The devout hart or Royal throne of the pacifical Salomon. Composed by F. St. Luzuic S.I. Translated out of Latin into English. Enlarged with incentiue by F. St. Binet of the same S. and now enriched with hymnes by a new hand

IESVS SEARCHETH OVT THE MONSTERS lurking in the darke corners of the hart. (Book 4)

THE HYMNE.

MY sinnes I thought l••y out of sight, But now I see, al comes to light, When he to search doth once begin, Who finds an Attome of a sinne See there an ougly monster breaths, An other here, wish horrid wreathts, Is lurking in this darksome caue. Oh had I sooner what I haue Of light; I think no loathsome beast Had in my hart, made-vp his nest. Oh IESV, stil thy beames dissilay, Al this is but the breake of day. Vouchsafe to send with lustre heat, To make it lightsome, feruent, neat.

THE INCENTIVE.

1. SO long as IESVS is absent from my hart. Ah me! what monsters? what sordityes? what Gorgons? what wicked fiends? what hels are centered there?

2. When IESVS enters into the hart, and therein pours his light, Good God? what foule, what hor∣rible prodigies of vices the mind discouers there which the eyes had neuer yet detected? I say while IESVS puts forth his rayes, what bestial manners? what perfidious∣nes? what blots of an vngrateful mind? what haynous crimes are re∣presented in this detestable hart?

3. At these portents the very An∣gels tremble. Yet goe thou on, my most sweet IESVS; Illuminate the darksom corners of the foule, cleanse

this foule infamous stable. Amid this Cymerian darknes, with glimps of thy light bewray me to my self that being hateful to my self, I may abhorre and shune my self and so at length may fly to thee, loue nothing els but thee. Oh the only Darling of my soule! O only loue of my hart, my little IESVS!

THE PREAMBLE to the Meditation.

LOrd enter then into the Tower set open to thee, and dismantled wholy; which thou long since hast purchased with the price of thy bloud, and in this thy triumphal entry, as it were, so shoot forth the diuine rayes of thy countenance, that the clouds being vanished quite and slunck away, the strange por∣tents of vices, and restles Enemyes,

which lurke therein, may be con∣strayned to fly away. Search Lord with thee shinīg lamp of thy know∣ledge al the hidden corners of this thy Sanctuary. Ay-me! what hor∣rible beasts haue we here? What harpyes, what hydreas, or other monsters, more foule and virulent then these, harbour in this Porch of Hel? Ambition auarice, those base and detestable beasts, here set vp their rests here the ominous screech∣oules, here the black and fatal pro∣geny of rauens, haue built their nest. Oh! my Dearly beloued, goe on; Search with thy lanternea 1.1 the clo∣sest corners of the hart, and disco∣uering the swarine of lewd concu∣piscences, which here euen pester the miserable hart, crush & destroy them quite. I haue groan'd to thee long, but hitherto my sighs were intercepted, and the broken sound

of my strayn'd voyce, the stronger out-cryes of the Enemyes, haue so choaked and stifled, as we could not be heard. Aboue al things (for hence must you begin) survey, and illumine, my God, the abstruse and winding corners of my mind; and bringing in the light of the know∣ledge banish thence foule ignorāce of things euen necessary for the conseruation of thy Sanctuary. Alas what a faint and languishing light of faith haue we here? vnles it bor∣row force of thy light, it cannot dis∣sipate the fogs, nigh palpable, which here haue place: whereas if thou shal but shead the lightest beame of thy presence thereinto, streight shal infidelity, apostasy, ignorance of thy mysteries, or any other errour blinding the mind, euen banish quite.

Goe forward then, bring thou

thy clearest lamp, into the inmost cabins of my wil. Alas! how foule it is? How like it is Augias sta∣ble, or a sty for Swine? I blush the∣reat. How crooked and vntoward is my wil from thine, my God, who are euen rectitude, sanctity and goodnes it-self? Correct, direct this crookednes of mine; frame my vowes and effects to the most iust square and norme of thy diuine wil. But now bring that both of thine into the regions of the memory. Ay∣me! what corners and windings haue we here againe, of braw∣les, of enmityes, which frequent thoughts of iniuries feede, foster, & cherish, whereas indeed they should not once be thought vpon. But as soone as thou shalt shine therein I know wel those foule notes of in∣gratitude, vnmindfulnes of benefits; memory of ini••ries, deeply rooted,

shal cleane be expunged thence: Goe further now if you please, into those blind holes, search there with in those blacke and vgly dens; I say those secret allyes of the hart and bowels. Oh how I tremble-at it, to see how many snakes there are! What spiders, what scorpions, and other such like plagues, and alas! what a huge swarme there is of them? How many busy buzzing gnats; peeuish wasps, il-fauoured butterflyes! What a vast throng of wormes there is, and what a stench from thence exhales to heauen∣wards!

O thou most burning Sunne, who with da••ting of thy rayes hereto∣fore, didst sodainly scortch and wither the greene and flourishing Iuy,b 1.2 soake and dry vp the no∣xious humour of concupiscence, which enuirons the hart, til thou

hast quite exhausted al. The cloudy Pillarc 1.3 in times past, detecting a farre off, the snares of the Enemy, as a faithful Guide of the way, went before and conducted the peo∣ple; So let thy heauenly rayes of thy countenance strike then with a dread and horrour, who haue the face, or rather are so impudent, as to dare once hostily to inuade the hart by thee so rescued, saued, and purchased for thy self. Be there no night hereafter in this place, but let a cloudles, seren, and perpetual day here raigne: and as in the seats of the blessed Spirits, the Sunne, nor Phebe's face is to be seen, but thou Sunne of iustice plac'd in the midst of a most bright and quiet King∣dome; spreadst round about and sendst forth a glorious light:d 1.4 so, (I beseech thee) shine, burne, and flame forth in this little orbe of

my hart, O immense light, O date∣les and infinit verity of my God.

IIII. MEDITATION.

The preparatory Prayer.

Actiones nostras, &c.

THE PRELVDE.

THe eyes of our. Lord are more lucid then the Sunne,a 1.5 more bright then lightning, and yet saith he, I wil suruey Hierusaelems with lamps. (b)

1. Point. Consider in IESVS his absence with how many, and what mists of obscurities, the hart of man is beset. IESVS indeed, is the true light, which illumines a like the Angelical and sublunary world. For as wel from Angelical spirits as hu∣mane

minds, with light diuinely shed, he banisheth the darknes of ignorance, and errours; which shi∣ning forth anon giues euery thing it's price and estimation; while the good, the euil, the profitable, and hurtful, are knowne, & distinguish∣ed as they are indeed; and lastly thou maist easily discerne, whither thou art black or white, euen as the Sun arising giues to each thing its co∣lours, which the darke and sable night had confounded before.

2. Point. Consider then, how powerfully IESVS, as soone as admitted to enter into the hart, ex∣pels & banisheth al sinnes from the secretst nookes thereof, to wit, his most capital enemyes, wherewith he would not haue any thing to doe; and surely what society can be, be∣tween light & darknessa 1.6 Marke this also, how aptly vices are expressed

in the formes of Serpents, owles toads, dragons, and what els, in Styx or Libia, is more vgly, foule, pernicious.

3. Point. Behold how the Angels are astonished, seeing those monsters of vices so detected, & chased away by IESVS: What madnes, say they, or blindnes is this of men, to suffer so importune and vicious a pest to domineer and raigne ouer them?

THE COLLOQVY.

LORD, how long shal the wor∣mes of sinnes possesse and gnaw my bones, which in the accursed soyle of my hart, without seed rise vp alone of their accord? Shal these Stygian Dragons, and cruel vipers, stand alwayes before the eyes of my mind, to strike and wound my soule

with a thousand and a thousand ter∣rours? Shal I eternally feele that gauling prick of conscience, day & night, like furyes, to wound, to launce, and murder me outright? search very seriously, good IESV, euery corner of my hart; omit not the least path of this labyrinthian errour, where thou studiously pryest not, least perhaps some dormouse, batts, wormes, escape thine eyes. So truely is it fit thy seat should be ex∣piated and purged from these Hel∣lish fiends, which now for so many Ages past thou willingly wouldst haue to be dedicated and consecra∣ted to thee.

Pater. Aue.

Notes

• a 1.1

  Soph. 1.
• b 1.2

  Ion. 4.
• c 1.3

  Num. 1.
• d 1.4

  Apoc. 21.
• a 1.5

  2. Cor. 6.
• a 1.6

  2. Cor. 6.