Miscellanea spiritualia: or, Devout essaies: composed by the Honourable Walter Montagu Esq.

§. I.

Diffidence in point of obtaining Spirituall lights reprehended, and prayer proposed in order to this designe.

NOW me thinks I am called upon, as one that hath advised a traveller not to lose his way, to give some nearer directions for the finding it, as a further con∣tribution towards the securing his journeyes end, then a sim∣ple caution against the danger of deviation; For as Solomon telleth us, The lame man in the way maketh more hast then a Courser out of it.

And by reason there may be many different humours, that may ask this question of Saint Thomas, How can we know the way to this so excellent possession of truth? I may well premise this consideration before my answer, that there was a wide difference between Pilat's Interrogatory concerning truth, when he asked our Saviour, What is truth? and Saint Thomas * 1.1 his question about finding the way to it, saying, How can we know the way? The first seemed to question onely the truth of * 1.2 Christs affirmation, not to intend the being satisfied in his question, whereas the other sought to be informed of the rea∣dyest

accesse to that truth which he believed; so they who shall be moved onely by the captiousnesse of the Infidel ex∣aminant in this point, are like after his manner not to stay long enough upon the inquest, to be enlightened in this verity; but to such as with the credulity of faithfull Disciples, shall make this quaere, How shall we know the way to this truth you propose? namely, a rectifyed understanding and true use of all * 1.3 prosperous and adverse events in this life, I may say as the An∣gel did to the faithfull watchers at the Sepulchre, after he had strucken as it were dead the miscreant wayters, Fear not you, If you seek Jesus: for he answereth all sincere inquirers of truth, * 1.4 as he did Saint Thomas, I am the way and the truth, and none commeth to verity but by me: yet this me thinks gives a fair hint for such a further demand as Saint Philips was, saying, Shew us the plain direct way of comming to you, Lord Jesus, and it will suffice us; This question Christ hath also answered by this most evident direction of Ask, seek, and knock, for every one that asketh receiveth, and that seeketh findeth, and to him that knock∣eth it shall be opened. * 1.5

Prayer is therefore expresly given us for our addresse to Jesus who is truth, and in these three proper divisions, of pe∣tition, meditation, and perseverance, which ought to be con∣comitant with each of them; our asking respecteth the parti∣cular suits we make, seeking importeth the application of our minds unto Spiritual verityes, and knocking referreth to our zeal, earnestnesse, and perseverance in the acts of prayer, and to this sort of prosecution, is annexed the promise of assequti∣on of truth: wherefore I may answer my inquirers, as Christ did some who distrusted his proposals, If any man will do this wil of Jesus, he shall understand of the Doctrine whether it be of * 1.6 God, or I speak of my self; So that considering aright these gra∣tious assignations unto prayer, I may say, we may obtain the possession of verity, even with lesse solicitude then we can neg∣lect it; for the seeking, asking; and knocking, in this world upon such applications as divert us from this inquest, are the more laborious assignments of our mind.

May I not therefore boldly reply to all the incredulous and disbelievers of the facility of this medium exhibited; Say not in thine heart, who shall thus ascend into heaven? for the word is nigh thee in thy mouth, and in thy heart; we onely need * 1.7 but (as the Prophet adviseth us) return to our own hearts to find that happynesse, which while we seek else-where, we lose our hearts in that inquest. True it is, that the great enemy of our nature, useth all his arts towards the prejudicating this belief, of the alsufficiency of prayer, in which designe he doth now impugne our nature, by a Machination farre differing from his first, slandering it to us now, almost as much as he did here∣tofore flatter it; for now to discredit to us our capacity of re∣pairing his first breach, he suggesteth the ineptitude of our present state for this perception of truth, and seemeth to ask us now by way of derision, Shall you be like Gods thus knowing good and evill? so that he tempteth us now, and often prevaileth upon us, even by the disparagement of our nature; thus much hath he gained upon us since his first acquaintance, when he durst not attempt us by lesse then the promise of a capacity above our nature, to wit, of knowing like Gods; whereas now, he presumes to implead our right to that knowledge which is due to us as men, that is, the discernment of our being quali∣fied for the penetration into truth by the beames of prayer and meditation; But the holy Spirit hath left us a good cauti∣on against this delusion, Resist the Devill and he will flie from you, approach to God and he will approach to you: This refuteth * 1.8 all suggestions of diffidence in this point of attaining by pray∣er the effect of my proposition, since God promiseth to set forward to meet us, as soon as our prayers do but set out to∣wards him, which is likewise aver'd by the Psalmist, assuring us, God is near all such as call upon him in truth. * 1.9

Gods mercy hath so much outdone mans mischiefe, as he hath not left him, either the subtilty of the Devil, or the in∣firmity of his nature to charge with the continuance of his mi∣sery; there must go an accession of wilfulnesse to our weaknesse for the duration of our unhappynesse: For since the Divine

power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and * 1.10 godlinesse, we have no more colour left to diffide in the meanes of rectifying the enormities of our infirm nature, then a Ma∣lefactor that were offer'd grace for asking it, had reason to fall sick & die for fear of his former sentence; he who hath blotted out the hand-writing of the Decree against our nature, hath gi∣ven us his hand for such security of obtaining what we solicite by this appointed meanes and method, as we can onely indan∣ger the wanting a sufficient provision, by our pretending too little by this addresse, for surely this rule will hold in our ask∣ing little Spirituall light, that what we have, shall be rather taken away then more confer'd, and the contrary disposition, will likewise be answered with the more abundance.

What Saint Gregory conceiveth to be the case of the Saints in heaven, in this point of supplicating God, may be firly said to be that of us sinners upon earth, in our act of petitioning for Spirituall light and verity: as the Saints the more ardently they are united to God, receive the more fervent impulses from him, of asking what they know he is resolved to do, and thus drink out of him, what they thirst for in him; after such a manner, the more zealously our prayers are applyed to the pursuite of Spirituall illumination, the more fervent desires we attract from the increated verity, of begging what we are sure he will give, viz: the discernment of truth, whereby in an admirable sort, we draw from Jesus, even in this life, the hunger in the very food we take of them, while our prayer at∣tracting the infusion of truth, doth extract conjoyntly out of those verityes fresh desires of the same illuminations.

May not these considerations justly silence any objection against the facility of this proposed medium of prayer, for obtaining from God a sufficient communication of that truth, wherein I have stated the happinesse of this life? since there is no condition charged upon this grant, but the sincere desiring it, which is comprised in the direction of Christ prementioned; and the Apostle witnesseth to the same tenor, re-minding us in this particular, the frequent promises of the giver of all good

things, whereupon he urgeth us thus expresly to this applica∣tion, If any of you want wisdome, let him aske it of God, who gi∣veth all men liberally, and it shall be given you. * 1.11

Notes

• * 1.1

  Iohn 18. 38.
• * 1.2

  Iohn 14. 6.
• * 1.3

  Mat. 28. 6.
• * 1.4

  Iohn: 14. 6.
• * 1.5

  Math. 7. 7.
• * 1.6

  Iohn 7. 17.
• * 1.7

  Rom. 10. 6. 8.
• * 1.8

  James 4. 8.
• * 1.9

  Psal. 145.
• * 1.10

  2 Peter 3.
• * 1.11

  James 1. 5.