CHAP. I. What Devotion is , and wherein it consists .

THIS is not a Subject to be defined according to Rules : It has less of the School than the Closet , and good ignorant Souls can instruct us better in it , than those who have more Knowledge than Integrity . Yet the Schools , which busie themselves every where , undertake to define Devotion as well as other things . Some would define it by a tenderness of heart , and a mollified Spirit ; Others by an internal Comfort , which the Devout are sensible of in their Practise of Piety : A third sort say , 't is a Quickness and Promptitude of Mind , whereby holy People are carried to the Service of God. Some there are , who make it to consist in an unspeakable and a glorious Joy , which fills the faithful , and makes them say , My Soul is satisfied as with Marrow and Fatness . Others have defin'd it by the Affections In the first place , to all this I say , That it may be a piece of Rashness to go about to define a thing we know not how well to express ; since it is of the number of those which cannot well be conceived , but by them who feel it , nor can well be described , although one conceives it . Nevertheless we cannot define it by one word alone , nor by one motion of the Soul : for it is composed of all the Species's of Passions ; it admits of contrary Sentiments . It has Desires , and it has Fears ; Terrours and Hopes ; Love and Hatred ; Joy and Sadness ; Ardour and Zeal ; Quickness and Alacrity . It has Desires ; every Devout Soul vehemently desiring to be well with God , and to be united to him . As the Hart panteth after the Water-brooks , so panteth my Soul after thee , O God. My Soul thirsteth for God , for the living God : When shall I come and appear before God ? It admits of Fear ; for a good Soul is ever afraid of its unworthiness to possess the Graces which it so passionately desires ; I am not worthy , sayes it to our Lord Jesus , that thou should'st come under my Roof . If it be in possession of its God , it fears to lose him ; it watches even in sleep : I sleep , but my Heart waketh : fearing , lest something should ravish away its Beloved .

Terrour also enters into the Compound of this Vertue ; namely , when the Soul is fall'n into some great sin , the presence of its God astonishes it , and his Majesty fills it with horrible Apprehensions . And without this , the devout Soul never presents it self before God , but it remembers , that before him the Angels tremble , and it sayes , Oh! how terrible is this place ; this is the House of the living God. Moreover , Love is to be found in it , and we may say , that Love is as the Source and Basis of Devotion . In considering both the Beauty and Goodness of God , it is touch'd with a violent desire of Union ; It says with the Spouse , Let him kiss me with the kisses of his Mouth , for his Love is sweeter than Wine . There is also Hatred ; for the devout Soul cannot love God , unless it renounce Self-love , and hate the World , the love of which is incompatible with that of God. There is Joy too , for Piety has its Feasts , and the Wise man says , the heart of a just man is a continual Banquet . Thou hast put , sayes David , more Joy in my heart , than the wicked have of their abundance , My heart is glad , my Glory rejoyceth : my Flesh also shall rest in hope . Yet we must confess , that this Light is not altogether pure : Devotion has its Melancholy amidst its Joyes , and frequently it sighs at the sense of its Infirmities .

The last ingredient of Devotion is Promptitude and Ardour , which is , as it were , the Body of Devotion , and appears more than the rest in a devout Soul. It has an inconceivable chearfulness in the exercises of Piety ; it hears the Word ; it Prays ; it Reads ; it Meditates ; it communicates ; as others do the most Pleasant things in the World. It runs , it flies to these actions , and undertaking 'em with a Gaiety of heart , does 'em with great ease . These are , methinks , the movements that compose Devotion ; but we must observe , that in all People , they are not evermore in the same degree . Always some one of them does Reign : sometimes Joy bears sway , another while Grief ; oftentimes Alacrity , other times the Desires . And hence it comes to pass , that if we consult the Devout upon the nature of Devotion , they will answer us very differently , because every one will say , that he feels within himself , and that every one feels within himself things very different from those of other men . It happens also , that one and the same Soul feels a different Devotion at divers times ; the Motions , whereof we have spoken , ruling by Turns ; To day a faithful Person shall be fill'd with hope in the view of a blessing to come , and to morrow with joy in the possession of the present good . One time by reason of his Sins , Sadness shall domineer ; another time the Desires shall reign : and this alteration proceeds from the diversity of Estates , wherein the Conscience finds it self , and the variety of Prospects , which Meditations presents it withall , in considering God some times with respect had to his Love and Mercy , other times to his Severity and Justice . Frequently too he will eye his Conscience both in its strongest and in its weakest parts ; and this may change some things in the Agitations of his Devotion . Chearfulness likewise , which seems to be the very Essence and Soul of this Virtue , is not inseparable from it , and sometimes the most heav'nly Souls find themselves under a gloomy and sad weight : But when this Briskness is absent , its place is possest by a stinging Displeasure for its Absence .

CHAP. II. Of the Effects of Devotion .

IN speaking of the nature of Devotion in the precedent Chapter , we insinuated all its Effects : but it will not be amiss nor unprofitable to unfold them a little more : for , these Effects , well understood , will lead us to the knowledge of the Cause , and serve us for a Touch-stone , whereby pious Souls may try both the purity and the progress of their Devotion .

The first of these effects is a vehement Passion , to converse with God and pour forth our grief into his Bosom ; to hear his Word , and to receive the Gages of his Love in his Sacraments . You see this Disposition in David , who sighs after the House of God , and finds nothing in his Exile more insupportable than his Banishment from the Court of the Lord's House . Jealous he is of the Condition of the Swallows , that build their Nests there . He would be a Door-keeper in this house , and never stir from thence ; My Soul hath a desire to enter into thy Courts , says he : I have asked one thing of the Lord , that I may dwell in his house all the days of my life . He avows , that the hopes of seeing God again in his house do sustain him , and keep him from falling into Despair : I had fainted , unless I had believed to see the Goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living . The faithful Soul has no less Passion for the Solitude of its Closet than David had for the Temple of his God ; It looks upon those hours as lost which 't is obliged to throw away upon the World ; and as soon as it can withdraw it self from the hurry and bustle of Affairs , it runs to the Bosom of its God , as the Hart to the Water-brooks ; as a covetous Person to the search of Riches ; as a Courtier watches for the Hour and Place to see his Prince and to be seen , and receive from him considerable Favours .

A second Effect is a Joy , which we may call inconceivable , when the Devout in their Devotions feel their Heart display'd , and the Holy Ghost appears with all the Riches of his Grace , and all the Treasures of his Consolations . If any one should inquire of such a Soul why it is so satisfied , perhaps it would be an hard matter for it to tell him : but the true cause of this Joy is , That God does exert in it his comfortable and wholsom Rays , which are ever accompanied with a plenary Happiness . The Pleasure which an avaricious man takes in counting his Money , which the ambitious taste in hoping for new Grandeurs , which the Epicurean finds in his Feasts and Debauches ; all this , I say , is unsavoury and of a bad taste in comparison of that Joy which the pious Soul perceives in communicating with its God. This is an Ocean which overwhelms and drowns all the Perplexities and Troubles of the Flesh . The Persecuted find here their Sanctuary ; the Poor , Riches ; the Sick-man , Health ; the Contemptible , Glory ; the Humble , Grandeur ; and the Miserable , a general Oblivion of all his Calamities . This is that wherein a Soul , tired with the World , finds that heavenly Repose , which makes it with Indignation , and yet with Pity , look upon the cruel Agitations of worldly men , that are tied to the racking Wheels and Stones of Ixions and Sisyphus's , that is to say , to Labours , that always return and never have an end .

Hence springs another effect of Devotion ; namely , To forget this World. When the Devout Person shuts the door of his Closet , we may say , he shuts the door to the World , saying to himself , Get ye gone ye worldly Thoughts ; retire ye Objects of Vanity , and approach not near this place ; let me rejoyce in the quiet of this secure Sanctuary , and suffer me to give my self wholly up to my God. The pious Soul after this manner dies many times a day : for Death does not more efface the Images of worldly things , than Devotion , when it takes a Christian out of the World. This Soul may say at such a time , The World is crucified unto me , and I unto the World : I live , yet not I , but Christ liveth in me ; and the Life which I now live in the Flesh I live by the Faith of the Son of God , who loved me and gave himself for me . We need not wonder if the World quits the place in this moment , since I suppose , that it before took up but very little Room in the Soul , whereof I speak . God comes to possess it wholly , of which he had before the better ; for the devout Heart ventures to say , The whole is in God , and God is in every part . In this state , if by peradventure it casts its Eyes upon the World , it looks down from on high , and with an Eye of Contempt . Alas ! What are these same Riches , says the faithful Soul , these Honours and Advantages , which frequently terminate in eternal Death , to compare with the Riches that God here bestows upon me ? But near to God himself , whom I possess , these earthly Goods will vanish and be lost ; but I will never lose him who holds me and whom I hold : and Death , which will disrobe the Living of their Pomp , will invest me with new Glory .

The fourth Effect of Devotion is , an Alacrity in running , and advancing in the Practise of Piety . A General flies to the Combat when he sees an assured Victory : but the devout Person has other kind of wings , which make him fly whither Devotion conducts him . He knows not , that 't is the drooping and weight of the Body that retains them who are call'd to Travel : he has not the Sentiments of the Sluggard , who rouls upon his Bed as a Gate upon its Hinges , who fight Battles with his Boulster , and wages Wars with Sleep and Idleness , with a Design to be vanquished . He is one of those Eagles , of which some think our Saviour spoke , Where the dead Body is , thither will the Eagles be gathered together . He knows that he shall find his Jesus , once dead , but now alive , either in the Church or in his Closet : he flies thither with the Swiftness of an hungry Eagle ; nothing is capable of stopping him ; Friends , Enemies , Employs , Occupations , Prayers , Menaces , Fears and Dangers , all useless : for in posting he can surmount all Obstaeles in the way .

Another Effect of Devotion is , a certain Elevation of Soul , which I cannot term otherwise than a sort of Extasie , whereby the Soul is as it were , ravish'd from its self . 'T is so knit to the Contemplation of Coelestial Objects , that not only it has no more intelligence of earthly things , but it has no Sense , no Ears , no Eyes ; it sees not , it understands not . St. Peter , while he prayed , saw the Heavens opened , and a certain Vessel descending to the Earth , as it had been a great sheet knit at the four Corners . St. Paul in Prayer was ravished even to the third Heaven ; and the Devout even at this time of day have their Extasie . They see with Stephen the Heavens opened ; they are lifted up to Heaven with St. Paul ; for they enter into a secret Commerce with God. The Soul inwardly is so taken up , that it sees nothing at all of what passes without ; and contributing its whole force to the Contemplation of God , no Wonder , it has no more for other Objects . Blessed are they , says St. Basil , who are fill'd with , and infolded in the Contemplation of this true Beauty ; since being bound to it by the Cords of Charity , and of an heavenly and divine Love , they forget their Parents , Friends , Houses ; they forget even the necessity of eating and drinking . And now why should it not be so in the Offices of Piety , when ev'ry day this happens to us in the Affairs of the World ? While we are strongly fixt to Reading , to disintangle a crabbed and knotty matter , while we answer an Adversary , a thousand Objects pass before our eyes , whereof we do not take notice . The devout Soul is so shut into it self , so well gathered up and compacted , that no external thing is able to move it . If it prays , it is intirely in Heaven ; if it hears , it is wholly tyed up to the Tongue of him that speaks ; if it reads , its heart is always where the eyes terminate themselves ; if it meditates , it is all over plunged in it's subject ; and if a Flock of Birds , of vain and light Thoughts , come to soil its Sacrifice , as that of Abraham , it scares them away incontinently . This is that which I understand by the Extasie of Devotion : otherwise , if you take this term for effectual Ravishments , which were the Priviledges of the Prophets and Saints of the first Order , I must take an infinite deal of pains to believe that the Holinesses of the Roman Cloyster do oblige God ( as some would fain perswade us ) so ordinarily to communicate such extraordinary Graces . Now a days we do not see those Devotions , which lift up not only the Souls , but make the Body to lose its Earth , and raise it to the very Clouds : Nevertheless , if we would believe some , who call themselves good Authors , there is nothing more common .

The last Effect of Devotion that I shall mention , is , a certain Fire that warms the Heart . One cannot well conceive it unless one had felt it ; and I cannot express it otherwise than in the words of holy men : Did not our Heart burn within us while he talked with us , and while he opened to us the Scriptures ? My Heart was hot within me ; while I was meditating , the Fire burned ; then spake I with my T●ngue . We are told , how the Faces of the Saints have been oftentimes seen to be bright and inflamed in the midst of their Devotions , which could not proceed but from the glowing and fiery affection of the Heart , which manifests it self accordingly in the Countenance . This Fire we may call a Fermentation of the Spirits of Piety , which not seldom make Impressions even in the eyes . And hence , it may be , came the shining of St. Stephen's Face ; of which it is said , that his Enemies saw it as if it had been the Face of an Angel ; his Zeal and his Devotion were evident in his Eyes , and render'd 'em sparkling . Now this Lightning is not without its Rain ; I mean , that this Fire is ordinarily accompanied with Tears . The Heart is heated , blows up that Heat , makes it grow bigger ; then it self grows tender , and at last the Eyes melt into Tears . St. Austin represents himself in one of these Illuminations , or rather , Inflamations of Heart . After , says he , that a strong Meditation had drawn out all my Misery from the bottom , where it lay hid , to present it to the Eyes of my Heart , there arose a great Tempest , which was followed by a great Shower of Tears . This weeping does not always come from a Sense of Sin ; 't is sometimes caused by a jarring diversity of Thoughts , and a confusion of good Emotions , which cast the Soul into a sort of Disorder , but which is much better than the greatest Calm .

Meditation .

HOW were it to be wisht , that men were as holy , as they are Eloquent and knowing ? pourtraicts they make , but where shall we find the Originals ? I see plainly , that the characters of true Devotion are curious and ravishing : but , alas ! the more I enter into this Meditation , the more do I continue confus'd . When I consider what I ought to be , to be devout , and I examin what I my self am , I find that I am nothing , or that I am not just what I should be , I do not find in my self those ardent desires to be with my God , and to converse with him by holy Prayer and Meditation . My Soul languishes , but it is not after the house of my God , nor after the solitude of my Cabinet . It languishes , for it is feeble and weak in all the motions of Piety . I do violence to my own heart , in drawing it out of the clutches of the World , to put it into the hands of God. I enter into my Closet , to do my Exercises of Piety , rather to acquit my self of a Duty , which I have imposed on my self , than to follow my own inclinations . Where is that Joy , which I ought to taste in the Acts of my Devotion ? Where is that being unbound from the World , renouncing of all carnal thoughts ? where is that Fervour and Alacrity , the Extasies , the Flames , the Illuminations of that heavenly fire , whereof I am a reading the description ? All is dead in me : If I would quit the World to enter into my Closet , I carry it still along with me . In all the faculties of my Soul I feel a monstrous weight and dulness , which arrests all my Elevations , and makes me tumble down back again to the Earth ; my Jertings up are feeble and of a short Durance , they hardly go half Way to Heaven .

Prayer .

HAve pity on my sad Estate , my Father , and my God : Draw me , and I will run after thee . Why should I remain in the shadow of Death ? Thou Sun of righteousness , that carriest healing in thy Wings , raise me up and quicken me : Let the East from on high visit me with the Bowels of his Mercy . Let my heart burn within me , whilst I read thy Scriptures , and hear thy Word : Let my Prayers be ardent , and my Piety constantly sustained by the force and flames of thy Grace and loving kindness . And thou , my Soul , do not attend this loving kindness with Arms across : go meet it , call and say , Come Lord Jesus , come quickly , O God of my Salvation , awaken my heart . Awake thou that sleepest , and arise from the dead , and Christ shall give thee Life . Chase away sloath , let it no longer lye in the bed of security : banish all coldness : rid thy self of that burthensome weight that oppresses thee : Take the Wings of an Eagle , and to Heaven sly into the bosom of thy Saviour , and thou shalt find Sweets which thou hast never yet tasted never seen , never heard of , and which never enter'd into thy Imagination to conceive .

CHAP. III. The great necessity of Devotion .

WHO can doubt on 't , and is it not sufficient barely to know and to describe it , to perswade us to it ? Devotion is the Soul of the Soul , and the very Life of Piety . 'T is that which sets a price and value upon the Duties and the Worship of a faithful Soul. A due Preparation is necessary to every thing . An Orator who is to speak in publick first amasses his matter together , and then assays to put it into a good Form : A Souldier being to fight , prepares his Army , and rouzes his courage . He that goes to a Marriage , puts on a Wedding Garment : And why then do we take upon us to present our selves b●fore God in Prayer , in reading , or in hearing his Word , in imploring his Assistance , or rendring him Actions of Gratitude , without having the holy dispos●tion of Piety and Devotion , that are before him of so great Price ?

We do ever that thing well , which we do heartily : but when the Heart is no Party in the business , it avails nothing . The Souldier who carries not his Heart along with him , turns his back in the day of battle : and the Orator , whose Heart is not toucht with what he says , will never touch that of others . If without the Heart we cannot perform the works of the Tongue and of the Hand , how shall the work of the heart it self be done without the Heart ? This is what I call the Exercises of Piety and the Service of God. A Lute , can it be plaid upon , unless it be string'd and tun'd ? can a Bow shoot unless it be bent ? the Heart is an Instrument and a Lute , the sound whereof charms the Ears of the Almighty ; but it must be strung with all its Vertues as with strings , and Devotion must be to it a kind of Soul , that makes every thing else to act . Prayer is an Arrow , that flies to the Heav'ns , but Devotion only gives it both strength and Feathers . Prayer is a Sacrifice and an offering of the Heart . We must not therefore present common Riches to God without preparation and choice ; and the Passover-Lamb was separated from the Flock four days before its Immolation .

Let not the Sinner then offer to God dirty and soyl'd Prayers , but pure and devout ones ; let him separate his heart from the vanities of the World and the Folly of his vain thoughts , if he will be well-pleasing to God.

Without Devotion the Soul is dead , the heart is but in its Body as in its Grave ; What rashness then to lay a dead and corrupted Beast upon the Altars of God ? will not God say ; I hate your Oblations , th● Peace-Offerings of your fat Beasts , and the perfume of your Incense ; I cannot away with them . Devotion is a Fire , without which our Sacrifices could not be consumed . It 's a Fire coming down from Heav'n ; it 's an emanation of the Rays of the Sun of Righteousness ; it s what must lift up the Smoak of our incense to Heav'n . Assur● thy self , thou Christian Soul , that thy offerings are i● the right way , and that the Flames of Devotion are alone capable of piercing those Clouds thickned by In●quity , that separate us from God. The matter tha● makes thunder-bolts so massy and heavy , would no● alwayes be mounted in the middle Region of th● Air , from whence we see 'em hurl'd down upon th● Earth , were it not carried upon the Wings o● some inflamed Exalations . In like manner ou● Earthly Prayers as well as our hearts woud no● be able to mount the Skies , did not the flames of De●votion lift them up . So that we ought to put ou● heart into a good condition to hope a good success o● its worship . Tho never so much prepared , it canno● be too good for him to whom we ought to present it ▪ It will be an acceptable thing to be receiv'd in this Estate . And what on the contrary can we expect in presenting to him an indevout Soul , but a shameful an● sad refusal ? God does not hear our prayers , unless th● Heart be disposed to make them ; Seek and ye shall find ▪ saith our Lord ; but seek with zeal , otherwise ye shall not find . God said once , I was found of them that sought me not . But this does not happen every day : this is but one of those singular events , whereby general Rules are not established . But the Law in common bears , Ask and it shall be given . Lay hold on the Kingdom of Heaven and thou shalt obtain it . To what is not Devotion useful ? It is of use in all Places , all times and all things as well in the Closet as the Church ? thereby we hear the Word pronounced by men as if it were truly the word of God , and receive it as the dry and chapped Earth does the rain . Hereby the Consecration of the Divine benefits touches us , the thought of God's love inflames us , his promises comfort us , his threatnings terrifie us , and his Consolations have their Efficacy upon us . Without this , the word , which ought to be a two-edged Sword , recoyls and turns its edge on the hardness of our hearts ; and without this we joyn the Sin of Insensiibility to that of Impenitence . By this we look upon every thing in the Church with veneration ; the Preacher as the Embassa●or of the Gospel ; his Word as the voice of Heaven ; The Faithful as the Children of God , and as it were a Troop of Angels , that always rejoyce in his presence ; the Sacraments as precious vessels , the appearance whereof is contemptible , but which do contain the Treasures of his Grace and Mercy . It 's Devotion that makes our Closets to become little Churches , whether the Divinity descends , and upon which it extends its Wings like the Cherubims over the Mercy-seat ; where God speaks to our heart as we speak to his ears ; where he makes us understand his Oracles , ●nd taste his Consolations ; where he says to us in a still small voice , My Son or my Daughter , Be of good chear , arise , thy Sins are forgiven thee . Oh! how blessed is the faithful Soul , that God honours with such sacred Entertainments . Now he does never do this , but when call'd upon , if not forced by an ardent Devotion . These desires of Devotion may be the Eyes of the Spouse , whereof it is said , Turn away thine Eyes from me , for they have overcome me . Far be from hence those prophane Wretches , that know not the use of Devotion . They say , that Valour is the Rampart of Estates , and the Tutelary Angel of the Publick and of Privates ; that Liberality sweetens the misfortunes of the miserable ; that Justice is the nurse of Peace and the ligament of Society ; that Temperance causes tranquillitv of mind , and health of Body ; But say they , Devotion , 't is alone , that is good for nothing but to render the mind weak and effeminate , and to depress the Spirits . Do not call so universal a Vertue unprofitable , without which all the rest are meer shadows : for he , that having not a habit of Devotion , doe● not refer all his vertues to the Glory of God , is a ba● good man . Do not call that an useless Virtue whic● appeases the wrath of God , and turns away the Tempests flying over States ; a Virtue which had draw● Sodom out of the Fire , had there been found there bu●ten devout Persons like Abraham , who would hav● Devoutly with him interceded for it ; a Virtue , whic● saves the Church so often from ship-wrack ; a Virtue which in the Conscience raises up and establishes 〈◊〉 profound Peace and a Divine Light. Do not say tha● it softens the Mind ; seeing it confirms the Courage ▪ makes men run to death as to a Feast , makes 'em to despise Perils , and in its occasions mannages nothin● wherein the Glory of God is not concerned .

CHAP. IV. That Devotion is extremely rare , and neglected .

HERE is an Exception to the general Rul● that things rare are esteemed : nothing 〈◊〉 the World more rare than Devotion , a● nothing more neglected . Herein men 〈◊〉 not sin through Ignorance ; they knowvery well , wh● we have said in the precedent Chapter , that wit● out these devout dispositions or Prayers they cann● please God. Nevertheless one cannot Express the ho●rible negligence with which they perform this pio● Duty as well as all others . People come to these exer●ses with a prodigious sloath : 't is visible , that Custom ●rains us to 'em , when our inclinations carry us another way . 'T is the fear of the scourge and the Batton which makes Slaves to go : for we go thither as to a Task and a laborious work . What we do with regret , as little we make it as possible : whereupon we rob the World of one quarter of an hour in the day to bestow upon God after which we believe all is well enough , and that God may very well spare us the rest . We go about this work , as if it were a burthen to us ; we make haste with it , that it may be soon over ; and when we are arrived to a Period , it looks , as if a mighty Load were taken off of our shoulders . Judge then , if one can do well , what one does in this wise . We think not of what we are a going to do , nor of what we do . We ought to daunt and amaze our selves in considering the Majesty , before whose eyes we go to appear ; and we come thither in such an heedless manner , as if we went to the meanest of Mankind . Are we got up the Mountain ? our heart is still in Sodom : We wander through the Universe , and stretch our uncertain Gaddings of thought even to the Imaginary Spaces : our imagination is fill'd with Crotesques and Fantoms . The most part roul their Prayers upon their Tongues in a Torrent of words , neither the Heart nor the Imagination having any thing to do there : And so small an Impression is made upon the heart , that nothing appears a moment afterwards . In going from the Exercises of Devotion , every one ought to examin himself , to know , whether his faith , his charity , his hope , have received considerable augmentations ; but he thinks of nothing less : every one running whither Interest or pleasure calls him , leaving his Conscience without examination .

Questionless , the greatest part , after their Prayers , may find their Conscience in a worse estate than before ; so that this Examination being so far from producing Peace to 'em , would increase their Inquietu● If their Prayers be indevout , their other Exerci● are they less so ? If in hearing the word of God th● lend some attention , 't is not to the things themselv● but to the manner wherein they are spoken . If t● Preacher has not the Talent and Knack of pleasing , th● don't hear him , he does not Edifie , say they , he can't ke● one awake : and after this a piece it is of good Cons●ence to be able to sleep at Sermon : Insomuch as he spe● to Deaf People , and our Churches , from whence 〈◊〉 have banisht Images , cease not to be Temples of Ido● which have Eyes and Ears , and yet neither see n● hear . The Preacher seems to have in his ha● the head of Medusa ; when he appears , every thing 〈◊〉 turned into Marble : and the word of God is a Char● that makes Stones of the Children of Abraham , inste● of making the Children of Abraham of Stones . 〈◊〉 good part of those that hear , do only retain wh● they judge may afford fit matter to their Censures a● their profane Ralleries . They pass by an excelle● thing , and pick out a bad word : That is to say , in● field covered over with Riches they gather a Thorn● a Flint , and let the Flowers and the Fruits alon● They that are less guilty , hear and would make a go● use of what they understand ; but their Will is ve● imperfect , and is not of a very long duration ; since 〈◊〉 ceases almost as soon as the Preacher ceases to spea● What Indevotion and what coldness have we not in t● partaking of the Lords Supper ; in which venerable S●crament God gives us his flesh to eat and his Blood 〈◊〉 drink ? our Piety is not now divided into a crowd● Worships and Services , as it was under the Law : all 〈◊〉 reduced to a few Ceremonies , and for the Adult b● one Sacrament . In such a case therefore we oug● to rendezvouz all our Devotion , and give to this o● pledge of God's Love all the zeal and ardour , which t● Israelites were obliged to have for those many and different Ceremonies , the Law commanded . The Flame that is scattered , burns very little : the Sun-beams quartered into several places have small effects ; but being assembled and contracted in the center of a Burning-Glass , they kindle Wood and melt Metals . It woud be the same if our Devotion did re-unite it self in this Divine Object : it would consume all our Vanities , and melt the Ice of our Souls . If we were devout in the participation of this holy Sacrament , our faith would pierce the Appearance and the despicable outside to contemplate the Flesh within of the Son of God , and all the Miracles of our Salvation . But we stick at the Bark ; we come thither as to a common Repast ; we bring with us our Indevotion , and carry away along with us for a wretched Companion our Damnation .

What we see in publick is a shrewd and an evident signification of what we do not see ; and 't is a difficult matter to judge charitably of the Devotions of the Closet , since we have so little reason to be content with those in the Church ; if People do somewhat for Glory , and for the Pleasure of being approved , when they will release themselves of that Trouble , at their having no Witnesses . Let none then accuse us of violating the Rights of Retreat and Secrecy , if we say , that private Devotions are yet more drowsie and restless ; as he who sleeps at Sermon will hardly keep awake at reading a single Chapter upon words abandoned of sound and voice , which oppose themselves to sleep . Every one hath his Voice in this World , and every Condition has its Fauls ; the Merchant is covetous , and oftentimes deceitful , for his Interest ; the Courtier is ambitious ; the Magistrate corruptible ; the poor man impatient ; the Rich haughty ; but Indevotion is the Crime of all men in general . We will not say of All , if you please , but will confess , there are some good Souls , who groan to themselve● expand their Hearts before God with much Zeal , an● make such Sabbaths their Delights . But how few a● these Examples ! Perhaps it would be a hard busine● to find ten such righteous Persons in Sodom : an● since that Exceptions do not destroy general Rul● this will not hinder us from complaining of our Ag● as of an Age of Iron , so cold , the like is not to found in Geeen-land .