Two sermons preached before Her Majesty the Queen-Dowager in Her Majesty's chapel at Somerset-House / by Phil. Ellis.

TWO SERMONS Preach'd before the Queen-Dowager IN HER MAJESTY's CHAPPEL AT Somerset-House .

By the Reverend Father Dom. PHIL. ELLIS , Monk of the Holy Order of St. Benedict , and of the English Congr . Preacher and Chaplain in Ordinary to Their MAJESTIES .

Published by Her Majesty's Command .

LONDON , Printed by Henry Hills , Printer to the King 's Most Excellent Majesty for His Houshold and Chappel . 1686.

A SERMON Preach'd before Her Majesty THE QUEEN-DOWAGER , On Easter-day , 1686. Si consurrexistis cum Christo , quae sursum sunt quaerite . If you have risen again with Christ , seek those things which are above .

INto this pathetick Exhortation the Apostle falls in his Epistle to the Colossians , ch. 3. v. 1. ( Sacred Majesty ) : Into this seasonable Exhortation the Church breaks forth at the Entry of this Solemnity , in the first Mass , which we on the Vigil , the Primitive Christians celebrated at the first Point of the Natural Day . In these Words she communicates to her mourning Children the joyful News , that her Beloved was dead and is alive : Words which express not only the Reality , but also the Efficacy and Extent of our Lord's Resurrection ; that the yearly Revolution of this Festival implies something more than our Blessed Master's glorious Rising from the Dead , that it carries us farther than a bare Memory of his Triumph , that it comprehends the Glory of the Members as well as of the Head , and celebrates our own Victory over Death , if indeed we are risen again with Christ .

My Text therefore is an Argumentation founded upon two Suppositions ; the one , of Faith ; the other , touching Matter of Fact : Of Faith , That Christ is risen ; the Fact , That we are actually risen with him ; Si consurrexistis cum Christo . The one he supposes as a First Principle of our Religion , which falls not under dispute : The other needs a Confirmation , and is to be prov'd by something more evident than it self . The Proof of our Resurrection must be drawn from our diligent application to those things which are above ( quae sursum sunt quaerite ) or , as he expresses himself more clearly in the following Verse , from setting our affections on heavenly things ( quae sursum sunt sapite ) ; from leading a supernatural Life , and weaning of our Hearts from all that is below , & non quae super terram . But there can be no Resurrection to a New Life , unless by way of necessary Disposition there be a Death to the Old : To rise again therefore , we must first die ; Death being the Medium or Boundary between these two Lives , this of the World , and the other according to God . For since they are incompatible , and , in some manner , contradictory , the one must cease to be , before the other can exist ; and by consequence , the Presence of the one , must demonstrate the Destruction of the other . Wherefore , that we are risen again with Christ , is evinc'd by our being dead to the World ; and this doubly prov'd ; first , by the Affirmative , seeking those things which are above ; and then by the Negative , not setting our affections on things below .

My Text thus expounded , divides it self , and calls upon me to speak a Word to each of these Resurrections , that of Christ , and this of the Christian , which jointly compose the Subject of our present Joy , and consequently are the fittest Subject of the present Discourse , and of Your Royal and Favourable Attention . But when I reflect , that St. Ambrose , Ambr. lib. 3. de Virg. versus Med. and after him the whole Current of Divines , piously suppose the Blessed Mother of our Lord first saw his Resurrection , both saw it first , and was the first who believ'd it ; it being most agreeable to Reason , and a natural Consequence of Affection , that so loving a Parent should receive the first Visit from so loving a Son ; that she who most eminently shar'd in the Pangs of his Death , when the Sword of Sorrow pierced her Heart , should taste the First-fruits of his returning to Life : Let us , before we proceed , beg her Intercession , that I may speak of this great Mystery as one who is risen again with Christ ; and you attend unto my Words , as they who seek the things which are above . AVE MARIA .

If you are risen again with Christ , seek the things which are above , &c.

OF all the Mysteries of our Holy Religion , the Resurrection of Christ is the Principal ; because it is the highest Proof of his Divinity , the greatest of his Miracles , the chiefest Instance of his Veracity , the Earnest of his Promises , and the Foundation of all our Hope . And upon this Consideration St. Ambrose calls it the Corner-stone and Basis of Faith , primum & maximum Fidei Fundamentum . His Conception and Nativity were but the remote Preparations to it ; His Life and Doctrin , the Means ; His Death and Passion , the immediate Dispositions : But his rising the third day according to the Flesh , was the ultimate End of his coming , as being the first in Intention , and the last in Execution . In this consists the Strength , the Meaning and Intent of the Apostle's Assertion , Rom. 4.25 . That Jesus Christ was deliver'd for our Sins , and rose again for our Justification . For , as the Church sings in the Office of Yesterday , Nihil nobis nasci profuit nisi redimi profuisset . The Excellence of our Being had avail'd us nothing , if a Redemption had not restor'd us to the End of our Creation , forfeited by Sin ; so a Redemption it self would not have answer'd our Necessities , if a Resurrection had not perfected and crown'd the Work of our Justification .

But as it naturally follows , the further the Consequence draws from the First Principle , the obscurer it grows ; the deeper the Water is , the further we are from discerning the Bottom ; the greater the Miracle , the less comprehensible : so we find the Mystery of the Resurrection to be the most profound , and consequently the most obscure and difficult of all our Credends . For how inexplicable soever the Heathen Philosophers judg'd the Immortality of the Soul , they could not deny but the Light of Nature discover'd it to be reasonable : But all their Application , Enquiry , and force of Reason , fell so short of the Resurrection of the Body , that while they admitted the one , they derided the other as impossible , as chimerical , as the Dreams of Simple , or the Reveries of Frantick Men. Thus when St. Paul , Acts 17. had discours'd the Point to the most Learned of them , they call'd him 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Babler , or Disperser of ridiculous Novelties ; to others he seem'd to be a setter forth of new Gods : And when he came to this Point in his Discourse on Mars-hill , before that celebrated Bench , hi quidem irridebant , some mocked , ver. 32. Neither did Festus , when he had heard the same Apostle upon that Subject , conceive a better Opinion of him , than of a Madman , venting the wild Fancies of a disturb'd Brain ; Insanis Paule ; Paul , thou talkest like one distracted . Nay , the Apostles themselves , after so many clear Predictions to prepare their Minds to the Belief of this Mystery , when the Women brought the Relation of Matter of Fact , that Christ was truly risen , putabant deliramenta quae dicebantur , thought they were bigotted , and fancy'd Apparitions , till they believ'd them . So hard is it for Reason to allow a Return from the Privation to the Habit , from Death to Life .

Yet the Son of God proposing a Religion to Men , would have us act like Men , when we assent unto it . Indeed , to exercise our Humility , and to found a Merit in Believing , he requires our Assent to things above , but never contrary to Reason . And therefore to render our Service Reasonable , Rom. 12.1 . he has not left us destitute of Arguments to evince this dark and profound Mystery ; such Arguments , as no Rational Person , without ceasing to be so , can reject ; because they are sufficient , because they are the highest the Subject Matter will admit . And such are all those Apparitions recorded by the Four Evangelists , shewing himself alive after his Passion , Acts 1.3 . in multis argumentis , says St. Luke , by many Arguments ; or , as the Vulgar Translation has it , by many infallible Proofs ; that is , unquestionable Instances ; For in Matters of Fact , an Instance of the thing asserted , is the highest Proof , and that which founds a Rational Conviction . Should we with-hold our Assent , in expectation of a stronger Motive , we should never embrace any Reveal'd Truth , we should never credit any History or Account of things distant or past ; because we should require a farther Evidence than the Thing propos'd can afford , than the nature of Credibility can bear . And in this appears the Unreasonableness , and , at the bottom , the Infidelity of such as , under pretence of Wit or Precaution , before they will render to the Articles of Faith , call for the Evidence either of Demonstration or Sense , both which equally exclude Faith , which is , according to the Apostle , Heb. 11.1 . the Evidence , that is , a Conviction of the Being of such things as do not appear . Had these Modern Sadducees been present at the Glorious Resurrection of our Lord , they would certainly have remain'd as incredulous as the old , who even amidst Prodigies and Miracles ask'd for a Sign : For when their Eyes had been Witnesses to the Life of his Body , they must still have submitted to the Belief of his Divinity , which neither fell under the Verge of Sense , nor rose so high as Demonstration in this Case , tho' it created as great a Certainty as either , but from a less Evidence : And we that behold neither the one nor the other , are as much oblig'd in Reason to believe both , upon the Credit of the Apostles , the Testimony of the Scriptures , and of the Church which delivers them .

Thus without entring the Monument with Peter and John ; without any ocular Testimony , or so much as inquiring into a Possibility of a Resurrection , we are guarded from Error in our Belief ; our Holy Faith is abundantly attested ; the submission of our Understandings and the firmness of our Assent to this dark and inexplicable Mystery , are warranted to be a Reasonable Service . For the greater Obscurity of any one Article do's leave no more place for doubt , than the Clearest Point of our Religion ; since we do not believe This upon a different Evidence from the other , but both jointly upon the Attestation of such Works as never any one did , that is , John 15.24 . which could not be perpetrated by any Power less than Divine .

Thus we find a sure footing for our Hope , knowing , that he who rais'd up our Lord Jesus , 2 Cor. 4.14 . will also raise us up by Jesus ; since the Resurrection of Jesus is not only the Meritorious Cause of ours , but also the Efficient and Exemplar . For , as the same Apostle argues , Philip. 3.21 . as we have born the Image of the Earthly , we shall also bear the Image of the Heavenly . As he took our Nature upon him , and dy'd to assimulate himself to us in a Mortal Condition ; so he rose again , Philip. 3.21 . that he might reform our vile and corruptible Body , and render it like his own Glorious Body . By Dying , he merited our Resurrection ; by Rising in Glory , he gave us a Pattern of our future Happiness ; and by assuming us into a Participation of his Brightness and Immortality , he is the Cause Efficient of our Resurrection . This Consideration obviates all Questions which a limited Understanding might start as to the Possibility of it , and stops the Mouth of the Animal Man , who do's not comprehend the Power of God ; and of corrupt Nature , which is ever ready to speak perverse things . For , as it is evident , we made not our selves , but , to find the Original of our Being , we must ascend to a First Cause , which could have nothing distinct from it self coexistent to it self : so is it clearly inferr'd , all things were made by him , and extracted out of a meer Nothing . Aug. Ser. 91. de Verb. Apost. Now St. Augustin inquires , Which you take to be the greater Miracle , the commanding us to be and live out of Nothing , or the restoring us to Life , who already had a Being , tho' we ceas'd to live ? Doubtless , replies he in the name of every reasonable Creature , it is more to make that which was not , than to repair that which was : Utique plus est facere quod nunquam fuit , quam reparare quod fuerit . And I ask you , adds the Father , why he cannot raise us after we are turn'd into Dust , who , if we were reduc'd into Nothing , could give us a Being ?

But , blessed be God , I stand not here at the Bar , to be call'd in question by you touching the Hope and Resurrection of the Dead . I appear in this Chair to preach the Faith you have already submitted to ; for , so we preach , and so you have believ'd . I come here chiefly to declare to you the Extent of this Article of our Creed , how far it carries us , to what it do's oblige us . How far it carries us , that we die to the old Life ; To what it do's oblige us , that we walk before him in newness of Life . For two things are requir'd , says the Master of our Schools , to perfect the Justification of an Offender ; the Remission of the Sin , and the Amendment of the Sinner . The Sin was blotted out by the effusion of Christ's precious Blood upon the Cross : The Amendment of our Lives was merited , was suppos'd , but not effected by his Resurrection . The Merits of his Death are apply'd to us in our Baptism , where we promise to enter upon a New Life ; but this Promise is fulfil'd by acting consequently to it . The Church answer'd for our Dying with Christ , before we were capable of knowing what we engag'd for ; but this Engagement is to be made good after we arrive to use of Reason , by approving our selves to be a New Creature , in the suitable Conformity of our Lives , and seeking those things which are above : Your Attention , and my Second Part.

IN the preceding Chapter of this Epistle to the Colossians , the Holy Apostle delivers an excellent Moral upon the Principal Mysteries of our Redemption , and shews how they are apply'd to us , and express'd in us ; as , a spiritual Circumcision , Col. 2.10.11.12 . by putting off the Body of Sin , signified by the Circumcision of Christ ; a dying and being buried with him in the Waters of Baptism , imported by the shedding his precious Blood , and laying his dead Body in the Monument ; that we are quickned and revived together with him ; and continues , Let no man judge you in part of the Holy Day ;

In parte diei festi .

〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 .

for so the vulgar Latin and the Greek have it , where the common Translation reads , in respect of the Holy Day . I know the sense of the Letter , according to the general Interpretation , is , Let no one condemn you for neglecting to observe the Jewish Festivals or Ceremonies . But some Expositors understand it to be spoken in a larger and more spiritual sense , and by way of Caveat , that we should not flatter our selves as if we had perform'd the Obligations of this Day , for the purpose , by devoutly meditating upon the Resurrection of Christ , ( which is only one Part of the present Solemnity ) without proceeding to the other , to solemnize our own Rising again from the Death of Sin , which is the Second Part , the Fruit and End of the other . But whether you allow of this Interpretation or no , at least this is fidelis sermo , a faithful Saying , an unquestionable Truth , If we be dead with him , 2 Tim. 2.11 . we shall also live with him . Die therefore we must , not only a natural Death , which is the Punishment of Sin , but also a spiritual one , which is the Death of Sin . We incurr'd the fatal Sentence of returning into Earth , by seeking those things which are upon Earth ; we revive into a Spiritual Life , by seeking those things which are in Heaven . The one consists in the Separation of the Soul from the Body ; the other , in the Union of the Soul with Christ , 2 Cor. 4.11 . that the Life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our mortal Flesh , as the Apostle speaks ; that our Conversation even in this World may be so pure , our Actions so spiritual , and our Affections so fix'd upon things above , as to express a lively Similitude of our Lord's Resurrection .

Wherefore the Holy Fathers observe a threefold Analogy or Resemblance between the Resurrection of Ch●●st , and that of a Christian . The first arises from the Cause of his Resurrection , which the Apostle tells us was the Operation of God , or the Omnipotent Hand of the Divinity reuniting the Blessed Soul of Jesus to his dead Body , and not permitting his Holy One to see Corruption . Thus a Soul once dead to God , can never by its own Strength , for it has none ; by its own Endeavors or Performances , which are inanimate ; or by the practice of Moral Vertues , which are dead in themselves , re-enter into the Life of Grace , without the merciful Assistance , miraculous Operation , and the Change of the Hand of the most High , whose sole Prerogative it is to command Light to shine out of Darkness , 2 Cor. 4.6 . as well to repair what has once ceas'd to be , as to make what never was before . This is a Fundamental Truth , and as it were a First Principle of Christian Religion , deliver'd by Jesus Christ , declar'd and frequently urg'd by the Doctor of the Gentiles , and repeated by the Holy Ghost in many Councils , and at last in that of Trent ; where it is decreed , Conc. Trid. Sess. 6. Can. 1. de Justificat . to the condemnation of Modern Pelagianism , and to vindicate the Churches Doctrin from the Calumnies or Mistakes of those who still misrepresent it , That whosoever asserts , Man , by his own Works , perpetrated either by the Strength of Nature , or by the Assistance of the Law , may be justified without the Grace of God thro' Jesus Christ , Anathema , Let him be accursed . By declaring the Insufficiency of Nature to a Good and Justifying Life , she condemns those Men who think they may be sav'd by leading only a Moral Life , according to the Dictamen of Reason , without the Practice of Religion . By excluding the Old Law , she censures the Judaizing Christian , w●● places it in equal Ballance with the New , or at least thinks this not sufficient , without the Observance of the other . And lastly , By establishing the Necessity of Grace to perform every Good and Vertuous Action , she warns us not to presume or relie upon our own Merits ; she directs us whither we are to lift up our Eyes , whence we are to expect our Salvation ; and points him out , who gives Birth to our good Desires , Warmth to our Affections , and Life to our Actions ; both the Velle & Perficere , Philip. 2.13 . the Will to rise again , and the Execution of it , by seeking those things which are above .

This is the Second Analogy of our Resurrection with that of Christ , the Proof and Experiment that we are risen from Death to Life . For as we cannot distinguish an Animate from an Inanimate Body , but by the Palpitation of the Heart , Pulse of the Artery , Heaving of the Lungs , or the Exercise of some sensible Faculty ; so cannot we discern a Soul inform'd with the Life of Grace , from another which is depriv'd of it , but by such Operations as are proper to that Life , as the Restraint of our Appetites , a Command of our Passions , a Modesty in our Behavior , a Veracity in our Words , a Sincerity in our Dealings , a Relieving the Poor , assisting the Distressed , embracing and doing good to our Enemies . These are the Authentick Proofs of a Real Resurrection , and a lively Resemblance of Jesus Christ's Surrexit Dominus vere ; Our Lord is truly risen . And how did he make it out he was truly risen ? Multis Argumentis , says St. Luke , By many Arguments , many infallible Proofs . And wherein did these consist , but in appearing often to his Disciples , shewing the Marks of his Death , eating and drinking in their Presence , Acts 1.3 . and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God . In like manner , Matth. 5.16 . if our light so shine before men , that they see our good works , we express the Resemblance of a Glorified Body , Donum Claritatis . 2 Cor. 4.10 . If we carry about the Mortification of Jesus in our Bodies , we copy out the Marks and Stigmata of his Passion . If we stand firm and unshaken in the midst of Persecution , we become a lively Representation of his Impassibility , Donum Impassibilitatis . Psal. 118.32 . If we run with delight the way of his Commandments , when Charity has enlarged our Hearts , and even the Lets and Impediments we meet with in the Service of God are so far from retarding the Course of our Vertue , that , on the contrary , they inflame our Zeal , and furnish new Matter to provoke and heighten our Courage , we imitate the Third Quality of his Glorified Body , Donum Agilitatis . In fine , If whether we eat or drink , 1 Cor. 10.31 . or whatsoever we do , we do all to the glory of God , as the Apostle advises ; if our Discourses and Familiar Entertainments savour of those things which are above , and , at least indirectly , appertain to the kingdom of God , these are Arguments we are truly risen with Christ , being of their own nature such Proofs of a Spiritual Life , of a Spiritual Resurrection from the Death of Sin , as the Exercise of the Animal Functions and Rational Powers are a Demonstration of the Continuance or Reviviscence of the Natural .

2 Cor. 11.23 . We read , That the Spirit of Darkness sometimes transfigures himself into an Angel of Light ; sometimes takes a Body of Air , which the deluded Sense cannot distinguish from a Solid and Real one ; and sometimes as Artfully moves a Solid , but Dead Body , as if it were Alive . Both Sacred and Profane History offer innumerable Proofs of these Slights of Satan : I shall instance only in the Second , which is most for my purpose . 1 Sam. 28.15 Thus the Witch of Endor is said in the First of Kings to have rais'd Samuel , whose own Words seem to prove it a real Resurrection ; Quare inquietasti me ut suscitarer ? Why hast thou disquieted me to raise me up ? Yet St. Augustin assures us , Samuel did not rise again in his own , but only in a fictitious and imaginary , or at most in an aereal Body . And thro' these Slights and Delusions of Satan it happens that many seem to rise again with Christ , who in effect rise only with Samuel . If we regard their Promises and Protestations , Sin shall never reign any more in their mortal Body ; their Eyes are open'd to see and bewail their past Transgressions ; they have recover'd their Speech , to declare at the Feet of their Confessor those vicious Habits and secret Crimes which so long had been lock'd up in Silence , and lay putrifying in their Breasts ; at the Voice of Christ they issue like so many Lazarus's from their Monuments , and run to embrace their Life in the Holy Communion . And after all this , who can doubt but their Resurrection is real , and they are truly risen again with Christ ? But if you keep your Eye a little upon them , you shall see them still playing about the Flames which had scorch'd them before ; you shall see them frequenting the same licentious Company which gave them their Death , wantoning upon the same Brink of the Precipice whence they so lately fell ; like Ghosts , still hovering about their Graves and Places of Burial ; in fine , not advanc'd one step farther off the imminent Dangers and immediate Occasions of Sin . And after all this , who can doubt but their Resurrection was only in the Air , imaginary , or Fictitious , a Stratagem of the Devil to delude them , and to amuse their Confessors ; while St. Paul's Declaration touching the State of the Widow , is verify'd in every Soul , She that liveth in pleasures , 1 Tim. 5.6 . is dead while she liveth .

Haec praecipe , says the Great Apostle ; teach , command , urge , and inculeate this Doctrin . For the Resurrection of a Soul , cries St. Bernard , is not so easie a thing as you imagine , it is a great and wonderful Sacrament , magnum prorsus & mirabile Sacramentum animae suscitatio : Great in reference to the Power of God ; and Wonderful as to the Disposition requisite in the Sinner . To break the Treble Cord of a threefold Concupiscence ; to destroy all vicious Habits Root and Branch ; to lay violent Hands upon our own Hearts , and tear from our Breasts what is as dear to us as Life , and almost as deeply ingrafted as Nature ; to turn the Stream of our Affections , to hate our own Souls , which we so tenderly cherish and indulge ; to love and embrace a Penitential Life , of which we have so great an abhorrence , to which we carry such a strange aversion and antipathy : Ah! Christian , this is not the work of a few Hours Recollection ; this is not the Fruit of a few superficial Tears , which dry and vanish as they fall ; this is not the Effect of a Sigh , which passes with the Wind ; or of a hasty Resolution , which is forgot almost as soon as made ; this is not the Violence that takes Heaven , which do's not yield upon every faint or false Attack . These indeed are Circumstances which ever attend a true Resurrection ; but they are not infallible Proofs : They are common to a Real and a Fictitious one : They may be indeed the first Dawnings of a New Life , but are too often only a gaudy Spectre , a meer outside , and an amusing Apparition , So true is that terrible Assertion of the Holy Bishop of Barcellona , S. Pacian . Ep. 3. ad Synphr . Paucorum est labor qui vere resurgunt , Few there are who truly rise again , because few will take the pains to extricate themselves from the Snares of Sin , and remove every Occasion , as far as in them lies , of relapsing into it , after the Example of the Holy King Josias , 2 Kings 23. who not only broke down the Idols , banish'd the Artificers , demolish'd the Altars , but also cut down the Groves , to efface even the Memory of Idolatry , lest the Convenience of committing the same Crime might be an Invitation to commit it . Yet this work of estranging our selves from the Dangers of Sin , tho' attended with so many Difficulties , is but a remote disposition to a Spiritual Resurrection , a removens prohibens ; there are others and nearer requir'd , not only to the Introducing , but also to the Nourishment and Preservation of the New Life .

This is the Third Analogy the Holy Fathers observe between the Resurrection of Christ and that of a Christian , viz. the Duration and Perpetuity of it , intimated by the Apostle , when he tells us , Christ being rais'd from the dead , dies no more . Rom. 6.9 . By which words , not only a feigned , but also a failing Repentance is struck out of the Book of Life . And this Admonition is particularly address'd to you of the Houshold of Faith , who after a sincere and unfeigned sorrow of Heart , after a clear and undisguis'd Enumeration of all your Sins by Confession of Mouth , after a serious Endeavour to apply to your selves the Satisfactions of Christ by the exercise of Good Works , use violence upon your Hearts , in exterminating ill Habits , and avoiding those Occasions which formerly prevail'd upon you , and , in fine , are truly risen again ; but , alas ! are not risen again with Christ . For after you have set your hand to the Plow , you look back upon the Ease and Pleasure of the World ; after you have been feasted with the Bread of Angels , your Hearts return into Egypt ; you remit of your primitive Fervour , you slacken in your Devotions , you inquire into a corrupted Moral , and hunt after Cases to dispense with your Resolutions ; you hearken to the Language of the World , till you are insensibly seis'd with the Infection , it gains every day upon you , preys upon the Life of the Spirit , and at last wholly consumes it . Thus the very Means of your Salvation corrupt into the Occasions of your farther Misery , and your rising again serves only to plunge you deeper into Death , by adding to the weight of your former Commissions a heavy Ingratitude , a sacrilegious Abuse of Divine Grace , a Contempt of Mercy , a Rebellion against the Light , an evacuating the Death of Christ , and frustrating his Resurrection of its chiefest End , that rising from Death with him , you should die no more .

And herein consists the difference between the Resurrection of the Body , and that of the Soul . Both the one and the other are the Effects of a Supernatural and Divine Power : But the one always supposes a Perpetuity and Settled state ; the other is subject to Decay , and of its own nature do's not exclude Corruption and Mortality . Thus the Sunamite's Child at the Prayer of Elizaeus , the Dead Man at the touch of his Bones , Lazarus and others at the Voice of Christ , and they who at his Death came forth of their open'd Sepulchers , were restor'd to Life , but to a dying Life , they liv'd to die again . But the Spiritual Life communicated to a Soul by the Grace of Jesus Christ , is invested , as far as concerns the Operation of the Agent , with Immortality , and has impress'd upon it a Resemblance of his Resurrection , a Jam non moritur . She is commanded to cherish and perpetuate that Life , which nothing can corrupt , unless she lay murthering Hands upon her self , and by consenting to Sin , fall a Victim to it .

But can any one who believes in earnest the Advantage and Excellence of this Supernatural Life , who has ever tasted the ineffable Comforts of a Spiritual Resurrection with and in Christ , be so careless of the Advantage , so insensible of the Excellence , so forgetful of the Comforts , as to lavish them away upon every slight occasion , as to exchange them for every gaudy Trifle , as to wound and destroy this Life at the persuasion of a Passion , or for the gratifying a Concupiscence , or for the indulging an Appetite ? If one did not find this practically true , in speculation one would pronounce it impossible ; Impossible that the Reasonable Creature should persecute its own Happiness , run counter to its own Desires , and contrive its own Destruction , contrary to the Dictamen of Reason , to the Impressions of Faith , and even to the Inclinations of Nature . And whosoever considers with how many Tears , Alms-deeds , and Mortifications , with what Assiduity in Prayer , Modesty of Behaviour , and Earnestness to hear the Word of God , we have spent this Holy and Penitential Season , in order to prepare our selves to rise again with Jesus Christ in this Day of his Triumph over Death , will certainly conclude , that we are truly dead , Rom. 6.2 . and our Life hidden with Christ in God ; that being thus dead to Sin , quomodo adhuc , vivemus in illo ? how is it possible we should harbor a Thought of living any longer in that wretched Condition ? Yet this time of Penance is no sooner elaps'd , than we begin to provide Matter for a new Repentance : We take the Reins off our Senses and Passions , and turn them loose to rove and wanton as before , as if Sensuality were the Object of the Churches Indulgence ; as if Luxury , Excess , mis-spending our Time , superfluous Entertainments , and other Practices which are at all times unlawful , were not at the most Holy of Times more Criminal . It seems the Tide of our Vices was only stemm'd for Forty days , and now the Sluces are pull'd up , to let them roll in their old Channels with more impetuosity than before . We hear the Churches Invitations to rejoyce and to be merry , her Exultemus's and Alleluia's ; we presently catch the Sound , and like the Carnal Jew think it relates to Flesh and Blood ; we presently unbend the Mind , and impart the happy News to every Passion and Concupiscence .

But who would have imagin'd that Relaxations of our Manners could be thought by Mankind the fittest Expressions and most unfeigned Testimonies of their Rejoycing at the Resurrection of Christ ? But since the World will have it so , I am contented , provided it be made appear , that these are Arguments and Signs of our Rising again with Christ . For our Lord reassum'd his Sacred Body , that we might rise in Spirit with him , and in Flesh after him . Our Resurrection then is the principal End of His , and by consequence those Actions which demonstrate us to be truly risen again with him , are the only proper Means to express our Joy , to celebrate his Triumph . And I hope we are now agreed , that these consist in seeking those things which are above , in setting our affections on heavenly things , in transcending all Human Considerations , in leaving the World far below us , and contemning its Vanities , Honors , and Riches , as much as we abhor its Vices and Corruptions . 1 Cor. 15.50 . As for Flesh and Blood , their Inclinations and Concupiscences , which can never possess the Kingdom of God , they become more than ever our mortal Enemies ; we have a new Obligation to persecute and detest them , a fresh Provocation to distress and mortifie them , because they hinder us from enjoying the Liberty of the Children of God , they are a Clog upon the Heart , a Damp upon the Spirits , they check the Flight of the Soul , and lure her down when she is upon the Wing to have her Conversation in Heaven . Philip. 3.2 .

And since this is your Belief , but your Practice so contrary , has not the Apostle as much reason to expostulate with you , as he had with the Galatians , Sic stulti estis , ut cum spiritu caeperitis , Gal. 3.3 . carne consummemini ? Are you become so foolish , as to end in the Flesh , after you have begun in the Spirit ? Tanta passi estis sine causa ? v. 4. Have you so long bridl'd your Appetites , and deny'd your Senses even their lawful Satisfactions , to let them break out at Easter , like a Vapor from some Hollow of the Earth , more unruly , furious , and destructive than they could have been , had you not penn'd them in and confin'd them ? Have you suffer'd so many things in vain ? shed so many Tears without Fruit ? given so many Alms to no End ? In vain , without Fruit , and to no end indeed , unless these happy Beginnings are crown'd with an answerable Perseverance , unless you dy'd to Sin to rise again with Jesus Christ , and are risen again to die no more . Which God of his Infinite Mercy , &c.

The End of the First Sermon .

A SERMON Preach'd before Her Majesty THE QUEEN-DOWAGER , On Whitsunday , 1686. Nolite contristare Spiritum Sanctum , Ephes. 4.30 . Grieve not the Holy Ghost .

AS the Children of Israel ( Most Sacred Majesty ) receiv'd the Law Fifty days after the Paschal Lamb was Sacrific'd , in Memory and Thanksgiving for their Miraculous Deliverance from the Egyptian Slavery ; so the Church of Christ , in the fulness of time , and after that mysterious number of Days elaps'd from the Sacrifice of the Immaculate Lamb , who takes away the Sins of the World , is establish'd by the solemn publication of a New Covenant , a Covenant of Grace . But to express the Analogy and Relation between the one and the other , the Shadow and the Substance , the Law and the Consummation of the Law ; to insinuate the same Spirit of God , who dictated the First , to be also the Author of the Second , both are deliver'd upon the Mount , both in Fire , both with Sound and Majesty . But as perfect Charity casts out Fear : so the Law of Perfection is distinguish'd from the Imperfect , by introducing Charity in the place of Fear , a gentle lambent Fire in lieu of Thunder and Lightning ; by changing Mount Sina , the Region of Terror , for Jerusalem , the Vision of Peace ; a frightful Desert , for the Place of Prayer , the Ministry of an Angel , for the immediate Presence of the Holy Ghost . The first was written in Tables of Stone , the latter , 2 Cor. 3.3 . says the Apostle , in the fleshly Tables of our Hearts ; the one was attended with all the Circumstances of Terror , and repeated Menaces of Death , and all little enough to make a stiff-neck'd People bend their Shoulders to a Heavy and Galling Yoke ; but the other , as gentle in the Declaration as easie in the Execution , is publish'd with the appearance of fiery Tongues , Emblems of Softness and Eloquence , Hieroglyphicks of Light and Charity , to express its Efficacy , not by Constraint , but Insinuation ; not by Compulsion , but Persuasion ; as Fire is the most bright , most piercing , and most active of the Elements , and the Tongue the most tender in Substance , the most easie in Operation , yet the most powerful of all our Faculties . In a word , the first was deliver'd in Smoke and Clouds , to signifie its Property , Imperfection , Obscurity , Darkness , or , at the best , a Cloud which was to break up and disperse , umbra futurorum , Colos. 2.17 . a Shadow which was to pass away ; the second , under the Symbol of Wind , pure , open , cleansing , to shew the Inspiration of the Holy Ghost , as requisite to clear the Soul from the Corruption or Contagion of Sin , as the Wind is to purifie the Air , and the Air is to refresh the Body ; and therefore his Divine Presence is sometimes call'd a Blast of Wind , as the Spouse in the Canticles , Cant. 4.16 . Veni Auster perfla hortum & fluent aromata ; sometimes a Breath of Air , tanquam Spiritus aurae lenis ; sometimes Spiraculum vitae , the breathing of Life ; and generally a Spirit , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , not only in reference to his Eternal Procession from the Father and the Son by way of Spiration , or reciprocal breathing of Love , but also in order to his Operations ad extra , working himself into the Soul by insensible ways , giving her Action and Motion , as the material Air do's the Lungs , and the animal Spirits every part of the Body : Spiritus Sanctus vita spirituum , sensificans , vivificans , says Richard of St. Victor . Richard . de S. Vict. l. 6. de Trin. Wherefore our Blessed Master , who on this Day fulfill'd his Promise of sending the Holy Spirit , compares it , John 3.8 . to the Elementary , which bloweth where it lists , whose sound we hear , but cannot tell whence it cometh , or whither it goeth ; so is every one that is born of the Spirit : By which last Words he applies the Comparison , as if he had said , You are to believe the Influence of this Spirit , as necessary to beget and perpetuate the Life of the Soul , as you experience the other is to the Life and Welfare of Nature ; and as he that hinders the Air from passing into his Lungs , must immediately be stifled , or soon burnt up with interior Heat ; so he that checks the entrance of the Holy Ghost , whose Property is to allay the Heat of Concupiscence with the nobler and gentler warmth of a Spiritual Love , to asswage the Passions , to cool and moderate the Affections ; or he that ejects him out of his Heart after he is enter'd , is said to contristate , to grieve the Holy Ghost , and frustrate the end of his Coming ; Nolite contristare Spiritum Sanctum .

This Consideration carry'd me upon these Words of the Apostle , and pointed them out as a proper Theme equally fitted to the Sanctity and Solemnity of the Time , to the Necessities and Capacity of every Hearer ; and as the most important Advice can be given Christians ( who have already receiv'd , and are suppos'd to possess the delightful Presence of the Holy Ghost ) to cherish that gentle Flame , to treat the Divine Guest as becomes the Children of Light ; not only not to expel him out of their Hearts by any criminal Action or Consent ; but not so much as to give him the least Offence , by remitting of the Devotion they feel , or pious Resolutions they make at this Holy Time . Nolite contristare , &c. But to maintain the Interests of this Holy Spirit , we must have his Assistance , the Power of Persuasion being one of those Gifts of Tongues which descend from above , and which is obtain'd by the same Disposition the Apostles were in perseverantes in oratione , by continuing in Prayer ; and if you would learn the Method , the Evangelist delivers it in two words , Cum Maria ; the Blessed Virgin is the Pattern ; the Holy Ghost found her in the same posture at his second Coming , as he did in the first , when the Angel saluted her , AVE MARIA .

Grieve not the Holy Ghost .

THE Essential Joy which God possesses within himself , and which is Himself , places him above the reach of Grief ; but not above our Attempts to afflict him : His Immortal Godhead and Power may secure his Being , but not our Obedience ; we are as ready to take up Arms against him , as if we could dethrone him at our Pleasure . His Majesty and Justice may strike a Sinner with Amazement and Terror , but not always with that Fear which works a stable Repentance . Thus his Love , and Mercy , and Glory , which establish his Beatitude ; his Glory , that no Evil can approach him ; his Love and Mercy , that he would pass by the Injury , if any such could be done him , exempt him from a possibility of grieving ; and yet we grieve him , that is , we are as criminal and injurious to him , as if he were susceptible of our ill usage . For tho' every Sin be levell'd at the Whole Trinity , the Undivided Godhead against which it is committed , yet the Holy Ghost , to whom the Work of our Conversion is appropriated , is said to be the Principal Object of the Injury , as implying a horrible Contempt of his Favors , Spritui gratiae contumeliam facientes . Heb. 10.23 . Our Faith teaches us to consider the Holy Ghost in two different States in reference to Human Nature ; the one , as hovering over us , and desiring to enter into the Heart of Man , which belongs to him upon so many Titles ; the other , as striving to keep possession of it , which to maintain , he has been so liberal of his Graces and Inspirations , of his Gifts and Promises , and even of himself ; Spiritus qui datus est nobis : In each of these Circumstances we may displease and contristate him ; First , If we refuse him admittance when he demands it : And secondly , If we oblige him to quit his Hold , after we have peaceably admitted him , and tasted the Comforts of his Presence . The Refusal is the Injury , the Sin of Obstinacy ; the Exclusion , that of Contempt : Two most execrable Crimes , and high Provocations , the Apostle admonishes us to be aware of ; and to enforce his Admonition , shall make the Two Parts of this Discourse .

First , The Refusal to admit him ; by which I do not understand as if he were locally distant or absent from the Heart of Man ; for he is essentially every where by the Immensity of his Nature , and as necessarily in the Heart of a Sinner , as in that of a Saint ; because in him we live , we move , and have our being . But this Distance implies only a Moral Separation , consisting in the privation of Grace , by which he resides and dwells in us after a peculiar and more excellent manner . But no sooner do we consent to a Mortal Sin , than we violently thrust him out of doors , and dispossess him of this latter and better kind of Inhabitation , while he , like an unwearied Lover , returns as calmly as if it were his first Approach , as if he had never been expuls'd , and courts the Soul with such melting Expressions as would reduce any Heart but that of a Sinner ; for it is not a peculiar Dialect to his Beloved in the Canticles , but his common Language to every revolted Heart , Aperi mihi soror mea , sponsa mea ; Cant. 5.2 . Open to me , my Sister , my Spouse . Prodigious ! The unfaithful Servant he calls Sister , the Traytor and Rebel he vouchsafes to call his Spouse , to put her in mind of what she was before she lost her Honor , and forfeited those glorious Titles , which he continues to give her , that he may provoke her to Repentance , that he may restore her Innocence .

These Instances , or knocking at the door , as the Holy Spirit styles them himself in the Revelations , in the Council of Trent he calls the Motions of Grace nondum inhabitantis , that has not yet procur'd entrance , but is laying Siege to the Gates , and trying all the Avenues and Passages to get in . Such is the State ( Beloved Christians ) to which most of us have reduc'd the Holy Ghost ; we shut our Hearts upon him , and while there is a Passion within to gratifie , a Concupiscence to indulge , we are insensible to his Impulses , and deaf to his Voice ; and has not he reason to be offended and griev'd at such a Treatment ? If we may gather the vehemency of his Affection from his earnest Desires and passionate Sollicitations to be admitted , we may guess at the Malice and Impiety of our Refusal , by his so deeply resenting it , that God who is Charity , the God of all Consolation , is oblig'd to treat with the Sword in his Hand , to change his Entreaties into Menaces , and threaten Punishments where he promis'd Rewards . Wherefore , says a Learned Writer , his Eternal Wisdom could invent no Emblem so proper and so expressive of his ardent Desires to penetrate into the Heart of Man , as that of a Tongue and Fire , both piercing , both irresistible , but in several kinds ; to signifie , that he will leave no Method untry'd , no way unattempted ; if the more gentle Assaults of the Tongue , Promises , Endearments , Expostulations , and Persuasions cannot prevail , he will set upon us with all the Flames of his Indignation , and eternal Ardors of his Divine Nature ; Dominus Deus tuus ignis consumens est ; Deut. 4.14 . Your God is a consuming Fire , in comparison of which , the Fury and Rage of our Elementary is but a glaring and harmless Vapor ; the destroying and penetrating Lightning , but a gentle and cooling Blast ; the rending and dreadful Thunder , is but a friendly Address , and soft Embrace . But thy God is a consuming Fire , that is , Heb. 4.12 . in the Apostle's Exposition , The Word of God , or the Holy Ghost speaking in our Hearts , is quick and powerful , sharper than a two-edg'd Sword , piercing even to the dividing asunder of Soul and Spirit , and of the Joynts and Marrow , and is a discerner , an avenger of the thoughts and intents of the Heart ; for all things are naked to , and easily conquer'd by his Eyes . Et interficiet impium Spiritu oris sui & illustratione adventus sui , 2 Thes. 2.8 . says he elsewhere ; if he cannot destroy the Wickedness of the Man with the Breath of his victorious Grace , he will destroy the wicked Man with the Glory of his Presence , and Terror of his Approaches .

But this Attempt of the Holy Ghost to reduce a stubborn Heart , is not to be understood of Force or Constraint ; for he do's not desire to possess it by Necessity , but by Submission ; he comes upon it in spiritu vehementi , with Vehemence , but not with Violence , which takes away our Liberty ; for he esteems it the greatest Victory , to make us yield , while we remain able to resist . He has a tender Compassion for the most rebellious Sinner ; and in despite of all Provocations , Acts of Hostility , and defacing the Beauty of a Heart he had been so long adorning , the Print of his Finger still remaining upon the Creature , and the indelible Character of his Sacrament upon the Christian , he acknowledges the Work of his Hands , he remembers it was his Temple , he endeavors to repair the Ruins , and consecrate it again with his Presence . To obtain which desir'd End , he do's not think it either beneath his Majesty , or derogatory to his Power , to capitulate with the Soul , whose concurring Assent is requisite to her own Happiness , to sue to her , to use Sollicitations and Persuasions , according to the Sense the Master of our Schools and other Divines give to the Words of St. Paul , Postulat pro nobis ; Rom. 8.26 . he asks not only for us , but also of us , to be readmitted into our Hearts , ubique petit ab omnibus recipi , says the Angelical Doctor , comparing this Divine Lover to the Sun , who not only offers his Light to the Eyes of all the World , but also darts it upon them , and with the Points of his Rays sollicits them to open and let in the Day : Petit ab omnibus recipi .

From whence I make two Inferences worthy your serious Consideration . The first , That the greatest exterior Glory the Holy Ghost is capable of , the only Joy he takes ad extra , out of himself , is to find us yielding to his Desires , acquiescing to his Motions and re-entring into the State of Grace . The second That a Refusal on this occasion , irritates him to the highest degree , and of its own nature is such a Subject of Grief , as a loving Parent feels when he sees himself disrespected and injur'd by an ungrateful and disobedient Child . He is not only troubled at his Miscarriages , but is far more afflicted that he is oblig'd to punish him for them , foreseeing that his Disobedience will bring him to an unhappy End . In like manner the Holy Ghost is said to grieve , when we not only abuse his Patience , contemn his Love , and reject his Comforts , but also draw upon our Heads his just Severity , while he foresees the Punishment he is going to inflict upon his Children will not amend them ; for the Crime is irremissible , the Punishment is unavoidable ; the Crime , a Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost ; Matt. 12.31 . and the Punishment , never to repent of it ; non remittetur .

Indeed Divines are much perplex'd , and can hardly agree in what this Blasphemy consists , which so much exasperates the Spirit of God , and turns the Meekness of the Dove into the implacable Fury of the Lion . St. Augustin , whose Judgment is of greatest weight , supposes it to be final Impenitency , as being the last , and at the same time the Punishment of all other Crimes . 'T is a Punishment , and the severest of Punishments , because a dereliction of God : 'T is a Sin , or a Circumstance of Sin , because it renders all the preceding unpardonable . But how come we to plunge into this bottomless Abyss of Misery , unless by refusing Grace when it is offer'd us ? There is the Crime ; and are not we justly sentenc'd to it for our so long continu'd Resistances against the Divine Impulses , so frequent Contempts of Calls from Heaven , in Sermons , Advices , Examples , Duties of Piety , Occasions of Charity presented to us , good Books put into our Hands , Remorses started in our Consciences , Convictions rising in our Understanding , and holy Desires breath'd into our Hearts ? There 's the Punishment : And what more just than that our own Measures should be turn'd against us , that there should be a resemblance between the Chastisement and the Offence ; as Contempt was the Crime , so Contempt should be the Condemnation ? The Sinner contemns God , and God revenges himself by contemning him ; the usual proceeding of slighted Love , qui spernis , Isa. 33.1 . nonne & ipse sperneris ? He applies his Mercy , in quality of a Physician , to heal the Soul ; but sometimes he must in like manner exercise his Justice , by giving her over when her State is desperate . Jer. 51.9 . Curavimus Babylonem & non est sanata ; To cure thee , O wretched Creature , to whom a Life spent in Disorders and Confusion has merited the Style of Babylon ; to cure thee , I have apply'd all my healing Graces , comforting Inspirations and sovereign Restoratives ; neither Oyl nor Wine , neither gentler nor sharper Remedies , neither Prosperity nor Persecution , have been wanting to thy Wounds ; sed non est sanata , but thou art not , because thou wilt not be cured : Derelinquamus eam , thou art past recovery , I will leave thee to the Cogitations of thy own Heart , in manu consilii tui , I will visit thee no more , I will call thee no more , I will quite forget thee , I will not so much as be angry with thee any more , auferetur zelus meus à te , Ezech. 16.42 . & quiescam , nec irascar amplius .

Now tell me , Christian , if such as refuse to give the Holy Ghost entrance into their Hearts , so heavily contristate him ; how grievously do they offend , who thrust him violently out of their Hearts , after they had readily open'd the Gates to him , receiv'd him honourably , treated him friendly , and reciprocally receiv'd unspeakable Instances of his Affection ? This is the next thing I have to consider : Be pleas'd to accompany me with your Hearts , as well as with your Attention .

Whether to be repuls'd from the Heart of Man , or expuls'd out of it , be the greater Affront to the Holy Ghost , and the more deserving Subject of his Displeasure , may be a question in the Theory , and is discuss'd by Divines ; but I suppose in the Practice an indifferent Judgment may determine . For as right Reason esteems it an Injury of a higher nature , and far more provoking , to treat a Man ill in his Presence , than in his absence , because it adds the greatest Impudence to the Indignity ; so the first Crime a Person in the State of Grace commits , becomes incomparably more injurious by that Circumstance . I might inforce this with the ordinary Topick of Ingratitude , which stains it still deeper : But I pass by these Two Reasons , so considerable , had I time to urge them , to come to a Third , drawn from the Injury God suffers , upon the account he is chas'd from a Place he held by so full and undisputed a Possession , and which belongs to him by an unquestionable Tenure , and so many warrantable Titles ; Elegit Israel in possessionem sibi , Psal. 134.4 . He has chosen Israel for his possession , says the Royal Advocate of Heaven . Now do we find our selves so nearly touch'd , and so vehemently exasperated , when an Intruder comes to thrust us out of doors , and seise on our Inheritance ? and shall we allow no Resentment to the Holy Spirit , when he is wrongfully and contumeliously ejected out of his Habitation , for he dwells in the midst of us ; out of his Temple , for you are the Temples of the Holy Ghost ; out of his Empire , for the Kingdom of God is within you ; out of the Seat of his Pleasure , for his Delights are to be with the Sons of Men ? Do we not suffer any one to dispute our Right to what we have made with our own Hands ? Such is the Heart of Man to the Holy Ghost . Do we not account it as abfurd as impudent , to demand whether the thing be ours which we have bought ? Such is the Heart of Man to the Holy Ghost . Do's not a long Prescription justifie a Tenure , and long Possession create a Title ? Such is the Holy Ghosts to the Heart of Man . For he lays claim to it , not only because he is the Spirit of God the Father who created us , of God the Son who redeem'd us , but also because he has Rights to us peculiar to himself , by the Love he bears us , by the sanctifying Grace he has bestow'd upon us . This is what the Apostle seems to point at , when immediately after he had exhorted the Ephesians , in the words of my Text , not to grieve the Holy Spirit , he adds for a Reason , in quo signati estis , because you are seal'd by him , because you have receiv'd his Character ; as Men use to imprint their Arms or Mark upon such things they esteem most precious , and would not have usurped or violated by any foreign Hand ; Signati estis . The Holy Ghost impresses himself upon our Hearts in every Sacrament ; I shall instance only in two , Baptism and Penance . In Baptism he imprints such a Character upon the Soul , as neither Time nor Eternity can deface , neither Violence nor Sin can raze out ; for since nothing is destroy'd but by its Contrary , the Characteristical Form must be indelible , says the Master of our Schools , as having nothing contrary to it self . The Sacrament of Penance leaves not indeed such an immortal Impress behind it , but plains out all the Tracts of Sin , and imprints upon the Level an habitual Love , which is the Seal of the Spirit , and which our Blessed Saviour makes a distinctive Character between his Friends and his Enemies . In quo signati estis ; we are mark'd as his Living Temples , according to the Custom of all Religions , that ingrave on the Frontispiece of their Temples , or in the most eminent Part of them , Hieroglyphicks of the Divinity they adore . And do you not know , says the Apostle , that you are the Temples of the Living God ? Your Heart is the Sanctuary where the Father is worshipp'd in Spirit and Truth ; Charity is the Priest , Faith and Hope are the Assistants , Penance and Prayer are the Sacrifices .

And tell me now ( ungrateful Christian ) after so full , so free , so long and solemn a Possession , to be turn'd out all on a sudden , in a moment , as soon as a Mortal Sin can be committed , and this to make way for his mortal Enemy ; to be sold for the fulsom Pleasures of this World , for a Lust or an Ambition ; to be exchang'd for the amusing Trifles , Vanities and Riches , is it not the highest Injustice , and most foul and abominable Sacrilege ? An Injustice , because you prodigally cast away what belongs to another : Non estis vestri ; Do not think you have power to ruine your selves , or that you wrong no Body but your selves ; 't is a vulgar Saying , and a vulgar Mistake ; You are not your own . A Sacrilege , because you rob the Temple of the Holy Ghost , where he had treasur'd up the Riches of his Goodness , where he had made the Repository of his Graces . Is it strange then he conceives so high a displeasure at such ill Usage , that he breaths out such lamentable Complaints by the Mouth of the Prophet , Afflixerunt Spiritum Sancti ejus , Isa. 63.10 . They have afflicted his Holy Spirit , they have griev'd his very Soul , not only for the Injustice , not only for the Sacrilege , nor only for the Expulsion , but much more for the aggravating Circumstance , the Contempt . For tho' every Sin be injurious to the Holy Ghost , and of what nature soever , involves a Contempt of his Divinity , by disobeying his Commands ; an undervaluing his Person , by banishing him our Company ; and a scorn of his Gifts , by casting them from us : yet every considering Man will grant , the first Capital Offence a sanctified Soul commits , is big with a particular Contempt and Slighting of the Divine Spirit , because it not only thrusts him out of his Possession , but do's it to introduce the Spirit of Pride , of Luxury , of Ambition , of Covetousness , and the like , in his place : By which the Sinner declares , that he sets a lower Value on Jesus Christ , than the most trivial Satisfaction of the World . For whether he makes a distinct Reflection on it or no , it is certain he virtually compares the Good Spirit which is in possession of his Heart , with the Evil one which is solliciting admittance ; and by consenting to Sin , he declares his Judgment , and shews which is preferable in his esteem .

There is no sort of Contempt like that of Comparison , which not only despises a Man , but , to increase the Confusion and Affront , first sets another in competition with him , and then gives that other the advantage over him : Which Proceeding , tho' ever odious , in two Cases is most abominable , in the Rights of Sovereignty , and in the Interests of Love . If a People should depose their Prince , they would commit the foulest , the most unjust , and most unchristian Action in the World ; but if they stop there , 't is only an absolute Contempt : But if the giddy Multitude proceed to a new Election , and put up the mortal Enemy of their Lawful Sovereign , then 't is a Contempt of Comparison . If a Wife suffer that Conjugal Affection to die , which Nature and Religion oblige her to cherish towards her Husband , 't is a horrible Injury , 't is a Contempt ; for there can be no Indifferency in that Case : But if she turn her Affections upon a Stranger , the sworn Enemy of her Lawful Spouse , such a Preference heightens the Affront beyond all that can be express'd , beyond all comparison , and chases Anger into Desparation and Fury .

Now what Resentment Passion raises in Men , Justice kindles in the Holy Ghost ; for he enters a Soul in both these Qualities , as Sovereign to make it the Seat of his Empire , regnum Dei intra vos est ; and as a Spouse , to contract with it the nearest and most sacred Alliance , Sponsabo te mihi in sempiteruum . Yet every idle Pretender , every rebellious Appetite , or unruly Passion , is admitted to dispute his Title , while the Owner is forc'd to plead his Right before a corrupted Judge , the Free-will of Man ; while the Heart , an unfaithful Spouse , is not only consenting to his Banishment , but also before his Face abandons her self into the Embraces of a foul Adulterer , the profess'd Enemy of her rightful Lord , preferring the momentary Pleasures of this World , before the eternal Caresses of his Favour .

But he bewailing her Loss more than his own , ( when the losing of him is indeed the losing her self ) follows her , with the Tears and unspeakable Groans of her Mother the Church , begs of her to return , more to her self , than to him , Redite peccatores ad cor ; and is contristated that she will neither believe nor prevent her endless and unconsolable Sorrow , Si cognovisses & tu .

And what do you now expect , Christians , but that , ( to close up this Discourse ) I joyn my Voice to that of the Holy Ghost , and become his Advocate , who pleads for himself to your Heart ; and that I beg of you once with my Lips , what he do's every moment by his Grace , Nolite contristare ? For his and your own sake have pity upon your own Souls , and cease to grieve the Holy Ghost .

1. If you have not yet given him entrance by a faithful Obedience to his Call , hear his Voice even this day , harden your Hearts no longer , put an end to your Reluctances and Resistance . There are but two Wills concern'd in your Conversion , but two Consents requir'd to the thoro' Amendment of your Life , the Holy Ghost's , and your own . And I hope , from what I have discours'd , you are very well satisfied , that the Holy Ghost wishes nothing so earnestly , desires nothing so passionately , demands nothing so instantly : And do you deliberate upon the matter ? Do you entertain the Motion so coldly ? Is your Salvation in your own Hands , and you stand demurring whether you shall accept of it ? Is that freely offer'd you , which you ought to have su'd for with flaming Sighs and unexpressible Groans , gemitibus inenarrabilibus ? Is it not Crime enough to have hitherto resisted his Inspirations , stopp'd your Ears against his Calls , rejected his Counsels , and trampl'd upon his Commandments ? Will you continue in Rebellion till there is no Mercy left for you ? Will you seal up your Ears till the Invitation is past ? Will you not render to his Counsels till it be too late , nor acknowledge his Commandments till you are lost for ever ? Will you send back his comfortable Venite's , Come to me , with the Language of the wicked , Recede à nobis , Depart from us , and force him to that bitter Retaliation , Recedite à me , Depart from me you cursed into everlasting fire ?

And this you do , while you continue to neglect his repeated Instances and Calls ; for a continu'd Neglect is a Contempt , and a Contempt of the Holy Ghost is that Basphemy which pronounces Sentence upon it self , the fatal Recede à nobis , Depart from us for ever . Yes , hard-hearted Sinner , cruel to thy self and to thy God ; God will obey the Voice of Man , who would never hearken to the Voice of God ; he will depart from thee for ever . For the Scripture often warns us , that there is a certain number of Sins , which , fill'd up , chase him away irrevocably ; that there is a certain number of Calls , which being rejected , You shall call , says he , and I will not hear ; and there is a certain number of Graces summ'd up , and recorded by the Hand of Justice , after which no more are given , or at least so imperfect and weak , as they leave the Soul in a moral impossibility to break her Chains , or shake off her evil Habits .

Perhaps this is the last Opportunity shall ever be presented you ; perhaps this is the last time you shall ever hear the Holy Ghost speaking to your Hearts , the last and peremptory Term of Grace , beyond which it shall never be extended , and on acceptance of which , depends your eternal Predestination or Reprobation : Perhaps this is your last Pentecost ; and remember you are warn'd , that he who appear'd to day in the shape of Fiery Tongues , to express how ardently he desires your Conversion , will one day appear in that terrifying Posture , the Prophets beheld him , when a flaming Sword issu'd from his Mouth , Death and Destruction walked before him , a Torrent of Fire stream'd from his enrag'd Countenance , and flaming Eyes , to consume his Enemies .

2. But above all , you that have already receiv'd the Holy Ghost , Nolite contristare , do not grieve him , do not extinguish those Divine Flames he has rais'd in your Hearts : Consider what a Happiness it is to be his Temple ; give him not the displeasure to see himself chas'd from that Place , whence his Access had chas'd so many evil and tyrannical Spirits , and where he desires to dwell in this Life by his Grace , that we may dwell for ever in his Glory . Which I beseech , &c.

FINIS .