Chapter 66

Wherein the aforesaid exercise, is prosecuted in particular manner.

CONSIDER thou moreover, that as when thou wert nothing, thou hadst no power to move thyself, nor to see, nor hear, nor taste, nor understand, nor will, any thing; but God (giving thee a being) gave thee also these faculties and forces; so not only is the man, being in mortal sin, deprived of that being, which is acceptable in the sight of God; but he is without all power, to do the works of life, which may please him. When therefore thou seest some lame man without legs, or arms, think that so is a man, without grace in his soul; and if thou see one who is blind, or deaf, or dumb, take him for a glass, wherein thou mayst behold thyself; & in all those sick persons, who were lepers, or paralytikes, & who had their bodies crookedly bend towards the ground, not being able once to look up, with all that multitude of diseases, which they presented in the presence of Jesus Christ, our true physician; do thou understanding, that wicked men are as much defeated in their spiritual parts as those others were in their corporal. And observe, that as a stone, by the weight which 〈◊〉 hath, worketh downward; so through the corruption¹ or original sin, which we carry about us, we have a most ardent inclination, to the works of sense, of honour, and of profit; making idols of ourselves, and doing that which we do, not for the true love of God, but of ourselves.

Most lively we are towards the earthly things which concern us; and all dead towards the taking of any gust in the things of God. That² exerciseth authority over us which should obey, and that obeyeth, which should command. And so miserable we are, that under the persons and privileges of men, we harbour the appetites of beasts, which lie hidden in us; and our hearts are drawn down towards the earth. What shall I say to thee, but that, in as many weak, and dry, and deformed, and disordered deeds, as thou shalt see, thou mayst observe, and conclude upon the corruption, and confusion, which the man, who is without the spirit of God, doth carry in his actions, and passions. And³ as soon as thou beholdest any of them, retire presently into thyself; and ponder, that thyself, is the same thing; for as much as concerneth thee, if God had not given thee help. And if thou be⁴ indeed recovered, thou wilt know that it was only God, who opened thy hart, to the feeling of him, & who subdued thy affections to the dominion of reason; and who made that distasteful to thee, which formerly was delightefull; and who gave thee an appetite to those things, which before were so unsavoury; & who operateth new works in thee. It was God as S. Paul⁵ saith, It is God who worketh in us, a will, and an executing of it, through his good will. But⁶ conceive not, under colour of this, that the freewill of man worketh nothing in good works, for this should be a great ignorance, and error. But it is said, that God worketh the willing, and the finishing, because he is the principal operator, in the soul of him that is justified; And he it is who moveth, and sweetly induceth, the free will to work and cooperate with him, as S. Paul⁷ saith, we are the helpers of God; who doth procure, by inciting, and assisting a man, that he may freely give his consent to good works. And therefore doth he work, because by his proper, and free will, he willeth what he will; and he worketh that, which he worketh; and it is in his power, not to do it.

But God doth work more principally, in producing the good work, and helping the free will, that it may concur to the production thereof: and the glory both of the one, and of the other, is only due to God. And therefore, if thou wilt be sure not to err, be not curious, in sifting out the blessings of nature, and of thy free will, & what gifts of grace thou hast, for this is fit for such as are learned; but go thou, with thine eyes shut, after the direction of sound faith, which admonisheth us to give the glory of them both, to God; and that we, as of ourselves, are not sufficient, so much as to think, one good thought. Gonsider that which S. Paul saith (reprehending such an one as shall ascribe any good to himself,) What hast thou, which thou hast not received; and if thou have received it, of what dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? As if he had said, If thou have the grace of God, whereby thou pleasest him, and whereby thou performest works, though never so excellent; do not glory in thyself, but in God who gave it.

And⁸ if thou wouldst glory, in the good use which thou dost make of thy freewill; and in consenting to those good inspirations of God, and of his grace, yet neither must thou glory in thyself for this; but in God who wrought it, by inciting, and moving thee sweetly; and by giving thee, thy very freewill itself, whereby thou mightest consent freely. And⁹ if yet thou wouldst fayne glory, because when thou couldst resist that good motion, and inspiration of God, thou didst not do it; yet even of this little, thou art not to glory; because first, that were not so properly to do any thing, as to leave to do it; & next, thou didst owe, even that to God. For when he holp thee to consent to good, he did incidently assist thee, in not resisting it. And whatsoever good use thou hast made of thy freewill, in that which concerneth thy salvation, is, all of it, the gift of God, derived from¹⁰ that merciful predestination, whereby he determined to save thee, from all eternity.

Let therefore all thy glory be in God alone; of whom thou holdest all the good thou hast. And know, that, without him, thou hast nothing of thine own stock, but vanity, and impiety; and indeed, the thing which we call Nothing. And in conformity of this, there is a gloss (upon that Text of Saint Paul, He¹¹ that thinketh himself to be somewhat, whereas indeed he is nothing, doth deceive himself) which saith, A man of himself, is but vanity, and sin: and if he be any thing better, it is by our Lord God, that he is so: And agreably to this S. Augustine saith, Thou¹² O Light didst open mine eyes, thou didst awake me, & illuminate me; and I saw that the whole life of man upon earth was but tentation; and that no good man can glory in thy sight, nor is any man so justified that liveth. For if he have any goodness, great or little, thy gift it is; and that which is ours, is but sin. In what then shall any man take glory? Shall he peradventure glory in evil? This is no glory but misery. Shall he glory then, in the good he hath? No, for it belongeth to another. Thine is the good O Lord, & the glory must be thine. And agreably to this, the same S. Augustine saith else where, O Lord¹³ our God, I confess my poverty to thee; and to thee, be rendered all glory; for all the good that I have done, is thine. I confess, according to that which thou hast taught me, that I am no other thing then mere vanity; A shadow of death; A deep and profound pi●t; An empty and barren soil; which without thy benediction, doth bring forth no other fruit then confusion, sin, and death. And if in any sort, I have had any good thing, I received it of thee. And whatsoever good I have now, the same I hold of thee. If at any time, I stood fast on foot, I stood by thee; but when I fell, I fell of myself; and for ever should I have remained fallen into that dirt, if thou hadst not raised me; and for ever should I have been blind, if I had not been illuminated by thee. When I was fallen I should never have risen, unless thou hadst reached forth thy hand; and after I was once raised, I should instantly have returned to fall, if thou hadst not held me. And so thy grace, and thy mercy, O Lord, did ever march before me; delivering me out of all mischief; saving me from sinnes; stirring me up to avoid such as were present; preventing me in such as were to come; and removing, from before my ne eyes, those snares of wickedness, by diverting the causes and occasions thereof. And if thou O Lord, hadst not done so, there is no sin in the whole world which I might not have committed. For I know, that there is no sin which hath been committed by any man, in any kind, which another man may not commit; if that guide retire himself, by whom man was made. But thou didst procure, that I should not do it; and thou didst command me that I should abstain from it; and thou didst infuse thy grace that I might believe thee. For thou O Lord, didst conduct me towards thyself, and didst preserve me for thyself, and didst give me grace, and light, that I might not commit adultery, and all other sin.

Footnotes

1. That is, the ill inclination which it leaves behind, even after the remission thereof in Baptism. ↩

2. Because our appetite doth naturally now command our reason. ↩

3. A good lesson. ↩

4. Many do think that they are recovered, who still are sick. ↩

5. Philip. 〈◊〉. ↩

6. Take heed of this monstruous, and unmanly arrour, and consider this place of Scripture well expounded by this Author. ↩

7. ●. Cor. 3. ↩

8. See how all kind of pride, is even, in all reason, to be for ever plucked up by the roots. ↩

9. Note this excellent gradation. ↩

10. For which his holy Name be ever praised. ↩

11. Galat. ●. ↩

12. See how humble the sublime S Augustin is. ↩

13. Love and imitate this incomparable Saint ↩