_That all our hope and trust is to be fixed in God alone._
_Christian._ LORD, what is my trust in this life? Or what is my
greatest comfort of all things under heaven?
Is it thou, my Lord God, whose mercies are without number?
Where hath it been well with me without thee? Or when could it be ill
with me, when thou wert present?
I had rather be poor for thee, than rich without thee.
I had rather chuse to be a pilgrim on earth with thee, than to possess
heaven without thee.
*Where thou art, there is heaven; and there is death and hell, where
thou art not.
Thou art my desire; and therefore I cannot but sigh, and cry, and pray
unto thee.
For I have none to trust in, none that can help me in my necessities,
but thee alone, my God.
*Thou art my hope, thou art my trust, thou art my comfort, and most
faithful unto me in all things.
2. All men seek their own; thou only seekest my salvation, and turnest
all things to my good.
Although thou exposest me to divers temptations and adversities; yet
thou orderest all this to my advantage, who art wont to try thy beloved
a thousand ways.
In which thou oughtest no less to be loved and praised, than if thou
didst fill me with heavenly comforts.
3. In thee therefore, O Lord God, I put my whole hope and refuge:
On thee I rest in all tribulation and anguish.
For I find all to be weak and inconstant, whatsoever I behold out of
thee.
*For neither can my friends avail, nor strong helpers aid, nor wise
counsellors give any profitable answer, nor the books of the learned
comfort, nor any wealth deliver, nor any secret or pleasant place
defend: if thou thyself dost not assist, help, strengthen, comfort,
instruct, and keep us.
4. For all things that seem to make for peace, without thee are nothing,
and bring indeed no felicity at all.
Thou therefore art the end of all that is good, the height of life, the
depth of wisdom:
*And the strongest comfort of thy servants is, to trust in thee above
all things.
To thee therefore do I lift up mine eyes; in thee O my God, the Father
of mercies, I put my trust.
*Bless and sanctify my soul with thy heavenly blessing, that it may be
made thy holy habitation, and the seat of thy eternal glory:
*And that nothing may be found in the temple of thy glory, that may
offend the eyes of thy majesty.
According to the greatness of thy goodness, and the multitude of thy
mercies, look upon me, and hear the prayer of thy poor servant, who is
far exiled from thee in the land of the shadow of death.
*Protect and keep the soul of thy servant, amidst so many dangers of
this corruptible life, and by thy grace accompanying me, direct it by
the way of peace to the country of everlasting light. _Amen._
An Extract of the
CHRISTIAN PATTERN:
Or, a treatise on the imitation of Christ.
Written in Latin by _Thomas a Kempis_.
BOOK IV.
_An_ Exhortation _unto the_ Holy Communion.
_The voice of Christ._
COME unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden and I will
refresh you.
The bread which I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world.
Take, eat, this ♦is my body that is given for you: do this in
remembrance of me.
♦ “in” replaced with “is”
He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I
in him.
The words which I speak unto you are spirit and life.
CHAPTER I.
_With how great reverence Christ ought to be received._
_The voice of the disciple._
THESE are thy words, O Christ, the everlasting truth.
Because therefore they are thine, and true, they are all thankfully and
faithfully to be received by me.
They are thine, and thou hast spoken them; and they are mine also,
because thou hast spoken them for my salvation.
I willingly receive them from thy mouth, that they may be the deeper
imprinted in my heart.
These gracious words, so full of sweetness and love, encourage me; but
mine own offences drive me back from receiving so great mysteries.
2. Thou commandest me to come confidently unto thee, if I will have
part with thee; to receive the food of immortality, if I desire to
obtain everlasting glory.
Thou sayest, Come unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and
I will refresh you.
O sweet and friendly words in the ear of sinners, that thou, my Lord
God, shouldst invite the poor and needy to the participation of thy
most holy body?
*But who am I, Lord, that I should presume to approach unto thee?
*Behold, the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee, and thou sayest
come ye all unto me!
3. What meaneth this so gracious condescension, this so friendly
invitation?
How shall I dare to come, that know no good in myself?
How shall I bring thee into my house, that have so often offended thy
most gracious countenance?
*The angels and archangels revere thee, and the saints and just men
fear thee, and thou sayest, come ye all unto me.
Unless thou, O Lord, didst say it, who would believe it to be true?
And unless thou didst command it, who would dare to come unto thee?
*Behold, Noah, a just man, laboured an hundred years in making of
the ark, that he might be saved with a few; and how can I in one hour
prepare myself to receive, with reverence the maker of the world?
4. Moses, thy great servant, and thy special friend, made an ark of
incorruptible wood, which also he covered with most pure gold, to put
the tables of the law therein; and I a corruptible creature, how shall
I dare lightly to receive the maker of the law, and the giver of life?
Solomon, the wisest of the kings of Israel, bestowed seven years in
building a magnificent temple to the praise of thy name.
He celebrated the feast of the dedication thereof eight days together;
he offered a thousand peace-offerings, and he solemnly set the ark on
the place prepared for it, with the sound of trumpets and joy.
*And I the most miserable and poorest of men, how shall I bring thee
into my house, that can scarce spend one half hour devoutly? Yea would
I could once spend near half an hour in a due manner!
5. O my God, how much did they do out of an endeavour to please thee!
And, alas, how little is that which I do! How little time do I spend to
prepare myself to receive!
I am very seldom wholly recollected, very seldom free from all
distraction;
And yet surely no unbecoming thought ought to appear in the presence
of the Deity, nor any creature find any place in me, for I am not to
harbour an angel, but the Lord of angels.
6. And yet there is great difference between the ark of the covenant,
and thy most pure body! Between those legal sacrifices, figures of
future things, and the completion of all antient sacrifices.
Why therefore am I not more inflamed at thy venerable presence?
7. The devout King _David_ danced before the ark of God with all his
might, calling to mind the benefits bestowed upon his fore-fathers.
He often sung to the harp, being inspired with the grace of the Holy
Ghost.
He taught the people of Israel to praise God with their whole heart,
and with joint voices every day to bless and praise him.
If so great devotion was then shewn, and there was such celebrating of
the divine praise before the ark of the testament; what reverence is
now to be performed in receiving the most precious body and blood of
Christ?
8. O God, the invisible creator of the world, how wonderfully dost thou
deal with us!
How sweetly and graciously dost thou dispose of all things for thine
elect, to whom thou offerest thyself to be received in this sacrament!
This exceedeth all understanding! This strongly draweth the hearts of
the devout, and inflameth their affections.
9. O the admirable and hidden grace of this sacrament, which only the
faithful ones of Christ know: but the unbelieving, and such as are
slaves unto sin, cannot experience;
In this sacrament spiritual grace is given, and strength which was lost
restored in the soul, and the beauty disfigured by sin returns again.
This grace is sometimes so great, that not only the mind, but the weak
body also, feeleth great increase of strength.
10. Our coldness and negligence is much to be bewailed, that we are not
drawn with greater affection to receive Christ, in whom all the hope
and merit of those that are to be saved consists.
For he is our sanctification and redemption: he is the comforter of us
travellers, and the everlasting fruition of saints.
O the blindness and hardness of man’s heart, that doth not more deeply
weigh so unspeakable a gift!
11. If the most holy sacrament was celebrated in one place only, and
consecrated by one only person in the world, with how great desire
would men be affected to that place, and to such a priest, that they
might enjoy these divine mysteries!
But now there are many priests, and Christ is offered in many places;
that so the grace and love of God to men may appear greater, the more
this sacred communion is spread through the world.
Thanks be unto thee gracious Jesus, the everlasting shepherd, who hast
vouchsafed to refresh us poor exiles with thy precious body and blood,
and to invite us to the receiving of these mysteries with the words of
thine own mouth, saying, Come unto me all ye that travail and are heavy
laden, and I will refresh you.
CHAPTER II.
_That the great goodness and love of God is
exhibited to man in this sacrament._
_The voice of the disciple._
*IN confidence of thy goodness and mercy, I come, O Lord, a sick man
unto my Saviour, hungry and thirsty to the fountain of life, needy to
the king of heaven, a servant unto my Lord, a creature to my Creator,
disconsolate to thee my merciful comforter.
But whence is this to me, that thou vouchsafest to come unto me? Who am
I, that thou shouldst give thyself unto me?
How dare a sinner appear before thee? And how is it that thou dost
vouchsafe to come unto a sinner?
Thou knowest thy servant, and seest that he hath no good thing in him,
for which thou shouldst bestow this favour upon him.
I confess my unworthiness; I acknowledge thy goodness; I praise thy
mercy, and give thee thanks for thy transcendent love.
For thou dost this for thine own sake, not for any merits of mine:
that thy goodness may be better known unto me, thy love more abundantly
shewn, and thy gracious condescension the more eminently displayed.
Since therefore it is thy pleasure, and thou hast commanded that it
should be so, this thy favour is also pleasing to me, and may my sins
be no hindrance.
2. O most sweet and benign Jesu, how great reverence and thanks ♦are
due unto thee for the receiving of thy sacred body, whose preciousness
no man is able to express!
♦ “is” replaced with “are” per Errata
But what shall I think, now I am to approach unto my Lord, whom I am
not able duly to honour, and yet I desire to receive him with devotion?
What can I think better and more profitable, than to humble myself
wholly before thee, and to exalt thine infinite goodness over me?
I praise thee, my God, and will exalt thee for ever. I despise and
submit myself unto thee, in a deep sense of my own unworthiness.
3. Behold thou art the holy of holies, and I the vilest of sinners!
Behold thou inclinest unto me, who am not worthy so much as to look up
unto thee.
Behold thou comest unto me, it is thy will to be with me, thou invitest
me to thy banquet.
Thou wilt give me the food of heaven, and bread of angels to eat, which
is no other indeed than thyself, the living bread, that descended from
heaven and giveth life unto the world.
4. From whence doth this love proceed! What a gracious condescension
appeareth herein! How great thanks and praises are due unto thee for
these benefits!
O how good and profitable was thy counsel, when thou ordainedst it! How
sweet and pleasant the banquet when thou gavest thyself to be our food!
How wonderful is thy operation, O Lord, how mighty is thy power, how
unspeakable is thy truth!
For thou saidst the word, and all things were made; and this was done
which thou commandedst.
5. A thing of great admiration, that thou my Lord God, shouldst be
exhibited unto us by the elements of bread and wine.
Thou who art the Lord of all things, and standest in need of none, hast
pleased to dwell in us by means of this thy sacrament.
*Preserve my heart and body undefiled, that, with a chearful and pure
conscience, I may celebrate thy mysteries, and receive them to my
everlasting health: which thou hast ordained and instituted for thy
honour and for a perpetual memorial.
6. Rejoice O my soul, and give thanks unto God for so excellent a gift,
so singular a comfort left unto me in this vale of tears.
For as often as thou receivest, so often art thou made partaker of all
the merits of Christ.
For the love of Christ is never diminished, and the greatness of his
propitiation is never exhausted.
Therefore thou oughtest always to weigh with attentive consideration,
this great mystery of thy salvation.
*So great, new, and joyful it ought to seem unto thee, when thou comest
to these holy mysteries; as if the same day Christ first descending
into the womb of the virgin, was become man; or hanging on the cross,
did suffer and die for the salvation of mankind.
CHAPTER III.
_That it is profitable to communicate often._
_The voice of the disciple._
*BEHOLD, O Lord, I come unto thee, that I may be comforted by thy gift,
and delighted in thy holy banquet, which thou, O God, hast prepared in
thy goodness for the poor.
Behold in thee is all I can or ought to desire; thou art my salvation,
and my redemption, my hope and my strength, my honour and my glory!
*Make joyful, therefore, this day, the soul of thy servant, for I have
lifted it up unto thee, O Lord Jesus.
*I desire to receive thee now with devotion and reverence. I long to
bring thee into my house; that with _Zaccheus_ I may be blessed by thee,
and numbered among the children of _Abraham_.
My soul thirsteth to receive thy body and blood, my heart desireth to
be united with thee.
*2. Give me thyself, and it sufficeth; for, besides thee, no comfort is
available.
I cannot be without thee, nor live without thy visitation;
And therefore I must often come unto thee, and receive thee for the
welfare of my soul, lest haply I faint in the way, if I be deprived of
thy heavenly food.
For so most merciful Jesu, thou once didst say, preaching to the people,
and curing sundry diseases, I will not send them home fasting, lest
they faint in the way.
Deal thou therefore in like manner now with me, who hast vouchsafed to
leave thyself in the sacrament for the comfort of the faithful.
For thou art the sweet refection of the soul; and he that eateth thee
worthily, shall be partaker of everlasting glory.
3. O the wonderful condescension of thy mercy towards us, that thou, O
Lord God, the Creator and giver of life to all spirits, dost vouchsafe
to come unto a poor soul, and with thy whole deity to replenish her
hunger!
O happy mind and blessed soul, that receives thee, her Lord God, with
devout affection, and in receiving of thee is filled with spiritual joy!
O how great a Lord doth she entertain! How beloved a guest doth she
harbour! How pleasant a companion doth she receive! How faithful a
friend doth she take in! How lovely and glorious a spouse doth she
embrace!
She embraceth him, who is to be loved above all that is beloved, and
above all things that may be desired.
*Let heaven and earth, and all the hosts of them, be silent in thy
presence; for what praise and beauty soever they have, it is received
from thy bounty, and cannot equal the beauty of thy name, of whose
wisdom there is no number.
CHAPTER IV.
_That many gifts are bestowed upon them
that communicate devoutly._
_The voice of the disciple._
*MY Lord God, prevent thy servant with the blessings of thy sweetness,
that I may approach worthily and devoutly to thy glorious sacrament.
*Stir up my heart unto thee, and deliver me from a heavy numbness of
mind.
*Visit me with thy salvation, that I may taste in spirit thy sweetness,
which plentifully lieth hid in this sacrament as in a fountain.
Enlighten also my eyes to behold so great a mystery, and strengthen me
to believe it with steady faith.
For it is thy work, and not man’s power; thy sacred institution, not
man’s invention.
For no man is of himself able to comprehend these things, which surpass
the understanding even of angels.
What therefore shall I, unworthy sinner, dust and ashes, be able to
comprehend of so high and sacred a mystery?
2. O Lord, in the simplicity of my heart, at thy commandment I come
unto thee, with hope and reverence, and believe thou art present in
this sacrament.
Thy will is, that I receive thee, and that by love I unite myself unto
thee.
*Wherefore I implore thy mercy, and crave thy special grace, that I may
wholly melt and overflow with love unto thee, and hereafter never seek
any comfort out of thee.
For this sacrament is the remedy of all spiritual weakness: hereby
my vices are cured, my passions bridled, temptations overcome, grace
infused, virtue begun increased, faith confirmed, hope strengthened,
and love inflamed.
3. For thou dost bestow many benefits in the sacrament upon thy beloved
ones that communicate devoutly. O my God the protector of my soul, the
repairer of human frailty, and the giver of inward comfort.
Thou impartest unto them much comfort against sundry tribulations.
For who is there, that approaching humbly unto the fountain of
sweetness, doth not carry away from thence at least some little
sweetness?
Or who, standing by a great fire, receiveth not some heat thereby?
Thou art a fountain always full and overflowing, a fire ever burning
and never decaying.
4. Wherefore, if I cannot draw out of the full fountain itself, nor
drink my fill; I will, notwithstanding, set my lips to the mouth of
this heavenly conduit, that I may draw from thence at least some drop
to refresh my thirst; and not be wholly dried up.
And though I be not altogether heavenly; nor so inflamed as the
cherubim and seraphim; I will endeavour after some spark of divine fire,
by humbly receiving of this enlivening sacrament.
And whatsoever is wanting in me, O merciful Jesu, most holy Saviour, do
thou bountifully and graciously supply, who hast vouchsafed to call all
unto thee, Come unto me, all ye that travail and are ♦heavy laden, and
I will refresh you.
♦ “heaven” replaced with “heavy” per Errata
5. I indeed labour in the sweat of my brow, I am vexed with grief of
heart, I am burthened with sin, I am troubled with temptations, I am
entangled and oppressed with many evil passions; and there is none to
help me, none to deliver and save me, but thou O Lord, my Saviour, to
whom I commit myself, and all that is mine, that thou mayst keep me,
and bring me to life everlasting.
CHAPTER V.
_Of the examining our conscience, and purpose of amendment._
_The voice of the Beloved._
ABOVE all things, the minister of God ought to come to celebrate
and receive this sacrament with great humility of heart, and lowly
reverence, and a pious intending the honour of God.
Examine diligently thy conscience; so that there be nothing that may
breed in thee remorse of conscience, and hinder thy free access.
And, if thou hast time, confess unto God in the secret of thy heart,
all the miseries of thy disordered passions.
2. Lament and grieve, that thou art yet so worldly, so unmortified as
to thy passions;
So unwatchful over thy outward senses, so often entangled with vain
imaginations;
So negligent and cold in prayer, so undevout in celebrating, so dry in
receiving;
So quickly distracted, so seldom wholly recollected;
So suddenly moved to anger, so apt to take displeasure against another;
So prone to judge, so severe to reprehend;
*So often purposing much good, and yet performing little.
3. These and other thy defects being confessed, with full resignation,
and with thy whole will, offer up thyself a perpetual sacrifice to the
honour of my name, on the altar of thy heart, faithfully committing thy
body and soul unto me;
That so thou mayst come worthily to celebrate this sacrifice, and to
receive profitably the sacrament of my body.
4. For a man hath no other oblation than to offer himself unto God in
the holy communion.
And whensoever he shall come to Me for pardon and grace, as I live,
saith the Lord, who willeth not the death of a sinner, but rather that
he be converted and live, I will not remember his sins any more, but
they shall all be forgiven him.
CHAPTER VI.
_Of the oblation of Christ on the cross,
and resignation of ourselves._
_The voice of the Beloved._
*AS I willingly offered up myself unto God my Father for thy sins, my
hands being stretched forth on the cross, so that nothing remained in
Me that was not wholly turned into a sacrifice, for the appeasing the
Divine Majesty;
So oughtest thou also to offer up thyself willingly unto me every day,
as a pure and holy oblation, with all thy might and affection, in as
hearty a manner as thou canst.
What do I require of thee more than that thou entirely resign thyself
unto me?
Whatsoever thou givest besides thyself is of no account in my sight;
for I seek not thy gifts but thyself.
2. As it would not suffice thee to have all things besides me; so
neither can it please me, whatsoever thou givest, if thou offerest not
thyself.
Offer up thyself unto me, and give thyself wholly to God, and thy
offering shall be accepted.
Behold I offered up myself wholly unto my Father for thee, that I might
be wholly thine, and thou remain mine.
But if thou dost not offer thyself up freely unto my will, thy oblation
is not entire, neither will the union between us be perfect.
Therefore a free offering up of thyself into the hands of God, ought to
go before all thy actions, if thou wilt obtain freedom and grace.
For this cause so few become inwardly free, because they cannot wholly
deny themselves.
My saying is unalterable, unless a man forsake all, he cannot be my
disciple.
Therefore, if thou desirest to be my disciple, offer up thyself unto me
with thy whole affections.
CHAPTER VII.
_That we ought to offer up ourselves, and all that is ours
unto |God|, and to pray for all_.
_The voice of the disciple._
THINE, O Lord, are all things that are in heaven, and in earth.
I desire to offer up myself unto thee, as a free oblation, and to
remain always thine.
O Lord, in the simplicity of my heart I offer myself unto thee this day,
for a sacrifice of perpetual praise, to be thy servant for ever.
2. I offer unto thee, O Lord, all my sins and offences, which I have
committed before thee and thy holy angels, from the day wherein I first
could sin, to this hour, upon thy merciful altar.
Consume and burn them all with the fire of thy love, and wash out all
the stains of my sins.
O cleanse my conscience from all offences, and restore to me again thy
grace, which I lost by sin, fully forgiving me all my offences, and
receiving me mercifully to the kiss of peace!
3. What can I do for my sins, but humbly confess and bewail them, and
incessantly intreat thy favour?
I beseech thee, hear me graciously, when I stand before thee, O my God!
All my sins are very displeasing unto me. I will never commit them
any more; but I bewail and will bewail them as long as I live, and am
purposed to repent, and according to the utmost of my power to please
thee.
Forgive me, O God, forgive me my sins for thy holy name’s sake.
Save my soul, which thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood.
Behold, I commit myself to thy mercy, I resign myself over into thy
hands.
Do with me according to thy goodness, not according to my wickedness
and iniquity.
4. I offer up also unto thee all that is good in me, although it be
very little and imperfect, that thou mayst amend and sanctify it:
That thou mayst make it grateful and acceptable unto thee, and always
perfect it more and more.
And bring me also, who am a slothful and unprofitable creature, to a
good and blessed end.
5. I offer up also unto thee all the pious desires of devout persons,
the necessities of my parents, friends, brethren, sisters; and of all
those that are dear unto me, and that have done good either to myself
or others:
And that have desired me to pray for them and theirs; that they all
may receive the help of thy grace and comfort, protection from dangers,
deliverance from pain; and being freed from all evils, may joyfully
give worthy thanks unto thee.
6. I offer up also unto thee my prayers, especially for them who have
in any thing wronged, grieved, or slandered me, or have done me any
damage or displeasure:
And for all those also, whom I have at any time troubled, grieved
or scandalized by words or deeds, wittingly or unawares; that it
may please thee to forgive us all our sins and offences, one against
another.
Take, O Lord, from our hearts all jealousy, indignation, wrath, and
contention, and whatsoever may lessen brotherly love.
Have mercy, O Lord, have mercy on those that crave thy mercy: give
grace unto them that stand in need thereof; and grant that we may be
counted worthy to enjoy thy grace, and so attain life everlasting.
_Amen._
CHAPTER IX.
_That the body of Christ, and the holy scripture,
are most necessary unto a faithful soul._
_The voice of the disciple._
O LORD Jesus, how great sweetness hath an holy soul that feasteth with
thee in thy banquet, where there is set no other food to be eaten but
thyself, her only beloved, and the most to be desired above all desires
of her heart!
And verily it would be a sweet thing unto me to pour out tears from the
very bottom of my heart in thy presence: and with holy _Magdalene_ to
wash thy feet with my tears.
But where is this devotion? Where is this plentiful shedding of holy
tears?
Surely in the sight of thee and thy holy angels my whole heart should
be inflamed, and even weep for joy.
2. For to behold thee in thine own divine brightness, mine eyes would
not be able to endure it.
Neither could the whole world stand in the brightness of the glory of
thy majesty.
I really enjoy and adore him whom the angels adore in heaven.
But I, as yet, by faith; they by sight, ♦and without a veil.
♦ duplicate word “and” removed
I ought to be content with the light of true faith, and to walk therein
until the day of everlasting brightness break forth, and the shadows of
figures pass away.
But when that which is perfect shall come, the use of the sacraments
shall cease.
For the blessed in heavenly glory need not any sacramental remedy, but
rejoice without end in the presence of God.
Beholding his glory face to face, and being transformed from glory to
glory into the image of the incomprehensible Deity, they taste the word
of God made flesh, as he was from the beginning, and as he remaineth
for ever.
3. Thou art my witness, O God, that nothing can comfort me, no creature
can give me rest, but thou my God, whom I desire to behold
everlastingly.
But this is not possible while I remain in this mortal life:
Therefore I must frame myself to much patience, and submit myself to
thee in all my desires.
For thy saints also, O Lord, who now rejoice with thee while they lived,
expected in faith and great patience the coming of thy glory. What they
believed, I believe: what they hoped for, I also hope for: whither they
are come, I trust I shall come by thy grace.
In the mean time I will go forward in faith, strengthened by their
examples.
I have also thy holy book for my comfort and guide, and, above all
these, thy spiritual body for a remedy and refuge.
4. I perceive two things to be especially necessary for me in this life,
without which it would be insupportable, food and light.
Thou hast therefore given unto me a weak creature, thy sacred body and
blood for the nourishment of my soul and body; and thou hast set thy
word as a light unto my feet:
Without these two I could not well live.
For the word of God is the light of the soul, and thy sacrament the
bread of life.
These also may be called the two tables, set on the one side and on the
other, in the store-house of the holy church.
One is the holy altar, having the holy bread, that is the sign of the
precious body of Christ.
The other is of the divine law, containing holy doctrine, teaching the
true faith, and certainly leading to that within the veil, where is the
holy of holies.
Thanks be unto ♦thee, O Lord Jesus, the light of everlasting light, for
the table of holy doctrine, which thou hast offered us by thy servants
the prophets, and apostles, and other teachers.
♦ “tbee” replaced with “thee”
5. Thanks be unto thee, O thou Creator and Redeemer of man, who to
manifest thy love to the whole world, hast prepared a great supper
wherein thou hast set before us to be eaten (not the typical lamb,
but) thy most sacred body and blood.
Rejoicing all the faithful with thy holy banquet, and replenishing them
with the cup of salvation, in which are all the delights of paradise:
and the holy angels feast with us, but yet with a more happy sweetness.
Nothing but what is holy, no word but what is good and profitable ought
to proceed from his mouth, who receiveth the sacrament of Christ.
7. Simple and chaste ought to be the eyes that behold the body of
Christ.
8. Assist us, Almighty God, with thy grace, that we who have undertaken
the office of priesthood, may serve thee worthily and devoutly, in all
purity and good conscience.
And, if we cannot live in so great innocency as we ought, grant us
at least duly to bewail the sins which we have committed; and in the
spirit of humility, and with full purpose of heart, to serve thee
hereafter more fervently.
♦CHAPTER IX.
_How he who is to communicate, ought to prepare himself._
♦ Chapter number duplicated in text
_The voice of the Beloved._
I AM the lover of purity, and the giver of all holiness.
I seek a pure heart, and there is the place of my rest.
Make ready and adorn for me the great chamber, and I will keep with
thee the passover among my disciples.
2. Know thou, notwithstanding, that no merit of any action of thine is
able to make this preparation, altho’ thou shouldst prepare thyself a
whole year together, and think of nothing else.
Thou art of my mere grace and favour suffered to come to my table.
Like a beggar invited to dinner by a rich man, who hath nothing else to
return him for his benefits, but to humble himself, and give him thanks.
Do what lieth in thee, and do it diligently; not for custom, nor for
necessity; but with fear and reverence, and affection, receive thy
beloved Lord God, who vouchsafeth to come unto thee.
*I am he that hath called thee; I have commanded it to be done; I will
supply what is wanting in thee; come and receive me.
3. When I bestow the grace of devotion, give thanks to thy God; for it
is given thee, not for that thou art worthy, but because I have mercy
on thee.
If thou hast it not, but dost feel thyself dry, continue in prayer,
sigh, and knock, and give not over until thou art meet to receive some
crumb or drop of saving grace.
Thou hast need of me, not I of thee.
Neither comest thou to sanctify me, but I come to sanctify and improve
thee.
Thou comest that thou mayst be sanctified by me, and united unto me,
that thou mayst receive new grace, and be enflamed anew to amendment.
CHAPTER X.
_That a devout soul ought to desire with her whole heart
to be united unto Christ in the sacrament._
_The voice of the disciple._
WHO will give me this, O Lord, to find thee alone, and open my whole
heart unto thee, and enjoy thee as my soul desireth?
And that no man may look toward me, nor any creature move or regard me,
but thou alone mayst speak unto me, and I to thee, as the beloved is
wont to speak to his beloved, and a friend to banquet with his friend?
This I pray for, this I desire, that I may be wholly united unto thee,
and may withdraw my heart from all created things.
That I may ♦by often communicating, learn more and more to relish
heavenly and eternal things.
♦ “be” replaced with “by” per Errata
Ah Lord God, when shall I be wholly united to thee, swallowed up in
thee, and altogether forgetful of myself?
Thou in me, and I in thee, and so grant us both to continue in one.
2. Verily, thou art my beloved, the choicest among thousands, in whom
my soul is well pleased to dwell all the days of her life.
Verily, thou art my peace-maker, in whom is great peace and true rest,
without whom is labour and sorrow and infinite misery.
Verily, thou art a God that hidest thyself, ♦and thy counsel is not
with the wicked, but thy speech is with the humble and simple of heart.
♦ duplicate word “and” removed
O Lord, how sweet is thy Spirit, who to shew thy sweetness toward thy
children, vouchsafest to feed them with the bread which descendeth from
heaven, and is full of all sweetness!
Verily, there is no other nation so great that hath God so nigh unto
them, as thou our God art present to all thy faithful ones.
Unto whom, for their daily comfort, and for the raising up of their
hearts to heaven, thou givest thyself to be eaten and enjoyed.
3. For what other nation is there so honoured as the Christian people?
Or what creature under heaven so beloved as a devout soul, to whom God
himself cometh to feed her with his glorious flesh?
O unspeakable grace! O admirable condescension! O infinite love,
singularly bestowed upon man!
But what shall I give unto the Lord in return for his grace, for so
eminent an expression of love?
There is nothing more acceptable, that I am able to give, than to give
my heart wholly to my God, and to unite it close unto him.
Then shall my inward parts rejoice, when my soul shall be perfectly
united unto God.
Then he will say unto me, if thou wilt be with me, I will be with thee.
And I will answer him, Vouchsafe, O Lord, to remain with me, and I will
gladly be with thee.
This is my whole desire, that my heart may be united unto thee.
CHAPTER XI.
_Of the fervent desire of some devout persons,
to receive the body of Christ._
_The voice of the disciple._
O HOW great is thy goodness, O Lord, which thou hast laid up for them
that fear thee!
When I remember some devout persons, who come unto thy sacrament, O
Lord, with the greatest affection, I am confounded, and blush within
myself, that I come so heavily and coldly to thy table.
That I remain so dry and without hearty affection, that I am not wholly
inflamed in thy presence, my God, nor so earnestly drawn in affection,
as many devout persons have been, who with desire both of soul and body,
earnestly longed after thee, O God, the living fountain.
*Be merciful unto me, good Jesu, gracious Lord, and grant me, thy poor
needy creature, to feel sometimes at least, in this holy communion,
somewhat of thy tender, cordial affection!
That my faith may be more strengthened, my hope in thy goodness
increased, and that my love once perfectly inflamed, after the tasting
of heavenly manna, may never decay.
2. Thy mercy, O Lord, is able to give me the grace I desire, and to
visit me most mercifully with the spirit of fervour when it shall
please thee.
For though I burn not with so great desires as those that are so
singularly devoted to thee: yet notwithstanding, by thy grace, I desire
to have this inflamed desire:
Praying and craving that I may partake with all such thy fervent lovers,
and be numbered among them.
CHAPTER XII.
_That the grace of devotion is obtained by humility
and renouncing ourselves._
_The voice of the Beloved._
*THOU oughtest to seek the grace of devotion fervently, to ask it
earnestly, to expect it patiently and with confidence, to receive
it gratefully, to keep it humbly, to work with it diligently, and to
commit the time and manner of this heavenly visitation to God, until
it shall please him to come unto thee.
Thou oughtest chiefly to humble thyself, when thou feelest inwardly
little or no devotion; and yet not be too much dejected.
*God often giveth in a moment that which he hath a long time denied.
He giveth sometimes in the end, that which in the beginning of prayer
he deferred to grant.
*It is sometimes a little thing that hindereth and hideth grace from us;
If it may be called little, and not rather great, that hindereth so
great good.
But if thou removest this, be it great or small, thou shalt have thy
desire.
2. For, as soon as ever thou hast delivered thyself to God with thy
whole heart, and seekest not this or that for thine own pleasure or
will, but fixest thyself wholly upon him, thou shalt find thyself
united and at peace.
For nothing will relish so well, and please thee so much, as what
pleases the divine will.
Then shall he see, and be filled and wonder, and his heart shall be
enlarged within him; because the hand of the Lord is with him, and he
hath put himself wholly into his hands for ever.
Behold, so shall the man be blessed that seeketh God with his whole
heart, and busieth not his soul in vain.
This man obtaineth a high degree of divine union, in receiving the holy
eucharist.
Because he respecteth not his own devotion and comfort; but above all
devotion and comfort, the honour and glory of God.
CHAPTER XIII.
_That we ought to lay open our necessities to Christ,
and crave his grace._
_The voice of the disciple._
*O MOST loving Lord, whom I desire to receive with all devotion, thou
knowest my infirmity, and the necessity which I endure, with how many
evils I am oppressed, how often I am grieved, tempted, troubled and
defiled.
I am come unto thee for remedy, I crave of thee comfort and succour.
I speak to him that knoweth all things, to whom all my inward parts are
open, and who alone can perfectly comfort and help me.
Thou knowest what good things I stand most in need of, and how poor I
am in virtues.
2. Behold, I stand before thee poor and naked, calling for grace, and
craving mercy.
Refresh thy hungry beggar, inflame my coldness with the fire of thy
love, enlighten my blindness with the brightness of thy presence.
Turn all earthly things to me into bitterness, all things grievous into
patience, all created things into contempt and oblivion.
Lift up my heart to thee in heaven, and suffer me not to wander upon
earth.
Be thou only sweet unto me from henceforth for evermore.
For thou only art my meat and my drink, my love and my joy, my
sweetness and all my good.
3. O that with thy presence thou wouldst wholly inflame, burn, and
transform me into thyself;
That I might be made one spirit with thee by the grace of inward union,
and by the meltings of ardent love!
Suffer me not to go from thee hungry and thirsty; but deal mercifully
with me, as thou hast often dealt wonderfully with thy saints.
What marvel is it, if I should be wholly inflamed by thee, and die to
myself!
Since thou art a fire always burning and never decaying, love purifying
the heart and enlightning the understanding!
CHAPTER XIV.
_Of fervent love, and vehement desire to receive Christ._
_The voice of the disciple._
WITH great devotion and ardent love, with the affection and fervour
of my whole heart I desire to receive thee, O Lord, as many saints and
devout persons have desired thee, when they received thy sacrament.
O my God, my everlasting love, my whole good, my never-ending happiness,
I would gladly receive thee with the most vehement desire and most
worthy reverence that any of the saints ever had.
2. And although I be unworthy to have all those feelings of devotion,
yet I offer unto thee the whole affection of my heart, as if I had all
those inflamed desires:
Yea, and whatsoever an holy mind can conceive and desire, all this,
with the greatest reverence, I offer and present unto thee.
I desire to reserve nothing to myself, but freely and most willingly to
sacrifice myself and all mine unto thee.
My Lord God, my Creator and my Redeemer: I desire to receive thee
this day with such affection, reverence, praise and honour, with such
gratitude and love, with such faith, hope and purity, as thy holy
mother received thee, when she humbly and devoutly answered the angel,
“Behold the handmaid of the Lord, let it be unto me according to thy
word.”
I offer and present unto thee, the joys, fervent affections, extasies,
and supernatural illuminations and heavenly visions of all devout
hearts, with all the virtues and praises celebrated by all creatures
in heaven and earth, that by all thou mayst be worthily praised and
glorified for ever.
4. Receive, my Lord God, my wishes and desires of giving thee infinite
praise and immense blessing, which according to the multitude of thy
unspeakable greatness, are most justly due unto thee.
These I yield thee, and desire to yield thee every day and moment; I do
intreat and invite all heavenly minds, and all thy devout servants to
give thanks and praises together with me.
5. Let all people, tribes and tongues, praise thee and magnify thy holy
name, with the highest joy and most fervent devotion;
And let all that reverently celebrate the sacrament, find grace and
mercy at thy hands, and pray humbly for me a sinful creature.
And when they shall have obtained their desired devotion and
joyful union, and depart from thy sacred table, well comforted, and
marvellously refreshed, let them vouchsafe to remember my poor soul.
A Treatise on
CHRISTIAN PRUDENCE.
Extracted from Mr. NORRIS.
CHAPTER I.
_Of the end proposed by |Christian Prudence|,
and the general means of obtaining it_.
1. BY prudence I here mean, the same with wisdom, a practical knowledge
of the best end and the best means to attain it, actually directing us
to the choice of that end, and the use of those means.
2. The end of every reasonable creature is God: for he alone is the
true object of our happiness: all the happiness we desire, or are
capable of, being to be found in him, and him only.
3. That the happiness of man is not to be found in any thing but in
God, is usually proved by shewing that it cannot consist in sensual
pleasure, riches, honour or power. But the shortest way of proving it
is, by shewing at once that it cannot consist in any created good. For
as by happiness we mean a state wherein the mind totally acquiesces,
and takes full rest and satisfaction, so that which is the object
of happiness must be such a good, as perfectly satisfies the mind,
contents all its desires, and gives it an absolute tranquility and
repose. But that no creature does this is plain from experience, from
the vanity which we find in all things, and that restlesness and desire
of change which is consequent upon it. *We try one thing after another,
as the searching bee wanders from flower to flower; but we go off from
every one with disappointment, and a deluded expectation. Almost every
thing promises, but nothing answers, and even the succession of new
enjoyments (the best remedy for the emptiness we find in each) amuses,
but does not satisfy. And as no created good actually does this, so
’tis plain by reason none can. For as none but infinite truth can
satisfy the understanding, so only infinite good can satisfy the will.
But this the creature is not. As its being is, so is its goodness, both
of a limited extent, and so by no means fit to satisfy the capacity of
that mind, which aspires after all good. Every creature therefore must
confess its utter insufficiency to be the object of our happiness: Nay,
the whole collection and amasment of created good, must acknowledge the
same; the very depth and abyss of it must say, _It is not in me_.
4. It is in God alone: he is the fountain of eternal blessedness; all
the springs of our happiness are in him: he is our good, and our end,
as being every way sufficient for our happiness. For he is all goodness;
he is that infinite good which is the entire and adequate object of our
will; and which being the proper object of all its inclinations, must
needs be able to satisfy them. They cannot aspire to any thing beyond
him, and therefore must needs center and acquiesce in him. _When I
awake up after thy likeness_, I shall be satisfied with it. Then, and
not before; which all resolves into that pious saying of St. _Austin_,
_Thou hast made us for thyself, and our heart has no rest till it rests
in thee_.
5. It must therefore be the first office of Christian prudence, to make
God our end. For indeed not to do so, is the greatest folly that any
man can possibly be guilty of. For what can we expect but vanity and
disappointment all over, a fruitless labour, and a deluded and abortive
hope, if we place our happiness any where but in him, who is the true
object of it? ’Tis like leaning with our full force upon what cannot
bear our weight, the consequence of which is, to fall with violence.
And what an imprudence is this, especially for a Christian, since
the clear revelation of the gospel, concerning the true end and final
happiness of man: wherein our Saviour hath plainly declared, _This
is life eternal to know thee, the only true God_! Since God has not
only given us a nature capable of happiness, but has also endued us
with faculties and desires, which nothing but himself can satisfy,
and he both can and will; and above all, since he has been pleased,
lest we should miss the end ♦of our being, to point it out to us, and
to tell us that himself is the good, which we so passionately desire,
and so blindly seek; it must be the very foolishness of folly for any
Christian not to make God his end; much more, so to forget himself
and him, as to place it in any thing of this vain world: whether it be
directly and professedly, according to the language of the rich epicure,
_Soul, take thy ease_; or consequentially, by pursuing the world,
and cleaving to its interests, as if it were his end. And besides the
folly of this conduct, it bespeaks also such a contempt of God, and of
his immense greatness and goodness, as nothing can either parallel or
excuse! Especially since the Son of God hath been pleased to concern
himself so far for our happiness, as to make this great and excellent
end attainable to us, preparing and providing, and procuring an union
and communion of God with man, by uniting them both in his own person.
Whether, therefore we consider the excellency, or the attainableness of
this good, or the manner or price whereby it becomes attainable, God,
by all means, is to be made our end, the end of all our desires, and
the end of all our designs, the end of all our undertakings, all our
actions, and all our hopes, to which we are to refer whatever we think,
whatever we speak, and whatever we act, and in one word, to which our
whole life is to be directed.
♦ duplicate word “of” removed
6. What a thorough concern then ought every Christian to feel, how
hearty a care ought he to take for the obtaining and securing this
his right and only end, the fruition of God? This our Saviour calls
_The one thing needful_, in opposition to the many things that are apt
to trouble and distract us in this busy life, which unless so far as
they fall in with this, are all mere trifle and amusement. Even those
affairs which carry the face of the greatest seriousness, and pretend
to be of the weightiest consequence, if they are not so many parts of
this, are _lighter than vanity and nothing_. For indeed a man has but
one business in the world, and that is, to make sure his everlasting
happiness, and to secure to himself the fruition of that excellent
good, which is the true end of his being. This is the whole of man,
his only considerable interest, and that upon which all depends. ’Tis
not necessary, that he should be born to an estate, or that he should
acquire one. ’Tis not necessary that he should succeed in his attempts,
for this or that dignity or preferment; that he should live long to
enjoy his wealth or greatness, or even that he should live at all.
But it is absolutely necessary that he should arrive at his end, that
he should attain to the fruition of God, whose loving-kindness is
better than life, and without whom he cannot be happy. All the rest
may be spared, but there is no dispensing with this. Should he lose
all besides, and gain this one thing, yet still he would be happy. And
should he gain all besides, and lose this one thing, yet still he would
be miserable: for what gain will ever make amends for such a loss?
Not that of the whole world, if we believe our Saviour: _What shall it
profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?_
Which is then only lost, when it loses God. ’Tis therefore one great
part of the prudence of every Christian, after he has fixed this his
right end, to endeavour, by much consideration, to possess his mind
with a due sense of its moment and importance; and of what consequence
it is, that he should succeed in this affair, whatever he miscarries
in besides: which when he is once thoroughly convinced of, he will
then diligently apply himself to the use of such means as are necessary
thereto.
7. All the particular acts of prudence with regard to these means, may
be summed up in one general one, and that is, to chuse those very means
to this our great end, which God has chosen for us already. To follow
his, is indeed an implicit choice, but at the same time ’tis a very
safe and a very wise one. For he cannot but know what means are most
fit to procure the end for which he made us. And he will not impose
upon our weakness, or do what he hath forbidden us, _Make the blind go
out of his way_. And therefore, without enquiring into its intrinsic
nature, we may securely depend upon this in general, that the way which
he has prescribed, must be the very best, and consequently, that it is
our wisdom to walk in it.
*8. Now the means which God hath chosen for us are no other than his
commandments, which were intended by God for our direction to happiness.
As he made us for himself, so the laws which he prescribes to us are
but a pursuance of the same kind design, namely, to bring us to himself.
For since we cannot suppose him to propose any advantage of his own,
by giving us rules of life; and since we can as little suppose that he
does it for so poor a reason as only to shew his authority, and much
less that he does it for no reason at all, we cannot but conclude,
that the laws of God are given us with this design, to shew us the path
of life, the true way to that great end for which we were made, the
everlasting fruition of God. A consideration which, by the way, ought
greatly to endear the laws of God to us, and invite us to yield a free,
ready, and chearful obedience to them. Especially if we add,
9. That as they were given for our direction to happiness, so they
actually lead to it: _If thou wilt enter into life_, saith our Saviour,
_keep the commandments_. This is the path of life, the way of the
kingdom, the direct road that leads to happiness, described to us
by him who is himself the way, the truth and the ♦life. Men may
employ their wits, consult their ease, and flatter their hopes in the
invention of other ways; but if we will believe our guide, the way of
happiness is the way of obedience.
♦ “life, and men” replaced with “life. Men” per Errata
10. That it is so by the positive order and appointment of God, is
plain from the whole tenor of the gospel. And equally plain it is, that
he therefore appointed these means, because they naturally conduce to
our happiness. For some things are, by the very original constitution
of their being, conducive to our good, as others to our hurt; the
former he commands, and the latter he forbids. That there is this
difference in things with regard to our present happiness, is evident
from experience. Temperance, for instance, is more conducive than
intemperance to the health of the body, and consequently to the health
of the mind too, as depending upon the other. The power which plants
have variously to affect our bodies, either by the way of physic or
poison, is not more plain and certain than the different influence
which different dispositions have upon the well or ill being of our
souls. And God in his laws concerning these things, does but what a
physician does for those, whose health he takes care of; he prescribes
the wholsome diet or physic, and forbids the poison.
11. The same observation will hold as to future happiness; which
resulting (as all happiness does) from a certain proportion and
agreement between the faculty and the object, must depend upon, and
require a certain temper and disposition of the mind, as a natural
qualification for it. We find it is ♦so even in the pleasures of
sense. Let the ear be unmusically disposed, and the sweetest sounds put
together with the greatest art, will give it no entertainment. And if
the organs of taste are indisposed, either naturally or by a disease,
the most delicious food is brought in vain, which, as it finds no
taste, will give no relish. And if it be thus in the lowest pleasures,
can it be otherwise in the highest? If a guest sits idle at a nice and
plentiful table, merely because he wants a stomach to eat, or a palate
to relish what he finds there, shall an indisposed soul enjoy God? Is
there no disposition requisite to make it relish the heavenly banquet?
Are these the _only_ pleasures that are to be enjoyed at any rate,
and however disposed we come to them? No, without doubt there are
dispositions for this, as well as for other enjoyments, a certain
temper of mind, which as the apostle speaks, is to make us _meet
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light_.
♦ “even so” replaced with “so even” per Errata
12. Now this temper that qualifies us for happiness, must be in general,
to be like him who is the object of it, to have our minds conformable
to his mind, and our wills conformable to his will; to resemble him as
far as he is imitable by us, to have a godlike frame of spirit, or, as
the apostle expresses it, _to be partakers of the divine nature_. And
that for this clear reason, because without being in some measure like
God, ’tis not possible we should enjoy him, or take any delight in
beholding his excellent glory. But _when I awake up after thy likeness,
I shall be satisfied with it_. Lord, what a satisfying likeness is
thine? Our likeness to the world makes us love it, but the love of it
does not satisfy. O make us like unto thee, that we may be satisfied
with thee!
13. More particularly, the temper that qualifies us for happiness,
consists in those virtuous dispositions, which the gospel enjoins to
all Christians, such as truth, justice and mercy: because in these
consists that part of the divine nature, wherein alone we can be like
him: his other perfections being peculiar to himself, and ♦such as no
creature can partake of. And accordingly we are exhorted to _be holy,
as the Lord our God is holy; to be followers of God, as dear children;
to be perfect, as our Father which is in heaven is perfect_. There is
therefore a necessity for us, ♠as to be like God, that we may enjoy him,
so ♣to be endued with virtuous habits, without which we cannot be like
him, nor consequently enjoy him.
♦ extraneous word “as” removed per Errata
♠ “to” replaced with “as to” per Errata
♣ “so as to” replaced with “so to” per Errata
14. But there are two dispositions, which are more particularly
necessary to qualify us for the fruition of God, charity and purity:
that charity, as it signifies the love of our neighbour, is a necessary
qualification is plain, because without this we can’t be like God,
who is all love and goodness, overflowing with kindness to all his
creatures, and continually doing good to them all, as far as they are
capable of receiving it. If ever therefore we mean to be happy with and
in him, we must be of the same good loving spirit. And as to charity,
taken in its primary sense, for the love of God, this is so immediate
a qualification for happiness, that nothing can be more so, since
all enjoyment depends upon the love of what we are possessed of, and
therefore unless we love God, ’tis impossible we should enjoy him. And
for this reason it is, that the love of God is so strictly enjoined,
and in so high a measure, no less than that of our whole heart and soul,
and mind and strength; and that the precept which requires it is called,
the first and great commandment: first and great in many respects,
and particularly in this, that ’tis the fundamental qualification for
happiness, as immediately respecting the object of it, which if we do
not love, we can never enjoy.
*15. The other great qualification for the enjoyment of God is purity;
that part of it especially which relates to the pleasures of sense. Now
the reason why this is such a qualification for our final happiness is
this: God, the object of it is a spiritual being, and the happiness of
heaven which consists in the fruition of him, is all over of a rational
and intellectual nature: being indeed no other than this, the pleasure
of the understanding contemplating the supreme truth, and of the will
transported with the love of the sovereign good. And therefore a love
of sensual pleasure must indispose us for the love of a good so purely
spiritual. And if ever it rises so high as to become the prevailing
and governing affection of the soul (the case and character of those
who are _lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God_) it must utterly
unqualify us for it. For what can a sensualized soul find in heaven,
that will suit with his distempered taste? A _Mahometan_ paradise would
suit with such affections well; but in heaven they would meet with
nothing but disappointment; and therefore St. _Peter_, with a pressing
earnestness, cautions us against them: _Dearly beloved, I beseech
you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly desires that war
against the soul_. They war against the soul, not only by betraying us
into sin, either by consenting to them in unlawful circumstances, or by
indulging them in an immoderate degree, but chiefly by indisposing us
for the enjoyment of a far nobler happiness. And accordingly St. _John_,
among all virtuous dispositions, singles out purity as a preparation
for heaven. _Every man_, says he, _that hath this hope, purifieth
himself as he is pure_. And our Saviour applies this purity to the
heart, to shew how that ought to be disposed for happiness. _Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they shall see_ God. O infinite purity, what
heart will be fit to see thee, if thou dost not purge and cleanse it?
O purify us by thy grace, and so fit us for thy glory!
16. By all these considerations it appears, that the commandments of
God are the means that lead us to happiness. And for this reason it
is, that God, who is willing we should be happy, having made us for
that very end, requires them of us, and obliges us to them by all the
authority he has over us. For this reason it is, for instance, that
he commands us to love him. What is our love to him? Nothing at all.
But though it be nothing to him, yet it is to ourselves, as being
a necessary qualification for our happiness. This God knows, and
therefore requires us to love him; nay, to love him with all our heart
and all our strength, because he knows a less degree of love is neither
♦worthy of him, nor will qualify us to be happy in him. And so in every
other instance, God makes those things our duty, which have a close
connection with our happiness; and this is that which makes his laws
so good and so excellent, and his service a truly reasonable service;
for certainly nothing can be more reasonable, than for a man to pursue
his own good, nor consequently than to serve and obey God, since this
is a certain means to that end, and his own good is the natural fruit
of that obedience; and how should this (as was intimated before) endear
the service of God to us? How should it make us in love with our duty
to him, and glad to be subject to his government? How should it incite
us, to yield the most free, ready, chearful and zealous obedience to
his laws? In a word, to do his will on earth as the angels do it in
heaven, since our own advantage is both the reason of his laws, and the
sure consequence of keeping them. *Every prudent Christian therefore
looks upon the commandments of God, not as so many imperious curbs and
retrenchments of his liberty, nor as so many arbitrary impositions,
much less as burthens and grievances (as human laws sometimes are,
for want of wisdom or goodness in those that make them) but as so many
kind provisions for our happiness, and so many merciful instructions
to bring us to our true end: and in this view he yields them obedience,
not such as is forced and violent, servile and extorted by fear,
such as slaves pay to tyrants, but such as is liberal and ingenuous,
and wherein love is the prevailing principle; as becomes one who is
under a government so good and gracious, and so every way directed and
administered for the best advantage of the subject, as that of God is.
♦ added missing word “worthy” per Errata
17. And now since it appears that the means that lead to our end, the
great highway to happiness, are no other than the commandments of God,
it appears with equal clearness, that the one business of every prudent
Christian is, to pay a due obedience to all these commandments. This
is our wisdom, and indeed the only wise thing we can do, not to indulge
our own fancies, not to fulfil our own will, or to follow the devices
and desires of our own hearts, but to apply ourselves to the law of God,
to lay hold of those _paths of life_ which he hath described to us. By
doing this, we shall give a better proof of our wisdom, than by all the
fine-wrought plots, and cunning intrigues of worldly policy, or by the
most acute reasonings of philosophy, or deepest treasures of learning.
These things cast indeed a dazzling light, and make a figure in the
world: but after all, the wisdom of man is, to attain to his end, and
consequently to find and use the true means of attaining it. And since
the commandments of God are those true means, _to keep and do them
is our wisdom and understanding_, or, as _Job_ expresses it: _Behold,
the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is
understanding_.
18. It is not only wisdom, but our wisdom, the wisdom of _man_, the
wisdom that belongs to his _nature_, as being made for happiness; that
belongs to the present _state_ and _condition_ of his nature, as having
capacities to qualify himself fully for this; whereas his faculties
will carry him but a very little way in speculative knowledge: it is
the wisdom that belongs to his present _circumstances_ in this world,
which is wholly in order to the other, and is no farther considerable
than it is a preparation for eternity; and after this I need not
say, it is the wisdom that belongs to his _interest_, nothing being
more evident, than that it is every man’s greatest interest to be
everlastingly happy. Upon all which considerations it appears, that the
study and practice of God’s commandments, the devoting himself to his
service, and to the obedience of all his laws, is the true and proper
wisdom of man, in which alone he is concerned to employ and improve
himself, and to which all his other learning, knowledge and business,
all he thinks, says, or does, is to be referred.
CHAPTER II.
_How far |Christian Prudence| is concerned in the manner of
keeping |God|’s commandments_.
1. AS to the manner of keeping God’s commandments, the main difficulty
is in the _doing_, and not in determining what in prudence ought to
be done. Prudence doubtless (as well as duty) requires, that we should
keep them in as good a manner as we can. For since the commandments of
God are evidently the means that qualify us for happiness, it follows,
that the better they are kept by _us_, the more we shall be qualified
by _them_. Now ’tis unquestionably the part of every prudent man, to
obtain as much happiness as he can: and consequently to do his best to
serve God, and keep his commandments, in the most perfect manner he is
able; because the better he keeps them, the happier he will be; and no
wise man would be less happy when he may be more so.
2. Setting aside therefore all inducements of either love or fear,
all arguments of gratitude or generosity, all the reasonableness
and justice of serving God, and living in obedience to his laws,
all the pleasures of religion, and the present advantage of it both
to our souls and bodies I say, tho’ we should set aside all these
considerations, yet there is a prudential consideration, sufficient to
engage every wise Christian to do his best, and to be as holy as he can,
_viz._ That the better he is, the happier he will be; every addition
to virtue being so much stock laid in for his future happiness. The
question concerning _degrees of glory_, seems to have been put merely
for argument sake, for it cannot be put seriously, but by one that
is as ignorant of the nature of things, as of divine revelation: were
the scripture silent, yet the very nature of the thing infers it; for
since holiness is a natural qualification for happiness, it necessarily
follows, that the more holiness the more happiness; and consequently,
that the best must be the happiest man; and therefore ’tis great
prudence for every Christian, to labour to be excellently good, as good
as he can be, according to the measure of grace imparted to him. To
reduce this to an instance; our Saviour has annexed to purity of heart
a particular blessedness, even that of seeing God: whence we may gather,
that this is a particular qualification for the beatific vision, and
accordingly, that those who have most of this purity, will be most
happy, as either seeing more of God, or as being more delighted with
what they see of him; and therefore every prudent Christian _that hath
this hope_, will study to _purify himself_ as much as he can, that so
he may be a more meet partaker of that happiness, which is promised to
the pure in heart.
*3. Let not therefore any Christian content himself with his present
state, or his past attainments in goodness; much less let him
designedly aim at a slender degree, such as he thinks may just carry
him to heaven. He may be mistaken in his measure, and when laid in
the balance be found wanting: but suppose he be not, yet he stands in
his own light, and is frugal to his own great loss: for, ’tis but an
ill thrift to deal hardly for heaven, and to think to go thither the
cheapest way; since beside the danger of miscarrying, so much as he
abates of his holiness, so much he abates of his own perfection, and
cuts short his own happiness: and where is the gain or the wisdom of
such a thrift? ’Tis folly and loss all over. Let us not therefore rest
satisfied with narrow and scanty measures, much less expresly design
them: for besides, that ’tis not easy to _persevere_ in such a weak
and languishing state of piety (every little blast of temptation being
ready to blow out a lamp that is fed with so little oil:) suppose we
should persevere in it, yet there is no getting over this consideration,
that the more we come short in goodness, the more we shall fall short
in happiness; that every abatement in the former is so much deducted
from the latter, a jewel taken out of their crown. Therefore let no one
who pretends to Christian prudence, sit down with a low infant-state of
goodness, but let him endeavour to grow in grace, and always to abound
in the work of the Lord: not contenting himself with his present state,
but always studying to excel himself, to grow better and better, and
to make a constant progress in religion, correcting what is amiss, and
supplying what is wanting, and aspiring after the largest measures and
fullest degrees of holiness, always remembring, that all the while he
is thus serving God, he is consulting his own interest, and that the
more goodness he brings with him to heaven, the more happiness he will
find there.
4. In consequence of this, a prudent Christian will begin betimes,
and set out early in the ways of piety; not only that he may have
the advantage of the morning, the proper time for travelling, and the
satisfaction of serving God in the prime of his age, and the vigour
of his strength: but also that he may lengthen his day, and have the
more time to serve God in, and to prepare himself for the fruition of
him in glory; that he may have the more time before him, to correct
his disorders, to fill up his deficiencies, to regulate his passions,
to purify his heart, to perfect his habits, to adorn his soul with all
Christian virtues; in a word, to compose the state and frame of his
mind for happiness, and to put himself in a due order for heaven. For
these reasons ’tis Christian prudence to begin betimes, to run the way
of God’s commandments, and not to defer that work to the declining part
of life, which is the one business of the whole.
5. But if it be prudence, as to keep the commandments of God, so to
keep them in the very best manner we can, what shall we think of those
who serve God by halves, who halt between two masters, the almost
Christians? Because this is so common a case, it may be proper to
bestow some reflections upon it. I shall therefore consider more at
large,
First, what it is that hinders their rising any higher than to be
almost Christians. And
Secondly, The imprudence of this lame way of serving God, of being
Christians by halves.
*6. First, The general hindrance to our being more than almost
Christians, is the corrupt perverseness of human nature: this it was
that made the fair inclinations of King _Agrippa_ proceed no farther
than they did: than to extort from him that ingenuous confession,
_Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian_. Then, it seems, he
was not absolutely persuaded, tho’ he was inclining toward it. Poor
_Agrippa_! He had heard St. _Paul_ giving an account of his manner of
life from his youth, and of his miraculous conversion to Christianity,
with great plainness, modesty and simplicity, and was not a little
affected with the discourse; especially with the conclusion, _King
Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest._ This
nearly touched him, and left a very sensible impression upon his heart.
And yet there was something more prevalent within him, that would not
suffer him quite to yield. He had a good mind to be a Christian, but
fear, interest and prejudice outweighed that inclination, and after
some uncertain suspenses, the scale turned on the other side. And this
is the case of too many: they have several good thoughts and purposes:
but their thoughts and purposes are too much like the endeavours of
those that are trying to wake out of a deep sleep, into which they
sink back again, overcome by the dead weight that hangs upon them.
There is a weight, an impediment in their will, that stops the wheels
of virtuous action, so that there can be no motion, tho’ the springs
of religion bear ever so hard upon them. Sometimes indeed conscience
works so strongly, that she wants but little of gaining her point. But
even that little, it seems, is too much; she is like a bowl thrown up
against a steep bank, which it nimbly climbs, till it is just about
to lodge and settle at the top: but wanting some degrees of force to
overcome the resistance, it cannot reach it, and rolls back again.
7. _Thou art not far from the kingdom of_ God, was just such a cast as
this: and _yet lackest thou one thing_, was such another. These men’s
religion had carried them a good way, and they were well onward in
their journey to heaven; but it tired, and grew faint in the latter
stages of the road, which was found either too narrow or too long, and
so they stopped short, and made an eternal halt, when a little more
resolution would have carried them through. The same thing we now see
every day; there are many who have a liking to religion, who have had
a good natural disposition, assisted by a religious education. Nor are
they only inclined to religion, but partly practise it; they do many
things, and forbear others. All goes on hopefully toward a thorough
conversion; they are already past the most painful part of it, and are
now upon the critical point; so that a grain or two more would turn the
scale; insomuch, that there begins to be joy in heaven, and the angels
are tuning their harps: yet there wants a little more weight on the
side of religion, for want of which the counter-weight prevails against
it; against reason, religion and divine grace together. They have
indeed the workings of religion upon them; they feel several pangs of
the new-birth; but after all, they want strength to bring forth.
8. The imprudence of this lame way of serving God (which I was to shew
in the second place) appears first from this, that it is insufficient.
Such a half religion can never hold weight in the balance of the
sanctuary. Such men, ’tis true, are almost good; but almost to hit the
mark is really to miss it. For religion consists in an entire love of
God, and an effectual resolution to obey him. Even a bad man may love
what is good in some degree, but not with an effectual, prevailing
love. This therefore is what denominates a man good, when religion
is the commanding ♦bias of his soul. And none but those who are thus
thoroughly good, are so good as to be fit for happiness. To make us
capable of that, there must be a peculiar frame of mind, to affect
which in us is the one business of religion. And if it does this only
almost, and by halves, as it can never bring us to heaven, so neither
if it could, would it be able to make us happy there.
♦ “biass” replaced with “bias”
*9. This imperfect piety is farther condemned by Christian prudence as
very absurd. If we did not intend to go through, why did we set out? If
we did, why do we stop? If we think there is no reason in religion, why
do we any thing? But if we think there is, why don’t we do enough? For
the same reason that we do so much, why don’t we do more? For either
religion has truth on its side, or not. If not, why do we take so much
labour _needlesly_? But if it has, why do we take so much labour _in
vain_? ’Tis, I own, a strange piece of even brutal indifference, to do
nothing in order to our eternal happiness: and, yet, methinks, to do a
part only, has something in it more extravagant than the other. He that
does nothing, whatever he loses besides, has yet no labour to lose. But
to labour by halves, is to lose the same good, and all that we do in
order to it. The atheist and libertine have something to pretend; but
the half-religious has no excuse; since that very religion he has will
condemn him, as an inconsistent, unprincipled fool.
10. The last censure of Christian prudence upon the half-way state
of piety, is, that it is very unhappy, I mean even in this world. The
almost Christian is the _double-minded man_ St. _James_ speaks of, who
has two wills, one for God and another for the world, between which
he variously fluctuates. Such an one is _unstable in all his ways_:
he is a mixed, doubtful, unsettled, wavering creature, never out of
perplexities and intanglements, always disconformable to himself, doing
what he would not, and not doing what he would and should, never long
satisfied with himself. He has indeed a kindness for religion, but he
has a greater kindness for something else; so that his religion just
serves to disturb the enjoyment of his lusts, as his lusts to deprive
him of the comfort of his religion. Nor can he be perfectly at peace
with himself, but by being thoroughly wicked or thoroughly good. So
wicked as to _have his conscience sear’d with a hot iron_, or so good
as to act up to his principles. He must be of a single mind, one way
or the other, before he can be at rest. And yet this double-mindedness
is the state in which most men chuse to live and die, having religion
enough to disturb them in their sins, but not enough to engage them to
part with them.
*11. And now methinks, I hear one saying within himself, _Almost thou
persuadest me to be a Christian_. Alas! why not _quite_? Is it that we
want the art of address, that we do not touch the right spring of your
soul? But sure our cause has weight enough to bear itself out, and to
supply any defect in the management of it. For is there not truth and
reason enough in religion, to gain a reasonable creature? Or can any
motive have a greater force or persuasion, than the joys of heaven and
the pains of hell? Or do you question whether God be able to reward
your entire love and compleat obedience? If you indeed _believe that_
God _is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him_,
as even your indifferent way of serving him seems to suppose, then you
must needs think it wisdom, to lift up the hands that hang down, and
strengthen the feeble knees; to be heartily and thoroughly religious,
and not to be guilty of so inconsistent a folly as to take _some_ pains
all your life for heaven, and yet go at last to hell.
12. Considering then the insufficiency, the absurdity, and the
unhappiness of a half religion, let us instantly labour _to fill up
the things that are behind_, that are wanting to the measure of our
righteousness. Let us earnestly endeavour to bring ourselves under the
full power and influence of religion, that it may have its due work
upon our hearts and lives, that we may _be perfect, entire, and wanting
nothing_: always imploring the Holy Spirit of God, by the victorious
sweetness of his divine grace, to give the last finishing to that holy
birth, he is forming in us, that it may _come to a perfect man, to the
measure of the stature of the fulness of_ Christ: that so, according to
the apostle’s wish, we may be both almost, and altogether Christians!
CHAPTER III.
_Of the subordinate means that serve to assist us
in keeping the commandments of God._
1. WE have seen that the immediate means to happiness are the
commandments of God. We come now to consider the subordinate means to
it, which serve to assist us in the keeping of those commandments. And
these are of two sorts: either such as are appointed and commanded by
God, or such as are recommended by human prudence.
2. Of the first sort is prayer. This is a glorious means, to withdraw
our thoughts, and affections from sensible objects, and to fix them
upon God and the things of heaven: to stir up in us a sense of our
wants and infirmities, and to quicken our desires of what we pray for:
to maintain a religious warmth in our minds, and to keep up there a
spirit of devotion, the flame of which would soon be extinct without
the breathings of prayer to fan it, and give it motion: to nourish
our communion with God, and make us continually mindful of him, _in
whom we live, move, and have our being_. It is also a key to open the
store-houses of God’s treasures to us, whereby we may obtain a supply
of all our wants, and particularly _grace to help in time of need_, to
enable us to resist all temptations.
3. A prudent Christian will therefore pray often: for temporal things
conditionally, as not knowing whether, or how far these may be for his
good, or serve as means to his end. But for spiritual, such as pardon
of sin, and grace to leave it, he will pray not only with greater
earnestness, but also absolutely, and without any condition, because
he knows that God _would have all men to be saved_, to attain the
happiness for which he made them; and that those (if he be not wanting
to himself) are certain means to his salvation.
4. Reading of the scriptures is the next means which God has ordained
to assist us in keeping his commandments. And an excellent means it
is, both to enlighten our understanding, and to compose our minds into
a religious temper. _All scripture is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the
man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works._
And therefore every prudent Christian gives all attendance to reading
it. And that not out of curiosity, or for speculation only, but
with a practical design, to learn and do the whole will of God. And
accordingly he will not lay them aside, when he thinks he understands
them, but will renew and continue his perusal of them, for his constant
and greater edification. His delight will ever be in the law of the
Lord, and in his law will he meditate day and night.
5. A third means of religion appointed by God, is the hearing the
word preached. This is a standing provision which God has made for the
edification of his church; therefore a prudent Christian, who never
thinks himself too wise to learn, or too good to be better, and who
never omits any means that may bring him nearer his end, is careful to
pay his due attendance to it, humbly waiting for the grace and blessing
of God in the use of his own ordinance.
6. Neither will the sacraments, fourthly, be ever undervalued or
neglected by a prudent Christian, who never thinks himself either too
wise or too good for any institution of God. As to the Lord’s _supper_
in particular, he never omits any opportunity of receiving it, knowing
the excellent ends for which it serves, and its great usefulness to
serve them. It serves as a sensible image of the death of Christ, and
of our spiritual communion with him; as a memorial of his atonement
for our sins, actually applying it to ourselves. In short, it serves
as a channel to convey all the blessings of God to us, and as a
pledge to assure us of them. And in all this he admires the wisdom
and goodness of God, in making this merciful provision for his church,
who, considering our frame, and how large a share sense has in our
composition, was pleased, in condescension to our infirmity, to address
himself to us by that weaker side of our nature; and lest, in such
a croud of sensible objects, as we daily converse with, we should
(as we are too apt) be tempted to forget him, was pleased, by those
very objects, to bring us to himself, by making use of some of them
as his _remembrancers_, and as steps whereby we might ascend to the
contemplation of the most spiritual and heavenly mysteries.
7. _Church-communion_, in the last place, is an excellent means for
the mutual edification of Christians; for the preservation of the
Christian faith and doctrine, and for the encouragement of Christian
practice. And since for these and the like reasons, God, by his Son
Jesus Christ, has erected and constituted that spiritual society call’d
_a church_, whereof the same Jesus Christ is the head, as that is his
body, according to the apostle; Christian prudence obliges every man
not to look upon himself only as a private or independent Christian,
that is at liberty to serve God as he pleases, in his own solitary
way, but as a member of this one church, whereof Christ is the head,
and consequently bound to hold communion with it. This therefore, a
prudent Christian will be sure to do, and think it a great happiness
and privilege to have such a help, to enjoy the communion of saints,
and worship God in the assemblies of his people. From these he will
by no means _excommunicate_ himself: but as he is in spirit united
to the whole Christian church, so he actually communicates with that
particular branch of it, whereof he is a member: and hereby he shews
his union with the whole, in which he will be careful to make no schism;
lest, by dividing from that church whereof Christ is the head, he be
divided from Christ, his end as well as his way.
CHAPTER IV.
_The conduct of a prudent Christian,
with regard to the government of himself._
1. HITHERTO we have been conducting our prudent Christian to his end,
by the chief of the ways that lead to it, _viz._ by the direct and
immediate means of happiness, first, the duties of the divine law, and
then by the means to those means, such of them in particular, as are
of divine appointment. For the application of which, it may now be
convenient to draw a little nearer, and consider the conduct which a
prudent Christian uses in the government of himself.
2. And first let us consider ♦how the prudent Christian pursues
improvement by the government of his senses. He does not study the
pleasing of his senses. This indeed many make the great end of their
lives, which are almost wholly devoted to the pursuit, and spent in the
various entertainments of _sensible pleasure_; as if they thought (and
perhaps some of them do) that their supreme happiness consisted in it.
But this a prudent Christian will not do; for he knows we are already
too much in love with sensible pleasure, the great disease of our
nature, and therefore will not by indulging it inflame a passion which
is already too violent. *He finds that as the more we abstain from
these pleasures, the more cold we grow to them, so by indulgence our
appetite acquires a new edge, and grows the more sharp and keen: he
that drinks of this water shall not only thirst again, but the more he
drinks, he shall thirst the more. He considers likewise, how entirely
different from these, are the intellectual pleasures of heaven, and how
apt the love of them is to indispose us for these, and in this sense
_to alienate us from the life of God_. He is therefore so far from
feasting his senses (as the manner of the world is) by all the variety
of studied entertainments, that he endeavours by all manner of ways
to mortify them, and instead of setting up for a soft, voluptuous life
(according to St. _Paul_’s advice to _Timothy_) _inures himself to
hardships, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ_: Not indeed by any such
rigid austerities, as would destroy or impair his health, but by such
a sparing use of, and well-governed abstemiousness from, even those
pleasures which are lawful in themselves, as may deaden his love to
them, and make him more indifferent to the enjoyment of them.
♦ inserted the word “how” per Errata
♦4. He will likewise keep a strict guard over his senses themselves;
as knowing they are the inlets of temptation, the landing ports of our
spiritual enemies, and the feeble parts of our nature, which expose
us to continual danger. Particularly, what can be more dangerous than
an unguarded eye or ear, while there is every day so much to be seen
and to be heard, to provoke to wickedness, and so little to encourage
holiness? Over these therefore he keeps a constant guard, to prevent
invasion and surprize, especially over the eye, the most dangerous of
the two, as being concerned with more objects: praying also to God,
without whose keeping the city the watchman waketh but in vain, _To
turn away his eyes lest they behold vanity, and to quicken him in his
way_; that nothing he sees or hears in this his pilgrimage, may either
turn him out of it, or hinder him in it.
♦ point “3.” skipped in text
*5. We may, secondly observe, how a prudent Christian pursues
improvement by the government of his understanding. Considering,
in the first place, what an excellent faculty and great endowment
understanding is, and for what great ends it was given him by God,
he thinks himself concerned not to let it lie idle, but to employ
and improve it as much as possible, that he may hereafter give a good
account of his talent: but were no account of it to be given, yet
considering himself farther as a traveller in his way to his end, and
his understanding as a torch that is to light him in it, he would think
it very proper to take care of it, and that not only to preserve it
from going out, but to feed it with such supplies of oil, that it might
shine the more brightly and clearly.
*6. But yet as much as he is for improving his understanding, he
does not affect universal knowledge, as well knowing the vanity of
pretending to it, by one whose capacity is no greater and whose life
is no longer. Neither is he for filling his head with little things,
no nor with such great things as do not conduce to his end, and whose
impertinency to his business renders them as very trifles to him as the
other. Nor will he apply himself to the study of vain and unprofitable
sciences, nor yet of such theories as exceed the proportion of his
understanding: but as he must be ignorant of many things, so he will
not so much as endeavour to know such as are not to be comprehended:
indeed if God reveals them, he does not think their being above his
understanding, any reason why they should not be believed. But though
he believes them, yet he can see no cause, to engage his thoughts,
or employ his time in the search and study of such things, only to
lose himself in unfathomable depths, to the neglect of other matters
which he can comprehend, and is more concerned so to do. And for the
same cause he declines prying into the hidden scenes of providence,
those secret things that belong to God, which though not absolutely
incomprehensible in themselves, yet being locked up in the womb of
futurity, are by that wall of partition, as inaccessible to us as the
other.
*7. The same wisdom directs him not to study such things as require
great expence of time and labour to master them, unless they bring him
in an advantage answerable to the time and pains which he bestows upon
them. For he has so little time, and so great an interest depending,
he can’t think it frugal to throw away a moment. Upon the same ground
he does not regard what in reputation, and in the vogue of the world
passes for learning, but what is true and real knowledge, and fit to
perfect the mind of man. And even in pursuing this he is on his guard,
not suffering himself to be transported by an immoderate thirst of
it: but as his enquiries into truth are modest, so he is discreet and
select in making them, applying himself to those most which are of
greatest importance, most serviceable to his moral conduct; especially
to the knowledge of God and of himself, wherein is contained the sum of
human wisdom.
*8. In all his studies he takes care to avoid the two great disorders
incident to studious men, curiosity and vain-glory: curiosity, which
puts them upon useless enquiries, only to please themselves; and
vain-glory, which puts them on many dry and insipid studies, only
to please and procure the admiration of others. Nor does he make any
knowledge an end, but refers all to the great ends of virtue and
happiness: in all his intellectual applications making this his one
care, to love God, and to be loved by him.
9. After the regulation of his understanding, the next work of a
prudent Christian is, the government of his will and affections.
These of themselves are in the utmost disorder, caused by the general
corruption of our nature: and unless this is removed, no man can be
either good, or happy hereafter.
10. His first step towards this, is to teach his will to follow in all
things, not natural inclination, but the will of God revealed to us in
his word: for the will of God sways more with a prudent Christian than
any inclination of his own, which he is ready at all times, and in all
cases, to sacrifice to his duty; and his only care is to conform his
will to the will and word of God, as knowing that God, being infinitely
wise as well as good, cannot possibly command any thing, but what, upon
the whole account, it is best for him to do. Most chearfully therefore
does he depose his own will from the throne, and sets up the will of
God.
*11. Nor is he less obedient to a _providential_ than to the _written_
will of God. Not adhering to any private fancies, opinions or wishes
of his own, he absolutely refers himself to God, to his gracious and
all-wise disposal. He lodges all his concerns in his hands, and is
willing he should chuse for him; and when he does so, concluding it
best that things should be as the Governor of the world would have them,
he thankfully accepts his choice, and humbly acquiesces in the wisdom
of his providence: and accordingly, instead of cherishing any thought,
or using any language of discontent, he is in all things ready to say
with his Lord, _Not as I will, but as thou wilt_. Lord, thy will was
an innocent will, and yet thou didst resign it. How much more should
we resign our perverse and corrupt wills?
CHAPTER V.
_A persuasive to the study of Christian prudence,
with some advices relating to the practice of it._
1. HAVING thus laid down the principles of Christian prudence,
what remains but to persuade men to the study of it? And the first
consideration I shall offer to recommend the study of this wisdom is,
that it is attainable. *Many things employ the search of studious men,
which, after all, they can never master, but must sit down, if not with
a _contented_, yet with an _unavoidable_ ignorance of. But it is not so
with wisdom: the acquisition of this depends not upon great parts, but
upon a willing mind. Speculation indeed is infinite, and the well of
truth has no bottom, and besides, _Many have nothing to draw with_.
But wisdom, like a fountain, lies open, and within common reach. Some
care, and pains, and diligence only it takes to drink of it; an easy
price for so precious a treasure. Now this certainty of success is an
encouraging motive to search after it in good earnest. Men may seek for
silver, and not find it, and search for hid treasures, without being
able to break in upon their dark retirements. And yet they search on:
how much more should we search for wisdom, when we are sure not to be
disappointed in our search?
2. But may we not be so in our _finding_? Many things are attainable by
our labour, which are not worth our labour to attain. But wisdom is not
of those; on the contrary, nothing is so well worth attaining. Wisdom
it is that keeps the world in order, and makes living in it a blessing,
that is the parent of laws, the foundation of government, and the great
upholder and sweetner of all society. Wisdom it is that teaches a man
how to obey, and how to govern even that ungovernable creature himself:
to moderate his passions, to compose his manners, to behave well in all
circumstances of life. In a word, that teaches a man to know God and
himself, and by the shining paths of virtue leads him to everlasting
glory and happiness.
*3. Therefore it is that _Solomon_ exhorts us with so passionate an
earnestness, _with all thy gettings, get wisdom_. As much as to say,
whatever thou gettest, or with the expence of all thou hast gotten, get
wisdom, as being of infinitely more value than all. It is a pearl of
so great price, that the merchant who finds it, will buy it with the
price of all that he has. And a wise merchant he is who buys it even at
this price, for it can never be bought too dear. Honour and greatness
may; nay, and so may the whole world, if the price be a man’s soul. But
wisdom cannot; therefore again, _Get wisdom, and with all thy gettings,
get understanding_. If we get wisdom ’tis no matter what else we lose.
And if we lose it, ’tis no matter what else we get. And indeed it
matters not what we get or lose, so we get that which directs us in the
way to happiness, which giveth _life_ to them that have it, and teaches
them how to _live_.
*4. Another consideration to persuade us to the serious study of
wisdom, is this, that if we do not now apply ourselves to it, we
shall hereafter earnestly wish we had. I know hardly any other study,
the neglect of which we shall finally repent of. He that has not
studied mathematics, suppose, though he may perhaps sometime while he
lives, reflect upon himself with some blame for the neglect of such an
accomplishment, yet when he comes toward the concluding scene of life,
and that of eternity begins to open, I presume he will not then think
this a neglect worth repenting of. And so as to other studies. But he
who has not studied wisdom, will then most certainly wish he had, and
think it the greatest gain, could he exchange all the sciences he is
master of, for this one, the science of life. This is the science that
receives our last and best approbation, when other things that make
a greater shew and noise, and which perhaps we liked better when we
knew less, do not find so great a share in our esteem. Useless notions,
and new systems, and fine-spun theories, will not always please us.
The days will come when we shall say, we have no pleasure in them.
But wisdom will relish with us to the very last, and more at last than
ever. When other things leave us, wisdom will stay behind, and more
than supply their loss: and when we have outlived the pleasures of the
world, then will it be in the greatest esteem with us, as being the
only thing of all our acquirements, whose possession and enjoyment too
is immortal.
5. When the gaities and follies of life are over (for folly will not
always please) when even the more serious entertainments of manhood
appear to us as more solemn titles; when covetousness itself, the
last folly that forsakes us, because it begins so late, that it often
settles upon the dregs of life, as upon a firm and immoveable ground,
when even this cleaving folly, shall uncling and drop from us, when
the world itself shall be a burden to us; then shall the remembrance of
wisdom be sweet unto us, and we shall delight in her conversation, and
every step in her ways will give us more comfort than all the little
things of the world. Those who have been strangers to wisdom before,
will be ready enough to claim acquaintance with her then and to say
unto wisdom, _Thou art my sister, and to call understanding their
kinswoman_. But she will not then be so forward to _own them_. And
therefore happy is he that has contracted a friendship with her in the
days of his youth and strength, that he may not be disowned by her in
that hour wherein he most wants her favour: that he may not have wisdom
then to learn, when he should be actually wise, and have the benefit
and comfort of her light to guide him through the vale of the shadow
of death. In order to which we should always remember that excellent
advice of St. _Bernard_, _To rejoice in those things when we are young,
which we shall not repent of when we are old_.