COnsider. Since all delight1. All delight from the Intellect. either consists in Knowledge, or, at least, absolutely depends on it; for, we find, by experience, all the knowledge 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.

LAstly. All other objects3. 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 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 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 paid with good measure, heap'd up, and press'd down, and thrust together, and yet running over into your Bosoms.

COnclude, therefore,Therefore, fully resolve for Him. with a full resolution, by all thy works and best endeavours, and even, if need be, with the hazard and loss of all other Goods, to purchase this hidden Treasure, this precious Pearl, which at length, though late, thou hast hit on; and, to think nothing considerable nor to be car'd for, in comparison of this; to pitty the unhappiness of those poor Souls that spend their whole Affections in toys and trifles, of this Life, neglecting this only necessary good; and, to rejoyce in the secret of thy Bosom, that, being vouchsaf'd grace, now, to see that the wisdom of this world is, in very truth, but folly, it has pleas'd thy kind Lord to number thee, amongst those few that are truly wise.

COnsider. When the1. 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, accompany'd with an incapacity of deficience or Corruption, and wth 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,) 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.

MOreover. All the2. 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 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 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.

COnclude then. WhateverTherefore, here to be sacrifiz'd up, in hope. Good thou shalt, here forsake, for God and Vertu's Love, will not be lost; but, there, restor'd with Interest, whether Friends, Wealth, Honour, or Dominion. Wherefore, doubt not, like a prudent Merchant, to venture thy Goods to the Sea of Fortune, and storms of Persecution, whence, thou shalt find an indefectible Treasure layd up, in Heaven, for thee; or, like the good Husbandman, to sow, in the Winter of Adversities (though with some reluctance & sorrow) thy seed in Vertu's ground, expecting the precious fruit it shall infallibly yield thee, in the Summer of Eternity: Having so firm an assurance as the express VVord of God, They that sow in tears, shall reap in j • y.

COnsider. Man's Soul1. 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 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, 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.

COnsider▪ As all pleasure,1. Extream sorrow including All. in Man, proceeds from the Soul, so, 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 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.

LAstly, though their3. 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 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 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.

COnclude, then. Whoever Therefore Love not thy self here. loves his Soul, in this life (that is, inordinatly and according to Flesh and Blood) truly loses it in the next world (as our Lord foretold,) and falls into the evills which, here, he labours so much to shun: but, with a very disadvantageous advantage; for, by fearing little ills, he falls into infinite great ones and, by declining momentany sufferings, he runs into eternal. Take up, therefore, (as the Apostle exhorts thee) this Buckler of Faith, and, by the serious consideration of the next life's future evills, defend thy self against the fyery Darts of thine Enemies: fight courage▪

COnsider. Since every1. The mean's to Natur's end truly pleasant. one's particular End is that of Humane Nature; and, it cannot 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, 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, to be swallow'd, with a joyful hope of the Health they induce.

AGain. Since a Pious2. 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 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 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.

THirdly. Since our3. 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 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 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 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.

COnclude, then, withoutTherefore, confidently proceed in It. fear to commit thy self to God and a Pious Life: and know that the Almighty has no need of thee, nor made thee for his own sake but for thine, that thou might'st partaker that Happiness whereof He was, Essentially, full; and, therefore, He were not wise, but would miss of his End, had He not prepar'd all things convenient to render thee happy. Be thou, then, but confident, and discreetly proceed, and thou shalt quickly find, by experience, what a difference there is between a wicked or negligent, and a truly vertuous and devout Life; how much more pleasant, how much more full of comfort and delight, this is than that; and, how, sweetly yet strongly, our wise Creatour has fram'd all the parts of our Felicity, conformable to each other and to the End, for which he has ordain'd us.

COnsider. Since Almighty1. 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 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 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 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.

BUt again. Consider2. 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 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 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 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.

COnclude, therefore.Therefore, value thy Salvatition. Since thou neither mayst nor canst doubt, but that the judgement of thy God is most certain, impartial and unerrable; what care and esteem oughtst thou to have of thine own Salvation? what Sollicitude, to seek the means of attaining It? what diligence to omit nothing in order to assure It? whereof thou see'st him so industriously careful, who is no wayes concern'd (more than out of pure Goodness) whether thou bee'st a sav'd Soul or no; and yet, whom even Goodness it self could not so transport, as to make him think any price too high to procure thee Felicity.

COnsider, first. By1. Rendred, easily capable of high Mysteries. this most wise Oeconomy and gracious dispensation of Christ, (great Steward of God's house, the Church,) 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 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 which, we find very little amongst the Philosophers, as, whereat, the greatest Wits of them but groap'd, like blind Men.

AGain. By Christ's2. 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 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 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?

BUt, above all. By this3. 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, 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 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 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 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 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.

Consider▪ Though1. No Christian revengeful. our Saviour was vouchsaf'd us, both as a Master and Model of all Vertures, and a perfect 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 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 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.

COnsider. 'Tis irrational2. All anger unreasonable. and not becomming a Person of understanding to wish evill to another, because he 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 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 appetite: in reason, thou oughtst not to wish anothers ill, but rather repress thine own unreasonable Humour.

COnsider the Reward3. 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, 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, 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.

COnsider, first. Our1. 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 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 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.

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 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 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 one another, our very lives would be tedious and miserable.

COnclude, therefore,Therefore, improve It's occasions. with a serious and effectual Resolution, in Truth and Actions, to love thy Neighbour; to contemn none, to refuse none in what thou art able to help them; but, whatever good thou canst do to any person (without prejudicing thy self (even with a little prejudice to thy self, when 'tis much for his advantage) to do it chearfully and willingly: be glad when thou hast oblig'd any, esteeming that day lost wherein thou hast done good to none: And, be certain, this Practice will be so far from injuring thee, that nothing will more advantage, nothing render thee more grateful and acceptable both to God and Man.