Book I, Part 1, Chapter 4. Of the fourth Motive that obliges us to the Pursuit of Virtue, which is the inestimable Benefit of our Redemption

1. Let us come now to the great work of our redemption, a favor not to be comprehended by either men or angels. A mystery so much above whatsoever I am able to say, and myself so unworthy at the same time to speak any thing of it, that I neither know where to begin or where to leave off, what to take or what to leave. Were not man so stupid as to stand in need of these incentives, to stir him up to the love of virtue, it would be much better to adore this profound mystery in silence, than to eclipse it by the darkness of our expression. They tell us of a certain famous painter, who, having drawn a picture representing the death of a king's daughter, and painted her friends and relations standing about her with most sorrowful countenances, and her mother more melancholy than the rest ; when he came to draw the father's face, he hid it under a shade, to signify that so much grief was not to be expressed by art. Now if all we are able to say falls short of explaining the benefit of our creation, what eloquence will suffice deservedly to extol that of our redemption ? God created the whole universe by one single act of his will, without spending the least part of his treasures, or weakening the strength of his almighty arm. But to the redeeming of it, there went no less than thirty-three years of sweat and toil, with the effusion of his blood to the very last drop, and not one of his senses or members was exempt from suffering its particular pain and anguish. It looks like a lessening of such sublime mysteries, to attempt to explain them with mortal tongue. What shall I do then ? shall I speak, or shall I hold my peace ? I am obliged not to be silent, and am unfit to speak. How can I be silent of such wondrous effects of God's mercy ? And how shall I be able to discourse of such ineffable mysteries ? To be silent looks like ingratitude, and to speak of it seems a rashness. Wherefore, I here prostrate myself before thee, O my God, imploring thy divine assistance and mercy to the end, that whilst my ignorance detracts from thy glory, instead of extolling and displaying it, those who are capable of doing it may praise and glorify thee in heaven, that they may supply what I am deficient in, and beautify and adorn what a mortal man cannot but spoil by the meanness of his capacity.

2. After God had created man, and with his own hand seated him in a place of delights, investing him with honor and glory, that which ought to have engaged him th^ more deeply in his Creator's service emboldened him the more to rebel against him. Whereas, the infinite favors he had received should have laid a stricter obligation on him, to love that divine Goodness that be* stowed them, he made use of them as instruments of his ingratitude. This was the cause of his being driven out of Paradise, into the banishment of this world, and condemned to the pains of hell, that, as he had been the devil's associate in sin, he might partake of his sufferings and torments. When Giezi, Elisha's servant, had received the present which Naaman the leper made him, the prophet said to him: Since thou hast received JVaaman's money, the leprosy, therefore, of JYdaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever ; 4 Kings v. 26, 27. God has pronounced a like sentence against man, judging it requisite, that since he has coveted the riches of Lucifer, which are his guilt and his pride, he should in like manner be defiled with Lucifer's leprosy, which is the punishment of his rebellion. Thus man, by imitating the devils' sins, becomes like them, and shares with them in their punishment, as well as in their guilt.

3. Man having brought such a disgrace upon himself, this same God, whose mercy is as great as his majesty, considered not the affront, which was offered to his infinite goodness, so much as he did our misery. He was more concerned for the unhappy condition we were reduced to, than angry for the offences we had committed against him; and, therefore, resolved to succor us by the means of his only Son, and to make him the Mediator of our reconciliation with himself. But what was this reconciliation ? Who is able to express this mercy ? He settled

THE SINNER S GUIDE.

« „„™ 33 such a close friendship betwixt God and man, as to find out a way to make God not only pardon man, receive him into his favor again, and make him one and the same thing with himself, by love, but what is far beyond all expression, he united him to himself in such a manner, that there are no created beings in nature so closely united as these two are now ; because they are not only one in love and in grace, but in person too. Who could ever have thought, that such a breach as this, would have been so made up again? Who could have imagined, that these two things, which nature and sin had set at such a distance, should ever have been united together, not in the same house, at the same table, in the same union of grace and love, but in the same person ? Are there any two things in the world more different from one another, than God and a sinner? And yet, are there any things more closely united than God and man are now ? There is nothing, says St. Bernard, more high than God, and nothing lower than the clay man was made of. Yet has God, with so much humility, descended into this clay, and this clay with so much honour ascended to God, that we may say the clay has done whatsoever God has done, and God has suffered all the clay has suffered.

4. When man, finding himself naked, and become an enemy to God, endeavoured to hide himself in the most concealed parts of the terrestrial paradise, who would have made him believe a time would come, when this base and vile substance should be united to God, in one and the same person? This alliance was so strict and close, that it could not be separated even by death, which broke the union between soul and body, but could never divide the divinity and humanity, because God never quitted what he had once taken upon him for our sake.

Thus our peace was concluded ; this is the medicine we have received at the hands of our Saviour and Mediator. And though we are infinitely more indebted to God for so sovereign a cure, than we are in any wise able to express, we are no less obliged to him for the manner of applying it, than for the remedy itself. I am infinitely indebted to thee, O my God, for having redeemed me from hell, and restored me to thy favour; but I owe thee much more for the manner of restoring my liberty, than for the liberty itself. All thy works, O Lord, are to be admired in every part of them ; and though man may seem to lose himself in the contemplation of any one of thy wonders, the same disappears, as soon as he lifts up his eyes tow&rds heaven to reflect upon another. Nor is this any discredit to thy greatness, O Lord, but an argument of thy glory.

What course, O my God, hast thou taken to heal me ? Thou mightest have procured me my salvation by an infinite number of ways, without putting thyself to the trouble or expense ; but thy bounty was so great and surprising, that to give me a more manifest proof of thy goodness and mercy, thou hast chosen to relieve my miseries by thy own pains and sufferings, which were so vehement, that the very thoughts of them drew a bloody sweat from thy veins, and thy undergoing of them rent the very rocks with sorrow. Let the heavens and the angels praise thee, O my God, for ever ; and let them never cease ,to publish thy wondrous works ! What need hadst thou of our goods,, or what damage were our miseries to thee ? If thou shouldst sin, says Elihu to Job, what hurt wilt thou do to God? And if thy transgressions should be multiplied, what wilt thou do against him ? On the contrary, if thou shalt do that which is just, what wilt thou give him, or what can he receive from thy hand? Job xxxv. 6,7. This great God, who is so powerful, and so far above the reach of any misfortune ; he, whose riches, whose power and whose wisdom, can neither be increased nor lessened; he, who was neither greater nor less after he had created the world than he was before ; he, who can receive no more glory from all the praises men and angels are able to give him, than he has always had from all eternity ; he, who would be no less glorious, though each particular mouth were to be employed in cursing and blaspheming him ; this Lord, I say, whose majesty is so great and infinite, notwithstanding our infidelities and treacheries have been such as deserve his eternal anger and hatred, has vouchsafed, even when he had no need at all of us, and upon no otht-r motive but that of his excessive love to us, to bow down the heavens of his greatness, and to descend into this place of banishment, to clothe himself with our flesh, to undertake the payment of our debts, and, that he might discharge us, to undergo the most dreadful torments that ever were, or that ever shall be undergone ! It was for my sake, O my God, that thou hast been born in a stable, laid in a manger, circumcised the eighth day, and forced to fly into Egypt ; it was for the love of me, that thou hast been so affronted and injured; it was for me that thou hast fasted, watched and wandered from place to place; that thou hast sweated, wjept- and subjected thyself to all those miseries which my sins have deserved, notwithstanding that thou wert so far from being the offender, as to be all this while the party offended ; it was for me that thou wert apprehended, forsaken, sold, denied, and brought before several courts and judges ; it was for my sake that thou wert accused before them, and that thou wert affronted, buffeted, spit upon, whipped, blasphemed, put to death and buried. Thou hast, in fine, vouchsafed for the healing of my wounds, to die upon a cross, in the sight of thy most holy mother, in so great poverty, as not to have one drop of water at the hour of thy death, and in so stupendous a manner forsaken by all, that thy heavenly Father himself seemed to neglect thee at that time. Can any tiling enter into the heart of man more lamentable than this, to see a God of most infinite majesty come down upon earth to end his life upon a cross, like a notorious malefactor ?

6. If any man, though of ever so mean a condition, were to oe executed for some public crime he had committed, there is no body could, without some kind of concern, especially if he had known him before, consider the deplorable state his misery had reduced him to, and the unhappy end he was going to make. Now if it be surprising to see a man of but an ordinary condition brought to such disgrace, how ought we to be aston ished, wThen we see the Lord of all created things in no bette circumstances ? What a subject of wonder should it be, to see a God like a malefactor ? and if it be true, that the greater the quality a person is of, the more we are surprised at his disgrace and fall, what surprise should here seize us ? O you blessed angels, who had so full a knowledge of the greatness of this Lord, what did you think, when you saw him hanging upon a cross ? God commanded Moses to put two cherubims at the sides of the ark, with their faces turned towards the mercy-seat, and looking upon one another with admiration (Exod. xxv. 18.); and for what other end was all this, but to give us to understand with what a holy astonishment those supreme spirits must be seized, when they considered the effect of so great a charity, and beheld this great God, who created heaven and earth, nailed to the holy cross, to atone for our crimes ? Nature herself is amazed, and every creature is astonished. The principalities and powers of heaven are ravished with this inestimable goodness, which they behold in God. Is there any body, after all this, that is not swallowed up in the abyss of such wonders^ "Who is there, that is not drowned in the ocean of such infinite mercies? Who is there that can contain his admiration, so as not to cry out with Moses, when God showed him the figure of this mystery upon the mount, O the Lord, the God, merciful and gracious, patient and of much compassion, and true! Exod. xxxiv. 6. He was unable to do any thing else, but publish aloud the infinite goodness God had given him a sight of. Who would not, like Elias (3 Kings xix. 13), hide his eyes, if he saw his God passing by, not in the brightness of his majesty, but under the veil of his littleness ; not overturning mountains, or splitting the rocks in pieces by his omnipotence, but delivered up into the hand of the wicked, and making the very rocks melt and burst asunder with compassion? Who is there that will not shut the eyes of his understanding and open the bosom of his will, that at the sight of so boundless a love, it may be inflamed with gratitude, and return all the love it is able to give, without setting any limits or measure to its passion? O height of charity ! O greatness of mercy ! O abyss of incomprehensible goodness !

7. It is true, O Lord, that I am thus indebted to thee for having redeemed me ; how great must the obligation be, for having redeemed me in such a manner? For to redeem me thou hast suffered such torments, and such disgrace, as are above the reach of our imagination. Thou hast made thyself the scorn of men, and the contempt of the world, for the love of me. To procure me honor, thou hast dishonored thyself; and hast suffered thyself to be accused, that I might be acquitted. Thou hast shed thy blood, to wash away the stains of my guilt. Thou hast died, to raise me to life, and by thy tears hast delivered me irom everlasting weeping and gnashing of teeth. How truly dost thou deserve the name of a kind Father, since thou hast had so tender a love for thy children ? How justly art thou called a good Shepherd, who hast given thyself for the nourishment of thy flock ? How truly faithful a guardian art thou, since thou hast so freely laid down thy life for those whom thou hast taken into thy care ? What present shall I make thee, answerable to this ? With what tears shall I return these tears ? With what life shall I repay this life ? What proportion is there between the life of a man and the life of his God, between the tears of a creature and those of his Creator ?

8. But if, O man, thou shouldst perhaps imagine, that his suffering for every body else, as well as for thee, has lessened thy obligation, thou deceivest thyself. For though he suffered for all mankind in general, it was in such a manner, that he suffered for each particular person. For his infinite wisdom gave him as clear and as distinct a representation of all those for whom he underwent those torments, as if there had been but one single person ; and his irrfmense charity, which made him take in all together, has done no less for each one in particular. So that he has shed his blood for every single man, as much as for all mankind together ; and so great has been his mercy, that had there been but one sinner in the whole world, he would have suffered as much for him alone, as he had done now for all the world. Consider, therefore, how infinitely thou art obliged to this Lord, who has done so much for thee, and who would have done a great deal more, if there had been any need of it for procuring thy happiness.

§ 1. We may gather from what has been hitherto said, how grievous a thing it is to offend God. — 9. I appeal now to all creatures, whether man can possibly think of any greater benefit, any more generous favor, or any obligation more binding than this is. Tell me, O all ye choirs of angels, whether God has ever done so much for you ? Can any man, then, after all this, refuse I to give himself up entirely to the service of God ? "I am indebted to thee, O Lord," says St. Anselm, " for all that I am, upon three several accounts; because thou has created me, I owe thee all that is in me: but I owe thee the same debt, and with more justice, because thou hast redeemed me, and because thou hast promised to reward me with the enjoyment of thyself, I cannot but acknowledge I am wholly thine. Why, then, do not I give myself once, at least, to him, to whom I am so justly due ?" O insupportable ingratitude ! O invincible hardness of man's heart, which is not to be softened by so many favors ! There is nothing in the world so hard but it may, by some means or other, be made softer. Fire melts metal ; iron grows flexible in the forge ; the blood of certain animals will soften even the diamond itself: but, O more than stony heart, what iron, what diamond is so hard as thou art, if neither the flames of hell, nor the care of so charitable a Father, nor the blood of the unspotted Lamb, which has been shed for thee, can make thee soft and flexible? Since thou, O Lord, hast showed so much goodness, so much mercy, and so much kindness to man, is it to be endured that any one should not love, that any one should forget this benefit, and that any one should still offend thee ? What can that man love, that is not in love with thee ? What favors can work upon him, that is not to be wrought upon by thine ? How can I refuse to serve him who has had such a love for me, who has sought after me with so much solicitude, and who has done so much for the redeeming of me ? And I, says our Saviour, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself ; John xii. 32. With what force, O Lord, with what chains? With the force of my love, with the chains of my mercies. I will draw them, says the Lord, with the cords of Adam, with the bands of love; Osee xi. 4. Who is there that will not be drawn with these cords ? who will not suffer himself to be bound with these chains, or who will not be won by these mercies ?

10. Now, if it be so heinous a crime not to love this great God, what must it be to offend him, and to break his commandments ? How can you dare employ your hands in injuring those hands which have been so liberal to you as to suffer themselves to be nailed to a cross for your sake ? When the holy patriarch, Joseph, was solicited, by his lewd mistress, to defile his master Putiphar's bed, the chaste and grateful young man, by no means consenting to so foul an action, made this reply : Behold, my master hath delivered all things to me, and knoweth not what he hath in his house : neither is there any thing which is not in my power, or that he hath not delivered to me, but thee, who art his wife : How then can I do this wicked thing, and sin against my God ? Gen. xxxix. 8, 9. As if he had said, Since my master has been so kind and generous to me ;. since he has put all that he is worth into my hands, and has done me such an honor as to intrust me with his whole estate ; how shall I, who am bound by so many obligations, dare affront so good a master ? We are to observe, here, that

Joseph did not say, I ought not, or, It is not just that 1 should offend him, but, How can I do this wickedness? — to signify that extraordinary favors ought to deprive us, not only of the will, bu.t, in some measure, of the very power of offending our benefactor. If, therefore, so great an acknowledgment was due to such benefits as these, what is it those favors we have received from God do not deserve? That master, who was but a mortal man, had intrusted him wTith the management of his estate. God has delivered into your hands almost all he has ; consider how much the riches of God exceed those of Putiphar, for so much more have you received than he did. And, to make this apparent, what is it God possesses that he has not intrusted you with ? Ps. iii. The sky, the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, the rivers, the birds, the fishes, the trees, the beasts ; whatsoever, in short, is under the heavens, is in your power : and not only what is under heaven, but even what is in heaven itself; that is, the glory, the riches, and the happiness that is to be found there. All things are yours, says the apostle, whether it be Paul, or Appollo, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come ; for all are yours (1 Cor. iii. 22) ; for they all contribute to your salvation. Nor is that which is in heaven all we have ; the very Lord of heaven himself is ours too. He has given himself to us a thousand ways; as our Father, our Tutor, our Saviour, our Master, our Physician, our Price, our Example, our Food, our Remedy, and our Reward. To conclude, the Father has given us the Son ; the Son has made us worthy of the Holy Ghost ; and it is by the virtue of the Holy Ghost that we deserve the Father and the Son, wrho are the very sources and fountains from whence all sorts of riches flow.

11. If it be true, that God has given you the possession of all, how can you find in your heart to offend so bountiful and so generous a Benefactor ? If it be a crime not to requite such great favors, what must it be to despise and offend him that bestows £hem ? If young Joseph thought himself unable to do an injury to his master, because he had committed the care of his house to him, with what face can you affront him who has delivered all heaven and earth, nay, himself too, into your hands? O miserable and "unhappy man ! if you are not sensible of this evil, you are more ungrateful than the brutes are, more savage than the most savage tigers, and more senseless than any senseless thing in nature. For what lion or tiger is so enraged as to fly at him that has done him a kindness ? St. Ambrose tells us of a dog that, seeing his master killed by one of his enemies, continued all night by the body, barking and howling. The next day, amongst a great many people that crowded to see the corpse, the dog spied out the person that had committed the murdei , and immediately flew upon him, and so, by his barking and biting, discovered the malefactor, who otherwise might have probably escaped. If a clog showed so much love and fidelity to his master, for a morsel of bread, how can you be so ungrateful as to let a dog exceed you in good nature and gratitude ? And if this creature was in such a rage against the man that had murdered his master, how can you forbear being incensed against those who have put your's to death ? And who do you think are they but your own sins ? It was they that apprehended and bound him, that scourged and crucified him. Your sins, I say, were the cause of all this. For his executioners could never have had so much power, if your sins had not given it them. Why, then, do you not rise up in arms against these barbarous murderers, who have taken away your Lord and Saviour's life? How can you behold him lying dead before you, and for your sake, without increasing your love for him, and your aversion to sin, which has been the occasion of his death ? especially, knowing that, whatsoever he either said, did or suffered, in this world, was for no other end but to excite in our hearts a horror and detestation of sin. He died to make sin die, and suffered his hands and feet to be nailed, that he might bind up sin in chains, and bring it under subjection. Why, then, will you let all your Saviour's toils, sweat and pains be lost to you ? Since he has, with his blood, delivered you from your fetters, why will you still remain a slave ? How can you forbear trembling at the very name of sin, when God has done such extraordinary things to ruin and destroy it ? What could God have done more, in order to bring men off from sin, than place himself upon a cross betwixt it and them ? If a man were to see heaven and hell open before him, would he then dare offend God ? And yet it is, without doubt, a thing much stranger and more surprising, to see a God nailed to an infamous cross. If, therefore, so frightful a spectacle as this cannot work upon man, there is nothing in nature will be able to move him.