IV. 10.

civ.

106 The Spiritual Homilies

given over, and they are All in Tears that are
near Friends and Relations, and any thing Dear :
So too does God himfelf and the Holy Angels
Mourn over thofe Souls that are not Nourifti'd
with the Heavenly Food of the Spirit, and have
not Liv'd above Corruption. But thefe Things,
I tell you once more, are not mere Empty
Sounds : But the Work of the Spiritual Life,
the Work of Truth AccomplinYd in the Soul
that is Faithful and Worthy of it.

If therefore thou art Become the Throne of
God, and the Heavenly Charioteer hath Seated
Himfelf upon thee, and thy Soul is become all
over a Spiritual Eye and Light throughout > and
if thou haft been Nourifh'd with that Food of
the Spirit, and haft been made to Drink of the
Living Water, and if thou art Cloth'd with the
Garments of the Light not to be Exprefs'd $ if
thy inward Man is EftabliuYd in the Experience
and Full Aflurance of all thefe Matters, Lo, then
thou Liveft indeed, even the Life which is truly
Eternal : thy Soul being from this very Moment
at Reft with the Lord 3 Lo, thou art in actual
PofTeftion, and haft Received thefe Things from
the Lord in Truth, that thou mighteft live the
True Life. But if thou art confcious to thy
felf of Nothing of all this, Lament, and Grieve,
and Mourn, becaufe as yet thou haft not had any
Share of the Spiritual and Eternal Riches, nei-
ther haft at all Received the True Life.

Be in Pain therefore upon the account of thy
Poverty, Intreating the Lord Night and Day,
k Luke becaufe thou art Sunk into the Calamitous k Po-
xiv. 21. verty of Sin. But wou'd to God that any one
xv. 17. had a quick Senfe of this Pain by reafon of this
Rev. in. tjiejr want J And that we might not live on in
'Tcor.iv. Security as if we were * Full! Becaufe he that
8. "is Troubled in good Earneft, and Seeketh and

Prayeth

a/Macarius the Egyptian. 107

Prayeth to the Lord without ceafing, mall foon
Obtain Redemption and the Heavenly Riches,
as the Lord hath faid in the Parable he put forth
with relation to the Unjuft Judge and the Widow,
How m much more Jhall God Avenge them that m Luke
Cry to Him Night and Day ? I tell you of a 'Truth xviii- 7» 8.
that He will Avenge them Speedily. To whom
be Glory and Power for Ages ! Amen.

Homily II.

Concerning the Kingdom of T)arknefs, that
is j Sin 5 and that God Alone is Able to
take away Sin from us, and to 'Deliver
us out of the Bondage of the Wicked
Ruler.

HE* Kingdom of Darknefs, that wick- a Compare
ed a Ruler, having led Man Captive from John xv*-
the Beginning,hath So Befet and Cloath'd %'££%
the Soul with the Power of Darknefs, 2;
as if \ it were a Man. And let them make him
a King (faith he) and Put on him the Apparel
Royals and let him wear the Royal Robes from
Head to Foot. Thus did the wicked Ruler cloath
the Soul, even the Entire Subflance of it with

* Chrift in Scripture is call'd the Refurreciion, and the Life, and
as St. Cyprian think s3 the Kingdom of God. Accordingly to-
wards the End of this Homily He is call'd by our Author the
Kingdom of Light and the Heavenly Image, and in oppofition to
this is the Devil here call'd The Kingdom of Darknefs and the
Wicked Ruler

f The Manu/cript reads *'$ Hi £ ifgpsfr.

Sin,

lo8 The Spiritual Homilies

Sin, and Polluted it all over, and he brought it
an entire Captive into his own Kingdom -y * He
left no one Member of it free from himfelf^
neither the Thoughts, nor the Mind, nor the
Body, but Put her on the Purple f Robe of
Darknefs. For as in the Body No Single Part
or Member Suffers, but the whole throughout
is liable to Suffer in common : So too has the
Entire Soul fuffer'd under the Impreffions

* i John v. of Evil and of Sin. The b wicked One hath
!l& therefore cloath'd the whole Soul, which is the

main Part or Branch of the Humane Nature',

with his own Malice, that is, with Sin, and

thus was the Body made liable to Sufferings and

Corruption.

eEphef. For when the Apoftle fays, c Put off the Old \

iv. 2i, 22. ][fafy he means the Entire Perfon, having Eyes an-

§ * U1* iwering to Eyes,Head to Head,Ears to Ears,Hands

to Hands, and Feet to Feet. For the wicked

One hath Polluted the whole Man, Soul and

Body, and Rent them afunder, and hath put on'

him the Old Man which is Polluted, Unclean,

* Rom. at Enmity with God, and not d Subject to God's
viii. 7. Law, even Sin it felf, that for the, future he

might not fee as he wou'd himfelf, but Look
eMatth.v. with an e Evil Eye, and Hear with an f Evil Ear,
*8. have his § Feet Swift to do Mifchief, and h Hands

2 Pet. ii.

14. * The Manufcript omits •£.

f Jer. vi. -}- As Chriftians are made Kings by Chrift, Rev. i. 6. So are

10. Sinners when arriv'd to Perfection and Maturity, made Kings

sProv. i. according to our Author by the Devil. Purple is a Badge of

16' Royalty. And the Confummate Chrifuan is call'd Hom. xxv.

Rom. iii. the' Royal Purple, as the Sinner here is clad with the Purple Robe

15*. of Darknefs. The Cbrifiian perhaps is call'd the Royal Purple

h Pf.xxvi.by this Author to fhew that his Privilege as King arifes from

10. the Blood of Chrifl cleaning him from all Sin. As on the other

hand the Sinner's Purple Robe may allude .to and be owing to

the Blond of the Saints Spilt by the Devils in his Agents, who

was a Murderer from the Beginning. Compare John iv. 44.

with Revelation xvii. 4, 6. 1 John iii. ijv If. i. 18.

that

a/Macarius the Egyptian. 109

that work Iniquity, and an J Heart deviling 5Pf.MiU«
wicked Things.

Let us therefore Befeech God, that He wou'd
Divert us of the Old Man, becaufe He alone is
Able to take away Sin from us, they being
Stronger than Us, that have taken us Captive
and Detain us Prifoners in their own Kingdom.
But He hath Promis'd to Refcue us from this
* Sore Bondage. For as when the Sun Shines
and the Wind Blows, the Sun indeed hath a
diftind Body and Nature of his own, and the
Wind likewxife another Body and Nature pecu-
liar to it felf} and yet no Man is able to make
an actual Separation of the Wind from the Sun,
unlefs k God alone fhall make the Wind to Ceafe, kMark i>:
that it Blow no longer: Even fo is Sin Blended S9> 4f«
with the Soul, and yet Both retain diftinftly
what is peculiar to their Nature. It is impofii-
ble therefore to Separate the Soul from Sin, un-
lefs God make a Calm, and put a Stop to this
Evil Wind, which dwelleth in the Soul and
Body.

And again, as a Man that Sees a Bird Flying
and has a Mind alio to Fly himfelf, when not
having Wings it is impofrible he fhou'd Fly :
Juil fo is it in a Man's Power to be Willing indeed
that he were Pure, and without Blame, and with-
out Spot, and that there were No Malice in
his Nature -, but that he cou'd be Always with
God : But he has not wherewithal to Com-
pafs it. He is willing it is true to Fly up into
the Divine Air, and into the Liberty of the
Holy Spirit: But unlefs he can Receive Wings
for his Purpofe, he can never do it.

cfore Befeech God that he wou'd
gs of the l DovC) his Holy Spi- ■ p£ \Vm $%

UP- IK fhp

* The Manufcript here inferts iucxfc

rit,

no The Spiritual Homilies

rit, that fo we may Fly to Him and be at Reft,
and that He wou'd Separate the Evil # Wind
and caufe it to Ceafe from us both in Soul and
Body, the very Sin that dwelleth in the Mem-
bers of our Soul and Body. For He only is Able to
m John i. bring it to pafs. For behold^ faith m the Text,
20. the Lamb of God that taketh away the Sin of the

World. He alone it is that hath Shew'd this
Mercy to that part of Mankind that Believe in
Him, that they are Redeemed from Sin. And
n P£ xi# j t for thofe that n wait for Him, and Hope in
^3*. Him, and Seek after Him, does He work this
unfpeakable Salvation.

As in a dark and cloudy Night a Boifterous

Wind Blows, and Stirs, and Searches, and Shakes

every Plant and Seed : So Man alfo, when once

he is fain under the Power of the Night of

°Ephef.ii. Darknefs, the ° Devil, and is in the midft of the

2. Night and Darknefs, is Ruffled, and Shock'd,

vi. 1 2. and Tofs'd about by the dreadful Wind of Sin that

Blows. It moreover Searches his whole Nature,

his Soul, his Thoughts, and Mind. And all the

Members of his Body Share in the Commotion,

and Nothing is left free from it, neither is there

the leaft Member either of Soul or Body, but

* Rom. what Suffers from the p Sin that dwelleth in us.

vii. i -], 1 8. There is alfo anlwering in Oppofition to this,

the Day of Light and the Divine Wind of the

, John xx. Holy Spirit, that 1 Breaths upon Souls and Re-

22. frefhes them that are in the Day of the Divine

iii. 8. Light ; and pierces thro' the whole Subflance

of the Soul and its Thoughts, -f and withal

* Angels in general are call'd Wmds, Pf. civ. 4. and the Evil
Wind here may be one of the Spirits of Vengeance, Eccl. xxxix.
zS. Such as Job complains of Ch. xxx. if, 21. and Suffer'd
from at fir ft, Ch. i. 9.

f The printed Copies here add fe} ttxtuv t^v ' - - , whiclr
Sounding like Tautology I have with the Manufcript left it
out.

I gently

of M a c a r i u s the Egyptian, 1 1 1

gently Fans and Refrefhes all the Members of
the Body with Divine and InexprefTible Reft.
This the Apoftle * plainly laid down in thofe
r Words, But we are not Children of the Nighty iThef.v.
nor of Darknefs : For ye are All the Children off*
Light and Children of the Day. And as there in
the State of Error the Old Man flung off the
Perfect Man, and wears the f Raiment of the f P£ cix.
Kingdom of Darknefs, the Garment of Blaf- J7» i8-.
phemy, of Infidelity, of Irreverence, of Vain
Glory, of Pride, of Covetoufnefs, of Concupis-
cence, and likewife all the other ragged Appur-
tenances of the Kingdom of Darknefs, that are
Impure and DenTd. So again here as many as
have put off the Old and Earthly Man, and as
many as Jefus hath Uncloth'd of all the Attire
of the Kingdom of Darknefs, they have put on
the New and Heavenly Man Jefus Chrift with
every Feature and Member anfwering again to
the Natural, Eyes to Eyes, Ears to Ears, Head
to Head, that the whole Perfon may be Pure,
-f Bearing t the Heavenly Image. « i Cor.'xv:

The Lord hath alfo put on them the Raiment 49-
of the Kingdom of Light furpaffing all Defcrjp-
tion, the Garments of Faith, of Hope, of Love,
of Joy, of Peace, ofGoodnefs, of Kindnefs, and
all the other Robes withal of Light and Life,
the Divine, Living Robes of that Reft which
is Unfpeakable ; that as God Himfelf is Love,
and Joy, and Peace, and Kindnefs, andGoodnefs,
fo may the New Man be thro' Grace.

And as the Kingdom of Darknefs and Sin are
Hid in the Soul until the Day of the Reiurrec-
tion, at which time the very Bodies alfo of Sin-
ners mall be Cover'd over with the Darknefs

* The Manufcript here inferts faxZq.
f The Manufcript omits the ^ which is in printed Copies.

which

112 The Spiritual HomIles

which lies Hid at prefent in the Soul : Thus al-
fo doth the Kingdom of Light and the Heaven-
ly Image Jefus Chrifl myftically Enlighten the
Soul at prefent, and Reign in the Soul of the
Saints ; but being Hid from the Eyes of Men,
Chrift is truly Seen only by the Eyes of the Soul,
till the Day of the Refurrection, at which time
» If. iv. j-. the Body it felf alfo ihall beuCover'd and Glori-
fied by the Light of the Lord, which is at this
prefent within Man in his Soul, that the Body
alfo may Reign together with the Soul, which
even now receives the Kingdom of Chrifl^ is
actually RefrenYd andEnlightned with the Light,
Eternal. Glory be to his Mercies and Tender
Compaffion, for that He hath Pity on his Ser-
vants, and Enlightneth, and Delivereth them out
of the Kingdom of Darknefs, and vouchfafes his
own Light to them, and his own Kingdom : To
whom be Glory and Power, for Ages ! Amen.

Homily III.

That Brethren ought to Live with one ano-
ther in Sincerity y in Simplicity, and Love,
and to Struggle and Fight with their in*
ward Thoughts.

to Converfe together in

Rethren ought

much Love, whether they Pray, or Read
the Scriptures, or do any kind of Work,
that they may have a Foundation of mu-
tual Love for each other > and thus their Incli-
nations cannot fail of being Acceptable, and both

thofe

p/Macarius the Egyptian. 113

thofe that Pray, and thofe that Read, and they
alio that Work may All by living thus together
in Sincerity and Simplicity be mutually Benefi-
cial to each other. For why elfe is it a written, a Matth.
Thy Will be Done as in Heaven, even fo in Earthy 10.
but that as in Heaven the Angels meet together
and live in perfect Agreement of Mind, in Peace
and Love, and there is no fuch Thing among
them as Pride or Envy > but they Converfe with
one another in Love and Sincerity : So fhou'd
they alfo that are Brethren cany themfelves to each
other? It happens that there are Thirty it may
be that live under the fame Roof, for whom it
is impoflible to continue a whole Day and Night
together, but fome of them indeed give them-
felves to Prayer for Six Hours, and they have then
an Inclination to Read -y but Others are very ready
to Serve, Others again are Bulled in downright
Work. The Brethren therefore ought, what-
ever it is they are about, to carry it to each other
with Love and Chearfulnefs. Let both him that
Works fay thus concerning him that Prays, The
Treafure that my Brother gets, being Common, £
alfo have a Share in. And let him that gives
himfelf to Prayer fay thus of him that Reads,
Whatever Benefit my brother gains by Readings
it tends to my Advantage. And again let him
too that is at Work fay alfo This, Whatever the
Service is that I am doing, it is for the common
Good. For as the Members of the Body being
b many are One Body, and are mutually aflifting b Rom.
to each other, and yet every one difcharges itsXIJ;4>r-.,
proper Function, but the Eye fees for the whole I^lf*
Body, and the Hand Works for all the Mem-
bers, and the Foot Walks about and Supports
them all, and another yet Suffers with them All :
Thus let the Brethren alfo be together. And
let neither him that Prays c judge him thatcR°m.

I Works, xiv-4> I0<

io.

114 The Spiritual Homilies

Works, for not Praying, nor he that Works find
fault with him that Prays with this Complaint
in his Mouth, viz. He lies by, and I do ail the
Work. Neither let him that ferves at all
cenfiire another ; but let every one, whatever
it is he does, do it to the Glory of God. Let
him that Reads receive him that Prays with
Affection and Complacency, with this Reflection
in his Mind, viz. tie Remembers me in his
Prayers. And let him that Prays conclude thus
of him that Works, viz. What he Does, is
for the common Benefit of the Society. And
Cor. i. thus may this great d Agreement in what they
fpeak, and great Peace, and Harmony keep them
faft in the Bond of Peace among themfelves, and
make them live together in Sincerity and Simpli-
city and the Favour of God. But the Princi-
e L}?ke pal Thing of all is that of * continual e Prayer.
*™j* J: But ftill there is one Thing yet farther requifitey
I7 e ' ' that a Man fhou'd have a f Treafure in his Soul,
f If.xxxiii. and the § Life, which is the Lord, in his Mind >
6- that whether he Works, or Prays, or Reads, he

Matth. may yet have that for a PofTeffion which h pafTeth

Xlll. 44- J J 1 * 1 * 1 TT 1 f * *

xii< JJ not away, which is the Holy Spirit.
sjohni.4. But fome there are that roundly Aver, that
b Prov. the Lord requires nothing more of Men than the
viii. 18. pruits which are Vifible, but that God himfelf
Rectifies the Things which lie ConceaPd.

But in Fact it is not fo. But as a Man is
Guarded in his outward Perfon, fo ought he al-
fo in his Thoughts, to maintain a direct Fight
and War. For the Lord requires it of thee that
thou fhouldft be Angry with thy felf, and Com-
bat with thy own Mind, never Confent or be
Reeoncil'd to Evil Thoughts. What is ftill be-
hind, viz. to Pluck up Sin by the Roots and

* The Manufcript reads -sr^a-Ket^l't^a-ic, omitting the word
xcttaj.f which is found in the Printed Copies, after ar^'j.

the

of Mac arius the Egyptian* 11^

the Evil that is Prefent with us, this is no way
to be done with Succefs but by the [ Divine ! p£ K- i,fj
Power. It neither is permitted, nor yet is it J0*
poffible for Man to Root out Sin by his own )ohnxv'?'
Power. To Wreftle againll it and make Refi-
nance, to Give and Receive Blows is in your
own Power : But to Root Sin out is the Prero-
gative of God. For were you able to do This,
what Need was there of the Lord's Coming?
For as it is impracticable that the Eye fliou'd See
without Light, or to Speak without a Tongue,
or to Hear without Ears, or to Walk without
Feet, or to Work without Hana\s : So neither
is it poflible for any # one to be k Sav'd or to En- fc Matth. L
ter * into the Kingdom of Heaven without Jeius. «-

But if you fay to me, I five all outward Ap- Johnx17-
pearances, I neither Fornicate, nor Commit Adul- Heb. vi.
tery, neither am I Covetous, my Character in 20.
general for Uprightnefs is Clear : You are much
in the wrong as to this particular, for imagining
you have done All that is Requir'd. There are
not barely three Kinds of Sins, that a Man ought
to Guard againft, but the Number is Infinite.
Arrogance, Irreverence, Infidelity, Hatred, Envy,
Deceit and Hypocrify, whence are they? And
are you not Oblig'd to Fight and Struggle with
thefe in your Secret Thoughts?

Suppofe a Thief fhou'd be actually in your
Houle, the Confequence of that is, that he creates
you Trouble, and will not give you one Mo-
ment's Eafe 'y but withal you too begin to make
fome Refinance and Return Blow for Blow:
And the fame Obligation lies upon the Soul to
Reilfl, to Strike again, and to Repel Force with
Force. And what follows upon this? Why by
Fighting thus again, and undergoing the Pain
and Trouble of it, thy Will begins at laft to get

* The Manufcript for Ivwcttra* reads tfVy*3 «fo

I i the