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

§. III.

The relation wherein all Enemies are to be loved, and what offices are indispensably due to them, the omissions whereof can be redeemed by no other sort of Pieties.

IF ever there were a just occasion of hatred given, it was that man had when he first perceived the injury he had received from woman seeing his own and her nakedness

become as it were a minoir that reflected to him the figure of Death in his own face: How came it then to pass, that this passion of Revenge (which is likely the strongest at the first straining, all passions being now so newly broken loose in the minde of Adam) did not declare some violent resent∣ment of this provocation, and fall into an aversion against his Temptress? Sure it was, that he (who had still so clear a light of his own Nature left shining in him) discerned the Image of God remaining still upon her; which object he saw deserved love and affection.

This character, as it was not efaced by this occasion (which was the seed of all injuries that have sprung up ever since) so it remaineth still indelible in all Humane enemies: And as no iniquity can expunge that Image, so is there al∣ways left that object for our love in Humane Nature, even when it is the worst disfigured to us by any demerit of in∣dividuals to our particular: Unto this character is that love referred, which is by command assigned to our private ene∣mies, whom we are not ordained to love under the notion of haters of us, nor to bless in relation to their cursing us, for this were to propose that for the object of our love, to which God cannot be reconciled, as Evil and Viciousness; not could out Master and Law-giver love any, because they hated him: we may rather say, That because he did not love to be hated, he came even from Heaven to make friends of his enemies, that were capable of this Conversion, and shewed no love even unto Angels, in respect of the inflex∣ibleness of their Nature, after their declared enmity; but we can have no irreconcileable enemies, since Humane Na∣ture is not invariable after judgement, like Angelical.

Therefore all our Charity commanded for enemies, is in order to the working on them, by differing impressions, being designed to rectifie their enormity, not to confirm their crookedness; for we are not obliged to any offices towards enemies, that are likely to continue and foment their pravity or malevolence. After our sincere and cordial forgiveness, all the assistance we are bound constantly to render them,

is Spiritual, in fervent and devout intercessions to God for their recipiscence and restitution to his Grace. Temporal be∣nefits are precisely due to them onely in cases of their ex∣treme necessities, and in such proportions as rise not to the enabling them for those ill effects we may justly apprehend from their ability, what falls within our ordained duty, is, The not excluding them in any publike distribution of our benificences, in relation to our private discords, and the keeping our mindes disposed to succour and accommodate their particular distresses, in case of their occurring and pre∣senting themselves to our charity.

This is the term our Charity is positively commanded to reach unto, what it exceedeth this point is a free-will-offer∣ing, which passeth forward from the precept towards the perfection of Piety; so that the positive exaction in this du∣ty, can seem severe onely to such as are pinched with any of the straight orders of Christian Religion; for all the ex∣terior offices of obligation, respect onely the necessities of enemies, which our Nature hath no aversion to look upon, and it must be a very perverse temper that must not be moved to Charity by the state of superiority over an enemy; be∣sides, all our Supplies and Ministeries, both Spiritual and Temporal, are directed by God towards the conversion of our enemies into friends; and in that respect we seem alow∣ed a prospect of some present interest in all our offices, for the coals we are to intend the heaping on the heads of our adversaries by our benevolences, are such as are kindled in our own hearts, of Fraternal Charity; they are not to be proposed as fuel to Gods fiery indignation against them, as is familiarly misconceived by many semi-Christians.

When we ponder then (even but rationally) this duty, we shall finde it lighten in our hands the more we weigh it; for what is commonly said of Death, sorteth well with this precept, viz. That is looketh horridly at the first aspect, but the longer it is looked upon, the less formidable it groweth, and by degrees it becometh familiar and unoffensive to our minde. In like maner the terror of this precept consisteth

in the first aboard of it to our vicious Nature: the discour∣sing and acquaintance with it openeth to us the understand∣ing of it, by which we are easily reconciled to our first pre∣judice of the severe countenance of this commandment; and when we behold it in the form reflected from the light of the Gentiles, all Christians see themselves fellow members of one body: In which respect the resentment of offences may seem as unnatural, as our hating a wounded part of our body, because it paineth and distempereth the other: Doth any body project a revenge against his feet, for having stum∣bled and faln and hurt his face? All wrongs and injuries done to one another, are (in the constitution of Christianity) but the failings and defects of one portion of the body, whereby another is prejudiced.

Let them therefore who are so mindeful of those words of the Apostle, in not hating, but cherishing their own flesh, * 1.1 remember of these of the same hand, That we are all mem∣bers of one another; and so malice seemeth to incur this in∣congruity of hating part of our selves, if we allow our neighbor that relation to us which S. Paul assigneth him: If we would rather follow this method, of giving more * 1.2 abundant honor to the infirmer members, considering all injuries proceeding from some weakness and infirmity in the offen∣sive portion of the body, this would be a prevention of that Schism so much censured by the Apostle; and this course would keep the part offended from pain and vexation, whereas the other of resentment doth but indeed chase and inflame the sore.

The Stoicks with the Ninevites will rise up in judgement against the viperous generation of our Non-Conformists to this Doctrine, when they upon the preaching of the voyce of Nature, undertook to suppress and mortifie these pas∣sions of Anger and Revenge: May not we then (who have another maner of Dictator of this precept, even the Au∣thor of Nature personally acting this proposition, as well as preaching this observance) fitly say to the Rationalists of this Age, what our Master did to the refractory of his, upon

no unlike occasion, being upon the casting out of evil Spi∣rits, if even your own children pretend to dispossess their mindes of all malignity, and to have the dominion of all passions, shall not they be your Judges, and condemn such, as with the succour of Grace conjoyned to reason, do not undertake the subjection of this passion to the precept and * 1.3 example of our Divine Directer?

The Holy Ghost intended this surely as a high reproach to Christs nearest kindred, when he telleth us that they did not believe in him; and we are as much nearer a kin to God (as I may say) then the Heathens were, as Brothers are to one another, then Strangers: So that a Christians unconformity to this Doctrine, riseth to the highest degree of ill Nature and Malignity: They who remain wavering between the ob∣servance and the excuse of a punctual compliance with this order, are loose and unsettled in the foundation of Chri∣stianity, and all their superstructures of Alms and other materials of Religion, are but raised upon that sandy foun∣dation Christ slighteth so much, which the least storm re∣moveth and dissipateth: Such then (who retain any uncha∣ritableness in their hearts, while their hands are full of good Works, and their lives gilded over with the leaf gold of external Charity shining in the eyes of the world) seem to me to do but as if a Leper should be very curious to make himself brave against the time of the Priests visiting his na∣kedness, since to our Searcher of Hearts, all cogitations are naked and discovered; and if the interior be leprous and in∣fected, we know even the finest garments and coverings it hath are accounted but unclean.

Yet alas, how many are there who use this supervesture and palliation of their Souls, covering private Malices under specious Pieties? all which are but like perfumes which one that hath an ill breath rising from perished lungs, em∣ployeth about him, which may take away the ill smell from such as converse at usual distances with him, but his bed∣fellow will not be deceived by those exterior Odours; it is the breath of the Spouse which exhaleth those Odours after

which the bridegroom runneth▪ and smelleth them when he kisseth * 1.4 her with the kiss of his mouth: If the soul have not the sound∣ness of interior Charity, all the gums and spices of Prayers and Alms do not sweeten her breath to her Divine Lover: In this case of her pretending to exterior beauty, tainted by this intrinsique blemish, she may be said to have the con∣trary properties to the beloved Spouse, for then it may be reported of her, That she seemeth beautiful, and yet is black; * 1.5 though the complexion of her life be fair, yet the consti∣tution of her substance is foul and unhealthful: Let none then conceive their Devotion sufficiently qualified, without the integrity of Charity for enemies.

God is so gracious, as I have said before, that he offers to purchase of us all our claim to Revenge; and men by spe∣cious acts of Religion, consorting with covered Malice, seem in stead of accepting this offer of God, to make him a proffer of a recompence in other actions, for his pretence of this alienation of their interests, and conveyance of their wils over to his pleasure: But alas, in this bargaining as it were with God by this offer of Pious exercises, we do but forfeit all we advance, and God applyeth them to the necessities of others, and accounteth nothing to our selves for the di∣soursement; for God can accept nothing, in lieu of this conformity to Christ, it might seem a derogation from his exemplary remission of all injuries, if our obligation in this point were redeemable by any commutation.

Let none then abuse themselves with this hope, to make such friends of the Mammon of Iniquity, as may protect their iniquity to enemies, let them leave their other offer∣ings at the Altar of their distressed Brother, and go make their own unreconciled hearts an Altar, whereon they offer up to Christ crucified all their angers and animosities, which have this property of smelling very ill, while they are grow∣ing, and of making an excellent perfume when they are burning and consuming in the fire of Charity; God smel∣leth these divers savors in them, in both these conditions: and surely S. Paul leaveth us no hope, that any act can move

God which turneth not upon the Centre of Charity to on•• Brother, since even that compassion which should break down our own houses, to build up harbors for others, and that Faith which did remove our Mountains and our Mea∣dows, into the possession of our necessitous neighbors; all these actions, I say, would be but painted schrines, wanting the substance of what they figure and represent, if Charity were not the engine that carryed all these motions; there may be many works that hold this analogy with a tinckling Cymbal, the making their sound out of their hollowness, the being conscient of this emptiness of sincere Charity, may counsel the raising noise and voyce of their Piety, by the sound and report of exterior Charities, to such the Angel declareth, I finde not your works full before my God. * 1.6

Nor can we now excuseably mistake in the measures of this Charity, since Christ Jesus hath left us impressed and stampt upon his own life a new model of compliance with this new Commandment; how unanswerable then is the method of many, who in stead of copying this exemplar, draw their charity to enemies by their own designs, by fitting this figure rather for their own Cabinet, then the Church of Christ; this is the course of such as form their observance of this pre∣cept by the square of their disposition and facility to for∣give some particular offences, that do not much sting their Nature, and allow enemies but such a sort of love as sa∣voreth of contempt, which taketh away the taste and gust of Revenge: And so this maner doth indeed rather but change the dyet of our Nature, then keep her fasting in this precept from all her flattering appetites, for her vicious palate relisheth no less scorn and undervalue of enemies, then revenge and vindication.

So that the figure of this Charity is lame and mis-shapen, and appeareth not taken, off from that mould which we have of our original, the form whereof is, Loving one another, as he hath loved us; and in his model we shall not finde the least oblique angle of contempt to enemies: and sure though we cannot keep, in the forming of our Charity, an Arithmetical

proportion to that of Christ, yet we must observe a Geome∣trical one in this our conformity; which is to say, Though we are not able to attain to an equality of his Charity in point of quantity and greatness, yet our love may be in some sort at least adequated to his, in point of form and propor∣tion, loving just so as he did, though not just as much as he; therefore we are commanded to be perfect, as our heavenly * 1.7 Father is perfect, upon this occasion of our demeanor to enemies, which signifieth a conformity and similitude, not an equality or commensuration to the Divine per∣fection.

As little Lodges may be built by the same model of the greatest Pallaces, so we are to design our Charity to our enemies, by the figure of Christs unto his, which excludeth all sort of animosity or malevolence against adversaries, and interdicteth all self-reparation, by contempt or despection of them, which voideth all the merit of sufferance and for∣giveness; and they who neglect the making their charity like unto that of Christ, in these proportions I have ex∣plained, will finde it so ill done, when it cometh to be set by that figure it ought to resemble, as it will not be known for Charity, so far will it be from becoming eternally like the Original Charity by looking on it, when every well copyed Charity shall pass into that configuration.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Eph. 5. 29. Eph. 4. 26.
• * 1.2

  1 Cor. 12. 24.
• * 1.3

  Luke 11. 19. John 7. 5.
• * 1.4

  Cant. 1▪
• * 1.5

  Cant. 1. 4.
• * 1.6

  Apoc. 3. 2.
• * 1.7

  Mat. 5. 48.