Contemplative Pictures with Wholesome Precepts Part 1, Picture 1 – Picture 3
THE PICTVRE of GOD.
GOD is by contraction good, the prime cauſe of all his creatuers: OnelyOnly one, one alone. Incomprehenſible, infinite, inuiſible. A ſubſtance without compoſition, action without motion. A being ſpiritual, of himſelfe eternall: before time, in time, and beyond altime: without beginning, without ending, the Alpha of eueryevery thing, the Omega of althings: the firſt, & the laſt: without terme of time. He is that kingly regencie, that lordly Souerainity. He doeth giuegive to all life, motion, actiō; he beſtoweth the qualitie and encreaſeth the quantitie: yet is he good without qualitie, and great without quantitie. Hee is the beeing & beauty of his creature. Hee made eueryevery thing good, & ſtil from him flowes goodneſſe; bodies bliſſe, ſoules ſafety, goods, preſeruation, and grace. He is Supereminent aboue all, Superexcellent beyond all, abundant in louelove to all, and abſolutely in perfect happineſſe without all. He is the higheſt in maieſtie, the greateſt in glorie, the largeſt in magnificencie, the powerfulleſt in omnipotencie, and the euer onelyonly beſt in vnſpeakeable bounty. Without him nothing auaileable, with him all things poſſible, without, beſides, and againſt means. He is preſent eueryevery where, without circumſcription of place, neither included heere, nor excluded there▪ hee fils what is emptie, ſuſtaineth what is weake, directs what is not right, gouerns what is inſtable, and perfects whatſoeuer is i… defect. Heauen is hiS throne the firmament hiS pauilion, Paradiſe his palace, the earth his theate… Angels are his attendants the Princes of his armie; al creatures his hoſt. Th… azioured skie his comely curtaine, his priuie chamber, the place of vnſpeakeable pleaſure. His face is a flame of fire, his voice thunder, his wrath, dread, & terrible horrour. If he meete his enemies, he rides vponupon the wings of the winde, his chariots are without number: he raineth vponupon them ſnares to entrap them, fire …o deuoure them, haileſtones to kill them; hee ſends a ſmoake to ſmother them, a ſtormy tempeſt to terrifie them, the ſtincke of brimſtone to annoy them, and hote thunderbolts to ſhoote them thorow. He is the Landlord to all the inhabitants of the earth; they are his Tenants, the beſt but his Stewards, the mightieſt of his making. He preſerueth by his power, ruleth by his prouidence; he hath in his hand a Scepter of irō, and doth raigne as hee liſt, ouer him that ſeemeth to outrage the moſt. Satan is but his ſlaue, though hee rule ouer faithleſſe Princes and Peeres. The loftieſt creature, the higheſt man in Souereigntie, is but his footſtoole, and hardly a ſhadow of his gliſtering glory, & glorious eminēcy. Hee foreſeeth eueryevery thing before it be, wiſely ordereth al things that are, and preordeineth all certainely what ſhall be. There is no preuēting of his wil, no gain ſaying of his good pleſure: his power manageth his wil vnreſiſtably; his wil is the rule of righteouſneſſe vnchāgeably: he maketh eueryevery thing to bow at his becke: he altereth the order of nature, & changeth the courſe of times. He can ſpan heauen with his hand, ſoūd the depth of the Ocean feas, make the earth tremble at his preſcence. Something he can make of nothing, & the leaſt ſomething is hee able to multiply into in. numerable many things. He is admirable in his preſeruation, and wonderfull in the creation: By ſubduction of his infinitneſſe, hee left an inanity of ſubſtance, forme, and force; ſo prepared he vnſpeakeably an emptines to frame & place his creatures: by reduction of himſelf againe innarrably he made a kind of fulneſſe, and cauſed that ſenſibly to be ſeene, what neuer had being of any thing before. All his works liuely demonſtrate him; his word truely reueales him: yet no mortall eye can ſee him, nor any wit conceiue him. Hee is mercy, hee is iuſtice, a fire burning, and yet not haſtily cōſuming. He is al preſence, his nameis, I am, nothing paſt with him, nor to come which is not in ſight. Infiniteneſſe it ſelfe is his compaſſe, for time and place. His iuſtice is without partiality, he iudgeth euer righteouſly, and puniſheth only offenders, and that deſeruedly. His pleaſure is abſolute in himſelfe; what he delighteth in, without himſelfe, is for that, which is onelyonly from himſelfe. To conclude an endleſſe matter without concluſion; He is merciſull without meaſure, pitifull in great compaſſion, but without any paſſion. Hee is repentant without ſorrow, he maketh a change in his action, but is neuer alterable in his perſon. Hee is himſelfe holineſſe, the very fountaine of all goodneſſe,: nothing euill from him, nothing euil by him. He before wils all things, which he cauſeth to be, and maketh alſo that good which hee willeth to bee. Hee is maieſtie, hee is mercy, he is excellency, he is glory, he is power, he is principality, hee is grace and goodnes, life and happineſſe. All theſe, in, and from himſelfe, in all perfection, beyond imagination, without limitation, endleſſe. To him be praiſe perpetually. So be it.
Precepts.
FEare this God, beleeue him to bee, know him rightly, behold him inuiſibly, conceiue him without Idolatry. Remember euer his preſence, conſider his powerfull prouidence. Thou art of him, thou art in him, thou waſt made for him. Seeke his friendſhip, force of nothing in reſpect of his fauour. LoueLove him aboue all, hold on his ſide againſt all, and be ſubiect to him before all: reuerence thou his maieſtie, obey his commands awefully, in all actions ſeeke his glorie, and praiſe his name continually, that thou maieſt of him be bleſſed eternally.
Amen.
The Picture of the holy Trinity.
GOD, the true God, is but one in vnity, yet three in Trinity: One in ſubſtance without diuiſion, three in perſon by diſtinction, the Father, the Sonne, and the holy Ghoſt. In order, one afore and after an other: but eſſentially, all coequall, coeternall together. Al God, not three Gods, yet euer three perſons, neuer the ſame in propriety & maner of working Heere is admiration, but no demonſtration. This Catholik and Chriſtian verity is an innarrable myſtery.
Precepts.
BEleeue this, the word teacheth it; but corrupt reaſon is againſt it. Beware of curious ſearching, it is a matter vnſearchable. Stand not vponupon this to know how it may bee▪ ſubiect thy reaſon to faith in ſobriety. It is a godly ignorance, in that to be vnskilfull, which the Scripture concealeth. Hee that ſuffers herein his reaſon to wade farther than faith, may loſe his reaſon and beliefe, his Chriſtianitie for infidelity. Preſume not (mā) in this matter aboue that which is writtē. This is a deep myſtery, this doctrine of the Deity, the inſcrutable point in Diuinity. The Lord giuegive thee true wiſedome, reſolued faith, with reuerend feare.
Amen.
The Picture of the Father.
IN the vnity, the Father is the firſt in the Trinity. He is not begotten, but from euerlaſting begetteth the Son, of his whole ſubſtance. He made all things by the Sonne, through the holie Ghoſt. What he willed hee made good, and all of nothing by his word. This gracious father of his mere merciemercy, hath choſen many, without their merite. He calles his ere they come; & when they come, hee confirmes their faith. He knows them before they bee, and makes thē friends by grace of deadly foes by nature; of Sathans ſlaues, his faithfull Seruants; of Seruants, deare Sonnes, children adopted, yea kings, prieſts and Coheires with Chriſt. He careth for his children, whē he moſtcaſts thē down: He can allow them their godly will, but he permits them not to be wantō: when they do offend, hee will fatherly forewarn; if they repent, he will not puniſh. He is full of commiſeration, he doth ſpeedily pardon the Penitent, and withall ſheweth great gladneſſe to doe them good. He doth ſend them his ſpirit, to aſſure thē of peace, & freely promiſeth to beſtow on them grace, either to preuēt their fal, or to pardō their fault. Though we be neither worthy of beeing, nor breath, and deſerue nothing, yet he affoords vsus his bleſſing, and giueth needfully anything. Earthly Fathers are ſuch, as they be, for a ſeaſō, but this Heauenly Father is ſo for euerlaſting. He forbeareth with patience, and keepes his in eternal remembrāce. He hateth neuer, where hee loueth euer. Bountifull hee is in his bleſſings, largious in his liberality, full graciouſly fauourable, & without end in goodneſſe. Hee is ſtrict, but not extreame in iuſtice: Hee calleth man to make ſatisfaction vponupon paine of deſtruction: yet if man can make no payment, his mercy hath ordained meanes to diſcharge the debt. Ere ſinfull man do die, his ſinleſſe Son muſt ſuffer death. Wrath muſt not reward vsus, his great goodneſſe will needs hauehave vsus guiltleſſe. Is not his louelove enlarged towards vsus vnſpeakably? doth he not purchaſe vsus peace with the price of bloud? He giueth an obedient Sonne, for a rebellious Sinner: Wrathfull diſpleaſure muſt ſeaſe vponupon Gods naturall Sonne and an innocent, that pity may be ſhewed to adopted childrē, to eſcape torment. The euer worthily beloued muſt vndergoe paines of Hel, to make for the vnworthie of louelove, free paſſage to Heauen. See (Sinner) ſee the incredibleneſſe of ſo great grace: Stand (thou Sinner) amazed, at this wō dermēt of good. O matchleſſe mercy! Did euer a Father ſatisfie his wrath vponupon his deareſt ſon, to appeaſe his anger towards his deadly foe? did euer a louing Father put his darling to death, to preuent from his enimy the force of his wrath? We ſee it not, ſtories record it not, nature ſuffers it not. Yet this father killeth his beſt Sonne, to kiſſe his worſt creature; forſaketh the Gracious, for a time, to receiue the Graceleſſe to mercy, for euer.
Precepts.
OH therefore let vsus euer louelove and praiſe the Lord this heauenlie Father for his goodnes: Oh let vsus not ceaſe to declare the wonders which he doth for vsus the children of men!
Amen.