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Show 434 1668. ~ Chap.XXL No CROSS, No CROWN. VoL. i. 'Cbrift11 riot hea-r any talk of Him, I count _al~ but Amufem. ent of Spirit, ' Lofs of Time, and a very dahgerous Precipice. ~er us encourage our ' fetves t'o lead this Life unknown and wholly Htd from JHcn, b~t ni.olt 'know~ to, aoa imimarewithGod; diy:fiing our felve!, and chafing our ' of our Minds all rhofe manY Superfimues, and rhofc many Amuferilents, ' which bring with them iO great a Diunagc, that they rake up our Minds ' infield of God. So that when f confider that which thwans and curs in' ro fo many Pieces this ~oly, this. Sweet and Ami~bl_e Union, which we ' {]\auld have conrinua1ly wnh God, It appears1 that It IS only a .iHonjie11r, ' a lt1adam a Complement and Chatting, indeed a meer Foolery; which ' notwithftanding doth Ravi01 and Wrefi frora us the Time th::J.t is fo pre .. < dous, and. the Fellowthip that is fo .Hol_y and fo defirable. Let us quit ' this I pray you, and team to court tt with our own M<~ller: Let us well t und~rfiand our Part, our own World (as we here phrafe it) not that ' World I mean, which we do Renounce, but that wherein the Children 'of God do their Duties to tlteir Father. There is nothing in this V/Oild ' fo feparate from the World, as" God; and the greater the S:1ints are, the ' greater is their Reriremenr into Him. This our Saviour taught us, whilft ' he lived on Earth, being in all his vifible Employments united to God ' and retired into the Bofom of kis Father. Since the Time that I ga\'~ 'up my Liberty to God, as ltoldyou I was giVen to underttand, to what • a State of Annihilation the Soul muft be brought, to r.endcr it capable of ' Vnitm with him: I faw my SoUl reduced into a fmaU Point, contraUed • lnd !hrunk up to Nat bing:' And ot the fame Time I beheld my felf, as ' if encompaffed with whatfoever the \Vorld Loves ::J.nd PoOC:ffeth ; and as ' it were, a Hand removing all this far from me, throwing it into the ' Ocean of Annihilation. In !the firft Place, I faw removed all Exterior ' Things, KintdoinS, Great Offices, Stately Buildings, Rich Houfhold·Jluff. • G'rJ!d and Silver, Recreations, Pleafures ~ all which ate great Inct~n'l· • brances to the Soul's palling on to God; of which theref01e his Pleafure ' is, t)l.at fhe be firippe&, that fhe may arrive at the Po~nt of Nakednefs ' and Death, Which will bring her into Pdfeffion of folid Riches, and real 'Life. Affure your felf, there is no Security in any Eftate, but this of ' Dying and Annihilation ; which is, to be Baptized into Chrifl's Dwb, ' that we live the Life of Mortification. Out heft Way is therefore. to dj .. • ve!l our felves of All, that ihe Holy Child Jefus may govem All. All ' that can be imagin'd in this lower World, is of fmall Concemmenr, tho' ' it were the Lofing of a11 our Goods, and the Death of all the Men in it; ' this poor lint-bill is nor worthy of a ferious Thought. Had we but a lit' tle Faith, and a littl~ Love, how happy fhould we efteem our felves, in ' giving away all to attend no more, fave on God alone) 3.nd to fay, fJu1; 'mern, fJ' amnia! My God, ~nd my AU I Being (faith bt) in a Chappel ' richly Wainfcotted, an'd Adorned with very excellent SCulpture, and with c Imagery, J beheld It with fome Attention, having had fome Skill in thefc ' Things, and i3.w the Bundles of Floroen Je Luces, and of Flowers in ' Ferro of Borders, and of very curious Workman!hip; it was on a fudden c ptlt into my Mind, The Original of what thoufeefl, would not detain thee '11t all in feeing it. And I perceived, that indeed all thefe :md thofeflow' ers themfelves (not in PiS:ures) would not have taken' me up; and all ' the Ornaments which Architetlure and Art Invent, are ·but Things moft ' tnean and low,. running in a Manner only upon Flowers, Fruits, Branches, ; Harpia and Chmura's, Part whereof are in their very Being, but Things Common and Low. and part of them meerly Imaginary~ and ye~ Man ' (who croucheth to every Thln~) renders himfelf Amorous and a Slave of ' them; no otherwife than as 1f a go&d Workman fhould fi:and to copy ~ out. and cOunterfeit fame Trifies and Fopperies. I confider'd by thiS ' Sight how poor Man was to be cheated, amufed and diverted from h(s ' Soveraign Gootl. And fince that Time, I could make no more Stand t9 ' confider li1Y 'of thefe Things: And if I did it, I !hould Reproach my felf ~ for it.; as no fooner feeing them in Churches, or elfe-whcre, but chiS 15 · · prefentl)' Vo.t• i. No. cRass; ,Np e. R.o WIN. ' prefen~ly put upon my Spirir, The Original u N h · h 4" ' image u yet itJ+r~a.b.-l:hing is Vnin, txcept the Et ;;g_, t e Ccpy and tbe 1668. : ohout-GH';ti~I_H-biOl~u-e- Abnegation wi1!-he ~~ernt of oxr f~lvts ~ • to follow '"Srmphmy wnhout R~ferve R 11 El' y-to-:~ll-'Fh!ngs, Ch~p.XX!, ' lh::tll work in us, or app~inr fqr·usl }et it be,r T~- e 1J.~· wha:r ~ur Saviour ' {hewed me, in which I ought to walk tow IS_ or at. Th!SW::ty was ; aU ~in~ t~ mt-ordinitrilYf'F,:Without ;;dsGhu1ft\;;ntJ,enc~ it is, th.at ypfflit i~ a gre~ Shfl\Je t~]::hrijlian t!,"~ fl ~ii,[D ~~ ·. ~~ure ' m?re at EaTe rhan- lr.fiii Chrijt here paffed ltfs'". \r Is ay~.ohh!S·~rld ' Fauh. whar RepQ.fe could we take out of · tl~. C I;, Had we but a little I. wiT( CQ}lc!~dt!' .ll.i.s'' S:! . . _ . e r~"· . '!;:: .. Chiloreif.' I ... a::;, ( rmgs W/t4 his Pytrlg Blefling to H[• rfiving 1 Pray Ga4 Bfe[s yaq· Md >tutyirple if< H' B .c , · c you by li!J Grm pam r/,; Evil •f tbt w,' :J ''b to le,; s yau. ~nd,. Profer~t in:' .Aid above ttO PJY ct "ld rf h or ' 1 lfl you mfly have. no Part 1 btl-(~ God~ qnfr?oield due' d~edie;~e :: }o:,/M.!/h11er;::! llvr in tbe Ftar anJ. Love of l\~lJ:e 1ons of that We1ght and Moment to t~e i 'I G.lod g ~~~ o\e~;~"o'lf;~:~n.f~d t~~~ ~fn~b~}'f~ers,~;o:~e, AJIIh~; ~h ~ui~~ned to f~.me Tafh of~ Su~roat~ral Li1~:'r;t ~?~f~e :;~'1f• allfl . "'""'-ua uy, adorn d with fo mUch Zeal and Pier!' fu /h; 8 ~ifr ~ .er hJf. Conflancy, become exemplary to thofe of 1'/orlai• ·Qm"[. '•rh·dtn:a/ ~!ld rhe _RI;aders of this Book. Some e h - ' ua lty, W o may be feveral Aur'hors I1I'ave reported wtofc j&s Wlll ~ear that Tr~th' from rije cover'd from t~ EnVy of M ' h ames, ~e:ttlt and T1me hJve rear aWfrom thf livln lle hen, ~ at .would hardly en dare' ft from me if ~all. p~afe to malle ~ny Pm a~f 1:h~11fs;},~~!~ abffin~ant/y re~oyce, if Gqd tntoThe Lo\'c, of Holine;fs without which cert e. e. e. ua to perfwade any Lord,: ,Bu~ rhe Pure in Heart ihr!ll behold H,i a~n It I,s, no Maf flalljee tbe To conclude I ci t fl b' R ff. m or e\er. S~ying$ of Dying¥~~ In'd'~~J~h ~0 ~iof. upon what is dbferved of the inir, viz: 1\.ll Men agre~ when the co~ ~r:ns to _ha_ve g_rear lnftrnEl;iO}l 011;; to live JQ Holy, )f;mbl~, StriJ and S~'"lj:~ye,_ It £-~ft to .he Rdigi_tary, Trmpenue and Di.fincumbred of theW ld enyTg i{'t;_ Reured, S(}IJ• GO, and our J'lei!¢b'ouis as our felves F .or_ · h£ lo~mg God ttbtro( in~ for them :u~ fq{id Thin d 'h EftlVt~g oUr nemtes, and Ppy~ u.ue Ground' of ·Man's Happ~tr:." Th~ a~IS~l ~an of R~ligio~, as r~e ylelds no more Pleaf~e. But ever i n. Jn IS exaedmg Smfu!, and feV_erc!ly .repror·ed. Th~n rhe woJd n~~~nali pefire is BJJrtbenJolne,_ a~d WeJghs light again!\ that Scnfe and' Jud a 1 e [;.a~ful <;omforts 1n It; tween the Tempor~l and Eternal. A d ~ment? ~ 1c fuc~ Men .have be .. what rnftruO:ion is in it to the Livi n m.ce It IS thus With dymg Men,· a ~erperual Coutratli[lion? 0 I that 11~:;~r]_d~.retence~r t~e mo~ Part.is that they mi.ght apply their Htnrts to Wi rd u e;rn t? um er rhetr Day'r, Lord is the Tr~;~e and On! Be in · 1J' om; o whtch the Fear of the for their Feu jh40 be pr/rerJed fr~~ tb~S~:r~.u;~d D~~:t.ey th111 Fear g/wa'ys, CHAP. XXII. I . Chap XXII |
