The First Point.

COnsider. Since Al­mighty 1. The fu­ture Life preferra­ble. God has ordain'd, for Man, two sorts of Life; One, [Page 2] in this World, short and full of Misery; the other▪ in the next, Everlasting▪ and, for those that live well here, subject to no e­vill, and abounding with all good: 'Tis evident, this latter is, infinitely and without all com­parison, to be preferr'd.

The second point.

AGain. Considering 2. Because know­ledge, there, more perfect. that Knowledge is the Good of a Rational Soul; and that no one Object has the least re­pugnance to any other, [Page 3] as to being known, but all (however opposite a­mong themselves) are perfectly consistent in the Understanding; the Soul, of its own nature, if not checkt, by union with the body, is capable of knowing all things. Since therefore, through the Obstruction of the Body in the whole course of this Life, she attains to the knowledge of but very few things, and those one by one; whereas, in the next world, she shall be freed from all impe­diment, being either a­lone, [Page 4] without the Body or absolute Mistriss of it 'Tis evidently conse­quent that, knowledg [...] (the Souls good,) in res­pect of the Object, mus [...] hereafter, where 'tis no [...] hindred, infinitely sur­pass it self, here, whil'st 'tis subject to the Body.

The third Point.

BUt, farther. Conside­ring 3. God be­ing it's sole Ob­ject. that all Objects and things, both in their Nature and Number, are limited and finite; except Almighty God, who a­lone, [Page 5] in his sole Essence, as in one single Reality [...]nd Formality) contains [...]hem all and infinite other possibilities, in a more united and in­finitely higher kind; whence, He's the sole Ob­ject that can render our knowledge perfect, and that only Soul's good whose Vision and Frui­tion can make us happy: Hence, again, it follows that, since this Object is reserv'd for the next life, its Felicity is incompa­rably to be preferr'd, be­fore all the Goods and [Page 6] Happiness this life can promise, much less af­ford, us.

The first Point.

COnsider. Since all de­light 1. All de­light from the Intel­lect. either consists in Knowledge, or, at least, absolutely depends on it; for, we find, by experi­ence, all the knowledge [Page 9] we have, (ev'n sensible,) is perfected in the Brain, by help of the Understan­ding: It follows that, All delight, whether In­tellectual or Sensual, pro­ceeds from the Soul, as it is Intellectual; and con­sequently, that delecta­tion, which compre­hends all Intellectual, comprehends, indeed, all manner of delight: Wherefore, the Vision of God must needs con­tain, in it self, all kind of sweet contentments, and infinitely exceed all other delights.

The second Point.

AGain. All temporal 2. Whence, God trans­cends all Corpo­ral Plea­sures. and worldly Plea­sures consist in a certain Motion and transient succession, which quick­ly slip away; and can have no greater stability than the time, by which they are measur'd: nor indeed can that be long; for, neither are we able alwaies to eat or drink, &c. nor yet alwaies at­tend or reflect (without which 'tis impossible to take delight) what we [Page 11] do, whilst wee are in these Actions. But, on the contrary, that delight which flows from the Vision of God is Everla­sting, steddy and un­changeable as any fixt and permanent substance, not enjoyed by piece­meal, never interrupted, as, of necessity, all Cor­poral pleasures are, in this life; but full and all toge­ther and needing no at­tention, it self Essential­ly reflecting upon it self: So that, it alone exceeds All worldly pleasures, as far as All time exceeds one [Page 12] Instant, the vast Machin of the world the least Moat we discover in the Sun beams, or the high­est Angel a contemptible Worm, and infinitely more, beyond all com­parison.

The third Point.

LAstly. All other objects 3. He only filling the Soul. of delight may be cō ­prehended by our Under­standing, may be con­temn'd by our Will, as less than our Soul and not able to satisfie it: only Almighty God so [Page 13] fills and oversatisfies, that, entirely possessing our Affections, He, as it were, forces the Soul to love and delight, more than, of its own nature, it pos­sibly could; nor can it ever be weary of the good it enjoys, but still, with its whole and more eager desire, will hug and cling to its beloved Object; so that, a Soul which sees God seeks nothing else, but rests fully satisfied &, as it were, lull'd into a dear contentment, where­in it remains so absorpt and wholy ravisht, that [Page 14] it sweetly languishes and dissolves into Spirits and flames of love, the better to inessence and incor­porate it self into God▪ Thus, then, thou feest clearly demonstrated this great-concerning Truth, that No delight can be comparable to thy Bea­titude; and that, 'tis no wonder to hear our Bles­sed Lord and Master, in a manner, labour to ex­press it, when He said, Mensuram plenam, & con­fertam, & coagitatam, & supereffluentem dabunt in si­nus vestros, You shall be [Page 15] paid with good measure, heap'd up, and press'd down, and thrust toge­ther, and yet running over into your Bosoms.

The first Point.

COnsider. When the 1. Glori­ously quali­fy'd. last day shall restore thee thy Body again, it shall be endow'd with such a degree of health, as will be most conveni­ent for all thy operations, both Spiritual and Cor­poral, [Page 18] accompany'd with an incapacity of defici­ence or Corruption, and w ^th such an Agility as the most perfect disposition of the Nerves can cause; with access of all possible swiftness, and a power of raising or depressing thy self, at pleasure, as al­so of consisting with or penetrating any other Body: to all which, thou shalt have such a graceful Comeliness, with so rare a Beauty of Light and Colour, (whose like shall not be found in any o­ther Body but thine,) [Page 19] that, thereby, thou shalt become an ornament to the Universs; adding so peculiar a grace to all the rest, that, without thee, that whole mass of glo­rious Bodies would seem, in a manner, lame and defective.

The second Point.

MOreover. All the 2. Vniver­sally ho­nour'd. laudable actions of thy whole life shall be known, to all the Men and Angels, that are or ever were; who, admi­ring all and every perfe­ction [Page 20] in them, (even, to the least circumstances and thoughts that accom­pany'd them) shall, from their very hearts and by the force of truth, love and praise thee for them: nay, the very Devils and damned souls shall ho­nour thee, but with en­vy, grief, and repentance; and, what may seem more strange, thy very sins shall be, then, a glo­ry to thee, both because thou o'recam'st and for­sook'st them, and that, even, in their commissi­on, there was possibly [Page 21] some laudable circum­stance, and which avayl'd to thy salvation. So that, then, thou shalt have so many Friends, so many Admirers of thy Vertue, as there are Saints and Angels; so many VVit­nesses of thine Excel­lency, as there are dam­ned souls and Devils, who, obstinate in their own malice, by their Tor­ments shall confess and encrease thy Glory.

The third Point.

ADde to this. Nei­ther 3. Entirely, complyd with. the Devils nor damned souls shall be able, in any thy least Motion or Will, to resist thee; all the Saints and Angels shall observe and comply with thy de­sires, more punctually then any obsequious ser­vant ever watch'd their Masters eye; and, no Cor­poreal nature shal be able to contest with thee, but all Bodies shall obey thee in what ever thou [Page 23] hast a mind to▪ So that, there, thou shalt neither want Power, where none shall contradict thee, nor Riches, where nothing shall be denyed thee.

The first Point.

COnsider. Man's Soul 1. Equal to the Inclina­tion of a Soul's Nature. being created for the Vision of Almighty God, (as properly, and more, than a knife is made to cut, any Vessel [Page 26] to be fill'd, and all heavy things for their Center;) and a knowing substance, when it wants the good for which it was made, being very unquiet and full of Pain, and that so much the more as it's Nature is more excellent, it's Force greater and In­clination more Violent▪ It must needs follow that, such a Soul, (when it shall know what an in­finite Good the Almigh­ty is, who alone is able to satisfie its Appetite,) will be fill'd with a sor­row for so great a Joss, [Page 27] equal to the excellency of its Nature and the force of its Inclination. Reflect, then, with what Violence a huge stone falls to it's center, or a Mighty Bow of Steel, let loose, unbends its self, or Powder, set on fire, breaks all to make it's way; and, be assured the sorrow of an unhappy Soul (who, now, sees of what good it remains depriv'd) will be as far more Violent than all these, as its Nature and Forces surpass the activi­vity of the strongest Bo­dies.

The second Point.

AGain. When this 2. Aggra­vated, by the folly of her choice. poor Soul shall be convinc'd, how slender, base, sordid, fading and almost momentany all those things were, for which it contemn'd and lost this infinite and on­ly Good; that might so▪ easily have been obtain'd, even, with far less pains than were, often▪ em­ploy'd▪ on those transi­tory toys; and with far more security, (since, none could hinder it but [Page 29] it self; no, not it self de­prive it self of this, when once possest: but for those, there was not the least certainty by never so great endeavours, to compass them, nor the least hope long to hold them:) VVhen the un­happy Soul shall be clear­ly convinc'd of all this, will it not incompara­bly encrease its grief and infinitely augment its torments, its pains.

The third Point.

BUt, above all. Those 3. Especi­ally, a Christi­an. wretched Souls, who, whilst they liv'd in their Bodies, had receiv'd grea­ter Knowledge of this Beatitude, and (by the honour of being Christi­ans) had heard and be­liev'd, both that there was an eternal Happi­ness provided for them, (if themselves would) and that it incomparably exceeded all temporal Goods and worldly Fe­licity; yet see, on the o­ther [Page 31] side, how they spent their whole lives in running after Vanities and trash, as if they had been Pagans and igno­rant of Heav'n: such must needs, out of this know­ledge, fall into an incre­dible, yet unprofitable, Repentance; and, accor­ding to our Saviours sen­tence, be beaten with many stripes, as the VVise-man explicates, like great Per­sons, be greatly tormented.

The first point.

COnsider. Since a 1. Missing their un­alterable desires. Soul cannot be with­out desires, but some­thing [Page 34] it must Love; wherefore, if it Loves not true Beatitude, it must needs desire false Goods: whence, it will clearly follow that, The Souls of the Wicked, who dye without loving God, must, after death, desire those same goods on which they placed their affections, whilst they liv'd in this World; and, the Acts of a separated Soul being, incompara­bly, more strong and vio­lent than any it could possibly exercise in the Body, Those Souls must [Page 35] be all on fire and, incre­dibly, burn with perpe­tual longings after the goods of this life; which, notwithstanding, can­not be had in that State, and yet, the desire of such is now grown natural to them; and consequently as unchangeable and im­mortal as their Nature. They must, therefore, be eternally tormented with a furious, yet fruitless, desire of those things they can never obtain; whence follows a continual Des­peration, insufferable grief, and A version from [Page 36] the causes of so great evil, Viz. Hatred against God and▪ Themselves, and a raging Madness, altoge­ther inexplicable.

The second Point.

BUt, further. It being 2. Incom­possible, in them­selves. almost impossible that he, who directs not his life to God, should so lettle his Affections on any one temporal thing, as not to be distracted with successive desires of, now, this, now, that, inde­pendent of one another; and all those Acts, which, [Page 37] in this life, are successive and at severall times, being, in the next world, altogether and at once in the Soul: It must needs follow that, such a Soul, in the next life, desires, at the same time, con­trary and incompossible things; and so, for ever, remains divided in and against it self, alwaies at debate and strife with it self and, as if, compoun­ded of so many furious beasts, as it has contra­ry Passions, perpetually biting and tearing one another, without the [Page 38] least minute of rest; be­comming, thus, to it self a most bitter, spiteful and tedious enemy and, which way soever it turns, still meeting new goads and spears that gore it to the very heart.

The third Point.

ANd, which is yet 3. Which they see Eternal. more grievous than all the rest, When these unhappy Souls shall clearly see that these e­vils, into which they have plung'd themselves, shall never have an end, [Page 39] can never be lessen'd with any success of time, nor admit of any the least comfort, no, not so much as a little Oblivi­on or not thinking on them, for a Moment; but shall alwaies and all at once in a heap o're­whelm & oppress them, continually gnawing and eating, yet without con­suming, their very Bow­els: what mountains of Calamities, what Etnas of despair must this needs draw upon them? Do but reflect on your self, what a terrour 'tis [Page 40] wont to strike, when you have some time thought of this Eternity, by multiplying hundreds, thousands, and Millions of years; which, notwith­standing, when you have gone as far as you are able, is infinitely short of what Eternity is: and, then, tell me what effect you think this sad conside­ration must needs pro­duce in the damned; who, by the excellency of their Nature and the State wherein they now are, cannot but behold the horrid countenance of [Page 41] this their accursed Eter­nity, truly, and such as, in it self, it is for ever.

The first Point.

COnsider▪ As all plea­sure, 1. Extream sorrow inclu­ding All. in Man, pro­ceeds from the Soul, so, [Page 44] of necessity, must all grief, too; wherefore, as, in the highest delight, all kind of pleasure is con­tain'd, so, in the extrea­mest sorrow, all kind of grief is included: Since, therefore, all the corporal pains we suffer are but several griefs in the Soul; it evidently follows that, in damned Souls, where extream sorrow reigns, no kind of pain can be wanting. Whence, though their Bodies be in a state of Immutability, and no material Instruments of Torment can work on [Page 45] them, after the Resurre­ction; yet shall not they be free, even, from corpo­ral pains: but feel, incom­parably more grievously than they ever could in this life, the torments of burning by Fire, the gnawing of Worms and Serpents, the affliction of weeping and wayling, the causes of gnashing the Teeth, and all Pains what­ever have been shew'd to holy Persons in their ap­proved Visions.

The second Point.

AGain. When all their 2. With, Con­tempt on all sides. wickednesses and most infamous Actions, when every Word and Thought shall, not only, be written in their own Consciences, but layd o­pen to the sight of all the World; those wretched Creatures, of necessity, must then appear, both to themselves and all o­thers, most effeminate, foolish and wicked, and, by consequence, most base and infamous; and [Page 47] thereby, most hateful, even, to themselves, con­temptible to God and his Angels, with all the Blessed Souls, nay even, to the very Devils and all the damned crew; but especially, to those once honour'd and be­lov'd Companions of their wickedness, in this world, whom either, whilst they liv'd, they had courted into their Sins, or been by them al­lur'd and draw'n into their's; and, so, in an in­stant and to all Eternity, become depriv'd of all, [Page 48] even, false Friendship, vain Honour, and what­ever seeming Goods they so passionatly affected and ambitiously sought for, in this life.

The third Point.

LAstly, though their 3. All hight­ned, through the sub­jection of the Body. Bodies, then, remain perfectly subject to their Souls, yet, ev'n this sub­jection, through the in [...] ­disposition of their Souls, can only serve to render them more miserable and hateful; their Eyes and Countenances, fram'd ac­cording [Page 49] to the horror of their guilty Consci­ences and tormented Thoughts, how can they but be most ugly and a­bominable? the rest of their Members, in what strange Postures, expres­sing the distraction of their Minds, beyond all Bedlams for their mad and extravagant deformi­ties? and, if any occasion of Action should be of­fer'd them, without any Prudence or considerati­on, at the very first mo­tion, how prone to all wickedness and unable [Page 50] to resist any evill? Only, secure, by their state of Immutabiliry: Unhappy Immutabiliry▪ which on­ly serves them, never to be chang'd from, but e­ternally to endure, Tor­ments, that would quick­ly dissolve any thing less than an immortal Body.

[...]things, put together, are any ways cōparable ev'n to the least degree of it: 'tis evident that, then, our whole life is best, when 'tis best fitted and order'd for obtaining this End; and, if in any part it be ill or less well dis­pos'd for It, so far 'tis vicious or, at least, im­perfect. Wherefore, 'tis the sole business of all prudent Persons, so to order their whole life, (to the utmost of their power,) as may most directly and certainly lead them to attaining [Page 55] this happiness: propor­tionating every Part there­of to the scope of the Whole, and having, still, the End so considerately before their eyes, that all their Actions may be squar'd and levell'd to it.

The second Point.

SEcondly. Since the 2. That Best, which begets a Love to It. chief and proper A­ction of a Man, towards his End, is the Love of it; and the highest Good is, above all, to be loved: 'tis evident, Those acti­ons [Page 54] [...] [Page 55] [...] [Page 56] and endeavours, to This End, are best, which beget and breed in Our selves a strong and solid Love to It. Now, there are two ways or Mediums to engender and encrease Love: One, by purging our hearts from all other Loves and Affections, that so we may more freely and entirely attend to this we are in pursute of; the Other, by consi­dering and Meditating on, as well the great Goods contain'd in the End or thing we desire to Love, as the extream [Page 57] Evils that follow or ac­company their Loss or privation. Wherefore, 'tis cleer, Our chief la­bour and study ought to be, so to order our life, that we may, both often and seriously, think on this our End and the infinite Happiness it contains; and that, in all we undertake, our Af­fections be not corrup­ted and adulterated with the least Love of the things themselves, but our works be done pure­ly for the Love of this blessed End, and all our [Page 58] intentions aym at the encrease of this Love.

The third Point.

THirdly. Since, by 3. Every delibe­rate A­ction, impor­tant. every deliberate A­ction, we aym at some End or pretend the at­taining some Good; which we seek, either, purely for it self, without any farther reference, or else, intend this as a means to some other: 'tis evident that, in every such Action, we love something, as the last End for which we do it. If [Page 59] then, it be not done for the love of true Beatitude (which is, the Enjoyment of God;) it must needs follow, we do It only for the love of some false Good, as Pleasure, Ri­ches, or the like; and that, in every such A­ction, we love some false Good, as our last End. Wherefore, it imports us to walk very cauti­ously with our God, and purify (all we can) our intentions: seeing no consider [...]t action can be surely indifferent, but ei­ther advances towards [Page 60] or swerves from our true and only Felicity, His bea­tifying sight.

The first point.

COnsider. Since eve­ry 1. The mean's to Na­tur's end truly pleasant. one's particular End is that of Humane Nature; and, it cannot [Page 63] stand with the Wisdom and Goodness of our Creatour, to have made our Nature other, than such as was fit and con­formable to obtain the End, for which it was created: it must needs follow that the actions, by which we are to pro­cure this End, are also conformable to our Na­ture: And since, What is agreeable to Nature is pleasant and delightful, it must follow again, that, Those Actions are very grateful and sweet; and therefore a Pious Life, [Page 64] which consists of such Actions, is not a crabbed and unpleasant, but, on the contrary, a life full of sweetness and most apt to yield content: And, if some passages in it seem a little harsh, that they are but Medi­cinal and whereby we are preserv'd from falling in­to others, far more hurt­full and worse to be di­gested; wherefore, that These also are sweet in their effect, not only in respect of the Future Life, but even of the Present, and, like a bitter Potion, [Page 65] to be swallow'd, with a joyful hope of the Health they induce.

The second point.

AGain. Since a Pious 2. Whence Vertue brings Peace and Vice disquiet▪ life orders the whole course of our Actions to one end, so rendring them all conformable to one another; it clear­ly exempts our lives from all inward op­position and contradi­ction, and keeps us in perfect Peace with our selves: whereas, on the contrary, a Vicious [Page 66] life (wich precipitates us, according to our Passions, to follow, now▪ this, now, that Concupis­cence) must needs fill our Souls with repug­nant Affections, make us lead a life full of Contra­diction, and cast us into those very evils we seek most to fly. And, as all Vices are contrary to our Nature, and cannot be kept subject to Reason's Rule; so are they, of ne­cessity, bitter and painful in their effects, pres­sing their Followers still downward, from evill [Page 67] to worse, till, in death, they tumble them at length, into Hell: where they shall justly com­plain that, They have walked thither by difficult and rough ways, and even been weary'd in their Ini­quities.

The third Point.

THirdly. Since our 3. Piety not de­barring, ev'n, temporal Con­tent­ments. Bodies are made for our Souls, and the Dispositions of the one for the Operations of the other; it follows that, then, our Souls best [Page 68] operate, when our Bo­dies are best dispos'd, and that Disposition of the Body is, truly, best, which is best fitted to the Operations of the Soul; whence, 'tis an errour to think it well with our Bodies, when they are not fit to serve our Soul. And, hence again, it follows that, ev'n Those delights and comforts of the Body, which God has created for it's necessary Recrea­tion are not to be deny'd to a Pious Life, in their due proportion; that, a [Page 69] Pious and Orderly Life, truly and really, more abounds with corporal delights than the Life of the wicked, (as appears to any that considers the inconveniences una­voydably flowing from disorder:) and that, ev'n They who abstain from those corporal delights, which are enjoy'd in Marriage & the possession of Riches; such find, here, other far greater tempo­ral Pleasures, incompa­tible with these, as, Ho­nour, Friendship, Know­ledge, excellent Conver­sation [Page 70] and the like, which abundantly supply the defect of those material enjoyments, and rende [...] their Life more sweet and happy, ev'n in this world.

The first point.

COnsider. Since Al­mighty 1. Crea­ting the World, nay Him­self, for Man. God is es­sentially happy, and in Possession of all Good; and therefore incapable of the least new additi­on, by his Creatures: 'tis [Page 74] evident that, whatever he has created, he made, not for his own, but for thine and thy Brethrens sake; not to render him­self, but thee and them happy; and, by conse­quence, has valew'd your Felicity, above all the rest of his works. Be­hold, therefore, Heaven, Earth, and Sea, and all the Creatures wherewith he has stor'd & adorn'd them, created for thee and to bring thee to happiness, nor cared for but as means to that End: And (which is yet [Page 75] infinitely more, ev'n be­yond all amazement) see the Divinity it self humbled and impove­rish't to raise and enrich thee; Him, whom, but now, wee concluded through his own fulness incapable of encrease, devested for thy sake, of all his Royal Privile­ges, and cloth'd with all our miseries and infir­mities: For, what know we, amongst the whole mass of Creatures, so di­stressed and helpless as a poor Infant newly born? what, so subject to [Page 76] all kind of contingen­cies, and inconvenien­cies? what, requiring so much care and industry, to nurse and breed up to its perfection? Thank on every particular, and see, at how high a rate, the unerrable judgement of the Almighty has valew'd thy happiness.

The second Point.

BUt again. Consider 2. Passing through so pain­ful a Life and Death. the whole Life and Death of this poor God, pillag'd of his own, to purchase thy glory. See [Page 77] a Life of three and thirty long years endur'd, in cō ­tinual necessities, labours, molestations, and con­tradictions. How often was it necessary that this most meek and innocent Lamb, who never brake a brused Reed, nor quench'd the smoaking Flax, should (to give thee an example of Patience) undergoe the anger and indignation of his enemies? How of­ten, to teach thee Meek­ness and Humility, was He to be chidden, threat­ned, reproach'd and blas­phem'd, without once [Page 78] op'ning his mouth to reply? What shall I say of his Travayls, Sweats, Weariness, Lying with­out dores, Watching whole nights in Prayer, Fasting, Poverty, not ha­ving a House wherein to shrow'd his Head, living on Alms, continual Dan­gers and Flying from one place to another; espe­cially in the last three years of his Life? O, but His End! Consider his Anguish in the Garden, the manner of his Ap­prehension, his leading, or rather, dragging from [Page 79] one Tribunal to another; all sorts of contempt, all manner of insolent and a­busive revilements: weigh the Pains he suffer'd in the most tender and sen­sible parts of his Body; His being Betray'd by One, and Forsaken by the rest of his Disciples; the doleful presence of his dearest Mother, and o­ther afflicted Friends: In fine, his ignominious Death, and the effusion of the last drop of his Blood, for thy Redemp­tion and eternal Happi­ness.

The third Point.

LAstly. Consider how, 3. Feeding us with Himself. not content with all this, He spar'd not his Glorious Body, but or­dain'd even That, too, to serve as a means for thy Felicity: leaving himself to thee in the Blessed Sacrament, under the forms of Bread and Wine; not only to be seen and adored, but ev'n to be handled, broken, chew'd, swallow'd and incorpo­rated by thee: for all this, is as truly, and really [Page 81] verify'd of him, invested with the Accidents or forms of Bread and Wine, as it would be of the Bread it self, were it ta­ken before Consecration; and It's connatural Ac­cidents are, now, as tru­ly, Those of His Body, as they were of the Bread, whilst it continu'd such. Add, now, to this, all the Injuries and indig­nities that are offer'd his Sacred Person (as it lyes veyl'd under those Acci­dents, for thy Love) whether by Negligence, of inconsiderate Servants, [Page 82] or Malice of wicked Sin­ners: and see to what a pitch his Charity to thee is heightned, which has made Him, in a manner, prefer thee before Him­self.

The first Point.

COnsider, first. By 1. Ren­dred, ea­sily ca­pable of high My­steries. this most wise Oe­conomy and gracious dispensation of Christ, (great Steward of God's house, the Church,) [Page 85] Mankind is made capa­ble of admirable Secrets and high Mysterys; and has attain'd a most cer­tain knowledge of them: for, who so simple, that cannot beleeve what is told him, when nothing else is requir'd? and what can be so firm and cer­tain, either to our Senses or Understandings, as the Word of God? for, since, by It, all other things were made, and, from It, had their Na­tures; It, doubtless, in It self, is far more secure­ly constant and fixt, than [Page 86] the very subsistence of all created Beings, and those Causes, à priore, that give a cert [...]inty to our De­monstrations. And, hence 'tis that, now, whole Nations of People, lear­ned and ignorant, wise and simple, every silly old Woman clearly con­ceives and most firmly believs the Immortality of the Soul, the Condi­tion of the good and wicked after Death, the Eternity of Pains or Plea­sures that attend us, with other most important Verities; concerning [Page 87] which, we find very lit­tle amongst the Philoso­phers, as, whereat, the greatest Wits of them but groap'd, like blind Men.

The second Point.

AGain. By Christ's 2. Encou­rag'd by His Ex­ample. Example wee are strongly encourag'd to all Vertue. Can there be any so faint-hearted, as not to dare Venture himself the same way he sees his Captain pass before him; who, he's sure, both knows the best and se­curest [Page 88] Path to salvation, and is so perfectly good that, even in his Voice, he cannot deceive, much less counterfeit in his Actions? When, we see him, then, choose for himself the same things he proposes to us, and tread out the way which he would have us walk; nay, when we see him, not only, Live and Dye in this way, but, Rise again and enter the Pos­session of those Glories he woos us to hope for: can we any lōger doubt▪ whe­ther we should follow [Page 89] his foot-steps, and beat the same Path? or shall we not confidently as­pire to the Happiness? he so faithfully has pro­mis'd and so dearly pur­chas'd?

The third Point.

BUt, above all. By this 3. En­dear'd by His suffe­rings. Grace of Christ, our Charity to God is ex­treamly heightned & by degrees excessively strange and remarkable; for, First, whereas God was invi­sible and inaccessible, ev'n to our very thoughts, [Page 90] before; He's, now, be­come a Man like us, expos'd to the apprehen­sion even of our senses, that most easy and ob­vious way of our know­ing. Next, by this gra­cious condescendence, He has espous'd all the Titles that may endear our Affections; having made himself our Master, our Friend, our Compa­nion, our Brother, His Father to become ours, and himself a Member of the same Body with us. And knowing that, as it is the greatest possi­ble [Page 91] testimony of Love, to suffer for a Friend, so 'tis the most effective means to beget a mutu­al Love; our Heavenly Father (desirous to settle a perfect correspondence, in That, betwixt his only Begotten, and us, his adop­ted Sons) sent Him into this world to suffer, for our sakes, all kind of evils, all manner of con­tempts, all sorts of inju­ries, miseries, torments, and a most shameful Death, Sic Deus dilexit Mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret pro mundi [Page 92] Vitâ. To such a point did God love us, as to give up, even to death, for our Life, his only, his equal, his coessential, and consubstantial Son. Nor was This Son less for­ward and willing to ac­cept, than his Father to enjoyn him all this, for us; but as his Apostle says, Dilexit me, & tradidit seipsum pro me. He lov'd me, and so lov'd me, as to Live in miseries, and Dye with torments, for me. Nor, did his love end with his Life: Since, though it was necessary [Page 93] to withdraw his Corpo­ral Presence from our sen­ses, yet Love would not let him entirely be ab­sent; but wittily found▪ out this stupendious In­vention, to remain with us in the Blessed Sacra­ment, not only, to be seen and ador'd by our Faith, but really, to in­corporate and mingle his Flesh with ours, ma­king himself the nou­rishment both of our Souls and Bodies. In fine, by this his Oeconomy and the powring out of his Holy Spirit, and [Page 94] changing, in a manner, the whole World (at least, so far as concern'd Mens Souls) through the innumerable Mira­cles wrought by Himself and his Followers, to the Conversion of Nations; he has rendred those things easy to us, by the custom of hearing and seeing them done by others, which, before, seem'd almost impossible and not to be imitated; and so, taken away the greatest hinderances of our Love to him.

The first point.

Consider▪ Though 1. No Chri­stian re­vengeful. our Saviour was vouchsaf'd us, both as a Master and Model of all Vertures, and a perfect [Page 98] Pattern for all the Acti­ons of our whole Life; yet two Vertues we find, especially, particularly and, in a manner, on­ly recommended to us, Meekness and mutual Charity; the first he en­forces on us, in these sweet words, Learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart, and you shall find rest for your Souls. Behold, therefore, if thou wilt be a Christian, thou must very carefully pra­ctise this Vertue▪ nor, indeed, canst thou cha­lenge that name unless [Page 99] thou, at least, endeavour to become Meek and Humble; and, so far only, thou mayst judge thy self to have profited in the School of Christ, as thou find'st thy self ad­vanc'd in the progress of this Vertue. Now, what is this humble Meekness, so highly commended to us by our great Master? but A sweetness of Dis­position, which makes us not seek Revenge or render evill for evill, no, not, even, in desire. That, then, thou art here com­manded, is, When thou [Page 100] sufferest an injury, not to render nor wish any harm to the Person that did it; unless, by way of corre­ction, to such as are un­der thy charge, and even then, to be sure the pu­nishment be inflicted for Love of them, not thy self, for their amendment, not thy satisfaction.

The second point.

COnsider. 'Tis irra­tional 2. All an­ger un­reasona­ble. and not be­comming a Person of un­derstanding to wish evill to another, because he [Page 101] has offended thee. For as, if thou shouldst fall into a Ditch or a stone fall upon thee, it were unreasonable to be co­lerick at the Ditch or stone, and seek revenge like a Dog: so, no less folly is it to be angry with a Person, for doing thee a displeasure. Since, either 'tis done justly or unjustly: if justly, thou oughtst to turn thine anger on thy self, for de­serving it, and not on the doer; if unjustly, then certainly he was unjust before he did it; and if [Page 102] thou then, wert not an­gry with him for being unjust, neither oughtst thou be, now, for his do­ing unjustly: it being but natural and what, in reason, thou shouldst ex­pect, that an unjust Per­son should do unjust things. Again: since no humane Action or Desire is reasonable, which aims not at some good to him that wills or does it; and Revenge ayms only at the Evill of the Offender, which is, no ways, thy Good, but meerly as a satisfaction of thy vindi­cative [Page 103] appetite: in reason, thou oughtst not to wish anothers ill, but rather repress thine own unrea­sonable Humour.

The third Point.

COnsider the Reward 3. Meek­ness, a­lone, swee­tens Life. promis'd thee by our kind Master, for Meekness. You shall find rest, says he, to your Souls; and, in another place, Blessed are the Meek, for they shall possess the Land; and again, In your Pati­ence (that is, Meekness) you shall possess (that is, [Page 104] enjoy) your Souls: Of all which, the sense is, that, besides the Reward in Heaven, the greatest sweetness this present Life affords, viz. A quiet and contented mind, is properly and peculiarly reserv'd for the Meek as a recompence of their Vertue. Whereas, those that seek Revenge, are alwaies in contention and at debate with one another; which, for the most part, costs their Purses well in Sutes and Law-wranglings, and many times their skins, [Page 105] even their Lives, too, in desperate quarrels: Be­sides, within, what tu­mults of Passion are rais'd in their Souls? what cares, what fears conti­nually disquiet and tor­ment them? that, they neither enjoy themselves, nor even the temporal blessings God has given them. 'Tis Meekness a­lone, then, you see, af­fords contentment and sweetens our whole Life.

The first Point.

COnsider, first. Our 1. Appro­priated to the Law of Grace. Lord and dear Ma­ster, to fix on us a grea­ter necessity and, as it were, a double tye of mu­tual [Page 109] Love and Charity to one another, was pleas'd, not only, to strengthen the old Cōmandement of loving our Neighbour as our self, by commanding it a­new as from himself, when he said, I give you a new Command, and This is my Command, that you Love one another; but also, in most particular manner, to recommend and ap­propriate it to the Law of Grace, as a special Mark and Sign of Christiani­ty, whereby true Chri­stians are distinguisht from false. By this, men [Page 110] shall know that you are my Disciples, If you Love one another. Since, therefore, true Love is never idle; nor consists in words only, but is active, according to its pow­er; 'tis evident, That which Christ commands us is that we be alwaies ready, as much as in us lys, to do good to all Men, but especially to those that are truly Brethren, that is, good Christians.

The second Point.

AGain consider. Since, Where­in, eve­ry one has an advan­tage. as the Apostle says, He that Loves his neighbour, has fulfill'd the Law; 'tis evident this mutual Cha­rity ought to be em­brac'd, not only, as a particular Vertue, but, as the common Mother and producer of all the rest▪ For, if he that loves his Neighbour has fulfill'd the Law, the whole Law, then, is nothing but of Love and doing good to our neighbour. Wherein [Page 112] admire the tender good­ness of God, whose care and providence tends wholy to this, That it may be well with all and every one of us: See how, by that Law which com­mands thee to do good to all thou canst, by that very same Law, all and every other person is commanded to do thee what good they can. O! how holy is this Law of Christ, which so careful­ly provides for the wel­fare and advantage of all? but, withall, how profi­table, how gainfull to [Page 113] thee? since, for that little good thou canst do to others, it obliges all o­thers, readily, to do thee all the good they can; which must needs be in­finitely more than what thou art able to do for them.

The third Point.

LAstly. Consider the 3. The Touch­stone of our Love to God. beloved Disciple St. John's words, He that loves not his Brother, whom he sees, how can he love God whom he sees not? and observe that the love of [Page 114] thy Neighbour must be the Touchstone, where▪on to try thy love to God, whether indeed, it be true or a counterfeit and, as they say, but a Lip-love, having God in thy Mouth, but in thy heart the World. For, if thou lov'st not thy Neigh­bour, 'tis evident thou lov'st something else, that hinders thee from loving him; which (because it cannot be God) must needs be some created good, as Honour, Riches, Pleasure, &c. which thou lovest inordinately, that [Page 115] is, for it self, and not in order to God; and so, clearly, as long as thou lov'st not thy Neighbour, thou hast not God for thy last end, nor lov'st him above all things, as is thy duty; for, as much as thou lovest God, so much more, doubtless, thou lovest those things he loves; amongst which, the chiefest (if not the only thing, we know) is our Neighbour: whose love, even by Nature, is so recommended to us, that, without friendship and conversation with [Page 116] one another, our very lives would be tedious and miserable.