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Chapter 98

That it doth much import us, to fly from this City of the wicked, which is the world; and how ill it treateth the citizens thereof; and of the sad end which they all shall have.

THOU hast already heard sufficient reason, to abhor this people; and to understand how much God desireth, that thou shouldst departed from thence, to save thyself. For this is that true spiritual Egypt, out of which God commanded Israel to departed with speed; and to go on, though it were, with a great deal of pains, towards the Land of promise. And this is that people, out of which, God commanded Abraham1 to departed; Go out of thine own country, and from thy kindred, and from thy Father's house, and come into the land that I will show thee. Which he accomplished with a simple and sincere obedience; without knowing whither he was going, as S. Paul2 affirmeth. Out of this very people, and City, God commanded Let to go; that so the punishments which he was resolved to inflict upon that place, might not lay hold upon him; and he commanded him to save himself in the mountain, by which the height of Christian Faith, & of good life may be understood. Finally,3 this is the people, whereof God saith, to such as he will have to be his own, Do4 not keep company with infidels. For what conversation, can goodness, and wickedness, or light, and darkness, have together; and what society can there be, between Christ, and Belial; between a faithful man, and an infidel; or what composition, or agreement, can there be, between the Temple of God, and that of Idols. For you are the Temple, of the living God, as God saith. And I will dwell amongst them, and I will converse amongst them; and I will be their God, and they shallbe my people; and therefore I have come out of the midst of them. And, Depart, saith our Lord, and touch not any thing that is unclean; and I will receive you, and I will be your Father, and you shallbe my Children, saith our Lord omnipotent.

Having heard these promises, thou art to procure, with courage, to make thyself a meers stranger, to this people, both for the good which is promised, and for the evil, which thereby thou shalt avoid. It5 is no safe thing for thee, to remain under a house, which infallibly will fall, and overwhelm, as many as are in it. And we would not give him mean thankes, who should advertise us of such a danger, which we might decline. Well6 then, know thou for certain, (and I advertise thee of it, on the part of God) that the day will come, wherein that vision shallbe spiritually accomplished, which S. John7 saw, concerning this wicked people, when he said; I saw another Angel, that descended from heaven, who had great power, and he made the whole earth become all light, by his bright splendour; and he uttered a voice, with great strength; and said; Babylon the great is fallen; it is fallen; and it is made the habitation of Devils; and of every impure spirit, and of every horrible, and unclean bird. And afterward he said. That an Angel took up a huge stone, like such an one as they use in mills, and threw it into the sea, and said; with this force shall the great City of Babylon, be plunged into the sea; and it shallbe heard of no more. And to the end that such as have a desire to save themselves, may not grow careless, by conceiving perhaps, that the scourge of God will not lay hold upon them, whilst they are in company with the wicked; the same S. John affirmeth, that he heard another voice, which said thus, from heaven; Get thee out from Babylon, O my people, and be not partaker of her sins; and do not receive of her marks; for her sins, have reached up to heaven, and our Lord hath remembered her impietyes.

And8 although it be a thing very profitable, to a good man; even corporally to fly the company of the wicked; and for such an one, as is but a beginner in goodness, it is even necessary (unless he mean to undo himself); yet that going out of the midst of Babylon, which here is commanded by God, is to be understood (as S. Augustine saith) for a going out with the hart, from amongst the wicked, loving that which they abhor; and abhorring that which they love. For if we look but upon that which is external, Jerusalem, and Babylon, may be not only in the same City (for as much as concerneth corporal presence) but even in the same house. But if we respect their hearts, they will be found to be far a sunder; and Jerusalem which is the City of God, willbe found to be in the one; & Babylon, the City of the wicked, in the other.

Forget therefore thy people; and get thee up to the people of Christ; being well assured, that thou shalt never be able to begin the leading of a new life, unless with grief thou first forsake thy old. Remember how S. Paul9 saith, That our Lord Jesus, for the sanctification of his people, by his blood, suffered death without the gates of Jerusalem. And since that is so, let us go towards him, out of our tents, and let us imitate his dishonour. This saith S. Paul; giving us this lesson thereby, That Christ did therefore suffer without the City, to give us to understand, that if we mean to follow him, we must also go our of the City, whereof we have spoken, which is the congregation, of such persons, as10 love themselves, after an inordinate manner. Christ our Saviour could easily have cured the blind man in11 Bethsaida; but he chose to draw him out, and so to give him his eyesight; and thereby to make us also know, that when we shallbe retired, from that common life, which is lead by the multitude, we are to be cured by Christ, in following that12 straight way, wherein, truth itself hath told us, that few do walk.

Let13 no man deceive thee. Christ will none of them, who will both perform his will, and the will of the world. And by his own blessed mouth, he hath assured us, That14 no man, can serve two masters. And since he said, That he was not of the world; & that his disciples, were not of the world; and that his kingdom was not of the world; it is not reason, that thou be of it; if it were but for fear of not coming to such an end, as overtook the disobedient15 Absolom. Who being hanged by his hair, upon an oak, was transpierced with three lances, by the hand of joab, and so, as he was hanging, he died. For thus shall it happen to the man, who is disobedient to our Lord of heaven. Which Lord, he doth even persecute by his wicked life; and whose affections & thoughts, like so many hairs of the head, do hold him hanging, upon this world. For all his ambition is, how he may be made great upon earth; and that he may have fair days, in this transitory life of his. But what can he get by this, since the tree, whereon he hangs, is an16 Oak, which yields no fruit, but for swine. And so this world, gives no contentment, or fruit at all, but to bestial men, whom the Devil doth pass through, with three lances; pride of life; the desires of the flesh; and concupiscence of the eyes, the17 Devil, I say, who is called the prince of this world; because he ruleth, and commandeth wicked men; whilst yet he treateth his followers, in such a fashion; as that he fills them not, with so much as the food of swine; but like as to another18 Adonibesech, he cutteth off the ends of their feet, and of their hands; to disable them, from doing any thing that is good; and then he casteth them under the table, that they may feed; yet still, not upon full dishes, but upon the crumms that he knoweth not how to bestow elsewhere. He keepeth them hungry for the present; and he will carry them afterward with himself, to a place where there will be eternal hunger; in company of other torments, for that is all that he can give. Such is the entertainment that he makes; which were sufficient (if men would but look upon it) to make them fly from the Devil, and the World; and to draw near to God; as the prodigal son did; who finding himself put to so base an employment, as to keep swine; and that he could not have enough even, of the very food which they fed upon; he grew at last, to get his wits again; and to observe the difference which there was, between being in the house of his Father, and in that other house of the World; and he left the ill condition wherein he was, turning home, and demanding mercy of his Father, which he quickly found.

Do19 thou also, in like manner; and if thou have a mind, that our Lord should receive thee, Forsake thy people. And if thou wilt have him remember thee, forget thou it; & if thou wilt have him love thee, do not inordinately love thyself; and if thou wilt have him take care of thee, do not thou confide, in the care of thyself; and if thou wilt be acceptable to his eyes, take no pleasure in thine own; and if thou resolve to please him, do not fear to displease the whole world, for him; and if thou desire to find him, make no difficulty to give away thy Father, thy Mother, thy Brothers, thy house, and thy very life for him. Not, for that thou art to abhor these things; but because it is fit for thee, to look with truth, and with entire love upon Christ; and20 not to fail of one hairs breadth, in pleasing of him, though it be with the displeasing of that creature, of the whole world, which is most beloved by thee, yea and of thy very self. S. Paul21 requireth, That22 they who have wives, should have them, as if they had them not; That they who purchase, should be as if they possessed not; That they who sell, should be, as if they had not sold; They that weep, as if they wept not; and, They that rejoice, as if they rejoiced not. And the cause that he addeth, is this, Because the figure of the world passeth quickly. So then, do I say to thee, O Virgin, that thou art to put the world, and thyself, away. The23 first, because it passeth quickly; and the second, because it is none of thine. And so, have thou thy parents, thy brothers, thy kindred, thy house, and thy people, as if thou haddst them not. Not but that thou art to reverence, obey, and love them, since grace doth not destroy the order of nature; (yoa and even in heaven itself, the child shall carry reverence to his Father) but24 to the end that it may not take up, and employ thy hart, and divert it from the love of God. Love them in Christ, and not in themselves. For Christ did not give them, as meaning that they should be impediments, to keep thee from that which thou shouldest ever be doing, which is, to serve him. S. Hierome relateth, of a certain Virgin, who was so mortified in the point of affection towards her kindred, that she cared not much to see a sister, which she had, though she also were a Virgin; but contented herself to love her in God. Believe me;25 that as thou canst not write in parchment, if it be not well, and clean taken off from the body of the beast that wore it; so is not that soul prepared, for our Lord to write particular favours in it, till such time as the affections which rise from flesh and blood, be very well mortified. We read, how that in times past, They placed the Ark upon a car; to the end that two kine, being yoked in front, might lead it on, and the calves were shut up, in a certain place. And although the kine, did low in the way of sighing, for their calves; yet did they never leave the high way, nor turn back, nor degress, as the Scripture saith, either to the right hand, or to the left; but, by the will of God, who so disposed thereof, They carried the Ark to the land of Israel, which was the place where God dwelled.

They26 who have placed the Cross of Jesus Christ our Lord, upon their shoulders, (which is the Ark where he remaineth, and wherein he is truly to be found) must not give over, nor so much as slack their pace, for these natural affections, of the love of parents, or children, or houses, or such other things, as these. Nor are they to be giddy-headed, upon the enjoying of prosperity, nor to be afflicted for adversity. For the former of these two, is to turn out of the way, on the right hand; and the other, on the left. But thou art to follow on in the strait way, with fervour; beseeching our Lord to guide both the one, and the other to his glory; and to be as dead to such things as these, as if they did nothing concern thee; or, at least, not to suffer thyself to be overcome, either with joy, or grief, howsoever they may be felt a little. This was figured by those27 kine, which though they uttered certain shows of tenderness, towards their calves, yet did they not, for all that, give over to conduct the Ark of God. And if Fathers do see their Sons serve God in some good28 fashion, (which yet is not pleasing unto them) they must consider, what is pleasing to God. And although they may sigh deeply, for the love of their children, yet let the love of God, overcome that love. And let them offer them up to God; wherein they shallbe like to29 Abraham, who in obedience to God, was resolved to kill his only Son; not caring what his sensuality could say, to the contrary. And30 the natural grief which is felt in such trances as these, is to be endured with patience, which yet shall not be without reward. For as much as, our Lord hath ordained us to carry those affections, and for the love of him it is, that we overcome them; & it is like the case of him, that suffereth Martyrdom.

Forget therefore thy people, O thou Virgin; and be thou like to another Melchisedech, of whom we read not, that31 he had any Father, or Mother, or any kindred; whereby, as S. Bernard saith, an example is given, to the servants of God, that they must so truly forget their people, & their kindred; that, in their hearts, they may be a kind of Melchisedech, in this world; without having any thing in those hearts, which may captive them, or so much as foreslow the pace, which they make in the way of God.

Footnotes

  1. Gen. 12. ↩

  2. Hebr. 11. ↩

  3. How the people of God is to carry itself, and why. ↩

    1. Cor. ●.
    ↩

  5. The extreme danger, of ill company. ↩

  6. Harken well; for here it is the Angel of God that speaks. ↩

  7. Apoc. ●8. ↩

  8. In what manner the society of the wicked is to be fled. ↩

  9. Heb. ●3. ↩

  10. The very root of all sin. ↩

  11. Marc. ●. ↩

  12. Matt. 7. ↩

  13. If we pretend to serve christ our Lord, we must forsake and forswear the service of the wicked world. ↩

  14. Matt. 6. ↩

    1. Reg. 1●.
    ↩

  16. Remember the story of the prodigal son. ↩

  17. How miserably sinners at treated by the devil, not only in the next life, but even in this. ↩

  18. jud. 1● ↩

  19. How we must carry ourselves towards God, if we desire to take comfort in his service. ↩

  20. The just obligation of a Christian. ↩

    1. Cor. 3.
    ↩

  22. We must do nothing, nor have any thing so much at the hart as to estrange us from conversing with almighty God. ↩

  23. Note. ↩

  24. How this discourse is to be understood. ↩

  25. A sovereign truth; and most fit to be so. ↩

  26. A figure of the old testament excellently applied. ↩

    1. Reg. 6.
    ↩

  28. As when they make themselues Religious men or women. ↩

  29. Gen. 22. ↩

  30. How good is God? only he willbe served as God. ↩

  31. Heb. 7. ↩

Chapter 100 of 115