I. P.

THere's no Condition more deplora­ble, then to owe immense Sums, which must be paid to the last Farthing, under pain of Eternal Prisons and Everla­sting Dungeons; and yet to be destitute [Page 6] of all means to pay one Mite: Nothing more miserable, then to be scourg'd and chastis'd during thousands of years, for Crimes committed, and yet no Satisfaction made for the least Offence. This was the unhappy Condition of Unfortunate Man, ever since the Fall of our First Parents; whose Sin, upon that account, St. Augustin calls great beyond expression, ineffabiliter Enchir. c. 24. grande peccatum, by reason of that Misery, ruina ineffabilis, that ineffable ruine, as the same Father calls it, which it drew upon their whole Posterity. All the Scourges of Heaven upon Sinful Man, ever since the Worlds Creation, were just Chastise­ments of this first Rebellion; yet had they been infinitely more, they could not have restor'd him to his Maker's Favour. For, as St. Augustin observes, the General De­luge, the most severe Effect of the Divine Justice ever felt by Mankind, was only able to destroy Man, but not sufficient to wash away his Guilt: Diluvium hominem delevit, Serm. 17. crimen delere non potuit. Moses could drown Pharaoh and his Army, could open the Ocean and swallow up at once great part [Page 7] of the Inhabitants of a whole Nation; yet this dreadful Punishment could make no Atonement with Heaven; their Sins still remain'd: Moyses exterminavit Aegyptum, Ibidem. non peccatum. In fine, All Chastisements ever undergone, all the Sacrifices ever of­fer'd, all the Vertues the World ever ad­mir'd, as the Faith of an Abraham, the Patience of a Job, the Meekness of a Mo­ses, the Penance of a David, could not make Satisfaction for the least Crime: No Man could be perfect to that degree, (says Lib. 6. i [...] Luc. St. Ambrose) as to make Satisfaction for this sinful World; Nullus hominum tantus esse potuit ut totius mundi peccata deleret. Nay, had all the Angels of Heaven, all the Men that ever had or will have a Being, been employ'd in nothing but sighing forth Pe­nitential Psalms; and with it whole Man­kind been condemn'd to feed on nothing but Dust and Ashes, to drink nothing but Brine and Tears, to be clad in Hair and Sackcloth, to have pass'd whole Lives, tho' prolong'd to thousands of Years, in the most severe and contradicting Mortificati­ons that Humane Nature can support; all [Page 8] these, tho' multiplied beyond the reach of Arithmetick, would fall infinitely short of making just Satisfaction for the least Capi­tal Crime.

The reason generally given by Fathers and Divines, why Mans Poverty and Weakness could not cancel that Hand­writing that was against us, Chirographum decreti, nor satisfie for the sins commit­ted Col. 2. 14. against God, is the greatness of God and the vileness of Man: On the one side there was an Infinite Majesty offended, on the other, a despicable Worm, the Offen­der: The offended was Lord and Master, absolute and supream Proprietor of all that had a Being in Earth and Heaven; The Criminal had nothing he could call his own, nothing but what did all really be­long to his Offended Maker upon several Titles; on the one side, all Power, all Greatness, all Independency, all Maje­sty, all Divinity; on the other, nothing but Impotency, Servitude, Dependency, Vileness and Baseness. This raises our Sin and Rebellion to such a degree of Enormity, that St Thomas of Aquin sticks [Page 9] not to call it in some measure Infinite, Pec­catum Q. 1. de In­car. ar. 2. ad 2. contra Deum commissum quandam infi­nitatem habet; because the Majesty of­fended is infinitely Great, infinitely Good, infinitely Amiable, infinitely Adorable; Man the offender infinitely beneath him in all these sublime Attributes; which inhances his guilt beyond the reach of Humane Comprehension. Nay, the great St. Ber­nard to give us a fuller notion of Sins ma­lice carries it yet higher, by impeaching Re­bel and Sinful Man, of no less a crime than Deicide, that is, a desire to destroy God himself, as much as lies within the power of his malicious Will, Ipsum quantum in ipsa Serm. 3. de Incar. est Deum perimit voluntas propria, striking at the Divinity, and aiming to Dethrone the Almighty; because, whoever offends God, do's at the bottom of his Heart, se­cretly desire, that God either did not see him, or could not punish him, and so wish­es him either ignorant, or impotent, which is in effect, to desire he were not what he is; that is, that he were not God, which makes St. Bernard's Zeal crie out, O crude­lis & execranda malitia! O most cruel and [Page 10] execrable malice! Quae Dei Potentiam, Ju­stiam, Sapientiam perire desiderat, which desires God might cease to be Omnipotent, Just and Wise.

Thus it stood with unfortunate Man, for about Four thousand Years, charg'd with an immense Debt, guilty of an infi­nite Malice; and at the same time desti­tute of all means to make the least pay­ment or satisfaction, which in justice was due and required. No Creature, that was only such, could repair our Ruins; nothing less than a God could make just satisfacti­on for the Sins of Men; because the bound­less greatness, and dignity of the Majesty offended, as you have heard, render'd our Crimes infinitely enormous, and the de­spicable meanness of the Offender depress'd all the satisfaction, we could offer, infinite­ly beneath the least proportion to our Of­fences, or the acceptance of the Person of­fended. Tell me, dear Christians, Was there ever a condition more deplorable? ever a Cause more desperate? Full satisfacti­on to be made, yet none possible but what must come from the offended himself; no [Page 11] just Reconciliation, unless the Adorable will stoop to Submission, and Humiliation, the Offended turns Advocate, and the Inno­cent be dragg'd to the Bar, and condem­ned for the Criminal, who stands indited and convicted at his Suit. What hopes is there of these Prodigies? Can Four thou­sand Years Sin and Rebellion move the Al­mighty to so incomprehensible a Conde­scendency? Can our Insolence and Pride of so antient a date, and so long continu­ance prevail with our slighted Maker to undergo such unbeseeming Indignities for our sakes? May we not here justly cry out as the Prophet Isaiah did upon a less occasi­on? Who ever heard or saw any thing like this! Quis audivit unquam tale, quis vidit Esa. 66. 8▪ huic simile? How prodigious soever this may seem, 'tis the Case truly stated; no Salvation for Man upon easier terms.

Therefore that Justice might at last tri­umph, after the unsuccessful Endeavours of many Ages, consum'd in millions of Sacrifices and Holocausts, not regarded in the Court of Heaven, as St. Paul observes out of David, Holocautomata pro peccato non Heb. 10. 6. [Page 12] tibi placuerunt; his saving and just Provi­dence appointed a new, more agreeable Victim, by preparing a Humane Body for the Eternal Son of Heaven, as St. Paul ob­serves out of the same Royal Prophet, Corpus autem aptasti mihi: Which Body Heb. 10. 15. was this Day fram'd in the Womb of the Spotless Virgin, for our Redemption. A­gainst this Mediator no exception could be made, in his Satisfaction no flaw could be found; his Mediation could not be re­fus'd; for as St. Paul assures us, Non rapi­nam Phil. 2. 6. arbitratus est esse se aequalem Deo, He did not think it any Usurpation or Presumpti­on to stile himself equal with God; Om­nipotent with his Eternal Father, equally Great, equally Just, equally Independent, the same in Sanctity, the same in Majesty, the same in all things that were Divine, without any Incroachment upon his Fa­thers Prerogatives: Non rapinam, &c.

Neither could his Satisfaction be re­fus'd, because conformable to the most ri­gorous Rules of Justice; infinitely charm­ing, as the fault was infinitely hateful, in­finitely submissive, as the fault was infinite­ly [Page 13] insolent, infinitely meritorious, as the fault was infinitely unworthy, infinitely pa­cifying and appeasing, as the fault was in­finitely provoking; fully equalling our Debts, as the Council of Ephesus observes, Ad amussim debita nostra coaequantem, which made St. Paul say, we were Redeemed at 1 Cor. 6. ult. a high rate, Pretio magno, with an inesti­mable Ransom.

May we not here, Dear Christians, more justly cry out, then the Prophet Jeremy did upon a less surprising Occasion, Obstupescite Jer. 2. 12. coeli super hoc! Stand astonished at this, O you Heavens! Man hath offended God; the same provoked God comes to satisfie for the very Offences committed against his own Person: Man by Pride had soar'd above himself in affecting to be like the most High; God, that he might not perish for this Insolence, stoops to the greatest of Humiliations, and becomes the most Low. Man had abandon'd God, sold himself to be Captive and Slave to the Devil; God descended into the nar­row and dark Prison of a poor Virgin's Womb, to restore Man to his lost Liberty, [Page 14] and rescue him out of the Hands and Ty­rannical Possession of the Powers of Dark­ness. In fine, Stupid and ungrateful Man had for thousands of years debauch'd his Affections with fatal Friendships, criminal Loves, pernicious Alliances and Unions with all the declar'd Enemies of Heaven; God, to reclaim and save this perverse Creature, descended so low, as to unite himself really and substantially to despica­ble Humane Nature, for an endless Eter­nity. Had not St. Leo just reason here to say, Mirabilior nobis Dei humilitas quam po­testas; Serm. 10. de Pass. That the boundless Power he shew'd in raising this fair World out of Nothing, Peopling the Heavens with Angels, the Earth with Men, and all variety of Crea­tures, was not so surprising and astonish­ing, as the inconceivable Humiliations he underwent in the Redemption of Man; Mirabilior nobis, &c.

Were we here permitted, O Eternal Maker, humbly to expostulate with thy ineffable Bounty; Couldst thou not have left a Race of Rebels, Despisers of thy Laws, Blasphe­mers of thy Majesty, Monsters of Ingrati­tude? [Page 15] Couldst thou not have abandon'd them to the utmost Rigour of thy pro­vok'd Justice? Had thy Divine Majesty been ever the less Adorable? Had thy E­ternity been shortned? Had thy Immensi­ty been confin'd? Had thy Omnipotency been weakned? Had thy Infinity been li­mited? Had thy Glory been eclips'd? What prejudice had God suffer'd, if the vilest Ingratitude had been chastis'd? if Man, the most unworthy of Creatures, had perish'd for ever? Had thy Friends for­saken thee because thy Enemies were pu­nish'd? Had not the Father, Son, and Ho­ly Ghost still enjoy'd one another in Boundless Knowledge, in Infinite Love, in Immense Glory? Would not the Angels still have been ready at thy beck, the Che­rubims rapt in Contemplation of thy Great­ness, the Seraphims melted in the Flames of thy Love? Would not the Earth and Heavens, with all other Creatures, have still trembled in thy Presence, and submis­sively own'd thee as their Supream Lord, altho' ungrateful Man had been treated according to his Demerits?

'Tis true, Dear Christians, God's abso­lute Independency and Supream Domini­on places him infinitely above such Casu­alties upon the account of his Creatures Disorders: And altho' that Power which created the Universe with a Word, could with the same ease have sav'd or aban­don'd all Mankind; yet, all this notwith­standing, it was not to be done upon other Terms. The Reason was, Because God would not have the Greatness of his Mer­cy so manifested, that he might seem in the least to neglect his Justice; he would joyn together those seemingly opposite Attributes, after so admirable a manner, that his Mercy should never appear more Indulgent, nor his Justice more Severe; fully making good David's Prophecy, Ju­stitia & Pax osculatae sunt. His Mercy could never have pardon'd more, his Ju­stice could never exact more. 'Tis only here he was infinitely Merciful, to satisfie himself in Person for the Offences com­mitted against his own Laws; 'tis here he was infinitely Just and Severe, in admit­ting of no less Satisfaction then what was [Page 17] offer'd by his own Coeternal and Coequal Son, who could not atone for us, had he been of an inferiour Rank, as St. Leo ob­serves, Nisi esset verus Deus non adferret re­medium. Serm. 1. de Nat. God, the Eternal Justice it self, will have full Satisfaction for the Sins com­mitted against his Person and Orders; this cannot be had but from a Person equal to himself; therefore his only Son, who is God, and Equal with himself, crowds (as I may say) his Immensity into the narrow Womb of a Virgin, mercifully takes the Form of a Servant, and by it raises our Po­verty to the rich Condition of being able to pay a full and just Ransom for the Sins of all Mankind.

Here stop a while, my Soul, and Con­template the Eternal Word, the Omnipo­tent Son of Heaven, for thy sake, become an Infant Child; Behold his boundless Love for many, as the Prophet Sophonias foretold, has reduced him to a charming si­lence, Silebat in dilectione suâ, he was silent Sopho. 3. 17. in the dearest expression of his Love. O Incomparable Invention of Divine Mercy! Oh Silence more Eloquent than all the [Page 18] Tongues of Men and Angels! more force­able in the sight of Heaven than all the Pe­nitential Psalms of David, than all the La­mentations of Jeremy, than all the earnest Petitions, and languishing sighs of the Pa­triarchs and Prophets, which cries more loud, tho' in a sweeter strain, than the Blood of an innocent Abel, pleads Man's Cause with a Heavenly Eloquence, the hap­py Product of his infinite Love, silebat in dilectione suâ. Was ever Love carried to this height? was ever Charity to be com­pared to this? The only Son of Heaven, the Immence Word of the Almighty, re­duc'd to the state of a newly conceiv'd In­fant: And why? St. Paul tells you in a few, but most surprizing words, Peccatores sal­vos 1 Tim. 1. 16. facere, to save Sinners, his declar'd E­nemies, Ungrateful Rebellious Sinners; to save you that have contemn'd his Benefits, abused his Graces, vilified his Glory, blas­phemed his Majesty, for the Salvation of such who so little deserv'd it. He is this Day miraculously made Man, substantially uni­ted to one of his own Creatures, infinitely beneath him in all Perfections. Would [Page 19] any here present willingly consent, that his Rational Soul, his Humane Nature should be really and inseperably united for all Eter­nity, to the Nature of a Serpent, a Toad, a Worm, or what is more Vile and Abject amongst Creatures; and this only to re­deem from Slavery, that Person of the World which most contemned him that let slip no occasion of shewing himself to be your most inveterate and implacable Ene­my? Alas! all this is infinitely out-done in our present Mystery. The Creator of all things is substantially united to that crea­ted Nature, which of all Beings had been most ungrateful; the supream Lord and Master of Heaven and Earth hath assum'd the contemptible Nature of his own Slave and Vassal, God is become Man, and will remain so for all Eternity, to save his own Rebellious Creatures, his Treacherous Ser­vants, Monsters of Sin and Iniquity, Pec­catores salvos facere. 'Tis here clear, Bre­theren, the Powers of Heaven stand asto­nish'd, and submissively adore the pro­found Abyss of the Divine Wisdom, the Infinite severity of his Rigorous Justice, the [Page 20] Charming Goodness of that God of Mer­cies; who altho abandon'd by his own Creatures, not own'd as their Father or Benefactor, but despis'd, vilify'd, and hated, as their inveterate Enemy; yet appears this Day the most Gracious of Sovereigns, the most Bountiful of Benefactors, the most Tender of Fathers, giving us all the Treasures of Heaven, his only Son, as the most Generous and Indearing Instance of an Infinite Love, Sic Deus dilexit mundum ut filium suum unigenitum daret.

May we not justly say with St. Aug. That altho' we have been insensible of all other Benefits his Bounty has heap'd upon us since the Worlds Creation; yet certain­ly this strongest Proof of an Infinite Love must force some return from the most Stony Heart, Si amare pigebat saltem reda­mare non pigeat.

That Nature upon which the First Adam had intail'd Temporal Miseries and Eter­nal Punishments, is this Day, by the Second Adam, renewing its Title and Claim to Eternal Glory; the Pressures and Calami­ties we sigh'd under, as Chastisements of [Page 21] our Sins, are this Day made the best and surest Earnest of everlasting Bliss: All Crea­tures that ever had become our Masters, and had debauch'd our Affections, are again falling at our Feet, by that Grace of our Redeemer that makes us triumph over them, and despise them. The Way to Heaven, hitherto unknown and untrod­den by Mankind, is now clearly discover'd, and easie to be walk'd in. The Law of Fi­gures, confin'd to Judea, is receiving an end, and all Nations invited to a better Worship, to adore in Spirit and Truth. The Distance kept with Man for thousands of Years, is this Day dispens'd with; he is Hy­postatically united to Humane Nature: and that nothing might be wanting, he graciously appears in our own Form. This must needs charm us, how insensible soe­ver we were to past Favours, si amare pi­gebat saltem redamare non pigeat.

If any thing appears on this Day that puts us in mind of his heretofore so for­midable Omnipotency, 'tis only the con­founding the Powers of Darkness, wresting their Prey out of their Mouths, the repair­ing [Page 22] the Ruins caus'd by Sin, not to be made up by a lesser Power. No Effects here of his Justice, that Attribute so dread­ful to Mankind, unless it be the offering himself a rich Victim of Peace, in full satisfaction to our offended God, recon­ciling this sinful World to his Eternal Fa­ther, himself, and Heaven, mundum recon­cilians sibi. This was the Business he came for; for this Reason he assum'd Humane Nature, as you have heard prov'd at large: Which being perform'd, the Promise made in the opening my Discourse calls upon me, after having spoken of the Son, to say something of the miraculous Mother. You have heard how great the Blessing was we receiv'd from the Son; I shall now lay before you the best way of Honouring the Mother, which is my Second Part.

II. P.

THe Catholick Church was always careful to put just Bounds and Li­mits to that Honour which her Children paid to the Virgin Mother; giving a check to those who by an indiscreet Zeal carried it too high, and not supporting such who [Page 23] durst in the least derogate from her. Of this we have a clear Proof in St. Epiphanius, a Father living near the middle of the Fourth Age: In him we read of the Collyridians, Epip. Haer. 79. Persons who offer'd certain Cakes in Sacri­fice to the Virgin Mother, who, for so do­ing, are treated as Hereticks, for raising her above the Nature of a Creature, and so in­trenching on the Divine Prerogatives. So likewise the same Father stigmatizes others, call'd Antidicomarianites, with the same in­famous Haer. 78. Character, for denying one of her Chief Prerogatives, the Honour of being a Perpetual Virgin. So that as she forbids her Children to give her more Honour then may be allow'd to a Creature, she likewise permits them not to deprive her of any Advantage granted by her and our Creator. The first is so absurd, that it cannot be a Temptation to a Reasonable Creature; the second so unjust, that none can refuse it that know her Merits. To adore her as a Goddess, were the most enormous of Crimes, a Sacrilegious Ido­latry; not to Honour her above all Saints, were to diminish her Dignity, and a ma­nifest [Page 24] Injustice. We are allow'd to pray to her, as the Mother of Pity, to pray for us; but must always expect the Grace im­plor'd, not from her, but her Son's Bounty. Here you see the Spirit of the Catholick Church is, that her Children in Honour­ing the Virgin Mother, should never trans­gress by falling into Extreams, in giving her more then is due to a Creature, or re­fusing what is her Right upon so many just Titles. Maria in honore sit, Dominus Haer. 79. adoretur; Let Mary be honour'd, but let God be ador'd as our Sovereign Lord and Master.

But my time is too far spent to enter upon the particular Discussion of several Ways that may be made use of in Ho­nouring the Virgin Mother: Wherefore I shall content my self at present to recom­mend only that unto you, which is most desir'd by the Church and her, most ad­vantagious to all that honour her, and which alone makes all other Honours done her, to be truly so: I mean, the Imi­tation of her Life and Vertues.

The Chief Honour St. Paul demanded from those converted by his Apostolical Labours, was, That they would study to imitate his Life, as he did the Sacred Life of Christ; Fratres imitatores mei estote, si­cut 1 Cor. 11. [...] ego Christi. This is the best way of Honouring the Saints, most acceptable to them, and most beneficial to us: And therefore St. Augustin says, They alone truly Serm. 74. de Sanctis. keep the Festivals of the Saints and Martyrs, and truly honour them as they ought, qui ip­sorum Marryrum exempla sequuntur, who make it their business to imitate their Lives. And the Reason is evident: For when we would make our Court to any Great Per­son here on Earth, and convince him we have a true Honour for him, we cannot do it more efficaciously, then by saying always what he says, approving what he ap­proves, finding fault with all he dislikes; in a word, imitating his Behaviour and Conduct in all things. By this Proceeding we convince him, that we take his Judg­ment for our Rule to act by, we esteem his Choice to be the most wise, and himself to be the most excellent Pattern for Pru­dence, [Page 26] Discretion, and Wisdom, of all others. Is not this the highest Honour we can shew? And in reality 'tis so, if we think he deserves it, and proceed without Flattery. But the Saints in Heaven are not only above our Flattery, but have moreo­ver this Advantage, which we have not: Their Judgments, when on Earth, were ex­actly conformable to the Wisdom of Hea­ven; their Choice squar'd to the Rules of the Gospel; their Actions measur'd by the Will of the Almighty: To which must be added, That now in Glory they see incom­parably more clear; that no way of Li­ving here on Earth but theirs, when Pil­grims with us, was to be esteem'd Ratio­nal; and now being immovably fix'd to the Will of the Almighty, can love only what he loves, and necessarily hate what he hates; and consequently, cannot esteem or admit of any Honour done to them­selves, as truly such, which is not at the same time a true Honour of the Lord of Glory, who cannot possibly approve of any Action directed to himself, or his Saints, that is not accompanied with a De­sire [Page 27] at least of imitating his Son, or Disci­ples that follow'd his Example. Therefore it is only then, the Saints esteem them­selves truly Honour'd, when their own ex­emplary Lives contribute in any measure to carry on the true Honour and Glory due to our common Lord and Master. When they see any one become Chaste by their Example, Penitent by their Example, Self-deniers by their Example, true Ser­vants and Adorers of the Lord of Glory, being animated and stirr'd up by their Ex­ample; this they esteem a great Honour indeed, that they should be any ways in­strumental to effect that which the Angels and whole Court of Heaven incessantly sigh after, the Salvation of Men.

Upon this account St. Ambrose contem­plating the Prerogatives of the Virgin Mo­ther, with the Advantages we may receive from them, and the best Honour she can receive from us; recommends her Life to all the Faithful as a Pattern for theirs, Hinc Lib. 1. de Virg. sumat exempla vivendi, since as he adds, in her Life, as in the best Copy that was ever drawn after that great Original of her Di­vine [Page 28] Son, we have express'd the most live­ly Representations and Sovereign docu­ments of all Virtues, Ʋbi tanquam in ex­emplari magisteria expressa probitatis; point­ing out to us what we ought to imbrace as conformable to God's Law, and what we ought to fly, as opposite to that Sacred Rule. In fine, a Pattern so universal, that every Man may find in it the Lesson pro­per to himself. Talis fuit vita Mariae ut e­jus unius vita omnium disciplina sit: To the Proud she offers Humility in a Sove­reign Degree; to the Luxurious Purity and Modesty without example, to the Tepid and Slothful Christian the most eminent Charity that ever inflamed the Breast of a Creature. What more humble than to own her self a poor Handmaid, when as­sum'd to the dignity of Mother to the Al­mighty? What more humble than to go a long Pilgrimage to visit her Kinswoman that had conceiv'd a Prophet, when she carried in her own Womb, the Redeemer of Mankind, the Lord of Glory? What more humble than to present her self in the Temple, as defil'd in Childbed, like the [Page 29] rest of her Sex, when she had conceiv'd without loss of Virginity, and brought forth with a miraculous Purity and Inte­grity? What more humble than to Re­deem her First-born, complying with the Law impos'd on Sinners, when in her Arms she carried him who came to wash away the Guilt of the World, and whose Nature was incompatible with all that was sinful? Never was Purity and Virginity carried to so eminent a pitch; never was Modesty so exemplar, a Married Woman, unacquainted with all the lawful liberties of that state; the Purest of Virgins, yet the most Honourable and Sublime of Mothers. What Charity could be compared to hers? who knew she was chosen before all Crea­tures to the dignity of Mother of God; who had conceiv'd in a Spiritual manner, as St. Augustin says, this Heavenly Son in her own Soul, by Contemplation and Love before she concerv'd him in her Womb, Filium suum prius concepit mente, In Psal. 67. quam carne. What melting joys must she daily experience, when she possest the God of Heaven made Man, and united to Hu­mane [Page 30] Nature in her Chaste Body? It must needs seem a Miracle, that her Life was not a continued Extasie of Love, since she had the Creator and Redeemer of Man­kind daily before her Eyes, constantly in her Thoughts; the sustainer of all things supported by her Arms, the Father and Au­thor of all Being sucking at her Breasts, which made her cry out, Her Soul was transported with her God and Saviour, Ex­ultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo. Luc. Her Understanding contemplated nothing but his Greatness; her Will inamour'd with nothing but his Bounty; her Me­mory charg'd with nothing but his Mer­cies, as the Scripture relates of her, Conser­vabat omnia verba haec conferens in corde suo, locking up in the Cabinet of her Heart every Passage of his Divine Life, as a Sa­cred Fuel to feed the Flames of Divine Love. In a word, Her mouth utter'd no­thing but his Praises; her Hands were im­ploy'd wholly in his Service; her Feet made no Step but for his Concerns; and her Eyes could be satisfied with no other Object; witness her Grief and Tears when [Page 31] she thought him lost in Jerusalem: So that her whole Soul was transported with so ravishing a Mystery, always magnifying her Son and Saviour; Magnificat anima mea Dominum: Joyfully imploying all her Sen­ses, all her Being, all her Soul, (as Venera­ble Bede observes upon these Words) in Thanksgiving and Gratitude; Quicquid vivo, sentio, discerno gratulanter impendo.

These, Dear Christians, are the true Praises of the Virgin Mother; these Ver­tues are what render her Honourable in Heaven; and the Imitation of these is the best Honour she can receive, or expects from us upon Earth, not but that other Inferiour Honours may be good and lau­dable when us'd with a true desire of ac­quiring the mention'd Vertues: Prayers for Example offered to her by the Proud, with a true desire to become Humble; by the Dissolute, with a true desire to become Chaste; by the Indevout, with a true desire to become Fervent; by all Christians with a true desire and intention to serve her Glorious Son by imitating the Vertues so eminent in the Mother. Devotions to our [Page 32] Lady with this Disposition and intention, will ingage her efficaciously in our Pro­tection, and invite her powerfully to use that Grace and Favour she has with her Di­vine Son, in Praying with us, and for us, that we may obtain a happy and glorious share in that Redemption, for which the Eternal Word was this Day Incarnate, and so be­coming the source of all Grace in this World, and everlasting Glory in the next; Which God of his Mercy grant to Your Sa­cred Majesties, and all Your Subjects here as­sembled. Amen.