A SERMON Preached at the CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF St. CANICE KILKENNY, Feb. 27. 1669.  
BY JOSEPH TEATE, Dean of St. CAN. KILKENNY.  
DUBLIN, Printed by Benjamin took, Printer to the Kings Most Excellent Majesty, and are to be sold by Mary Crook, in Castle-street. 1670.   

Imprimatur,  
P. M. Archiepiscopo Dubliniensi à Sac. Domest. July 19 1670.   

To the Right Honourable Lady, EMILIA, Countess of OSSORY.  
MADAM,  
THe Divine Law that constitutes Tribute the due of Princes, hath consigned Honour the due of Nobles: which by the Learned is distinguished into Civil, which is a Descent from worthy Ancestors: Moral, whose Spring is Virtue: and Christian, which consists in a New Birth, whereby we are Coheirs with Christ, and the Offspring of God.  
Madam, I judge myself as insufficient, as Envy can do impertinent, to think by Eulogies of your Merit, to add Lustre to your Name; your Ladyship stands upon such a Theatre, that every Scene of your life is exposed to Public View, and therefore if I should give flattering Titles, the Suffrage of men would soon condemn me; but where God hath made me a Debtor, it is but just to make Payment in conscience to the highest Sanction, and Sense of my own Obligation of Gratitude. How your Ladyship is ennobled by Birth, I shall relate in the words of the Learned Vossius, who in his Book of the three Creeds, Dedicated to William Prince of Aurange, tells us, that his Descent was from Adolphus of Nassaw Cesar in the twelfth Century, so that Madam, by your Blood, and Allies, you are a Branch circling from an Imperial Stem of Majesty.  
But Madam, the Nobility of your Descent, only enrolls your Name in the Catalogue of the Great, is Secular and Transitory, Calculated for this World; but it is your Grace and Virtue that writes it in the Book of Life, and Embalms it to Immortality; the Wreaths of civil Honour are withering, Grandeur is fugitive, but Godliness is a Crown that fadeth not away: which consists in a great Humility, constant Devotion, and a diffusive Charity, which were the Amabilities of your Ladyship's Conversation among us; so that you have left behind you a Good Name, and carried with you a good Conscience.  
To digest just praises, is a tender, and discreet Virtue, that therefore you may give the Glory to God, I shall turn a Panegyric into a Prayer, That your Soul may be precious in the sight of God, as the Apple of his Eye, the Signet on his Right hand, and be made up among his Jewels, That the Losses of your greatest temporal Blessings may be borne with Patience, and what God hath spared, may be enjoyed with Moderation; that your mind may be equal, and fixed in the great Accidents, and Vicissitudes of humane Life, that the Kingdom of Ireland may prove to your Ladyship a Fortunate Island, by becoming what it once was called, an Island of Saints.  
This Sermon had been sooner made public, but that it was retarded by a tedious sickness; when it was preached, it was consecrated to God, and now it's printed, it's dedicated to your Ladyship, by the obedience of,  
Madam, Your Ladyship's most humble Servant JOSEPH TEATE.   
2 TIM 3.5. 
Having a form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof.  
SAint Paul who was not a whit behind the chiefest Apostles in Languages, Labours, Gifts of healing, Visions, Ecstasies, and Prophetic Inspirations, foretells us, what monstrous impieties the Womb of time should travel with under the dispensation of the Gospel; He foresaw the wickedness of men flying on, as fast as the wings of time could carry it: That as the Dew of Heaven, and Showers of Divine blessings should descend in plenty and abundance, so the Inundation of iniquity should rise higher to deluge and overflow the world, that times should be as perilous, as sins were exceeding sinful: Therefore as a good Soldier of Jesus Christ, not ignorant of the devices and stratagems of his spiritual enemies, he presents us with a List of their Legions; such a Catalogue of Vices that may exercise our patience to recite, as well as resist them: where self love leads the Van, and Hypocrisy in Religion brings up the Rear; And prefixeth this Asterisk 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 do thou turn Gnostick in this, Son Timothy, and know that the last days shall be evil, for men shall be Traitors, Truce-breakers, Heady, , Lovers of pleasures, more than Lovers of God, having a form, but denying the power of Godliness. The Ages subsequent to the Apostle have given a completion to his Prophecy, that no Fraud is so insinuating as that which is pious, no Error so infectious as that which is formal, when the Devil tells Lies in Hypocrisy from under the Mantle of a Prophet, they are credited as the Oracles of God, and men think they entertain Celestial Immissions, when he suggesteth things that seem to savour of piety as an Angel of light. Valentinus preached zealously, Arius repent publicly, Pelagius lived piously; yet they were a Triumvirate of the most pernicious Heretics that ever troubled the Church, when a man of Parts, and Eloquence, who designs Schism in the Church, and sedition in the State comes up into the Pulpit with a glorious Profession, magnifies his industry in the conversion of Souls, and seems himself to be in an Agony, when he talks of our Saviour; his mortified countenance enlivens his Projects, his Person is had in admiration, his Discourses received with credulity, as the Babylonians entertained Zopyrus, who by showing them his mangled members made himself Master of their Affections, and soon after Darius' Lord of their City.  
So sad is the Truth, that as the most poisonous pills may be guilded, so the vilest impieties may be garnished with a show of Religion: as may appear from those the Apostle mentions verse 2. Covetous, Boasters, Proud, Blasphemers etc. A man may be Covetous in his charity, Judas may ask why the Ointment was not sold and given to the poor, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a Thief, a man may be a Boaster in his self-denial, with the Philosopher write a Treatise against Vainglory, and subscribe to it with his own Name; Proud in his humility, like Diotrophes preach the Gospel and affect Pre-eminence, or Diogenes revile the Grandeur of Princes with greater insolence, a Blasphemer in his prayers crying as the Pharisee, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, and for all that be worse, and take his name in vain: There hath not been an irreverend Person in the Assembly, a disloyal Person to Authority, a schismatical Separatist from the Church: no, not the Murder of God's Prophets, and Gods Anointed, nor any sacrilegious Alienation of their Estates, and Maintenance, nor the Blasphemies of Quakers, Ranters, and Familists, but have been ushered in with the hideous outcries of Repentance and Reformation: there is not a sinner in the Catalogue, but may have the form of Godliness, and deny the power thereof.  
The terms of the proposition to be explained are four: Godliness, the Form of Godliness, the Power, the Denying the power under the Form of it.  
Godliness, if we consult the Etymon, the Hellenists will tell us, is derived from a verb that signifies to worship, and imports that solemn Reverence a Creature oweth his Maker, and that in the days of Moses he was called a Godly person, that was a Proselyte of the Gate, acknowledged and adored a Deity, observed the seven precepts of the sons of Noah, with Cornelius, and the Ethiopian Eunuch. But the Essence of it consists in the Latitude of Holiness, the Rectitude and Conformity of the heart, and life to the first and second Tables of the Law; Godliness is profitable to all things, that is obedience to that Law that is holy in its Precept, just in its Penalties, and good in its Rewards. Yet in other places of these Epistles to Timothy, it is to be understood in a more limited sense, sometimes for the Systeme of fundamental truths, called the Doctrine according to Godliness, the Symbol of which the Apostle gives us, when he saith, Great is the mystery of Godliness. God manifested in the Flesh, etc. Sometimes for the Duties of Religion, distinct from the Moralities of honest men, so we are exhorted to live peaceable, and quiet lives in Godliness, and honesty, but here being opposed to a Form, an External Pomp and Pageantry, it is the inward Purity and Devotion of the heart, whereby God is worshipped in Spirit without Carnality, and in Truth without Hypocrisy.  
The form of Godliness, is its Scheme; and external Similitude, a Fashion, and resemblance, or appearance of that which is not real and intrinsical. As Jupiter among the Poets was metamorphosed into the shape of a Beast, though he pretended to be a Deity; so these men would pretend to be Deities, when they are but Beasts, the word beings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Essential Form cannot be here intended, which is so far from the denial of Godliness, that it gives it Difference and Operation, as the Reasonable Soul is the form of a man, whereby he discourseth, and is distinguished from all other Ranks of Being's, so the Image of God is the Form of Godliness that gives it Power, and Distinction from all things that are not homogenial to it. But that form which consists in a Cumulation of accidents, and is the more Vain and and void, as the Text is excellent, on which it is a Gloss, and Paraphrase: so Esau who was under the Curse of the Creation to bring forth Briars, and Thorns, being an hairy and rough man, in the form and apparel of Jacob, seemed a Paradise, and smelled like a Field which the Lord had blessed: so a common person in a Comedy may represent the Majesty of a Monarch. But then these Forms are like the Ideas of Plato, wholly abstracted from matter, and destitute of the power of Godliness.  
This power of Godliness is, when the Habits of Grace send forth the vigorous and vital Actings of holiness, as the Fountain doth Streams, and the Sun Rays and Emanations of light, as will appear in the sequel of this discourse.  
Men deny the power under the form of Godliness when they seem to be Pious, because they are Politic, and profess themselves Christians because Subjects to a King that is the Defender of the Faith; yet think, that the exquisite Holiness of the Law, is but the Severity of Melancholic Men, who have represented Christ to be an hard Master, and therefore although they invocate his Name are disloyal to his Commands, profess they know God, but in works Deny him; ingeminate an oral Loyalty, crying Lord, Lord, but do not his will: and so think to palliate the Atheism of their lives by the Religion of their Language: Thus the Emphasis and Important Terms of the Proposition are explained.  
We might justly expect, when an Apostle is giving us the Kalander and Ephimerides of the Times of the Messiah; that the first Prospect in the Firmament of the Church, would be an Horizon of hope, the dispensation of the Gospel being so bright and blessed, When the Sun of righteousness did appear with healing in his wings; yet he presageth nothing, but Clouds, and Darkness, Eclipses of that light that should shine before many, glaring, and portentous Phainomena's, and the Signs of Heaven without Celestial Influences: in the last days perilous times shall come, Last days they are in regard of the administration, that doth succeed, and exceed that which was Levitical, Christ being a better Prince than Moses in his Sanctions, a better Priest than Aaron in his Sacrifice, he was not only an High Priest, but an Apostle, that was sent out of the Bosom of the Father, to bring glad tidings, yet when the Plenty of Grace was most of all dispersed, the Power of Godliness was most despised, so that men were efferated by clemency, enraged by meekness, impatient by forbearance, wax wanton in the most goodly Heritage; and live as if Christ were an hard Master in the Largess of his Bounty. For in the last days, men shall be Lovers of themselves, having a form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof: So that first the Form, and then the Power, are the Arguments of my present Discourse.  
A Form may be considered as a Virgin, or a Prostitute, as abstracted from, or concomitant upon the powers of Religion, as Diana was in Heaven a star, but in Hell a firebrand, and Consort of Pluto; so a form flowing from the power of Godliness, is Angelical, but divested from it, Diabolical.  
For when our Works of Darkness appear as Angels of Light, we mock God, by honouring him with our Lips, and dethroning him from our Hearts, we crucify the Lord of Glory; and, as the Soldiers, put a Crown on his Head, and Robes on his body, and salute him with an Irony, Hail King of the Jews; we worship the true God, as if he were an Idol, that had eyes, and saw not, not considering his great Attribute of searching the heart; we make God abhor his own Institutions, and reverse his Laws, bring no more vain Oblations, incense is an abomination to me, as if he would receive no Honour from the Services of Hypocrites, but what he distrains for by his public Judgements; Thus a form is a desperate Incentive to, and a plausible Engine of the greatest Villainies; Cain first Sacrificed to his God, and then slaughtered his Brother; Jezabel institutes a Fast, and then thirsts for the Blood of Naboth. The strange Woman paid her vows with Peace-offerings in her hands, and then managed the Artifices of an Adulteress, and entered into Obscene Dialogues of defiling her husbands Bed. The Jews consecrated Gifts to the Treasury of the Temple, and then cried, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord are we, but the Corban turned Bethel the House of God, into Bethaven an House of Affliction, to their indigent, and unrelieved Parents. Thus a Formalist makes the Rites of Religion, a Gloss for sin, solicits wickedness in the external glorifications of God, and is like those sort of Meteors, that shine only in their fall from heaven.  
But a Form, in conjunction with the Power, is an Ornament of great Price in the sight of God; St. Paul doth not discourage a form, that is modest in Complexion, grave in Gesture, discreet in the Expressions of itself; that waits on the Power of Godliness, as a Disciple on his Master, or a Servant on his Lord; as he saith in the first Epistle, Good works become women, professing Godliness; Religion is not to be like those mineral mountains that appear barren, when the Veins of Gold lodge in their Bowels, but as the King's daughter, all glorious within, yet her Raiment is of wrought Gold. Can a Maid forget her ornaments? or a Bride her attire? or the Spouse of Christ her Raiment of Needlework? as David invited all his faculties within him, so his Glory, his Tongue, to join in the Chorus, as the most natural, proper, and musical Instrument, whereby an heart, Big with the Burden in the songs of Praise, could best deliver itself; our Lights are so to shine before men, that they seeing our good works, may glorify our Father which is in heaven.  
The corruption of this form, is either Gross, and Pharisaical, when men are Zealots for the first Table, for the Temple, and Invocation, for Sacrifices and Altars, for Incense, and Oblation, Sabbaths, and solemn Feasts; but break in pieces the second, neither sparing their neighbour's Wives in Lust, nor their Lives in their Anger, nor their Estates in their Avarice, nor their Good Names in their Ambition; as if the two Tables were as the two Principles, and Gods of the Manichees, the one Good, and the other Evil; the first Table a Sacred Edict, a Royal Promulgation to be kept, the second to be violated as a Snare, and Tyrannical Exaction.  
The other corruption is Subtle and Moral, when a Form of Godliness, and Honesty do meet together and Kiss each other; A man may be born in the Pale of the Church, baptised into the most holy faith, instructed in her Catechisms, and Homilies, And only be a Patriot of Virtue in the profession of Faith: he may stand up at the recitation of the Creed, and say Amen to every Article, and yet be just in his actions, temperate in his life, generous in his spirit, upon no other principles than Socrates or Seneca might be, his Religious Duties are all Moralities, he reads the scripture and entertains them with an humane Faith, as the stories of Zenophon, or Plutarch, he gives to the Poor and calls it Charity, when his Alms are the Issues of a natural Compassion, and Benignity, what he doth is from the Dictates of Reason, which are perfective of the humane nature, not from an assent to a divine Revelation, or Obedience to the will of God: Now Virtue in a Profession of Godliness is the highest semblance of Grace, I cannot persuade myself that the light of nature that convinceth Atheism, and contemplates on the Omnipotence and Wisdom of God is an ignis fatuus; or that the Law of Nature that God hath written in the Sacred Scriptures, as well as the hearts of all men is a Throne of Iniquity, or that Honesty, Temperance, Chastity and Justice are glittering sins, but rather believe that they are Rudiments of our Creation, not wholly Obliterated by the fall of man though they do not please God in that way of Complacency that faith doth; they may be Strictures, and darker Shadows, though Graces are the Bright and Orient Colours in that Soul that is created after God's image: To apply all this, if a man professeth himself a Christian, and is only  as a Brave Roman, out of Glory, or a Mind cultivated by Reason, none can resolve the Sophism, and say that his Virtue doth not flow from the influences of faith, but the infallibility of Heaven, and his own Conscience. The Forms of Godliness being then skilful to deceive, I shall absolve my discourse in two particulars. First in showing Reasons why Godliness will express itself in a Form, then Rules to direct the Form by the Power.  

Reasons why Godliness hath a Form:  
The nature of Graces is to be active in the Discovery of itself; The Spirit of God is no where more Rhetorical then in the Variety of Metaphors on this Subject, He calls it a Light that must shine before men, that may as easily be suppressed in its Heat, as concealed in its Brightness; He compares it to the vital moisture of a Tree planted by the Rivers of water, that sendeth forth its Blossoms and Fruits in due season; to Leaven, whose Fermentation continues till it hath Leavened the whole Lump: to perfumed Garments; the smell of Lebanon; and the Powders of the Merchants; such an Impulse there is in Grace to display its own Glory; So it was with St. Paul who was to bear the name of Christ before Kings, saith he, I believed, therefore have I spoken and in St. Peter who bore the name of Christ before the Sanedrim; we cannot but speak the things we have seen, and heard. when David mused, the Fire burned, but it flamed forth when he spoke, out of the Abundance of his heart; with the heart a man beleiveth unto Righteousness, and with the tongue Confession is made unto Salvation.  
The sense of those great Privileges, and divine Relations we have by Godliness excites us to it, if we are a chosen Generation, a Royal Preist-hood, a Holy Nation, and Peculiar People; it is to show forth the Praises of him that called us; so David that was a chosen Prince, a Royal Prophet, a Peculiar Person did; Come and hear all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what he hath done for my Soul; it is not proper for that Soul that is Loud in begging mercies, to be Silent, when it receives them: God hath delivered my Darling from the Paw of the Lion, redeemed me from sin, rescued me from Satan, ransomed me from the Bottomless Pit, and with a greater depth of Love, hath invited me with glorious Liberties, made me a member of his Son, equal to the Angels, an Heir of his Kingdom, and if I am still silent, I must implead his goodness, because it is unutterable, and my own joy that is unspeakable, and full of glory.  
It is God's end in giving Graces, that their intrinsic Worth and Lustre may shine forth, to his own Glory, and the Good of others, we are filled with the fruits of Righteousness, to the praise, and glory of God; and hereby is the Father glorified, if we bring forth much fruit: Grace loseth that advantage of its Influence, and Exemplarity, when it is a candle put under a bushel, which it hath, when all the Graces shine as a Branch of lights to the whole house: when faith leads a Monastic Life, is an Hermit in Solitudes, and agitates devout meditations in a private Bosom; it is an enclosed Garden in a Wilderness, it gives pleasure to a contemplative Life; but it seems not to work by Love in the feeling of Communion, by casting Beams on the Members of that Body, whose Head is Christ: a Form then is acceptable to God, being serviceable to the Communion of Saints, and instrumental to the Honour of his own Name.  
God requires the service and subjection of the whole man, the Life and the Language, the Mind, and the Mouth, the Faculties of the Soul, and the Organs of the Body to glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  
Gratitude to God, and Charity to our Brother, engage us to a Form of Godliness; the first makes us speak Honourable things of God, the second thing Necessary for Man; Instruction to the ignorant, Reproof to the vitions, Comfort to the disconsolate, when the Channels of the divine spirit are as open, as the Fountain is free and Festival; As the Beneficence of God to the body and soul requireth the integrity of the whole man, who hath created and blessed both; So he hath created and blessed the Body in that Dependence on, and Communion with the Soul, that while there is Humility in the Heart, it will bend the knee in adoration; where there is desire in the Reins, it will lift up the Hands in uncessant Supplications; where there is Joy in the Mind, it will open the Mouth to show forth its praise.  
Our Baptismal Vow doth oblige us to confess the Faith of Christ crucified, which in the days of Persecution was an eminent act of Fortitude and resolution, Christ crucified was to the Jews a Stumbling Block, and to the Greeks foolishness; yet Lactantius tells us that the Primitive Christians had the sign of the Cross drawn on their Foreheads in most orient Blood, to persuade Infidels to believe that they were built upon the Jewish Stumbling stone, and dignified with the Grecian obloquy. The beauty of a Form is commended to us by these Persuasions; as the Glorious Attire of Godliness; yet this Attire is to be fitted and adapted to the power; I shall therefore superadd.   

Rules to direct the Form by the Power.  
Have no collateral Respect, or Sinister Design at thine own honour, advantage, or reputation in thy Professions, and Forms of Godliness; It is an Argument of a low, and a lose, a mercenary and a disingenuous spirit, for a man to pretend God's Glory when he intends his own; God will have it all to himself, that no flesh should glory in his presence; we are to lay down our Carnal Excellencies, when we take up a Spiritual Profession. St. Paul gloried not in his own Labours, but in the Love of God, I laboured more than they all, yet not I but the grace of God that is in me; I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: much like that Expression when he tells us, that when he doth what he hates, it is not I, but sin that dwelleth in me; So that as to his personal condition, when the sum total is cast up as to Grace, and Concupiscence, it amounts but to two cyphers set one against another, as he doth justly excuse his Infirmities, so he doth modestly refuse the honour due unto his Graces.  
Avoid all conceited Tones, affected Accents, and Antic Gestures in thy Profession, and Form of Godliness; these Ridiculous things are sufficiently confuted by a mimical Derision; for there is a Behaviour becoming Holiness; when we Profess as Saints, we should Act as Men; some move in an higher Sphere, and place Religion in the frequent Repetitions of Jesus Christ, and the holy Spirit of God, when they have lusciously ingeminated these names, which are only to be mentioned with Reverence, and Trembling, they think they have witnessed a good Confession; but some are paramount, and vilify all things that are not a pretence to Revelation, and a Lofty Language, as the Valentinians, in Irenaeus, despised the usual Dialects of other men, using Exotic Idioms, the bold, and boasting phrases of Barbarians; such we meet with in the discourses of Jacob Behman, and Van Helmont; in the inscriptions, and pages of the books of Quakers, which they call the bosom of God, the outward openings of inward shutting, Godded with God, Christed with Christ, beams of approaching glory. These swelling words of vanity are unknown to the Scripture, and contrary to the simplicity that is in Christ.  
Let not the Form exceed the Power, or be as the Shadows of the Evening, Longer than the substances on which they do depend. Virgil gives several signs of an approaching night, That then the Toads begin to croak, and crawl about; The Shepherds return home, and the Shadows of the Mountains grow Long. Have we not had these ill Symptoms, that our day is far spent? do not Sectaries meet together in Numbers? Are not some Pastors suspended from executing their Charge? is not the Kingdom of Darkness highly advanced? we may guests it to be Midnight by the Dreams and Illusions, and pretended Visions of some Enthusiasts. Our Saviour condemned the Generation of the Pharisees, that curtailed the Law, and made broad their Phylacteries; who when they Fasted, disfigured their faces by distorted Mouths, and pensive Countenances, as if deformity were the Form of Godliness. Suffer not the form to be of equal Extension with the power, because it is apt to Degenerate, and become Excessive. There are some eminent Devotions, that are as the Sun in the Meridian, the Shadows are small; and they enter into a Closet, as a Recess from humane Observations, and there are Humiliations, wherein we are to anoint our Faces, to make them Shine, and when they shine, as Moses did, we are to veil them, though it be by an Irradiation from God. We are instructed to this by the Windows of Solomon's Temple, that were narrow outwards, but broad within, and Receptive of light, by the Temple itself, that was conspicuous indeed without, but the Guildings and Magnificences were internal, by the Sanctuary that was Veiled, but within were the Altar, and Oracle, the Propitiatory and Mercy-Seat, the Cherubims, and God that dwelled between them; by the Heavens, whose Appearance to the Earth is an azure Canopy, embossed with Clouds, and glittering stars, but within there is God, and Jesus the Mediator of a new Covenant, an innumerable Company of Angels, and the Spirits of just men made perfect, that reign with him in immortal, and everlasting Glory.  
Let thy form keep a constant Tenor in heavy, as well as Haltion days; when Jerusalem flourished in the days of Alexander, the Samaritans worshipped at her Temple, and came to warm themselves at the High Priests fire; but when Antiochus had Ransacked the City, and Sacred Treasuries, than they blessed themselves at mount Gerizim in the Denial of the God of Israel: when Christ multiplied the Loaves he multiplied his followers, who would have taken him by force and made him King; They thought his Territoryes would be Opulent, his Fields and Vineyards fertile, that his Jewish Subjects needed not to travel to Egypt in the days of Famine, but that his Monarchy would infinitely exceed that of solomon's in Peace and Plenty; They thought that the Roman Eagles would be gathered as Chickens under his Wings, and that his Glean would be better than the Vintage of all the Kingdoms upon Earth; But when he told them, his Kingdom was not of this World; that his Crown must be of Thorns, how few did bear his reproach to follow him without the Camp? to honour him in the indignities of his passion? What is this but the Artifice of filthy Lucre, to make a Gain of Godliness to assemble for Corn, Wine, and Oil, to bake Cakes to the Queen of heaven, not to be consumed with famine; to court the King's Daughter because she is an Inheritrix of temporal Blessings, and not for the Beauties of her Holiness; but they that are afraid, or ashamed of the Profession of Godliness before Tyrants, Tribunals, Flames, and Faggots, of them will the Son of Man be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of the Father, with all his holy Angels.  
Let thy Form have such an inviting Modesty, as to allure others to a Love and Participation of the Power of Godliness. Musicians observe in the Sympathy of sounds, that if two Viols be tuned to a Consonancy, and the String of one be struck, the same string of the other will sound, though laid at a Distance; such an Harmony there is of Souls, that if a well-tuned Heart be struck with the Finger of God, it will send forth such a Melody that will work in others, an Unison, and Concord with itself; David went up with the Tribes to worship, Andrew brought Simon, Philip Nathaniel, the woman of Samaria the City of Sychar to the presence of the Messiah.  
The Apostles did triumph in the Myriad of the Jews, the Kingdoms of the Gentiles, the Numberless Accessions of the World to the little Flock of Christ. A Form well ordered in all things by a sweet and gracious Conversation, doth powerfully and placidly insinuate itself to produce this Effect; which I shall demonstrate thus. The Word is the great Instrument of Faith; it hath a Moral, and Suasive Power to propound Arguments to the Understanding, and Objects to the Will, Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But this Cause is not irresistible, for we find the Apostle taking up the Complaint of the Prophet, Who hath believed our report? But where the Word is deficient, the Form of a good Conversation may be Efficient of Faith in Christ. St. Peter exhorts Wives to be in subjection to their own Husbands, that if any obey not the Word, they may without the Word be won, with the conversation of their Wives, while they behold their chastity coupled with fear. It seems the Eye is a better Organ than the Ear, sometimes to convey Light and Happiness to the Spirit, and good Works are better Orators then good Words; For so we read in Story, that Theodolinda, Queen of the Longobards, converted both her Husbands, the First from Gentilism, the other from Arianism, an auspicious Lady, to espouse them both to the great Bridegroom of Souls; but the Story is still Big with greater Wonder, for her Virtues were so Exemplary and Eminent, that they executed an Apostolic Office, and converted the Nation of her Subjects to be baptised into the Catholic Faith.  
If thou seest a beauty in the Form of Godliness, and wouldst preserve it from decay, avoid the sins mentioned in the Catalogue. The Enemies of a form, are those of her own house, no Sins make her more Odious, than those that are Shrouded and Sheltered under her Protection.  
All sin hath such an abhorrence to the powers of holiness, that they hate the Form, and Fringes of her Garment (as is commonly observed of the Panther, that he so abhors the person of a man, that he tears in pieces his picture) For a Form extorts, from Seducers, and Sectaries, those Actions that are against the Bend and Inclination of their hearts; They are Covetous, and yet the false Apostles at Corinth, preached freely to get Occasion of Glory, and disgrace St. Paul; who was there forced to live by his Mechanic Labours, that he might not be Burdensome, or Chargeable to that Opulent and Censorious City.  
They are Self-lovers, in their Beneficence and Good Will towards men. I need not mention anymore, seeing Self-love is so Prolifical a Parent of all the other Sins, that they must have a Commixture and Co-incidence with it, as Branches in the Stem from whence they grow: So that the Form is a Restriction to, and Contradiction of their Villainies, though they use it as an Artifice to palliate their sweet and secret Sins, and to make way for an open Dissolution; The sixth verse calls them Creepers, while they creep into houses unawares, and privily sow their Tares, and are Despicable; they insinuate themselves with Pretences of Strictness, and a Tender Conscience, of Modesty, and Meekness, of Condescensions, and Philanthropy; but when the Creeping Party becomes prevailing, they soon forget their formal Compliments, and break the Bonds of their former Restrictions asunder, and cast away their Cords from them; they are Blasphemers, and fill heaven with Reproaches; Traitors, and fill Kingdoms with Seditions, the Tender Conscience soon betrays itself in Searedness, and unnatural Affection, is incontinent in all Excesses, and fierce in all Errors, with a Rage reaching up to heaven: how contrary is this to the Light of the Gospel, that is altogether Serene, and Pacifical; to the Tongues of Fire that descended on the Apostles, that by all-powerfull words did create those Miracles that were all like his that sent the Comforter, the instances of mercy: new light soon turns into Wildfire, and the Tender Conscience Ravens as a Wolf, to make havoc of the Church; The Arians, and Donatists of old, and Anabaptists in Munster, and Sectaries of England of late have been sufficient Arguments to make this manifest to all men, and Alarms to Princes whose security consists in the Preservation of Religion; In this vigilancy Babylon exceeded Zion, for Nebuchadnezar made a Decree, that what ever Nation spoke against the God of Shadrach, should be made a Dunghill, but of Judah where God was known the Prophet complains, according to the Number of thy Cities, so are thy Gods O Judah: to return, An Hypocrite Loves not freely, and hearty his Reigning Sin, because it exerciseth a Tyranny and Co-active Power over him; it restrains him from swallowing the sweet Morsels he tacitly hungers after, therefore he Dethrones it, and takes away the Sceptre of Authority from it, when he can have his other Lords to Reign over him; and exposes his Form when he hath cast of its Yoke to the greatest Odium and Contempt; what cheap thoughts must men have of a Form of Godliness when it's infected with Dishonesty, the feigned Saint is manifestly a real Knave, and all his Humiliations and Prayers, wherein he deprecates the Evils of Covetousness, are apparently but feigned words to make merchandise of the Inheritance of Orphans, the Houses of Widows, the Patrimony of the Church, and the Rights of his Brother? how infamous must the way of Balaam be in the opinions of men? who said he would not curse Israel for an house-full of Silver and Gold; crying out, how good are thy Tents O Jacob, and thy Tabernacles O Israel; Praying that there might be no Divination against Jacob, or Enchantment against Israel; yet all this holy Discourse and heavenly Resolution was but a Varnish to a deceitful heart that was Bribed with filthy Lucre, and the Wages of unrighteousness: can a Dog's neck more desecrate an Altar? or the image of an Adonis a Temple? then for a man to fling out his Invectives against sin, and yet to indulge those that are contributory to his Lust, and Avarice? what are the Prayers of these men but so many Practical Lies told to heaven, who while they pray, with a  Blasphemy defy God, and when they sin, by open Atheism deny him, and the Votaries are as certainly the Captives of the Devil, as they are the creatures of God.  
Avoid those sins that are inconsistent with a Form of Godliness, which may be reduced to a tripartite Division; Some hinder the Assuming of a Form, others Blast it, whilst it is Professed; and others do Renounce it, and Cast it off. The sins that hinder the Assuming of a Form, are Prejudice, and Fear.  
Prejudice against the Precepts, that command us to cut off the Right hand, which is interpreted the Mutilation of the Body; as Fervency of Spirit is the Calenture of the Soul, the Communicating and Doing good, the Wasting the Estate, and being Evil spoken of for the Name of Christ, the Wounding the Reputation, these are the Grievous Commandments of an Hard Master, to which, in stead of Binding them to men's Fingers, they give them a Manumission; and with the Young man in the Gospel, Go away; and with Orpah, salute, and forsake together.  
Fear, if with Scylla, they could see a Crown on the Liver of the Sacrifice, the Wages of Godliness, the Divinations of Riches and Honour; they would become Disciples; but when they Observe all that will live Godly in Christ, must suffer Persecution, and through many Tribulations we must enter into the Kingdom of heaven, they are offended at the Cross of Christ, they think there is a Lion in the way, that affrightens them from any Essay of walking in them.  
These sins hinder men from being Catechumen, but which is worse, some that are Baptised blast their Profession by a Flagitious Life, live without God in the world, that it had been better for them they had never known the Way of Truth. Such are they that think it below a Brave Spirit, to tremble at a Threatening, but stifle the Warnings of their own Bosom, and live in Chambering, and Wantonness, Rage, and Riot, Swearing, and Uncleanness, that a man without the Breach of Charity may say, they have no Faith.  
But Apostasy, from Faith, and Obedience, does Obliterate all the Characters of a Form, and makes Shipwreck of Profession, and renounceth Communion with the Visible Church. There were three sorts of these Apostates in the times of St. Cyprian; the Traditores, that gave their Bibles, in stead of their Bodies, to be burnt; the Thurificati, that offered Incense to Idols; and the Libellatici, whose Denials of Christ were more Private and Auricular, but bought Tickets from the Magistrates, to preserve them from that Bloody Inquisition. Now an Apostate cannot be an Hypocrite, for he is gone out of the Precincts of the Church; They went out from us, because they were not of us, saith St. John, they have broken themselves off from that Body into which they were implanted by Baptism, and are Strangers to the Covenant of Promise: Thus we see the Dignity, and Defection of a Form, how it is to be exercised, suspended, and moderated, and how to direct its course between a Rude, and Rigid Zeal, and a lose and Sceptical Profession; we see the Grounds and Gradations of its Dishonours, and Decays, how that it departs from some men as the Glory of the Lord did from the Temple, and Altar, and Threshold of the house, in the Vision of Ezekiel: and when the Leaf thus falls and withereth, the Tree is Barren, and Corrupt, for that is the Climacterical time to show its Disease is Mortal, and therefore it must not cumber the Vineyard, but be cut down, or plucked up by the Roots.  
But it is high time for us to come to the Power of Godliness, which hath so much Goodness in it, that it should not be accounted an Offence; and so much Wisdom, that it should not be accounted Foolishness; the Necessity of it is so great, that it should not be Delayed, and the Excellency so Glorious, that it should not be Denied: therefore, as all men should acquire it for Salvation, so our Present Duty is to inquire, wherein it Consists, and Discovereth itself.  
I have already explained the Phrase, that the Reducing of the Habits, and Vital Principles of Grace into Act, is the Power of Godliness; the Philosophy of which Leads us to the Consideration, That Habits of Grace are those Divine Qualities, infused into the Soul by the Spirit of God, which incline the Heart, and sway the Conscience to an actual Obedience, to the Will of God, with Facility, and great Delight. They are therefore called by the Fathers, and Schoolmen, the Springs, and Fountains of Grace, not like the Fountain in the midst of Paradise that flows with continual waters, but like the waters of Siloam, that spring from the foot of mount Zion, qui non jugibus aequis sed certis horis diebusque ebullit, whose Streams are not always Current, but in the due seasons of time: The musical knowledge of a Lutanist in his Quavers, Rests, and Motions, whereby he is able on all occasions to play those delightful Airs that commend his skill, is the Habit of the Artist, but suppose the Hand of the Lutanist be wounded, he hath still the knowledge, and Habit of his Faculty, although the Exercise be prevented by the Indisposition of that necessary Instrument of his music; so the Godly man that hath these principles of a Celestial Original, hath upon all occasions his senses exercised by reason of use, suitable to those commands the law of God requires, and those Emergencies the Providences of God expose him to: and although the Acts of Grace may be suspended sometimes by Natural, or Civil actions, sometimes by inevitable Infirmities, yet still he hath a New Nature, the Unction of the Holy one, and the seed of God abiding in him: for our clearer understanding of which, we are to consider.  
1. The Plenty of Godliness consists in the Habits of Graces; The Righteous are said to be Trees Planted by the Rivers of water, and the Trees of the Lord are full of Sappe. The Radical moisture of these noble Vines may Retire to the Root in Winter, yet at the return of the Sun they send forth their Grapes in Clusters, and their Perfume as the smell of Lebanon, as a homage of gratitude to the Influenences of Heaven, and the Blessings of God. These are the Gifts of a Liberal God, like those of a Prince in his Inauguration and Festivity, for he sheds abroad the washing of Regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost abundantly upon us; that we may abound in the work of the Lord. And as there is more light in the body of the Sun, then in all the beams that shine on the World; for, suppose they were all Eclipsed, the Sun in a moment, or imperceptible time, could supply them all, by one Irradiation; so if the Acts of Grace were all vanished, they would be Renewed by the treasures of their Causes. The Acts of Grace are Transient, but the Habits are Permanent, and Replenish the soul with innumerable Activities, to the Comfort of the Believer, and the Glory of the Giver. This is called, a Living by Faith, therefore acts flow from the Habits of grace, as beams from the Sun, and streams from a fountain, are many, mighty, pleasing, vigorous, and delectable, they are free, frequent, natural, and numberless.  
2. The Power of Godliness, is the reducing the Habits of Grace into Exercise, and Operation. The same word doth the Apostle use to his son Timothy, Be strong in the Grace that is in Jesus Christ; go on from Strength to Strength, till thou appear before God in Zion; shine like the Sun, more and more, till the perfect Day, who from the Twilight of the morning, Runs his Race like a Giant, till it comes to its meridian brightness. The Initials of Grace are weak, like an Embryo, infirm as an Infant, but by superadded acts, the Smoking Flax is kindled into a Flame, and the Bruised Reed becomes a Cedar, the Habits grow in strength, and stature, by the addition of one grace to another, which is the supply of every part extensively, adding to faith virtue; and intensively, by the addition of one degree of Grace unto another, till it comes to the measure of its stature; when righteousness is revealed from faith to faith; Grace is never commensurate in the beauty of proportion, till it is consummate in the beauty of perfection. They that were divorced from their sins, as Phaltiel was from Michal, who went weeping after her to Bahurim; when this Gift of God is stirred up in them, contemplate holiness with joy; they that did deprecate Wrath with Fear, implore Mercy with Confidence; They that sought after him whom their soul Loved, when, with Andrew, they have found the Messiah, Lean on his bosom, Love him dearly, Esteem him highly, Fellow him fully, and Live with him eternally.  
The weak in the faith, and the feeble-minded, wrestle not with Principalities, and Powers, but with God himself, give all diligence to make their Calling sure, press forward to the Price of their high Calling, abound in the work of the Lord, till by uncessant Labours, they rest in the Fruition of him; as if we might suppose a spark of Fire unextinguishable, it would be in continual Ascents, till it came to its own Country, and Region, under the Concave of the Moon  
1. There is a mighty Tendency and Impulse in Habits to exert themselves into Act, they are the full Breasts of Consolation, that are uneasy till they are Drawn, and Dispensed, they are as seed cast into the Earth, that lives and grows up into an Harvest; They are Talents to be improved, and Lamps to be furnished; and because Flames are soon spent unless God be in the Bush, and Streams soon vanish without an Ocean, it being God that worketh in us both to Will, and to Do, that giveth Life and Motion to these Qualities of the Soul; we must have still Recourse to the Influences of his Power, and the supplies of his spirit.  
2. There is a Gratitude in free and frequent acts to further the Growth, Strength, and Radication of their Habits; as natural Qualities are intended by natural Actions, so are supernatural, as the more a man plays on a Musical Instrument, the greater are the habiliments of his art; So Hoseah. 6.3. Then shall ye know the Lord, if ye follow on to know the Lord; infused knowledge should be increased by a studious meditation; So Coll. 1.10. Filled with the Knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, there is the Infusion of the Habit, That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all well pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, there it is reduced to act, increasing in the knowledge of God, there is the Radication of it, For he that will do Gods will shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God. Joh. 17.7. they are not Lazy and Languid things, but are discovered by the facility strengthened by the frequency of their own Actions. The habit and the act are thus bound up together in the Bundles of life, combine in Vigour, and Virtue, in Influence, and Causality on one another; and hence it is that an Habit of Grace is a Quality difficultly removed, and although it may be interrupted and suspended by impetuous Temptations, and imperious Lusts, yet in this Hostility and Conflict it is Restless till it is prevalent, and have Dominion, as the Sympathy of a Needle touched with a Loadstone makes it unquiet in its greatest trembling, and disturbance, till it Rests, as in its Centre, in a Direct Line pointing at the Polar star; And as in an uneven Ally a Bowl may run one way when the Bias inclines it another, so a Godly Man may be Disturbed by Surreption and Infirmity, though the Habit doth sublimate, and sway the heart to the service of God: The habits of Grace will not be kept in arctâ custodiâ, but will break prison, and walk at Liberty.   

This Power discovereth itself.  
1. In Resisting strong Temptations, to express it in the Allusion of the Apostle, it quits itself like a Man in its spiritual Olympics, when the messenger of Satan buffeted our Apostle he besought the Lord thrice, the assault of an Enemy excites the valour of a Veteran Soldier, so the urgency and vehemency of Temptation made him ingeminate his requests to God.  
2. In mortifying strong corruptions, dethroning Satan from his strong holds, captivating every Imagination, that towereth against the commands of Christ, destroying every Reigning sin, as Josuah did the Kings of Canaan.  
3. In Acts of eminent Obedience; A sacrifice can be worth but little, that costs nothing; Abel offered up his Best, Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, St. Paul himself, he was ready to be offered; This Power animates and ennobles the heart, to hate father, and mother, to cast away his chiefest Joy, as a snare, to cut off the Right hand, and pull out the Right eye, to fling away the most precious Treasure, as a Torment, at the command of Christ; if a man have Wit and Learning, this divine power is as a spring of Motion to him, to be useful and profitable in worthy Instances, and Institutions; in meditations on God's Word, Defence of his Truth, Instruction of his People, and inquiry into those mysteries, that is, the Emulation of Angels to pry into: if a man hath Honour, this Power makes it a Champion for the Patronage, and Lustre of Religion, it Humbles him, to fling down his Coronet at the feet of the Lamb, and Advanceth him, because he hath something the world hath an Esteem for, to Deny for his Saviour, which is beyond the Proportions, and possibilities of ordinary Christians: if he hath Riches, this Power turns his Almoner, feeds the Hungry, cloaths the Naked, Erects Hospitals, builds Schools of Learning, and makes his life the definition of the Law of Charity: all his measures in religion are laudable, and transcendent, not only thrust down, and shaken together, but running over.  
But do not these Glories of the Power of Godliness, discourage those that are weak in grace? I answer, that it may be propounded as a Problem, that the Newborn Babe hath more strength, than the Old man, the infancy of grace is more powerful, than the Decrepit Age of an inveterate Lust, as there is more vigour in a few Drops of Spirits, than a great quantity of water; so there is in the smallest seed, and sparkle of Godliness, than the greater measures of Corruption: for this seed grows in the midst of all the Tares that would choke it, and this sparkle lives in the midst of all the waters that would extinguish it, and the smoking Flax, and bruised Reed, break forth into Victory, against all the Winds and Tempests that oppose them: which strange vigour doth not arise from the immortality of any Grace in itself, but from the supplies of that spirit, that is greater, potentior, saith Beza, stronger in us, than he that is in the world.  
I shall conclude all by an instance, how to reduce the Habit of Love, that Powerful, and Operative Grace into act; which when it is once Kindled in the Bosom of a man, he finds his Heart, like the Disciples going to Emaus, burn in the flames of a most Seraphical Affection. The Master of the Sentences denies any habit of Love in the soul, but asserts, that all its Emanations flow immediately from the Person of the Holy Ghost: but seeing the Apostle expressly distinguisheth between the habit of Love, and the Spirit, as between the Effect, and its Cause, when he tells us, That the Love of God is shed abundantly in our Hearts, by the Holy Ghost; and the Acts of this Love are Defined to be, the Fulfilling of the Law, the Bond of Perfection, and the end of the Commandment, we may reduce this habit into act by Examples, and Arguments.  
1. By Argument, Enter then, O my soul, into those Galleries, wherein the King of Glory Walks, and is Detained; and Observe how he hath commended his Love toward thee, All the Dimensions of his Love, its Height, Length, Depth, and Breadth are so many Topics to persuade and allure thee, to be Espoused to him, as thy Bridegroom.  
The height of this Love is Ecstasy; that God over all, blessed for ever, equal to the Father, in whom are hid all the Treasures of wisdom, and Knowledge, whom the Angel's worship, should have his heart Ravished with a Creature, polluted with Blood, defiled with Sin, subjected to Damnation, that when thou wast upon the Precipice of Ruin, stretched forth his hand to save thee, and draw thee into his Bosom. Canst thou, O my soul! forbear to say with the beloved Disciple; To him that Loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us Kings, and Priests unto God; To him be glory and dominion, for ever and ever.  
The depth of this Love was humility, he humbled himself to assume our nature in the Form of a servant, to bear our miseries, and become obedient to death. David and Jonathan were a famous pair of Lovers; Jonathan, who was heir apparent to the Crown, Knew David was designed for it by the Almighty, yet was faithful to him in his secrets, solicitous for him in his Dangers, and gave him his hand to advance him to his own Throne: But the Love of Christ is without a Parallel, That supreme power should assume the Form of a Servant, infinite glory should submit to a Reproach, exquisite Purity, should suffer imputed sin, that the Son of God's Complacency should bear the Viols of his Wrath, should descend from heaven, come out of the Bosom of his Father, to enter into a Grave; what greater token of his Love could he give thee, than his Agony, his Blood, his Life? Surely, O my soul, thou art harder than Iron, if this Loadstone will not draw thee. Well might Solomon rifle all the Rarities of Nature, to be Symbols of this Love, to which the whole Creation is not sufficient to be an Allegory. For greater Love than this hath no man, then to Lay down his Life for his friend; but herein he commended his Love to us, that while we were sinners, he died for us. Consider the High Priest of our Profession, hanging on the Altar of his Cross, with his arms stretched wide open to receive thee, and canst thou forbear Leaning on his Breast, and prying into the secrets of his Love, the Knowledge of which passeth Understanding.  
The Breadth of this Love is Universality: so immense it is, that it hath mercy for thousands, a Plenteous Redemption, salvation to the uttermost; he tasted death for every man, and Laid down his life for the world. No man ever perished for want of Bounty, or Bowels, the Passion or Compassion of a Saviour, but because his sensual Part is offended at Christ's Cross, and commands. Consider then, O my soul! how delectable are his Laws? how glorious his Cross? Obedience is essential to Love, and where it is habitual, there is as much Pleasantness in his Precept, as there is Sweetness in his Promise: if thou prefer profit with Judas, pleasure with Zimri, honour with Diotrephes, an Obliquity before a Right path, thou dost not only sin against the Precept, but the Grace of God that would assist thee to observe it. Faith looks at a future Retribution, but love immediately at the Merit of the Lawgiver and the kindness of his Commands; and if the Amabilities of them, were once presented to thee, it would be as uneasy to thee to be vicious, as it would be to a vicious Person to be Devout; thou wouldst see Liberty in his Yoke, and Lightness in his Burden, it would be as a Wing to a Dove, an help in motion, as Ballast to a ship, an hindrance against fluctuation. As his Commands are Pleasantness, so is his Cross peace, our Saviour to commend his Love to us, consulted not the Dignity of his person, the Tragedy of his Passion, but longed for his Sufferings, thirsted after his Cup, hungered after that Passover, which he was to eat with such bitter herbs. Esteem then O my Soul! but all things as Dross to know the fellowship of his sufferings, which are Seals of thy Adoption, Pledges of Gods paternal Love, and and work an eternal weight of Glory.  
The length of this Love is eternity, it's an ancient Love, from everlasting, he loved us first; its durable to everlasting, he loved us to the end; it is not Critical, or Captious to take offence at every lapse, or Omission. And if it be lawful to speak of the Duration of God, by the Measures of time; this Love was as great in the first Moment as it can be to Eternity: for than did the admirable and astonishing Wisdom of the blessed Trinity consult the Salvation of thy Precious Soul; by the Incarnation, and Passion of the Son of God, when the fallen Angels were left in a State of irrecoverable Perdition: That he that is Glorious in holiness, should be a Sin and a Curse for us by the Projects set up from everlasting, is so stupendious a Depth that unless it had been manifested in the Gospel, had been the highest Blasphemy to imagine it, and what the Wisdom of the three Persons did contrive, the Love of the second did bestow, he loved us, and gave himself for us, Thou must then O my Soul! either account all this a Golden Dream, or a well devised Fable, or else not suffer the world to be a Rival in thy Estimation, and Affection with the Son of God, if these meditations be seriously believed, and judiciously weighed, thou canst not Expostulate what is thy Beloved more than another Beloved, who is the chiefest among ten thousand, altogether Love, and altogether Lovely.  
2. Converse with divine Objects and Examples. As Flame Kindles Flame, so do examples excite Love, and Objects not only Attract the heart but Ravish and Transform it; if David muses, the fire will burn, if Moses be in the mount his face will shine; the Butterfly doth adorn herself, and the Bee enrich herself, by dwelling on the Flowers of the field; if a Ray of Love may spring from a Glance, how much more from a Vision face to face, a full contemplation of the beauty of holiness? I shall consider but three friends of the Bridegroom, and their Delicious Intimacies with him; Marry Magdalen she loved much, and kissed the feet of Christ, to acknowledge her subjection to him, she washed them with her Tears, and wiped them with the Hairs of her head: if there w●re virtue in touching the Hem of his Garment, much more in kissing his feet that were so Beautiful that his very footstool was glorious, and the Throne of Grace; St. John (we may say) kissed the hands of Christ to acknowledge his Dependence on him, whose hand was the great instrument of Bounty, whose Bosom, in which he Lodged, the Treasury of Grace and Cabinet of secrets, where he had the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven revealed to him; could a man choose a diviner mansion, or inhabit a better Tabernacle? The Spouse kissed the Lips of Christ to show her Communion with him. Those Lips that had Grace poured into them, and spoke the Words of eternal Life; such Examples will excite the heart to Emulation and make it sick of Love; I will give him then ten thousand Kisses, and embraces, I will serve him, praise him, Trust in him till my love is consummate, by being for ever with the Lord; And then O my Soul, if he should ask thee as he did Peter, Simon Bar Jonah Lovest thou me? thou wilt answer as he did, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee.  
By this instance we are directed to exercise any other Grace of the Gospel.   
FINIS.