The Handmaid to Private Devotion, Part 9
THE PRACTICE OF PRIVATE DEVOtion, both ordinarie and extraordinarie, in health and sicknesse, and at the houre of death.
The scope of the Author and reason of his method and order.
CHRISTIAN READER,
IN these Deuotions which I first offered (for the greater part) to God for my selfe, and now offer to the presse for thy vse, all that I intend, affect, and labour for is, to expres…e in the matter pious affection; in the forme Scripture phrase and elocution. For it seemeth to mee most agreeable to speake to God as neare as wee can in the same language he speakes to vsus, which is the sanctified language of the Bible. As for affected humane eloquence (consisting instreined conceits of wit, and swelling words of vanitie) which, as it is puffed vp it selfe, so it puffeth vp those that vse it; I hold it altogether vnfit for a Minister of the Gospell, especially in meditations, or exercises of this nature. For in these we ought most of all to denie our selues, and to captiuate, not onelyonly our thoughts to the conceptions, but our tongs to the words and phrases of the inspired Oracles of God. As Menander said of women, that they were fairest who were not painted at all, and Tullie of Atticus his booke, that the grauitie of the stile, and neglect of light ornaments was a gra…e and ornament vntounto it: So it may be most truly auouched of holy vowes, meditations, and prayers, that sinceritie is best art, and simplicitie their garbe, modesty their trimming, and zeale their glorie, when they are so conceiued and vttered, that they shew most affection and least affectation of art, wit, or language. Sighs are the figures that moue Almightie God, and teares the fluent and most current Rhetoricke before him; for he that made the mouth is not taken with words, vnlesse they be such as proceed from his owne mouth, and are warranted by his word: such as carrie in them a manifest print of that patterne of sound or wholesome words set before vsus by the Apostles. Now a swelling member is not sound,Quint instit Orat. Tumor licet grandis contrarius est sanitati. neither is blowne meate wholesome. The wisest among the heathen could distinguish betweene a Matrons and a Curtizans attire and ornaments; a loftie and a turgent stile; the Asiaticke Superfluitie, and Attick knife and modesty which pruned the luxuriancy of pregnant wits, & flourishing styles running out into superfluous stemmes, that the presses of eloquence might abound, not with leaues of words, but iuyce & sap of Sentences, as it were grapes pressed together. Thus eloquently Saint Ierom declareth that Athenian eloquence,Ierom. ad Rusticum. Luxuriantes flagellis vineas falcibus reprimebant, vt eloquent… torcularia non verbori… pampinis, sed sensu… quasi vuarum expressionibus redumdarent. and singularly approued it: to whose iudgement I submit; onelyonly I would adde this, that euen this iuycie kinde of sententious eloquence, relisheth not of a deuout soule, vnlesse it hauehave in it the taste and tincture of the vines of Engaddy.
Draw me saith the Spowse, we will runne after thee, say her honourable attendants, because of the sweete sauour of thy oyntments. The spowse of Christ delighteth not in exoticall perfumes though neuer so costly, because howsoeuer they please thy smell, yet they corrupt the braine, and oftentimes poyson the spirits. But the smell of Christs oyntments, who was annointed with the oyle of gladnesse aboue all his brethren, is the sauour of life vntounto life. Therefore both the Spowse her selfe, and all her maides of honour (i. e. Virgins and chaste soules) runne after it:Origen in Cant. And this my hand-maid also followeth after them, yet as Peter followed Christ, a farre off. The path in which shee treads is this.
From the generall she passeth to particular, from extraordinary to ordinary, from the chamber and Closet, to the sicke and death-bedds Deuotion.
Haec erit admissa met a terendarota.
1 BEcause the morning and euening were eueryevery day in the weeke I beginne with the dayes Deuotion in generall, and for morning and euening I frame such Admonitions, Hymnes, and Prayers, as may serue for any day, Sabboth, or weeke day, festiuall or common.
2. Next I furnish the Christian Sabboth, because (as Ignatius styleth it) it is the chiefe and soueraigne day, and the Queene of all dayes, and may rightly challenge the precedency of all festiualls, both in regard of Gods strict command for the religious obseruing it, and for that it is the sampler of them, they being cut as it were out of the dayes of the weeke, otherwise dayes of labour, according to the patterne of the Sabboths rest.
3. The feasts peculiarly dedicated to our Sauiour and the holy Ghost succeede the Sabboth, and precede the weeke dayes. For whatsoeuer scruple hath bin made of Saints dayes, the whole world as farre as it is, or euer was Christian, hath obserued religiously, these feasts as Monuments and a kinde of Sacraments to refresh the memory of the chiefe workes of our Lord, and mysteries of our faith, to checke and controle whose vniuersall and vniforme practice, especially in a matter of this nature is most insolent madnesse. Aug. Epist. ad Ianuarium.God (saith Paulinus) hath garnished the Church Calender with festiuall dayes, as the heauen with Starres, or a garlād with roses. Is not Christ the rose of Sharon, and the bright morning Starre? Doubtles then the festiualls in speciall consecrated to him, ought to bee as the fairest flowrs in the round garland of the yeere, and brightest Starres in the Church-firmament. Wee neuer reade of any (saith Caluin) that were blamed for drawing too much water out of the well of life: Neither can wee possibly giuegive too much honour to the King of glory. Bern. Serm. de. Pent.Saint Bernards consequence is as sound as it is pious. If we celebrate the Saints solemnities, how much more ought wee to keepe his who made them Saints?
In the Deuotion fitted to these dayes, first I lay the ground out of Scripture, and then descant vponupon it in the Admonition, Hymne, and Prayer; all which allude to the History of that feast.
4. After these feasts, the weekdayes come in their order. The Saints, Martyrs, and Arch-angels dayes I hauehave purposely omitted: not that I dislike the keeping of them; for I hauehave euer, and will iustify, and maintaine the obseruation of them, according to that godly institution, and practice of our Church. But I desired to keepe my book within the compasse of the title, which is a Manuell. And albeit wee honour Saints, and Martyrs, yet religious Deuotion which is my Theame is restrained to God by holy Dauid. Whom hauehave I in heauen but thee ô Lord. In the Church of Rome there are many Deuotion… to Saints, and more to our Lady then to Christ, but wee acknowledge no religious Deuotions, but to him who charmed the old Serpent, with that voice of his Father! Him onelyonly shalt thou serue.
In the weeke daies Deuotion, those words of our Sauiour were my loadestarre. My father worketh, and I worke: For all the morning prayers hauehave relation to some worke of God the Father, in the sixe dayes of Creation: and all the euening to some worke of God the Sonne, in the sixe dayes, immediately before his glorious resurrection. The admonitions for morning and euening, containe 12 beatitudes, or blessednes; 8 mentioned by our Sauiour, Mathew 5. and the rest out of other choice Texts of Scripture. All which blessednesses I wish thee from my heart, desiring thee to afford me one Prayer, who hauehave stored thee with many.
Thine in the Lord Iesus D. F.