woods of trees, And they shall still do so. The season is not changed, for still Both Sun, & Moon are bright. The Lamb of this fair City, is That clear immortal light Whose presence, makes eternal day, Which never ends in night. Nay, all the Saints themselves, shall shine As bright as brightest Sun; when after triumph, crowned they To mutual joys shall run. And safely count their fights, and foes, When once the war is done. For being freed from all defects, They feel no fleshly war. Or rather, both the flesh & mind, At length united are. And joying in so rich a peace, They can admit no jar. But having quit these fading leaves, They seek their root again; And look upon the present face Of Truth, which hath no stain; Still drinking, at that lively spring, Huge draughts of joys in grain. From thence they fetch that happy state, Wherein no change they see; But clear, and cheerful, and content, From all mishaps are free. No sickness there, can threaten health, Nor young men, old can be. There, have they their Eternity; Their passage, then is past. They grow, they flourish, and they sprout, Corruption, off is cast. Immortal strength, hath swallowed up The power of death at last. Who know the knower of all things What can they choose but know? They all behold their fellow's hearts, And all their secrets show. One simple act of will, and nill, From all their minds doth flow. Though all their merits divers be According to their pains, Yet charity makes that ones own, Which any fellow gains, And all which doth belong to one, To all of them pertains. Unto that body justly go The Eagles all, for meat. Where, with the Angels, and the Saints, They may have room to eat. One loaf, can feed them all, who live In both these Country's great. Hungry they are, yet ever full, They have what they desire. Sith no satiety offends, Nor hunger burns like fire. Aspiringly they ever eat, And eating they aspire. There, ever are your new concerts With songs which have no end The organs of eternal joy, Do on their ears attend. In praise of their triumphant King, They all their voices spend. O happy Soul, which canst behold This King still present there, And under thee discern the world Run round, secure from fear, With Stars and Plannettes, Moon and Sun: Still moving in their Sphere. O Christ thou valiant soldiers crown Cast down an eye: of pity; That having once our arms put down, we may enjoy that City: And with those heavenly Quires bear part. In their eternal ditty. Grant jesus grant we still persist, In thy just cause defending: As long as worldly war may last, As long as strifes depending: That we may carry thee i'th' end The prize which knows no ending CHAP. XXVII. Of the continual praise, which a soul conceiveth by the contemplation of the Divinity. O My soul, bless our Lord, and all the powers within me sing praise to his holy Name. O my soul, bless our Lord, and forget not all his benefits. O all yea works of our Lord, bless our Lord, in all the places of his dominion. Let us praise God, whom the Dominations adore, whom Cherubin and Seraphin, with a never ceasing voice, proclaim, Holy, Holy, Holy. Let us join our voice, to the voice of the holy Angels, and let us praise this Lord, who is common to us both, to the uttermost of our power. For they praise our Lord, most purely, and incessantly, who are always plunged in that divine contemplation, not by a glass, or in a figure, but face to face. But who shallbe able to say, or so much as to think, what kind of innumerable multitude of blessed Spirits, and celestial powers, that is, which standeth in the sight of our Omnipotent Lord God? What glory, what endless festivity they enjoy, by the vision of God? What delight, without any defect? what ardour of love, not tormenting, but delighting? who can say, what desire there is, of the vision of God, when they have satiety, and how they can have satiety with desire? where in nether desire, procures any pain, nor satiety breeds any loathing? How they grow to be happy, by adhering, to that supreme beatitude? How they grow to be made light, by their conjunction with that true light? How by ever beholding the immutable Trinity, themselves are changed into immutability? But how shall we be able to comprehend that higth of Angelical dignity, when we are not able, so much as to find out, the nature of our own soul? what kind of thing is that, which is able to give life to flesh, and yet is not able so much as to contain itself in good thoughts? what king of thing is this, so strong, and see weak, so little, and so great; which searcheth into the secrets of God, and riseth into contemplation of celestial things; and is proved to have found out, with such subtle power of wit, the skill of so many arts, for the use of man? what kind of thing is this, which knoweth so many other things, and yet is so wholyignorant of how itself comes to be made? For although many doubtful things be said by many about the beginning of the soul, yet we find it to be a certain intellectual spirit, a spirit made by the power of the Creator; living after a sort immortaly, and quickninge the body which it doth sustain, subject to mutability, and forgetfulness which is often depressed by fear, and extolled by joy. O admirable thing, and to which all astonishment is due. Of God, the Creator of us all, who is unspeakable and incomprehensible, we read, we speak, and we write excessively, sublimely, & wonderful things, without any ambiguity at all but whatsoever we say of Angels, and souls, we are not so well able to prove. But yet let the mind pass on even from these things, and transcend all that which is created. Let it run and rise, and flutter, and fly through; and let it fix the eyes of Faith, as eagerly as it can, upon him who created all things. I will therefore, make certain steps of riseinge in my hart; and by them I will assend into my soul; and by the purest power of my mind, I will assend to my Lord, who remains over my head. Whatsoever is visibly seen, whatsoever is imagined, though in a most spiritual manner, I will remove far of, from the sight of my hart and mind, with a strong hand. Let the pure and simple power of my understanding passing on, with a speedy flight towards him, arrive to him who is that Creator himself both of Angels and souls, and all things else. Blessed is that soul, which forsaketh inferior things, and aspireth to them, which are sublyme; and placing the seat of her habitation, in those high unhaunted ways, doth contemplate the Sun of justice, from those mighty rocks, with eagle's eyes. For there is nothing so beautiful, and so delightful, as with the sharp sight of the mind, and the eager desire of the hart, to contemplate this God himself alone, and after a wonderful manner invisibly to behold him who is invisible, & so, to taste, not the sweetness of this world, but of another; and to behold not this inferior; kind of light, but another. For this light, which is shut up in place, is also ended in time, its varied by the interruption of night; and this light, which is common to us with worms, and other unreasonable beasts, in comparison of that other soweraigne light, is rather to be called night then light. CHAP. XXVIII. What it is to see God, and to enjoy him, after a sort, and how we are to think of God. But although that supreme and unchangeable essence, that indeficient light, that light which is enjoyed by the Angels, can be seen by no creature in this life; (this being the reward, which is reserved only for the Saints, who enjoy celestial glory) yet to believe, to conceive, to have a feeling, and ardently to aspire towards this Glory, is to see it, after a sort, and to possess it. Let our voice therefore extend itself beyond the Angels, and let man contemplate God, with an earnest mind; and let him, with what words he can, express God's praises, to God himself. For it is all reason, that the Creature should praise his Creator, since he vouchsafed to create us, that we might praise him, when yet he had no need of our praises. For his virtue is incomprehensible, he needeth none, but is all sufficient for himself. Our Lord is great, and his virtue is great, and of his wisdom there is no end. Our Lord God is great, and highly worthy to be praised. Let our soul therefore love him, let our tongues sing of him, and our hand write of him; and let the faithful hart employ itself, only, in these holy thoughts. Let the man of spiritual desires, and a contemplator of celestial mysteries, be daily recreated, with the most delicious food of this heavenly contemplation; that so being fully fed, with this heavenly repast, he may cry out with great exclamation, he may cry out with the very bowels of his hart; cry out with excess of joy, & say as followeth with a most ardent affection of his mind. CHAP. XXIX. He declareth many propertyes of Almighty God. O Thou Supreme, most excellent, Omnipotent, most merciful, most just, most secret, most present, and most strong; most stable and incomprehensible, invisible, yet seeing all things; Unchangeable, yet changing all things; Immortal, without place, without term, or circumscription; Unlimited, inestimable, ineffable, inscrutable; Immoveable, yet moveinge all things; Unsearchable, unexpressable, terrible, & to be greatly feared, to be honoured, and trembled at; to be worshipped and reverenced. Never new, and never old, and yet innovating all things, and drawing proud people into decay though they mark it not Ever in action, yet ever quiet; gathering together, and yet needinge nothing; carrying all things, without feeling any weight; filling all things, without being includede; creating, protectinge, nourishing, and perfectinge all things. Thou seekest, and yet thou wantest nothing: Thou art in love, yet without passion; Thou art jealous, yet thou art secure; Thou repentest, yet thou art not sorry; Thou art angry, yet thou are not moved; Thou changest thy works, but thou never changest thy decrees. Thou takest that which thou findest, yet didst thou lose nothing; Thou art never poor, and yet thou art glade of gain; Thou art never covetous, yet thou exactest usury at our hands by our saperrogation, thou becomest our debtor; and yet who hath any thing which is not thine; Thou payest debts, yet thou owest nothing; Thou forgivest debts, yet thou losest nothing. Thou alone dost quicken all things, thou haste created all things, thou art every where, and thou art every where altogether; Thou canst be felt, yet thou canst not be seen: Thou art not wanting any where, yet art thou far from the thoughts of wicked men. But thou art not wanting even there, although thou be far of from them, because where thou art not present by Grace, there thou art present by revenge. Thou touchest all things, yet thou touchest them not all alike. For some, thou touchest only, that they may be, but not that they may live, and feel, and discourse. But some thou touchest, that they may be, and live, but yet not so, as that withal, they may feel and discourse. And some again, thou dost so touch, as that they may be, and live, and feel, and discourse also. And although thou be never unlike thyself, yet dost thou touch unlike things, after an unlike manner. Thou art ever present, yet sometimes thou art hard to be found We follow thee, when thou standest still, and yet we are not able to lay hold on thee, whilst yet thou holdest all things, fillest all things, comprehendest all things, exceedest all things, upholdest all things. Neither dost thou on the one side undergo them, and art overcome by them on the other. Neither dost thou fill things, on the one side, and yet art comprehended by them, on the other; but by comprehending them, thou fillest them; and by filling them, thou comprehendest them; as by sustaining them, thou exceedest them; and by exceeding them, thou sustaynest them. Thou teachest the hearts of the faithful, yet without the noise of words. Thou reachest from one end to the other strongly; and thou disposed of all things, sweetly. Thou art not extended, according to the proportion of places; nor art thou varied by the vicissitude of times. Thou haste neither access, nor recess, but thou inhabitest that inaccessibile light, which no man ever saw or can see. Remaineinge quiet in thyself, thou dost make thy circuit about all things, and thou art every where expressly and entirely all. For thou canst not be divided or cut, who art truly all; nor canst thou be made into parts, because thou, wholly holdest all, fillest all, and dost possess and illustrate all. The mind of man cannot conceive the immense profundity of this mystery, nor the tongue of eloquence declare it; nor can learned speech, nor all the volumes of all Libraries, unfold it. If there were books to fill the whole world, yet they could not unfold thy admirable knowledge, because thou art truly unspeakable: and canst not by any means be concluded, nor expressed, as thou art, who art the fountain of divine light, and the Son of everlasting charity. Thou art great, without quantity, & therefore thou art immense: thou art good, without quality, and therefore thou art truly, and supremely good, and there is none good but thou alone, whose will is thy work, and whose inclination is thy power, who didst create all things of nothing, and thou didst it, by the only act of thy will. Thou dost possess all thy creatures, without needing any of them: Thou gowernest them, without labour, and thou rulest them without trouble: and there is nothing at all, either, in the highest or lower things which can disturb the order of thy dominion. Thou art in all places, without being contained in any place: Thou conteynest all things without circuit: and thou art present every where, without either situation, or motion. Thou art not the Author of ill, nor canst thou do it: yet is there nothing which thou canst not do; nor didst thou ever repent thyself of any thing which thou hadst done, nor art thou troubled with any commotion, or tempest of thy mind; nor do the dangers of the whole world, draw any danger upon thee. Thou commandest not, nor yet allowest of any wickedness or sin. Thou never liest, for thou art eternal Truth. By thy only Goodness we are made, by thy justice we are punished, and by thy mercy we are delivered. Nothing, neither in Heaven, or which is Elementary, either of fire, or earth, or any other thing subject to our sense, is to be worshipped instead of thee, who truly art what thou art, and art not changed; and to whom it doth most principally agree, that thou be called that which the Grecians call On, and the Latins Ens, which signifieth. The thing which is, for thou art ever the same, and thy years will never fail. These, and many other things have been taught me, by my holy Mother the Church, whereof I am made a member, by thy grace. It hath taught me, that thou, the only one, and true God, art not corporeal, nor passable: and that nothing of thy substance or nature, is any way violable, or mutable, or composed, and framed: and therefore it is certain that thou canst nor be perceived, by corporeal eyes: and that thou couldst never be seen, in thy proper essence, by any mortal creature. Hereby it is clearly to be understood, that as the Angels see thee now, so are we to see thee, after this life. But yet, neither are the Angels themselves, able to s●e thee just as thou art: and in fine the Omnipotent Trinity, is not wholly seen by any, but by thy only self. CHAP. XXX. Of the unity of God, and the plurality of Persons in him. But thou art truly Unity in thy divinity, though manifold in the plurality of thy Persons, so that thou canst not be numbered by any number, nor measured by any measure, nor weighed by any weight. For we do not pretend, to find out any beginning, of that supreme goodness, which thou thyself art, from whence all things, by which all things, and in which all things: but we say, that all other things, are good by the participation of that goodness, For thy divine Essence, did ever, and doth still want Matter, although it do not want Form, namely that Form which was never form, the Form of all Forms, that most beautiful Form, which when thou dost imprint upon particular things (as it might be some seal) thou makest them, without all doubt, differre from thyself by their own mutability, without any change in thee, either by way of augmentation, or diminution. Now whatsoever is within the compass of created things, that also is a creature of thine, O thou, one Trinity, and three in Unity, thou God, whose Omnipotency possesseth, and ruleth, and filleth all things, which thou didst create. And yet we do not therefore say, that thou fillest all things, as if they did contain thee, but rather so, as that they be contained by thee. Nor yet dost thou fill them all by parts, nor is it to be thought, by any means, that every creature receives thee after the rate of the bigness which itself hath: that is to say, the greater, the greater part: & the less the less: since thou thyself, art in them all, & all of them in thee: whose Omnipotency concludeth all things nor can any man find a way, whereby to make escape from thy power, For he, who hath thee not well. pleased, willbe sure not to escape thee, being offended; as it is written, neither from the East, nor from the West, nor from the desert mountains, because God is the judge. And else where it is said: Whither shall I go from thy spirit, and whither shall I fly from thy face. The immensity of thy divine greatness is such, that we must know thee to be whithin all things, and yet not included, and without all things, yet not excluded. And therefore thou art interior, that thou mayst contain all things: and therefore thou art exterior, that by the immensity of thy greatness, thou mayst conclude, all things. By this therefore, that thou art interior, thou art showed to be the Creator; but by this, that thou art exterior, thou art proved to be the Governor of them all. And lest all things which are created, should be without thee, thou art interior; but thou art exterior, to the end that all things may be included in thee. Not by any local magnitude of thine but by the potential presence of thee, who art present every where, and all things to thee are present, though some vnderstand these things, and others indeed, understand them not. The inseparable unity therefore of thy nature, cannot have the persons separable, because as thou art Trinity in Unity, and Unity in Trinity, so thou canst not have separation of persons. It is true, that those persons are named severally; but yet thou art so pleased to show thyself, O God, thou Trinity, to be inseparable in thy persons, as that there is no name belonging to thee in any one of them, which may not be referred to another, according to the rules of relation. For as the Father to the Son, and the Son to the Father; so the Holy Ghost is most truly referred, both to the Father & Son. But those names, which signify thy substanec, or person, or power, or Essence, or any thing which properly is called God, do equally agree to all the persons; As great God, Omnipotent and eternal God; and all those things which naturally are said of thee, O God. Therefore there is no name, which concerns the nature of God, which can so agree to God the Father, as that it may not also agree to God the Son, as also to God the Holy Ghost. As for example, we say the Father is naturally God, but so is the Son naturally God; and so also is the Holy Ghost naturally God; and yet not three Gods, but naturally one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost: Therefore art thou o Holy Trinity, inseparable in thy persons, as thou art to be understood by our mind, although thou have separable names in word; because thou dost by no means, endure a plural number, in the names belonging to thy nature. For hereby it is showed, that the persons cannot be divided in the blessed Trinity, which is one true God, because the name of any one of the Persons, doth ever relate to an other of them. For if I name the Father, I show the Son; if I speak of the Son, I proclaim the Father: if I speak of the Holy Ghost, it is necessarily to be understood, that he is the Spirit of some other, namely of the Father, and of the Son. Now this it that true Faith, which flows from sound doctrine. This indeed, is the Catholic, and Orthodoxal Faith, which God hath taught me, by his Grace, in the bosom of his Church, which is my Mother. CHAP. XXXI. A prayer to the blessed Trinity. MY Faith doth therefore call upon thee, which thou, O Lord haste given me, through thy goodness, for my salvation. Now the faithful soul, lives by Faith. He now holds that in hope, which hereafter he shall have indeed. I call upon thee, O my God, with a pure conscience, and with that sweet love, which groweth out of Faith, whereby thou haste brought me, to the understanding of truth; casting away the darkness of ignorance, and whereby thou haste drawn me out of the foolish bitterness of this world; and so accompanyinge it, with the sweetness of thy charity, thou haste made it delightful, and deer to me. I do with a loud voice invoke thee, O blessed Trinity, & with that sincere love which groweth out of Faith, which Faith, thou having nourished even from my cradle, did'dst inspire by the illustration of thy grace; and which thou hast increased and confirmed in me, by the documents of my Mother the Church. I invoke thee, O holy and blessed, and glorious Trinity, in Unity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, our God, our Lord, and our Paraclete, Charity, Grace, and Communication, the Father, the Son, and the Illuminator; the Fountain the River, and the Irrigation, or watering. All things by one, and all things in one, from whom, by whom, in whom, all things. The living life, the life proceeding from the living life, the life living. One from himself, One from one, and One from two. One, being from himself, One, being from another, and One, being from two other. The Father is true, the Son is Truth, and the Holy Ghost is Truth. Therefore the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one essence, one power, one goodness, one beatitude, from whom, by whom, and in whom, all things are happy what things soever are happy CHAP. XXXII. That God is the true, and sowereigne life. O God the true and Sowereigne life, from whom, by whom, and in whom, all things do live, which have any true, and happy life. O God who art that goodness, and that beauty, from whom, by whom and in whom all things are fair, and good, which have any beauty, or goodness in them. O God, whose faith doth excite us, whose hope doth erect us, and whose charity doth unite us O God, who requirest that we seek thee, and who makest us find thee, and who openest to us, when we knock. O God, from whom to be averted is to fa●l; and to whom to be converted is to rise; and in whom to remain is to be immoveable. O God whom no man looseth, but he who is deceived; no man seeketh, but he who is admonished; and no man findeth, but he who is purged. O God whom to know, is to live; whom to serve is to reign; whom to praise, is the joy and salvation of the soul. I praise thee, I bless thee, and I adore thee, with my lips, with my hart, and with all the whole power I have. And I present my humblest thanks to thy mercy, and goodness, for all thy benefits; and I sing this Hymn of glory to thee, Holy, Holy, Holy, I invoke thee, O blessed Trinity, beseeching, that thou wilt come into me, and make me worthy to be the Temple of thy glory. I beg of the Father, by the Son: I beg of the Son, by the Father; I beg of the Holy Ghost, by the Father, and the Son, that all vice may be far removed from me, and that all holy virtue may be planted in me. O Immense God, from whom all things, by whom all things, in whom all things, both visible and invisible are made. Thou who dost environ thy works, without, and fillest them, within; who dost cover them from above, and dost sustain them from below; keep me who am the work of thy hands, and who hope in thee, and who only confide in thy mercy. Keep me, I beseech thee, here, and every where, now and ever, within, and without; before me, & behind me; above and below, and round about; that no place at all, may be left, for the treacherous attempts of my enemies against me. Thou art the Omnipotent God, the keeper and the Protector of all such as hope in thee, without whom no man is safe, none freed from danger. Thou art God, and there is no other God but thou, neither in heaven above, nor on earth below. Thou who performest works of prowess, and so many wonderful and unscrutable things; which exceed all number. Praise is due to thee, honour is due to thee, and to thee Hymns of glory are due. To thee do all the Angels the heavens & all the power thereof, sing Hymns, and praises, without ceaseing; and all creatures, and every spirit doth praise thee, the holy and individual Trinity, as it becomes the creatures there Creator, the slaves their Lord, and the soldiers, their King. CHAP. XXXIII. The praises of men and Angels. TO thee do all the Saints, and they who are humble of hart, to thee do the spirits and souls of just persons, to thee do all the Citizens of heaven, and all those orders of blessed spirits sing the hymn of honour and glory, adoreinge thee humbly without end. All the Citizens of heaven do praise thee, O Lord, after a most honourable and magnificent manner; and man who is an eminent part of thy Creatures doth also praise thee. Yea and I wretched sinner, and miserable Creature that I am, do yet labour with an extreme desire to praise thee, and wish that I could love thee, with excessive love. O my God, my life, my strength, and my praise, vouchsafe to let me praise thee. Grant me light in my hart, put thou the word into my mouth, that my hart may think upon thy glory, and my tongue may sing thy praises, all the day long. But because it is no handsome praise, which proceeds out of the mouth of a sinner, And because I am a man of polluted lips, Cleanse thou my hart I beseech thee, from all spots, sanctify me, O thou Omnipotent sanctifier, both within and without, and make me worthy to set forth thy praise. Receive with benignity, and acceptation, from the hand of my hart, which is the affection of my soul, receive I say, the sacrifice of my lips, and make it acceptable in thy sight, and make it ascend up to thee in the odour of sweetness. Let thy holy memory, and thy most divine sweetness, possess my whole soul; and draw it up at full speed, to the love of invisible things. Let it pass from the visible to the invisible; from the earthly to the heavenly; from the temporal to the eternal; and let it pass on so far, as to see that admirable vision. O eternal Verity, O true Charity, O dear Eternity, thou art my God; to thee do I sigh day and night; to thee do I pant; at thee do I aim; to thee do I desire to arrive. He who knows thee, knows Truth and he knows Eternity. Thou, O Truth, dost preside over all things. We shall see thee as thou art, when this blind and mortal life is spent, wherein it is said to us, where is now thy God? And I also said to thee Where art thou, O my God? In thee am I refreshed a little, when I power out my soul towards thee, by the voice of my exultation and confession, which is as the sound of a man, who is bankquetting, end celebrating some great festivity— And yet again it is afflicted, because it falls back, and returns to be an Abyss; or rather it finds that still it is so. My faith which thou hast kindled, in this night of mine, before my feet, doth say, Why art thou sad, O my soul, and why dost thou afflict me? Hope thou in God; his word is a lantern to my feet. Hope, and continue to do so, till the night (which is the mother of the wicked) do pass a way; till the wrath of our Lord pass away; whereof sometimes we were the Children. For sometimes we were darkness. Till this fury of water pass clean a way, we still drag on, in our body (which is dead through sin) the relics of that darkness: Till such time as the day shall approach, & all shadows may be removed. I will hope in our Lord. In the morrow of the next life, I shall assist, and contemplate, and I will ever confess to him. In that morrow, I shall assist, and behold the health of my countenance, which is my God, who will revive even our mortal bodies, for that spirits sakes, which dwelleth in us; that now we may be light, even whilst we are saved here, by hope. That we may be the Sons of light, and the Sons of God, and not of night, and darkness; For sometimes we were darkness, but now we are light in thee, O our God, and yet we are so here, but by Faith, and not face to face. Because that hope which is seen is not hope. All that immortal people of thy Angels praiseth thee O Lord; and those celestial Powers glorify thy Name. They have no need to read any such writing as this, towards the making them know, the holy & individual Trinity. For they see thy Face for ever, and there they read, without any syllabes of time, what that eternal will, requires. They read, they choose, and they love. They ever read, and that never passeth, which they are reading. By choosing, and by loving they read, the very immutability of thy counsel; and their book is never shut, and their scroll never folded up; for thyself is all that to them, and so thou art to be for ever. O how excessively happy are those powers of heaven, which are able to praise thee, most purely and holily, with excessive sweetness, and unspeakable exultation? They praise thee for that, in which th●● joy; because they ever see reason 〈◊〉 they should rejoice, and praise them But we, being oppressed by this burden of our flesh, and being cast far of from thy face, in this pilgrimage of ours, and being so racked by the variety of worldly things, are not able worthily to praise thee. Yet we praise thee as we can, by Faith, though not face to face; but those Angelical spirits praise thee face to face, & not by Faith. For our flesh putteth this vpon us & obligeth us to praise thee, far otherwise, than they do. But how soever even we sing praise to thee in a different manner; and yet thou art but one, O God, thou Creator of all things to whom the sacrifice of praise is offered, both in heaven and earth. And by thy mercy, we shall one day arrive to their society, with whom we shall for ever see, and praise thee. Grant, O Lord, that whilst I am placed in this frail body of mine, my hart may praise thee, my tongue may praise thee, and all the powers of my soul may say, O Lord, who is like to thee. Thou art that Omnipotent God, whom we worship as Trine in Persons, and On●● the Substance of thy Deity. We adore the Father unbegotten, the Son, the only begotten of his Father, and the Holy Ghost, proceeding from them both; and remaining in them both. We adore thee O Holy and individual Trinity, one Omnipotent God, who when we were not, didst most pvissantly make us; and when, by our own fault we wear lost, by thy pity, and goodness, thou didst recover us, after an admirable manner. Do not I beseech thee, permit that we should be ungrateful for so great benefits, and unworthy of so many mercies. I pray thee, I beseech thee, I beg of thee, that thou wilt increase my faith, hope, and charity. I beseech thee, make us, by that grace of thine, to be ever firm in beleiveinge, and full of efficacy in working; that so, by means of incorrupted Faith and works worthy thereof, we may through thy mercy, arrive to everlasting life. And there beholding thy glory; as indeed it is, we, whom thou haste made worthy to see that glory of thine, may adore thy Majesty, and may say together: Glory be to the Father, who created us: Glory be to the Son, who redeemed us, Glory, be to the Holy Ghost, who sanctified us: Glory be to the supreme, & individual Trinity, whose works are inseparable, and whose empire is eternal. To thee our God, praise is due, to thee a Hymn of glory, to thee all honour, benediction, clarity, thanksgiveing, virtue, and fortitude, for ever, and for ever. Amen. CHAP. XXXIV. He complaineth against himself for not being moved, with the contemplation of God whereat the Angels tremble. PArdon me O Lord, pardon me, through thy mercy, pardon, and pity me; pardon my great ignorance and imperfections. Do not reject me, as a presumptuous creature, in that I adventure, being thy slave (I would, I could say a good one, and not rather that I am unprofitable and wicked, and therefore very wicked because I take this boldness) to praise, and bless, and adore thee, who art our Omnipotent God, and who art terrible, and excessively to be feared, without contrition of hart, without a fountain of tears, and without due reverence, and trembling. For if the Angels, who adore, and praise thee, do tremble, whilst they are filled with that admirable exultation; how comes it to pass, that I, a sinful creature, whilst I am present with thee, and sing praises, and offer sacrifices to thee, am not frighted at the hart, that I am not pale in my face; that my lips tremble not, and my whole body is not in a shiveringe and that so, with a flood of tears, I do not incessantly mourn before thee. I would fain do it, but I am not able, because I cannot do what I desire. Herupon I am vehemently wondringe at myself, when by the eyes of Faith, I see how terrible thou art; but yet, who can do even this, without thy grace? For all our salvation, is nothing but thy great mercy. Woe be to me, how comes my soul to be made so senseless, as that it is not frighted, with excessive terror, whilst I am standing before God, and singinge forth his praise? Woe be to me, how comes my hart to be so hardened, that mine eyes cannot incessantly bring forth whole floods of tears, whilst the slave is speaking before his Lord, Man with God, the. Creature with the Creator; he who is made of dirt, with him who made all things of nothing? Behold O Lord, how I place myself before thee; & that which I conceive of myself in the most secret corner of my hart, that do I not conceal from thy paternal ears. Thou art rich in thy mercy, and liberal in thy rewards; grant me some of thy good gifts, that thereby I may do service to thee. For we cannot serve, nor please thee, by any other means, then of thy gift. Strick through, I beseech thee, this flesh of mine, with thy fear. Let my hart rejoice, that it may fear thy name. O that my sinful soul might so fear thee, as that holy Man did, who said: I have always feared God, like the waves of a Sea, which were flowing over me. O God, thou giver of all good things grant me, whilst I am celebrating thy praises, a fountain of tears, together with purity of hart, and joy of mind; that loveing thee perfectly, and praiseinge thee worthily, I may feel, and taste, and savour with the very palate of my soul, how sweet, & delicious thou art: O Lord, according to that which is written: Taste, and see, how sweet our Lord is: Blessed is the man who hopes in him. Blessed is the people which understandeth this joy. Blessed is the man whose help is from thee: He hath disposed of certain degrees, whereby to rise up in his hart, in this valley of tears, in the place which he hath appointed. Blessed are the clean of hart; for they be the men, who shall see God. Blessed are they who dwell in thy house, O Lord, for they shall praise thee, for ever, & for ever. CHAP. XXXV. A prayer which greatly moveth the hart to Devotion, and to Divine love. O jesus, our Redemption, our Desire, and our Love; thou God of God, give help to me, who am thy servant. I invoke thee, I call upon thee, with a mighty cry, and with my whole hart. I invoke thee into my soul, enter into it, & make it fit for thyself, that thou mayst possess it without spot, and wrinkle. For to a most pure Lord, a most pure habitation is due. Sanctify me therefore, who am the vessel which thou hast made. Evacuate me of malice, and fill me with grace, and still keep me full, that I may be made a Temple, worthy to be inhabited by thee, both here, and in the other everlasting world. O thou most sweet, most benign, most loveing, most dear, most powerful, most desirable, most precious, most amiable, most beautiful God: thou who art more sweet than honey, more white than any milk or snow, more delicious than Nectar, more precious than gold or jewels, and more dear to me, than all the riches and honours of the earth. But what do I say, O my God, O thou my only hope, and my so abundant mercy? What do I say, O thou my happy, and secure sweetness? What do I say when I utter such things as these? I say what I can, but I do not say what I should. O that I could say such things, as those Quires of Angels do utter, in those celestial Hymns O how willingly would I even spend, & pour out my whole self, upon thy praises? O how fain would I, most devoutly, and most indefatigablie proclaim those Hymns of celestial melody, in the midst of thy Church, to the praise and glory of thy Name; But because I am not able to do these things completely, shall I therefore hold my peace: woe be to them, who hold their peace of thee, who losest the tongues of dumm persons, and makest the tongues of children eloquent. Woe woe be to them who hold their peace of thee, for even they who speak most, may be accounted to be but dumb, when they do not speak thy praise. But now who shallbe able worthily to praise thee, O thou unspeakable Wisdom of the Father? But yet although I find no words whereby I may sufficiently unfold thee, who art the Omnipotent, and Omniscient Word; I will yet; in thy mean time say what I can, till thou biddest me come to thee, where I may say that of thee, which is fit, and which I am bound to say. And therefore I humbly pray, that thou wilt not have an eye, so much to that which I say now in deed, as to that which I say in my desire. For I desire (and that with a great desire) to say that of thee, which is fit and just, because it is fit that thou be praised; and celebrated, and all honour is due to thee Thou seest therefore, O God, thou who knowest of all secret things, that thou art more deer to me, not only then the earth, and all that is therein, but that thou art more acceptable, and amiable to me, than heaven itself, and all that it contains. For I love thee, more than heaven, and earth, and all those other things which are in them; Nay these transitory things are without doubt not to be beloved at all, if it wear not, for the love of thy Name. I love thee, O my God, with a great love, and I desire to love thee yet more. Give me grace, that I may ever love thee as much as I desire, and as much as I ought, that thou alone mayst be all my intention, and all my meditation. Let me consider thee, all the day long without ceasing; let me feel thee, even when I am sleeping, by night; let my spirit speak to thee; let my mind converse with thee; let my hart be illustrated with the light of thy holy vision; that thou being my Director, and my Captain, I may walk on, from virtue to virtue; and that at last, I may see thee, the God of Gods in Zion. Now as in a glass, or in a cloud; but then face to face, where I shall know thee, as I am known. Blessed are the clean of hart, for they are the men who shall see God. Blessed are they who dwell in thy house, O Lord, for ever, and for ever, shall they praise thee. I beseech thee therefore, O Lord, by all thy mercies, whereby we are freed from eternal death, mollify my hart, which is hard, & stony, and rocky, and steely, with thy powerful, and most sacred unction; and grant, that by the fire of contrition, I may become a living sacrifice before thee, in every moment of my life. Make me ever to have a contrite and humbled hart, in thy presence, with abundance of tears. Grant that through my great desire of thee, I may be utterly dead to this world; and that I may forget these transitory things, through the greatness of my love, and fear of thee; and this so far forth, as that I may never rejoice nor mourn, nor fear any thing, which is temporal; and that I may not love them; lest so I be either corrupted by prosperity, or dejected by adversity. And because the love of thee, is strong as death, I beseech thee that the fiery and mellifluous force of thy love, may suck up, and devour my whole mind, from all those things which are under heaven; that I may in hear to thee alone, and be fed with the memory of thy only sweetness. O Lord, I beseech thee, I beseech thee, and still I beseech thee, that the most sweet odour of thee, and thy mellifluous love may descend, and enter into my hart, Let that admirable, and unspeakable fragrance of thy savour, come into me, which may kindle an everlastingly a burning desire of thee in my hart, and which may draw out from thence, those veins of water which spring up to eternal life. Thou art immense, O Lord, and therefore it is but reason that thou be loved and praised, beyond all measure, by them whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious Blood. O thou most benign lover of man. O thou most merciful Lord, and most unpartial judge, to whom the Father gave all power of judgement; Thou seest how unjust a thing it is, that the children of this world, the children of night, and darkness, should with a more ardent desire, endeavour, and study, and seek perishing riches, and transitory honours, than we thy servants do love thee our God, by whom we are created and redeemed. But if on the other side, a man will affect some man, with so great love, as that one of them will scarce endure the absence of the other; if the Spouse be transported, with so great ardour of affection to her fellow Spouse, that through the greatness of her love; she can take no rest, nor bear the absence of that dearest friend, without deep sorrow; with what love, with what labour, with what fervour ought that soul, which thou haste espoused to thyself by Faith, and other mercies, love thee her true God, and her most beautiful Spouse, who hast so loved, and saved her, and haste done so many, and, so great things for her good. For although this world have certain delights and loves belonging to it, yet do they not so delight, as thou O God. In thee the just man is indeed delighted, because thy love is sweet, and quiet; for the hearts which thou dost possess, thou fillest with tranquillity, sweetness, and delight, On the other side, the love of this world, and of the flesh, breeds anxiety, and pertubation, and deprives thoses souls of quietness into which it enters; for it doth ever solicit them, with suspicions, perturbations, and many fears. Thou art therefore the delight of just persons, & that justly. For the strength of rest and peace, is with thee, and a life uncapable of perturbation. He who enters into thee, O dear Lord, enters into the joy of his Lord and shall have nothing more to fear; but shall find himself to be perfectly well, in the most excellent place which can be thought; and he will say, This is my rest for all eternityes, this shallbe my habitation, for I have chosen it; And again, Our Lord governs me, and nothing shallbe wanting, in that place of full feeding; yea there it is, that he hath lodged me. Sweet Christ, dear jesus, fill my hart for ever, I beseech thee, with the unquenchable love, and the continual memory of thee; in such sort, as that I may all burn up, like any eager flame, in the sweetness of thy love, which many waters, may never be able to extinguish, in me. Grant O most sweet Lord, that I may love thee, and that through the desire of the I may discharge myself of the weight of all carnal desires; and of the most grievous burden of all earthly concupiscences, which impugn, and oppress my miserable soul, that running lightly after thee, in the odour of thy precious ointments, till I be effectually satisfied with the vision of thy beauty, I may, with all speed, arrive thither by thy conduct. For there are two kinds of loves; one good, and another bad; one sweet, and another bitter, and they cannot both remain in one hart. And therefore if any man love any thing, in dishonour of thee, thy love, O Lord, is not in him. That love of sweetness, and that sweetness of love; not tormenting but delightinge; a love, which remaineth sincerely, and chastely for all eternity, a love which ever burns, and is never quenched. O sweet Christ, O dear jesus, O Charity! my God, inflame me all with thy fire, with thy love, with thy sweetness and delight, with thy joy & exultation, with thy pleasure and ardent desire which is holy, and good; chaste, and pure, secure, and serene; that being all full of the sweetness of thy love, and all burnt up, in the flame of thy charity, I may love thee, O God, with my whole hart, and with all the marrow of my affections; having thee still, and every where, in my hart, in my mouth, and before my eyes, so that there may never be any place open in me, for any adulterine or impure love. Harken to me, O my God, harken to me, O thou light of mine eyes. Harken to what I ask, and teach me what to ask, that thou mayst hearken to me. O thou piteous and most merciful Lord, do not become inexorable to me for my sins; but for thine own goodness sake, receive these prayers of thy Son, and grant me the effect of my petition, and desire, by the intercession, prayer, and impetration of the glorious Virgin Marry my Lady, and Mother, and of all thy other Saints. Amen. CHAP. XXXVI. A most devoute Prayer by way of thanksgiveing. O Christ our Lord, the Word of the Father, who camest into the world to save sinners, I beseech thee, by the most indulgent bowels of thy mercy, amend my life, better my actions, compose my manners, take all that from me, which hurteth me, and displeaseh thee; and give me that which thou knowest, to please thyself, and profit me. Who is he but only thou, O Lord, who can make a man clean, he being conceived of unclean seed. Thou art an Omnipotent God of infinite piety, who justifiest the wicked, and revivest such as are dead, through sin; & thou changest sinners, and they are so no more. Take from me therefore, whatsoever is displeasing to thee in me; For thine eyes have seen my many imperfections. Send forth, I beseech thee, thy hand of piety towards me, and take from me, whatsoever is offensive in me to thine eyes. Before thee, O Lord is my health, and sickness, conserve that, I beseech thee, and cure this. Heale me, O Lord, and I shallbe healed, do thou save me, and I shallbe saved; thou, who curest the sick, and conservest the sound; thou who with the only beck of thy will, restorest that which is in decay, and ruin. For if thou vouchsafe to sow good seed in thy field, which is my hart, it will first be necessary, that, with the hand of thy pity, thou shouldest pluck up the thorns of my vices. O most sweet, most benign, most loveing, most dear, most desirable, most amiable, and most beautiful God, infuse, I beseech thee, the multitude of thy sweetness, and of thy love into my hart; that I may not so much as desire, yea, or even think, of any carnal thing; but that I may love only thee, and have only thee in my hart, and mouth. Write, with thy finger in my hart, the sweet memory of thy mellifluous Name, which may never be blotted out again. Write thy will, and thy law, in the tables of my hart, that I may have both thy law, and thyself, O Lord of immense sweetness, at all times and places, before mine eyes. Burn up my mind with that fire of thine, which thou didst send into the world, and didst desire that it might be much kindled; that I may daily offer to thee, abundance of tears, the sacrifice of a troubled spirit, and contrite hart. O sweet Christ, O dear jesus, as I desire, and as, with my whole hart I crave, so give me thy holy and chaste love, which may replenish, and take, and possess me wholly. And give me that evident sign of thy love, a springing fountain of tears, which continually may flow; that my tears themselves may witness thy love to me, and they may discover and declare, how dear my soul loveth thee; whilst through the excessive sweetness of that love, it cannot contain itself from tears. I remember, dear Lord, that good woman Anna, who came to the Tabernacle, to beg a son of thee, of whom the Scripture saith that after her tears, and prayers, her countenance was cast no longer towards several things. But whilst I call to mind her so great virtue, and constancy, I am racked with grief, and confounded with shame, because I find myself too miserable cast down, towards vanity. But if she wept so bitterly, and did so persever in weeping, who only desired to have a son; how ought my soul to lament, and continue in lamentation, which seeks and loves God, and earnestly desires to get home to him? How ought such a soul lament, and weep, who seeketh God, day and night, and is resolved to love nothing but Christ our Lord? It is no less than a wonder, if such a persons tears, become not his bread, day and night. Look back therefore, and take pity on me, for the sorrows of my hart are multiplied. Give me of thy celestial contemplation; and despise not this sinful soul, for which thou died'st. Give me I beseech thee, internal tears, which may springe from the most secret corner of my hart, whereby the chains of my sins may be broken; and let them ever fill my soul, with celestial joy, that I may obtain some little portion in thy Kingdom, if not in the Society of those true and perfect Monks, whose steps I am not able to follow, yet at least with devout woman. I do also call to mind, the admirable devotion of another woman, who sought thee with tender love, when thou wert laid in the Sepulchre. Who retired not from the sepulchre, when the Disciples retired; who sat down there, all afflicted and wounded; & she wept there long, and much, and rising up with many tears, she did again and again, play as it were the spy, with her watchful eyes, upon that solitary place; to see if perhaps she might be able to find thee any where, whom she sought with such ardour of desire. She had already entered into the sepulchre once and again; but that which in itself, seems too much, seems not enough, to one that loves. The virtue of a good work is perseverance; and because she loved thee beyond the rest, and loveing wept, and weeping sought, and seeking persevered, therefore did she deserve, to be the first of all others to find the out; and to speak with thee. And not only that, but she was the first proclaimer of thy glorious Resurrection, to thy Disciples; thyself thus directing, and sweetly commanding that it should be so, Go, and will my brethren that they pass on into Gallile; they shall see me there, But now, if that woman wept, and continued in weeping, who sought the living, amongst the dead, and who touched thee but with the hand of Faith; how ought my soul to lament, and persist in lamentation, which believeth with the hart, and confesseth with the mouth, that thou art her redeemer, praesiding now in heaven, and regninge every where? How ought such a soul to lament and weep, which loves thee with her whole hart, and covets to see thee with her whole desire? thou who art the sole refuge, and the only hope of miserable creatures, to whom one can never pray without hope of mercy? Afford me this favour, I beseech thee, for thine own sake, & for thy holy Name, that as often as I think of thee, speak of thee, write of thee, read of thee, confer of thee; as often as I remember thee, and am present with thee, and offer praise and prayers, and sacrifice to thee, so often may I weep abundantly, and sweetly in thy presence, that so my tears may be made my bread, day and night, Thou, O King of glory, and thou instructor of souls in all virtue, haste taught us, both by doctrine and example; that we are to lament, and weep, saying: Blessed are they who mourn, for they shallbe comforted. Thou didst weep over thy deceased friend, and thou didst shed abundant tears over that miserable City, which was to perish. And now, O dear jesus, I beseech thee, by those most precious tears of thine, and by all those mercies, whereby thou didst vouchsafe so admirably to releyve us wretched Creatures, give me the grace of tears, which my soul doth greatly affect, and covet. For without thy gift, I cannot have it, but be thou pleased to impart it to me, by that holy Spirit of thine, which mollifyes the hard hearts of sinners, and gives them compunction to weep; as thou didst give it to our Fathers, whose footsteps I am to imitate, that so I may lament myself, during my whole life, as they lamented themselves, day and night. And by their merits and prayers who pleased theo, and did most devoutly serve thee, I beseech thee, take pity upon me, thy most miserable, and unworthy servant; and grant me the grace of tears, Grant me that superior kind of irrigation or watering, and that inferior also, that my tears may be my bread day and night; and that; by the fire of sorrow, I may be made a fat, and marrowy Holocauste, in thy sight. O my God, let me be all offerred up, upon the altar of my hart; and let me be received by thee as a most acceptable sacrifice to thee in the odour of sweetness. Grant me, O most sweet Lord, both a continual, and a clear fountain, wherein this unclean Holocauste, may be cleansed. For although I have already offered myself to thee, by thy favour, and grace; yet in many things, do I offend daily, through my excessive frailty. Give me therefore the grace of tears, O blessed, and amiable God, through the great sweetness of thy love, and by the commemoration of thine own mercies. Prepare this table for thy servant, in thy sight, & put it into my power, that as often as I list, I may be filled therewith. Grant through thy pity, & goodness that this excellent and inebriating chalice, may quench my thirst; & let my spirit pant towards thee, & my hart burn bright in thy love; forgetting all vanity, and misery Harken to me, o God, harken, o thou light of mine eyes, harken to that which I desire, and make me desire such things, as thou wilt grant. O Lord, thou who art holy, & exorable in thyself, do not become inexorable to me, for my sins; but for thine own goodness sake, receive the Prayers of thy servant, & grant me the effect of my desire, and suit, by the prayers and merits of my Lady, the glorious Virgin Mary, and of all thy Saints. Amen. CHAP. XXXVII. A most holy, and most excellent Prayer to Almighty God, whereby the soul is greatly moved to devotion. O Lord jesus, O Holy jesus, O good jesus, who didst vouchsafe to die for our sins, and to rise again, for our justification; I beseech thee, by that glorious Resurrection of thine, raise me up from the sepulchre of all my vices, and sins; & daily give me a part, in thy Resurrection by grace, that I may obtain to be made a true partaker of thy Resurrection to glory. O thou most sweet, most benign, most loving, most precious, most amiable, and most beautiful, Lord, who didst ascend up to heaven, in a triumph of glory; and being a most puissant King dost sit at the right hand of thy Father: Draw me upward, that I may run after thee, in the pursuit and sent of thy odoriferous ointments. I will run, and not faint. Whilst thou art leading, and draweinge me, I will be running. Draw up this mouth of my thirsty soul, into those celestial spiring of eternal satiety. Nay, rather draw me to thy very self, who art the true living fountain; that so according to the uttermost of my capacity, I may drink that, whereupon I may for ever live, O thou my God, and my life. For thou haste said, with thy holy and blessed mouth: If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink. O thou fountain of life, grant to my thirsty soul, that it may always drink of thee; that, according to thy holy and faithful promise, the living waters may flow from me, O thou fountain of life, fill my mind, with the torrent of thy delight, and inebriate my hart with the sober ebriety of thy love; that I may forget all vain, and earthly things, and may perpetually have thee, and thee alone, in my memory; as it is written: I have been mindful of God, and I was delighted. Impart to me the holy Spirit, which was signified by those waters, which thou didst promise, that thou wouldst give, to such as thirsted after them. Grant, I beseech thee, that with my whole desire, and endeavour, I may tend thither, whither I believe thee to have ascended, upon the fortieth day, after thy Resurrection That so my body only, be held in this present misery; and that I may ever be with thee in desire and thought. That my hart may be there, where thou art, who art my incomparable, disireable, and extremely amiable treasure. For in the great deluge of this life, wherein we are tossed with storms to and fro surrounding us; and where there is no secure casting of anchor; nor place more eminent, whereupon the Dove may place her foot, & repose herself in some small measure; there is no where, any safe peace; Noah where any secure quietness, but every where wars and strife; all places full of enemies; fight without, and fears within. And because one part of us is celestial, and the other terrestrial the body which is subject to corruption, doth dull and stupify the soul Therefore doth this soul of mine, which is my companion, and my friend, and which colmes all weary, from travellinge, upon a long, and laborious way, lie languishing, and torn in sunder, by those vanities, which it passed by; and it doth hunger, and thirst extremely; and I have nothing to set before it, because I am a poor creature, and a mere beggar. Thou o Lord my God who art rich in all things, and art a most plentiful imparter of celestial satiety, give food to it being weary, recolect it being scattered; and repair it being torn in pieces. Behold it is at the door, and knocks. It beseeches thee, by those bowels of thy mercy, whereby thou didst visit us riseinge from above, to open thy hand of pity, to this miserable soul which knocks; and command (out of thy benignity & grace) that it may enter in to thee; that it may repose in thee, and that it may be recreated, and fed with thee who art that true celestial bread, and wine. That when it is satisfied therewith, it may recover strength and so ascend up to the things above it & being snatched up out of this valley of misery, by the wing of holy desires it may fly into those celestial Kingdoms. Let my spirit, o Lord, let my spirit, I beseech thee, take the wings of an Eagle, let it spring up and never faint; let it fly, till it arrive even! as far as the beauty of thy house; that place of the habitation of thy glory; that it may there be full fed upon that table, where thy celestial Citizens are refreshed, with those secret delights of thine, in that place of rich feeding; close by those full fountains; and there, o my Lord, let my hart repose, and rest in thee. My hart is a high sea. swelling up with waves. Thou, who didst command both winds and seas, where upon great tranquillity did follow, come down, and walk upon these Waves of my hart; that all my thoughts may become serene and quiet; to the end that I may embrace thee, my dear, and only Lord; and that I may contemplate thee (who art the sweet light of mine eyes) being freed from the blind mists, or fogs of all unquiet cogitations. Let my hart fly under the shadow of thy wings, from the scorching heat of the cares, and cogitations of this world; that so being hidden up in that sweet refreschinge of thine, it may exult, & sing: In thy peace, in thy very self will I sleep and rest. Let my memory sleep, let it sleep, I beseech thee, O my Lord God, from all sin and vice. Let it hate iniquity, and love sanctity. For what is more beautiful, what is more delightful, then in the midst of the deep darkness, and the many bitter sorrows of this life, to pant towards that divine sweetness of thine, and to aspire to that eternal beatitude; and there to have our hearts fixed, where it is most certain that true joy is to be found, O thou most sweet, most loving, most benign, most dear, most precious, most desirable, most amiable, and most beautiful Lord, When shall I be able to see thee: When shall I appear before thy face? When shall I be satisfied with that beauty of thine? When wilt thou lead me out of this dark prison, that I may confess to thy Name; that so, from thence forth,, I may have no more cause of grief? When shall I pass on into that admirable, and most goodly house of thine? where the voice of joy and exultation, is ever ringing out, in those Tabernacles of the Just? Blessed are they who dwell in thy house, O Lord, for ever, and for ever, shall they praise thee. Blessed are they, & truly blessed; whom thou hast chosen, and assumed into that celestial inheritance. Behold how thy Saints, O Lord, do flourish like the Lily; they are filled with the ever springing plenty of thy house; & thou givest them to drink of the torrent of thy delights. For thou art the fountain of life, and in thy light they shall see light; in so high degree as that they who are but a light illuminated by thee, o God, who art the illuminateing light, do yet shine in thy sight, like the Sun itself. O how admirable, how precious, and how beautiful, be the habitations of thy house O thou God of all strength? This sinful soul of mine is carried with extreme desire to enter thither. O Lord, I have loved the beauty and order of thy house; and the place of the habitation of thy glory. One thing I have begged of our Lord, and I will never leave to beg the same; that I may dwell in the house of our Lord, all the days of my life. As the Stagg runs panting towards the fountains of water, so doth my soul run thirsting after thee, O God. When shall I come, and once appear before thy face? When shall I see my God, after whom my soul is in a deadly thirst? When shall I see him, in the land of the Liveinge; for in this land of the Dying, he cannot be seen, with mortal eyes. What shall I do, miserable creature that I am; being bound up, hand and foot, by these chains of my mortality, What shall I do? Whilst we remain in this body, we wander from our Lord. We have not here any permanent City, but we are looking after another, which is to come, for our habitation is in heaven Woe be unto me, for that my abode ne'er is prolonged. I have dwelled with the inhabitants of Cedar; and my soul hath been too true a dweller there. Who will help me to the wings of a dove, that I may fly and rest? Nothing can be so delightfully dear to me as to be with my Lord. It is good for me to adhere to my God. Grant to me, o Lord, whilst I am confined to this mortal flesh, that I may adhere to thee, as it is written: He who adhears to our Lord, becometh one spirit with him. Grant me, I beseech thee, the wings of Contemplation; that being endued therewith, I may fly up a pace towards thee. And because all that which is sinful, and weak, is workeinge downward, o Lord hold hold thou my hart, that it may not rush into the bottoms of this dark valley; that by interposition of the shadow of the earth, it may not be severed from thee, who art the true Sun of justice; and so may be hindered from beholding celestial things, by the drawing of black clouds over it. Therefore am I aspireinge to those joys of peace; and to that most calm and delightful state of light. Hold thou fast my hart in thy hand; for unless it be by thee it will never be able to raise itself to things above. Thither do I make all haste, where supreme peace doth reign; and where eternal tranquillity is resplendent. Hold fast, and guide my spirit, and raise it; according to thy good will; that so thyself being the guide thereof, it may ascend into that region, where there is an eternal spring; and where thou feedest Israel for ever, with the food of truth; that there (at the least with some swift, and catching thought). I may now lay hold of thee, who art that Sovereign Wisdom, remaineinge over all things, and governing, and conducteinge all things. But to the soul which is striving, and struglinge towards thee, there are many things which call upon it, by way of giving it impediment. O Lord, I beseech thee, that they may all be put to silence, by thy commandment. Let my very soul be silent to itself. Let it pass by all things: Let it transcend all things created, and dispatch them all away from itself. Let it arrive to thee, and upon thee, who art the only Creator of all things: let it fasten the eyes of Faith: let it aspire towards thee: let it be wholly attentive to thee: let it meditate vpon thee: let it contemplate thee: let it place thee ever before her eyes, and lock thee up in her hart: thee who art the true and sovereign good, & that joy, which must never have an end. Many Contemplations there are, whereby a soul which is devoute to thee, may be admirably entertained & fed; but in none of them is my soul so delighted, and laid to rest, as in the thought of thee; and when it thinks and contemplates, thee alone. How great is the multitude of that sweetness of thine, wherewith thou dost admirably inspire the hearts of thy lovers? How admirable is that deernes of thy love, which they enjoy who love nothing but thee; who seek nothing, nor desire, so much as to think of any thing but thee. Happy, souls are they, whose only hope thou art: and whose only work, is Prayer. Happy is that man, who sits in solitude and silence, and stands still upon his guard, day and night; and who, whilst he is imprisoned in this poor little body of his, may yet be able in some proportion, to have a taste of thy divine sweetness. I beseech thee, o Lord, by those precious wounds of thine, which thou wert pleased to bear upon thy Cross, for our salvation; and from whence that precious Blood did flow, whereby we are redeemed; be pleased to wound this sinful soul of mine, for which thou didst also vouchsafed to die. Wound it with the fiery and most puissant dart of thy excessive charity. For the Word of God is full of life, and efficacy; and it is more penetrative than any sharp two-edged sword. Thou art that choice arrow, and that most sharp sword, which is able, by thy power, to pierce through the hard buckler of man's hart. Strike through my hart, with the dart of thy love, that my soul may say to thee: I am wounded with thy love. And do it in such sort, as that out of this very wound of thy love, abundance of tears may stream down from mine eyes, day and night. Stricke through, O Lord, strike through, I beseech thee, this most hard hart of mine, with the dear, & strong pointed lance of thy love; and pierce down yet more deeply into the most interior part of my soul, by the mighty power of thy hand. And so draw forth out of this head of mine abundance of water; and from these mine eyes, a true fountain of tears, which may continually flow, through my excessive love, and desire of the vision of thy beauty. To the end that I may mourn, day and night, admitting of no comfort, till I shall obtain to see thee, in thy celestial bed of state: Thee, who art my beloved, and most beautiful Spouse, my Lord and my God. That beholding there (in the society of such as thou hast chosen) that glorious, and admirable, & most beautiful countenance of thine, (which is top full of all true sweetness,) I may with profound humility adore thy Majesty. And then at last, being replenished, with the celestial, and unspeakable iubilation of eternal joy, I may cry out with such as love thee, and say: Behold, that which I aspired too, I see. That which I hoped for, I have, That, which I desired, I enjoy. For to him am I conjoined in heaven, whom being yet on earth, I loved with my whole power: I embraced with entire affection; and I inheared to, with invincible love. Him do I praise, adore, and bless, who liveth & reigneth, God, for ever, and ever. Amen. CHAP. XXXVIII. A Prayer to be made in affliction. Have mercy on me, O Lord, have mercy on me, dear Lord, have mercy on me, most miserable sinner, who commit unworthy things, and do endure such as I am worthy of; for I am daily sinning, and daily feeling the scourge of sin. If I consider the evil which I commit daily, it is no great matter which I suffer. It is much wherein I offend, and it is little which I endure. Thou art lust, O Lord, and thy judgement is right; yea; all thy judgements are just and true. Thou art just and true, O Lord our God, and there is no iniquity in thee. Thou, O merciful and Omnipotent Lord, dost not afflict us sinners, cruelly, and unjustly. But when we were not, thou didst make us with thy hand of power; and when we were lost, through our own fault, thou didist admirably restore us by thy pity and goodness. I know, and am well assured, that our life is not driven on, by rash. and irregular motions; but it is disposed, and governed by thee, O Lord our God. So that thou hast a care of all, butt especially of thy servants, who have placed their whole hope in thy mercy. I do therefore beseech, and humbly pray thee, that thou wilt not proceed with me, according to my sins, whereby I have deserved thy wrath; but according to thine own great mercy, which surpasseth the sins of the whole world. Thou O Lord; who dost inflict exterior punishments upon us, give us interior patience, which may never fail; that so thy praise may not depart from my mouth. Have mercy on me O Lord, have mercy on me, and help me, according to what thou knowest to be necessary for me, both in body and soul. For thou knowest all things, thou canst do all things, thou who livest for ever. CHAP. XXXIX. A very devoute Prayer. to God the Son. O Lord jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, who didst drink up that Calais of thy Passion, thou being extended upon thy Cross, for the Redemption of all mortal men; vouchsafe this day to give me help. Behold I come poor to thee who art rich; miserable, to thee who art merciful. Let me not go empty, or despised from thee. I am hungry now when I begin, let me not give over, empty of thee. I come to thee almost starved, let me not depart from thee unfed. And if now, before I eat, I sigh; grant at least, after I have sighed, that I may eat. First of all, O most sweet jesus, I confess mine own injustice against myself, before the magnificence of thy mercy. Behold O Lord, how I was conceived and borne in sin; and thou didst wash me, and sanctify me, and after that I did yet pollute myself with greater sins. For I was borne in Original sin, which was necessary to me, but afterwards I weltered in actual sin, which was voluntary. Yet thou O Lord, being not unmindful of thy mercy, didst take me from the house of my father, of flesh and blood; and out of the Tabernacles of sinners, and didst inspire me to follow thee, with the generation of them who seek thy face, and who walk in the right way, and who dwell amongst the Lillyes of chastity; and who feed with thee, at the table of profound poverty. And I, ungrateful for so many benefits, did, after I had received Baptism, work many wicked deeds, and committed many execrable crimes. And whereas I ought to have removed those former sins, I did after, add new sins to those. These are my wickednesses, O Lord, whereby I have deshonored thee, & defiled myself, whom thou haste created after thine own Image and likeness, by pride, vain glory, and a number of other sins, whereby my unhappy soul is afflicted, torn, and destroyed. Behold, O Lord, how my iniquities have overgrown my head, and how they oppress me, as any heavy burden might do. And unless thou, whose property it is to have mercy, and to forgive, be pleased to put the hand of thy Majesty under me, I shall not fail to be miserably drowned in that bottomless pit. Consider, O Lord God, and see, because thou art holy; and behold how my enemy insulteth over me, saying, God hath forsaken him, I will persecute him, and take him, for there is none to deliver him. But thou, O Lord, how long? Convert thyself to me, and deliver my soul, and save me for thy mercy's sake. Have mercy upon thy Sonn, whom thou didst beget weth no small sorrow of thine, and do not so consider my wickedness, as thereby to forget thine own goodness, Who is that Father, which will not deliver his Son? Or who is that Son, whom the Father will not correct with the staff of pity? Therefore, O my Father, and my Lord, though it be true that I am a sinner, yet I leave not, for all that, to be thy Son, because thou haste both made me, and made me again. As I have sinned, so do thou reform me; and when thou shalt have mended me by thy correction, deliver me then to thy Son. Can the Mother forget the Child of her womb? Yet supposeing she could, thou hast promised, O Father, that thou wilt not forget him. Behold I cry out, and thou hearest me not, I am tormented with sorrow, and thou comfortest me not; What can I say, or what shall I do, most wretched creature that I am? I am utterly without all comfort, and I am cast of from the sight of thine eyes,. Woe is me, from how great happiness, into how great misery am I fallen? Whither was I going, and yet where am I arrived? where am I, or rather where am I not? To whom did I aspire, and yet now, what kind of things be they, for which I pant, and sigh? I have sought for happiness, and behold I hawe met wish infelicity. Bebold I am even dying, and jesus is not with me & without fail it is better for me not to be at all, than not to be with jesus; it is better for me not to live at all, then to live without life. But thou, O Lord jesus, and what is become of thine ancient mercies? wilt thou be anggry with me for ever. Be thou appeased, I beseech thee, and have mercy on me, and do not turn thy face from me; thou, who for the redeeminge of me, didst not turn thy face from such as did reproach, and spit at thee. I confess that I have sinned, and that my conscience calls for nothing but damnation, and my penance will not serve for satisfaction▪ but yet it is certain, that thy mercy doth surpass all sin, Do not, I beseech thee, most dear Lord, marite up my wickedness against me, to the end that thou mayst enter into exact account with thy servant. but blot out my iniquity; according to the multitude of thy mercies. woe be unto me miserable creature, when the day of judgement shall come, and the book of consciences shall be opened, and it shall be said to me: Behold the man, and his works. what shall I do then, O Lord my God, when the heavens will reveal my iniquities, and when the earth will rise up against me? Behold, I shallbe able to make no answer; but my head, hanging down through confusion I shall stand trembling, and all confounded before thee. Woe is me, wretched creature, what shall I say? I will cry out to thee, O Lord my God For why should I consume myself with holding my peace? and yet if I speak, my grief will not be appeased. But yet, howsoever, if I hold my peace, I am inwardly tormented with extrcame bitterness. Lament O my soul, as the Widow useth to do, over the husband, of her youth. Howle thou miserable creature, and cry out, because thy spouse, who is Christ our Lord, hath dismissed thee. O thou wrath of the Omnipotent, do no thou rush down upon me, for I am notable to receive thee. It is not in all the power I have to be able to endure thee. Have mercy on me, lest I despair, and grant that I may repose in hope; and if I have committed that for which thou mayst condemn me: yet thou haste not lost, that for which thou art wont to save sinful men. Thou, O Lord, desirest not the death of a sinner; nor dost thou rejoice in the perdition of dying souls; nay thou died'st thyself to the end that dead men might live, and thy death hath killed the death of sinners. And if they lived by thy death, I beseech thee, O Lord, that I, by the means of thy life, may not die. Send forth thy hand from on high, and take me out of the hand of mine enemies, that they may not rejoice over me, and say: We have devoured him. Who can distrust of thy mercy, O dear jesus, since thou didst redeem us, and reconcile us to God, by thy Blood, when we were thine enemies? Behold how, being protected under the shadow of thy mercy, I come running to thy Throne of glory, asking pardon of thee, and crying out, and knocking, till thou take pity of me. For if thou haste called us to take the benefit of thy pardon when we sought it not, how much more shall we obtain it, when we seek it? Do not, O most sweet jesus, remember thy justice against this sinner, but be mindful of thy benignity towards thy creature. Be not mindful of thy wrath, against him who is guilty; but be mindful of thy mercy, towards him who is in misery. Forget the proud wretch, who provoketh thee, and take pity of that miserable man, who invoketh thee, For what is jesus, but a Saviour; and therefore, O jesus, I beseech thee by thyself, rise up to help me, and say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. I presume much O Lord, upon thy goodness, because thyself teacheth me to ask, to seek, and to knock; and therefore being admonished by that voice of thine I do ask, seek and knock. And thou, O Lord, who biddest me ask, make, me receive; thou who advisest me to seek, grant that I may find; thou who teachest me to knock, open to me, who am knocking. And eonfirme me who am weak; reduce me who am lost, raise me to life, who am dead, and vouchsafe, in thy good pleasure, so to govern my senses, my thoughts, words, and deeds, that from hence forth I may serve thee, and live to thee, and deliver myself wholly up into thy hand. I know, O my Lord, that for thy only having made me, I owe thee all myself; and in that thou wert made Man for me, and didst redeem me; I should owe so much more to thee, than myself (if I had more) as thou art greater than he, for whom thou gavest thyself But behold I have no more, nor yet can I give thee what I have, without thee; but do thou take me, and draw me to thyself, to thy imitation and love, as already I am thine by creation, and condition: thou who ever livest and reignest. CHAP. XL. A profitable Prayer, O Lord God Omnipotent, who art Trine and One, who art always in all things, who wert before all things, and who art ever to be in all things, God, to whom be praise for ever; to thee do I commend (for this day, and for all my life hereafter) my soul, my body, my sight, my hearing, my taste, my smell, and my touch; All my thoughts, affections, speeches, and actions: all my exteriors, and interiors; my sense, my understanding, and my memory; my faith, my hope, and my perseverance, into the hands of thy power, by day and night, and in all hovers and momenta. Harken to me, O Holy Trinity, and conserve me, from all evil, from all scandal, and from all mortal sin; from all ambushes, and vexation of Devils, and from all our enemies, visible, and invisible; by the Prayers, of the patriarchs. by the Merits of the Prophets, by the suffrages of the Apostles, by the constancy of the Martyrs, by the Chastity of the Virgins, and by the intercession of all the Saints, who have been pleasing to thee, since the beginning of the World. Expel from me all boasting of mind: increase compounction of hart, diminish my pride, and perfect thou true humility in me. Stir me up to shed tears, mollify my hard, and stony hart, deliver my soul, O Lord, from all the trecheryes of mine enemies, and conserve me in thy will. Teach me, O Lord, to do thy will, for thou art my God. Give me O Lord, perfect seesing, and understanding, that I may be able to comprehend thy profound benignity. Give me grace to ask that, which it may delight thee to hear, and may be expedient for me to obtain, Give me tears which may rise from my whole hart, whereby the chains of my sins may be dissolved, Harken, O my Lord, and my God, harken to what I ask, and vouchsafe to grant it. If thou despise me, I perish: if thou regard me, I live: if thou look for innocency at my hands, I am dead already, and I stink: if, thou look upon me with mercy, though I stink, yet thou raisest me out of the grave. Put that far from me, which thou hatest in me, and ingraft in me the spirit of chastity, & continency, that whatsoever I may chance to ask of thee, yet in the very askeing of it, I may not offend thee. Take from me that which hurts, and give me that which helps. Give me O Lord, some Physic whereby my wounds may be cured. O Lord, give me thy fear, compunction of hart, humility of mind, and a pure conscience. Grant O Lord, that I may ever maintain fraternal charity, and that I may not forget mine own sin, nor busy myself with those of other men. Pardon my soul, my sins my crimes; visit me who am weak, cure me who am sick, strengthen me who am languishing, and revive me who am dead, Give me a hart, O Lord, which may fear thee, a will which may love thee, a mind which may understand thee, ears which may hear thee, and eyes which may see thee. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, and look down on me, from that holy seat of thy Majesty; and illuminate the darkness of my hart, with the beam of thy splendour. Give me, O Lord discretion, that I may discern between good and bade; and grant that I may have a vigilant mind. O Lord, I beg of thee the remission of all my sins, from whom and by whom, propitiation may be granted me in the time of my necessity and of my greatest straits, O holy and immacutate Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of our Lord jesus christ, vouchsafe to intercede of me with him, whose Temple thou deservedst to be made, Holy Michael, holy Gabriel, holy Raphael: O you holy Quires of Angels, and archangels, of patriarchs, and prophets, of Apostles, and Evangelists, Martyrs, and Confessors, Priests, and Levitts, Monckes, and Virgins, and of all the Saints, I presume to beg of you, high him, who chose you, and by the contemplation of whom you are in such joy, that you will vouchsafe to make supplication to God himself for me; that I may obtain to be delivered from the jaws of the Devil, and from eternal death. Vouchsafe, O Lord, to grant me eternal life, according to thy Clemency, and most benign mercy, O Lord jesus Christ, grant concord to Priests, and to Kings, bishops, and Princes, who judge justly, give tranquillity, and peace. O Lord, I beseech thee, for the whole holy Catholic Church, for men, and women, for Religious and secular people, for all the governors of Christians, and all such, as, believing in thee, do labour for the holy love of thee, that they may obtain perseverance in their good works. Grant, O Lord, O Eternal King, chastity to Virgins, continency to such as are dedicated to thee, O Almighty God, sanctimony to married folly's, pardon to sinners, relief to orphans, and widows, protection to the poor, safe arrival to such as are in journey; comfort to such as mourn, everlasting rest to the faithful souls departed▪ a safe haven to such as are at Sea, to thy best servants, that they may continue in their virtue, to them who are but indifferently good, that they may grow better, to them who are wicked and sinful, (as to me poor wertch) that they may quickly reform themselves. O most sweet, and most merciful Lord jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, the Redeemer, of the world, I confess myself to be a miserable sinner in all things, and above all men; but thou also, O most merciful and supreme Father, who takest pity upon all, do not suffer me to become an alien from thy mercy. O God, thou King, of Kings, who haste given me this truce of living till now; grant me devotion to reform myself, stir up in me a mind which may earnestly desire and seek thee, and love thee above all things, & fear thee, and do thy will, thou who art all every where in Trinity, and Unity, and that for ever. Especially therefore I beseech thee, O Lord, O Holy Father, who art glorious and blessed for ever, that all they who remember me in their Prayers, and who have commended themselves to my unworthy ones, and who have performed any office of charity, or work of mercy towards me, and they also who are joined to me by kindred; and by the natural affection of flesh and blood, and as well all they, who are now alive, as those others who are departed, may be mercifully and graciously governed by thee, that they perish not. Vouchsafe to give succour to all the Christians who live, grant absolution with eternal rest, to the faithful who are dead. And moreover I do in most particular manner beg of thee, O Lord, thou who art Alpha and omega, that when the last day, and point of my life shall arrive, thyself will vouchsafe to be my merciful judge against that malign accuser, the Devil, and be thou my continual defend or against the sleights of that ancient enemy of mine, and make me continue in that holy heaven of thine, in the society of all the Angels and Saints, thou who art blessed for ever and ever. Amen. CHAP. XLI. A Prayer in memory of the Passion of Christ our Lord. O Lord jesus Christ, my Redemption, my mercy, and my salvation; I praise thee, I give thee thanks, though they carry no proportion to thy benefits. Though they be very void of devotion, though they be lean, in respect of the fatness of that most sweet love of thee which I desire; yet such as they are, not such, I confess, as I owe, but such as I am able to conceive, my soul is now paying to thee. O thou hope of my hart, and thou virtue of my soul, and the life and end of all my intentions, let thy most powerful dignity supply that, which my most faint weakness doth endeavour. And if I have not yet deserved so much of thee, as to love thee so much as I ought, yet at least I have an earnest desire to. perform the same O thou my light, thou seest my conscience, because, O Lord, all my desires are before thee. And if I endeavour to do any thing which is good, it is thou who bestowest it upon me. If that be good, O Lord, which thou inspirest, or rather because the inclination which I have to love thee is good: grant me that, which it is thy will that I should desire, and grant that I may obtain to love thee, as much as thou requirest. I give thee praise, and thanks, for what I have, lest otherwise thy gnift might prove unfruitful to me, which thou hast bestowed, of thine own free will. Perfect that which to haste begunn, and give me that, through thy mercy, which thou madest me desire, without any merit of mine. Convert, O most benign Lord, my dull heaviness, into a most fervent love of thee. To this, O my most merciful Lord, my prayer, my memory, my meditation of thy benefits, do all tend, that thou mayst kindle thy love in me. Thy goods, O Lord, created me, thy mercy, when I was created, did cleanse me from original sin, thy patience, after that I was washed in Baptism, hath tolerated, nourished and expected me, when I was all wrapped up, in the filth of other sins. Thou, O my good Lord, didst expect my amendment, and my soul expecteth the inspiration of thy holy grace, that I may come to penance, and good life. O my God, my Creator, my expecter, and my feeder I thirst after thee, I sigh towards thee, and vehemently desire to attain to thee. And as the poor child, being deprived of the presence of his most benign father, doth incessantly weep and cry out and embrace, by his memory, that father's face, with his whole hart, so I (not so mueh as I should) but so much as I can, am mindful of thy Passion, mindful of thy strokes, mindful of thy stirpes, mindful of thy wounds, mindful how thou wert murdered for me, how thou wert embalmed, how thou wert buried; and mindful also of thy glorious Resurrection, and admirable Ascension. These things do I hold fast, with undoubted faith, I lament the miseries of my banishment, I hope for the only consolation of thy coming, and I desire the glorious contemplation of thy face. Woe be unto me, in that I was not able to behold that Lord of Angels, being humbled to the conversation of men; to the end that he might exalt men, to the conversation of Angels, when God, being offended, died, that man who offended him, might live. Woe be unto me, that I obtained not to be amazed, in being present at that spectacle of admirable and inestimable piety. Why, why, at least, O my soul doth not the sword of most sharp sorrow pierce thy hart, since thou wert not able to have endured, that lance which wounded the side of thy Saviour; since thou couldst not behold those hands and feet of thy Creator, to be so violated with nails, and the blood of thy Reddeemer, so hydeously to be shed? Why, at least, art not thou inebriated with the bitterness of tears, since he drunk the bitterness of gall? Why art thou not in compassion of that most holy Virgin, his most worthy Mother, my most worthy Lady? O my most merciful Lady, what fountains shall I say they were, which broke out of thy most chaste eyes, when thou didst observe, how thy only innocent Son, was bound, and scourged, and slain in thy presence? What tears shall I believe did bedew? and bathe thy most sweet holy Face, when thou didst behold that Son of thine, who was also thy God, & thy Lord, extended upon the Cross, without any fault of his? and that flesh, which was of thine own flesh, to be so wickedly torn, by wretched people: with what kind of sobbing sighs, shall I conceive thy most pure hart to have been torn, when thou heardest those words, Woman, behold thy Son, and the Disciple, Woman behold thy Mother; when thou tookest the Disciple for the Master, and the servant for the Lord. O that I had been the man, who took down my Lord from the Cross, with that happy joseph? That I had embalmed him with odours? That I had Lodged him in the sepulchre? or at least, that I had followed him, and had obtained so much, that, to so great a funeral as that, some little part of my obsequiousness, had not been wanting. O that with those happy woman, I had been frighted, by that bright vision of those Angels; and had heard that message of the Resurrection of our Lord: That message of my comfort: That message so much expected, and desired. O that I had heard these words from the mouth of the Angel, Do not fear, you seek jesus crucified, but he is risen, he is not here. O thou most meek, most benign, most sweet, and most excellent Lord! when wilt thou give me a sight of thee? for yet I never saw thât incorruption of thy blessed body; I never kissed those places of thy wounds. & that pearcinge of the nails; I never bathed those owertures of thy true, thy admirable, thy inestimable, and incomparable Flesh and Blood, with the tears of joy. When wilt thou comfort me, and when wilt thou give me cause to contain this sorrow of mine? For indeed this sorrow will not end in me, as long as I shall be in pilgrimage, from my Lord. Woe be to me, O Lord, woe be to my soul; for thou who art the comforter thereof, didst go thy ways out of this world, without so much as biddeing me farewell. When thou didst put thyself upon those new ways of thine, thou gavest thy blessing to thy servants; but I was not there Thou wert carried up to heaven in a cloud, but I saw it not. The Angels promised, that thou wouldst return; but I heard them not. What shall I say, what shall I do, whither shall I go, where shall I seek him, & when shall I find him? Whom shall I ask? Who will declare to my beloved that I languish for love? The joy of my hart is gone. My mirth is changed into sorrow. My very flesh and my hart have fainted, O thou God of my hart, and my part: God, who art my portion for ever. My soul hath refused to be comforted, unless it be by thee, my true sweetness. For what have I to care for in heaven but thee; and what have I desired on earth but thee? It is thou, whom I desire, for whom I hope, and whom I seek: To thee my hart doth say, I will seek thy countenance, and I will seek it yet again. O turn thou not thy face from me. O thou most benign lover of mankind, to thee the poor creature is left, thou art the helper of the Orphan. O thou my safe Advocate, have mercy on me, who am a forsaken Orphan. I am left as a pupil wihout a father; my soul is as solitary as a Widow. Behold the tears of my desolation, and widowehoode, which I offer thee, till such time as thou shalt return. Come therefore, Lord, come now, appear to me, and I shallbe comforted. Afford me thy presence, and I shall have obtained my desire. Reveal thy glory, and I shall be in perfect joy. My soul hath thirsted towards thee, O how abundantly doth my very flesh thirst after thee. My soul hath thirsted towards God, who is the living fountain. When shall I come and appear before the Face of our Lord? When wilt thou come, O my comforter, whom I will expect? O that I might be sure to see that joy, which I desire O that I might be satiated, when thy glory shall appear, of which I have so great hunger. O that I might be inebriated, by that springing plenty of thy house, towards which I sigh: O that thou wouldst give me to drink deeply of the torrent of thy pleasure, which I thirst after. O Lord, let my tears in the mean while, be my bread, day and night, till such time as it may be said to me, Behold thy God; till my soul may hear this word, Behold thy Spouse. Feed me in the mean time with my sighs, refresh me with my sorrows. Perhaps my Redeemer will come, because he is good; and he will not stay long behind, who was here from the beginning. To him be glory, for ever, and for ever. Amen. DEO GRATIAS. The end of the Meditations of Saint Augustine. THE SOLILOQVIA OF THE GLORIOUS Doctor S. Augustine. THE FIRST CHAPTER. Of the unspeakable sweetness of God. LET me know thee, O Lord, thou who knowest me. Let me know the, O thou strength of my soute. Show thy self to me, O thou who art my comforter: let me see thee, O thou, who art the light of mine eyes. Come, O thou joy of my spirit, let me behold thee, O thou solace of my heart. Make me love thee, O thou life of my soul. Appear to me, O thou who art my great delight, my sweet consolation, my Lord, my God, my life, and the total glory of my soul. Let me find thee, O thou desire of my heart: Let me possess thee, O thou love of my soul. Let me embrace thee, O thou celestial Spouse! O thou my sovereign, and both my external, and internal joy. Let me possess thee, O thou eternal beatitude. Let me possess thee in the very centre of my hart, O thou blessed life, and thou sovereign sweetness of my soul. I will love thee, O Lord, my strength, O Lord, my foundation, and my refuge, and my deliverer, Let me love thee, O my God, and my helper; thou who art a tower of strength to me, and my dear hope in all my adversity. Let me embrace thee, who art that Good, without which nothing is good, and let me enjoy me thee, who are that best, without which nothing is best. Open the deep hollows of mine ears, by thy word, which is more penetrative than any two edged sword, that so I may grow to hear thy voice. Thunder, O Lord, from above, with that voice of thine, which is so loud and strong Let the Sea, and the fullness thereof tunder out: let & the Earth, and all which is therein, be moved. Illustrate mine eyes, O thou incomprehensible light: Dart forth that bright lightning, and dissipate them, that they may not behold vanity. Draw down the rivers at full speed, put them into commotion, that the fountains of water may appear, and the foundations of the Earth may be disclosed. O thou invisible light, grant to us such a power of seeing, as that we may be able to behold thee. Grante, O thou odour of life, such a new power of smelling in us, as that we may run after thee, upon the odour of thy ointments. Cure this taste of ours, that it may relish, and discern, and know, how great that multitude of thy sweetness laid up, for such as fear thee: that is, of such as are full filled with thy love. Grant me a hart which may think of thee, a will, which may love thee, a mind, which may remember thee; an understanding, which may conceive thee; and a reason, which may adhere close to thee, who art the supreme delight, and art to be so for ever. Let that love which is wise, be ever loving thee. O thou Life, to which all things live; Life which givest me life: Life which is my very life itself, whereby I live, and without which I die: Life, whereby I am revived, and without which I perish: Life whereby I rejoice; and with out which I am in misery: Life, which art a vital life, a Life which is sweet and amiable, and to be remembered for ever, where art thou? I beseech thee, that I may find thee, that I may faint in myself, and be refreshed in thee? Be thou near to me in my soul, near in my hart: near, in my mouth: near in mine ears: near, to give me help, because I languish with love; because I die without thee, and I am revived by remembering thee. Thy odour doth refresh me: the memory of thee doth cure me, but I shall then only be satisfied when thy glory shall appear, O thou life of my soul. My soul earnestly desires, and doth even languish through the memory of thee. When shall I come, and appear before thee, O thou my joy? Why dost thou turn thy face from me, O thou my joy, wherein I rejoice? where art thou hidden o beauty, which I desire? I smell the sweet odour of thee: I live, and I joy therein. Thyself I do not see, but I hear thy voice, and it revives me. But why dost thou hide thy Face from me? Dost thou say perhaps, that no man shall see my Face, and live? well then, O Lord, let me die, that I may see thee, and let me see thee, that I may die here below. I will not live, but I will die. I desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ. I desire to die that I may see Christ, I refuse to live, that I may live with Christ. O Lord jesus, receive my spirit! O thou my life, receive my soul. O thou my joy, draw my hart up to thee; O thou my sweet food, let me feed on thee. O thou my Head, direct me: Light of mine eyes, illuminate me: O thou my true sweetness, temper me; thou precious odour quicken me; thou Word of God, recreate me. O thou my praise, delight thou the soul of thy servant; enter into it, O thou joy of mine, that it may rejoice in thee. Enter into it, O thou sovereign sweetness, that it may relish those things which indeed are sweet. O thou eternal light, illustrate it, that it may understand, & know, and love thee. For therefore it is, o Lord, that he who loves thee not, doth not love thee, because he knows thee not: and therefore doth he not know thee, because he understands thee not, and therefore he understands thee not, because he comprehends not thy light: For the light shined in darkness, and darkness comprehended it not. O thou light of our minds, O bright Truth, which illuminatest all men coming into this world: coming into it indeed, but not loving it. For he who loveth the world is made the enemy of God.) Drive of all darkness, from the face of the Abyss of my mind; that it may see thee, by knoweing thee; that it may know thee, by comprehending thee; and that by so knowing thee, it may love thee. For whosoever knoweth thee, forgetts himself, that he may love thee. He loves thee more than himself; he forsakes himself, that he may fly to thee, and that he may rejoice in thee. From hence therefore it grows, O Lord, that I love thee not so much as I ought, because I do not fully know thee. But because I know thee little, I love thee little; and because I love thee little, I rejoice little in thee; but departing from thee, (who art the true interior joy) towards exterior things, whilst I want thee alone. I affect to find impure, and false freindships', amongst thy creatures. And so (wretch that I am) I have bestowed this hart of mine, upon vain things, which I ought to have employed upon thee with an entire appetite, and affection; and so, by loveing vanity, myself am grown to be wholly vain. And hence also it is, O Lord, that I rejoice not in thee, and that I adhere not to thee. For I, am in exterior things, thou in interior: I am in temporal things, thou in spiritual: my mind is scattered & spilt, my thought is entertained, my speech is employed upon transitory objects: but thou, O Lord, dost dwell in the eternities, and art eternity itself. Thou art in heaven, I on earth: thou lovest high, and I low things; thou celestial, I terrestrial: & when shall these contrarietyes, be ever able to meet? CHAP. II. Of the misery and frailty of Man. WRetch that I am, when shall this crookedness of mine be straightened, according to that rectitude of thine. Thou, O Lord, lovest to be alone, and I to be in multituds: Thou lovest to be in silence, and I in noise: Thou lovest truth, and I love vanity: Thou lovest purity, and I uncleanness. What should I say more, O Lord: thou art truly good, and I naughty: thou art holy, and I am wicked; thou art happy, and I unjust: thou art light itself, and I am truly blind: thou art life itself, and I am dead: thou art Physic, and I am sick: thou art joy, and I am sorrow, thou art sovereign Truth, and I am an universality of vanity, as indeed all men living are Woe be therefore to me, O thou Creator of mine, what shall I say? Yet harken thou, O my Creator, for I am thy creature, and I am even now upon perishing; I am thy creature, and am even very now, upon dying. I am the work of thy hands, and I am, even now, reduced to nothing. I am the thing which thou haste made. Thy hands▪ O Lord, have made me, and fashioned me; those hands I say, which were fastened to the Cross, with nails, for me. Do not, O Lord, despise the work of those hands of thine I beseech thee, behold the wounds which are in thine own hands. Behold, O Lord, how thou haste written me, in thine own hands. Read that wrightinge of thine, and save me. Behold I thy creature do sigh towards thee, thou art my Creator, and do thou refresh me. Behold I, who am the work of thy hands, cry out to thee; thou art life itself, do thou quicken me. Behold I, whom thou haste framed, am looking towards thee; thou art my maker, and therefore do thou restore me. Pardon me, O Lord, for my days are nothing. And yet, what is any man, that he should presume to speak to his Creator, who is God? Pardon me whilst I am speakeing to thee; forgive thy slave, who presumes to open his mouth, to so great a Lord. But necessity hath no law. Grief forces me to speak; the calamity which I endure, constrains me to cry out. I am sick, and I cry out to my Physician. I am blind and I make haste towards the light. I am dead, and I aspire towards life. Thou, O jesus of Nazareth, art the Physician, thou art the Light, & thou art life Have mercy on me, O thou Son of David: Take pity on me, O thou fountain of mercy. Give ear ro thy poor creature which cries out after thee. O thou light, which art passing by, expect this blind man, reach forth thy hand to him, that he may come to thee, and may see light in thy light. O thou living life revive thou this dead man. But yet, who am I, that am speaking to thee? Woe be to me, O Lord, have mercy on me, O Lord: on me, who am a rotten carcase, the food of worms, a stinkeing pot, and that matter, whereon fire must feed: Woe be to me, O Lord, wretched man that I am: Man, who being borne of a woman, is to live but a little time, and is to be filled with many miseries: Man, I say, who is grown like to vanity itself, and being compared to the foolish beasts, is now also become like to them. But yet still what am I? a dark abyss, a wretched piece of earth, a child of wrath, a vessel even made fit for reproach; begotten with impurity, living in misery, and dying in agony. Alas poor wretch, what am I? and yet again, alas, what am I to be? A vessel full of dung, a hollow shell full of putrefaction, full of stinkeing filth, which even breedeth horror. Blind, poor, naked, subject to a world of miseries, and, wholly ignorant, either how I came into the world, or how I shall get out. Miserable, and mortal, whose days pass away like a shadow, whose life doth vanish, like awayning Moon, like a flower which groweth upon a stalk, and presently decays. Now it flourisheth, and in the turneing of a hand, it withereth. This life, I say, this frail life of mine, this transitory life, this life, which how much the more it increaseth, so much the more it decays: how much the more it proceeds, so much the nearer it draws to death. A deceitful life, and like to a shadow, and all beset, with the very snares of death. Now I rejoice, and even now again I am sad; now I am strong, and now again I am weak; now I live, and now I am about to die; now I laugh, and now again I weep, now I seem happy, whilst yet I am all ways miserable. And so subject are all things to change, upon all warnings, as that there is scarce any one of them, which continueth permanent for the space of an hour. Here fear and apprehension, and hunger, and thirst, and heat, and cold, and sickness of body, and sorrow of mind is in all abundance. And all these are followed by untimely death, which snatcheth men out of the world by a thousand ways. It kills one man with a fever, another man is oppressed with grief of mind; hunger consumeth one, thirst makes an end of another; one man is drowned by water, another man is strangled by a halter; another is destroyed by fire, another is devoured by wild beasts. One is killed by the sword, another is corrupted by poison; and another ends his miserable life, by the surprise of some strange and sudden fear, And now besides, and beyond all these things, a huge misery it is, that as nothing is more certain than death, so of nothing is a man more uncertain, then of the time when he shall die. When he thinks he standeth fastest, he is tripped up, and his hope perisheth. No man can tell, either when or where, or how he shall die; and yet he is sure enough, that die he must. Behold, O Lord, how great this misery of man is, wherein I am placed, & yet I am void of fear. How great the calamity is which I endure, and yet I am far from grief, nor do I cry out to thee. But I will cry out O Lord, before I pass away, to the end that I may not pass away, but remain in thee. I will therefore declare, I will declare my misery. & I will not be ashamed to confess my baseness before thee. Help me, O thou my strength, whereby I am raised; secure me, O thou Power whereby I am sustained. Approach to me, O thou light, whereby I see; Appear to me, O glory, wherein I joy; disclose thyself to me, O thou life, whereby I live, O thou my Lord and my God. CHAP. III. Of the admirable light of God O Thou light, which Tobias saw, when he taught his son the way, of life, though himself were blind. Thou light which Isaac saw interiorly, when he foretold future things to his sonne, though his eyes of flesh and blood, were full of darkness. Thou invisible light I say to which all the abysses of humane hearts are visible. Thou light which jacob saw, when thou teaching him interiorly, he did exteriorly prophesy to his children. Behold, whilst thou art light, deep darkness is spread over the face of the abyss of my mind. Behold, whilst thou art truth, a thick mist, is spread over the wateres of my hart. O thou word, whereby all things are made, and without which nothing is made: Thou Word, which art before all things, and nothing was before it: Thou Word, which guidest all things, and without which all things are nothing; thou Word which saidst in the beginning, Let light be made, and light was made; say that also to me; let light be made, and let it then indeed be made. And make me also know whatsoever is not light, because, without thy help, I shall mistake light for darkness, and darkents for light, And so without thy light, there is no truth; but error and vanity are at hand; There is no order, but eonfusion; no knowledge, but ignorance; no sight but blindness; no open way, but wandering mazes; no life, but death. CHAP. IU. Of the mortality of Man's nature. BEhold, O Lord, because there is no light, there is death; or rather, I cannot say, that death is there; because death indeed is nothing? and by that we tend to be nothing; whilst we are not afraid to make ourselves nothing, by committing sin. And this, O Lord happeneth justly to us. For we receive penishement, fit for our demerits, whilst we slide away, like a little falling water. For nothing is made without thee. And by doing, and making that which is nothing, we grow to be nothing, because we are nothing without thee, by whom all things are made, & without whom nothing is made. O Lord, (thou who art the Word; O God, who art the Word, by whom all things, and without whom nothing is made) Woe be to me miseaable creature, who have been so often blinded, for thou art light, and I have been void of thee. Woe be to me miserable creature, who have been so often wounded; for thou art health itself; and I am void of thee. Woe be to me miserable creature, who have so often been infatuated by error; for thou art Truth, and I am void of thee. Woe be to me miserable creature, who have so often gone astray; for thou art the way, & I have wandered from thee. Woe be to me miserable creature, who have been so often dead, for thou art life, and I am without thee, Woe be to me miserable creature, who have been annihilated so often; for thou art that Word, by which all things were made, and I am without thee, without whom nothing is made. O Lord who art the word. O God the Word, who art that light, whereby light is made; who art the way, the truth, and the life, in whom, there is no darkness, nor vanity, nor death. Light, without which all is darkness; Way without which all is error; Truth, without which, all is vanity; and life, without which, all is death. O Lord, do but say this word, Fiat lux: let light be made, that so I may see light, and avoid darkness; that I may see the way, and avoid straying; that I may see truth, and avoid vanity: that I may see life, and avoid death. O Lord, my light, do thou illuminate me: O thou, my illumination, and my salvation, whom I will praise: my God, whom I will honour; my Father whom I will love; and my spouse, for whom I will preserve myself. Shine forth, I say, shine forth, thou light, upon this blind creature of thine, who is sitting in darkness, and the shadow of death; and direct his feet into the way of peace; Whereby I may enter into the place of thy admirable Tabernacle, as far as the house of God himself, and the voice of exultation, and confession. For a true Confession, is the way whereby one may enter into thee, who art the way; whereby we may depart from all wand'ring, and may return again, to the same way; because thou art that true way of life. CHAP. V. What it is, to be made nothing. I will therefore confess my misery to thee; I will confess to thee, O thou my Father, and my Lord, that maker of Heaven and Earth, that so I may be admitted, to approach thy mercy. For I am made wholly miserable, and am reduced to nothing, and I knew it not. For thou art truth and I was not with thee. My iniquities have wounded me, and I was not troubled thereat. For thou art life, and I was not with thee. They brought me to nothing, because I was not with thee, who art the Word, whereby all things were made, and without it nothing, and therefore did I become nothing without thee. For that is nothing which leads to nothing. All things are made by him; whatsoever are made; and what kind of things where they? God saw all those things which he made, and they were very good. All things which are made, were made by the Word, and whatsoever things were made by that Word, are very good. Why are they good, in regard that all things are made by the Word, & without it nothing is made? Because nothing is good withaut a participation of that soweraigne Good But sin is there, where that Good is not: and for that cause, it is even nothing. For evil is nothing, but a privation of good; as blindness is no other thing but a privation of light. Sin therefore is nothing because it is made without the Word, without which nothing is made; and that is sin or evil which is deprived of that good, whereby all things are made, which have any being. But now those things which are not, are not made by him; and consequently they are nothing. Therefore those things are evil, which are not made, because all things which are made, are made by the Word, and all things which are made by the Word are good. Since therefore all things are made by the Word, sin is not made by it; and therefore it remains that all things, which are not made, be not good, for as much as all things which are made, be good, and therefore those things are evil, which are not made: and therefore they are nothing, because nothing is made, without the Word. Sin therefore is nothing, because it is not made. But then how is it evil, if it be nothing? Because evil is a privation of that good, whereby that which is made is good. To be therefore without the Word, is to be evil, which yet is not properly to be; because nothing is without it. But what is it to be separated from the word? If thou desire to know this, learn first what this Word is. The Word of God saith, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. To be separated therefore from the Word, is to be out of the Way, and without Truth, and life; and therefore without it, is nothing, and so it is evil, in being separated from the Word, whereby all things were made very good. To be separated then from the Word, whereby all things were made, is no other thing, then to fail, and to pass from being a fact, to be a defect; because nothing truly is without it. As often therefore as thou departest from good, thou dost separate thyself from the Word, because the Word is good; and so thou growest to be nothing, because thou art without the Word, without which nothing is made. Now therefore O Lord, thou O light, hast illuminated me, that I might see thee: I saw thee, and I know myself; for so often have I grown to he nothing, as I have separated myself from thee; and because I forget that good which thou art, therefore did I grow to be wicked. Woe be to me, wretched man, how came it to pass, that I knew not that by forsakeing thee, I grew to be nothing? but why do I ask, how I could be ignorant thereof, if I were nothing? we know what it is to be nothing, that it is not, which is nothing; and that the thing which is not good, is not, because it is nothing. If therefore I were not, when I was without thee, I was as nothing; and as an idol, which is nothing. Which hath ears indeed, but it heareth not; nostrils, but it smelleth not; eyes, but it seeth not; a mouth, but it speaketh not; hands, but it feeleth not; feet, but it walketh not; and it hath all the lineaments or parts of a body, but yet without that sense, which, belongeth to them. CHAP. VI Of the fall of a soul, by sin. WHen therefore I was without thee, I was not any thing, but I was nothing; & therefore I was blind, deaf, & insensible, because I discerned not that which was ill, nor felt the affliction of my wounds, nor could I discern mine own darkness, because I was without thee, who art the true light, which illuminateth all men coming into the world. Woe be to me, they have any other part thereof; but only so far forth, as they are conserved by the Word, whereby all things are made. Let me therefore adhere to thee, O Word, that thou mayest conserve me. For as soon as I departed from thee, I had utterly perished in myself, but that thou, who hadst made me once, didst vouchsafe to make me yet again. I sinned, and thou didst visit me. I fell, & thou didst raise me. I was ignorant, & thou didst teach me. I was blind, and thou didst illuminate me. CHAP. VII. Of the manifold benefits of Almighty God. DEclare to me, O my God, how much, I, miserable creature, am bound to love thee. Declare to me, how much I am obliged to praise thee; & make me see, how much I must procure to please thee. Thunder down O Lord, from above, with a shrill, & steady voice, into the interior ear of my heart. Teach me, & save me, and I will praise thee, who didst create me, when I was nothing, who didst illuminate me, when I was in darkness; who didst revive me, when I was dead; and who hast fed me, from my very youth, with all thy good blessings. Yea and dost now nourish this unprofitable worm who is stinkeing, and rotteing in his sinnes, with all thy most excellent gifts. Open to me O thou key of David thou who openest, and no man shutteth, to whom thou openest: and who shutest, and no man openeth to him, to whom thou shutest. Open, I say, the gate of thy light towards me, that I may enter in, and see, & know and confess to thee, with my whole hart, because thy mercy towards me is great, and thou hast drawn my soul, out of that lower hell. O Lord, my God, how admirable and praiseworthy is thy Name, throughout the word? And what is man that thou shouldest be mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou shouldest visit him? O Lord thou hope of thy Saints, and thou tower of their strength: O God, thou life of my soul, whereby I live, and without which I die. Thou light of mine eyes, by which I see, and without which I am blind; thou joy of my hart, and thou delight of my spirit; I beseech thee that I may love thee, with my whole hart, and with my whole mind, & even with all the very bowels of my affection, since thyself didst first love me. And how came I to obtain this favour at thy hands, O thou Creator of the Heavens, and of the Earth, and of that deep abyss: Thou who haste no need of any thing, which is mine? Whence came I to be so happy, as that thou shouldest carry love to me? O thou Wisdom, which openest the mouths of dumb men: O thou Word whereby all things were made; open thou my mouth, endue me with the voice of praise, that I may recount all those benefits, which thou O Lord, hast bestowed on me, from the beginning. For behold, I am, because thou hast created me, and that thou wouldst create me, and number me out, in the multitudes of thy other creatures, thou didst preordeyne from all eternity, before thou madest any thing; in that beginning of the world, before thou didst extend, and spread the heavens abroad, nether yet, was there any abyss of the sea, nor hadst thou made the Earth, nor laid a foundation for the mountains nether yet had the fountains broken forth. Before all these things, I say, which thou madest by thy Word, thou didst foresee by the most certain providence of thy truth that I was to be thy creature, & thou wert resolved, that I should be so. And whence grew this benefit to me, O thou most benign Lord, most high God, most merciful Father, most puissant, & withal for ever meek Creator? What merits were there of mine? What means was there to make me so acceptable, that it should be pleasing in the sight of thy mighty Majesty, to create me? I had no being, and thou madest me of nothing. But what kind of thing didst thou make me? Not some drop of water: not some spark of fire? not some bird, some fish, some serpent, or any other unreasonable creature, not some stone, or piece of wood: Nor any thing of that kind, which only hath a being, or of that other kind, which hath not only a being, but growth, and sense; but beyond them all, thou wert pleased, that I should be of them, who have a being because I am; and of them who have a being, and increasing, because I am and grow; and of them which are, which grow, and which feel, because I am, I grow, and I feel. And thou hast created me, little inferior to the Angels; because I have received a power of knowing thee, which is common between them, and me. But yet I said well, in saying, that it was a little inferior. For they have that happy knowledge of thee, by express vision; whereas I have it but by hope; they have it face to face, and I, but by a glass as in a cloud: they have it perfectly, and I, but partly. CHAP. VIII. Of the future Dignity of Man. But when that shall come which is perfect, that will be evacuated which is imperfect: when also we shall see thee clearly, face to face, what shall now hinder us, to be but little inferior to the Angels, Whom thou, O Lord, dost vouchsafe to crown with the crown of hope, which is adorned with honour and glory; whom thou dost excessively honour, as thy friends; and as persons who are every way equals, and Peers of the Angel. Yea and thy truth saith this. For they are equal to the Angels and they are the sons of God. And what are they but sons of God, if they be equal to Angels. They shall indeed be sons of God, because the son of man, is made the son of God. When therefore I consider this, I am bold to say, that man is not somewhat less than the Angels: nay, he is not only equal to the Angels, but superior to them, because man is God, and God is a man, & not an Angel. And therefore I will say, that man is the most worthy crsature, because the Word which was in the beginning God, with God; the Word, whereby God said, let light be made, and light was made (that is the Angelical nature) the Word, Whereby God created all things, in the beginning: the same Word was made flesh, and dwelled amongst us, and we have seen his glory. Behold the glory, wherein I glory, when I glory as I ought. Behold the joy, wherewith I joy, when I joy as I ought. O Lord my God, my life, and the entire glory of my soul; I confess to thee O Lord, my God, that when thou didst create me capable of reason, thou didst, in some respect, make me equal to the Angels, because I may be perfected by thy word, so far, as that I may arrive to an equality with the Angels: and that I may have the adoption of thy sons, by thy only begotten Word▪ O Lord, by that beloved Son of thine in whom thou art well pleased; by that only heir, who is coeternal and consubstantial with thee, which is jesus Christ, our only Lord, and Redeemer, our Illuminator, & Comforter, our Advocate with thee, and the light of our eyes; who is our life, our Saviour, & our only hope, who loved us more than himself; by whom we have confidence, laid up for us with thee, & a firm hope, and access in coming to thee, because he gave power to such as would believe in his Name, that they might become the sons of God. Let me give praise to thy Name, O Lord, who by creating me, according to thine image, and likeness, haste ordained me to be capable of so great glory, as that I may be made thy son. Trees are not capable of this; stones are not capable; nor in fine, any of those things, which are moved, or grow in the air, or in the Sea, or on the earth, because he did not give them power, by the Word, to become his sons; because they are not capable of reason. For this power doth consist in reason, whereby we know God. But he gave this power to men, whom he created capable of reason, according to his own image, and likeness. And I also, O Lord, am, by thy grace, a man, and by grace, I may become thy Son, which they cannot be. From whence came this favour to me, O Lord, thou sovereign truth, and thou true soweraignity, & thou who art the beginning of all thy creatures? whence came this blessing to me, that I had a capacity to become the son of God, which they had not? Thou art he, who remainest for ever, who didst create all things at once. At once thou didst create men, and beasts, and stones, and the plants of the earth. No merits, of any of them, did precede, no former privilege was due to them. For thou didst create them all, out of thine own mere goodness; and all the creatures were equal in merits, because none of them had any merits at all. And how then grew thy goodness, to be greater towards this thy creature, whom thou haste made rational, then towards all the rest, which are not endued with reason? Why am not I as all they are; and why are not all they as I am? or why at least am not I alone like them? What merits were there of mine? What favour was dew to me, that thou shouldest create me capable of being thy son, which yet thou wouldst deny to all them? Farr be it from me, O Lord, to think that this proceeded from any merits of mine. It was thy only grace, thy only goodness which made me partaker of the sweetness thereof. Now grant me therefore, O Lord, of that grace, whereby thou didst create me of nothing; grant me, I beseeh thee of that grace, to the end that I may be grateful to thee, for the same. CHAP. IX. Of the Omnipotency of God. THy Omnipotent hand, which is ever one, and the same, did create the Angels in Heaven, and the base worms on Earth; and yet thou wert not greater in the creation of the former, and less in the creation of the later. For as no other hand but thine was able to create an Angel; so nether could any hand but thine, create the poorest worm. As no hand but thine, had been able to create the Heavens; so could none else, create the lightest leaf of any tree. As no hand but thine, could create any body of ours; so none but thine, could make any one hair of our heads, either black or white, Thy only Omnipotent hand, doth all these things; to which all things, are possible, a like. For it is not more possible for it, to create a miserable worm than an Angel; nor more impossible to extend, & spread abroad the whole heaven, than one single leaf; nor is it easier to frame one hair of our heads, then to make our whole body; nor is it harder for it, to plant and build the earth upon the waters, than the waters upon the earth. But whatsoever he had a mind to do, he hath done as he was pleased to do both in heaven and on earth, and in all the deep Abysses, so hath he framed things, & me among them all; as he would, & could, and knew them. Thy hand, O Lord, could have made me a stone, a bird; or a serpent, or any other brute creature; and thou knowest how to do it, but thou wouldst not, through thy great goodness to me. Why therefore am I not some stone, or some tree, or some brute beast; but because thy goodness hath ordained otherwise concerning me; and that thou shouldest so ordain; was not caused by any precedent merits of mine. CHAP. X, Of the incomprehensible praise of God. WHence came this mercy to me O Lord, and whence shall I be able to get power, wherewith I may be able to praise thee. For as thou madest me without me, according to thine own good pleasure, so art thou praised in thyself, as thou art best pleased, without me. Thy praise O Lord, is thy very self. Let all thy works praise thee, according to the multitude of thy greatness: Thy praise, O Lord, is incomprehensible. It is not comprehended by the hart, nor to be measured by the mouth, nor received by the ear; For these things pass on away, but thy praise, O Lord, remains for ever. The cogitation of man begins, and his cogitation ends; the voice sounds and the voice is blown over; the ear hears, and it leaves of to hear; but thy praise endures for ever. Who is therefore he, that shall praise thee? What man shall be able to announce thy praise? Thy praise is not transitory, it is eternal. He praiseth thee, who believes thee to be thine own praise. He praiseth thee, who knoweth, that he cann never arrive to praise thee, enough. Thy praise is everlasting, & doth never pass. In thee is our praise, and in thee shall my soul, be praised. It is not we who praise thee but it is thou who praiseth thyself; and in thyself and by thyself, and we also have our praise in thee. Then have we true praise when we have praise from thee: when light approveth light. For thou O true Praise, dost impart true praise; but as often as we seek praise, from any other but thee, so often do we lose thy praise, because that other is transitory, but thine, eternal. If we seek that praise which is transitory, we shall lose the praise which is eternal. If we desire that which is eternal, let us not love that, which is transitory. O thou eternal Praise, O thou my Lord, and my God, from whom all praise proceedeth, and without whom, there is no praise I am not able to praise thee without thee: but let me possess thee, and I shall praise thee. For who, O Lord am I, that, of myself, I should be able to praise thee? dust, and ashes I am; a dead and stinkeing dog I am. I am a very worm, and putrefaction itself. Who am I, that I should praise thee, O thou most Mighty Lord, and thou God of the spirits of all flesh; who inhabitest Eternity? Shall darkness be able to praise light or death, life? Thou art light, and I am darkness; thou art life, and I am death. Shall vanity be able to praise truth? Thou art truth, but I am a man, as vane, as vanity itself. How then O Lord, shall I be able to praise thee? Shall my misery be able to praise thee? Shall stinks be able to praise precious odours? Shall the mortality of a man, who is here to day, and will be gone to morrow, be able to praise thee? Shall man who is rottenness itself, be able to praise thee? and the son of man, who is no better, than a base worm? Shall he be able to praise thee, O Lord, who is conceived, and borne, and bred up in sin? verily thy praises cannot be grateful in the mouth of a sinner. O Lord my God, let thy incomprehensible power; thy wisdom which cannot be circumscribed, and thy goodness which cannot be declared, praise thee. Let thy supereminent clemency, thy superabondant mercy, & thy sempiternal virtue, and divinity praise thee. Let thy most Omnipotent fortitude, thy supreme benignity, and charity, whereby thou didst create us, O Lord thou God of my soul, praise thee. CHAP. IX. Of the hope, which is to be erected towards God. But I, who am thy creature, reposing under the shadow of thy Wings, will hope in thy goodness, whereby thou didst create me. Assiste thy creature, who was created by thy benignity; let not that perish through my malice, which hath been wrought by thy goodness. Let not that perish by my misery, which hath been framed by thy mercy. For what doth it profit thee, to have created me, if I shall descend to hell, through mine own corruption? For haste thou, o Lord, in vain made all the sons of men? Thou hast created me O Lord, and therefore govern that which thou hast created. Do not, O Lord, despise the the work of thine own hands. Thou madest me of nothing, and if thou do not govern me, O Lord, I shall again return into my nothing. For as once I was not, O Lord & then thou madest me of nothing; so if thou do not govern me, yet once again I shall of myself, be reduced to nothing. Help me; O Lord my life, and let me not perish in my wickedness. If thou hadst not created me, O Lord, I had not been; and because thou didst create me, Behold I am. But if now thou do not govern me, behold I am no more. For neither my merits, nor any privilege of mine: compelled thee to create me, but thine own, most benign bounty & clemency. Let that charity of thine, O Lord my God, which compelled thee to create me, I beseech thee, oblige thee to govern me. For what doth it profit me, that thy charity constrained thee to create me, if now I perish in my misery: and if thy right hand do not perfect me. Let that mercy compel thee, O Lord my God, to save that which thou hast created, which compelled thee to create that which thou hadst not created. Let charity overcome thee to make thee save, which overcame thee, to make thee create: because now that charity, is not less than it was. For that very charity, is thy very self, who art the same for ever. Thy hand O Lord is not so abbreviated, as that it cannot save us; nor is thine ear out of tune, that it cannot hear us; but my sins have made a division betwixt thee and me, between light, and darkness; between the image of death, and life: between vanity, and verity, between this lunatic inconstant life of mine, & thine, which is capable of no change, or end· CHAP. XII. Of the snares of Concupiscence. THese are those shadows of darkness, wherewith I am covered, in the Abyss of this dark prison, where I lie prostrate, till such time as the day may dawn, and the black shadows be removed; and the light may be made, in the firmament of thy power. Let the voice of our Lord in power. The voice of our Lord in magnificence, say thus. Let light be made, and let darkness be driven away, & let the earth appear dry, & sprout forth fresh, and green plants. which may bring forth seed and the good fruit of the justice of thy Kingdom. O Lord, our Father, and our God, thou light, whereby all things live, and without which all things are accounted for dead, do not leave me in my wicked thoughts, and, do not continue me, in the pride of mine eyes. Take from me all concupiscence, and deliver me not over to have an irreverent, and unbridled mind: but possess thou my heart, that it may be ever thinkeing upon thee. Illuminate mine eyes, that they may see thee, and let them not be vanely extolled in thy sight, who art eternal glory, but let them have humble thoughts, and not be employed upon certain wonderful things, which are too high. Let them behold those things, which are on the right hand, and not those which are on the left hand, which are misliked by thee; and let thine eyelids point out the steps, which I am to make. For even thine eyelids, do examen the sins of men. Dispatch away, & destroy my concupiscence, by that sweetness of thine which thou hast laid up, for such as fear thee, that I may covett thee, with an everlasting desire. Lest otherwise, the interior gust of my soul being enticed, & deceived by vane objects, may esteem sweet to be bitter, & bitter, sweet; darkness to be light, and light, darkness. That I may be delivered, out of the midst of so many pitfalls, which are spread every where, by the enemy, over the face of this way, wherein we walk, for the taking of sinners souls, whereof the whole world is full. Which one, who saw would not pass over in silence, but said, For whatsoever is in the world, is either concupiscence of the eyes, concupiscence of the flesh, or pride of life. Behold, O Lord my God, how all the word is full of the snares of concupiscence, which they have prepared for my feet. And who shall be able to escape these snares? It must certainly be he, from whom thou shalt have taken the pride of his eyes that the concupiscence thereof, may not catch him; and from whom thou shalt have taken the concupiscence of the flesh, lest he be taken by it; and from whom thou shalt have taken an irreverent, and unbridled mind; lest pride of life should craftily deceive him. O how happy is he, to whom thou voutchsafest these things: for he shall pass on in safety. And now, O my Redeemer, I beseech thee by thyself, assist me, that I may not be cast down, in the sight of mine enemies, being enwrapped in those snares, which they have prepared for my feet, that so they may oppress my soul. But deliver me, O thou strength of my salvation, lest else mine enemies, who hate thee, may contemn, and deride me. Rise up, O Lord my God, O thou strong Champion of mine, and let mine enemies be dispersed, and let them, who hate thee, be made to fly, from before thy face. As wax dissolveth in the present of the fire, so let sinners perish, before thy face And as for me, let me be hidden up, in that secret of thy countenance, and let me rejoice with thy children being satisfied with all good things. And thou, O Lord God, the Father of orphans, and the mother of thy pupils, harken to the loud and woeful cry of thy children; and spread abroad thy wings, that we may fly under them, from the face of the enemy, O thou tower of the strength of Israel, who dost not slumber, nor sleep, whilst thou keepest Israel; because the enemy who impugneth Israel, doth nether slumber, nor sleep. CHAP. XIII. Of the misery of man, and the benefits of God. O Light. which no other light doth see. O brightness, which no other brightness can discern. O light, which obscureth all light. O brightness, which blindeth all other brightness. O light, from which all light, O brightness, from which all other brightness grows. O light, in respect of which all light is darkness and all brightness, blackness; Light in whose presence, all obscurity is bright, and all darkness light. Sovereign light, which no cloud can overshadow, and no dark mist, make dull; and no fog obscure, which no close prison shutteth up, & which no shadow can separate. Light, which doth illuminate all things: all together, once and ever, O swallow me up, I beseech thee; into that Abyss of thy clarity; that I may on all sides see thee, in thee; and myself in thee; and all things under thee. Do not forsake me, and let not the shadows of mine ignorance increase, and my sins be multiplied. Without thee, all things are darkness; to me all things are evil, because there is nothing good without thee, who art the true, the only. & the sovereign good. This I confess, and this I know, O Lord my God, that wheresoever I am without thee, it goeth ill with me; not only without me; but even with in me also. For all abundance whatsoever, which is not my God, is but mere beggary to me. Then shall I be satisfied, when thy glory shall appear. And thou, O Lord, who art my very life of beatitude; grant that I may confess my misery to thee, from the time that the variety of temporal things, did dissipate and divide me, when I fell, through the treachery of my carnal senses, from thee, who art that unity of goodness, that one sovereign good. And it divided me from that one, amongst many things: and I grew thereby, in to a laborious kind of abundance, and a copious kind of want; whilst I would be seeking after this, and that; & was satisfied with nothing, so long as I found not in myself, that incommutable, and singular, and undivided one good; which having once obtained, I need nothing, nor have grief for nothing; and which possessing once, the desire of my whole soul is fully satisfied. Woe is me, what misery is this upon misery, when the wretched soul flies from thee; with whom it might ever abound, and rejoice; and when it followeth the world, by means whereof, it is still in want, and pain? The world calls me after it, and I faint in following it. Thou callest me, O Lord, and I am all refreshed by thee. And yet I am so perversely miserable, as to follow that, which makes me faint, rather that, which refresheth me. This is directly the infirmity, which I am subject too, O cure it, thou Physician of souls, that I may confess to thee, (O thou salvation of my soul, with my whole hart) all that abundance of thy benefits, wherewith thou hast fed me from my very youth; and wherewith thou wilt feed me to the extremity of my old age. I beseech thee by thyself, that thou forsake me not. Thou didst make me, when I was not: Thou didst redeem me, when I was lost: For lost I was, and dead. And to him who was dead, thou didst descend, thou tookest mortality upon thee; nay thyself being a King, to thou didst descend to thy slave; and redeem that slave thou deliver ledst thyself. That I might live, thou undertookest to die: Thou overcamest death, and by pulling down thyself thou didst raise me up. I perished, I was sold away, & thou camest down to redeem me; & thou didst love me so much; as to buy me, upon the price of thine own blood. O Lord, thou didst love me more than thyself; since thou didst resolve to die for me. By so costly a bargain, and at so high a price, thou didst reduce me from banishement; thou didst redeem me from servitude, thou didst retire me from punishment. Thou didst call me in thy Name; thou didst mark me out with thy blood, that the memory of thee, might for ever stand before me, and that my hart might never recede from him, who did not refuse the Cross for me. Thou didst anoint me with that oil, which belonged in chief, to thyself; that as thou art Christ, so from thee, I might be called a Christian. And in thy hands thou hast written me; that thou mightest have a continual memory of me, with thee; upon condition that the continual memory of thee, might be still with me. Thus hath thy grace and mercy, ever prevented me. For thou, O my deliverer, hast often freed me, from many, and great dangers. When I wandered, thou broughtest me back to the way, when I was ignorant, thou didst teach me; when I sinned, thou didst reprove me; when I was in sorrow, thou didst relieve me; when I was in despair, thou didst comfort me; when I fell, thou didst raise me: when I stood, thou heldest me: when I walked thou didst lead me; when I slept, thou didst guard me; and when I cried out to thee, thou didst hear me, CHAP. XIV. That God doth consider the works, and purposes of mankind, with a perpetual attention. O Lord my God, and the life of my soul, thou hast imparted these, and many other benefits to me, whereof it would be a dear thing for me, to be ever speaking, ever thinkeing, and ever giving thanks. That I might for ever praise, and love thee for all thy good blessings with my whole heart, and my whole soul, and my whole mind, and my whole strength, and with all the very marrow, and the most intimate parts of my affection. and with all the parts and powers of my whole man, O Lord my God, who art the happy sweetness of all them, who are delighted in thee. But thine eyes, have seen my imperfections: Those eyes, I say, of thine, which are far brighter than the Sun, looking down round about, at ease, upon the ways of men, and upon the profound Abyss, and they do every where contemplate, both the good and bad. For as thou dost preside over all things (thou being all, for ever, present every where, and takeing particular care, of all these things, which thou hast created, because thou hatest none of them, which thou hast made) so also dost thou consider all my paces, and steps, and dost ever keep a watchful guard over me, day and night; and like a perpetual centinel, dost diligently note my ways; as if thou hadst forgotten all the whole world of thy other creatures, both in heaven and earth, & didst not care for the rest. For nether would the light of thine own unchangeable sight, increase in thee, though thou shouldest behold, but any one only thing; nether is it diminished, although thou behold divers, and innumerable things. For as thou dost perfectly, and at once consider any one thing by one only act of seeing, so doth thy whole sight, most perfectly, and that at once behold the whole of every particular thing, how different soever they may be among themselves. And as it considereth all, so it considereth one, and as any one, so every one, and all of them at once, dost thou consider, without any division, or mutation, or diminution. Therefore all thou, in all time, without time, dost consider all me, at once, and that continually, as exactly, as if thou hadst nothing else to consider. And so therefore, dost thou stand in guard of me, as if thou wouldst attend to me alone, & didst forget all the rest. For thou dost ever show thyself to be present, and if thou find me ready, thou dost ever offer thyself also ready. Whither soever I go, O Lord, thou forsakest me not, unless I be the first to forsake thee, wheresoever I be, thou departest not away, for thou art every where; and wheresoever I go I shall find thee. By what means may I be kept from perishing, without thee, since without thee, I cannot be at all. I confess that whatsoever I do, whether it be little, or much, I do it all, in thy presence; and whatsoever that be, thou seest it better than myself. For whatsoever I do, thou findest thyself present there, as a perpetual spectator of all my cogitations, intentions, delectations, & operations. O Lord, all my desires, & thoughts, are ever standing before thee. Thou discernest, O Lord, whence the spirit comes, where it is, & whither it goes. For thou art the ponderer, and waigher out of all spirits; and whether that root be sweet or bitter, from which the fair leaves of our actions are sent out, thou, as an internal judge, dost know best. Yea and thou dost sift most subtilely, into the most secret parts and pith of those very roots; & dost not only observe & number, & contemplate, and keep account of the intention, by the most exquisite truth of thy light: but also of the most profound, and hidden sap of that root; to the end that thou mayest repay to every one, not only according to their works, or their express intention, but also according to that interior and original spirit of the root of their actions, from whence the intention of him that worketh, doth proceed. To whatsoever I tend; when I work; whatsoever I think, in whatsoever I am delighted; thine ears hear me, thine eyes see me, and consider me. Thou dost mark, and judge, and note, and write in thy book, whether it be good, or bad: to the end, that afterward, thou mayest render either rewards for that which is good; or torments for that which is evil: When thy books shall be opened, all souls shall be judged, according to those things which shall be written in those books. And this perhaps is that, which thou didst already say to us: I will consider the last things of those men. And that also, which is said of thee. O Lord, He considereth the end of all men, For thou O Lord dost in all those things, which we do, more attend to the end of our intention, then to the act of our operation. And when I consider those things diligently, O Lord my God, who art so terrible, and full of strength, I am alike confounded between huge fear, and shame. For a mighty necessity is imposed vpon us, of living with rectitude and justice, who do all the things which we do before the eyes of a judge, who seeth all things. CHAP. XV. Tat man of himself can do nothing without divine Grace. O Thou most mighty, and Omnipotent God, the God of the spirits of all flesh; whose eyes are over all the ways of the sons of Adam, from the day of their nativity, to that other of their death, to the end that thou mayest reward every one of them, according to their works, whether they be good or bad: Teach me, how I may confess my poverty to thee. For once I said that I was rich, and that I wanted nothing, & I did not know the while that indeed I was poor, and naked, and a miserable wretch. I believed that I was somewhat, when yet indeed, I was nothing. I told myself that I would become wise, and I turned a stark fool. I thought myself to be prudent, but I was deceived. And now I see that all is thy gift, without whom we can do nothing. For unless thou, O Lord, keep the City, he watcheth but in vain, who pretends to keep it. Thou hast taught me thus, to know thee, whilst thou didst leave me, for a while, and prove me; not that thou mightest know me thereby, but for my sake, that so I might come to know myself. For (as I was saying, o Lord) I thought once that I was somewhat of myself; I conceived, that I was sufficient by myself; nor did I discern, that thou wert he that governed me, till thou didst a little withdraw thyself from me. And then presently I fell, and so I saw, and knew, that thou didst govern me; and that it was of myself, that I fell; and that it was of thee, that I rose again. Thou, O Light, didst open mine eyes, and didst rouse me up, and illuminate me; and I saw, that the life of man upon earth, is all temptation; and that no flesh must presume to glory before thee, for so no man living can be justified. For if there be any good in him, whether it be great, or little, thy gift it is, and nothing is ours, but that which is naught. Of what therefore shall any flesh be able to vaunt? Shall he glory in sin. This is not glory but misery. May he glory in that which is good? No: For he may not glory in that which belongeth to another. Thine O Lord, is the Good, and thine must be the Glory. For he who seeketh glory to himself, and not to thee, out of the good he doth, that man is no better, than a thief, and robber, who had a mind to bereave thee of thy glory. For he who will be praised for any gift of thine, and seeketh not thy glory, but his own therein, although he be praised by men, for that gift of thine, yet he is dispraised by thee; in regard that he sought not so much thy glory by it, as his own. And now he who is praised by men, whilst thou dispraysest him, shall not be defended by men, when thou judgest him, nor delivered by them, when thou condemnest him. But thou, O Lord, who didst frame me in my mother's womb, do not suffer me to fall under so great a reproof, as that I should be charged with procureing to rob thee, of thy glory. To thee be glory, of whom all good things are; and to us, confusion of face, and misery, unless thou vouchsafe to have mercy on us. But thou hast mercy, O Lord, thou hast mercy upon us all, who hatest none of those things which thou hast made; and who bestowest of thy good gifts, upon us; & dost enrich us, O Lord our God, with thy most excellent graces. For thou lovest poor creatures, and thou enrichest them with thy abundance. And now behold, O Lord, we are thy poor children, and thy little, little flock; open thy gates to us, and thy poor shall eat, and be satisfied, & they who seek thee, and praise thee. I do also know, O Lord, and I confess, (for I am taught to do it by thee) that they only who know they are poor, and confess their poverty to thee, shall be enriched by thee; and they who conceive themselves to be rich, whereas indeed they are poor; will be found excluded from thy riches. For my part therefore, I confess my poverty to thee, O Lord my God, and let all glory remain to thee. For all that, which hath been well done by me, is thine. O Lord, I confess to thee, as thou hast taught me, that I am nothing, but an universality of vanity, & a shadow of death, and a black kind of Abyss, and a plot of earth, which is all empty, and unfruitful, and which shoots not up one leaf without thy blessing; and of itself, it yields no other fruit, than confusion, sin and death. If ever I had any good thing, I received it of thee; Whatsoever good I have now is thine, and of thee I have it. If ever I stood fast, I stood by thee; but whensoever I fell, of myself I fell; and for ever had I weltered in that mire, if thou hadst not raised me. And for ever had I continued blind, unless thou hadst illuminated me. When I fell, I had never risen, unless thou hadst reached forth thine hand. And when afterward thou didst raise me, I had instantly retournend to fall, unless thou hadst sustained me: and I had perished very often, unless thou hadst governed me. So perpetually, O Lord, so perpetually was I prevented by thy mercy, and grace; delivering me from all my sins, saveing me from all such as are past; solliciteing me against such as were present, and fortifying me, against such as might be future; Cutting of, before my face, those snares of sins, by preventing the occasions, and causes thereof. For, unless thou hadst also done this favour to me, I might have committed any sin in the whole world. And I know, O Lord, that there is no kind of sin, which any one man did ever commit, which another man may not also commit, if the help of the Creator, whereby man is made, be wanting. But thou art the cause why I committed them not: Thou didst command that I should abstain from them, & thou didst infuse thy grace, that I might believe in thee. For thou, O Lord didst govern me for thyself; and thou didst keep me both for thyself, and for myself: and thou didst give me light & grace to the end that I might not commit adultery and every other sin. CHAP. XVI. Of the manifold temptations of the devil. THe Tempter was absent, and thou wert the cause that he was absent. Fit time, and place for sin were wanting; and thou wert the cause that they were wanting. The Tempter was present, and nether time, nor place, were wanting; but thou didst keep me from consenting. The Tempter came to me, all ugly and frightful as he is; and thou didst comfort me so far, as to make me despise him. The Tempter came to me all strong, and armed; and to the end that he might not conquer me; thou restraynedst him, & didst strengthen me. The Tempter came transfigured into an Angel of light; and to the end that he might not deceive me, thou rebukedest him, and thou didst illuminate me, that I might know him. For he is that great, and red dragon, that ancient serpent, and he is called the Devil, and Satan, having seven heads, and ten horns. Whose employment is, to inveigle this great huge Sea, wherein innumerable creatures are still creeping, creatures; great, and small; that is to say, several kinds of devils, who study nothing else, day and night, but how they may walk theyre round, seeking whom they may devour, unless thou deliver them. For this is that ancient Dragon, who sprung up first, in that paradise of pleasure, and who with his tail, draws the third part of the stars of heaven after him, and brings them down to the earth; he who is poison, corruptes the waters of the world, that so men who drink thereof, may die, and who tramples upon gold, like so much dirt; and into whose mouth, the river of jordan flows; and he is grown to that presumption, that he fears none at all. And who shall be able to defend us from the crushing of his teeth? who shall be able to deliver us out of his jaws, but thou, O Lord, who hast broken all the heads of that huge Dragon. Help us, O Lord, and spread thy wings over us, that so we may fly under them, from the face of this dragon, who persecuteth us. And do thou defend us by thy shield, from the push of his horns. For to this, doth he direct his continual study: upon this is his chief desire employed, that he may devour the souls which thou hast created. And therefore, O my God, we cry out to thee; deliver us from this daily adversary of ours, who whether we sleep, or wake, or eat, or drink, or whatsoever else we do, is pressing upon us, by all means, and by many frauds, and tricks, he is addressing poisoned arrows against us, both privately and publicly, that so he may destroy our souls. And yet O Lord, so strangely miserable are we made, as that although we see this Dragon continually coming towards us, with his mouth wide open, ready to devour us; yet nevertheless, we sleep, and we are euen wanton again in our sloth as if we were secure before him, who yet covets nothing but our destruction. Our enemy, that he may kill us, is continually awake, and wants his sleep; and yet we, will not so much as wake from sleep, that we may defend ourselves. Behold, he hath spread infinite snares before our feet; and he hath stuffed all our ways with several kinds of gynnes, whereby to catch our souls; and who then shall be able to free himself? He hath laid snares in riches, and snares in poverty; snares in meat, in drink, in pleasure, in sleeping, and waking; he hath spread snares in words and in works, and in all our ways. But thou, O Lord, deliver us from the snares of the hunter, and from that bitter word; that we may confess to thee, and say: Blessed be our Lord who hath not given us to a pray to their teeth. Our souls is delivered as a sparrow might be, out of the hunter's snare; The snare is broken, and we are delivered. CHAP. XVII. That God is the Light of just Persons. ANd thou, O Lord, who art my Light, illuminate mine eyes, that I may see and walk in thy light, and not stumble upon the snares of the enemy. For who shall be able to avoid such a multitude of snares, unless he see them; and who shall be able to see them, unless he be illuminated by thy light? For that father of darkness, hides all those snares, in his own darkness; that all they may be taken by them, who are in his darkness; and who are the sons of darkness; not discerning thy light, wherein, whosoever walketh needs not fear. For he who walks by day, stumbles not; but he stumbles who walks by night: for the light is not in him. Thou O Lord art Light, thou art the light of the sons of light; thou art the Sun, which knoweth not what belongs to setting; that day wherein thy children walk without stumbling; and without which, all they who walk are in darkness, as being destitute of thee, who art the light of the world. Behold we discover daily, that by how much the more, any man is estranged from thee, who art the true light, so much the more intricately is he wrapped up in the darkness of sin. And how much the more he is in darkness, so much the less can he discern the snares, which are spread for him, in his ways. And so by not discerneing them, he falleth often into them, and is taken by them; & which deserves to strike us full of horror, such a man, doth not so much as know, that he is fallen: Now he, who knows not that he hath taken a fall; will care so much the less to rise, as he still conceiveth, that he stands. But thou, O Lord, my God, thou true light of the mind, illuminate now mine eyes that I may see thee, and know thee, and not tumble headlong down, in the sight of mine enemies. For this main adversary of ours, doth labour even to exterminate us outright; whilst we, the while, beg of thee, that thou wilt make him melt before our face, as wax doth, upon the approach of fire. For he, O Lord, is that cruel thief, first, and last, who took counsel, how he might rob thee of thy glory, but so, being puffed and swollen up, he burst, and fell upon his face, and thou didst precipitate him down from that Holy Hill of thine; and from the midst of those bright stones, in the midst, whereof he had once been walkeing. And now, O Lord my God, and my life, he never giveth over to persecute thy children, ever since he fell. And out of his hatred to thee, O Mighty King, he procureth to destroy thy creature, which thy Omnipotent goodness hath created, according to thine own Image; to the end that he may possess thy glory, which himself lost, by pride. But crush thou him to pieces, O strong Champion, before he devour thy lambs; and illuminate us, that we may discern the snares, which he hath prepared for us; and make us able to escape, and arrive to thee, O thou joy of Israel. Thou best knowest all these things thou knowest his contentious spirit, and his most stiff neck. Nor do I speak of these things, as pretending to discover them to thee, who knowest all things, and from whom no little thought can lie hid. But make my just complaint against this enemy of mine, before the feet of thy Majesty; that so thou mayest both condemn him, and save us, thy Children, Whose strength thou art. This enemy of ours, O Lord, is full of craft, and shifts, nor can those intricate ways of his, be easily traced out, no nor so much as the air of his countenance be discerned by us, unless we be illuminated by thee. For sometimes he is here, & sometimes he is there. Now he shows himself like a lamb, and then like a wolf; now like darkness, and then like light; and according to the several qualities of persons, according to the variety of times, and places; and according to the momentary change of things, he suggesteth several temptations. For to the end that he may deceive sad people, he pretends himself to be sad for company. To the end that he may delude, such as are in joy, he feigns himself also to rejoice. That he may beguile such as are spiritual, he transformeth himself, into an Angel of light. That he may insinuate himself, and by that means crush such as are strong, he takes the semblance of a lamb, that he may devour such as are meek, he borrows the face of a Wolf. All these things he takes upon him, according to the similitude and proportion of the temptations, which he means to use. As some, he frights with a nocturnal fear, others, by the arrow which flies by day, others, by the business which walks by night; others, by express assault, and others by that devil of high noon. Now, who is he that can think himself a match for this enemy so far, as that he may so much as know him; and who did ever reach to the bottom of his craft? Who shall reveal the making of his garment to us, and who shall make us know the walk of his teeth? Behold he hideth his arrows in his quiver, and he covers his snares, under a show of light; & so he is less subject to be understood, unless O Lord, O thou hope of ours, we beg light from thee, whereby we may discern all things. For not only doth he strive to deceive us in the sensual works of flesh and blood; nor only in the exercise of vice, which is easily discerned; but even amongst our most spiritual actions, he hideth certain subtle snares; & under the colour of virtue, he puts on vice, & transforms himself into an Angel of light. these, and many other things, O Lord our God, doth this very son of belial, this Satan, endeavour to bring against us. And now as a Lion, then as a Dragon, both manifestly and secretly, interiorly, and exteriorly, both by day and night, he is laying trains for us, that so he may destroy our souls. But thou, O Lord, deliver us, thou who savest such as hope in thee, that our enemy may have cause to be sorry for as much as may concern us; but that thou O Lord our God, mayst be praised in us. CHAP. XVIII. Of the benefits of God. But let me the son of thy handmaid, who have commended myself into thy hands, confess to thee, O my deliverer, with my whole heart in these little poor confessions of mine, and let me call to mind, all those good blessings, which thou hast vouchsafed to bestow on me, from my youth, and in my whole life. For I well know that ingratitude doth much offend thee, which is the root of all spiritual mischief; and a kind of dry and parching wound, which blasteth all goodness; and it shutteth up the fountains of divine mercy towards man; and by this means, both our ill deeds which were dead get life again; & our good deeds which live, do quickly grow to die, and have no more life afterward. But as for me, O Lord, I will give thanks to thee. Let not me, O thou my deliverer, be ungrateful to thee, since thou hast freed me. How often had that Dragon even swallowed me up, and thou O Lord didst draw me out of his mouth? How often have I sinned, when he was ready to have devoured me, but thou O Lord my God didst defend me? When I did wickedly against thee, when I transgressed thy commandments, he stood ready to snatch me away into hell, but thou forbadest him. I offended thee, and the while, thou defendedest me. I did not fear him, and yet thou didst preserve me. I departed from thee, & made offer of myself to mine enemy; but thou didst fright him so, as that he should not dare to carry me away. These benefits didst thou bestow upon me, O Lord my God; and I wretched creature knew it not. Full often hast thou freed me, from the very jaws of the Devil, and snatched me out of the mouth of the Lion; and full often hast thou brought me back again from hell, though I was ignorant thereof. For I descended even towards the very gates of hell, and thou heldest me back from going in. I drew near the gates of death, and thou wert the cause why they opened not themselves to receive me. Thou also, O my Saviour, hast often delivered me from corporal death, when I was subject to great sickness. And when I found myself in many dangers, by sea, by land, by fire, by sword, and many other ways; thou wert ever delivering me, ever present to me, and ever saveing me with great mercy. For thou, O Lord, didst well know, that if death had then seized upon me, hell had possessed my soul, and I had been damned for ever. But thy mercy and thy grace, O Lord my God, prevented me, and gave me deliverance from that death of my body, and consequently from the death of my soul. These and many other benefits didst thou impart to me, but I was blind, and knew them not, till I was illuminated by thee. But now, O thou light of my soul, O Lord my God, my life, by which I live, and the light of mines eyes, by which I see; Behold, thou hast illuminated me, and now I know thee, and confesse myself to live by the gift of thy hand; and I give thanks to thee Which though they be mean, and poor, & full of disproportion to thy benefits, yet they are the best, which my frailty can afford. For thou alone, art my God, my benign Creator, who dost love our souls, and hatest none of those things, which thou hast made. Behold, I who am the greatest of those sinners, whom thou hast saved (to the end that I may give an example to others, of thy most benign piety) will confess thy great benefits to me: For thou hast snatched me out of that lower hell, once, twice, and thrice, and a hundred, and a thousand times. And indeed, I was ever tending towards Hell, and thou wert ever drawing me back. And thou mightest justly have damned me a thousand times, if thou hadst been so disposed. But thou wouldst not, because thou lovest souls, O Lord my God, and thou dissemblest the sins of men, that so they may come to penance, and there is much mercy in all thy ways Now therefore I see these things, O Lord my God, and I know them, by thy light; and my soul doth even faint, and is sick with love, upon the consideration of thy great mercy towards me; since thou hast snatched my soul, out of that lower Hell, and hast brought me back again, to life. For I was all plunged in death, and thou hast wholly revived me. Be therefore all my life and being thine; and I do wholly offer my whole self up to thee. Let my whole spirit, my whole heart, my whole body, and my whole life, live to thee, O thou my sweet life; for thou hast delivered me wholly, that thou mightest possess me wholly, thou hast entirely repaired me, that so again thou mayest have me entirely. Let me therefore love thee, O Lord, my strength; let me love thee, O thou unspeakable exultation of my soul. And let me live now not to myself but to thee. My whole life which perished by my misery, was raised up by thy mercy, thou who art that merciful God, and full of pity, which thou dost extend, in thy goodness, to thousands of such as love thy Name. therefore O Lord my God, and my sanctifier, hast thou commanded in thy Law, that I should love thee with my whole heart, with my whole soul, with my whole mind, with my whole strength, and with all the powers I have. Yea and with the most internal marrow of all my affections and this, in all the hours, and moments of my time, wherein I am enjoying the benediction of thy mercies. For I should ever perish, but that thou dost ever govern me. I should ever die; but that thou dost ever quicken me. And thou dost oblige me to thee, in every moment of my life; since in every moment thereof, thou impartest great benefits to me. As therefore, there is no hover or point of time in my whole life, wherein I am not assisted by thy benefits; so also ought there not to be any moment, wherein I should not have thee before the eyes of my mind; and wherein I should not love thee with my whole strength. But even this I cannot do, save by thy gift only to whom every good gift belongeth, and every excellent grace is descending from thee the Father of Lights, with whom there is no transmutation, nor shadow of change. For it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of thee, taking mercy that we love thee. Thine, O Lord is this gift to whom every good thing belongeth. Thou commandest that thou be beloved: Give us that which thou commandest, and then, command us what thou wilt. CHAP. XIX. Of the fervour of charity. I Love thee, O my God, and I am ever desiring to love thee more. For in very deed, thou art more sweet, than any honey; more nutritive than any milk; and more clear than any light. Therefore art thou more dear to me, them gold, or silver, or precious stone. And whatsoever delightful thing I had in the world, was displeasing to me, in comparison of thy sweetness, and the order of thy house which I loved. O thou fire which ever burnest, and art never quenched; O love, which is ever boiling hot and never growest lukewarm; do thou inflame me. Let me, I say, be wholly inflamed by thee; and let me wholly love thee. For he loves thee too little, who loves any thing together with thee, which he loves not for thy sake. Make me love thee, O Lord, because thou didst first love me. And how shall I find words, whereby I may unfold the notions which I have of thy singular love to me, testified by those innumerable benefits, by which thou hast trained me up, from the beginning? For after the benefit of the creation, when in the beginning thou didst make me of nothing, after thine own Image, doing me honour, and exalting me beyond the rest of thy creatures, which thou madest; and innobling me with the light of thy countenance, which thou didst stamp upon the entry of my hart; whereby thou didst dissever me, both from insensible creatures, and from brute beasts, which are endued with sense, and thou mad'st me, not much inferior to the Angels; yet even this, seemed not enough, in the sight of thy deity. For since that time, thou hast entertained, and nourished me, with daily and singular, and great presents of thy benefits, without intermission. And thou hast given me comfort, and made me suck, like some little tender infant of thine, at the breasts of thy consolation. For to the end that I might yield thee my entire service, thou hast appointed, that whatsoever thou hast made should serve me. CHAP. XX. That God hath submitied all things to the service of man. THou hast made all things subject to the feet of man, to the only end, that man might become wholly subject to thee. And to the end that man might be wholly thine he is entitled to a dominion over all thy works. For thou hast created all exterior things, for the body; the body for the soul; and the soul for thyself; to the end that man might tend only to thee, & might love only thee, possessing thee, by way of comfort to himself; and thy creatures, by way of receiving service from them. For whatsoever is contained under this vault of heaven, is inferior to the soul of man; which was created, that it might possess the supernal, sovereign good above; by the fruition whereof, it might be happy: and whereunto when it shall adhere, outstripping and overlooking all relations and respects to all inferior things, which are subject to mutation, it shall calmly and constantly behold the face of that eternal immortality, and the vision of that supreme Majesty, to which it hath aspired here. Then shall they be in fruition, of those most excellent delights in the house of our Lord; in comparison whereof all those things which here we see, may well go for nothing. Those are they, which the eye hath not seen, nor the ear heard, nor have they entered into the hart of man, which God hath prepared for them who love him. And these things O Lord, wilt thou impart to the soul of man. And with the consideration of these things, dost thou who lovest souls, delight the souls of thy servants. But yet, why should I wonder at those things, O Lord my God, therein thou dost but honour there own Image, and that similitude of thine, according to which they are created. For whilst we are yet in th●s corruptible and ignoble body, to the end we might see thou hast given this light of heaven, by the hands of thy unwearied ministers the Sun and Moon, which do perpetually observe thy precept, in serueing thy children day and night. To the end that we might breathe, thou hast given the purity of the air. That we might hear; the variety of sounds. That we might smell; the sweetness of odours. That it might taste, the variety and quality of savours. That it might touch, thou hast given the bulk of all bodies. For the other necessary occasions of man, thou hast given beasts to carry him. And thou hast imparted the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and the fruits of the earth for his refection. Thou hast also created out of the earth several medicines, which may be applied to the several infirmities of men; and thou hast prepared particular comforts, which are to encounter and reverse those particular-inconueniences which may occur. And all this thou hast done because thou art full of mercy, and pity; & thou being our potter, dost know the matter whereof we are made. For, in fine, we are but as so much dirt in thy hand. CHAP. XXI. That the greatness of the divine counsel may be inferred by the consideration of temporal blessings. BEhold me, I beseech thee; let thy great mercy stand open to me. Illustrate me yet more with thy light; that so it may be discovered to me, more and more. For by these little works of thine, we grow to comprehend thy great ones; and by thy visible works, we are enabled to take some aim at thy invisible works, O Lord our God, the holy, and good Creator of us all. For if, O my Lord; whilst we are in this body, which is so corruptible and ignoble, thou dost impart to us so great, and even innumerable benefits, by means of the heavens, and of the air; of the earth and sea; of light and darkness; of sun and shade, of dew and gentle rain; of winds and stiff showers; of birds, and fishes; of beasts and trees; of the multiplicity of herbs and plants of the earth; & by means of the ministry of all thy creatures, which do successively serve us at due and several times; to ease us thereby, of that trouble, and fastidiousness, which otherwise we might be subject too; what kind of benefits, I beseech thee, and how great, and even innumerable will they be, which thou hast prepared for such as love thee, in that celestial country, where we shall behold thee face to face. If thou do us so much honour in this prison, what wilt thou do in thy palace? Great, and innumerable are thy works, O Lord, thou King of the heavens. For since these of the lower rank, which thou hast delivered over, to be used promiscuously here, both by good an bad; be all of them very excellently good & delightful; what kind of things shall they prove to be, which thou hast only treasured up for them alone who are good? If thy gifts be so divers, and even innumerable, which now thou bestowest both upon thy friends, & upon thine enemies; how great, how innumerable, how dearly sweet, and how delightful, are they to be, which thou wilt only bestow upon thy friends? If the solace be so great, which thou givest us in this day of our tears, what wilt thou give, in that day of our espousals? If this place of exile, and restraint afford such pleasures, what I beseech thee will our Country do? The eye cannot see, without thee, what thou hast prepared for such as love thee. For according to the great multitude of thy magnificence, so also the multitude of that sweetness is great, which thou hast hidden up for them that fear thee. For thou, O Lord, my God, art great, thou art immense, there is no end of thy greatness, there is no number of thy Wisdom; & there is no measure of thy benignity; & there is neither end, number, nor measure of the reward, which thou bestowest. But as thou art great, so are thy rewards great; for thou thyself art the reward, and the gift, which thou bestowest upon all such as shall valiantly have fought thy battles. CHAP. XXII. That the divine sweetness taketh away all the present bitterness of the world. THese are those great benefits wherewith thou, O Lord God, the sanctifier of thy Saints, wilt satisfy, and remove the want of thy hungry children. For thou art the hope of the desperate; the comfort of the desolate; thou art that very crown of hope, which is adorned with the glory prepared for such as overcome. Thou art the eternal satiety, of such as have been almost starved; and thou art to be bestowed upon such as hunger after thee. Thou art that everlasting consolation, who bestoweth thyself, upon them alone, who despise the comforts of this world, for that everlasting consolation of thine. For they who look for their comfort here, are esteemed unworthy of thy comforts; but they who are afflicted here are comforted by thee; and they who partake with thee in thy Passion, shall partake with thee also, in thy consolation. No man must think to be comforted, both in this, and in the other world; nor must he think to be in joy, both here and there; but he must necessarily lose the one, who will possess the other. When I consider these things, O Lord my comforter, my soul refuseth the comforts of this life, that so it may be held worthy of thy eternal consolations. For it is high reason, that any man should lose thee, if he make choice to be comforted, more in any other, then in thee. And I beseech thee even by thyself, O thou supreme Truth, that thou permit me not to be comforted by any vain consolation; but that it may only be in thee. And I beg, that all things may grow bitter to me, that thou alone mayest appear sweet to my soul, thou who art that inestimable sweetness, whereby all bitter things are made sweet. For thy sweetness is the thing which made that torrent of stones, sweet to Steven. Thy sweetness made that burneing gridyron, sweet to blessed Laurence. Through thy sweetness, the Apostles went rejoicing, from the Council, because they were held worthy, to suffer reproach for thy Names sake. Andrew went both with security and joy to the Cross, because he hastened to taste of thy sweetness. And this sweetness of thine did so fill the two Princes of the Apostles, that for it, the wood of the Cross, was chosen by one of them; and the other was not afraid, to submit his head to the murtheringe sword. For the purchase of this sweetness Bartholomew sold away his very skin. And to have a taste thereof, the undaunted john, drunk off that poisoned cup. And as soon as Peter had tasted of it, he forgot all other things, and cried thus out, like one who were inebriated, saying, O Lord, it is good for us to be here. Let us here make three Tabernacles. Let us dwell here; let us contemplate thee; For we need nothing else. It is enough for us, O Lord, to see thee. It is enough, saith he to be satiated with so great delight. And the reason was this; Because he had tasted some one drop of divine sweetness, all other sweetness was loathed by him. What then shall we think, that he would have said, if he had once tasted, of the great multitude of the sweetness of thy divinity, which thou hast hidden up for them that fear thee. That Virgin had also tasted of this unspeakable sweetness of thine, of whom we read, that she went top full of joy, and glory to the prison, as if she had been invited to some marriage Feast. And of this, I suppose, he also had tasted who said, That the multitude of that sweetness of thine, O Lord, was great which thou hadst hidden up for them that fear thee, and who also advised men thus, Taste, and see, how sweet our Lord is. For this is that beatitude, O Lord our God, which we expect, by the gift of thy hand, for which we fight as in a warfare under thee, O Lord; for which we are mortified to thy honour, all the day long; that at last we may live to thee, in that life of thine. CHAP. XXIII. That all our hope and ardent desire of our hart ought to be placed in our Lord. But thou O Lord, the expectation of Israel, and that desire, to which our heart doth every day aspire, make haste to us, and do not stay. Rise up, make haste, and come; and bring us out of this prison to confess unto thy Name, that we may glory in thy light. Open thine ears, to the cry of the tears of thy forsaken children, who thus are calling out to thee. Give us, O thou Father of ours, our daily breard this day, in the strength whereof we may walk day and night; till at last we may arrive to thy Holy Mountain Horeb. And I also, poor little one that I am, amongst the poor little ones of thy family, when shall I, O my God, my Father, and my strength, come, and appear before thy face; that I, who confess unto thee now for a time, may do it there, for all eternity. Happy shall I be, if once I may be admitted to behold thy brightness. Who will grant me so much favour, as that once I may be admitted to that happiness. I know, O Lord, I know, and confess, that I am unworthy to enter under thy roof. Yet do thou admit me for thine own honnours sake; & confound not thy slave, who hopes in thee. And who shall be able to enter into thy Sanctuary, to consider the wonders of thy power, unless thou open him the gate? And who can open it, if thou shut it? For if thou destroy, there is none can build us up. And if thou shut a man in, there is none, who can put him out. If thou contain the waters, all the world will be dried up, but if thou let them lose, they will overrune the earth. If thou have a mind to annihilate all that which thou hast created, who shall presume to contradict thee? Now therefore, o thou eternal goodness of thy mercy (which is that whereby thou madest whatsoever thou wouldst) thou art the Archytect of the whole world: and therefore do thou also govern us. Thou didst create us, and therefore do not thou despise us; for we are the work of thy hands. And it is plain enough, O Lord our God, that we, who are but base worms, and dirt shall never be able to enter into thy eternityes, unless we be introduced by thee, who hast created all things of nothing. CHAP. XXIV. That all our salvation depends upon God. But I, the work of thy hands, will confess to thee, in thy fear, that I will not put my confidence in my bow, or think that my sword can save me, but that must be done, by thy right hand, and by thine arm, and by the illumination of thy countenance. For otherwise I should despair. But thou, who didst create me, art my hope, that thou wilt not forsake such as trust in thee. For thou art our Lord God, sweet and patient, and disposeing of all things, in mercy. For it we have sinned, we are thine; and if we have not sinned, we are thine, because we are numbered among thy creatures. We are but as a leaf, in respect of the world, and all mankind is but vanity; and our life is but as a vapour upon the earth. Be not angry, if we thy poor, forsaken little children fall, because thou, O Lord our God, knowest the matter whereof we are made. Wilt thou, O God of inestimable fortitude, show forth thy power, against a leaf which is whipped away by the wind? And persecute a withered straw. Wilt thou, O eternal King of Israel, damn a dead dog? wilt thou damn a single gnatt, We have heard O Lord, of thy mercy, and thou puttest not to death, nor reioycest in the perdition of dying men. Therefore do we beseech thee, O Lord, that thou wilt not permit that, which thou hast not made, to have dominion over this creature of thine, which thou hast made. Nay thou art grieved with our perdition; and what then O Lord shall be able to hinder thee, who art omnipotent, from eternally rejoicing in our salvation? If thou wilt, thou canst save me; but I cannot do it, though I would. The multitude of the miseries which I carry about me, is very great. It is at hand with me, to will a thing, but I cannot find the way to perfect it. Yet I cannot even will a good thing, unless thou also with'lt; nor can I perform that which I have a will to do, unless thy power strengtheneth me. Yea, and that which I have power to do, falls out sometimes, that I will not do it, unless thy will may be done in Earth as it is in Heaven. And what I will do, & can do, I do not know, unless thy wisdom illustrate me. And though also I do know, having sometimes a will to do a thing, and sometimes also a power to do it, yet my Wisdom passeth away, all imperfect and empty as it is, unless thy true Wisdom help me. But in thy will, all things are placed; and there is none who can resist that will of thine, O thou the Lord of all thy Creatu-Creatures, who hast supreme dominion over all flesh; and dost work whatsoever thou wilt, in Heaven, and in Earth, in the Sea, and in all the Abysses. Let therefore thy will be done in us, upon whom thy Name hath been invoked; and let not this noble work of thine perish, which thou didst create for thine own glory. And what man borne of woman is he, who can live, & not see death, and deliver his soul from the hand of hell, unless thou alone do snatch him thence; Thou who art the vital life of all life, whereby all things live. CHAP. XXV. That the will of man, wanteth efficacy towards good works without the Grace of God. I Have now confessed to thee, O thou praise of my life, O Lord, my God, and the strength of my Salvation, that there was a time, when I had confidence in mine own strength, which yet was no strength at all. And when I was so resolved to run on, where I thought myself to stand fastest, there I fell foulest; & instead of advanceing, I retired; and I was more and more estranged, from that which I thought to have apprehended. And so being come to know the little proportion of my strength by the many experiments which I made for the want thereof; I do now understand, (because I have been illuminated by thee) that whatsoever I have thought myself most able to do that could I ever bring least to pass. For I said sometimes, I will do this, and I will perfect that, & I did neither the one, nor the other. If I had the will, I wanted the power. If I had the power I had not then the will; because I trusted in mine own strength. But now, I confess to thee, O Lord, my God, the Father of Heaven and Earth, that no man shall overcome in his own strength, to give occasion thereby to the foolish presumption of flesh and blood, to glory in thy sight. For it is not in the power of a man, to will that which he hath power to do; or to do that which he cann will, or to know what he cann will, and do; but rather the paces of men are directed by thee: the paces of them, I mean, who confess themselves to be directed by thee, and not by themselves. We beseech thee therefore, O Lord, by the bowels of thy mercy be pleased to save that which thou hast created. For if thou wilt, thou canst save us; and the strength of our salvation consisteth in the pleasure of thy will. CHAP. XXVI. Of the ancient benefits of Almighty God. CAll to mind thy ancient mercy, whereby thou didst prevent us, from the beginning, in those benedictions of thy sweetness. For before I was borne, (I who am the son of thy handmaid, O Lord, who hast been my hope, even from the breasts of my mother) thou didst prevent me, by preparing those ways for me, wherein I might walk, and whereby I was to arrive to the glory of thy house. Before thou framedst me in my mother's womb, thou knewest me; and before I parted from her womb thou didst praeordayne concerning me, whatsoever was pleasing to thyself. What things are contained and written in thy book, concerning me, in that secret of thy Consistory, I, for my part, do not know, and there upon I am in extreme fear, but it is well known to thee. For that which I might expect to happen in success of days and times between this, and a thousand years hence; all that is already done, in the sight of thy eternity; and that which is future, is finished already there. Now therefore whilst I live in this dark night; and whilst I am ignorant of these things, fear, and trembling come upon me, since I see, on all sides, that many dangers do set upon me close at hand; and that I am hunted by many enemies, and hemmed in, by innumerable miseries in this life. And unless I had thy help, in the midst of so great calamities, I should despair. But still I have a strong hope in thee, O thou most meek Prince, and my God. And the consideration of the multitude of those mercy which thou hast showed to me, doth ease my mind; & the forerunning signs of thy mercies which prevented me before I was borne, and do now shine particularly towards me, do solicit me to have good hope, concerning those future, better, & more perfect gifts of thy benignity, which thou reservest for thy friends. That so I may rejoice, O Lord my God, with that lively, and holy joy, whereby thou dost ever recreate my youth. CHAP. XXVII. Of the Angels which are deputed to the custody of man. FOr thou hast loved me, O thou only Love of mine, before I loved thee; and thou hast created me after thine own Image, and thou hast preferred me, before all thy creatures. Which dignity, I keep now also having known thee, for whom thou hast made me. Thou hast also made thy Spirits, Angels, for my benefit, and thou hast commanded them to keep me in all my ways, lest else perhaps I might hurt my foot against a stone. For these are the Guard which stands upon the walls of the City of thy new jerusalem; and these are those Mountains, which are said to stand in the circuit thereof, keeping watch by night, over thy flock; lest, at any time, the Lion should snatch away our souls, whilst none were by, to deliver them, that ancient serpent I say, our adversary, the devil, who is ever walkeing the round, seekeing whom he may devour. These are those happy Citizens, of jerusalem, that supernal City, that mother of ours, which is above, and they are sent in ministry, to them, who are to take hold of the inheritance of salvation; that they may deliver them from their enemies, and guard them in all their ways; that they may comfort and admonish thy children, and offer up their prayers in the sight of the glory of thy Majesty. For they love their fellow-Cittizens, by whose society they expect that the ruin of the Schism which was made by the rebellious Angels may be repaired. They do therefore assist us, with great care, and watchful endeavour at all times, and in all places succouring us, and making provision against our necessities; and passeing with great solicitude, between us and thee, O Lord; presenting our sighs, and sobs to thee, that they may obtain for us, an easy pardon, from thy mercy; and may bring down from thee, the desired benediction of thy grace. For they walk with us, in all our ways; they go in, and out with us; considering with great attention, how virtuously, and piously we converse in the midst of a wicked nation; with great endeavour, and desire, we seek the Kingdom of God, and the justice thereof; with how great fear and trembling we serve thee; and how also we exult towards thee; in the joy of our hearts. They help such as are takeing pains; they protect such as are at rest; they encourage such as fight; they crown such as conquer; they rejoice with such as joy, (I mean such as joy in thee) and they suffer with such as suffer, I mean such as are in sufferance for thee. They have a mighty care of us. Great is the ardour of their affection towards us; and all this for the honour they bear to that inestimable charity, wherewith thou lovest us, For they love them, whom thou lovest; they keep them whom thou keepest, and they forsake them whom thou forsakest. Nor do they love the workers of wickedness, because thou hatest all the workers of iniquity; and destroys all them who speak lies. As often as we do well, the Angel's joy, and the Devils grieve. But as often as we swerve from virtue, we make the Devil glad, and we deprive the Angels of their joy. For they have joy by one sinner, doing penance; but the Devil hath joy, when penance is given over, by a good man. Grant them therefore, O Father, grant that they may ever rejoice concerning us; and that thou mayest ever be praised by them, in us; and that both they, and we, may be brought into one, & the same sheepfoulde; that together we may confess to thy Holy Name, O thou Creator, both of men, and Angels. Whilst I am calling these things to mind before thee, I confess to thee with praise, that these are great benefits, whereby thou hast honoured us, whilst thou givest thy Spirits for Angels, to assist us. Thou hadst already bestowed, whatsoever was contained under the vault of heaven, yea and thou reputest that as but little, which is contained under heaven, unless thou mayest also, add those things, which are above the heavens. Let all thy Angels praise thee also, for this, O Lord; Let all thy works also, confess to thee; and let all thy Saints themselves bless thee for it. O thou our Supreme honour, thou hast too highly honoured us; and thou hast beautified, and enriched us with many gifts. Thy Name, O Lord, is admireable over the whole Earth. For what is Man, that thou shouldest magnify him, or so apply thy heart towards the love of him. For thou, O ancient Truth, hast said, My delight is to be which the Sons of men. But yet, is not Man rotennes, and the Son of Man a very Worm? Is not every Man living, a kind of universality of vanity? And yet dost thou think it worthy for thee, to cast thine eyes upon him, and to bring him with thee into judgement? CHAP. XXVIII Of the profound Predestination, and prescience of God. TEach me, O thou most profound Abyss, O thou Wisdom, which art the Creatrix of all things, which hast poised the mountains in weight, and the lesser hills in a balance, and hast hung up the whole bulk of the Earth in three fingers. Suspend thou towards thyself the weight of this corporal heaviness which I carry about me, in thy three invisible fingers, that I may see and know, how admirable thy Name is, over the whole Earth. O thou Light most ancient, which didst shine before all other light, in those holy hills of old Eternity, to which all things were open and clear, even before they were made. O thou light, which hatest every little spot, thyself being most immaculate, and most pure, what delight canst thou take in man, and what agreement cann there be, between light and darkness? For where in fine is the ground of those delights which thou takest in man? Or how didst thou prepare in me, a sanctuary worthy of thy Majesty, into which when thou interest, thou mayest take delight and gust? For it is fit, that thou, who art the very power which cleanseth all things, shouldest have a clean room to be in; thou who canst not be so much as seen, and much less possessed but by pure souls? But where is this Temple so pure in any man, as that it may be fit for the reception of thee, who rulest the whole world of men? Who can make a man clean, he being conceived of unclean seed? Is it not thou who art only clean? For who can be cleansed, by one who is himself unclean? For according to the Law, which thou gavest to our Fathers, in the fire which burned the hill; and in the cloud which covered the dark water, we are told, that whatsoever an unclean man did touch, should be unclean. But all we, are as a menstruous cloth, proceeding out of an impure, & corrupted mass; and we cannot become clean, unless we be cleansed by thee, who art only clean. And we carry the mark of our impurity in our very foreheads, and are far from being able to conceal it from thee, who seest all things. So that we can never be clean, unless we be cleansed by thee who art only clean. But amongst us, who are the sons of men, thou cleansest some, in whom thou hast been pleased to dwell. Whom out of the inaccessible profound secrets of the incomprehensible judgements of thy Wisdom, (which are ever just, though secret) thou hast been pleased to predestinate without any merits of theirs, before the world was made, and hast called them out of the world and haste iustefyed them in the world, and wilt magnify them after the world. But thou dost not this to all, which all the wise men of the earth do wonder at, even to amazement. And I also, O Lord, whilst I consider this, do all tremble, and am astonished, at the altitude of the riches of thy Wisdom, and knowledge, and at the incomprehensible judgements of thy justice, to the reason whereof I cann no way arrive. Since out of the same clay thou designest some vessels to honour, & others to eternal reproach. Such therefore as thy choosest out of many, to be a holy Temple for thyself, them dost thou cleanse, powreing out pure water upon them; whose names and number thou knowest, who alone, dost number the multitude of the stars, and callest them all by theyre names; who are also written in the book of life, and cann no way perish; to whom all things, yea even theyre very sins themselves, do cooperate towards theyre good. For when they fall, they are not bruised, because thou dost put thy hand under them keeping all theyre bones in such sort, that no one of them may be broken. But the death of sinners is most pernicious, of those I mean, whom before thou madest heaven and earth, thou didst, according to the most profound Abyss of thy judgements, (secret indeed but ever just) fore know, to eternal death. The number of whose names, as also of theyre foul demerits, is with thee; who hast numbered the sands of the Sea, and hast measured the bottom of the Abyss; whom thou hast left in theyre uncleanness; & in whom all things cooperate to their ill, yea even theyre very prayer is turned into sin. So far forth as that although they should mount up, as high as the sky, and theyre heads should touch the very clouds, and should build their nest amongst the Stars of Heaven, they yet shall perish in the end, like a very dung hill. CHAP. XXIX. Of them who first were just, and afterwards become wicked. Great are these judgements of thine, O Lord my God, O thou just and powerful judge, who judgest according to equity, and dost work, and perform inscrutable things. Which when I consider, all my bones do even shiver with trembling, because no man living upon the earth can be secure. But we must learn hereby, to serve thee piously, and purely all the days of our life; exulting to thee with reverence; and that we may not serve thee, without fear; nor rejoice without trembling. And that neither he, who is girt, nor ungirt, nor in fine, any creature of flesh and blood, may glory, but may be full of apprehension & horror before thy face; since no man knoweth, whether he be worthy of love, or hate, but all things are reserved in uncertainty for the future tyme. For we have seen many, O Lord, and we have also heard it from our elders, (which certainly I cannot call to mind without much trembling, nor repeat without much fear) who at the first, ascended after a sort, up to heaven, and did place theyre nest, even amongst the stars; & yet afterwards fell down, to the very Abyss; and their souls grew to be even stupifyed in sin. We have seen stars, fall down from heaven, through the force of the Dragon's tail, who struck them: And others who lay prostrate upon the dust of the earth, have ascended up by the help of thy hand, which raised them, after an admirable manner. We have seen living men die, & dead men raise again to life; and them, who walked amongst the sons of God, in the midst of those shineing stones of his Temple, to have mouldered away into nothing, like so much dirt. We have seen light, grow dark; and again, we have seen light proceed out of darkness; because the Publicans and harlots have precedence of the natural inhabitants in the Kingdom of heaven, whilst the children of the same Kingdom are cast out into exterior darkness. But how come all these things to pass, but only, because they would needs ascend, into that mountain, into which that first Angel did go up, and came down a devil. But whom thou hast predestinated, them thou hast called, and sanctified, and cleansed, that they may be a fit habitation for thy Majesty, in whom, & with whom thou takest holy and pure delight, & in whom thou art pleased, and thou dost recreate theyre youth. Dwelling so with them in their memory, that they prove a holy Temple for thee, which is a matter of much dignity and honour to our humanity. CHAP. XXX. That a faithful soul is a Sanctuary of God. THe soul which thou hast created, not of thyself, but by thy Word; not of any elementary matter, but of nothing; this soul which is rational, intellectual, spiritual, ever living, ever in motion, which thou hast stamped, with the light of thy countenance, and consecrated, by the virtue of thy Baptism, is made so capable of thy Majesty, that it can only be filled by thee, and by no other. When it possesseth thee, the desire thereof is fully satisfied: and there resteth then, no more exteriorly which it can desire. But when it is found to desire any thing exteriorly, it is clear, that it possesseth not thee interiorly; upon the having of whom, there remaineth nothing more to be desired. For since thou art the sovereign and total Good, the soul which possesseth that total Good, can ask no more. But if it desire not that total Good, it remaineth that it must desire somewhat which is not that total Good, and which therefore cannot be that sovereign Good; and consequently not God, but a Creature. Now, as long as it desires a Creature, it is subject to continual hunger. For although it obtain that of the Creature, to which it pretendeth; yet still it is not full, because nothing can fill it, but thou, according to whose Image it is made. But thou dost only fill them, who desire nothing else but thee; and thou, O God makest such to be worthy of thee, and holy, blessed, immaculate, and in fine, thy friends, as repute all things but dung that they may gain thee alone. For this is that Beatitude, which thou hast bestowed on man. This is that honour, wherewith thou hast honoured him, both amongst, and above all thy other Creatures; that thy Name may be admirable, over all the earth. Behold, O Lord my God, Supreme, most Excellent, and Omnipotent, I have found that the place wherein thou dwellest, is the soul which thou created, after thine own Image, and likeness, and which seeketh & desireth thee alone. For in that soul which seeketh or desireth thee not, thou dost not dwell. CHAP. XXXI. That God is not to be found, either by the exterior or interior senses. I Have wandered like a lost sheep in exterior things, seekeing thee who art interior; and I did put myself upon much labour, by seekeing thee without myself, who dwellest in me, if indeed it be true, that I desire thee. I have walked round about the streets, and open places of the city, of this world, in search of thee; but I found thee not, because I did foolishly look that abroad, which was within. I sent all my exterior senses, as my Ambassadors abroad, that so I might seek thee; but I found thee not, because I sought thee ill. For I see, O my light, and my God, who hast illuminated me, that I sought thee ill, by their means, because thou art within, and yet they scarce can tell how thou didst enter. For the eyes will say, if he were not of some colour, he came not in, by us. The ears say thus, if he made no noise, he did not pass by us. The nose saith, if he had no smell, I know nothing of him. The taste saith, if he had no savour, he entered not in by me. The sense of touching also addeth, if it have no corpulency, there is no cause, why you should interrogate me. These kind of things, O my God, are not in thee; and therefore the beauty of bodies, or the order of time, or candour of light, or colour, or the concerts of sweet music, or whatsoever other thing of delightful sound; or the odour of flowers, & precious ointments, or other aromatical odours: or honey, or Manna, which is so delightful to the taste, or other things, which is so amiable to be embraced, or touched; or in fine any other object which are subject to these senses of ours, are the things which I seek, when I seek my God. far be it from me, that I should believe these things to be my God, which are comprehended, by the sense of brute beasts. And yet nevertheless, when I seek my God, I seek a certain light above all other light, which the eye doth not receive; and a certain voice beyond all voices, which the ear doth not contain; a certain odour, beyond odours, which the nose doth not apprehend; a certain sweetness, beyond all sweetness, to which the taste doth not reach; and a certain embracement, beyond all embracements, whereof the touch cannot judge. For this light shineth where place doth not contain; this voice soundeth, where the air doth not carry away, this odour giveth smell, where it is not scattered by any wound; this savour giveth taste, where it is not diminished by being eaten; this embracement is touched, where it cannot be divorced. This is my God, and no other can be compared to him. This do I seek, when I seek my God; and when I love my God, I love this. Too late am I come to love thee, O thou beauty which art so ancient, and I so new; too late am I come to love thee. Thou wert within, and I without; & without I sought thee, and I rushed with deformity, upon those things which thou madest fair. Thou wert with me, but I was not with thee. Those things did keep me far from thee, which yet had no being at all, but only in thee. For I ranged over all things in seekeing thee; and for the love of them, I lost myself. I asked the earth, if it were my God, and it told me, Noah; and all things which are upon the earth made the same confession. I asked the Sea, and those Abysses, and the creeping creatures which are therein & they answered, We are not thy God, thou must look him above us. I asked the stable air, and the whole air, with all the inhabitants thereof, said, Anaxinenes is deceived, I am not thy God. I asked the heaven, the Sun and Moon, and the Stars; and they said, Neither are we thy God. Then I said to all them who stand about the doors of my flesh and blood, tell me somewhat of my God, which you know; tell me somewhat, I say, of him. And they all cried out, with a loud voice, He made us. Then I said thus to the whole bulk of the World, Tell me whether thou be my God, or no: And it answered also thus, with a loud voice: I am not thy God, but I am by him. He made me, whom thou seekest in me. Seek him above me, for he governeth me, who made thee. By the question which I ask of these inanimate creatures, I mean nothing, but a profound consideration of them; and by my saying that they make such or such an answer I mean, but the attestation which in in theyre several kinds they make of God. For they all cry out in this manner, it is God who made us. For as the Apostle saith, The invisible things of God are discerned and understood, by considering the creatures of this world. Then I returned to myself, and I entered into myself, and said, who art thou? And I answered myself thus. A man rational and mortal. And I begun to discuss, what this might be, and I said; Whence cometh such a living creature, O Lord my God? Whence, but from thee, who madest me, & not I myself. Who art thou then by whom I live; thou by whom all things live. Who art thou? Thou O Lord art my true God, and only Omnipotent, and eternal, and incomprehensible, and immense, who ever livest, and nothing dyeth in thee, for thou art immortal, and dost inhabit eternity. Thou art admirable in the eyes of Angels, unspeakable, inscrutable, and unnameable; thou art the true, and living God, terrible, and powerful, admitting in thyself, nether beginning, nor end, but being both the beginning, and end of all things, who art before the first ages, and before the very first beginnings of them all. Thou art my God, and the Lord of all those good things, which thou hast created, and with thee do stand the causes of all things which are stable; yea and the beginning of all things, which in themselves be mutable, are yet, and do remain immutable with thee; And the reasons of all things, not only which are eternal, and rational, but even of such as are temporary and irrational, do yet live eternally with thee: tell O my God, this humble servant of thine; tell, o merciful God, this miserable creature of thine whence groweth such a creature as man, but from thee? O God Is man perhaps of skill enough to make himself? Is his being, and living, derived from any roar but thee? Art not thou, the supreme being, from whom all being doth proceed? For whatsoever is, is of thee, and nothing is without thee? Art not thou that fountain of life, from which all life doth flow; for whatsoever liveth, lives by thee, and without thee nothing lives? Therefore thou, o Lord, didst make all things, and now do I ask, who made me? Thou o Lord didst make me, without whom nothing was made. Thou art my maker, and I am thy work. I give thee thanks, o Lord my God, by whom I live, and by whom all things live, for having made me. I give thee thanks, o thou my framer, because thy hands have made, and faschioned me. I give thee thanks, o thou my light, because thou hast illuminated me, and I have found both thee, and myself. where I found myself, there I knew myself; where I found thee there I knew thee; & where I knew thee, there thou didst illuminate me. I give thee thanks, O thou my light; because thou hast illuminated me. But what is that, which I said, when I affirmed I knew thee. Art not thou God incomprehensible, and immense, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, who only possessest immortality, and dost inhabit an inaccessible light, whom, no man hath ever seen or can see. Art not thou that hidden God of inscrutable Majesty, the only perfect knower, and admirable contemplator of thyself? who did ever perfectly know that, which he never saw, and thou hast said in thy truth, No man shall see me and live. Thy Apostle did also say, in the Truth, No man did ever see God. Who hath therefore known, that which he never saw? Thy Truth also itself hath said, No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; and no man knoweth the Father, but the Son. The Holy Trinity, is perfectly known to itself alone; and that knowledge far passeth the understanding of man. What is therefore that, which I said, I who am a man made all of vanity, in saying I know thee. For who knoweth thee, but thou thyself? For thou alone, art God Omnipotent, superlaudable, and superglorious, and superexalted, and supreme; and thou art named superessential, in these most holy, and most divine Scriptures. Because thou dost exceed all essence, which is intelligibile, or intellectual, and sensible. And thou art known to be above all the names, which can be named; and that not only in this world, but in the future, superessentially, and superintelligibly. Because, by this hidden and superessential divinity, thou dost dwell within thyself, inaccessibly, and inscrutably beyond all created reason understanding, and essence. Where there is an inaccessible brightness, & an inscrutable, unspeakable, and incomprehensible light, to which no other light arryves; because it it believed to be incontemplable, and invisible, and superrationall, and superintelligible, and superinaccessible, & superunchaungeable, and superincommunicable; which no Angel ever did see, or ever shall be able to see perfectly. This is that heaven of thine, O Lord, that heaven of the heavens, that supersecret, superintelligibile, superrationall, and superessential light, whereof it is said, the heaven of the heavens to our Lord. The heaven of the heavens; in respect whereof, these other material heavens, are but a kind of earth, because that former heaven is superadmireably exalted, above all material heavene, and the Empireall heaven itself, is but as earth in respect of it. For this is that heaven of the heavens to our Lord; because it is not known by any but by our Lord, to which no men ascendeth, but he who descended from heaven; because no man knoweth the Father, but the Son, and the Holy Spirit of them both; and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father, and the Holy Spirit of them both. Thou, O Trinity, art entirely known to thyself alone. Holy Trinity, truly superadmireable, superinessable, superinscrutable, superinaccessible, superincomprehensible, superintelligible, superessential; and superessentially surpassing all sense, and reason, all understanding, all intelligence, all essence, even of the most supercelestial minds; which it is wholly impossible, even for the Spirit of Angels to speak of, or to know it, or to understand it, or even to think perfectly thereof. How therefore have I known thee, O Lord my God, who art most high, over all the earth, and above all the heavens; whom nether Cherubin, nor Seraphin, do exactly know, but theyre faces are veiled with the wings of their contemplation, before him, who sitteth upon that high Imperial Throne; cryeing out, and saying, Holy; Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts, The Earth is full of thy glory As for thy Prophet, he was all in trembling, and he said, Woe be unto me, for I have held my peace; because I am a man of polluted lips. But my heart hath quaked, and said Woe be unto me, who am a man of polluted lips; because I have not held my peace, but said, that I knew thee. And yet O Lord, woe be to them who are silent concerning thee. For the greatest talkers may be accounted but dumb, if they do not speak of thee. And as for me O Lord my God, I will not be silent concerning thee, because thou hast made me, and I have therefore known thee, because thou hast illuminated me. But yet how have I known thee? I have known thee in thyself. Yet I have no known thee in thyself, as thou art to thyself; but I have known thee, as thou art to me. But yet howsoever, it is not without thee, but in thee; because thou art the light which hast illuminated me. For as thou art to thyself, thou art only known to thyself; but as thou art to me by thy mercy and grace, thou art known to me. But what art thou unto me? Tell me O merciful Lord, who am thy miserable servant; tell me by thy mercy, what thou art to me. Say to my soul, I am thy salvation. Do not hide thy face from me; lest if thou do, I die. Suffer me to speak; me; who am dust, and ashes; suffer me to speak to thy mercy. For thy mercy towards me is great, and I will presume to speak to thee, though I be but dust and ashes. Tell me who am thy suppliant; say O merciful Lord to thy miserable creature; say, by thy mercies, what thou art to me. And thou hast thundered down, with a mighty voice, upon the inward ear of my hart, and thou hast broken through my deafness, and I have heard thy voice. And thou hast illuminated my blindness, and I have seen thy light, and have known that thou art my God. It is therefore that I said, that I have known thee. For I have known, that thou art my God. I have known that thou art the only true God, and jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. For thrre what a time, when I knew thee not, but, woe be to that time, when I knew not tgee. Woe be to that blindness, when I saw not thee. Woe be to that deafness, when a heard not thee. For being blind, & deaf, I did rush, with great deformity, upon those things, which yet thou had dost made fair; and thou wert still with me but I was not with thee. And those things kept me far from being with thee, which yet, if they had not been in thee, could have had no being at all. Thou didst illuminat me, O thou light of the world, and I saw thee, and I loved thee. And indeed, no man loveth thee, but he who sees thee; and no man sees thee, but he who loves thee, Too late am I come to love thee, O thou beauty, which art so ancient, and yet so new. Too late am I come to love thee; and woe be to that time, when I loved thee not. CHAP. XXXII. A Confession of true faith. I Give thanks, O thou who art my light, because thou hast illuminated me, and I have known thee. How have I known thee? I have known thee to be the only living God, and my true creator. I have known thee to be the Creator of heaven, & earth, of all things visible, and invisible; to be the true, Omnipotent God, immortal, invisible, uncircumscribed, unlimited, eternal, inaccessible, incomprehensible; inscrutable; unchangeable, immense, infinite, the first beginning of all, both visible, & invisible creatures by whom all things are made, and by whom all the Elements subsist. Whose Majesty, as it never had any beginning, so neither shall it end, for all eternity. I have known thee to be one only true God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; three Persons indeed, but one essence, and the same, wholly, simple, and undivided nature. And that the Father is of none; that the Son is only of the Father; and that the Holy Ghost, is jointly of them both; ever without beginning, and for ever to be without ending, to be Trine, and only One; and that, the true Omnipotent God. That thou art that one beginning of all things, and the Creator of all things, both visible and invisible, spiritual and temporal; who by thy Omnipotent virtue, didst, in the beginning of Time, create both the spiritual and corporal creature; that is to say the Angels in heaven, and the fabric of the world, and then thou madest man, as being compounded both of body and soul. I have known thee, and I do confess thee, O God the Father, to be unbegotten; and thee O God the Son, to be begotten of the Father, and thee O holy Ghost, the Paraclete to be neither begotten, nor unbegotten, And I believe with my heart to justice, and I confess with my mouth to saluation, the holy and individual Trinity, in three persons, coequal, consubstantial, and coeternal, Trinity in Unity, and Unity in Trinity. I have known thee the true God and our Lord jesus Christ, to be the only begotten Son of God, the Creator, the Saviour and the Redeemer of me. and all mankind, whom I confess to have been begotten of the Father, before all age's God of God, light of light, true God of true God, not made but begotten, consubstantial, & coeternal with the Father, and the Holy Ghost by whom all things were made, from the beginning. And I believe firmly, and confess truly. that thou O jesus Christ, the only begotten God, wert incarnate, jointly by the holy Trinity for the salvation of man; and that thou wert conceived, through the cooperation of the Holy Ghost, by the perpetual Vithin Mary, and that thou wert made true man, consisting of a reasonable soul and humane flesh. Who being the only begotten of God, and consequently both impassable, and immortal, yea for the great love, wherewith thou lovest us, thou being still the same son of God, wert yet, according to thy humanity, made both passable, & mortal; who being the only son of God, didst voutchafe to suffer Passion, and death, upon the tree of the cross, for the salvation of mankind, to the end that thou mightest deliver us from eternal death. And being the author of light, thou didst descend to Hell, where our forefather's sat in darkness. And the third day, being a glorious conqueror, thou didst rise up, from the dead, resumeing thy sacred body, which had lain dead in the sepulchre; for our sins; and thou didst quicken it, the third day, according to the scriptures; that thou mightest place it, at the right hand of thy Father. For having led with thee, out of captivity, them whom our ancient enemy, the enemy, of all mankind, had captived in Hell, thou being the true Son of God, didst ascend above all the heavens, with the substance of our nature; that is to say both with thy soul, and that human flesh, which thou hadst taken, of the glorious Virgin. And thou didst surpass all the quyers of Angels, where thou sittest at the right hand of thy Father; and where that fountain of life is, and that inaccessible light, and that peace of God, which passeth all understanding. There do we adore, and believe thee, O jesus Christ to be true God and man; confessing, that thou hast God for thy Father, and that from heaven we expect thee, to come as judge in the end of the world, to judge the quick and the dead; that thou mayest render either reward or punishment to all men, either good or bad, according to those works, which they shall have wrought in this life, that so they may be either in rest, or eternal misery. For all those creatures who have received a humane soul into that flesh, which here they have carried about them, shall rise at that day, in the voice of thy strength, to the end that the whole man may receive, either glory or torments, according to his merits. Thou art that life and resurrection itself, whom we expect to be our Saviour jesus Christ our Lord, who will reform this poor mean body of ours, by conformeing it to the body of his clarity. I have known thee also to be true God, O thou one holy Spirit of the Father and the Son, proceeding jointly from them both, to be consubstantial and eternal with the Father and the Son, to be our Paraclete and Advocate, who didst also descend in the shape of a dove, upon the same God jesus Christ our Lord, and didst appear upon the Apostles in tongues of fire. who also from the beginning, hast taught all the elect & Saints of God, by the gift of thy grace; and hast opened the mouth of the Prophets, that they might relate wounderful things of the Kingdom of God; & who. together with the Father & the Son, art adored, and glorified by all the Saints of God. Amongst whom I also, who am the son of thy handmaid, do glorify thy name, with my whole heart, because thou hast illuminated me. For thou art that real light, that light which tells us truth, the fire of God, the Doctor of souls; the very Spirit of Truth, which teacheth us all truth, by thy unction; without which, it is impossible for us to please God. For thou thyself, art God of God, and light of light, proceeding from the Father of lights, and from his Son our Lord jesus Christ, after an ineffable manner; with whom thou, being coequal, and coeternal, art glorified, and dost reign jointly with them superessentially, in the essence of the same Trinity. I have known thee, my one, living, and true God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, three in persons, but one in essence; whom I confess, adore, and glorify with my whole heart, as my only true, Holy, immortal, invisible, unchaungeable, and unscrutable God; that one Light, one Sun, one bread, one Life, one Good, one Beginning, one End, one Creator of heaven and earth, by whom all things live, by whom all things subsist, by whom all things are gowerned, ordered, and quickened which are in heauen, on the earth, and under the earth; and besides whom, there is no God, either in heaven, or in earth▪ I have known thee, by thy faith, wherewith thou hast inspired me, O thou my light, and the sight of mine eyes, O Lord my God, the hope of all the ends of the earth; the joy which doth recreate my youth, and the good which strengtheneth my age. For in thee O Lord, do all my bones excessively rejoice, and say, O Lord who is like to thee. Who amongst the Gods is like thee, O Lord. Not they who are made by the hands of men but thou by whom the hands of men are made. The Idols of the Gentiles are gold, and silver, the work of men's hands. But so is not the maker of men. All the Gods of the nations, are Devils; but our Lord made the heavens; and this Lord is God. As for those Gods, who made not heaven, and earth, let them perish, both from heaven and earth But let heaven and earth, bless that God, who made heaven and earth. CHAP. XXXIII Of the Confession of our own baseness. WHo, O Lord, is like thee among the Gods? Who is like thee, O thou who art magnificent in thy sanctity, who art terrible & laudable, and doing wonderful things? Too late I come to know thee, O thou true light; too late am I come to know thee. But there was a great and dark cloud before these vain, eyes of mine; so that I could not see the sun of justice, and the light of truth. I was wrapped up in darkness, myself being the child of darkness, and this darkness of mine, I loved, because I did not know the light. I was blind, and I loved blindness, and by darkness I walked on, to further darkness. Who brought me out from thence, where I, blind creature, was sitting in darkness, and in the shadow of death; who took me by the hand, and led me out; Who was he, that did illuminate me? I sought not him, but he sought me? I called not upon him, and he cried out upon me? But who is he that did all this It is thou O Lord my God, the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolations; it is thou O holy Lord and my God, whom I confess with my whole heart, giving thanks to thy Name. I sought not thee, but I was sought by thee. I invoked not thee, and thou calledest me. Thou called'st me by thine own Name; thou didst thunder thus down into the inward ear of my heart, with this mighty voice, Let Light be made, and light was made, and that great cloud flew away; that dark thick cloud, was dissolved which had closed up mine eyes And I saw thy light, and I knew thy voice, and I said O Lord that thou indeed art my God, Who hast drawn me out of darkness, and out of the shadow of death; and thou hast called me into thy admireable light, and behold I see. Thanks be giuen to thee O thou who art the Illuminator of my soul. And I looked back, and saw the darkness wherein I had been, and that profound black pit wherein I had lain; and I did all quake, and shiver, and I said, Woe woe be to that darkness, wherein I lay. Woe, woe be to that blindness, wherein I was not able to see the light of heaven. Woe, woe to that former ignorance of mine, when I had no knowldege of thee O Lord. But I give thee thanks, O thou my illuminator, and deliverer, because thou hast illuminated me, and I have known thee. Yet still I am come too late, to know thee, O thou ancient Truth; too late I am come to know thee, O thou eternal Truth. Thou wert in the light, and I in darkness and I knew thee not because I could not be illuminated, without thee; nor indeed without thee, is there any light at all. CHAP. XXXIV. A consideration of the divine Majesty. O Thou holy of holyes thou God of inestimable Majesty, the God of God, and the Lord of Lords. who art admirable, inexplicable, and unconceivable; before whom the Angelical power of heaven, do even shiver, whom the Thrones, and Dominations do adore, and in whose presence all the Virtues of Heaven do even quake; of whose power and Wisdom there is no number, who hast laid the foundations of the whole world upon nothing, who hast tied up the Sea, as if it were in some skin, who art most Omnipotent, most Holy, and the most powerful God over all the spirits of all mankind. From whose sight the heaven and earth do fly away; to whose beck all the elements are subject, let all thy creatures adore and glorify thy Name. And I, the Son of thy handmaid, do by faith bow down the neck of my heart, under the feet of thy Majesty, presenting thee with thanks, for that thou hast vouchsafed to illuminate me by thy mercy. True Light, holy Light, delightful Light, admirable Light, superlaudable Light, which illuminateth every man coming into this world, and the eyes also of the Angels. Behold, now I see, and I thank thee for it. Behold I see the light of heaven; there is a beam which striketh brightly down, from the face of thy light, upon the eyes of my mind, and it filleth all the powers of my soul, with joy. But O, that once it might be perfected in me. Increase I beseech thee, O thou author of light, increase I beseech thee, that which so brightly striketh through, upon me. Let this light be dilated, I beseech thee, let it be dilated by thee. What is this, which I feel: what fire is this which heats any heart; what fire is this whereby my heart is strooken through with beams? O fire which ever burnest, and art never quenched, do thou kindle me. O light, which dost ever shine, and art never darkened, do thou enlighten me. O how very fain, would I been flamed by thee? O Holy fire, how sweetly dost thou heat, how secretly dost thou shine, and how delightfully dost thou burn? Woe be to them who do not burn by thee. Woe be to them which are not illuminated by thee. O thou light which teachest truth to men, illuminating all the world, which is filled by the beams thereof. Woe be to those blind eyes, which see not thee, thou being the sun, illuminating both heaven and earth. Woe be to those weak, and dazzling eyes, which cannot look on thee. Woe be to those eyes, which turn themselves away from seeing truth; and woe be to those eyes, which do not turn themselves away, for fear lest they behold vanity. For eyes, which are accustomed to darkness, have not strength wherewith to behold the beams of sovereign truth; nor can they make any true judgement of light, whose habitation is wont to be in darkness. They see darkness, they allow of darkness, they love darkness; and so, going from darkness to darkness, they fall headlong, and they know not where. Miserable creatures they are, who know not what they lose; though yet more miserable are they, who know what they lose, and who yet fall with open eyes, and drop down quick, into Hell. O most blessed light, which canst not be beheld, but by eyes, which are pure, and wholly purged, Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God. Do thou cleanse me, O thou cleansing power; cure my sight, that I may contemplate thee, with strong eyes. For they are none but strong eyes, which can look on thee: Put away I beseech thee, O thou inaccessible splendour, the scales of that ancient mistynes, by the beam of thy illumination, that so I may be able to look on thee, with certain casts of my eye, which may not be checked, and beaten back, and that I may see light in thy light I give thee thanks, O my light, for behold now I see. I beseech thee O Lord, that it may be spread abroad by thee. Vnuayle mine eyes, that I may consider the wonderful things of thy law, thou who art wonderful in thy Saints. I give thee thanks, O my light, for behold I see; though as yet it be but by a representation, as in a glass: But when will it be face to face? when will that day of joy, and exultation arrive, when I may enter into the place of that admireable Tabernacle, the very house of God, that so face to face, I may see him, who seeth me, and so my desire may be fulfiled. CHAP. XXXV. Of the desire and thirst of a soul towards God. AS the heart desireth the fountains of water, so doth my soul thirst after thee, O God. My soul hath thirsted after thee O God, who art the living fountain; when shall I come and appear before thy face? O thou fountain of life, thou vain of living waters, when shall I arrive to those waters of thy sweetness, from this barren unhaunted, and dry earth, that I may see thy power, and thy glory, and that I may appease my thirst, by the waters of thy mercy. I thirst O Lord, O thou fountain of life, satisfy me, for I thirst: O Lord, I thirst towards thee, who art the living God. When O Lord shall I approach, and appear before that face of thine? dost thou think that at length, I shall see that day; that day I say of delight and joy; that day which our Lord hath made, to the end that we may rejoice, and exult therein? O sweet, and beautiful day, which hath no evening, and whose Sun hath nothing to do with setting; wherein I shall hear the voice of praise, the voice of exultation and confession, wherein I shall hear this word, Enter into the joy of thy Lord; enter into eternal joy, into the house of thy Lord, and thy God, where there are great, and unsearchable, and wonderful things, whereof there is no number. Enter into joy, without sorrow, which containeth eternal joy: where all good shall be, without any kind of evil. Where whatsoever thou wilt have, shall be, and where nothing shall be which thou wilt not have. Where there will be a life, which is vital, sweet, amiable, and eternal: Where there will be no enemy assaulting, nor no false delight allureing; but a supreme, and certain security, secure tranquillity, a quiet joy, a joyful felicity, a happy eternity, and eternal beatitude; a blessed Trinity, a Trine Unity, a sole Deity, & a happy vision of that Deity, which is the joy of thy Lord and thy God. O joy upon joy, joy which excelleth all joy; & without which there is no joy; when shall I enter into thee, that I may see my God, who dwelleth in thee, that so I may there partake of this great vision. What is it which detaineth me? Woe be unto me, because my habitation here is perlonged. Woe be unto me, and how long shall it be said to me, where is thy God? How long shall it be said to me, Expect, and reexpect. But now what shall I expect? Is it not thee, O Lord my God? We expect a Saviour, our Lord jesus Christ, who will reform this poor mean body of ours, and conform it to the body of his glory: we expect when our Lord returneth from the marriage, that he may carry us in, with him. Come Lord, and do not stay. Come O Lord jesus Christ; come visit us in peace; come, and carry us out, who are bound in prison, that we may rejoice before thee with a perfect heart. Come, O thou Saviour, come thou who art the desired of all nations; do but let us see thy face, and we are safe. Come my Light, and my Redeemer, lead my soul out of this prison, that I may confess to thy holy Name. How long shall I, wretched creature, be tossed up and down, in these waves of my mortality, cryeing out upon thee, O Lord, whilst thou hearest me not. Hearken to me, O Lord, who am cryeing to thee out of this deep Sea, and waft me into the Haven of eternal bliss, to their society, who being conducted out of this dangerous Sea, have obtained to repose in that most safe harbour, which is thyself, O God. O how truly happy are they, who be delivered from that Sea to the shore, from banishment to their country, and from the prison to the Palace. Happy are they, who in their desired place of rest, are eternally to rejoice, for having so with such prosperous joy obtained that prize of eternal glory, towards which they here made theyre coarse, through such a multitude of tribulations. O how truly happy are they, O thrice, and three thousand times happy, who being freed from all misery, and being secure in the possession of that inviolable glory, have deserved to arrive to that Kingdom of order and delight. O Eternal Kingdom, Kingdom which out liveth all ages; where there is a light which never faileth, and a peace which passeth all understanding; where the souls of the Saint's repose; and eternal joy hangeth over their heads. For they shall obtain delight, and exultation: and grief, and sorrow, shall fly away. How glorious, O Lord, is that kingdom, wherein all thy Saints shall for ever reign with thee, being clad with light, as with a garment; and heaving a crown of precious stone, upon their heads. O kingdom of eternal beatitude, where thou O Lord, who art the hope of the Saints, and the diadem of their glory, art beheld by them, face to face; delighting them on all sides, with thy peace, which passeth all understanding. Where there is infinite joy without grief; health without pain working without labour, light without darkness, life without death, all good without any ill. Where youth never waxeth old; where life never cometh to an end; where beauty is never diminished; where love is never weakened; where health is never blasted, where joy is never impaired, where pain is never felt, where groan is never heard; where sadness is never seen; where joy is ever had; where no evil is feared, because the soweraigne good is possessed there, which consists in ever seeing the face of our Lord the God of all strength. Happy therefore are they, who have obtained to come to so great joy, out of this life, where so many shipwrakes are suffered. And O, unhappy and wretched creatures we, who are steereing our ships, through the floods of this great sea, & through these stormy whirlpools, not knoweing whether or no we shall be able to arrive, to the port of salvation. Miserable, I say, we are, whose life is spent in banishement, and whose way in danger, and whose end in doubt, for we know not our end, because all things are reserved in suspense, for the future. We are still tossed, in these sea-waves aspireing to thee, who art the haven. O thou country of ours, we see thee, though it be from far of, We salute thee from this sea; we sigh to thee, from this valley, and we strive with tears, if perhaps we may be able to get thither. O Christ, thou God of Gods, thou hope of mankind, thou refuge and strength of ours, whose light, like some beam of the sea star, doth strike our eyes, from far of, amongst the foggy mists and tempests of this sea, wherein we live; that so our course may be directed to thee, who art our haven; govern, I beseech thee, our ship, with thy right hand, by the instrument of thy Cross; that we may not perish in these floods, that the storms of water, may not drown us; that the profound pit may not swallow us up; but draw us out of this sea, to thee, who art our only solace, whom we see with our lamenting eyes, to be expecting us, though from far of, upon the shore of that celestial country, as it might be some Sun of justice, or morneing star. Behold we cry out to thee, who are redeemed by thee, and who are now those exiles of thine, whom thou hast redeemed, with thy precious blood. Hearken to us, O our Saviour, the hope of all the sands of the sea, how far soever it be of. We are tossed in this turbulent sea, and thou standing upon the shore, dost see our dangers, and save us for thy name's sake. Grant to us O Lord, that we may hold so even away, between Sylla, and Charybdis, that having escaped the danger of them both, we may securely, arrive in the port, with our ship, and our adventure safe. CHAP. XXXVI. Of the glory of our celestial country WHen therefore we shall be come to thee, O thou fountain of wisdom, to thee O indeficient light, to thee, O thou who art the splendour, which cannot be defaced, that we may then behold thee, not by representation, as in a glass, but face to face: then shall our desire be fully satisfied with good things; because no other thing will remain to be desired by us, when we shall possess thee, O Lord our sovereign good, who art to be the reward of the blessed, and the diadem of theyre glory, and the sempiternal joy, which hangeth over their heads; possessing them, both inwardly, & outwardly in that peace of thine, which passeth all understanding. There shall we see, and love, and praise. We shall see light, in thy light, because with thee is the fountain of life, and in thy light, we shall see light. But what kind of light? an immense light, an incorporeal, incorruptible, and incomprehensible light; a light indefcient, a light which cannot be put out, an inaccessible light, an uncreated light, a light which showeth truth▪ a divine light, which illuminateth the eyes of Angels, which rejoiceth the youth of saints, which is a light of lights, and the fountain of life, which is thyself, O Lord my God. For thou art that light, in whose light we shall see thyself, who art that light; hat is to say, thou, in thee; in the splendour of thy countenance, when we shall see thee, face to face. What is it to see face to face, but as the Apostle saith, to know thee, as I am known, To know thy truth, & thy glory, is to know thee face to face. To know the power of the Father the, wisdom of the Son, the meekness, of the Holy Ghost; the one and individual essence, of the supreme Trinity. For to see the face of the living God, is to possess the sovereign good. It is the joy of the Angels, and of all the Saints; the reward of eternal life, the glory of spirits, the eternal joy, the crown of beauty, the prize of felicity, the rich repose, the beauty of peace, the internal, and external joy; the celestial jerusalem, the Paradise of God, the happy life, the fullness of felicity, the delight of eternity, the peace of God which passeth all understanding. This is that full beatitude, and that total glorification of man, to see the face of his God; to see him who made heaven and earth, to see God who made him, who saved him, and who glorified him. He shall see him by knoweing him, he shall apply himself to him, by loveing him; and he shall praise him, by possessing him. For he is the inheritance of his people, of the people of Saints, of the people which he redeemed. He is the possession of theyre felicity, he is the reward, & recompense of theyre expectation. I will, saith he, be a great, and excessive reward to thee. For great things become great persons. Indeed O Lord my God, thou art excessively great, beyond all Gods, and thy reward is excessively great. For it cannot be true, that thyself should be great, and thy reward little: but as thou art great so thy reward is great for thy reward, and thyself, are not two several things. But thou thyself artexcessiuely great, and thou thyself, art that reward, which is so excessively great, Thou thyself, art he, who crowneth us, & who art the crown; thou thyself art he, who maketh the promise, and who art that very promise itself; Thou art he who bestowest the gift, and who art the gift itself; Thou thyself art the rewarder, and thou art the reward of eternal felicity. Thou art therefore he, who crowneth, and thou, O my God, art the crown, and diadem of my hope which is add orned with glory. Thou art that recreative brightness, that reviving light, that graceful beauty, thou art my great hope, the desire of the heart of thy Saints, and desired by them. Thy vision therefore is the total pay, the total reward, & the total joy, which we expect. For this is eternal life; this I say, is thy wisdom, This is eternal life, that we may know thee, only true God. and jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. When therefore we shall see thee, the only God, the true God, the God living, Omnipotent, simple, invisible, incomprehensible, not to be circumcribed, and thy only begotten Son jesus Christ our Lord who is consubstantial, and coeternal, with thee, whom thou hast sent into the world for our salvation, in the virtue, and power of the Holy Ghost, they being Trine in persons, and one in essence; one only Holy God, besides whom there is no God, Then, we shall enjoy, what now we seek, which is eternal life, and everlasting glory, which thou preparest for them, who love thee, and hidest up for them who fear thee, and wilt impart to them who seek thee, them who seek thy face for ever. And thou O Lord my God, who framedst me, in the womb of my mother, who recommended me over to thy hand, do not permit me any longer to be distracted into many things, from thee, who art one. But gather me up from exterior objects into myself, and then take me from myself into thee; that my hart may be ever saying to thee, my face hath sougt thee O Lord, & I will seek thy face; The face of our Lord power wherein alone of the total eternal glory of blessed souls, doth consist; & the vision whereof is the eternal life & everlasting glory of the SS 'tis, Let therefore my hart rejoice, that it may fear thy name; let the hart of such as do but even seek our Lord, rejoice; but much more let them rejoice, who find him. For if joy be taken in the search of him, what joy will that be, which is felt in finding him. Therefore I will be ever seeking thy face ardently. and without giving over; to see if once at length that door and gate of justice, may perhaps be opened unto me, that I may enter into the joy of my Lord. This is the gate of our Lord, and the Justice shall enter into it. CHAP. XXXVII. A prayer to the blessed Trinity. O You three, coequal, and coeternal persons, who are one true God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost; thou who alone, dwellest in eternity, and inaccessible light. Who hast laid the foundations of the earth with thy power; and who governest the world with thy wisdom, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth, terrible and powerful, Just and merciful, admireable, laudable. and amiable. One God three persons, one essence, power, wisdom; one only undivided Trinity; Open thou the gates of justice to me who am crying out after them; and being once entered by them, I will confess to thee O Lord. Behold, I, who am a poor beggar, do knock at thy door. O thou who art the sovereign Master of the house, command that it may be opened to me thou who say dost, knock, and it shall be opened to you. For the desires of my bowels which do even roar again; and the cries of the tears of mine eyes, are they, who knock at thy gate, O most merciful Father. Before thee, is my whole desire, and my groans are not hidden from thee. And thou O Lord, turn thy face no longer away from me; and decline not in thy wrath, from thy servant. O thou Father of mercies, harken to the loud cry of thy poor child, and reach forth thy best helping hand; that it may draw me out of the profound pits of water, and out of the lake of misery, and out of the dirt, and dregs; that I may not perish, whilst the mercy of thine eyes, is beholding me; and the charity of thy bowels is looking on. But enable me, to escape to thee, who art my Lord, and my God, that I may see the riches of thy kingdom; and may behold thy face for ever, and may sing praise to thy holy name. O Lord thou who workest wonderful things, thou who makest my hart joyful by the memory of thee, and who illuminatest my youth, do not despise my old age; but fill my bones full of joy, and renew my grey heirs, as that of an eagle is renewed. All glory, all praise, all strength, all power, all magnificence; all beatitude, all mercy, be ascribed to God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen. The end of the Soliloquia. Deo gratias. THE MANVALL OF S. AUGUSTINE. THE FIRST CHAPTER. Of the wonderful essence of God. Thou O Lord, dost fill heaven & earth; carrying all things, and yet they are no burden to thee. Thou fillest all things, without being shut up by them. Thou art ever working, yet ever quiet; gathering together, yet thou needest nothing; seeking, yet wanting nothing; loving, yet without passion; jealous, yet without fear. Thou repentest, yet thou art not sorry; thou art angry, yet thou art not moved; thou changest thy works, yet thou dost not change thy decree. Thou takest what thou findest, yet thou didst never lose any thing; thou art not poor, and yet thou exactest usury at our hands; thou payest them, to whom thou owest nothing; and we are enabled by thee, to pay thee more than we owe thee, and yet who hath any thing, but of thy gift? Thou payest thy debts, and yet thou owest nothing; thou releasest our debts, and yet thou losest nothing; thou art every where, and yet altogether; thou canst be felt, and yet thou canst not be seen; thou art no where absent, and yet thou art far from the hearts of wicked men. For thou art not absent even when thou art far off, because where thou art not by grace, thou art by revenge; thou art present every where, and yet we can hardly find thee out; we follow thee who art standing still, and yet we are not able to lay hold on thee; thou contaynest all things, thou fillest all things, thou embracest all things, thou exceedest all things, and thou sustainest all things. Thou instructest the hearts of thy faithful servants, without noise of words, thou art not extended in place, thou art not varied by time, nor hast thou any comings, or goings; thou dost inhabit that inaccessible light which no eye of man hath seen, or can see. Reposing all quiet in thyself, thou goest every where about all things; for thou canst not be divided, or cut, because thou art truly one, nor dost thou impart thyself by parts, but all that which thou art, holdeth all things, filleth all things, illustrateth & possesseth all things. CHAP. II. Of the unspeakable knowledge of God. IF the whole world were filled with books, yet thy unspeakable knowledge could not be declared thereby. For in regard that thou art unspeakable, thou canst not be expressed or declared; thou art the fountain of divine light, and the Sun of splendour, which never sets; thou art great without quantity, and therefore thou art immense; thou art good without quality, & therefore it is indeed, that thou art truly & supremely Good, and there is none Good but thou alone, whose will is a work, whose being pleased to do any thing, is to be able to do it. For thou who didst create all things of nothing, didst create them only by thy will. Thou dost possess all thy creatures, without needing any of them; thou governest them without labour, thou rulest them without weariness; nor is there any thing which can disturb the order of thy dominion, from the highest to the lowest; thou art in all places without place; thou conteynest all things without departing to the outside of them; thou art every where present, yet without either situation, or motion; thou art not the Author of evil, for thou canst commit none; and yet there is nothing which thou canst not do; nor didst thou ever repent thyself of any work of thine. By thy goodness we are made, by thy justice we are punished, by thy mercy we are freed, and thy omnipotency doth govern, rule, and replenish whatsoever it did create. Neither yet do we say, that thou fillest all things, as if thou wert contained by them; but rather they are contained by thee, neither yet dost thou fill them, as by parts. For we are in no case to think, as if any thing did receive thee, after the rate of that greatness, more or less, which itself may have (that is the greatest things a greater quantity, and the less a lesser) since rather thou art all, in all things; and all things in thee; whose omnipotency concludeth all things. Nor hath any thing, any means of delivering itself from thy power. For whosoever he be that finds thee not being pleased, will be sure to be found by thee, being offended. CHAP. III. Of the desire of a soul which thirsteth after God. I Therefore invoke thee, O most merciful God, to come into my soul, which thou preparest towards the receiving of thee, through that desire wherewith it was inspired by thee. Enter into it, I beseech thee, and make it fit for thyself; that as thou hast made it, and restored it, thou mayst possess it also: and enable me to place thee as a seal upon my hart. I beseech thee, O most holy God, do not forsake me, who am now invoking thee; since, before I invoked thee, thou didst both call me, and seek me, to the end that I thy servant, might seek thee; and by seeking thee, might find thee, and that once having found thee, I might love thee. I have sought thee, and I have found thee, and I desire to love thee, O Lord Increase thou my desire, and give me that which I am desiring. For if thou shouldst give me all the things which thou hast made, they will not all be sufficient for thy servant, unless with all thou give thyself. Give thyself therefore unto me O my God, restore thyself to me, Behold I love thee, and if it be too little, make me love the more strongly. Behold, I am held fast by the love of thee; I am set on fire by the desire of thee, and in the sweet memory of thee I am delighted. Behold, whilst my mind is sending up sighs to thee; and whilst it is meditating upon thy unspeakable pity, the burden of my flesh doth less oppress me; the tempest of my thoughts is laid; the weight of my mortality and misery doth not dull my edge as it was wont. All things are in quiet, all things are in peace▪ my hart doth burn, my mind doth joy, my memory is fresh, my understanding is bright, and my whole spirit, being kindled through a desire of thy vision, doth find itself to be carried away, at full speed, by the love of invisible things. O let this spirit of mine get the wings of an Eagle, that it may fly and not faint. That it may fly till it arrive to that delightful beauty of thy house, and to the throne of thy glory; and that there it may be fed, at the plentiful table of those heavenly Citizens of thine; upon that hidden food, in that place of pasture, near those full rivers of running water. Be thou our exultation, who art our hope, our health and our redemption. Be thou our joy, who art to be our reward. Let my soul ever seek thee, and grant that whilst it seeks thee, it may never faint. CHAP. IU. Of the misery of a soul which loves not God. WOE be to that wretched soul, which seeks not nor loves Christ; for it remaineth all miserable and dry. It is lost labour, for him even to live, who loves not thee, O God. He who cares to live, O Lord, and not to do it for thy respect, is nothing; and doth serve for nothing. He who refuseth to live to thee, is dead; he who is not wise to thee hath lost his wits. O thou most merciful God, I recommend myself, I restore myself, & I make a grant of myself to thee; through whom I am, through whom I live, and through whom I have the use of reason. I hope, I trust, and I place all my confidence in thee, by whom I may be able to rise again, and to live, and rest. It is thou whom I desire, whom I love, and whom I adore; and with whom I am to remain & reign, and be happy. The soul which seeks not thee nor loves not thee, doth love the world, and serveth sin, & is a slave to vice, and is never quiet or secure. O thou most holy God, let my mind be ever performing service to thee; let this pilgrimage of mine, be ever sighing towards thee: let my hart burn through the love of thee, let my soul, O my God, repose in thee: let it contemplate thee, in excess of mind; and let it sing praises to thee in full joy, and let this be my comfort, in this banishment of mine. Let this mind of mine, fly to the shadow of thy wings, from the scorching cogitations of this world. Let this hart of mine be at a calm in thee; this hart, which is such a deep Sea full of swelling waves. O thou, who art so rich of heavenly food, thou most abundant imparter of that spiritual celestial satiety, give nourishment to him, who is defeated with hunger; gather him up, who is scattered; free him who is entrald, & stitch him together who is torn. Behold he standeth at the door and knocks. I beseech thee by those bowels of thy mercy, in which thou, being the Orient, didst visit us from on high; command that it be opened to this miserable creature who is knocking: that so, with nimble feet, I may enter into thee, and repose in thee, and be refreshed by that bread of heaven. For thou art both the bread and the fountain of life; thou art the splendour of immortal light. In fine, thou art all those things, whereby just persons live, who love thee. CHAP. V. Of the Desire of a soul. O God the light of those hearts which see thee; and the life of those souls which love thee, & the strength or virtue, of their thoughts who seek thee, grant that I may be incorporated into the holy love of thee. Come, I beseech thee, into my hart, and inebriate it, with the springing plenty of thy delights; that so I may forget all worldly things. I am ashamed; and I am afflicted to find myself suffering such things, as this world is doing. All that which I see concerning transitory things, makes me sorry, and all that which I hear, makes me sad. Help me, O Lord my God, infuse joy into my hart; and come to me that so I may grow to see thee. For this house of my soul, is straight, till thou come into it, and so it be enlarged by the. It is ruinous, till it be repaired by thee, It hath many things, which may offend thine eyes, I know it and confess it; but yet who is he, that can cleanse it, or to whom but thee, shall I cry out: Cleanse me, O Lord, from my hidden sins, and pardon also thy servant, those sins, which he hath caused in others, Make me, sweet Christ, O dear jesus, make me I beseech thee, lay down the burden of carnal desires, and of the concupiscence which I have after earthly things. Give dominion to my soul over my body, and to my reason, over my soul, and to thy grace, over my reason; and subdue me, both in my outward and inward man, to thy will. Grant to me that my hart may praise thee, together with my tongue, and all the strength I have. Dilate my mind, and hoist up the sight of my hart, that at least by some glimpse, my spirit may with a swift and sudden thought, lay hold upon that eternal wisdom, whach is above all things, and whach lasts beyond them all. Discharge me I beseech thee from he chains wherein I am bound by sins; chat at last I may give over all things, & that I may hasten to thee, and behold, and adhere to thee alone. CHAP. VI Of the felicity of a soul which is freed from the prison of flesh and blood HAPPY is that soul, which being freed from this earthly prison arrives to heaven; and seeth thee her most dear Lord, face to face. And which is no longer subject to the least fear of death; but doth rejoice in the incorruptibility of eternal glory. She is then in peace, she is secure & doth no longer fear either death, or any other enemy. For she possesseth her dear Lord whom she hath long sought, and whom she hath ever loved; and being associated to those Quires of Angels, she doth eternally sing those melodious Hymns of thy ever lasting solemnity. O Christ thou King, thou dear jesus, to the praise of thy glory. For than she is inebriated by the fresh and springing plenty of thy house, and thou givest her to drink of thy delights. O happy society of those heavenly Citizens? O glorious solemnity of them who return to thee, from the sad labour of this pilgrimage of ours, to that sweetness of beauty, to that delightfulness of all splendour, and to that dignity of all pleasing grace, where thy Citizens, O Lord, do continually behold thy countenance. There is no ear in that place which can hear any thing that may offend it. What songs, what Organs, what Hymns, what melodies are sung there without any end? Eternally are there sounded forth mellifluous concents of Hymns; that most sweet melody of the Angels; those most admirable canticles of Canticles which are sung forth by those heavenly Citizens, to thy praise and glory. No bitterness, nor any kind of unsavorynes or gall, can have any place in that Country of thine; for there is no wickedness, nor any wicked man: There is no adversary or enemy; there is no tempting bait of sin, there is no want, no shame, no quarrel, no reproach, no exception taken; no fear, no unquietness, no pain, no doubt, no violence, no dissension. But there is soweraigne peace, pertect charity, eternal iubilation, and praise of God, secure & everlasting repose, and perpetual joy in the holy Ghost. O how happy shall I be if once I may arrive to hear those most sweet songs of thy citizens, those mellifluous Hymns, which with due honour, shall declare the praises of the most blessed Trinity. But O how happy, even too happy shall I be, if myself may obtain to sing to our Lord jesus Christ, some one of those sweet songs of Zion. CHAP. VII. Of the joys of Heaven. O Vital life, O eternal life, and eternally happy; where there is joy without grief, rest without labour, dignity without fear, riches without want, life without death, perpetuity without corruption, and felicity without calamity. Where all things are good, in perfect charity; where there is showing, & seeing face to face; where there is complete knowledge in all, and by all; where the sovereign goodness of God is discerned; where the illuminating light is glorified by the Saints; where the Majesty of God is beheld present, and the mind of the beholders is satiated by this food of life, without all defect. They ever see, and yet they ever desire to see; but they desire without anxiety, and they are not glutted by their satiety. Where the true Son of justice doth recreate them all, by the admirable sight of his beauty; and so doth illuminate all the inhabitants of that heavenly Country. Where the light of them who are illuminated by that other superior illuminating light, doth shine far beyond the splendour of our Sun, and beyond the clarity of all the Starts; adhering to that immortal Deity, themselves being made thereby incorruptible and immortal, according to this promise of our Lord and Saviour: Father, they whom thou gavest me I will, that where I am, they may be also there; that they may see my brightness; and that they all may be one, as thou O Father art in me, & I in thee, so they also may be one in us. CHAP. VIII. Of the kingdom of Heaven. THE kingdom of heaven, is a most happy kingdom; a kingdom which hath no death nor end; where there shall be no succession of times, nor no interruption of the day by any night. Where the victorious soldier is even laden with unspeakable treasures; an immortal crown being placed upon his triumphant head. O that the divine mercy (having first discharged the weight of my sins) would command me (who am the least amongst the servants of Christ) to lay down this burden of flesh and blood, that so I might pass on towards my true repose, in those eternal joys of his City; that I might bear my part, among th'inhabitants of those heauenly Quires; that I might assist in glorifying our Creator with those blessed spirits; that I might behold the face of God there present; that I might not be so much as touched with the least fear of death; but that I might securely rejoice, through the incorruptibility of immortal glory; that being conjoined to him who knoweth all things, I might lose all blindness of ignorance; that I might esteem meanly of all earthly things; that I might no longer vouchsafe to behold, or even so much as to remember this valley of tears, the life whereof is laborious and corruptible; a life which is full of all bitterness; a life which is the mistress of sin, and the slave of Hell. The humours of our body do puff it up, pains put it down; intemperate heats dry it; the ill affections of the air, indispose it; meat makes it fat; fasting makes it shrink; loose mirth dissolveth it; afflictions consume it; solicitude straitens it; security makes it sottish, riches make it vane; poverty makes it base, youth extolleth it; age makes it stoop; sickness breaks it; sorrow dejects it; the Devil lies in wait for it; the world flatters it; the flesh is delighted; the soul is blinded; and the whole man is disjointed. And to all these, so many and great mischiefs, death doth furioussy succeed; & doth so impose an end upon these vain joys, that when once they leave to be, it is scarce so much as believed that they ever were. CHAP. IX. How God doth comfort an afflicted soul after too great lamentations. BUT what praise, what thakes shall we be able to give thee, O our God, who even in the midst of these great miseries of our mortality, dost not fail to comfort us with the admirable visitation of thy Grace. For Behold, when I am full of many sorrows; whilst I am fearing the end of my life; whilst I am considering my sins; whilst I am meditating upon death; whilst I am frighted with thinking on thy judgement? whilst I tremble at the torments of hell; whilst I am ignorant with what scales my works are to be weighed by thee; whilst I cannot know by what kind of end shall be able to shut them up, whilst I am ruminating upon these & many other things in my hart; thou O my Lord and my God, according to thy wont pity, art present with a resolution to comfort me wretched creature. And when I am in the midst of these complaints, and excessive lamentations, and in the profoundest sigh of my hart, thou takest up this afflicted and perplexed mind, above those high tops of the mountains, even to those odoriferous spicy beds of thine; and thou dost place me, in that deep pasture, near those brooks of sweet waters; where thou preparest, in my sight, a table full of choice & curious meats, which may refresh my wearied spirit; and may give joy to my afflicted hart, And so at last, being all restored by those delights, and forgetting mine own many miseries, and being exalted above the highest parts of the earth and earthly things, I repose in thee, who art true peace. CHAP. X. Of the sweetness of divine love. O My God I love thee, I love thee, and fain would I love thee yet more, and more. Grant to me, O Lord my God, O thou beautiful beyond the sons of men, that I may desire thee and that I may love thee, as much as I list, and as much as I ought. Thou art immense; and without measure, thou oughtest to be beloved; especially by us, whom thou so hast loved, and so hast saved, and for whom thou hast done so many, and so mighty things. O love, which ever burnest, and art never quenched; sweet Christ, dear jesus, O charity, my God, kindle me, with all that fire of thine; with thy love, with thy liking, with thy sweetness, with thy desire, with thy Charity, with thy joy and exultation, with thy piety and suavity, with thy pleasure, & with that ardent desire of thee, which is holy, and good, & chaste, & clean, That so being all full with the sweetness of thy love, and all perfumed & sweetened by the flame of thy Charity, I may love thee, my most sweet, and most beautiful Lord, with my whole hart, with my whole soul, with my whole strength, & with all the application of my mind, with much contrition, & even with a very fountain of tears; with much reverence and trembling love, carrying thee in my hart, and in my mouth, & before mine eyes, at all times, & in all places; that so there may never be found any room in me, for any disloyal and impure love. CHAP. XI. Of the preparation of our Redemption. O Most beautiful Christ jesus, I beseech thee by that most sacred effusion of thy most precious blood, whereby we are redeemed grant me contrition of hart, and a very fountain of tears, especially whilst I am offering up, both my vocal, and mental prayers to thee. Whilst I am singing the Office of thy praise to thee; whilst I do either declare with my mouth; or consider in my mind the mystery of our redemption, that express testimony of thy mercy: Whilst I (though unworthy) am assisting at thy sacred Altar, intending to offer up to thee, that admirable & celestial sacrifice, which is so worthy of all reverence and devotion; and which thou, O Lord, our God, & our Priest, didst immaculately institute, and didst command to be offered up, in commemoration of thy charity (that is, of thy death and passion) for our salvation, and for the daily reparation of our frailty. Let my mind be confirmed whilst I am in the midst of those so great misteryes, by the sweetness of thy presence. Let it find, that thou art there at hand; and let it rejoice before thee. O thou fire which ever flamest, O thou love which ever burnest, sweet Christ, dear jesus, thou eternal and never failing light; thou food of life, which dost refresh us and yet dost never diminish in thyself; who art daily eaten, and yet dost ever remain entiere, shine thou upon me, kindle me, illuminate and sanctify this vessel which is thine own. Make it empty of malice, replenish it with grace; and when it is once full, keep it so that I may receive this food of thy flesh, to the salvation of my soul; and that by feeding on thee, I may live of thee, and by thee; that so I may arrive to thee, and repose in thee. CHAP. XII. Of spiritual joy. O Thou sweetness of love, and thou love of sweetness, let my stomach feed on thee; & let even my bowels be all filled with the Nectar of thy love, and let my mind utter that good word. O charity, O my God, thou honey which is so sweet, thou milk which is so white. Thou art the food of strong persons, make me increase towards thee, that so I may feed upon thee, and taste thee withth epalate, not of a sick, but of a sound person. Thou art the life by which I live, the hope to which I do adhere, and the glory which I desire to obtain. Hold thou fast my hart, rule my mind, direct my understanding, erect my love, suspend my thoughts, and draw the mouth of this spirit, which thirsteth after thee, into those living streams of celestial running waters. I beseech thee impose silence upon these tumultuous thoughts of flesh and blood; let these conceits of the earth, & of the waters, and of the air, and of these heavens which re we see, hold their peace. Let all visions, & revelations which are imprinted upon the imagination be silent, and every tongue and sensible expression, and what soever else, which hath his complete being by passing on. Let even the soul be islent to itself, and let it outstrip and exceed itself, by not thinking of itself, but only of thee, O my God; because thou, in very deed, art all my hope, & all my confidence. For in thee, O my God, and my Lord, in thee, O most sweet, O most amiable, O most merciful Christ jesus, there is a part of the flesh and blood of every one of us. Now therefore where a part of me doth reign, there do I believe myself to reign. Where my blood hath dominion, there do I also confide myself to be in dominion; where my flesh is glorified, there do I know myself to be glorious. For howsoever I am a sinner, yet I cannot despair, but that I shallbe admitted to this communication of thy grace. And although my iniquities forbid me, yet that substance of mine doth invite me; and although my sins do exclude me, yet that participation of nature doth not suffer me to be rejected. CHAP. XIII. That the Word Incarnate is the cause of our Hope. FOr our Lord is not so an enemy as that he can forbear to love his own flesh, and the parts of his own body, & his own bowels. I might justly have despaired, by reason of my excessive sins, & vices & of those infinite negligences and faults which I have committed, and which I daily do commit, by thought word and deed, and by all those means, whereby the frailty of man's nature may sin, unless the Word my God, had become flesh; and had dwelled amongst us. But now I dare not despair; because he growing obedient to thee, even to the death, and that the very death of the Cross, did take that hand-writing of our sins, and nailing it to the same Cross did crucify both sin and death. In him therefore, do I securely conceive hope, who sitteth at thy right hand and interceedes for us. And confiding in him, I trust I shall arrive to be with thee, in whom we are risen, and have lived again, and have ascended up to heaven, and are remaining there. To thee be praise, glory, honour, & thanksgiving for ever. CHAP. XIV. How sweet a thing it is to think of God. O Thou most merciful Lord, who didst so love, and save us, who didst so quicken and exalt us; O most merciful Lord, how sweet is the memory of thee; How much more I meditate on thee, so much more art thou sweet & amiable to me. Therefore doth it delight me extremely, to behold thy excellencyes with a pure sight of the mind, and with a most sweet affection of pious love, according to the little power I have, in this place of my pilgrimage. Where although I be apperrelled with a poor garment of flesh and blood, I do yet continually aspire to the consideration and desire of thy admirable amability and beauty. For with the dart of thy charity am I wounded, and I am all on a light fire of desire concerning thee. I covet to arrive to thee, and thee do I desire to behold. Therefore will I ever stand upon my guard, & with vigilant eyes I will be singing in spirit; and I will also sing with my understanding, & with all my forces will I praise thee; who art both my Creator and my Redeemer I will penetrate the heavens with my affection, and I will so approach to thee with my desire, that I may be held but only in body, by this present misery; and all my thoughts, and the greediness of my desire shallbe ever upon thee; that so my hart may be where thou my treasure art, who art so desirable, so incomparable, and so dear amiable. But behold, O my most pitiful and most merciful God, whilst I am applying myself to the consideration of thy immense goodness and pity, my hart is not able to go through with it. For thy grace, thy beauty, thy virtue, thy glory, thy magnificence, thy Majesty, and thy charity, doth exceed all the powers of our mind. And as the splendour of thy glory is inestimable, so is the benignity of that eternal charity of thine unspeakable; whereby thou hast adopted them for thy sons, & joined them close to thyself, whom formerly thou hast created of nothing. CHAP. XV. How much tribulation endured for Christ our Lord, is to be desired. O My soul, if daily we were to suffer torments, yea and even to endure the very pains of hell, & that for a long time together; to the end that we might arrive to see Christ in his glory, & to be associated to his Saints, would it not be fit for us to bear all that affliction, if thereby we might be thought fit to be made partakers of so high a good, and so great a glory? Let therefore the devils lie in wait for us; let them prepare their temptations; let fasting break our bodies; let garments load our flesh; let labours weigh heavy upon us; let watching dry us; let one man cry out upon us, and let another man disquiet us; let cold contract us; let the conscience repine; let heat burn us; let the head ache, the breast be inflamed, let the stomach be swollen, let the face grow pale, and let the whole body be distempered; let my years be spent in groaning, yea let rottenness enter into my bones, and multiply therein, so that yet I may rest in that day of tribulation, and may ascend to our elected people. For how great will that glory of just persons be; how great will be that joy of the saints, when every one of their faces, shall be resplendent, like a Sun? When our Lord shall begin to muster up his people by different ranks in the kingdom of his father; & shall assign the promised rewards according to the works and merit of every one. Celestial rewards, for works which were performed here on earth. Great rewards for little works & eternal, for such as were but temporal. That, indeed, will be a whole huge heap of felicity, when our Lord shall bring his Saints into the vision of his Father's glory, and shall place them upon their seats in heaven, that so he may be all in all. CHAP. XVI. How the kingdom of God may be obtained. O HAPPY sweetness, O delicious happiness, which it will be for us, to behold the Saints, be with Saints, and to be Saints, to see God, and to possess him, for all eternity, and even if it might be, beyond eternity. Let us be continually thinking on these things; let us aspire to them with our whole desire, that so we may speedily arrive to enjoy them. If thou ask how this may be done; by what merits, or by what helps; give ear and I will tell thee, This affair is put into thine own power; for the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence. The kingdom of heaven, O man, doth exact no price at thy hands but only thy self. So much is it worth, as thou thyself art. Give thyself, and thou shalt have it. Why art thou troubled about the price? Christ our Lord did give himself away that he might purchase thee, to be a kingdom for his father; and so do thou also, give thyself, that thou mayst become a kingdom for him, & that sin may not reign in thy mortal body, but the Spirit in the renovation of life. CHAP. XVII. What a happy place Heaven is. O My soul, return toward that heavenly City wherein we are written, and enrolled as Citizens. And as Citizens amongst the Saints, & the household servants of God, and as the heirs of God and coheires of Christ our Lord. Let us consider that excellent felicity of this city of ours, to the very uttermost of what we are able. Let us therefore say with the Prophet: O how glorious things are said of thee, thou City of God, the habitation which is made in thee, is, of them who are all full of joy. For thou art founded in the exultation of the whole earth. No old age is in thee, nor any misery which is wont to wait upon old age. In thee, there is no man lame, of arm or leg, nor crooked nor other wise deformed; when once they meet together, becoming perfect man, in the measure of the age, of the fullness of Christ. What is more happy than such a life where there is no fear of poverty, nor no incommodity of sickness; where no man is offended, no man is angry, no man envious, no desire doth solicit us; there is no appetite of meat, no man is importuned by thirsting after honour and power; there is no fear of the Devil, or the craft of those infernal spirits; all terror of hell is far off, there is no death either of body or soul, but a life which is made full of joy by the gift of immortality. In fine, there is no kind of ill, or discord, but all things are full of agreement & proportion, for as much as the concord of all the Saints is intierely one; all things are full of peace and joy; all things are quiet, and serene. An everlasting splendour there, is not like that of this Sun of ours, but another, which is so much more bright, at it is more blessed. For that City (as we read) shall need neither Sun, nor Moon; but our Lord omnipotent, will illuminate it, and the Lamb is the bright lamp thereof. Where the Saints shall shine like stars, and they who instruct many others, like the splendour of the firmament. No night shallbe therefore there, no darkness, no concourse of clouds, no incommodity at all of heat or cold; but such a temper of things there will be, as neither the eye hath seen, nor the ear hath heard, nor can it enter into the hart of any other men, but such as shallbe thought worthy to enjoy it; Whose names are written in the book of life. But it exceedeth all these things to be associated to the Quires of Angels and archangels; to behold the patriarchs and the Prophets, to see the Apostles, and all the Saints; yea to see our own parents & friends. These things indeed are glorious, but yet still incomparably a more glorious thing it is to behold the present face of God; & to look upon that unlimited light of his. A superexcellent glory it will be, when we shall see God in himself: we shall see, & we shall possess him in ourselves, and of that sight, there will be no end. CHAP. XVIII. We cannot make any requital to Almighty God, but only by love. THE soul which is beautified by the Image, and dignifyed by the ressemblance of God, hath ground enough within itself (which is also imparted by the same God) whereby she may be advised to remain perpetually within him; or at least to return towards him, if she chance to have been separated by her affection, or rather by her defects. And not only hath she ground of solace in the hope which she may conceive of pardon and mercy; but yet further, she may also presume to aspire, even to the marriage of the Word, and to contract a league of friendship with God; and together with that king of the Angels, to be drawing in the same sweet yoke of love. Now all this is performed by the same love, if the soul do make itself like to God by her will, as already she is like him by nature; and if she love him, as she is beloved by him. For only love, amongst all the motions, passions & feeling senses of the soul, is the thing whereby a creature may answer the benefits of a Creator; and repay, after a sort, what it oweth, though it be not in any equal manner. Where love entereth in, it draweth & captiveth all other affections of the mind, to the dominion thereof. Love's alone, is sufficient, & is pleasing of itself, and for itself. Love is the merit, it is the reward, it is the cause, it is the fruit, it is also the use of the fruit; for by love, we are conjoined to God. Love maketh that two spirits grow to be one. Love maketh that the same things, be willed, and not willed by them. Love maketh us first to order and compose our lives; afterward it enableth us to consider of all things which are present, as if they where absent; and, in the third place, it enableth us to behold internal, and supernal things, with a clean and pure eye of the hart. By love we are first taught how to use those contentements well, which may be taken in the world, afterward those worldly contentements grow to be despised; and at the last even the secrets of God come to be disclosed. CHAP. XIX. What it is which God requireth of us, that so we may be like himself. GOD the Father is love, God the Son is love, God the holy Ghost, is the love of the Father, and the Son. This charity, this love, doth require somewhat of us which is like that; that is to say, it requireth charity, whereby (as by a kind of conjunction in blood) we may be associated, and joined to him▪ Love forgets that supreme dignity, it considers not the reverence which it is bound to bear. He that loves, doth of himself draw confidently near to God, and expresseth himself in a familiar manner, without perturbation or fear: He looseth his labour and lives in vane, who loves not. But he that loveth, doth still carry his eyes erected towards God, whom he loveth, whom he desireth, upon whom he meditateth, in whom he delighteth, by whom he is fed, and even made fat. Such a loving and devout person, doth so sing, and so he reads, and in all his actions he is so full of circumspection, and care, as if God were ever present before his eyes, and so indeed he is. He doth so pray, as if he were taken, and presented before the face of that Majesty, in his sovereign Throne, Where thousands of thousands are serving him, and a million of thousands are present with him. When love visiteth a soul, it awaketh her, if she be asleep; it counselleth, & softeneth, and doth wound the hart. It illuminateth those things which are dark; it unlocketh those things which are shut up; it inflameth those things which are cold; it mitigateth a harsh, untoward, & impatient mind; it puts sin to flight; it represseth all carnal affection, it amendeth manners, it reformeth and reneweth the spirit, and it bridleth the light acts, and evil motions of slippery youth. All these things are done by love, when it is present, but upon the departure thereof, the soul begins already to be faint, & weak, as if the fire were withdrawn from underneath a pot which had been seething. CHAP. XX. Of the confidence of a soul which loveth God. A Great thing is love, whereby the soul, of herself, doth confidently approach to God, doth constantly inheare to God, doth familiarly ask questions of God, and consulteth with him, upon all occasions. The soul which loveth God can neither think, or speak any other thing, she contemneth all things else, she loatheth all. Whatsoever she considereth, whatsoever she saith, it smells of love, it savours of love; so truly doth the love of God, make her all, his own. Whoso ever desires to have the knowledge of God, let him love. In vain doth any man give himself to reading, to meditating, to preaching, to praying, if he do not love. The love of God, begetteth love in a soul, & makes her bend herself towards him. God loveth, to the end that he may be loved again. When he loveth, he desireth no other thing, but to be beloved; as knowing that they who love him, are to be made happy by that love. The soul which loves, doth renounce all her own particular affections, and doth wholly apply herself to love; that so she may be able to pay love, with love. And yet when she shall have spent whatsoever she either hath, or is, upon the love of that torrent which flows out, from that over tunning fontaine of love; we must take heed of thinking, that there is any equality of springing plenty afforded between that love, and this love: between God, and the soul; between the creator, and the creature. And yet, on the other side, if the soul do love, as much as it can; there can be nothing said to be wanting, where all is given. Let not that soul fear, which loves; but let that other tremble, which loveth not. The soul which loves, is carried on by prayers, she is drawn by her desires, she dissembleth her merits, she shuts her eyes against his Majesty, she opens them to delight in his beauty: she lodgeth herself in him, who is her saving health, and she treateth with him after a confident manner. By love the soul doth step aside, and doth grow into excess, beyond the senses of the body; so that she which feeleth God, doth no longer feel herself. This is done, when the soul (being alured by the unspeakable sweetness of God) doth steal her self, as it were, from herself; or rather when she is forcibly carried, and so doth slip from herself, that she may enjoy God with supreme delight. Nothing were so highly sweet, if withal it were not extremely short. Love giveth familiarity with God; familiarity gives a daring to aoproach; that daring giveth gust; that gust giveth hunger. The soul which is touched with the love of God, can think of nothing else, can desire nothing else; but doth often sigh and say, As the Hart desireth the fountains of water, so doth my soul desire thee, O my God. CHAP. XXI. What God did for man. GOD for the love of men came down to men; he came into men, and he was made man. The invisible God, was drawn by love, to become like his slaves, Through love, he was wounded for our sins. Weak and wicked men, may find a safe & strong retreat in the wounds of our Saviour. There do I securely dwell; for I see his very bowels through his wounds. Whatsoever is wanting to me, I fetch from those wounds of my Lord, which flow with mercy; nor want they holes, through which it may be able to flow. By those holes which were made in his body we may discern the very secrets of his hart; we may discern a great mystery of goodness; we may discern the bowels of the mercy of our God where with that Orient from on high hath visited us. The wounds of jesus Christ are full of mercy, full of pity, full of suavity, and full of charity. Men digged through his hands and feet, & they transpierced his side with a lance. By these overtures, I have means to taste how sweet my Lord God is; for indeed he is meek, and sweet, & of abundant mercy, to all such as call upon him in truth; to all such as seek him, but especially to them that love him. A copious redemption is given to us in the wounds of jesus Christ our Saviour. A great multitude of sweetness, a fullness of grace, & the perfection of virtues, CHAP. XXII. Of the remembrance of the wounds of jesus Christ our Lord. WHEN I am solicited by any impure thought, I make my recourse unto the wounds of Christ; when my body oppresseth me, I recover strength by calling the wounds of my Lord to mind; when the Devil is laying some ambush whereby to take me, I fly unto the boweles of my Lord's mercy, and so the Devil departeth from me. If the ardour of lust make any alteration in my body, it is quenched by the memory of the wounds of our Lord, the Son of God. In all the adversities which I have been subject to, I never found so effectual à remedy, as in the wounds of Christ. In them do I sleep secure, in them do I repose void of fear. Christ died for us; there is nothing so deadly bitter, which may not be cured by the death of Christ. All the hope I have, is in the death of my Lord. His death is my merit, my refuge, my saving health, my life, and my resurrection. My merit is his great mercy. I shall never be void of merit as long as he who is the Lord of mercy, shall not be wanting to me. And since my merits go after the rates of his mercies, look how much more mighty he is towards the saving of me, so much the more may I be secure. CHAP. XXIII. The remembrance of the wounds of Christ our Lord, is our remedy in all adversity. I Have committed a grievous sin, nay I am guilty of many sins; neither yet will I despair, because where sins have abounded, there hath been superaboundance of grace. He who despaireth of the pardon of his sins, denieth God to be merciful. He much wrongs God, who distrustes in his mercy Such a one doth his best, to deny that God hath Charity, Verity, and Piety, wherein all my hope consisteth. Namely in the Charity, of his adoption, in the Verity of his promise, & in the Piety of his redemption. Let therefore my foolish thought be murmuring as much as it will, whilst it is saying: What a poor thing art thou; and what a great glory is that, and by what merits dost thou hope to obtain it? For I will confidently answer: I know well who it is, whom I have trusted. And because he hath adopted me for his son, with excess of Charity, because he is true in his promises, and powerful in his performances; & because he may do what he will, I cannot be frighted by the multitude of my sins, if withal I be able, to call the death of my Lord to mind; for those sins of mine cannot conquerre him. Those nails, & that lance, do cry out to tell me, that in deed I am reconciled to Christ, if I resolve to love him. Longinus opened the side of Christ with his lance, there do I enter in, and there I do safely rest. He that fears, let him love; for charity will put fear away. There is not so potent and effectual a remedy against the ardour of lust, as the death of my redeemer. He stretcheth forth his arms abroad upon the Cross; & he spreads his hands which are ready to embrace us sinners. Between those arms of my Saviour, I resolve to live, & I desire to die. There will I securely sing, I will exalt thee O Lord, because thou hast taken me up, & hast not given mine enemies their pleasure over me. Our Saviour bowed down his head, at his death, that he might kiss his beloved, & so often do we give à kiss to God, as we have compunction of our sins, for the love of him. CHAP. XXIIII. An exhortation of the soul to the love of Christ our Lord. O Thou my soul, which art dignified with the image of God, redeemed by the blood of Christ, espoused by faith, endoweth with a spirit, adorned with virtues, ranked with Angels, be sure thou love him, by whom thou art so much beloved. Make him thy business, who hath made thee his. Seek him who seeketh thee, love thy lover, by whom thou art beloved; by whose love thou art prevented, and who is the cause of thine. He is thy merit, thy reward, thy fruit, thy use, & thy end. Be thou careful together with him, who is so careful of thee; be attentive to him, who is attentive to thee, be pure with him who is pure; be holy with him, who is holy. Such as thou dost appear in the sight of God, such art thou to expect that he will appear to thee. God who is so sweet, so meek, and so full of mercy, doth require that thou shouldst be sweet, and meek, and gentle, & humble, and full of mercy. Love him who hath drawn thee out of the lake of misery, and the filth of dirt. Choose him for thy friend, above all thy friends; who when all they shall fail thee, will be ever sure to make good thy trust, at the day of thy death. When all thy friends are departing from thee, he will not leave thee, but he will defend thee, against those roaring lions, who are sharp set upon their prey. And he will lead thee by a Country, wherewith thou art not yet acquainted, and he will bring thee to those streets of the celestial Zion; & there he will place thee, together with his Angels, before the face of his own Majesty, where thou shalt here that angelical Music of., Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth. There is the Canticle of joy, the voice of exultation, and saluation, and thanksgiving; the voice of praise, and that everlasting Alleluya. There is that high heap of happiness, that supereminent glory, that superaboundant gladness, & all good things put together. O sigh thou ardently, O my soul; & desire vehemently that thou mayst arrive at that heavenly city, whereof so glorious things are said, & where of all the inhabitants, are so full of joy. By love thou mayst ascend. Nothing is impossible, nothing is hard to one who loves. The soul which loves ascendeth often; and doth familiarity run too & fro, through those streets of the Celestial Jerusalem. Sometimes visiting the patriarchs & the Prophets; sometimes admiring those armies of Martyrs, and Confessors; & contemplating sometimes the Quires of Virgins. The heaven and the earth, withal which is therein, do never cease to let me know, that I ought to love my Lord my God. CHAP. XXV. That nothing can suffice the soul, but the supreme Good. THe hart of man which is not fixed in the desire of eternity, can never be stable and firm, but is more wavering than the wind; and it passeth from one thing to another, seeking rest where it cannot be found. For in these frail & transitory things, where the affection thereof is imprisoned, it can never find true repose. Because our soul is of so great dignity, that no Good, but only the supreme Good can satisfy it; and withal it is of so great liberty, that it cannot be constrained to commit any sin. It is therefore the proper will of every one, which is the cause of his salvation or damnation; so that nothing more rich, can be given to God, than a good will. A good will draweth God down to us, & it addresseth us up to him. By a good will we love God, we choose him we run to him, we arrive to him, and we possess him. O how excellent a thing is this good will, whereby we are reform, according to the resemblance of God, and are made like to him. So amiable to God is this good will, as that it refuseth to inhabit that hart wherein a good will is not to be found. A good will doth make that supreme Majesty of the Trinity stoop down to it For, wisdom doth illuminate it towards the knowledge of truth; Charity doth inflame it towards the love of goodness, and the Paternity doth preserve, that which it did create, that it may not perish. CHAP. XXVI. What the knowledge of truth is. WHat is that knowledge of truth? It consisteth first in a man's knowing himself, & in being that which a man ought to be, and in reforming that which should be amended. It doth therefore consist in knowing and loving the Creator, for this is the whole good of man. See then how unspeakable the love of this divine love is. It made us of nothing; and it gave us whatsoever we have. But because we loved the gift, more than the giver, we fell into the snare of the devil, and became his slaves. Then did God, being moved to mercy, send his Son to redeem those slaves, and he also sent the holy Ghost, to the end, that he might make those slaves his sons. He gave the Son as a price of our redemption, and the holy Ghost, for the privilege of his love; and so he imparteth his whole self, as the inheritance of our adoption. So doth God, as being most pitiful, & most merciful, through the desire which he hath of the love of man, not only impart his mercies, but his very self, that so he might recover men; not so much to him, who is God, as to themselves. That men might be borne of God, God was first born of man. Who then is he that hath a hart so hard, as that it cannot be softened by this love of God? this love I say of his so preventing, & so vehement which made him be content to become man for the love of man? Who now willbe able to hate a man, whose nature and resemblance he seeth in the humanity of God? Infaillibly whosoever hateth him, hateth God, and so he destroyeth whatsoever he doth. For God was made man for man; that as already he was man's Creator, so also he might be his redeemer, and that he might purchase him, out of his own stock. And to the end that God might be beloved by man, in a more familiar manner, he appeared in the similitude of man; that so both his external and internal senses, might be made happy in God; the eye of his soul being entertained, & fed by his divinity, & the eye of his body by God's humanity; to the end, that whether he should work inwardly or outwardly, this human nature which he created, might be able to feed deeply, & sweetly upon him. CHAP. XXVII. What the mission of the holy Ghost doth work in us. THis Saviour of ours, was borne for us, he was crucified and he died for us, that so by his death he might destroy ours. And because that bunch of grapes of his flesh and blood, was carried to this winepress of the Cross, & because the expression thereof being made, the new winner of his Divinity began to flow from thence, the holy Ghost was sent down, whereby the vessels of our hearts were to be prepared, and new wine to be put into new skins; that first our hearts might be cleansed, lest else the wine poured in, should be polluted; and that afterward, they should be tied up, lest otherwise when it were infused, it might be spilt. That they might (I say) be cleansed from all joy, which could be taken in sin; and that they might be fastened against all joy which could be taken in vanity. For that which is good, can never come, unless first that be sent away, which is evil. The joy which is taken in sin, polluteth; and the joy which is taken in vanity, scattereth us. The joy which is taken in sin, maketh the vessel fowl, and the joy which is taken in vanity, maketh it to be full of holes. joy is taken in sin, when sin is loved, and joy is taken in vanity, when transitory things are beloved. Cast the refore away, that which is evil, that thou mayst receive that which is good. Pour out all bitterness, that thou mayst be filled with sweetness. The holy Ghost is joy & love. Cast out the spirit of the devil, & the spirit of the world, that thou mayst receive he spirit of God. The spirit of the Devil, breedeth a joy in sin; and the spirit of the world, breedeth a joy in vanity. Now both these joys are naught; for the one of them hath vice in it, the other giveth occasion to vice. The spirit of God will come when these wicked spirits are cast out; and it will enter into the tabernacle of thy hart, and will produce a good joy, and a good love, whereby the love of the world, & the love of sin, shall be put to flight. The love of the world, doth entice and deceive; the love of sin, doth pollute, and carry on to death. But the love of God doth illuminate the mind, it doth purify the conscience, it makes the soul rejoice, & it demonstrates God. CHAP. XXVIII. Of the working of that soul which loveth God. HE, in whom the love of God remains, is ever thinking how he may arrive to God; how he may leave the world; how he may decline the corruption of flesh and blood: and to the end, that he may find true peace, he ever hath his desire, & his hart erected towards heavenly things. When he is sitting, when he is walking, when he is resting, & in fine whatsoever he be doing, his hart departeth not from God. He exhorteth all men to the love of God, he recommendeth it to all men, & he proveth to all the world, both by his hart, and by his tongue, and by his works, how sweet the love of God is, and how bitter that is of the world. He despiseth the glory of the world, he discovereth it to be full of affliction; and he declareth how fond they are, who place their confidence therein. He wondereth at the blindness of men, for loving such things as those; he wondereth, how it is possible for all men not to forsake these transitory, and frail things of the world. He conceiveth that every one should find taste in that which is so savoury to himself, that every one should love that which he likes so well; that every one should desire that which is so plainly discerned by him. He doth frequently contemplate his God, and by that contemplation he is sweetly fed; so much more happily, as more frequently. For that is most delightfully considered, the loving and praising whereof, is so full of delight. CHAP. XXIX. Of the Heart's true Repose. THen indeed is the hart in true repose, when it is all fixed by desire in the love of God; & when it covets nothing else, but in him, in whom it delighteth with sweetness, and whom it enjoyeth with delight. And if perhaps it be a little diverted from him, either by any vain thought, or else by business, it returneth instantly again at full speed; esteeming it for no better them banishement, during the time that it remaineth any where but in him. For as there is no moment of time, wherein a man hath not experience of the divine goodness, so ought there not to be any moment, wherein it should not be present to our memory. He is not liable to a little fault, who in prayer, whilst he is conversing with God, doth easily wander out of his sight, as if God did nether hear, nor see him. Yet this is done, when he followeth his own importunate and evil thoughts, and when he preferreth any poor and base creature (towards whom the sight of mind is easily withdrawn) before God. Reflecting & rolling, as it were, that creature up and down in his mind, by oftener thinking on it, then upon God, whom continually he ought to remember, as his redeemer; to expect as his Saviour; & to fear as his judge. CHAP. XXX. Whatsoever doth withdrav the sight of the mind from God, is wholly to be avoided. Whosoever thou be, that lovest the world, consider well, whither, it hath a meaning to carry thee. That way whereby thou goest, is a most wicked way, and full of misery. Fly therefore for a while, O man, from all worldly business, and hide thyself from those tumultuous thoughts of thine. Now cast away thy weighty cares, dismiss those laborious employments; be a little at leisure for God, and repose with him a little, in the closet of thy hart. Exclude all but God, and those things which may help towards the finding of him. Let all thy hart now say to God, I seek thy countenance, and yet again I seek it O my God. Come therefore O Lord my God; teach my hart, both where, and how it may seek thee, and where and how it may find thee. O Lord, if thou be not here, where shall I find thee being absent; and if thou be here, why do I not see thee, being present. But thou indeed dost inhabit inaccessible light, yet how shall I then approach to that light, if it be inaccessible; or who shall lead me, & admit me to it, that I may see thee in it? And again, by what signs, or by what address shall I seek thee? I never saw thee, O Lord my God; nor was I ever acquainted with thy countenance, What thou most high God, shall this creature who hath be exiled so far off from thee, what I say, shall he be able to do? What shall thy slave be able to do; who on the one side, is so deadly taken with the love of thee, and yet on the other, doth find himself to be cast so far off from thy face? Behold how he doth even pant to see thee, whilst yet thy face is so far remote? It desireth to draw near to thee; but thy habitation cannot be approached unto; It desires to find thee, but it knows not where; it strives to seek thee, but it is a stranger to thy presence. CHAP. XXXI. How the vision of God was lost by sin, and that misery came so to be found out. O Lord, thou art my God, and my Lord. I never saw thee & yet thou didst create me, & redeem me, and thou hast given me all good things; but yet still I never saw thee nor do I know thee. And though it be true that I was made of purpose, for the seeing of thee, yet hitherto, I never did that for which I was made. O miserable condition of man, who lost the thing to which he was ordained. O woeful heavy chance! Alas what is it, that he lost; & what is it that he found? What departed, & what remained. He lost felicity, to which he was ordained; and he met with misery, to which he was not ordained. That departed, without which nothing can be happy; and that remained, which of itself is nothing but pure misery. Then did man feed upon the bread of Angels, after which now he hath such hunger; and now he feeds upon the bread of sorrow, to which then he was a stranger. O thou my Lord, how long wilt thou forget us? How long wilt thou turn thy face from us? When wilt thou regard, and hear us? When wilt thou illuminate these eyes of ours, and show us that face of thine? When wilt thou restore thyself to us, and hear us? Behold us, O Lord, and hearken to us, and enlighten us, and show thyself to us, and restore thyself to us; that once we may be happy in thee, without whom we are so truly unhappy. O Lord, I beseech thee, invite and help us. My soul is all made bitter, by her desolation; sweeten it by thy consolation. I beseech thee, O Lord, since I have been hungry in search of thee, let me not be forsaken in being unfed by thee. I come faint with hunger towards thee, let me not depart empty from thee. I come poor to thee who art rich; miserable to thee who art merciful. Do not send me away needy, and disgraced. O my Lord, I am all bend downward, nor can I look but downward, do thou erect me that I may look upward, and that with great attention. My iniquities have overgrown my head; they have overwhelmed me; and they hang upon me like a huge weight. Unfold me, & empty me, and let not that Well stretch out his mouth to swallow me. Teach me to seek thee; and when I seek thee let me see thee; for neither can I seek thee, if thou dost not teach me, nor can I find thee, if thou dost not manifest thyself to me. Let me seek thee by desiring thee; let me desire thee by seeking thee. Let me find thee by loving thee; & let me love thee, by finding thee. CHAP. XXXII. Of the Goodness of God,. I Confess to thee, O Lord, and I give thee thanks, in that thou hast created me after this thine Image, that so being mindful of thee, I may consider, and love thee. But so is my soul defaced, with the corruption of vice; and it is so obscured with the smoke of sin, that it cannot perform that for which it was made, unless it be renewed & reform by thee. O Lord, thou who impartest the gift of spiritual understanding, I beseech thee grant that I may understand as much as thou knowest to be expedient for me. For thou art as we believe, & thou art that very thing which we believe & we believe that thou art some what, than which nothing greater, and nothing better can be conceived. What therefore art thou, O Lord God (since nothing can be conceived either greather or better than thou art) but only that sovereign good, which existing by itself alone, did create all other things of nothing? What good can therefore be wanting, to that sovereign good, whereby all good things are. Thou art therefore just, & true, & blessed; & whatsoever else, which it is better to be then not to be, that thing thou art. But yet if thou be all supremely just, how cometh it to pass, that thou pardonnest sinners? Is it because thy goodness doth exceed our understanding? This mystery lieth hid in that inaccessible light, which thou dost inhabit, yea in that most deep, and most secret profoundity of thy Goodness, that fountain doth lie hid, from whence the river of thy mercy floweth. For although thou be wholly, and supremely just; yet therefore art thou merciful to wicked men, because thou art also wholly and supremely Good. And thou shouldst be less good, if thou wert not good to any who is wicked. For he is better, who is, good both to the good & to the had, than he who is good, but to the good. And better is he who is good both in pardoning, and in punishing wicked men, than another who is only good in punishing. And therefore art thou also merciful, because thou art wholly and supremely Good. CHAP. XXXIII. Of the delightful fruition of God. O Thou immense goodness, who exceedest all understanding. Let thy mercy, which so abundantly precedeth from thee, descend down on me, let that flow into me, which floweth from the. Pardon me by thy mercy, lest else thy justice be forced to take revenge upon me. Stir thyself up, now, O my soul, & erect thy whole understanding, and consider (to the uttermost of all thy power) what kind, & how great a good that is, which is God himself. For if every particulier good thing do carry with itsome delight do but seriously consider how delightful that good must needs be, which containeth the delight of all good things; & that too, no such kind of delight, as we experience in things created, but a delight so very different, as the Creator, is more excellent than the creature. Now if that life which is created be good, how good is that other life, which created this? If this health be delightful, which is made; how delightful must that needs be, which made all this health? If the Wisdom be amiable, which is exercised in the consideration & knowledge of created things; how amiable must that other Wisdom be, which created & framed all of nothing? And in fine, if the delight which is taken in delightful things be very great, and of great variety; how various, & how great is that delight, which is taken in him, who created all these delightful things? O how happy shall he be, that shall arrive to, & enjoy this good; Yea how happy shall he not be? Infaillibly whatsoever he would have to be, shall be; and whatsoever he would not, shall not be. He shall there, be so endued with such felicity, both of body & soul, as neither the eye hath seen, nor the ear hath heard, nor hath it entered into the hart of man. CHAP. XXXIV. That this supreme good is to be desired. WHY dost thou therefore wander, O thou man, in the search of any good, concerning either thy body or thy soul? Love thou that one good, wherein all good things are, & it is enough. Desire thou that one single good, which containeth all good, and it will suffice. For what dost thou, O body of mine, desire, what dost thou desire, O my soul? There is in that good, whatsoever thou canst desire or love. If thou be delighted with beauty, the just shall shin bright like the Sun. If speed or strength, or ability to do what thou wilt with thy body; nothing shall be able to resist thee, since the. Saints shall be as the Angels of God: For a corporal body is sowed, but it shall rise up a spiritual body; not that it is so by nature, but by participation. If thou desire a long & healthful life, in heaven there shallbe a health full eternity, & an eternal health for the just shall live for ever; & their saluatio is of our Lord. If thou desire to have a satiety, & fullness of all things; Men shallbe satisfied when the glory of our Lord shall appear. If thou desire to be inebriated, men shall there be inebriated, by that ever growing plenty of the house of God. If music; the Angels shallbe singing there, for all eternity. If pleasure which is chaste & pure, our Lord shall give then to drink of the torrent of his pleasure. If wisdom, the very wisdom of God will to them declare himself who is wisdom. If friendship they shall love God more than themselves, & God will love them better them they can love themselves; because they love him, & themselves & one another, in him; & he loveth himself, & them, by himself. If concord with one another be esteemed; they have all but one will, because they have no other will, but the supreme will of God. If power, they shall have the same dominion over their own will which God hath over his. For as God can do what he will by himself, so shall they be able to do what they will by him. And as they cannot will any thing but what he wills; so will he will, whatsoever they will; & so what they will cannot choose but be. If wealth & honour, God doth place his good and faithful servants over many goods; yea they shall be called the sons of God, and Gods; and they shallbe his heirs, & the coheirs of Christ. If true security, they shall be as certainly assured, that no good thing shall be ever wanting to them, as they shall be sure that neither they will forgo it willingly, nor that he who loveth them, will take it away against their will, whom he so loveth; nor yet that there is any thing mightier than God, which is able to separate him and them from one another. Now what kind of joy, and how great must that needs be, where such a good as this, is to be enjoyed. CHAP. XXXV. Of the mutual Charity of the Saints in Heaven. O Thou hart of man, thou poor hart, thou hart which knowest what belongs to cares and miseries, by experience; or rather which art even overwelmed by them, how much wouldst thou rejoice, if thou didst abound with all those blessings. Ask thy most inward powers if they would be able to contain the joy, which would grow to thee, by such felicity as that. But now if any other, whom thou didst absoluty love, as thou didst love thyself, should possess the self same beatitude, with thee; thy joy would be doubled, because thou wouldst rejoice no less for him, then for thyself. And if two or three, or many more were possessors of it, thou wouldst rejoice for every one of them, as for thyself; supposing that thou lovedst every one of them as thyself. What kind of thing, will therefore, that perfect Charity be, of innumerable Angels, & blessed men, since no one loveth another less than himself; & no otherwise will every one rejoice, for any other then for himself. If therefore the hart of man will scarce be able to contain itself for the single joy, which himself will taketh in so great a good; how will he be capable of this so great joy, of so many others? Again, look how much more a man loves another, and so much more doth he rejoice at his good. And now, as in that supreme felicity, every one will, without comparison, love God better than himself, and all the rest; so also will he, without comparison, rejoice more in the felicity of God then in that of himself, & of all the rest of his fellow-Saints. And if they shall love God withal their hart, all their mind, and all their soul, in such sort as that yet all their hart, & all their mind, & all their soul cannot sufficiently comprehend the dignity of that love; without fail they will also rejoice with all their hart, withal their mind, & withal their soul, so that all their hart, mind, & soul, shall not be able to contain the fullness of that joy. CHAP. XXXVI. Of the fullness of the joy of Heaven. O My God, and my Lord, my hope, & the joy of my hart; tell my soul, if this be that joy, whereof thou hast said by thy son, Ask, & you shall receive, that so your joy may be full. For I have found a certain joy, which is full, and more than full; the hart, the mind, the soul, and the whole man being full thereof: But yet in heaven there will be another joy beyond measure, greater than this is. There, they who are to enjoy it, shall not enter into all that joy; but they, being all full of joy, shall enter into that joy of their Lord. Tell me O Lord, tell thy servant, & tell it to my hart within, if this be that joy, into which those servants of thine shall enter; who are to enter into the joy of their Lord? But even that joy where with thy elect shall rejoice, hath neither been seen with the eye, nor heard by the ear, nor hath it entered into the hart of man. So that yet, I have not been able to say, O Lord, how great that joy is, which thy Elect shall enjoy. It is certain, that they shall joy as much as they love, & they shall love as much, as they shall know thee O Lord. But how great shall that love be? It is certain that neither the eye hath seen, nor the ear hath hard, nor hath it entered into the hart of man, in this life, how much they shall know & love thee, in that other life, O my God, I beseech thee that I may know thee; that I may love thee, that I may joy in thee. And if, in this life, I may not do it to the full, yet at least make me profit in it more, & more, that at last I may arrive to that fullness. Let the knowledge which here I have of thee, proceed further that so it may there, be full. Let my love of thee increase here, that so it may be full there; & that here, my joy, may be great in hope, & there, full, in deed. O Thou true God, I beg, that I may receive what thou hast promised, that so my joy may be fulfilled. In the mean time, let my mind meditate upon it; let my tongue speak of it; let my hart love it; let my discourse work upon it; let my soul be hungry and even my very flesh thirst after it; and let my whole substance desire it; till such time as I shall enter into the joy of my Lord, where I may remain for ever. Amen. FINIS.