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

§. I.

Arguments to discredit all the Attractives of this Earth, and Gods contribution there∣unto, produced.

I Have, in effect, shot all my Quiver at this one Head, viz. The love of this World, and have set such points to my Arrows, as I conceived most proper to enter those Helmets of Perdition, wherewith the Prince of this World commonly armeth his Militia in this quar∣ter I aim at, namely, Presumption or Inconsideration; Wherefore now, me thinks, I may say to this Age, with the Psalmist, Childrens Arrows are made thy wounds, re∣lating * 1.1 either to my former Alliance to the world, or to the present weakness of the hand that hath made these Ejacu••ations: But surely the Head that hath been my Mark, may be fitly compared to that of the Beast in the Revelation, which (having been wounded as it were to * 1.2 death) was afterwards healed, and Worshipped the more upon this Cure: For the love of this world seemeth very often mortified, and lying as it were dead in our mindes, being wounded by the Sword of the Spirit, and yet 〈◊〉〈◊〉 viveth, and grows stronger then ever in our Affections.

And as these two Heads do not differ much in their Al∣legories, since all the Heads of the Beast may be said to signifie several mundanities; so are they consorted in this point, of having both the same Surgeon, the old Serpent, who venteth all his Art upon the recovery of this Head, namely, The love of mundanity, wherein do indeed re∣side the vital Spirits of the body of Sin, the onely Subject of the Prince of this Ages Empire.

So that considering the dangerous convalescence of this wounded Head, I have conceived it requisite to do my best, not onely to kill it outright by playing Jael's part, driving this Nail, that is, this express Tract directly through the temples of it, but also to endeavor the burying it, as I may say, in this holy ground of Spiritual Joy and Ac∣quiescence, which is the safest course to prevent the re∣vival of it; for the alacrity of the Spirit keepeth the in∣ferior appetites, as it were, under ground: and in this figurative interment, the Balms and Spices of contempla∣tive Solaces, contrary to material ones, have this vertue, quickly to consume and dissolve this matter, when they are applied unto it: I shall therefore endeavor to draw out of the inclosed Garden of the Spouse, such precious Spices as may work these two different effects, to dissi∣pate and consume the love of this world, as well as pre∣serve and persume the love of Heaven.

One Sin infected our whole Humane Nature, by reason that all succeeding individuals had then their voyces com∣prised in one person Representative of the whole Species: And when we see the whole Mass of the Earth accursed at * 1.3 once, me thinks we may speculate this to have been some part of the reason, that in the little portion of Earth, com∣posing the body of Man, the whole Globe thereof seemed represented, and consequently all tainted by the inquina∣tion of that one parcel; for the sensitive part of Man con∣sisting of Earth, that may well be charged as a Complice in the Crime, since that portion of Man, although it were

not Principal, was yet an accessory in the Crime, the body having acted the transgression: This may give an ingenious reason for the Condemnation of the whole Earth, to bear onely Thorns and Bryers naturally, and fruits not without induring wounds and violences, to wit, the contamina∣tion of the whole, in the vitiousness of this first ungrateful portion of Earth, which, in the person of Woman, may be said to have put forth some Bryers to catch the Soul of Man, even before it was accursed. This I presume to be a better Reason for the sentencing of the whole Earth, then can be given for the Soul of Man's adhering to this Earth by his affections; forasmuch as this convinceth us of the ter∣restrial parts of conspiration of our ruine, and so may well averse the Soul from such an adherency.

How evident is it, that God never intended that the Soul of Man (after this first injury) should set her affections up∣on the Earth, since Man was presently removed from the most lovely part thereof, and that was fenced against his access to it, not onely to shorten his time upon Earth, but also, as we may suppose, to abridge his Delights and So∣laces in that short time, since no other part of the World could afford such a complete deliciousness, as the earthly Pa∣radice out of which Man was excluded; whereby God seem∣eth to have provided against Mans having the strongest Mo∣tives the Earth might offer him, to draw down his affections upon it, and hath left him a continual quarrel, as it were, with the Earth; to wit, the Contention of his labors against her sterility, to entertain this disagreement between it and the love of Man, since the Earth alloweth him nothing, but at the price of his sweat and ••atigation: This might seem sufficient, considering our lazy Nature, to admit no kinde or friendly correspondence between us; nay, there are many who suppose the world long since not to have had so much invitation left for Man to love it, as the containing the terrestrial Paradice: This at least is very probable, That even since the Flood, the beauty, fecundity and pleasant∣ness

of that portion of the Earth is utterly deflowered and ••faced; But this is positively true, That God did not ex∣pulse Man out of Paradice, to allow him the making an∣other Paradice for himself out of the Earth: These spe∣culations do (as Saint Paul saith) speak after the maner of men, to implead all title this Earth can claim to the affections of a reasonable Soul; and through all the body of this Miscel∣lany, there run veins enough of disparagement to this world; so that they may well terminate in this Centre of Contempt and despection.

The Apostle of love, whose fiery tongue casts forth * 1.4 as many Scintillations of love, as he doth lines, in that Work which may be fitly called, An Epistle commendat••ry of Love to Christians, doth not allow the world so much as one spark of it, he rather straineth his breath to blow out and extinguish every flash of affection to it; enjoyn∣ing us expresly, Not to love the world, nor the things that are in it: And it is remarkable, That he alleageth not the mi∣series and disgusts of the world to discredit it, but bring∣eth even the most amiable alluremonts thereof for Reasons against our affecting it, arguing upon the worlds having nothing in it, but the concupiscence of the eye, and of the flesh, and the pride of life, in which consist the most powerful At∣tractives the world hath for our love: And if all these which are acknowledged the worlds Proprieties, are turned a∣gainst the valuation thereof, what hath it left whereby to allure us? May not that be justly then contemned, which either afflicteth us for the present, or betrayeth us for the future.

O how admirable is God in this piece of distributive Justice to Mankinde! who (having by his Providence comparted the conditions in this world into such a diver∣sity of states, as cannot admit all to the fruition of se∣cular Delights) hath commanded that none should love them; by which order the lowest ranks are much compen∣sated in this respect, That it is a harder task to forbear

loving such things when we enjoy them, then it is to con∣temn them when we know we can neither expect them, nor ought to love them: If they who use this world, must be * 1.5 as though they used it not, those who use least of it may be said to be seated the nearest to this performance; and cer∣tain it is, That their state is the most conterminate to that of the true Propriator of the whole world, while he was upon the earth, who did himself use those things most, which we use to love the least, and yet alloweth us to en∣joy even the most pleasing proporties of the earth, pro∣vided we do not love the world in that relation.

All secular goods were so unworthy of the love of the God and Man Christ Jesus, as they are not allowed the love even of single Mary; for all the most precious and glorious things of this world, are ordained to serve Man as his slave, unto whose offices there can be assigned no love, for this wages doth presently invert the two condi∣tions, rendring the lover the slave: How reasonable then must it be to address unto him all our love, who hath by his love to us subjected all these things unto us, and hath so disposed it, as to maintain our Prerogative, there is re∣quired no Art, but the contemning of what stands thus subjected.

Whereupon I may well press you in this point, as the Apostle doth, Let this minde be in you, which was also in * 1.6 Christ Jesus; his comportment towards the world, was intended to give you the same minde: Look then upon your Nature in the author and finisher of our Faith, and you shall see Mans dominion over the World maintained by con∣temning it; the world was so perfectly crucified to him all his life, as he contemned the being crucified by the world, despising (as the Apostle saith) even the greatest shame and * 1.7 confusion of this world: And what could this Divine Man do more to imprint in us this aversion to the world, then these two acts, in not vouchsafeing to enjoy any of those things, the cupidities whereof use to vitiate us, to leave

all them abased and vilified, and in not declining the suf∣ferance of such things (whereof the terror doth likely sub∣ject us to the world) to render them easie and acceptable: What hath the world then left in it, for Motives either of our love or fear of it, that even God himself may not be said both to have undervalued and undergone? And what we are enjoyned neither to love nor fear, cannot seem un∣easie for us to despise; especially when this advantage is annexed, That we gain more by contemning the whole world, then we can by enjoying our own divident therein: For whereas Fortune keeps many worldlings poor, the Contempt of the world keeps Fortune her self wanting and indigent, leaving her nothing to give to such a dis∣position; So that in stead of incurring the reproach of the Prophet, in setting up a Table to Fortune, and offering liba∣ments * 1.8 upon it, this habit of minde sacrificeth and destroy∣eth Fortune upon the Altar of the Holy Spirit; and thus even the feathers of Fortune, to wit, The vanities and le∣vities of this Age, when they are incensed and consumed by a holy Contempt of this world, may make a sweet Savor in the Temple of God; whereupon I may say, That these sorts of feathers, which while they are burn∣ing in the flame of our sensitive passions, yield an odour of death unto death, when they are consuming in this Sa∣crifical fire of a zealous Contempt and Renunciation of them, afford a savor of life unto life, in this act of their de∣struction in our mindes.

In the time of the Law, when the Commodities of the Earth seemed to be proposed as the Salary of Mans vertue, there might be some colour to love this world, and so in that state God accepted the Beasts of the Earth for Holocausts: But in the Gospel, when no less then the enjoying of God himself, and all his goods is exhibited for the term of our desires, it cannot seem unequal, that even the whole World should be required for a Holo∣caust, immolated and consumed by a Religious Anni∣hilation

of it in our Mindes, to the honor of such a Re∣munerator.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Psa. 63. 9.
• * 1.2

  Rev. 13.
• * 1.3

  Gen. 3. 17.
• * 1.4

  1 John 2. 15.
• * 1.5

  1 Cor. 7.
• * 1.6

  Phil. 2. 5.
• * 1.7

  Hebr. 12.
• * 1.8

  Isa. 65. 11