Clavis mystica a key opening divers difficult and mysterious texts of Holy Scripture; handled in seventy sermons, preached at solemn and most celebrious assemblies, upon speciall occasions, in England and France. By Daniel Featley, D.D.

THE DEVOUT SOULES MOTTO, A Sermon preached in Saint Peters Church in Lent; Anno 1613. THE XXXVI. SERMON.

PSAL. 73.25.

Whom have I in heaven but thee, O Lord? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.

Right Worshipfull, &c.

THe words which oura 1.1 Saviour spake concerning the is∣sue and successe of his preaching, may serve fitly for a preface to my intended discourse upon this Text: Ignem veni missurus inter vos▪ & quid volo nisi ut accendatur? I come to put fire among you, or rather in you: and what is my desire, but that by the blasts and motions of Gods Spirit, and the breath of my mouth it may presently bee kindled, and burne in your hearts? Burne it will not without fuell; take heed therefore, saithb 1.2 Bonaventure, what you cast into this fire to feed the flame: for if it be grosse, impure, and earthy matter, the flame will be ob∣scure, and the fume unsavoury; but if it be refined, pure, and celestiall, the flame will be cleare, and the fume a sweet perfume in the nostrils of Almigh∣ty God. Nadab andc 1.3 Abihu smoaked themselves for offering strange fire upon Gods Altar: but wee are like to burne in unquenchable fire, if wee of∣fer not continually the fire I am now to treat of, upon the Altar of our hearts: and yet it is a strange fire too; for it giveth light, yet burneth not; or rather it burnes, yet consumeth not; or rather it consumes, yet impaires not, but dilateth and enlargeth the heart. Other fire burnes blacke, and marreth the beauty of the body; but this contrariwise giveth beauty to the soule.

for as Saintd 1.4 Gregory rightly observeth, the soule shineth not with the bright∣nesse of everlasting beauty, that burneth not in the forge of charity. With this beauty God is so enamoured, that Sainte 1.5 Bernards observation is true, that he is greatest in favour, and in the love of God, who draweth most to the love of God. If we desire to know, saith Saintf 1.6 Austine, what a man is, wee enquire not what he beleeveth, or what he hopeth for, but what he loveth. A man may beleeve the truth, and be a false man: he may hope for good things, and yet be exceeding bad himselfe; but he cannot love the best things, but he must needs be good: he cannot affect grace, if hee have not received some mea∣sure thereof; he cannot highly esteeme of God, and not be high in Gods esteeme. As the love of the world maketh a man worldly, and the love of the flesh fleshly; so the love of the Spirit makes the children of God spiri∣tuall, and the love of God partaker of the divineg 1.7 nature: for God is love. Now, saith Saint Paul, that is, in this life, abidethh 1.8 faith, hope, and charity; but after this life, of these three charity onely remaineth. For when we have received the end of our faith, which is the salvation of our soules, and taken possession of the inheritance which we have so long expected by hope, faith shall be swallowed up in vision, and hope in fruition; but then love shall be in greatest perfection. Our trust is, that we shall not alwayes walk by faith, and our hope is, that we shall one day hope no more; we beleeve the end of faith, and hope for the end of hope; but love no end of our love: but con∣trariwise desire, that it may bee like the soveraigne object thereof, that is, eternall and infinite. To leap over this large field at once, and comprise all in one sentence concerning this vertue, of which never enough can be said: Love brought God from heaven to earth; love bringeth men from earth to heaven. In which regard it may not be unfitly compared to the ladder, at the foot whereofi 1.9 Jacob slept sweetly, and in his dreame saw Angels climbing up by it to heaven. For upon it the religious soule of a devout Christian resteth and reposeth her selfe; and by it in her thoughts and de∣sires she ascendeth up to heaven, as it were by foure steps or rounds, which are the foure degrees of divine love.

• 1. To love God for our selves.
• 2. To love God for himselfe.
• 3. To love God above all things.
• 4. To love nothing but God, or in a reference to him.

First, to love God for our selves or our owne respect, whereunto wee are induced by the consideration of his benefits and blessings bestowed up∣on us, and continued unto us.

The second is to love God for himselfe, whereunto wee are moved by the contemplation of the divine essence, and his most amiable nature.

The third is to love God above all things, whereunto we are enclined by observation of the difference between God and all things else.

The fourth is to love nothing but God, that is, to settle our affections, and repose our desires, and place our felicity wholly and solely in him. To which highest round or step of divine love and top of Christian perfection we aspire, by fixing our thoughts upon the all-sufficiency of God, who

hath in him infinite delights and contentments to satisfie all the appetites of the soule; whereof the Kingly Prophet David was fully perswaded, when lifting up his heart to God, and his eyes to heaven, he calleth God himselfe to witnesse, that he desired no other happinesse than what he enjoyed in him, saying,

Whom have I in heaven but thee? These words may admit ••f a double construction:

• 1 Either that David maketh God his sole refuge and trust:
• 2 Or that he maketh him his chiefe joy and whole hearts delight.

For the first sense, viz. Whom have I in heaven but thee for my refuge, and strength of my confidence? we are to know that in heaven and in earth there are other besides God; in heaven the elect Angels, and the spirits ofk 1.10 just men made perfect; in earth there are men and the creatures: yet a re∣ligious soule reposeth no confidence in any of these. First, not in the crea∣ture in generall, for it isl 1.11 subject to vanity: not in riches, form 1.12 they are un∣certaine; Charge the rich in this world that they trust not in uncertaine riches: not inn 1.13 wisedome, or strength, or power; nor in the favour ofo 1.14 Princes, nor any childe of man, for there is no helpe in them. I will yet ascend higher, even to heaven, and to the Angels and soules there. For whatsoever pow∣er, or strength, or helpe may be in them, we may not put our trust in them. 1 Not in the soules of Saints departed; for theyp 1.15 take no notice of our af∣faires here, neither have we any order to addresse our selves to them: A∣braham is ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledgeth us not:q 1.16 Good Josiah seeth not the evill which befell his subjects after his death. 2 Not in An∣gels; for though they excell in strength, and are ministringr 1.17 Spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heires of salvation, yet we have no charge to worship them, or relie upon them for our salvation. Nay, wee are charged to the contrary, both from God and from themselves; from God,s 1.18 Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him onely shalt thou serve: and,t 1.19 Let no man beguile you in voluntary humility, and worshipping of An∣gels: and from themselves also,u 1.20 And I fell downe at the feet of the An∣gel that shewed me these things, and he said unto me, See thou doe it not, I am thy fellow servant, worship God.

For the second sense, viz. Whom have I in heaven but thee for my chiefe joy and sole hearts delight? we are to know that the faithfull soule is wedded to God, and like a loyall Spouse casteth no part of her conjugall affection upon any but him. Love she may whom he loveth, and what he comman∣deth her to love, for him, and in him, but not as him: if she doth so, shee becommeth Adultera Christo, as St. Cyprian speaketh, and may not be ad∣mitted to sing in Davids quire, or at least not to bear a part in this Antheme, Whom have I in heaven but thee, O Lord?

No more than the life of the body can bee maintained without natu∣rall heat and moisture, can the life of grace be preserved in the soule with∣out continuall supply of the moisture of penitent teares, and a great mea∣sure of the heat of divine love, wherewith we are to consume those spiri∣tuall sacrifices of prayer and praises, which we are now and at all times

to offer, lifting up pure hands and hearts unto God. To kindle this sacred fire, I have brought you a live coale from the Altar of incense, Davids heart, sending up sweetest perfumes of most fragrant and savourie medi∣tations.

This coale the best Interpreters ancient and later, conspiring in their ex∣positions blow after this manner: St.u 1.21 Jerome thus, I have sought none in heaven or earth beside thee.x 1.22 Calvin, I desire nothing in heaven or earth but thee.y 1.23 Cajetan, Thee alone I affect in heaven and in earth.z 1.24 Marlorat, I love nothing with thee. And most effectually* 1.25 Mollerus, I esteeme thee in stead of and above all treasures: as if he should say in more words;

Others lay up treasures upon earth, but heaven is my treasurie, and God is my riches; he is my lot, as I am his purchase; he is the onely supporter of my crowne, and crown of my joy, & joy of my heart: upon him I set my whole delight, in him I repose all my confidence, to him I addresse all my petitions, from him I expect all my happinesse: all my hope is in his promises, all my com∣fort in his word, all my wealth in his bounty, all my joy in the light of his countenance, all my contentment in his love: above him, without him, be∣sides him I love nothing; but all things in him and for him. Lord let me live out of the world with thee, but let me not live in the world without thee. For I make no reckoning of any thing in the world in comparison of thee, nor of all the world without thee: take away all things from me so thou givest me thy selfe; for if thou takest away thy selfe, thou takest away all things. O let me therefore quickly enjoy thee in heaven, for even whilest I am upon earth my heaven is in thee.

Here I cannot hold on my Paraphrase, but must needs breake off with that passionate exclamation of St.a 1.26 Bernard, O thrice happy soule which by God and his grace art so affected with God and his love, that in God, in whom all things are to be had, thou desi∣rest nothing but God himselfe.

By this bright blaze of the words you may easily discerne the parts; which are two,

• 1 A higher straine of notes ascending, Quis mihi, &c.
• 2 A lower of notes descending, & tecum non optavi, &c.

Or if you like better to change the terms of musick, which is the rhetorick of sounds, into the termes of rhetoricke, which is the musicke of words; this sentence consisteth of

• 1 A passionate interrogation, Whom have I in, &c.
• 2 A confident asseveration, And I desire none, &c.

In both I observe,

• 1 The convenience of the order, Whom have I in heaven, and then, I desire, &c.
• 2 The proprietie of the phrases have and desire; have in heaven, desire on earth: nothing to be desired, but to be had in heaven; nothing to be had, but to be desired on earth.
• 3 The varietie of the Prepositions praeter and cum, I have nothing but

• thee: I desire nothing with thee, for the reason assigned byb 1.27 Paulinus; God, who made none of his creatures in any degree equall to himselfe, will have none made of like unto himselfe.

Whereupon it ensueth, that there is fulnesse of delight and contentment in God, and that there is no solid delight and contentment for the immor∣tall soule of man but in him; and consequently, that we are to set our heart, and settle our love, and ground our repose, and repose our felicity wholly and solely in him, withc 1.28 whom onely, and in whom onely, and through whom onely the understanding soule of man findeth and everlastingly enjoyeth true blessednesse. Of which use of the doctrine, and doctrine of the notes, and notes of my Text, whilest I treat briefly, I humbly entreat Almighty God to assist mee with his Spirit, and you to support mee with your patience.

First, of the order. As God first created the heaven, and all the host thereof, and after the earth and earthly creatures; so in our desires we ought first to aime at heaven and heavenly objects, and after wee have fixed our thoughts, and settled our affections upon them, to have an eye to the earth, and take order for the things of this life. God hath placed the heaven above the earth, and shall we by our inordinate desires set the earth above the hea∣ven, advancing things temporall above those that are eternall? this were to overthrow the order of nature, and breake the golden rule laid down by our Saviour,d 1.29 Seeke yee first the Kingdome of God, and his righteousnesse, and all these things shall be ministred unto you. First, lift up your eyes and your hearts to heaven, and say with David, Whom have I in heaven but thee? and then tell us what or whom you desire, or desire not upon earth.

Have I in heaven, or desire on earth. The Translaters might have retai∣ned the verbe have in both members: but in regard of the deceivablenesse and uncertainty of earthly goods and possessions, they change the verbe have in the first member into desire in the second, have in heaven and desire on earth, not desire in heaven and have on earth: for in precise truth there is nothing which a religious soule can desire, but shee hath it in hea∣ven: and on the contrary, nothing to be had that is firmely possessed and enjoyed, which she desireth on earth; Heaven is the place of having, the earth of desiring or craving. When an old man being asked of his age, an∣swered in the Latine phrase, Octoginta annos habeo, that is, I have or reckon upon fourscore yeeres: a Philosopher standing by tooke him up, saying, Imò tot annos non habes, what saist thou, I have or reckon upon fourescore yeeres? just so many yeeres thou hast not; for in numbring the dayes and yeeres of our life, whose parts are never all come till they are all gone, we usually count upon those yeeres onely that are fully past, which we there∣fore have not, because they are past and gone; even as he that taketh a lease for terme of yeeres, after he hath worne them out, hath no more terme in his lease, or estate in his living; no more may any man be said to have those yeeres good, which hee hath spent in the lease of his life. Much lesse may he be said to have those that are to come, because they are not yet, and hee is altogether uncertaine whether they are to come or no. For all that hee knoweth, this day the lease of his life may expire, this houre his last glasse may be running, at this very moment and point of time the threed of his

life may be cut off. Now if wee cannot be said truely to have any part of our time, how can we have any part in things temporall? if the lease of our lives, by which we hold all our earthly goods and possessions, be of so uncertaine a date, let our common Lawyers talke never so much of possessi∣ons and estates, and firme conveighances and perpetuities, and severall kindes of tenures, they shall never perswade mee, that there is any sure hold or good tenure of any thing save God and his promises: it is impossible that wee should have any estate in things that are altogethere 1.30 unstable. Hereof it seemeth Abraham was well advised; for though he were an exceeding rich man, yet we reade of no purchase made by him, save onely of af 1.31 cave in Machpelah, for him and his heires to hold, or rather to hold him and his heires for ever. If any man ever knew the just value of all earthly commo∣dities, it was King Solomon, the mirrour of wisedome, and yet he, after he had weighed them all in the scales of the Sanctuary, found them as light as vanity it selfe. Omnia sub sole vanitas; ergo supra solem veritas, as right∣ly inferrethg 1.32 Paulinus: If all things under the sunne are vanity; therefore the verity of all things is above the sunne, viz.

In heaven. Whom have I in heaven but thee? that is, thee I have, and none but thee in heaven. I deny not that which Sainth 1.33 Austine affirmeth in ex∣presse termes, that we have God many waies with us in this life; for we see him in his workes, we heare him in his word, we taste him in the Sacrament, we feele him by the motions of the Spirit within us, we touch him by faith, we embrace him by love, we relye upon him by hope, we have private conference with him by prayer: yet all this is nothing to our modus habendi, our manner of ha∣ving him in heaven. Then a man may be truely said to have a lordship, man∣nour, benefice, or living, when he entereth upon the fruits thereof, and re∣ceiveth the crop. The Lord is indeed our lot and portion even in this life; but we cannot reap the thousanth part of the profits and delights he hath in himselfe, and will afford us hereafter. They to whom hee most imparteth himselfe, and communicateth his goodnesse here, have but a taste onely of the tree of life, a weak sent of the flowers of Paradise, a confused noise of hea∣venly musicke as it were afarre off, no more than a glympse of the sunne of righteousnesse, but a blast of the Spirit onely, an earnest-penny of their wages; yet such a taste as more satisfieth them than a royall banquet furnished with all the delicacies the sea or land can yeeld: such a sent as they will not leave for all the sweet odours of Arabia: such a noise as they would not misse the hearing thereof, for all the consorts in the world: such a glympse, as is to be preferred before the full view of all the Kingdomes of the earth, and the glory of them: such a blast, as more refresheth the soule, than a constant gale of prosperous fortune: such an earnest-penny, as they would not lose for the treasures of Solomon. This taste, this sent, this glympse, this blast, this earnest-penny, the Kingly Prophet David so exceedingly desired, that he compareth the ardency of his affection to the thirst of a Hart, either long chased, or after he is stung with the serpent Dipsas, that sets all his throat on fire. As thei 1.34 Hart brayeth and panteth in this case for the rivers of waters to coole his heate, and quench his thirst, so panteth my soule after thee, O God. My soule thirsteth for God, for the living God; when shall I come and ap∣peare before God? Of this thirst of the soule they onely can speake feelingly,

who have been longk 1.35 sicke with the Spouse in the Canticles, who feeling her heart faint, and all her vitall faculties faile, cryeth out, Stay mee, &c. that is, hold life in mee with cordiall waters and soveraigne smells; for I lan∣guish, I swoune, my soule is running out of the doores of my lips after him, whom she incomparably loveth above all things in heaven and in earth; yet she seeth here nothing but his backe parts, that is, obscure shadowes and resemblances of him. And if she be so enamoured with these, how will she be ravished at the sight of his countenance? if she take such contentment in the contemplation of his image in a mirrour, how will shee be transported, when she shall see him face to face, and bee united to him spirit to spirit? if she take such pleasure in pledging him in the bitter cup of his passion, what will she take inl 1.36 drinking of the rivers of pleasures, that run at his right hand for evermore? To borrow a straine of the Schooles, for the closing up of this sweet note, Hic Deum amamus amore desiderii, at in coelo amore amici∣tiae, Here we love God with a love of desire, there with a love of friendship; here we desire to have God, there we have our full desire: and so I fall into the maine doctrine of the Text, That there is fulnesse of delight and content in God. Quid eo avarius est, cui Deus non sufficit, in quo sunt omnia? Can we desire larger possessions than immensity? a surer estate than immutabi∣lity? a longer terme of yeeres than eternity? Let Saintm 1.37 Prosper speake, Who so fortunate, as he whose Maker is his fortune? who so rich, as hee who possesseth him that possesseth all things, whose lord is his lot, and his owner part of his goods? Howbeit, because we cannot perfectly survey, much lesse take full possession of this our large or rather infinite inheritance, in this life, Mol∣lerus conceiveth these words not to be uttered in an exultation of spirit, ra∣vished with the contemplation of God; but rather as a prayer to this ef∣fect: O that I had thee in heaven; as when the Prophet demandeth, Who will shew us any good? wee take the meaning to be, O that any would shew us some good: & in like maner, in the second of Samuel, Whon 1.38 will bring mee water out of the fountaine? that is, O that some would give mee a draught of it. Notwithstanding I see no reason why wee should vary from the most generall interpretation of these words, which is, that they containe a prote∣station, not a prayer, and carry this sense: O Lord, I am so ravished with thy beauty, and satisfied with thy love, that I desire nothing like unto thee, nay, no∣thing but for thee, nay, nothing but thee. With which exposition that straine of Paulinus perfectly accordeth, though set in a more dolefull key, when the barbarous and savage Goths had invaded the City of Nola, ransacked his house, rifled his coffers, and tooke away all that he had; he yeelded not to the streame of sorrow, which might have carried him into the gulph of despaire, but striving against it, hee lifteth up his hands and head above wa∣ter, praying to God after this manner:o 1.39 Lord, let not the losse of these things vexe mee, or disquiet my soule: for thou knowest where I have laid up all my treasures, to wit, in thee: for, whom have I in heaven

But thee? These words are not expressed in the originall, yet by compa∣ring this with the latter clause, And in earth I desire nothing with thee, are necessarily added to supply the sense.

Yea, but you wil say, how might David truly demand, Whom have I in hea∣ven but thee? Is there none to be had in heaven but God? are there none that

walk in the streets of the celestiall Jerusalem paved with gold? do none dwell in those glorious tabernacles that are not made with hands? do those twelve precious gates serve onely to beautifie the holy City? doe none enter in at them? surely, if these dark & low rooms are so well filled, it is not like those large, faire, & lightsome upper roomes are void? the sky is not more richly decked with glistering starres, than the throne of God with celestiall lights: out of question there are innumerable regiments, bands, & royall armies of Cherubins & Seraphins, Archangels & Angels, Saints & Martyrs; yet the faithfull soule hath none of these, or rather none of these hath her, but hee whom they all serve, who hath vouchsafed to make her his Spouse, & marry her to himself in righteousnes: in none but him she hath affiance, to none but him she addresseth her prayers, for none but him she keepeth her heart; him she serveth as her lord, obeyeth as her king, honoureth as her father, & loveth as her husband; and in this respect may truly say, Whom have I in heaven but thee? Whenp 1.40 Cyrus took the king of Armenia & his son Tigra∣nes, & their wives & children prisoners, & upon their humble submission, beyond all hope, gave them their liberty & their lives; in their return home, as they all fell on commending Cyrus, some for his personage, some for his puissance, some for his clemency; Tigranes asked his wife, What thinkest thou of Cyrus? is he not a comely & a proper man, of a majesticall presence? Truly, saith she, I know not what maner of man he is, I never looked on him. Why (quoth hee) where were thine eyes all the while? upon whom didst thou then look? I fixed mine eyes (saith she) all the while upon him (mean∣ing her husband) who in my hearing offered to Cyrus to lay downe his life for my ransome: In like maner, if any question the devout soule, whether she be not enamoured with the beauty of Cherubins & Seraphins, Angels or Saints: her answer will be the same with that of Tigranes his wife, that she never cast a look on them, because her eyes were never off him, who not only offered to lay, but laid down his life for her, & ransomed her with his own bloud. Whom should she have in heaven but him, who hath none on earth but her? Intus apparens prohibetq 1.41 extraneum, the vessell that is full of balsamum excludeth all other oyles or liquors: the soule that is full of God, and full with God, excludeth the love of all creatures, and accounteth them as nothing in comparison, as we may see in S. Paul,r 1.42 What things were gaine to mee, those I account losse for Christ, yea, doubtlesse I account all things but losse for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. And in holy Igna∣tius thes 1.43 ancient Bishop of Antioch, who when he was ready to be stript and thrown naked to the Lions, brake out into this passionate speech, Take away all from mee, and come what can come upon mee, fire, crosse, beasts tearing my flesh, parting of my members, breaking of my bones, and contrition of my whole body, and all the torments that man or divell can devise, onely that I may enjoy Christ. That which Origen delivereth concerning the nature of Manna, that it answered to every mans severall taste, we have good warrant of Scrip∣ture to affirme of God, who satisfieth with infinite delicacies all their appe∣tites who long for him. Doe they thirst for grace? he is so full of grace, that of hist 1.44 fulness we all receive. For glory? he is theu 1.45 King of glory. For wise∣dome? in him are all the treasures of wisedome &* 1.46 knowledge hid. For peace? he is thex 1.47 Prince of peace. For beauty? he is* 1.48 fairer than the sons of men;

grace is powred into his lips. For life? with him is they 1.49 Well of life, and in his light shall we see light. For joy and pleasures? in his presencez 1.50 is fulnesse of joy, and at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore, wherewith hee quencheth all the thirsty appetites of the soule. Philosophy teacheth, that the understanding naturally thirsteth for truth; the will for that which the understanding apprehendeth to be good, the affections for glory and felici∣ty, the senses for pleasure, the eye for beauty, the eare for harmony, the smell for sweet odours, the taste for delicious meates, the touch for amo∣rous embracings: all these thirsts God doth satisfie and quench after this maner, viz. the thirst of the understanding with his wisedome, of the will with his goodnesse, of the affections with his glory and blessednesse, of the senses with his nature, which containeth in it the quintessence and perfe∣ction of all delectable objects. For as God is in all things, so all things are in him after a more excellent maner than they are in themselves: in themselves they never were without imperfection, nor are since the fall of Adam with∣out impurity and corruption; but in him they are perfect without defect, pure without pollution, permanent and stable without any shadow of change; in regard of which their eminent manner of subsistence in him, they change their names and appellations: and as that which in earthly bodies is matter, the Philosophers call forme, or* 1.51 materia formalis in heaven, and parts degrees, and beauty light or clarity, and qualities influences; so that which is accident in the creature, is substance in the Creator: and that which is called beauty in us, is majesty in him; life is immortality, strength omni∣potency, wealth all-sufficiency, delight felicity, affection vertue, vertue na∣ture, nature all things: Fora 1.52 of him, and through him, and in him are all things, as the grand master of Philosophy discerned by the glimmering light of reason, saying, that it is manifest, that the Deity is in all things,* 1.53 and all things in it: in him the understanding apprehendeth all truth, the will all good, the affections all vertue and glory, the senses all pleasure, the desires all content∣ments; and therefore it followeth,

And I desire nothing in the earth with thee. The heart resembleth a perfect triangle, but the figure of the world is circular, and no more can it satisfie the heart of man, than a circle can fill a triangle. God onely, who is a trinity in unity, can fill all the corners of this triangle of his owne making. For no∣thing can delight the spirituall nature of the soule, but a pure spirit: nothing can content the soveraigne faculty of the understanding, but a soveraign ob∣ject: nothing can satisfie the infinite desires of the will, but infinitum bonum; which must be infinite foure waies:

1. In power, to remove all things that may be offensive or hurtfull to us.

2. In bounty, to supply all those good things that may bee delightfull or usefull to us.

3. In essence, to furnish us with infinite variety of delights.

4. In continuance, to perpetuate unto us the infinite variety of continuall delights and contentments.

Now, what is there in heaven or in earth thus spirituall in substance, so∣veraigne in place, infinite in power, goodnesse and essence, everlasting in con∣tinuance, but thou, O Lord, whom, because we have in heaven, we desire no∣thing on earth? What should we desire there, where wee find nothing to

fixe our thoughts, or afford us any solid comfort or contentment? Who can aime steadily at a moving mark? or build firmly upon sinking sand? or hold fast a vanishing shadow? or rest himself upon the wings of the wind? as im∣possible is it to lay any sure ground of contentment, or foundation of happi∣nesse in the unstable vanities and uncertaine comforts of this life. How can they fulfill our desires, or satisfie our appetites, which are not only empty, but emptinesse it selfe? How can they establish our hearts, sith they are al∣together unstable themselves? How can they yeeld us any true delight or contentment, which have no verity in them, but are shadowes and painted shewes, like the carved dishes Caligula set before his flatterers; or the grapes drawn by Zeuxis, wherewith he deceived the birds? The best of them are no better than the apples of Sodome, of which Pliny and Solinus write, that they are apples whilest you behold them, but ashes when you touch them: or like the herb Sardoa in Sardinia, upon which if a man feed, it so worketh upon his spleen, that he never leaveth laughing, till he dyeth through immo∣derate mirth. Honours, riches, pleasures are but glorious titles written in golden characters; under them we find nothing but vanity: under the title of nobility nothing but a brag of our parents vertue, and that is vanity; under honour nothing but the opinion of other men, and this can be but vanity; un∣der glory but breath and wind, and this is certainly vanity; under pleasure butb 1.54 repentance & folly, and is not this vanity? under sumptuous buildings, rich hangings, & gorgeous apparrell, but ostentation of wealth and outward pomp, & this is vanity of vanity. Nobility in the originall of it is but the in∣famy of Adam: (for it knew not Hevah till after his fall & grievous prevari∣cation) beauty the daughter of corruption, apparrell the cover of shame, gold & silver the dregs of the earth, oyles & costly ointments the sweat of trees, silkes & velvets the excrements of wormes; and shall our immortall spirit, nobly descended from the sacred Trinity, match so low with this neather world, and take these toyes and trifles for a competent dowry?

And let this suffice to be spoken to the words for their full explication; let us now heare what they speake to us for our further use and instruction.

• 1. They speake to our faith, that it be resolved upon God only.
• 2. To our devotion, that it be directed to God only.
• 3. To our love, that it be entirely fixed on God only.
  • 1. True faith saith, Whom have I in heaven but thee to relye upon?
  • 2. True religion saith, Whom have I but thee to call upon?
  • 3. True love saith, Whom have I but thee to settle upon?

No Papist can beare a part with David in this song, saying, Whom have I in heaven but thee, O Lord? for they have many in heaven, to whom they addresse their prayers in generall, & often solicite them upon speciall occa∣sions: as for raine, for faire weather, in a common plague, in danger of child-birth, in perills by sea, in perills by land, for their owne health and recovery, and for the safety of their beasts & cattell; as appeares by the forms of pray∣ers yet extant in their Liturgies, Offices, Manuels, & Service books. Doubt∣lesse these monopolies were not granted to Saints in Davids time; for he had recourse every-where to God immediately for any thing he stood in need

of: neither had the ancient Fathers any knowledge of so many new masters of requests in heaven, to preferre their petitions to God: for they addressed themselves all to one Mediatour betwixt God and man, the man Christ Je∣sus, who sitteth at the right hand of his Father, to take all our petitions, & to recommend them unto him. I can make no other construction of the words ofc 1.55 Origen, Wee must religiously worship or invocate none but God and his only begotten Son. We must call upon none but God, saithd 1.56 Jerome.e 1.57 Ter∣tullian goeth farther on our way, We can pray to none other but God: whatsoe∣ver is to be wished for Caesar, as he is a man or a Prince, I cannot begge it of any other than of him from whom I know I shall receive what I aske, because he alone can performe it, and I his servant depend upon none but him. But what stand I upon the testimonies of two or three Fathers? the whole Synod off 1.58 Laodicea condemneth the superstitious errour of some, who taught, that we ought to use Angels as mediatours between God and us, and to pray unto them. And for Saints, who have no more commission to solicit our busines in heaven than Angels, howsoever it pleased the ancient Church to make ho∣nourable mention of them in their publike Service, as we doe of the blessed Virgin, the Archangel, the Apostles & Evangelists; yet S.g 1.59 Austin cleareth the Christians of those times from any kind of invocation: The Martyrs, saith he, in their place and ranke are named, yet not called upon by the Priest, who of∣fereth the sacrifice. Invocation is the highest branch of divine worship, and they who bow downe to, and call upon Saints, consequently put Saints in Gods room; & beleeve in them: Quomodo enim invocabunt, in quos non cre∣dunt? Howh 1.60 shall they call on them, on whom they have not beleeved? They who call upon Saints deceased, & hope for any benefit by such prayers, must be perswaded that the Saints are present in all places, to heare their prayers, and receive their petitions, and that they understand particularly all their af∣faires, and are privie to the very secrets of their hearts; and is not this to make gods of Saints?

i 1.61Qui fingit sacros auro vel marmore vultus, non facit ille deos: qui rogat ille facit.

Yea, but say our Romish adversaries, had you a suit to the King, you would make a friend at Court, & employ some in favour with his Majesty to soli∣cit your affaires; why take ye not the like course in your businesse of grea∣ter importance in the Court of Heaven? We answer:

First, because God himselfe checketh such carnall imaginations, and over∣throweth the ground of all such arguments by his holy Prophet, saying,k 1.62 My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your waies my waies. There∣fore we are brought to the presence of kings (saith S.l 1.63 Ambrose) by lords & offi∣cers, because the king is a man; & all cannot have immediate access unto him, neither will he take it well, that all sorts of people at all times should presse upon him: but it is not so with God: he calleth allm 1.64 unto him, calls upon all ton 1.65 call upon him, & promiseth help &o 1.66 salvation to all that shall so do: neither need we any spokes-man (saith he) to him, save a devout and religious mind.

Secondly, admit the proportion to hold between the King of Heaven and

earthly Princes, yet the reason holdeth not: for if the King appoint a cer∣tain officer to take all supplications, and exhibit all petitions unto him, hee will not take it well, if we use any other; but so it is in our present case, God hath appointed us ap 1.67 Mediator not only of redemption, but also ofq 1.68 incerces∣sion, who is not onlyr 1.69 able, but most willing to preferre all our suits, & pro∣cure a gracious answer for us: for we have not an high Priest, which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin: let us therfore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Wee know not whether Saints heare us, or rather we know they heare us not: Esay 63.16. Abraham is ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledgeth us not. If they heare us, we know not whether God will heare them for us; but wee know that our Saviour heareth us, and that God alwaies heareth him when he prayeth for us: John 11.42. I know that thou hearest mee alwaies.

Yet our Saint-invocators have one refuge to flye unto, and they hold it a very safe one: We call upon the living, say they, to pray for us; why may we not be so far indebted to the Saints departed, who the further they are from us, the neerer they are to God? If it be no wrong to Christs intercession to desire the prayers of our friends in this life, neither can it be any derogation to his Mediatourship to call upon Saints deceased Of this arguments 1.70 Bel∣larmine as much braggeth, as Peleus of his sword, Profectò istud argumentum haeretici nunquam solvere potuerunt, the heretickes, saith he, were never able to untie this argument. I beleeve him, because there is no knot at all in it. For,

First, we do not properly invocate any man living, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, we call to them to assist us with their prayers, we call not upon them, as put∣ting any confidence in them. When at parting we usually cōmend our selves to our friends, and desire them to commend us to God in their prayers, we require of them a duty of Christian charity; we do them therein no honour, much lesse performe any religious service to them, as the Church of Rome doth to Saints deceased.

Secondly, when wee pray them to pray for us, wee make this request to them, as co-adjutors, to joyn with us in the duty of praier, not as mediators, to use their favour with God, or plead their merits, as Papists do in their Le∣tanies, adjuring God (as it were) by the faith of Confessors, & constancy of Martyrs, & chastity of virgins, & abstinence of monks, & merits of all Saints.

Thirdly, God commandeth the living to have a fellow-feeling of one an∣others miseries, and tot 1.71 pray one for another; but he no where layeth such an injunction upon the dead to pray for us, or upon us to pray to them:

Fourthly, we have many presidents in Scripture of the faithfull, who have earnestly besought their brethren to remember them in theiru 1.72 prayers; but among all the songs of Moses, psalmes of David, complaints of Jeremy, and prayers of Prophets and Apostles, you shall not find any one directed to any Saint departed; from the first of Genesis to the last Verse of the Apocalypse, there is no precept for the invocation of Saints, no example of it, no promise unto it.

Fifthly & lastly, we entreat not any man living to pray for us, but either by word of mouth when he is present with us, or by some friend, who wee know will acquaint him with our desire, or by letters, when we have sure

meanes to conveigh them to him, whereby hee may understand how the case standeth with us, & what that is in particular for which we desire his prayers. All which reasons faile in the invocation of Saints deceased: for wee have no messengers to send to them, nor means to conveigh letters to the place where they are, neither are they within hearing, neither can we be any way assured that they either know our necessities, or are privie to the secrets of our heart. For the Mathematicall glasse, w^ch some of the Schoolmen have set in heaven, wherein (they say) the Saints in heaven see all things done upon earth, to wit, in God, who seeth all things; it hath bin long since beat into pieces: for I demand, Is this essence of God a necessary glasse, or a voluntary? that is, Do they see all things in it, or such things only as it pleaseth him to present to their view? if they see all things, their knowledge must needs be infinite as Gods is, they must needs comprehend in it all things past, present & future; yea, the thoughts of the heart, w^ch God peculiarlyx 1.73 assumeth to himself: yea, the day of Judgment, which our Saviour assureth us no man knoweth, not they 1.74 Angels in heaven, nor the son ofz 1.75 man, as man. If they see only such things as God is pleased to reveale un∣to them, how may he that prayeth unto them be assured, that God wil reveale unto them either his wants in particular, or his prayers? how can he pray unto them in faith, who hath no word of faith, whereby hee may be assured either that God revealeth his prayers to them, or that God will accept their prayers for him? Certainly, there was no such chrystal instrument as Papists dream of, to discover unto Saints departed the whole earth, & all things that are in it in the time of Abraham, Isaac, or Josiah: for St. Austin in his book dea 1.76 curâ pro mortuis, out of the second book of Kings, & the 63. of Esay concludeth, that sith kings see not the evils which befal their people after their death; & sith parents are ignorant of their children, without doubt the Saints departed have no intelligence how things pass after their death here upon earth. So far is it frō being a branch of their happines, to know the passages of human affaires here, that S.b 1.77 Jerom ma∣keth it a part of their happines, that they are altogether ignorant of them: happy Nepotian, who neither heareth nor seeth any of those things, w^ch would vexe his righteous soule, & do cause us who see & hear them, often to water our plants.

By this which hath bin said, any whose judgements are not fore-stalled, may perceive the impiety of that part of Romish piety which concerneth invocati∣on of Saints; it is not only needless & fruitless, but also superstitious, & most sa∣crilegious: for it robbeth God of a speciall part of his honour, and wrongeth Christ in his office of mediatour. When he holdeth out his golden scepter unto us, & calleth to us, saying, Come unto me, come by me, I am the way, shal we run to any other to bring us to him? shall we seek a way to the way? shall we use me∣diatours to our mediatour? this were to lay a like imputation upon our Redee∣mer, to that which S.c 1.78 Austin casteth upon the heathen Apollo, the interpreter of the gods needeth an interpreter, & we are to cast lots upon the lot it selfe. Let it not seem burthensome unto you, my deare brethren, that I speak much in behalf of him, who alone speaketh in behalf of us all: we cannot do our Redeemer a wor∣ser affront, we cannot offer our mediatour a greater wrong, than to goe from him whom God hath appointed our perpetuall advocate & intercessor, & im∣ploy Saints in our suites to God, as if they were in greater grace with the Fa∣ther, or they were better affected to us than he. Have we the like experience of their love as we have of his? did they pawn their lives for us? have they ranso∣med

us with their bloud? will he refuse us, who gave us himselfe? will he not powre out hearty prayers for us, who powred out his heart bloud for us? will he spare breath in our cause, who breathed out his soule for us? shall we forsake the fountain of living water, and draw out of broken cisternes that can hold no wa∣ter? shall we run from the source to the conduit for the water of life? from the sun to the beam for light of knowledge? from the head to the members for the life of grace? from the king to the vassall for a crowne of glory?

But I made choice of this Scripture rather to stirre up your devotion, than to beat down Popish superstition; therfore I leave arguments of confutation, & set to motives of perswasion. Look how the Opal presenteth to the eye the beau∣tifull colours of almost all precious stones; so the graces, vertues, & perfections of all natures shine in the face of God to draw our love to him: among which, two most kindle our affection, vertue and beauty; nothing so lovely as vertue, which is the beauty of the mind: & beauty, which is the chief grace and vertue of the body. To give vertue her due, w^ch is the first place, we speak not so pro∣perly, when we say that God hath any vertue, as when we attribute to him all vertue in the abstract, all wisdom, all justice, all holines, all goodnes. Goodnes is the rule of our will, but Gods will is the rule of goodnes it selfe: we are to doe things because they are just & good; but contrariwise things are just & good be∣cause God doth them; therfore if vertue be the load-stone of our love, it wil first draw it to God, whose nature is the perfection of all vertue. As for beauty, what is it but proportion & colour? the beauty of colour it self is light, & light is but a shadow or obscure delineation of God, whose face darkneth the sun, & dazleth the eies of the Cherubins, who to save them, hold their wings before them like a plume of feathers. A glympse wherof when the Prophet David saw, he was so ravished with it, that as if there were nothing else worthy the seeing, & it were impossible to have enough of so admirable an object, he crieth out,d 1.79 seek his face evermore; not so much for the delight he took in beholding it, as for the light he received from it. For beholding the glory of God as in a mirrour with open face, we are changed into his image, & after a sort made partakers of the divine nature. ô my soul, saith a Saint of God, mark what thou lovest; for thou becom∣mest like to that w^ch thou likest, Si coelum diligis, coelum es, si terram diligis, ter∣ra es, audeo dicere, si Deum diligis, Deus es; if thou sincerely & perfectly lovest heavenly objects, thou becomest heavenly, if carnall, thou becomest sensuall, if spirituall, thou becomest ghostly, if God, thou becomest divine. Let us stay a while, & consider what a wonderful change is wrought in the soule of man by the power of divine love; surely though a deformed Black-a-moor look his eies out upon the fairest beauty the world can present, hee getteth no beauty by it, but seems the more ougly by standing in sight of so beautiful a creature: the sun burns them black, & darkeneth their sight, who long gaze upon his beams; but contrarily, the Sun of righteousnes the more we looke upon him, the more he enlighteneth the eies,* 1.80 & maketh them fair, & their faces shine who behold him, as Moses his did, after he came down from the Mount where he had parley with God. O then let us love to behold him, the sight of whose countenance will make us fair & lovely to behold: let us conform our selvs to him, who wil trans∣form us into himself: let us reflect the beams of our affection upon the father of lights: let us knit our hearts to him, whom freely to love is our bounden duty, to embrace is chastity, to marry is virginity, to serve is liberty, to desire is content∣ment, to imitate is perfection, to enjoy is everlasting happines. To whom, &c.

Notes

• a 1.1

  Luke 12.49.
• b 1.2

  In opusc. Ca∣ve ne injicias quod fumum aut foetorem ministret.
• c 1.3

  Levit. 10.1.
• d 1.4

  Mor. in Job l. 18. Non cla∣rescit anima fulgore aeter∣nae pulchritu∣dinis, nisi hic arserit in offici∣nâ charitatis.
• e 1.5

  De dilig. Deo. Major est in amore Dei, qui plures traxerit ad a∣morem Dei.
• f 1.6

  Aug. Enchi∣rid. ad Lau∣rent. c. 117.
• g 1.7

  2 Pet. 1.4.
• h 1.8

  1 Cor. 13.13.
• i 1.9

  Gen. 28.12.
• k 1.10

  Heb. 12.23.
• l 1.11

  Rom. 8.20.
• m 1.12

  1 Tim. 6.17.
• n 1.13

  Jer. 9.23.
• o 1.14

  Psal. 146.3.
• p 1.15

  Esay 63.16.
• q 1.16

  2 Kin. 22.20.
• r 1.17

  Heb. 1.14.
• s 1.18

  Mat. 4.10.
• t 1.19

  Col. 2.18.
• u 1.20

  Apoc. 19.10. & 22.9.
• u 1.21

  Hier. in hunc locum. Ne{que} in coelo ne{que} in terrâ alium praeter te quae∣sivi.
• x 1.22

  Calvin. Prae∣ter Deum nihil in coelo vel in terrâ appeto.
• y 1.23

  Cajetan. Te solum in coelo & in terrâ volui.
• z 1.24

  Marlor. Ni∣hil tecum amo.
• * 1.25

  Mollerus. Te pro & prae om∣nibus thesauris aestimo.
• a 1.26

  Poelicissimam animam quae Deo sic à Deo meretur affici, ut per unitatem spiritus in Deo nihil amet nisi Deum.
• b 1.27

  Paulin. in Bib. Patr. to. 5. p. 1. Omnium conditor, cui nihil eorum quae fecit valet aequari, non dignatur cum his quae condi∣dit aequari.
• c 1.28

  Aug. confes. l. 10. Cum quo solo, & de quo solo, & in quo solo anima in∣tellectualis ve∣rè beata est.
• d 1.29

  Mat. 6.33.
• e 1.30

  Cyp epist. l. 2. Nec fiduciam praebent possi∣dentibus stabi∣lem, quae pos∣sessionis non habent verita∣tem.
• f 1.31

  Gen. 25.10.
• g 1.32

  Paulin. in opusc.
• h 1.33

  Tract. 50. in Johan. Habes Christum in praesenti per signum, in prae∣senti per fidem, in praesenti per baptismatis sacramentum.
• i 1.34

  Psal. 42.1, 2.
• k 1.35

  Cant 2.5 Stay mee with sla∣gons, and com∣fort mee with apples: for I am sicke with love.
• l 1.36

  Psal. 16.11.
• m 1.37

  De vitâ contemplat. l. 2. c. 15. Quid po∣test eo esse foe∣licius, cujus ef∣ficitur suus conditor cen∣sus, & haeredi∣tas ejus digna∣tur esse ipsa di∣vinitas? si mo∣do sanctis ope∣ribus eum co∣lat, omnes fru∣ctus ex illo percipiet.
• n 1.38

  2 Sam. 23.15.
• o 1.39

  Aug. de civ. Dei l. 1. c. 10. Domine, ne excrucier prop∣ter aurum & argentum; ubi enim sunt om∣nia mea tu seis: ibi enim habe∣bat omnia sua, ubi eum the∣sau••r••are ille monuerat, qui haec mala ven∣tura praedixe∣rat.
• p 1.40

  Xenophon. Cyr. poed. l. 3.
• q 1.41

  Mercenarius in phys.
• r 1.42

  Phil. 3.7, 8.
• s 1.43

  Hieron. catal. viror. illust. Ig∣nis, crux, be∣stiae, confra∣ctio ostium, membrorum divisio, & toti∣us corporis contritio, & tota tormenta Diaboli in me veniant, tan∣tum ut Chri∣sto fruar.
• t 1.44

  John 1.16.
• u 1.45

  Psal. 24.10.
• * 1.46

  Colos. 2.3.
• x 1.47

  Esay 9.6.
• * 1.48

  Psal. 36.9.
• y 1.49

  Psal. 45.2.
• z 1.50

  Psal. 16.11.
• * 1.51

  Zab. Phys. lib. de coel.
• a 1.52

  Rom. 11.36.
• * 1.53

  Arist. mor. ad Eud. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.
• b 1.54

  Eras. Apoph. Demos. Non emam tanti poenitere.
• c 1.55

  Lib. 8. cont. Cel. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.
• d 1.56

  Hieron. in Prov. l. 1. c 2. Neminem in∣vocare nisi De∣um debemus.
• e 1.57

  Tertul. apol. c. 30. Quaecun∣que hominis & Caesaris vota sunt, haec ab a∣lio orare non possum, quàm à quo scio me consecuturum, quoniam & ip∣se est qui solus praestat, & ego familus ejus qui eum solum invoco.
• f 1.58

  Theod. com. in 2. ad Colos. Synodus Lao∣dicea lege pro∣hibuit, ne prae∣carentur An∣gelos, ubi agit de oratoriis Michaelis, & eos perstrin∣git qui dice∣bant oportere per Angelos divinam sibi benevolentiam conciliare.
• g 1.59

  Aug. l. 22. de civit. Dei c. 10. Martyres suo loco & ordine nominantur, non tamen à Sacerdote qui sacrificat, invo∣cantur.
• h 1.60

  Rom. 10.14.
• i 1.61

  Mart. epigr.
• k 1.62

  Esay 55.8.
• l 1.63

  Amb. in ep. ad Rom. c. 1. Itur ad reges per tribunos, & comites, quia homo utique rex est, ad Deum quem nihil latet promerendum suffragatore non est opus, sed mente de∣votâ.
• m 1.64

  Mat. 11.28. Come unto mee all that labour, &c.
• n 1.65

  Psal. 50.15. Call upon mee in the day of trouble, and I will heare, &c.
• o 1.66

  Joel 2.32. Whosoever shall call upon the Name, &c.
• p 1.67

  John 14 3. Whatsoever ye shall aske in my Name, ••hat will I doe. Ver. 6. I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man commeth to the Father but by mee.
• q 1.68

  Rom. 8.34. Which maketh request for us.
• r 1.69

  Hebr. 7.25. Wherefore he is able to save them to the ut∣termost, that com•• unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make interces∣sion for them.
• s 1.70

  Bellar de sanct. beatit. l. 1. c. 19.
• t 1.71

  2 Cor, 1.11. Phil. 1.4. C••l••s 4.3. 2 Thes. 3.1. Heb. 13.18. James 5.16.
• u 1.72

  Phil. 1.19. Gal. 4.3. 2 Thes. 3.1. Philem. 22. Heb. 13.18.
• x 1.73

  Apoc. 2.23. I am he that searcheth the heart and reines.
• y 1.74

  Mat. 24.36
• z 1.75

  Mar. 13.32 But of that day and houre knoweth no man, no not the Angels that are in heaven nei∣ther the Son, but the Fa∣ther.
• a 1.76

  Cap. 13. Si parentes non inter∣sunt, qui sunt alii mortuo∣rum, qui no∣verunt quid agamus, quid ve pati∣amur, & ibi sunt spiritus defuncto∣rum ubi non vidunt quaecunque aguntur, aut even••unt in istâ vitâ ho∣minibus.
• b 1.77

  Jerom. in epitaph. Ne∣pot Foelix Nepo ia∣nus qui haec non audit, non videt.
• c 1.78

  De civit. Dei l. 1. In∣terpres deo∣rum eget interprete, & sors ipsa referenda est ad sor∣tes.
• d 1.79

  Psa. 105.4.
• * 1.80

  Poulin. in opusc. Illum amemus quem ama∣re debitum, quem am∣plecti cha∣stitas, cui nubere vir∣ginitas, &c.