On the End of Man.

CONSIDERATION ON THE END OF MAN, AND ASSISTANCES TOWARDS PRAYING ARIGHT.

Consideration of our

sary.

Various

ends.

As the sailor before all things determines on the haven to which he would sail, and the traveller on the end to which he would go; so nothing is more necessary, in this our journey of mortality, end necesthan constantly to consider the termination of this our voyage and travel, that end for which we were born; in order that all other things which are to be done in this life may be directed towards that end. For otherwise we oftentimes either depart from that way and end, or at all events walk along circuitous paths, and entangle ourselves in ways full of difficulty and toil. O my God, how great is this wandering in all the life of man! where is the man who, since he first comes to the use of reason, is earnestly engaged in pressing forward from banishment and the place of exile to his home, and in directing thither all his thoughts and pursuits, his words and actions? Each one for the most part sets to himself some ends, the most vain, of honour or of pleasure; and they know not, alas! wretched men, whither they direct, or ought to direct, their course: and when they are invited to receive on a stated day great honours in the heavenly Jerusalem, wandering about and trifling, they go far from Jerusalem to Jericho, from the city of the everlasting hills to that which is situate below. Certainly no subject is a greater occasion for sorrow, none more worthy God and of tears than this, that man created for an end so great, yet should live so unmindful of himself and of God, that the least of his cares and anxieties should be for the attainment of that end for which he was born. Be not thou, therefore, carried away by that common error of the multitude, whosoever thou art who readest this book: I entreat thee that thou wouldst consider thine end, that thou wouldst turn thine eyes first of all to the earth, from which thou hast thine origin; and then lift them up to Heaven, to that kingdom for the possession of which thou wast made of God and created; lift up thine eyes, I say, full of tears to God, as a stranger and a sojourner in a desert land, a place of dismal, and dread, and vast solitude.

Our end is

Heaven.

Beyond all things, in all thy Considerations, and Prayers, and MeditaIn all medi- tions, remember that God is most intimately present with thee; take heed, therefore, that thou speak not to Him without seriousness, but compose thy thoughts with reverence and devotion, as knowing that He is not far from thee.

tations consider God as

present.

God.

Preparatory Prayer.

O most mighty God, before Whom all things are as though they were not, now at least, I beseech Thee, let this the prayer of Thine exiled and prodigal son be directed to Thee, and let his whole labour be as incense in Thy sight to the glory of Thy great Name. For Thou hast created heaven and earth for me, and in long-suffering dost preserve them, when otherwise they would perish, that at length, O my Maker and only Good, I may know and love Thee. And how could it be that I loved Thee not, when Thou hast loved me from all eternity? Hast not Thou, O most loving Father, heaped innumerable benefits on me Thy prodigal son, and I on Thee, alas! have heaped but injuries? Thou hast given Thyself and Thy Son unto me, that He might redeem me in His own blood. O King of kings, and Lord of lords, Who Presence of art everywhere present, and considerest in every place the evil and the good, and tryest the heart and the reins; behold, with living faith, and great confidence, (for Thou hast said, Whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be done to you) I draw near to the throne of Thy glory; I come as a criminal to his Judge, as a poor and prodigal son to his Father, and with all the love I can to Thee Whom my soul loveth; that I may be pleasing to Thee alone, and may amend my life, especially this sin of ; that I may offer to Thee the sacrifice of praise whole heart, and with all affection due to Thee from every creature, which hath been, or is, or shall, or can be, even if Thou of Thy mighty power shouldst create numberless worlds; as united unto Thee in the love and merits of Christ Jesus. O most Holy Trinity, I do long to praise Thee, in the stead of all who know Thee not and blaspheme Thee, whether they be in earth or in hell. I bless Thee, therefore, together with Thy saints, and I give Thee thanks for all Thy gifts to our human nature in Christ Jesus, to all saints and to me, and most chiefly for Thy love towards me Thy servant. I restore myself again to Thee as to the Fount of all, and commit myself wholly to Thee, that Thou mayst dispose of me in time and in eternity; my soul and all its powers I dedicate unto Thee, O most Holy Trinity, that by them, with Thy Church and every creature of Thine, with my whole heart I may praise

Act of hope.

Amendment of life.

Thanks

giving.

with

my

Thee. Grant me grace, I pray Thee, humbly, attentively, fervently to do this, bound as I am by so many benefits to Thee my God. For without Thee, what am I? what can I do? or what can I desire out of Thee? I have nothing in Heaven but Thee, and beside Thee there is nothing upon earth that I desire; but in Thee I am and live and die. And never, oh never may I for one moment go back from Thee, nor be Thou ever removed afar from me!

Meditation.

ON THE END FOR WHICH MAN WAS CREATED.

PREPARATION I. IMAGINE thyself sitting as in a vast desert, and beholding all men from the foundation of the world, as seen in the frontispiece of this book, coming forth upon the stage of this life, from the womb of the great mother of all, and passing on through the gate of death, as through a slight veil or curtain, into the most opposite kingdoms, into a most happy, or most miserable eternity. Behold God and His Saints exhorting thee to learn caution by the danger of others.

II. DEVOUTLY ask of God that He would vouchsafe to shew the way wherein thou shouldst walk, and to grant thee that, from beholding the unhappy end of so many miserable men, thou mayest thyself be able to obtain a happier life and termination.

FIRST POINT.

Origin and end of man.

CONSIDER the abyss of nothingness which existed before the world was made, where and what this scene of things then was, the earth, kings, and princes, all men, and whatsoever is contained within the compass of this world, and where will these things, where wilt thou thyself be, after a short time, for all eternity? Pause and consider. The fashion of this world passeth away, all things are departing as doth a shadow! Do thou then attentively observe the vanity of all things, as thou plainly seest it in that abyss of nothingness;-that thou thyself and all things else were once nothing; that thou couldest not have been, and when brought into being couldest not have done any thing, nor known any thing, if thou hadst not received it from thy Creator; and then humble thyself under His mighty hand, nor ever glory in aught but Him. For who maketh thee to differ from another? What hast thou which thou didst not receive? but if thou hast received it, why dost thou glory as though thou hadst not received it?