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 〈◊〉 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 Prompti●ude of Mind , whereby holy People are carried to the Service of God . Some there are , who make it ●o consist in an unspeakable and a glorious Joy , which ●lls the faithful , and makes them say , My Soul is satisfied ●s with Marrow and Fatness . Others have defin'd it ●y the Affections . In the first place , to all this I say , That it may be a piece of Rashness to go about to de●ne a thing we know not how well to express ; since 〈◊〉 is of the number of those which cannot well be con●●ived , but by them who feel it , nor can well be de●●ribed , 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 . 〈◊〉 has Desires , and it has Fears ; Terrours and Hopes 〈◊〉 Love and Hatred ; Joy and Sadness ; Ardour and Zea● Quickness and Alacrity . It has Desires ; every D●vout Soul vehemently desiring to be well with Go● and to be united to him . As the Hart panteth after t●● Water-brooks , so panteth my Soul after thee , O God . 〈◊〉 Soul thirsteth for God , for the living God : When shall come and appear before God ? It admits of Fear ; for good Soul is ever afraid of its unworthiness to posse● the Graces which it so passionately desires ; I am 〈◊〉 worthy , sayes it to our Lord Jesus , that thou should'st co●● under my Roof . If it be in possession of its God , it fe●● to lose him ; it watches even in sleep : I sleep , but 〈◊〉 Heart waketh : fearing , lest something should ravi●● away its Beloved .

Terrour also enters into the Compound of th● Vertue ; namely , when the Soul is fall'n into so●● great sin , the presence of its God astonishes it , and 〈◊〉 Majesty fills it with horrible Apprehensions . A●● without this , the devout Soul never presents it 〈◊〉 before God , but it remembers , that before him 〈◊〉 Angels tremble , and it sayes , Oh! how terrible is t● place ; this is the House of the living God . Moreov●● Love is to be found in it , and we may say , that Lo●● is as the Source and Basis of Devotion . In consid●ing both the Beauty and Goodness of God , it is touch with a violent desire of Union ; It says with the Spo●● Let him kiss me with the kisses of his Mouth , for his L●● is sweeter than Wine . There is also Hatred ; for 〈◊〉 devout Soul cannot love God , unless it renounce S● love , and hate the World , the love of which is inc●patible with that of God . There is Joy too , for ●●ty has its Feasts , and the Wise man says , the hea● 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 Tongue . 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 fly 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 before God in Prayer , in reading , or in hearing his Word , in imploring his Assistance , or rendring him Actions of Gratitude , without having the holy disposition 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 , the 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 Heay'n . Assure thy self , thou Christian Soul , that thy offerings are in the right way , and that the Flames of Devotion are alone capable of piercing those Clouds thickned by Iniquity , that separate us from God . The matter that makes thunder-bolts so massy and heavy , would not alwayes be mounted in the middle Region of the Air , from whence we see 'em hurl'd down upon the Earth , were it not carried upon the Wings of some inflamed Exalations . In like manner our Earthly Prayers as well as our hearts would not be able to mount the Skies , did not the flames of Devotion lift them up . So that we ought to put our heart into a good condition to hope a good success of its worship . Tho never so much prepared , it cannot 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 and sad refusal ? God does not hear our prayers , unless the 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 Insensibility to that of Impenitence . By this we look upon every thing in the Church with veneration ; the Preacher as the Embassador 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 , and 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 tranquillity 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 , does not refer all his vertues to the Glory of God , is a bad good man . Do not call that an useless Virtue which appeases the wrath of God , and turns away the Tempests flying over States ; a Virtue which had drawn Sodom out of the Fire , had there been found there but ten devout Persons like Abraham , who would have Devoutly with him interceded for it ; a Virtue , which saves the Church so often from ship-wrack ; a Virtue , which in the Conscience raises up and establishes a profound Peace and a Divine Light . Do not fay that 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 nothing wherein the Glory of God is not concerned .

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

HERE is an Exception to the general Rule , that things rare are esteemed : nothing in the World more rare than Devotion , and nothing more neglected . Herein men do not sin through Ignorance ; they know very well , what we have said in the precedent Chapter , that without these devout dispositions or Prayers they cannot please God . Nevertheless one cannot Express the horrible negligence with which they perform this pious Duty as well as all others . People come to these exercises with a prodigious sloath : 't is visible , that Custom ●rains us to 'em , when our inclinations carry us another ●ay . 'T is the fear of the scourge and the Batton which makes Slaves to go : for we go thither as to a ●ask and a laborious work . What we do with regret , ●s little we make it as possible : whereupon we rob ●he World of one quarter of an hour in the day to bestow upon God : after which we believe all is well e●ough , 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 themselve● but to the manner wherein they are spoken . If th● 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 a wake : and after this a piece it is of good Conseence to be able to sleep at Sermon : Insomuch as he spea● 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 fee ne● hear . The Preacher seems to have in his han● 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 , instea● 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 an● 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 o● a Flint , and let the Flowers and the Fruits alon● They that are less guilty , hear and would make a good use of what they understand ; but their Will is very 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 the partaking of the Lords Supper ; in which venerable Sacrament God gives us his flesh to eat and his Blood to drink ? our Piety is not now divided into a crowd of Worships and Services , as it was under the Law : all is reduced to a few Ceremonies , and for the Adult but one Sacrament . In such a case therefore we ought to rendezvouz all our Devotion , and give to this one pledge of God's Love all the zeal and ardour , which the 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 would 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 drowfie 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 ar● these Examples ! Perhaps it would be a hard busine●● to find ten such righteous Persons in Sodom : and since that Exceptions do not destroy general Rules , this will not hinder us from complaining of our Age , as of an Age of Iron , so cold , the like is not to be found in Geeen-land .