The ninth Consideration

THe ninth cōsideratiō is this, wher peraduenture you would obiect to me again & say, Brother if it bée thus as you say, that my Lord Iesu loueth me so much, and is so mindfull of me, and so feruently entēdeth my weale, what néede me to care whatsoeuer I doe, he will not cast me away, he wil not forsake me nor suffer mée to perish. Good sister without doubt as I haue said, our sauior Christ Iesu is in loue towards you, & he is myndfull & more louing towards you then I can expresse. And sure you may be, yt hée will neuer cast you away, ne forsake you, if you before cast not your selfe away, ne forsake your selfe. But if you giue any place to sinne in your soule, and suffer it to enter vpon you, verely then you forsake your self and cast your selfe awaye, and willinglie destroye your selfe, that is your déede & not hys: for he neuer forsaketh any creature vnlesse they before haue forsakē them selues. And if they will forsake them selues were they neuer in so great fauour with hym before, they then incontinently lose his fauour, the which thing well appeareth in his first spirituall creatures the noble Angelles Lucifer and hys comp[…]nie, which were created in excelent brightnesse, and were muche in the fauour of almightie God, they presumptuously offēded him in pride for the which not onely, they lost hys fauour, but also their merueylous brightnesse became incōtinently horrible, foule, and were expelled out of the glorious kingdom of heauen that they were in, and throwen into perpetuall darkenesse into the pryson of hell. The first man Adam also who was created in singular honour, and was put into Paradise a place full of gladnesse, there to liue in comfort of all pleasure, the which was done to him for a singular loue yt almightie God had towardes him, yet anon as h[…] fell to sinne he was in lyke maner expelled out from that pleasure, and sent into this miserable world to endure miserie and payne. If those noble creatures which were lift vp into so great fauour with almightie God, so lightly by their misdemeanor in sin, lost his gracious fauour, let none other creature thinke but if they admit any sinne to their soule, they shal be likewyse excluded out of his fauor. For sinne is so odible vnto almightie God, that not the dearest friends that euer he had in all the worlde, but if there were founde in their soules any deadly sin after death, they should neuer be receiued into the ioy of heauen. Not the blessed Mary Magdalen for all hir loue towardes him, nor yet his owne blessed mother that bare him into this world, if one deadly sin were foūd in their soules, they shuld incontinent be throwen into ye darke dungeon of hell. Wherfore good sister say not, if his loue be so muche vppon you, and he so desirouslie entendeth your profite, that you may doe what you list, you néed not to care what you doe. But contrariwise the more that he loueth you, the more you shoulde take héede vnto your self and beware that you offend him not, for so did the blessed Mary Magdalen of whome I spake before. Shée notwithstandyng the great loue that both our sauiour had to hir, and shée vnto him agayne for the which also hyr sinnes were forgiuen hyr, yet after his death shée fled from the companie of men, & lyued in the wildernesse farre from any worldly comforte, in great wayling, fasting, and prayer, & such other painefulnesse of hir body, & was nothing ye lesse diligent to kéepe hir selfe warely from sinne, for the great loue that our lord & sauiour had to hir, but for yt the more studiously she did auoid & eschu euery thing wherby she might run into any displeasure against him.