A heavenly treasure of confortable meditations and prayers written by S. Augustin, Bishop of Hyppon in three seuerall treatises of his meditations, soliloquies, and manual. Faithfully translated into English by the R. F. Antony Batt monke, of the holy order of S Bennet of the Congregation of England

What the sending of the holy Ghost doth effect in vs. CHAPT. XXVII.

OVr Sauiour therfore hath been borne vnto vs, he hath likewise ben crucified, and hath died for vs, that by his deathe he might destroy ours. And for that his sacred, flesh (as a cluster of grapes) was caried to the presse of the Crosse, and by the pressing of his passion, the sweete wine of his diuinity began to runne: the holy, Ghost was sent to make ready the vessels of mens hartes, that the new wine might be put into new vessels. First that mens hartes might be made cleane, that the wine might not be spilt and corrupted that was put into them: and lastlie that they might be hoopt and bounde fast, that the wine that was putt into them might not be lost: That they might be cleansed from the ioy of iniquitie, and fortified against the ioy of vanity. For that which is good, could not come, vnlesse that,

which is euill were first gone. The ioy of iniquitie doth corrupt, and the ioy of va∣nitie, doth spill and powre out. The ioy of iniquitie doth marre the vessell, and the ioy of vanitie doth fill it full of holes. The ioy of iniquity is when sinne is loued, and the ioy of vanitie is when thinges trā∣sitorie are affected.

Purge thy selfe therfore from all wic∣kednes, that thou maiest be made a vessell apt to containe goodnes. Powre forthe all bitternes, that thou maiest be filled with sweetnes. The holy Ghost is ioy and loue. Expell from thee the Spirit of the di∣uell, and the spirit of this world, that thou maiest receiue the spirit of God. The spirit of the diuell doth cause the ioy of iniqui∣tie, and the spirit of the worlde doth cause the ioy of vanity. And both these ioyes are amisse, for that the one of them is wicked, and the other an occasion of wickednes.

These euill spirits therfore being expel∣led, the spirit of God will come, and en∣ter into the tabernacle of our harte, caus∣sing a good ioy, and a good loue therein, by which is expelled the loue of the worlde, and the loue of sinne. The loue of the worlde allureth and deceiueth: the loue of sinne defileth and leadeth vnto death: But conrrarily the loue of God en∣lightneth the minde, cleanseth the cons∣cience,

reioyceth the soule, and sheweth God apparantly vnto vs.