Motives to holy living, or, Heads for meditation divided into consideratins, counsels, duties : together with some forms of devotion in litanies, collects, doxologies, &c.

A DOXOLOGY concerning the Ways of God's Providence.

[§. 1] O The depth of thy Knowledge and Wisdome, O God! how unsearchable are thy Judgments, and thy Ways past finding out.

O Lord, how great are thy works, how deep are thy thoughts? Who can utter thy mighty Acts, O Lord? Who can shew forth all thy Praise?

Even from the Creation, thy Power delighteth to ma∣nifest it self, in high and difficult matters; and thou walkest contrary to the wisedome of men.

Thy whole work is to do wonders, and by these thou being invisible in person, declarest thy presence on the earth.

Thou bringest light out of darkness, good out of evil, and strength out of weakness.

Content, and satiety, out of poverty; and glory and honour out of humility.

True wisdome and knowledge, out of holy simplicity, and self-disesteem; the greatest consolations and joys, out of adversities and sufferings.

Thou makest thy foolishness to be wiser then men, and thy weaknes stronger then men.

By the foolish things of this world, thou confoundest the wise; and by the weak things of the world, thou confoundest things that are mighty.

By the base and despised, and things that are not, thou bringest to nought things that are.

On the contrary, thou bringest scorn and contempt, out of the highest of pride, ambition and glory; cove∣tousnes, and unsatiableness, out of plenty and abund∣ance.

Extreme folly, out of secular wisdome, and cunning; and sudden want, out of ill gotten wealth.

Distraction, out of the fulfilling our desires; and sigh∣ing and mourning, out of secular joys and pleasures.

Thou delightest to take the wily in their own crafti∣ness; and to deceive the deceivers.

To make his own net, that he hath hid, to catch him∣self; and himself to fall into the same destruction he hath prepared for others.

Thou lovest to judge men by their own self-condem∣nation; and to make the guilty pronounce sentence upon himself.

To punish men by their faults; and to make their own way, and not thy power to overthrow them.

Out of deep security and confidence, thou bringest ad∣versity and trouble: and death when men think most en∣joying life.

When they say, Peace; behold a sudden destruction; and in the midst of War, behold a sudden Peace.

Thou shewest strength with thy arm, O Lord; and scatterest the proud man in the imaginations of his heart.

Thou puttest down the mighty from their seat; and dost exalt the humble and meek.

Thou fillest the hungry with good things, and the rich thou sendest empty away.

Thou makest him who disperseth his goods to the poor, to abound in wealth; and those who heap them up, to suffer penury.

The Race is not to the swift, nor the Battle to the strong, nor Bread to the wise, nor Favour to the skil∣ful, nor Riches to the Understanding, but as thou di∣stributest

them, O Lord; to those who depend on thee.

[§. 2] The way by which thou appointest man to be happy, is that which humane reason judgeth contrary to it;* 1.1 and which seemeth to render him most unhappy.

By his abondoning all things, he comes to possess all things; and by his desire of nothing, he attains to want nothing.

By his being careful for nothing, but the serving of thee, he becomes provided of all things by thee, and in his flying from the world, the good things thereof fol∣low him.

To cross and forsake his own will, he finds the way to true tranquility of mind; and to forsake his own reason with dependance on thee, the way to true wisdome.

To be careless of, and to lay down his life for thy sake, the surest way to save it, whilst others by seeking to pre∣serve do lose it.

By his humility he attaineth to honour; and in volun∣tary poverty he findeth content.

He taketh pleasure in infirmities, in necessities, in di∣stress; because when he is weak, then he is strong.

He taketh upon him thy yoke, that he may find rest; and leaveth all that he hath, that he may receive an hun∣dred fold.

By election of some voluntary sufferings, he procures freedome from much greater, which others unwillingly do undergo.

He abaseth himself, he mourneth, he hungreth and thirsteth to obtain a kingdome, and to be comforted and to be filled.

Because he is wise and knoweth thy ways, there∣fore after this manner seeketh he thy blessings and re∣wards.

[§. 3] Thy ways are not as man's ways, O Lord, and thou infinitely excellest him,* 1.2 in all perfections, which thou re∣quirest of him; and who is there, who in love, pitty, pa∣tience, long suffering, humiliation of himself, remitting of his due, and laying down his honour, is any way com∣parable unto thee?

Thou hast shewed so far thy love even to thine ene∣mies, as to give thine onely Son to death, to save their lives.

Thou makest thy Sun to rise on the evil and on the good; and sendest Rain on the just, and on the unjust, and art kind to the unthankful.

Thou pardonest the most notorious and malicious sin∣ners, even after a million of times, that they have pro∣voked thee, that thou maist shew the vastness of thy mercy and compassion.

Thou aboundest so far in thy long-suffering and tolera∣tion even of the highest offenders, that impatient men re∣port of thee, that there is no God to do Justice.

In thy corrections thou punishest us much less than we deserve; and when thou punishest, soon repentest thee of the evil, and withdrawest them often out of meer pity, before our amendment.

When thy chastisements profit us not, thou ceasest from them, and contendest not in judgment with us, when we persevere in our wickedness.

Thou art not fond toward thy friends, nor cruel to∣ward thine enemies, as man is.

Those whom thou most lovest, for their perfection thou most afflictest; and who beginneth to serve thee, must prepare his Soul for temptations from thee.

Thou measurest out temptations according to our abili∣ty to bear them, and those who suffer least are the weakest.

We would make this life for a time of comfort, and thou designest it for a time of tryal.

Thou deliverest thy servants out of troubles, rather then exemptest them from being at all troubled, and who receives a Consolation from thee, must presently expect a new Combat; and thou sellest thy Graces for Suffer∣ings.

Thou bringest evil upon thy servants, to shew more thy power and love to them in their delivery; and to en∣crease their joy, thou preparest the way thereto through sorrows.

Thou bringest evils on them, from things abroad, to make them more love and adhere to thee, and by look∣ing on their sufferings also thou increasest thine own pity, and tender affection towards them.

Contrary to the ways of men, thy great love to hu∣mility, causeth thee to converse most with those, who seem most below thee.

Thy most intimate conversation, and most familiar pre∣sence is with the poor, and the sick, the contemned, the weak and desolate: then thou most valuest them, and drawest near unto them, and lovest to be with them.

Thou hidest thy secrets from the wise and prudent, and tellest them unto babes, and such must they become who mean to be thy favorites.

Thou seest not as men seeth; and that which is highly esteemed amongst men, is an abomination in thy sight.

Thou art content to receive honour from a few; and that thy wisdome be justified onely of its children; whilst the greatest part of men dayly reproacheth thee: as if there could be no God, that governeth such a disorderly world; or, if any, that thou hadst given man, no suf∣ficient evidence, in what way of Religion thou wouldest have him to serve thee.

Thou art blasphemed, and provoked every day, and no Saint ever suffered in his honor and good name, as thy most pure and holy name doth.

No mens actions are so much, or so often blamed as thine; none suffers so much detraction and calumny, and, being injured and having power, doth so long or so pa∣tiently hold his peace.

But in the day of wrath, thy anger is intollerable; ac∣cording to thy infinite power, so is thy vengeance upon thine enemies infinite.

Man is astonished at the thought thereof, and cannot comprehend the reason of thy Justice.

These things thou dost and sufferest, O Lord, that men may acknowledge and glorify thy all-excelling holi∣ness and goodness.

These things thou dost, O Lord, that man may ac∣knowledge and trust in thy all-ore-ruling power.

These are thy dayly works, and for these we desire to praise thee; and who so are wise, and will meditate these things, they shall understand the righteous ways ef the Lord.

FINIS.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Here re∣peat the Preface.
• * 1.2

  Repeat the Preface.