The Godly Mans Journey to Heaven, Treatise 2 · Meditation 11 – Meditation 12
11. What tongue can expresse that incomparable honour, and rare dignitie, whereunto Almightie God hath aduanced the flesh of man? albeit, alas, a world of men shame their flesh, presse to shame God, in and by their flesh, to their euerlasting shame.
KNewest thou, ô my soule, how farre that blessed wise God thy Father hath aduanced the flesh of man, beleeue me thou couldst not offend? if I should curse thee, if thou attemptedst so much as to lust after those euils, wherewith, alas, a very world of people be now grosly defiled, and I could not but be ashamed to be offended, if thou shouldest curse me: if I should presse to giuegive thee the members of my bodie, vntounto the committing of those sinnes, which thousands, alas, do commit in this our time, euen with delectation and greedinesse? O my soule, hath not thy God honoured the flesh of man very farre, in making it a Cabinate, to lodge that immortall soule made by his Maiestie, euen of an heauenly substance? Hath not our God more highly aduanced the flesh of man, in making it to be the temple and dwelling place of his holy Spirit,1. Cor. 6. 19▪ yea, to be that spirituall, immortall, incorruptible, and glorious plenishing which must fill and keepe the heauens for euer? yea, hath not his Maiestie aduanced it more then highly in his blessed and onelyonly begotten Son Iesus,… Thess. 4. 17. that holy one, being content to assume, and vnite it in one personall vnion with his God-head, the very flesh of man;Ioh. 1. 14. not onelyonly for a while walking on earth in that our nature but transporting that our flesh vntounto the highest heauens. So that he who is God, equall alwayes with the Father, and with the holy Ghost, is cloathed with the flesh of man; and he who is cloathed with the flesh of man, is God equall with the Father and with the Spirit. O celestiall spirits, and heauenly Angels, who serue your God alwayes readily, busily, faithfully, and ioyfully! can ye compare with that man who by a liuely faith is ingrafted into that God-man, and man-God Iesus? Would that holy one cloath himselfe with your nature,Heb. 2. 16. so that you may say, he that is God is also an Angell, and he who is an Angell is also God? Or rather tooke he not the seed of Abraham; so that the beleeuing man may say, he who is God is man also; he who is man is God also. O celestiall spirits, said that blessed God, your and our glorious maker, euer of any Angell, or to any Angell the Angell my fellow? and yet our God can (speaking to and of his Son in whom we are thus beyond measure honoured) speake thus of him,Zach. 13. 7. The man my fellow. Darest thou then, ô my soule, dishonour God who hath so farre honored thee? yea, darest thou attempt to aduise me being tempted with any deceiueable lust to abuse this my flesh, or anie member of it, since his Maiestie hath so wonderfully aduanced it? The sense hereof moued Augustine to say:August. de vera relig. cap. 16. Demonstrauit nobis Deus quam excelsum locum inter creaturas habeat humana natura, in hoc, quod hominibus in vero homine apparuit. God hath made euident vntounto vsus how high a place humane nature hath among his other creatures, in this, that he denizied himselfe to appeare vntounto men in the true shape of man. Leo likewise meditating vponupon the same subiect, saith:Leo serm 2. in nat. Dom. Agnosce Christiane dignitatem tuam, & diuinae consors factus naturae noli inueterem vilitatem degeneri conuersatione redire. O Christian consider truly thy owne worth and excellencie, and being made partaker of the diuine nature, returne not vntounto thy wonted vilenesse by thy shamelesse and vile conuersation. We all thinke that Dauid ouersaw himselfe very grosly to Mephibosheth, the creeple sonne of dead Ionathan, who proued constantly rarely kinde to Dauid, when hauing tried the grosse falshood and seditious treacherie of that villaine Zibah, he said to the poore creeple, abused honest man: HaueHave I not said thou and Zibah diuide the land? But when shall men who hold themselues good Christians, and consider that they ouersee themselues; abusing most grossely the Lord their God, when they crie aloud, albeit not with their sh…ll voice, yet with their vile workes (euen to the hearing of that God to whom they be more obliged in all respects, but chiefely for aduancing their flesh so highly which is the onelyonly ground of mans whole felicitie.) O Lord God hauehave I not said, thou and the diuell diuide betwixt thee. Offend not, ô my soule, that I speake thus: for if manie professing Christ among vsus may be beleeued when they speake, they hauehave appointed their hearts for God, (& yet if their liues be narrowly tried) it shal clearly be found that they hauehave dedicated their flesh, and so their eyes, eares, mouth, hands, feete, and the foule members of their bodies for the diuell. For (alas) be these their members employed in the seruice of any beside the diuels seruice? Is this to be thankfull to that God, who hath bene kinde to them? is this to honour God with their flesh, who hath so honoured mans flesh? Knowest thou not ô lousie Christian,Reuel. 18. 10. that the diuell is the accuser of the children of God, Christs brethren, who first craftily entiseth them to sinne against God, and then maliciously accuseth them before God for sinning against him. Now, ô how fearefull an occasion shall this be, (Hearken, hearken, ô my soule,) when Satan thine accuser, ô lousie Christian, presenting himself before that great God vponupon the sight of thy loose and lewd life, shall partly say: ô Lord, It pleased thy Maiestie, out of thy vnspeakable louelove towards man, to cloath thy owne blessed Sonne with the flesh of man, euen to the end, that in that flesh he might suffer for man, and thereby aduance man to the highest heauens, who willingly hath made himselfe my companion through sinne, should be adiudged to the lowest helles, with him for euer: and yet Lord, here is a man, yea, a verie world of men, who hauehave defiled themselues with abominable Idolatries, bowing their knees to the workes of mens hands, lifting vp their hands, and sending vp their cries to base creatures, forgetting the blessed Creator; yea, defiled in their flesh with fearefull blasphemies, cruell murthers, filthy incests, adulteries & fornications, with brutish drunkennesse, couetuousnesse, and oppression. O Lord will not thy Maiestie, being that great iudge of the world, be auenged vponupon such grosse vnthankfulnesse, and adiudge with the soules the bodies of such men, to that lake which burneth with fire and brimstone for euermore; seeing they hauehave so grossely shamed their owne flesh, which thou hast so gratiously honoured? Thinke vponupon this, ô my soule, keeping thy selfe from all inward filthinesse; forget not this, ô my soule, but charge me alwayes in Gods name, to keepe this my bodie and all the members of it from all outward vncleanenesse,Rom. 6. 12. neuer suffering that of Bernard to slip out of thy mind.Bern. ser. 24 in cant. Erubesce anima mea diuinam, in pecuem commutasse similitudinem, erubesce volutare in coeno qui de coelo es. Be ashamed, ô my soule, to change thy diuine image into the likenesse of a beast: be you ashamed to wallow in the clay who was bred in the heauens.
12. Albeit men offend to be compared with the diuell, yet a world of men treade the diuels pathes.
EVen the filthiest debauched liuer, ô my soule, offendeth when he is compared to the diuell, and yet euerie filthie liuer will tread the diuels pathes. Cānot the diuell, ô my soule, (mala) partly present himselfe among the children of God before God, and yet no sooner goeth he from his Maiesties presence but he can runne with speed; not onelyonly to ouerthrow all that belonged to that iust Iob, but also bereaue him of his health; thinking thereby to make him blaspheme God. Euen the filthiest liuer is offended if he be called a Iudas: and yet as Iudas went from his Maisters table, to deliuer him into the hands of his enemies: so many called Christians, can take their iourney from Christs chamber (as it were) to ouerthrow Christ. Alas, alas, ô my soule, how manie be there who present themselues with Gods Saints in Gods house, before God to heare his word; and yet comming from it debase themselues in all vncleanenesse. O how manie be there, who going to prayer, and rising from prayer, thinke neuer vponupon that which they hauehave professed, or bound themselues while they were praying, till they go backe againe vntounto their prayer; debauching themselues betwixt their owne prayer, and their other, euen in these same sinnes; for the which in prayer they accused themselues, they condemned themselues crauing God pardon, and solemnely vowing to abstaine from them. The iudgement of charitie which suspecteth the best of all, aduiseth me to thinke that these knowne murtherers, adulterers, fornicators, drunkards, and so forth; When they go to their prayer, do now and then confesse their sinnes, crauing pardon for them, and promising to amend their liues; and yet with the swine, euen now washing after they hauehave risen from their knees, they can turne to the puddle of their wonted wickednesse. Let all such thē who do heare God speaking vntounto them by his word, and who do speake to God by prayer, ioyne repentance with their hearing, and with their praying; remembring that he onelyonly is blessed, who heareth the word of God and doth it;Luk. 11. 28. and that the prayer of that man who draweth away his eare from hearing of the law,Prou. 28. 9. is abominable before God.