POINT I.

THE Holy Ghost often makes use of the First Way, and speaks Interiourly to our Souls in a Spiritual manner: Galen, that Eminent Physician, sayes, That we have Ears in our Heart, as well as on our Head; and, as with these we hear those Articulated Words fram'd without; so the Silent Words of God (as Saint Augustine calls them) strike our Ears within; Aug. 10.9. Tra. 54. Non labiis clamat sed in corde loquitur; He speaks to us, as heretofore He did to the Antient Prophets, by Inward and Secret Inspirations; Per inspirationes internas. Eliphas, a Friend of Job, Job 4.12. declares, He felt the Effects of this Voice in his own Person; Ad me dictum est Verbum ab­sconditum, & quasi furtive suscepit auris mea venas susurri ejus, & quasi vocem aurae lenis audivi; To me was spoken a Secret Word, and, as it were by [Page 7]stealth, my Ears received the Whisperings thereof; like the Pleasant Murmurs of some purling Stream, or like a Gentle Breeze against the Leaves. Some are of Opinion, That Eliphas did only boast; and Liranus saith, It is a pure Mistake; because (saith he) God seldom, if ever, reveals his Secrets to wicked Men; such as Eliphas was: However, were it so, or were it otherwise, l. 5. c. 20. the Great Saint Gregory takes an Occasion from these Words of his, to make us acquainted with the Loving Conduct of our God towards his Favourites; He Explicates the Inspirati­ons of the Almighty, by a Metaphor drawn from the Pure Rivulets softly gliding through the Woods, or upon a Gravel; whose little grumbling Murmur, and pleasant Noise, is so still; a Man must press his Ears to hear it, it is so delicate. The Inspirations of our God slide so easily into the Heart of Man, and pass away so gently, they be often gone before we feel them; our Mind being divided about the little Affairs of Life, and our dull Spirits unfit for the Maxims of a Spiritual Conduct.

Yet the Manner, the very Method of this Interior Voice, is admirable: Love and Fear do interchange­ably play their Part; St. Greg. ut supra. they do each solicite and terrify the Heart of Man: Aliquando amore, aliquando nos ter­rore [Page 8]compungit: The Voice of Love is full of Consola­tions; it doth charm us sometimes in Prayer, and regals our Appetites with Delights that are wholly Spiritual in our Communions. This is that Voice, the Spouse doth mention in the Canticles, with so much Reverence: Cant. 2.14. Sonet vox tua in auribus meis, vox enim tua dulcis; Beloved of my Soul, speak unto me; let your Voice but reach the Ears of my Heart; it is charming to a Miracle; it is all Divine, as all de­vout Souls do testifie, that have heard it. Saint Gregory compares it to that Kiss, Cant. 1.1. the Chaste-Lover did covet with so much Ardor; Osculetur me osculo oris sui: c. 1. de dev. Nom. and St. Denys calls it, Stimulos dulces divini amoris, The sweet Incentives of Divine Love; they awake your drowsie Souls, and push them forward, and make them walk with large Steps in the Service of their God; they effectually thrust them on; and yet, its Force is Sweet, and full of Comfort; it mode­rates whatever is harsh in the Rule of Vertue, Ali­quando amore, aliquando nos terrore compungit: Those stiff-neckt Souls, whom Love and Sweetness cannot gain upon, terrore compungit, He hath his Terrors in Store; and where Love cannot compass, Menaces and Threats do gain the Point, and make their hard Hearts supple and comply: The Thoughts of Death, the Dread of Hell, the Rigours of a Divine Justice, [Page 9]the Sting of Conscience, the gastly Shapes which Sin alwayes leaves behind, terrifies a miserable Soul, instills in him a horror for his Sin, makes him hear, and at length love his God.

I find in the Book of Job, a certain Passage fit to our present Purpose; Job 33.15. Per somnum in visione Nocturna quando irruit sopor super homines; Fear and Appre­hension seize upon a Man in the Night, whilst a­sleep, and in his Dreams, suddenly do reach the Ears of his Heart, surprise his Soul, and in a Language above what's common, lays before his Eyes the miserable Condition wherein he languisheth; and instructs him how to get free. So that, these Nightly Horrors are often the Inspirations of the Almighty, Job 15.21, Sonitus ter­roris semper in auribus impii; Almighty God is so soli­citous to save Man, that he raiseth a frightful Noise in the Ears of the Impious, which doth terrifie them continually.

St. Paul deciphers this Voice of God, as he doth all things else, in a most wonderful manner; and saith, That whensoever and whomsoever it calls upon, it is still in order for their greater Good; it Remon­strates the Dangers that surround them, it shews the Means of Evasion, and declares the Advantages of [Page 10]a better State. You Worldly Man, who fondly, and even foolishly ingage your Heart to these things be­low; Are you not truly sensible, that the Acquisition of what you covet, is both dangerous and painful? How many do sell their Souls for those very things, which afterward do vex and torment them? A little Riches, for example, unjustly gotten, bring along with them a thousand Troubles and Disquiets; the Care of keeping them, is fenc't with Fears and Apprehensions; and Chagrin, Vexation of Mind, and a Grief unspeak­able, do attend and wait upon their Loss. O! were it not much better, saith the Loving Spouse of our Souls, to abandon all these, which will infallibly leave us? Their Friendship is false, and their deceit­ful Amity, the certain Cause of many Crosses, Cares and Crimes: If you must still be getting, seek and purchase the Goods of Heaven, which are only true Goods, and can only satisfie the Heart of Man, and make him happy.

It is strange to see, how this Interior Voice fami­liarly converseth with, and pressingly solicits the Heart of a Sinner! Few here, I am apt to believe, that have not (at some time) experienc'd what I am now about to say. How often hath God spoken to your evil-disposed Heart, in the midd'st of your [Page 11]Wickedness, while you were actually offending him? How often hath he suggested to you the Severity of his Decrees, and the Vanity of your Presumption, in letting you see, that a sudden Death would frustrate you of that long-expected Moment, which you re­served till the last, to cry Peccavi, and for your final Repentance? Do you not fear the Devil, who is rea­dy to seize upon you? who, should your Soul depart in flagranti delicto, when in the height of Wicked­ness, would infallibly carry you to Eternal torment­ing-Flames? O wretched Man! Think upon your End; and reflect, that the time which now is lent you, are dies acceptabiles, Dayes of Mercy; and these once let slip in vain, Eternal Death and Horror closely waits upon their Train.

The Children of the Jews were earnest heretofore in their Suit to Moyses, that they might never-more hear their God to speak, because his Words were generally delivered in Threats and Thunder; Exod. 20.9. Non loquatur nobis Dominus, ne forte moriamur, We shall certainly die, if He but speak. But this Interior Voice is of another Temper; Loquetur pacem in plebem suam, Psal. 84.9. It is a Voice of Peace, of Comfort and Consolation; dissipateth the Clouds of Ignorance, and calls the Wan­dering Sheep home to Fold; and consequently, all [Page 12]that are, or would be good, are bound to hear it; Oves meae vocem meam audient: And if any are so stupid, or ill-advised, as not to hearken to it, let such prepare their Ears for another Sound, for a Voice of Terror and Indignation; Prov. 1.24. Vocavi & renuistis, ego quo­que in interitu vestro ridebo: I have call'd upon you, and you were deaf to my Admonitions; I have call'd upon you by my Secret Inspirations, whereby I have so often toucht your Heart, so often have discover'd unto you the Severities of my Judgments, have made you sensible of those Tormenting Flames, that you will infallibly feel, if you fall-under my Hands, & renuistis; and you have slighted all these. But when Death shall seize upon you, and make you tremble with his cold Approaches, when your poor Heart shall be terrify'd with that Gastly Company, which shall then surround your Couch; when in your last and dying Agony you shall call upon your God, your Maker, Prov. 1. and Redeemer, Ego in interitu vestro ri­debo, I will then laugh at all your Miseries. O Christians! These Threats are able to daunt the most fix't Courage; and the Effects of them, which fre­quently happen, do often create Despair. How many in the World, whil'st living, were often and copiously blest with Sacred Documents from Above; yet, at the Point of Death, because deaf to their First Call, [Page 13]did want the Grace of a true Repentance; and so lay down crusht in Sin.

The strange Example of Origen, methinks, should wonderfully raise Attention in Us, and make us listen diligently to the Written Word of God; which is his Second Voice: St. Epiphanius relates the Story of him in his Second Book. He saith, That this unhappy Man, after his shameful Fall in Alexan­dria, where, forc'd by a cruel Persecution raised a­gainst the Christians, he offered Incense to the Deity of those Heathen Idols; not being able to bear the constant Taunts, and Jeers, daily flung upon him by men scandalized to see a Person of his Wit and Learning commit so base a Crime, he resolves to with-draw, to retire into the Holy Land, and there (unknown and disregarded) spend the poor Remains of his dayes: But, Ʋltrices manus pariter, The re­vengeful Hand of God went still along with him; for he was no sooner got to Hierusalem, but the Re­port of his Learning arrived with him, and he was immediately intreated by the Inhabitants of that City, to honour them with some select Piece of his Gallant Wit, which had already gained Renown with them; though they had not, as yet, been so fortunate as to be acquainted with his Person. Origen excused him­self [Page 14]all he could, alledging his great Indisposition, by reason of his long Travels, with many other speci­ous Pretences; but none would gain Acceptance with those earnest Supplicants, who before-hand had re­solved to admit of no Excuse, and would not be said Nay. In fine, finding himself extreamly prest, he condescended to their Importunity; he mounts the Chair, and takes the Bible along with him, which is the Written Voice of God, intending to make the first Text of Scripture that should occur, the Subject of his Discourse; and thereupon dilate himself, as the Holy Ghost should suggest unto him: He opens the Book, and the very first glance of his Eye fell upon that Verse of the Royal Prophet, in his 49th Psalm; Psal. 49.16, 17. Peccatori dixit Deus, Quare tu enarras Justitias meas & assumis Testamentum meum per os tuum? tu enim odisti disciplinam & projecisti Sermones meos re­trorsum; To the Sinner God hath said, Why doth thou declare my Justices, and takest my Testimony by thy Mouth? Thou hast hated Discipline, and cast my Words behind thee; Which, in short, is thus; How dare you announce my Law, and my Gospel to this People, now that you have so basely, and so unworthily transgrest them both? Having read these Words in a languishing Tone, with a pale and reserved Countenance, he shut his Book, he laid it [Page 15]by, and, like a Person struck from Heaven, did lose both Sense and Speech. The People, who did thither flock in Crouds to hear him, were astonished at this new way of Preaching: In the mean while, poor Origen's Heart was daunted; and seeing himself con­demned by his own Words, he did yield up his Soul to Grief, his Eyes to Tears, his Mouth to Sighs and Groans. My God! What a Sermon was here? 'spe­cially for Origen, to whose Heart God did speak, and speak so, as to make him Wiser by his Fall.

Whilst we, wretched Sinners, can brave the Inspi­rations of Heaven, and what we read make no esteem of; we have just reason to fear, that while thus we stop our Ears, while thus we block up all the Ave­nues to our ill-instructed Heart, Almighty God seeks no other way of Entrance; and he who slights a prof­fer'd Guide, may find no other Way to Bliss. The rich Man in the Gospel desired to be reviv'd, and live again on Earth, that by conversing with his Bro­thers, and describing unto them the Horrors of that Place of Torments, where he had so long been de­tained a Sufferer, he might teach them how to avoid it: But Answer was made him, Luc. 16.29. Habent Moysen & Prophetas, audiant eos; If they will neither hear Moy­ses, nor the Prophets, 'tis to be feared, they'l not [Page 16]believe a damned Soul, tho' come from Hell; and so his Suit was rejected.

Who of all Us, that hath not experienced both these? No Heart so averse, which God hath not strove to win; no Sinner so depraved, for whom the Al­mighty hath not still a Pardon in reserve: His Voice hath been heard several times; and we, like drousie idle Sheep do never mind it. He did speak with his tears, as soon as he was born, Primam similem nobis emisit vocem plorans, and only a few poor Shepherds, and three strange Kings, did take notice of it. Be­ing able to write Man, he did raise his Voice, he did speak louder, he preached almost daily; and only a Samaritan, a Zacheus, a Centurion, a Magdalen, were awaked from the sleep of Sin at the Sound of it; Jewry and Hierusalem were quite deaf. He ascended the Pulpit of the Cross, and did speak with so much Violence, he did read his very Throat, and sent forth his Soul at it; and only one poor Thief did hear, and was sensible of the Noise he made. The Scribes and Pharisces, Herod, and all the Soldiers, were at the very foot of the Chair, and could not, or would not hear one single Syllable. When he rose from the Grave, he did speak so earnestly, he moved the very Stone from off him; and yet the Watch remained [Page 17]fast a-sleep, Dicite quia vobis dormientibus; They were none of his Sheep, they did not hear his Voice: or, if they did, they wanted both Simplicity, and Obedience; which are two Qualities absolutely requi­site for good Sheep, as you will find by my Second Point.

POINT II. Vocem meam audient, They will hear my Voice.

THE Prince of the Apostles called the Sheep of JESƲS, who are the true Children of the Church, and whom he was commissioned to feed, Filios Obedientiae, Sons of Obedience: He exhorts them to shew themselves such in Reality, by the Observance of God's Commands: He is not content to have them only Obedient, for that alone will never make them Perfect; but, moreover, re­quires they should be Prudently simple; Matth. c. 10.16. Prudentes sicut Serpentes, simplices sicut Columbae; They must be like Sheep, and observe their Pastor in all his Mo­tions. The very Essence of a Christian requires both [Page 18]these Qualities, Simplicity in believing the Articles proposed unto Us, and Obedience in performing what they demand of Us.

When Man doth first commence Christian, the first Question that is put unto him, is, Quid petis ab Ecclesia Sancta Dei, Ita Ritual. What do you ask of the Church of God? and he answers, Faith, Fidem: It is the First of All the Vertues insused in Baptism, and the most necessarily requisite upon several Respects: First, Because it is the Basis, or Ground, on which all our Hopes are built; For, Tolle Fidem, & caetera sustu­listi, Take Faith from Man, and he is but one poor Degree above a Brute; and, as in a Building the Foun­dations do always lye concealed within the Earth; so those Mysteries which are proposed unto us by our Faith, lye all close concealed within the hidden Secrets of the Divine Veracity: Athan. in Synopsi. Gloria Dei est celare verbum; Almighty God doth glory in hiding his Se­crets from Us; and a Man doth merit more by sim­ply assenting to what he cannot comprehend: St. Greg. hom 28. in Evang. for, Non habet sides meritum ubi humana ratio praebet expe­rimentum; Our Faith is useless, and cannot claim Desert, where Human Reason hath gained Expe­rience.

Secondly, If we consider the Objects proposed unto Us, we ought to be truly simple, and vail our Judg­ment; because all the Mysteries of our Faith do surpass the reach of Human Understanding; That, for Example, of the Ʋnity and Trinity of God, can never fall under the Light of Human Reason; but is made known unto Us by a Supernatural Revelation: What Wit, tho' most refin'd? What Understanding, tho' never so penetrating, can discover Three in One, and One in Three? One and the Self-same Essence of a Deity in Three distinct Persons, and a Plurality of Persons in One and the same God.

Every Man hath Two Eyes; One Nature did pro­vide him with, and that's his Judgment, and his Reason; the Other was lent him by Grace, and that's his Faith: If he intend to see perfectly with This, he must wink with the Other: close the Eye of Human Reason, and your Faith will be more discerning. Have you never observed a Man, who aims a-right, and infallibly hits the Mark, he winks with one of his Eyes; for then those Spirits which did serve them Both, now joyn'd together to assist but One, do strengthen the Faculty, and make the Shot more certain: So you, if you de­sign the attaining those Mysteries, whose Knowledge our lowly Nature cannot reach to, must wink with the [Page 18] [...] [Page 19] [...] [Page 20]Eye of your Reason, and only look through the simply single Eye of Faith. The Spouse in the Cantieles had Two most beautiful Eyes; they were like the Eyes of a Dove, Cant. c. 1.15. Cant. 14.9. Oculi tui Columbarum; yet, as we read, She wounded her Beloved with only One; Vulnerasti cor meum in uno oculorum tuorum: Hence we gather, that it was not the Eyes of her Body that wrought this Conquest; for they were charming both alike: But it was the piercing single Eye of her Faith, which gave the Wound, and made his Heart her Captive.

All those knowing Wits, which are most of all illu­minated with the Light of Human Reason, are not always the most Sincere and Faithful: A poor ignorant Person, whose Heart doth know no double, and is only Owner of a single Faith, shall do more, shall love his God more intirely, shall gain a greater knowledge, and consequently a more ample Merit, than those high-flown Minds, whose Concep­tions are the Rule they go by, and vainly fancy their shallow narrow thoughts a Gage capable of the Gran­deurs of an Infinity.

The History of Alanus is a demonstration of this Verity: This Man was the most remarkable of his Time, the most Learned Person that then did live: [Page 21]The very Epitaph upon his Grave-Stone doth make it out; Qui duo, qui septem, qui omne scibile scivit: He had run through, and did understand the Texts of both the Testaments; He was most excellently well Vers'd in all the Seven Liberal Sciences: In fine, he knew all could be, or was fitting to be known. This Prodigy of Wit and Science, upon a time, invited the Inhabitants of Paris to be his Judges, and hear a Sermon of his; wherein he promised to give them a large and perfect Explication of the Mystery of the ever-blessed Trinity; and the better to adapt himself for this Enterprize, he makes a Collection of all the Arguments and Passages of Scripture, that might best serve his turn: The Night before he was to appear in Publick, walking by a River side, musing with him­self, and polishing his Discourse, he was diverted with the pleasing Object of a beautiful little Boy, who, sit­ting on the Bank-side, was lathing with the Palm of its pretty Hand, the Water of the River into a little hole which he had made on the Bank-side: Sur­prized, and withal delighted with the pretty Spe­ctacle, inquires, what its design could be, he seemed so busie about? Why, Sir, my design is to put all that water you see between these two Banks, into this little hole I here have made. Alas! replyed Alanus, smiling, you will be a great while before you will be able to com­pass [Page 22]that: No, Sir, excuse me, not so long as you imagine; for I shall have perform'd this intended Task, before you will have made good your promise, and have explicated the Mystery of the Trinity; and ha­ving said so, he vanisht. It was doubtless some Angel sent from God, to Teach this Doctor, Simplicity, and confound his Presumption: and he was so surprized with this Answer, and withal so sensible of his Teme­rity, that he immediately became a Shepherd, and tended the Sheep of a certain Monastery of Saint Bernard's Order; in which he also afterwards became Religious. From hence we may learn, that a simple Faith dives more profoundly into the greater Myste­ries of Religion. Nescio, saith the Great St. Augustin, & libere me nescire profiteor, Aug. Serm. de S. Trinit. & in hoc Christianus sum quod unum Deum in Trinitate confiteor: For my share, I do freely own my Ignorance, and in this I think my self the better Christian, in that I profess and do adore One God in Three Persons, notwithstanding I cannot comprehend it.

The Holy Ghost could, if he had so pleased, have clear'd all our Doubts; and yet hath left us in the dark, that in our simple Belief our Faith should reap a more copious Merit, Cum simplicibus sermocinatio ejus: Almighty God, saith Solomon, discovers his Secrets, [Page 23]and familiarly converseth with the simple of heart: I could wish from mine, that we were all of the same mind with the Learned Tertullian; Nobis, saith he, De Praesc. c. 8. cu­riositate opus non est post Jesum Christum, nec inquisitione post Evangelium: Now, that Jesus Christ hath re­vealed his Verities, our curiosity is not necessary, but fruitless; and all demands are vain to him, that hath received, and professeth the Gospel: In all our Points of Faith, it is sufficient that God hath said it; haec dicit Dominus, one single word of his out-weighs Ten thousand Reasons.

The other Property that is observed in Sheep, is, their Obedience; they go with their Shepherd where­soever he pleases to lead them; they are attentive, and do hear his Voice; they remain in Fold till he release them; they feed as long as he thinks expedient, and take their Rest when he appoints them: Et nos Chri­stiani, saith St. Clement, Initio Recognit. de nulla re vel eventu soliciti in providentia Dei conquiescimus; And we, if we be good Christians, like good Sheep, repose wholly in the Providence of our God, who secures us by his Care; Aug. l. 8. Conf. c. 11. for Saint Augustin seems to blame us with a Quid in te stas & non stas? projice te in eum, projice te securus, recipiet te; Never confide in your own force, but lay your whole stress on God; if he receive you, you may [Page 24]walk secure, and free from danger; he will take care of your Temporals, he will direct your Spirituals, and lead you to Eternity.

Almighty God in the 54th Psalm of the Royal Pro­phet, adviseth us intirely to rely upon his Providence; and like simple obedient Sheep, leave all the solicitude for our Temporals, to the Care of our vigilant Pastor: Jacta cogitatum tuum in Dominum, Psal. 54.25. & ipse te enutriet. The Antients, who have been surpassing ingenious in their Descriptions, have represented unto us the God of Nature in an human Shape, all over Breast from Head to Foot, and all the Animals of the Earth sucking at it; only Man, whom chiefly and most of all he loved, this God Ruminus carried in his Arms; to in­form us, That notwithstanding his universal Care did feed all the Beasts in the World, Ps. 145.16. Imples omne animal benedictione; yet his kindness to Man was so obliging, he embraced him next his Heart. Ego quasi nutritius Ephraim, portabam eos in brachiis meis, saith the Prophet Osee; Chap. 11. And I, as a Nursing-Father to Ephraim, carried them in my Arms: Nay, my God, you are to us more than a Nurse; for you let us Suck your own Blood; St. Joh. Chrys. hom. 60. ad pop. Ant. Proprio nos pascit cruore: No Nurse so kind, nor Shepherd tender of his Flock, as to feed them with his own Flesh and Blood: But [Page 25]you have given us Both, your Flesh for our Food, and your Blood to refresh us, amaena pascua.

As to what regards our Souls, and the Spiritual concern thereof, Almighty God doth not always immediately inter-meddle with it, but makes use of Men, whose Guide he is, and whom he institutes Directors for others; in default of which, many do find themselves exposed to danger, and liable to be deceived by our common Enemy. Eps. 87. ad Aug. Hence it was the Devout Saint Bernard was accustomed to say, That that Man who was his own Guide, had a Fool to his Master; he needed no Devil to tempt him, for he was worse to himself than any Devil could be: Qui se sibi Magistrum constituit, stulto se discipulum tradit. A Lamb that will only feed where he pleaseth, is ready to starve, and at length dyes in the Pownd. My God! what is Man if left to himself? Our Wis­dom is but Folly, and our Knowledge but Ignorance at best. Few there be who truly serve God as they ought, and fewer, who, if guided by their own Spirit, ever attain perfection. How then shall they possibly arrive to their Eternal home and happiness?

I call their Eternal Home, the Mystery of their Eternal Doom; the Mystery of their Predestination; [Page 26] Mysterium magnae anxietatis. Saint Lewis Bertrandus, having often and seriously Meditated on that saying of the Wiseman, Eccles. 19.1. Nescit homo utrum amore dignus sit an odio: No man can tell whether he deserve Love or Hatred; could scarce refrain from Tears, and being asked the Reason, answered, Timeo & fleo, quia nescio quid de me futurum sit; I fear and I weep, be­cause I know not whether I shall be on the Right Hand or on the Left; whether I shall be for a whole Eternity among the Sheep, or among the Goats. The Royal Prophet was in the same perplexity; Psal. 76.5. Anticipa­verunt vigilias oculi mei, turbatus sum, & non sum lo­cutus: My Eyes have been continued Strangers to all sort of Rest, I was troubled, and did not dare to speak, for fear my good Shepherd should cast me off, and so I be left to my self and Starve: Yet after all his apprehensions, like unto a simple, obedient Lamb, he placed all his confidence in the Care of his Pious Pastor; In manibus tuis sortes meae.

But you wretched and unfortunate Sinner, what excuse will you plead at the latter Day, for having left the Fold, for having been disobedient, and deaf to the Voice of your Pastor? You cannot say, he did never speak unto you; nor can you deny but [Page 27]that you have heard him; this will but augment your Crime: The daily accidents you hourly do see, are so many admonitions that instruct you in your duty: The disasters that wait on Vice, and the miserable end of Sin, should teach you how to avoid it. Sup­pose you were informed that the Way you walk in is full of Precipices; the Meat you are about to Eat, is Poysoned, and brings a certain Death; that the Road is full of Thieves: you could not in reason complain, should you find your self stript of all you had, and at the point of Death, if you should either go abroad, or eat after so friendly an admonition: All the excuses you could bring, all the complaints you'l make, will only serve to aggravate your solly; Melius erat illi non cognoscere viam Justitiae: It were better for you, you had never heard the Voice of your Shepherd, you had never been Born in his Fold; your Sin would not then have bin so Enor­mous. Had you not heard the Truth so often Preach'd, Had you not bin solicited by so many Inspirations, Had you not seen so many sad and fatal Examples; our Saviour could not then have reproached you: Si non eis locutus fuissem, peccatum non haberent: Joan. 15.22. If I had not spoke unto them; if they had not heard my Voice; if I had not made them sensible of their [Page 28] Duty to God, of their Obligations to the Almighty; if I had not discovered unto them the Malicious Deceits of their common Enemy; the inconstant Vanity of the World; if I had not made them ac­quainted with the rewards of Vertue, and given them a sight of Heaven and Hell, let them have seen the Pains of one, and the Delights of Paradise: they might have pretended some excuse, but now they have none. Apoc. 3.15. Ʋtinam calidus esses vel frigidus, sed quia tepidus es incipiam te evomere: Would to God you were either Hot or Cold, but because you are but Luke-warm, Incipiam te evomere, I shall begin to Cast you out. To be Hot in the Scripture Phrase, is to have a lively Faith, and a copious store of good works: to be Cold, is to be poor and destitute of both; but that man is neither, he is only Luke-warm, who having had some sparks and lights of Faith, did suffer them to be put out and die for want of feeding them with the constant practice of good Works.

A Man might object to these, what the Idolaters said heretofore to the Antient loose Christians, Ʋbi est, as Salvian relates, lex Catholica quam credunt? Ʋbi Pie­tatis & Charitatis, praecepta quae, discunt? Where be those [Page 29] Catholick Verities, that Faith and Law which they profess? Where be those Precepts of Piety and Cha­stity which they are commanded to observe? They pretend they Believe the Gospel, which prescribes Continence to its hearers, and they live quite con­trary; they would be thought to Imitate Jesus Christ, who exhorts them to give to the Poor, and they steal from their Neighbour: They hear the Voice of their Shepherd, but never observe it; In nobis Christus patitur opprobrium: Our dissolute life is a disgrace to Jesus, and that Religion of ours which is founded in his Blood, is not only made despicable, but is Prophaned by our loose comportment.

I would have all scandalous sinful Catholicks, once before they Dye, make one serious reflection on those Words of Holy Job; Semel loquitur deus & secundo, Job cap. 33.14. id ipsum non repetit: God speaks Once, but seldom repeats the same thing over a Second time: as, who should say, be attentive to the Word of God, receive his Inspirations Simply; Submissively and Punctually Obey whatsoever they shall suggest unto you; least, if once neglected, Secundo idipsum non repetat, you may never have them a Second time.

And You Soveraign Pastor of our Souls, Pastor of all the World, who art that good Shepherd, Joan. 10.11. that laid down Your Life for Your Flocks security; Bonus Pastor animam dat pro ovibus suis. It was thro' Your Death we have been freed from the Jaws of the Infernal Woolf, and now do Feed in Safety; Psal. 100.3. Nos autem populus ejus & oves pas­cuae ejus: Own us as Yours, and make us always Hear Your Voice: Let us be simple as Lambs, obedient as Sheep, and when Night shall come, Beloved Pastor of our Souls, when you shall separate your Sheep from amongst the Goats, place us on Your Right Hand; Inter oves locum praesta, & ab hoedis nos sequestra.

In fine, Dear Jesus, bring it so about, that having had You here for our Lord, and for our Pastor, we may have You a whole Eternity in Heaven for our Reward and for our Crown.

Which God of His Infinite Bounty grant Your Most Sa­cred Majesty, and all this Pious Assembly. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.