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

§. I.

The precept of loving Enemies, sweetned by miny Reasons drawn from Christs injoyn∣ing it, and his acting it.

NEver ••an spake like this, said our Saviors enemies of * 1.1 him, when they came armed with Malice, and Au∣thority to offer him violence: This singular attribu∣tion was due to all he said, but cannot, me thinks, be more apposite to any thing he uttered, then to this injunction of, Love your enemies, as good to them that hate you; The * 1.2 strangeness of this precept seemeth to imply, That the Au∣thor of Nature onely could be the proposer of it, because the complyment with it seemeth to require a reversal of the instincts of Nature, and looks like a greater undertaking, then the re-edifying the Temple in three days; this seem∣ing as many miracles proposed, as there are Humane tempers in the world to be wrought upon: For the answering of Hatred and Injury with Love and Charity, seemeth more incompetent with our Nature, then the proposition which posed Nicodemus, since i•• may be said to be less strange for * 1.3 Nature to revert to what she hath once been, then to tran∣scend so much her own dispositions, as to be raised from a Humane to an Angelical temper: For in this state of Charity,

the spirit seems no ways acting by the impulses of the sense••.

Me thinks those Coelestial Doctrines should have at∣tested to his enemies, that it could be no less then the Creator of Men and Angels, that could undertake these Conversions of old men into children, and all men as it were into Angels; and he it was indeed who proposed this renovation and ex∣altation of our Nature: and well might he do it, who had in his person brought God into Infancy, and Man into Divi∣nity. We may ••i••y then proclaim of him, with them that heard him, referring specially to this article, of Loving ene∣mies, that he taught not as the Scribes, but as having power: For the Doctors of the Law durst so little press this duty up∣on the people, though it were contained in their Command∣ments, as in complyance with the hardness of their hearts, they ventured rather to allow a Bill of Divorce to their loves, in this case of consorting with enemies; and in this per∣verted liberty, Christ found the people strongly habituated.

Insomuch as we may say not improperly, That o•••• High Priest found the fire of this Charity, which came * 1.4 out of the flames of Mount Sinia, as much altered in ap∣parence, as Nehe〈…〉〈…〉 did the fire of the Altar, that had been hid during the Captivity, which seemed turned into a thick water: And Christ Jesus, like Nehe••••as, took the same mat∣ter of the former precept, and spread it again upon the Altar, and extracted the first fire out of it; for our High Priest ex∣plicated and unfolded this precept of Loving our neigh••••••••, the vertue whereof had long layen concealed, and seemed rather turned into a thick water of bitterness against enemies, then to retain any spark of love for them: But Christ by his explication and dilating of this precept, hath revived the fire that lay covered in it, and replaced it on his Altars, which kindleth now one of the best smelling Sacrifices we offer up in the Temples of the Holy Ghost, which is the loving of enemies, and doing good to those that hate us.

This may at first sight seem such a burthen laid upon Christians, as their fathers could not ••ear; but when we look

upon the donative given at the same time that the imposition was laid, we may acknowledge these retributions, not to be tythes or first-fruits of that treasure which is dispensed to us for our inablements to this discharge, since the grace of Christ Jesus passeth all understanding much more, then this precept transcendeth natural reason; For single morality hath by the hands of the Philosophers, affected to draw an exterior colouring of this image of Charity, in arrogating impassiveness unto humane wisdom: We then, unto whom the Divine wisdom hath imparted it self in so admirable a maner, teaching and acting this office, may well avow the gift to be much greater then the charge: And truly, when they are ballanced together, this order seemeth more an in∣franchising, then a fettering of our Nature, which without it seemeth rather bound, then free to revenge, such is the do∣minion of our irritated passions; so that Christ, by this in∣junction, may be said to have set us at liberty, not to seek our own vindications, wherein the violence of our Nature seemed before to ravish us of Free-will: wherefore even in this point, wherein the Gospel seemeth the most co••rcive and constraining, it may rightly be said to be The Law of Liberty; he that in our Nature led captivity captive by this sort of Cha∣rity, hath given the same gift unto men, as his members, * 1.5 whereby they are inabled to triumph by the same love over all foraign and in••rinsique enmities.

We then who may own a participation of the Divine Nature, cannot justly except against this obligation, of acting more by the inspirations of that Nature, then by the instincts of our own; and our Savior seemeth to have affected so much, the inviscerating this disposition in our hearts, as he claimeth the first introduction of this precept, to recommend it to us, as a special property of his mission, that the kindeness to his person might sweeter the asperity of the command, he saith, he giveth us this as a new commandment, To love one an∣other, * 1.6 and thus owneth the having instituted, what he did but redintegrate; it seemeth he meant (by setting the most he

could of himself to this order) to work the better upon our Nature, by that sympathy which is more sensible between him and us, then between us and the other persons of the Trinity; and surely all the prints of this duty were so efaced, as these conjunctions co-existing in Christs person, seemed requisite to induce this renovation, viz. Man for a capacity of suffering from enemies for our example; and God for a power of imparting an ability of imitating such returns of love, to injuries and violations.

But supposing these two capacities, united in the person of the precepter of this conformity, the newness of such a per∣son taketh off all wonder, from any innovation can be in∣duced by such a Ministery; And, me thinks, we may say of this Doctrine of Loving enemies, as S. Paul did of that of * 1.7 the Resurrection of the dead (though in this point Christs infirmity and passiveness promoteth the Commandment, a•• in the other his prerogative and exemption evinceth the arti∣cle) That if Christ had not risen from the dead, the preaching of the Gospel would have been vain: So if Christ had not forgiven his enemies his death, and returned them love and benefits for all their provocations, the preaching of this article would have been of little efficacy; for we know Christ found it wholly antiquated in the Law, and how little is it actuated in the time of the Gospel, with the help even of Christs prece∣dent? though he dyed for his enemies, and requires of us but the living with ours as if they were our friends; this is but a favorable exaction, were the retribution claimed but by an equal: when God himself is then the sufferer, as well as the imposer, how can we be affected more with Humans enmity, then with this Divine friendship; and leave follow∣ing of Gods patern of charity, to copy out Mans draught of malignity, in his offending both God and his Brother?

Must not this preference of the example even of them we hate, before that of God, appear a strange ingratitude, when we calmly reflect upon it, since God hath been so solicitous, both for the cure and comfort of our infirm Nature, as he

himself, in the person of Christ Jesus, chose to want all those things, the cupidities whereof do use to deprave and vitiate our affections, that by his contemning them, they might be deprised and vilified to our appetites; nor hath he staid at this privation, but passed on, even to an assumption and tole∣ration of all those things, whereof the terror and apprehensi∣on useth to divert us from the preference of his verities, that by his society we might be reconciled to these aversions, and animated in the pursuance of his preferences.

Would we but consider then the remission of Offences to one another, as a debt we owe our Savior Christ, we might repute it a blessing to have some of that species of Charity to repay unto him, wherein he hath given us no less a trea∣sure then our own Salvation; and without the help of ene∣mies we could have none of this precious species of love, which Christ so highly valueth, insomuch as our friends and favorers may be said not to be so useful to us, as our afflicters and maligners, when we make the best of them; for they indebt us more and more to God, and these help towards our discharge and acquittance, by a means of paying, in some part, of the most difficult conformity we owe in Christi∣an Religion: And we may observe, That Christ hath intailed * 1.8 most of his Beatitudes upon such estates as come to us by enemies, not by friends, as all sorts of sufferances; and that friends commonly do less for us then we require, whereas enemies in this respect do more for us then we can wish, since out of their iniquity we may raise friends, that shall receive us into the eternal Tabernacles.

This bitter fruit, planted in the middle of Christianity, and commanded to be tasted of, is as it were the counter∣poyson of that which was at first forbidden; the breach of which order induced the necessity of this, and this whole∣some plant, as it is designed to cure the venome of the other, so hath it contrary properties, as the first was fair to the eye, and pleasant to the taste, but mortal in the operation; so this is unpleasant to the fight, and unfavory to the palate,

but medicinal in the effect; this allayeth the heat of our feaverish passions, expectorateth all such obstructions as might impostume in our breasts, and draweth away the viru∣lency of all those poysoned arrows that wound our flesh; insomuch as that promise seemeth truly annexed to this, which was deceitfully given with the forbidden fruit; for this doth really open our eyes, and shew us the true distin∣ction between good and evil, whereof we are commonly ignorant, till the dilection of enemies giveth us this light, to discern injuries and offences to be no evils to us, without our helping them to that mischief, since the evil of pain can ne∣ver change the species into that of guilt, but by our own voluntary translation.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Iohn. 7.
• * 1.2

  Matth. 5. 44.
• * 1.3

  Iohn 3.
• * 1.4

  2 Mac. 1. ••1.
• * 1.5

  2 Pet. 1.
• * 1.6

  Ioh. 13 34.
• * 1.7

  1 Cor. 15. 14.
• * 1.8

  Mat••h. 5.