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

§. II.

The averseness to this Duty ariseth from our corrupted Nature, promoted by divers subtile Temptations of our great Enemy.

SInce our first Parents Reason was vitiated by this Tem∣ptation, of discerning good and evil, there is descend∣ed on us a curiosity of having them in this life still of our own making, and so out of our fellow creatures we make this composition of good and evil, by the rule of our private appetites: Thus cometh in that supposed variety of these two qualities (the objects of all our passions) which God hath no hand in; for we attribute commonly these properties to things, as they respect our sensitive appetite, by which means, as many false goods as our fancies compose, so many true ills we frame by the same work; for the wa〈…〉〈…〉 of such apprehended goods, is always accounted a real evil, and the fruition of them is likely in effect, what the priva∣tion is but supposed. Thus God suffereth things which

have no true goodness, to work upon our imagination, under real apparances, and so to anxiate us as effectually, as if they were sincerely what they are fancied by us; this is verified by the common experiment of our being so truly afflicted and perplexed, either by the defeature, or in the pursuit of vain desires; and this vassallation is a penalty set by the true Judge of all things, upon our attempt to design, of our own heads, the forms of good and evil, whereof the right ap∣prehension consisteth in judging of all things, as they re∣spect the supreme and ultimate good of our being; by re∣ference whereunto we shall discern nothing to be an evil, that doth not deflect from the rectitude of that line which is drawn to the Centre of goodness, by the hand of him who is himself this Centre, Truth it self, and the way to it, as he * 1.1 termeth himself; and our path is lined out to us by his hand, which hath drawn for us a trace of self-denial.

So that in our peregrination through this world, we are not to go as if we were taking the air, where the fairest and pleasantest way leadeth always to our end, but as Travellers and Pilgrims we must keep on the straight narrow way, which Christ hath marked us, though it seem never so aspe∣rous and unpleasant, resolving with the Royal. Prophet, for the * 1.2 words of his lips to keep hard ways: Nay, in this our passage, our enemies seem to be our surest guides, since we may take a certain mark from them of our being in the way, which is our loving them; and from our friends we can take no such assurance, for our kindeness and love to them doth very of∣ten mis-lead us into the by-ways of our inclinations; so while we love but those that love us, we know our leader telleth us, we may be still in the ways of the Gentiles; but when we love those that persecute us, and do good to those who hare us, this is an unquestionable mark of The straight and narrow way, treading in Christs very prints and vestages, in confor∣mity to this rule of his dear Disciple, in this point of Charity, He that saith he abideth in him, ought himself also to walk as * 1.3 he hath walked.

The great enemy of our Nature, who findeth the ob∣servance of this new difficult command, a proper expedient to repair the transgression of the first so easie precept, inter∣poseth all his subtilty to divert this obedience, and he findeth this atempt nothing so hard a work as his first circumvention: for in this point he hath our Nature already gained to help him, whereas in his first enterprise it was fortifi'd against him; in this case he maketh use of our eyes, being unhappily open, and presenteth us injuries, persecutions and hatred, as so hor∣rid objects, that in their company he covereth even his own deformity, and appeareth lovelyer then they, to our imagi∣nation, in that light he setteth himself by them; so as his own fouler enmity in the suggestion of malice and revenge is not discerned: and he is much bolder in this counsel, then he was in his first perswasion, for then he was fain to flatter us with the hope of having our eyes opened, and becoming like Gods, to be able to deceive us; but now he presumeth to carry our wills by another kinde of insinuation, which is that of fear to become like inanimate creatures, having the eye of sense shut up and blinded by the conformity to this precept, the submission whereunto is represented by him as an examination and destruction of our sense: And our Na∣ture (which standeth too well affected to all propositions that seem to defend the rights of Sense) is ready to take this ene∣mies part in this determent and initation against all our other enemies, whereby the Serpent is commonly successful, in the discrediting this counterpoyson of mortification, prescribed for the killing of his first venome of disobedience.

If we but reflect upon our first constitution and integrity, we shall easily confess this to be but just, that our Nature, which had but one commandment for her restraint, and broke that through a curiosity of enlarging her lights and capacities, should now be enjoyned to expiate part of this fault, by this closing of her eyes, and contradiction of her own sense, in submission to this commandment, so repug∣nant to our vitiated Reason; so that were this imposed

simply as a punishment upon our criminal Nature, it could seem but equal, that she who had introduced enemies and in∣juries into this world, should be obliged not onely to for∣give, but to love and benefit them; yet God is so indulgent, as in stead of exacting this duty, as a fine set upon our first forfeit, he seemeth to treat with us for the sale of our Re∣venges, as if they were Proprieties he would purchase from us, and offereth us no less then his eternal Love for our tem∣porary dilection of enemies: Nevertheless, how few are there that will part with this illegitimate title to Revenge, even up∣on these terms. Our passions truly considered, are stated only upon Reversions, by reason they lay out always our present peace upon some succeeding expectation, yet they had ra∣ther trust their own powers, which can give them no se∣curity of their wishes, then resign their interests to God for such an exchange, as his promise of an eternal Triumph over all enemies; and so likely, in stead of accepting this proffer of God (which he is so gracious as to make even his own propriety, which is all Revenge; our chief stu∣dy seeketh how to evade the obligation of this precept, and how we may draw our particular aversions and animo∣sities our of the compass of this order) whereby we often make the party declared against it (viz. Our private vicious Reason) judge of the sence of this Commandment of, Love your enemies, and do good to them that hate you.

The most part of the world take the same course to solve the difficulty they apprehend, as Alexander did with the Gordian knot, they will not take the pains to bow this pre∣cept, but break it out-right by a neglect and inconsideration of it: Others that would seem more reverent, are ingenious to elude it by way of explication; by this means many bow it, so as to make it seem standing bent to their peculiar dispo∣sition; and such humors use these words, Love your enemies, as some do, This is my body; they strip them of all their li∣teral sence, because they seem so cross and opposite to their Reason in a literal admission, they will not receive them in other then a figurative meaning, rejecting the reality signi∣fied

by those words: Thus do those that would elude this precept of Love your enemies, because they finde this Com∣mand so averse to Humane sense in the literal acception, they would have it understood but as a kinde of figurative ex∣pression, to evade the reality of this duty, and so pretend to be obliged onely to some exterior shew and superficies of civility and fair behavior to enemies (which is indeed but the figure or representation of Love) while they decline the real presence of Fraternal Charity; the reality whereof hath no less substantial a patern, then that of Christ Jesus's love unto us, given in this form, A new commandment I give * 1.4 to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you.

It is not therefore so much the obscure, as the hard saying that averteth the conformity of our Capharnaites in this Ar∣ticle; and alas, how many are there who are not scanda∣lized at this hard saying, which seemeth so to their Reason, in the point of Faith concerning Christs Natural body, who do notwithstanding go back upon this Article of love to 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Mystical? It is therefore requisite to plain and smoothe somewhat the rough surface of this Command; for which effect there needeth onely an unfolding and deplication of the inside of this order, to shew, it is not so asperous and thorny as our Nature apprehendeth it by the first glances that light upon it.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Iohn 14. 6.
• * 1.2

  Psal. 16. 4.
• * 1.3

  1 Iohn 2. 6.
• * 1.4

  John 13. 34.