A SERMON Preached before Her MAJESTY THE Queen Dowager, In Her Chapel at Somerset House, Upon the Second Sunday after Easter, April 10. 1687. By F. James Ayray, of the Holy Order of St. Francis, Chaplain and Preacher in Ordinary to His Excellency the Spanish Ambassador. Published by Her Majesty's Special Command. London, Printed for John and Thomas Lane, and are to be Sold at the Sign of the Golden-Anchor, the Corner Shop of Wild-Street, next Duke-Street. 1687. A SERMON Preached before Her MAJESTY THE Q. Dowager. JOAN. 10. ver. 16. Et Vocem meam audient. JOHN 10. ver. 16. And they will hear my Voice. A Good and Skilful Shepherd, (Most Sacred Majesty) a Good and Skilful Shepherd, One that loves his Sheep, and is tender of his Flock, covets and requires the healthful Hills, and finest Turfed Plains, for his Sheep to Feed in: He sometimes refresheth them along the Banks of some pure and crystalline Stream; and then again, he seeks an Eminence for variety of Pasture, and his Flock's Diversion: But when he finds the Sun decline, and is about to take his leave of us, upon his Shawm he sounds a Retreat: And if his knowing Eye discover any wanting, he leaves a while his Flock alone; he climbs the Hills, he surveys the Plains; and finding it laid under the Protection of some shady Bush, transported with Joy, he hugs himself in his good Fortune; he lovingly embraceth it, he takes it in his Arms, and carries it back to Fold. Almighty God, whose Love is infinite, and Care unspeakable, had led our Human Nature forth to feed in the fertile Fields of a Terrestrial Paradise; whose Hills were always Green, still flourishing with Original Justice, and the Fountains of it were the clear Parents of Immortality: But when he sounded his Retreat, and found it gone Astray, he enquired, ubi es? he came in search after, down from Heaven; he run through all the miserable Valley of this wretched Life; he climbed the Hill of the Cross, and finding it much wearied and quite harassed, he raised it from Sin to Grace, and conducted it to the pleasant Pastures of Eternity. He had reason to say, That his Sheep will hear his Voice; the tender Demonstrations of Love he shown them, and their own Interest would prompt them to it: Yet, how many be there, That will hear any Voice but that of Jesus? St. Paul could say, That, 1 Cor. 14.10. Nihil sine voce, there was nothing Dumb in Nature; every thing had its Language, and could speak, and speak so inticeingly, it made the unthinking Man listen to the Sound, and stoop to Lure: The World, the Flesh, and Pleasure, have all of them their several Dialects, and they be all delightful; and tho' the Voice of God surpass them all, yet it is no difficult thing to make mistakes, where there is so great a Multitude: The enchanting Voices of the World will never want Admirers; whilst few there be, that listen with attention to the sweet charming Voice of their Beloved Pastor. The Spouse in the Canticles was so taken with it, she could be content to hear it always; all Sounds but his, were dull and troublesome; Vox enim tua dulcis, His Voice was pleasing beyond measure, and his Conversation extremely grateful: and could we but think it so, we might have some reason to believe we are his Sheep, and belong to his Sheep-coat. This is what I would willingly let you see, after having invocated the Assistance of the Holy Ghost, through the Intercession of the ever-Blessed Virgin Mary; whom we will Salute in the Words of the Angel, Hail, full of Grace, etc. The World, St. Greg. 10. Mor. cap. 16. as St. Gregory tells us in his Morals, laughs at the simple Man, deridetur justi simplicitas, and its foolish Wisdom, which doth weigh all things in a deceitful Balance, knows not the worth of Virtue, but condemns that for Silly, which the God of Heaven reputes Sublime: But those who are not of the World, who steer their Course by a higher Compass, who regulate their Lives according to Divine Maxims, highly prize and esteem this Virtue of Simplicity, do approve, and even envy the Encomiums God did give it, Job cap. 2.3. when he called holy Job, Vir simplex ac timens Deum, A Man made up of Simplicity; his best Ingredient was the Candour of his Spirit; he did not know the wicked Malice of the cunning World, but did simply fear and love his God. Saint Paul would have his new Roman Converts, Rom. 16.19. Sapientes in bono, & simplices in malo: Sapientes in bono, that is, wise, wary, not to fall from good: and, Simplices in malo, so piously simple, so simply ignorant, as not to know how to commit a thing that should be Evil. The Naturalists, whose constant business it hath been to pry into the Inclinations of each particular thing, have observed two notable properties in Sheep; their Simplicity, and their Obedience; they simply go with their Pastor wherever he please to lead them; and are so punctually obedient, that if straying and out of order, a Call or a Whistle brings them Back: The Son of God requires these two Qualities in every Christian that he admits to Fold; for, Vocem meam audient, They shall hear my Voice. Man hath several Voices, and can manifest his Thoughts by several ways; he can speak with himself, and in his Mind can frame long and intricate Discourses: his Hand and Pen will carry his Conceptions cross the Seas, and fetch back Instructions from the other side; and whilst we talk together, our Tongues do entertain Converse, and so we grow familiar. Almighty God much after the same Nature doth deal with Man; and by several ways, like to these, declares his Will unto him, and makes him acquainted with his Orders. His First Voice is a Word Infused, purely interior; His Second is his Written Word; and his Third is his Word, as Preached and Published: and all these do require of us Simplicity and Obedience; Simplicity in Believing, and Obedience in Executing they command Us: So that the Voice of God, under these three Notions, of Infused, Written, and Published, shall be the Subject of our First Point; and the Simplicity and Obedience required in all its worthy Hearers, shall administer Matter for my Second; and be the Subject of (Most Sacred Majesty) your Gracious and Favourable Attention. POINT I. THE Holy Ghost often makes use of the First Way, and speaks Interiorly to our Souls in a Spiritual manner: Galen, that Eminent Physician, says, That we have Ears in our Heart, as well as on our Head; and, as with these we hear those Articulated Words framed without; so the Silent Words of God (as Saint Augustine calls them) strike our Ears within; Aug. 10.9. Tra. 54. Non labiis clamat sed in cord loquitur; He speaks to us, as heretofore He did to the Ancient Prophets, by Inward and Secret Inspirations; Per inspirationes internas. Eliphas, a Friend of Job, Job 4.12. declares, He felt the Effects of this Voice in his own Person; Add me dictum est Verbum absconditum, & quasi furtive suscepit auris mea venas susurri ejus, & quasi vocem aurae lenis audivi; To me was spoken a Secret Word, and, as it were by stealth, my Ears received the Whisper thereof; like the Pleasant Murmurs of some purling Stream, or like a Gentle Breeze against the Leaves. Some are of Opinion, That Eliphas did only boast; and Liranus saith, It is a pure Mistake; because (saith he) God seldom, if ever, reveals his Secrets to wicked Men; such as Eliphas was: However, were it so, or were it otherwise, l. 5. c. 20. the Great Saint Gregory takes an Occasion from these Words of his, to make us acquainted with the Loving Conduct of our God towards his Favourites; He Explicates the Inspirations of the Almighty, by a Metaphor drawn from the Pure Rivulets softly gliding through the Woods, or upon a Gravel; whose little grumbling Murmur, and pleasant Noise, is so still; a Man must press his Ears to hear it, it is so delicate. The Inspirations of our God slide so easily into the Heart of Man, and pass away so gently, they be often gone before we feel them; our Mind being divided about the little Affairs of Life, and our dull Spirits unfit for the Maxims of a Spiritual Conduct. Yet the Manner, the very Method of this Interior Voice, is admirable: Love and Fear do interchangeably play their Part; St. Greg. ut supra. they do each solicit and terrify the Heart of Man: Aliquando amore, aliquando nos terrore compungit: The Voice of Love is full of Consolations; it doth charm us sometimes in Prayer, and regals our Appetites with Delights that are wholly Spiritual in our Communions. This is that Voice, the Spouse doth mention in the Canticles, with so much Reverence: Cant. 2.14. Sonnet vox tua in auribus meis, vox enim tua dulcis; Beloved of my Soul, speak unto me; let your Voice but reach the Ears of my Heart; it is charming to a Miracle; it is all Divine, as all devout Souls do testify, that have heard it. Saint Gregory compares it to that Kiss, Cant. 1.1. the Chaste-Lover did covet with so much Ardour; Osculetur me osculo oris sui: c. 1. de dev. Nom. and St. Denys calls it, Stimulos dulces divini amoris, The sweet Incentives of Divine Love; they awake your drowsy Souls, and push them forward, and make them walk with large Steps in the Service of their God; they effectually thrust them on; and yet, its Force is Sweet, and full of Comfort; it moderates whatever is harsh in the Rule of Virtue, Aliquando amore, aliquando nos terrore compungit: Those stiff-necked Souls, whom Love and Sweetness cannot gain upon, terrore compungit, He hath his Terrors in Store; and where Love cannot compass, Menaces and Threats do gain the Point, and make their hard Hearts supple and comply: The Thoughts of Death, the Dread of Hell, the Rigours of a Divine Justice, the Sting of Conscience, the ghastly Shapes which Sin always leaves behind, terrifies a miserable Soul, instills in him a horror for his Sin, makes him hear, and at length love his God. I find in the Book of Job, a certain Passage fit to our present Purpose; Job 33.15. Per somnum in visione Nocturna quando irruit sopor super homines; Fear and Apprehension seize upon a Man in the Night, whilst asleep, and in his Dreams, suddenly do reach the Ears of his Heart, surprise his Soul, and in a Language above what's common, lays before his Eyes the miserable Condition wherein he languisheth; and instructs him how to get free. So that, these Nightly Horrors are often the Inspirations of the Almighty, Job 15.21, Sonitus terroris semper in auribus impii; Almighty God is so solicitous to save Man, that he raiseth a frightful Noise in the Ears of the Impious, which doth terrify them continually. St. Paul deciphers this Voice of God, as he doth all things else, in a most wonderful manner; and saith, That whensoever and whomsoever it calls upon, it is still in order for their greater Good; it Remonstrates the Dangers that surround them, it shows the Means of Evasion, and declares the Advantages of a better State. You Worldly Man, who fond, and even foolishly engage your Heart to these things below; Are you not truly sensible, that the Acquisition of what you covet, is both dangerous and painful? How many do sell their Souls for those very things, which afterward do vex and torment them? A little Riches, for example, unjustly gotten, bring along with them a thousand Troubles and Disquiets; the Care of keeping them, is fenced with Fears and Apprehensions; and Chagrin, Vexation of Mind, and a Grief unspeakable, do attend and wait upon their Loss. O! were it not much better, saith the Loving Spouse of our Souls, to abandon all these, which will infallibly leave us? Their Friendship is false, and their deceitful Amity, the certain Cause of many Crosses, Cares and Crimes: If you must still be getting, seek and purchase the Goods of Heaven, which are only true Goods, and can only satisfy the Heart of Man, and make him happy. It is strange to see, how this Interior Voice familiarly converseth with, and pressingly solicits the Heart of a Sinner! Few here, I am apt to believe, that have not (at some time) experienced what I am now about to say. How often hath God spoken to your evil-disposed Heart, in the midst of your Wickedness, while you were actually offending him? How often hath he suggested to you the Severity of his Decrees, and the Vanity of your Presumption, in letting you see, that a sudden Death would frustrate you of that long-expected Moment, which you reserved till the last, to cry Peccavi, and for your final Repentance? Do you not fear the Devil, who is ready to seize upon you? who, should your Soul departed in flagranti delicto, when in the height of Wickedness, would infallibly carry you to Eternal tormenting-Flames? O wretched Man! Think upon your End; and reflect, that the time which now is lent you, are dies acceptabiles, Days of Mercy; and these once let slip in vain, Eternal Death and Horror closely waits upon their Train. The Children of the Jews were earnest heretofore in their Suit to Moses, that they might never-more hear their God to speak, because his Words were generally delivered in Threats and Thunder; Exod. 20.9. Non loquatur nobis Dominus, ne forte moriamur, We shall certainly die, if He but speak. But this Interior Voice is of another Temper; Loquetur pacem in plebem suam, Psal. 84.9. It is a Voice of Peace, of Comfort and Consolation; dissipateth the Clouds of Ignorance, and calls the Wandering Sheep home to Fold; and consequently, all that are, or would be good, are bound to hear it; Oves meae vocem meam audient: And if any are so stupid, or ill-advised, as not to hearken to it, let such prepare their Ears for another Sound, for a Voice of Terror and Indignation; Prov. 1.24. Vocavi & renuistis, ego quoque in interitu vestro ridebo: I have called upon you, and you were deaf to my Admonitions; I have called upon you by my Secret Inspirations, whereby I have so often touched your Heart, so often have discovered unto you the Severities of my Judgements, have made you sensible of those Tormenting Flames, that you will infallibly feel, if you fall-under my Hands, & renuistis; and you have slighted all these. But when Death shall seize upon you, and make you tremble with his cold Approaches, when your poor Heart shall be terrified with that Ghastly Company, which shall then surround your Couch; when in your last and dying Agony you shall call upon your God, your Maker, Prov. 1. and Redeemer, Ego in interitu vestro ridebo, I will then laugh at all your Miseries. O Christians! These Threats are able to daunt the most fixed Courage; and the Effects of them, which frequently happen, do often create Despair. How many in the World, whilst living, were often and copiously blest with Sacred Documents from Above; yet, at the Point of Death, because deaf to their First Call, did want the Grace of a true Repentance; and so lay down crushed in Sin. The strange Example of Origen, methinks, should wonderfully raise Attention in Us, and make us listen diligently to the Written Word of God; which is his Second Voice: St. Epiphanius relates the Story of him in his Second Book. He saith, That this unhappy Man, after his shameful Fall in Alexandria, where, forced by a cruel Persecution raised against the Christians, he offered Incense to the Deity of those Heathen Idols; not being able to bear the constant Taunts, and Jeers, daily fling upon him by men scandalised to see a Person of his Wit and Learning commit so base a Crime, he resolves to withdraw, to retire into the Holy Land, and there (unknown and disregarded) spend the poor Remains of his days: But, Vltrices manus pariter, The revengeful Hand of God went still along with him; for he was no sooner got to Jerusalem, but the Report of his Learning arrived with him, and he was immediately entreated by the Inhabitants of that City, to honour them with some select Piece of his Gallant Wit, which had already gained Renown with them; though they had not, as yet, been so fortunate as to be acquainted with his Person. Origen excused himself all he could, alleging his great Indisposition, by reason of his long Travels, with many other specious Pretences; but none would gain Acceptance with those earnest Supplicants, who beforehand had resolved to admit of no Excuse, and would not be said Nay. In fine, finding himself extremely pressed, he condescended to their Importunity; he mounts the Chair, and takes the Bible along with him, which is the Written Voice of God, intending to make the first Text of Scripture that should occur, the Subject of his Discourse; and thereupon dilate himself, as the Holy Ghost should suggest unto him: He opens the Book, and the very first glance of his Eye fell upon that Verse of the Royal Prophet, in his 49th Psalm; Psal. 49.16, 17. Peccatori dixit Deus, Quare tu enarras Justitias meas & assumis Testamentum meum per os tuum? tu enim odisti disciplinam & projecisti Sermones meos retrorsum; To the Sinner God hath said, Why doth thou declare my Justices, and takest my Testimony by thy Mouth? Thou hast hated Discipline, and cast my Words behind thee; Which, in short, is thus; How dare you announce my Law, and my Gospel to this People, now that you have so basely, and so unworthily transgressed them both? Having read these Words in a languishing Tone, with a pale and reserved Countenance, he shut his Book, he laid it by, and, like a Person struck from Heaven, did lose both Sense and Speech. The People, who did thither flock in Crowds to hear him, were astonished at this new way of Preaching: In the mean while, poor Origen's Heart was daunted; and seeing himself condemned by his own Words, he did yield up his Soul to Grief, his Eyes to Tears, his Mouth to Sighs and Groans. My God What a Sermon was here?' specially for Origen, to whose Heart God did speak, and speak so, as to make him Wiser by his Fall. Whilst we, wretched Sinners, can brave the Inspirations of Heaven, and what we read make no esteem of; we have just reason to fear, that while thus we stop our Ears, while thus we block up all the Avenues to our ill-instructed Heart, Almighty God seeks no other way of Entrance; and he who slights a proffered Guide, may find no other Way to Bliss. The rich Man in the Gospel desired to be revived, and live again on Earth, that by conversing with his Brothers, and describing unto them the Horrors of that Place of Torments, where he had so long been detained a Sufferer, he might teach them how to avoid it: But Answer was made him, Luc. 16.29. Habent Moysen & Prophetas, audiant eos; If they will neither hear Moses, nor the Prophets, 'tis to be feared, they'll not believe a damned Soul, tho' come from Hell; and so his Suit was rejected. Who of all Us, that hath not experienced both these? No Heart so averse, which God hath not striven to win; no Sinner so depraved, for whom the Almighty hath not still a Pardon in reserve: His Voice hath been heard several times; and we, like drowsy idle Sheep do never mind it. He did speak with his tears, as soon as he was born, Primam similem nobis emisit vocem plorans, and only a few poor Shepherds, and three strange Kings, did take notice of it. Being able to write Man, he did raise his Voice, he did speak louder, he preached almost daily; and only a Samaritan, a Zacheus, a Centurion, a Magdalen, were awaked from the sleep of Sin at the Sound of it; Jewry and Jerusalem were quite deaf. He ascended the Pulpit of the Cross, and did speak with so much Violence, he did read his very Throat, and sent forth his Soul at it; and only one poor Thief did hear, and was sensible of the Noise he made. The Scribes and Pharisces, Herod, and all the Soldiers, were at the very foot of the Chair, and could not, or would not hear one single Syllable. When he risen from the Grave, he did speak so earnestly, he moved the very Stone from off him; and yet the Watch remained fast a-sleep, Dicite quia vobis dormientibus; They were none of his Sheep, they did not hear his Voice: or, if they did, they wanted both Simplicity, and Obedience; which are two Qualities absolutely requisite for good Sheep, as you will find by my Second Point. POINT II. Vocem meam audient, They will hear my Voice. THE Prince of the Apostles called the Sheep of JESUS, who are the true Children of the Church, and whom he was commissioned to feed, Filios Obedientiae, Sons of Obedience: He exhorts them to show themselves such in Reality, by the Observance of God's Commands: He is not content to have them only Obedient, for that alone will never make them Perfect; but, moreover, requires they should be Prudently simple; Matth. c. 10.16. Prudentes sicut Serpents, simplices sicut Columbae; They must be like Sheep, and observe their Pastor in all his Motions. The very Essence of a Christian requires both these Qualities, Simplicity in believing the Articles proposed unto Us, and Obedience in performing what they demand of Us. When Man doth first commence Christian, the first Question that is put unto him, is, Quid petis ab Ecclesia Sancta Dei, Ita Ritual. What do you ask of the Church of God? and he answers, Faith, Fidem: It is the First of All the Virtues insused in Baptism, and the most necessarily requisite upon several Respects: First, Because it is the Basis, or Ground, on which all our Hopes are built; For, Tolle Fidem, & caetera sustulisti, Take Faith from Man, and he is but one poor Degree above a Brute; and, as in a Building the Foundations do always lie concealed within the Earth; so those Mysteries which are proposed unto us by our Faith, lie all close concealed within the hidden Secrets of the Divine Veracity: Athan. in Synopsi. Gloria Dei est celare verbum; Almighty God doth glory in hiding his Secrets from Us; and a Man doth merit more by simply assenting to what he cannot comprehend: St. Gregory hom 28. in Evang. for, Non habet sides meritum ubi humana ratio praebet experimentum; Our Faith is useless, and cannot claim Desert, where Human Reason hath gained Experience. Secondly, If we consider the Objects proposed unto Us, we ought to be truly simple, and veil our Judgement; because all the Mysteries of our Faith do surpass the reach of Human Understanding; That, for Example, of the Unity and Trinity of God, can never fall under the Light of Human Reason; but is made known unto Us by a Supernatural Revelation: What Wit, tho' most refined? What Understanding, tho' never so penetrating, can discover Three in One, and One in Three? One and the Selfsame Essence of a Deity in Three distinct Persons, and a Plurality of Persons in One and the same God. Every Man hath Two Eyes; One Nature did provide him with, and that's his Judgement, and his Reason; the Other was lent him by Grace, and that's his Faith: If he intent to see perfectly with This, he must wink with the Other: close the Eye of Human Reason, and your Faith will be more discerning. Have you never observed a Man, who aims a-right, and infallibly hits the Mark, he winks with one of his Eyes; for then those Spirits which did serve them Both, now joined together to assist but One, do strengthen the Faculty, and make the Shot more certain: So you, if you design the attaining those Mysteries, whose Knowledge our lowly Nature cannot reach to, must wink with the Eye of your Reason, and only look through the simply single Eye of Faith. The Spouse in the Cantieles had Two most beautiful Eyes; they were like the Eyes of a Dove, Cant. c. 1.15. Cant. 14.9. Oculi tui Columbarum; yet, as we read, She wounded her Beloved with only One; Vulnerasti cor meum in uno oculorum tuorum: Hence we gather, that it was not the Eyes of her Body that wrought this Conquest; for they were charming both alike: But it was the piercing single Eye of her Faith, which gave the Wound, and made his Heart her Captive. All those knowing Wits, which are most of all illuminated with the Light of Human Reason, are not always the most Sincere and Faithful: A poor ignorant Person, whose Heart doth know no double, and is only Owner of a single Faith, shall do more, shall love his God more entirely, shall gain a greater knowledge, and consequently a more ample Merit, than those highflown Minds, whose Conceptions are the Rule they go by, and vainly fancy their shallow narrow thoughts a Gage capable of the Grandeurs of an Infinity. The History of Alanus is a demonstration of this Verity: This Man was the most remarkable of his Time, the most Learned Person that then did live: The very Epitaph upon his Grave-Stone doth make it out; Qui duo, qui septem, qui omne scibile scivit: He had run through, and did understand the Texts of both the Testaments; He was most excellently well Versed in all the Seven Liberal Sciences: In fine, he knew all could be, or was fitting to be known. This Prodigy of Wit and Science, upon a time, invited the Inhabitants of Paris to be his Judges, and hear a Sermon of his; wherein he promised to give them a large and perfect Explication of the Mystery of the ever-blessed Trinity; and the better to adapt himself for this Enterprise, he makes a Collection of all the Arguments and Passages of Scripture, that might best serve his turn: The Night before he was to appear in Public, walking by a River side, musing with himself, and polishing his Discourse, he was diverted with the pleasing Object of a beautiful little Boy, who, sitting on the Bankside, was lathing with the Palm of its pretty Hand, the Water of the River into a little hole which he had made on the Bankside: Surprised, and withal delighted with the pretty Spectacle, inquires, what its design could be, he seemed so busy about? Why, Sir, my design is to put all that water you see between these two Banks, into this little hole I here have made. Alas! replied Alanus, smiling, you will be a great while before you will be able to compass that: No, Sir, excuse me, not so long as you imagine; for I shall have performed this intended Task, before you will have made good your promise, and have explicated the Mystery of the Trinity; and having said so, he vanished. It was doubtless some Angel sent from God, to Teach this Doctor, Simplicity, and confound his Presumption: and he was so surprised with this Answer, and withal so sensible of his Temerity, that he immediately became a Shepherd, and tended the Sheep of a certain Monastery of Saint Bernard's Order; in which he also afterwards became Religious. From hence we may learn, that a simple Faith dives more profoundly into the greater Mysteries of Religion. Nescio, saith the Great St. Augustin, & libere me nescire profiteor, Aug. Serm. de S. Trinit. & in hoc Christianus sum quod unum Deum in Trinitate confiteor: For my share, I do freely own my Ignorance, and in this I think myself the better Christian, in that I profess and do adore One God in Three Persons, notwithstanding I cannot comprehend it. The Holy Ghost could, if he had so pleased, have cleared all our Doubts; and yet hath left us in the dark, that in our simple Belief our Faith should reap a more copious Merit, Cum simplicibus sermocinatio ejus: Almighty God, saith Solomon, discovers his Secrets, and familiarly converseth with the simple of heart: I could wish from mine, that we were all of the same mind with the Learned Tertullian; Nobis, saith he, De Praesc. c. 8. curiositate opus non est post Jesum Christum, nec inquisitione post Evangelium: Now, that Jesus Christ hath revealed his Verities, our curiosity is not necessary, but fruitless; and all demands are vain to him, that hath received, and professeth the Gospel: In all our Points of Faith, it is sufficient that God hath said it; haec dicit Dominus, one single word of his outweighs Ten thousand Reasons. The other Property that is observed in Sheep, is, their Obedience; they go with their Shepherd wheresoever he pleases to lead them; they are attentive, and do hear his Voice; they remain in Fold till he release them; they feed as long as he thinks expedient, and take their Rest when he appoints them: Et nos Christiani, saith St. Clement, Initio Recognit. de nulla re vel eventu soliciti in providentia Dei conquiescimus; And we, if we be good Christians, like good Sheep, repose wholly in the Providence of our God, who secures us by his Care; Aug. l. 8. Conf. c. 11. for Saint Augustin seems to blame us with a Quid in te stas & non stas? projice te in eum, projice te securus, recipiet te; Never confide in your own force, but lay your whole stress on God; if he receive you, you may walk secure, and free from danger; he will take care of your Temporals, he will direct your Spirituals, and lead you to Eternity. Almighty God in the 54th Psalm of the Royal Prophet, adviseth us entirely to rely upon his Providence; and like simple obedient Sheep, leave all the solicitude for our Temporals, to the Care of our vigilant Pastor: Jacta cogitatum tuum in Dominum, Psal. 54.25. & ipse te enutriet. The Ancients, who have been surpassing ingenious in their Descriptions, have represented unto us the God of Nature in an human Shape, all over Breast from Head to Foot, and all the Animals of the Earth sucking at it; only Man, whom chief and most of all he loved, this God Ruminus carried in his Arms; to inform us, That notwithstanding his universal Care did feed all the Beasts in the World, Ps. 145.16. Imples omne animal benedictione; yet his kindness to Man was so obliging, he embraced him next his Heart. Ego quasi nutritius Ephraim, portabam eos in brachiis meis, saith the Prophet Osee; Chap. 11. And I, as a Nursing-Father to Ephraim, carried them in my Arms: Nay, my God, you are to us more than a Nurse; for you let us Suck your own Blood; St. Joh. Chrys. hom. 60. ad pop. Ant. Proprio nos pascit cruore: No Nurse so kind, nor Shepherd tender of his Flock, as to feed them with his own Flesh and Blood: But you have given us Both, your Flesh for our Food, and your Blood to refresh us, amaena pascua. As to what regards our Souls, and the Spiritual concern thereof, Almighty God doth not always immediately intermeddle with it, but makes use of Men, whose Guide he is, and whom he institutes Directors for others; in default of which, many do find themselves exposed to danger, and liable to be deceived by our common Enemy. Eps. 87. ad Aug. Hence it was the Devout Saint Bernard was accustomed to say, That that Man who was his own Guide, had a Fool to his Master; he needed no Devil to tempt him, for he was worse to himself than any Devil could be: Qui se sibi Magistrum constituit, stulto se discipulum tradit. A Lamb that will only feed where he pleaseth, is ready to starve, and at length dies in the Pound. My God what is Man if left to himself? Our Wisdom is but Folly, and our Knowledge but Ignorance at best. Few there be who truly serve God as they ought, and fewer, who, if guided by their own Spirit, ever attain perfection. How then shall they possibly arrive to their Eternal home and happiness? I call their Eternal Home, the Mystery of their Eternal Doom; the Mystery of their Predestination; Mysterium magnae anxietatis. Saint Lewis Bertrandus, having often and seriously Meditated on that saying of the Wiseman, Eccles. 19.1. Nescit homo utrum amore dignus sit an odio: No man can tell whether he deserve Love or Hatred; could scarce refrain from Tears, and being asked the Reason, answered, Timeo & fleo, quia nescio quid de me futurum sit; I fear and I weep, because I know not whether I shall be on the Right Hand or on the Left; whether I shall be for a whole Eternity among the Sheep, or among the Goats. The Royal Prophet was in the same perplexity; Psal. 76.5. Anticipaverunt vigilias oculi mei, turbatus sum, & non sum locutus: My Eyes have been continued Strangers to all sort of Rest, I was troubled, and did not dare to speak, for fear my good Shepherd should cast me off, and so I be left to myself and Starve: Yet after all his apprehensions, like unto a simple, obedient Lamb, he placed all his confidence in the Care of his Pious Pastor; In manibus tuis sortes meae. But you wretched and unfortunate Sinner, what excuse will you plead at the latter Day, for having left the Fold, for having been disobedient, and deaf to the Voice of your Pastor? You cannot say, he did never speak unto you; nor can you deny but that you have heard him; this will but augment your Crime: The daily accidents you hourly do see, are so many admonitions that instruct you in your duty: The disasters that wait on Vice, and the miserable end of Sin, should teach you how to avoid it. Suppose you were informed that the Way you walk in is full of Precipices; the Meat you are about to Eat, is Poisoned, and brings a certain Death; that the Road is full of Thiefs: you could not in reason complain, should you find yourself stripped of all you had, and at the point of Death, if you should either go abroad, or eat after so friendly an admonition: All the excuses you could bring, all the complaints you'll make, will only serve to aggravate your folly; Melius erat illi non cognoscere viam Justitiae: It were better for you, you had never heard the Voice of your Shepherd, you had never been Born in his Fold; your Sin would not then have been so Enormous. Had you not heard the Truth so often Preached, Had you not been solicited by so many Inspirations, Had you not seen so many sad and fatal Examples; our Saviour could not then have reproached you: Si non eyes locutus fuissem, peccatum non haberent: Joan. 15.22. If I had not spoke unto them; if they had not heard my Voice; if I had not made them sensible of their Duty to God, of their Obligations to the Almighty; if I had not discovered unto them the Malicious Deceits of their common Enemy; the inconstant Vanity of the World; if I had not made them acquainted with the rewards of Virtue, and given them a sight of Heaven and Hell, let them have seen the Pains of one, and the Delights of Paradise: they might have pretended some excuse, but now they have none. Apoc. 3.15. utinam calidus esses vel frigidus, sed quia tepidus es incipiam te evomere: Would to God you were either Hot or Cold, but because you are but Lukewarm, Incipiam te evomere, I shall begin to Cast you out. To be Hot in the Scripture Phrase, is to have a lively Faith, and a copious store of good works: to be Cold, is to be poor and destitute of both; but that man is neither, he is only Lukewarm, who having had some sparks and lights of Faith, did suffer them to be put out and die for want of feeding them with the constant practice of good Works. A Man might object to these, what the Idolaters said heretofore to the Ancient lose Christians, Vbi est, as Salvian relates, lex Catholica quam credunt? Vbi Pietatis & Charitatis, praecepta quae, discunt? Where be those Catholic Verities, that Faith and Law which they profess? Where be those Precepts of Piety and Chastity which they are commanded to observe? They pretend they Believe the Gospel, which prescribes Continence to its hearers, and they live quite contrary; they would be thought to Imitate Jesus Christ, who exhorts them to give to the Poor, and they steal from their Neighbour: They hear the Voice of their Shepherd, but never observe it; In nobis Christus patitur opprobrium: Our dissolute life is a disgrace to Jesus, and that Religion of ours which is founded in his Blood, is not only made despicable, but is Profaned by our lose comportment. I would have all scandalous sinful Catholics, once before they Dye, make one serious reflection on those Words of Holy Job; Semel loquitur deus & secundo, Job cap. 33.14. id ipsum non repetit: God speaks Once, but seldom repeats the same thing over a Second time: as, who should say, be attentive to the Word of God, receive his Inspirations Simply; Submissively and Punctually Obey whatsoever they shall suggest unto you; lest, if once neglected, Secundo idipsum non repetat, you may never have them a Second time. And You Sovereign Pastor of our Souls, Pastor of all the World, who art that good Shepherd, Joan. 10.11. that laid down Your Life for Your Flocks security; Bonus Pastor animam dat pro ovibus suis. It was through Your Death we have been freed from the Jaws of the Infernal Wolf, and now do Feed in Safety; Psal. 100.3. Nos autem populus ejus & oves pascuae ejus: Own us as Yours, and make us always Hear Your Voice: Let us be simple as Lambs, obedient as Sheep, and when Night shall come, Beloved Pastor of our Souls, when you shall separate your Sheep from amongst the Goats, place us on Your Right Hand; Inter oves locum praesta, & ab hoedis nos sequestra. In fine, Dear Jesus, bring it so about, that having had You here for our Lord, and for our Pastor, we may have You a whole Eternity in Heaven for our Reward and for our Crown. Which God of His Infinite Bounty grant Your Most Sacred Majesty, and all this Pious Assembly. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. FINIS.