, - , , o. HISTORY and LIFE OF THE REVEREND DOCTOR JOHN TAULER; WITH TWENTY-FIVE of his SERMONS. LONDON : Printed by SPOTTISWOODE & Co. New-ftreet-Square. SAN DIEGO HISTORY and L I F K OF THE REVEREND DOCTOR JOHN TAULER of STRASBOURG ; with TWENTY-FIVE of his SERMONS (Temp. 1340). Tranilated from the German, with Additional Notices of Tauler's Life and Times, by SUSANNA WINKWORTHL Tranflator of Tbeologia Germanica f AND A Preface by the Rev. CHARLES KINGSLEY, Reftor of Everfley and Canon of Middleham. LONDON : SMITH, ELDER, AND COMPY, 65, CORNHILL. M.DCCC.LVII. TABLE OF CONTENTS. TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE PAGE xi PREFACE BY THE REV. CHARLES KINGSLEY xxxi THE HISTORY AND LIFE OF THE REVEREND DOCTOR JOHN TATTLER ....... i INTRODUCTORY NOTICE RESPECTING TAULER'S LIFE AND TIMES, BY THE TRANSLATOR .... 73 SERMON I. SERMON FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT . 179 How that toe are called upon to arife from our fins, and to conquer our foes, looking for the glorious coming of our Lord in our fouls. vi Table of Contents. SERMON PAGE II. SERMON FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT . I8 7 How that God is very near to us, and bow we must feek and fnd the Kingdom of God within us, without rejpeft to time and place. III. SERMON FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT '93 How that we mujl wholly come out from ourfelves, that we may go into the wildernefs and behold God. IV. SERMON FOR CHRISTMAS DAY 203 O/ the things by which we become children of God. V. SERMON FOR EPIPHANY 211 This Sermon on the Gofpel for the day, from St. Matthew, Jhowetb how God, of His great faithfulnefs, hath forefeen and ordained all fufferings for the eternal good of each man, in whatever wife they befall us, and whether they be great or f mall. VI. SECOND SERMON FOR EPIPHANY r . 218 Sbowetb on what wife a man Jh all arife from bimfelf and from all crea- tures, to the end that God may find the ground of bis foul prepared, and may begin and perfeft His work therein. VII. SERMON FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY ... 223 Of the great wonders which God has wrought, and ftill works for us Cbrjftian men ; wherefore it is juft and reafonable that wejbouldtum unto Him and follow Him, and whereby we may difcern between true andfalfe converfion. VIII. SERMON FOR THE SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY ..... 337 O/ the proper marks of true humility. Table of Contents. vii SERMON PAGE IX. SERMON FOR SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY . . 241 In this Sermon following we are taught how we muft perpetually prefs forward towards our higheft good, without paufe or reft ; and how we muft labour in the fpiritual vineyard that it may bring forth good fruit. X. SERMON FOR ASH WEDNESDAY . . . 255 An Expojttion of the three crojfes, that of Chrift, that of the malefaflor on His left, and that of the malefaflor on His right hand, how they are a type of the fujferings of three clajfles of men who are, in afpirit- ualfenfe, nailed to thefe three crojjes. XI. SERMON FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT . 266 Tells us how God drives forward fame of His children by the ftruggle between the inward and outward man. XII. SERMON FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT . 278 Of the power of the Word of God, of fiery dejtres, and the ejjence of felf-renunciation. XIII. SERMON FOR PALM SUNDAY .... 283 How a man ought in all His works to regard God alone, and purely to make Him his end without anything of his own, and Jhall freely and Jimply perform all thefe works for the glory of God only, and not fee k his own, nor dejire nor expeft any reward. Wherewith he may do fuch works without any felf-appropriation or reference to time and number, before or after, and without modes. How the Divine Word fpeaks and reveals itfelfin the foul, all in a lofty and fub tile fenfe. XIV. SERMON FOR THURSDAY IN EASTER WEEK . 292 How we ought to love God, and bow Chrift is a Mafter of the Eternal Good, wherefore we ought to love Him above all things , a Mafter of the Higheft Truth, wherefore we ought to contemplate Him ; and a Mafter of the Higheft Perfeflnefs, wherefore me ought to follow after Him without let or hindrance. Vlll Table of Co?itents. SERMON XV. SERMON FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER How we are to afcend by three ft ages to true peace and purity of heart. PAGE 299 XVI. SERMON FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY .... .^ 4i , . 305 How the Holy Gboft rebukes the World in man for Jin, righteoufnefs, and judgment ; bow hurtful it is to judge one's neighbour ; after what fajhion a pious man may rebuke his neighbour ; further, what the Holy Gboft teacheth when he cometh to us. XVII. SECOND SERMON AFTER EASTER FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY Of three hindrances which rejift the coming of the Holy Gboft in three claJJ'es of men. XVIII. SERMON FOR ASCENSION DAY . . This third ftrmon on the Afcenfion tells us how man ought continually to follow after Cbrift, as He has walked before us for three and thirty years, pajfing through manifold and great Sufferings, before He re- turned unto His Father. 3*9 XIX. SERMON FOR WHIT SUNDAY .... How God drew the Apoftles unto Cbrift by fix degrees until they at- tained unto union with Himfelf, and fo likewife draweth His friends unto Himfelf now. 328 XX. SERMON FOR TRINITY THE FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER This fermon telletb us of four meafures that Jb all be rendered unto man, and of two grades of a godly life, and how we ought to love our neighbour. 341 Table of Contents. SERMON PAGE XXI. SERMON FOR THE TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY ....... 353 Admonljhing each man to mark what is the office to which he is called of God, and teaching us to praflife works of love and virtue, and to refrain from f elf -will. XXII. SERMON FOR THE TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY ....... 361 Teaching us that we ought to receive God, in all His gifts, and in all His burdens, with true long-fuffering. XXIII. SECOND SERMON FOR THE TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY ...... 367 This fermon tells us how a man who truly loves God, whofe ears have been opened to receive the feven-fold gifts of the Holy Spirit, is neither lifted up in joy nor caft down in for row. XXIV. SERMON FOR THE FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY ...... 373 This fermon forbiddeth all carefulnefs, and telleth in what righteoufnefs conjiftetb, and rebukes fundry religious people and their works, liken- ing their ways to Jlmony. XXV. SERMON FOR ST. STEPHEN'S DAY . . . 383 Of three grades of tbofe who learn to die unto themfehes, like a corn of wheat, that they may bring forth fruit ; or of tbofe who are be- ginners, tbofe who are advancing, and tbofe who are perfect in a Divine life. Table of Contents. SERMON PAGE XXVI. SERMON FOR ST. PETER'S DAY . . . 398 Of brotherly rebuke and admonition, bow far it is advifablc and feemly or not, and efpecially bow prelates and governors ought to demean tbemfehes towards their fubjefts. XXVII. SERMON ON A MARTYR'S DAY .... 404 Of three forts of fpiritual temptation by which holy men are fecretly ajfailed ; to wit : fpiritual uncbaftity, covetoufnefs, and pride. TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. N publifhing a feleclion from the writings of a divine who flourifhed in an age and under focial conditions fo remote from our own as thofe of a German Dominican monk of the fourteenth century, it feems right to ftate at the outfet whether the aim which has governed the feleclion is chiefly hiftorical or devotional. The prefent work was under- taken, in the firft inftance, with a fimply practical object. My ear- lieft acquaintance with Tauler's Sermons was made while hearing them read in a family fervice ; and believing, from further ftudy, that they contained elements of truth not often brought into fufficient prominence in thefe days, yet pofleffing a moft direcl: and valuable influence on Chriftian life, I wimed to compile a volume of fermons for the Sundays and Holydays of the year, fuch as any head of a family might read to his houfehold, or any diftricl; vifitor among the poor. a2 xii Tranjlators Preface. To have carried out this idea completely would, however, have involved the omiffion, in many of the fermons, of paflages either too abftrufe for eafy comprehenfion, or too much imbued with re- ferences to the Romifh ritual and difcipline, to be fuitable for the Proteftant common people. But fuch a mutilation feemed to me fcarcely honeft in the cafe of a writer now to be prefented for the firft time in a foreign language, and it appeared better therefore to reconcile hiftorical truthfulnefs with practical ufeful- nefs, by reftri&ing the fele&ion, but giving all the fermons included in it in their complete form. Had it been my object merely to prefent an interefting piclure of a remarkable man, the feleclion would poffibly have been fbmewhat different, cer- tainly much wider. As it is, I have chofen the practical rather than the more metaphyfical fermons, and have included none which feemed to me, in my confcientious judgment, open to objections as to their moral tendency. Among fuch I fhould reckon fome tinctured with an afceticifm throwing contempt on the affections of ordinary life. Of the duties of ordinary life Tauler never fpeaks difparagingly. When he fays that the inward work in the foul is more than all out- ward good works, it is always the outward practices of religion of which he is fpeaking attendance in church, failing, the repeating - of prayers, &c. ; never of the exercife of active benevolence, or Tranjlator's Preface. xiii even the performance of minor houfehold duties. It is one good feature of the fchool to which he belonged, that thefe things are reftored to their due honour, fo far as that is compatible with the whole fyftem of conventual life. But Tauler does teach that repreffion of the natural affeffiwns which is inevitable fb long as the vital idea of monafticifm, viz., the feverance of the religious from the fecular in life, is retained. That this feverance is falie and mifchievous, Tauler no more perceived than did the whole body of his contemporaries ; but while we have no right to cenfure him for errors which he mared with all the men of his age (and which he often diverted for his own hearers of much of their baneful influence), it is equally un- necefTary to place fuch docTrine before people at the prefent time. So, too, the fermons on the Mafs and on the Virgin Mary, while containing many excellent practical remarks, are of courfe bafed on beliefs that would render them unprofitable to the great multitude of Englifh Proteftants now-a-days, and I did not deem it needful to infert them merely for the fake of prefcnting a full view of all that Tauler believed or taught. But neither did it feem effential to practical ufefulnefs to elimi- nate from fermons whofe general fcope is rich in Chriftian inftruclion, all fuch paiTages as might contain patting allufions to purgatory, tranfubftantiation, the invocation of faints, &c. ; a3 Tranjlators Preface. myftical and figurative interpretations of Scripture, or qucftionablc philosophical fpeculations, in order that nothing might be left but what Proteftant Chriftians at the prefent day actually believe. For private reading it is the lefs necefTary, as it is often curious and inftructive to obferve how Tauler, in many cafes, fupplies the practical antidote to the hurtful effects of a Romifh doctrine without in the leaft feeing through the doctrine itfelf ; while, mould thefe Sermons be ufed, as I earneftly wim they may be, for family reading, it will be very eafy to omit anything which it might be undefirable to read to uneducated perfons. With regard to thofe not included, the greater number have been rejected fimply becaufe many of their ideas occurred in the fermons which I have chofen, and I was anxious to avoid repe- tition ; and among thefe many were fb good as to render the tafk of felection very difficult. A very fmall proportion have been omitted on account of their Romim doctrine ; more becaufe of their obfcure myfticifm, and a few becaufe they contained figures that would found coarfe, or at leaft grotefque and un- fuitable for the pulpit, to our modern ears. I believe that thofe I have given may be regarded, from the abfence of omiflions and the variety of their fcope, as furnifhing, on the whole, a correct picture of the mind and faith of their author. The edition of Tauler's Sermons which I have ufed for my Tranjlator's Preface. xv Tranflation is that publifhed at Frankfort in 1856. Among the numerous ancient and modern editions of thefe Sermons, that publifhed at Leipfic, in 1498, holds the higheft rank as an authority ; but of this, now very rare work, it has not been in my power to confult a copy ; and of the later editions that of Frankfort is the beft. It is bafed upon an edition publifhed at Cologne in 1543, and contains one hundred and fifty-three fermons ; only eighty-four of thefe, however, are to be found in the MSS. now extant. Many of the MSS. have, indeed, only portions of thefe eighty-four ; but the beft and oldeft are alfo the moft complete. They are two which are in the Strafburg Library, and are moft probably contemporary with Tauler himfelf, certainly not of much later origin. The oldeft printed edition, too, that of Leipfic, in 1498, has only thefe eighty-four fermons. Thefe are, therefore, all of whofe genuinenefs we have diftincl; certainty from external evidence. In an edition, however, which Johann Rynmann publifhed at Bafle in 1521 (probably induced to do fb by Luther's republication of the Tbeologia Germanica, in 1517, and his recommendation of Tauler's writings to his friends*), forty-two more fermons are added with the preface : * Thus he writes to Spalatin in Dec. 1516: "Si te deleftat puram, folidam, antiquaz " fimillimam theologiam legere, in Germanica lingua effufam ; Sermones Johannis Tauleri, a 4 xvi Tranflators Preface. " Here followeth the fecond part of the Sermons of the faid " John Tauler, which have been more recently difcovered, and " collected with great care and diligence. Although there may " be a doubt about fome of them, let not that offend thee ; for "it is certain that they have been written by a right learned " man of his age, and are all bafed on one foundation, namely, " true felf-furrender and the preparation of the fpirit for God." There can be no doubt that feveral of thefe are not productions of Tauler ; and Surius, in his Latin Edition of 1548, appends the names of the authors Eckart, Sufo, Ruysbroek, in feveral in- stances where he had afcertained them, in which the Frank- fort Editor follows his example.* The ftyles of Eckart and Sufo are, indeed, very diftinguimable from Tauler's. That of Ruyfbroch feems to me lefs fb. Finally, the Cologne Edition of 1543, which has been the bafis of all the later editions of Tauler's Sermons, adds twenty-five more, and among thefe, too, fome by the authors already named have crept in. Still, I cannot fee any " praedicatoriae profeffionis, tibi comparare potes, cujus totius velut epitomen ecce hie tibi " mitto. Neque enim vel in Latina, vel in noftra lingua theologiam vidi falubriorem et cum " Evangelic confonantiorem. Gufta ergo et vide, quam fuavis eft Dominus, ubi prius guftaris, " et videbis quam amarum eft, quicquid nos fumus." De Wette, Martin Luther's Briefe, &c., Band i. Berlin, 1825. * It is to the Preface of the Frankfort Editor that I am indebted for thefe particulars refpefting the different editions of Tauler's Sermons. Tranjlators Preface. rcafon to queftion the ftatement of the Editor, Petrus Novioma- gus, who fays : " Having made refearch in all directions, that I " might obtain the moft correctly-copied MSS., I have at laft, in " 1542, found in the library of St. Gertrude's, at Cologne (where " the faid Doctor had his abode, and was wont to preach God's " word), and alfo in fome other places, old written books, in " which many excellent, nay, fbme of the beft of Tauler's Ser- " mons ftand clearly written, which have not yet been printed " or made public." Tauler did not himfelf write down his difcourfes, but they were compiled from notes taken by his hearers, which accounts at once for the fragmentary character of the ftyle, and for the great number of various readings to be found in the different editions. It is important to bear this circumftance in mind in judging of the ftyle of the following fermons. It feems highly probable that the eighty-four fermons contained in the Strafburg MSS. were publifhed during his life and received his own cor- rections ; but there appear no adequate grounds for suppofmg that thefe eighty-four are the only genuine ones we pofTefs ; for in the numerous places where Tauler preached, many of his fermons would probably be taken down by fmgle hearers, which in thofe times of rare and difficult communication, were never brought under the notice of the Strafburg Collector, but, as his fame xviii Translator's Preface. fpread in after years, came to be gradually put into the hands of later collectors by their pofTeflbrs, as feems to have been the cafe with thofe of which Petras Noviomagus fpeaks. The Frankfort Edition has not, however, been the fble fource of the following tranflation ; for with great generofity, for which I beg to tender him my warmeft thanks, ProfefTor Schmidt, of Strafburg, has placed at my difpofal a tranfcript made by him- felf, from the moft ancient manufcript extant, by which I have corrected thofe of the following collection, which belong to the firft eighty-four. In a very few pafTages only have I retained the verfion of the Frankfort Edition, where the fenfe was fo evidently clearer and fuller as to indicate a high probability that the later collector had had the opportunity of confulting fuller notes than his more ancient predeceflbr. This, however, is very rarely the cafe ; in general the oldeft verfion is fo much the beft as to give great force to the fuppofition generally entertained that it had been corrected by the author himfelf. Of the following collection Nos. 5. 6. 9. ii. 16. 18. 20. 2,1. 2,2,. 23. 24. may be thus faid to .be, in effect, tranflated from the Strafburg MS. The Frankfort Editor gives the fources from which he has taken his verfion of the fermons, and upon this authority I may mention that Nos. 3. 4. 7. 8. 10. 13. 14. 17. 25. 26. 27. are from the Appendix to the Bafle Edition of 1521 ; and Nos. i. z. 12,. 15. 19. from Tranjlators Preface. xix that of the Cologne Edition of 1543. The fermon No. 2. is marked as Eckart's in the Frankfort Edition, and No. 4. as moft probably the production of a difciple of his, commonly called Eckart, junior. It is, however, somewhat doubtful whether the two Eckarts were not in truth one and the fame. The Cologne Editor exprefles the wilh that " God would anoint some man " enlightened by the Holy Ghoft to render this precious treafure " into Latin for the comfort of many who defire it;" and this wim was fulfilled in 1543, by the Carthufian, Laurentius Surius, the tranflator alfo of the works of Sufo and Ruyfbroch. The principal fources from which my fketch of Tauler and the " Friends of God" has been derived, are furnifhed by Profeflbr Schmidt of Strafburg, in his Johannes Tauler von Strasburg ; his eflay on Eckart in the Tbeologtscbe Studien und Kritiken, 1 839, p. 684. ; and his work, Die Gottesfreunde im Vterzebnten Jabrbundert, Jena, 1855. I have, however, alfo to acknowledge my obligations to Wackernagel's eflay on the Gottesfreunde in the Beltraege zur Vaterlaendischen Gescbicbte (Bafle, 1843, B. ii. s. 1 1 1 .) ; toNeander's Kircbengescbicbte; Hafe's Kircbengescbicbte ; Milman's Latin Christianity, &c. Any one acquainted with the admirable Eflays of Profeflbr Schmidt, above-named, will perceive how largely I am indebted to him for the fa(5ls of Tauler's life, and the account of Eckart; XX Tranjlators Preface. but will alfo obferve that my theory of them is, in fome points, very different from that of M. Schmidt. For my notices of the Goffesfreunde, his recent work has furnilhed the whole of the facts ; but, again, it is only fair to ftate that for the light in which I regard thefe fa 61s, I am alone refponfible. Manchefter: Nov. zpth, 1856. PREFACE, BY THE Rev. CHARLES KINGSLEY. T is with great diffidence that I have undertaken to furnifh a Preface to thefe Sermons. It muft always be an invidious tafk to {land toward a far wifer and better man than one's felf in a relation which is likely, at every moment, to be miftaken either for that of a critic or that of a commentator. The critic of Tauler, no man has a right to become, who has not firft afcertained that he is a better man than Tauler. The commentator of Tauler, no man has a right to become, who has a ftrong belief (as I have) that Tauler's Sermons need no comment whatfoever : but that all which is good and eternal in them will recommend itfelf at once to thofe hearts, let their Preface by the form of do&rine be what it may, who have hold of, or are feeking after, Eternal Goodnefs. The historical and biographical information which may be neceflary for a right understanding of the man and his times, will be found in the Life and the Introductory Notice which are appended to the Sermons ; while any notions of mine as to the genefis of Tauler's views, as to how much of them he owed to divines, how much to his own vital experiences, are likely to be equally unfafe and uninterefting. The Englifh churchman of the prefent day, enjoying a form of doctrine far more correct than that of any other communion, and refting on the found dogma that nothing is to be believed as neceflary to falvation but what can be proved by Scripture, has (whether rightly or wrongly, I do not here afk) become fo fatisfied with the good fruit, as to think little of the tree which bore it. The Church contro- verfies, and the metaphyfical inquiries, by which, after many mif- takes, and long ftruggles, that form of doclrine was elicited from Scripture, are to him fhadows of the paft, and " Schoolmen's " queftions." The element in the ancient worthies of the Church which is moft interefting to him is their human for- rows, temptations, triumphs, with which, as having happened in men of like paffions with themfelves, they ftill can fympa- thife. They cannot, however, now underftand how ftrong and Rev. Charles Kingjley. xxiii generally juft an influence thofe private and perfonal experiences had, in forming the opinions of the old worthies upon Scriptural doctrines, which we have been taught from childhood to find in Scripture, and are therefore aftonifhed, if not indignant, that every one in every age did not find them there at firft fight. Thus, ftanding upon the accumulated labours of ages, we are apt to be ungrateful to thofe who built up with weary labour, and often working through dark and dreary nights, the platform which now fupports us. We complain impatiently of the blindnefs of many a man, without whom we mould not have feen ; and of the incompletenefs of many a man's doctrine, who, was only incomplete becaufe he was {till engaged in fearching for fome truth, which, when found, he handed on as a precious heirloom to us who know him not. For the many, therefore, it will be altogether uninterefting for me to enter into any {peculation as to the fpiritual pedigree of Tauler's views. How far Philo-Judaeus and the Brahmins may have influenced the Pfeudo-Dionyfius ; how far the Pfeudo-Diony- fius may have influenced John Erigena ; how far that wondrous Irimman may have influenced Matter Eckart ; how far that vaft and fubtle thinker, claimed by fbme as the founder of German philofbphy, may have influenced Tauler himfelf, are queftions for which the many will care little ; which would require to be xxiv Preface by the difcuft in a large volume, ere the queftion could not merely be exhaufted, but made intelligible. Such matters may well be left for learned and large-minded men, to whom the develop- ment of Chriftian doclrine (both in the true and the falfe fenfe of that word) are a fcientific ftudy. But let me exprefs a hope, that fuch men will turn their attention more and more, not merely to the works of Tauler, but to thofe of his companions, and to that whole movement of the fourteenth century, of which Tauler is the moft popular and eafily acceflible type, as to a moft interefting and inftruclive page in the book of Chriftian, and indeed of human, thought. I fay human ; for it will be impoffible for them to examine the works of fuch men as Erigena, Tauler, Eckart, and Ruyfbroek, any more than thofe of the later myftics, whether Romim or Proteftant, without finding that their fpeculations, whether right or wrong in any given detail, go down to the very deepeft and moft univerfal grounds of theology and of metaphyfics ; and howfoever diftinclly Chriftian they may be, are connected with thoughts which have exerciied men of every race which has left behind it more than mere mounds of earth. They will find in the Greek, the Perfian, and the Hindoo ; in the Buddhift and in Mohammedan Sufi, the fame craving after the Abfolute and the Eternal, the fame attempt to exprefs in words that union be- Rev. Charles Kingjley. xxv tween man and God, which tranfcends all words. On making that difcovery, if they have not already made it, two courfes will be open to them. They can either rejecl: the whole of fuch thoughts as worthlefs, afluming that anything which Chriftianity has in common with heathendom muft be an adulteration and an interpolation ; or, when they fee fuch thoughts bubbling up, as it were fpontaneoufly, among men divided utterly from each other by race, age, and creed, they can conclude that thofe thoughts muft be a normal product of the human fpirit, and that they indicate a healthy craving after fbme real objecl: ; they can rife to a tender and deeper fympathy with the afpirations and mif- takes of men who fought in great darknefs for a ray of light, and did not feek in vain ; and can give frefh glory to the doclrines of the Catholic Church when they fee them fulfilling thofe afpirations, and correcting thofe miftakes ; and in this cafe, as in others, fatisfying the defire of all nations, by pro- claiming Him by whom all things were made, and in whom all things confift, who is The Light and The Life of men, mining for ever in the darknefs, uncomprehended, yet unquenched. There is another clafs of readers worthy of all refpect, who may be diflatisfied, if not ftartled, by many paflages in thefe fer- mons. Men well fkillcd in the terminology of the popular reli- gion, and from long experience, well acquainted with its value, b xxvi Preface by the are apt to be jealous when they find a preacher handling the higheft matters, and yet omitting to ufe concerning them the formulae in which they are now commonly expreft. Such men I would entreat to have patience with, and charity for, a man whofe character they muft fo heartily admire. Let them remember that many of our own formulae are not to be found verbatim in Holy Writ, but have been gradually extracted from it by proceffes of induction or of deduction ; and let them allow to Tauler, as far as is confiftent with orthodoxy, Chriftian liberty to find likewife what he can in that Scripture, which he reveres as deeply as they do. Let them confider alfo, that moft of thofe expreflions of his which are moft ftrange to our modern pulpits, are ftrictly Scriptural, and to be found in the Sacred Text ; and that no man can be blamed at firft fight, for under- ftanding fuch expreffions literally, and for fhrinking from reducing them to metaphors. God has ordained that the Pauline afpect of Chriftianity, and the Pauline nomenclature, mould for the laft three hundred years at leaft, mould almoft exclufively the thoughts of His church : but we muft not forget, that St. John's thoughts, and St. John's words, are equally infpired with thofe of St. Paul ; and that not we, but Tauler, are the fit judges as to whether St. Paul's language, or St. John's, was moft fit to touch the German heart in the dark and hideous times of the Fourteenth Rev. Charles Kingjley. xxvii Century. The important queflion is Did Tauler, under what- foever language, really hold in fpirit and in truth the vital doc- trines of the Gofpel ? That can only be afcertained by a fair and charitable induction, and of the refult of fuch an induction I have little fear. Some, again, whofe opinions will be entitled to the very higheft refpect, will be pained at the fantaftic and arbitrary method (if method it can be called) in which Tauler ufes Scripture to illuf- trate his opinions. Let them remember, that this was not a peculiarity of the man, but of his age ; that for various reafons, a fimple, literal, and hiftoric method of interpretation (which doubt- lefs is at the fame time the moft fpiritual) was then in its infancy ; that it is by no means perfect yet ; and that it is quite poffible that our great grandchildren may be as much furprifed at our ufe of many a text, as we are at Tauler's. But there are thofe and thanks to Almighty God they are to be numbered by tens of thoufands who will not perplex them- felves with any fuch queftionings ; fimple and genial hearts, who try to do what good they can in the world, and meddle not with matters too high for them ; perfons whofe religion is not abftrufe, but deep ; not noify, but intenfe ; not aggreflive, but laborioufly ufeful ; people who have the fame habit of mind as the early Chriftians feem to have worn, ere yet b2 xxviii Preface by the Catholic truth had been defined in formulae ; when the Apoftles* creed was fymbol enough for the Church, and men were orthodox in heart, rather than exact in head. For fuch it is enough if a fellow-creature loves Him whom they love, and ferves Him whom they ferve. Perfonal affection and loyalty to the fame unfeen Being is to them a communion of faints both real and actual, in the genial warmth of which all minor differences of opinion vanifh, and a truly divine liberality enables them to believe with St. John, that " Thereby know ye the fpirit of God : every " fpirit that confefTes that Jefus Chrift is come in the flem is born " of God." To fuch thefe fermons mould be, and I doubt not will be, welcome. If they find words in them which they do not under- ftand, even words from which at firft fight they differ, they will let them pafs them by for awhile, in charity and patience. See- ing (as they will fee at the firft glance) that John Tauler was one of themfelves, they will judge of what they do not underfland by what they do, and give him credit for fenfe and righteoufnefs, where their own intellects fail to follow him. Efpecially, too, if they be diffracted and difheartened (as fuch are wont to be) by the fin and confufion of the world ; by the amount of God's work which ftill remains undone, and by their own feeming incapacity to do it, they will take heart from the Rev. Charles Kingjley. xxix hiftory of John Tauler and his fellows, who, in far darker and more confufed time than the prefent, found a work to do, and ftrength to do it ; who, the more they retired into the recefTes of their own inner life, found there that fully to know themfelves w r as to know all men, and to have a meffage for all men ; and who, by their unceafing labours of love, proved that the higheft fpiritual attainments, inftead of fhutting a man up in lazy and Pharifaic felf-contemplation, drive him forth to work as his Mailer worked before him, among the poor, the fuffering, and the fallen. Let fuch take heart, and toil on in faith at the duty which lies neareft to them. Five hundred years have patted fince Tauler and his fellows did their fimple work, and looked for no fruit from it, but the faving of one here and there from the nether pit. That was enough for which to labour : but without knowing it, they did more than that. Their work lives, and will live for ever, though in forms from which they would have perhaps mrunk had they forefeen them. Let all fuch therefore take heart. They may know their own weaknefs : but they know not the power of God in them. They may think fadly that they are only palliating the outward fymptoms of focial and moral difeafe : but God may be ftriking, by fome unconfcious chance blow of theirs, at a root of evil which they never fufpected. They may mourn over the failure of fome feemingly ufeful plan of their own : but God may be, by b3 xxx Preface by the their influence, fowing the feed of fome plan of His Own, of which they little dream. For every good deed comes from God. His is the idea, His the infpiration, and His its fulfilment in time; and therefore no good deed but lives and grows with the ever- laiting life of God Himfelf. And as the acorn, becaufe God has given it " a forming form/' and life after its kind, bears within it, not only the builder oak, but made for many a herd, food for countlefs animals, and at laft, the gallant mip itfelf, and the ma- terials of every ufe to which nature or art can put it and its defcendants after it throughout all time ; fb does every good deed contain within itfelf endlefs and unexpected poflibilities of other good, which may and will grow and multiply for ever, in the genial Light of Him whofe eternal Mind conceived it, and whofe eternal Spirit will for ever quicken it, with that Life of which He is the Giver and the Lord. There is another clafs of readers, to whom I expecl; thefe fermons to be at once very attractive and very valuable ; a clafs of whom I fpeak with extreme diffidence, having never had their experiences ; and of whom I mould not have fpoken at all, were they not juft now as much depreciated, as they were in paft centuries rated too highly ; I mean thofe who are commonly called " Myftics." Doubtlefs, they are paying a penalty for that extravagant adoration which was beftowed of old upon the Rev. Charles Kingjley. xxxi " Saint." Mankind has difcovered that much of what once, in fuch perfons, feemed moft divine, was moft painfully human ; that much of what feemed moft fupernatural, was but too de- gradingly natural, the confequences of difeafed brain, deranged nervous fyftem, or weaknefs brought on by voluntary afcetifcifm ; and fo mankind, angry with its idols for having a flaw anywhere, has darned them peevifhly to the ground. Would it not have been better to give up making idols of fuch perfons, and to have ex- amined patiently, charitably, and philofophically what they really were, and what they were not ? By fo doing, I believe, men would have found that in thefe myftics and faints, after all bodily illufions, all nervous fantafies, all pardonable " confufions between the objecl and the fubjecl:," had been eliminated, there ftill re- mained, in each and every one of them, and not to be explained away by any theory of difeafed body or mind, one of the very lovelieft and nobleft human characters ; and on that difcovcrv the queftion muft have followed, - - Was that, too, the pro- duel; of difeafe ? And to that there can be, I truft, but one anfwer from the many. If here and there a man mail be found daring enough to affert that the moft exquifite de- velopments of humanity are grounded on a lie ; that its feemingly lovelieft flowers are but fungi bred of corruption ; then the general heart of mankind will give their cynicifm the lie, b4 xxxii Preface by the and anfwer, " Not fo ! this is too beautiful and too righteous " to have been born of aught but God." And when they found thefe perfons, whatfocver might be their " denomination," all inclined to claim fome illumination, in- tuition, or direct vifion of Eternal truth, Eternal good, Eternal beauty, even of that Eternal Father in whom all live and move and have their being ; yet making that claim in deepeft humility, amid confeffions of their own weaknefs, finfulnefs, nothingnefs, which to the felf-fatisfied many feem exaggerated and all but in- fmcere ; they would have been, perhaps, more philofophical, as well as more charitable ; more in accordance with Baconian induc- tion, as well as with Saint Paul's direct affertions in his Epiftles to the Corinthians, if they had faid : " The teftimony of fo many " ifolated perfons to this fact is on the whole a fair probability " for its truth ; and we are inclined to believe it, though it " tranfcends our experience, on the fame ground that we believe " the united teftimony of travellers to a hundred natural wonders, " which differ as utterly from anything which we ever faw, as do " thefe fpiritual wonders from anything which we have ever felt." And, if men are willing (as they may be hereafter) patiently to examine the facts ftill further, they may poffibly find, in the very circumftances which now make them fcornfully incredulous of " myftic raptures," a moral juftification of their reality. Rev. Charles King /ley. xxxiii It will be found that thefe " myftics " are, in almoft every cafe, perfons who are fuffering ; perhaps disappointed, perhaps lonely, perhaps unhealthy, perhaps all three at once, bereaved of all focial comfort, and tortured with difeafe. It is eafy enough to fay that fuch perfons are efpecially liable to melancholic delufions, liable to miftake the action of their difeafed nerves for external apparitions and voices ; liable, from weaknefs of brain, and the too intenfe felf-introfpection which difeafe often brings with it, to inveft trifling accidents with an undue importance, and to regard them as fupernatural monitions. Be it fo. Myftics in all ages have not been unaware of their own dangers, their own liability to miftakes ; and have tried to diftinguifh, by fuch canons as their age afforded them, the falfe from the true, the fleihly from the fpiritual. But meanwhile, has this hypothefis no moral juftice, and therefore moral pro- bability (which muft always depend on the amount of moral juftice involved in any given hypothefis), namely, the hypothefis that to thefe lonely fufferers more was granted than to the many, becaufe they needed more ? That fome direct and inward " beatific " vifion " of God was allowed to them, becaufe they had no oppor- tunity of gaining any indirect and outward one from a fmiling world, feen in the light of a joyful heart ? There are thofe who have health and ftrength, health and beauty, wife and child ; Preface by the a pad which it is pleafant to remember, and a future which it is pleafant to work out. Such find no difficulty in faying that God is Love ; that God cares for them, and His mercy is over all His works. But if they had lain, and lain perhaps from childhood, in the loweft deep, in the place of darknefs, and of storm, while lover and friend were hid away from them, and they fat upon the parching rock, like Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, be- fide the corpfes of their dead fbns, dead hopes, dead health, dead love, as on a ghaftly battle-field, ftript among the dead, like thofe who are wounded, and cut away from God's hand ; if they had ftruggled in the horrible mire of perplexity, and felt all God's billows and waves go over them, till they were weary of crying, and their throats were dry, and their fight failed them with watching fo long for their God, and all the faith and prayer which was left them was : " Thou wilt not leave my foul " in hell, neither fuffer Thy holy one to fee corruption" If all this or lefs than this had come upon them ; then they might have felt it not altogether fo eafy to fay that God is Love. They, too, might have longed for fome inward proof, fbme token which tranfcends all argument, that though they go down to hell, God is there ; that in their moft utter doubt and darknefs, and defola- tion, all is well ; for they dwell in God, and God in them. They might have longed for it : and God might have been juft Rev. Charles Kingjley. xxxv and merciful in giving it to them ; as He may have been in giving it already to thoufands, who by no other means could have been able to face the fearful ftorm of circumftances, which feemed to proclaim the Devil, and not God, the matter of the world. Why not let the myftics tell their own ftory ? It is more philofophical after all, perhaps, as well as more Scriptural, to believe that " wifdom is juftified of all her children/' As for the impoffibility of fuch a direct aflurance, it is an aflertion too filly to be feriously anfwered in the nineteenth cen- tury, which is revealing weekly wonders in the natural world, which would have feemed impoffible to our fathers. Shall the natural world, at every great ftep, tranfcend our boldeft dreams : and mall the fpiritual world be limited by us to the mereft common places of every day experience, cfpecially when thofe very common places are yet utterly unexplained and miraculous ? When will men open their eyes to the plain axiom, that nothing is impoffible with God, save that He mould tranfgrefs His own nature by being unjuft and unloving ? But whether or not the popular religion mall juftify and fatisfy the afpirations of the myftic, Tauler's fermons will do fo. They will find there the fame fpiritual food which they have found already in St. Bernard, A Kempis, and Madame Guyon ; and find there alfb, perhaps more clearly than in any myftic writer, a xxxvi Preface by the fafeguard againft the dangers which fpecially befet them ; againft the danger of miftaking their pafling emotions for real and abiding love of good ; againft exalting any peculiar intuition which they may think they have attained, into a fource of felf- glorification, and fancying that they become fomething, by the acl: of confefling themfelves nothing. For with Tauler, whether he be right or wrong in any given detail, practical righteoufnefs, of the divineft and loftieft kind, is at once the object, and the means, and the teft, of all upward fteps. God is The fupreme Good which man is intended to behold : but only by being in- fpired by Him, owing all to Him, and copying Him, can he behold Him, and in that fight find his higheft reward, and heaven itfelf. But there are thofe oppreft by doubts, and fears, and forrows, very different from thofe of which I have juft fpoken, who may find in Tauler' s genial and funny pages a light which will ftand them in good ftead in many an hour of darknefs. There are thofe, heaped beyond defert with every earthly blifs, who have had to afk themfelves, in awful earneft, the queftion which all would fo gladly put away : Were I ftripped to-morrow of all thefe things, to ftand alone and helplefs, as I fee thoufands ftand, what mould I then have left ? They may have been tempted to anfwer, with Medea in the tragedy : - " Che refta ? . . lo ! " Rev. Charles King/ley. xxxvii But they have fhrunk from that defperate felf-affertion, as they felt that, in the very aft, they ihould become, not a philosopher, but, as Medea did, a fiend. Tremblingly they have turned to religion for comfort, under the glaring eye of that, dark fpeclre of bereavement, but have felt about all common- places, however true, as Job felt of old : " Milerable comforters " are ye all ! .... Oh, that I knew where I might find HIM. " I would order my caufe before Him, and fill my mouth with " arguments. I mould know the words which He would anfwer " me, and underftand what He would fay to me !" To fiich, Tauler can tell fbmething, though but a little, of that ftill wafte, where a man, lofmg all things elfe, mall find himfelf face to face with God, and hear from Him that which no man can utter again in words, even to the wife of his bofom. A little, too, though but a little, can Tauler tell him how he may die to thofe whom he loves beft on earth, that he may live to them, and love them better ftill, in the ever-prefent heavens ; of how he may lofe his life, and all perfons and things which make his life worth having, that he may find again all of them which God has indeed created, in that God to whom all live eternally. There are thofe, too, who have endured a ftruggle darker ftill ; more rare, perhaps, but juft as real as the laft ; men on xxxviii Preface by the whom the " nothingnefs " of all created things had flafhed, not as a mere fentimental and exaggerative metaphor, but as a item, inevitable, logical facl: ; who have felt, if for a moment, that perhaps they and all they fee and know, " Are but fuch fluff As dreams are made of " who have hung, if but for one moment, felf-poifed over the abyfs of boundlefs doubt ; who have Ihuddered as they faw, if but for a moment, fun, and hills, and trees, and the faces which they loved, and the feeming-folid earth beneath their feet, yea, their own body, flefh and blood, reel, melt, and vanifh, till nothing was left of the whole univerfe but folitary felf with its eternal malady of thought ; who have cried out of the loweft deep : " What is all which I love all which " I hate ? I gaze on it : but I fee not it, but a picture on my own " eyeball. I clutch it in defpair : but I feel not it, but the nerves " of my own finger-tip : if, indeed, eyeball and finger-tip be not, " like the reft, phantoms of a homelefs mind, and the only " certain exiftence in the univerfe is I and that I at war with " myfelf, felf-difcontented, felf-defpifing, and felf-damned." That problem Tauler will folve for no man ; for he will fay that each man muft folve it for himfelf, face to face with God alone : but he can tell how he folved it for himfelf ; how Rev. Charles King/ley. xxxix he came to find an eternal light filming in for ever in that utter darknefs, which the darknefs could not comprehend ; an eternal ground in the midft of that abyfs, which belonged not to the abyfs, nor to the outward world which had vanifhed for the moment, nor to fpace, nor time, nor any category of hu- man thought, or mortal exiftence ; and that its fubftance was the Everlafting Perfonal Good, whofe Love is Righteoufnefs. Tauler can point out the path by which he and others came to fee that Light, to find that Rock of Ages ; the fimple path of honeft felf-knowledge, felf-renunciation, felf-reftraint, in which every upward ftep towards right expofes fbme frefh depth of inward fin- fulnefs, till the once proud man, crumed down, like Job and Paul, by the fenfe of his own infinite meannefs, becomes, like them, a little child once more, and carts himfelf {imply upon the gene- rofity of Him who made him : " An infant crying in the night ; An infant crying for the light, And with no language but a cry." And then, fo Tauler will tell him, there may come to him the vifion, dim, perhaps, and fitting ill into clumfy words, but clearer, furer, nearer to him than the ground on which he treads, or than the foot which treads it the vifion of an Everlafting Spiritual Subftance, Moft Human and yet Moft Divine, who *1 Preface by the Rev. Charles Kingjley. can endure ; and who, {landing beneath all things, can make their fpiritual fubftance endure likewife, though all worlds and aeons, birth, and growth, and death, matter, and fpace, and time, fhould melt in very deed, "And, like the bafelefs fabric of a vifion, Leave not a rack behind " If there be any to whom thefe fentences mall feem merely an enigmatic verbiage, darkening counfel by words without know- ledge, I can only beg them not to look at Tauler's wifdom through my folly ; his siccum lumen through my glare and fmoke. As I faid at firft, he needs no Preface. There are thofe who will comprehend him without comment. There are thofe, alfb, who will rife up and follow him, and his Matter. J The Hiftory and Life OF THE REVEREND DOCTOR JOHN TAULER. FIRST CHAPTER. N the year of Our Lord 1340, it came to pafs, that a Mailer in Holy Scripture preached ofttimes in a certain city, and the people loved to hear him, and his teachings were the talk of the country for many leagues round. Now this came to the ears of a lay- man who was rich in God's grace, and he was warned three times in his fleep that he mould go to the city where the Matter dwelt, and hear him preach. Now that city was in another country, more than thirty How a cer- tain learned Majier taught in the cityofStraf- bourg. The Hi/lory and Life of How a cer- tain man, being warned in a dream, came to him and beard him preach. How the man loved the Mafter, and entreated bint for further inftruftion. leagues diftant. Then the man thought within him- fclf, " I will go thither and wait to fee what God is purpofcd to do or bring to pafs there." So he came to that city and heard the Matter preach five times. Then God gave this man to perceive that the Matter was a very loving, gentle, good-hearted man by nature, and had a good underftanding of the Holy Scripture, but was dark as to the light of grace ; and the man's heart did yearn over him, and he went to the Mafter and faid, " Dear and honoured Sir, I have travelled a good thirty leagues on your account, to hear your teaching. Now I have heard you preach five times, and I pray you in God's name to let me make my confeflion to you/' The Mafter anfwered, " With all my heart." Then the man confeiTed to the Mafter in all fimplicity, and when he defired to receive the Lord's Body, the Mafter gave it him. When this had lafted twelve weeks, the man faid to the Mafter, " Dear Sir, I beg you for God's fake to preach us a fermon, mowing us how a man may attain to the higheft and utmoft point it is given to us to reach in this prefent time." The Mafter anfwered, " Ah ! dear fon, what doft thou afk for ? how mall I tell thee of fuch high things ? for I ween thou w r ouldft underftand but little thereof." But the man faid, " Ah ! dear Mafter, even though I mould underftand little or nothing thereof, The Reverend Doctor John Tauler* yet I cannot but thirft after it. Multitudes flock to hear you ; if there were only one among them all who could underftand you, your labour were well beftowed." Then faid the Matter, " Dear fon, if I am to do as thou fayeft, I muft needs give fome ftudy and labour to the matter before I can put fuch a fermon together/' But the man would not ceafe from his prayers and entreaties till the Mafter promifed him that he mould have his defire. So, when the Mafter had finimed his fermon, he announced to the people that in three days they mould come together again, for he had been requefted to teach how a man could attain to the Higheft and Beft and neareft to God that might be reached in this prefent time. And when the day was come, much people came to the church, and the man fat down in a place where he could hear well ; and the Mafter came, and thus began his difcourfe, and faid : How the Majler, being much en- treated of the man, promijed to preach on the bigbeft good of man. R2 The Hi/lory and Life of SECOND CHAPTER. In t be following gracious Sermon, twenty-four articles are rebearfed whereby a man may perceive wbo are the proper, true, reafonable, enlightened, contemplative men ; and what fort of man It Is to whom Chrlfl may well fpeak tbefe words : Ecce vere Ifraelita in quo dolus non eft Lo ! see a true beholder of God in whom Is no guile (JOHN, i. 47). The Maker's fermon. EAR children, I have much to fay to you in this fermon concerning thofe things of which I have promifed to fpeak ; where- fore I cannot for this time expound the gofpel of the day to you as is my wont, neither mall I fpeak much Latin in this fermon ; for what I have to fay, I will prove with Holy Scripture [and he faid] : " Dear children, I would have you to know that there be many men, who indeed attain to a clear under- ftanding and reafonable judgment, but who do this by means of images and forms through the help of other men, and without the Scriptures. Further, there be found many who, when they mark that fomething is known to them through the Scriptures, are not there- with content. Such a man is ftill far from his higheft The Revere?id Doctor John T aider, and greateft good. Dear children, if a man had broken through thefe things, and was become dead to them, and had got above forty ftages of contemplation, and above the conceptions of our reafbn, whether they come to us through images or forms of fpeech if there were a man who had come to this, he would be dearer and more precious in God's fight than a hundred thoufand men who never get out of their own felf, and live after the way of their own choofmg; for to fuch God cannot find entrance, nor work in their fouls. This all comes of their own will, and their felf- glorifying folly, which takes delight in the dexterity of their own reafbn, in framing and handling concep- tions. But thofe men who while on earth have broken through thefe things, and have given themfelves to God in fuch fort that they have died unto themfelves, and have both made themfelves free from all outward forms, and the ufe of feniible images in their exercifes of contemplation, and humbly toiled and prefTed on- wards above the images of mere reafon, as Dionyfms lays, " the light of faith requires that a man fhould be raifed above the apprehenfions of reafon ;" know, dear children, that in fuch fouls God doth find reft, and a place wherein to dwell and to work when He choofeth. Now when God findeth thus no hindrance in fuch a man, He works His own works in him, and B3 Of the foul that is pre- cious in GOO"J Jigbt, having become that which He would have all intelligent fpirits to be. The Hlftory and Life of Of the hin- drances why there be Jew of fucb fouls. Of the tokens whereby fuch may be known. draweth him truly to Himfelf in Himfelf. Now know that fuch a man is rare, for his life and ways arc hidden from others, and unknown to them, except to fuch as have a like life, of whom, alas ! I fear there be but few. To this ftate, and this noble perfe&nefs, none can come except through boundlefs humility, an unclouded understanding, and a clear reafon ; for it has happened ere now that fome great dodlors and priefts have fallen ; and a multitude of rational fpirits belonging to the angelic hofts, who perceived nothing elfe in their nature and effence but mere reafon, have erred hence, and fallen everlaftingly away from eternal truth. And this is what happens ftill to all thofe who look to their own reafon, and want to be and do as God by the light of their felf-willed underftanding. For which reafon it is profitable and needful to know who are the proper, truly reafonable, enlightened, contemplative men. Now as far as I can find from Scripture, there are four-and-twenty tokens which fuch a man muft poflefs. The Firft is given us by the higheft Mafter of all doctors, arts and wifdom, namely, our Lord Jefus Chrift, w T hen he fays : " Hereby mall ye know whether ye be my difciples, if ye have love one to another even as I have loved you." As much as to fay, ' Though ye mould poflTefs arts and wifdom, and high underftand- ing, it is all in vain if ye have not withal fidelity and love/ We believe that Balaam was fo replete with understanding, that he perceived what things God purpofed to do or reveal hundreds of years after his day; but it availed him nothing, forafmuch as he did not cleave with love and loyalty to the things which he underftood. The Second mark appertaining to a truly reafonable, enlightened man is that he muft become empty of felf; and this muft not make him proud, but he mall consider how he may ever more attain to this freedom, and fit loofe by all creatures. The Third Article : He mall refign himfelf utterly to God, that God may work His own works in him, and he fhall not glory in the works as being his own, but always think himfelf too mean to have done them. The Fourth Article : He fhall go out from him- felf in all the things in which he is wont to feck and find himfelf, whether belonging to time or to eternity, and by fo doing he fhall win a true increafe. Fifth Article : He fhall not feek his own ends in any creature, whether temporal or eternal, and hereby he fhall attain to perfect fatisfaction and content. The Sixth Article : He fhall always wait on that which God will have him to do, and mall try, with B4 That the fir -ft and cbiefeft token is love. Offelf-re- nunciation. Of refigna- tion. Of poverty of fpirit. Of true con- tent. Of waiting on God* 8 The Hiftory and Life of That be mujl give up his will to God's will, And bend all bis powers to work with God. Of feeing God in all things, And receiving all from Him. Of freedom from the creature. Ofjteadfaft- nefs in the truth. the help of God, to fulfil that to the uttermoft, and mail take no glory to himfelf therefor. The Seventh Article : He lhall daily, without ceafing, give up his will to the will of God, and endeavour to will nothing but what God willeth. The Eighth Article : He mall bend all his powers into iubmiffion to God, and exercife them fo con- ftantly and fo ftrenuoufly in God, and with fuch power and love, that God may w r ork nothing in him without his active concurrence, and he may do nothing without God. The Ninth Article : He mail have the fenfe of the prefence of God in all His works, at all times, and in all places, whatever it pleafe God to appoint, whether it be fweet or bitter. The Tenth Article : All his pleafure and pain he lhall receive, not as from the creature, but from God ; howbeit God ofttimes works through the creature, yet he lhall receive all things as from God alone. Eleventh Article : He lhall not be led captive by any lufting or defire after the creatures without due neceflity. The Twelfth Article : No contradiction or milhap lhall have power to move or conftrain him fo that it feparate him from the truth ; therefore hold faft always and entirely by the fame. The Reverend Doctor Joh?i Tender, Thirteenth Article : He fhall not be deceived by the glory of the creature, nor yet by any falfe light, but in a fpirit of kindnefs and love he fhall confefs all things to be what they are, and from all things draw out what is beft, and ufe it to his own improvement, and in no wife to his own detriment ; for fuch a courfe is a certain fign of the prefence of the Holy Spirit. Fourteenth Article: He fhall at all times be equipped and armed with all virtue, and ready to fight againft all vice and fin, and with his good weapons he mall obtain the victory and the prize in all conflicts. Fifteenth Article : He mall confefs the truth in fim- plicity, and he fhall mark what it is in itfelf, what God requireth of us, and what is poflible to man, and then order his life accordingly, and acl: up to what he con- fefTes. The Sixteenth Article : He fhall be a man of few words and much inward life. The Seventeenth Article : He fhall be blamelefs and righteous, but in no wife be puffed up by reason of the fame. The Eighteenth Article : His converfation fhall be in all uprightnefs and fincerity ; thus he fhall let his light fhine before men, and he fhall preach more with his life than with his lips. Ofwifdom to dijcern between good and evil. Of courage and virtue. Of wifdom to know what is ex- pedient. Of modera- tion, BlameleJ/nefi, Andjineeritj. 10 The Hiftory and Life of Qffinglenefs of eye. Of docility and gentle- nefs. Ofthankful- nefi. That all this is worth nought if be have not true humility, And follow our Lord in all things, The Nineteenth Article : He fhall feek the glory of God before all things, and have no other aim in view. The Twentieth Article : He fhall be willing to take reproof; and when he ftriveth with any he fhall give way if the matter concern himfelf alone, and not God. The Twenty-firft Article : He mall not defire or feek his own advantage, but think himfelf unworthy of the leaft thing that falls to his lot. The Twenty-second Article : He fhall look upon himfelf as the leaft wife and worthy man upon earth, yet find in himfelf great faith ; and above all he fhall take no account of his own wifdom and the works of his own reafon, but humble himfelf beneath all For the Author of all truth will not work a men. fupernatural work in the foul, unlefs He find a thorough humility in a man, and go before his doings with his perfect grace, as he did with St. Paul. But I fear, alas ! that little heed is taken to this in thefe our days. The Twenty-third Article : He fhall fet the life and precepts of our Lord Jefus Chrift before him for a pattern to his life, words, and works, and without ceafing look at himfelf therein as in a mirror, that, in fo far as he is able, he may put off everything un- becoming the honoured image of our Lord. The Reverend Doctor John Tender, ii The Twenty-fourth and laft Article is : He fhall comport himfelf as a man of fmall account, as nothing more than a beginner in a good life ; and though he mould therefore be defpifed by many, it fhall be more welcome to him than all the favour of the world. Now, dear children, thefe are the figns that the ground of a man's foul is truly reafonable, fo that the image of all truth fhineth and teacheth therein ; and he who does not bear in himfelf thefe figns, may not and muft not fet any ftore by his own reafon, either in his own eyes or thofe of others. That we all may become fuch a true image, in thorough iincerity and perfect humility, may He help us who is the Eternal Truth, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft. Amen ! And count himfelf at laft not to have apprehended. The Hi/lory and Life of THIRD CHAPTER. How this pious man privately reveals to the doctor in part his own bidden bolinefs, and convitts the Majker that he is Jlill walking in the night of ignorance, and has an unclean veffel, and there- fore is yet a Pharifee. The man writetb out the Maker's fermon, and bringetb it to the Mafter. HEN this fermon was ended, the man went home to his lodging, and wrote it down word for word as the Mafter had fpoken it. And when he had flnimed he went to the Mafter, and faid, " I have written out your fermon, and if it be not troublefome I mould like to read it to you." The Mafter replied, " I mail be glad to hear it." Thereupon the man read the fer- mon over, and then faid to the Mafter, " Dear fir, pray tell me if there be a word wanting, that if fo I may fet it down." The Mafter faid, " Dear fon, thou haft written every word and phrafe juft as it came out of my mouth. I tell thee, if any one would give me much money for it, I could not write down every word fo exadly as thou haft done it here, unlefs I fet to afrefh to draw it from the Scripture. I con- fefs that I am greatly aftonilhed at thee to think that The Revere?id Doctor Jo/in T aider, thou haft been concealed from me fo long, and I mould never have perceived how full of wit thou art, and fo often as thou haft confefled to me, thou fhouldft fo have hidden thy talent that I have never perceived it in thee." Then the man made as though he would depart, and faid, " Dear Mafter, if God will I am purpofed to go home again. " But the Mafter faid, " Dear fon, what fhouldft thou do at home ? Thou haft neither wife nor child to provide for ; thou muft eat there as well as here : for if God will, I am minded to preach again of a perfect life." Then faid the man, " Dear Mafter, you muft know that I have not come hither for the fake of your preaching, but becaufe I thought, with God's help, to give you Ibme good counfel." Quoth the Mafter, " How fhouldft thou give counfel, who art but a layman, and under- ftandeft not the Scriptures ; and it is, moreover, not thy place to preach if thou wouldft. Stay here a little longer ; perchance God will give me to preach fuch a fermon as thou wouldft care to hear/' Then the man faid, " Dear Mafter, I would fain fay fomewhat to you, but I fear that you w r ould be difpleafed to hear it." But the Mafter anfwered, " Dear fon, fay what thou wilt ; I can anfwer for it that I mall take it in good part." Hereupon the man faid, " You are a great clerk, and have taught us a good leflbn in this The Mafter is aftonijbed at bis wifdom. The man offer etb the Mafter good counfel, but the Mafter > feeing be is but a layman, receivetb it not at fir ft* The Hi/lory and Life of Tbe man Jbowetb him that be bim- felf, though be be not learned, is taught of a Majier who is above all Doflors. Then the Mafter pray- etb him to abide with him, and to J'peak what- ever is in bis mind. fcrmon, but you yourfclf do not live according to it ; yet you try to pcrfuadc me to flay here that you may preach me yet another fermon. Sir, I give you to know that neither your fermons, nor any outward words that man can fpeak, have power to work any good in me, for man's words have in many ways hin- dered me much more than they have helped me. And this is the reafon : it often happened that when I came away from the fermon, I brought certain falfe notions away with me, which I hardly got rid of in a long while with great toil ; but if the highcft Teacher of all truth mall come to a man, he muft be empty and quit of all the things of time. Know ye that when this fame Mafter cometh to me, He teaches me more in an hour than you or all the doctors from Adam to the Judgment Day will ever do." Then faid the Mafter, " Dear fon, ftay here, I pray thee, and celebrate the Lord's Death with me." Whereon the man anfwered, " Seeing that you adjure me fo folemnly, it may be that, in obedience to God, I ought to ftay with you ; but I will not do it unlcfs you promife to receive all that I have faid to you, and all I may yet fay to you, as under the feal of con- feflion, fo that none may know of it." Quoth the Mafter : " Dear fon, that I willingly promife, if only that thou wilt ftay here." Then faid the man, " Sir, The Reverend Doftor John Tauler. yc muft know, that though you have taught us many good things in this fermon, the image came into my mind while you were preaching, that it was as if one lliould take good wine and mix it with lees, fo that it grew muddy." Quoth the Matter : " Dear fon, what doft thou mean by this ?" The man faid, " I mean that your veflel is unclean, and much lees are cleaving to it, and the caufe is, that you have fuffcrcd yourfelf to be killed by the letter, and are killing yourfelf ftill every day and hour, albeit you yourfelf know full well that the Scripture faith, ' The letter killcth, but the Spirit giveth life.' Know, that fame letter which now killeth you will make you alive again, if fb be you are willing ; but in the life you are now living, know that you have no light, but you arc in the night, in which you are indeed able to underltand the letter, but have not yet tailed the fweetnefs of the Holy Ghoft ; and, withal, you are yet a Pharifee." Then faid the Mailer, " Dear fon, I would have thee to know that, old as I am, I have never been fpokcn to in fuch fafhion all my life." The man faid, " Where is your preaching now ? Do you fee now what you are when you arc brought to the proof? And although you think that I IKIM- fpoken too hardly to you, you arc in truth guilty of all I ha\c laid, and I will prove to you from your own felf that The man tellftb him plainly of bis ignorance. 71>f Mafter is angered for a moment* i6 The Hi/lory and Life of Then the man provetb to the Majler from bis anger that be is a Pba- rifee, and is yet trujling in bimfelf. it is true." Then faid the Matter, " I aik for no more, for I have ever been an enemy to all Pharifees." Quoth the man, " I will firft tell you how it is that the letter is killing you. Dear fir, as you know your- felf, when you were arrived at the age to underiland good and evil, you began to learn the letter, and in fo doing you fought your own welfare, and to this day you are in the fame mind ; that is to fay, you are trufting to your learning and parts, and you do not love and intend God alone, but you are in the letter, and intend and feek yourfelf, and not the glory of God, as the Scripture teacheth us to do. You have a leaning towards the creatures, and fpecially towards one creature, and love that creature with your whole heart above meafure, and that is, moreover, the caufe why the letter killeth you. And whereas I faid that your veffel is unclean ; that is alfo true, inafmuch as you have not in all things a fingle eye to God. If you look into yourfelf, you will, for one thing, find it out by the vanity and love of carnal eafe whereby your veffel is fpoiled and filled with lees ; wherefore, when the pure unmixed wine of godly doctrine has gone through this unclean veffel, it comes to pafs that your teaching is without favour, and brings no grace to pure, loving hearts. And whereas I further faid that you were {till in darknefs, and had not the true light ; The Reverend DoEtor John Tauler. this is alfo true, and it may be feen hereby that fo few receive the grace of the Holy Spirit through your teaching. And whereas I faid that you were a Pha- rifee, that is alfo true ; but you are not one of the hypocritical Pharifees. Was it not a mark of the Pharifees that they loved and fought themfelves in all things, and not the glory of God ? Now examine yourfelf, dear fir, and fee if you are not a proper Pha- rifee in the eyes of God. Know, dear Mailer, that there are many people in the world who are all called Pharifees in God's fight, be they great or fmall, ac- cording to what their hearts or lives are bent upon." As the man fpoke thefe words the Matter fell on his neck and kifled him, and faid : " A likenefs has come into my mind. It has happened to me as it did to the heathen woman at the well. For know, dear fon, that thou haft laid bare all my faults before my eyes ; thou haft told me what I had hidden up within me, and fpecially that I have an affection for one creature ; but I tell thee of a truth that I knew it not myfelf, nor do I believe that any human being in the world can know of it. I wonder greatly who can have told thee this of me ? But doubt not that thou haft it from God. Now, therefore, I pray thee, dear fon, that thou celebrate our Lord's Death, and be thou my ghoftly father, and let me be thy poor How the Mafter fnd- etb a likenefs in bimfelf to the Woman of Samaria. i8 77/6" Hi/lory and Life of He prayetb fmful fon." Then faid the man, "Dear fir, if you the man for counfel,pro- fpcak lo contrary to ordinances, I will not itay with you, but ride home again ; that I afTure you." Hereupon faid the Mailer, " Ah, no ! I pray thee, for God's fake, do not fo ; flay awhile with me ; I pro- mife thee readily not to fpeak thus any more. I am minded, with God's help, to begin a better courfe, and I will gladly follow thy counfel, whatfoever thou deemeft beft, if I may but amend my life." Then faid the man, " I tell you of a truth, that the letter and learning lead many great doctors aftray, and bring fome into purgatory and fome into hell, according as their life here hath been, I tell you of a truth, it is no light matter that God mould give a man fuch great underftanding and fkill, and mattery in the Scripture, and he mould not put it in practice in his life.'' The Reverend Doctor JoJm Tauter. FOURTH CHAPTER. How God had wrought a great miracle through this pious man, and how this had come to pafs hecaufe God found in him a good and thorough humility. HEN faid the Mafter, " I pray thee, for God's fake, to tell me how it is that thou haft attained to fuch a life, and how thou ^^J didft begin thy fpiritual life, and what have been thy exercifes and thy hiftory." The man faid, " That is, indeed, a fimple requeft : for I tell you truly, if I mould recount, or write, all the won- drous dealings of God with me, a poor finner, for the laft twelve years, I verily believe that you have not a book large enough to contain it if it were all written ; however, I will tell you fomewhat thereof for this time. " The firft thing that helped me was, that God found in me a fincere and utterly felf-furrendering humility. Now I do not think there is any need to tell you the bodily exercifes by which I brought my flem into fubjeclion : for men's natures and difpofi- tions are very unlike ; but whenever a man has gi\cn c 2 The man telletb fome- vibat of bh bi/lory to the Majter. 20 The Hi/lory and Life of How be be- gan toitb true humility. How be tried to follow the example of tbe Saints. himfelf up to God with utter humility, God will not fail to give him fuch exercifes, by temptations and other trials, as He perceives to be profitable to the man, and fuch as he is well able to bear and endure if he be only willing. But this you ought to know : he who afks counfel of many people will be apt to go often affray ; for each one will point him to his own experience. But ofttimes a man may exercife him- felf in a certain practice which is good and profitable to himfelf; while, if another did the fame, it might very likely be ufelefs, or even hurtful to him. The Devil often ftirs up a man to praclife great aufterities, w r ith the intent that the man may grow fick and in- firm thereby, or weak in his brain, or do himfelf fome other injury. " I will tell you how it befel me in the beginning. I was reading the German books about the lives of the Saints, when I thought to myfelf, 'Thefe were men who lived on this earth as well as I, and perhaps, too, had not finned as I have.' And when thefe thoughts came into my head, I began to exercife myfelf in the life of the Saints with fome feverities, but grew fo fick thereby that I was brought to death's door. And it came to pafs one morning at break of day, that I had exercifed myfelf fo that my eyelids clofed from very weaknefs, and I fell aileep. And in my fleep it The Reverend Doctor John T aider. was as though a voice fpoke to me and faid, ' Thou foolifh man, if thou art bent upon killing thyfelf before thy time, thou wilt have to bear a heavy punimment ; but if thou didft fufFer God to exercife thee, He could exercife thee better than thou by thyfelf, or with the Devil's counfel/ When I heard fpeak of the Devil I awoke in a great fright, rose up, and walked out into a wood nigh to the town. Then I thought within myfelf, I had begun thefe exercifes without counfel : I will go and tell the old hermit all that has happened to me. And I did fo, and told him the words that I had heard in my fleep, and befought him in God's name to give me the beft counfel he could. So the hermit faid, * Thou mull know that if I am to advife, thou muft firft tell me all about thy exercifes/ So I did, and he faid, ' By whose counfel haft thou done thefe things ? ' and I answered, ' Of my own will/ Then the hermit faid, * Then know that it has been the Devil's counfel, and thou muft not obey him any more as long as thou liveft, but thou muft utterly give thyfelf up to God ; He can exercife thee much better than thou thyfelf, or the Devil/ Behold, dear Mafter, thereupon I ceafed from thefe exercifes, and yielded myfelf and my doings altogether up to God. For the reft, dear fir, you muft know that by nature I was a very ingenious, C3 How be erred therein by following bis own counfel. How tbe her- mit taught him to give him f elf up to God. 22 The Hi/lory and Life of How be fought to com- prehend di- vine things by bis own reafon ; and faw it to be the Devif; counfel. clever, good-hearted man ; but I had not the Scrip- tures in my hand, like you, but could only learn to know myfelf by my natural intelligence ; and with this fometimes I got fo far that I was furprifed at myfelf. And once upon a time, I thought in my reafon, * Thou haft fuch good parts, may be, if thou fhouldft give thy mind to it with all earneftnefs, thou couldft attain to comprehend fomewhat of divine things/ But as this thought came into my head I marked ftraightway that it was the Devil's counfel, and faw that it was all falfe. So I faid, ' O thou Evil Spirit, what an impure falfe counfel haft thou put in my heart, thou bad, falfe counfellor ! If we had fuch a God I would not give a berry for him.' After that, another night, when I was faying my matins,* an ardent longing came over me, fo that I faid, ' O eternal and merciful God, that it were thy will to give me to difcover fomething that mould be above all our fenfual reafon ! ' As foon as I had faid it I was forely affrighted at this great longing, and faid with great fervour, * Ah, my God and my Lord, forgive me of thy boundlefs mercy for having done this, and that it mould have entered into the heart of a poor worm like me to defire fuch a great gift * Three o'clock in the morning. The Reverend Dotfor John T aider. of fuch rich grace, and I confefs indeed that I have not always lived as I ought of right to do. I confefs, moreover, dear Lord, that I have been unthankful to Thee in all things, fo that methinks I am not worthy that the earth mould bear me, {till lefs that fuch an ardent, gracious defire mould fpring up in me; wherefore my body muft be punifhed for my fin.' With that I threw off my garments and fcourged myfelf till the blood ran down my moulders. And as thefe words remained in my heart and on my lips till the day broke, and the blood was flowing down, in that fame hour God mowed His mercy on me, fo that my mind was filled with a clear underftand- ing. And in that fame hour I was deprived of all my natural reafon ; but the time ieemed all too fhort to me. And when I was left to myfelf again I faw a fupernatural mighty wonder and iign, infbmuch that I could have cried with St. Peter, ' Lord, it is good for me to be here ! ' Now know, dear fir, that in that felf-fame fhort hour I received more truth and more illumination in my underflanding than all the teachers could ever teach me from now till the Judg- ment Day by word of mouth, and with all their natural learning and fcience. Now, dear Matter, I have faid enough for this time, as to how it stands with you." How be was illuminated of God. c 4 The Hifiory and Life of FIFTH CHAPTER. How God converted a heathen in a foreign land through this pious layman, and how that the Holy Ghojljlill to this day difplays His grace with the fame power that Hejhowed on the day of Pentecoft, when He Jinds Jitting hearts to receive Him. Further, how this pious man gives Jlill better iiiftruflion to theDocJor in thefe matters, andjhows him that he is a true Pharifee, and brings him to sub- mit to be converted and amend his ways. The Mafter bearetb him gladly. faid the Mafter, "If God give thee g grace to fay ftill more, I mould heartily rejoice in it, for I tell thee in all fmcerity that I have liftened to thee gladly, dear fon : now I beg thee for God's fake do not leave me, but ftay here, and if thou lack money I will not let thee want for anything, if I have to pledge a book for it." Then faid the man, " God reward you, dear fir : know that I need not your kindnefs, for God hath made me a fteward of His goods, fo that I have of earthly wealth five thoufand florins, which are God's, and if I knew where there was need of them, or where God would have them beftowed, I would give them away." Then faid the Mafter, " Then, dear fon, thou The Reverend DoEtor John T aider. art indeed the fteward of a rich man and a great Lord ! I am in great wonderment about that thou faidft, that I and all teachers could not teach thee as much by the Day of Judgment as thou haft been taught in an hour. Now tell me, for I wifh to hear, has the Scripture proceeded from the Holy Ghoft ?" Then faid the man, " Sir, methinks it feems impoffible that after I have faid fo much to you, you mould talk in fuch a childim fafhion ! Look here, dear Mafter ! I will afk you a queftion, and if with all your reafbn you can ex- plain it to me, either by the Scriptures, or without the Scriptures, I will give you ten thoufand florins/' Then faid the Mafter, " What is that ?" The man faid, " Can you inftrucl; me how I mould write a letter to a heathen far away in a heathen land, in iuch fafhion and language that the heathen mould be able to read and underftand it ; and make the letter fuch that the heathen mould come to the Chriftian faith ?" Then faid the Mafter, " Dear fon, thefe are the works of the Holy Ghoft ; tell me where has this happened ? If thou know anything of the matter, tell me in what way this came to pafs, and whether it happened to thyfelf ?" Then faid the man, " Albeit I am unworthy of it, yet did the Holy Spirit work through me, a poor finner ; and how it came to pafs would take long to tell, and make fuch a long ftory that one might write The man teacheth the Mafter con- cerning the works of the Holy Gboft. The Hiftory and Life of How there was a certain good heathen who prayed God to Jhow him the true faith : And how the man wrote him a letter ; which brought him thereto. a large book about it : The heathen was a very good- hearted man, and often cried to Heaven, and called upon Him who had made him arid all the world, and faid : ' O Creator of all creatures, I have been born in this land : now the Jews have another faith, the Chris- tians another. O Lord, who art over all, and haft made all creatures, if there be now any faith better than that in which I have been born, or if there be any other better ftill, mow it to me in what wife Thou wilt, fo that I may believe it, and I will gladly obey Thee and believe : but if it mould be that Thou doft not mow it me, and I mould die in my faith, fmce I knew no better, if there were a better faith, but Thou hadft not mown it nor revealed it to me, Thou wouldft have done me a grievous injuftice.' Now, behold, dear fir, a letter was fent to that heathen, written by me, a poor finner, in fuch fort that he came to the Chriftian faith ; and he wrote me a letter back again, telling what had befallen him, the which ftood written in a good Ger- man tongue, that I could read it quite well. Dear fir, there were much to be faid on this matter, but for this time it is enough ; you are well able to mark the meaning thereof." Then faid the Mafter, " God is wonderful in all His works and gifts ! Dear Ion, thou haft told me very ftrange things." The man faid, " Dear fir, I fear that I have faid The Reverend T)o8ior John T aider. The Mafter is vexed that be Jhould be injlrufled of a layman. fbme things to you which have vexed you greatly in your mind ; it is becaufe I am a layman, and you are a great doctor of Holy Scripture, and yet I have faid fo much to you after the manner of a teacher. But that I have meant it well and kindly, and fought your foul's falvation in it, and {imply the glory of God, and nothing elfe, of that God is my witnefs." Then faid the Matter, " Dear fon, if it will not make thee angry, I will tell thee what vexes me." Then faid the man, " Yea, dear fir, fpeak without fear ; I promife not to take it amifs." The Matter faid, " It amazes me greatly, and is very hard to receive, that thou being a layman, and I a prieft, I am to take inftru&ion from thee ; and it alfo troubles me much that thou calledft me a Pharifee." Then faid the man, " Is there no- thing elfe that you cannot take in ?" The Matter an- fwered, " No, I know of nothing elfe." Then faid the man, "Shall I alfo explain to you thefe two things?" He anfwered, " Yes, dear fon, I pray thee in all kind- nefs to do fo, for God's fake." Then faid the man, " Now tell me, dear Matter, how it was, or whofe work it was, that the bleffed Saint Katharine, who was but a young virgin barely fourteen years old, oxer- came fome fifty of the great matters, and moreover fo prevailed over them that they willingly went to mar- tyrdom ? Who wrought this ?" Then faid the Matter, Of St. Ka- tharine. The Hi/lory and Life of How the Mafter is proved to be a Pbarifee by the teftimony of Holy Scripture. " The Holy Ghoft did this." Quoth the man, " Do you not believe that the Holy Ghoft has ftill the fame power ?" The Mafter, " Yes, I believe it fully." The man, " Wherefore then do you not believe that the Holy Ghoft is fpeaking to you at this moment through me, a poor tinner and unworthy man, and is minded to fpeak to you ? He fpoke the truth through Caiaphas, who was alfb a {inner ; and know, that fince you take what I have faid to you fo much amifs, I will refrain from faying anything to you for the future." Then faid the Mafter, " Dear fon, do not do that : I hope, if God will, to be the better for thy words." The man faid, " Ah, dear fir, it vexes you alfo that I mould have called you a Pharifee, and yet I gave you fuch full proof of it that you could not deny it. This mould have been enough to content you, but fince it is not, I muft fay ftill more, and prove to you once again, that I am right, and that you are what I faid. Dear Mafter, you know very well that Our Lord Jefus Chrift faid himfelf, ' Beware of the Pharifees, for they bind heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's Ihoulders ; but they themfelves will not move them with one of their fingers.' Now, dear fir, look at yourfelf ; in this fermon of yours you have bound and laid upon us twenty-four articles, and you keep few enough of them yourfelf. Again : Our Lord The Reverend Doctor John T aider. faid, ' Beware of the Pharifees : whatfoever they bid you obferve, that obferve and do, but do not ye after their works, for they fay and do not.' ' Quoth the Matter, " Our BleiTed Lord fpoke thefe words to the men of his own day/' The man faid, " He fpeaks them ftill, now and evermore, to all men. Dear Matter, look at yourfelf ; whether you touch thefe burdens and bear them in your life is known to God and alfo to your- felf; but I confefs that as far as I can judge of your prefent condition, I would rather follow your words than your life. Only look at yourfelf, and fee if you are not a Pharifee in the eyes of God ; though not one of thofe falfe hypocritical Pharifees whofe portion is in hell-fire." The Matter faid, " I know not what I mail fay ; this I fee plainly, that I am a fmner, and am re- folved to better my life, if I die for it. Dear fon, I can- not wait longer ; I pray thee, fimply for God's fake, to counfel me how I mall fet about this work, and mow me and teach me how I may attain to the higheft perfection that a man may reach on earth." Then faid the man, " Dear fir, do not be wroth with me ; but I tell you of a truth that fuch counfel is fcarcely to be given you ; for if you are to be converted, all your wonted habits mutt be broken through with great pain ; becaufe you mutt altogether change your old way of life : and befides I take you to be near fifty years old." The Mafter confejjetb bis Jim, and is refolved to amend bis life. The Hijlory and Life of He ajketb in- Jiruction of the man ; Wbofettetb him a tajk to /earn. Then faid the Matter, " It may be fo ; but O dear fon, to him who came into the vineyard at the eleventh hour was given his penny the fame as to him who came in at the firft. I tell thce, dear fon, I have well con- fidered the matter, and my heart is fo firmly fet that if I knew this moment that I muft die for it, I would yet, with the help of God, ceafe from my carnal life, and my earthly reafonings, and live according to thy counfel. I befeech thee for God's fake not to keep me longer waiting, but to tell me this moment how I muft begin." Then faid the man, " Dear fir, becaufe you have received grace from God, and are willing to humble yourfelf and fubmit, and to bow down before a poor, mean, unworthy creature ; for all this let us give the glory to God, to whom it is due, for this grace proceeds from Him, and flows back to Him. Since then, dear fir, I am to inftrucl: you, and counfel you in God's name, I will look to Him for help, and do fo in love to Him, and fet you a tafk fuch as they give children to begin with at fchool, namely, the four- and-twenty letters of the alphabet, beginning with A : The Reverend Doctor JoJm Tender. SIXTH CHAPTER. This is the Golden ABC which this pious man fet the Doflor to learn, for the amending of his life, and which, doubtlefs, it were very pro/if able and needful for us all to repeat many times and oft, and amend our lives thereafter. FTER a manly and not a childifh fort, ye mall, with thorough earneftnefs, begin a good life. "DAD ways ye mall efchew, and practife all good- nefs with diligence and full purpofe of mind. (CAREFULLY endeavour to keep the middle path in all things, with feemlinefs and moderation. "TjEMEAN yourfelf humbly in word and work, from the inward holinefs of your heart. ENTIRELY give up your own will ; evermore cleave earneftly to God, and forfake Him not. PORWARD and ready fhall ye be to all good works, without murmuring, whatever be commanded you. QIVE heed to exercife yourfelf in all godly works of mercy tow r ard the body or the fpirit. The tajk which the man gave the Mafter to learn. The Hijlory and Life of no backward glances after the world, or the creatures, or their doings. JNWARDLY in your heart ponder over your paft life with honefty, fmcere repentance in the bitternefs of your heart, and tears in your eyes. J^NIGHTLY and refolutely withftand the aflaults of the Devil, the Flefh, and the World. J^EARN to conquer long-cherifhed floth with vigour, together with all effeminacy of the body, and fubfervience to the Devil. AKE your abode in God, with fervent love, in certain hope, with ftrong faith, and be towards your neighbour as towards yourfclf. o other man's good things mall ye defire, be they what they may, corporeal or fpiritual. QRDER all things fo that you make the beft and not the worft of them. PENANCE, that is, fuffering for your fin, you mall take willingly, whether it come from God or the creatures. QUITTANCE, remiffion, and abfolution, you mail give to all who have ever done you wrong in thought, word, or deed. DECEIVE all things that befal you with meeknefs, and draw improvement from them. The Reverend Doctor John Tauter. 33 COUL and body, eftate and reputation, keep unde- filed with all care and diligence. * TRUTHFUL and upright mall ye be towards all, without guile or cunning. "^/ANTONNESS and excefs, of whatfoever kind it may be, ye fhall learn to lay afide, and turn from it with all your heart. X T '> our Blefled Lord's life and death, mall ye follow, and wholly conform yourfelf thereunto with all your might. Y E fhall evermore, without ceafing, befeech our bleffed Lady that me help you to learn this our leffon well. JEALOUSLY keep a rein over your will and your fenfes, that they may be at peace with all that God doth, and alfo with all His creatures. All this leffon muft be learnt of a free heart and will, without cavilling. * The letters R and S have been tranfpofed j the reft follow the order of the original, in which, as in the tranflation, the important word of the fen- tence is by no means always the one with which it commences. The letters V and W are wanting in the original. TR. 34 The Hi/lory and Life of SEVENTH CHAPTER. How the Doctor learns this tajk very quickly (though with t rouble J, and bow this layman further inftrucJetb him in thejhorteji way to the higheji contemplation ; alfo how he was obliged to begin a dying life, and exercife himfelf therein till at loft he prevailed over himfelf. And in this following /effort lies the true ground of almojl all the fermons that Jland in this book, from which lejjbn alfo this Doctor obtained his under/landing of Holy Scripture, and the perfecting of his life, asjball be hereafter fet forth. How the Mafter re- ceiveth bis tajk from the man, andfet- tetb himfelf to learn it. OW, dear fir, take kindly as from God, without cavilling, this child's tafk, which He fets you by the mouth of me, a poor and unworthy human being." Then faid the Mafter, " However thou mayft call this a child's tafk, methinks it needs a man's ftrength to attack it. Now tell me, dear fon, how long a time wilt thou give me to learn this leflbn ?" The man anfwered, " \Ve will take five weeks, in honour of the five wounds of Chrift, that you may learn it well. You mall be your own fchoolmafter ; and when you are not perfect in any one of theie letters, and think yourfelf hardly able to learn it, then caft The Reverend Do6lor John T aider. 35 afide your garment and chaftife your body, that it may be brought into fubjecl:ion to your foul and reafon." Then faid the Mafter, " I will gladly be obedient." Now when this difcipline had lafted three weeks, the man faid to the Matter, " Dear fir, how goes it with you ?" The Mafter faid, " Dear fon, thou muft know that I have received more ftripes in thefe three weeks about your leflbn than I ever did in all my days before." Then faid the man, " Sir, you well know that no man giveth his pupil a new tafk before he have learnt the firft lines." Then faid the Mafter, " If I faid that I knew them, I mould fay what is not true." Then faid the man, " Dear fir, go on as you are doing till you know your lefTon right well." But at the end of another three weeks the Mafter fent for the man, and faid to him, " Dear fon, rejoice with me, for I think, with God's help, I could fay the firft line ; and if thou art willing, I will repeat over the whole lefTon to thee." " No, dear fir," faid the man, " I will gladly rejoice with you, and take your word for it that you know it." Then faid the Mafter, " I tell thee of a truth it has gone hard with me. And now, dear fon, I pray thee give me further inftru&ion." Then faid the man, " I can for myfelf teach you nothing further ; but if fb be that God n 2 How be is forelyfcourged for, not know- ing it. How in Jix weeks be bath learnt the firft line. The Hijlory and Life of Themanfore- telletb that be jh all be brought into great diftrefs and perplex- ity but counfel- leth him to be obedient to his Order and fteadfaft in his holy pur- pofes ; willeth to teach you through me, I will gladly do my part, and be an inftrument in the Lord's hand by which He may work out His purpofes. " Hearken, dear Matter : I will counfel you in godly love and brotherly faithfulnefs. If it mould happen to you as to the young man in the Gofpel, to whom our Lord faid, ' Go and fell all that thou haft and give to the poor, and come and follow Me/ I will not be anfwerable." Then faid the Mafter, " Dear fon, have no fears on that fcore, for I have already left all that I have, and, with God's help, am refolved to go forward, and be obedient unto God and to thee." Then faid the man, " Since your heart is fteadfaftly fixed to commit yourfelf wholly unto God, I counfel you in all faithfulnefs that ye be obedient to your Order and your fiiperiors ; as it may be that you may be brought into great perplexity if you be minded to go the ftrait and narrow way, and that you will be hard preiTed and affailed, and moft of all by your brethren. And if this mould come to pafs, your earthly feelings wull feek everywhere for help, and make you call to mind the words in which you pledged yourfelf to God, and alfo other things, with the intent that, if poflible, they might break away from the crofs ; and that muft not be, but you muft yield a willing obedience to fuffer all that is appointed The Reverend DoBor Joh?i Tauler. you, from whatfbever it may proceed. For know that you muft needs walk in that fame path of which our Lord fpoke to that young man ; you muft take up your crofs and follow our Lord Jefus Chrift and His example, in utter fincerity, humility, and patience, and muft let go all your proud, ingenious reafon, which you have through your learning in the Scrip- ture. You mall alfo for a time neither ftudy nor preach, and you mail demean yourielf with great iimplicity towards your penitents ; for when they have ended their confemon, you mall give them no further counfel than to fay to them, ' I will learn how to counfel myfelf, and when I can do that I will alfo counfel you.' And if you are afked when you will preach, fay, as you can with truth, that you have not time at prefent, and fo you will get rid of the people." Then faid the Mafter, " Dear fbn, I will willingly do fo ; but how then ihall I occupy myfelf?" The man replied, " You ihall enter into your cell, and read your Hours, and alfo chant in the choir if you feel inclined, and ihall fay mafs every day. And what time is left, you ihall fet before you the fuffer- ings of our Lord, and contemplate your own life in the mirror of His, and meditate on your wafted time in which you have been living for yourfelf, and how fmall has been your love compared to His love. In D 3 and to follow Cbrift in all humility, fulfilling bit daily duties and meditat- ing on tbe lift and fujferings of our Lord; The Hi/lory and Life of and fo doing bejhallbe made a new God Jball not forfake him, but jhall ful- fil this good work in him. all lowlinefs ye lhall ftudy thefe things, whereby in fbme meafure ye may be brought to true humility, and alfo wean yourfelf from your old habits, and ceafe from them. And then, when our Lord fees that the time is come, He will make of you a new man, fo that you mall be born again of God. " Neverthelefs, you muft know that before this can come to pafs, you muft fell all that you have, and humbly yield it up to God, that you may truly make Him your end, and give up to Him all that you pof- fefs in your carnal pride, whether through the Scrip- tures or without ; or whatever it be, whereby you might reap honour in this world, or in the which you may aforetime have taken pleafure or delight, you muft let it all go, and, with Mary Magdalene, fall down at Chrift's feet, and earneftly ftrive to enter on a new courfe. And fo doing, without doubt, the Eternal Heavenly Prince will look down on you with the eye of His good pleafure, and He will not leave His work undone in you, but will urge you ftill fur- ther, that you may be tried and purified as gold in the fire ; and it may even come to pafs, that He mall give you to drink of the bitter cup that He gave to His only-begotten Son. For it is my belief that one bitter drop which God will pour out for you will be that your good works and all your refraining from The Reverend DocJor John Tauler. 39 evil, yea your whole life will be defpifed and turned to nought in the eyes of the people ; and all your fpiritual children will forfake you and think you are gone out of your mind, and all your good friends and your bro- thers in the convent will be offended at your life, and fay that you have taken to ftrange ways. " But when thefe things come upon you, be not in any wife difmayed, but rejoice, for then your falvation draweth nigh ; howbeit, no doubt, your human weak- nefs will fhrink back in terror, and give way. There- fore, dear Mafter, you muft not be faint-hearted, but truft firmly in God, for He forfakes none of His ier- vants, as you know well from the examples of the blefled faints. Now, dear ilr, if fo be that you are minded to take thefe things in hand, know that there is nothing better or more profitable for you at this pre- fent than an entire, hearty, humble felf-furrender in all things, whether fweet or bitter, painful or pleafant, fb that you may be able to fay with truth, ' Ah, my Lord and my God, if it were thy will that I mould remain till the Day of Judgment in this fuffering and tribulation, yet would I not fall away from thee, but would defire ever to be conftant in thy fervice/ Dear fir, I fee well, by God's grace, how you are thinking in your heart, that I have faid very hard things to you, and this is why I begged you beforehand to let me go, D 4 The man foretelletb that the Maf- ter Jh all be forfaken of all his friends, but telletb him not to be difmayed thereat. The Hi/lory and Life of The Mafter thinking this bard counfel, the man giv- etb him a fpace to con- jider of it. and told you that if you went back like that young man, I would not have it laid to my charge." Then faid the Matter, " Thou fayeft truly ; I confefs it does feem to me a hard thing to follow your counfel." The man anfwered, " Yet you begged me to mow you the fhorteft way to the higheft perfe&nefs. Now I know no Ihorter nor furer way than to follow in the foot- fteps of our Lord Jems Chrift. But, dear fir, I counfel you in all faithfulnefs, to take a certain fpace of time to confider thefe matters, and then in God's name do as God gives you grace to do." Then faid the Matter, " That will I do, and wait and fee whether, with the help of God, I may prevail." The Reverend DocJor John T aider. EIGHTH CHAPTER. How it fared with the Dotfor after this, and how befell into great tribulation and contempt, till he fell ill thereby ; and how the layman counfelled him, and allowed him to help nature withfome good food and Juices, and afterwards departed from him. j;N the eleventh day after this, the Mafter fent for the man, and faid to him, " Ah, dear fon, what agony and ftruggle and fighting have I not had within me day and night, before I was able to overcome the Devil and my own flem. But now by God's grace I have gathered my- felf together with all my powers inward and outward, and fet my hand to this work with good courage, and am purpofed to remain fteadfaft therein, come weal come woe." Then faid the man, " Dear fir, do you remember ftill all I faid to you when you afked me how you mould begin ?" The Mafter anfwered, " Yes, the moment thou didft depart I wrote down all thou hadft faid to me, word for word." Then faid the man, " Dear fir, that through God you have found this bold heart, rejoices me from the bottom of my foul, and I am as well pleafed as if it had happened to myfelf, fo How the Maf- ter through great diflrefs andfgbtings resolves to begin the good work. The man is greatly re- joiced thereat. The Hi/lory and Life of How bis good refolution brings the Mafter into great tribula- tion of mind and Jicknefs of body. How be fend- etb for the man, who gives him re- medies for bis Jicknefs, God be my witnefs. And now in the name of our Lord Jefus Chrift, fet forward." Then the man took his leave, and the Mafter did as he had been bidden. Now it came to pafs that before a year was out the Mafter grew to be defpifed of all his familiar friends in the convent, and his fpiritual children all forfook him as entirely as if they had never feen him. And this he found very hard to bear, and it caufed him fuch grief that his head was like to turn. Then he fent for the man and told him how it fared with him ; how he was ill in his whole body, and efpecially in his head. Then faid the man, " Sir, you muft not be difmayed, but you muft humbly cleave to God, and put your firm truft in Him. Know that this account of yours pleafes me well, and it ftands well with your life, and will grow better every day. " Dear fir, you know well that he who will walk in the right way, and tread this path, muft be made a partaker of the fufferings of our Lord Jefus Chrift ; therefore be not afraid, but commit yourfelf wholly to God. For know that the fame thing happened to me alfo. Meanwhile you muft take fome remedies while you are in this ftate, and treat your body well with good food which may ftrengthen it. A box of fpices was made for me, and I will have fuch an one pre- pared for you to ftrengthen your head. But you muft The Reverend DoElor John Tauler. 43 know that I always gave myfelf up body and foul to God, that He might do with them what he pleafed." Then faid the Mailer, " But thou didft tell me before that I muft Ihun good eating and drinking." The man anfwered, " Yes, fir, that was in the firft beginning, when the flefh was yet wanton, but now that it is tamed and obedient to the ipirit, we may come to its help with remedies, elfe we mould tempt God. So long as you are in this ficknefs, you will be ferving God to cherim your body by allowable means, but not to live diforderly ; that muft not be. Dear fir, make God your help, and go forward with cheerful mind, and commit yourfelf to God with true and thorough refignation, and put your truft in His bound- lefs mercy, and wait for His grace to mow you what He will have you to do, and then with His help ftrive to fulfil that to the uttermoft, whether it be bitter or fweet. Further, I befeech you for God's fake not to take it amifs of me, but I muft go home on account of a very important matter, which I affurc you in all earneftnefs I have much at heart ; but if fb be that you could not or would not do without me, fend into the town for me, and I will gladly come ; but if you can bear up without the aid of any creature, that would be beft of all for you." Then faid the Maftcr, "Dear fon, fay not fo, for I cannot and would not do without thee for any and counfels him to truft in God, andtben takes bis leave. 44 The Hiftory and Life of The Mafter entreatetb the man to ft ay. The man tel- letb him of a better Com- forter, and bow be Jhould not lofe heart, andfo depart- etb. The Mafter is fore ly grieved. length of time ; it would be hard indeed if thou didft forfake me, for then I mould have no confolation left in the world." The man faid, "Dear fir, I will mow you a better Comforter, that is the Holy Ghoft, who has called and invited and brought you to this point, by means of me His poor creature, but it is His work which has been wrought in you, and not mine ; I have been merely His inftrument, and ferved Him therein, and have done fo right willingly, for the glory of God and the falvation of your foul." Then laid the Mafter, " Dear fon, may God be thine eternal reward ! Since it is fo weighty a matter, I will commit myfelf to God, and bear this fuffering as beft I may." The man faid, " Dear fir, fince you are now under the yoke, and have entered on a fpiritual life and obedience to God, and have voluntarily devoted yourfelf thereto, you mould know how to live difcreetly and wifely, and to govern yourfelf aright ; and do not let it repent you becaufe you are forfaken of the creatures, but if it mould hap- pen that you lack money, or have need of fome, put a part of your books in pawn, and do not fuffer yourfelf to want for anything, but by no means fell the books, for a time will come when good books will be very ufe- ful, and you will have need of them." Then the man took his leave and departed from that place, but the Mafter's eyes filled with tears, and he began to weep. The Reverend Doctor John Tauler. 45 NINTH CHAPTER. How DocJor Tauler was vi/ited, touched, and illuminated after a wonderful manner by God, and how the layman came to him again, and admoni/hed him tenderly to begin to preach afrejh, and to exercife himfelf in the Holy Scriptures. Alfo concerning ajlrange event that befell him afterwards, whereby he wasjlill more tried and humbled, yet not without fruit. OW when the Mafter had fuffered thus for two years, from fore affaults and tempta- tions of the Devil, and great contempt from all his friends, and alfo great poverty, fo that he was obliged to pledge a part of his books, and withal fell into great weaknefs of the body, and he had demeaned himfelf with great humility through- out ; behold, it came to pafs on the Feaft of St. Paul's Converfion, that in the night he was overtaken by the moft grievous aflault that may be imagined, whereby all his natural powers were fo overcome with weaknefs that when the time for matins came he could not go in to chapel, but remained in his cell, and commended himfelf to God in great humility, without help or con- folation from any creature. And as he lay in this {late The Mafter fufferetb greatly for twoyears,and falletb into poverty. How, lying Jtck in bis cell The Hi/lory and Life of and meditat- ing on our Lord'sfuffer- be hearetb a wondrous and is Jlraigbttoay healed in tody and mind. Hefendetb for the man of weakncfs, he thought of the fufTerings of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and His great love that He had for us, and confidered his own life, how poor his life had been compared to the love of God. Whereupon he was overwhelmed with contrition for all his fins and all his wafted time, and exclaimed with tongue and heart : " O merciful God ! have mercy upon me a poor fmner, for thy boundlefs mercy's fake, for I am not w r orthy that the earth mould bear me." And as he was lying in this weaknefs and great fadnefs, but fully awake, he heard with his bodily ears a voice faying : " Stand faft in thy peace, and truft God, and know that when He was on earth in human nature, He made the fick whom He healed in body found alfo in foul." Straightway when thefe words were uttered, he loft his fenfes and reafon, and knew not how or where he was. But when he came to himfelf again, he felt within himfelf that he was poffefled of a new ftrength and might in all powers outward and inward, and had alfo a clear underftanding in thofe things which aforetime were dark to him, and he wondered greatly whence this came, and thought to himfelf, " I cannot come to the bottom of this matter. I w r ill fend for my friend and tell him all that has happened." So he fent for the man ; and when he was come, the Mafter told him all that had befallen him. Then the man faid, " It The Reverend DocJor John Tauler, 47 rejoices me from the bottom of my heart to hear all that you have told me. Dear fir, you muft know that you have now for the firft time received the true and mighty gift of God's grace ; and I tell you of a truth that now, for the firft time, your foul has been touched by the Moft High ; and know that, as the letter hath in fome meafure flain you, fo it mall like- wife make you alive again, for your doctrine will come now from the Holy Ghoft, which before came from the flem ; for you have now received the light of the Holy Spirit by the grace of God, and you already know the Holy Scriptures. Therefore you have now a great advantage, and you will hencefor- ward have a much clearer infight into the Scripture than you had before. For, as you know, the Scrip- ture founds in many places as if it contradicted itfelf, but ilnce that you have now, by the grace of God, received the Holy Scriptures into your own heart through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, you will perceive that all Scripture has the fame intent, and does not contradict itfelf, and you will allb be able rightly to follow the pattern left us by the Lord Jefus Chrift. You ought alfo to begin to preach again, and to teach your fellow-Chriftians, and mow them the right path to eternal life. The time is come now when good books will be profitable to you ; for and telletb him alltbeje things. The man re- joicetb much that the Maf- ter has been enlightened of the Ho/y Gbojl, and coumel- letb him to preach again. 4 8 The Hiftoiy and Life of The man warnetb the Mafter that be will have need of great humility, for the Devil will tempt him cun- ningly. know that one of your fcrmons will be more profit- able now, and the people will receive more fruit there- from, than from a hundred aforetime, for the words that you fay now, coming from a pure foul, will have a pure and fimple favour. Wherefore, juft as much as you have been defpifed by the people, fo mall you now be efteemed and beloved by them. But it will be moft efpecially needful that you keep yourfelf humble, for you know well that he who carries a great treamre expofed to view muft ever be on his guard againft thieves. I tell you truly the Devil is in great terror when he perceives that God has be- ftowed on any man fuch a noble and precious trea- fure, and the devils will fet all their arts and wifdom, and their lufts too, to w r ork, to rob and bereave you of this coftly treafure ; wherefore look wifely to your goings, for nothing will fo greatly help you to pre- ferve it as utter humility. Now, dear fir, it is no longer needful for me to fpeak to you as a teacher, as I have done hitherto, for you have now the right and true Mafter, whofe inftrument I have been : to Him give ear, and obey His commands ; this is my moft faithful counfel. And now, in all godly love, I defire to receive inftruclion from you, for I have, with God's help, accompliflied the good work for which I was fent and came hither. I would fain, if God will, The Reverend Doctor John T aider. 49 fbjourn here a good while and hear you preach. If God give you to do fb, methinks it were well that you mould now begin to preach again." Then faid the Matter, " Dear fon, what had I better do ; I have pledged a great many good books, as many as come to thirty florins ?" The man anfwered, " Look ! I will give you that fum, for God's fake, and if you have any of it left over, give it back to God, for all that we have is His, whether temporal or fpiritual." So the Matter redeemed his books, and ordered notice to be given that he would preach three days after. The people wondered much thereat, becaufe it was fb long fince he had preached, and a great crowd gathered together to hear him. And when the Matter came and faw that there was fuch a multitude, he w r ent up into a pulpit in a high place, that they might hear him all the better. Then he held his hood before his eyes, and faid, " O merciful, Eternal God, if it be Thy will, give me fo to fpeak that it may be to the praife and glory of Thy name and the good of this people." As he faid thefe words, his eyes overflowed with tears of tcndernefs, fo that he could not fpeak a word for weeping, and this lafted fo long that the people grew angry. At laft a man fpoke out of the crowd, " Sir, how long are we to ftand here ? It is getting late ; if you do not mean to preach, let us go home." E How the man advifeth the Mafter to begin again to preach. Hew on the appointed Jay a great mul- titude gather together to bear the Mafter. The Hi/lory and Life of But be can- not f peak for weeping ; Wherefore be become* a laughing- Jlock to all, and is for- bidden to preach by bis brethren. But the Matter remained in earnett prayer, and faid again to God, " Oh, my Lord and my God, if it be Thy divine will, take this weeping from my eyes, and give me to deliver this fermon to Thy praife and glory. But, if Thou doft not do it, I take it as a fign that Thou judgeft I have not yet been enough put to mame. Now fulfil, dear Lord, Thy divine will on me Thy poor creature, to Thy praife and my neceflities." This all availed nothing ; he wept yet more and more. Then he faw that God would have it fo, and faid, with weeping eyes, " Dear children, I am forry from my heart that I have kept you here fo long, for I cannot fpeak a word to-day for weeping ; pray God for me, that He may help me, and then I will make amends to you, if God give me grace, another time, as foon as ever I am able." So the people departed, and this tale was fpread abroad and refounded through the whole city, fo that he became a public laughing-flock, defpifed by all ; and the people faid, " Now we all fee that he has become a downright fool." And his own brethren ftriclly forbade him to preach any more, becaufe he did the convent great injury thereby, and difgraced the order with the fenfelefs practices that he had taken up, and which had difordered his brain. Then the Matter fent for the man, and told him all The Reverend Doctor John T aider. that had happened. The man faid, " Dear Matter, be of good cheer, and be not difmayed at thefe things. The Bridegroom is wont to behave fo to all His beft and deareft friends, and it is a certain fign that God is your good friend, for, without a doubt, He has feen fome fpeck of pride concealed within you. that you have not perceived, nor been confcious of yourfelf, and therefore it is that you have been put to fhame. You may have received fome great gifts of God, which you yourlelf do not know or perceive, that have been given you by means of the patience with which you have endured this aflault ; therefore be of good cheer, and be joyful and humble. Neither mould you think this a ftrange thing, for I have feen many fuch in- flances in other people. You mall not defpise this prcflure of the crofs which God has fent you, but count it a great bleffing and favour from God. I counfel you that you remain alone for the next five days, and endure without fpeaking to any, to the praife and glory of the five wounds of our Lord Jefus Chrift. And when the five days are ended, beg your Prior to give you permiffion to deliver a fermon in Latin. It he refufe, beg him to let you try in the fchool and read a lecture to the brethren." And he did fo ; and read to his brethren fuch an excellent lecture as they had never heard in their lives before, fo grand and 2 The Majler fends for the man, who eonfoles him, telling him that it is no ftrange thing that has hap- pened to him. The Mafter reads a lefture to his brethren in the Jcbool. The Hi/lory and Life of Then be has permijjion to preach again, and delivers a fermon in a convent of ladies. deep and godly was his doctrine. Then they gave him permimon to preach a fermon ; and after one of their brethren had preached in the church where the Matter was wont to preach, he gave notice to the people, and faid, " I am ordered to announce that to-morrow the Matter intends to preach in this place ; but if it mould befal him as it did lately, I will not be anfwerable for it. So much I can fay with truth, that in our fchool he has read us a lecture containing fuch great and profound inftruclion, with high and divine wifdom, as we have not heard for a long time. But what he will do this time I know not ; God only knoweth." The next day after, the Matter came to the convent (it was a convent of ladies), and began to preach, and faid : The Reverend Do8lor John Tauler. 53 TENTH CHAPTER. An excellent fermon which this Doff or delivered in a convent after his illumination, concerning Chrift the true Bridegroom of the foul, in the which he Jhowed how Jhe is to follow after Him in true, Jhamef ace d, humble, and patient rejlgnation, and how Chri/i tries her beforehand in divers ways, and at loft accepts her lovingly. Taken from these words " Ecce fponfus venit, exite obviarn (MATT. xxv. 6.) ei, EAR children, it may be now two years or more fmce I laft preached. I fpoke to you then of four-and-twenty Articles, and^it was then my cuftom to fpeak much Latin, and to make many quotations ; but I intend to do fb no more, but if I wim to talk Latin, I will do Ib when the learned are prefent, who can underftand it. For this time repeat only an Ave Maria to begin with, and pray for God's grace. Dear children, I have taken a text on which I mean to preach this fermon, and not to go beyond it : in the vulgar tongue it runs thus, " Behold the Bridegroom comet b, go ye out to meet him.' 1 The Bridegroom is our Lord Jefus Chrift, and the E 3 The Maker's fermon. The Hi/lory and Life of The Bride- groom and the Bride. That which is feemly for a faithful Bride. Bride is the Holy Church and Chriflendom. Now we are all called brides of Chrift, wherefore we ought to be willing to go forth and meet our Bridegroom ; but, alas ! we are not ib. The true paths and ftraight highways by which to go out to meet the Bridegroom are, alas ! now-a-days quite deferted and falling into decay, till we have come hardly to perceive where they are ; nay, this highway is to many quite ftrange and unknown, fb that they do not go out to meet the Bridegroom, as they are in duty bound to do, of which I will fpeak another time, with God's help ; but now, fince we hear that we are all called brides, I will tell you ibmewhat concerning what the Bride muft do in order to go and meet the Bridegroom. It is feemly that a faithful Bride mould avoid everything that is difpleafmg to the Bridegroom, fuch as vain-glory, pride, envy, and all the other fins of this world, and all the delights of the body and the flefh, whether it be the eafe and indulgence of the body, or other things which are beyond the necefTaries of life. Further, it befeems a faithful Bride to be fhame-faced. When this comes to pafs, and the Bride, for her Bridegroom's fake, has defpifed and given up all thefe things, then me begins to be ibme- what well-pleafmg to the Bridegroom. But, if me defires to be yet more well-pleafing in The Reverend Dotor John Tauter. 55 His fight, fhe muft humbly bow down before Him, and fay with heart and lips, " Ah ! my dear Lord and Bridegroom, Thou knoweft all hearts. I have faid to Thee, with my whole heart, that I defire to do all that I can and may, and to do it willingly, as far as Thou giveft me to perceive through my con- fcience what is agreeable and well-pleafing to Thee." When the Bride makes this vow to the Bridegroom, He turneth himfelf and begins to look upon her. Then fhe beleeches Him to beftow upon her fbme gift as a token of love. What is the gift ? It is that fhe is inwardly and outwardly befet with divers aiTaults, with which He is wont to endow his fpecial friends. But if the Bride be as yet unaccuftomed to fuffer, fhe will fay, " Ah ! dear Lord and Bridegroom, this is very hard upon me ; I fear greatly that I fhall Scarcely be able to endure it. Therefore, dear Lord and Bridegroom, I pray Thee to make my burden fomewhat more tolerable, or elfe to take a part of it away." Then the Bridegroom anfwers, " Tell me then, dear Bride, mould the Bride fare better than the Bridegroom has fared ? If thou defireft to meet the Bridegroom, thou muft imitate Him in fome fort, and it is, moreover, reafonable that a faithful Bride fhould fuffer fomewhat with Him for her Bride- E 4 The Bride's vow. The Bride- groom's fr ft gift of fore temptations. The Hi/lory and Life of His fecond gift, that Jhe can take no pleafure in aught of 'her own. The Bride's fears. groom's fake." Now when the Bride heareth what is the will of her Bridegroom, and how grave a matter it is, me is fore affrighted, and fays, " Dear Lord and Bridegroom, be not wroth with me, for I will gladly hearken unto Thee : appoint unto me what Thou wilt ; I am willing to fuffer all things with Thy help and in Thy love." When the Bridegroom heareth this, He loveth the Bride yet better than He did before, and giveth her to drink of a ftill better cup. This cup is that me is to ceafe from all her own thoughts, and all her works and refrainings will give her no content, for me can take pleafure in nothing that is her own. However good the actions may be in themfelves, me is always thinking how me mall anger her Bridegroom therewith, and feareth much that me will, perhaps, have to fuffer a great punilh- ment for them hereafter. Moreover, me is derided by all, and thefe things are accounted her folly. Now, children, by reafbn of all thefe things, her natural powers become wearied out and grow feeble, infomuch that me is conftantly in fear left me mould not hold out to the end, but muft die at laft ; and hereupon me is greatly terrified, for me is yet fome- what timorous and faint-hearted. Then me cries earneftly unto the Bridegroom, and fays, " Ah ! dear Lord and Bridegroom, how great are Thy terrors ; The Reverend DocJor John Tauler. know that I cannot endure them long : I muft die." But the Bridegroom anfwers, " If thou wilt in truth go out to meet thy Bridegroom, it is fitting that thou fliould firft tread fbme portion of the path that He has travelled. Now whereas the Bridegroom has fuf- fered fliame, hunger, cold, thirft, heat, and bitter pains, for three and thirty years, and at laft a bitter death, for the Bride's fake, out of pure love, is it not juft and right that the Bride fliould venture even her life for the Bridegroom's fake, out of love, and with all her heart ? Verily, if thou hadft the right fort of love and true faithfulnefs unto thy Bridegroom, all thy fear would vanifli." Then when fhe hears thefe words of the Bride- groom her whole heart is moved with fear, and flie fays, " Ah ! dear Lord, I acknowledge in all fmcerity that I have done wrong, and I am out of all meafure terrified at it ; I grieve from the bottom of my heart that I have not with a faithful heart yielded myfelf up unto Thee, even unto death. Dear Lord and Bridegroom, I here vow and promifc to Thee furely that all which Thou willcft I alfo will. Come fick- nefs, come health, come pleafure or pain, fweet or bitter, cold or heat, wet or dry, whatever Thou willeft, that do I alfo will ; and defirc altogether to come out from my own will, and to yield a whole and willing The Bride- groom's anftcer, that Jhe muft be made like unto Him. The Bride's bumble fub- mijjion. The Hi/lory and Life of The Bride- groom's gift of yet for er trials. The Bride's joy infuffer- ing for His fake. obedience unto Thee, and never to deflre aught elfe cither in will or thought : only let Thy will be accom- plifhed in me, Thy poor unworthy creature, in time and in eternity. For, dear Lord, when I look at what I am, I am not worthy that the earth mould bear me." Now when the Bridegroom feeth this entire and faithful will in the Bride, and her deep and thorough humility, what does He then do ? His heart yearns over the Bride, and giveth her a very coftly, noble, fweet cup to drink. What is this cup ? It is that (he fuffers yet far more from all manner of tempta- tions and tribulation than me has ever fuffered before. And when the Bride perceiveth this, and feeth the Bridegroom's earneftnefs and good pleafure concerning her, me fuffereth all thefe things willingly and gladly for the Bridegroom's fake, and boweth herfelf down humbly before Him, and faith, " Ah ! dear Lord and Bridegroom, it is juft and right that Thou fhouldeft not will as I will, but I defire and ought to will as Thou wilt ; I receive this gift right willingly and gladly for Thy love from Thy divine hand, whether it be pleafant or painful to the flefh, I acquiefce wholly in it for love of Thee." Now when the Bridegroom, in His eternal wifdom, perceives this difpofition within His humble Bride, and her thorough earneftnefs, me begins to grow pre- The Reverend Doctor John T aider. 59 clous to Him, and from hearty love He giveth her to fuffer in all her nature, until the Bride is wholly purified from all faults and {lain of fin, and become perfectly fair and unfpotted. Then He fays, " Now rife up, my beloved, my pleafant, my beautiful Bride, for Thou art pure and without fpot, and altogether lovely in my eyes." Then He looks upon her with infinite, mighty, divine love. To this joyful high- tide cometh the Father of the Eternal Bridegroom, and faith to the Bride, " Rife up, my lovely, chofen beloved, it is time to go to Church," and He taketh the Bridegroom and the Bride, and leadeth them to the Church, and marries them to each other, and binds them together with divine love ; yea, God doth bind them together in bonds fo faft that they can never be parted again, either in time or eternity. And when, in thefe divine efpoufals, they have been made one, the Bridegroom faith, " O, beloved and Eternal Father, what mall be our wedding-gift?" And the Father faith, " The Holy Ghoft, for that it is His office to be in the Father's flead." And He fheds forth upon the Bride the torrent of divine love, and this love flows out unto the Bridegroom, info- much that the Bride lofeth herfelf, and is intoxicated with love, fb that me forgets herfelf and all creatures, in time or eternity, together with herfelf. The beauty of the purified Bride. The mar- riage-feaft. The gift of the Father, 6o The Hi/lory and Life of The joy of tbe Bride. The people are Jirangely moved kereat. Now he only who is bidden to fuch a fpiritual, glorious marriage-feaft, and has obeyed the call, does for the firft time perceive and tafte the real, true, blefled, gracious fweetnefs of the Holy Spirit. Now is this Bride a true worfhipper, for me worfhippeth the Father in the Holy Spirit. In this marriage-feaft is joy upon joy, and therein is more peace and joy in one hour than all the creatures can yield in time or in eternity. The joy that the Bride hath with the Bridegroom is fo vaft that no fenfes or reafon can apprehend or attain unto it." As the Doctor fpoke thefe words a man cried out with a loud voice, " It is true !" and fell down as if he \vere dead. Then a woman called out from the crowd and faid, " Matter, leave off, or this man will die on our hands." Then the Matter faid, " Ah, dear children, and if the Bridegroom take the Bride and lead her home with Him, we will gladly yield her to Him ; neverthelefs, I will make an end and leave off. Dear children, let us all cry unto the Lord our God in Heaven. For verily we have all need fo to do, feeing that, alas ! we have grown fo dull of hearing and foolifh of heart that none of us has companion on his fellow, although we confefs that we are all called brothers and fitters. There be alfo few who are willing to fight their way The Reverend DoElor John Tauler. 61 againft their own flefh, and follow the Bridegroom, in order to reach a nobler joy and a glorious wedding- feaft. I give you to know that in thefe days thofe be few and far between who do truly go out to meet the Bridegroom, fuch as there were many in the olden time. Therefore it behoveth each one to look at himfelf and confider his ways with great earneftnefs. For the time is at hand nay, it is already come when it may be laid of mofl who are now living here, that " they have eyes and fee not, and ears that hear not." Dear children, let us all ftrive to enter into this wedding- feaft, moil rich in joy, and honour, and blefTednefs. But when the Bride departs from this marriage- feaft and is left to herfelf, and beholds that me has come back again to this miserable earthly ftate, me fays within herfelf, " O ! poor miferable creature that I am, am I here again ? " And me is fad in herfelf; neverthelefs, me is fb utterly refigned in boundlefs humility to her Bridegroom, that me in no wife may think of or defire His prefence, becaufe me deems her- felf wholly unworthy thereof. But the Bridegroom does not therefore forfake her, but looketh upon His Bride from time to time, becaufe He well knoweth that none will or can comfort her, but He alone. The Majter biddeth them all ft rive to come to this marriage- Jeaft. The Bride* s farrows while jbe is yet in this earthly ftate. The Hi/lory and Life of The cvmfort Jbe bath therein from the love of the Bride- groom. The End. And now that you have heard this, let it not fur- prife you that I have not told you how lovingly the Bridegroom talketh with the Bride. It might well happen that none would believe me (except fuch a one as had tried and tailed it himfelf), mould I tell you what ftrange words the Bride faith to her Bride- groom. We find, too, in the Scriptures, that the loving foul ofttimes holds fuch converfe with her Be- loved as words cannot perfectly exprefs. Nay, does it not happen every day with earthly lovers, that a bride and bridegroom talk together in fuch wife that if others heard it they would declare them mad or drunk ? Now, dear children, I fear that I have kept you too long ; but the time has not feemed long to me : alfo, I have faid it all for your good, and could not well this time make my fermon fhorter if I were rightly to explain my meaning ; therefore receive it kindly. That we may all become real, true, perfect brides of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and that we may in fincere, true, utter humility and refignation, go out to meet our glorious Bridegroom, and abide with Him for ever, may God help us, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft. Amen." The Reverend DoEtor John Tauler. ELEVENTH CHAPTER. Of a great prodigy that was wrought in certain perfons through this fermon, as afterwards appeared, whereby we are given to under- Jland what great wonders God works by good inftruments, that is, that He will do more by one fermon of an enlightened man than by a hundred others. this fermon was ended, the Matter went down and read Mafs, and gave the Lord's Body to certain good people ; but after the fermon the man perceived that fome forty people remained fitting in the churchyard. When Mafs was over he told the Mafter of it, and they went out to where he had feen the people fitting that they might fee how it was with them. But in the meantime, while the Mafter had been celebrating Mafs, they had rifen up and gone away, except twelve, who were ftill there. Then faid the Mafter to the Dear fon, what doft thou think we had beft man, do with thefe people ?" Then the man went from one to another and touched them, but they lay as if they were dead, and fcarcely moved. The Mafter knew not what to think of this ftrange thing, for he The man perceives the people tarry in the church- yard. The Hiftory and Life of The Mafter f ears fame of them be dead, But the man bids them be brought into the convent until they come to tbem- f elves. had never feen the like before, and fo he faid to the man, " Tell me, what doft thou think ? Are the peo- ple alive or dead ?" Then he fmiled and faid, " If they were dead, it would be your fault and the Bride- groom's ; how then mould you bring them round again ?" The Mafter faid, " But if the Bridegroom be with me in this bufinefs, ought I to awaken them ?" The man anfwered, " Sir, thefe people are ftill in this prefent ftate, and I wiih. that you would afk the convent ladies to let them be carried into their cloifter, that they may not take fome ficknefs and harm to their bodies, by lying in the open air on the cold earth." And they did fo ; and the people were brought into a warm place. Then the convent ladies faid, " Dear fir, we have a nun here to whom the fame thing has happened, and me is lying on her bed as if me were dead." Then faid the Mafter, " My dear daughters, be patient, for God's fake, and look to thefe fick people, and when any one of them comes to himfelf give him fomething warm to take ; if he will have it, give it him in Chrift's name." And the ladies faid they would willingly do fo. So the Maf- ter and the man went their way, and entered into the Mafter' s cell. Then the man faid, " Now, dear Mafter, what think you of this ? Has the like ever happened to you in your life before ? Now I wot you fee what The Reverend Doflor John Tattler. wonders God works with good tools. Dear fir, I perceive that this fermon will ftir many, and one w r ill tell it to another. If it pleafe you, methinks it were well that you let thefe fick children reft for awhile, for this fermon will give them plenty to digeft for fome time, and if you think it good, and God give you fo to do, that you preach a fermon alfo to thofe who are in the world, feeing it is now Lent." And the Mafter did fo gladly, and preached alfo to thofe who were in the world, to the great amendment of certain of them.* * Here follow two chapters in the original, containing (ketches of other fermons preached by Tauler j but as they are lefs valuable than moft of his fermons, and have nothing whatever to do with the progrefs of the ftory, I have judged it bell to omit them. TR. The Mafter preaches alfo to thofe who are in the world. 66 The Hiftory and Life of FOURTEENTH CHAPTER. How this holy DocJor came to his end, and afterward appeared to his dear friend the layman, and Jhowed him the caufe of his painful departure from this world, to wit that it had been bis purgatory, after which he attained great joy and eternal bleffed- nefs, which were given him by God as the reward of his good and faithful teaching. The great ef- teem in which the Majler came to be held through all the land. O W you muft know that the Mafter made progrefs in the divine life, and received fiich wifdom, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, that he preached both to clergy and laity, and came to be held in fuch efteem and honour throughout the land, and alfb in that city, that whenever the people had any weighty matter to tranfa6t, he was called in to fettle it with his wifdom, whether it concerned fpiritual or temporal affairs, and whatever he counfelled them was right in their eyes, and they hearkened unto him gladly. And after that the Mafter had led this faithful life full eight years, God would not leave His fervant longer in this earthly mifery, and faw fit to take him to Himself without pur- gatory. Wherefore He fent His judgments upon him, and vifited him with ficknefs, fo that the Mafter kept The Reverend Doffor John T aider. his bed for more than twenty weeks, and his fuffer- ings were very fore, and his pains grievous. Then he perceived, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, that he was about to depart from this world (God was minded to reward him for his work) ; wherefore he fent for the man, his dear friend, and begged him to come to him, for he expected not to be much longer in this world. And the man hearkened and came to the Matter, who received him after a moft friendly fort ; and the man was glad that he found him yet alive, and faid, " Dear Mailer, how fares it with you ?" The Mafter faid, " I believe that the time is very near when God purpoles to take me from this world, for which caufe, dear fon, it is a great confolation to me that thou art prefent at my end. I pray thee take thefe books which are lying there : thou wilt find written therein all thy difcourfe with me afore- time, and alfb my anfwers, and thou wilt find fome- what concerning my life, and the dealings of God with me His poor unworthy fervant. Dear Ion, if thou think fit, and if God give thee grace, make a little book of it." Then faid the man, " Dear Mafter, I have written down five of your fermons, and if it pleafe you, I will write them out alfo, and will make a little book about you." Quoth the Mafter, " Dear fon, I lay upon thee my moft folemn admonition, that p2 His long and grievous jick- nefs. He fends for bis friend tbt man. 68 The Hi/lory and Life of He delivers bis writings to the man, and charges him to make a little book concerning him, not nam- ing their names. The Mafter>s promife to vijit the man after bis death, and bis bard end. thou write nothing about me, and that thou do not mention my name ; for thou muft know that of a truth the life, and words, and works "which God has wrought through me a poor, unworthy, fmful man, are not mine, but belong to God Almighty, now and for evermore ; therefore, dear fon, if thou wilt write it down for the profit of our fellow-Chriftians, write it fb that neither my name nor thine be named, but thou mayft fay the Matter and the man. Moreover, thou fhalt not fuffer the book to be read or feen by any one in this town, left he mould mark that it was I, but take it home with thee to thy own country, and let it not come out during my life." And for a fpace of eleven days the Mafter held much difcourfe with the man. After that, the time came that the Mafter mould die. Then he faid, " Dear fon, I pray thee, in God's name, to give thy confent to it, if God mould permit my fpirit to come back to thee, and tell thee how it fared with me." The man anfwered, " Dear Mafter, if God will have it Ib, I am alfb willing." But it came to pafs that at the laft the Mafter had a moft horrible and frightful death-ftruggle, infomuch that all the brethren in the convent, and alfo other people, were greatly terrified and diftrefled thereat, and were fore amazed at the dreadful anguifh that they faw in his death. The Reverend DocJor John Tauler. Now when he was dead, all who were in the con- vent and the city were filled with forrow. But when they perceived who was the man that had been fo long his bofom-friend in fecret, they came and defired to mow him honour, and befought him to be their gueft. But when he was aware of their intent, he fled that fame hour out of the city, and travelled home again. And as he was on the way, the third day after the Matter's death, at nightfall he was pafs- ing through a little village with his fervant, and feeing a nobleman go paft along the road, he faid to him, " My friend, is there any inn in this village ? " The nobleman anfwered, " No." Then faid the man, " Then mow us the kindnefs, dear friend, in God's name, to let us lodge in thy houie for to-night, and take for it what thou wilt." Then he faid, " If you will put up with fuch things as we have, I will wil- lingly lodge you, and give you the beft in my power." So he took him home with him. \Vhen it was night he laid the man upon a feather-bed, and mowed the fervant into the barn to lie upon the ftraw. Now in the night the man awoke and heard a voice clofe by ; yet he faw no one. Then a muddcr ran through him, and he made the fign of the Crofs. Then the voice faid, " Fear not, dear fon, it is I, the Matter." Then faid the man, " Dear Mailer, is it you ? Then F 3 The tobo/e city is filled with forrow for him, and would do hon- our for bis sake to bis friend. His friend departetb fecretly home- wards. The Hi/lory and Life of Tbefpirit of the Mafter comes to him three days afterwards, and opens to him the caufe of bis bard death. The Mafter tells him of bis prefent bappinefs, I befeech you, with my whole heart, to tell me, if God will, how it ftandeth with you, and how it came to pafs that you had fuch a dreadful end ; for your brethren in the convent were much aftonied at you, and it is to be feared that your frightful end will be a great ftumbl ing-block to your own brethren in the convent." Then faid the Matter's voice, " Dear fon, that will I tell thee. Thou muft know that our Lord God faw fit to appoint me fuch a hard death in order that the holy angels might ftraightway re- ceive my foul to themselves ; and for the fame caufe thou malt alfo have fuch a like hard death. It was needful that I mould fuffer this as a purgatory ; but know likewife, my dear fon, that the evil fpirits tor- mented me greatly, and aflailed me with fuch cun- ning and inftancy, that I was in conftant fear left my courage mould fail me. But, however hard my death was, it was as nothing compared to the joy which the Almighty, Eternal, and Merciful God hath given me in return. Know, dear fon, that the fame hour in which my foul left my body, the blefTed angels received it, and conducted me to Paradife, and faid to me, ' Here fhalt thou tarry five days, and malt know no anxiety or fear left the evil fpirits mould harm thee any more, neither malt thou labour any more, only thou fhalt be deprived for thefe five days of the The Reverend Doctor JoJm Tauler* bliffful company of the bleiTed in eternity. And then we will come again with joy, and bring thee to the unfpeakable joys, and reward thee for thy good and faithful teaching and ufeful counfels ;' all which I have received by thy excellent inftruction, for the which I can never thank God and thee enough." Then faid the man : " Dear Matter, I befeech you from the bottom of my heart that when you come into the prefence of God, you pray Him for me." But whatever the man faid after this, or whatever queftions he put, no one anfwered him again. Then he would fain have flept, and turned from one fide to the other ; but it availed him nothing : he got no more reft that night, and could hardly wait till it was light. And at day-break he rofe up, and wrote that fame hour word to the Prior and brethren of all things that the fpirit had faid to him, and returned to his own houfe, and came alfo to a good and bleffed end. That we may all follow the pattern of our Lord Jefus Chrift, infomuch that after this miferable life and this tranfitory world we may come to eternal and never-ending joys, to God and His chofen and beloved friends, may He help us, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft. Amen ! Here endetb the Hijlory of the Life of the enlightened Do 51 or John Tattler. F 4 and thanks the man for the good in- ftruftion be bad given him in this life. At daybreak the man arifes and writes word of bis vifeon to the Maf- ter's convent t The end. Intro duBory Notice RESPECTING TAULER'S LIFE AND TIMES, By the TRANSLATOR. OHN TAULER, who appears "as the Mafter" in the foregoing Hiftory, was born at Strafburg in the year 1290. His father was moft probably Nicolas Tauler, whofe name occurs among thofe of the fenators of Strafburg in 1313. At all events, he belonged to a tolerably wealthy family, and might have lived on his patrimony, fmce he tells us in one of his fermons : " Had I known when I lived as my father's fon, all that I know now, I would have lived on his heritage and not upon alms." He devoted himfelf, how- ever, in early years to a clerical life, and entered the Dominican Order in Strafburg, taking up his abode in the handfome, fpacious 74 Taulers Life and Times. convent belonging to that Order, the church of which was con- fecrated in the year 1308. A fitter of his was a nun in the convent of St. Nicolas at Krautenau, likewife belonging to the Dominican Order. In what year Tauler renounced the world cannot be determined with precifion, but there can be little doubt that he did fo at the fame time with his friend John von Dam- bach, in 1308. From allufions in his writings, it feems probable that he foon after, with the fame friend, betook himfelf to Paris, the great metropolis of Chriftian learning in that age, in order to ftudy theology in the famous Dominican College of St. Jacques, from which the monks of that Order were called Jacobins in France. The Univerfity concentrated within its precincts reprefentatives of the varied intellectual tendencies of the age. Up to the middle of the thirteenth century, it had been diflinguimed by the freedom of thought which prevailed among its teachers, unfhackled as they were by any epifcopal, almoft by any regal jurifdi&ion over their doctrine, and acknowledging only the authority of the Pope himfelf, directly exercifed. The influence of the all-queftioning Abelard, the fubtle Gilbert de la Pore'e, the pantheiftic Amaury de Bene, and other free-thinking teachers, was not extinct, though they lay under the cenfure of herefy. The works of Ariftotle, condemned in 1 209, had been gradually introduced into the fchools, with the Arabian commentaries of Avicenna and Averrhoes. The Dominican Order, founded for the extirpation of herefy, early recognifed the prime neceffity of pro- viding inftruclion which fhould purify the ftreams of human The Univerjlty of Paris. 75 thought at their fountain-head ; and in fpite of the opposition raifed by the heads of the Univerfity, fucceeded, in 1228, in efta- bliming theological chairs in their convent in Paris, from which to combat the heathenizing philofophers of Chriftendom with their own weapons of reafon ; and in Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas they may be faid to have reconquered philofophy for the Church, and Chriftianized Ariftotle, who thenceforth became the eftablifhed matter of philofophy, but was ftudied through the commentaries of the great Dominican luminary. But the coloflal volumes of the fchoolmen, embracing as they did within the vaft fweep of their fpeculation difquifitions upon the nature of the Godhead, upon the univerfe of fuper- human intelligence revealed by the pfeudo-Dionyfms, and upon the nature of man and matter, while affording a tremendous gym- naftic difcipline to the human intellect, were barren in actual practical refults, and might well be unfatisfacliory to one w r hofe foul craved to be fomething more than a logical athlete. And it is evident that, in his later life, Tauler did not look back upon the fcholaftic theology which he ftudied during his fojourn in Paris as having taught him that which anfwered to the needs of his fpirit. Thus, in one paflage of his fermons he lays : " Thefe great matters of Paris do read vaft books, and turn over the leaves with great diligence, which is a very good thing ; but thefe [fpiritually enlightened men] read the true living book, wherein all things live : they turn over the pages of the heavens and the earth, and read therein the mighty and admirable won- Taulers Life a?id Times. ders of God." He feldom cites any of the fchoolmen in his writings, with the exception of " Matter Thomas ;" but he not unfrequently refers to Ariftotle, under the title of the " Natural Mafter," or the " Mailer of Nature." The authors who feem to have had the greateft attraction for him, and whom he muft have early made the fubjecl: of his ftudy, judging from the acquaintance with them difplayed in his writings, and the little leifure which he could have had for fuch purfuits during the bufy activity of his later years, were the more myftical and fpeculative among the ecclefiaftical writers, the pfeudo-Dionyfius, the Monks of the fchool of St. Victor, St. Bernard, and above all St. Auguftin. Neither was he a ftranger to the Neoplatonifb, Proclus is referred to feveral times in his writings. While the whole bent of Tauler's mind thus appears to have dif- pofed him to contemplation on the great fpiritual queftions imme- diately affecting man's actual deftiny, rather than more purely intel- lectual thefes, he muft, on returning from Paris to Strafburg, have come in contact with feveral of the myftical teachers whom we know to have flourimed there about this time, and who certainly cannot have been without influence on the courfe of his mental development. The moft eminent of thefe was the celebrated Mafter Eckart, a brother of his own Order, who, after having filled the important offices of Provincial in Saxony and Vicar- General in Bohemia, had returned to Strafburg, where, with the earneftnefs of profound conviction, he was now difcouriing to the people in their native tongue, on lofty philofophical themes, The Schoolmen and Mqfter Eckart. 77 till then only deemed fit to be treated of in Latin before learned aflemblies ; and which he handled in a way that he himfelf con- fefles to be contrary to what any of the Matters had taught hitherto. Yet it is clear, from the accufations afterwards brought againft him of mifleading the vulgar, that the metaphyfical fpeculations which form the ftaple of his fermons, though they would feem to us utterly beyond the range of ordinary thinkers, muft have touched fome chords in the hearts of the multitude, exprefled as they are, not only in a marp, clear, forcible ftyle, but often clothed in a thoroughly popular form, and illuftrated by metaphors appealing to the eye, and allegorical interpretations of Scripture hiftories.* The man himfelf and his doctrines were equally calculated to make a powerful impreffion on the mind of the youthful Tauler, already diflatisfied with the frigid fubtleties of the dialecticians, and arriving at an age when he was called on to exercife his voca- * I borrow the following note from Schmidt's "Eckart" Theolog. Stud. a. Krit. 1 839, S. 684, An. 1 5. " The raifmg of the widow's fon furnifhes him with materials for more than one " allegory. In the Second Sermon on the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, the widow is firft " the foul, and her dead fon, the Reafon, which Our Lord animates with new life ; afterwards " a widow fignifies a forfaken one, and taken in an abftract fenfe, a ftate of lonelinefs, and forth- " with Eckart fprings to the conclufion, that therefore we alfo muft forfake all things. In the ' ftory of the woman of Samaria, the woman is a type of the foul, the five hufbands whom fhe " has had are the five fenfes ; with thefe fhe had finned, and therefore are they dead. Chrift " fays : ' Bring hither thy hufband ;' this is Free-will. She replies : ' I have no hufband ;' " on which Chrift fays : ' Thou haft well faid I have no hufband ;' that is, her Free-will was " not her own, but in bondage to fin, etc." 78 Taulers Life and Times. tion as a preaching friar in times of extraordinary commotion and perplexity. Eckart's keen and foaring intellecl: had been trained by a clofe ftudy of the Fathers and the Schoolmen before he became a profeflbr in the convent of St. Jacques at Paris, in which petition he foon acquired no ordinary fame ; being efteemed (according to the ftatement of the Abbot Trithemius in his great encyclopaedia of ecclefiaftical writers) " the moft learned man of his day in the Ariftotelian philofophy." The vivid remembrance of fuch a mafter would be ftill lingering in the hearts of many pupils when Tauler came to Paris ; though Eckart himfelf muft have quitted his profeflbrmip fome years before, as, on account of the feverity of his morals and the firmnefs of his character, he was appointed, in 1 304, Provincial of the Dominican Order in Saxony, where he laboured with fuch fuccefs in the reftoration of difcipline, that three years later he was made Vicar-General of Saxony, with the exprefs commiffion to undertake any improvements and reforms in the Order that he might judge neceflary. In this new fphere of action, like- wife, he foon became celebrated as a preacher and metaphysical teacher. From this date, when he was held in reverence by the Church,*he difappears from our view for a fpace of fome years; after which we find him in Strafburg, diverted of his dignities, but preaching with great effect his peculiar doctrines, now in his mature life elaborated into a fyilem which has been claimed by Hegel and fome of his difciples as the parent of the German Mafter Eckarfs Do&rines. 79 philofophy.* To fay whether this claim is juft would require a knowledge of Hegel and his fchool, which I do not poffefs.-f* That which was the aim of all Eckart's reafonings, to which all elfe was but a means, was the perfecl repofe of a fpirit in abfolute union with God, and dwelling in a region far above the clouds and tempefts of this changeful, barren life of fenfe. He himfelf appears to have attained in a high degree to this ftate of abiding peace ; yet his writings are pervaded by a ftrain of deep lamentation over the imperfections of this earthly fphere, and the mifery arifmg from a fenfe of feparation from God. In fad:, he certainly retains a pofitive and vivid fenfe of the nature of fin ; whether this be confiftent with Pantheifm or Hegelianifm, I leave thofe better qualified to judge. In the paffionate endeavour to free himfelf from the entanglements of the creature, and to enter into living union with God, he, however, undoubtedly does not efcape the danger of merging created exiftence in the one un- created EfTence which alone has true Being, and forgetting the limits that bar our approach to the Infinite. Thus he fays : " That word, / am, can none truly fpeak but God alone." " He has the Subftance of all creatures in Himfelf; He is a " being that has all Being in Himfelf." " All things are in God, " and all things are God." " All creatures in themfelves are * See Schmidt's Eckart. Theol. Stud. u. Krit. 1839, S. 663. f Neither is my acquaintance with Eckart extenfive ; but I have made no ftatement in the text which does not feem to me fubftantiated by what I have read of his writings. 8o Tender's Life and Times. " naught ; all creatures are a fpeaking of God." " Doft thou " afk me what was the purpofe of the Creator when He made the " creatures ? I anfwer, Repofe. Doft thou afk again what all " creatures feek in their fpontaneous afpiration ? I anfwer again, " Repofe. Doft thou afk a third time what the foul feeks in all " her motions ? I anfwer, Repofe. Confcioufly or unconfcioufly " all creatures feek their proper ftate. The ftone cannot ceafe " moving till it touch the earth ; the fire rifes up to heaven : thus " a loving foul can never reft but in God, and fo we fay God has " given to all things their proper place, to the fifh the water, to " the bird the air, to the beaft the earth, to the foul the Godhead." " Simple people conceive that we are to fee God, as if He ftood " on that fide and we on this. It is not fb ; God and I are one in " the acl: of my perceiving Him." " O noble foul, put on thefe " wings to thy feet and rife above all creatures, and above thine " own reafon, and above the angelic choirs, and above the light " that has given thee ftrength, and throw thyfelf upon the heart of " God ; there malt thou lie hidden from all creatures." But if, in thus denying a feparate exiftence to the creature, he ufes expref- fions which logically conduct to Pantheifm, on the other hand his God is clearly a living God ; not a mere objecl: of philofophical thought, but an actual and working reality.* So, again, fome of his ' The fecond Sermon in the following collection, which is undoubtedly by him, exhibits the mode in which he prefents abftraft doctrines clothed in a popular form, and is not an unfavourable specimen of his ftyle, though even more fragmentary than fome others of his difcourfes. Teftimonies to Eckart s Char after. 81 expreflions might feem to imply Antinomianifm, as when he fays : " Whenever a man enters into this union with God, that " God is fo dear to him that he forgets himfelf, nor feeks him- " felf either in time or in eternity, fo oft does he become free " from all his fins and all his purgatory, though he mould have " committed all the fins of all mankind :" and we can hardly doubt, from what we read of the Brethren of the Free Spirit, that fome did abufe Eckart's doctrine of the inward freedom of the fpirit to juftify fin in pretenders to piety. But it does not feem that even his enemies ever doubted of his own high morality ; while Quetif and Echard, in their Scriptores or dints Pradicatorum, praife him as a virum moribus et fcientia probatiffimum, omni laude Jupenorem, and add that a hundred years after him a brother of his Order fays of him, that he was vita purijjimus, expeditus D off or Ecclejite, fuo tempore incomparabilis eruditione, Jide, conver- Jhtione et moribus injtgnis. Eckart always endeavours to bring his fpeculations into com- bination with the theology of the Church ; but the interpre- tation which he puts upon the received dogmas often deviates widely from their fpirit.* He evidently regards, nay, openly * He was, for inftance, accufed of teaching that Hell did not exift : his real teaching was that it confided in the abfence of God, as appears from the following paflage : " It is a " queftion, what burns in hell ? The Matters commonly fay, Self-will. But I fay of a truth " that Nought burns in hell. Whereof mark this likenefs Were you to take a burning coal " and lay it on my hand, if I were to fay that the coal burnt my hand I mould do it a great G 82 Tauler s Life and Times. proclaims, outward rites and obfervances as not neceflary to the eflence of piety. Traces of his familiarity with the Schoolmen may be found in his fubtile and often purely formal diftin&ions and fyllogifms ; but their fpirit was utterly repugnant to his. On this point Profeflbr Schmidt fays : " Regarding Neopla- " tonifm as by no means incompatible with Chriftianity, his " philofophical views refemble in their general tendency thofe of " Dionyiius Areopagita, combining with them the myftical ele- " ments contained in the writings of St. Auguftine. The theory " of that great Father refpecting the total corruption of human " nature does not, however, occur in his writings in the fenfe in " which it is underftood by the Church. With Plato himfelf " he is not unacquainted, but cites him feveral times, calling " him ' the great Parfon' ("Der groffe Pfajfej. Scotus Erigena, " the tranflator of the Platonizing Dionyfius, though not named " in his writings, muft be regarded as furniming the ftarting " point for his theories. Of the other myftics of the middle ages " he only names St. Bernard. But he has not refted within the " iyftems advanced by any of the philofophers he ftudied ; he " injuftice. Strictly {peaking, what burns me is Nought ; for the coal has fomething in it which " my hand has not. See, it is that fame Not which burns me. If my hand poflefled all the " eflence dnd qualities of a coal, it would have altogether the nature of fire ; and then, if you " were to throw all the fire that ever burnt upon my hand, it would not give me pain. In like " manner, I fay, if God, and thofe who are in the light of His countenance, have aught of true " bleflednefs which thofe have not who are feparated from God, it is that fame Not which tor- " tures the fouls that are in hell, more than any fire or than felf-will." Eckarfs Death and Co7idemnation. 83 " made all the ideas that he may have derived from them his " own, and gave them a further development, fo that his pofition " is that of a thoroughly original thinker." After preaching fome time in Strafburg, Eckart appears to have removed to Cologne. It is not known whether or not he had found it neceflary to leave the former city; but it feems not improbable that he may have fallen under accufation of herefy there, from the circumftance that many of the propofitions condemned by the Bifhop (John of Ochfenftein) in 1317, as the doctrines of the Strafburg Beghards, agree, often word for word, with propofitions to be found in Eckart's writings. In Cologne he preached publicly for a few years in the church of his convent, and taught in the univerfity ; but he was not fuffered to remain long unmolefted. The way in which his writings were used by the Beghards, who were condemned by the Archbimop of Cologne in 1322, appears to have drawn the attention of the latter to his preaching. He cited Eckart to appear before him, and accuied him of herefy ; but as Eckart refufed to fubmit to his fentence, and continued to preach, the Archbifhop appealed to the Pope. His w r ritings were at length condemned in a bull dated March 1329, from which it appears that he was then no more, as it is ftated that he had returned to the Catholic faith before his death. It feems utterly incon- fiftent with the deep conviction that pervades his writings, and the inflexibility of his character, to fuppofe that he mould have recanted any of his doctrines ; but probably he merely exprefTcd G "2 84 Tender s Life and Times. his adherence to the doctrines of the Church, which he never feems to have intended to impugn, but to place upon what he regarded as their true foundation. He never feparated from the communion of the Church, and gathered round him in Cologne a circle of ardent admirers, among whom was probably Tauler* (who feems to have often vifited Cologne), and certainly Sufo, whofe biographer relates : " After thefe dreadful fufferings (of confcience) had lafted near upon ten years, ... he came to the holy Mafter Eckart, and told him of his pain, . . . and the Doctor helped him out of it."f Tauler's influence upon his countrymen has been fo much more powerful and enduring than that of Eckart, that he has often been called erroneoufly the firft of the German Myftics, and Eckart reprefented as his pupil. While, however, in his general caft of thought and language, Tauler bears traces of Eckart's influence, his views do not appear at any period to have been identical with thofe of his forerunner. Though inclined to fpeculation, his whole turn of mind and character was more prac- tical than that of Eckart, and his attention more directed to the application of religious principles to real life. Even the fermon which, as we have read, he preached before the remarkable change ' Tauler quotes Eckart. See the Second Sermon for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity. f See Diepenbrock's Sufo. Regenfburg, 1829. S. 71. A very interefting account of Sufo's life, concerning which much more is known than of Tauler's, is given in Ullmann's "Reformers before the Reformation." See p. 190, etc. Nicolas of Strafburg. 85 wrought in him through the agency of the great Layman, though difplaying more formality and fubtlety with lefs of tendernefs, unction, and fpirituality than generally characterize his later fer- mons, is yet far lefs abflrufe and metaphyfical, and has far more bearing upon morals and life, than is the cafe with Eckart's dif- courfes. There was, however, another famous Dominican preacher at Strafburg, in Tauler's youthful days, Nicolas of Strafburg, who though alfo a myftic, and pofTemng a very powerful intellect, was a man of a very different {tamp from Eckart, and who appears to have always flood in high favour with the heads of the Church. He was the author of feveral works, and was appointed by Pope John XXII. Nuncio, with the overfight of all the Dominican convents in the province of Germany. I have not had the oppor- tunity of reading any of his productions ; ProfefTor Schmidt de- fcribes his preaching as lefs fpeculative and much more popular, intelligible, and practical than Eckart's, and fays that " his fermons are rather myflical and afcetic than, flriclly fpeaking, metaphyfi- cal ; they breathe a profound yearning after inward peace and a glowing love to God, but do not difplay an intellecl: fb lofty as that of the great Myflic." That he was, however, a man of ex- traordinary learning is evinced by a work which he wrote on the coming of Anti-Chrift, and the fecond Advent of Our Lord, in order to prove that the numerous legends and prophecies current in that age, as in all times of great calamity and mighty convul- flons, were unworthy of credit, and that nothing pofitive was o3 86 Taulers Life and Times. to be learnt from Holy Scripture refpecting the date of future events.* There were many other myftics in Strafburg at this date, of whom nothing is known beyond their names, but this very facl: is fufficient to prove the wide diffusion of fuch doctrines in that city. The fame phenomenon alfo meets us in a heretical guife among the fanatical Beghards who fince the clofe of the thirteenth century had filled the Rhenifh provinces with their doctrines of the abfolute freedom of the fpirit, and the abolition of all diftinc- tions between the Creator and the creature. They were denomi- nated (moft likely by the title of their own choofing) the Brethren and Sifters of the Free Spirit, and made profelytes equally among the laity and clergy. In the year 1317, Bifhop Ochfenftein com- plains that Alface was full of them, and in a circular to the clergy of his diocefe, he condemns the myftical and pantheiftic doctrines of this feel:, whofe members were given over to the fecular autho- rities, and by them apparently punifhed with imprifonment. Whether or no Eckart was connected w r ith them, they do not * In the firft part of this treatife he cites authorities from the heathen authors to prove the truth of Chriftianity to thofe who rejefted the Old Teftament with the New. In the fecond, he reviews the writings of the Jews, and refutes their doctrines where they are at variance with Chriftianity. The third, de Anti-Cbrlfto ac fne mundi, contains extrafts from the pro- phecies of Hildegard, Joachim, and other mediaeval pfeudo-feers, which he treats with con- tempt. The whole treatife exhibits a vaft amount of reading in the ancient claffics, as well as the Chriftian and Jewifh writers of the Middle Ages. This work was dedicated to Pope John XXII. Influence of the Me?idicant Orders. 87 feem to have exercifed any influence upon Tauler ; for in his fer- mons he repeatedly inveighs againfl " the Free Spirits," who he fays, " ftriving after a falfe freedom, and on pretext of following the inward light, follow only the inclinations of their own nature." But befides the Beghards, there were ftill lingering in Southern Germany and Italy, remains of the Albigenfes and Waldenfes and Manichean Cathari, reverers of the Abbot Joachim's Eternal Gofpel of the Holy Ghoft (that was to overthrow the Gofpel of the Son), believers in the vifions of the Prophetefs Hildegard, adherents of the revolutionary Oliva and Fra Dolcino. There were, indeed, many reafons why herefies and religious divifions mould abound in thefe regions at this period. Not only was the German Empire, as we mall foon fee, torn by political diflenfions, which in many ways were interwoven with the religious con- troverfies then afloat, but there was variance between the heads of the Church and its moft efficient fervants, the devoted, hard-working, enthufiaftic Francifcans. The two Mendicant Orders were formed to reclaim for the Papacy her empire over the human mind, which in the twelfth century was threatened on the one hand by the moral purity and elevation of the Albigenfes, who almoft occupied the faireft provinces of France, on the other by the learning and civilifation no lefs than the arms of the Mahometan infidels ; and faithfully had they accom- plifhcd their vocation, by turns refuting heretics by their learning or dazzling them by miracles, outfliining them in afcetic purity, cruming them by the Inquifition, or winning them by felf- o4 Taulers Life and Times. devoted chanty. While the higher ecclefiaftics, above all the Papal court, were enormoufly wealthy, and, with few exceptions, abforbed in fecular objects and pleafures, the parochial clergy likewife often worldly and vicious, generally ignorant and inert, the wandering friars came among the neglected flocks, roufed them from the fleep of fin, reclaimed the vicious, convinced the fcofTer, brought hope to the wretched, confolation to the fick and dying ; and, as a natural refult, the people were eager to cxprefs their gratitude by placing their property in the hands of the Order which had mown fuch zeal for their fouls. And thus, though forbidden by their original constitution to hold property, in a few years the amount of wealth which they accumulated from the bequeils of the dying was fo large as to excite the jealousy of the regular clergy, already irritated by the friars' denunciation of worldlinefs, and the tacit cenfure of themfelves implied in the afcetic lives and burning zeal of their rivals, and they repeatedly demanded the fuppreflion of the two Orders. But within the Orders themfelves had foon fprung up the old ftrife and divifion that feems to threaten the life of all fpiritual organizations in the fecond generation, arifing from the innate antagonifm between the felf-indulgence, prudence, and acquifi- tivenefs inherent in human nature, and the pure but unreafbning fpiritual impulfes to which they have owed their exiftence. The Dominicans, with their characleriftic addrefs, retained the con- flicting elements within their own bofom, and equally availed themfelves of fervent piety or worldly power. The Francifcans, The Francifcans at Variance with the Pope. 89 more enthufiaftic and lefs far-fighted, divided into two parties, thofe who confented to hold property in truft for the fee of Rome, and thofe termed Spiritual Francifcans, who adhered rigidly to the literal interpretation of their rule of abfolute poverty. From the latter fprang numerous fpiritual and myftical feels, differing in their tenets, but all coinciding in their fervid faith and their inculcation of poverty and afceticifm, all democratic as regarded hierarchical authority, and many in- volving all the wealthy and noble in their hatred to wealth and power. Doctrines of this kind were indeed fure to find accept- ance among the opprefTed ferfs and lower clafles in general ; and by their very eflence the Francifcans had entirely caft in their lot with the people. Among thefe fects the Fratricelli, who flourifhed at the beginning of this century, foretold the overthrow of the corrupt and carnal Papacy, and the eftablimment of a fpiritual kingdom ruled over by " the Perfect. " The eremitical Cceleftines, the charitable Beguines, who originally devoted themfelves to works of mercy, the devotional Lollards, nay, pro- bably the brethren and fitters of the Free Spirit, feem alfb to have been offfhoots from thefe Spiritual Francifcans. The Pope now ruling had, however, put himfelf in oppofition with thofe of the Spiritual party who remained within the bounds of their Order, and were guilty of no herefy but that of aflcrting the abfolute poverty of Chrift and His Apoftles. He depofcd the General of the Order, and caufed the inmates of many convents to be perfecuted for maintaining a dodrine which {truck at the 9 Tauler's Life and Times. root of the Papal authority. In return, they boldly denounced the Pope as a heretic, and became important auxiliaries to the Emperor Louis IV. in that long ftruggle which occupies the period we are confidering. They found powerful coadjutors in the profoundly learned and able politicians, \Villiam of Ockham and Marfilio of Padua, whose writings taught men to inveftigate the origin of the Papal power. But not only from the princes with whom the Pope interfered, and the miferable populace whofe paffions were at the mercy of fanatical preachers or demagogues ; from the burghers in the cities there alfb arofe a ftrenuous oppofition to the outrageous claims and the arbitrary tyranny of the hierarchy. This clafs had long been rifmg in wealth and importance ; and in the earlier half of this fourteenth century they fucceeded in obtaining a mare of the government in nearly all the chief cities of Germany ; and the men who had emancipated themfelves from the temporal rule of the Bifhop and his ariftocracy, and were rejoicing in the frefh air of freedom and the fenfe of manhood, were not inclined to follow any longer blindly and unqueftioningly their fpiritual m afters. With the double election of Frederic of Auftria and Louis of Bavaria, who were both crowned on the 2^th of November, 1314, at Aix-la-Chapelle, began a defolating warfare, which lafted for eight years, till the Battle of Muehldorf in 132 2 left Frederic a prifoner in the hands of Louis. Strafburg was divided between the rival Emperors. The Bifhop and the important family of The Conteft of the Rival Emperors. 9 1 the Zorn were adherents of Frederic ; but the no lefs important family of the Muellenheim declared for Louis ; and the latter had the greater part of the citizens on their fide. Thus, when Frederic afcended the Rhine and arrived in Strafburg in January 1315, he was not received as their fovereign by the citizens, but merely treated as an illuftrious guelt ; while, on the contrary, the Bifhop and clergy paid him regal honours, which procured them various proofs of his favour. Louis, on hearing in his camp at Spires the conduct of the citizens, confirmed the liberties and privileges of the city. When, five years later, in Auguft 1320, Louis came with his army to Strafburg, the burghers folemnly tendered him allegiance in the cathedral, in return for which he again confirmed their privileges ; but the clergy had fufpended the offices of public worfhip, and the greater part of the nobles flill fided with them. On the captivity of Frederic, moft of the imperial cities of Alface came over to Louis ; but this did not reftore concord to the afflicted land : for Pope John XXII., bent upon the humiliation of Louis, whofe popularity and power were fuch as threatened to render him too independent of the Holy See, now interfered in the affairs of the Empire, and by his per- frftent refufal to acknowledge Louis, brought down unfpeakable calamities on Europe, while he ftirred up the people to a rcfiftance which could not but in the end prove fatal to their reverence for the Papal Chair. So long as the ftrifc lafted between Frederic and Louis, John XXII., while claiming it as his right to decide between them, had refrained from pronouncing any aclual decifion for 92 Taulers Life mid Times. either party ; but as foon as the former was fubdued, and there was a profpecl: of peace, he inftituted a procefs againft the vic- torious Louis for afTuming the title of King of the Romans before receiving the Papal fan&ion, admonifhed him to lay down all his powers, and forbade his fubje&s to render further fealty to him. But when in the following year it appeared that the real objecl: of the Pope was to depofe Louis altogether, and raife the King of France to the throne, the Diet afTembled at Frankfurt declared almoft unanimoufly for their brave Emperor, in defiance of the unrighteous claims of the Romim See. The Pope in return laid all who had acknowledged Louis under interdict in July 1324, from which fome places were not releafed for fix and twenty years. It muft not be forgotten what this fentence in- volved, how intimately its confequences were felt in every parifh and every home, when the churches flood filent and empty for years, the lawlefs and wicked were left unwarned, and the pious deprived of the confolation of worfhip and the holy communion during all this moft dark and troubled period. But, in fpite of its terrors, the German people, and even the greater part of the clergy, took part with their princes, with the exception, however, of the Bifhops of PafTau and Strafburg. The city of Strafburg, however, remained faithful to Louis, refifting by force the officers who attempted to proclaim the Papal fulmination againft the Emperor, and fending troops to his affiftance. The Bifhop John von Ochfenftein died in 1338 ; but his fucceffor, Berthold von Bucheke, trod in his footfteps. Strafburg itfelf, like moft of The Politics of Str a/burg. 93 the German cities, took but little heed of the Interdict and the repeated fentences of excommunication hurled againft Louis by the Pope. The internal divifion ftill continued, headed by the two families of Zorn and Muellenheim, till in 1332 a fanguinary conteft took place, which refulted in the overthrow of the old conftitution of the city, and the introduction of the craftfmen into the Senate. But the new magiftrates and the Bifhop re- mained as much at variance as ever. In 1338, the latter induced his Metropolitan, the Archbifhop of Mayence, to convene an aflembly of German Bimops at Spires, from which the prelates defpatched an addrefs to the Pope Benedict XII., earneftly be- feeching him to be reconciled with Louis, and put an end to this lamentable ftate of difcord. Their petition was fupported by envoys from the Eftates of the Empire, moved thereto by Louis, who declared himfelf ready to yield all obedience to the Holy See which was confiftent with God's glory, his own juft right, and the weal of the Empire. But as, in fpite of thefe and fimilar efforts, the Pope continued to prefcribe conditions which made a reconciliation impoffible, the Bifhop of Strafburg continued to withftand the Emperor, and do all that lay in his power to injure the imperial caufe in Alface. Louis now refolved to refort to decifive meafures againft this reftlefs adverfary, and in 1329 commanded the Rhenim cities to join the Duke Rudolf of Bavaria and Conrad Lord of Kinkel, in attacking Berthold. The latter, having for allies the Duke of Auftria, the Count of Wur- temberg, the Bifhop of Bafle, and other nobles, took the field, 94 Tender s Life a?id Times. beleaguered feveral cities of Alface, and laid wafte the furround- ing country : his opponents carried reprifals into his territories. Strafburg, wearied out with the mifery caufed by this never- ceafing contention, at length declared to the Bifhop that it would no longer yield him obedience unlefs he made peace with the Emperor ; and the Prelate, whofe arms had moreover met with reverfes, and whofe finances were exhaufted, fearing left the other towns of his diocefe mould follow the example of Strafburg, re- folved to do homage to Louis and receive inveftiture from him, under the refervation of abfolute obedience to the Pope, while he fent an envoy to Benedict XII. reprefenting his defperate con- dition, and requefting permiffion to meathe the fword. Both Emperor and Pope conceded his requefts ; and from this time forward he did all that he could to maintain tranquillity within his bifhopric, which was the more neceflary, as the controveriy between the Empire and the Papacy grew more envenomed. After the famous meeting of the Electoral College at Rhenfe, near Coblenz, in July 1338, had declared that the King of the Romans received his dignity and power folely from the free choice of the Electors, and the Imperial Diet, held immediately after, had made it a fundamental law of the Empire, that " the imperial dignity is beftowed directly by God, and he who has been legiti- mately chofen by the Electoral Princes, becomes thereby King and Emperor without further confirmation by the Pope or any other/'- Louis publifhed a Manifefto to all Chriftendom, refuting at full length the accufations brought againft him by the previous Effe&s of the Inter diEt. 95 Pope, and proving that the Pope has no authority to fit in judg- ment on the Emperor. He further commanded that none mould obferve the papal excommunication and interdict, and fentenced all thofe, whether individuals or whole cities and communities, who mould continue to fubmit to the bann, to be deprived of their rights and liberties. Great was the impreffion made by this bold Edicl: upon the German people, who rallied more and more univerfally around the Emperor who thus defended his own rights and the honour of the Empire. But concord was banilhed further than ever, for the clergy in many cafes refitted the Emperor's command to refume the fervices which had been fo long fufpended, while the citizens, who had borne with impatience their terrible deprivation of the facred rites, now on the ftrength of the Edicl: hTued orders that all the clergy who refufed to perform fervice mould be banifhed. Many priefts left their churches and removed into other provinces, numerous convents flood empty of their in- mates ; ftill in moft places there remained a fufficient number of priefts and monks to fulfil the duties of their vocation. This was the cafe in Strafburg ; the city had already fuffered all the cala- mities confequent on the Interdict : the clergy had fplit into two parties ; the larger number obeyed the Pope's commands ; the Auguftinians efpecially had for many years fufpended the perform- ance of all religious fervices. The Dominicans and the Francif- cans had availed thcmfelves of the privilege early granted to their Orders of celebrating mafs during a time of interdict. But now, 96 Tauter s Life and Times. when the Emperor fo openly fet himfelf in oppofition to the Pope, they too, terrified by the fentence of excommunication hanging over them, refufed in many inftances to fay mafs, on which the Senate of Strafburg proclaimed : " Either let them go on to fing, Or out of the city let them fpring." The Dominicans in general quitted the city, and Koenigfhofen re- lates in his Chronicle, that they left their convent {landing empty for more than two years ; but no doubt many of the democratical Francifcans, who had always fupported the Emperor, remained behind. There were, however, as we mall fee, exceptions in thefe Orders to the general rule, which mows to how great an extent the brethren muft have been guided by their individual confcience rather than their corporate organization. Such were the fcenes amidft which Tauler was called to labour as a Chriftian minifter and Dominican monk. Of the manner in which he fulfilled his work, and the vicnTitudes of his perfonal career, hiftory has preferved but a fmall number of fafts, but thefe, though few, are Significant. All the testimonies that have come down to us refpe&ing him, concur in bearing witnefs to the univerfal affe&ion and efteem with which he was regarded. Even fo far distant as Italy his name was known as a teacher of high repute, who infifted on inward piety. The famous Brother Venturini, of Bergamo, who was refiding at that time under difgrace in a convent at Marveges, names him in a letter which His Vifit to Eajle. 97 he writes to another Dominican in Strafburg, Egenolph von Ehenheim, calling him his beloved John Tauler, and wifhing to enter into correfpondence with him, becaufe he perceives that " through him and others the name of Chrift will be fpread abroad, ever more and more, throughout Germany." Egenolph himfelf was one of thefe " others/' who were fellow- workers with Tauler. His early friend, Johann von Dambach, was alfb here at this time. But the moft remarkable trait in this period of Tauler's life is that he not only, unlike moft of his Order, fided with the Emperor in his whole conteft with the Pope, but did not fufpend his activity when, in 1338, the great ftruggle came between the abfolutely contradictory commands of his temporal and fpiritual lords, and, as we have feen, his brethren quitted the town, and left their convent deferted for two years. By the departure of nearly all the clergy from Strafburg, Tauler found a ilill wider field of labour ; and from allufions to him in letters of his contemporaries, it appears that he did not confine his exertions to that city, but preached from time to time at various places, from Cologne to Bafle. Before the clofe of 1338 he feems to have made a fomewhat lengthened vifit to the latter city, where the ftate of things was very fimilar to that in Strafburg. The Bifhop of Bafle belonged to the opponents of Louis of Bavaria, and made common caufe with the Bifhop of Strafburg in attacking the adherents of the Emperor in 1339. The citizens again, like thofe of Strafburg, had remained faithful to H Tauler s Life and Times. Louis, and had even gone fo far in their hostility to the Pope, that when, in 1330, John XXII. despatched an envoy to publifh his bull againft the Emperor, the incenfed mob hurled him, although a prieft and a dignitary, from the citadel into the river ; and, when he tried to fave himfelf by fwimming, put out in boats after him and flew him. During the Interdict, however, moft of the clergy, and efpecially the monks, had forfaken the churches, fo that in many places the Sacrament had not been adminiftered for fourteen years ; and on the magiftrates ordering them to refume their functions the greater part had refufed to do fo. About this time, however, the people of Bafle by fome means prevailed on the Pope to relax the feverity of the Inter- dict for the space of a year. In Bafle Tauler met with an old friend, Henry of Nordlingen, from whofe letters moft of the fcanty notices of Tauler during this period are derived. He was a prieft from Conftance, which city he had been obliged to leave on account of his refuial to preach ; for though a Bavarian by birth, and intimately con- nected with Tauler and others of fimilar views, he did not recognize Louis as the lawful Emperor. He is principally known by his correfpondence with a very remarkable woman, Margaretha Ebner, a nun at the Convent of Maria Medingen, in the diocefe of Augfburg. Her fifter Chriftina was Abbefs of the Convent of Engenthal, near Nuremberg. Both were dif- tinguifhed by their mental endowments as well as their earneft piety, and were evidently held in great refpect by Tauler, Sufo, Margaretha and Chriftina Eb?ier. 99 and others of that party. They feem alfo to have taken up a very decided pofition amidft the ecclefiaftical commotions of their age, and were zealous partizans of Louis. Chriftina, famous for her vifions, in one of her trances fees the Romim Church in the likenefs of a magnificent Cathedral, the doors of which are, however, clofed by reafbn of the Interdict. The fmging of the priefts within is heard ; a crowd of people are {landing round, but dare not enter. On a fudden a man in the garb of a preaching friar comes up to the nun, and tells her that he will give her words wherewith to conlble the forfaken multi- tude ; and this man is Chrift. Tauler occasionally viilted both thefe nuns, and was in correfpondence with Margaretha*, whom he urges to write down her vifions refpecling the ftate of Chriftendom and the friends of God. For him they had a deep veneration, and conftantly call him " our dear Father Tauler." Chriftina learns, in one of her revelations, that he is " the holieft of God's children now. living on earth," that "the spirit of God breathes through him, as fweet mufic through a lute ;" Margaret fpeaks, too, fometimes of the joy that me has had in the pretence of this great friend of God, and how hard it has been to part with him. She appears to have flood rather in the relation of a wife Chriftian friend and counfellor, than of a spiritual child, * Only one fhort letter, however, has been prcferved, from having been placed among thofe of Henry of Nordlingen, and it is too unimportant for infertion. II 2 ioo Taulers Life and Times. to Henry of Nordlingen, who from his letters feems to have been a man of gentle, pious fpirit, more fitted for a quiet contemplative life than for the energetic activity required by the troublous times in which his lot was caft. He, like Tauler, was filled with anguifh at the fight of the diftrefs of thofe around him ; but while Tauler's grief ftirred him up to vigorous efforts in their behalf, and his courage and energy role with the emergency, the timid and hefitating Henry was unable to furmount the difficulties in which he found himself involved, and the greater the preflure of the times, the greater was his perplexity and longing for peace. Yet, when his fcrupulous confcience allowed him to preach, his labours appear to have been fruitful in refult. This was the cafe during Tauler's vifit to Bafle, where he had previoufly been fojourning for fbme time in inactivity, after long wandering and much diftrefs.* When the Pope allowed public worfhip to be celebrated for a year at Bafle, Henry's friends, without his knowledge, procured him permimon to preach, and give a forty days' indulgence ; and he then ventured to appear in public, en- * His letters give a lively pifture of the real dangers to which his politics expofed him. Thus he fays, " I have been called before the princes of this world, who have profcribed me, fo that there is no place of fafety for me in this land, unlefs I would content to perform mafs." Again, he would come to Margaretha, but " I may not as yet dare to appear openly in this " land." " If the Emperor mould leave the country, perhaps I might be able to fee thee, if it " were God's will." " At Conftance and in the neighbouring country the priefts have been everywhere ordered to fing mafs, fo that I do not know where I mall be able to remain." Henry of Nor dlingen. 101 couraged by Tauler's influence and counfel. Thus he fays : " Afterwards I came to Bade, to my and thy dear faithful Father Tauter (who was with me at thy houfe), and he helped me in every way he could with all fidelity." He then writes : " The " great mercy has been granted us that we may celebrate mafs in " public, with the Pope's permiflion ; and now do the hungry fouls " come with great defire to receive the Lord's body, which they " have not been able to enjoy for fourteen years in Chriftian " obedience. And now I entreat you, with fpecial earneftnefs, " that you pray to God for all those whom I feed with His Body, " that we may receive His Holy Sacrament in His love, and " adminifter it to His eternal glory, and the confolation of all " Chriftian fouls." He now preached every day, and often tw r ice a day, befides performing mafs daily ; and fo many of all clafTes ftreamed to confefs to him that he was overwhelmed with his duties, and writes to his friend : " If I could manage it, I would " gladly come to you ; but I am not my own. I am the pro- " perty of the whole Chapter, and the moft important parifhes. " The people at Bafle are not willing that I fhould leave them, " neither, indeed, mould I have courage to travel openly about " the country ; for I mould be at the mercy of any ruffian or " thief, and if aught befell me, no complaint would be laid " againft him. Still I truft in the Lord that He will fuffer me " to fee thee, my heart's true confolation.' But fome months later he writes : ' Methought I clung too much and with too " carnal feelings to the eafe, the luxurious and pleafant fociety, H 3 T aider s Life and Times. " and the earthly comforts that I enjoyed at Bafle. In truth I " knew not that I did fo while I had them, but felt it fully when " I forfook them. Befides, I perceived in my heart, through " many fuggeftions and admonitions, that my labours might be " more needed elfewhere than at Bafle, and fo I ventured my " departure for the fake of Chrift and his flock, and have ex- " changed the marvelloufly holy and pleafant and acceptable fo- " ciety there for all manner of difcomfort to my inward and " outward man, by night and by day ; fo that now I muft per- " force retreat into myfelf, and take refuge in my only confblation, " Chrift Jefus, if I were unwilling to do fo before." By the perfuafion of Tauler, Henry appears now for a time to have preached even in places which ftill lay under the Interdict, but afterwards, terrified by the violent cenfure of the clergy for his conducl, to have fubmitted again to the papal prohibition, and renamed his wanderings. Tauler, on the contrary, waited for no papal permiffion to do that which he confidered to be the bounden duty of a clergyman, and after his vifit to Bafle it ap- pears from Henry's letters that he travelled more than once as far as Cologne. In this city, where Mafter Eckart had fpent the latter years of his life, numerous preachers had gone forth from his fchool, who continued to promulgate his doctrines with more or lefs ability and originality. Nicolas of Strafburg, too, was at this time lecturing at Cologne, probably driven from Straflburg by the troubles to which his papal politics would expofe him at this period. This was the cafe alfo with Tauler's old friend, Johann His " Hiftory and Life" by Nicolas. 103 von Dambach, who had not only declared that during the Inter- dict it was the duty of a pious Chriftian to fubrnit unconditionally to the Church, but even compofed feveral tractates to prove the juftifiablenefs of the Interdict from the Canon law. Yet, as we have feen Tauler and the Ebners in undifturbed friendship with Henry of Nordlingen, in fpite of differences which entered fo deeply into the life of thofe times, fo, notwithstanding Dambach's antagoniftic opinions, and his removal to the diftant Prague*, the connection between him and Tauler was not broken off, as is proved by the circumftance, that after 1350 he fent his book, " De fenfibilibus delicns paradiji" to their Alma Mater, the Col- lege of St. Jacques, in Paris, in their joint names. We now arrive at the date when that great change was pro- duced in Tauler with which the foregoing " Hiftory" has ac- quainted us. Till recently, little was known of the " Hiftory," beyond the facl; that it was found attached to fome MSS. of Tauler's fermons, and many have doubted of its genuinenefs. Que'tif and Echard, for inftance, have treated it as a mere allegory. By dint of laborious refearches among the old MSS. of the libraries of Strafburg and Sarnen, and ingenious combinations of the refults thence obtained, Profeflbr Schmidt has not only efta- blifhed, in a way that it feems to me muft be fatisfa&ory to any one who goes through the evidence, that this Tractate is a per- * He was made Profeflbr at the newly-eftabliflied Univerfity there in 1 347. H 4 104 T aider s Life and Times. feclly genuine and truthful production, the work of the layman who profefTes to have written it, but alfo has fucceeded in identi- fying this layman with a myfterious perfonage, called the Great Friend of God, in the Oberland, the head of a fecret religious aflbciation ; and the latter again, with a certain Nicolas of Bafle, whofe name, however, only occurs twice ; once in the account of his own martyrdom, once in that of one of his difciples. The moft important of the MSS. examined by Profeflbr Schmidt is a large folio volume, only recently difcovered in the archives of Strafburg, and formerly belonging to the Convent of the Knights of St. John in that city, called a Briefbuch [book of letters], and is for the moft part a collection of letters and papers left by Rulman Merfwin, the founder of the convent. This Rulman Merfwin was a friend of Tauler (who was for fome time . his confeflbr), and, in the latter part of his life, of the "Layman," Nicolas, by whofe advice he built a houfe for the Brethren of St. John, on an ifland at Strafburg called the Gruenen- Worth (green meadow), and with whom he was in conftant corre- fpondence up to the time of his death in 1382. Several portions of this extremely curious Bricfbucb were carefully copied into the archives of the convent, forming what is called its Memorial,* but the codex itfelf did not belong to the public archives of the The documents relating to the founders of the houfe are fo called. Of this Memorial four copies are known to exift. Nicolas of Bafle. houfe, being kept fecret from all but a few, on account of the private letters and notes contained in it, and therefore treafured up with peculiar care. So late as the feventeenth century, this was ftill the cafe, and a reader of that period has traced on the outer covering of the Codex the words: "liber ifte religiose cujlodiendus" The documents of which it confrfts were arranged, and moft of them copied out, by Nicolas von Laufen, who (ac- cording to a few notices of himfelf, which he has inferted at the clofe of the Brief buch) feems to have accompanied Rulman Merfwin as his fecretary, on taking pofleilion of the newly-built Gruenen- Worth in 1366, and a few years later to have become a prieft of the order of St. John. The codex contains among other lefs important matter, a MS. called " The Book of the Five Men" being an account of Nicolas and his four companions, in the handwriting of Nicolas himfelf ; twenty-two of his letters, apparently copied by Nicolas von Laufen, and the original MS. of Rulman Merfwin's account of the firft four years of his religious hiftory, in his own handwriting. Thus, after a lapfe of five hundred years, we are able to learn more about this extra- ordinary half-mythical " Friend of God in the Oberland," than his very contemporaries knew. From thefe documents we are able to obtain a general idea of the character and work of Nicholas, though the actual courfe of his hiftory, efpecially during the earlier part of his life, is ftill almoft entirely fhrouded from view. All that we can difcover refpe&ing the commencement of his career is, that about the year io6 Taulers Life and Times. 1328 or 1330, he was a youth of good family at Bafle*, wealthy, univerfally efteemed, and poflefled of abilities that enfured him fuccefs in all that he undertook. Neverthelefs, he was unhappy, from the confcioufnefs of his fmfulnefs and ignorance of divine things. Being, as a layman, uninftrucled in Holy Scripture, he fought to matter religious truths by the exercife of his reafon ; but his efforts to obtain fatisfacl:ion were in vain. For years he ftruggled with his own intellectual difficulties and the tempta- tions of the world. One day, as he was meditating on the tran- fitory nature of all earthly things and the rapid flight of time, the thoughtleflhefs, fmfulnefs, and thorough forgetfulnefs of God in all thofe around him were prefented in fuch vivid colours to his mind, that it feemed inconceivable to him how man could take any delight in this vain world ; and then, as the thought of his own wafted time rofe to his remembrance, he was filled with fuch bitter remorfe that he refolved from that moment to re- nounce the world and dedicate his life to God. To this end, as we have feenf, he read the lives of the faints and imitated their aufterities. This difcipline he had carried on for five years before he found peace in the way he defcribes in the " Hiftory." He afterwards fet himfelf to ftudy the Scriptures (no doubt in Latin), and fays that in a fpace of thirty weeks he had come to be able * The place of his abode is not certain, but inferred from the dialeft of the Tractate found in his own handwriting. See Schmidt's Gottesfreunde. S. 32. f See p. 20. The Friends of God. 107 to underftand it as thoroughly, and " fpeak as good grammar, " as if he had ftudied all his days in the bcft Univcrfitics ;" which extraordinary facility of acquifition he refers to fpecial divine affiftance. We know no more of him till we find him at the head of a Ibciety of " Friends of God," who live with him in utter feclufion from the world, and form the fecret centre of a wide circle of religious activity, unconnected with any recognized order, but yet not overftepping the pale of the Church. The title of" Friends of God" is one which meets us continually in the writings of thofe who are termed myftics in the fourteenth century, and is ufed in various connections. Sometimes it feems to denote thofe who were partakers of a fpiritual in oppofition to a formalrftic piety ; ibmetimes to denote the members of a par- ticular body. Among thofe called " Friends of God" we find the names of individuals widely differing from each other in rank, vocation, opinion, and career ; for they counted among their members Dominicans, fuch as Eckart, Tauler, Sufb of Conftance, and Henry of Nordlingen, and Francifcans, fuch as Otto of PaiTau ; Knights married and fmgle ; nuns like Chriftina and Margaretha Ebner, and a Queen, Agnes the widow of King Andrew of Hungary ; the rich banker, Rulman Merfwin, and Conrad, the Abbot of Kaifermeim in Bavaria, who boafts, in a letter to Henry of Nordlingen, that he has not accepted the Bifhop of Augfburg's abfolution either for himfelf or his monaftery ; Conrad Brunfberg, again, the Grand-Mailer of the Knights of St. John in Germany, befides the layman, Nicolas io8 Taulers Life and Times. of Bafle, and the great myftical author of the Netherlands, Ruyfbroeck. The appellation common to all thefe, with num- bers of lefs diftinguifhed perfons, would feem to have been ufed among themfelves to denominate thofe who could not but feel that they were more alive to the realities of religion and its fpiritual nature than was the cafe with the multitude around them. That thofe pofleffing common fympathies on the fubje&s of higheft import, mould infti n&ively feek out and cling to each other, and thus an affociation mould fpontaneoufly grow up, even without any definite plan, is a natural and inevitable procefs, where a real, deep religious life has arrived at felf-confcioufnefs ; and from a comparifon of the pafTages in which Tauler and Henry of Nordlingen ufe the term " Friends of God/' it appears to me that in the firft inftance the fenfe of having entered into a living, perfonal union with God, bringing with it a yearning pity for fmners, and a fervent defire to bring them to the fame blefled ftate, was the fole diftinclion and bond of the " Friends of God." It is at all events clear that their union for common action was utterly independent of the attitude they aiTumed towards the great conflicting queftions of the day ; for, as we have feen in the Abbot of Kaiferfheim, and Henry of Nordlingen, thofe are called " Friends of God," and treat each other as brethren, who are as far afunder in their politics as the Chartifts and High Tories of our own days. Neither did they form a feel, but, on the contrary, repudiated the idea, as is fhewn by the following paflage from Tauler's fermon on the twenty-fecond Sunday after Trinity, which I think, too, The Friends of God not a SeEt. 109 confirms this view of their origin. " The prince of this world " has now-a-days been fbwing brambles among the rofes in all " directions, infomuch that the rofes are often choked, or forely " torn by the brambles. Children, there muft needs be a flight or a " diftinclion ; fome fort of a feparation, whether within the cloif- " ters or without, and it does not make them into a feel:, that the " ' Friends of God' profefs to be unlike the world's friends." The remark that the " Friends of God" were not a feel:, would feem to prove that this accufation was brought againft them ; but, indeed, proof of this would feem fuperfluous, for then, as in all other times, it would infallibly happen that the unworldly and fpiritual-minded, who recognized a nobler fort of religion than that comprifed in the due obfervance of religious rites and decent moral conduct, mould be charged with fectarianifm and fufpecled of herefy, even if they broached no new dogmas, and went no farther than to bring out in their teaching and practice the real fignificance of the Church's ordinances. But the greater the iinfulnefs and deadnefs to religion in a particular age, the more ftrongly marked muft be the line of de- marcation between the carelefs and the earneft ; for the religious are thus obliged to abftain from pleafures and occupations which, innocent in themfelves, have become corrupt. At the fame time, too, the danger of enthufiafm, and miftaking one's own natural emotions for direcl: Divine influence, will be greateft when fuch influences, known to be real by the pious, are altogether denied by the world in general. Illuftrations will inftantly no Tenders Life and Times. fuggeft thcmfclves to the mind of the reader from the experience of our own Church in the times of Wefley and Whitfield ; and in like manner, amidft the univerfal deadncfs of the Lutheran Church in the feventeenth century, arofe the Pietiftic movement of Spener and Franke. Thus the great wickednefs, efpecially of the clergy, the contentions and dreadful cataftrophes which mark the firft half of the fourteenth century, would impel the pious to come out from the world, and flimulate them to fpecially earneft and direct efforts to enkindle the religious life of the people. And Ib, during the terrors of the Interdict, they feem to have formed an aflbciation with no declared boundary, yet whofe boundaries would be moft diftinclly recognized by all who were within the line. To the name they adopted, the text John xv. 15. feems to have given occafion ; for Tauler fays: " Then faid our Lord to His difciples, * From henceforth I call you " ' not fervants, but friends/ The 'henceforth' that he fpoke was " from the time when they had forfaken all things and followed " Him. Then were they his friends, and not fervants ; and there- " fore he who will be a true friend of God muft leave all things and " follow after Him." From this paflage, in the fpirit of which many others concur, we fee at once in what the right to this title confifted namely, in the thorough felf-furrender to God, the forfaking all things to follow God alone. But while this principle, which furely we muft recognize as that which does really conftitute the friends of God in all ages, was brought out into peculiar prominence by thcfe German Doffirines of the Friends of God. in Gottesfreunde, their views could not fail to be coloured by the modes of thought and the circumftances of their age. Thus, in order to this entire devotednefs to God, we find a renunciation, fb far as may be, of all earthly cares and ties recommended by them ; thus, too, we fee that their faith in God's direct, perfonal dealings with the individual foul is apt to be accompanied by a fuperftitious regarding of infignificant phenomena, or even the mere effects of an over-active fancy, as a positive intimation of His will. Some of us, too, would be inclined to think that their continual infifting on the duty of paffively yielding up the foul to divine influences, and their exhortations to take all out- ward things as from God, would involve a danger of falling into an indolent quietifm. But the fact, far from juftifying our expectations, would afford another proof that when we leave off trying to do the work that God will do Himfelf, we mail find our energies all the more vigorous to accomplifh that which He has fet us to do ; for inftead of regarding the events around them with paffive indifference, like many of the earlier afcetics, they believed themfelves called to exercife a very positive influ- ence on the courfe of events. This was in a fpecial fenfe the cafe with Nicolas of Bafle and his immediate companions, whom we find, from the recently dif- covered documents, to have entertained plans for the extenfion of religion and the reform of Chriftendom of a wider nature than it was fafe to difclofe even to their brethren indifcriminately, at a time when the Dominican inquifitors (who, moreover, \\cre of the Tender's Life and Times. Papal, while moft of the " Friends of God " were of the Imperial party) were actively engaged in hunting out heretics, efpecially thoie who might betray any leaning to the democratic and reformatory tendencies of the Spiritual Francifcans and their cognate feels. Thus the knot of men who gathered round Nicolas as their centre, feem, as compared with the Gottesfreunde at large, to have formed a church within a church, having fecret fchemes into which the others were not initiated. From hints of fuch private fchemes fcattered in the writings of Rulman Merfwin and " the Layman/' it was formerly ima- gined that the latter at any rate was a fecret Waldenfian; but this idea is not confirmed by more extended refearch ; on the contrary, the importance which he and his friends attach to the rites of the Church, to obedience to ecclefiaftical fuperiors, their belief in tranfubftantiation and purgatory, &c., are quite in- confrflent with it. Indeed, the views of Nicolas feem to have been much more in unifbn with the doclrine of the Church than thofe of Eckart and his fchool. The only peculiarity of his belief, that I can difcover, is his ftrong confidence in the reality of the vifions and miraculous revelations imparted to himfelf and his friends ; and it muft be remembered that even this peculiarity he not only mares in common with the great Luther, who lived two centuries later, and with the liberal and fagacious Wefley, almoft in our own days, but that his fpiritual childhood had been nurtured on the legends of the faints, with all their marvels ; and that we fee, from the hiftory of his times, that miracles and revelations were Nature of T aider s Converjion. of every-day occurrence, at all events among the Francifcans and fectarians. The fecret of the extraordinary fway which Nicolas obtained, not only over laymen lefs inftru&ed and priefts lefs thinking than himfelf, but even over a man of fuch commanding intellect as Tauler, feems to me to lie in the intenfe glow of his piety, the utter felf-devotion of his own life, his force of will, and his real fpiritual infight. Not only did he ftand im- meafurably below Tauler in point of learning, but his letters, while affording many traits of fpiritual wifdom and acute practical fense, exhibit neither the reflective nor imaginative power of Tauler's writings. Yet the accomplilhed fcholar, the experienced paftor, the fearlefs politician, refigns himfelf implicitly to the guidance of the obfcure layman as his inconteftible Superior. The crifis which Nicolas was the means of bringing about in Tauler's life is commonly termed a conversion ; but from all that we have read of his previous life, it seems clear that it cannot be regarded as what is ordinarily meant by that term. Before it took place Tauler was already a iincere, God-fearing, active Chriilian minifter, and recognized as their " Father " and leader by the " Friends of God " fcattered up and down Switzerland, Bavaria, and the Rhenim ftates. Neither can I difcover any conversion, properly fpeaking, in point of doc- trinal opinions. Nicolas agrees to all he taught as very good, and blames, not his preaching, but his life. Surely, therefore, this notable change is to be regarded in the light in which Tauler himfelf regarded it; as the coming to a deeper, more Tender's Life and Times. real and practical experience of the things of God. It feems, that with all his fmcere piety, and hatred of fin, and abhorrence of the evil world around him, Tauler had never come to a clear confcioufnefs of all the depths of fin concealed in his own heart, or an apprehcnfion of the full import of the utter felf-furrender to God which he preached. Such a deficiency of felf-knowledge is indeed more poflible with a confcientious man of Tauler's character, pure and gentle by nature, than with one of the oppofite, or more ftormy type. It is true that the tafk which God lays upon all is the fame the unceafing furrender of their own wifhes to the higher aims which He fets fucceflively before them. But with men of paffionate temperament and felfifh habits, who are therefore at every turn expofed by circumftances to violent temptation, their natural wifhes are, for the moft part, fb ob- vioufly finful that, though the ftruggle of renouncing them may be hard, the duty of doing fo is clear and preffing. And when fuch turn to God, their falls in attempting the Chriftian walk are often frequent enough, or at leaft their battles with temptation fevere enough, to teach them the evil and weaknefs of their own heart. With men, on the other hand, of calm, pure, and affectionate difpofition, and trained in confcientious habits, fo many of their wifhes are for things harmlefs, or even good in themfelves, that it is lefs ealy to fee why and how they are to be given up. Such men, juft, kindly, and finding much of their own happinefs in that of others, live, for the moft part, in harmonious relations with thofe around them, and have little to difhirb their confciences, Me?ital Trials. 115 beyond the fear of falling fhort in the path of duty on which they have already entered. But they are expofed to many perils, more infidious, becaufe lefs ftartling, than thofe which befet their more fiercely-tempted brethren. They are in danger of depend- ing too much on the refpecl: and love which others fo readily yield them ; of valuing themfelves on a purity which, if ever one of ftruggle, has come to be one of tafte ; of prizing intellectual clearnefs above moral inlight and vigour ; of mistaking the plea- lure they feel in the performance of duty, for real fubmiflion to the will of God; and above all, of fhrinking from new truths which would, for the time, confufe their belief, and break up the calm lymmetry of their lives. The greater danger to the Chriftian life arifmg from thofe hidden heart-fins, than even from fmful acl:s which inftantly wound the confcience, is a truth which Tauler infifls upon in his fermons fb ilrongly and fb often, nay, fometimes almoft to exaggeration, that one could not but guefs that he was fpeaking from his own experience, even had we not the certainty of it from the "Hiftory." For, as he often declares, different natures require and receive a very different difcipline from God. Sometimes it is by outward affliction that God fpeaks to fouls thus finking into the lethargy of formalifm ; and the lofs of friends, or health, or influence fuddenly fcems to cut off, as it were, half their means of ferving Him, and to roufe long-for- gotten temptations to rife up againil His will. Sometimes, on the other hand, He fpeaks to them inwardly, by opening their eyes to heights of holinefs, which they had never before fteadily I 2 Taulers Life and Times. contemplated. They now fuddenly perceive that many of the fancied duties which have till now occupied their lives, and fatis- fied their confciences, have long cealed to be duties, and have come to be mere habits or pleafures ; and that while they have been thus living in felf-love, unfeen and unrepented-of, they might have been coming to the knowledge of the higher obliga- tions to which they have been fo blind, but which were all implied in their firft belief, if they had but continued to read it with a fmgle eye. Thus they are weighed down by prefent temptations to which they have long been ftrangers. For, in order to follow the new light granted to them, they muft give up long-cherifhed aims ; relinquifh many opportunities of doing good, and even, it may ieem, the very faculties for ufmg them ; and facrifice, not only the good opinion of the world, but the truft and affection of many who are deareft to them. They fhrink from fuch renunci- ation; and then come doubt and perplexity to add to the bitter- nefs of the ftruggle. Can it be right to abandon fo much that is good and worthy in itfelf, can it be the voice of God that fummons them to do this, or is it not rather a felf-willed fancy of their own ? No : for confcience cannot be miftaken when it tells us of fin, though it is infufficient to reveal to us duty and this fierce clinging to their own wifhes, what is it but the fame obftinate refiftance to the will of God, which they have been accuftomed to blame, nay, even wonder at, in the vicious and criminal, whom they have perhaps been feeking to reclaim ? Such a ftruggle, it feems, was that which Tauler had to pafs through before he Mental Trials. could fully apprehend or be fitted for the work which God had for him to do. And furely, without fome fuch ftruggle, none can keep long in the right path. For the path to life does not ftretch acrofs the levels of habit, but winds up the heights of afpiration, and at every frefh ftep in the afcent a wider horizon of duty opens to the view. I will not mar the impreflion of the touching narrative given by Tauter himielf by tranflating the ftory it relates into any weaker words, but leave it to make its own way to the heart of thofe who have hearts to underftand it. There may be fome who are unable to find within the range of their own experience and obiervation any key which can make it found to them like reality and common fenfe, yet confidering the practical energy and clear judgment of Tauler in other parts of his life, it may furely be worth their pains to ftudy what he confidered of fo much importance with reverent and felf-diftruftful diligence, rather than rejecl; it at once as the mere product of a heated fancy. It feems moft likely that the attention of Nicolas had firft been drawn to Tauler during the ftay of the latter with Henry of Nordlingen, in Bafle, in 1338; for, according to one of the beft MSS. of the " Hiftory," the Layman fays, " I have heard much of your doclrine in my own country." Confidering what we know of his previous hiftory, and the accufation of Nicolas that he relied too much on his fcholarmip, it feems highly probable that Tauler may hitherto have been fomewhat influ- i 3 n8 Tauler s Life a?id Times. enccd by the caft of thought derived from his Mailer Eckart, in whofe writings the power of Knowing is fo highly exalted that it fometimes is made to take precedence of the faculty of Love. That Nicolas mould, after hearing Tauler preach a few times, have been able to penetrate his fpiritual condition and detect its great imperfection, would not appear to imply anything miracu- lous, but to be merely a rare, though by no means fmgular, inftance of the fine fpiritual inftincl; fometimes found in men themfelves of extraordinary religious attainments. Tauler mows us what he confiders to have been the value of Nicolas to himfelf when he fays, " Therefore for fuch as defire to live for the truth, it is a great affiftance to have a Friend of God, to whom they fubmit themfelves, and who guides them by the Spirit of God It were well worth their while to go a hundred leagues to feek out an experienced Friend of God, who knows the right path and can direct them in it."* The two years of filence, which muft have been fuch a terrible trial to Tauler' s faith and obedience, were compenfated, not only by inward growth, as is always the cafe with fuch trials, but by the evident increafe of his outward ufefulnefs, fo that he found the truth of Nicolas' aflurance, that one of his fermons would bring forth more fruit now than a hundred had before. His preaching is diftinguimed from that of mofl of his brethren Firft Sermon on the Birth of the Virgin [No. 127 of the Frankfort Edition, 1826]. Character of T aider s Preachi?ig. among the " Friends of God/' by its more fearching applica- tion of religious principles to the moral questions arifing in the various emergencies of inward experience and outward life. How much more widely ftill muft it have differed from that of the ordinary preachers, who fought to captivate the educated by the refinements of fcholaftic logic, employed on queftions of no ufe but to difplay their own ingenuity, or to entertain the vulgar by marvellous {lories of wonder-working faints or demons, when in flmple earneft language he appealed to the confciences of his hearers, and then mowed them the way of efcape from the wretchednefs of their finful lives to the peace of God, which pafT- eth all underftanding. And when he taught them that they muft forfake the creature and cleave to God alone, it was no felfim fhutting up of the heart within the narrow fphere of its own emo- tions and experiences which he preached, for he is continually admonifhing to works of love, and ever places human duties on their true level, meafuring their value not by the nature of the acl, but by the obedience and love involved in its performance. "One can fpin," he fays, " another can make fhoes ; and all " thefe are gifts of the Holy Ghoft. I tell you, if I were not a " prieft, I would efteem it a great gift that I was able to make " fhoes, and would try to make them fo well as to be a pattern to "all." " The meafure with which we mall be meafured, is the " faculty of love in the foul, the will of a man ; by this mall all " his words and works and life be meafured. But that which feems to me the moft {hiking chara&eriftic i 4 Tauler s Life and Times. of Tauler's fermons is his profound fympathy with the fpirit of Chrift's life, efpecially with his infinite forrow over the fins of others. This is, indeed, a chara&errftic of the " Friends of God" in general, but is exprefled with greater force and beauty in Tauler than in the other writers of the fame fchool. In this lenie they fpecially deferve the title which they aflumed ; for, more than any other clafs of religious writers with whom I am acquainted, do they feem to have entered into that intenfe appreciation of the evil of fin, mingled with endlefs grief and companion for its Haves, which could overwhelm the Saviour's mind with agony. It is true that a large proportion of his fermons are addrefled to the inmates of cloifters, and have fpecial reference to their peculiar requirements and dangers. But we muft remember that he lived in an age when the focial relations were in a {late of diforganization ; and in thofe times of general diftrefs and per- plexity, when the outward miniftrations of the Church and the means of obtaining religious inftruclion were often cut off for long together, the number of thofe who retired into convents had become very large. There were great numbers, too, of laymen and women, who, without entering any Order, with- drew from the world and formed communities or unions (called Sammenungen), dwelling together without any monaftic rules, yet differing little in their mode of life from the regular monks. Tauler often refers to thefe communities in his fermons. Their members generally chofe Dominicans or Francifcans for their Manners of the Clergy. confefTors, and a great number of this clafs appear to have attached themfelves to Tauler. They found in him, however, a fevere cenfbr of the faults to which their reclufe life rendered them peculiarly liable, the relying on outward acls of piety, defpifing thofe who are outfide, killing the body, which is God's inftru- ment, with aufterities, or allowing themfelves to wafte their time and fill their minds with trivialities, while imagining the facl: of their being " religious" to make them fafe. He is faid by Specklin to have made the reformation of the lives of the clergy a fpecial objecT: of his efforts. The ftatutes paired for the regulation of their conducl: by a fynod convened by Bifhop Berthold in 1335, for the purpofe of removing abufes, gives a lively picture of the inordinate covetoufnefs, and utter neglect of the duties of their vocation, which prevailed among the clergy of Strafburg at this time. It is the more remark- able, that the Bifhop mould have found it necefTary to take fuch ftrong meafures during the folemn period of the Interdict, when the very ftruggle in which the clergy were engaged with the civil power, might have been expected at leaft to roufe them to lead a more decorous and fober life. From the ftatutes of this fynod, we fee that the clergy not unfrequently alienated the property of the Church to laymen, or borrowed money at high intereft from the Jews, in order to gratify their propenfity to oftentation and pleafure. There were even fome who entered into trade. The younger and more wealthy efpecially diftinguifhed themfelves by their extreme fondncfs for difplay, and the Bifhop complains that, Taulers Life a?td Times. inftead of going about clad with due decorum in the proper prieftly garb, they allowed their hair to grow long in order to conceal the tonfure, wore boots of red, yellow, and green, and adorned their coats with gold lace and gay ribbons ; that they ftrutted about in the ftreets equipped with rapiers and fwords, attended tourna- ments, frequented the public taverns, and were the moft jovial of boon-companions at the drinking-bouts of the laymen. In fome of the more wealthy nunneries, too, things had come to fuch a pitch, that the ladies drefled magnificently, took part in the amufements of the tournament, and even danced with laymen in their taverns. In reference to fuch, Tauler fays : " If we look " around us, we fee that the greater part of the world are enemies " of God ; and among thefe we muft account certain who are " fervants of God by conftraint, who muft be forced to do any " fervices for Him, and the little that they do is not done out of " love or devotion, but {imply out of fear. . . . They are com- " mon hired fervants of God ; and fuch are all thofe priefts and " nuns and the like, who take up a religious life for the fake of " revenues and fees, and if they were not fecure of thefe, they " would not ferve God at all, but turn round altogether, and con- " fort with the enemies of God. Thus they feek their own " pleafure in dainty fare, drefs, jewels, vanity, and the admira- " tion of others, wherever they can find it. Nay, verily, at " laft they muft have a fpoufe. ' Ah, dear Lord,' they fay, ' it " is no harm ; it is a fpiritual love. We muft enjoy ourfelves " a little ; we muft have fome recreation ; we cannot do with- Rejentment of the Clergy againft Tauler. 123 " out it. See, dear Lord, we are fpiritual people, we are in " an Order.' But put on as many cowls and hoods as thou " wilt, they will help thee nothing, if thou doeft not what thou " oughteft of right to do. There was once a man who fell " into fin, and he put on a cowl, but did not give up his fin. " The Devil came and took the man, and tore him into a hun- " dred pieces, and left the cowl whole, but carried off the man, " body and foul, to the amazement of all beholders. Therefore " take heed to yourfelves, knowing how full the world is of fuch " bargainers with God, among monks and nuns."* Tauler's denunciations of this clafs brought him, of courfe, many enemies among the clergy, who hated the ftriclnefs of his principles and conduct ; and they ftrove in various ways to diftort his words, in order to find grounds for accufation againft him. Thus he fays, " Children, I muft tell you in love, " that I am unjuftly accufed of having declared that I would hear " no one's confeffion unlefs he firft promifed me to do everything " that I wifhed. That is a very unjuft word : ' what I wifhed.' " I wifh no one to do anything beyond that which is written, " and I beg no man to promife me more than that."-f He had alfo to defend himfelf againft more ferious charges, for his enemies not only ridiculed him for making fo much of the inward work, but called him and his followers unorthodox innovators. Thus * Sermon for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity. f Sermon on Aflumption Day [No. 125. of the Frankfort Edition, 1826]. Tender s Life and Times. he fays : " But if one come and warn them of the horrible danger " in which they are living, and what a fearful death they are like " to die, they mock at him, and fay he is a Beghard, or belongs " to the New Spirit, fcoffing at him and flandering him worfe " than ever was done to the Chriftians by Jews or heathens. " Thefe falfe Chriftians contemn us far more, crying out, * Here " comes one of the New Spirit ;' ' Thefe are they of the lofty " fpirits.' "* It is even related that the clergy, enraged at the charges he brought againft them, on one occafion forbade his preaching (which undoubtedly was in itfelf an act of difobedience to the Interdict), but that the magiftrates obliged them to refcind their prohibition. Meanwhile, however, Tauler's efforts for their amendment were not wholly fruitlefs, for it is recorded that through him " many priefts became quite pious ; " while by the people at large he was revered and affectionately beloved, and " whatever " weighty matter the people had to do, he was called in to " fettle it with his wifdom . . . and whatever he counfelled " them was right in their eyes." The " Friends of God" natu- rally attached themfelves more ftrongly than ever to him, and about this time he feems to have been the means of adding a notable adherent to their numbers, in the banker, Rulman Merfwin, who was at a later period the founder of the * Second Sermon for the Third Sunday after Trinity. Clement VI. Hojlile to the Emperor. Gruenen-Worth, and author of the " Book of the Nine Rocks/' a very remarkable allegorical picture of the then condition and profpe&s of the Church. Nay, even Bifhop Berthold is related to have " heard him preach often and gladly with great "admiration" at this time; no doubt rejoicing in fo brilliant an exception to the general difgraceful conduct of his clergy, which caufed him fo much uneafinefs ; but the Bifhop's favour was not deftined to endure long, for political events foon occurred which produced an entire alteration in his views. After the death of Benedict; XII., Clement VI., the moft in- veterate opponent of Louis IV., was elected Pope, and he had hardly afcended the throne when he renewed hoftilities againft the Emperor with greater vehemence than his predeceflor. The moft awful anathemas were launched againft Louis, which again proved themfelves by no means inefficient weapons of attack. Many ecclefiaftics, fecular no lefs than regular, who had been performing divine fervice in the cities that acknowledged the authority of the Emperor, now turned to their bimops, humbly befeeching them for abfolution for their difobedience, which petition was not rejected ; for in many places they obtained it without difficulty on payment of one florin ! Bifhop Berthold, too, whofe outward reconciliation with Louis had been merely dictated by motives of fear and felf-intereft, now befought pardon for it from the new Pope in an epiftle dated November 9th, 1345, in which he further renounces his allegiance to the Emperor, and promifes unconditional obedience to the Romim See for the Taulers Life and Times. future. Clement granted his petition, and releafed him and his diocefe from ecclefiaftical penalties. Shortly after (1347), Louis died, fairly worn out and broken-hearted with the long ftruggle in which his reign had been pafled, but not until feveral of the Electors, under the inftigation of the Pope, had elected Charles IV. King of Rome (1346). Many of the Eftates refufed, however, even after Louis' death, to acknowledge the latter, commonly called the " Parfon-King," becaufe he had been elected in defiance of their wifhes. Strafburg was one of thefe cities, and in confequence was again laid under in- terdict. To thefe political and ecclefiaftical difturbances were added ftill worfe miferies. The land was defolated fucceflively by tempefts, earthquakes, and famine, and at laft, in 1348, the Black Death came to fill up the meafure of the people's woe. This plague continued to rage through Southern Germany and France until the following year, bringing in its train the ufual accompaniments of frantic terror, and the dhTolution of all fbcial bonds. In Strafburg fixteen thoufand perfons fell viclims to it ; and it is calculated that in Southern France two- thirds of the population perimed. All thefe convulfions of the natural and focial world ftruck terror to men's very hearts; bewildered and befet, they knew not which way to turn. Then appeared the ghaftly proceffions of the Flagellants, who traverfed the country half-naked by hundreds and thoufands, walking ttF&lfttfi two in white Ihirts often ftained with blood, and holding fcourges in The Black Death. 127 their hands. When they entered a town, they broke out into their wild howling chant, " Nun hebet auf cure Hande Dafs Gott dies grofle Sterben wende, Nun hebet auf cure Arme Dafs fich Gott iiber uns erbarme ;" and gathering round them all who would join, after fervice in a church, threw themfelves on the ground, confefling their fins aloud, and then fcourged each other till they were exhaufted. In fome places the popular fanaticifm accufed the Jews of caufmg the plague by poilbning the wells; and the multitude, in their fury, fetting fire to the Jews' quarter, burnt thoufands of the wretched creatures in their houfes. Numbers of the lower clafles hoped for a Meffiah in the perfbn of the great " Prieft- hater," Frederick II., who, according to an old faying now ex- panded into a diftincl: prophecy, was in the latter days to rife again from the dead, to render juftice to the widow and orphan, to punifh and humble the Clergy, to conftrain monks and nuns to marry, and then to fail over to the Holy Land and lay down his crown on the Mount of Olives.* This was not the only, though it was the wildeft prophecy current at this time. Hermann von Fritzlar declares that the time is come that precedes the end of the world :f " This time in which we are now living, is that * See Wackernagel's Beitraege zur Vaterlaendifcben Gefcbichte. Bade. B. ii. S. 122. f In the Preface to his Heiligen-Leben. Tattler s Life and Times. " in which the people's hearts have waxed cold, for they have " forgotten the life of our Lord. Wherefore do arfon, and rape, " and robbery, and treafon, and ftrife, and envy, and hatred, rage " now as they never did before ; as Chrift Himfelf foretold, that " in thefe times the love of many mould wax cold. The third, " and coming age, is that of Anti-Chrift." And Tauler too, in his Sermon on Chrift' s {tilling the Storm, warns his flock : " O " that ye knew w T hat anguifh and terror mall fhortly feize the " hearts of all who have not cleaved to God with all their might, "... and all the evil that mail overtake them, as has been of " late revealed to the Friends of God." In another fermon, preached before the coming of the Black Death, he thus reca- pitulates the judgments of God that were threatened if the people refufed to repent : " horrible things have been foretold, of fire, " of water, of great darknefs, of hurricanes and drought." In the midft of thefe calamities he declaims againft the perverted lefTons drawn from them by the people ; the recklefTnefs and defpair of fome, the craving of others after marvellous vifions and fupernatural revelations, finally the fmfulnefs of thofe who, feeking only to efcape from the world's evils, gave themfelves up to the paflive indulgence of their own emotion. The laft error was that againft which he inveighed moft frequently, being the one, no doubt, of which his hearers w r ere moft in danger. He himfelf was not one of thofe paflive myftics. " Works of love," he fays, " are more acceptable to God than " lofty contemplation ; art thou engaged in devouteft prayer, Tauler and his Two Friends. 129 " and God wills that thou go out and preach, or carry broth to a " fick brother, thou ihouldft do it with joy." His own life was confiftent with his teachings. When the Black Death came to Strafburg, he devoted himfelf to admi- niftering the facraments and carrying confolation to the fick and dying. The renewal of the ban had increafed the general terror and diftrefs, and at the fame time opened a {till larger field for Tauler's activity. A proclamation had been iflued exhorting the people not to give way to terror, as it would increafe their danger of infection ; but what could a proclamation avail, when they often faw more than fifty corpfes carried through the ftreets in a day, and there were not priefts enough to per- form the funeral rites ? The deeper was their gratitude to Tauler for his noble ad: of difobedience to the Church that denied them their only remaining confolation. But he did not ftand alone ; there were efpecially two monks who Ihared his labours, Thomas of Strafburg, an Auguftinian and the Prior-general of his Order in Strafburg, and Ludolph of Saxony, Prior of the newly eftablifhed convent of the Carthufmns.* The three friends were not content with fetting an example of heroic zeal, they hTued in their joint names an Addrcis to * Both thefe were alfo writers of fome note. The former was the author of fome dry but learned commentaries on Peter Lombard's Sentences. The latter, who had been a profeflbr in Paris, wrote a Vita Cbrijli, which was much celebrated in the Middle Ages, and an Ex- fo/ttio in Pfalterium. K i3 Tenders Life and Times. the clerical body at large, mowing how iniquitous it was that the poor ignorant people fhould be fufFered to die excommunicate for no fault of their own, and calling on the priefts to vifit the fick and dying, and no longer to refufe them the confola- tions of religion, forafmuch as Chrift had died for all men, and the Pope had no power to clofe heaven againft an innocent perfon who fhould die under the Interdict. In a fecond Letter they went further ; fetting forth the doclrine of two Swords and two Powers, the temporal and the fpiritual, and teaching that the two are not to be confounded, though they ought not to be fet in oppofition to each other ; that it is indeed the duty of the fpiritual arm to endeavour to direcl: the fecular in the right courfe, but that if a great one has made him- felf liable to the Interdict, that does not give the fpiritual arm any authority to curfe and excommunicate poor people who, perhaps, do not even know their guilty lord, ftill lefs whole cities and countries without diftinclion ; that it cannot be proved from Holy Scripture, that a King, chofen in a legal manner by the Electors, is to be called a heretic if he refift the power of the Church ; and that in any cafe, it is the Emperor alone who muft give an account to God for his acts of infubordi- nation, and not his poor fubjecls. Therefore such an unjuft curfe as this Interdict mall be turned into a bleffing on the heads which it ftrikes; and, for their opprefllon, God mall exalt them on high. Finally, they proclaimed the principle, that he who profeffes the true articles of the Chriftian faith, and Tauler and his Two Friends. 13* only fins againft the power of the Pope, is by no means to be counted a heretic.* What impreflion thefe free-fpoken writings made upon the * The following extraft on thisfubjedt is given in Profeflbr Schmidt's Tauler (p. 53), from Specklin's Colkftanea : " Specially were thofe two Articles, which were quoted, forbidden and declared to be " wholly heretical. The Firft was, that feeing that many perfons, young and old, rich and poor, " men and women, innocent and wicked, when they came to their death- beds, lay under the ban " on account of the Emperor Louis, they had put forth a Letter to all priefts, bidding them, when " they mould vifit the fick and dying, to comfort the fick with the bitter paffion and death of " Jefus Chrift, who had therewith made fatisfaction before God, not for their fins only, but for " the fins of the whole world, and had opened heaven, and reconciled us all to God. And the " Pope had no power to fhut heaven againft poor finners who had innocently fallen under th: " ban. Therefore, when one mould confefs his fins and defire abfolution and the holy facra- " ment, they ought to give it unto him and comfort him, for heed mould be given rather to the " Word of Chrift and His Apoftles than to the ban, which proceeded of envy and luft of worldly " power The Second was, that they put forth a genera' epiftle (not among the com- " mon people, but among the clergy and the learned fathers), faying that there be two fwords, " the fpiritual fword, which is the Word of God, and the other, which is the fecular govern- " ment, and the one had nought to do with the other. But fince they are both of God, they " cannot be contrary the one to the other; but the fpiritual fhall be diligent in its office and in the " Word of God, and defend the Government ; and the Government fhall defend God's laws and " the pious, and punifh the wicked. But fince the pious who preach the Word of God ought, " by God's ordinance, to be defended by the fecular power againft the wicked, wherefore, then, " fhould the Government be condemned by the fpiritual power ? for then fhould God condemn " His own work. But when a fecular Head fins, it behoves the fpiritual Head, with great hu- " mility, to point out unto the finner the right way, and with the reft of the clergy to entreat " God day and night with tears, that the finner may turn again from his way, and come to a " true knowledge of his fins ; for God defireth not the death of a finner, but rather that he fhould " turn from his wickednefs and live. " But Chrift, and the Apoftles, and the Church command that, if the finner, after much " admonition, will not be turned from his ways, he be excommunicated till fuch time as he K 2 132 T aider s Life ajid Times. clergy is not known : it is only recorded that, through the exer- tions of Tauler and his friends, the people were enabled to die in " fhall be converted and turn again and amend his life ; and then he lhall be again received unto *' grace. "Much lefs doth it behove a Chriftian fhepherd, if one be defending of excommunication, to " condemn and excommunicate without diftincHon innocent perfons, who perchance have never " known or feen the guilty man, nay, whole lands, cities, and villages ; the which is not com- " manded by Chrift, nor the Holy Apoftles, nor the Councils, but cometh of a felf-ufurped " power. For it is the office of the Pope to point finners unto the true way of falvation. " But that all thofe are heretics who will not kifs the Pope's foot, or that to do fo mould be " an article of faith, and that he is an apoftate from the Church who takes the name and fulfils " the office of King or Emperor, on being duly appointed thereto by the Electors, or that all " who render obedience to him, as to their ruler ordained by God, fin againll the Church and " are heretics, cannot be proved by Holy Scripture. " The Government is a power ordained of God, unto which obedience ought to be rendered " in worldly things, even by fpiritual perfons, be they who they may. The Emperor is the " higheft magiftrate, wherefore obedience is due to him ; if he doth not govern rightly, he, and " not his poor fubjedls, mult give account thereof to God ; and even as God will not call the " poor innocent fubjedl to account for his evil ruler, fo ought not man to condemn and excom- " municate the poor innocent fubjeft for the fake of his ruler. Moreover, they who hold the " true Chriftian faith, and fin only againll the Pope's perfbn, are no heretics j but he were a " heretic who, after much admonition, mould ftiffneckedly difobey the Word of God, and would " not amend his life j for not even a murderer, a rogue, a thief, or an adulterer, who mould afk " pardon through Chrift with true penitence and contrition, and amend his life, can be caft out " of the Church. "Hence it is concluded, that all thofe who unjuftly and innocently have come under the Ban, " are free before God, and their curfe will be turned into a bleffing, and their ban and yoke of " oppreffion will God lift off; even as Chrift did not fet Himfelf againft the fecular power when " He faid, ' My kingdom is not of this world,' even as He was obedient to the Government, " though he was the Son of God, commanding men to render to God the things that be God's, " and to Caefar the things that be Caefar's. Now our fouls belong to God ; our bodies and " goods unto Cae ar. All this was much better fet forth in more words." Banijhment of the Three Friends. J 33 peace, and no longer feared the ban, whereas before many thou- fands had died without fhrift, in the agonies of defpair ; whence we muft conclude that fome of the other priefts were brought to fee the truth of the principles enunciated by the three monks. But it was not likely that fuch doctrine would long be fuffered to work unchecked in the public mind. The Pope fbon inter- fered, and commanded the Bifhop of Strafburg to burn the books of the three friends, and forbid their perufal, whether by priefts or laymen, on pain of excommunication. Berthold, anxious to prove his devotion to the Pope, without delay proceeded to take ftringent meafures againfh Tauler and the two high dignitaries who had done fuch good fervice in his diocefe ; their writings were everywhere fearched for and deftroyed, and they themfelves were expelled from the city. It is not to be wondered at, that Henry of Nordlingen mould write word that his " Brother Tauler is now conftantly in great forrow," when he was thus driven from the field of faithful labours at the very moment of their greateft neceffity. But he did not lofe courage ; with his two friends he retired into the neighbouring Carthufian convent, of which Ludolph was Prior, whence they continued to diffufe their writings. During the time of their feclufion, Strafburg was vifited by the Emperor Charles IV., who was making the circuit of the Rhenifli cities, to induce the citizens to acknowledge him as King of Rome. Bifhop Berthold had already conjured the members of the Rhenim Eftatcs afTembled at Strafburg, for the fake of the public peace, K 3 134 T aider s Life and Times. to do allegiance to the Emperor whom they defpifed. Charles was therefore received with royal honours, and inverted the Bifhop with the imperial fief, after receiving his folemn homage ; but he was obliged to promife the citizens that he would procure the removal of the Interdict, for only on this condition would they ac- knowledge him. From Strafburg Charles proceeded to Bafle, where he met the Pope's Envoy bringing a commiflion to the Bifhop of Bamberg to abfolve the cities that mould acknowledge the Em- peror. But the terms of the Bull to this effecl:, in which Louis was called a heretic, and the cities were required to exprefs their contrition for their fidelity to him, irritated the burghers to the higheft degree, and they refufed to fwear to the formula of abfo- lution when it was read to them. Neverthelefs, as the Emperor flood in need of their fervices, the Interdict was removed. The Bifhop of Bamberg next repaired, in his quality of Papal Legate, to Strafburg, to proclaim the Abfolution there. The citizens were afTembled before the Cathedral, then rifmg in its new glories. From the fteps of the weftern door the Legate read the Bull in their ears, and then afked the Senate and commoners if they defired abfolution ? Peter Schwarber, the Mayor, replied, " Yes/' in the name of all ; and the Bifhop immediately pro- nounced the Abfolution. On this the Bifhop Berthold, turning to the Mayor, faid, " Matter Schwarber, once you helped to force ' us to pay homage to the heretic Louis ; and now that he is dead " you yourfelf hold him to be a heretic." But the Mayor re- plied, " My Lord Bifhop, I have never accounted the Emperor Interview with Charles IV. 135 " Louis a heretic." " How !" exclaimed Berthold, " have you " not juft declared him fuch ?" " No," faid Schwarber : " the " Bifliop of Bamberg alked if we defired abfolution ? and to this I " faid, 'Yes/ in the name of all. Had he afked whether we believed " and would obferve all the articles he read to us, we mould have " given him a very different anfwer." During the vifit of the Emperor to Strafburg he heard much talk of Tauler and his friends, and their free opinions, and fent for them to hear their defence. They read before him their con- feffion of faith, and unmrinkingly declared their adherence to all that they had hitherto taught. Tauler, efpecially, was not a man to quail before a temporal fbvereign after he had braved the more formidable terrors of the fpiritual power ; moreover, we find that he did not fcruple occafionally in his fermons to rebuke the op- preflion of the people by their rulers* ; and he openly told the Emperor wherefore he was banimed. The arguments of the three monks produced fuch an impreflion upon Charles, that he is faid to have declared himfelf " fheer of their opinion," and expreflcd his defire that no further proceedings mould be taken againft them. Neverthelefs the Bifhops prefent condemned, as * Thus, he fays in his Sermon on the Twenty-firft Sunday after Trinity : " Now the " Apoftle tells us to contend againft princes and powers, and the rulers of the darknefs of this " world. This means the devils ; but it means alfo the princes of this world, who ought to be " the beft of all, and are neverthelefs the very horfes on which the devils ride to fow difcord " and treafon, and who torment their fubjccls by their pride and unjuft tyranny and manifold op- " preffions, as we now fee throughout the world." K 4 136 Tenders Life and Times. heretical, the doctrines we have already mentioned as contained in their writings, commanded them no longer fb wickedly to withftand the Church and her Interdict, enjoined them to iflue a public recantation, and for the future to write nothing more of the like nature on pain of excommunication. Specklin declares that they went on and wrote ftill better than before ; but nothing more is known of the matter beyond this meagre ftatement of his. From this time forward, Tauler difappears from the hiftory of his native city, until a ihort time before his death. It is faid that, fmce the Emperor and Bifhops forbade him to write, he forfook Strafburg, after having fpread much good doctrine abroad in Alface. His name was held in grateful remembrance, not only by the " Friends of God," but by all his fellow-citizens, for whom he had faithfully laboured and fuffered during the whole period of their troubles ; but he needed a fphere of greater free- dom, and therefore took up his refidence in Cologne, a city already familiar to him, and where he found numerous brethren in fpirit. Here he commonly preached in the church of St. Gertrude, belonging to a convent of Dominican nuns, whofe numbers were much increafed by the defire of having Tauler for a preacher and confeflbr. Among thefe fitters, however, their original ftriclnefs of manners no longer prevailed, and Tauler often found occafion in his fermons to lament the decay of conventual difcipline. The younger fitters too often brought with them from the world their love of fociety and amufements, and were ftrengthened in thefe Preaches agalnjl the Beghards. 137 taftes by their intercourfe with the older nuns ; for moft of them thought more of drefs and trinkets than of devout exercifes and felf-denial, fo that Tauler tells them that all their piety is a mere outward femblance, and that many laywomen are much farther advanced in holinefs than they. Tauler not only difplayed his cuftomary zeal in reftoring a feverer discipline, but endeavoured to fubftitute for thefe mere outward works of piety, the fpiritual, which he regarded as the only true fervice of God. He fought alfo, while in Cologne, to combat the pantheiftic enthufiafm of the Beghards, who had been extremely numerous in this city ever fmce the commencement of the century, and, notwithftand- ing, or perhaps rather favoured by, frequent perfecutions, in which many of their members were burnt at the ftake, were continuing to make progrefs during this age of anarchy.* In the year 1357 * I give the following paflage from his Sermon on the Firft Sunday in Lent [No. 31, Frankfort Edition, 1826], as fhowing, more diftindtly than any other I have found, the portion in which he ftood towards the antinomian doctrines of the Beghards, and as furnifhing the moft complete refutation of the charge of antinomian tendencies fometimes brought againft his own preaching : " From thefe two errors proceedeth the third, which is the worft of all ; the perfbns who " are entangled therein call themfelves beholders of God, and they may be known by the carnal " peace which they have through their emptinefs. They think that they are free from fin, " and are united to God without any means whatfoever, and that they have got above all " fubjedlion to the Holy Church, and above the commandments of God, and above all works " of virtue ; for they think this emptinefs to be fo noble a thing that it may not be hindered " by aught elfe, whatfoever it be. Hence they ftand empty of all fubjedlion, and do no works " either towards them who are above or below them, even as an instrument is empty, and " waiteth on the mafter when he ftiall choofe to work therewith ; for they deem that if 138 Tender s Life and Times. (therefore during Tauler's residence in Cologne), the Archbifhop, William of Gennep, instituted a freih fearch after them, and commanded the clergy of his diocefe Strictly to enforce the Statutes of his predeceflbrs againft them. Tauler, however, though a Dominican, never took part in any acl of perfecution ; the profound fpiritual Struggles through which he had had to " they work, it hindereth the work of God, and therefore they empty themfelves of all virtue. " Nay, they would be fo empty, that they would not give praife or thanks to God, nor have, " nor confefs, nor love, nor defire, nor pray for anything ; for they have already, as they " fuppofe, all that they could pray for j and think that they are poor in fpirit, for that they " are, as they dream, without all felf-will, and have renounced all ownerfhip wholly and " without referve. For they believe that they have rifen above it, and that they poflefs all " thofe things for the fake of which the ordinances and precepts of the Church were " appointed and eftablifhed, and that none can give or take from them, not even God " Himfelf, fince they think that they have fuffered all exercifes and all virtues, and have " attained to pure emptinefs of fpirit ; and they fay it requireth more pains to become empty "' of virtue than to attain unto virtue. For the fake of this emptinefs of fpirit, they defire " to be free, and obedient to none, neither the Pope, nor the Bifhop, nor the Paftor ; and though " they may feem outwardly to be fo at times, yet are they inwardly obedient to none, neither in " will nor deed. For they would fain be free from all thofe things wherewith the Holy Church " is concerned ; and they fay openly that a man, fo long as he ftrives after virtue, is (till imperfeft, " and knows nought of fpiritual poverty and fpiritual freedom. And they deem themfelves " exalted above the angels, and above all human merit and faith, fo that they can neither increafe " in virtue nor commit fin j for they live, as they fuppofe, without will, and poflefs their fpirits " in peace and emptinefs, and have become nought in themfelves and one with God. They " believe that they may do freely, without fin, whatfoever nature defireth, becaufe they have " attained to the higheft innocence, and there is no law or commandment for them, and there- " fore they follow all the lulls of the flefh, that the emptinefs of the fpirit may remain unhindered. " They care not for fafts, nor feafts, nor precepts, except fo far as they may obferve them for " the fake of others, becaufe they live without confcience in all things. Let each man examine T aider and the Antinomian Setts. 139 pafs, had taught him how deep the roots of belief lay beneath thofe regions of the foul that can be reached by outward weapons ; and when he fpeaks of the " Free Spirits," it is to mow the error of their doctrines, not to demand their extirpation. Indeed, his writings, and thofe of his difciple Rulman Merfwin, exhibit in this refpecl: a Chriftian largenefs of heart in great contraft to the " himfelf whether he be not one of thefe. But a murderer, or any open finner, is better than " fuch fpiritual men, for he confefles his mifdeed that it is evil ; but thefe confefs it not. Hardly " are they to be converted ; and at times they are verily poflefled by the Devil. They are, " moreover, fo ingenious that it is fcarcely poffible to overcome them in difcourfe, fave by the " life of Chrift and Holy Scripture : through thefe may one well difcern that they are " deceived. " Now cometh the fourth error. Many be alib called beholders of God, who are yet different " in fome points from what we have juft faid. Thefe alfo think that they are empty of all " works, and are tools of God by whom God works whatfoever He will, and they merely fuffer " Him, without working themfelves; and they fay that the works wrought of God through them " are more noble and of greater merit than thofe of a man who worketh his own works in the " grace of God ; and declare that they are God-fuffering men, for they do but fuffer the works " that God worketh in them. But although they are empty of the works, and do nought, yet " will they not be empty of and mifs the reward ; and whatever they do is no fin, for God " worketh their works, as they fay, and whatfoever He wills is wrought in them, and nought " elfe, and, as we faid, inwardly they are wholly paffive, and live without care for anything ; " and they have a humble, fubmiffive manner, and can bear well whatfoever befals them, for " they think themfelves to be an inftrument through which God worketh as He will. Thefe " people are, in many points, like unto the true men ; but in this are they falfe, that they hold " everything whereunto they are inwardly impelled, whether good or bad, to proceed from " the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit worketh never unprofitable things in a man, fuch as " be not contrary to the life of Chrift or Holy Scripture, and therefore are they deceived. " Thefe men are very hard to difcover, for they can give good reafons for, and put a fair face " on all they do ; but they may be known by their ftubborn felf-will, that they would rather 1 4 Tender's Life and Times. prevailing fpirit of his Order. They more than once maintain the falvation of thofe who are in error from ignorance, and de- clare that their defire to believe what is true is accepted by God in place of a correct belief, and that thus many heathen and Jews are faved now as well as before the coming of Chrift. Rulman Merfwin afcribes the terrible perfecution of the Jews, then raging, to the covetoufnefs of the Chriftians.* " die than give up one tittle of their own way. Thefe are contrary to them who fay that they " cannot increafe in virtue ; but they deferve the fame meafure. Behold all fuch errors are mef- " fengers of Antichrift, preparing the way before him unto unbelief and damnation. " Now it concerns us fomewhat to know how we may efcape thefe cunning fnares. No man " may be free from keeping the commandments of God, and from the practice of virtue. No " man can unite himfelf to God in emptinefs of fpirit, without loving and longing after God. " No man can be or become holy without good works. No man can reft in God without the " love of God. No man may empty himself of godly works that he may not hinder God in " His works, but muft work with Him in thankfulnefs. No man may ferve God without " praifing and thanking Him ; for He is the Maker of all creatures, and He alone can give " and take, for of His riches and might there is no end. And a man may increafe in virtue " and goodnefs, and may exercife himfelf therein as long as he lives ; and no man deferveth " more reward, though he think that he merely fuffer the works of God to be wrought in him. " The works of God are eternal and unchangeable ; for He worketh according to His own " nature, and not otherwife ; and in thefe works of God there can be no merit and adding " thereunto of any creature, for there is none but God who cannot become more or higher ; " but through the power of God the creatures have their own work to perform, in nature, " and in grace, and in glory." ' The following curious pafTage is extracted from Rulman Merfwin's Book of the Nine Rocks ; but many paffages inTauler's fermonsfhow that his fentiments were quite in harmony with thofe here exprefled : " The MAN faid : ' Ah, my Beloved, have mercy upon poor Chriftendom, and remember " how that the wicked Jewifh people and the w'cked heathen folk are all ftriving againft thee T aider s Tolera?ice. Tauler continued to correfpond with Nicolas of Bafle. In the year 1356 the latter fent him a pamphlet, in which, on the ftrength of a warning vifion, he bewails the finfulnefs of the " with all their might, and mall all be loft. ' The ANSWER faid : ' I tell thee thou art " right when thou prayeft God to have mercy upon poor Chriftendom ; for know that for " many hundred years Chriftendom has never been fo poor or fo wicked as in thefe times ; " but I tell thee, whereas thou fayeft that the wicked Jews and heathen are all loft, that is " not true : I tell thee, in thefe days, there is a portion of the heathen and the Jews whom " God preferreth greatly to many who bear the Chriftian name, and yet live contrary to all " Chriftian order.' The MAN : * . . . What ftrange fpeech is this that I hear, and what " may it mean ?' The ANSWER : ' . . . The meaning is, that where a Jew or heathen, " in any part of the world, hath a good, God-fearing mind in him, in fimplicity and honefty, " and in his reafon and judgment knoweth no better faith than that in which he was born, " but were minded and willing to caft that off, if he were given to know any other faith that " were more acceptable to God, and would obey God, if he ventured body and goods there- " for ; I tell thee, where there is a Jew or heathen thus earneft in his life- fay, ought he " not to be much dearer to God than the evil, falfe Chriftian men who have received " baptifm, and aft contrary to God, knowing that they do fo ? ' . . . The MAN : . . . ' This *' feemeth to me moft ftrange, . . .for it is written in the Scripture, and is alfo a part of " our Chriftian creed, that no one can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven unlefs he firft " receive holy baptifm.' The ANSWER : ' That is true, and the right Chriftian faith. . . . " When God findeth fuch a righteous heathen or Jew, what doth He do ? Of His free love " and fathomlefs mercy, He cometh to his help : I tell thee God findeth many fecret ways " that fuch a man be not loft, wherever he may be in this wide world.' . . . The MAN : "'Say! how are thefe unbaptized men faved from perdition?' The ANSWER: 'God " doth it by many fecret ways, which are unknown to moft Chriftians in thefe days. ... " One way, which Chriftendom may well believe and does believe, is, that when one of " thefe good heathens or Jews cometh to his end, God cometh and enlighteneth him with the " Chriftian faith ; and if he may not be baptized, God baptizes him in his good " defires and will, and in his miferable death. Thou (halt know that there be many of thefe " good heathens and Jews in eternal life, who have entered thereon in this wife.' . . ." 142 T aider s Life and Times. times, and foretels the coming of frelh calamities, of which the great earthquake that deftroyed Bafle in the fame year was regarded as the commencement. No details of Tauler's work in Cologne have been preferred to us. It is not even known whether the compofition of his chief work, the " Imitation of " Chrift's Life of Poverty," is to be referred to this period or to that of his feclufion in the Carthufian Convent at Strafburg. In this work he fets forth the theory and practice of felf-renunciation in order to union with God. In point of language and compo- fition, it is fuperior to his Sermons, nearly all of which feem to be derived from mere notes taken by his hearers with more or lefs corre&nefs.* It is interefting to compare his view of poverty * It has been often queftioned whether the Latin or the German form in which we poflefs Tauler's fermons be the original. On this point I tranfcribe Profeflbr Schmidt's arguments, which feem to me quite conclufive : " There can be no queftion that Tauler delivered his fermons in German, and that this lan- " guage is the original one of all the fermons of his which we ftill poflefs. After his connection " with Nicolas of Bafle, he had himfelf declared that he did not intend henceforward to fpeak fb " much Latin in his fermons. The greater part of thofe ftill extant are, indeed, addrefled in the " firft inftance to the brethren or fifters in whofe convent-chapels he ufed to preach, but alfo " have a reference to the laity, who ufually aflembled in great numbers in thefe churches to hear " him ; and to be intelligible to fuch an audience he muft have fpoken in the vernacular : it was " only in the School attached to his own convent that he fpoke in Latin. The language itfelf of " Tauler's fermons and writings is, befides, a fufficient proof that they were compofed in German ; " for they exhibit the moft complete adaptation of the thought to the form n which it is con- " veyed ; a form, moreover, that Tauler had to a confiderable extent to create for himfelf. Up " to his day, the German language had been little ufed for theological and metaphyfical fubjefls, " and was poor in terms to exprefs any notions beyond thofe living in the popular mind, fo that " the writers of his fchool (in bringing the higher and more fpiritual truths of religion down to T aider s Writings. H3 with that of the Spiritual Francifcans, who taught that, to any high attainment in the Chriftian life, a literal renunciation of all property was abfolutely neceflary. Tauler, while afluming the excellence of this external poverty, as relealing the Chriftian from many cares and temptations to anxiety, mows that the eflence of the poverty of Chrift did not, as they taught, lie in this privation of earthly wealth, but in the poornefs of the fpirit that calls nothing its own, becaufe itfelf and all that it has are God's, and held in truft for Him. Of Tauler's hiftory we know no more till we find him at Strafburg, in 1361, already labouring under the illnefs which clofed his life. There are no indications of the date or the reafon of his return to his old home. We are only told that, after a long life of toilfome yet fruitful labour, he was attacked, at feventy years of age, by a lingering difeafe, attended with great furTering. During his " the level of popular apprehenfion) had to frame for themfelves a terminology of their own, " whofe conftituents they borrowed partly from the Latin of the Schools, partly from figurative, " moftly biblical, forms of fpeech. Tauler often avails himfelf of fuch German fcholaftic terms " to exprefs abftract notions : as, for inftance, Iftekeit (eflentia), Eigenjbaftlicbeit, Creaturlicbeit, " Unserheit, Sinjbeit, Holtzbeit. So, too, he often fpeaks by images, in order to exprefs fpi- " ritual fadls or metaphyfical ideas, for which the language either poflefled no words as yet, or " which in themfelves were too vague to be exprefled in a clear and diftinft mode. All this " indicates a laborious wreftling of the thought with the language Hence, alfo, " the partial obfcurity of Tauler's ftyle, which is incurred by the pains he took to attain a terfe " purity by forming fubftantives made up of whole propofitions : as, for inftance, 'tin einvaltigei " ' gruntlicb-uf-got-Jtcb-loff'en' .... Tauler and his fchool have, however, the merit " of having given to their nation a philofophical language." (See Schmidt's Tauler, S. 78.) 1 44 Tauler s Life and Times. illnefs he caufed hirnfelf to be removed to the convent where his aged fitter was a nun, that me might be with him and tend him to the laft, an acl which is enumerated as one of his faults, by one of the writers of his fchool, who calls it feeking for too much natural help and comfort. After twenty weeks of pain, he fent for his myfterious friend, and begged him to vifit him once more, for he perceived that his end was nigh. The man was obedient, and came to the Matter, who received him full lovingly ; and the man was glad that he found him yet alive, and faid, " Dear Matter, how " fares it with thee ?" Then faid the Matter, " Dear fon, I " believe the time is near when God is minded to take me " from this world ; therefore, dear fon, it is a great comfort " to me that thou fhouldft be here at my departure." On this, Tauler gave him fome papers, in which he had written down the difcourfe which they had had together twenty years before, and begged Nicolas to make a little book of it, which the latter promifed him to do. But Tauler earneftly enjoined him to conceal both their names ; " for/' he fays, " thou mutt furely " know that the life and words and works which God hath " wrought through me, a poor unworthy fmner, are not mine, " but wrought by the power of the Almighty God, to whom " they eternally belong. Therefore, dear fon, if thou art minded " to write them for the benefit of our fellow-Chriftians, do it in " fuch a manner that neither my name nor thine be mentioned " therein. Thou mayft fay, ' The Matter and the Man.' Neither Taulers Death. 145 " fhalt thou let any one in this city fee the book, elfe people will " mark that it was I ; but take it with thee into thine own " country, fo that it do not come out during my life." For yet eleven days, it is faid that they held much difcourfe together ; and then, under circumftances of extraordinary fuffering, the faithful fervant yielded up his fpirit to God, on the i6th of June, 1361. He was buried in his own, convent. The {lone which formerly covered his grave has been recently fet up by the Proteftants in the church in which he warned and confoled his brethren more than five hundred years ago by word of mouth, as he teaches us, who are now living, by the written record of thofe words. Here ends our proper tafk ; but it can hardly, I think, be without intereft to the reader to learn a few more particulars about the remarkable fet of men to which Tauler belonged, efpecially concerning the great Layman who had fo powerful an influence on his career, and the difciple and bofom friend of both fucceflively, Rulman Merfwin, who appears to {land third in rank in this group of " Friends of God." From the account of him given in the "Memorial" of the Gruencn-\Vorth Convent, it appears that he was originally a wealthy merchant and money- changer, " but always conducted his bufinefs with great fear " of God before his eyes, and with fcrupulous probity, and {lood " well with the world, and was of a very merry and pleafant tem- " per, ib that many efteemed and loved him, and fought his fociety, " which was to himfelf alfo very agreeable in thofe days. And he 146 Tenders Life and Times, " had at the firft an exceeding beautiful and fweet young wife; but " when they had lived but a Ihort time together, me died ; and " after that, he took another wife, the daughter of a pious knight. " And when they had lived many years together according to " Chriftian ordinances, and he was now forty years old, and God " faw not fit to give him a child by either wife, he turned with his " whole heart to God, and gave up . his trade, and forfook the " world, and led a fmgle life henceforward, with the will and con- " fent of his wife, who was an honourable fimple-minded Chriftian woman/ His own account of the next four years of his life, now printed for the firft time from the MS. in his own handwriting, is a very curious and interefting document, in the vivid picture it gives of the inward ftruggles w r hich this determination brought upon him ; and however clearly we may perceive that many of his difficulties arofe from the miftaken view of his focial duties derived from the teachings of his church, it is impoffible not to admire the fimple dire&nefs of purpofe and intenfe earneftnefs with which he ftrove to follow every indication he could perceive of the will of God. I give a few paflages from it, taking the liberty to omit the perpetual repetitions, which would render an abfolutely literal tranflation quite unreadable. Indeed, Rulman's ftyle, both in this and his other productions, has all the awkward- nefs, circumlocution, and tautology, which ufually characterize the efforts of an utterly unlearned perfon to exprefs himfelf. ' In the name of God, Amen ! All ye dear Chriftian men, I Rulman Merfwin His Mental Trials. H7 "give you truly to know that in the year of our Lord, 1347, it " came to pafs that I, Rulman Merfwin, renounced all my traffic " and gains, and moreover all natural pleafant companionmip ; " the which I did with good courage for God's fake, to the fole " end that I might atone for my fins. Now, though I had taken " this firft ftep with good courage, and of my own free choice " had given myfelf to God, yet it was with great forrow to my " nature afterwards; for I had enjoyed great happinefs in the good " things of this world." After defcribing the dreadful anguifli of mind he had to endure on account of his fins, and the fpiritual joys with which it alternated, he continues: " And I came utterly " to hate the world and all belonging to it, and alfo my own " flefh, wherefore during this firft year I chaftifed my body with " very fore and manifold exercifes, fb that I more than once " became fo weak, that I thought I mould die. But about this " time I took Tauler for my confeflbr, who difcovered fomewhat " of thefe exercifes, for he perceived that I had become very " fickly ; and he feared for my head, and commanded me to " exercife myfelf no more in fuch wife, and fet me a certain time; " and I muft needs obey him, but my obedience went very much " againft the grain, for I had fet my heart upon bringing my " body into fubje&ion. But as foon as the term was out, I faid " nothing, but began again to do as I had done before . . . But " our Lord was pleafed, during this firft year, to give me a true " difcernment in many things, fo that whenever I commended " any matter with great earneftnefs to God, He gave me to pcr- L2 148 Tauler's Life a?id Times. " ceive what I muft do and leave undone. Moreover, our Lord " alfb luffered me to be ofttimes tormented with grievous and " horrible temptations, both by day and night ; but it was given " to me, by the grace of God, to receive them with humble and " cheerful fubmiffion, fo that I could fay with heart and mouth, " ' My Lord and my God, my nature hates and loathes this " fuffering; wherefore I pray thee to take no account thereof, and " do not as my poor nature would defire and entreat of thee, but " fulfil thy moft blefled will, whether it be fweet or bitter to my " weak nature.' . . . And when God faw that it was the proper " time, He came to my help with his merciful grace . . . Now, " during the fecond and the third years (this laft was the jubilee, " when all men went on pilgrimage to Rome,) did God work " many great and fupernatural works with me, a poor fmner, " through great forrow and fpiritual aflaults, and withal unfpeak- " able temptations, of which it were a fin to write. But one which " I may write is, that God fuffered me to be aflailed with unbelief: " to wit, that the devil put it into my head to afk : ' How may " it be, that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit may " coniift in one nature ?' And this unbelief remained upon me "for a long fpace, and all that time I thought nothing elfe but " that I muft certainly burn for ever in hell ; and yet I felt within " myfelf that neverthelefs my will was fet to love God. And " after a good while, I grew fo infirm, through this continual " pain, that it was all I could do, when Aflumption day came, to " venture to go and fit down to hear a fermon. And as I put Merfwiris Mental Trials. 149 " my hat before my eyes, I fell into a fwoon from very weaknefs; " but while I was thus in a trance, there appeared unto me a "great ftone, wherein were carved the likenefs of three men's " countenances. . . . And it was as though a voice faid to me, " ' Now mayeft thou well believe, fince thou haft feen how in one " ftone may be three perfons, and yet it is one ftone, and the " three perfons have the nature of one rock/ And hereupon I " came to myielf, and was feized with fear when I found myfelf fit- " ting among the crowd . . . So I rofe up and walked out into the " aifle, and found that my faith had been enlightened, infomuch "that I never again was afTailed with unbelief; but the other " terrible temptations I had to endure for two years longer . . . " infomuch that I often thought I knew the pains of hell. And " I was fo ill that my friends would not fuffer me to go on pil- " grimage to Rome ; neither could I fcourge myfelf nor wear a " hair Ihirt, nor a fharp crucifix, nor endure any other hardmip "... but feared that I Ihould die, and was fomewhat troubled " thereat, for I could not but love my natural life. . . . And in " all thofe two years God would not fuffer me to fpeak of my " pain to any man, however great it might be ... I muft bear " and endure to the end alone, that I might have no help or " confolation. . . . But in the fourth year, my Lord and God " mowed his great mercy upon me, and looked upon my affliction, " and came to my help with fuch great and fupcrhuman joy, that " in that moment I forgot all my woe and pain that ever I had " fuffered, and became alfo in all my natural powers quite ftrong L3 J5 Tauler's Life and Times. " and lively, as though I had never known what ficknefs was. ". . . And he gave me, moreover, much gracious difcernment, " fb that, when I looked narrowly at a man, I could ofttimes " perceive pretty well how it flood with him inwardly. And I " was further conflrained, however unwilling, to write a little " book for the benefit of my fellow Chriftians." From a com- parifon of dates, it appears that this " little book " muft be the Book of the Nine Rocks, already mentioned. In the opening of this work, Rulman, under the allegorical form of vifions, gives a much more detailed account of the mental conflicts he pafTed through, arifmg partly from reluctance to contemplate the wretch- ednefs around him, partly from the dread of being condemned by the church as unauthorised to teach and heretical, before he could refblve to write. Finally, feeing no efcape from what appeared to him a pofitive duty, he fets to work. The firfl part contains a defcription of the terrible condition of Chriftendom ; all clafTes are pafTed under review, and their particular fins expofed, thofe of the clergy with efpecial freedom.* The fecond part is a defcription of nine rocks which fymbolize nine flages in the progrefs of the foul towards a higher life ; each more difficult of * Thus, in {peaking of the Popes, he (ays, " Look around thee, and fee what fort of lives " the Popes have led and do lead in thefe our times ; we may not name any one in particular. " Look ... if they have not taken more thought for themfelves and for the maintenance " of their own dignity than for the promotion of God's glory Look around thee, *' and behold the lives of the bilhops in thefe days, whether they are not more bufied in fcraping " together earthly wealth for the enriching of their relatives than in feeing to it that men are Book of the Nine Rocks. 151 afcent, and more glorious than the preceding. From the fummit, he obtains a momentary glimpfe into the abyfs of Deity ; then, looking back to earth, fees two men, the one bright and mining as an angel, the other black as Satan. The latter was one who, having reached the fummit of the nine rocks, had defired to be fomewhat for himfelf, and had thereupon fallen ftep by ftep back into the abyfs ; the former, one who having gazed at the Godhead, filled with love and compamon, defcended voluntarily to fave his brethren from their fins. In his autobiography, Rulman further tells us, among other things : " In this fourth year, the three powers of faith, hope, " and love were greatly ftrengthened in me. . . . Moreover, " nothing in time or eternity could give me content but God " Himfelf; but when He came to my foul, I knew not whether " I were in time or eternity. . . . And in my heart I felt a great " yearning, and wilhed it were the will of God that I might go " to the heathen and tell them of the Chriftian faith. . . . And " I would gladly have fuffered death and martyrdom at their " hands, in honour of our Lord's fufferings and bitter death. " But of all this I was not fuffered to fpeak a word to any, until " there came a time when God gave a man in the Oberland to " taught to walk in righteous, godly ways Behold and fee how many doftors and *' teachers are to be found in thefe days, who utter God's word from their chairs, and dare pub- " licly to proclaim the real truth, and publicly to fpeak of the great and murderous crimes that " prevail in the Chriftian world, and to warn men ; and are willing by fo doing to rifk their " lives for God's honour." L4 152 Tattler's Life and Times. " tmderftand that he fliould come down to me. And when he " came, God gave me to tell him of all thefe things. And this " man was altogether unknown to the world, but he became my " fecret friend, and I gave myfelf up to his guiding in God's " ftead, and told him all my hidden life in thefe four years. . . . " Then he faid to me : ' Behold, dear friend, here is a book in " which ftand written the firft five years of my life in God ; " give me the hiftory of thy firft four years in exchange for it.' " But I anfwered : * It would grieve me much if my hiftory " Ihould come to the knowledge of any/ Then he faid : " ' Now lee, I have given thee my book, and I know full well " that thou wilt tell none of it. No more will I tell any of thee. " I will take thy book up into my own land far away, where " thou art as unknown as I am in Strafburg. And ib begin to " write thy hiftory in two books, and the one I will take and " the other thou malt keep, and malt hang thy feal thereto, and " lock it up where none lhall find it during thy lifetime.' . . . " Now, notwithftanding all the gifts and enlightenment that " God beftowed on me in this fourth year, there was yet a fecret " fpot in my foul, the which was altogether unknown to myfelf. "... And it was, that, when I looked upon my fellow-men, I " efteemed them as they were in this prefent time, and ftood r ' before God in their fins ; and this was a hidden fpot, for I " ought, through grace, to have regarded them, not as they now " were, but as they might well become. . . ." In feeing a wafte piece of ground cumbered with rubbifh, and giving it as Merfwins Charitable Foundations. his judgment that it might be reclaimed and made a garden of, an inward voice reveals his fin to him, and rebukes him, faying : " O thou poor miferable creature ! how ftrange art thou .... " how dareft thou, then, to efteem, according to what he now is, " thy fellow-man, who is made in the image of God, and whom " Chrift has made his brother in his human nature, and not " rather deem that God may make of him a comely and excellent " garden wherein He himfelf may dwell ? . . ." The reft of Rul- man's narrative refers to his views of the condition of the Chriftian world, and he tells us : " It was revealed to me that I mould no " longer be fo greatly exercifed by the temptations from which I " had hitherto fuffered . . . but that my affliction henceforth " mould be to behold how the fheep were wandering abroad " among the proud, unclean, ravening wolves . . . this mould " be my trial and my crofs. . . ." Rulman, however, not only fought " to benefit his fellow- " Chriftians" by his writings, but alfo by his deeds of active benevolence. His name occurs about this time as one of the managers of a hofpital ; he is mentioned as Provoft of the convent of St. Argobaft, and in the i6th century a houfe of Beguines in Strafburg ftill bears his name ; but he is beft known as the founder of the convent belonging to the Knights of St. John at Strafburg. After long deliberation with Nicolas, whether it would not be better to " devote the money to the help of poor " people, that they might not die of hunger," Rulman, with fome pecuniary affiftance from Nicolas, bought and repaired the half- 154 T aider s Life and Titnes. ruined convent of Gruenen- Worth, which he then endowed and made over to the Order of St. John, on condition that its worldly affairs fhould be managed by three lay truftees, and that it fhould be a refuge for any good men, whether priefts or laymen, rich or poor, who might wiih to retire there for their fpiritual benefit, and were willing, during their ftay, to conform to the cuftoms of the houfe. His principal motive feems indeed to have been the defire to provide a permanent afylum for pious perfons like himfelf, whofe free opinions might at any moment bring them into trouble. He entered on pofTeffion of it in 1366, and continued to live there till his death in July, 1382, having, however, two years before, built himfelf a folitary cell clofe to the church, becaufe he thought that he took too much earthly delight in the fbciety of his brethren of the convent. He was buried, with his wife, who had alfo retired to a convent, and had died twelve years before, in the choir of the church he built. It is much to be regretted that the autobiography of Nicolas fhould not have been preferred, like that of his difciple, or at leaft has not as yet been found. Though, however, we are thus deprived of the fecret hiftory of his mind, we are able to learn a good deal refpecling his work and mode of life from his Story of the Four Men who lived with him, and the recently difcovered letters. Still thefe notices are very fragmentary, and his hiftory is mixed up with fo much of a marvellous and half- legendary character, that in many cafes it is difficult to make out the actual facls. He appears at all events to have been the Nicolas and the Four Men. 155 leader and centre of a diftincl: aflbciation of " Friends of God." That, even before the date at which he began to colled: aflbciates round him, he was regarded as a remarkably holy and enlightened man, is proved by the circumftance that two of the four men whofe inward hiftory he relates, having known him in their youth, came to him for help when they found themfelves in fpiritual perplexity. At an early period he began to caft his eye upon thofe whom he thought he could influence for good. In 1340, when, as he lived till the beginning of the following century, he muft have been ftill comparatively a young man, he went on his miffion to Tauler : about 1350, when the latter had left Strafburg, began his connexion with Rulman Merfwin and probably with Berthold von Rohrbach, who was burnt at Spire, in 1356, for preaching that a layman enlightened by God was as competent to teach others as the moft learned prieft. About the fame time he was in Hungary, and appears alfo to have fbjourned in Italy. The four men already mentioned joined themfelves to him one after the other. The fecond of them had been an intimate friend of Nicolas from his youth ; he was a man of large property, and early married to a beautiful wife, by whom he had two children. After a few years of happinefs, however, he began to fuffer from the fcruples by which pious Catholics have been fo often tormented, and to doubt whether he ought not to renounce his domeftic joys in order to do penance for his fins ; but Nicolas, to whom he came for counfel, enjoined him to remain true to his duties as a hufband and father ; and it was 156 Taulers Life and Times. not until after the death of his wife and both his children that he took up his abode with his friend, and became a prieft. The two brothers who feem to have flood next to Nicolas in confide- ration, were a learned jurift, who had been alfo a lay-prebend, and a converted Jew, named John, who both afterwards became priefts. The little company lived together on equal terms. Nicolas tells the prieft, when deliberating whether or not to enter a monaftic Order, and enquiring as to his brethren's mode of life ; " They obferve no rules but fuch as are common to fecular " prie/is, as indeed they are, but we live together in common as " {imply as we can, and have as little to do with the world as " we may." The priefts among them feem to have had no peculiar vocation, except that of celebrating mafs ; the laymen never took part in the adminiftration of the facraments, but in all other refpects there was no diftinclion between them. As all ftood in a direcl: and individual relation to God, they required no prieftly mediation ; nay, the priefts themfelves fubmitted to the layman Nicolas, becaufe they regarded him as the moft enlightened of their number. Not counfel from men ought we to feek after, writes Nicolas in 1356, but that which proceeds from the Holy Spirit ; and, fo long as we have it from that fource, it is indif- ferent whether it flow to us through prieft or layman. In their reli- gious fervices and fafts they did not ftriftly obferve ftated hours, for they regarded external obfervances as unimportant in themfelves, and only excellent as a means of improvement, or a fign of Do&rine on Afceticifm. 157 obedience. Thus, while they admitted afcetic exercifes and painful penances to be ufeful in the commencement of a religious life, in order to mortify the fenfual inclinations, they declared them to be afterwards a matter of indifference, nay, fometimes pofitively contrary to the Divine will. According to Nicolas, if a man have attained to a certain degree of maftery over nature, then fafting, fcourging, the wearing of iron girdles, &c., is a felf- fought pain, and as fuch a fign that he does not yet allow God to work alone. Moreover, fuch tormentings may be very detri- mental to the body ; for though it muft needs be brought into fubjecl:ion to the fpirit, yet it ought not to be robbed of its ftrength; for how elfe mould a man fupport the fatigue of the labours and travels that the "Friends of God" are fo often called to undertake ? Their doctrine on this point would feem to us more judi- cious than their practice, for it is evident from their writings that they frequently, in fact, carried their aufterities fo far as to endanger life or reafbn. But Nicolas admirably draws the line between fuffering that is felf-impofed, and that which God lays upon us. The latter, whether it confift in outward affliction or inward temptation, we are to take joyfully, for it is a proof that God's grace is at work within us ; Chrifl, who has endured to the lafl extremity for man, loves pain, and will not fpare it to his friends. The main thing is that we fhould find all things good in God, and look at things not as they appear to the world, but as they are in God's fight. When fome 158 Tattler's Life and Times. of the Strafburg brethren of St. John argue that finging and reading in the chapel at fixed hours will hinder them in contempla- tion, they are cenfured for it by Nicolas, who tells them that thefe acts are prefcribed by the rules of their Order, and though they have in themfelves no merit, yet, if done from obedience, they cannot hinder the motions of grace ; even while outwardly bufy, God may be worfhipped by us in fpirit and in truth, if we put no felfish, carnal thoughts between our fouls and Him. And when Nicolas von Laufen takes umbrage at the fecular manners of fome of his brethren who ride about on horfeback clad in ihort coats, the Layman remarks that he has not yet learnt to find all things right in God, but clings too much to outward diftincTions. So, again, the renunciation of the world does not in his opinion involve the abfolute giving up of earthly pofleffions, as was taught in his day by the Francifcan Spiritualifts and others, nor the violent rending afunder of focial ties. Let him who is in an Order that makes poverty a rule, obey that rule ; but he who can rightfully hold property is at liberty to retain it, if only he do not feek his own ends in the ufe thereof, but God alone. Thus thefe " Friends of God " do not appear to have renounced all control over their property, but merely to have thrown what they regarded as fuperfluous into a common ftock, which was applied to the building of their houfe and church, to purpofes of charity, to defray the expenfes of their miffionary journeys, &c. This common ftock was managed by their truftworthy fteward Ruprecht, who was the chief if not fole Means of Secret Inter courfe. 1 59 medium of communication between Nicolas and his Strafburg friends. From their feclufion, however, they kept a watchful eye upon all that was pafling in the world around them, went out to thofe whom there feemed a profpect of winning over, and exercifed no inconfiderable influence upon thofe who had put themfelves under their fpiritual guidance. This was the cafe with many who did not even know Nicolas by name. Thus, Henry von Wolfach, the Mailer of the Brethren of St. John in Strafburg, and even the Grand Matter of the Order in Germany, Conrad von Brunfberg, and many others, defire his counfel to folve their doubts and direcT: their proceedings. MeiTengers from Nicolas feem to have been perpetually travelling about, who brought him letters from the " Friends of God," fo that he kept up a conftant communication, not only with thofe in the neighbouring regions but alfb with the brethren on the Rhine, in Lorraine, in Italy, and in Hungary. In this manner he became acquainted both with public events and likew r ife with the private affairs of indivi- duals ; fo, for inftance, he made very remarkable revelations to an Auguftinian monk in Strafburg refpe&ing one of his penitents. Thefe meffengers had certain fecret figns by which they recog- nized each other. Thus, Rulman Merfwin was made aware of the prefence of Ruprecht, by hearing a peculiar cough when he was in church. Nicolas himfelf took extraordinary precautions to remain undifcovered, and with fuch fuccefs, that, after Rulman's death, the brethren at the Gruenen- Worth, who had previously 160 Tauler s Life a?id Times. received many letters from him, were never able to difcover his retreat. When thofe with whom he correfponded defired to enter into perfonal communication with him, he ufually refufed it, limply faying that it could not be. This was the cafe with the vicar of the Bifhop of Strafburg, John von Schaftolfheim, with the Mafter of the Brethren of St. John, in Strafburg, and even with Conrad von Brunfberg. In 1363, he writes that for twenty years he had only been able to reveal himfelf to jone perfbn, and not until God mould take this one from him would he feek another ; which probably fignifies that in each city he had but one confidential perfon, through whom he correfponded with all who defired his counfel. Meanwhile he was active by means of his pen: in 1356, as we have feen, Tauler received from him a tractate on the decay of true religion. The alpha- betical lift of rules which he had given to Tauler in 1340, he fent in 1369 to the priefts at Gruenen-W^orth, and in 1371 to Rulman's fecretary, Nicolas von Laufen ; to the fame priefts he fent the Hiftory of Tauler; and in 1377, to the Brethren of St. John, he fends the book containing the Hiftory of the Five Brethren. It is to thefe circumftances that we owe the proof of the authenticity of Tauler's life, and the pofTibility of identifying the "man" there mentioned with "the fecret friend," who meets us in the writings relating to Rulman Merfwin. Up to 1367, Nicolas and his companions dwelt in a "city in the Oberland," moft likely Bafle ; but in that year, finding it " not helpful" " to live among the common people," they de- Political and Ecclefiajlical Feuds. termined on retiring into utter feclufion ; principally, no doubt, in order to carry on their work unwatched and undifturbed. In accordance with a dream, as they tell us, which commanded them to take their black dog for a guide, they fixed on a fite high up on a mountain, far away from any human habitation. This mountain was fituated in the dominions of the Duke of Auftria, and for two leagues round there was no town. A mefTenger whom they fent to the Duke, to requeft his permiffion to fettle here, was taken prifbner in the wars then raging in thofe countries, and a year had elapfed before they were able to obtain his releafe. He, however, then brought back the required permiffion, and they began to build their houfe, in which each was to have his own fpacious apartment, and there were alfo to be chambers for the reception of foreign brethren as guefls ; but they were pre- vented from finiming the edifice, by the political disturbances in the neighbourhood, fb that it remained at a ft.andfr.ill for feven years, and the " Friends" gave up all idea of completing it. The political and ecclefiaflical feuds by which the Papal court was diflra&ed excited a lively but melancholy intereft in Nicolas, who conftantly predicts in his letters that they muft bring down ftill heavier judgments at God's hand than even thofe which had already vifited the world ; but when, after his long refidence in Avignon, Gregory XI. returned to Rome in 1376, a ray of hope that it might yet be poflible to reflore unity and concord to the afflicted Church feems to have dawned upon his mind, and he felt called on to make a personal effort to influence the Pope himfelf. M 162 T aider's Life and Times. Accordingly, as we learn from a letter to Henry von Wolfach, in the February of 1377 it was refolved by the "Friends" that Nicolas and the Jurift fhould repair to Rome ; the Jew, John, offered to raife funds to defray the expenfes of the journey from among his relatives, Jews who harboured a lecret inclination towards Chriftianity. The feverity of the Alpine winter and an attack of illnefs which befel Nicolas, now above feventy years of age, caufed the journey to be poftponed till the end of March. I extract from the account of the "Friends of God" given in Rulman Merfwin's Briefbuch* the following narrative of their million and its refults : " And when they came to Rome, the Layman (Rul- " man's fecret friend) -f made inquiry after a Roman whom he had *' known a long time before, and found him yet living. And " this Roman received the two ' Friends of God' in a very friendly " fafhion, and would take no denial, but they, with their " fervants, and horfes, and carriages, muft lodge with him fo " long as their affairs kept them in Rome ; and he entertained " them mofl courteously with all manner of good cheer. Then " he faid to the Layman : ' Methinks it is fomewhat ftrange that " ' thou in thine old age fhouldft come to court from fuch a " ' diftant land, unlefs it be upon fbme urgent occafion.' Then * The account itfelf fays, " As the Layman wrote to Rulman Merfwin and Brother Nicolas " von Laufen ; " but thefe letters are not among thofe preferred. f The name by which Nicolas is always defignated, except where he is called " the Dear " Friend of God in the Oberland." Interview with the Pope. 163 "the Layman anfwered: * So it is: we muft fpeak to our Holy " Father upon very weighty affairs.' Then faid the Roman : " I fhall be able to bring you into his prefence, for I am very " familiar with him, and often dine at his table/ And he " procured that the Pope mould give them a privy hearing on " the third day after. ... So they came into the prefence of " Pope Gregory, and the Jurift fpoke to him in Latin, and the " Layman in Italian, fince he could not fpeak Latin, and faid, " among much other difcourfe : ' Holy Father, there be many " grievous and heinous crimes wrought throughout Chriftendom " by all degrees of men, whereby God's anger is greatly pro- " voked ; thou oughteft to confider how to put an end to thefe " evils/ But he anfwered : * I have no power to amend matters/ " Then they told him of his own fecret faults, which had been " revealed to them of God by certain evident tokens, and faid, " * Holy Father, know of a truth, that if you do not put away " your evil doings and utterly amend your ways, you fhall die " within a year/ as alfo came to pafs. When the Pope heard " thefe words of rebuke, he was enraged beyond meafure ; but " they anfwered and faid : ' Holy Father, take us captive, and if " we cannot give you evident tokens, then kill us and do what " you will with us/ . . . And when they declared to him thefe " tokens, he rofe up from his throne, and embraced them and " kifTed them on the mouth, and faid to the Layman, * Let us " ' talk together in Italian, fince thou canft not fpeak Latin/ " And they had much loving difcourfe together ; and among M 2 164 Tenders Life and Times. " other things the Pope faid, ' Could you tell the Emperor as " * much as you have told me, you would indeed do a good " * fervice to Chriftendom.' And afterwards the Pope prayed " the two ' Friends of God ' that they mould ftay with him in " Rome, and he offered to provide them all things needful, and " alfo to follow their counfel. But they anfwered, ' Holy Father, " fuffer us to return home ; and we will be at all times " obedient to come if you fend for us. For we feek no earthly " gain, nor have we come hither for the fake of fuch ; we feek " only God's glory and the welfare of Chriftendom above all " the perimable gifts of this prefent time/ Then he inquired " of them where their home might be ; and when they faid, " * We have long dwelt in fuch a town/ he marvelled that fuch " ' Friends of God' mould dwell among the common people. "Thereupon they told him [all that had happened], and how " they had been hindered in their building. Then the Pope " would have given them a bifhopric and other revenues and "grants, but they would not have them. . . . [But the Pope " gave them letters recommending their caufe to the Bifhop and " clergy of their diocefe.] Now when thefe two dear ' Friends of " God ' had fettled their affairs with the Pope, and defired to " depart from Rome, their hoft would not fuffer them to pay for "anything that they had had in his houfe.. . . and moreover " gave the layman a good ambling horfe inftead of the heavy " carriage in which he had come, faying that a foft-paced horfe " would be much eafier for him to ride over the high mountains The Pope's Letters to the Bi/hop. 165 " than the carriage, feeing that he was old and weakly. Now " afterward the Pope was unmindful of God's rnefTage, and " obeyed it not, and died that fame year as they had prophefied "to wit, about the fourth week in Lent, 1378." On returning to their mountain, they found that the Bifhop of their diocefe was fojourning in a city thirteen leagues diftant. It was refolved that the two who had been with the Pope mould ride with his letter to the Bifhop to entreat aid for the comple- tion of their houfe. The prelate received them favourably, and gave them letters to the clergy of the town that lay neareft to their eftate. On this, all the five brethren repaired thither, where the priefts read from the pulpit the letters of recommendation which they had brought from the Pope and the Biihop. The magiftrates alfo took up their caufe, promifmg to fend them armed men to protect their fettlement in time of diflurbance, and offering them befides a houfe in the town for a temporary abode, and in which they could alfo take refuge if necefTary ; and further fent them on leaving a complimentary prefent of fifh and wine by the hand of their officers. Three foreign brethren, who had for fbme time cherifhed the wifh to be received into their fociety, made over to them the whole of their property, in order to finim the houfe and erecl: the church. Thus aided, the little band were at length able to fettle down in the home they had chofen. But, as far as we can gather from the obfcure traces of their fubfequent hiftory, it does not appear that they were allowed to enjoy for more than a few years the retreat for which they had fighed fb long. M 3 1 66 Tauler's Life and Times. In the fame year (1377), Nicolas learns from feveral foreign " Friends of God'* that the Church is on the point of falling into great peril, doubtlefs from the growing difcord which threatened all the convulfions of anarchy ; and he forefees that things may come to pafs which would conftrain the " Friends of God " to ieparate and divide themfelves over the world ; but in the mean- time their part is to remain in concealment till " God mall do " fomething, we know not what as yet." Meanwhile he entreats the prayers of his friends, for they are greatly troubled in mind, and know not what will come of it. It is evident from fuch dark hints as thefe that Nicolas and his friends now began to contemplate the poffibility of their duty calling them to ufe more public means of influence than the private, though by no means inactive or inefficient, line of conduct they had hitherto purfued. They muft have foreieen the painful collifion that was impending between their deep reverence for the outward authority of the Church and the inward authority of the indwelling light. Neither can they have been without forebodings of the martyr's doom, which actually befell all thofe of whofe fate any traces are left ; though we may well believe, from all we know of them, that this would occafion them far lefs anxiety and diflrefs than the queftion whether they were acting moft for the interefts of the Church by continuing their prefent filent and therefore undis- turbed efforts to influence the fpiritual leaders of the people ; or by going out among the people themfelves, to call them to repent- ance, and proclaim doctrines which, however true, might unfettle The Forty Years Schifm. 167 the foundations of their traditional belief; the difficulty and perplexity which in many ages meets and torments minds of the prophetic order. In the following year, the great fchifm that had been dimly foretold, broke out, and for forty years the church was divided between two heads ; Urban VI. was elected at Rome, under the influence of terror at the violence of the infurgent mob ; and foon after, in fubfervience to the French party, Clement VII. et Fondi, who immediately haftened to Avignon. When thefe tidings reached the " Friends of God," it feemed to them that the time was come when the threatened judgments of God were about to burft over the world. It was, indeed, intelligence fitted to make all hearts, for, as the brethren of Gruenen-worth write : " After God has been warning the world for thefe forty years " paft, by deadly difeafes and earthquakes, famines, and a wild, " mafterlefs folk,* laying wafte many lands, He is now fending us " a plague that is worfe than all the reft, becaufe it attacks our " faith ; namely, the dnTenfions of Chriftendom, in which all the " wifdom of nature, of Scripture, and of the grace of the Holy " Spirit is fo utterly dried up and extincT:, that all our learned " doctors and wife priefts have loft their way, and know not " which to choofe of thefe two Popes, that they may help to bring " back unity to Chriftendom, and peace to the See of Rome." * The hordes known by the name of *' Englifhmen," who for feveral years after 1361 ravaged France, Lorraine, a ~d Alface. M4 1 68 Tender's Life and Times. Their Matter wifhed in this perplexity to repair for counfel to the ' Friends of God/ but Nicolas forbade him, faying : " Have you " not the Holy Scripture ? Are you not a profeffor in the chair ? " Why fhould you afk counfel from the creature ? Stop, and wait " till God Himfelf ihall conftrain you to come to us. It is not yet " time for us to reveal ourfelves ; but it may foon come to pafs " that we flip from our covert, to be fcattered abroad over the " world, and if fb, I fhall come to Strafburg and make myfelf " known to you." It is, however, evident that the " Friends of God," though concealed, were by no means paffive at this time ; what fpecial plans they cherimed are unknown, but that they had fuch is clear from all their proceedings. So early as November, 1377, Nicolas had been with the prieft, John, in Metz, on fome bufi- nefs with which we are not acquainted. During 1378, much consultation by means of meflengers and letters muft have taken place, for on the 1 7th of March, in the following year, Nicolas (as he relates in a letter to Henry von \Yolfach), with leven other brethren, met in ibme wild place high up among the mountains, near a chapel hewn out in a rock, clofe to which a prieft dwelt with two young brethren in a little hermitage. Four out of the feven were laymen, the other three or- dained priefts. Nicolas, whether from humility or not, fpeaks of himfelf as one of the leaft among them. From his letter it would fecm that the chief purpofe of this meeting was united prayer to God, to avert the " dreadful ftorm " that was menacing The Conference in the Mountains. 169 the Chriftian world, that there might be fpace left for amend- ment. A week was devoted to thefe fupplications ; every after- noon the brethren went out into the foreft, and fat down " befide " a fair brook/' to converfe upon the matters on which they had come hither. At length, on the laft day, while thus aiTcmblcd, a ftorm of wind came on, followed by a thick darknefs, which they took for a work of the evil fpirits. After the ftorm had lafted an hour, there came a pleafant light, and the fvveet voice of an invifible angel announced to them that God had heard their prayer, and ftayed His chaftifements for a year ; but when this was ended, they mould entreat Him no more, for the Father would no longer delay to take vengeance on the defpifers of His Son. After this the " Friends of God " returned back again each to his own place. Refpecling the courfe they refolved to purfue, all that we can make out from the vague hints in the letters of Nicolas is, that they interpreted the promife of the angel to mean that they were to wait a year longer before quitting their concealment and taking an open and active part in the affairs of the world ; the only thing that is diftinctly ftated is, that it was refolved once more to try the effecl: of perfonal remonftrances with the Pope. Nicolas himfelf was entrufted with this miffion, which, however, from fome unknown caufe, was not carried out. Meanwhile, according to the intelligence received from the brethren in foreign parts refpecling the progrefs of the fchifm, affairs were aiTuming a more and more gloomy afpecl ; the con- fufion and perplexity occafioned by the prcfence of two Popes was Taulers Life and Times. continually incrcafmg ; the Chriftian world was fplitting into two parties ; even the fecular authority was in danger of difruption and fubverfion. The time drew nearer and nearer when Nicolas be- lieved himfelf called on to begin to work among the common people; already in June, 1379, he calls on the Strasburg Mailer to warn the people in his fermons, and hold up before them the teftimonies of Scripture concerning their duties in fuch a crifis. As the end of the year approached, during which the "Friends of God" were to wait, they agreed to hold another meeting. All the accounts relating to this conference (the latefl diftinclly recorded intelligence we have refpecling this extraordinary band of aflbciates), are fo mixed up with the fymbolical and the marvel- lous, that it is extremely difficult to make out the real facls of the cafe. According to the narrative given by Nicolas to Rulman Merfwin, he, with twelve other " Friends of God,'' were at Chriftmas, 1379, warned by dreams to aflemble together on the following Holy Thurfday, at the fame place where the feven brethren had met the year before. So early as February fbme of the foreign brethren arrived at the abode of Nicolas : one from the country of the " Lords of Meiglon," (probably Milan) ; two from Hungary, whom he had known thirty years before ; one from Genoa, a rich burgher, with whom Nicolas was not previously acquainted. On Holy Thurfday, the 22nd of March, they met at the little chapel in the rock, and, after receiving the facrament on Good Friday morning, repaired, as before, to the wood, and fat down befide the flream to begin their deliberations. Lqft Conference. What patted during thefe conferences is only related in the form of marvellous vifions and fantaftic occurrences. After tempcfts and diabolical apparitions, a bright light furrounds the place, and an invisible fpeaker tells them that the impending plagues fhall be ftayed for three years longer, on condition of their obeying the injunctions contained in a letter which thereupon drops down in their midft. Thefe commands are fomewhat myfterious : the " Friends of God" are to withdraw from their ordinary communi- cations with the world, except in the cafe of thofe who defire their counfel ; to receive the iacrament three times a week, &c. ; and after three years they fhall receive further commands from God. After they have declared their readinefs to obey the letter, they are told by the fame voice to light a fire, and throw it in. Inftead of burning, it rifes up in the fire, a flam of lightning meets the flame, and catches up fire and letter together to heaven, after which there is nothing more to be ieen ; and the brethren depart to their refpeclive homes. The brethren in the Oberland commence their period of retreat at Whitfuntide, after a high mafs has been performed by the prieft John in their newly- finimcd church. Nicolas writes beforehand to Rulman Merfwin releafing him from his obedience, and recommending him to take the Matter Henry von Wolfach for a confeflbr in his {lead. To the latter, who had again applied to know what courfe the " Friends of God" meant to take with regard to the rival Popes, Nicolas replies with his ufual caution, that the Brethren of St. John could not regulate their conduct in thefe matters by Tauler's Life and Times. that of the " Friends of God ;" for they were bound to obey the dictates of their fuperiors in the Order, while the latter had received many privileges from Pope Gregory, and were, moreover, only fubjed: to their Bifhop, who did not prefs them for a decifion. It is certainly very difficult to know in what light to regard the marvellous accounts that meet us in the writings of Rulman and Nicolas. Some of them feem to be {imply fymbolical ; for it is clear that they were in the habit of prefenting their views of human affairs under the form of an allegory, fuppofed to be feen in a vifion or dream, juft as Bunyan does in his " Pilgrim's Pro- grefs." This is the cafe with Rulman's Book of the Nine Rocks, Chriftiana Ebner's vifion of the Clofed Cathedral, and fbme unim- portant vifions occurring in the letters of Nicolas.* But the cafe is different when wonders are related, as far as we can fee, as fimple matters of facl. That, however, the "Friends of God" expected, and fb were ready to receive without much hefitation as to their reality, not only direcl: fpiritual communications from the Divine Being, but alfo miraculous interpofitions in phyfical things, is perfectly clear ; and thus they were undoubtedly open to all the felf-deception in thefe matters which may arife from intenfe emotion and mental excitement acting on frames difbr- dered by afceticifm. Swoons under the prefTure of religious emotion are with them, as with the Methodifts of the laft century, a matter of continual occurrence ; and with them, as * See, for inftance, his vifion of the Three Birds. (Schmidt's Gottesfreunde, S. 147.) Vijions and Marvels. 1 73 with the early Methodifts, feem to have been not unfrequently the crifis of a ftate of overwrought phyfical and mental excite- ment, after which they regained a calmer and healthier condition both of body and mind, with an addition of fpiritual experience and enlightenment. Such an occurrence as a letter falling from heaven prefents much greater difficulties. It is poffible that Nicolas may have intended the whole ftory rather as an allegory than as matter of facl; ; if he regarded it in the latter light, it muft have been the refult either of a terribly over-ftrained imagi- nation, or of fraud on the part of ibme unknown peribn. But to iuppofe that a man of ib much fimple holinefs and practical wifdom as Nicolas appears to us, mould have taken part in juggling tricks of luch dreadful impiety in order to perfuade his aflbciates that the courfe he judged beft was prefcribed to them by Heaven, is, I confefs, a larger demand upon my powers of credence than they are able to meet. Moreover, we muft judge thefe accounts by the age in which they were produced, an age when the mental food of the pious laity was the life of St. Francis with his five wounds and blafphemous " conformities" to the life of our Lord, and other works of a fimilar nature. And it muft be remembered that the leaders of this party Nicolas, Rulman, John, were laymen whofe not large ftock of erudition was {elf-acquired, comparatively late in life. In the writings of the fcholar Tauler (though, in common with all his contempo- raries, he believes in ghofts and heavenly vifions) we find fcarcely a trace of the fanatical credulity that meets us in the letters of 174 T aider's Life mid Times. thcfe lay friends of his, if we are to take their ftatements as literal and not fymbolical reprefentations of facl. Even fb doing, however, if we compare them with the ftories contained in the ftaple religious literature of the day, or even in the life of Sufo, Tauler's companion and friend, Nicolas and his friends, wild as they may feem to us rational Proteftants, will appear fcarcely to leave the regions of fober common fenfe ; * and it is remarkable that, in moft of the practical queftions that arife with regard to felf-difcipline, he takes the moderate and judicious fide. Whatever interpretation, however, we may be inclined to put upon the marvellous circumftances attending the above-men- tioned conference, it feems tolerably clear that the three years' fb-called feclufion of the " Friends of God " was regarded by them as a time of preparation for their public work, when they mould be " fcattered abroad over Chriftendom;" and that by their retirement, they were breaking the ties that bound them to thofe who had hitherto depended on them for guidance, and accuftoming them to acl; for themfelves againft a time when they mould no longer have their wonted couniellors at hand. Pro- bably, too, the brethren took this courfe partly from the defire that their fpiritual children mould not be involved in the perfe- * This will, I think, feem no exaggerated expreffion to any reader who will take the pains to confult only Diepenbrock's Life of Sufo (Ratifbon, 1829), with Gorres' Introduction to it, and fo lee for himfelf the fpace that feparates the Romifh from our Proteftant point of view in thefe matters; not forgetting, meanwhile, that the Editor Diepenbrock was the fecretary of the learned BiftiDp Sailer, the leader of the moft liberal party among the Catholics of almoft our own day. The Brethren Scattered Abroad. 1 75 cutions which they could not but perceive to threaten themfelves, but might continue to work for the caufe of true religion in their refpeclive fpheres, unhindered by the fufpicions of herefy, which any known connexion with the " Friends of God " would have brought upon them. Not that there is any fign of the "Friends of God" having been heretical in point of dogma ; it was rather the remarkable freedom with which they criticized the conduct both of the fpiritual and temporal authorities that was likely to bring them into trouble. Thus, in one of their meet- ings juft before their retreat, the brother who had been a Jurift fays, that if offices in Church and State were conferred in accord- ance with God's law, neither Urban nor Clement deferred to be Pope ; the former had been appointed by the Roman mob through violent means, and the latter was now defending himfelf by fimilar acl:s of violence, which was contrary to juftice and God's order. So likewife, the King of Rome had obtained the crown after a mameful famion (1376), for his father had bought the votes of the electors with gold ; how the electors could reconcile it with their oath to choole an inexperienced boy for their king, God only knew ; with the fubjects matters did not ftand much better: they obeyed their rulers only so long as it ferved their own interefts to do fb; a godly life was almoft extinct, everywhere prevailed nought but the ftriving after riches and pleafures.* This paflage throws much light on the views * See Schmidt's Gottesfreunde, S. 1 70. 176 Taulers Life and Times. and aims of the " Friends of God/' and enables us to form an idea of what muft have been the frequent topics of difcuflion among them. \Vith the ceflation of the correfpondence between Nicolas and Rulman Merfwin, ceafes our only fburce of information about the " Friends of God." Their term of waiting expired on the 25th March, 1383; and fmce we know from contemporary hiftory, that the courfe of events, inftead of bringing brighter profpe&s, grew ever darker and more threatening, we feem juftified in concluding that they now believed the time to have arrived for them "to go out into the five ends of the world," and work for Chrift. Moft likely they went forth as preachers of repent- ance, for there occur in the letters of Nicolas frequent com- parilbns of the preient ftate of the world to that of Nineveh, and hints that they may have to acl: the part of Jonah. But where, and how long they did fb, is wrapt in utter darknefs. As far as we can learn, Providence did not lee fit to blefs their preaching like that of Jonah, and, to human eyes, their enterprife was a failure. For all we actually know refpe&ing their fubfe- quent hiftory is, that in 1393 a certain Martin von Mayence, a Benedictine monk of Reichenau, in the diocefe of Conftance, who is called in the a&s of his trial a difciple of Nicolas of Bafle and a " Friend of God," was burnt at Cologne, after the fame fate had befallen fome other " Friends of God," a fhort time before, at Heidelberg. Active refearches were made after Nicolas, but as he had concealed himfelf from his friends, fb for a long Martyrdom of Nicolas of Bajle. 177 time he was able to elude the efforts of his perfecutors. At length, on a journey which he had undertaken into France, in order to diffufe his doctrines, accompanied by two of his difciples, James and John (the latter moil likely the converted Jew who always appears as his boibm friend), he fell into the hands of the Inquifitors at Vienne, in the diocefe of Poitiers. He was brought to trial, and perfifted firmly and publicly in his herefles, the moft " audacious " of which feems to have been that he pre- tended to " know that he was in Chrift, and Chrift in him." He was therefore delivered over to the fecular power, and perimed in the flames, together with his two difciples, who refufed to be parted from him.* Since, in the trial of Martin of Mayence, Nicolas is fpoken * The following note, inferted by Schmidt in his Tauter, S. 265, is, I believe, the only fource of information we have refpefting the end of the Layman : " Joban Niederus, formicarius, Arg. 1517,410. F. 40, &c. : Vivebat paulo ante [the " Council of Pifa] quidam purum laicus, Nycholaus nomine. Hie in linea Rheni circa Bafiliam et " infra, primum velut Beghardiis ambulans, a multis qui perfequebantur hereticos, de eorundem " hereticorum numero quafi unus habebatur fufpeftimmus. Acutiffimus enim erat, et verbis " errores coloratiffime velare novit. Idcirco etiam manus inquifitorum dudum evaferat et multo " tempore. Difcipulos igitur quofdam in fuam feftam collegit. Fuit enim profeffione et habitu " de damnatis Beghardis unus, qui vifiones et revelationes in praedifto damnato habitu multas " habuit quas infallibiles efle credidit. Se fcire affirmabat audafter quod Chriftus in eo eflet " aftu, et ipfe in Chrifto, et plura alia, quae omnia, captus tandem Wiennae in Piftavienfi diocefi, " inquifitus fatebatur publice. Sed cum Jacobum et Joannem fufpeftos in fide, et fibi confcios " fuos fpeciales difcipulos, ad juflum ecclefiae cum inquirenti nollet dimittere nifl per ignem, " et reportis in multis a vera fide devius et imperfuafibilis, lecularium poteftati jufte traditus eft " qui cum incinerarunt." N 178 Tenders Life and Times. of as ftill living, his death moft likely occurred fubfequcntly to that date, but cannot have taken place much later, as he muft then have been near ninety years of age. Even before this time, the Strafburg brethren had loft all trace of the " Friends of God/' and their frequent attempts to difcovcr them had proved utterly unavailing ; * no doubt, becaufe the convent which they fought to find was already deferted, and its inmates, whofe names they had never known, were fcattered abroad in fulfilment of their vocation. That which appears to have formed the chief ground of their perfecution, was their effort to free the people from the tyranny of the clergy, and their claiming for every one enlightened by God the right to teach, a claim antagoniftic to the inmoft elfence of the Romifh Church. And if their teaching failed to effecl: a wide reformation becaufe it was mingled with fome of the great errors of Rome, and in place of prieftly authority over men's confciences fet up that of their brethren, whofe infpiration was often not lefs doubtful, yet we cannot but recognife in it the germs of the true freedom of the Gofpel, as well as the great and all-eflential truth that the Chriftian life does not confift in outward w r orks, but in the inward union of the fpirit with God. * A detailed account of thefe attempts is given in Schmidt's Gottetfreunde, S. 29. SERMONS OF THE REVEREND DOCTOR JOHN TAULER. i. Sermon for the Firft Sunday in Advent. (From the Epiflle for the day.) How that we are called upon to arife from our Jlns, and to conquer our foes, looking for the glorious coming of Our Lord in our Jon Is. ROM. xiii. 2. " Now it is high time to awake out of deep." HIS day we celebrate the beginning of the feafon of Advent, that is to fay, the coming of our Lord ; and now, indeed, we enter on an exceeding fweet and blefled time, con- cerning which very devout and joyful words are read and fung by the holy Church. For as May excels all other months in gladnefs and delights, fo is this feafon fpecially dear to our hearts, and facred above all other fcftivals. For thefe are the days which the prophets and righteous men of the Old Teftament for N2 Ibejtgnif- cance and glory of the J'eajcn of Advent. i8o Sermo?i for the The duties to which this feafon doth call us. How we have fallen through dijobedience ; five thoufand years have longed and fighed for, crying out " Oh that thou wouldft rend the heavens and " come down, to enlighten thofe who are fitting in " darknefs and the fhadow of death." And, indeed, all the hiftories and fymbols of the Old Teftament are defigned to fhadow forth the greatnefs of Him who ihould come, and who now has come. O let us, there- fore, give thanks and praife to God without ceafmg, that He has made us to live in this His time of grace, and is ready to beftow all His gifts and riches upon us if we are but willing to receive them. And now, as at this time, does the holy Apoftle call upon us to arife from the fleep of fin, " for the " night is far fpent, and the day is at hand : let us, " therefore, caft off the works of darknefs, and let us " put on the armour of light, and let us walk honeftly " as in the day." Now to this end, let us mark diligently, firft, how it is that we have fallen ; and, fecondly, how we are to arife from all our fins and infirmities into our firft ftate of innocence. God created man to the intent that he mould poffefs thofe manfions in the kingdom of heaven from which Lucifer and his angels were thruft out. The fame Lucifer, for his deadly hatred towards man, hath fe- duced him likewife into difobedience againft God, by the which he loft all the graces and endowments that were intended to make him like unto God and the angels, and poifoned his own pure nature, fo that it became corrupt. And through this poifon man has wounded himfelf mortally with blindnefs in his rea- fon, with perverfenefs or malice in his will, with Firft Sujiday in Advent. 181 fhameful lufts in his appetites, and with lofs of his juft indignation at fin. Man, being in honour, un- derftood it not, and is become like unto the beafts that perifh. And hence it has come to pafs that three foes have rifen up againft him, who, alas ! on all fides have got the .upper hand, and are ruling in the hearts of the people : thefe are, the World, the Flefh, and the Devil. Where thefe three have their will, that noble thing, the Soul, is loft, on which God hath looked with fuch great love ; for thofe in whom they obtain the maftery do moft furely walk in a way that leadeth unto eternal death. How cruelly and periloufly thefe three enemies now reign in numbers of men, both in the Church and in the world, ftanding in God's place, is bewailed with bitter tears by the friends of God, who love Him and feek His glory. For the ever- lafting injury of their fellow-creatures is a fore grief to fuch men, infomuch that their heart is ready to dry up within their body for anguifh, when they fee felt- love fo rooted in men's hearts, that there be few left who wholly love God and have a fingle eye to His glory. The W^orld rules through pride, outward or in- ward. How many are members of this Devil's Order ! They defire to be and appear to be fomewhat ; while their fins and infirmities are not to be numbered. The Devil's government leads to bitternefs, to hatred and anger, to fufpicion, to judging others, to rocnge, to ill-will, to difcord. All his difciples are quarrelfome, unloving, envious of their neighbours. The will of our own Flem is fet upon earthly plea- N 3 and of the three foes which have rifen up againft us. How the World rules. How tte Devil rules. How the Sermon for the Flejb doth lead us ajl ray. By what means we may rife unto our firjl eftate. How we muft be like unto the angels, furcs and fenfual delights, and it cravcth to have the beft of everything, and continually to find enjoyment in all things. How great is the mifchief that fprings from this fountain, people do not know, efpecially thoie who are themielves blinded through it. By thefe three foes are nearly all men led aftray to their eternal lofs. Now he who defires to rife again to his firft honour and dignity, which Adam at the beginning, and we after him, have loft through fin, and to make way for the coming of Our Lord in his foul, muft flee the world, overcome the Devil, bring his flefh under do- minion to his reafon, and exercife himfelf diligently in thefe fix points following : Man fell in Paradife through two things, luft and pride ; fo likewife we muft return by means of two things, for nature to w r in back again her original powers. \Ve muft refift and die to all irregular defires, after a manly and reafonable fort. In the fccond place, we muft humble ourfelves, and bow our nature down to the earth in deep humility before God and all men againft whom it had lifted itfelf with pride. Take always the loweft place, and fo fhalt thou rife to the higheft. By thefe two things nature recovers her original powers. Next, in two things man muft become like unto the angels. He muft pardon and forgive all thofe who do him wrong, and be from his heart the friend of his enemies, like the angels, whom we ofttimes vex with our fins. Further, he muft ferve his neigh- bour with a willing fpirit, as the holy angels are ever miniftcring to us for God's fake Firft Sunday in Advent. 183 Laftly, in two things man muft become like unto our Lord Jems Chrift. Firft, in perfect obedience, as our Lord was obedient to His Heavenly Father, even unto death ; fecondly, he muft perfevere and grow in obedience and in all virtues, unto his life's end. By thefe means the heart is made pure and hea- venly, and the man becomes of one mind with God through deep humility, free felf-furrender, patient long-fuffering, true poornefs of fpirit, and fervent love to God. And all who do verily feek the kingdom of God (of whom, alas ! how few is the number), do prevail againft their foes, and God delivers them from their heavy burdens, and helps them to bear all their afflictions. For He lays upon them much fuffering of many kinds ; but the righteous God does this to the intent that four ends may be accomplifhed in them. The firft, that they may come to themfelves, and lee whence their trouble cometh, and that their thoughts may be turned upon themfelves by reafon of the pain, and fb be fixed. The fecond, that they may examine why God has laid the burden of pain upon them ; and when they perceive God's purpofe in their fufferings, let them ftrive to fulfil that, and refign themfelves wholly to His divine will. The third, that they may come out from themfelves, and from all creatures. The fourth, that they may learn true patience under diverfe afflictions. But what is true patience under affliction ? Is it to remain unmoved by outward things ? No. True patience is that a man mould feel in his inmoft foul, and in utter fincerity thus judge, that no one could or might do him a real in- N4 and like unto our Lord Jefus Cbrift. How God de- fendetb and upholdeth unto the end tbofe who verily feek His kingdom. Of true patience. 1 84 Sermon for the John v'rii. 3I 3 2 - Of the two Jorts of men who follow CbriJTs word. Oftbofe who follow it by their natural reafon. Of tbofe who look for God's leadings from within. juftice, but always remember that he is receiving no worfe than his delerts, for he might juftly have far more to fuffer and endure ; infomuch that he may feel nothing but gentlenefs and companion towards all who do him wrong. Such men are followers of Chrift, our humble Mafter, in whom He reigns, and to whom He faid : " If ye continue in my word, then " are ye my difciples indeed ; and ye mail know the " truth, and the truth mall make you free." Now there are two forts of men who follow after the word of Chrift. The one fort hear it with joy, and follow after it as far as they are able with their reafon to perceive its truth, and take it in juft in the fame way as their reafon takes in what is concerned with the world of fenfe ; and all this they do by means of their natural light, but they make no ac- count of anything that they themselves do not feel or enter into ; but with thefe natural powers of theirs, they are ever running out to catch up and understand fbme new thing. They have not learnt by experience that they ought to die to this reftleflhefs ; but if they are ever to grow better men, they muft try another road. But the other fort turn their thoughts inward, and remain refting on the inmoft foundation of their fouls, fimply looking to fee the hand of God w r ith the eyes of their enlightened reafon, and await from within their fummons and their call to go whither God would have them. And this they receive from God without any means ; but what is given through means, fuch as other mortal men, for inftance. is as it were taftelefs ; moreover, it is feen as through a veil, and fplit up into fragments, and bears within it Firft Sunday in Advent. '85 a certain fting of bitternefs. It always retains the favour of that which is of the creature, which it muft needs lofe and be purified from, if it is to become in truth food for the fpirit, and to enter into the very fubftance of the foul. For thofe who perceive God's gifts and leadings from within, whether by the help of means or without means, do receive them from their fountain-head, and carry them back again unto their fountain-head in the Divine goodnefs. Thefe are they who draw and drink from the true well, of which Chrift faid : " Whofoever drinketh of the water " that I mall give him mall never thirft." But the firft of whom we fpoke are feeking their own things ; wherever they are, and whatever they do, they are always {landing upon their own foundation. Yet, in truth, they can never find their own good fo certain and fb unmixed, as in its inward fburce, without the aid of means. Now you may afk, How can w r e come to perceive this dired: leading of God ? By a careful looking at home, and abiding within the gates of thy own foul. Therefore, let a man be at home in his own heart, and ceafe from his reftlefs chafe of and fearch after outward things. If he is thus at home while on earth, he w r ill iurely come to fee what there is to do at home, what God commands him inwardly without means, and alfo outwardly by the help of means ; and then let him furrendcr himfelf, and fol- low God along whatever path his loving Lord thinks fit to lead him : whether it be to contemplation or action, to ufefulnefs or enjoyment ; whether in fbrrow or in joy, let him follow on. And if God do not give How we may perceive Gotfi lead- ings. 86 Sermon for the Fir/I Sunday in Advent. How we Jhould follow Cbrift in the three aims of His life f to toil : the glory of His Heavenly Father, the fa hat ion of men, the fetting forth of a perfeft life. Ofthofe who do thus follow Cbrift. him thus to feel His hand in all things, let him ftill fimply yield himfelf up, and go without for God's fake, out of love, and ftill prefs forward, fetting ever before him the lovely example of our Blcffed Lord Jefus Chrift ; who did all His works for three ends : The firft was, that in all His doings He fought the glory of His Heavenly Father only, and not His own in any matter, whether great or fmall, and committed all things into His hands again. The fecond was, that with His whole heart he pur- pofed and fought the falvation and bleflednefs of men, that He might lay hold on all men, and bring them to the acknowledgment of His Name, according to the words of St. Paul : " God will have all men to be " faved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth." The third end which He kept in view, in all His words, and works, and life, was, that He might give us a true example and model of a perfect life in its higheft form. The men who thus tread in His fteps do become, in very truth, the nobleft and moft glorious of their race ; and thofe who are thus born again into His life, are the rich and coftly jewels of the Holy Chriftian Church, and in all ages they work out the higheft good, while they look not to the greatnefs or mean- nefs of their work, nor to their fuccefs or failure, but look only to the will of God in all things ; and for this caufe all their works are the beft that may be. Neither do they look whether God will place them high or low, for the only thing they care for is, that in all things alike God's will may be done. God grant that it may be thus with each of us. Amen. II. Sermon for the Second Sunday in Advent. (From the Gofpel for the day.) How that God is very near to us, and how we mujlfeek and find the Kingdom of God within us, without refpttt to time and place* LUKE xxi. 31. "Know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand." Lord fays here that the kingdom of God is nigh to us. Yea, the kingdom of God is in us ; and St. Paul fays, that now is our falvation nearer to us than we believe. Now ye ought to know, firft, how the kingdom of God is nigh at hand ; fecondly, when the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Now we muft give earneft heed to take note of all that is contained in thefe w r ords, " The kingdom of " God is nigh at hand." For if I were a king, and did not know it, I mould be no king ; but if I were fully convinced that I was a king, and if all men deemed me fo likewife, and further, if I knc\v that all men deemed me fuch, I mould be a king, and all the riches of the king would be mine. But if any of thefe three things were wanting, I could be no king. In like manner does our blefTednefs depend upon our This Sermon is believed to be by Mafter Eckhart. How the kingdom of God is nigh at band. In tcbat true 1 88 Sermon for the ble/ednefs What is the kingdom of God. How God is perceiving and knowing the Highcft Good, which is God Himfelf. I have a power in my foul which en- ables me to perceive God : I am as certain as that I live that nothing is fo near to me as God. He is nearer to me than I am to myfelf. It is a part of His very evTence that He mould be nigh and prefent to me. He is alfo nigh to a ftone or a tree, but they do not know it. If a tree could know God, and per- ceive His prefence as the higheft of the angels per- ceives it, the tree would be as bleffed as the higheft angel. And it is becaufe man is capable of perceiving God, and knowing how nigh God is to him, that he is better off than a tree. And he is more blefled or lefs blefled in the fame meafure as he is aware of the prefence of God. It is not becaufe God is in him, and fo clofe to him, and he hath God, that he is bleffed, but becaufe he perceives God's prefence, and knows and loves Him ; and fuch an one will feel that God's kingdom is nigh at hand. Often, when I meditate on the kingdom of God, I cannot fpeak for the greatnefs thereof. For the king- dom of God, what is it but God Himfelf with all His riches ? The kingdom of God is no fmall thing. If we think of all the worlds that God could create, that is not the kingdom of God. When the kingdom of God is manifefted in a foul, and me knows it, you need not to preach or to teach ; for that foul is taught of God, and affured of eternal life. He who knows and perceives how nigh God's kingdom is, may fay with Jacob : " Surely the Lord is in this place, and I " knew it not." God is alike near in all creatures. The wife man Second Sunday in Advent. 189 fays : " God hath fpread out His nets and fnares over " all creatures, fo that he who defireth to perceive " Him, may find Him in every one of them." A Mafter has faid : " He knoweth God aright who " knoweth him in all things alike." He who ferveth God with fear, it is good ; he who ferveth Him with love, it is better ; but he who in fear can love, that is the beft of all. That a man mould have a life of quiet or reft in God is good ; that a man mould lead a painful life in patience is better ; but that a man mould have reft in a painful life is beft of all. Whether a man walk out in the fields and fay his prayers, and feel God's prefence, or whether he be in the church and feel God's prelence, does he perceive Him any the better becaufe he is in a place of reft ? If he do, it comes from his own infirmity ; the dif- ference is not on God's fide, for God is in all things and places alike, and is ever alike ready to give Himfelf to us, in fo far as we are able to receive Him ; and he knows God aright who fees Him in all things. St. Bernard fays : " Why does my eye perceive the " heavens, and not my feet ? Becaufe my eye is " more like the heavens than my feet." Thus, if my foul is to perceive God, it muft be heavenly. Now what will bring the foul to fee God in herfelf, and know how nigh God is to her ? Confider ! The heavens cannot take any imprint from other things, neither can they, by any violence or force, be turned from their order. In like manner, the foul that would know God muft be fo grounded and built up in Him, that neither hope, nor fear, nor joy, nor fbr- evtrywbcrt alike near to the foul. How the foul mujl be like unto the heavens in fteadfaftnefi and purenefs. 190 What is need- ful for the joul to per- ceive and know God. row, nor weal or woe, nor anything elfe, can fo move it as to force it from its place in Him. The heavens are everywhere alike far from the earth : thus lhall the foul be alike far from all earthly things, that me be not nearer to one than to another, but keep herfelf alike far from all, in joy and forrow, in prosperity and adverftty, for me mufr. be utterly dead to all that is of the earth, earthly, and altogether raifed above it. The heavens are pure and bright, without a fpeck ; they have nought to do with time or fpace ; no bodies have a fixed place therein ; neither are the hea- vens fubjecl: to time : their circuit is fwift beyond belief; their courfe is without time, yet from their courfe cometh time. Nothing hinders the foul fo much in its knowledge of God as time and place. Time and place are parts, and God is one ; therefore, if our foul is to know God, it mufh know Him above time and place, for God is neither this nor that, like thefe complex things around us, for God is one. If the foul is to fee, me muft not look at the things that exift in time, for fo long as me is looking at time and place, or at the phenomena dependent thereon, me can never perceive God Himfelf : juft as, if mine eye is to perceive colour, it muft firft be cleared of all tint in itfelf. If the foul is to know God, me muft have no fellowfhip with that which is Nought. He who lees God, knows that all creatures are nought ; for when you compare one creature with another, it indeed appears beautiful and is fomewhat, but when you compare it with God it is nothing. I fay more : Second Sunday in Advent. 191 if the foul is to know God, fhe muft forget herfelf and lofe herfelf, for while fhe is looking at and thinking about herfelf, fhe is not looking at or thinking about God ; but when fhe lofes herfelf in God, and lets go of all things, then fhe finds herfelf again in God. When fhe comes to know God, then does fhe know to perfection in Him, both herfelf and all the things from which fhe has feparated herfelf. If I am truly to know the Higheft Good, or the Eternal Goodnefs, I muft know it in that wherein it is good, namely, in itfelf, not in thofe things in which it is only in part. If I am to know real Being, I muft know it in that where it is felf-exiftent, that is, in God. In God alone is the true Divine Subftance : in one man you have not all humanity, for one man is not all men ; but in God the foul knows all humanity, and all things in their Ideal, for fhe knows them in their Subflance. When a man has been within a beautifully-painted houfe, he knows much more about it than another who has never been infide it, and is able to tell much about it. So I am as certain as that I live and God lives, that if the foul is to know God, fhe muft know Him above time and fpace ; and fuch a foul knows God, and knows how nigh God's kingdom is ; that is, God with all His riches. The Mafters have fet forth many queftions in the Schools as to how it be poflible for the foul to know God. It is not of God's feverity that He requires much from man ; it is of His great kindnefs that He will have the foul to open herfelf wider, to be able to receive much, that He may beftow much upon her. Let no one think that it is hard to attain thereunto. How in God the foul knows all things in their Ideal. 192 Sermon for the Second Sunday in Advent. 1T)e fmeetnefs of a life in union with God. Although it found hard, and is hard at firft, as touch- ing the forfaking and dying to all things, yet, when one has reached this ftate, no life can be eafier or fweeter, or fuller of pleafures ; for God is right dili- gent to be with us at all feafons, and to teach us, that He may bring us to Himfelf when we are like to go aftray. None of us ever defired anything more ardently than God defires to bring men to the know- ledge of Himfelf. God is ever ready, but we are very unready ; God is nigh to us, but we are far from Him ; God is within, we are without ; God is at home, we are ftrangers. The Prophet fays : " God leadeth the " righteous by a narrow path into a broad highway, till " they come unto a wide and open place :"* that is, unto the true freedom of that fpirit which hath become one fpirit with God. God help us all to follow Him, that He may bring us unto Himfelf ! Amen. * The Tranflator has not been able to determine what is the paflage referred to in the original, which runs thus : Gott fubret die Gerecbten durcb einen engen Weg in die breite Strafze, dafzfie kommen in die Weite und in die Breite. III. Sermon for the Third Sunday in Advent. (From the Gofpel for the day.) How that we mujl wholly come out from ourfelves, that we may go into the wilder nefs and behold God. MATT. xi. 7. " What went ye out into the wildernefs for to fee ?" ;UR Lord Jefus Chrift faid unto the Jews, " What went ye out into the wildernefs for " to fee ? A reed fhaken with the wind ?" In thefe words let us confider three things : Firft, the going out ; fecondly, the wilder- nefs ; thirdly, what we are to fee there. Firft, let us confider the going out. This blefled going out takes place in four ways : The firft way is to come out from the world, that is, from the craving after worldly advantages, and to defpife them, according to that precept of St. John, " Love not the world, neither the things that are in the " world. If any man love the world, the love of the " Father is not in him." Thofe who thus forfake the love of the world, may be fitly faid to come out of Egypt, leaving King Pharaoh behind ; that is, they purpofe to forfake pride, vain-glory, prefumption, and all other fins. And thofe who are thus minded do greatly need a Mofes to be their leader and com- mander ; for he was very gentle and merciful, and in o Firft, in what wife we are to come out from the world. I Jcbnii.\$. 194 Sermon for the Is. . 12. Secondly, bow we are to come out from our own wijhes and feelings, and rejign events to God. their coming out they require to be treated with great gentlenefs, and kindnefs, and forbearance. But fuch as come out from Sodom and Gomorrah, that is, thofe who have to depart from covetoufnefs, intemperance, and unchaftity, and are hard befet by thefe foes, do need an angel for their leader and guide ; that is to fay, a man who can have companion on them, but who is himfelf temperate, pure, and ftricl; in life. Now thofe who do thus fuffer themfelves to be led and guided, mall be verily delivered from all their pride and fenfuality, as Ifaiah fays : " Ye mail go out with "joy, and be led forth with peace;" and as Chrift alfb fays : " In the world ye mall have tribulation, but " in me ye mail have peace." The fecond kind of coming out is to loofe thy hold on outward things, to ceafe from thy vain anxieties, thy felfim wifhing and planning, and to turn thy thoughts inward, that thou mayeft learn to know thyfelf, and to fee what thou art, how thou art, and in what it ftandeth amifs with thee. He who is too full of his own joys or forrows to get beyond himfelf can never come to know himfelf. So St. Bernard fays : " It were better to know thyfelf, and to fee " how fick and full of infirmities thou art, than to be " matter of all the fciences in the world." Therefore fays Solomon in his Song : " If thou know not [thy- " felf ], O thou faireft among women, go thy way " forth by the footfteps of the flock [of thy com- " panions] :" which fignifies, confider the lives of God's faints, and look at thyfelf in that mirror ; that is to fay, follow their example, and walk not after thine own will. Third Sunday in Advent. 1 95 The third kind of going out is to give up thine own cafe and thine own way, and to devote thyfelf, fb far as thou art able, to thy neighbour, to help him by counfel and deed, and by thine own good example, to the utmoft of thy power and the beft of thy know- ledge, in a conftant fpirit of hearty love, that he may be brought to the things that make for his eternal peace. For this is the commandment of the Lord, " That ye love one another, as I have loved you. By " this mall all men know that ye are my difciples, if " ye have love one to another." So likewife St. Paul fays : " Bear ye one another's burdens, and fo fulfil " the law of Chrift." Juft as it is faid in the Book of Genefis : " Except ye bring your youngefl brother " with you, ye mall fee my face no more." This is alfo plainly meant in the Book of Canticles, where we read, " Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the " field ; let us get up early to the vineyards, and let " us lodge in the villages, and let us fee if the vine " flourim." The fourth kind of going out is to forfake every- thing but God, fo that our love towards God mould be the ftrongeft love we have ; and we mould indeed love Him with all our heart, and with all our foul, and with all our ftrength. As it was faid unto Abraham : " Get thee out of thy country, and from " thy kindred, and from thy father's houfe :" that is to fay, " Set not your affections on the things that " perifh, but on God only ; and whatever you pofTefs, " thank God for it, and ufe it for Him." Thus had the woman of Canaan come out, as her words indeed teftify : " True, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs o 2 Thirdly, bow toe are to give up eafe, and live for others. John xiii. 34> 35- Gal. vi. 2. Gen.xIiv.ZT,, Cant. vil. II, 12. Fourthly, bow we are to love God and not our- felvei. Gen. xii. i. 196 Sermon for the The wilder- nefe a type of a fpiritual life. An evil wil- dernefs. A good wil- dernefs. Ez. xx. 35. " that fall from their matter's table ;" and therefore Ihe obtained her requeft. Thus it is faid to the loving foul and her companions : " Go forth, O ye " daughters of Zion." Well may it be faid " ye " daughters," and not fons; for they are ftill feeble in understanding, and troubled with many womanifh fears, and not yet ftrong in renunciation, but are ftill tender and weak, like maidens or daughters. The fecond fubjecl: for our coniideration is " the wil- " dernefs." When men have forfaken fins and worldly ambition, they come into the wildernefs, which fig- nifies a fpiritual life, or the life of one who is dead to the world. Now there are two kinds of wildernefs, a good and a bad. It is an evil wildernefs when a man's heart is filled with vanity, and barren of good deeds, of love and of heavenly afpiration, and far and wide in the Church, or in the temple of the foul, there rifes no incenfe of praife to God ; when the fheep of the houfe of Ifrael, that is to fay all good thoughts, are fcattered, each to his own way. But that is a wildernefs which is very fruitful and good, when the whirlwinds of earthly cares or paflions are laid to reft, and the billows of worldly defire and crea- ture aims ceafe to fwell up in the depths of the heart. And then, even though the firft fharp dart of pain pierce through every nerve of body and mind, yet in the deep fources of his will, the man remains un- daunted. That is a good wildernefs when without there are ftorms, yet within there is peace ; the wil- dernefs of which God faid by the prophet : "I will " bring you into the wildernefs, and there will I plead " with you face to face ;" for no one does hear or Third Sunday in Advent. understand what is in him, and what God fays in his foul, until he is brought into this wildernefs. There are three reafons why a fpiritual life is called a wildernefs, or a life in the defert. The nrft is on account of the fmall number who do turn from the world and go forth into it, and becaufe the common way of the world is for each man to follow his own earthly objects. But it is the wifeft courfe to drive out the world from the heart, by baniming the very thoughts and images thereof, and, with Mofes, go into the depths of the wildernefs and dwell therein, that fo we may the better watch over and guard our fheep ; that is to fay, efcape the affaults of inward temptation, and the wanderings of the imagination into forbidden fields. And as, when Mofes drove his meep into the fartheft corners of the wildernefs, God revealed Him- ielf to him there in a burning bum, fo likewiie fhalt thou be tilled with burning love and holy longing, and follow on to know God. This is the beauteous wildernefs of which Solomon fpeaks when he fays : " Who is this that cometh up " out of the wildernefs like a pillar of fmoke, per- " fumed with myrrh and frankincenle ?" St. Gregory fays : " It is the nature and property of love to rife up " unceafmgly from itfelf to God with holy afpiration, " never refting till it hath reached and embraced the " Higheft Good ; for nothing on earth can draw it " down or imprifbn its flame, but it fbars ever up- " wards to God above itfelf." And fo it is with good men ; and the clofer they cling to Him whom they love, the more do they turn from and defpife all the fmiles of the world. They cleave with fteadfaft defire o 3 How to go out into this good wildernefs. Cant. Hi. 6. 198 Sermon for the Cant. viii. 5. Of the ednefs of this wildernefs. 2 Cor. Hi. 1 8. Of the Jlotuers that Jo grow in this wilder- nefs. unto God, as Job fays : " Even that it would pleafe " God to deftroy me ; that he would let loofe his "hand, and cut me off! Then mould I yet have " comfort." Of this wildernefs fay the angels : " Who is this that cometh up from the wildernefs, " leaning upon her beloved ?" and the loving foul anfwers : " I have found him whom my foul loveth, I " have laid hold on him and will not let him go." For thofe who come into this wildernefs are able to tafte and tell of fecret and inward matters. Moreover, in the exercife of love all virtues do fpring up and grow. So Chrift, on Mount Tabor, took to Himfelf all His glory, for an image to us of that fruit of the wildernefs which mall be ours alfb if we give ourfelves unto God. For St. Paul fays : " But we all with open " face beholding as in a glafs the glory of the Lord, " are changed into the fame image from glory to "glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." Again, a fpiritual life may be fitly called a wilder- nefs, by reafon of the many fweet flowers which fpring up and flourifh where they are not trodden under foot by man. In this refpecl: the life of one dead to the world may well be likened to a wilder- nefs, feeing that fo many virtues may be learned by continual and earneft ftriving ; but becaufe the effort needed is toilfbme and painful at the firft, few are willing to make it. In this wildernefs are found the lilies of chaftity, and the white roles of innocence ; and therein are found too the red rofes of facrifice, when flefh and blood are confumed in the ftruggle with fin, and the man is ready, if need be, to fuffer martyrdom, the which is not eafily to be learned in Third Sunday in Advent. 199 the world. In this wildernefs, too, are found the violets of humility, and many other fair flowers and wholefbme roots, in the examples of holy men of God. And in this wildernefs malt thou choofe for thyfelf a pleafant fpot wherein to dwell ; that is, a holy life, in which thou mayeft follow the example of God's faints in purenefs of heart, poverty of fpirit, true obedience, and all other virtues ; fb that it may be faid, as it is in the Canticles : " Many flowers have appeared in our " land ;" for many have died full of holinefs and good works. A third likenefs between a fpiritual life and the wildernefs is that we find in the wildernefs fo little provifion for the flefh, and therefore the lovers of this world cannot live there. Thus did the children of Ifrael complain againft Mofes becaufe they lacked many things. By this we are to underfland a life of moderation, girding up the loins with manly vigour. And every man is bound to lead fuch a life ; for had he the whole world wherewith to fupply his wants, he would ftill be bound fcrupuloufly to take no more than fufficient for his real neceffities. Moreover by fuch a life all the powers of the foul are braced up. And although there is little to delight the fenfes in this wildernefs, there is much of the comfort of the fpirit, which far excels the pleafures of the world. Ifaiah fays : " For the Lord mall comfort Zion ; he will " comfort all her wafle places ; and he will make her " wildernefs like Eden, and her defert like the garden " of the Lord." And again : " I will make the wil- " dernefs a pool of water, and the dry land fprings of " water." Thus the folitary foul bears many more o 4 The foul if ftrengtben e by a life in this wilder- nefs. L. li. 3. //. xli. 1 8. 2OO Sermon for the What toe are to fee in the wildernefs. Is. ix. 6. ExoJ. Hi. 3. The burning bujb a type of Cbrift. children of good works than fhc that is married to the world. So Pharaoh was commanded by God to let His people go forth into the defert, that they might facrifice unto the Lord, and receive fpiritual manna inftead of the carnal pleafures of Egypt. The third thing for our confideration is what we are to fee in the wildernefs. When a man has gone out into the wildernefs, he is bidden to look with his inward eye upon " the king and his bride/' which is the foul, with all her hidden treafures of lovelinefs. It is written, " Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, " and behold the king ; " that is, Solomon, who is a type of Chrift, of whom Ifaiah fays : " To us a " child is born, unto us a fon is given : and the " government mall be upon his moulder ; and his " name (hall be called Wonderful." And now behold how wonderful God is in His deity, that He has become man for the fake of His bride This is the miracle that Mofes faw, and faid : " I will now " turn afide and fee this great fight, why the bum is " not burnt." The thorn-bum is Chrift's human nature ; the flame is His foul filled with burning love ; the light is His deity mining through His mortal body. Now, confider this Chrift and Solomon, upon whom is poured out without meafure that wisdom which comprehends all things in its grafp: Ie is the Truth who hath taught us the way to heaven ; let the foul look upon Him, that me may follow Him, to live after His fpirit, and not after her own inclination, and her nature mall be greatly ftrengthened to fight the good fight when me confiders the nature of her King, how He fulfilled His pilgrimage. For it mall greatly Third Sunday in Advent. 2OI refrefh the loving foul to remember from time to time His human infirmities, and from time to time to rejoice in His life in the fpirit. A mailer has faid : " Excess in pleafures enfeebles " the powers, and overflowing fpiritual emotions con- " fume the fpirit. Great joy cannot laft always, but " while here we have need of variablenefs in our "joys; for it is not yet given to the foul to ferve " God in the holy of holies/' Therefore mall the foul fometimes contemplate the divine greatnefs of Chrift, and fometimes His holy humanity. A foul that is as yet inexperienced and ftrange in the things of God mall be bidden to believe in God ; but a fervent, tried, and experienced foul mail be invited to behold the King in his beauty. And hence the loving foul mall fee with her inward eye in what wife me ought to yield to or withftand her fellow- chriftians of mankind. St. Bernard fays : " O Lord, " come quickly and reign on Thy throne, for now oft- ' times fomething rifes up within me, and tries to take ' pofTeffion of Thy throne ; pride, covetoufnefs, un- " cleannefs, and floth want to be my kings ; and then " evil-fpeaking, anger, hatred, and the whole train of " vices join with me in w r arring againft myfelf, and ' ( try to reign over me. I refift them, I cry out '' againft them, and lay, * I have no other king than ' Chrift/ O King of Peace, come and reign in me, " for I will have no king but thee ! " And Gilbert fays : " O Lord, I endure thy hand upon me, and " prefs forward with {training eyes, with knocking, " with prayers, and through many heights and depths " of joy and forrow." But O, who can faint and The expe- The Cbrif- tiarfi afpira- tion. 202 Sermon for the Third Sunday in Advent. grow weary in making himfelf ready for fuch a king, when he remembers how God has made our little nature able to receive His divine Subftance, and has even taken upon Himfelf our nature, and inverted Himfelf with the colours of our humanity, and fo revealed His beauty unto us, and loveth us much more than we love Him ! I were in truth \vorthy of all condemnation, if I did not love Him above all things, when He afketh nothing from me but to love Him! Therefore let us in the firft place come out wholly from ourfelves, that we may, in the next place, enter into this blefled wildernefs, and, in the third place, defire to know and behold the true King and bride- groom of the foul. And to this end the Mofes of a holy Will muft lead us into the Mount of God. But the people whom Mofes led up out of Egypt are an image of thole who, having newly laid afide their evil cuftoms, do eafily return to their old ways, and make to themfelves in the wildernefs a golden calf of their old flefhly lufts, of unchafte or worldly thoughts, to live after the flesh, and ferve their own bellies and not God, but have their delight in the creature. And hence we have need of the true Mofes, even Chrift Jefus, that He may at all times guide us and lead us, and draw us to Himfelf, ib that we may go out after Him into the wildernefs of our own hearts, wherein God lies hidden to us. May God help us all to attain thereunto ! Amen ! IV. Sermon for Christmas Day. (From the Gofpel for the day.) Of the things by which we become children of God. * JOHN i. 12. "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the fons of God." HIS day, dear children, hath God wrought a great wonder, and manifested the great- nefs of His love towards us, in that He hath looked down upon us, who were His ene- mies, aliens and afar off from Him, with fuch mercy as to give us power to become His fons and children ; therefore it behoves us not to mow ourfelves unthankful for fuch kindnefs, but to put on the true marks and qualities of the eled:, beloved children of God. And hereby ye may know what thefe are. He who would be a fon of our Father in Heaven muft be a ftranger among the children of this world, and feparate himfelf from them, and muft have an earneft mind and a fingle eye, with a heart inclined towards God. Now fuch a one is made a ion of God when he is born again in God, and this takes place with every frefli revelation of God to his foul. A * It has been conjectured that this fermon is by Eckhart, junior ; but it can- not be decidedly afcertained whether it is by him or Tauler. How God hath made us His children. The marks of God's chil- dren. A beartfxed upon God. 204 Sermo?i for Chriftmas Day. Self-renunci- ation. man is born of the Spirit when he fuffers God's work to be wrought in his foul ; yet it is not this which makes the foul to be perfectly blefled, but that revela- tion, of which we have fpoken already, makes the foul to follow after Him who has revealed Himfelf to her, and in whom me is born anew, with love and praife. Thus me returns again to her firft fource, and is made, of God's grace, a child of God, united to Him in rightful love. And let him who would attain hereunto, copy Chrift in his human nature, and God Himfelf will verily come unto him in His fuper- human Godhead. The beloved children of God renounce themfelves ; and hence they do right without effort, and mount up to the higheft point of goodnefs; while he who will not let go of himfelf, but does right by labour and toil, will never reach the higheft that he might. In other words ; he whofe works proceed from himfelf, does little good fervice to God ; while he who fuffers himfelf to be guided by the Holy Spirit, does great works even in fmall actions. But he who will attain to this muft beware of men, fo far as is confiftent with reafon. A heathen teacher has declared : " I never " mingled with men, but I came home lefs of a man " than I went out." Men who live on the outfide of things are a great hindrance in the way of goodnefs by their many idle words. Therefore thofe who wifh to fofter the inner life of their fouls, are in great dan- ger of receiving hurt from things which are faid with- out thought, efpecially when many are together. He who repents what he has faid as fbon as the words are out of his mouth, is one of thefe carelefs fpeakers. Sermon for Chrijlmas Day. 4U ^> He only is a good fon who has caft off his old fins and evil habits ; for without this it is impoffible that he mould be created anew in Chrift Jefus. It is not until the thoughts can find reft in nothing but God, that the man is drawn clofe to God Himfelf, and becomes His. He is happy who is always in the full ufe of his collective powers ; and this is the case when God is prefent to his fpirit, and he gladly obeys all the motions of God's Spirit, and gives his whole diligence to acl; and live agreeable thereunto. He hath a right fpirit who is free from all craving after temporal things, and like a good fon is united by love to his God, with- out any earthly defires. The child of God fhould fo order his life as always to promote his own fteadfaftnefs in virtue. When a man always keeps his body in due fubje&ion, it is an outward pledge of the ftrength of his virtuous intents. Then is God in the man, when there is nothing in him which is contrary to the will of God. For God makes a man's body the temple of the Holy Ghoft when He finds nothing in the man which grieves His Spirit, but He reigns with Jefus Chrift over the body. That is to fay : when a man knows of nothing in him- felf which is difpleafmg to God, then God dwells in him, and he is fet free from the things that perifli. He who moft hates and comes out from himfelf has the greateft mare in God, and pofleffes his earthly heritage in peace. Maftcr Eckhart fays : " That which kindles the " warmeft devotion in a man's heart, and knits him " moft clofely to God, is the greateft benefit he can " receive in this prefent time; and hence the greateft The cafting off of evil habits. A virtuous, well-ordered life. 206 Sermon for Chriftmas Day. Humility and felf-know- ledge. Good works. " good work a man can do, is to draw other men to " God, fb that they enter into a union with Him. " And this is the beft work of love to our neighbour " while we are in this world." Further : it is a mark of the children of God that they fee their own little faults and fhort- comings to be great fins. Now he who entangles himfelf with a multitude of matters, outward or in- ward, and will meddle with every thing that is going forward, will alfo have a mare in the evil thereof. We muft let all things be to us merely the fiipply of our wants, and poiTefs them in their nothingnefs. The great work and aim of the beloved children of God is to Ihun all fin, deadly or trifling, that they may not grieve God's Spirit ; for they know, as St. Auguftine fays, that for the fmalleft habitual fin which is not punifhed and laid afide in this prefent life, they will have to fuffer more than all the pains of this world. Hence Anfelm fays, that he would rather die, and that this world mould be deftroyed, than commit one fin a day knowingly. And Auguftine fays : " The foul " is created eternal, and therefore me cannot reft but " in God." And again : " He who prays for anything " except for God's fake, does not afk aright, and will " not be anfwered with a bleffing." Again : the child of God muft have exercife in good works ; but when he comes to poflefs the very fubftance of virtue, then virtue is no longer an exercife to him ; for he practifes it without an effort, and when virtue is practised without labour or pain, we have got beyond exercifes. But none may get fo far before body and foul are separated from each Sermon for Chriftmas Day. 207 other ; unlefs, indeed, the foul were drawn out of herfelf, and it were poffible in this prefent ftate for God to dwell in the foul, acting and fuffering. Ah, Lord, did we all we mould, God would do to us all we would. If any wifh to become fuch that God can love him, and look upon him with complacency, let him forfake all that he loves in the world, and love nothing but God alone. He who defires to receive with the Son of God a man's reward, muft fuffer from and with the wicked of this world ; and if he hunger after his falvation as one who is periming for lack of food, it will avail him nothing, until he caft off fin and work the works of righteoufnefs which are befitting [a child of] grace, and endure all wrong and injuftice patiently for God's fake. For without this, his hunger and thirft after falvation can neither be fatisfied here nor hereafter. For it is of the very eflence of falvation to love God, to depart from fin, and to work righteoufnefs ; not to be able to find happinefs in all the pleafures of earth, but to be willing to fuffer willingly all manner of pain and contradiction, and not feek to avoid them : when a man has come to this ftate all is well with him, and not otherwife. And whatever fuch a child of God beholds, it works for his good. If he fees fm, he thanks God for having kept him from it, and prays for the converfion of the fmners ; if he fees goodnefs, he defires to fulfil it in his own practice. We ought always to keep two ends in view, to put away from us all that is hurtful, and to put on all that is yet lacking to us of good works. But thofe who vainly think to be made God's He who would reign with Cbrift mujl have His fympatby with Jinncrs, His purity, and His readinefs to fuffer; andforfucb an one, all things work together for good. Tbofe who 20S Sermon for Chrijlmas Day. make much of outward ob- fervances, while not amending their faults, are not God's children, but the Devil's. Is. i. 13. 1 6, 17- The joys of true conver- Jton. children by their much watching, and fasting, and labour, by keeping filence, by fmging hymns, by wearing bad and inconvenient clothing, or again by great deeds and pious works, while they do not dive into the bottom of their hearts, and spy out all their fecret inclinations, to lefler as well as to greater faults ; fuch as an inclination to think too well of themfelves and too ill of their neighbours, or to harfh- nefs, to trefpafs on the rights of others, to morofenefs, to a bitter fpirit, to contradiction, to obftinacy, to caprice, and the like, and do not perceive thefe things in themfelves, nor w T ifh to learn how to get rid of their old bad difpofitions nor yet of their outward bad habits, fuch as evil speaking, lightnefs of manners, unkind ridicule of others, and refufe to give ear to thofe who teach and exhort them to what is right, or to probe their own motives ; thefe are all the children of the Devil. Alas ! how many are martyrs for the Devil ! To fuch as thefe Ifaiah fays : " Bring no " more vain oblations : cease to do evil ; learn to do " well ; warn you, make you clean." Yea, if a man were to fuffer himfelf to be torn to pieces, and did not learn to cleanfe himfelf thoroughly from his lins, to behave towards his fellow-creatures in a fpirit of generous love, and to love God above all things, it would all be ufelefs and in vain. Dionyfius fays : " To be converted to the truth " means nothing elfe but a turning from the love of " created things, and a coming into union with the " uncreated Higheft Good. And in one who is thus " converted there is a joy beyond conception, and his " understanding is unclouded and unperverted by the Sermon for Chriftmas Day. 209 " love of earthly things, and is mirrored in his con- " fcience, in the mirror of God's mind. Love is the " nobleft of all virtues, for it makes man divine, " and makes God man." And again: "Cleanfe your " hearts and make yourfelves at one with God, for " one glimpfe of Him brings the foul clofer to Him " than all the outward works of all Chriftendom. " He who wifhes to attain to this union muft get be- " yond all that may be conquered and grasped by the " underftanding, for God hath nothing fo hidden that " it cannot be revealed unto the foul. O that me " were but wife enough to feek after it with all " earneftnefs ! " A certain teacher has faid, that if a man will give his heart and life to God, God will give him in return greater gifts than if he were to furTer death over again for him. Now that man mall attain unto the Higheft Good who is ready to defcend into the loweft depths of poverty. And this comes to pafs when he is caft into utter wretchednefs, and forfaken of all creatures and all comfort. And let him afk help of none ; let him be as knowing nothing, and as though he had never been aught but a fool ; let him have none to take companion on him, even fo much as to give him a cup of cold water to drink ; yet let him never forget God in his heart, and never fhrink from God's fearch- ing eye of judgment, though he knows not what its verdict will be ; but with a cheerful and thankful fpirit yield himfelf up to fuffer whatever God mall appoint unto him, and to fulfil according to his power, by the grace of God, all His holy will to the utmofl He who /^_ willing to be abafed for GoJsfake, Jball attain the bigbefl glory and work the greateft works. 210 Sermon for Chrijimas Day. that he can difcern it, and never complain of his diftrefTes but to God alone with entire and humble refignation, praying that he may be ftrong to endure all his fufferings according to the will of God : Ah, dear children, what glorious fons of God would fuch men be ! what wonders would God work through them to the magnifying of His glory ! Thefe are the true and righteous men who truft in God, and cleave to Him in fpirit and in truth ! That we may thus become His Amen. fons, may God help us by His grace V. Sermon for Epiphany. (From the Gofpel for the day.) This Sermon on the Go/pel for the day, from St. Matthew, Jbowetb bow God, of His great faithfulnefs, hath forefeen and ordained all fujferings for the eternal good of each man, in whatever wife they befall MS, arid "whether they be great or f mall. MATT. ii. 1 1 . " And they prefented unto him gifts : gold, and frankincenle, and myrrh." OW confider firft the myrrh. It is bitter ; and this is a type of the bitternefs which muft be tailed before a man can find God, when he firft turns from the world to God, and all his likings and deiires have to be utterly changed. For it is neceffary that all which a man has hitherto taken pleafure in pofTefTmg mould be given up, and this is at firft very bitter and very hard work to him. All things muft become as bitter to thee as their enjoyment was fweet unto thee. But to this work thou haft need of a full purpofe of heart and never-failing diligence. For the greater thy delight in anything has been, the more bitter will it be to give it up, yea the very gall of bitternefs. Now, it may be afked, " How can a man be with- " out appetites and enjoyment fo long as he is in this " prefent ftate ? I am hungry, and I eat ; I am " thirfty, I drink ; I am weary, I fleep ; I am cold, I Of the bitter- nefs of turn- ing from earthly delights. Tbe fatisfac- tion of natural dejiret not ftnful, 212, Sermon for Epiphany. but it muft be fubordi- nated to higher aims. How to take the bitter myrrh of out- ward trouble. " warm myfelf ; and I cannot poffibly find that to be " bitter nor barren of natural enjoyment which is the " fatisfaclion of my natural defires. This I cannot " alter, fo long as nature is nature." True : but this pleafure, eafe, fatisfa&ion, enjoyment, or delight, muft not penetrate into the depths of thy heart, nor make up a portion of thy inner life. It muft pafs away with the things that caufed it, and have no abiding place in thee. We muft not fet our affections thereon, but allow it to come and go, and not repofe upon the fenfe of pofleffion with content or delight in the world or the creature. \Ve muft mortify and fubdue nature with nature and the love thereof within us, yea, even the delight that we have in the children of God and good men. Thefe and all other inclinations muft be brought under dominion to a higher power ; for till this is accomplifhed, Herod and his fervants, which feek after the young child's life, are not alto- gether and of a furety dead within thee. Therefore beware that thou do not deceive thyfelf, but look narrowly to it, how it ftands with thee, and do not be too fecure, nor live without fear. But there is yet another myrrh, which far furpafles the firft. This is the myrrh which God gives us in the cup of trouble and fbrrow, of whatever kind it may be, outward or inward. Ah, if thou couldft but receive this myrrh as from its true fource, and drink it with the fame love with which God puts it to thy lips, what bleiTednefs would it work in thee ! Ah, what a joy and peace and an excellent thing were that ! Yes, the very leaft and the very greateft for- rows that God ever fuffers to befall thee, proceed Sermon for Epiphany. 213 from the depths of His unfpeakable love ; and fuch great love were better for thee than the higheft and beft gifts befides that He has given thee or ever could give thee, if thou couldft but fee it in this light ; yea, however fmall a fuffering light on thee, God who, as our Lord fays, counts the fmalleft hair that ever fell from thy head, without thy knowing it God has fore- feen it from eternity, and chofen, and purpofed, and appointed that it mould befall thee. So that if your little finger only aches, if you are cold, if you are hungry or thirfty, if others vex you by their words or deeds, or whatever happens to you that caufes you diftrefs or pain, it will all help to fit you for a noble and blefled ftate ; and it has been forefeen and fore- appointed by God that fuch and fuch things mould happen and come upon you ; for all is meafured, weighed, and numbered, and cannot be lefs nor other- wife than it is. That my eyes are now in my head, is as God our Heavenly Father has feen it from eter- nity ; now let them be put out, and let me become blind, or deaf, this alfo has our Heavenly Father fore- feen from eternity, that it ought to come to pafs, and had His eternal counfel with refpecl unto it, and determined it from eternity within Himfelf. Ought I not, then, to open my inward eyes and ears, and thank my God that His eternal counfel is fulfilled in me ? Ought I to grieve at it ? I ought to be won- derfully thankful for it ! And fo alfo with lofs of friends, or property, or reputation, or comfort, or whatever it be that God allots to us, it will all (erve to prepare thee, and help thee forward to true peace, if thou canft only take it fb. Now, fometimes people p3 All our far- rows, fmall as well as great, ap- pointed by God. 214 Sermon for Epiphany. All fuffering fent for a means of our progrefs to higher things. Pf/e/f- created . Suffering. have faid to me : " Mafter, it is ill with me : I have " much fuffering and tribulation ;" and when I have anfwered : "It is all as it mould be," they have faid, " No, Mafter, I have deferred it ; I have cherifhed an " evil thing in my heart." Then take blame to thy- felf ; but whether thy pain be deferved or not, believe that it comes from God, and thank Him, and bear it, and refign thyfelf to it. All the myrrhs of bitternefs that God gives, are ordered aright, that He may by this means raife men to true greatnefs. It is for the wholefome exercife of fuffering that He has fet the forces of nature as it were at war with man. He could juft as well and as eafily have caufed bread to grow as corn, but that it is necef- fary for man to have his powers exercifed in every way. And He has beftowed as much care and thought in the arrangement of each fmgle thing, as the artift does when he is painting a picture, who never draws a fin- gle ftroke with his pencil without confidering how long, how mort, and how broad it ought to be ; and it muft be fo and no otherwife, if the picture is to be a perfect mafter-piece, and all its bright red and blue colours are to come out. But God takes a thoufand times more pains with us than the artift with his picture, by many touches of forrow, and by many colours of circumftance, to bring man into the form which is the higheft and nobleft in His fight, if only we received His gifts and myrrh in the right fpirit. There are fome, however, who are not content with the myrrh that God gives them, but think fit to give themfelves fome, and create evils for themfelves and fick fancies, and have indeed fuffered long and much, Sermon for Epiphany. for they take hold of all things by the wrong end. And they gain little grace from all their pain, becaufe they are building upon {tones of their own laying, whether it be penances or abftinence, or prayer or meditation. According to them, God muft wait their leifure, and let them do their part firft, elfe no good will come of the work. God hath fixed it in His pur- poie that He will reward nothing but His own works. In the kingdom of Heaven He will crown nothing to all eternity but His works, and not thine. What He has not wrought in thee, He takes no account of. In the third place, there is an exceeding bitter myrrh which God gives ; namely, inward affaults and inward darknefs. When a man is willing to tafte this myrrh, and does not put it from him, it wears down flefh and blood, yea, the whole nature ; for thefe inward exercifes make the cheek grow pale far fooner than great out- ward hardfhips, for God appoints unto his fervants cruel fightings and ftrange dread, and unheard of dif- trefles, which none can understand but he who has felt them. And thefe men are befet with fuch a variety of difficulties, fo many cups of bitternefs are prefented to them, that they hardly know which way to turn, or what they ought to do ; but God knows right well what He is about. But when the cup is put away, and thefe feelings are {lifted or unheeded, a greater injury is done to the foul than can ever be amended. For no heart can conceive in what fur- paffing love God giveth us this myrrh ; yet this which we ought to receive to our foul's good, we fuffer to pafs by us in our fleepy indifference, and nothing comes of it. Then we come and complain : " Alas, p4 Of the bitter myrrh of in- ward trials. 2l6 Sermon for Epiphany. Of two wrong ways of receiving this myrrb. Of the " Lord ! I am fo dry, and it is fo dark within me !" I tell you, dear child, open thy heart to the pain, and it will do thee more good than if thou wert full of feeling and devoutnefs. Now men receive this bitter myrrh in two ways ; they try to meet it as with their practical fenfe or with their intellectual fubtilty. When it fprings from out- ward circumftances, men wilh they had known better, and they would have averted it with their wifdom, and attribute it to outward accidents, to fate, or mif- fortune, and think they might have taken fleps to pre- vent what has happened, and if they had done fo, the means would have fucceeded, and the calamity would have been turned afide. They would fain be too wife for God, and teach Him, and mafter Him, and cannot take things from His hand. The fufferings of fuch are very fore, and their myrrh is exceeding bitter. There are others, who having tafted the cup of that bitternefs which fprings from w r ithin, do ftart back and forthwith feek to break away from it by the exercife of their natural wit and fubtilty, and think to quell the ftrife by dint of reafoning and arguing with them- ielves. And this kind of trouble often pafles away more quickly with fimple minds than with thofe whofe reafon is more active ; for the former follow God more fimply, they feel they do not know what to do, and fo they truil. But if thofe of higher powers follow God's leading, and furrender themfelves wholly to Him, their career is far nobler and more bleffed, for their reafon ferves them in all things more freely and excellently. Now from this myrrh fprings a noble branch, which Sermon for Epiphany. 217 beareth coftly frankincenfe. The frankincenfe gum fends forth a fweet-fmelling fmoke ; fo when the fire catches the rod, it curls round it and feeks to fet loofe the perfume that is contained therein, that it may go forth and fpread a fragrant incenfe around. The fire is nothing elfe than burning love to God, which is as it were latent in prayer ; and love is the frankincenfe which fends forth the true fragrance of holy devotion. For, as a writer has faid : " Prayer is nothing but the " going up of the fpirit unto God." And juft as the ftraw exifts for the fake of the corn, and is good for nothing in itfelf but to make a bed whereon to lie, or to manure the earth, fo outward prayer is of no profit except in fo far as it ftirs up the noble flame of devo- tion in the heart, and when that fweet incenfe breaks forth and riies up, then it matters little whether the prayer of the lips be uttered or not. In faying this, I except thofe perfons who are bound by the ordinances of the Holy Church to offer up prayers, and thofe who have vowed to perform acl:s of devotion, or have been advifed thereunto by their fpiritual directors. May Jefus Chrift, the King of Glory, help us to make the right ufe of all the myrrh that God fends us, and to offer up to Him the true incenfe of devout hearts. Amen !* * In the later editions here follows an exposition of the gold, but it is wanting in the four earlieft editions and the beft MSS. frankincenfe of love to God that from this myrrh. VI. Second Sermon for Epiphany. Sbowetb on 'what wife a manjball arife from himfelf and from all creatures, to the end that God may find the ground of bis foul prepared, and may begin and perfect His work therein. ISAIAH Ix. i. " Arife, O Jerufalem, and be enlightened."* Of God's loving dejtre for our Jah'ation. Of 'our part in the work. N all this world God covets and requires but one thing only, and that He defires fo exceeding greatly that He gives His whole might and energy thereto. This one thing is, that He may find that good ground which He has laid in the noble mind of man made fit and ready for Him to exercife His divine agency thereon. For God has all power in heaven and on earth, and the only thing that is lacking unto Him is that He is hindered from accompliming the moft glorious of all His works in man. Now what muft we do that God may mine in on this innermoft ground of the foul, and work there ? We muft arife, fays our text. Arife ! this founds as if we could do fomething towards this work. We * According to our authorized verfion : " Arife, ftiine ; for thy light is " come, and the glory of the Lord is rifen upon thee." The German verfion of the text has been retained, becaule the argument of the Sermon is baled upon it. Sermon for Epiphany. 219 muft arife from all that is not God, from ourfelvcs and from all creatures. And by this aft of arifmg, the ground of the foul is ftirred, and a ftrong craving fprings up in it ; and the more this deepeft ground of the foul is laid bare, and all that occupied and cumbered it is cleared away, the keener grows this craving after fomething higher than itfelf, fo that ofttimes with God's lighteft touch upon the naked foul, the .longing pierces through flem and blood and marrow. But there are two forts of over-bold men who are driven by this ftirring up of their fouls into two ram courfes. The firft come with their natural quick- nefs of parts, and with the conceptions of their own minds, and try therewith to touch the principle of their fouls, and feek to ftill the craving within them by hearing and learning of lofty matters. And in this they find great delight, and ween that they are a Jerufalem, a city of peace, by the exercife of their intellect. There is another clafs who think to prepare the ground of their fouls for God and to obtain peace by means of felf-chofen good works, or by religious exercifes, fuch as prayer, meditation, or whatever they fee other people do for the fame end ; and then they fancy they are verily children of Zion, and their works of piety and charity do yield them great peace, and they delight in nothing fo much as in religious exercifes and the fulfilling of the tafks they have fet themfelves. But that their peace is a falfe one, may be perceived by this, that they do not cure themfelves of their former faults, fuch as pride, fenfuality, felf-indulgence, love of the Of tbofe who try to fnd peace by the exercife of their reafon. Of tbofe to bo think to fnd peace by outward ob- ferrances. That their peace is falfe is proved by its fruits. 220 Sermon for Epiphany. Oftbofe tvbo do in truth arij'e and are enlightened of God. creature, pronenefs to fufpccl: or to judge others ; and if any offend them, refentment forthwith flames up within them, and an angry word efcapes them, or hatred fmoulders in their heart ; and fuch like faults they indulge in with their own confent. By this we may know that they wifh to manage their fouls after their own famion, and work in them ; while God cannot accomplim His work in fuch a foul and un- fwept chamber. Therefore, their peace is falfe, and they have not yet arifen in truth. Let not fuch claim to be children of Zion, nor dare to think they have found true peace ; but let them ferioufly fet themfelves to work to conquer their faults, exercifing themfelves, after the pattern of our Lord, in humility and works of love, dying unto themfelves in all things, and thus learn how to rife on high. But thofe others, that is to fay thofe noble men who do truly arife and receive divine light, thefe allow God to prepare their fouls for Himfelf, and renounce themfelves in all things without any referve, either as regards their words or their daily habits, or what they do or refrain from, or anything elfe, whether things go fmoothly or croffly with them. Both in framing their purpofes, and in meeting what arifes, they refer all to God in humble fear, and give them- felves wholly up to Him, in utter poornefs of fpirit, in willing felf-furrender, acquiefcing in the divine will. They are content to fay in all matters, "As God will :" in quiet or in difquiet ; for their fole delight is the holy and excellent will of God. To thefe we may apply what Chrifl faid unto His difciples when they bade Him to go up unto the feaft : " Go ye up ; your Sermon for Epiphany. 2,2,1 " time is alway ready, but my time is not yet come." Thefe men's time is alway ready for them to endure and fubmit ; all time is fitting for them ; but God's time is not alway ready, when He deigns or fees fit to work, or to fend forth His light. This they fubmif- fively leave to His divine will, and are willing to wait as long as He pleafes. Now the diftinguiming mark of this better fort of men is that they fuffer God to order their fouls' affairs, and do not hinder Him. Yet they are not raifed above the mocks of temptation, nor even the liability to fall for a moment (for no one is entirely delivered from this danger) ; but afterwards, as foon as the firft onfet of paffion is over, and their fault is held up before them, whether it be pride, or felf-indulgence, or anger, or hatred, or whatever is their fpecial temptation, they come to God in felf-abafement, and fubmit themfelves to Him, and bear without murmuring what He fees fit to appoint unto them. And fuch do in truth arife, for they rife above themfelves in all things, and they do become in truth a Jerufalem or ftronghold of peace, for they have quiet in difquietude and prof- perity in adverfity, and rejoice in the will of God amidfl all circumftances. Therefore no power in this world can take aw r ay their peace, nor could all the devils in hell, nor all the men on earth banded together. All their affections centre in God, and they are enlightened by Him of a truth ; for He mines into their fouls with a ftrong and clear light that reveals all things unto them ; and He fhineth as truly, nay far more brightly, in the blackeft darknefs than in the feeming light. Ah ! thefe are fweet and How fufh fuffer God to manage their fouls for them. How tbcj have peace amidjl dif- quiet, becaufe their fouls are fxed upon God. 222 Sermon for Epiphany. Outward obfervances not a matter ofnefejffity, but of cboite to fucb. lovely children of God, raifed above nature by their likenefs to Him ; and fuch neither undertake nor bring to pafs any of their works without God. Nay, if we may dare to ufe fuch language, they are, fo to fpeak, nothing, but God is in them ; as St. Paul fays : " I live, yet not I but Chrift liveth in me." Ah ! thefe are highly-favoured men ; they bear the world upon their moulders and are the noble pillars of fociety. To make one of their number, what a blefled and glorious thing were that ! Now, the diftinguifhing mark of thofe two clafles of prefumptuous men whom we firft fpoke of, is that they choofe to govern their fouls for themfelves, in- ftead of fubmitting themfelves to the direction of God ; and hence their powers are kept under bondage to fin, fo that they cannot fully conquer their evil habits ; nay, they even continue therein with content, or at leaft with the confent of their own will. But thofe other noble, bleffed, felf-renouncing men, who have given themfelves over to God, are exalted above themfelves ; and hence, if they are overtaken in a fault, fo fbon as they are aware of it, they flee unto God with it, and ftraightway the fin is no more, and they are in a ftate of godlike freedom. Shall they not then with reafon defire that God may prepare their fouls ? There is no need for thefe men to perform outward works, in addition, as if they were a matter of necef- fity. No ! Now the text itfelf, in this one word, " Arife !" bids them to lift themfelves up : and is not that a work ? Yes, one work it does behove them to fulfil without ceafmg, if they are ever to come to per- Sermon for Epiphany. 223 fe&nefs. They muft continually arife, and have their minds directed upwards towards God, and their hearts free from entanglement, ever afking, " Where is He "who is born a king?" and watching with humble fear and quick eye to difcern what God defires of them, that they may do His pleafure. If God gives them to fuffer, they fuffer ; if He gives them to work, they work ; if He gives them to enjoy Him in con- templation, they contemplate. The ground of their own fouls bears witnefs that God has cleanfed them and created them anew. And this ground and fubflance of the foul will God poflefs alone, and will not that any creature mould enter therein. In this chamber of the heart God works through means in the one clafs of men, and without means in the other and more bleffed fort. But what He works in the fouls of thefe laft with whom He holds direcl converfe, none can fay, nor can one man give account of it to another, but he only who has felt it knows what it is ; and even he can tell thee nothing of it, fave only that God in very truth hath pofleffed the ground of his foul. And where this comes to pafs, outward works become of no moment, but the inward perceiving of God greatly increafes. But when a man reaches the higheft point that he may attain unto by his moft earneft endeavour and the help of God's grace, let him afcribe nothing whatever unto himfelf; as our bleffed Lord faid : " When ye have done all thofe things which are com- " manded you, fay, We are unprofitable fervants : we " have done that which it was our duty to do." Therefore, let a man be never Ib perfect, he mall Of the myfterious converfe of the foul with God. Luke xvli. 10. At our beft 224 Sermon for Epiphany. eftate we muft ft and in bumble fear. always ftand in humble fear, at his higheft glory ; and fhall always fay and feel, " Father, thy will be done!" and fhall at all times keep a watch upon himfelf, looking narrowly left he mould cleave unto one {ingle thing that is amifs, and God mould find anything in the fecret chambers of his heart that hinders His accompliming His glorious work therein without the help of means. May God help us all fb to arife that He may ac- complifh His work in our fouls ! Amen. VII. Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, (From the Gofpel for the day; and from Hofea xiv. I, 2.) Of the great wonders which God has wrought, andjlill works for us Chriftian men ; wherefore it is jnjl and reafonable that we Jhould turn unto Htm and follow Him, and whereby we may difcern between true andfalfe converjion. MATT. viii. 23. "Jefus went into a ftiip, and His difciples followed Him." And HOSEA xiv. I, 2. " O Ifrael, return unto the Lord thy God; take with you words, and " turn to the Lord." E read in the Gofpel for this day that Jefus went into a fhip, and His difciples fol- lowed Him. In like manner muft all pious Chriftians turn from fin and follow Chrift, as He commands us by the mouth of the Prophet Hofea, faying : " O Ifrael, return unto " the Lord thy God." Out of all the tribes of mankind the Lord chofe one, to whom He mowed great kindnefs, and pro- mifed to do yet greater things for them, if they would turn with their whole heart unto Him, and not follow after the ways of the other nations who lived according to their finful lufts in the darknefs and blindnefs of their hearts, and went aftray with wicked lives and perverfe minds after the vanities of the world and the deceits of the Dc\il. And to this Of God's dealings with His cbofen people of Ijrael. 226 Sermon for the Of their peri'erfenefs. Of their punijbment. '2'beje things an en/ample for us. end, God led His people out bodily by the hand of His fervants and prophets, and alfo gave them His law to teach them, that they might behold His great power which He had glorified againft their enemies, and His great love which He had manifefted by number- lefs acts and unfpeakable benefits towards themfelves, being minded to do yet greater things for them here- after, if they would truly turn to Him with their whole heart, and love Him, and keep His command- ments. And he commanded them that they mould never forget the day on which they had been delivered out of the hands of their enemies, and from their cruel bondage and toil, but mould fet themfelves with earneftnefs and diligence to confider His command- ments, to keep them and do them. But this people was {tiff-necked, heedlefs, and unthankful, and did not do as God had commanded by the mouth of His fervants, but was continually felf-willed, perverfe, and bent on fin ; and therefore the Lord fuffercd them all to die in the wildernefs, and flew many of them. And afterwards He fent again other fervants unto them, faying : " O my chofen people, if ye will be " converted and turn unto me with your whole heart, " and not go aftray halting between two opinions, but " follow after me only, and forfake the way of the " Egyptians, the way of darknefs, of fin, and of " death, I will bring you into a land of righteoufnefs, " where all good things fhall be given you." Now all thefe things came to pafs under the old difpenfation in paft ages, with many figns and in hidden myfterious covenants fealed by oaths. But they alfo forefhadowed all that fhould come to pafs in Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. 2,2,7 God works as many wonders for us as He did for them. future ages after the incarnation of the Son of God, in the which we now live. Now He purpofes to draw us likewise to Himfelf, by the help of thefe fame words and teachings, if only we will turn unto Him ; and therefore does He give us fo many reafons, exhorta- tions, inftruclions or motives, that we mould turn unto Him with our whole hearts. He works now-a- days quite as many miracles and mighty deeds as then, among the Egyptians of this world and Pharaoh its king, fpiritually and alfo vifibly, in the converfion of each one among us, if we gave heed thereto with thankful hearts. But alas ! it is with too many of us as it was with the Ifraelites, we are only changed out- wardly with the body, but our heart is yet in Egypt. We all pafs under good names, and make a fair mow, but in reality our whole affections and endeavours are turned towards the pleafures and advantages of the flem and the world. And we are all the time fo very careful and diligent to keep ftrid;ly to all that is com- manded refpe&ing outward obfervances, fuch as veft- ments, chanting, kneeling, and the like, and are fatis- fied if all thefe matters are fcrupuloufly obferved, and fit down contented, fancying that all is well with us, and that we are far enough from Egypt. Nay, verily, dear children, we are very wide of the mark ; this is all a mere femblance and fhadow, the leaves of the fig-tree which could not fatisfy our Lord's hunger ; He muft find fruit on the tree, elfe it is nigh to be curfed by Him, that no man tafte fruit thereof to all eternity. Ah ! how often have you been taught that you ought not to cleave unto mere fhadows and out- ward forms. Although thefe be w holefome and need- Q2 Qutward ob- fervances mere Jbadows and forms of 228 Sermon for the fpiritual realities. How toe mujt begin with learning good habits. but never reft contented with them. Of tbofe who begin well in a Cbriftian life, but afterwards fall away. ful for beginners, ftill they are but a long way off from the real truth and fubftance, for the fake of which all thele outward acl:s are performed. If you do not look to it betimes, you will have the outward fhape remaining, while within there is all manner of fm and wickednefs cherifhed in your hearts, as much as with thole who have not the mow of religion ; and alas ! men often fall into deeper vice under this cloak, than if they were yet in the Egypt of worldlinefs. It would be better for them if they had never quitted the world, for now is their damnation greater while they wear the garb of holinefs, not acting conformably to it, and yet claim and make ufe of all the privileges of their religious profeflion. Children, I know of nothing fo greatly needed as that thofe who are entering on a religious life mould be inftru&ed with all care, that they may know what things they ought firft to learn, and then afterwards, when the outward practice of good works and piety has become a habit to them, that they may alfo know how to advance farther, and not content themfelves or be fatisfied with outward habits ; for thefe do not in themfelves make a perfecT: life, but are only a good preparation and a flight furtherance thereto. If this be early inftilled into beginners, while they are yet young, docile, and quick of apprehenfion, and alfo hot and earneft, it may be that fome of them will ftudy betimes to prefs onwards to what is higher. But, alas ! and worfe than alas ! we have fb often to behold the forrowful fpeclacle of fome who began in the fpirit with great zeal ; who at firft were fo fervid that they would hardly turn their eyes upon any who might Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. 229 lead their thoughts aftray ; and who now can hardly be perfuaded to quit men's company for an hour's meditation ; fome who at firft could not bear to liften to a worldly word, and now, early and late, you can fcarcely get a refpite from their goffiping, and unpro- fitable queftions and anfwers ; at firft they wanted to withdraw into filence and folitude, that they might by prayer and work fuftain their devoutnefs ; and now, the more earthly care they can encumber themfelves with, the better they are pleafed. Ah ! this and the like is a certain fign that they are held captive by the flefh, that they have wandered into darknefs, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt. Children ! for the love of Chrift, look to yourfelves each of you, and fee how it {lands with you. However well you may begin in virtue, do not rely upon your good be- ginning, for all your piety may pafs away if you are not watchful. Our hearts are more unftable than we can believe. Some are at firft fo zealous for all righteoufnefs, that if they hear an idle word, or witnefs any other little failing, it makes them angry ; but when they are a little older, they indulge without any rebuke of confcience in fuch levity, evil-fpeaking, and often malicious and fcornful fpeeches, that they not only caufe others vexation, but even ferious trouble and forrow, and never even give it a thought whether they may have done fo, but behave as if they had done perfectly right. Some are at nrft fo ftrong, and ready to withftand temptation and afTaults, that they are not even afraid of the Devil : yea, they would fain be great and holy Q3 Oftbofe who begin with great courage and energy, 230 Sermon for the yet after- war di fall into perverfe- nefs andfelf- indulgence. Of the con- trary fort of men. How we may Jiff over the reality of true converjion. martyrs ; yet afterwards, when they have lived for a while among holy, pious people, you would hardly meet with more perverfe, crofs-grained, felt-willed perfons. Some are at firft fb eager to take upon themfelves all manner of hardfhips and indignities, that the feverities and felf-humiliation of thoie with whom they live are too light and few for them ; but after they have travelled this road for a while, they are not only able to fubmit to the ordinary habits of others, but it is hardly poflible to make things com- fortable and eafy enough for them to prevent their complaining, and every little inconvenience annoys them. Ah ! what would not be needed to flop their murmuring ! Very different from thefe are many pious, warm- hearted, fpiritual-minded men, who find the crofs very hard to bear at firft, but in a fhort time make great progrefs, and become a moft edifying and ufeful pattern to others, while thoie from whom too much was expected have come to nothing. Hence we muft be very much upon our guard becaufe of our inftability ; we know not what may overtake us in time to come. Dear children, that each of you may be able in fome meafure to mark whether he be converted or not, I will lay open to you a little, whereby we may perceive the iincerity of our own converfion, and redemption from all the evil which our Enemy may try to lead us into by his various incitements to fin. In our baptifm we promifed before God and the Church to withftand all fin, and to ferve God in all holy living. But afterwards our wicked adverfary led Fourth Sunday after Epipha?iy. 231 us aftray again, fo that we fell afrem, and loft the grace which had been given us ; but God of his un- Ipeakable mercy calls us again to a new repentance, that all which we have loft may be reftored unto us. But herein many are beguiled by the Evil One into deadly error, fo that they mifs this opportunity of amendment ; for he knows how, with his cunning wiles, to cover our .old fins under the mantle of con- verfion, and thus to fruftrate all a man's labour and toil. That we may be the better able to escape him, I will give you fome tokens to mark which man is truly converted and which is not. A truly converted Chriftian man abides in a fmcere and humble confeffion of his nothingnefs ; all his deilre is that none mould fet him above others, nor yet to rule over others, but rather to be fubject in all meeknefs to another, according to whole will he may fulfil all his works. He thinks lightly of himfelf and his own wifdom, and defires in all things to take the loweft place ; and is willing to take advice, and inter- prets everything for the beft ; and fimply in the fear of God, with a thankful heart, fulfils all that which he is bidden or counfelled, or that others beg of him to do. But, on the other hand, thofe who are not truly converted think much of themfelves, and deem all their works and fervices of great value, and it is not at all to their tafte to be fubjecl: to others, or that any mould have a right to command them, and are fond of reproving others unneceflarily, and of dis- courfmg on lofty matters, and boaft themfches proudly of all that belongs to them, and yet cover all this under a fpecious mow of piety and humility, Q4 The true con- vert has a deep Jenje of bis own notbingnefs ; but the falje are arrogant, contentious, andfelf- \ justifying.' 232 Sermon for the The true converts are candid and generous ; but the falfe are fpiteful andjneering. The true converts are patient and long-Suffer- ing i but the f alfe are quarrel- fome and cen- forious. The truly righteous are helpful and charitable ; that men may not take it amifs of them. If any feem to put a flight upon them, they are contentious, and defend and juftify themfelves to the utmoft that they can. They are arrogant and ambitious, and un- yielding in their hardnefs of fpirit. Thefe are all {till in the hands of the Enemy, yea, did they wear the Pope's tiara. Thofe who are truly converted are kind-hearted to their neighbours, indulgent from brotherly love, praif- ing the works of their neighbours as far as they can, and with great fmcerity of heart rejoice in the well- being of their neighbour, and lend him a helping hand wherever they can, and have great fympathy with him in his troubles ; but the falfely-converted are fpiteful, and look with an evil eye on the ufefulnefs or piety of others, are ready to breed mifchief with a taunt, and are revengeful, fneering, and puffed up in their own conceits. The right fort of men are patient under all the annoyance and injuflice that God fuffers to befall them, and bear it long with peaceable tempers. They fpeak mildly, ufmg foft words, and are wont meekly to feek reconciliation with thofe who have done them wrong ; but the falfe burn with anger, are envious of others' good fortune, flanderous, quarrelfbme, and cenfbrious, not orderly in all their affairs, and full of murmuring againft all, above and below them, who do not conform to their wifhes. The truly righteous are ever gentle and merciful, ready to give and to affift as far as they are able, without regard to their own advantage ; for they i Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. 233 defpife the perifhable things of time, and maintain their love, enjoyment, and cheerfulnefs under diftrefs, poverty, and contempt, being eafily contented and cheerful, and thankful to Almighty God, in fpirit looking up conftantly to God who preferves and fuf- tains them, and cafting behind them all unprofitable earthly anxieties, that they may give the more heed to the things of God and eternity. But the falfe burn like a furnace with the defire of temporal things, and feek their own pleafure and eafe when and how they may, and often fteal time and other things for it, that they may not be difcovered by their fuperiors ; or if they can no longer conceal their practices, then they indulge in them with an obftinate bold face, and fteal time for themfelves mameleffly in the teeth of their mafters. They want to have praife and earthly reward for all that they do, and if they are not honoured and thought highly of, they become like one pofTefled, and openly or fecretly do all the harm they can for fpite and vexation. They are always hoping to receive a worldly and corruptible reward for their religious profeffions, and are often feduced into actual deceit and lying, in their ftruggle to get honour or to fave their reputation. The upright are careful to fill up their time induf- trioufly, with good and ufeful undertakings to the glory of God and the good of their neighbours, rejoicing in fpirit as they exercife themfelves in good works, endeavouring to do all things well, and con- tinue with hearty truft in God, fteadfaft in goodnefs. The falfe converts are conftantly indolent and half- hearted in their work, wavering, ill-mannered, eafily but the falfe love to keep things for tbemfelves, whereby they are often led into grievous fin. The truly upright are induftrious and careful of their time ; but the falfe are indolent and cowardly. 234 Sermo?i for the The true converts are difcreet and temperate t tut tbefalfe are given to felf-indul- gence. Of the evils that do fpring from luxu- rious habits. difheartcncd, and altogether drowfy, their minds lying wafte and their hearts undifciplined. The true converts are moderate and decorous in the fatisfying of their natural wants, fhunning all excefs, and if they by accident tranfgrefs, avoiding it for the future. By moderation in eating, they keep their faculties clear and under control ; and above all, they moft earneftly guard againft any excefs in drink- ing. But falfe profefTors are given to eating and drinking, yet they can never fully fatisfy their de- fires, and are unthankful to God for the food He gives them. Without reftraint or good manners, they cram their bodies, whereby they often bring on grievous ficknefTes, and they feek their pleafiire without fhame wherever they can. And after excefs at table, fbme give way to unfeemly levity in words and ges- tures, and inconvenient jefting, and telling and hear- ing all manner of tales. Others become quarrelfome, brawling, and fo noify, that to hear their fenfelefs cries you would think them afTes, not men. Some become fo fleepy and lazy after dinner., that they could fcarcely repeat the Lord's Prayer without a blunder ; and in general, floth and the like commonly proceed from ftrong drinks and over-feeding. Hence it is that all holy men have infifted fo ftrongly upon fimplicity in food and drink, that they might give no caufe in themfelves or others to fuch infirmities. But now, alas ! it has gone fb far, that even the clergy, for the moft part, cannot, or rather will not, content themfelves even with rich men's fare ; and from this caufe their blindnefs has grown fo great that it is rare now-a-days to find one who is really aware of the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. 235 dangers from this fource to which he is expofed by the aiTaults or fuggeftions of the Devil. For the adverfary is apt to bring thefe men fboner than they think for into an inclination towards, or even to com- mit afts of foul uncleannefs, by defiling their heart with obfcene thoughts and evil lufts ; and in this way they often fin groffly, and provoke God more than they believe. And then the tumult of evil defires within makes them to be unfit for good works, and difpleafmg to God and holy men ; and they are fo toiled, and driven, and blinded by paffion, that they actually try to quench it in riotous company, and in eating and drinking. This leads to inordinate merri- ment and light difcourfe, which are generally wont to eftrange a man fo much from all godly thoughts, that afterwards he can hardly read a verfe with devotion ; and in his very prayers the Devil brings the fcenes he haswitnefled and the language he has heard fo vividly before him, that he can fcarce hold in his tittering and laughing. The righteous and truly converted men are fb fhamefaced and chafte of heart before God and the angels, that they would rather die than conceive an impure image in their hearts, and with all watchful- nefs they preferve their mind pure and unfullied, and they diligently keep all their fenfes and members under ftricl: and conftant control, infomuch that they will hardly pay any attention to their own bodies, except for fafety and cleanlinefs ; and for the better preferving of their purenefs of mind, they chaftife their bodies with fafting, and watching, and toil, exerciilng conftant prayerfulncfs and truft in God, in The true converts are pure of 'heart 236 Sermon for Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. but tbefalfe do let their thoughts run wild, which oft- times leads them into outward Jin alfo. How we Jbould all take heed to our goings that our foot- Jlepsjlip not. whom all their help lies. But the falfe of heart do not fee much harm in looking at and dwelling on evil, fmml thoughts and images in their hearts ; hence they often come into fuch perturbation of foul and body, that they ftand, as it were, in the very gate of hell ; yea, they often fall fo deep, as to give confent to fin with their heart, and would actually fulfil all wickednefs if the opportunity arofe. So unthinkingly do they fall through love of themfelves, in feeking the pleafure of the body ! Some of thefe become fo hardened, and reftlefs, and maddened with the fenfe of reftraint, that they come to hate God for having forbidden the lufts of the flefh, and wifh He did not know of their fins, or was not able to punim them, which is as much as to wifh that there were no God. And now, dear children, confider how you ftand ; and, feeing the perils which befet us all, let no one be too fecure or too bold, but let each look to himfelf in fear ; and however w 7 ell it may be w r ith him now, let him not truft in his goodnefs ; and however deeply he may have fallen, or however far he may have wan- dered, let him now turn and be converted of a truth, for the path to all goodnefs ftands yet open to him fo long as God fpares him in life. That we may all enter therein, may God help us ! Amen. VIII. Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany, (From the Gofpel for St. Matthias'-day, 24th February.) Of the proper marks of true humility. MATT. xi. 29. "Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart." HRIST, our blefTed Lord, the true matter and teacher of all art and virtue, and a pattern of all perfection, when He came down from Heaven to inftrucl: us poor ignorant men, did not fee fit to make ufe ot great fubtleties, or myfterious and ingenious ftate- ments of truth ; but in fhort, plain, fimple words He delivered to us a maxim, and gave us a very fhort, eafy leflbn, which we were well able to learn. Now this ftood written in the book of His holy hu- manity, in large, diftincl letters, eafy to be read, and runs thus : " Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly " in heart/' What fhorter, eafier, more intelligible leflbn could be fet us ? But we muft give our minds with willing induftry to read it over and over again attentively, and praclife it in our life, ever looking to the admirable model of the divine humanity of Chrift, whole whole life was not only meek and humble, but whofe words, ways, walk, and all that ever He did, are fimply the CbrijTi leJJ'ons eafy and plain. Sermon for the Cbri/t's whole life an illujiration of humility. Of the tokens of true hu- mility. No outward office regarded as too mean. Faults readily acknowledged. illuftration of this doctrine. Hence He chofe at the beginning fuch fcholars and difciples as were fpecially fitted to learn this doctrine, and thefe were the holy Apoftles, and His blefled mother, who faid when fhe had conceived Him : " He hath regarded the lowli- " nefs of His handmaiden." Thus He fays, in the Gofpel for this day, " I thank Thee, O Father, Lord " of Heaven and earth, becaufe Thou haft hid thefe " things from the wife and prudent" (that is from the proud), " and haft revealed them unto babes " (that is to the humble). From this we gather that none but the humble are able to receive the hidden things of God. Therefore, dear children, that we may obtain this grace, and the better learn this leffon, we fhall now confider fome tokens of true lowlineis which is never without meeknefs, and thefe are the following : He who fmcerely defires to become lowly of heart, muft not be afhamed of performing any outward office fuch as the worldly heart thinks mean and humiliating; for as it is a fure token of converfion from fin that it becomes hateful to the man, fo it is a fign of true repentance, when he is ready in all things to take the meaneft place, if that he may attain to that true lowlinefs of heart which is feated inwardly in the foul. And he who will go forward in this blefled path muft faithfully examine himfelf, and to this end God alfo will beftow on him fuch great grace as he has never had before. He muft always be ready to acknowledge himfelf in fault towards whomfoever it may be, and efteem others better than himfelf; for by fo doing the loving heart can beft foften the difpofitions of men, and Sixth Sunday after Epiphany. 239 touch their hearts, and win them over to meeknefs. And although he. be fometimes not juftly to be reckoned as in fault at all, yet knowing that he might have done the wrong, he mall always behave himfelf humbly, for the fake of love, to the glory of God, feeing that God has forgiven him fins ere he committed them ; for it is equally an acl: of mercy to forgive fins, or to preferve us from finning. In the third place, it belongs to a lowly heart to be kindly affected towards all, not with a partial love ; that is, not to mow more kindnefs to one than another, to friends more than ftrangers, but to do good to all for God's fake, as our neighbours, not from mere natural affection, but to beftow on all a free, generous love (like our Father in Heaven, " who " maketh his fun to rife on the evil and the good, " and fendeth rain on the juft and on the unjuft"), and alfb to love each according to his worthinefs. In the fourth place, it is necefTary to lowlinefs of heart that we diveft and difencumber ourfelves of all things, that we may cleave only to our merciful God, and become one with Him ; for God will not and cannot unite Himfelf or dwell with a worldly heart. Therefore let a man bow himfelf to the earth beneath God and his creatures, in felf-annihilation inward and outward ; and this is what is meant by forfaking all things, and putting away the creature. The fifth token of true lowlinefs of heart is to know how to fuffcr to the glory of God, for fincere love of God, fimply hoping, believing, and trufting in Him. Thus a lowly walk confifts in three things ; in patient endurance, in giving up out of love and faith, A generous and impartial love towards all. A readinefi to Jujfer for the glory of God. 24 Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany. and in hope towards God. And from thefe flows the fenfe of our own wretchednefs, the knowledge of our Creator, and a will wholly refigned to God, not for our own fake, but for the glory of God. May God help us to learn thus to be meek and lowly of heart. Amen ! IX. Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. (From the Gofpel for the day.) In this Sermon following we are taught bow we muft perpetually prefs forward towards our highejl good, without paufe or rejl ; and how we mujl labour in the fpiritual vineyard that it may bring forth good fruit. MATT. xx. I . " The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an houfeholder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard." houfeholder went out early at the firft hour, and again at the third and at the fixth hours, and hired labourers for a penny a day. But when it was quite late in the evening he went out again, and ilill found men {landing idle. Then he faid unto them, Why ftand ye here all the day idle ? Go ye alfo into the vineyard, and whatfoever is right I will give you. Dear children, this houfeholder fignifies our Lord Jefus Chrift ; His houfe is the heavens, and this earth, and purgatory, and hell. He faw that all nature had gone aftray, infbmuch that His lovely vineyard lay a barren wafte ; and man, whom He had made to poflefs this fair and fruitful vineyard, had wandered far away from Him, and left this excellent vineyard to be untilled. But the Lord of the vineyard deter- mined to invite men to return into this vineyard for R Of the boufe- bolder who went out to hire labourers into bu vine- yard* The boufe- bolder is our Lord Jefus Cbrijl. 242 Sermon for Septuagejima Sunday. In tobat fenfe He went out early. Of tbofe tobo are [landing idle both from the world and from God. which He had created him, and went out early to that end. Dear children, in one fenfe Jefus Chrift went out early from the divine bofom of the Father, and yet evermore dwells there. But in another fenfe, He went out early in human nature, that He might hire us into His fervice, and bring us back again into His noble vineyard, and fo there might be labourers to till it. And He went out at the firft hour, and alfo at the third, and fixth, and ninth hours. And at the eleventh hour He went out once more, and again found men Handing idle, to whom he fpoke roughly, faying, Why ftand ye here all the day idle ? Then they anfwered, No man hath hired us, Lord. Thefe idle men whom no man hath hired are thofe who are flill in their original, uncorrupt, and innocent {late, and hence they are rightly called blefled ; for God iaw as He looked on them, that they were unhired ; that is, not held in fervitude to the world and the creatures. There are fbme who are God's hired labourers, and thefe are in a higher fenfe free, and at large, and not held in fervitude to the world or the creature. But thefe of whom we are now fpeaking are flill {landing idle, which ought not to be ; that is, they are {landing in apathy, cold, lovelefs, and devoid of grace ; for fo long as a man is not {landing in the grace of God, he is {landing alone in nature. And if fuch a man (were it poflible, which it is not) were to fulfil all the good works which have ever been done in this world, he would {lill, neverthelefs, be living altogether idly, un- profitably, and in vain, and it would avail him nothing. Again, this going out early in the morning is a type Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. 243 of the dawning of the grace of God in the foul ; for the morning is the end of the night, when the dark- nefs vanifhes, and the day-fpring of grace arifes in the foul of man, and God fays, Wherefore ftand ye here idle ? Go ye into my vineyard, and what is right, that will I give you. But the men entered after a very unequal manner into the vineyard. One clafs are thofe who are mere beginners ; thefe work in God's vineyard with out- Ward acls, and bodily exercifes, and felf-impofed tafks, and are perfuaded that they are accomplifhing great good works with their fatting, watching, and praying ; while they never look to the purity of their motives, but retain their love of earthly enjoyments, and their own likes and diflikes. And therefrom do fpring up injuftice, falfe judgment, and many faults ; fiich as pride, earthly or fpiritual, bitternefs or enmity, and more of the like, that greatly hinder the outpouring of divine grace, if we allow thefe untoward difpofitions to break forth in words or actions. Let one who has thus been building upon a falfe foundation give heed to himfelf, and watch how he may beft condemn and deftroy this inward falfehood, that it lead not to his own ruin, nor caufe harm to thofe with whom he may hold converfe. A fecond clafs of men who have likewife entered into God's vineyard, are thofe who are above living for mere temporal things, and have alfb overcome their grofler fins, and have turned their minds towards higher things. Their life is fpent in the rational practice of virtue ; and in this they find fuch pleafure and delight, that they are contented with their condi- R2 Of the be- ginners in God's vine- yard who think much of outward works. Of the fecond clafs, who find pleafure in well-doing without thinking of God as its end. 244 Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. Of tie third dafs of truly noble men, who feek nothing but God Himfelf. How they refer all things to God. tion, and mifs the higheft and fublimeft truth ; for they abide in the prefent fenfe of fatisfadlion, and do not pant to reach upward through and above this enjoyment to the eternal God Himfelf. For our delight ought to be in God Himfelf, not in thefe gifts of His. But the third clafs of thofe who go into God's vineyard are truly noble and highly-favoured men, who in deed and truth rife above all creature things in God's vineyard ; for they feek and love nothing but fimply God in Himfelf. They neither look to pleafure, nor to any felfim end, nor to that which is a mere outflow from God ; for their inner man is wholly plunged in God, and they have no end but the praife and glory of God, that His good pleafure alone may be fulfilled in and through them and in all creatures. Hence they are able to bear all things and to refign all things, for they receive all things as from God's hand, and offer up to Him again in fimplicity of heart all that they have received from Him, and do not lay claim to any of His mercies. They are like a river that flows out with every tide, and then again haflens back to its fource. So do thefe men refer all their gifts back to the fource whence they proceed, and flow back again unto it themfelves like- wife. For inafmuch as they carry all the gifts of God back unto their divine fountain, and do not claim any ownerfhip in them, either for pleafure or advantage, and do not purpofe this nor that, but fimply God alone, God muft of neceffity be their only refuge and flay, outward or inward. But although this aim carry a man fo completely Sermon for Septuagejlma Sunday. 245 out of himfelf, and be perfectly fimple and directed to nothing but God, yet nature has fbme regard to herfelf, of which a man cannot be wholly bereft. Whether he choofe it or no (this is a fimple facl:), he cannot but always defire to feel God's prefence ; and fb too it is a natural inflincl: to wifh. to be happy. But this defire fhould be far from his ftrongcfl, and the leafl part of what he takes into the account in his purpofes. [*And here I wifh to rebuke all thofe religious perfons who are leaning on their good works, and as it were keep a right of property in them, thinking themfelves free to do or not to do them. For whenever they fee or imagine any new under- taking or religious practice which can afford them inward or outward fatisfa&ion, they give themfelves to it with prayer, and ftriving, and weeping, and watching. And as long as they find pleafure in it, they cannot have enough of it ; but if this fenfe of pleafure and interefl paffes away, their devotion pafTcs away likewife, and they come to diflike their good and holy work, and then they grow lukewarm and carclefs, performing all they do without devotion. All this is owing to their not having had a fingle eye to God's glory. They have been prompted and fuftained in their labour by the pleafure it has yielded them, and now this has fled. For we muft not feck enjoy- ment and fwectnefs in the gifts of God, either in holy exercifes, or in words or works ; but we muft take delight in God alone, and not in His gifts. * The parts enclofed between brackets are wanting in the Strafburg MSS. ; but, according to the Frankfort Edition of 1826, exill in the edition of 1498. n3 Of tbofe who treat their good works as their own property. Sermon for Scptuagejima Sunday. We muft not )eek Jolace in /aints or angels, but it: God only. We are not, therefore, Jor bidden to honour God's jervants. There are, however, forne religious perfons who will not be left without folace or ftay . For rather than be left fimply and truly without a folace, deftitute and bare, they fet up for themfelves heavenly beings, fuch as the faints and angels, and claim a fort of right to them as a fource of fpiritual enjoyment, and look to them as a confolation. Thus they will fay : " Such a faint or "angel is dear to me before all others;" and if you throw down this prop of their own raifmg, and fay that they ought not to fpeak thus, you leave them little peace ; nay, they are greatly difquieted ; and this is worft of all, and doing God a great wrong. Thou muft not place thy reliance on any creature in heaven or on earth, nor repofe nor lean on any fave God alone. If thou didft truft Him really and truly, all His faints would be truly and rightly honoured and reverenced by thee ; for the departed faints are always abforbed in the divine, fatherly abyfs of the Holy Trinity. For I tell thee by that Truth, which is God Himfelf, if thou art ever to become a man after the will of God, every thing muft die in thee to which thou art cleav- ing, whether it be God's gifts, or the faints, or the angels, or even all that would afford thee confolation for thy fpiritual wants : all muft be given up. If God is to mine in on thy foul brightly, without a cloud, and accomplim His noble and glorious will in thee, thou muft be free and unencumbered by all that affords thee comfort out of God. We are not, therefore, forbidden to honour the bleffed faints, but only to claim any property in their merits for the fake of our own delight in them ; for I tell thee, that if thou hadft all manner of heavenly Sermon for Septuageftma Sunday. 247 grace from God, and didft poflefs the good works of all mankind, fo foon as thou fhouldft claim it as thine own, for the fake of thine own delight therein, that moment all this goodnefs would be fullied and defaced with thine own evil. For a true and faithful fervant of God mall be always preffing upward to what is before him, not fuffering himfelf to be held back by comfort or pleafure, joy or fbrrow, wealth or poverty. Through all this he mall urge onward, till he come unto the infinite ocean of the Godhead. And therein he mall be loft without his own knowledge, and dazzled by excefs of light and love. There it mall be given him to know all that belongs to true perfection.] A good and devout man lhall be like the labourer in the vineyard, who works all the day long, and neverthejefs he muft take food. But the labour is long and the meal barely lafts an hour, and he only takes it for the fake of the work. He muft eat that he may work, and the nourimment he takes difrufes itfclf through every part of his body, continually fupplying it with frem ftrcngth, which again is con- fumed in his labour ; and when it has been confumed with labour he eats again a little, that he may again coniume it by working in the Lord's vineyard. So is it with a noble-minded man. When he feels an inclination in himfelf to enjoy God or His heavenly grace and what is thereof, let him for a little while icek and purpofe his own good, but not longer than is needful for the nourifhing of his foul, that he may confume his fpiritual ftrcngth again in labour ; and when it has thus been fpent in the nobleft of all ways, from a love flowing back unto God who has infpired B4 How fpiritual enjoyment is to be to us as food, taken that we may have Jirengtb to labour. 248 Sermon for Septuagejima Sunday. If we do fo t God will provide for all our wants. How the noble/I men are often outwardly infignificant like the vine.' it, then the man muft go for refremment again into the river of life that floweth out from the throne of God, that it may again bring forth in him the fruit of good works. All thefe Spiritual men who thus know how to refign or to return again unto God, with their body and their fpirits, the gifts that He has mercifully beftowed on them, with deep, humble felf-renunciation, thefe do continually grow more able and more worthy to receive bleffing from God. Where fuch admirable, god-like men are to be found, they were worthy, as none elfe are, to be fed with gold and filver and fine pearls, and the beft that the world contains as their heritage. But there is many a poor noble man of God, who has none of all thefe things ; let fuch an one humbly caft himfelf on the all-powerful God and truft him utterly ; without doubt thy heavenly Father will and muft provide thee well, yea, wert thou hidden in a rock. Thefe exalted and moft noble men are juft like the wood of the vine, which is outwardly hard and black and dry, and good for no purpofe whatever ; and if we had never feen it before, we mould think it of no ufe at all, and good for nothing but to be thrown into the fire, and burned. But in this dry wood of the vine, there lie concealed the living veins of fap, and power of yielding the nobleft of all juices, and of bringing forth a greater abundance of fruit than any other fort of wood that grows. And thus it is with thefe beloved and lowly children, who are at all times and feafbns plunged in God ; they are outwardly in appearance like unto black rotten wood, feeming unto men dry and unprofitable. Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. 249 For there are many of thefe who are humble, noways remarkable for their gifts, outward or inward, nor for any extraordinary works or fayings or exercifes of de- votion, and who move in the narroweft sphere ; but living veins from the fountain of truth lie hidden within them, forasmuch as they have afked for no earthly heritage, but God is their lot and their portion, their life and their being. Now the vine-drefTer goes out and prunes the vine, lopping off the wild moots ; for if he neglected this, and fuffered them to remain on the good ftem, the whole would yield bad, four wine. So likewife mall good men do : they mall cut off from themfelves all that is not according to God's order in their conduct or difpofitions, likings or diflikings, and deftroy it to the very root ; thou malt cut away all evil failings from thy heart, and it will do thee no harm, either in head or in hand, or any member. But hold thy knife ftill, till thou haft really feen what ought to be cut off. If a vine-drefler be not {killed in his art, he is as likely to crop off the good branches which bear the grapes as the wild moots, and thus fpoil the vine- yard. So it is with thofe who do not underftand this fpiritual art ; they leave the roots of vice and evil difpofitions alive in the heart, and hew and lop at poor nature, and thereby deftroy this noble vineyard. Nature is in itfelf good and noble, why fhouldft thou hew away aught that belongs to it ? For I tell thee that when the time is come for it to yield fruit in a godly, blefled, devout life, then it will be feen that thou haft fpoiled thy nature. After this the labourer binds up the vine, putting How the vine-drejjer prunes the vine. We muft not ufe the knife on nature, but on vice. How tie 23 Sermon for Septuagefitna Sunday. vine-drejjer trains the vine. So muft all our powers be trained after the pattern of Cbri/Ps example. If it were fo with us, God in ftakes ; he bends the upper branches down towards the earth, and fattens the vine to a ftrong framework, that it may have a fupport. This is a type of the fweet and holy life, the facred example and fufferings of our blefled Lord Jefus Chrift, for thefe and nothing of our own mould be a man's flay. For the higher powers of his reafbn mall be drawn down into due control, and he mall fink low in deep fubmiffive humility be- fore Our Lord, in truth and not with hypocrify, with all his powers, outward and inward. For when both the appetites of the body, and the higheft intellectual powers of the foul are thus trained and bound down, each in its own place, ib that neither the fenfes nor the will, nor any faculty, is left too free and too proud, but they are at all times controlled and trained into due rightful order under the Divine will, and man's defire at all times, and in all things, is to be, by the help and grace of God, to the utmoft of his power, outwardly and inwardly obedient to the Divine will, without contradiction, in all that the Eternal God, our Heavenly Father, has determined in His eternal divine counfels ; [and when all the powers humbly acl: in this way, in dependence upon God, whether they are exerciled or kept in check, were it within the bounds of reafbnable poffibility that a man could be confcious of pofleffing all the good works, and all the heavenly graces of all mankind, and yet took none of all this unto himlelf, but, calling nothing his own, ftood up deftitute and bare, in free, fimple love to God, as if all this goodnefs belonged to another, and not himfelf ; Children, wherever fuch noble men may exift or live in this age of grace, in them may the Sermon for Septuagejima Sunday. 251 Father of Heaven truly and abfolutely accomplifh His divine and myfterious work without any hindrance. And in him whofe heart is not fincerely ftanding thus toward God, as to the guiding principle of his life, in him, doubt not that this holy, divine birth cannot be truly brought to pafs or be made fruitful.] Afterward the vine-drefTer digs about the {terns of the vine, and roots out all noxious weeds. Thus fhall a devout man dig about the foil of his own heart by clofe obfervation and tefting of his own principles, to fee whether there be aught for him to root out. And if he find anything, let him that moment pluck it up, however trifling or unimportant it may be, that the beams of the eternal and divine fun may penetrate the farther into his very midft, mining with unbeclouded force, and fructifying his nobleft powers. For thus the glorious fun draws the juices outward into the living vefTels which lie hidden in the bark, and then the fair clufters begin to appear. Ah ! children, if man knew how fo to tend his vine, that God's fun might mine in on and vivify his foul, what fweet, ex- cellent, delicious fruit would the eternal fun draw forth from him ! For the lovely fun mines with all its fulnefs into him, and works within thefe precious clufters, and makes them flourifh in fweetnefs and beauty. Their blofToms fend forth a fweet and delicate fragrance, which difpels all poifbnous vapours ; neither ferpent nor toad can endure their perfume, when the eternal divine fun fhines direct among the branches, and through the clufters. The fruit is fb entirely of God's producing, and flourifhes in fuch beauty and richnefs, in pure looking up to God, whofe rays dra\\ would truly accomplijh His work in and with us. How the vine-drejjer weedetb the vineyard. How t be fun maketb the vine to fruflifj. Sermon for Septuagejima Sunday. How the divine fun ripenetb the fruits of the foul. forth from it fiich wondrous and delicious favour and perfume, that it needs muft deftroy the venom of the old ferpent ; yea, had all the devils in hell, and all the men on earth confpired together, they would not be able in the leaft to injure a thoroughly godly-minded and God-loving man, but the more they ftrive to in- jure him, the deeper he is rooted and the higher he is built up in God with all his powers. And if fuch an admirable man, bearing his precious fruit, were to be caft down to the depths of hell, he muft needs turn it into a kingdom of heaven, and God and eternal bleffednefs would exift in hell. And a man who mould bear fuch fruit would not need to fear in anywife all the reproach that could be heaped upon him. When we have no aim but God, nothing can part us from Him, or lead us aftray. Now after that the vine has been well pruned, and its ftem cleared of all weeds, the glorious fun fhineth yet more brightly, and cafteth his heat on the precious clufters, and thefe grow more and more tranfparent, and the fweetnefs begins to difclofe itfelf more and more. And to fuch a man as we have defcribed, all means of communication between God and his foul begin after a time to grow fo tranfparent that the rays and glances of the divine fun reach him without ceaiing, that is, as often and as fbon as he turns himfelf towards them in feeling and thought. This divine fun mines much more brightly than all the funs in the firmament ever fhone ; and in its light all the man's ways, and works, and doings are fo changed into its image, that he feels nothing to be fo true as God, with a certainty that is rooted in the very Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. 253 midft of his being, yet is far above the fphere of his reafbn, and which he can never fully exprefs, for it is too deep and too high above all human reafbn to be explored and underftood. After this the vine-drefTer loves to ftrip off the leaves, that thus the fun may have nothing to hinder its rays from pouring on the grapes. In like manner do all means of grace fall away from this man, fuch as images of the faints, teachings, holy exercifes, fet prayers, and the like. Yet let none caft thefe things afide before they fall away of themfelves through divine grace : that is to fay, when a man is drawn up above all that he can comprehend, then do thefe precious and divine fruits grow more fweet and de- lightful than either fenfe or reafon may conceive, and it is poffible for him to be carried fb far that his fpirit is as it were funk and loft in the abyfs of the Deity, and lofes the confcioufnefs of all creature diftinclions. All things are gathered together in one with the Divine fweetnefs, and the man's being is fo pene- trated with the Divine fubftance, that he lofes him- felf therein, as a drop of water is loft in a cafk of ftrong wine. And thus the man's fpirit is fo funk in God in divine union, that he lofes all fenfe of diftin&ion ; and all that has brought him to this point, fuch as hu- mility, the feeking God's glory, nay, his very felf, lofes its name, and there remains a fecret, ftill union, without cloud or colour. And all good purpofes are fufed into a true and pure onenefs, and a real but filent myftery, fuch as human powers can fcarce ap- prehend. [Children, could we but truly ftand in this holy of holies for an hour or a moment, it were a Of the ble/ednefs of utter union with God. How one moment of 254 Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. fucb a union were better than forty years of out- ward works. thoufand times better and more profitable for us, and more pleafing and praifeworthy in the fight of the Eternal God, than forty years fpent in your own felf- impofed tafks.] That we may thus give place to God, [for Him to do His work in us, and die to all to which we ought to die, that we may live truly and only to that to which we ought to live, if this exalted work of God is to be accomplimed in us and through us,] may He help us. Amen ! X. Sermon for Afh Wednefday. GAL. ii. 19. "I am crucified with Chrift, never thelefs I live; yet not I, but Chrift " liveth in me." HE holy Apoftle Paul, whofe endeavours towards a perfect life were all founded upon endurance and true refignation, mows us in himfelf how a righteous, fpi- ritual man, being nailed with Chrift to the crofs, and whofe fufferings bring forth in him the living fruits of the Spirit, now no longer liveth through himfelf, but Chrift liveth in him, as is taught in the words which he writes to the Galatians, faying : "I " am crucified with Chrift : neverthelefs I live ; yet " not I, but Chrift liveth in me." Again he con- tinues : " The life which I now live in the flefh, I live " by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and " gave Himfelf for me." In thefe words we have a wholefome admonition to ftrive after iuch a life as that Chrift may be glorified in us, and His bitter grief and crofs may be manifefted in our mortal body, to the bettering of our neighbour and ourfelves. Where- fore we ought to obferve here, that though there be many kinds of crofs and fuffcring, of which each has its own length, and depth, and breadth, and height, yet there is only one on which our eternal redemption How Paul could Jay that be was cru- cified with Cbrijf. Though there be many croj/es, yet there is but one that bring- etb falvation. Sermon for Jijli Wednefday. Of tbofe who are banging on the crofs of outward works. was accomplimed ; that is, the crofs of Chrift's hu- manity, which again points us to a ftill higher crofs (yet, fb to fpeak, without crofs and pain), of His divine nature. So likewife there were two crofTes which ftood befide the crofs of Chrift ; the one bear- ing the malefactor on His right hand, and the other on His left. From all which we purpofe to gather fbmc fpiritual emblems that may help us to difcern what fort of crofs and grief it is that we are bearing, and to which of thefe three crofles it may be compared. This we may tell by the following tokens. By the crofs of the malefactor on Chrift's left hand may be underftood thofe who have made a religious profeffion, and are hanging on the crofs of continual exercifes and outward aufterities which they have bound themfelves to pracliife ; they have well-de- ferved this crofs, but it brings them no profit, becaufe they have not died on it to felf-will and other fmful failings. It is poffible for them after this crucifixion to go down to eternal torment with the unjuft male- factor ; fo that, to ufe a common proverb, they drag the barrow here and the waggon in the world to come. The height of this crofs is the fpiritual pride and {elf-complacency which they have in the ftriclnefs of their life, on account of which they fet themfelves up above others ; for none can be good enough for them, and they lay great ftrefs on fuch aufterities, defpifmg all who do not lead fuch a life as themfelves. St. Auguftine faid to his brethren : " Dear brethren, " rather than you mould fay or think yourfelves to be " different from or better than other men, I would " that you mould return to the world. You ought to Sermon for AJh Wednejclay. 257 " fay, as Chrift did by the mouth of his Prophet " David : ' I am a worm, and no man ; a reproach of " men, and defpifed of the people ;' and with the " publican : ' God be merciful to me a {inner/ ' The depth of this crofs is a type of the depth of {in into which fuch men fall ; and that comes hence, that their inward principle is falfe through and through, and they have never taken pains to look within and examine their evil unchanged hearts, and amend them ; they lean altogether on outward exercifes, which at the fame time they hate, and perform with backward hearts. They know nothing of a union with God, or of His myfteries ; nay, they no more reach after anything of this kind by queftioning, or inquiring, or feeking, than they think of the Sultan over the fea, and take no more thought about it than if it in no wife concerned them. If they hear talk of divine things, they underftand as much of them as a German does of Italian. They fay their prayers and read their Bibles, and perform their dry works of obedience with the outward man and their fenfes ; and with this they are well fatisfied. Let God unite Himfelf with whom He will, what does that concern them ? But if it were a queftion of outward advan- tage in re{pecl: of gain, or honour, or other things that might be turned to account, which any one had obtained thereby, then we mould fee whether it con- cerned them or not. Hence, in fpite of their pious afts, it comes to this, that when they are called on to renounce their own way and will, they behave as if they were deaf or fenfelefs. Thus St. Auguftine writes : " I do not know wickeder, more utterly Of the depth s of fen into which thefe formalifts are in danger of falling. Sermon for AJti Wcdnefday. How tbofe who are ever feeking after lawful indul- gences do often Jiray from the narrow way, and may baply lofe it for ever. Howfucb are apt to perfe- vere impeni- tent unto the end, and be- " corrupt men than thofe who fall away while main- " taining a religious profeflion ; for not feldom they " fall fo deeply into fin, that they come to err from " the faith and the things touching the Holy Scrip- " tures, and thus fink under the crofs to which they " are bound and fattened." The width or breadth of this crofs is that they go the wide, broad, well-trodden way that leadeth unto hell ; for they live after the flefh, and therefore they do not feek after the fweetnefs of the fpirit; for he who liveth to the flefh cannot pleafe God. He who will not feek the narrow path that leadeth unto eternal life, muft needs often be delayed and lofe the way, by which means he is made too late to find the way that leadeth unto life. This is the cafe with thofe who feek and intend themfelves in all things, and are always wanting to get fome eafe and to gain fome indulgence from the Lord, now for this, now for that forbidden thing ; in a word, to have nothing to bear is what would fuit them beft. For this very reafbn they are obliged to bear a heavy crofs in their confcience whether they like it or no, and have no confidence towards God whom they have fet at nought, nor yet any confola- tion from the world which defpifes them. Ah ! dear children, what a hard life and crofs is theirs ! They would fain be without pain, and have the very bittereft pain ; which will, moreover, be followed by eternal pain, unlefs they repent and turn to God. The length of this crofs is, that they remain and perfevere impenitent and without virtue unto the end ; and this comes from their great ingratitude, in- afmuch as God has beftowed on them fuch great grace Sermon for Ajh Wednefday. 259 before other worldly people who would have made better ufe of it, and has vifited them in fo many good influences and admonitions, inward and outward, as often even to raife their own wonder; and for all that they do not turn from evil. Of thefe fays Paul : " For " it is impoffible for thofe who were once enlightened, " and have tafted of the heavenly gift, and were made " partakers of the Holy Ghoft, and have tafted the " good word of God and the powers of the world to " come, if they mall fall away, to renew them again " unto repentance ; feeing they crucify to themfelves " the Son of God afrem, and put him to an open " mame." And he gives us a likenefs for them : " For " the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft " upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet foi them by " whom it is dreiTed, receiveth blefling from God : but " that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and " is nigh unto curfing : whofe end is to be burned." As much as to fay, Of thefe men who have received great grace from God, and to whom He has mowed fpecial tokens of His fecret favour, when they are not- withftanding obftinately perverfe and unfruitful, it is to be feared, if they perfevere in fuch a courfe, that they will fall under the eternal curfe of God. There- fore beware that you be not hanged on this crofs of condemnation, and meet your laft end thus. The fccond kind of crofs is good, and is that of the malefactor on Chrift's right hand, who had indeed well deferred his punimment, but it became unto him fruit- ful and profitable. This crofs we may take as a type of the hardfhip and fufferings needful to be borne by thofc who have turned with their whole heart from this s2 come of the number of thofe of whom Paulfpeaks in Hel. vi. 4-8. Of the good and fruitful crofs laid upon tbofe who do igbtly turn unto God, like the male- faflor en Sermon for AJh Wednefday. CbriJTs right band. Luke xx Hi. 43- Matt. xi. 28 Its depth, boundlefs humility, re- membering that this fuf- fering is far lefs than their deferts. world and fm to a life of repentance ; who have indeed well deferred to fuffer much for their fins, becaufe they have wafted their time fo unprofitably in flefhly and natural pleasures, doing their own will; but now they wifh to forfake all thefe things for God's fake, and on the contrary to fuffer whatever God mall appoint for them. To thefe the crofs is not only pro- fitable and fruitful, but alfo confoling, fweet, and lovely. For to them it brings, as it did to this male- factor, a ftrong faith with a firm hope in the unfpeak- able love and mercy of God. Ah ! children, what greater good could befall this criminal hanging on the crofs, in this fhort fpace of time, than to hear thofe comfortable words : " Verily I lay unto thee, this day " malt thou be with me in Paradife." And what can better comfort thefe rightly difpofed converts of whom we are fpeaking, than for Chrift to exclaim unto them : " Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, " and I will give you reft." That is, I w r ill receive you into my favour, and help you to bear your burdens, and after a fhort feafon of travail moft fweetly quicken and refrem you. The depth of this crofs is boundlefs humility, not deeming ourfelves higher than other men, but having our eyes always open to our own mortcomings ; like this malefaclor, who acknowledged that he was fuffer- ing the juft reward of his mifdeeds. So let it be with all thefe converts ; in all their forrows let them re- member that they might juftly have fufFered more, and that no fuffering on earth or in hell would be a fuffi- cient retribution for their fins. This makes them not to defpife, nor judge, nor condemn any but them- Sermo?i for 4Jh Wednefday. 261 felves ; and when they are brought to this point, then their crofs begins to blofiTom and bear fruit. The height of this crofs is a mind directed upwards to the contemplation of divine and heavenly things, and a forfaking of outward things ; that is, they fhall learn to look upward toward eternal things, without letting their eyes wander after earthly things, and fix their looks on the admirable life and walk of our dear Lord, his fufferings, his bitter death, his refurre<5tion, afcenfion, and everlafting reign. This makes a man's fuffering and crofs light unto him, as it did to this malefa&or when he faid : " Lord, remember me when " thou comeft into thy kingdom." Behold, dear children, how his mind and thoughts were filled with the eternal world. The breadth of this crofs fignifies a hearty, all-em- bracing love to God, men, and all creatures ; for thofe who are on this crofs pray with lip and heart, not alone for themfelves, but alfo for all men, even for their enemies : thus their prayer extends unto all, and they are ever ready to devote themfelves, body and foul to their fellow-creatures ; and thus they do what in them lies to make amends to God, whom they have aforetime dimonoured and provoked in his creatures. Thus love, as St. Peter faith, covereth a multitude of fins ; and, as Chrift faid of Mary Magdalene : many fins are forgiven her, for me loved much. The length of this crofs is perfeverance and growth in good works ; for thefe men never ceafe from their kind and virtuous labours, but undertake one after another with juft difcrimination, and give all diligence to put off their old man, and to put on a new man 83 Its height, heavenly afpirations. Luke xx Hi. 42. Its breadth t unh< erjal love for God and men. Its length, perfeverance in efforts to do good. 2,62, Sermon for 4Jh Wednefday. 2 Cor. iv. 17, iB. Of the crofs of Cbrijt in which the nobleft men do Jhare. Matt.xx.22. Its dfptb, a continual childlike fear vfGod. created after God in righteoufnefs and holinefs of life. And hence their inward man is renewed day by day, and groweth up amidft all their forrow, pain, and temptation, fo that they may well feel how truly Paul has faid, that " this light affliction, which is but for " a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and " eternal weight of glory ; while we look not at the " things which are feen, but at the things which are " not feen : for the things which are feen are temporal, " but the things which are not feen are eternal." The third crofs is the crofs of Chrift, and is a type of the perfect men, on whom their Heavenly Father has beftowed peculiar glory and honour, and fellow- Ihip with His only begotten Son, in that He fends them, after a fpecial fort, all manner of contradiction, pain, affaults, tribulation, and crofles of every kind ; and gives them to drink of the cup of which Chrift, His only begotten Son, has drunk. As it was with the holy Apoftles James and John, to whom Chrifl faid : " Are ye able to drink of the cup that I mall drink of? " and to be baptized with the baptifm that I am bap- " tized with?" As much as to fay, If ye defire to be the chiefeft, deareft friends of God, ye muft, like me, fufTer the greateft contradiction beforehand ; for the difciple is not above his mafter. If Chrift mufl needs fufTer and enter by the crofs into the kingdom of His Father, without doubt fo muft every friend of God have fomewhat likewife to endure. The depth of this crofs is that they have at all times a childlike fear, and allow God to move them as He will, and keep a conftant care not to offend God. Its height is the well-grounded hope which Sermon for Ajli Wednefday. 263 they have of eternal bleffednefs, not founded on their own merit or good life, but on a firm faith, in a humble principle of entire felf-furrender to the per- fectly holy will of God. And this hope maketh not amamed ; but, as St. Paul fays, " the love of God is " med abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghoft which is given unto them." The width or breadth of this crofs is that they love God with their whole hearts, and themfelves and all men through God ; and endeavour with all their might " to keep the unity of " the fpirit in the bond of peace." They mun all giving of offence and fcandal, and are ufeful to all and hurtful to none. And therefore they fuffer gladly all that befalls them in their work of love, that they may bring many fouls unto God. The length of their crofs ftretches out into eternity : for they are ready to fuffer gladly all that God mall appoint unto them in time or in eternity ; it is their highefl happi- nefs to forward all that God choofes to do through them ; however and whenever He will, they fimply follow His leading, without murmuring or queftioning. They are thofe who are able to fay in fincerity with Chrift : " Not my will, but thine be done." Nothing grieves them more than that they cannot utterly give up their own will, by reafbn of human infirmity and weakncfs. O, how blefTed are thefe men, and how fruitful is their crofs, not only to themfelves, but alfo to all Chriftendom ! This crofs leads and brings them to the ineffable crofs of the divine nature, of which Paul was thinking when he prayed for his friends that they might " be " able to comprehend with all faints what is the 84 Its height, a well-ground- ed hope of eternal life. Its width, a perftcl love to God and man. Eph. if. 3. Its length, a t enouncing of their own will to all eter- nity. Of the inef- fable crofs of the divine nature. Epb. Hi. 18, 19. 264 Sermon for Jljli Wednefday. Thofe who will reach up into this crojs muft ' frjt be conformed unto the like- nej's of Chri/Ts death. " breadth and length, and depth and height, and to " know the love of Chrift which pafleth knowledge, " that ye may be filled with all the fulnefs of God." The length is His never-ending eternity ; the breadth His boundlefs goodnefs and mercy, which has been fhed abroad, and is yet poured out over the whole creation and mankind ; the height is His omnipotence, and the depth His unfathomable wifdom. Now he who will reach up unto the crofs of Chrift's divine nature, muft firft be fafhioned into the likenefs of His crucifixion in the flelh. And all thofe who truly lead a life in the fpirit, fuch as we have defcribed, are thus crucified with Chrift ; for they mall keep themfelves from all the works of the flefh, which God hates, and fhall have an earneft love to all righteoufnefs, fb that they are united with the bonds of their foul unto His divine nature. They mall, moreover, be ever ftriving to fulfil God's will, continually fixing their thoughts on Him, and keeping themfelves from all that would be difpleafmg in His fight, and thus be nailed with the right foot to the crofs of the divine nature ; and they fhall further learn to hold themfelves between thefe two, that they be neither carried aw r ay by un- blefTed happinefs, nor yet fhrink from blefTed unhap- pinefs, nor be led aftray between thefe two ; and thus are they bound with the left foot to the crofs of the divine nature. Furthermore, they fhall have an in- ward fympathy with God, for the difhonour that has been done Him from the beginning of the world, and will yet be done Him by men in the Church and in the world until the last day, and for the fhame and difhonour of His deareft friends, who have yielded Sermon for ^/7/ Wednefday. 265 themfelves to fuffer on this crofs with Chrift, that His divine glory may be magnified through them ; for God will guard them as the apple of His eye, infomuch that whofo entreateth them evil hath done it unto God. That we may thus be nailed with Chrift to the crofs of his humanity, that we may be admitted to the eternal beholding of the brightnefs of His god- head, may the Almighty Trinity grant and help us. Amen ! XI. Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent. (From the Gofpel for the day.) Tells us bow God drives forward fame of His children by tbejiruggle between the inward and outward man. MATT. xv. 21-28. "Jefus went thence and departed into the coafts of Tyre and Sidon. ' And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the fame coafts, and cried unto Him, ' faying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David ; my daughter is grievoufly ' vexed with a devil. But He anfwered her not a word. And His difciples came and ' befought Him, faying, Send her away, for (he crieth after us. But He anfwered and ' faid, I am not fent, but unto the loft Iheep of the houfe of Ifrael. Then came me and ' worfliipped Him, faying, Lord, help me. But He anfwered and faid, It is not meet to ' take the children's bread and to caft it to dogs. And me faid, Truth, Lord ; yet the ' dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from their matter's table. Then Jefus anfwered and ' faid unto her, O woman, great is thy faith : be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And ' her daughter was made whole from that very hour." Jefus departs from the Scribes and Pbarifees. HE gofpel for this day points us to a guiding principle which is of all others the nobleft, fureft, moft ufeful and moft eflential principle that we can have while here on earth. For be aflured, that unlefs your converfion have within it this kernel, all your efforts to perform good works and to abftain from tranfgreffion will avail you little or nothing. Now let us in the firft place confider thefe words : " Jefus went out from thence." Whence was it that He departed ? From the Scribes and Pharifees. Now give heed to the principle herein contained : the Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent. 267 Scribes were the wife men who prided themfelves upon their knowledge ; and the Pharifees were thofe who prided themfelves upon their fpirituality, and trufted in their religious practices and fet talks. Thefe two claffes of men are types of two of the moft dan- gerous principles which can exift among religious people ; and thofe who remain in their way of think- ing are loft, for thefe two principles do ruin the foul like a worm at the root, fb that men come to nothing. And yet there are few but what are in fome meafure under the influence of one or both of them, though fome much more than others. By the Scribes we may underftand men of a reafoning turn of mind, who try all things by the light of their reafbn, or as they appear to them through their fenfes. They receive ideas by means of their fenfes, and then exer- cife upon them their powers of reflection that they may attain to the comprehenfion of high queftions. And they glory therein, and make very lofty dif- courfes ; but in the inward parts, where pure truth mould gum forth from its fount, they are empty and dry, yielding nothing. The fecond clafs are the Pharifees. Thefe are the religious people who look upon themfelves as the excellent of the earth, and think highly of themfelves, and take their ftand upon prefcribed cuftoms and ways, and regard thefe ufages as of more importance than anything elfe, and defire to be refpe&ed on this account and to have praife of men ; but their hearts are full of judging thoughts of other men who do not obferve or approve of their ways. From thefe our Lord went out. The Scribes had afked him to pro- wbo are types of many among our- felves. The Scribes tbofe who re- ly upon know- ledge. The Pbari- fees tbofe wbo rely upon out- ward afls of piety. 26S Sermon for the Thefe pray and read their Bible while their heart is filed with felfinftead of God. nounce a judgment, faying : Why do thy difciples tranfgrefs the good cuftoms of our forefathers, by eating with unwafhen hands ? And He anfwered them : Why do ye tranfgrefs the commandments of God ? Juft fb do thofe of the prefent day who regard their own ordinances and practices of devotion as the commandments and will of God, and condemn and think flightingly of the friends of God who refufe to follow ufages of man's prefcribing, becaufe they are conftrained to follow God's fecret motions in their hearts. In thus faying, we do not mean that open evil-livers or defpifers of godlinefs are not to be judged by the congregation, for elfe there would be an end of all ecclefiaftical difcipline ; but let each beware of this pharifaical temper in himfelf, looking to fee if any falfe piety lurk within him that has ibme other origin or end than God. For Jefus departs when that is fb, and afTuredly will not flay where that exifts. Thus we find many people who never look to any- thing beyond their outward conduct ; they perform good works and behave with decorum, and then think they have done all ; while their inward part is altoge- ther overgrown and choked up with the creature, by which they are held faft to their great hurt. And while in this {late, they pray much and read their Bible. So likewife did the blind Jews, they read much in the Scriptures; and yet God was an utter ftranger to them, and hidden from them in fpirit and in truth. So it is with this fort of religious people : they fubmit to Church difcipline, they pray, they faft, they watch ; and for all this, God is not really and truly the principle of their life, but poor, miferable Second Simday in Lent. 269 nature, toward which all their love, and ftriving, and afpiration is directed, notwithstanding the abundance and the fervour of their religious exercifes. No, chil- dren, the eternal God will have nothing to do with thefe Pharilees ; for they are not plants which our Heavenly Father has planted, but weeds which muft be plucked up by the roots, as our Lord Himlelf has faid : " He who is not with me is againft me ;" and, " He who gathereth not with me, fcattereth." When the time of harveft is come, and the eternal God will gather His wheat into the garner, thefe will be found to be the called who have not gathered with Him, and He will not know them ; and where He does not find His planting in the ground of the heart, He will caft the men out into outer darknefs. I have mown you two falfe principles ; I befeech you, for God's fake, beware of them, if you would be kept unto eternal life. For this zealous activity of the natural man, after the fafhion of the Scribes or Pharifees, in outward mow or prefcribed ufages, prevails greatly, alas ! at this day among all ranks. Men's minds are now a-days fo fubtle and quick, after the fafhion of thefe Scribes [raifmg doubts and queftions of con- fcience], that a confcientious confeflbr fcarcely knows how to direct their fouls by reafon of their fubtlety or their fcrupuloufnefs. From fuch men Jefus departed, as He does ftill to this day. But whither did the Lord Jefus go ? He went into the land of Tyre and Sidon. Now Tyre fignifies a ftate of apprehenilon, and Sidon fignifies the (late of one driven by the hunters. Ah, children ! few, alas ! are willing to experience in themfelves what it How the Lord went out to 7yre and Sidon, which are types of the inward 'ftrug- 27 Sermon for the git between the ft -Jb and the fpirit in the children of God. Rom. fit. 22, 23. 19. Of the pain- fulnefi of this Jiruggle. is to go thither ; and yet it is a wondrously ennobling and profitable thing that thefe two trials fhould be laid upon a man together ; and if under them he can acl: rightly and well, what noblenefs, growth in grace, and good fruit will be born of this fharp tribulation ! Now what is this being hard preiTed by the hunters ? Nothing elfe but that the inward man would always fain be with God (who is his proper refting-place) ; and thus it ever drives the outward man towards and after God ; but the outward man ftrives in the contrary direction, always going outwards after lower things, where indeed is his proper place ; and thus there is a divifion in the man. The inward man's own place is God, and towards this centre all his defire, and free-will, and endeavours are turned ; and he is continually called and drawn this way by God his Lord. But this is contrary to the outward man, by his very nature, which wars againft it every day and hour. As St. Paul fays : " For I delight in the law of God after " the inward man : but I fee another law in my " members, warring againft the law of my mind, and " bringing me into captivity to the law of fin which " is in my members." Wherefore, " the good that I " would, I do not ; but the evil which I would not, " that I do." Thus the flefti and the fpirit ftrive and fight againft each other ; and then cometh God from above, and purfues after them both with His grace. And where this is rightly and duly underftood, it ftands well with the man ; for all who are thus led by God's fpirit, are the children of God. Now this conflict caufes to the man fharp and bit- ter pain and tribulation. But while he is plunged in Second Sunday in Lent. 271 the thick of the ftrife, perceiving nothing beyond it, and deftitute of confolation, then conies Jefus and enters in of a furety. And to the man who does not obey the ftrivings of God's fpirit, nor experience this inward conflict, Jefus does not enter in. For all thofe who have never felt this inward ftrife, nor God's hand heavy on their foul, and truly yielded to it in their life, thefe will never bring any good to pafs fo long as they live. Moreover, they never come to them- felves, and therefore know nothing of all that is lying hidden within them. For many aflaults come upon us, both carnal and fpiritual, which we can beft with- ftand by meeting them with a fpirit of humility and gratitude ; and if we await thefe trials with a cheerful fpirit, we may be afTured that God will ftand by us with His grace. And then, when the world comes with its raging ftorms, beating upon his head, and the Devil with his crafty wiles, and the man's ow r n flelh and fenfes and loweft powers are befet with great weaknefs and paffionate impulfes towards out- ward things, and all this while the inward man is urged on by God, and by the thirft which he by nature has after God, then, indeed, there muft needs be within him a bitter agony and tearing ftrife. And what fhall the poor wretched, comfortlefs man do, hunted and aflailed as he is, without way or means of efcape ? He fhall do as this poor woman did ; go to Jefus and cry with the loud voice of ftrong defire : " O, Lord, thou fon of David, have mercy on me ! " And then from the depths of the ftruggle an impetuous cry leaps forth ; and this cry of the fpirit flies over thoufands and thoufands of miles with its piercing Horn to meet affaults. Qftbedeep figbing of the Spirit, Rom.viii.zS. toben God makes as though He beard not the prayer of the contrite. call : it is an infinite fighing from the fathomlefs abyfs. This is fomething far above nature, whereunto the Holy Spirit muft fupply what is lacking becaufe of our infirmities : as St. Paul fays : " The Spirit " maketh interceffion for us with groanings which can- " not be uttered." And by thefe means the Holy Spirit doth better prepare the ground of the heart than by any other preparation on earth that can be imagined. And when a man is thus hunted and plunged into the bottomlefs pit of temptation and fuffering, and then, amidft " groanings which cannot be uttered/* cries to God with a loud voice, fo that the accents of his ftrong defire pierce through the heavens ; and yet God makes as though He did not hear, or would not liften, O, how utterly muft the man yield up his own ielf, and fuffer his wifhes to melt into the depths of God's will, waiting with ever-ftrengthening pa- tience upon God, till His appointed time come to viiit him and all creatures ! For, oh ! how impoffible were it that the fount of all mercy mould be fealed up ! yet, when this woman came crying after Jefus with a loud voice, the ftream from this fount of mercy was not fuffered to flow out unto her. The diiciples prayed that it might be opened ; and at laft, with ievere afpecl: and harm words, Jefus answered them that He was not fent save to the loft fheep of the houfe of Ifrael, faying : " It is not meet to take " the children's bread and to caft it to the dogs." He not only refufed her the blefling me fought, but did what was much harder to bear, proved in clear, cutting language that it was reafonable and juft that Second Simday in Le?it. He mould do fb. He not only refufed to give her bread, which is necefTary to life, and a common bleff- ing, but denied her the name of a child, thus depriv- ing her of humanity, and called her a dog. Could our Lord have tried her by a harder, fharper teft, - could He have prefTed her harder, or overwhelmed her more completely ? But what does me do in this her diftrefs and anguifh ? She takes it all meekly and patiently, and fuffers herfelf to be driven and buffeted as He will. Nay, me finks much lower than He had plunged her, and cafts herfelf into the very depths of humiliation, faying : " No, Lord, not a dog, but even " lefs, one of the leaft of the little whelps." But in her felf-abafement and felf-annihilation me holds fafb her confidence, and fays : " Yet, O Lord, the little " whelps are wont to be fed and fatisned with the " crumbs that fall from their matter's table." Oh, how blefTed and holy were men who could thus ftrike into the very truth of things, and fee themfelves with the mind of God, not through figures of fpeech, or cuftomary phrafes, or as the world judges. Neither God nor all His creatures could then abafe and annihilate them fo thoroughly as they would abafe, and accufe, and annihilate them- felves in the fight of the truth ! BlefTed indeed, if then, notwithftanding this wretched tumult of fuffering and humiliation, they fhould be conftant in their hope and confidence in the goodnefs of God, and abide therein without wavering ; fo that under all thefe afflictions their defire and carnefr. purpofe towards Him fhould flrengthen more and more, as it was with this woman. However harfhly our Lord T* Oftruefelf- knowledge. Hoto that if toe have a conftant dejirt towards God and truft in His mercy t 274 Sermon for the He will af- furedly bear our prayer at the lajt. A Jlory of a certain wo- man, fpoke to her, and denied her His acls of mercy, yet me never let go her truft in His grace. Therefore everything was granted to her that me had fought and defired of the Lord. Dear children, this is the right, true, godly way unto eternal truth. Oh ! this way leads unto the truth ; this alone leads ftraight to God without a means. And fome have not ftrength to try the depth of this fathomlefs annihilation of felf. This was the way the woman of Canaan took, and me received at last the blefled anfwer : " O, woman, " great is thy faith ; be it unto thee according to thy " will ! " Children, I tell you of God's truth, that to every man who mall be found really and truly thus walk- ing in this way, God will afluredly one day declare : " My beloved friend, whatsoever thou choofeft or " defireft, it mall be done unto thee according to " thy will ; forafmuch as thou haft willingly given " up all that was thine. Therefore, thy will is " fwallowed up in mine, and thou haft become one " with me by grace, and a partaker of my nature." Now this becoming one with the eternal Goodnefs cannot come to pafs but by an abfblute renunciation of our Self, and all that is ours, natural or fpiritual ; for in the fame meamre that a man comes out from himfelf, in that meafure does God enter in with His divine grace, and he who lofeth his life mall find it. Children, I will fay no more now, but tell you a little ftory that is very apt to our purpofe. I knew a " woman of Canaan," well deferving of the name. \Vhat I am about to tell you, happened within thefe four years, and Ihe is yet living. This woman loft Second Sunday in Lent. 275 her fenfes, and fell into a trance, and was borne up on high, till fhe came into the prefence of God, and beheld our Lady and all the faints. And as fhe looked upon this vifion fhe faw herfelf to be at an immea- furable diftance from God. Then her fpirit was feized with fuch unutterable woe that it feemed as if me muft perim that moment with the bitter, fmarting, hellifh pain that it gave her to fee herfelf fb far off from God. (For know ye that this is the worft torment which the fouls in hell have to endure, that they know themfelves to be afar off, and utterly parted from God and all His elecl:, and know that it will laft for ever, and that they mall never fee God.) Now in this unfpeakable diftrefs fhe turned to our Lady and all the faints, and befought them all that they would intercede for her. But then fhe faw that the blefTed faints were fo utterly loft in the con- templation of God that none of them for a moment liftened to her cries and appeals. In their overwhelm- ing blifs and joy they never even heard her voice. Then fhe turned after a human fafhion to the facred fbrrow and bitter death of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and it was anfwered her, why mould fhe appeal to that to which fhe had never mown due honour and reve- rence ? But when fhe saw that neither our Lady, nor the faints, nor the sufferings of our Lord brought her help, fhe turned herfelf with all earneftnefs to God, and faid : " Ah, Lord ! fmce none will come to my " help, behold, O beloved Lord, that I am Thy poor " creature, and Thou art my God ; I fall down before " Thy righteous fentence, according to Thy moft " blefTed will ; and whether Thou wilt have me to T 2 who bad a heavenly vijion. Sermon for the What this fiory uacbes Of tbofe who are in bajle to attain to high things in afpiritual life without knowing what that involves. " remain for ever in this horrible, hellifh torment, I " leave, dear Lord, altogether to Thy mod blefTed " will." But when fhe had thus utterly furrendered herfelf to God for all eternity, that moment fhe was lifted up far away beyond all intervening things, and wafted into the abyfs of God's love. O what a glori- ous abyfs is that ! This fame perfon is ftill often brought either into this ftate of mind, or carried into the abyfs of the divine love. She is a young maiden, and I firmly believe that fhe had never in her life committed any grofs fins, wherewith fhe had provoked God; and yet fhe needed thus to fuffer. Children ! how great and manifold, then, mufr. be the pangs of thofe who have often and deeply angered God, and withal are ftill cleaving while on earth fo clofely to the miferable creature delights ? But this maiden re- figned herfelf humbly to the will of God, content to bear an eternity of pain in hell, if God in His right- eoufhefs faw fit to condemn her thereunto. How unlike this woman are thofe who fancy that in four or five years they mall work wonders, and fay to others : " Ah, my dear friend, pray the Lord for " me that I may become one of his deareft friends." Now know that, if thou wert in the right way, thou wouldft never think thyfelf worthy to become one of the leafl of the friends of God ; therefore fet thyfelf humbly in the loweft place, as the Gofpel teaches, and then thou wilt be bidden to come up higher. But thofe who lift themfelves up, God will afTuredly cafl down. Wherefore befeech Him that His good plea- fure may be wrought in and with thee, according to His ever-blefTed will, and fo wilt thou find thy dwelling- Second Sunday in Lent. place and reft in Him, and not elfe. Children, on this wife God entereth into the foul immediately, with- out a veil ; that is, when a man wholly renounces Self all that he has. Now, if any man while here on earth mould obtain one drop of this bleffing, and one fpark of this love mould be kindled in his foul, he would be more truly and really made fit for God's dwelling, and led farther into the truth, than if he were to ftrip all the clothes off his body and give them to the poor, or to macerate his flem with penances. One moment in this ftate were more worth living than forty years fpent in doing and leaving undone what we pleafed. Moreover this would be the nobleft and fhorteft, and alfo the eafieft, of all courfes that rea- fon can conceive. O God ! with what things are men taken up, while they wafte this precious, blefled feafon of grace, and come fhort of that pure, exalted good which might and ought unceafmgly to be wrought in them ; and fo the long years roll flowly by, and they are as one in a ileep, never coming any farther, unftirred by God's grace ; and after the many years that they have lived, they are as far from true perfecl;- nefs as the firft day that they fet out. This is indeed a terrible and awful thought for all religious perfons ; for if they knew the great and perilous injury that they do to their fouls with their own devices, their very marrow and blood would dry up within their body. Now let us pray God that we may thus fink into the divine abyfs, and fall down before God's fen- tence, that we may be alfo found in Him like this woman of Canaan ! Amen ! T3 How that one fpark of/elf- renouncing love teaches more than all outward ex- ercifes.. Qf our aw- fuf wafte of precious time. XII. Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent. Of the power of the Word of God, of fiery dejires, and the ejjence of f elf -renunciation. JOHN viii. 47. " He who is of God heareth the words of God." How that we ought not to lower our flandard be- caufe we fall far below it. EAR children, ye ought not to ceafe from hearing or declaring the word of God becaufe you do not alway live according to it, nor keep it in mind. For inaf- much as you love it and crave after it, it will afluredly be given unto you ; and you mall enjoy it for ever with God, according to the meafure of your defire after it. There are fome people who, when they hear fpeak of high things which they do not understand, and moreover fee that they have no mare in them, turn away from thefe things with fuch averfion, that they do not even like to hear them treated of, or that others mould think about them and feek after them. Yea, they hear of high things, and fay : " That is not my way of thinking ; I had better " not try to put it into practice, for I mould not keep " it, and then I ihould be juft where I was before." And thus they turn away themfelves and others from the truth, juft as if it in no wife concerned them, and fit dow T n quite contented with their own ways, while Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent. 279 yet they know in the bottom of their hearts that their ways are not the beft that might be. This is an infallible token that thefe perfbns will never reach the higheft point of which they are capable ; nor will they become partakers of the higheft, pure, abfolute goodnefs, unlefs indeed they come to go through a painful and agonizing ftruggle after it. St. Bernard has faid : " Man, if thou defirefl a " noble and holy life, and unceafingly prayeft to God " for it, if thou continue conftant in this thy defire, it " will be granted unto thee without fail, even if only " in the day or hour of thy death ; and if God mould " not give it thee then, thou malt find it in Him in " eternity : of this be afTured." Therefore do not relinquifh your deiire, though it be not fulfilled im- mediately, or though ye may fwerve from your afpira- tions, or even forget them for a time. It were a hard cafe if this were to cut you off for ever from the end of your being. But when ye hear the word of God, furrender yourfelves wholly to it, as if for eternity, with a full purpofe of will to retain it in your mind and to order your life according to it ; and let it fink down right deep into your heart as into an eternity. If afterward it mould come to pafs that you let it flip, and never think of it again, yet the love and afpira- tion which once really exifted live for ever before God, and in Him ye mail find the fruit thereof; that is, to all eternity it mail be better for you than if you had never felt them. What we can do is a fmall thing ; but we can will and afpire to great things. Thus, if a man cannot be great, he can yet be good in will ; and what he, with T 4 For if our de- Jire towards goodnefs be conftant, it will be grant- ed to us to at- tain thereunto here or here- after. Our afpirtt- tions muft never be bounded by Sermon for the the meafure ef our ability to perform good works. Hoto Goa trains up Hii children to all for tbem- jefoes, h\s whole heart and mind, love and dcfire, wills to be, that without doubt he moft truly is. It is little we can bring to pafs ; but our will and defire may be large. Nay, they may grow till they lofe themfelves in the infinite abyfs of God. Not that we ought to think within ourfelves that we wifh to be this or that, like fuch a faint or angel, for we ought to be much more than we can conceive or fathom : wherefore our part is to give ourfelves over to God, and leave our- felves utterly in His hands, being wholly His. And if ye cannot be as entirely His as ye fain would be, be His as much as ye may attain unto ; but whatever ye are, be that truly and entirely ; and what ye cannot be, that be contented not to be, in a fincere fpirit of refignation, for God's fake and in Him. So mail you peradventure poflefs more of God in lacking than in having. Therefore be God's ; yield to His hand, fuffer Him to do in thee, and to thee, and w r ith thee, what He will ; and then nothing here or hereafter mall be able to confound you. Think not that God will be always careffing His children, or mine upon their head, or kindle their hearts, as He does at the firft. He does fb only to lure us to Himfelf, as the falconer' lures the falcon with its gay hood. Our Lord works with His children fo as to teach them afterwards to work themlelves ; as He bade Mofes to make the tables of ftone after the pattern of the firft which He had made Himfelf. Thus, after a time, God allows a man to depend upon himfelf, and no longer en- lightens, and ftimulates, and routes him. \Ve muft ftir up and roufe ourfelves, and be content to leave Fourth Sunday in Lent. 281 off learning, and no more enjoy feeling and fire, and muft now ferve the Lord with ftrenuous induftry and at our own coft. Our Lord afts like a prudent father, who, while His children are young, lets them live at His coft, and manages everything for them. What is needful for them, He provides, and lets them go and play ; and fo long as this lafts they are at lei- fure, free from care, happy, and generous at their father's expenfe. Afterwards he gives a portion of his eftate into their own hands, becaufe he will have them to take care of themfelves, and earn their own living, to leave off childifh play, and thus learn how to grow rich. So it is with us. In the beginning of a holy life, there is nothing but brightnefs, enjoyment, and feeling, and God draws us after Him with His gifts, that we may praife Him in the influencing of our wills, and we do all with a good will, and we know and recognize therein God's will. But now it is very different ; now God will have us to give up ourfelves and our own will, and to accept Him with readinefs in His acls of feverity, and in all kinds of fuffering, and in darknefs of mind, whatever He may do, and however contrary it may be to all our natural wimes. As the Lord faid to Peter : " When thou " waft young, thou girdedft thyfelf, and walkedft " whither thou wouldeft ; but when thou malt be old, " thou malt ftretch forth thy hand, and another mall " gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldeft *' not." Thus did the Lord in our early days go be- iide us, drawing us onward by His benefits ; then we went whither we would, for our will was fweetly girded with the pleafantnefs of divine things. But now like a judi- cious father. Jobnxxi.\%. How that the Lord's pro- phecy unto Peter, Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent. is fpiritually fulfilled in us His chil- dren. How that fubmijjion is nobler than faming zeal. it muft be otherwife : another mall gird us, and lead us whither we would not. The Lord will draw us and Securely lead us to Himfelf, in a way contrary to all our natural will, until He have diverted us thereof, and confumed it and made it thoroughly fubjedl unto the Divine will. For this is His will : that we mould ceafe to regard our own wiihes or diflikes ; that it fhould become a light matter to us whether He give or take away, whether we have abundance or fuffer want, and let all things go, if only we may receive and apprehend God Himfelf; that whether things pleafe or difpleaie us, we may leave all things to take their courfe and cleave to Him alone. Then firft do we attain to the fulnefs of God's love as His children, when it is no longer happinefs or mifery, profperity or adverfity, that draws us to Him, or keeps us back from Him. What we fhould then experience none can utter ; but it would be fbmething far better than when we were burning with the firft flame of love, and had great emotion but leis true fubmiffion : for here, though there may be leis fhow of zeal, and lefs vehemence of feeling, there is more true faithfulnefs to God. That we may attain thereunto, may God help us with His grace. Amen ! XIII. Sermon for Palm Sunday. How a man ought in all His works to regard God alone, and purely to make Him bis end without anything of his own, and /hall freely and Jimply perform all thefe works for the glory of God only, and not feek his own, nor dejtre nor expert any reward. Wherewith he may do fuch works without any f elf -appropriation or reference to time and number, before or after, and without modes. How the Divine Word fpeaks and reveals itfelf in the foul, all in a lofty andfubtilefenfe. MATT. xxi. 10-17. "And when He was come into Jerufalem, all the city was moved, ' laying, Who is this ? And the multitude faid, This is Jefus, the Prophet of Nazareth ' of Galilee. And Jefus went into the temple of God, and caft out all them that fold and ' bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the feats of ' them that fold doves : And faid unto them, It is written, My houle (hall be called the ' houfe of prayer ; but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame 'came to Him in the temple; and He healed them. And when the chief priefts and ' fcribes faw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying in the temple, and ' faying, Hofanna to the Son of David, they were fore difpleafed, and faid unto Him, ' Heareft thou what thefe fay ? And Jefus faith unto them, Yea ; have ye never read, * Out of the mouths of babes and fucklings Thou haft perfected praife ? And He left ' them, and went out of the city into Bethany ; and He lodged there." read in the holy Gofpel how that our Lord went into the Temple, and drove out thofe who were buying and felling therein, and faid to thofe who fold doves : " Take thefe things hence." Herewith He fignified nought elfe but that He would have the temple How that our Lord will have the tem- ple of the foul empty, for Him to dwell alone therein. 284 Sermon for Palm Sunday. What fort of people are ty- pified by tbofe who bought and fold in the temple. empty ; juft as if He had faid : "I have a right to " this temple, and will dwell there alone, and have " the Ible rule therein." Now what is this temple of which God is minded to have pofleffion even by force, and to rule according to His own will ? It is the foul of man, which He has created and fafhioned fo truly in His own likenefs ; as we read that God faid : " Let " us make man after our image." And He has done fo too, and made the foul of man fo like Himfelf, that there is nothing in heaven or on earth fb like Himfelf as that is. For which reaibn God will have this tem- ple to be empty, that nothing be there but He alone ; and the caufe why this temple pleafes Him ib well, is that it is ib like Himfelf, and He loveth to be in it forafmuch as He is there alone. Now mark, who were the people who were buying and felling, and whom do they reprefent at this day ? Now obferve, I intend to fpeak only of the good people who thus bought and fold, and yet whom our Lord fcourged and drove out, and do not mean to fay any- thing to-day concerning open finners, who knowingly live in the commiffion of deadly fins. And the Lord does the fame now a-days to all who buy and fell in His temple, for fuch He will not fuffer to remain therein. Behold, dear children, all thofe are traders who keep themfelves from open fins, and would fain be good people, and do their works to the glory of God, and perform many good works, fuch as fatting, w r atching, praying, and the like ; yet do it all in order that our Lord may give them, or do for them, fbme- thing that they wim, and thus they feek themfelves in all things. All fuch are traders ; that is, to fpeak Sermon for Palm Sunday. 285 in vulgar language, they wifh to give one thing in exchange for another, and would fain thus drive a traffic with our Lord ; and they are deceived in their bargain, for all that they poffefs or are able to perform they have received from God, and confequently God does not owe them anything in return, nor is He bound to do anything for them, except, indeed, He would do it of His free bounty. What they are, they are of God ; and what they become, they have re- ceived of God and not from themfelves ; therefore God owes them nothing in return for their works and their gifts, unlefs He do it of His own pleafure, of His grace, and not for the fake of their works and gifts ; for they have nothing of their own to give, they do not even do their good works of their own power ; as Chrift faid : " Without me ye can do "nothing!" Thofe who would thus bargain with our Lord are thick-headed and ignorant men, who have little or no infight into the truth, wherefore God fcourges them and drives them out of the temple. Light and darknefs cannot dwell together. God is the Truth and Light in Himfelf ; when, therefore, He cometh into His temple, He drives out of it ignorance and darknefs, and reveals Himfelf with light and truth. Then when the truth is perceived, the buyers and fellers are gone ; and the truth will have nothing to do with trafficking. God does not feek His own ; all His works are done voluntarily and in finglenefs of purpofe : He does them for very love. So likewife is it with the man who is united with God : his works alfb are done voluntarily and in finglenefs of mind, and he does them for love without any wherefore Of traffickers with God, wbofe expec- tations will be deceived. God does all His works for love, and fo muft the man wbo would be united with Him. 286 Sermon for Palm Sunday. Oftbofe who are Jtgnified by the money- changers, that is, without any regard to himfclf to the glory of God only, and feeketh not his own in them ; and God works them through him. I fay further, fb long as a man in any of his works is feeking or defiring anything that God has to give, or will give hereafter, he is like thefe traffickers. But if thou wouldft be quite pure from fuch a mercenary fpirit, thou muft do thy utmoft in good works fimply for the praife of God, and malt ftand apart from it all, as if thou hadfl not done it ; thou malt afk nothing in return. If thou doeft thy works in this fpirit, then are they godly and fpiritual. And then the buyers and fellers are altogether driven out of the temple, and God alone dwelleth there, when thou purpofeft nothing but what God purpofeth. Now mark, there is yet a higher ftate than that of the traders, which is indicated to us in this Gofpel ; namely, that of the men who perform their works with a fincerely good intent, and yet are hindered from coming to the clofeft union with God, inaf- much as they ftill carry on Ibme traffic and converfe with the creatures, and are thus like the money- changers and thofe who fold doves, whofe tables and feats the Lord overthrew. For although this their occupation was at firft begun by certain of them with a good intent, it was an unfeemly practice, and was afterwards turned to the greatefl abufes of covetouf- nefs, rather than to the fervice of God. So likewife it is with the perfbns of whom I am fpeaking ; for although their intent is good, and they do their good works fincerely for God's fake, and do not feek their own therein, yet neverthelefs they do them with felt- Sermon for Palm Sunday. 287 appropriation, with time and number, with images and reference to before and after. By thele things they are hindered from coming to the beft and higheft truth ; for they ought to keep themselves free and empty of all that is accidental, from pleafure and pain, even as our Lord is free and alone, and receiveth Him- felf ever afrefh, without interval or time, from His Heavenly Father, and in the fame Now is ever with- out ceafmg begotten afrefh in perfeclness, with thank- ful praiie, into the Majefty of the Father, in co- equal dignity. In like manner muft the man who defireth to perceive the higheft truth, and to live therein without before or after, and without let or hindrance from any of the outward acls or mental images with which he has ever been converfant, ftand free and alone in this eternal Now. He mall fimply receive the gift of God, and bring it forth again and render it up to God without let or hindrance, in His light, and with thankful praife through our Lord Jefus Chrift. Thus he will have done with all the doves and money-changing ; that is, with all the hin- drance and qualification which arifes from thofe works which are good in themfelves, but in which a man feeks fbmething of his own. For which cause also the Lord would not fuffer any to carry veflels to and fro in the temple, as St. Mark tells us ; all which has to do with the fame principle that a fpiritual man muft keep himfelf free and aloof from all objects that would hinder his advance towards perfedlnefs. Now when the temple is thus cleared of all that blocks it up, /'. e. of all felfifhnefs and ignorance, it Ihincs forth in fiich beauty, and is fo bright and re- being binder' ed by mixed motives in their good works. Of the beau- ty of the tern- pit when it is cleared of all but God. 288 Sermoji for Palm Sunday. How that none muft fplendent above all elfe that God has created, that nothing can outfhine it fave the uncreated God alone. Nothing even that belongs to angelic exiftence can be compared to this temple. The higheft angels do in- deed in many refpecls refemble the temple of a noble foul, yet not wholly, for there is Ibme meafure, a cer- tain bound, fet to their fimilarity to it in knowledge and love, beyond which they cannot pafs ; but the foul is ever able to advance fo long as it is in time. For if the foul of a man yet living in this prefent ftate were on a level with the higheft angel, the man could yet, by virtue of his free felf-determination, outftrip the angel at every fucceflive moment, without count, that is to fay without mode, and above the mode of the angels, and all created reafon. God is alone free and uncreated ; and therefore He alone is equal to the foul as touching freedom, and unequal as touching uncreatednefs, for the foul is created. But when the foul enters into the unmixed light, me, with her created I, finks fo deeply into her own nothingnefs, that me cannot by her own power regain the fenfe of her fepa- rate exiftence as a creature. But God upholds her with His uncreated power, and keeps the foul ftill her- felf. The foul has dared to become naught ; and yet me cannot attain thereunto of her own power, fo en- tirely is me loft until God upholds her with His power. It muft needs be fo, feeing that, as I faid before, Jefus entered into the temple of God, and caft out thofe who bought and fold therein, and began to Ipeak in the temple. Now, dear children, know of a truth, if any one elfe would fain fpeak in the temple, that is in the foul, Sermon for Palm Sunday. 289 except Jefus alone, He holds His peace, as if He were not there ; and in truth He is not at home in the foul, for fhe has ftrange guefts with whom me defireth to hold converfe. But if Jefus is to fpeak in the foul, fhe muft be alone, and muft be filent herfelf that fhe may hear the voice of Jefus ; and then He enters in and begins to fpeak. What does He fpeak ? He fpeaks that He is. And what is He then ? He is the Word of the Father ; in which Word the Father utters Himfelf, and all the divine nature, and all that God is, fo that, in that He perceiveth it, He alfo is it, and He is perfecl in His perception and in His power. Hence He is perfecl: through this His fpeaking, for when He uttereth this Word, He uttereth Himfelf and all things in another perfbn, and giveth that perfbn the fame nature which He Himfelf has, and fpeaks all rational fpirits into being in that Word, in the likenefs of the fame Word, according to the type or pattern which abideth continually in Him. And thus the Word mines forth in man, according as each word exifts in God. Yet is he not in all refpedls like this fame effential Word ; but rather the poflibility is granted to him of receiving a certain likenefs by the grace of this Word, and of receiving the" Word as it is in itfelf. This all has the Father Himfelf fpoken through the Word, and all that is in the Word. Here the queftion might be afked, If the Father hath fpoken this, in what fenfe doth Jefus fpeak in the foul ? Here remember, dear children, what I have faid of the manner of His fpeaking, namely, that He revealeth Himfelf and all that the Father u fpeak in the Joulfave Jefus, elfe will He bold His peace. Of that tvbicb He fpeaketb. 290 Sermon for Palm Sunday. He declaretb the Power of the Father , the Wifdom of the Son, and the Love of the Holy Gboft. hath uttered in Him, according to the meafure of the foul's ability to receive it. In the firfl place He reveals the Father's fovereignty to the foul, by declaring His changelefs, infinite Power. And when through the Son the foul hath experience of this power, it becomes ftrong and mighty in what- ever happens, fo that it grows powerful and fleadfafl in all virtues and in perfect fmglenefs of mind, fo that neither weal nor woe, nor any or all of the things that God has created in time, have power to ftir him, for that he has firm and abiding footing in the ftrength of God, againft which all things are weak and un- availing. In the fecond place, the Lord reveals Himfelf in the foul with an infinite Wifdom, which He Himfelf is. In this Wifdom the Father perceiveth Himfelf, with all His Fatherly fovereignty. And that fame Word which is alfo Wifdom, and all that it comprehends, is all the fame, fole Unity. When this Wifdom is united with the foul, all doubt and error and darknefs utterly vanim away, and me is tranfported into a pure light, which is God Himfelf. As the prophet fays : " Lord " in Thy light fhall we fee light." That is to fay : " Lord in Thy light fhall we perceive the light in the " foul." Then is God perceived in the foul by means of God. Then does me, by means of this Wifdom, perceive herfelf and all things, and perceiveth this Wif- dom itfelf, and through it me perceiveth the Father's majefty, and His effential felf-exiftence in fimple one- nefs, without diftinclion. In the third place, Chrift reveals Himfelf alfb with an infinite Love, fw r eetnefs and richnefs flowing forth Sermon for Palm Sunday. 291 from the power of the Holy Ghoft, overflowing and ftreaming in a very flood of richnefs and fweetnefs into the heart that is waiting to receive it ; and with this fweetnefs He not only reveals Himfelf to the foul, but unites Himfelf with her. Through this fweet- nefs, the foul in its effence by grace flows out with power above all creatures back into her firft origin and fount. Then is the outward man obedient unto the inward man, even unto death, and liveth in conftant peace in the fervice of God continually. That the Lord may thus come into our fouls alfo, overthrowing and cafting out all hindrances, bodily or fpiritual, that we may become one here on earth, and hereafter in the kingdom of heaven, may He help us evermore. Amen. U2 XIV. Sermon for Thurfday in Eafter Week. How we ought to love God, and bow Cbrift is a Mafler of the Eternal Good, wherefore we ought to love Him above all things ; a Mafler of the Highejl Truth, wherefore we ought to contem- plate Him ; and a Majler of the Higbeft Perfeflnefs, wherefore we ought to follow after Him without let or hindrance. JOHN xx. 1 6 " She turned herfelf and faid unto Him, Rabboni; which is to fay, Matter." How that our Lord ap- peared unto Mary Mag- dalene after His rejur- reftion. Wherefore He bid Him- f elf from her atfirjl. Him. HEN our Lord had rifen from the dead, Mary Magdalene defired with her whole heart to behold our blefTed Lord ; and he revealed Himfelf to her in the form of a gardener, and fo me did not know Then our Lord faid unto her " Mary ;" and with that word me knew Him, and faid, Rabboni ! that is to fay, Mafter. Now mark, fo long as Mary flood by the grave looking at the angels, Chrift flood behind her, con- cealing Himfelf from her. For the Lord our God hideth Himfelf from thofe who are full of care about the creatures, and grieving over the lofs of earthly things and creatures ; but as foon as man turns from the creatures to find God, God reveals Himfelf unto the foul. Thus, when Mary turned to tlfe grave of Chrifl, it was faid unto her, " Mary," which name Sermon for Thurfday in Eqfter IVeek. 293 fignifies a ftar of the fea, a queen of the world, and one who is illuminated by the Holy Spirit. He who defireth to fee God, muft be as a ftar in the firma- ment, fevered from and fpurning all the things of time, and illuminated to fee all heavenly things. When me heard the word that Chrft spoke, " Mary/' me knew our Lord, and faid, Rabboni, which is to fay, Matter ; for me and His other difci- ples and followers commonly addrefs Him with this title, as He fays : " Ye call me Matter and Lord, and " ye fay well, for fb I am." For He is truly a Matter of the Higheft Good, and therefore mould we love Him above all things. He is a Matter of Truth, and therefore mould we contemplate Him. He is a Matter of the Higheft Perfeftnefs, and therefore mould we follow Him without any looking backwards behind us. He is (as I faid firft) a Matter of the Higheft Good, and therefore mould we love Him above all things. Now, thou mighteft fay, " God is infinite, a fupreme " Good without limits, and the foul and all creatures " are finite and bounded ; how, then, can the foul love " and know God ? " Hearken : God is infinite and without end, but the foul's defire is an abyfs which cannot be filled except by a Good which is infinite ; and the more ardently the foul longeth after God, the more me wills to long after Him ; for God is a Good without drawback, and a well of living water without bottom, and the foul is made in the image of God, and therefore it is created to know and love God. So, becaufe Chrift is a Matter of the Higheft Good, the foul ought to love Him above all things ; for He is love, and from Him doth love flow into us, u 3 But wbenjbe knew Him, called Him " Majler!" How that Cbrijt is a Majier of tie Higbeft Good. 294 Sermon for Wherefore we Jbould love Him without mea- fure, "Without a rival, as out of a well of life. The well of life is love ; and he who dwelleth not in love is dead, as St. John fays in his Epiftle. Now, forafmuch as Chrift is a well- fpring and Matter of the Higheft Good, therefore mall the foul love Him without refiftance. For it is her property that fhe muft love that which is God ; and therefore muft fhe love that which is the Higheft Good, without meamre, without rival, and without ceafing to utter forth His praife. Without meafure mall the foul love God ; con- cerning which St. Bernard fays : " The caufe where- " fore the foul mall love God, is God ; but the meafure " of this love is without meafure, for God is an immea- " furable Good, becaufe His benefits are without num- " ber or end : wherefore the foul mail love God with- " out meafure." Hence St. Paul fays : " I pray God " that your love may increafe and abound yet more " and more." And St. Bernard fays : " In our love " to God w r e have no rule nor direction to obferve, " but that we love Him as He hath loved us. He " hath loved us unto the end that we might love " Him world without end. Therefore, our inward " defire ought ever to increafe fb long as we are here on " earth ; but although the inward work of our love to " God ought ever to increafe, yet the outward works " of love ought to be meted out with due wifdom, " that we fo exercife ourfelves as not to injure nature, " but to fubdue it unto the fpirit." In the fecond place, the foul fhall love God with- out a fellow ; that is to fay, in that degree of love with which the foul loveth God, mall no creature ftand ; and all whom the foul loves, me fhall love in God Thurfday in Eqfter Week. 295 and to God. Furthermore, me mall love the creatures for God's fake, to God and in God. She loves them for God's fake, when me loves them for that caufe which is God ; me loves them to God, when Ihe loveth them for that goodnefs which is God ; Ihe loves them in God, when me feeks no other delight nor end in them but God ; and thus Ihe loveth the creatures in God, and God in the creatures. Hence Chrift tells us : " Thou malt love God with all thy " heart, with all thy foul, and with all thy mind," which words are thus expounded by St. Auguftine : " Our Lord faith that we are to love God with all our " heart, with all our foul, and with all our mind, to " the intent that man mould have no fingle faculty " within his foul that is empty or barren of the love " of God ; that is, from which the love of God is ab- " fent ; and that all which it comes into our heart to " love, we may love for God's fake, and enjoy in " godly love ; for God loveth the foul, and therefore " Ihall the foul love Him without a fellow." In the third place, the foul mail love God without filence ; for he who is in love cannot be filent, but muft proclaim and utter forth his love. St. Gregory fpeaks of two forts of crying aloud : the one is that of the mouth, the other that of the works. He fays of the voice of the deeds, that it is louder than that of the mouth. Of the latter, David fays : " I have cried " unto God with my voice, and He hath heard my " prayer." Chryfoftom fays : " It is the habit and " cuflom of loving fouls that they cannot hide their " love, nor forbear to fpeak of it, but they tell it to " their familiar friends, and defcribe the inward flames u 4 and be ever declaring His praife, witt orr lips t Sermon for and with our deeds, which fpeak louder than words. The Lord of love rewards nothing J>ut love. rewards only out of /ore, " of love ; and the faults which they have committed " againft God they tell to thofe whom they love, and " cannot keep filence about them, but often fpeak of " them, that they may obtain relief and refrefhment " thereby." The fecond cry is that of the actions, the w r ay in which a man proves his inward love by his outward works. St. Gregory fays the witnefs of love is the proof given by the works ; for where love is, it works great things ; but if it work not, it is a fure fign that it is not there. Thus Mary Magdalene had good reafon to exclaim " Mafter !" for Chrift is a Mailer of all Good. Therefore we ought to love Him above all things. And rightly is he called a Mafter of Love, for three caufes ; for He rewards nothing but love, He rewards only out of love, and He rewards with love. Firft, I fay that He rewards nothing but love. By three things may a man win reward : by outward a&s, by inward contemplation, and by inward afpira- tion and love. The outward acl has no merit unless it be wrought in love ; for the outward acl: perifhes and is over, and cannot merit that which is eternal. For Paul fays : " Chanty never ceafes ;" wherefore a man can never win eternal life by any w r orks except they be done in love ; and hence he who truly loveth God ieparates himfelf from all that is not God ; for he who loves the uncreated good, defpifes the created. In the fecond place, I faid that God only rewards out of love. For from the love wherewith He loveth man, He giveth Himfelf, He giveth His very lelf as a reward, He giveth Himfelf wholly, and not in part ; for God hath loved man with an eternal love, and He Thurfday in Eajler Week. 297 gives a man nothing lefs than Himfelf. He faid to Abraham : " Fear not, I am thy ihield, and thy ex- " ceeding great reward/' In the third place, He rewards a man with love. For this reward confifts in being able to behold God in His clearnefs without a veil, and to enjoy the fruition of His love, and keep it for all eternity. Wherefore it was not without reafbn that Mary ex- claimed " Mafter !" And thou too, O man, cry unto Him devoutly from the bottom of thy heart : " O " Mafter of the Higheft Good, and my God, by the " love which Thou art, draw me to Thyfelf, I long " after Thy favour, and that I may love Thee above " all things." Now when I began I mentioned two other points : firft, how that Chrift is a Mafter of the Higheft Truth, and therefore we ought to contemplate Him. Here take note that thou canft contemplate God in His creatures, which He has made out of nothing, whereby thou art able to difcover His omnipotence. But when thou feeft and confidereft how admirably the creatures are fafhioned and put together, and in what wonderful order they are arranged, thou art able to perceive and trace the Wifdom of God, which is afcribed to the Son. And when further thou comeft to perceive the gentlenefs of the crea- tures, and how all creatures have fomething loving in them, then thou perceiveft the loving-kindnefs of the Holy Spirit. Thus St. Paul tells the Romans that men are able to behold the invifible goodnefs of God through the things that they can lee ; that is to fay, the creatures which He has made. We are alfo and rewards with love. How that Cbrift is a Mafter of 'the Higbefl Truth, 298 Sermon for Tlinrfday in Eqfter Week. and a Majier of Perfeft- nefs. able to perceive God by the light of grace, as the Prophet fays : " Lord, in Thy light {hall we fee the " light ;" that is, God Himfelf ; for " God is light, and " in Him is no darknefs anywhere." Moreover we fhall at the laft behold God in the light of His glory, and there fhall we fee Him without a veil, bright as He is ; for He is a Mafter of Truth, who giveth us to know all truth. In the third place, Chrift is a Mafter of Perfection ; wherefore a man fhall leave all things to follow Him, for in God he fhall find all things united in one perfeclinefs which are fcattered abroad among the creatures. Therefore, O man, if thou wilt be perfect, be a follower of Chrift. He fays : " Wliofo will not forfake father and mother, and " fifters and brothers, and all that he hath, cannot be " my difciple." For father and mother, fifters and brothers, and all creatures, are a man's enemies if they keep him back from God and hinder him from treading the ftraight path to eternal blefTednefs. Therefore forfake the creatures, and follow after the Mafter of Perfection, even Jefus Chrift, blefTed for ever. May He grant us by His grace to do fb ! Amen. XV. Sermon for the Firft Sunday after Eafter. (From the Gofpel for the day.) How we are to afcend by threejlages to true peace and purity of heart. JOHN xx. 19. " Peace be to you." EACE be with you/' faid our beloved Lord to His difciples after His refur- reclion. All men by nature defire reft and peace, and are ever ftriving after it in all their manifold actions, efforts, and labours ; and yet to all eternity they will never attain to true peace, unlefs they ieek it where alone it is to be found, in God. What, then, are the means and ways to find true peace, and the pureft, higheft, and moft perfect truth ? Now mark, I will fpeak unto you in a parable. As our bleffed Lord drew His difciple St. John to Himfelf in a three-fold manner, even ib does He now draw all who ever arrive at the deepeft truth. The firft way in which our Lord drew St. John to Himfelf was when He called him out of the world and made him an Apoftle. The fecond was when He fuffered him to reft on His bofom ; and the third and moft perfect was on the holy day of Pentecoft, when the Holy Ghoft was given unto him, and a door How that peace is the aim of all men's dejire and effort. We muft be drawn to God in order to find it. How St. John was drawn to Cbrift. 300 Sermon for the Wemuft frft be drawn up- wards by the lower powers being govern- ed by the higher. Secondly, by being changed into the image of our loving Lord. was opened unto him through which he was taken up into heaven. Thus, like St. John, is each man firft called out of the world, when all his lower pow r ers come to be governed by his higheft reafon, fo that he learns to know himfelf and to exercife his free felf-guiding power ; fo that he fets a watch over his words, faying nothing to anyone which he would not wim to be faid to himfelf; over his impulfes, marking whether they proceed from God and tend towards Him ; over his thoughts, that he do not voluntarily indulge in any evil or vain imaginations, or that, if fuch fug- geft themfelves, they mould be made only an incentive and ftepping-ftone to better things ; over his works, that in his undertakings he may have a {ingle eye to the glory of God and the welfare of mankind. On this wife does the Lord call thee out of the world, and make thee an apoftle of Chrift to thy fellow-man, and fb thou learneft to convert the outward into the inward man, which is the firft ftep in the Chriftian courfe. Secondly ; wilt thou with St. John reft on the loving heart of our Lord Jefus Chrift, thou muft be transformed into the beauteous image of our Lord by a conftant, earneft contemplation thereof, confidering His holy meeknefs and humility, the deep, fiery love that He bore to His friends and His foes, and His mighty, obedient refignation which He manifeftcd in all the paths wherein His Father called Him to tread. Next call to mind the boundlefs charity which He mowed to all men, and alfb His blefTed poverty. Heaven and earth were His, and He called them not Firft Sunday after Eajler. 301 His own. In all His words and deeds, He looked only to the glory of His Father and the falvation of mankind. And now ye muft gaze much more clofely and deeply into the glorious image of our Lord Jefus Chrift than I can mow you with my outward teach- ing, and maintain a continual, earneft effort and afpiration after it. Then look attentively at thyfelf, how unlike thou art to this image, and behold thy own littlenefs. Here will thy Lord let thee reft on Him. There is no better and more profitable way to this end while in our prefent ftate, than to receive worthily the facrament of the body of Chrift, and to follow the counfel of one on whom the light of grace has Ihone more brightly than it has on thee. In the glorious likenefs of Chrift thou wilt be made rich, and find all the folace and fweetnefs in the world. But there are many who, having advanced thus far, think in their hafte that they have conquered for their own the ground on which they ftand, while yet they are far from the goal. Although St. John had lain on Chrift's bofom, yet he let his cloak fall and fled when the Jews laid hands on Chrift. Therefore, however holy may be thy walk in thefe two paths, look to it that, if thou art aflailed, thou do not let thy mantle fall through thy hafty thought for thyfelf. It is good and holy that thou fhouldft exercife thyfelf in thefe two ways, and let no creature turn thee afide therefrom, until God Himfelf draws thee up into a clofer union with Himfelf. If He thus draw thee up, then let go all forms and images, and fuffer Him to work as with His inftrument. It is more well- pleafmg to Him, and more profitable to thee, that Watcbfulnefs ever needed. Sermon for the Thirdly, bow the door of heaven is opened to fame. thou mouldft leave Him to do as He will in thee for a moment, than that thou mouldft exercife thyfelf in lower things for a hundred years. Now fome may afk : Art thou not yet got beyond all this ? I anfwer : No ; beyond the image of our Lord Jefus Chrift may no man come. Thou mouldft afk : Art thou not got beyond the ways and works that thou haft called thine own ? Look to it diligently, and be quick to perceive the commands of God, and let each good work be followed by another. In the third place, when the Holy Spirit was given to St. John, then was the door of heaven opened unto him. This happens to fbme with a convulfion of the mind, to others calmly and gradually. In it are ful- filled thofe words of St. Paul : " Eye hath not feen, " nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of " man to conceive the things which God hath pre- " pared for them that love Him ; but God hath re- " vealed them unto us by His fpirit." Let no man boaft that he is continually drawing nearer to the higheft perfection poffible while here on earth, unlefs the outward man have been converted into the inward man ; then, indeed, it is poffible for him to be received up on high, and to behold the wonders and riches of God. Believe me, children, one who would know much about thefe high matters, would often have to keep his bed, for his bodily frame could not fupport it. Further, know ye that before that can come to pafs, of which we have here been fpeaking, nature muft endure many a death, outward and inward. But to fuch death, eternal life anfwers. Children, this is not the work of a day or a year. Be not dif- Firft Sunday after Eajler. 33 couraged ; it takes time, and requires fimplicity, purity, and felf-furrender, and thefe virtues are the ihorteft road to it. Through fuch exercifes as we have defcribed, a man obtains true purity of mind and body, fuch as St. John poflefled in a high and pecu- liar manner ; what our Lord meant when he faid : " Bleffed are the pure in heart, for they mall fee God." A pure heart is more precious in the fight of God than aught elfe on earth. A pure heart is a fair, fitly- adorned chamber, the dwelling of the Holy Ghoft, a golden temple of the Godhead ; a fanctuary of the only-begotten Son, in which He worfhips the Heavenly Father ; an altar of the grand, divine facrifice, on which the Son is daily offered to the Heavenly Father. A pure heart is the throne of the Supreme Judge ; the feat and fecret chamber of the Holy Tri- nity ; a lamp bearing the Eternal Light ; a fecret council-chamber of the Divine Perfons ; a treafury of divine riches ; a ftorehoufe of divine fweetnefs ; a pan- oply of eternal wifdom ; a cell of divine folitude ; the reward of all the life and fufferings of Chrift. A pure heart is a tabernacle of the Holy Father ; a bride of Chrift ; a friend of the Holy Ghoft ; a delight to the eyes of all faints ; a fifter of the angels ; a caufe of joy to the heavenly hofts ; a brother of all good men ; a terror to the Devil ; a victory and conqueft over all temptation ; a weapon againft all aflaults ; a refervoir of divine benefits ; a treafury of all virtue ; an example to all men ; a reftoration of all that has ever been loft. Now, what is a pure heart ? It is, as we have faid before, a heart which finds its whole and only fatis- faclion in God, which relifhes and defires nothing but Of a pure heart zubifb jballfee God. 34 Sermon for the Firfi Sunday after Eajler. God, whofe thoughts and intents are ever occupied with God, to which all that is not of God is ftrange and jarring, which keeps itfelf as far as pofliblc apart from all unworthy images, and joys, and griefs, and all outward cares and anxieties, and makes all thefe work together for good ; for to the pure all things are pure, and to the gentle is nothing bitter. Amen ! XVI. Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Eafter. (From the Gofpel for the day.) JOHN xvi. 7-11. " It is expedient for you that I go away : for if I go not away, the Com- "forter will not come unto you ; but if I depart, I will fend Him unto you. And when " He is come, He will reprove the world of fin, and of righteoufnefs, and of judgment : " of fin, becaufe they believe not on Me ; of righteoufnefs, becaufe I go to the Father and "ye fee Me no more ; of judgment, becaufe the prince of this world is judged."* HILDREN, it behoves us to give diligent heed to the meaning of this paflage, and fee how it is that the Holy Ghoft could not be given to the dear difciples and friends of Jefus, unlefs He firft went away from them. What is meant by Chrift's going away from us ? Nothing elfe than our deftitution, hopeleffnefs, and helpleflhefs, when we are heavy and flow in all good things, and cold and dark ; for then Chrift is gone from us. If perfbns who are in this ftate render it ufeful and fruitful for themfelves, this would be a truly noble thing for them thus to matter and bend it ; and to fuch an one all variety will be fufed into unity, and he will have joy in fbrrow, and be patient * The greater part of this and the following fermon having been tranflated by Archdeacon Hare, in his Notes to " The Miffion of the Comforter," I obtained his kind permiffion to extradl from that work the paflages he had given there. TR. Wbat it is for Cbriff to go away from us. 360 Sermon for the How when the Holy Gboft truly cometb to us He reprovetb the world in our hearts. Sin is when the will turns ajtde from its natural end. under reproach, in conftant peace amid war and trouble, and all bitternefs will to him become true fweetnefs. Now our Lord faid : "When the Holy Ghoft " cometh, He will reprove the world." What is the world which He will reprove, and how will He reprove it ? He will enable man to fee clearly whether the world is lying concealed within him, hidden in the principle of his being : this he will detect and rebuke. Now what is the world in us ? It is the ways, the workings, the imaginations of the world, the world's comfort, joy, love, and grief, in love, in fear, in forrow, in care; for St. Bernard fays: " With all wherein thou rejoiceft and forroweft, thou " malt alfo be judged." Children, this will the Holy Ghoft, when He comes to us, clearly reveal, and rebuke us on account thereof, fb that we mall never have reft or quiet, ib long as we know and find this evil and noxious poffeilion within us. And when one finds this evil inclination in a man, that he is poflefled by any creature, be it living or dead, and he remains un- rebuked, all this is the world. And when a man keeps this in himfelf unrebuked, this is a true and manifeft fign that the Holy Ghoft has not entered into the principle of his life ; for Chrift has faid : When He comes, He will rebuke all thefe things. " He will reprove the world of fin." What is fin ? Ye know well, dear children, that God has made all things, and appointed each thing for its right end. Thus He made fire that it mould rife up, and ftones that they mould fall down. Thus nature has given to the eye to fee, to the ears to hear, to the hands to Fourth Sunday after Eajier. work, and to the feet to walk ; and thus each mem- ber is obedient to the natural will, without any oppo- fition, whether the matter be eafy or hard, fweet or four, if fo be that the will thoroughly wills it ; thus, too, the members are thoroughly obedient, even when it is an affair of life and death. This appears often in many lovers of this world, how they merrily and joy- fully caft away all eaie, and riches, and honour, for the lake of what they love, to the end that their carnal luft may thus be fatisfied. Now finners fay, Who is thus obedient to God, and thus exacl; in all His com- mandments ? Which of you dares thus to refign for God's fake his body and goods, and all that he likes or fears, nay, every thing fave his confcience, of which God is the rightful Ruler ? Now this is the fin which the Holy Ghoft reproves, that man fo greatly and fo often refills His divine will and admo- nitions. This fin and many hidden offences the Holy Ghoft rebukes when He comes to a man. This rebuke works a quick, fharp, hard judgment in a man, and a hellifh pain, and an intolerable woe, whereof worldly men know little. When this judg- ment is indeed borne, the cafe is fafe. For a thoufand offences which a man truly acknowledges and con- fefles himfelf to be guilty of, are not fo perilous and fo mifchievous to a man as a fmgle offence which thou wilt not recognife nor allow thyfelf to be con- vinced of. Children, thofe who are fo well pleafed with themfelves and others, nor have ever felt any anxiety about their fin, except to prove that they are in the right, are very wrong ; they are in dangerous fin, and will never come to any good. x2 The Holy Gboft reprov- etb this Jin, and maketh a man to judge bimfelf. 3 o8 Sermon for the Secondly, the Holy Ghoft rebrovetb us Jor our felf- rigbteoufnefi. Thirdly, He reprovetb us Jor our judg- ment of others. Next : the Holy Ghoft will reprove the world of righteoufnefs. Alas, merciful God, what a poor miferable thing our righteoufnefs is in the eyes of God ! For St. Auguftine fays : Woe and woe to all righteoufnefs, unlefs Almighty God judge, for He has faid by the prophet Ifaiah : " All your righteoufnefTes " are as filthy rags ; " and our Lord faid : " When " ye have done all that ye can, fay, we are unprofitable " fervants, we have done that which it was our duty " to do." He who thinketh fomewhat of himfelf when he is nought, deceiveth himfelf, as St. John faith. Many a man is fo heartily well pleafed with his own ways, that he will neither open his heart to God nor to man, and keeps his eyes carefully fhut, that he may not let God into his foul. If our Lord comes to him with his admonitions, directly or indi- rectly, he follows his own courfe, and heeds them not a ftraw. Such men are utterly untoward, both to God Almighty and to all his creatures : but wher- ever the Holy Ghoft comes, he reproves thefe men's ways ; for wherever he is, man perceives his faults plainly, and learns felf-renunciatidn, humblenefs, and all things that belong to eternal life. Thirdly : the Holy Ghoft reproves man for judg- ment. What is this judgment ? It means that every man paffes judgment on his neighbour, and that they have no eyes for their own faults and fin, although Chrift has faid : " With what meafure thou meteft, " \vith the fame it mall be meafured to thee again : " " Judge not that ye be not judged." A holy man has faid : " By as many as thou haft^ unjuftly con- " demned, malt thou be judged." The people all Fourth Sunday after E after. 309 want to be priefts and provincials, that they may have a right to fit in judgment, and know not what they are themfelves. And know that therewith ye build great thick walls between God and yourfelves. Children, beware of judging any but yourfelves, as ye love God and your fouls and everlafting happinefs. A man mould judge nothing that is not a plain mortal fin. I would rather bite my tongue that it bleed, than judge any man. One mould leave this to the eternal judgment of God ; for from man's judgment upon his neighbours there grows a complacency in one's felf, an evil arrogance, and a contempt for one's neighbour. This fruit is therefore truly a feed of the Devil, whereby many a heart is defiled, and therein the Holy Ghoft dwelleth not. But where the Holy Ghoft is truly with His prefence, He judges by that fame man where it is neceflary ; and then that man waits for the hour and occafion when it is fitting to punifh. This muft not be done fo that when we would heal one wound, we inflicT: two in doing it ; not with violence, or harfh words, nor fo as to crufh a man nor lower him in any other man's heart ; but we mould do it as from love and gentlenefs, and fb as to preferve our own humility and poverty of fpirit which we then bear within us wherever we go, and whatever we do, whether amid a congregation or alone. And herewith we profit no one elfe but our- felves in a true fimplicity ; and let all fuch things alone as do not concern us and arc not committed to us. Children, ye mail not feck after great fcience. Simply enter into your own inward principle, and learn to know what you yourfelves are, fpiritually and x3 Of the fpirit and the man- ner in which we Jhould adminifter rebuke. Knowledge is not to be the great end of our ftrh'ing, 310 Sermon for the but the obey- ing of that which toe know. Afts i. 7. naturally, and do not dive into the fecret things of God, afking queftions about the efflux and reflux of the Aught into the Naught, or the eiTence of the foul's fpark, for Chrift has faid : " It is not for you to know " the times or the feafons which the Father hath put in " His own power." Therefore, let us maintain a true, entire, fimple faith in one God in a Trinity of Per- fons, and yet not as manifold, but as one and fimple. For Arius and Sabellius, who had a wonderful under- ftanding of the Trinity, and the wife Solomon and Origen, who have marvelloufly inftrucl:ed the holy Church, what has become of them ? \V^e know not. Wherefore, look to yourfelves, and know that no one is anfwerable for you but yourfelves. Therefore, give heed to God and His will, and to the calling where- with He has called you, that ye may follow it in in- tegrity and finglenefs of heart. And if you know not what God's will is, then follow thofe who have been more enlightened by the Holy Spirit than yourfelves ; and if you have not thefe either, then go alone to God : without doubt He will give you purely and {imply that which you need, if you continue inftant in prayer for it. If you are not fatisfied with this, then, in all doubtful cafes, confider the matter with fincerity and earneftnefs, and choofe that courfe which you fee to be moft bitter to nature, and to which you feel Icaft inclined. Do this in the firft place, for in each death of nature, God becomes moft truly living in you, and w r ill grow in you of a certainty. Now, children, fmce the Holy Ghoft could not be given unto the dear difciples unlefs Chrift went away from them, we mould in reafon look to fee with what Fourth Sunday after Eajler. we arc holding converfe. Wherefore forfake all things for God, and then God will be truly given unto you in all things. If you do this in earneft, and with your eyes conftantly fixed upon the truth, you fhall receive a wonderful reward of God, even in this prefent time. And " when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He " will guide you into all truth." . . . " And He will " fhow you things to come." Dear children, the Holy Ghoft will not teach us all things in the fenfe that we mall be given to know whether there will be a good harveft or vintage, whether bread will be dear or cheap, whether the prefent war will come to an end fbon. No, dear children ; but He will teach us all things which we can need for a perfect life, and for a knowledge of the hidden truth of God, of the bondage of nature, of the deceitfulnefs of the world, and of the cunning of evil fpirits. Children, walk in the ways of God diligently, earneftly, and circum- fpecHy ; and give heed to the calling in which God by His mercy hath called you, and follow it faithfully. Do not, as fbme do, who, when God will have them to mind the affairs of their foul, attend to outward things ; and when God fummons them to outward duties, want to turn their thoughts inwards. This is a hard, poor, perverfe courfe. Thus when the Holy Ghoft comes to us, He teaches us all truth ; that is, He mows us a true picture of our failings, and confounds us in ourfelves, and teaches us how we mall live fmgly and purely for the truth, and teaches us to fink humbly into a deep humility, and to caft ourfclves utterly down beneath God and beneath every creature. This is a true art x4 In what fenfe the Holy Gboft will teach us all things. How He Jbotoetb us a true piflure of ourf elves. 3 12 Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Eafter. in which all art and wifdom is concluded, and which we indifpenfably need for our true perfection and felicity. This is a true, hearty humility, without any pretence, and not in word or outward mow, but of a truth wrought into the fubftance of our fouls. May God help us at all times to be thus prepared for the Holy Ghoft to come and enter in to us ! Amen. XVII. Second Sermon for Fourth Sunday after Eafter. Of three hindrances which rejlft the coming of the Holy Ghojl in three clajjes of men. JOHN xvi. 7. " It is expedient for you that I go away : for if I go not away, the Comforter " will not come unto you." ;B SERVE, dear children, how high and in what way man muft be carried up to reach the ftate of his higheft bleflednefs ; for this can only be through a real aban- donment of thofe things which are ef- pecially pleafant and lovely to him and his nature. To all thefe he muft wholly die, and muft let them go, however good, and holy, and fpiritual, and precious he may deem them. For if it was neceffary that Chrift's difciples mould be deprived of His lovely, holy, gracious humanity, to be fitted for receiving the Holy Ghoft, no man, it is certain, can be a recipient of Divine grace whofe heart is pofleft by any creature. Now we find three forts of hindrances in three dif- ferent clafles of men. The firft are fmful perfons, or open fmncrs, who are hindered by the creature, in that they make ufe thereof againft God, according to their own will. Thefe people go aftray in God's way. David fays, " Curfed are they who err in God's way/' How we can reach our bigbejl blejf- ednefi only by dying to nature. How the Holy Gboji is hindered Jrom coming to fame by tbeir Jinful ufe of the 3H Second Sermon for the good things of this life. How others are hindered from receiv- ing Him by flopping at the jign in the holy fa- craments, in- jleadof reach- ing after the eternal truth fignifed. that is, in the creature. There are alfo fundry good folks, who fpend too much care upon the neceflaries of this life, or look too much for pleafure to outward things. Againft thefe Chrift fays, " He who loves " his life mall lofe it ;" that is, carnal love ; he who holds this too dear lofes his life ; " and he who hates " his life mall receive everlafting life ;" that is, they who refift their diforderly lufts and delires, and do not follow them. The fecond hindrance is when good people are kept back in true fpirituality through the mifufe of the feven facraments. He who dwells with pleafure on the fign of a holy facrament, does not get to the inward truth ; for the facraments all lead to the pure truth. Marriage is a fign of the union of the Divine and human natures, and alfo of the union of the foul with God : but he who would ftop at the fign alone is hindered by his outward fenfes from reaching the eternal truth ; for this is not a true marriage. There are alfo fome who make too much of repentance and confeflion, and cleave to the fign, and do not ftrive to reach the pure truth. Againft thefe Chrift fays, " He " who is warned needeth not fave to warn his feet ;" that is, he who has once been warned with a hearty repentance and fincere confefTion needs nothing more than that he confefs his daily fins, and not his old fins, which he has already repented of and confeft ; but he muft warn his feet that is, his defires and confcience ; thefe he muft purify from his daily fins. Moreover many good men, by {pending too much anxiety on out- ward geftures towards the facred Body of our Lord, hinder themfelves in divers ways, fo that they cannot Fourth Sunday after Eqfter. receive Him fpiritually, and enter inwardly into the truth ; for this is a defire after a real union, and not in appearance merely. Hence they do not receive the facrament worthily ; for all facraments are the fign of Spiritual truth. Here it is to be remembered that we ought to worfhip God in all places and at all times. He who will worfhip the Father muft concentrate his whole mind in afpiration and faith. Thefe are the higheft powers of the foul ; for they are above time, and know nothing of time nor of the body. So St. Paul tells us, " that we ought to rejoice evermore, pray without " ceafing, and in everything give thanks." Now, thofe pray without ceafing who do all their works alike for the love of God, and not for any felfifh enjoyment, and humbly bow down before God, and let Him work alone. When the higheft powers of the foul are thus gathered together in prayer, the foul becomes infpired, and if henceforward the fpirit cleave unto God with an entire union of the will, it is " made a partaker of " the Divine nature," and then, for the firft time, docs the man offer up true worfhip, for he has at- tained the end for which he was created. But there are fome, ay, many people, who do not rightly worfhip the Father in the truth. For fo foon as a man prays to God for any creature, he prays for his own harm ; for fmce a creature is a creature, it bears its own bitternefs and difquiet, pain and evil, about it : therefore fuch people meet their deferts when they have trouble and bitternefs, for they have prayed for it. He who feeks God, if he fecks any- thing befide God, will not find Him ; but he who How we may worjhip God in all times and places. Of tbofe who feek the crea- ture and not God in their prayers. 316 Second Sermon for the Of thofe who are hindered from receiv- ing the Holy Gbojl by look- ing only to the humanity of Chrift. John xiv. 6. feeks God alone in the truth, will find Him, and all that God can give, with Him. Again, many good people hinder themfelves in their perfection by this, that they look folely to the hu- manity of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and that they give themfelves too much to vifions : that is to fay, that they are too fond of contemplating the images of out- ward things in their minds, whether it be angels or men, or the humanity of Chrift, and believe what they are told when they hear that they are fpecially favoured, or of other men's faults or virtues, or hear that God purpofes to do Ibmething by their means Herein they are often deceived, for God never does anything through any creature, but only through His own pure goodnefs. And He even faid to His dif- ciples, "It is good for you that I go away;" foraf- much as to them that wifh to be His difciples in high perfection, His humanity is a hindrance if they fix upon it, and cleave unto it with efpecial delight ; for they ought to follow God in all His ways ; therefore His humanity fhould lead them onward to His Deity. For Chrift faid, " I am the Way, and the Truth, and " the Life : no man cometh unto the Father but by " Me." Greatly then do they err who fuppofe that they can do anything good of themfelves ; for Chrift fays that of Himfelf He did nothing. Chrift's true humanity we are to worfhip only in its union with His Deity ; for the man Chrift is truly God, and God is truly Man. Therefore we are not to trouble ourfelves about any creature, but folely to feck God, our Lord Jefus Chrift, who is our only Way to the Father. Now even if we come into the Fourth Sunday after Eajler. Way of truth, which is Chrift, yet we are not per- fectly blefled, although we behold the Truth of God : for while we are beholding, we are not one with that which we behold ; fo long as there is anything in our perceptions or understanding, we are not one with the One ; for where there is nothing but One, we can fee nothing but One : for we cannot fee God except in blindnefs, or know Him except in ignorance. St. Auguftine fays that no foul can come to God unlefs it go to God without a creature, and tafte Him with- out a likenefs. Therefore, becaufe the foul is a crea- ture, it mufh cafh itfelf out of itfelf, and in its hour of contemplation muft caft out all faints and angels ; for thefe are all creatures, and hinder the foul in its union with God. For it mould be bare of all things, with- out need of anything, and then it can come to God in His likenefs ; for nothing unites fo much as like- nefs, and receives its colour fo foon ; for God will then give Himfelf to the faculties of the foul, fo that the foul grows in the likenefs of God and takes His colour. The image lies in the foul's powers, the like- nefs in its virtues, the Divine colour in its union ; and thus its union becomes fo intimate that it does not work its works in the form of a creature, but in its divine form, wherein it is united to God ; nay, that its works are taken from it, and God works all its works in His form. And then, while it beholds God, and thus becomes more united with Him, the union may become fuch, that God altogether pours Himfelf into it, and draws it fo entirely into Himfelf that it no longer has any diftindl perception of virtue or vice, or recognifes any marks by which it knows what it How that it is by union and not by vijton that we Jhall be made ble/ed. 3 1 8 Second Sermon for Fourth Sunday after Eafter. The light of nature mujl be fto allowed up in the light of grace. IS itfelf. But God regards the foul as a creature. Therefore let the light of grace overpower the light of nature in you ; for the higher knowledge the foul attains in the light of grace, the darker does it deem the light of nature. If, then, it would know the real truth, it fhould obferve whether it is drawn away from all things, whether it has loft itfelf, whether it loves God with His love, whether it be not hindered by any things, and whether God alone lives in it : if fo, it has loft itfelf, as Mary loft Jefus, when He went into the fchool of His Father's higheft doctrine ; therefore He heeded not His mother. Thus it hap- pens to the nobleft foul that goes into God's fchool ; there it learns to know w r hat God is, in His Deity and in the Trinity, and what He is in His humanity, and to know the all-gracious Will of God. That man is moft truly of God who works all his works out of love, and gives up his will to the will of his Heavenly Father. That we may attain thereunto, being delivered from all hindrances, may God grant us. Amen ! XVIII. Sermon for Afcenfion Day, This third fermon on the Afcenfion tells us how man ought continually to follow after Chrift, as He has walked before us for three and thirty years, pajfing through manifold and great Bufferings, before He returned unto His Father. MARK xvi. 19. " So then after the Lord had fpoken unto them, He was received up into " heaven, and fat on the right hand of God." FTER the Son of God, Jefus Chrift, had eaten with His difciples upon the Mount of Olives, and reproved them, that they had been so long time with Him and yet were fo flow of heart to believe, He was taken up into heaven before their face. Ah, children ! how do you think it ftood then with the hearts of the difciples, who regarded Him with fuch a ftrange love ? For it was not unreafonable that they fhould be filled with a reftlefs, forrowful yearning to follow after Him ; for where your trea- fure is, there will your heart be alfb. By His glorious afcenfion, willeth Jefus Chrift to draw after Him the hearts and minds of all His elecl: Friends, and all their powers, inward and outward, that we may not hence- forward have our dwelling with contentment and fatisfaclion among the things of time ; but that all Hem the dif- ciples of Cbrift do long to follow Him in His glorious af~ cen/ion. 320 Sermon on Afccnjion Day. John xx. 17. If we would follow Cbrijl into the glory of the Father, we muft fol- low in His Jootfteps here. our walk and converfation, pleafure and fatisfa&ion, may be in heaven, and nowhere elfe, where God dwelleth not. It cannot be otherwife but that the members mould follow their Head, Who, as on this day, has afcended^into heaven, and has gone before us in all humility to prepare a place for thofe who mall come after Him ; therefore mould we fay with the Bride, in the Song of fongs : " Draw me, and I " will come after Thee," blefled Lord. And who can hinder us from following evermore after our Head, Jefus Chrift ? For He Himfelf has faid : " I " afcend to my Father and your Father." His origin, His end, His bleffednefs and our bleflednefs, is truly a bleflednefs in Him, for we, with all that we are, have proceeded forth from the fame fource, and therefore we are partakers of the fame End, and deftined to fall into the fame Ocean (if we for our parts will only difpofe ourfelves accordingly). Now let us meditate how Chrift has gone before vis into the glory of His heavenly Father. Therefore, if we defire to follow Him, we muft mark the way which He has shown us and trodden for three and thirty years, in mifery, in poverty, in fhame, and in bitternefs, even unto death. So likewife, to this day, muft we follow in the fame path, if we would fain enter with Him into the Kingdom of Heaven. For though all our mafters were dead, and all our books burned, yet we mould ever find inftrucliion enough in His holy life. For He Himfelf is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and by no other way can we truly and undeviatingly advance towards the fame confummation, than in that in which He hath Sermon for Afcenjion Day. 321 walked as our Exemplar while He was yet upon earth. Now, as the loadftone draws the iron after itfelf, fo doth Chrift draw all hearts after Himfelf which have once been touched by Him; and as when the iron is impregnated with the energy of the load- ftone that has touched it, it follows the ftone uphill although that is contrary to its nature, and cannot rest in its own proper place, but ftrives to rife above itfelf on high ; fo all the fouls which have been touched by this loadftone, Chrift, can neither be chained down by joy nor grief, but are ever rifmg up to God out of themielves. They forget their own nature, and fol- low after the touch of God, and follow it the more eafily and directly, the more noble is their nature than that of other men, and the more they are touched by God's finger. Now let each one mark for himfelf, whether his foul has been touched by God or not. Thofe who have not been touched by God often begin many ex- cellent undertakings from which we might expect that great things would come to pafs ; but if we watch them for a time, behold it all comes to nothing ; for they fbon fall back again, and they plunge once more into all their old cuftoms, and give themfelves up to their natural inclinations. They do juft as the un- trained dogs in the chafe, which have no perception of the noble quarry, but run with all fpeed after the good dogs of nobler breed. And verily, if they kept on running, they would with them bring down the ftag. But no ; in the fpace of fbme fliort hour or fo, they look about them, and lofe fight of their How the hearts which have been touched by Cbrijl mujl needs follow after Him. How we may know whether our hearts have been touched by God by ex- amining whe- ther we make progrefs or ftandjiill. 322 Sermon for Afcenjion Day. It is ear fault if our hearts have not been thus touched. companions, or they ftand ftill with their nofe in the earth, and let the others get ahead of them, and fo they are left behind. But the dogs of noble breed, who have come upon the fcent of this noble quarry, eagerly purfue after it, through fire and water, through brake and bum, till they have brought down their game. So do thofe noble-minded men, who have caught a glimpfe of the Higheft Good ; they never flacken ftep till they have come up with it. Now the other fort of men remain at the fame point, and make no progrefs in their whole life : but all fuch as ftand ftill while they are in this ftate, and make no progrefs before death, muft ftand ftill for ever here- after; fo long as God is eternal. Children, if our fouls have not been touched by God's finger, we have no right to lay the caufe of it to the charge of the Eternal God, as men often do when they fay, figuratively : " God does not touch " me, nor move me, as He does fuch and fuch an " one/' This aflertion is falfe. God touches, im- pels, and admonimes all men alike, and (fo far as it refts with Him) will have all men to be faved ; but His touch, His admonitions and His gifts, find a different reception and refponfe in different men. With many, when God comes to them with His touch and His gracious gifts, He finds the chambers of their foul occupied and defiled by other guefts. So then, He muft needs go His way, and cannot come in to us, for we are loving and ferving fome one elfe. Therefore, His gifts, which He offers without ceafmg to every man, remain unaccepted. This is the caufe of our eternal lofs : the guilt is ours, and not God's. Sermo7i for ^tfcenjion Day. 323 How much ufelefs trouble do we create for our- felves ; infomuch that we neither perceive our own condition nor God's prefence, and thereby do our- felves an unfpeakable and eternal mischief. Againft this, there is no better or surer remedy than an in- ftant, refolute turning away of the thought, and hearty, fervent, continual prayer. Hereby we may obtain this fteadfaftnefs, together with a firm, and entire, and loving truft in the unfathomable mercy of God, in which lies all our falvation, and likewife a diligent and faithful watchfulnefs, to keep our goings ever in accordance with the will of God, that all we do or abftain from, and all our affections, fpi- ritual and natural, may remain at all times agreeable to the will of God. Children, the place from which Chrifl afcended up to heaven was the Mount of Olives. This mountain had three forts of light. The firfl was from the funrife, for the hill is high and flopes towards the Eafl ; and when the fun no longer mone on the mountain, its rays were reflected from the golden roof of the temple ; and, thirdly, on that hill grew the eflential material of light, the olive-tree. So likewife the foul in which God mall arife fweetly as without a cloud, muft be a lofty hill, raifed above thefe perifhable earthly things, and be illuminated by three kinds of light ; that is to fay, there muft be a place whereon the rays of the high and holy Trinity can mine and bring forth God's high and noble work in the foul, according to all His will, and fo that the brightnefs of the Eternal God may flow into that foul. This mountain lay between Jerufalem and Bethany. Y2 How the foul muft be as a kill for the fun of rigbteoufnefs to rife upon it. Sermon for Afcenjion Day. The true fol- lowers of Cbrijl mujt defcend with Him into Bethany, the valley of tears. Ps. lxxxiv.6. Now, know of a truth that whofoever will truly fol- low after Chrift, muft mount or climb this hill, toil- fome or weary as the tafk may be ; for there is no mountain on the face of the earth, however beautiful and delightful, but what is difficult and toilfome to afcend. Thus, whofoever will follow Chrift, muft furely caft off Nature and her lufts. Now we find many who would gladly follow Him without pain or toil and as long as the path was eafy, and would fain be upon this mountain on the fide looking towards Jerusalem, which fignifieth peace, that it mould minifter to their peace, and they mould be without contradiction. Such perfons experience in themfelves comfort, peace and joy ; yet they come to nought. They will not fet foot on the other fide that looks towards Bethany, which name fignifies the pain of obedience or of fuffering. Of which place the prophet fays in the Pfalms : " Who palling through the valley " of Baca make it a well." Know, dear children, he who will not pitch his tent in this valley, remaineth unfruitful, and nothing will ever come of him. How- ever great his peace, and however fair his feeming, it muft have an end. Therefore, a devout heart mall ever have a fbrrowful yearning after her Beloved, who has afcended to fuch diftant and lofty heights, whither her eye cannot follow or trace Him. Hence, the more truly and deeply the ground of a man's foul has been touched by God, the more truly does he find this valley of tears within him. And had he no other caufe for tears, there were need enough of them by reafon of fin and the defilement that lies hidden in our frail nature, by which man is fo often and fo Sermon for Afcenfion Day. 325 greatly hindered from a lofty converfe r \-ith God (which might and ought by God's grace to go on without ceafing within the foul), and from the fweet afpira- tions by which a man mould continually carry up all things to God, but that grofs nature hinders him and turns his thoughts afide, and alfb often rules in fecret where God alone ought to have His conftant abode. This is the meaning of the other fide of the mountain looking towards Bethany. But he who mould experience in himfelf all that I have faid, would then have his face turned towards Jeru- falem, the city of peace, and thus would become wife as to all that he mould do or leave undone, and able to dif- tinguilh between the promptings of God and of nature. Further, this would ftrengthen him that he might be the better able to bear pain and forrow, and not grow too weak by reafbn of his fufferings and mifery, when he is forfaken of God, and left without comfort or help in bitter defolation. The wile man fays : " My " fon, when the evil days come, thou malt not forget " the goodnefs of God." Children, thefe two prof- peels towards Jerufalem and Bethany muft be both at once in the foul of man. For Jerufalem means a city of peace ; yet in this fame city, Chrift was put to death, and had to fuffer all manner of torments. Truly, child, fo muft thou alfo in perfect peace fuffer and die to all that is thine, for it cannot be other- wife ; and commit thy caufe fimply and truly to God, and renounce thyfelf utterly, for thou too muft needs fall into the hands of the wicked Jews, who will and muft torment, fcourge, and crucify thee, and caft thee out of their borders, as if thou wert a false traitor ; and Y 3 Thus Jb all l?c come unto Jerufalem, the city of peace ; but, like Cbrift, be mujidietbere. 326 Sermon for Sljcenjion Day. John xvi. z. Of the olive- tree of true devoutnefs. flay thee in the hearts of all men. Dear child, thou muft utterly die, if God Himfelf without a medium is to become thy life and being. Nay, did not Chrift Himfelf fay to His difciples : " Whofoever flayeth " you will think that he doeth God fervice ? " For all thofe who defpife and judge thee, or torment and flay thee, will be perfuaded in their own minds that they are doing God a fervice on thee, and mean to do fo. Ah ! dear children, how greatly blefled were fuch a man, if he neverthelefs were a dweller in Jerufalem, and had a perfect peace in himfelf, in the midft of all this difquiet ! Then would the very peace of God be indeed brought forth in man. Children, on this Mount grows the olive-tree, by which is fignified true godly devoutnefs. Ah ! chil- dren, the eflence of devoutnefs is a cleaving of the whole fpirit to God, with a mind ready and prepared at all times to love and to purpofe all that is of God, fo that the man is inwardly united with God in will and purpofe and all things. This is an oil that overflows and rifes above all tafting and feeling. Haft thou this olive-tree growing in the ground of thy foul, thou art in truth a devout man. This flame of devo- tion lhall often be refrefhed and renewed with the fire of Divine love, and thou fhalt unceafmgly look at and through the ground of thy foul, that nothing may be concealed there which is not truly and merely God's; fb that nature may not rule and work in the ground of thy foul, where God alone fliould dwell, and nought elfe. For, alas ! we find many, both among the reli- gious and the worldly, who do not fimply purpofe God in all things and nothing elfe, but will intend them- Sermon for Afcenjion Day. 327 felves in things fpiritual and natural. \Ve find very few who ferve God for His own fake, and do not regard comfort, nor joy, nor divine gifts in time or eternity, but God alone, and no objed: befides. And now may God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft, grant us to afcend with the eternal Son of God from this miferable ftate, and from all crea- tures, that we may with Him poflefs eternal life ! Amen. Y4 XIX. Sermon for Whit Sunday. JOHN vi. 44. " No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath fent Me draw him." Of tbe for- lorn ft ate of tbe difciples after Cbriji's deatb> ARs i. 14. and bow God drew them out of it unto Himfelf. HUS faid the bleffed Jefus : " No man " can come to Me except the Father " which hath fent Me draw him." The perfecuted, difheartened difciples of Jefus, who were held captive in the bonds of ignorance as with iron fetters, and in their own efteem were lying in the deep dungeons of their tref- pafles, confefling themfelves ftript of all their own might, cried with fervent prayer to the Almighty Father (as St. Luke tells us, that while they were " waiting for the promife of the Father," they " con- " tinued with one accord in prayer and fupplication"), praying that their bonds might be loofed, and that they might be delivered from their prifon-houfe. Wherefore their Heavenly Father, to whom they had made known their requefts in faith, heard their prayer, and fet them free from all bonds, and drew them out of their dungeon by fix fleps into the glo- rious liberty of the Holy Spirit, where they were filled with all truth. Firft of all, He turned His merciful eyes upon them, and made them fit to receive, not only His ordinary influences, whereby He is wont to bring men Sermon for Whit Sunday. 3*9 unto Himfelf, but He fought to bring them unto Himfelf in a peculiar manner above other men. For we find three other ways by which God draws men unto Himfelf. The firft is by means of the crea- tures, in whom He very clearly reveals Himfelf to men through the created light of their fouls. Thus St. Thomas tells us how fbme heathen, from the evidences of His in-dwelling and prefence in all the creatures, have maintained that God is the creator and ruler of the world, and how therefore in every part of the world honours ought to be rendered unto Him. In this drawing by means of the creatures, does God give a hint and offer of Himfelf to man. The fecond way is by His voice in the foul, when an eternal truth myfterioufly fuggefts itfelf. So St. Auguftine fays, that the heathens have difcourfed of certain truths, and thefe they have reached by virtue of the eternal laws of God which are working in all men when they fpeak what is true, and not by the mere light of their own nature. As Auguftine fays : " Whatever is true, by whomfoever it is fpoken, pro- " ceeds from the Holy Ghoft." Hence, at thole mo- ments when all the powers of the foul are collected and turned inwards, it often happens that fbme eternal truth presents itfelf with irrefiftible clearness. This happens not unfrequently in morning fleep, juft before waking. This fort of drawing may be called a whifper of love, or a monition. The third way is when the human will is fubdued, and flands waiting for the blefled Will of God, truly ftript of itfelf and all things, fo that the Almighty Father draws the created will without refiftance, and it leans towards How God drawetb men to Himfelf by means of the creatures, by His voice in the foul revealing truths. by the fubdu- ing of the will unto Himfelf. 330 Sermon for Whit Sunday. Wherefore God cboofes fame rather than others for the objefts of His fpecial leadings. Him with peculiar delight. This drawing may be called a union and an embrace. This drawing of the will towards God comes from the Higheft Good ; from Him who has created heaven and earth, and all the creatures, for man's fake, and yet humbled Him- felf even unto death. Now it is becaufe He has a greater delight in man than in all the glories of heaven and earth, and for no other reafbn, that He feeks him out and gives him monitions through all things. It was that He might thus draw the beloved difciples unto Himfelf that He caft His eye of mercy on them, and through bleffing and affliction turned and difpofed their wills until He fitted them to receive and follow His leadings. And it was becaufe the difciples let Him work in them as it pleafed Him, that they came at laft to experience the fall power of His drawing, as we may fee in all that happened to them afterwards. Now fome may afk, Why did God thus prepare the difciples for His leadings, and not me, or others before me, in whom He has not wrought after fuch a fpecial manner ? For this fpecial leading there were two caufes : the firft is the fbvereign will of God, who choofes fome men above others to be partakers of His myfteries and hidden fweetnefs ; juft as a King, out of his mere good pleafure, choofes certain knights to compofe his privy council and to be about his perfbn. The fecond caufe is that one man liftens more atten- tively to God's voice, and takes more pains to difcover God's leadings, or endeavours more ftrenuoufly to lay afide his faults and whatever comes between him and God ; and for this caufe alfo one man is more ftrongly drawn than another. Now becaufe the dear difciples Sermon for Whit Sunday. 33 i had this mind in them, that with hearty repentance they befought forgivenefs for all their paft life of ignorance and fin, and meditated on the fweet teach- ings and holy life and death of their beloved Mafter and His boundlefs love and refignation, and forfook all things, and watched continually and committed them- felves wholly to God, ever waiting to difcern His will, and gave heed thereto, and did without means fo far as they could, and prayed for help when they could not ; therefore this fpecial drawing was given unto them, as it is ftill given to this day to thofe who follow in their footfteps. Now it may be afked, But the difciples could not have made this firft ftep of their own power ; for the Word of Truth fays : " Without Me ye can do no- " thing." Therefore, it muft have been neceflary for God to draw them, and to influence their will, even as regards thefe three points already treated of. But if this be fo, all hangs upon the firft caufe, as has been faid before. To this the doctrine of Scripture anfwers : It is true that we can do no good thing without God's ordinary influence, except we make progrefs by means of a fpecial influence from the Holy Spirit ; yet, at the fame time, man may do his part, inafmuch as his will has power to withftand the offers of the Holy Spirit, and to cleave to his own way. God does not juftify a man without his own free will ; even as our eyes cannot fee except they are enlightened by the fun or any other light, yet even when we have the light we muft open our eyes, or we can never fee it. If the eyes were covered with a thick veil or fcreen, the man muft take it away or he could fee nothing, how- Oftbe extent of man's powers, and bow that be is free to rejift the mo- nitions of God's Spirit. 332 Sermo7i for Whit Sunday. How the Father drew the difciples out of capti- vity to fenfe. Matt. x. 9, 10. Of the fchool of Eternal Light. ever brightly the fun might pour forth his rays. Now, when the Almighty Father came unto the difciples with His Divine light, they opened their eyes, and caft away the fcreen of outward forms, as much as might be ; therefore, God did His part alfo, and drew them up unto Himfelf after a fpecial manner. This was the work of the lovely, Divine Son, who is the reprover of all hearts, clearing out all ftumbling- blocks and rending away all veils of darknefs from the inward eye of the foul. Secondly, theirHeavenly Father drew them forth from the bonds of flavery to fenfe, fo that they were delivered from this captivity never again to fall into it, but to ftand ready in perfect acquiefcence to receive His further leadings. Wherefore he gave them, by His beloved Son, four precepts, according to which they mould order their lives, as St. Matthew tells us : " Provide " neither gold, nor filver, nor brafs, in your purfes, nor " fcrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither fhoes, " nor yet ftaves." He who only confiders the matter aright, will find that this drawing them up above the things of the body was very necefTary, if they were to enter the fchool of the Eternal Light. For this fchool has four qualities. Firfl, that it is raifed far above all time, not only in the third heaven, phyfically fpeaking, but above all the movements of the heavenly bodies, and all elfe that is fubjecl: to time. In the fecond place, that whatever maybe found ftill remaining of felf-appropria- tion is not suffered to make itself a home and refting- place in the heart. In the third place, in this fchool is perfect refl ; for no florins, nor rain, nor fin, nor aught that can bring change, is there. Fourthly, there reigns Sermon for Whit Sunday. 333 perpetual light, clear and unbedimmed ; for the fun and moon, which set from time to time, and leave the earth in darknefs, do not mine there. God is their eternal fun, mining in His brightnefs. Now, feeing that all material, created things are bafe, narrow, fub- jecl: to change and alloy, it was needful that the dif- ciples mould be raifed above the trammels of material things, for St. Jerome fays : " It is as impoffible for " God to beftow Himfelf under the limitations of " time, or temporal things, as it is for a flone to " pofTess the wifdom of an angel." Here a queftion occurs : Since the Eternal Father draws fome men from earth by happinefs, and others by pain, by which were the difciples mofl ftrongly drawn ? I anfwer : If you confider their life, you will find that they were drawn to God much more by great hardfhips than by enjoyment ; for even while Chrifl dwelt with them, they were always suffering contempt, and contradiction to their felf-love ; and after His holy death, until they were lifted up as on this day, they were indeed well-nigh crufhed to the earth with fbrrow and difappointment, before the bonds were withdrawn from their eyes ; and their Heavenly Father ordered it thus out of fpecial love toward them. To be drawn to God through pain is in itfelf a furer way than by joy, as St. Gregory fays, para- phrafing on the Pfalmift : " In time of perfecution " and tribulation, a thoufand mall fall by thy fide ; but " in a time of profperity and good fortune ten thoufand " mall fall at thy right hand." So, too, is it more like Chrifl in all His life and death ; and, moreover, it is a greater proof of love ; for it is faid : " Whom the The difciples were drawn unto God more power- fully by for - row than by happinefs. Heb. xii. 6. 334 Sermon for Whit Sunday. How the Father drew the difciples up above the corporeal ideas of ChrijPs humanity. " Lord loveth He chafteneth, and fcourgeth every fbn " whom He receiveth." Wherefore, as the difciples were to receive many peculiar and myfterious favours from God, fo this was to be paid for beforehand, and for each gift a death was to be fuffered a dying unto themfelves ; and if one trial was removed by God, He forthwith fent another equally fevere (as He does to this day with His beloved friends), and they underftood this, and endured to the end all that their Hea- venly Father laid upon them, until they came to have their fuffering turned into gladnefs, and rejoiced that they were found worthy to fuffer for the name of Jefus. Thirdly, their Heavenly Father drew them up above all the corporeal ideas that they had of the humanity of Chrift, making their minds as bare of thofe and all other images, as they were when firft created, in order that henceforward, according to their neceflities, they might learn for evermore in the fchool of the Holy Spirit. For this we are able to perceive four reafons. Firft ; that truth and love, which are the end of all teaching in all fchools, have no images nor any exift- ence outfide the foul ; for no painting can, properly fpeaking, depicT: truth and love ; for they have no images, external or internal. No image or type which we can devife to exprefs love, is love itfelf; and it is the fame with truth. Next ; that in the fchool of the Spirit, man does not learn through books, which teach through outward images addreffed to the fenfes ; but here the truth, which of its nature does not fpeak by means of images, is fpoken into the foul itfelf. Hence the humble St. Francis commanded the Sermon for Whit Sunday. 335 brethren of his Order not to trouble themfelves too much "with books and letters, and that thofe who were unlettered ihould not be anxious about acquiring learning, but remember to covet above all things the Spirit of God, and pray only for a pure heart and His influences. Thirdly ; becaufe in the fchool of the Spirit man learns wifdom through humility, know- ledge by forgetting, how to fpeak by filence, how to live by dying. For St. John was fleeping when he looked into the fount of eternal wifdom, and St. Paul knew not whether he was in the body or out of the body, when he was " caught up to the third heaven " and heard unfpeakable words, which it is not lawful " for a man to utter." Therefore it was needful for the difciples to be deprived of all images that they might learn in this fchool. Fourthly ; where the mind is bufied with images, time muft neceflarily enter into the operations of the imagination, and this has no place in the higheft fchool of the Holy Spirit ; for there neither time nor images can help us, but contact is all that is needed, the which may happen without time within the fpace of a moment. St. Gregory fays : " The Holy Ghoft is an admirable " mailer-workman ; He fills a fifherman, and makes a " preacher of him ; He fills a perfecutor, and tranf- " forms him into a teacher of the Gentiles ; He fills a " publican, and makes of him an evangelift. Who is " this mafter-workman ? He needs not time for His " teachings ; by whatever means He choofes, fb fbon " as He has touched the foul, He has taught it, and " His mere touch is His teaching." For thefe four realbns we can perceive how that it was neceflary for 2 Cor. xii. 2,4. Of the teach- ing of the ' Holy Gboft. 33~ Sermon for Whit Sunday. How the Father drew the difciples forth from the captivity to Self into the freedom of His children. the disciples to have their fouls bereft of all images. But when they were drawn upwards to this end, not all happened to them which happened to St. Paul, when he was caught up to the third heaven ; for, in the opinion of St. Auguftine, it was given to Paul in his trance, and to Mofes in Sinai, to behold the God- head without a veil. This was not the cafe with the difciples at this time, for they well knew that they were ftill in the body. Yet their hearts were fo lifted up, and their minds fo illumined with eternal truth, that they were enabled to receive that fame thing, though fbme more and fome lefs, which St. Paul afterwards received in his vifion. In the Fourth place ; the Holy Father drew them out of themfelves, and delivered them from all natural felf-feeking, fo that they flood at reft, in true peace w r ith themfelves, and in perfect freedom. Then ceafed all the mourning, fears, and pain which they had fuf- fcred hitherto ; for in the lifting up of their fouls, there was an acl: of fuch entire felf-furrender, that they reached the fummit of that firft ftage of the Chriftian courfe of which we have fpoken above. Hencefor- ward the Eternal Father could fulfil His good pleafure in them without any refiftance from their will or natural inclinations. The Eternal Father thus drew them upwards, that He might reign as a mafter in them, in His omnipotence, greatnefs, unity, and love, and they mould learn of Him and grow up into His likeness. Hence it was needful that they mould be drawn out of themfelves, becaufe they could not be free, at one, noble and loving, fo long as they were held captive to Self. It may be afked : When the Sermon for Whit Su?iday. 337 difciples were thus drawn out of themfelves, and all images were effaced from their fouls, w r as there an ex- tinction of their natural powers, fo that they were dead to nature ? I anfwer, No : their nature was not ex- tinguifhed, for they were much more truly according to nature in their felf-furrender than they had ever been before ; for what the Lord of nature ordains for a creature, that it is natural for the creature to obferve, and if it departs therefrom, it acls contrary to nature. Thus St. Auguftine fays, " that the rod in the Old Tef- " tament was turned into a ferpent was not contrary to " nature, for it was God's will." Wherefore I fay too, that inafmuch as the difciples furrendered themfelves ut- terly to the Divine "Will, they were in the higheft fenfe in harmony with nature; and their nature did not perim, but was exalted and brought into rightful order. There were no fewer images in their minds than before ; but the images did not difturb their inward harmony or move them out of God. And when I faid that their minds were to be emptied of images, it is to be un- derftood in this fenfe, that it was juft as when you let a lighted taper at midday in the funmine, the taper continues to burn, and fheds forth no lefs light than it did before ; but its light is loft in the funmine, becaufe the greater light prevails over the lefTer and abfbrbs it, fb that it no longer feems to mine with a feparate luftre, but is diffufed and fhed forth in the greater light. Thus I faid of images and of creatures in the cafe of the difciples, that henceforth they per- formed all their works by means of the Divine light, and yet were much more according to nature, and their minds were as full of images as before. How that grace brings us into har- mony with nature. How the light of nature is loft and ab- forbed in the Divine light. 338 Sermon for Whit Sunday. How God givetb Him- felf unto tbofe that have given tbem- f elves to Him. How God givetb not Himjelfin the fame de- gree to all, but according to their capa- city of love. Fifthly : the Heavenly Father drew His difciples, thus free and acquiefcing, into fo clofe a union that He gave Himfelf as truly unto them, as they had given themfelves unto Him. Then all the defire of the good pleasure of God was fulfilled, and alfo all the de- fires of the difciples, fb that God's will with them went no farther than their own wills. Not only did the Holy Ghoft give himfelf unto them, but alfb God the Father and the Son gave themfelves with the Spirit, as one God without diftinclion of perfons. For when love is attributed to the Holy Spirit (as wifdom to the Son), He muft be confldered as a diftincl: Perfbn, as touching his attribute of being the bond of mutual love, but not as otherwife diftincl:. Here fome may afk, if the difciples were all drawn out of themfelves, and gave themfelves up to God, did God draw them all to Himfelf in the fame degree, and alfo give Himfelf alike to all ? I anfwer : though all the difciples w-ere fet free of felf, yet one turned to God with warmer love and ftronger defire than another ; as the angels who kept their firft eftate all remained in perfect obedience to God, and yet one cleaved to Him with greater love than another. \Vherefore God gave Himfelf more to one than to another, though all with like fincerity turned unto Him. Thus was it with the difciples ; they turned unto God with un- equal affections, and hence God beftowed Himfelf and His gifts upon them after an unequal manner. The beloved difciple John was the moft highly favoured becaufe he looked up to God with the greateft fervour of love. It is true, neverthelefs, that in this matter much muft be afcribed to the fovereign will of God, Sermon for Whit Sunday. 339 who giveth to every man as He will. Further, we muft note that it was not only on the Day of Pente- coft that God gave Himfelf perfonally to His difciples ; for, as Richard and other doctors fay, fo often as that grace is given to man which makes the creature to find favour in the fight of God, fo often is the Perfbn of the Holy Ghoft given unto him. Thus the difci- ples had many times before received the Perfon of the Holy Ghoft, but they had never before utterly re- nounced themfelves, and opened their hearts to His gifts. Hence, in this fenfe, He was firft given unto them on the Day of Pentecoft. Sixthly, the Eternal Father brought them into the higheft fchool of the Holy Spirit, in the which they ftraightway underftood the myfteries of the Holy Scriptures, and the fimple naked truth of God, which cannot be underftood by any of the mere earthly mafters in the schools. And in this fchool the great- nefs of God was firft laid open to them ; and therewith the gift of childlike fear of God fank down into their hearts, and abode there unto their life's end. Next, all power was given unto them, and they were enabled always to look up to God ; and herewith they obtained the gift of ftrength. In the third place, they learnt not only to obey the precepts, but alfo to apprehend the counfel of Chrift, and therewith they received the gift of counfel. Fourthly, He taught them to feel the hidden fwectnefs of God, and gave them therewith the gift of charity. Fifthly, He taught them how to obferve and judge the creatures, and to distinguish between the light of God and the fuggeftions of na- ture, and therewith beftowed on them the gift of z2 How the dif- ciples were brought into the bigbejl fcbool of the Holy Gbojt, and received His fevenfold 340 Sermon for Whit Sunday. How far the difciples bad an infigbt into natural fcience. fcience. Sixthly, He taught them to perceive aright their prefent condition, and all their previous ftates, and gave them therewith the gift of underftanding. Seventhly, He taught them to be transformed into the likenefs of God, by loving union with Him, and gave them therewith the gift of wifdom. Thefe fevenfold gifts does the Holy Ghoft convey to the difciples in His fchool : for as the fchools of natural learning teach the feven fciences, and the fchool of doctrine the feven facraments, fb does the Holy Ghoft, in his fchool, teach thofe feven things with His fevenfold gifts. Here a queftion arifes : Did the difciples in this high- eft fchool of the Spirit obtain an infight into all thofe fciences which are learnt in the fchool of nature ? I an- fwer, Yes ; it was given them to underftand all fcience, whether touching the courfes of the heavenly bodies, or what not, in fo far as it might conduce to God's glory, or concerned the falvation of man ; but thofe points of fcience which bear no fruit for the foul, they were not given to know. This in no wife abated their happinefs, or their perfection ; for, as St. Auguftine fays : " He is a miferable man who knows all things, " and does not know God ; and he is happy who knows " God, even though he know nothing elfe. But he " who knows God and all elfe befide is not made more " blefTed thereby ; for he is bleffed through God alone." That God may thus draw us up unto Himfelf, and mine into our inmoft parts with the fame truth, may He grant us of His grace ! Amen ! XX. Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity. (From the Gofpel for the day.) This fermon telletb us of four meafures that Jball be rendered unto man, and of two grades of a godly life, and how we ought to love our neighbour. LUKE vi. 36-42. read in the Gofpel for this day that our Lord Jefus Chrift faid : " Be ye therefore " merciful, as your Father alfo is merci- " ful. Judge not, and ye lhall not be "judged ; condemn not, and ye lhall not be condemned ; forgive, and ye mall be forgiven ; give, and it lhall be given unto you : good meafure, prefled down, and lhaken together, and running over, lhall men give into your bofom. For with the fame meafure that ye mete withal, it lhall be meafured to you again. And He fpake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind ? lhall they not both fall into the ditch ? The difciple is not above his mafter : but every one that is perfect lhall be as his matter. And why beholdeft thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but pcrceivcll not the beam that is in thine own eye ? Either how canft thou fay to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou z3 The leflbns to be learnt from the Gofpel for the day. 342 How mercy teacbetb us to entreat our neighbour. " bcholdcft not the beam that is in thine own eye ? " Thou hypocrite, cafl out firft the beam out of thine " own eye, and then malt thou fee clearly to pull out " the mote that is in thy brother's eye." I will fay a few words on the precept : "Be ye " merciful, even as your Father in heaven is mer- " ciful." This noble virtue is, now-a-days, quite a ftranger to the hearts of many, infomuch that it is grievous to behold. For each is called to exercife this mercy towards his neighbour, whereinfoever the latter may have need of it ; not only as regards the giving of earthly goods, but alfo the bearing with his neigh- bour's faults in all gentlenefs and mercy. But no ! each one falls upon his neighbour and judges him ; and as foon as any mifhap befals a man, whether deferved or not, ftraightway, without w r aiting to take thought, another comes along and lends a helping hand to make matters worfe, to put a bad face on them, and fuggefls the moft evil interpretation that he can ima- gine ; nay, it is thanks to God if he do not add a great piece from the {lores of his own wicked imagination. This evil tongue (from which arife untold fbrrows and vexations) is at work at once before a man has time to reflect and pafs a deliberate judgment. Poor crea- ture ! as thou loveft thy eternal falvation, wait, at all events, till thou canft calmly reflecl:, and know what thou thinkeft and fayeft. For it is a bafe and fcanda- lous thing for a man thus thoughtleffly and rafhly to pafs fentence, which may not even be deferved, upon his neighbours, with his fharp, ruthlefs words, whereby he, fpiritually fpeaking, flays his neighbour in the hearts of others. And who has commanded thee to Fourth Sunday after Trinity. 343 pafs judgment ? Wherefore Chrift tells us that who- foever judges another fhall be judged by God : " For " with whatjudgment ye judge, ye fhall be judged; and " with the fame meafure that ye mete, fhall it be " meafured to you again." Of this matter no more for the prefent ; but let us confider thofe words of Chrift : " For with the fame meafure that ye mete, it " fhall be meafured to you again." \Ve read in the Gofpel of four forts of meafure that fhall be given to a man, a good meafure, one fhaken together, one prefTed down, and one running over. The doctors of divinity teach us that a good meafure is for a man while in this prefent time, through the help and grace of God, to be in a ftate of falvation and holinefs, whereby he may enter into eternal life hereafter. The fecond fort of meafure is for the body of a juftified man to be glorified with his foul at the day of judgment : this is the meafure which is added to. The meafure prefsed down is, that a man mould have his portion with all the faints and angels of God in eternal life. The meafure running over is, that a man mould have a perfect fruition of God directly without means. Now, dear children, we will give you yet another expofition of thefe words, and afk : Firft, what is the meafure whereby we fhall be meafured ? Secondly, who is He that meafures ? The meafure whereby we fhall be meafured is the faculty of love in the foul- the human Will. This is, properly fpeaking, the meafure whereby all human words and works and life are meafured, for this is neither added to nor taken from. By fo large a meafure as thou haft meted withal fhall be meted unto thee again with z4 Of the four meafures that may be given to men. How that we Jball be mea- Jured by the power of love in our fouls. 344 Sermon for the Of the good meafure of tboj'e who lead a godly and well-ordered life. Of the beap- ed-up meafure oftbofe to tobom God allots many inward exer- cifes. thine own meafure in eternity. And the meter is thine own enlightened reafon and confcience. Now let us obferve firft concerning the good meafure, that it is, when a man freely and heartily turns to God in his will, and lives circumfpeclly according to the com- mands of God and the holy Church ; and moreover lives orderly in the communion of the holy facra- ments, in the true Chriftian faith, being truly forry for his paft fins, and having a thorough and fteadfaft purpofe to abftain from them henceforward, and to live in penitence and the fear of God, loving God and his neighbour. Alas ! there be few now-a-days who thus do, or even defire to live in the fear of God. Children, one who thus lives is faid to and does lead a juft Chriftian life, and is a true Chriftian man ; and this is a good meafure which, without doubt, hath a part in eternal life. Thefe are rules which all really Chriftian men muft needs obferve. There are fome whom God has invited and called to this "good mea- fure/' and of whom He demands no more than this. And it may very poffibly be appointed and come to pafs that fuch men may walk fo unfpotted and godly in this way, that after death they may enter into eternal life without any purgatory. Yet neverthelefs this is the loweft path by which to approach to our merciful God. After thefe, there is a fecond fort of men whom God has called to tread a much higher path, that they may reach a much higher goal, notwithftanding that fome of thefe mould have to pafs through purgatory, inafmuch as they have not lived perfectly and fault- leffly according to the vocation to which God had Fourth Sunday after Trinity. 345 called them. Thefe have to fuffer fuch long and fharp anguifh in the fire of purification as no human heart can fathom or exprefs. But when they have reached the term of their purification, they rife a thoufand degrees higher than the former clafs of men. With them it {lands thus : that having fet out in a fpiritual, blefled, and holy life, they were overtaken by death ere they had reached their goal. Now when thefe men are in the beginning of their fpiritual life, they praclife many excellent outward exercifes of piety fuch as prayer, weeping, failing, and the like ; but they receive from God a heaped-up meafure, in that they have alfo inward exercifes, fetting themfelves with all diligence to feek God in the inmoft ground of their fouls, for therein is feated the kingdom of God. Their life is very far different from that of the firft clafs I have defcribed. Now, children, would a man attain to fuch a point that the outward things mould not hinder the inward workings of the foul, that wmild be indeed above all a bleffed thing ; for two things are better than one. But if thou find that the outward work hinders the inward working of the foul, then boldly let it go, and turn thou with all thy might to that which is inward, for God efleemeth it far before that which is outward. Now we priefts do on this wife : for during the faft days in Lent we have many {ervices, but at Eafter and Whitfuntide we fliorten our fervices and fay fewer prayers, for the greatnefs of the feilival. So likewife do thou when thou art bidden to this high feftival of inward converfe ; and fear not to lay afide outward exercifes, if elfe they would be a fnare and How that outward ob- fervances are good, but the inward work far tetter and more needful. 346 Sermon for the Of the bene- fits of pious meditation. hindrance to thee, except in fo far as thou art bound to perform them for the fake of order. For I tell thec of a truth, that the pure inward work is a divine and blefled life, in which we mall be led into all truth, if we can but keep ourfelves pure and feparate, and un- difturbed by outward anxieties. So in thy hours of meditation, when thou turneft thy thoughts within, fet before thy mind whatever thou malt find moft helpful to thee, whether it be the noble and unfpotted life of our Lord Jefus Chrift, or His manifold fharp and bitter fufferings, or His many painful wounds and His precious blood-fhedding, or the eternal and efTential Godhead, or the Holy Trinity, or the Eternal Wifdom, or the Divine Power, or the gentle and compaffionate kindnefs of God, or the countlefs benefits that He has beftowed on thee and all men, and will beftow evermore on thee and all thofe who deferve them and are found in God's grace at their end. Therefore, dear children, among all thefe excellent things, whichever moft ftirs you up to true devout- nefs and fervent defire, take, and humbly fink down into the abyfs of God, with great thankfulnefs, and wait for God with this preparation. For, by fuch exercifes, with love, the foul becomes very quick to feel God's touch, far more fo than by any outward practices of devotion. For the inward work is always better than the outward ; and from it the outward works of virtue draw all their power and efficacy. It is as if thou hadft a noble excellent wine, of fuch virtue that a drop of it poured into a cafk of water would be enough to make all the water tafte like Fourth Sunday after Trinity. 347 wine and turned it into good wine. This would be a great miracle ; and fo it is with the noble, excellent, inward work of the foul compared to the outward. Now, we find fome men whofe love is like a very broad veflel ; that is, they can meditate a great deal upon our Lord, and with great defire and fervour, but they are hardly two inches deep. That is to fay, they lack humility and a common godlike love toward all mankind. For, as St. Auguftine fays, " Salvation " does not depend on the length of time that a perfon " has been converted to God, nor on the number of " good deeds performed, but folely on the greatnefs of " his love." This we fee in the example of the huf- bandmen who, with great labour, till the wheatfields and precious vineyards, yet partake not themfelves of thefe beft fruits of the earth, but have only rye to eat and water to drink. So it is with many perlbns, in a fpiritual fenfe, with regard to the outward good works which they do, that other more noble- minded and devout perfons reap the fruit and benefit thereof. Next comes the meafure that is fhaken together ; and this fignifies an overflowing love which draws all things into itfelf ; that is to fay, all good deeds and all forrows, nay every good which is brought to pafs in the world, whether by good or wicked men, does this overflowing love draw into its own veflel. And he who pofTeiTes this love has a much larger ownerfhip and delight in the good actions of another, who does thofe actions but lacks this love, than the doer himfelf. Therefore, if all the pious acT:s, the mafles, vigils, and pfalters that are read and fung, the many great facri- Of thofe wbo have great fervour but little depth, from lack of love to man. Of the mea- fure that is Jbaken toge- ther. 348 Sermo?i for the I Cor.xiii.$. How love po/e/etb all good things. fices that are made for God's fake, of all thefe good things is more meted and allotted to fuch loving men than to thofe who may have done the good works, but do not ftand in this overflowing love. For I tell thee that God will not accept the works of which He is not the beginning and the end ; but, as St. Paul tells us, " Though I beftow all my goods to feed the " poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and " have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." Hence this virtue of godly charity is the greateft of all virtues ; for by love it draws unto itfelf all good deeds, cuftoms, and fervices, in heaven or on earth, which are the fruits of grace : what evil a man has remains his own, but what good he has is the pro- perty of love. Even as when we pour corn into a veffel, all the grains do hurry forward and prefs together as though they defired to become one, fo doth love fwallow up all the goodnefs of angels and faints in heaven, all fuffering and pain, and all the goodnefs that is found in any creature in heaven and on earth, whereof more than can be told is wafted and thrown away, as far as we are concerned, but love doth gather it all up into itfelf, and will not fuffer it to be loft. The godly doctors of Holy Scripture tell us that in heaven the ele do ever bear fuch great love one to another that, if one foul were to perceive and fee that another foul had a clearer vifion and greater fruition of the Deity than herfelf, me would rejoice with her fifter as though me herfelf had won and enjoyed this bleffednefs. There- fore, the more while here on earth we approach and are made like unto this overflowing love, the more Fourth Sunday after Trinity. fhall we enjoy of its blefTednefs hereafter in eternal life ; for he who moft entirely rejoices in good works here on earth in a fpirit of love, he alone fhall pofTefs and enjoy love in eternal life hereafter. But this fame fpirit of love is what the Evil One always hates in a man : wherefore he is ever trying to bring fuch as have it into a falfe felf-righteoufnefs, and into difpleafiire with their neighbours' ways and works, fb that the man conceits within himfelf that his neigh- bour's works are not fo good as they ought to be, and fb in a moment he falleth away from this love, and begins to judge his neighbour and pafs fentence on him. And then from the depth of this judging fpirit darts forth a flinging venomous tongue, that wounds and poisons the foul unto eternal death. This fame arrow of judgment will fmite and flay all the excellent and virtuous works that thou hadft flored up unto thyfelf through an overflowing love, and thus thou wilt find thyfelf defpoiled and laid wafte, and thy peace deftroyed within thce, and then thou wilt be in a miferable and dangerous condition. Wherefore, in godly faithfulnefs, I counfel thee ever to keep thy tongue with all diligence, if thou wouldft be, and call thyfelf, a friend of God. Ofttimes too does the Evil One come and feduce thee into anger with a pious and good man. If thou uttereft this by pafTmg a judgment on him, in thus cutting thyfelf off from the fellowfhip of his love, thou art alfb cut off from participation in the benefits of the gifts with which God has endowed him, and the works of his virtue. Of this brotherly fellowfhip the Pfalmift fays : " It is like the precious ointment How the Evil One fee ks to dejlroy this love by feduc- ing us into a judging fpirit. 35 Sermon for the Of the com- munion of brotherly love. " upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even " Aaron's beard, that went down to the Hurts of his " garments." Now the beard has many hairs, and the precious ointment flows into them all ; but if one hair be cut off, it receives none of this precious oint- ment. In like manner, fo long as thou haft a whole and undivided love towards all men, a mare of the virtues and divine influences beftowed upon all flows out unto thee through this love. But I tell thee, if thou doft fever any one from this fpirit of univerfal love, thou wilt not receive the precious benefits of the outflow r ings of love. Wherefore give diligent and earneft heed to yourfelves in this matter of divine love, and maintain a hearty goodwill towards all men, and bear no grudge againft any, and defpoil not the facred temple of God, which has been fanclified by our higheft pontiff, Chrift ; and beware that ye do not call down upon your heads God's everlafting Interdict. But, alas ! now-a-days, nature is fb per- verted in many, both clergy and laymen, as touching brotherly faithfulnefs and love, that if they fee their neighbour fall, they laugh at him, or ftand by and let it go on, and care nought for it. Take heed to your failings, and look how it ftands with your inward love to God and your neighbour, and keep ever alive within you the fear of God ; for I tell you that that which you fail to obtain here through your own ne- glecl:, you will lofe for ever. After this life nothing will be added to you or taken from you, but ye fhall receive according to that ye have deferved, whether it be good or whether it be evil. I tell you that then, though our Lady and all the faints mould intercede Fourth Sunday after Trinity. 35* for a man with tears of blood, it would not help him. Therefore give heed to yourfelves ; for now God is alway at hand, waiting for us, and ready to give us much more than we are ready to defire of Him. St. Paul fays, Love never faileth, it doeth all things, and endureth all things. Therefore feeing that the love of God is never {landing idle, fo be ye conftantly abounding in good works, enduring all that befals you cheerfully, for God's fake. And then mall ye be made partakers of the overflowing meafure, which is fo full, fo rich, fo generous, that it runneth over on all fides. God touches this brimming vefTel with His finger, and it overflows, and pours itfelf back again into its Divine fource, from whence it has proceeded. It flows back into its fource without channel or means, and lofes itfelf altogether ; will, knowledge, love, perception, are all fwallowed up and loft in God, and become one with Him. Now God loveth Himfelf in thefe men, and worketh in them all their works. The gum and outflowing of this love cannot be con- tained within the man's own foul, but he hath a yearning defire, and faith : " Oh ! my beloved Lord " Jefus Chrift, I befeech Thee to have companion " upon poor finners, and to forgive them their fins " and mifdoings ; and efpecially upon thofe who, after " having done good works, have loft the fame again " by reafon of fin ; and grant them, dear Lord, the " crumbs that fall from the rich table of Thy grace ; " and of Thy goodnefs turn them from their fins " through the pains of purification, and impart unto " them the overflowings of Thy grace, that through Of the mea- fure that runneth over, and the love tbatfoivetb back unto its fource in Goo". 353 Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Trmity. " Thy merits they may be kept unto the end." Thus do thefe Elecl: men carry up all things, them- felves and all creatures, to their true fource in God, and take all things that are done in the holy Chriftian Church, and offer them up, from a joyful, humble, fubmhTive heart, to their eternal, heavenly Father, for themfelves and for all men, bad and good ; for their love excludes none here in this time of grace, and they are alway in unity with all men. No love or blefledneis that the faints or angels pofTefs is loft to them, but all is poured into their meafure. Verily, had we none of thefe godlike men among us at this prefent time, we were doubtlefs in evil cafe. Therefore let us all befeech the God of all mercy, that we may fulfil and receive again this meafure that runneth over. Amen. XXI. Sermon for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity. (From the Epiftle for the day.) Admon't/hing each man to mark what is the office to which he is called of God, and teaching us to praffife works of love and virtue, and to refrain from f elf-will. i COR. xii. 6. " There are diverfities of operations, but it is the fame God which worketh " all in all." T. PAUL tells us in this Epiftle that there are different kinds of works, but that they are all wrought by the same Spirit to the profit and well-being of man. For they all proceed from the fame God who works all in all. " But the manifeftation of the Spirit is " given to every man to profit withal. For to -one " is given by the Spirit the word of wifdom, to another "faith;" and fb Paul goes on enumerating many gifts ; but repeats that " all thcfe worketh that one " and the felf-fame Spirit, dividing to every man " feverally as He will." And he fays many things for the confirmation of our faith. In old times the Holy Ghoft has wrought very great and wondrous deeds through his fervants for a teftimony to the faith, having given us great figns by A A Of the works wrought by the Spirit in Of the works wrought by the Holy Gboft in the 354 Sermon for the men of old time. Of the offices of the various members of Cbrijfs body, the Church. Our aptnefs for any art of life is the gift of the Spirit of God, and the raifmg up fuch a fucceflion of prophets, and by the blood of His faints, and thus fuffering unto death. For this kind of teftimonies there is no longer any need. Yet, know that of true, living, active faith, there is, alas, as little in fome Chriftian men as in Heathens or Jews ! Now let us meditate on thefe words of St. Paul : " There are diverfities of operations, but it is the fame " God which worketh all in all." Children, if you look around you, you fee that you have bodies, and that thefe bodies have many members and many fenfes, and that each member, fuch as the eye, the mouth, the nofe, the hands, the feet, has its own fpecial office and work. No one of thefe takes upon itfelf to be another, nor to do anything but what God has ordained unto it. In like manner, we are all one body, and members one of another, and Chrift is the head of the body. In this body there is a great diversity of members ; the one is an eye, the other an ear, the third a hand or a foot or a mouth. The eyes of the body of the holy Chriftian Church are her teachers. This office is none of yours ; but let us common Chriftians look to see what is our office, to the which our Lord has called and bidden us, and what is the gift of which our Lord has made us the veiTels. For every art or work, however unimportant it may feem, is a gift of God, and all thefe gifts are beftowed by the Holy Spirit for the profit and welfare of man. Let us begin with the loweft. One can spin, another can make moes, and fome have great aptnefs for all forts of outward arts, fo that they can earn a great deal, while others are altogether without this Tenth Sunday after Trinity. 355 quicknefs. Thefe are all gifts proceeding from the Spirit of God. If I were not a prieft, but were living as a layman, I mould take it -as a great favour that I knew how to make fhoes, and mould try to make them better than any one elfe, and would gladly earn my bread by the labour of my hands. Children, the foot or the hand muft not defire to be the eye. Each muft fulfil the office for which God has fitted him, however weighty it may be, and what another could not eafily do. Alfo our fitters mall each have her own office. Some have fweet voices ; let them fing in the Churches, for this alfb comes from the Spirit of God. St. Auguftine fays : " God is a homogeneous, divine, " fimple fubftance, and yet the Author of all variety, " and is all in all, one in all, and all in one." There is no work fo fmall, no art fo mean, but it all comes from God and is a fpecial gift of His. Thus, let each do that which another cannot do fo well, and for love, returning gift for gift. Know ye, whoever does not exercife his gift, nor impart it, nor make use of it for the profit of his neighbour, lays up a heavy reck- oning againft the laft day. For, as Chrift tells us, a man muft give account of his ftewardfhip, or his office. Each mail and muft reftore that which he has re- ceived of God, and is anfwcrable in proportion to his advantages over others, and the meafure of the ability which God has given him. Whence comes it then, that we have fo many com- plaints, each faying that his occupation is a hindrance to him, while notwithftanding his work is of God, who hindcreth no man ? Whence comes this inward re- proof and fenfe of guilt which torment and difquiet A A 2 not to be def- pifed, but ufed with all dili- gence for His fake. Wherefore it is that toe find our work a hindrance in the divine life. 356 Sermon for the How toe muft ftft our mo- tives in our work. you ? Dear children, know that it is not your work which gives you this difquiet. No : it is your want of order in fulfilling your work. If you performed your work in the right method, with a fole aim to God, and not to yourfelves, your own likes and dis- likes, and neither feared nor loved aught but God, nor fought your own gain or pleafure, but only God's glory, in your work, it would be impoflible that it mould grieve your confcience. It is a mame for a fpiritual man, if he have not done his work properly, but fo imperfectly that he has to be rebuked for it. For this is a fure fign that his works are not done in God, with a view to His glory and the good of his neighbour. You may know and be known by this, whether your works are directed to God alone, and whether you are in peace or not. Our Lord did not rebuke Martha on account of her works, for they were holy and good ; He reproved her on account of her anxiety. A man ought to bufy himfelf in good and ufeful occupations of whatever kind they may be, cafting his care upon God, and labour filently and watchfully, keeping a rein upon himfelf, and proving himfelf, fo as to fift what it is that urges and impels him in his work. Further, he muft look within, and mark whether the Holy Spirit will have him to be active or quiet ; that he may obey His godly leadings in each inftance, and do and have undone by the influence of the Holy Spirit ; now refting, now working, but ever fulfilling his due tafk in peace. And wherever you fee the aged, the fick, the help- lefs, you mould run to their affiftance, and ftrive with each other in fulfilling works of love each helping T ejith Sunday after Trinity. 357 the other to bear his burden. If thou doft not fo, be fure that God will take thy work from thee, and give it to another who will do it aright, and will leave thce empty and bare at once of gifts and of merit. If, when at thy work, thou feel thy fpirit ftirred within thee, receive it with folemn joy, and thus learn to do thy work in God, inftead of ftraightway fleeing from thy tafk. Thus mould ye learn to exercife your- felves in virtue ; for ye muft be exercifed if ye are to come to God. Do not expecl; that God will pour virtue into you without your own effort. You mould never truft in virtue that has not yet been put into practice, nor believe that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft have entered into a man, unlefs the man hath given evidence thereof in his own labours, outward or inward. Once as a good man was {landing, threlhing his corn, he fell into a trance ; and if an angel had not turned afide the flail, he would have {truck himfelf with it. Now ye are all craving to be thus fet free from your work, and this comes, for the moft part, from floth ; each would fain be an eye, and give himielf to contemplation rather than to work. I know a man who has the clofeft walk with God of any I ever faw, and who has been all his life a hus- bandman, for more than forty years, and is fb {till. This man once afked the Lord in prayer if he (hould give up his occupation and go into the Church ; and it was anfwcred him, No ; he mould labour, earning his bread by the fweat of his brow, to the glory of Chrift's precious blood, med for him. But let each choofe fome fuitable time in the courfe of every four- and-twenty hours, in which he can give his whole A A 3 Virtue is no- thing til! it have teen tried. Of a certain holy man. 358 Sermon for the Enduring peace mufl be the fruit of long-tried virtue. mind to earnefr. meditation, each after his own famion. Thofe nobler men who are able to turn to God {imply without the aid of images or forms, mall do fb after their famion, and others after theirs. Let each fet apart a good hour for fuch excrcifes, each taking his own method ; for we cannot all be eyes ; but to our life's end it is moft needful for us to keep up fome ftrenuous exercifes of piety, of whatever kind God may appoint, with loving and peaceful hearts, and in obedience to His will. He who ferves God after God's will mall be rewarded according to his own will ; but he who prays to God according to his own will mall not be aniwered in accordance with his own will, but after God's will. Children, it is of this coming out from our own {elf-will, that the true, folid peace is begotten and fprings forth, and it is the fruit of long-tried virtue. Unlefs thy peace come from this, be fure that it is falfe ; for inwardly and outwardly thou muft be exer- cifed. But the peace that comes from within none can take away. Now fbme foolifli men, who are puffed up in their own conceit, come and fay that ye ought to do this and that, and want to direcl: every man's mind according to their own opinion and their own notions and practices. And many of them have lived for forty years in the profeffion of religion, and to this day do not know what is their own real ftate. They are much bolder than I. I hold the office of an inftruclor ; and when people come and confult me, I inquire how it ftands with them, and how they came into this ftate. Yet I dare not pafs a judgment on them ; but I lay their cafe before the Lord, and if He Tenth Sunday after Trinity. 359 does not give me what I mall fpeak, I fay to them : Dear children, feek help yourfelves from God, and He will give it you. But you want to judge and fet an eftimate on every man, trying him by the ftandard of your own ufages and conceits. Thus it is that the worms get in and devour the good faplings that were mooting up in God's garden. Then they fay, " We have no fuch cuftom ; this is an inno- " vation, and comes from the new notions," and never refled: that the hidden ways of God are un- known to them. Alas! what ftrange things do we fee among thole who fancy themfelves in an ex- cellent way ! Now St. Paul fays, that the Holy Ghoft, by His ope- rations, teaches us the difcerning of fpirits. Children, who do you fuppofe are the men to whom God gives this power of difcerning the fpirits ? Know ye, that the men who have this gift have been thoroughly exercifed in all ways : by their own flefh and blood, and have gone through the moft cruel and perplexing temptations : and the devil has been in them, and they in him, and they have been tried and tefted to the very marrow ; thefe are the men who can difcern the fpirits. When they are minded to do this, they confidcr a man, and ftraightway they difcern his fpirit, whether it be of God or no, and what are the neareft roads of accefs for him, and what is holding him back from God. Oh ! how greatly to our hurt do we fall mort of the nobleft, higheft truth through fuch trifling, mean things ; for the fake of which we muft fuffer lofs for ever and ever, fo long as God is eternal. For what we here mifs through our own A A 4 How the Holy Gbojl teacb- etb the dif- cerning of fpirits. 360 Sermon for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity. neglect will never be made up to us hereafter. But may God help all of us truly to fulfil the offices and works which His Spirit has committed to us and taught us to perform, each doing as he is inwardly monimed by the Holy Ghoft ! Amen. XXII. Sermon for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, (From the Epiftle for the day.) Teaching us that we ought to receive God, in all His gifts, and in all His burdens, with true long-fiiffering. 2 COR. iii. 6. " The letter killeth, but the fpirit giveth life." JHERE are two forts of men among God's friends; thofe of the Old Testament, and thofe of the New. All the men who should be faved before the birth of Chrift had to obferve the old difpenfation with all its rites, until the new difpenfation came with its laws and its rites. The old law ferved as a way unto the new, and was a perfect forefhadowing of it. And this new law we have under our very eyes, but it was the old law that prepared us to receive it. And every thing that is meant to receive somewhat muft firft be made able to receive. The old law had many into- lerable burdens, and terrible judgments for offenders, and a far fterner manifeftation or the juftice of God, with a dark, diftant hope of redemption. For five thoufand years the gates were altogether clofed againft thofe who lived under the Old Covenant ; so that, with all their pain and weary ceremonies, they could not enter into the Kingdom of God, but had to wait How the old law was a preparation for the new. Of the bur- dens of the old law. 362 Sermon for the How we muft frft befub- jefl to the old law. long in gloom and forrow for the coming of the new law, which is peace and joy in the Holy Ghoft. Now he who would come to the new law with full afTurance of faith muft firft be made at one with the old. Man muft learn to fuffer, and to bear heavy burdens, and to bow down humbly beneath the mighty hand of God ; he muft be afflicted outwardly and inwardly, from wherefoever his pain cometh, and whether it be deferred or not. Dear children, behold ! this thing muft be brought to pafs after a very different fafhion from what you like to dream ; but hold faft the doctrine of God, and let him who hath received it be wife, and hold it faft as long as he hath it. But fubmit and endure God's dealings in all that befalls you, through whomfoever it may come. If you would come to the new law, you muft firft fuffer under the old one, and be fubjecl: to it in the humility of your hearts. So, whatever confolation may be granted you, fpiritual or earthly, it will not follow you all your courfe through. And you muft travel this road and no other ; turn it which way you will, it muft be even fb. Therefore, dear children, learn to do without the Holy Sacra- ments, fpiritual light, the fenfe of God's presence, and all human help. Dearly beloved, bow down your old man under the yoke of the old law, with all meeknefs and refignation, and receive all God's gifts with all their burdens. Of a truth, His burdens are light and His yoke is eafy. Children, I commend you from the bottom of my heart into the captivity of the Crofs of our Lord Jefus Chrift ; that it may be in you, over you, behind you, and before you, lying heavy on you, Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. 363 and yet received by you with free and full acqui- efcence to the will of God, whatever it may pleafe Him to do with you. May God, of His mercy, give you to bear with a good courage all the forrow that is before you, and alfo, when ye are defpifed of all men, and Slandered, and counted for nought. Thus let your old man be fubject unto the old law, until Chrift be born in you of a truth, where peace and joy in the truth do fpring up. The patriarchs, greatly as they longed to fee the advent of our Lord, yet had to wait five thoufand years. But, verily, if you would thus humbly yield yourfelves up, you need never wait a year. If you had had a quartan ague one year or two, you muft bear it till you became well again ; ib you muft bear the yoke of the old law. The Second burden of the old law was its awful judgments, and ftern difplay of God's juftice. This is manifefted in many ways by afflictions and by the gnawings of conscience. Now fome try to w r ork themfelves out of this by confeffion. But if you were to confefs your fins a thoufand times, it would avail you nothing, fave indeed the confeffmg of mortal fin, accompanied by fatisfaftion for it. The reft leave humbly to God, and bear what He appoints unto you, till He of His mercy fend you relief. But con- fefs all to Him inwardly in your foul, to the very laft tittle, with humble fubmiffion to His will, and acqui- efcing in His unknown judgments, without looking to yourfelf or to other men for help. Meanwhile, there are Some who endeavour to get rid of the bur- den of fin by afking counfcl and hearing preachers, hoping to hear fomewhat that may afford them a Oftbeftern judgments of the old law which muft be felt in our confcience and borne pa- tiently. Sermon for the We muff not look without for help, but ferve God and leave all to Him. How the men under the old law knew not toben the ftay, and thus they may find deliverance. Behold, dear friend, if thou ipend all thy years in running from church to church, thou muft look for and receive help from within, or thou wilt never come to any good ; however thou mayeft feek and inquire, thou muft alfo be willing to be tormented without fuccour from the outward help of any creature. I tell you, children, that the very holieft man I ever faw in outward conduct and inward life, had never heard more than five fermons in all his days. When he faw and perceived how the matter ftood, he thought that was enough, and fet to work to die to that to which he ought to die, and live to that to which he ought to live. Let the common people run about and hear all they can, that they may not fall into defpair or unbelief; but know that all who would be God's, inwardly and outwardly, turn to themfelves, and retire within. And know that if ever you defire to be fpiritual and bleffed men, you muft ceafe from running outwards for help, and turn within ; for you will never get what you want by a multitude of words, hear as many as you will ; but only by loving and ferving God from the bottom of your heart, and your neighbour as yourfelf, and leaving all things to ftand on their own foundation. But pant after God with all your heart, as the holy patriarchs did, and covet that which you truly ought to covet, and leave all things, whether concerning yourielf or any other creatures, to God's moft bleffed will. The third characteriftic of the old law was that it had a dark hope of a diftant redemption ; for the gates were clofed, and there was no prophet who Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. 365 could tell when the redemption might come to pafs. So likewife muft we {imply commit ourfelves to God with perfect truft in His eternal purpofe ; for when He pleafes that it mall be accomplimed to our wait- ing fouls, then, no doubt, He will come to us, and be born in us. But when ? Leave that to Him : to fome He comes in their youth ; to others in old age ; to fome in death : this leave to His Divine will, and do not take upon thyfelf to adopt any Singular exer- ciies, but keep the Commandments, and believe the articles of the Chriftian faith. Learn the Creed and the Commandments, and have patience, and give up thyfelf in all things according to the will of God, and affuredly Chrift, the new law, will be born in thee with peace and joy in the Holy Ghoft, and thou wilt have a life like that of the angels, in freedom from the bonds of matter and in intelligence. This feems to thee a great thing ! No ; the truth is much greater. " The Spirit giveth life ;" a fpark of His own Divine life, which is higher than all angelic life, and pafles man's comprehenfion, lying beyond the fphere of fenfe and of reafon. But this muft come to pafs in the way that I have told you, and no other. A man may, indeed, attain ib far as to catch a glimpfe of this glo- rious truth, and play upon the furface of it with his fenle and reafon ; but to become and be fiich an one, to this none can attain but by this path of true felf-furrender ; but through that afluredly it will be found. In the Old Teftament the Levites bare the ark, but here the holy ark bears us. Thus, whofb will not yield to God in His juftice and His judgments, with- redemption Jhould come, and fo muft we too commit ourfelves unto God, and wait His time to receive peace and joy in the Holj Gboft. 366 Sermoji for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. out doubt he fhall fall under God's eternal juftice and eternal condemnation ; it cannot be otherwise. Turn it as thou wilt, thou muft give thyfelf to fuffer what is appointed thee. But if we did that, God would bear us up at all times in all our forrows and troubles, and God would lay His moulder under our burdens, and help us to bear them. For if with a cheerful courage we mbmitted ourfelves to God, no fuffering would be unbearable. For it is becaufe now we are without God, and ftanding in our own weaknefs, that we are neither able to endure nor yet to acl:. God help us all worthily to bear His yoke ! Amen. XXIII. Second Sermon for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. (From the Gofpel for the day.) This fermon tells us how a man who truly loves God, whofe ears have been opened to receive the f even-fold gifts of the Holy Spirit, is neither lifted up in joy nor cajl down 'm for row. MARK vii. 37. "He hath done all things well : He maketh both the deaf to hear and the " dumb to fpeak." E read in the Gofpel for this day, that as our bleffed Lord was going from one place to another, they brought unto Him a man who was born deaf and dumb ; as mufl needs be ; for he who is born deaf muft alfb be dumb; for fince he has never heard, he does not know what fpeech is. The Lord put His fingers into the ears of this deaf man, and touched his tongue with His spittle, and faid, " Be opened." And when the people faw what was done, they came together and wondered at the miracle ; faying : " He hath done all things well ; He maketh both the deaf to hear and the dumb to fpeak." Children, it behoves us greatly to mark what it is that makes men deaf, like the man in the Goipcl. From the time that the firft man opened his ears to the voice of the Enemy, he became deaf thereby, and Of the man who teas born deaf and dumb. How toe have become deaf through lif- tening to the Tempter, fo 3 68 Second Sermon for the that we can- not bear the Eternal Word. : By what ways the Enemy /peaks to us. all we after him, fo that we cannot hear or under- ftand the fweet voice of the Eternal Word. Yet we know that the Eternal Word is flill fb unutterably nigh to us inwardly, in the very principle of our being, that not even man himfelf, his own nature, his own thoughts, nor aught that can be named, or faid, or un- derftood, is fb nigh or planted fb deep within him, as the Eternal Word is in man. And it is ever fpeaking in man ; but he hears it not by reafbn of the fore deaf- nefs that has come upon him. Whofe fault is this ? I fay that fbmething has covered man's ears, and flopped them up that he may not hear this Word ; and his fenfe is fo benumbed that he has become dumb, not knowing his own felf. If he defired to fpeak of what is within him, he could not ; for he does not know how it flands with him, nor difcern his own ways and works. The caufe whereof is that the Enemy has whifpered in his ear, and he has liftened to the voice, and hence has he grown deaf and dumb. What is this moft hurtful whifpering of the Enemy ? It is every diforderly image or Suggestion that flarts up in thy mind, whether belonging to thy creature likings and wifhes, or the world and the things thereof; whether it be thy wealth, reputation, friends or rela- tions, or thy own flefh, or whatever it be that lays hold of thy fancy, making thee to like or do fbmewhat. Through all thefe he has his accefs to thy foul ; for he is ever at hand ; and as he marks to what a man is inclined inwardly or outwardly, what he likes and diflikes, ftraightway he lays hold of it and attacks him with that weapon, and fuggefts what agrees with that man's inclination, and pours into the ears of his foul Twelfth Sunday after Tri?iity. 369 all manner of imaginations concerning that thing, that the man may not be able to hear the Eternal Word. If the man inftantly turned his ears and mind away from the enemy, the aflault would be eafily repulfed, but as foon as he opens his ears fo far as to dwell upon and dally with temptation, he is already well nigh conquered, and the ftrife is at the hardeft. But as foon as thou haft bravely turned thy ear away, thou haft well nigh prevailed ; for this enables thee to hear the inward voice of the Word, and takes away thy deafnefs. Not only wordly but alfb religious men are liable to this deafnefs, if they make the creature their idol and aim, and their hearts are pofleiTed therewith. The Devil has marked this, and fuggefts to them the imaginations to which he finds them inclined. W^ith fome their ears are ftopped up with their own inventions, and the daily routine of habit with which they go through certain outward a&s, learnt by means of their fenfes from the creatures. All this dulls a man's hearing fo that he cannot apprehend the Eternal Word fpeaking within him, nor in any wife underftand what it fays. It is true, however, that we ought to maintain the habit and practice of works of piety, though without a fpirit of felf-exaltation on account of them, fuch as prayer, or meditation, or the like, in order that our fluggifh nature may be aroufed into vigour, our minds raifed on high, and our hearts allured and kindled. But there muft be no claiming to ourfelves thereof, but rather our ears muft be left open to liften to the whifpers of the Eternal Word. Let us not be as fome obftinate men who never go forward, but to the Ofthofe zvbom habit has made deaf to the Eternal Word. B B 370 Second Sermon for the How that the Word does not /peak to us except we love God, and of the tefts of true love. day of their death remain {landing on their outward cuftoms, feeking for nothing further, and when God would fay aught unto them, there is always fomething that gets into their ears, fo that His Word cannot be heard. Children, at the laft day, when all things come to be laid bare and open, it will be an ever- lafting fbrrow to think of the endlefs variety of thefe things that have come between us and God, and how we have been entangled in mean bondage to our own ways and habits. Now the Word is fpoken into no man's ear, ex- cept he have the love of God ; for Chrift fays : "If " ye love me, hear my words." On this point fays St. Gregory : " Wilt thou know whether thou love " God ? take note when cares, troubles, or forrows " overtake thee (from within or from without, " whencefbever they come), and weigh down thy " fpirit fb that thou knoweft not which way to turn, " nor what is to become of thee, and canit find no " counfel and art outwardly in a ftorm of affliction, " in unwonted perplexity and fore diftrefs ; if thou " then remaineft inwardly at peace and unmoved in " the bottom of thy heart, fo that thou doft not in " any wife falter, either by complaint, or in word, or " work, or gefture, then there is no doubt that thou " loveft God." For where there is true love, a man is neither out of meafure lifted up by profperity, nor caft down by mifhap ; whether you give or take away from him, fo long as he keeps his beloved, he has a fpring of inward peace. Thus, even though thy out- ward man grieve, or weep downright, that may well be borne, if only thy inner man remain at peace, per- Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. fectly content with the will of God. But if thou doft not find it thus with thee, then thou art in truth deaf, and haft not really heard the voice of the Eternal Word within thee. Further, thou mayeft try by this teft whether thou haft the right fort of love ; namely, whether thou haft a lively thankfulnefs for the great benefits which God has beftowed upon thee and all His creatures in heaven and on earth, and for His holy Incarnation, and for all the manifold gifts which are ever flowing out from Him to all men. And this thankfulnefs mall comprehend all men, even as it fhall fpring from love to all ; whether they be clergy or laymen, monks, nuns, or in whatever condition of life they be, or whatever be their conduct, thou malt cherifh an honeft, true love for them, not a concealed felf-love, or felf-feeking. This real, univerfal love is a Iburce of meafurelefs benefits. Know ye, children, that where men are true, glorified friends of God, their hearts melt with tendernefs towards all mankind, living or dead ; and if there were none fuch on the earth, the world were in an evil plight. Moreover, thou malt let thy love mine forth before men, fb far as in thee lies, imparting to them of thy fubftance, and giving them comfort, help, and counfel. It is true that thou muft minifter to thine own neceffitics ; but when thou haft nothing to fpare, thy love mould be ftill lively, wifhing that thou hadft aught to give, and ready to do fo to the utmoft of thy power. Thefe are the true figns of love and that a man is not fpiritually deaf. Now when our Lord comes and puts his finger into a man's ear and touches his tongue, how elo- B B 2 Of univerfal tbankfulnefs to God} Jhown by benefits ren- dered to man. 37- Second Sermon for Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. Oftbefeven gifts of the Spirit im- parted by the Lord's touch. quent will he become ! O children, of this wondrous things might be faid ! But we will now confider the feven gifts of the Spirit, given to man through this touch whereby the ears of his mind are opened. Firft is given unto him the fpirit of fear, which has power to rid him of all felf-will, and teaches him to flee from temptation, and at all times to ihun unruly appetites and licence. Next is given to him the fpirit of charity, which makes him fweet-tem- pered, kind-hearted, merciful, not ready to pafs a harm judgment on any one's conduct, but full of tolerance. Thirdly, he receives the gift of knowledge, fo that he understands the meaning of his inward ex- perience, and thus learns to guide himfelf according to the bleffed will of God. The fourth gift is Divine ftrength : through this gift fuch Divine might is im- parted unto him, that, with Paul, it becomes a fmall and eafy matter to him to do or bear all things through God who ftrengtheneth him. The fifth is the gift of good counfel, which all thofe who follow become gentle and loving. Laftly, come two great gifts, un- derftanding and the wifdom of infight, which are fo fublime and glorious, that it is better to feek to expe- rience them than to fpeak thereof. That our ears may thus be opened of a truth, that the Eternal Word may be heard in us, may God grant us ! Amen ! XXIV. Sermon for the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. (From the Gofpel for the Day.) This fermon forbiddetb all carefulnefs, and telktb in what right- eoufnefs coiifijietb, and rebukes fundry religious people and their works, likening their ways tojtmony. MATT. yi. 33. "Seek ye firft the Kingdom of God and His righteoufnefs, and all thefe things " mail be added unto you." N this pafTage, the Son of God gives us a fimilitude, bidding man, who is a reafon- able creature, to look at the flowers that deck the face of the earth, and at the un- reafbning fowls of the air, faying : " Con- fider the lilies of the field howtheygrow; they toil not, they fpin not ; and yet I fay unto you that Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of thefe !" Behold the fowls of the air, for they fbw not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns ; yet your Hea- venly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" " Therefore I fay unto you, take no thought, faying, What mall we eat, or what mall we drink, or wherewithal mall we be clothed ? For after all thefe things do the Gentiles feek : for your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all thefe things. But feek ye firft the kingdom of God, B B 3 Of the lef- fons taught by this Gof- pel for the day. 374 How that we cannot ferve God and Mammon. How all faitblefs anx- ieties are a ferving of Mammon. " and his righteoufnefs ; and all thefc things lhall be " added unto you." Children, once before, the Son of God had faid that no man could ferve two matters, that is to fay, God and Mammon, or the riches of this world ; for he muft love the one, and hate the other. It is in- deed a wonder paffing our understanding how much is comprehended in thefe words. We ought to fet them up before our eyes as a mirror, and let them be our conftant motto. How clearly does Chrift here inftrucl: us in the truth with plain unvarnimed words and pertinent figures, when, forbidding us to be anxious about earthly and periftiable things, he fays : " Which " of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto " his ftature ? Therefore, ye of little faith, feek not " what ye lhall eat, or w r hat ye mall drink ; neither " be ye of doubtful mind." Children, ye fee well by this difcourfe how far we all are in common from living according to the fimple truth of things, in all our earthly relationships. But know that there is an inward fecret defecl: lurking under the cloak of our anxiety about daily things, a {infill, though uncon- fcious covetoufnefs, which is one of the {even deadly fins. And this fin, working filently and unperceived in the hearts both of worldly and religious people, is the caufe of the greateft evils that afflict this earth. Let each, for inftance, only mark narrowly, in himfelf and others, the marvels of labour and ingenuity invented and wrought on all fides, each ftriving to outdo his fellow for the fake of earthly gain. If we were to probe to the bottom the workings of this falfe prin- ciple in worldly and in religious people, it could Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. 375 hardly be told how deeply its roots have ftruck, and how widely they have fpread below the furface. Think what it implies to have fo little confidence in that God who is able to do all things, when ye are ftriving, and toiling, and wearing yourfelves out with anxiety, as if you meant to live for ever. All this comes from that evil principle of covetoufnefs. If one really looked into the matter, it were frightful to fee how man feeks his own ends and not his neigh- bour's good, in all things Divine and human ; his own pleafure, or profit, or glory, by all his words and works nay, even gifts and fervices. Children, this great fin is fb deeply rooted in many, that every corner of their heart is full of earthly, perifhable things, and they are juft like the crooked woman we read of in the Gofpel, who was bent down to the earth by her infirmity, and could in no wife lift her- felf up, or raife her eyes above the ground. Thou poor blind man, fpiritual in outward vefhire but not in reality, why mouldft thou not trufl that the God who has done thee fo great a benefit in re- deeming thee from the carking cares of this falfe, wicked world, that He is alfo willing to give thee fuch poor mean things as are needful for thy earthly fuftenance ? And is it not a pitiful thing that a reli- gious man mould fpend his whole induftry, and fole effort, and have his thoughts turned, day and night, upon his own little doings, and mould be fb full ot them that he can hardly properly hold converfe with God, or his own heart ? And if what he has in hand fucceeds, he feels no impulfc urging him onwards to- wards eternal things, except in fb far as it may be B B 4 How the blind want of \ trufl in God bringetb us into divers temptations that eat out all Jpiritual life. Sermon for the i Pet. v. 7. Hotv that un- due care blinds our reafon, quenches our love, and comes between us and God. necefTary to fecure his own falvation, and from the delight that he may find in his own good works ; and he is as much taken up with petty perfonal cares as wordly people are with weightier things. AVherefore our Lord fays : Ye cannot ferve two mailers ; ye cannot ierve God and riches. But feek ye firft the Kingdom of God, which is before all things and above all things, and His righteoufnefs, and " all other " things mall be added unto you." Juft as if He had faid, thefe are not worthy to be called a gift ; but they mall be added over and above God's gifts. How greatly thefe vain, pitiful things are efteemed and loved and fought after, fecretly and openly, and what anxiety they give rife to, and how eagerly men defire them, and heap up treafures by unlawful means, is not to be fully fet forth, and I muft not attempt it. St. Peter fays : " Caft all your care upon God, for " He careth for you." This carefulnefs concerning outward things works a man three great injuries. It blinds his reafon and good fenfe ; it quenches the fire of love, and deftroys all its fervour and heat ; and it blocks up the ways of fecret accefs to God. It is like a noxious vapour, or thick fmoke, that rifes up and chokes a. man's breath. This care is born of the fin and vice of covetoufnefs. Therefore look well to your footfteps, and fee with what ye hold converfe while you are in this prefent ftate, and feek the King- dom of God and His righteoufnefs, that you may find and difcover it where it lies hidden' in the inmoft depths of the foul, that it do not moulder away or remain unfruitful within you. But to this end, he who purpofes manfully to withftand himfelf, the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. 377 Devil, and the world, muft fuftain many bold, valiant conflicts, without reft or intermiffion. For the King- dom of God will never be truly found except thefe faults be firft caft off; and this is not the work of a day. For whatever a man mall take by force, he muft firft with great pains conquer ; and thus he muft make continual efforts before his outward man can be drawn away from the love of thefe perifhable things. For this vice has ftruck its hidden roots fb deeply into the animal nature of man, that he feeks himfelf in all things, in his words and works, in his dealings with others, and in his friendfhips ; nay, the miferable felf- feeking of nature works in fecret even as regards God, making men crave to enjoy comfort, illumination, fweet emotions ; in fhort, they are ever wifhing to obtain fomething, and would fain hold converle with the world and yet poffefs the Kingdom of Heaven. But we ought to bear all things in the holy faith of Chrift, and leave the reward to God. Do good works, and exercife thyfelf in all virtue, and God mall give thee a great reward, in fo far as thou hail kept thyfelf from judging thy neighbour, and haft not preferred thyfelf before him, for that would ill become thee. Dear children, be on your guard againft this fubtle felf-feeking of nature, that ye do not fulfil good w r orks of piety for the fake of any earthly reward ; for that has fomewhat of the nature of fimony, a fin which the holy Church abhors above all others, and which is efpecially contrary to God's righteoufnefs ; for God is by His nature the end of all things, and thou letteft in His ftead, as the end of thy works, an evil, mean, perifhable thing. But many conflicts are needful to conquer it. We muft do our duty for the fake of duty, and leave the re- ward to God. 378 Sermon for the The King- dom of God Jor which we pray is that He Jhould reign in the hearts of us and all men. What it means to pray " Thy will " be done," We fhould feek God's rightcoufnefs, but this is con- trary to His righteoufncfs ; therefore, children, beware of this evil principle within you, and feek the King- dom of God and His righteoufnefs ; that is to fay, feek God alone, who is the true Kingdom for which we and all men daily pray when we fay the Lord's Prayer. Children, the Lord's Prayer is a mighty prayer : ye know not what ye pray for in it. God is Himfelf the Kingdom, and in that Kingdom He reigns in all intelligent creatures. Therefore what we afk for is God Himfelf with all His riches. In that King- dom does God become our Father, and manifefts there His fatherly faithfulnefs and fatherly power. And infbmuch as He finds place in us to work, is His name hallowed, and magnified, and made known. That His name mould be hallowed in us, means that He fhould reign in us, and accomplifh through us His rightful work. And thus is His will done here on earth as it is in heaven ; that is, when it is done in us as it is in Himfelf, in the heaven which He Himfelf is. Oh ! how often does man give himfelf up in will to God, and take himfelf back again as quickly, and fall away from God ! But now begin again, and give thyfelf to Him afrefh ; yield thyfelf captive to the Divine \Vill in rightful allegiance, and truft thyfelf to the power of thy Father, who has all power and might, and whofe prefence thou haft fo often and fo plainly felt, and art yet made to feel every day and hour. TYuft Him wholly, and feek His righteoufnefs. For therein is His righteoufncfs mown, that He abideth ever with thofe who heartily feek Him, and make Him their end, and give themfelves up to Him. In Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. 379 fuch He reigns, and all vain care falls away of itfelf in thofe who thus keep clofe to God in true felf- furrender. Not that we mould tempt God ; for it is our duty to exercife a reasonable prudence in providing fuch things as are right, to the fupply of our neceffities and thofe of others, and profitable to ourfelves and the com- munity, and to fee that everything be done in a difcreet and feemly manner. But that which is your end when you fit and meditate in the church, mould be likewife your end when you are bufied in all the affairs of daily life ; whether you work, or fpeak, or eat, or drink, waking and Sleeping, do all to the glory of God, and not for thyfelf. For a noble man will make thefe periming things of time a mere paflage-way by which he will afcend through the creatures, not being held down by any felfim cleaving to them, up to his everlafting home, his eternal fource from which he fprang at his creation. Now fome may afk, how we can fay that God for- fakes none that truft Him, feeing that He often per- mits good men to fuffer great poverty and affliction. This He does, as Bifhop Albert fays, for three caufes : the firft, that He may try them, and fee whether they utterly believe and truft Him ; thus God often fuffers men to be brought into diftrefs that he may teach them fubmiffion, and then fuccours them that they may perceive His hand and His friendmip and help; in order that their love and gratitude may increase from that time forth, and they may draw clofer to God and become dearer to Him. Or again, God will by thefe troubles mortcn their purification hereafter ; We are not to tempt God by negle fling due prudence. Wherefore God ofttimes feemetb to forfake tboje that truft Him. 3 8o Sermon for the How the man is tranf- formed into the image of God token the Kingdom of God cometb in bis foul. or again, He fends them diftrefs for a judgment on thofe who might relieve them and do it not. There- fore, children, feek firft the Kingdom of God, which is God Himfelf, and nought elfe. When this cleav- ing to the creature is altogether caft off, then will the will of God be done on earth as it is in heaven, and fo mall the Father have the power and the glory for ever in heaven, that is, in His Sons. For when man ftands thus, having no end, nor purpofe, nor defire but God, then does he himfelf become God's Kingdom, and God reigns in him. And then does the Eternal King fit on His royal throne, and command and govern in man. This Kingdom is feated properly in the inmoft re- cedes of the fpirit. When, through all manner of exercifes, the outward man has been converted into the inward, reafbnable man, and thus the two, that is to fay, the powers of the fenies and the powers of the reafon, are gathered up into the very centre of the man's being, the unfeen depths of his fpirit, wherein lies the image of God, and thus he flings himfelf into the Divine abyfs, in which he dwelt eternally before he was created ; then when God finds the man thus fimply and nakedly turned towards Him, the God- head bends down and defcends into the depths of the pure, waiting foul, and transforms the created foul, drawing it up into the uncreated efTence, fb that the fpirit becomes one with Him. Could fuch a man behold himfelf, he would fee himfelf fo noble that he would fancy himfelf God, and fee himfelf a thou- fand times nobler than he is in himfelf, and would perceive all the thoughts and purpofes, w r ords and Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. 381 works, and have all the knowledge of all men that ever were. Now thou fhouldeft look into the bottom of thy heart, and fee whether thou wouldeft fain enter into this Kingdom, and partake of this high dignity. Then were all thy cares over and gone for ever ! This is the Kingdom which we are told to feek firft ; and this is righteoumefs, that we mould fet God before us, the rightful end of all our purpofes in all our doings, and truft in Him. For as we can never love God too well, fb. we can never truft Him- too much, if it be but the right fort of truft, that cafts all care upon Him, as Peter bids us do. Now St. Paul tells us, however, that we muft be careful to keep the unity of the fpirit in the bond of peace. Children, that peace which is found in the fpirit and the inner life is well worth our care, for in that peace lies the fatisfaclion of all our wants. In it the Kingdom of God is difcovered and His righteouf- nefs is found. This peace a man mould allow nothing to take from him, whatever betide, come weal or woe, honour or fhame. But ever keep thy inward man in the bond of peace, which confifts in the common love of all to all ; and fet before you the lovely example of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and fee how His love wrought, leading Him to endure greater fuffcrings than all the faints or all mankind ever endured. For He was all His life more utterly deftitute of confolation than any man ever was, and ended it by the bittereft death that man ever died ; and yet in His higheft powers He was never lefs blefled than He is at this moment. Now thofe who are moft truly followers of Him in Do we Jin- cerely wijb to enter into this King- dom? How the bond of inward peace is the common love towards all, working as Cbrift's love worked. Sermon for the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. emptinefs of outward confblation, and in true poverty, inward and outward, having no refuge or ftay, and in no wife clinging to the creature, or feeking them- felves, thefe come to difcover, in the trueft and nobleft fort, the Kingdom of God. And this is God's right- eoufnefs, that He will give us to find His Kingdom by treading in Chrift's footfteps, in true felf-furrender and willing poornefs of fpirit. That we may all fb feek the Kingdom of God as truly to find it, may He help us. Amen. XXV. Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. Of three grades of thofe who learn to die unto themfelves, like a corn of wheat, that they may bring forth fruit ; or of thofe who are beginners, thofe who are advancing, and thofe who are perfect in a Divine life. JOHN xii. 24. " Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone : but " if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." Y the corn of wheat we underftand our Lord Jefus Chrift, who by His death has brought forth much fruit for all men, if they are but willing not only to reign with Him, but alfb and in the firft place defire to follow Him in a dying life. For this may be called a dying life, when a man for the love of God refufes to gratify his fenfes and take his natural plea- fure, and follow his own will ; and as many lufts as he dies to, fo many deaths does he offer to God, and fb many fruits of life will he receive in return. For in what meafure a man dies to himfelf, and grows out of himfelf, in the fame meafure does God, who is our Life, enter into him. Now mark, dear children, that the path of a man thus dying may be divided into three flages. Thofe who have entered on the loweft ftage, do a<5ls of iclf- Hozo the corn of wheat that dieth is a type of our Lord Jefus Cbrijt, who died to bring forth fruit, and bow we muft likewife die. Of the three ft ages of a dying life. Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. Of the fir ft Jlage of tbofe who die to earthly plea- fur es for the fake of a re- ward in heaven. denial from fear of hell, and for the hope of heaven, with fome love to God mingled therewith, which leads them to mun the moft flagrant fins ; but the love of God feldom works ftrongly in them, except it be ftirred up by the contemplation of hell or heaven ; for by reafon of their blind felf-love thefe men are ter- ribly afraid of death, and by no means eager to fet their hand to the work of mortifying their undifci- plined nature, which fhrinks therefrom ; and they have little faith, which is the caufe of this timorous weak- nefs, that leads them to be ever fearing for their own fafety : thus, juft as formerly they fought and loved themfelves in all kinds of carnal enjoyments and worldly vanities, and avoided bodily pain and incon- venience out of felf-love, fo now is the fame motive at work leading them to mun fin on account of punifhment, in order to efcape hell, and obtain the rewards of heaven. And when they are {till young in the love of God, they are apt to tafte little fweet- nefs in loving God, fave when they hope to enjoy fomething from His love ; as for inftance, to efcape hell and get to heaven ; and if fometimes they medi- tate on the fufferings of our Lord, and weep over them with ftrong emotion, it is becaufe they think how he was willing to fuffer fo much for their fakes, and to redeem them by his bitter death ; ftill (becaufe their love is fmall) they are much more inclined to dwell upon the bodily fufferings that He endured in His human nature, than to reflecl: how He manifefted by His death the higheft perfection of all virtue, as humility, love, and patience, and therein fo greatly glorified His Heavenly Father. For this fort of per- Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. 385 fons fet out and begin to die while as yet they love themfelves far too well ; hence they are not yet able to fee truly what it is to refign themfelves to God, and to maintain a fpirit of fubmiffion ; and although God does all things for the beft, yet this they will never believe, and it is a perpetual ftumbling-block to them. Thus, they often aik and wonder why our Lord chofe to luffer Ib much, and why He leads His friends and followers to Himlelf along fuch a path of fuffering. And when they are at the outlet of a dying life, and only half-way inclined towards true perfec"l- nefs, nor perceive as yet w r herein this confifts, they ofttimes torment themfelves with watching and faft- ing, and an auftere way of life ; for whatever is out- wardly painful to the flefh, they fancy to be greatly and mightily regarded and prized by God. So when they eagerly take upon themfelves all the hardfhips they can, then they think they have reached the fum- mit of perfection, and judge all other men, nay even thofe who are much more perfect than themielves, and think meanly of all who do not praclife outward auftcrities, calling them low-minded and ignorant in fpiritual things ; and thofe who do not feel as they do, they think to have gone aftray altogether from a fpiritual courfe, and defire that all men mould be as they are ; and whatever methods of avoiding fin they have praftifed and ftill make ufe of by reafon of their infirmity, they defire, nay, demand, that every one elfe mould obferv e ; and if any do not do Ib, they judge them, and murmur at them, and fav that they pay no regard to religion. Now, while they thus keep themfelves and all that belongs to them as it c c Horn that it is a jign of a beginner to think much of aufterities, and judge thoje who praftife them not. 3 86 Sermon for St. Stephens Day. How fucb do lack a generous uni- verjal love, and rather do right from fear. were working in their own fcrvice, and in this felf- love unduly regard themfelves as their own property, they cut themfelves off from our Lord and from the univerfal charity. For they ought to cherim con- tinually a general love toward all men, both good and bad ; but they remain abforbed in their partial and feparate affections, whereby they bring upon them- felves much difquiet, and remain a prey to their be- fetting fin of always feeking and intending themfelves. And they are very niggardly of their fpiritual bleflings towards their fellow- Chriftians ; for they devote all their prayers and religious exercifes to their own behoof ; and if they pray or do any other kind acl: for others, they think it a great thing, and fancy they have done them a great fervice thereby. In fhort, as they look little within, and are little enlightened in the knowledge of themfelves, fb alfo they make little increafe in the love of God and their neighbour ; for they are fb entangled with unregulated affections, that they live alone in heart, not thoroughly commingling their foul with any in the right fort of thorough love. For the love of God which ought to unite them to God and all mankind, is wanting in them ; and although they appear to keep the ordinances of God and the Holy Church, they do not keep the law of love. What they do is more out of conllraint and fear than from hearty love ; and becaufe they are inwardly unfaithful to God, they dare not truft Him, for the imperfection which they find in themfelves makes a flaw in their love to God. Hence their whole life is full of care, full of fear, full of toil and ignoble mifery ; for they fee Eternal Life on the one Sermon for St. Stephens Day. 387 fide, and fear to lofe it, and fee hell on the other, and fear to fall into it ; and all their prayers and religious exercifes cannot chafe away their fear of hell, fo long as they do not die unto themfelves. For the more they love themfelves, and take counfel for their own welfare, the more the fear of hell grows upon them ; infomuch that when God does not help them forward as much as they wifh, they complain ; and they weep and figh at every little difficulty they encounter, however fmall, fuch as being tempted to vanity, wandering thoughts, and the like> They make long {lories of what is of no confequence, and talk about their great difficulties and fufferings, as if they were grievoufly wronged ; for they efteem their works, although fmall, to be highly meritorious, and that God Almighty owes them great honour and bleffings in return. But our Lord will tell them (as He does in facl; afterward, when He has enlightened them with His grace) a poor fool loves his own wooden flick, or any other little worth- lefs article, as well as a rich and wife man does his fword or any other great and precious thing. All mch are {landing on the loweft fteps of a dying life, and if they do not mortify themfelves more, and come to experience more of what a dying life is, it is to be feared, that they will fall back from that little whereunto they have attained, and may plunge into depths of folly and wickednefs, from which God keep us all ! But before a man comes to fuch a fall, God gives him great fpiritual delight ; and upon this he is fo greatly rejoiced that he cheerfully endures all forts of aufterities and penances, and then he wecneth that he hath arrived at perfection, and c c 2 Wherefore they are grievoufly opprejfed with their own in- firmities, and with the fear of hell. How that God often fufferetbfucb to fall ter- ribly, that He may teach them f elf- 388 Sermon for St. Stephens Day. knowledge and Jhow His mercy upon them. Oftbefecond degree of a dying life, when a man is persecuted for rigbteouf- nefsfake. begins to judge his neighbours, and wants to fhape all men after his own model, fo greatly does he efteem himfelf in his own conceits. Then God comes in His mercy to teach him what he is, and mows him into what error he has fallen, and permits the Enemy to fet before him and make him tafte the fweetnefs of fin ; and then, when he has thus tafted, he conceives an inclination to one fin after another, and he cannot rid himfelf of thefe inclinations. Then he wifhes to flee fin that he may efcape hell, and begins to do outward good works ; and yet it is a dreadful toil to perform thefe good works as a mere labour, and to put himfelf to pain ; thus he is brought into an agonizing ftruggle with himfelf, and does not know which way to turn ; for he dimly fees that he has gone affray. Then muft God of His mercy come and raife him up, and he mall cry earneftly to God for help, and his chief meditation mall be on the life and works and efpecially the fufferings of our Lord Jefus Chrift. The fecond degree in which the corn of wheat dies, is when a man is called upon to endure infult, contempt, and fuch like deaths ; and fo long as his grace lafls he would fain continue to fuffer, for by the fenfe of undeferved injury all his powers are but quickened and raifed into a higher ftate of activity. But when he is bereft of this gracious fenfe of the Divine prefence, forafmuch as he is {till far from per- fection, he cannot bear up under this fpiritual deftitu- tion, and, through his infirmity, falls a prey to miftruft of God, and fancies that God has forgotten him, and is not willing to help him towards perfection. Often Sermon for St. Stephens Day. 389 he is in a hundred minds what to do or not do, and if our Lord fhow him fome kindnefs, then he feels as if all were well between his foul and God, and he feels himfelf fo rich as if he could never more be poor, and thinks to enjoy the prefence and favour of God (though as yet he is quite untried) juft as if the Almighty were his own perfbnal, fpecial friend, and is ready to believe that our Lord is, fo to fpeak, at his difpofal, will comfort him in adverfity, and enrich him with all virtue. But forafmuch as our gracious Lord fees that fuch a man will be very apt to rely upon his imagined powers, and thus to fall grievoufly, and fees alfo that the beft and ripeft fruit is being loft, inafmuch as the man has not yet attained to that perfection to which our Lord deflres to lead him, therefore in due time He withdraws from him all that He had revealed to him, becaufe the man was too much occupied with himfelf, with thinking about his own perfection, wifdom, holinefs and virtues ; He thus brings him through poverty to diiTatifta&ion with himfelf, and a humble acknowledgment that he has neither wifdom nor worthinefs ; then does he begin to reflect within himfelf how juftly Almighty God has ftayed His hand from beftowing any fenfible tokens of His mercy, becaufe he fancied that he was fomething ; now he fees clearly that he is nothing. He was wont to care for his good name and honour in the world and to defend them as a man ftands up for his wedded wife, and to count them who fpoke evil of him as an enemy to the common good. He was wont to defire and thirft after the reputation of holinefs, like a meadow after the dew of c c 3 Of God's bidden deal- ings with a man, by which he learns that he is nothing. 390 Sermon for St. Stephens Day. How vie muft examine our- lelves under p( ,f(utio ns, whether we are patient, prat/ing God and man, and truly loving our enemies. heaven. He weened that men's praifes of him had proceeded altogether from real goodnefs and fympathy of heart and by God's ordination, and had wandered fo far from felf-knowledge as not to fee that he was in himfelf unfound from head to foot ; he fancied that he was really as he flood in man's opinion and knew nothing to the contrary. Here we muft mark that he who wimes to heal himfelf of fuch like grievous miftakes, and fubdue fuch an unmortified nature, muft take note of three points in himfelf. Firft, how much he has ftriven to endure cheerfully, for the fake of goodnefs, all the rebuke, flander, and mame that has come upon him, patiently enduring it in his heart without outward com- plaint. Secondly, how much in the time of his rebuke, mame, and diftrefs he has praifed and glorified God and his fellow-men, and mown kindnefs to his neigh- bour in all ways, in fpite of all contradiction againft himfelf. Thirdly, let him examine himfelf whether he have loved with cheerful and willing heart the men or creatures who have thus perfecuted him, and fmcerely prayed for them ; and if he finds that he has not done fo, and is unwilling to do fo, but is hard and bitter in his grief, then he may furely know and ought to feel certain that there is fbmething falfe in him, and fome refting in the praife of men and in his own fpiritual pride, and that he is not dead. He has not yet come to the fecond ftep in a dying life. But our kind Lord, like a tender mother who is full of love, or a wife phyfician who defires to reftore a fick man to perfect health by his powerful remedies, fuffers him to fall many times, that he may learn to Sermon for St. Stephen s Day. 39 l know himfelf, and thus he falls into flefhly, unfpirit- ual temptations fuch as he never experienced in thofe paft days, in which he fancied himfelf very good and fpiritual-minded. Out of mercy God deprives him of all underilanding, and overclouds all the light in which he walked aforetime, and fo hedges him in with the thorns of an anguimed confcience, that he thinks nothing elfe but that he is caft off from the light of God's countenance ; and he moans greatly, and often with many tears exclaims : " O, my God, why haft " Thou caft me off, and why go I thus mourning " all the days of my pilgrimage ?" And when he finds himfelf thus from the crown of his head to the fole of his foot unlike God, and at variance with Him, he is filled with the fenfe of his own unworthinefs and with difpleafure at himfelf, infomuch that he can hardly abide himfelf; and then he thinks many miferable things about himfelf from pafTages of Holy Scripture, and fheds many tears in the fenfe of his finfulnefs, till he is weighed down to the earth with the prefTure of God's hand, and ex- claims with the Prophet : " My fins are more in " number than the fands of the fea ; they have taken " hold upon me that I am not able to look up ; for I " have ftirred up God's anger againft me, and done " much evil in His fight." Thcfe things he faith, and more of the like. And at times he is not even able thus to weep and lament and then he is ftill more tormented with tribulation and afTaults ; for on the one hand he feels a ftrong defire to caft himfelf down humbly and die to himfelf, and on the other he is confcious of great pride and arrogance about himfelf, till he is fo c c 4 How God fometimes fuffen carnal temptations to befet jucb a man, wherefore be , is brought intofucbgreat diftrefs and anger at bimfelfy 392 Sermon for St. Stephens Day. that be could fain dejlroy bimfelf, and is well-nigh in defpair. How that God fo exer- fifes a man that He may purify him wholly, exafperated at himfclf, that but for the difhonour to God he could fain kill himfelf. I believe that all fuch conflict greatly wears out the intellectual and natural powers, for it is fb exceffivc, that one would rather fuffer onefelf to be put to death than endure it. Yet one grace is left him, namely, that he looks on it all as of no moment, whatever may be poured out over him, if only he may not knowingly offend God. After a while the grace of tears comes back to him, and he cries to God and fays : " O Lord, arife ! why " fleepeft Thou ?" and afks Him why He hath fealed up the fountains of His mercy. He calls upon the holy angels and bleffed fpirits to have pity on him. He afks the heavens why they have become as brafs, and the earth wherefore me is as iron, and befeeches the very ftones to have compaffion on his woes. He exclaims : " Am I become as the blafted hill of " Gilboa, which was curfed of David that no dew " or rain mould fall on it ? And how mould my " wickednefs alone vanquilh the invincible God, and " force Him to fhut up His mercies whofe property it " is to have mercy and to help ?" In the fecond ftage of the dying life God leads the foul through thefe exercifes and operations of His hand as through fire and water by turns, until the workings of felf-fufficiency are driven out from all the fecret corners of the fpirit, and the man henceforward is fo utterly afhamed of himfelf, and fb carts himfelf off, that he can never more afcribe any greatnefs to himfelf, but thoroughly perceives all his own weak- nefs, in which he now is and always has been ; and whatever he does or defires to do, or whatever good Sermon for St. Stephens Day. 393 thing may be faid of him, he does not take it to his own credit, for he knows not how to fay anything elfe of himlelf, but that he is full of all manner of infirmity. Then he has reached the end of this ftage ; and he who has arrived at this point is not far from the threfhold of great mercies, by which he mall enter into the bride-chamber of Chrift. Then when the day of his death mall come, he mall be brought in by the Bridegroom with great rejoicing. It is hard to die. We know that little trees do not ftrike their roots deep into the earth, and therefore they cannot ftand long ; fo it is with all humble hearts, who do not take deep root in earth, but in heaven. But the great trees which have waxed high, and are intended to endure long upon the earth, thefe ftrike their roots deep, and fpread them out wide into the foil. So it is with the men who in old times and now at this prefent have been great upon earth, they muft needs through many a ftruggle and death, die unto themfelves before all the felf-fufficicncy of their heart can be broken down, and they can be furely and firmly rooted for ever in humility. It does, however, happen fometimes that the Holy Spirit finds eafier ways than thofe of which we have fpoken, whereby He brings fuch fouls to Himfelf. The third degree in which the corn of wheat dies belongs only to the perfecl:, v/ho, with unflagging diligence and ceafelefs defirc, arc ever ftriving to ap- proach perfection. Thcfe men's ftate is one of min- gled joy and forrow, whereby they are toiled up and down ; for the Holy Spirit is trying and fitting them, and preparing them for perfection, with two kinds of and bring him to un- fpeakable mercies. How this dying life is bar deft for tbofe who are great upon earth. Of the third ftage of a dying life ; 394 Sermon for St. Stephens Day. the ft ate of tbofe who are unccafenglj afpiring to- wards per- feflion, and all wbofe griefs and joys are a fympatby with Cbrijl. To this none can attain except be be emptied of Jetf and filed with the Holy Spirit. grief and two kinds of joy and happinefs, which they have ever in their fight. The firft grief is an inward pain and an overwhelming fbrrow of heart, in the fenfe of the unfpeakable wrong done to the Holy Trinity by all creatures, and fpecially by the bad Chriftians who are living in mortal fin. The fecond grief confifts in their fellow-feeling for and experience of all the grief and pain which the human nature of Chrift has undergone. The firft of the two joys lies in this dying ; it is a clear intuition and a perfect fruition to which they are raifed in Chrift by the power of the Holy Spirit, that they may enjoy the fruition of Him, and triumph in all the joys which they hope and believe after this life to behold in all their perfect fulnefs. The fecond triumph is that they are fulfilled in all the joys which the human nature of Chrift pofTefTed. This joy fuch a man hopes to ihare as a member of Chrift ; and even if he cannot fathom the abyfs of God, he rejoices therein, for he fees that the overflowings of God's mercy are unfpeakable, and feels that it is good for him that he is vanquished in the effort to comprehend God's power, and bends down beneath God in his felf-dying. To this ftate a man cannot attain except he unite his will with God, with an entire renunciation and perfecl: denial of himfelf, and all felfifh love of himfelf ; and all delight in having his own will be over-maf- tered and quenched by the fhedding abroad in his heart of the Holy Spirit in the love of God, fo that it feem as though the Holy Spirit Himfelf were the man's will and love, and he were nothing and willed nothing on his own account. Yea, even the king- Sermon for St. Stephens Day. 395 dom of heaven he mall defire for God's fake and God's glory, becaufe Chrift hath earned it in order to fup- ply his needs, and choofeth to beftow it on him as one of His fons. When in this ftage, a man loveth all things in their right order, God above all things, next the blefled (human) nature of Chrift, and after that the blefled Mother of Chrift, and the faints of all degrees, each according to the rank which God hath enabled him to attain. When his affections are thus regulated, he fets himfelf in the loweft place at the wedding-feaft of the Bridegroom. And when the Bridegroom comes who has bidden him to the feaft, He faith unto him : " Friend go up higher." Then he is endowed with a new life, and illuminated with a new light, in the which he clearly perceives and fees, that he alone is the caufe of his own evil, that he can- not, with truth, throw the blame either on nature, the world, or the devil. Yea, he confcfles that God has appointed him all thefe exercifes and affaults out of His great love, in order that he may glorify God in overcoming thefe, and deferve a higher crown. Fur- ther, he perceives and fees, that it is God alone who has upheld him, and ftayed his fteps, fo that he has no longer an inclination to fin, and who has removed the occafion to fin that he might not fall. Yea what is ftill worfe, he is forced to confefs that he has often been diflatiffied that he was not able to derive more enjoyment from his fins. Thus all his being is fwal- lowed up in forrow and rcmorfe for that he is Hill laden with his boundlefs infirmity. But he hath delight and joy in that he feeth that the goodncfs of God is as great as his necellitics, fo How that fucb an one lovetb all things in their right order. Of bis de- light in God's 396 Sermon for St. Stephe?is Day. unfathomable goodnefs. Of the griefs and joy $ of our Lord Jefus Cbrijt. that his life may well be called a dying life by reafon of fuch his griefs and joys which are conformable and like unto the life of our Lord Jefus Chrift, which from beginning to end was always made up of min- gled grief and joy. Grief, in that He left His heavenly throne and came down into this world ; joy, in that He was not fevered from the glory and honour of the Father. Grief, in that He was a Son of Man ; joy, in that He neverthelefs was and remained the Son of God. Grief, becaufe He took upon Him the office of a fervant ; joy, in that He was neverthelefs a great Lord. Grief, becaufe in human nature He was mor- tal, and died upon the crofs ; joy, becaufe He was im- mortal according to His Godhead. Grief, in His birth, in that He was once born of His mother ; joy, in that He is the only-begotten of God's heart from everlafting to everlafting. Grief, becaufe He became in Time fubjecl: to Time ; joy, becaufe He was Eternal before all Time, and mall be fo for ever. Grief, in that the Word was born into the flem, and hath dwelt in us ; joy, in that the \Vord was in the beginning with God, and God Himfelf was the Word. Grief, in that it behoved Him to be baptized like any human fmner by St. John the Baptift in the Jordan ; joy, in that the voice of His Heavenly Father faid of Him : " This is my be- loved Son, in whom I am well pleafed." Grief, in that like others, fmners, He was tempted of the Enemy ; joy, in that the angels came and miniftered unto Him. Grief, in that He ofttimes endured hunger and thirft ; joy, becaufe He is Himfelf the food of men and angels. Grief, in that He was often wearied with His labours ; joy, becaufe He is the reft of all loving hearts and Sermon for St. Stephen s Day, 397 blcfled fpirits. Grief, forafmuch as His holy life and fufferings ihould remain in vain for fb many human beings; joy, becaufe He Ihould thereby fave His friends. Grief, in that He muft needs ailc to drink water of the heathen woman at the well ; joy, in that He gave to that fame woman to drink of living water, fo that me mould never thirft again. Grief, in that He was wont to fail in mips over the fea ; joy, becaufe He was wont to walk dry-mod upon the waves. Grief, in that He wept with Martha and Mary over Lazarus ; joy, in that He raifed their brother Lazarus from the dead. Grief, in that He was nailed to the crofs with nails ; joy, in that He promifed paradife to the thief by His fide. Grief, in that He thirfted when hanging the crofs ; joy, in that He Ihould thereby redeem on His elecl from eternal thirft. Grief, when He faid, " My God, my God, why haft thou forfaken me ? ' : joy, in that He would with thefe words comfort all fad hearts. Grief, in that His foul was parted from His body, and He died and was buried ; joy, becaufe on the third day He rofe again from the dead with a glorified body. Thus was all His life, from the manger to the crofs, a mingled web of grief and joy. Which life He hath left as a facred teftamcnt to His followers in this pre- fent time, who are converted unto His dying life, that they may remember Him when they drink of His cup, and walk as He hath walked ! May God help us fo to do ! Amen. How that His life ii a tejlament unto as. XXVI. Sermon for St. Peter's Day. Of brotherly rebuke and admonition, how far it is advifable and feemly or not, and especially how prelates and governors ought to demean tbemfelves toward their fubjeffs. 2 TIM. iv. 2. " Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-fuffering and doftrine." How that ail pajlors and tnagif- trates Jbould pofiefs long- fuffering and doflrine, and rebuke Jin- ners to bring them to amendment. How that they mujl alfo HIS is the lefTon which St. Paul gives to his beloved difciple Timothy, whom he fet to rule over men, and it equally be- hoves all paftors of fouls and magistrates, to pofTefs thefe two things, long-fuf- fering and doctrine. Firft, it is their office to rebuke all open iinners, whom they may poffibly bring to a better way, and efpecially thofe over whom they are fet in authority, that they may reveal the truth unto them, for this is needful, and in many places Scripture doth tell us how we ought to teach, rebuke, and exhort thofe who are committed to our charge, each according to the office which he holds, as St. Gregory has fufficiently fhown and fet forth in his Paftoral, wherefore we will refrain for the prefent from faying more on that point. But we will rather turn to the iecond point, which is more fpiritual, teaching a man to look within and Sermon for St. Peter s Day. 399 judge himfelf, feeing that he who defires to become a fpiritual man muft not be ever taking note of others, and above all of their fins, left he fall into wrath and bitternefs, and ajudgingfpirit towards his neighbours. O children, this works fuch great mifchief in a man's foul, as it is miferable to think of; wherefore, as you love God, mun this evil temper, and turn your eyes full upon yourfelves, and fee if you cannot difcover the fame fault in yourfelves, either in times paft or now-a- days. And if you find it, remember how that it is God's appointing that you mould now behold this fin in another in order that you may be brought to ac- knowledge and repent of it ; and amend your ways and pray for your brother that God may grant him repentance and amendment, according to His Divine Will. Thus a good heart draws amendment from the fins of others, and is guarded from all harm judgment and wrath, and preferves an even temper, while an evil heart puts the worft interpretation on all that it fees and turns it to its own hurt. Thus is a good man able to maintain inviolate a due love and loyalty towards his fellow-man. Further, this generous love makes him hold others innocent in his heart : even when he fees infirmity or fault in his neighbour, he reflects that very likely all is not as it feems on the outfide, but the ad: may have been done with a good intention ; or elfe he thinks that God may have per- mitted it to take place for an admonition and leflbn to himfelf; or again, as an opportunity for him to exercife felt-control and to learn to die unto himfelf, by the patient endurance of and forbearance towards the faults of his neighbours, even as God has often borne look within and judge tbemfelves, and put the beft interpre- tation they can upon the condufi of others, and have 400 Sermon for St. Peter s Day. patience tvitb their Jtns. Thefpirit and mode in which rebuke Jhould be ad- minijiered. many wrongs from him, and had patience with his fins. And this would often tend more to his neigh- bour's improvement than all the efforts he could make for it in the way of reproofs or chaftifements, even if they were done in love (though indeed we often ima- gine that our reproofs are given in love when it is in truth far other wile). For I tell thee, dear child, if thou couldft conquer thyfelf by long-iuffering and gentle- nefs and the purenefs of thy heart, thou wouldft have vanquifhed all thine enemies. It would be better for thee than if thou hadft won the hearts of all the world by thy writings and wifdom, and hadft mifcr- ably deftroyed thine own foul by paffing judgment on thy neighbours ; for the Lord fays : " And why be- " holdeft thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, " but confidereft not the beam that is in thine own " eye ? " In thus fpeaking, I except thofe who are bound by their office in the holy Chriftian Church to rebuke others. Let them wifely beware how they reprove, and for what caufes, fo that they rebuke none with an irritable demeanour, or with harm and angry words, from which much trouble and toil do fpring, for that they have no right to do, but it is permitted to them to reprove thofe who arc under them for their own amendment. But alas ! it happens for the moft part now-a-days that thofe who occupy the higheft places do often and greatly forget themfelves in thefe rcfpecls, and hence their rebukes do not produce any amend- ment, but only anger and alienation of heart. For if they were to inftruft thofe who are under their care in the fear of God, in fuch wife that the people could Sermon for St. Peter s Day. 401 mark and be fure that it was done folely for the fay- ing of their fouls, they would be much the more ready to fet themfelves to amend, and would be con- tent, but now, alas ! they fee that their fuperiors are only feeking their own glory and profit, and taking upon themfelves wrongfully to keep them down and defraud them of their juft rights, and therefore reproof only makes them the more refractory and indignant. And there are many in authority who do really believe that they rebuke thofe under them from a reverence for righteoufnefs, and yet are doing it from a wrath- ful, domineering, and arrogant fpirit ; and what they think they are doing from hatred to fin, they are doing from hatred to men. But I befeech you examine yourfelves, whether you do in truth love thofe whom you are puniming fb bitterly out of reverence and zeal for righteoufnefs as you fuppofe. For when we fee men puniming and oppreflmg with fuch vehemence thole who are under them, or treating them fo harlhly with fharp words and four looks, it is to be feared that there is more reproof given out of crabbed impatience, than for the fake of righteoufnefs from the true ground of charity and kindnefs, especially by thofe who have not yet experienced the inward joy of hearty fweetnefs and godly love : for the foul that has not yet experienced inward love and divine fweetnefs does not know how to hold a difcreet mien and juft language in rebuking ; but genuine love teaches us how we ought to treat thofe who are worthy of punifhment. Now let him w-ho has to punifh in virtue of his office firft take account of God's difhonour and the D D Of the danger of mijlaking our impa- tience and wrath Jor a zeal for rigbteoufnefs. How that fu- periors Jbould 402 Sermon for St. Peter's Day. confider, and not take their own revenge, and punijb with gcntle- neff. How they Jhould love all, without unjuft par- tiality, and guide their Jtock into virtue. injury done to the fouls of his flock, and then rebuke with fweet, loving words and patient demeanour and geftures, fo that the weak mall be able to mark that he is feeking and purpofing their welfare alone, and nothing elfe. And if in the difpenfations of God's Providence it mould happen that thofe who are fubjecl: mould at times rife up and offend by licenfe and prefumptuous irreverence againft their fuperiors, the latter ought not in any wile to regard or revenge it, fo far as that may be, without fcandal to the reft of their fubjefts ; for if they revenge themfelves they fall under fufpicion of felfifh motives, and it is likely that God will not be able to work any fruit through them ; but they muft rather treat fuch offenders with more patience, kinder words and acls, than they do others. For this is commonly the greateft temptation which befalls thofe in authority, by which they for the moft either win or lofe the greateft reward of their labours ; wherefore they mould ever be on their guard, for gentlenefs and a readinefs to forgive injuries is the beft virtue that a ruler can poflefs. They fhall mow no partiality in their affections, neither for their own glory nor yet towards particular perfons, but they mall embrace all their flock in the arms of a common love, as a mother does her children. To the weak they mould ever mow the greateft love and care, and without ceafmg lift up their hearts unto God in prayer, earneftly befeeching Him to guard and defend the people committed to their charge, and not indulging in any felf-gloriflcation. Likewife, fo far as it refts with them, let them be the firft to do Sermon for St. Peter s Day. 403 fuch works as they would wifh to fee their people do : for fo it ftands, that, with the help of God, all may be accomplifhed to a good end, when thoie in au- thority are inclined to virtue, for then their fubjecls muft needs follow as they lead, even though they may have been beforehand inclined to all evil and vice, and hoftile to their fuperiors. But for thofe who have received no commiffion to govern other men, but {land in a private character without office, it is needful that they fecretly judge themfelves inwardly, and beware of judging all things without, for in fuch judgments we do commonly err, and the true pofition of things is generally very far otherwife from that which it appears to us, as we often come to difcover afterwards. On this point re- member the proverb : " He is a wife man who can " turn all things to the beft." May God help us fo to do ! Amen. How tbofe who are not governors Jbould not take upon tbemf elves to judge others. D 2 XXVII. Sermon on a Martyr's Day. Of three forts of fpintual temptation by which holy men are fecretly ajjailed ; to wit : fpintual unchaftity, covet oufnefs, and pride. JAMES, i. 12. " BlefTed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried he mall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promifed to them that love Him." How that this life is full of temptation, but it is all for our proft. as we LL our life (fays Job), so long are upon earth, is full of ftruggle and temptation, infomuch that this life is not called a life by the Saints, but a temptation. When one temptation is over, ftraightway others are awaiting us, and the caufe is that our Lord will have us to go and bring forth fruit ; and the fruit is to walk in the ways of God and go forward ; for the fruit confifts in the very overcoming of temptation, from which we may draw out a hidden fpiritual fweetnefs, as the bees suck honey from the thorn-bufhes as well as from all other flowers. He who has not been tempted, knows no- thing, nor lives as yet, fay the wife man Solomon, and the holy teacher St. Bernard. We find more than a thoufand testimonies in Scripture to the great profit of temptation ; for it is the fpecial fign of the love of God towards a man for him to be tempted and yet kept from falling ; for thus he muft and mall Sermon on a Martyr s Day. 405 of a certainty receive the crown, like the martyr whofe death the Chriftian Church commemorates this day, finging of him that he is blefTcd becaufe he hath endured temptation, and has been tried and proved therein, that he might receive the crown of life which the Lord has promifed to them that love Him. Now obferve, dear children, that there are two kinds of temptation. The one is carnal, and has its fphere in the kingdom of fenfe in this prefent life, as when a man is tempted through his outward fenfes to feek his happinefs in other men, be they friends or relations, or any others, or to undue fondnefs for the outward mow of life, fuch as drefs, jewels, books, inftruments, a pleafant abode, and other tranfitory creatures, and wilfully cleaves thereunto with manifold affections, and they ftick to him like burrs. At times our outward fenfes are left in peace, and are quit of all aiTaults, yet is the man ftrangely affaulted inwardly in his flem and blood by unfeemly thoughts ; but, however impure may be thefe temptations, and how- ever horrible they may look, they cannot of them- felves defile a man's purity. St. Gregory fays : " Temptations do not defile a man except through " his own flacknefs and want of diligence in turning " afide from them." The other fort of temptation is inward and fpiritual, and has its feat in the realm of the intellecl:. The workings of the Spirit and of Nature are fo mingled together and interwoven as long as we are in this prefent life, that all our inward exercifes and convcrlc with God arc carried on at the fame time with all D D 3 Of outward and carnal temptations. Of inward temptations in the intel- lefl. 406 Sermon o?i a Martyr s Day. \ 1 6. Offpiritual felf-feeking in the indulgence of emotion. the motions and workings of nature. Moreover, our Lord has fo ordained it for our good, that the Evil Angel, Satan, has power to tranfform himfelf before the inward eye of the mind into an Angel of Light ; and he does it moft of all at thofe times when a man gathers up all his powers to enter into communion w r ith God. Obferve, dear children, that St. John divides fin into three kinds, when he fays, all that is of the world is " the luft of the flefh, and the luft of " the eyes, and the pride of life." As thefe three fins that reign in the world exift together in the flem, fo do they alfb reign inwardly in the mind, under a fpiritual guife. Outward fins are very clear and eafy to fee, if a man have a mind to watch him- felf; but thefe mental fins are in many ways more covert, and can put on fuch a good face, that we are often hardly aware of the grievous fall that is clofe at hand. Now mark : it is to be counted as fpiritual un- chaftity or wantonnefs, when a man feeks himfelf too much, and with eager defire ftrives after warmth and fenfible devoutnefs, to the end that he may always be in a ftate of contentment, and none may have a right to reprove him, though he mould give himfelf to his own fpecial prayers and religious exercifes, while leaving unfulfilled the work that is his duty. When fuch an one has none of thefe fweet emotions, he is quite troubled and becomes peevifh and very impatient in the trifling mifhaps that befall him, though they are really of no importance whatever ; and when he cannot enjoy or obtain inward peace according to his defire, he complains of the great grievances and tempta- Sermon on a Martyr s Day. 407 tions which he has to endure. St. Bernard fays that our Lord bcftows thefe graces of fenfible emotion upon fuch as have done nothing to defcrve them nor are worthy of them, but He does this in mercy, that He may draw fuch to His love ; and He withholds thcfe gifts from fome who have undergone long and painful exercifes, and were well fit to receive them ; yea from fome He withholds them all their life long, but He will give them a great recompenfe for it in the next life. The reafbn of His thus withholding fcnfible delight is that our fpiritual fruitfulnefs and higheft blefledneis do not lie therein, but in our in- ward trufting and clinging to God, in our not feeking ourfelves either in fbrrow or joy, but through joy and forrow devoting ourfelves to God, and like poor un- worthy fervants offering ourfelves to Him at our own cofts, though we mould have to ferve Him thus for ever. Yet it may indeed be permitted to a young, weak Chriftian, at the outfet of his courfe, to pray for fuch graces or gifts from our good God, in order to be able to glorify Him with the greater activity, and to be grounded the more firmly in His love. But when we defire fuch inward fervours and fweet peace (which are His gifts and not our deferts) more for their own fakes than the Giver Himfelf, we fall into fpiritual wantonnefs and black difloyalty, which our good Lord has not defcrved at our hands with His utter renunciation of Himfelf outwardly and in- wardly . Spiritual covetoufnefs is when a man is always coxcting to have more than bare neceflaries while purfuing this earthly pilgrimage. For what more D D 4 SenfibU de- light in Di- vine things not beftowed in proportion to our wortbi- nefs or un- wortbinefs. Of fpiritual covetoufncfsi 408 Sermon on a Martyr s Day. Matt, xxvii. 46. How we muft not be dif- couraged by the confe- quences of our own tranf- grejjions, but ever prefs forward, and trujl in God. Prov. xxiv. 1 6. mould a pilgrim take with him by the way than fuch things as are needful to fuftain him till he come fafcly to his home ? Believe me, it is a great blemifh in true outward poverty to defire aught beyond nc- ceflaries ; fo likewife it is a ftill greater blemim in the inward poverty of the fpirit. Ah ! who has ever been fo poor as He, who, in utter poornefs of fpirit, flood forfaken by Heaven and by the creatures, caft out alone in utter exile, when He fent forth that bitter cry : " My God, my God ! why haft Thou " forfaken me ?" And this was all that He might be an enfample unto us, to comfort our poverty and be- reavement by teaching us true fubmiilion. I hear thee faying : " Yes ; if it were not my own fault, and " if I had not failed to receive the blefling through " my own heedleflhefs, or thrown it away by my own " guilty folly, I could bear it all the better ; what " mould I then have to mourn over ? But now it " is all my own doing : I have brought the mifchief " upon myfelf." I anfwer : Do not let this lead thee aftray ; doft thou not know how that it is written : "The "juft man falleth feven times, and rifeth up again;" and doft thou think to ftand always ? Yes ; I affert and confefs with thee, that it is thine own fault, that thou haft brought it upon thyfelf, and well deferred it ; yet, neverthelefs, it is better that thou mouldft, with firm truft, pray our kind God for His grace (who knows thy weaknefs, and is ready to forgive thy trefpaffes feventy and feven times in a day), than that thou mouldft thus drive thyfelf back in thy courfe with fuch faint- heartednefs. O child, haft thou fallen ? arife, and go, with childlike truft, to thy Father, like the prodigal Serfnon on a Martyr ' s Day. 409 fon, and humbly fay, with heart and mouth : " Father, " I have finned againft heaven, and before thee, and " am no more worthy to be called thy ion ; make me " as one of thy hired fervants." And what will thy Heavenly Father do but what that father did in the parable ? Affuredly He will not change His efTence, which is love, for the fake of thy mifdoings. Is it not His own precious treafure, and a fmall thing with Him to forgive thee thy trefpafles, if thou believe in Him ? for His hand is not fhortened that it cannot make thee fit to be faved. Therefore, beware of fpi- ritual covetoufnefs ; for the poorer thou art in thine own eyes when thou comeft to Him, the more ac- ceptable art thou in His fight, and the more richly He will endow thee and clothe thee out of His treafures. Spiritual pride is when a man is not willing to be put to mame in his own eyes on account of his tranf- greflions, but is ever trying to excufe and glofs over his faults, and is never willing to abafe himfelf, even in fmall matters. And this often leads people to make many ufelcfs and wrong fpeeches in order to excufe themfelves and to juftify themfelves in every refpecl: ; as much as to fay, I am not the man to be accufed of this and that ; and they are unwilling to remember, or confider, that he who cannot clear him- felf with the fimple truth will not be helped by the untruths by which he often adds to his guilt ; and that a man who humbles himfelf before God is more in his eyes than an arrogant, feif-righteous man, who deems himfelf able to anfwer for all his deeds with his own righteoufnefs. Hearken, dear child ; w hat does all Luke, xv. 1 8, 19. Of Spiritual pride, or a jelf-juftifying Spirit. 4io Sermon on a Martyr s Day. Is. Ixiv. 6. Three rules to avoid tbefe three fats. All feeming evil that makes us more like Chrijt is jrom God. our righteoufnefs come to at laft ? Ifaiah fays : " All " our righteoufnefles are as filthy rags ;" and however great our righteoufnefs is, or might become, yet, if the Lord mould fit in judgment on us, without doubt we mould have to confefs ourfelves His debtors, and place all our hope in His mercy. Our Lord often difciplines a man by his own failings, if he is humble under them and throws himfelf at God's feet ; for God will have every knee to bend before Him, and will have the praife and glory of all goodnefs. Hence we may ob- ferve that there is often a fecret pride within us from which many unfeemly fruits do grow. But he who gives diligence to beware of fpiritual wantonnefs, covetoufnefs and pride, mall be kept from ftraying out of God's ways, or falling into error in his inward exercifes. But in order to keep yourfelves from thefe fins, and withftand this kind of temptation, you mufl obferve three rules which I will tell you. The firft is : none of the inward difficulties that rife up from within, or the adverfe circumftances that ftay our hands from working, by which we are drawn or preffed into like- nefs and conformity to the humble image of Chrift and His Saints (not alone outwardly, but that of their inward condition), can be the work either of evil fpirits or of nature, but without a doubt come from God. For He is the Higheft Good, and from the Higheft Good nought but what is good can flow ; and all the goodnefs that God gives us of His ftores, and that we render back again to Him, has pro- ceeded from Him as its fource ; juft as all ftreams flow back again to their fource, the Ocean whence Sermon on a Martyr s Day. 411 they have arifen, and all things do rejoice in their return. But all that draws us and leads us afide from fuch conformity and likenefs proceeds without doubt from the Spirit of Evil, who is ever on the watch to difturb and draw us down, as our Lord faid : " He " who is not with me is againft me, and he who ga- " thereth not with me, fcattereth." This rule is againft the firft fpiritual vice, that of wantonnefs. The fecond rule is : Whatever befalls a man inwardly, whereby he is brought to a clofer and more fenfible gathering up of all his affections and impulfes, in fin- glcnefs of heart, into a fteadfaft truft in and love of the Father's loving-kindnefs and not his own works and experiences, this is from God. And he who at all times fees himfelf to be a poor beggar, however fair his works may feem, the more narrowly he looks into his own heart, and the more mattery he gains over him- felf, the more does he difcover his own nakednefs of all virtue. He becomes aware in himfelf that he is nothing but an empty, worthlefs vcflel, fitted not unto honour but unto eternal deftru&ion, which vefTel God alone muft and will fill with His grace. When we cling to Him, fuffer Him to have accefs to our fpirits, and do not defend ourfelves with ourfelves, that work is no doubt of God, by which a man is driven into himfelf to learn his own poverty. But the fuggeftions of the Enemy and of nature rob and defpoil a man of all the benefits of his virtues ; and this is the cafe whenever a man docs not know his own real ftate, and thinks to pofTcfs what he never had, and fays (as it is written) : " I am rich, and increafed with goods, " and have need of nothing," and knows not that he 411 that Jbows us our own poverty if of God. Rev. iii. 17. 412 Sermon on a Martyr s Day. All that brings us to fubmijjton is of God. How that all beings, bad or good,feek to draw others into their own likenefs. " is wretched, and miferable, and poor, and blind, and " naked." This is the rule againft fpiritual covetouf- nefs. The third rule is : Whatever befalls a man by which he is leflened and humbled in his own in- moft emotions, and which makes him bend under the Almighty Hand of God, under all creatures, abating and annihilating himfelf in true humility, this comes no doubt from God. For as Lucifer and his followers defired to be great and lofty, and were therefore thruft down from heaven, fo are we led back again to heaven by felf-abafe- ment, as it was faid of the Kings of the Eaft that they travelled back into their own land again by another way. Thus does every being do and teach according to that which is his effence, drawing into his own likenefs all whom there are to draw, as far as in him lies. The Evil Spirit is puffed up in his own obftinate conceit, and in the loftinefs of his pride is fo hardened and unbending in his own ftiff-necked will and purpofe, that neither to win heaven nor for anything elfe, will he humble himfelf for one moment, fo fixed is he in his evil mind. So likewise is it with all the proud who have learnt of him to truft in their own under- ftandings above all other men's opinion and rcafon ; wherefore they fall into ftrife and variance with their neighbours, which begets much trouble and difquiet of heart, and hence arife many breaches of brotherly love. They will take reproof from none, and grow fo hardened in their own obftinate evil will, and fet upon their purpofes, that they rafhly dare to with- Sermon on a Martyr s Day. ftand all the admonitions of God and His friends, as the Jewifh fcribes and priefts withftood our blefled Lord ; and of fuch the prophet Ifaiah, fpeaking in the perfon of Chrift, complains : " I have fpread out my " hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which " walketh in a way that was not good, after their " own thoughts/' But our blefled Lord, on the contrary, is meek and humble, yea, He is himfclf the eflence of hu- mility, whcreunto He is unceafingly drawing all men whom there are to draw, and who are walling to be drawn. His Being is the caufe, the eflence, and the origin of all things. He is the life of the living, the refurre&ion of the dead, the reftorer of all deformity and unfitnefs, and of thofe who have cor- rupted and defpoiled themfelves through fin. He calleth back thofe who have fallen away and wan- dered from His fold. He raifeth up and confirmcth thofe who are in temptation. He is the bulwark of those who ftand, the awakener and guide of all who are looking and ilriving upwards towards Him, the fource of all light, the lamp of all who walk in light, the revealer of myfteries, in fo far as it is fitting for us to know, and the beginning of all beginnings. His Eflence is incomprehenfible, unfpeakable, and without a name. Therefore mould we honour and glorify His unfpeakable myftery with holy reverence and fi- lence, and nevermore covet to fathom or to tafte aught except in fo far as is to His honour and to our profit, but ever with fit reverence and devoutnefs turn with all our might in fhamefaced awe to contemplate the radiance of His bright and fpotlcfs mirror. It be- h. Ixv. 2. Of the humi- lity and glory of our Ble/ed Lord Jejus Cbrijl. 414 Sermon on a Martyr s Day. How toe muft not a/fire to high things till called thereto of God. Of 'receiving Cbrift in His tranffgura- tion. hoves man to be ever in fear and to bethink him of the word that God, our Lord, fpake by the mouth of Mofes : " If a man or a beaft touch the mountain, " he mall be ftoned ;" which fignifies that our animal fenfes muft not prefume to climb the Mount of the Divine EiTence, but muft rather keep themfelyes be- low and take the meaneft place, until the time come when it mall be faid unto man : " Friend, come up higher/' And then he mail not go up of himfelf, but he mall fuffer himfelf to be led upwards, and his fenfual nature mall be purified and endowed with the light of God, whereby he mall receive more light than he could ever win by all his great and ftrenuous labour. For the Divine Nature of Chrift is a magnet that draws unto itfelf all fpirits and hearts that bear its likenefs, and daily unites them to itfelf through love. Now Richardus fays : " I receive Chrift not alone on " the crofs, but alfo in His transfiguration on Mount " Tabor. But I may not receive Him there except I " find James, Peter and John, Moles and Elias with " Him, who bear witnefs to me that it is truly Chrift." That is to fay : in all our diftrefles, in all our painful inward deftitution, we may boldly believe that Chrift is prefent with us ; but if He appears to us on the Mount of inward Contemplation, we need thefe witnefTes that we may not enjoy the fruition of His gifts in a wanton fpirit for the fatiffaclion of our own dcfires, nor too ardently covet more of His good gifts than we can put to a good ufe ; but may ever abafe ourfelves fo thoroughly that we fall not into any fpi- ritual pride. Thefe are the true witnefTes that we Sermon on a Martyr s Day. may freely receive Chrift in His glory on the heights of Mount Tabor without hindrance or error, for where thefe witnefles are of a truth, there we cannot be deceived by the Spirit of Falfehood. May Almighty God help us fo to do ! Amen. F I N I S LONDON : Printed by SPOTTISWOODE & Co. New-ftreet-Square. December, 1856. NEW AND STANDARD WORKS, PUBLISHED BY SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 65, CORNHTLL, LONDON. ust I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. LIFE AND SERMONS OF DR. JOHN TAULER, of Strasburg (1340). Translated by Miss SUSANNA WINKWORTH. With Notices of Tauler's Life and Times, and some account of the " Friends of God." With a Preface by the Rev. CHARLES KINGSLEY. THE LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF SIR JOHN MALCOLM, G.C.B. By JOHN WILLIAM KATE. A THIRD SERIES OF SERMONS. By the late Rev. FREDERICK W. ROBERTSON, A.M. ANTIQUITIES OF KERTCH. By DR. DUNCAN MPHERSON. With Coloured Plates. LETTERS TO BEGINNERS IN ART. JOHN RUSKIN, M.A. BY FRIENDS OF BOHEMIA; OR, PHASES OF LONDON LIFE. By E. M. WHITTT, Esq., Author of " The Governing Classes." ROUND THE FIRE: Six STORIES FOR YOUNG READERS. By the Author of " The Day of a Baby Boy." Fcap. 4to, printed and bound in the old style. Tiro Volumes, Sco, with Por- trait, price 36*. Imperial 4to. Two JW, >. post 8ro. Square 16mo, ii-ilh t'riintis- piece, price 3*. cloth, Works Published by Smith, Elder fy Co. LIFE IN ANCIENT INDIA. BY MRS. SPEIK. With Sixty Illustrations by G. SCHAEF. " Whoever desires to have the best, the completest, and the most popular view of what Oriental scholars have made known to us respecting Ancient India must peruse the work of Mrs. Speir ; in which he will find the story told hi clear, correct, and unaffected English. The book is admirably got up." Examiner. " A graceful and thoughtful book, to which we may confidently send the reader in search of an accurate and vivid picture of Ancient Indian Life. The first chapter excites an interest which is sustained to the end It is an uncommon book hi every way." Leader. " We should hi vain seek for any other treatise which, in so short a space, gives so well-con- nected an account of the early period of Indian history." Daily Nevis. " Mrs. Speir has accomplished her useful object hi a clear and attractive manner." Spectator. ii. A RESIDENCE IN TASMANIA. BY CAPTAIN H. BUTLER STONEY. " A plain and clear account of the colonies hi Van Diemen's Land, which besides being very agreeable reading may be confidently consulted on all matters connected with their material resources, actual position, and social industrial aspects." Athenaeum. " A perfect guide-book to Van Diemen's Land, describing simply and faithfully the country, the plants, animals, and people in it." Examiner. " The work is intelligent, practical, and amusing." Press. III. VICTORIA ; WITH A DESCRIPTION OF MELBOURNE AND GEELONG. Br CAPT. H. BUTLER SIDNEY. iv. SIGHT-SEEING IN GERMANY AND THE TYROL, IN THE AUTUMN OF 1855. BY SIR JOHN FORBES, Author of "A Physician's Holiday," &c. " The ground is described clearly, the things that appeared most worth seeing to a sensible, observant tourist, are set down, together with the natural impressions they produced, and the result is a work more agreeable hi every way than many a book of travel." Examiner. THE TREATMENT OF THE INSANE, WITHOUT MECHANICAL RESTRAINTS. BY JOHN GONOLLY, M.D. " There is not a page which will not be perused with interest, even by a non-professional reader." Morning Post. " Dr. Conolly has embodied in this volume his experience of the new system of treating patients at Hanwell Asylum. It contains besides much original matter of importance." Economist. " It cannot fail to interest every enlightened reader." Examiner. vi. THE POLITICAL LIFE OF SIR R. PEEL. BY THOMAS DOUBLEDAY, Author of the " Financial History of England," " The True Law of Population," &c. 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