Think Well On't or, Reflections on the great truths of the Christian religion for every day of the month

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THINK WELL ON’T:

or,

REFLECTIONS

Directions for the Use of the following Considerations.

Directions for the Use of the following Considerations.

Make choice of a proper time and place for recollection; and shut the door of thy heart as much as possible against the world, and its distracting cares and affections.

2. Place thyself in the presence of God, representing him to thyself by a lively faith, as filling heaven and earth with his incomprehensible Majesty; or as residing, with all his attributes, in the very centre of thy own soul. Prostrate thyself in spirit before him, to adore this sovereign Lord; make an offering of thy whole self unto him, and humbly beg pardon for all thy past treasons against him

3. Implore, with fervour and humility, his light and grace, that the great truths of the Gospel may make a due impression upon thy soul, that-thou mayest effectually learn to fear him, and to love him.

4. Read leisurely, and with serious attention, the chapter for the day. Give the soul time to digest what thou art reading; and pause more particularly on those points which affect thee most.

5. That thy reading may partake the more of the nature of mental prayer, strive to draw from thy considerations such affections as are suitable to the subject; by stirring up, for example, in, the soul, the fear and love of God, a confidence in his goodness, a sense of gratitude for his benefits, the horror of sin, and such like: open thy heart as much as thou canst to these affections, that so these great and necessary virtues may take the deeper root there.

6. Conclude thy considerations with holy resolutions of amendment of life, insisting in particular, on the failings to which thou art most subject, and firmly determining with thyself, to begin to put these resolutions into execution, on such occasions as may occur that very day,

7. Often reflect in the day time on the chief points of thy consideration; lest the enemy rob thy soul of this divine seed, by making thee quickly forget what thou hast been reading and considering.

Day 1: On the Necessity of Consideration

THINK WELL ON'T.

THE FIRST DAY.

On the Necessity of Consideration

Consider, first, those words of the prophet Jeremias: "With desolation is the whole earth laid desolate, because there is no one who thinks in his heart." Jer. 12. v. 11. And reflect how true it is, that the want of consideration on the great truths of Christianity, is the chief source of all our evils. Alas! the greater part of men, seldom or never think either of their first beginning, or last end: they neither consider who brought them into the world, nor for what; nor reflect on the eternity into which they are just about to step. Hence all their pursuits are earthly and temporal, as if they were only made for this life, or were to be always here. Death, judgment, heaven, and hell, make but little impression upon them, because they don't give them time to sink deep into their souls by the means of serious Consideration. They run on, with their eyes shut, to the precipice of a miserable eternity, and only, then begin to think, when they find themselves lodged in that place of woe, where "their worm shall never die, and fire shall never be quenched." Ah! my poor soul, take care that this be not thy case.

2. Consider, that we cannot be saved without knowing God, and loving him above all things. Now, we can neither know him, nor love him as we ought, without the help of Consideration. It is this which discovers to us the infinite perfections of this sovereign Being, his heavenly beauty, his eternal love for us, and all the benefits which he has bestowed upon us, his most undeserving and ungrateful creatures: all which, alas! make no impression on us without serious consideration. All things that are about us, the heavens, the earth, and every creature therein, cease not to preach God unto us, and invite us to love him. But without Consideration, we are deaf to this voice of the whole creation; we are like those that have eyes and see not, that have ears and hear not. Ah! the great and dreadful mischiefs that follow from the want of the true knowledge of God, which is the fruit of frequent Consideration! Is it not upon this account that the whole world is overrun with wickedness; and that hell opens wide its jaws, devouring without end or number, the unhappy children of Adam, because God is forgotten, because there is no knowledge of God upon earth?" Osee, iv. 1,

3. Consider, that, to save our souls, we must also know ourselves; we must know our misery and corruption, that we may be humble and diffident in ourselves; we must know our irregular inclinations and passions, that we may fight against them, and overcome them; we must study and watch the motions of our own hearts, that we may not be surprised by sin, and sleep in death. And how can this all-necessary knowledge of ourselves, this science of the saints, be acquired without the help of daily Consideration? Ah! how unhappy are they who know all things else, and are strangers to themselves! Let us then daily pray with St. Augustin, Noverim te, Noverim me; Lord, give me grace to know thee, Lord give me grace to know myself: and let us labour for these two most necessary sciences, by frequent consideration.

4. Consider, that in order to nourish in our souls the wholesome fear of God, which is the beginning of true wisdom, and spur ourselves on in the way of virtue, we must also seriously reflect on the enormity of sin, and the hatred God bears unto it; on the dreadful effect of sin in the soul, and on the multitude of our own sins in particular; on the vanity, misery and deceitfulness of the world; on the comfort and happiness that attend a virtuous life; on the shortness of time, and the dreadful length of a miserable eternity; on the certainty and uncertainty of death, and the sentiments we shall have when we come to die; on the small number of the elect, &c. Ah! Christians, let us not neglect this great means of salvation! It was the consideration of these truths that made so many saints; that has so often reclaimed even the most abandoned sinners. Oh! what a profound lethargy must that soul be in, which is not roused at the thunder of those dreadful truths, death, judgment, hell, eternity!

5. Consider the bitter but fruitless repentance of the damned, condemning their past folly, in having thought so little on those things on which they shall now think for all eternity. Senseless wretches as we were! we had once our time, when, by thinking upon this miserable eternity, we might have escaped it. Those endless joys of heaven were offered us at a cheap rate, when a little reflection on them might have put us in the way of securing to ourselves the everlasting possession of them. But alas! we would not think then; and now it is too late. O my soul, learn thou to be wise by their misfortune; reflect in this thy day on the things that appertain to thy eternal peace; think well on thy last end; meditate on the great truths of the gospel. Thou must either think of them now, or hereafter, when the thought of them will only serve to aggravate thy misery for all eternity.

Day 2: On the end of our creation.

THE SECOND DAY.

On the end of our creation.

CONSIDER, Christian soul, that so many years ago thou wast not yet come into the world, and that thy being was a mere nothing. The world had lasted near upon six thousand years, with innumerable transactions and revolutions in every nation; and where wast thou all that while? Alas! thou wast ingulphed in the deep abyss of nothing, infinitely beneath the condition of the meanest creature upon the earth; and what couldst thou do remaining there? Learn then to humble thyself, whatever advantages thou mayst enjoy of nature or grace, since of thyself thou art nothing; and all that thou hast above nothing has been given or lent thee by thy maker. Ah! poor wretch, what hast thou to be proud of? Or what canst thou call thy own, but nothing and sin, which is worse than nothing?

2. Consider, that the almighty hand of God, descending into that deep abyss of nothing, has drawn thee forth from thence, and given thee this being which thou now enjoyest, the most accomplished and perfect of any in this visible world, capable of knowing and loving God in this life, and designed for everlasting happiness

with him in the next. Admire and adore the bounty of thy God, who from all eternity has designed this being for thee, preferably to so many millions of others which he has left behind, that had as fair a title to a being as thou hadst. Look forward into that immense eternity for which thou hast been created, and thankfully acknowledge, that the love thy God bears thee has neither beginning nor end, but reaches from eternity to eternity.

3. Consider, that being created by Almighty God, and having received thy whole being from him, by the justest of all titles thou belongest to him; and art obliged to consecrate to his service all thy powers, faculties and senses; and art guilty of a most crying injustice, as often as thou abusest any part of thy being, by employing it in the pursuit of vanity and sin. Ah! my poor soul, how little have we hitherto thought of this? How small a part of our thoughts, words and deeds, has been referred to him who is our first beginning, and therefore ought to be the last end of all our actions? Be confounded at so great an abuse; repent and amend.

4. Consider, that God, who gave thee thy being, and who created all things else in this visible world for thy service, has created thee for himself alone. Not that he stood in need of thee, or can receive from thee any increase or addition to his happiness; but that he might give thee his grace in this life, and the endless joys of his kingdom in the next. Stand astonished, Christian soul, at the bounty of thy Creator, in making thee for so noble an end; and since thou wast made for God, be ashamed to content thyself with any thing less than God: learn then to contemn all that is earthly and temporal, as things beneath thee, and unworthy of thy affection. Lament thy past folly, and that of the far greater part of mankind, who spend their days in vain amusements, in restless cares about painted toys and mere trifles; and seldom or never think of that great end, for which alone they came into this world.

5. Consider that all the powers and faculties of thy soul, thy will, thy memory, thy understanding, and all the senses and parts of thy body, were all given by thy Creator, as so many means to attain to this end of thy creation, to be employed during thy short abode in this transitory life, in the service of thy God, and so to bring thee to the eternal enjoyment of him in the sweet repose of his blessed kingdom. Alas! my soul, have we not perverted all these gifts of our maker, in turning them all against the giver? Have mercy on us, O Lord; have mercy on us; pardon our past treasons, and give us grace now to begin to be wise for eternity.

Day 3: On the benefits of God.

THE THIRD DAY.

On the benefits of God.

CONSIDER, my soul, how many and how great are thy obligations to the bounty of thy God. He has thought of thee from all eternity:

he has loved thee from all eternity: all the blessings and favours which he has bestowed upon thee in time, he designed for thee from all eternity; they are all the consequences of his eternal love for thee. Is it possible that so great a God, the most high and the most holy, who dwells in eternity, should set his affections upon such a poor sinful worm of the earth? Is it possible, my soul, that thou shouldst have had a place from all eternity in the heart of thy God; and that his eternal mind should never have been one moment without thinking on thee! Ah! poor wretch, what return hast thou made for this ancient love? How late hast thou loved him, who has loved thee from all eternity? How little hast thou thought of him, who always thinks of thee?

2. Consider that thy God has not only given thee by creation thy soul and body, with all their powers and faculties, and, in a word, whatever thou hast, and whatever thou art; but also preserves them each moment by the benefit of conservation, which may be called a continual creation. For as nothing but his Almighty hand could give thee this being, so none but he could preserve thee from falling back into thy former nothing: which must infallibly have happened to thee, if thy God had but for one moment withdrawn his supporting hand. Poor sinner! why didst thou not think of this when, by thy repeated crimes, thou wast waging war with thy God; and he with incomparable love was night and day watching over thee? How didst thou dare presume so often and for so long a time to provoke him, who held the thread of thy life in his hand, and who every moment could have crushed thee into nothing, or send thee headlong into hell! Oh! blessed by all creatures be his mercy for ever, for having borne with thee so long.

3. Consider the inestimable benefit of our redemption, by which our loving God has rescued us from sin, and from hell, the just reward of sin. Alas! my poor soul, we must have been lost for ever, had not this sovereign Maker and Lord of heaven and earth loved us to that degree, as to deliver himself up to the most cruel and ignominious death of the cross for our redemption. Greater love than this no man hath, that one lay down his life for his friend: St. John xv. 13. But, O dear Lord, thou hast carried thy love much farther than this, in dying for those who by sin were thy declared enemies: in dying for such ungrateful wretches, as would scarce ever thank thee for thy love, and seldom or never so much as pity thy sufferings, or take any notice of them. Ah! Christians, what shall we most admire, to see this great monarch of heaven and earth, (in comparison with whom the whole creation is just nothing, or rather less than nothing,) expiring on a cross for such despicable worms as we are? Or to see those, who believe this amazing truth, take so little notice of this immense love, which will be a just subject of astonishment to men and angels for all eternity.

4. Consider how much we owe to God for having called us to the true faith, preferably to so many millions whom he has left behind in darkness and the shades of death. Alas! poor souls, how deplorable is their condition, void as they are of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, or of his only spouse, the true Catholic Church! How little do they think of God, or of the life to come! With how little apprehension or remorse do they run on from sin to sin, and die impenitent! Ah! the goodness of God, that has not suffered us to fall into such misery, though born and bred up amidst a people seduced by error! Or, if we have also had the misfortune, like our neighbours, to have gone astray from the womb, has by a more distinguishing mercy drawn us out of the dragon's jaws, and brought us to his fold, the Catholic Church! Blessed be our God for ever for all his mercies. Oh! what an inestimable happiness it is, to have, by the means of this grace of vocation, God himself for our father, and his holy Church for our mother! Consider, first, those words of the prophet Jeremias : "With desolation is the whole earth laid desolate, because there is no one who thinks in his heart." Jer. 12. v. 11. And reflect how true it is, that the want of Consideration on the great truths of Christianity, is the chief source of all our evils. Alas! the greater part of men, seldom or never think either of their first beginning, or last end: they neither consider who brought them into the world, nor for what; nor reflect on the eternity into which they are just about to step. Hence all their pursuits are earthly and temporal, as if they were only made for this life, or were to be always here, Death, judgment, heaven, and hell, make but little impression upon them, because they don't give them time to sink deep into their souls by the means of serious Consideration. They run on, with their eyes shut, to the precipice of a miserable eternity, and only, then begin to think, when they find themselves lodged in that place of woe, where "their worm shall never die, and their

To pass this transitory life in the happy society of the only spouse of God's only son! To be daily partakers of the sacraments, those heavenly conduits of divine grace! To live and die in the communion of the saints, &:c. Ah! blessed is the people who have the Lord for their God: Ps. cxliii. 15.

5. Consider, Christian soul, whoever thou art, the particular providence of God towards thee! With how many graces he has presented thee from thy tender years: from how many misfortunes he has preserved thee! Has he not borne with thee for a long time, whilst others have been cut off in their sins? Are there not millions now burning in hell for less sins than thou hast committed? Reflect on the advantages thou hast received above thousands: what conveniencies of life, what friends, what health &c; whilst so many, more worthy than thyself, have been abandoned to poverty and misery. Ah! admire the unspeakable goodness of thy God to thee: be astonished and confounded at thy past ingratitude: resolve from henceforth never to cease giving him thanks and blessing his name.

Day 4: On the dignity and obligations of a Christian.

THE FOURTH DAY.

On the dignity and obligations of a Christian.

CONSIDER that every Christian by nature, and inasmuch as he is a man, is the most perfect of all visible creatures, endowed with understanding and reason; composed of a body whose structure is admirable, and of a spiritual and immortal soul, created to the image and likeness of God, and capable of the eternal enjoyment of him; enriched with a free will, and advanced by his Creator to the dignity of lord and master of all other creatures; though

not designed to meet with his happiness in any of them, but in the Creator alone. Ah! my soul, hast thou hitherto been sensible of the dignity of thy nature? Hast thou not, too often, like brute beasts, looked no farther than this earth, that is, these present material and sensible things? Hast thou not too often made thyself a slave to creatures, which were only made to serve thee?

2. Consider that every Christian by grace, and inasmuch as he is a Christian, has been by the sacrament of baptism advanced to the participation of the divine nature, and made the adopted child of God, heir of God, and co-heir with Christ. He has been made the temple of the Most High, consecrated by the sprinkling of the blood of Christ, and the unction of his grace; and has received at the same time an unquestionable right and title to an everlasting kingdom. O Christian soul, didst thou ever yet entertain a serious thought of the greatness of this dignity to which thou hast been raised at thy baptism? How has thy life corresponded with this dignity? O child of heaven, how long wilt thou be a slave to the earth?

3. Consider, that as the dignity of a Christian is very great, so also the obligations that attend this dignity are greater than the generality of Christians imagine. These obligations, in short, comprised in our baptismal engagement. The first condition upon which we were by baptism adopted into God's family, was that of faith. The minister of Christ examined us at the font upon every article of our belief; and to each interrogation we answered, by the mouths of our godfathers and godmothers, credo, I do believe. What has thy faith been, O my soul? Has it been conformable to this thy profession? Has it been firm without wavering? Has it been generous, so as not to be ashamed of the doctrine of thy heavenly Master, or the maxims of his gospel? Has it shewed itself in thy actions? Or hast thou not been of the number of those whose life gives the lie to their faith? Of whom the apostle complains: Tit. i. 16. Who make profession of knowing God, but deny him by their works.

4. Consider, that at our baptism we made a solemn renunciation of the devil, and all his works, and all his pomps. Have we ever seriously reflected upon this renunciation? Or do we rightly understand the obligations of it? And yet our title to the inheritance of our heavenly Father is forfeited in the moment that we are false to this sacred engagement. Ah! my soul, if thou hast renounced satan, take care that in the practice of thy life, thou keep far from him: take care thou be no longer his slave by sin. Fly from all his works, the works of darkness: let him henceforth find nothing in thee that he may claim for his own, and by means of which he may also lay claim to thee. Despise his vain pomps, the false appearance of worldly grandeur, the prodigality, vanity, and sinful divertisements by which he allures poor worldlings into his nets: and if at any time thou art invited to take part in these fooleries, repeat to thyself those words of St. Augustine: "What hast thou to do with the pomps of the devil, which thou hast renounced?"

5. Consider, that at baptism each one of us, according to the ancient ceremony of the Catholic Church, was clothed with a white garment, which the minister of Christ gave us with these words: receive this white garment, which thou shalt carry without spot or stain before the judgment-seat of Christ. Happy souls, that comply with this obligation! What a comfort will it be to them in life, what a joy and satisfaction in death, to have kept this robe of innocence undefiled! But, O baptismal innocence, where shall we find thee in this unhappy age? O blindness and stupidity of the children of Adam, that part so easily with such an inestimable treasure! Alas! my poor soul, has it not been thy misfortune? Oh! make haste to wash away, with penitential tears, those dreadful stains of sin, which otherwise must be the eternal fuel of hell's merciless flames.

Day 5: On the vanity of the world.

THE FIFTH DAY.

On the Vanity of the world.

CONSIDER these words of the wisest of men: Eccles. i. 2. Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity: and reflect how truly vain are all those things which deluded worldlings seek with so much eagerness; honours, riches and worldly pleasures are all but painted bubbles, which look at a distance as if they were something, but have nothing of real substance in them; and, instead of a solid content and joy, bring nothing with them but a trifling satisfaction for a moment, followed with cares, uneasiness, apprehensions and remorse. Ah! bubbles indeed, which their admirers no sooner offer to lay hold of, but they dissolve into air, and leave their hands empty! Oh! how justly were all worldly enjoyments by the royal prophet likened to a dream! They have slept out their short sleep, and when they awake they find nothing in their hands of all those things which, in their dream, they seemed to possess. O ye sons of men, how long will ye be in love with vanity, and run after lies? Psalm iv. 3.

2. Consider that saying of St. Augustine, L. i. Confes. C. 1. Thou hast made us, O Lord, for thyself; and our hearts cannot rest till they rest in thee: and reflect, that our great Creator has given us a noble soul, made to his own image, and like him spiritual and immortal; which therefore can never find its happiness in earthly and fading things. No, my soul, thou hast an understanding and a will capable of contemplating the sovereign beauty and sovereign truth, and of enjoying the one supreme infinite good; and whatever is less than He, is not worthy of thee. Ah! resolve then no longer to tire thyself, and waste away thy spirits in running like a child after these butterflies; but since thou canst not be without seeking for happiness, seek it in God's name, where it is to be found, that is, in the way of virtue and devotion; and not in the by-paths which lead to endless misery.

3. Consider the shortness of all worldly enjoyments. Man's days are very short: the longest life is less than one moment, if compared with eternity. A thousand years, in the sight of God, that is, in very truth, are but as yesterday that is past and gone: Psalm lxxxix. 4. Alas! does not daily experience shew us, that we are here to-day, and gone to-morrow, and no sooner out of sight, but out of mind too? For as soon as we are in the grave, those that we leave behind think no more of us. All flesh is grass, says the Prophet Isaiah, chap. xl. 6. and all the glory of it but like that of the flower of the field. And what is that, but flourishing in the morning, and fading in the evening? Oh! how truly is our life likened by St. James, chap. iv. to a vapour; a thin smoke, which is dispersed by the first puff of wind, and we see no more of it? How justly is it compared by Solomon, Wisdom, chap. v. to a shadow, or to the passing of a bird upon the wing, or an arrow from the bow, which leaves no mark behind it? Ah! how vain it is to set our hearts upon what we must leave so soon!

4. Consider, what is now become of all those great ones of this world, those mighty monarchs, those gallant generals, those wise statesmen, those celebrated beauties &c; who made such a figure a hundred years ago? Alas! they are all long since dead and gone; and now few or none ever think of them, or scarce know there ever were any such persons; just so will it be with us a few years hence. Ah! worldlings, give ear for one moment to those who are gone before you, who, from their silent monuments, where the remainder of their dust lies mingled with the common earth, call upon you in the words of the wise man: Eccles. xxxviii. 23. Remember what we are come to; it will soon be the same with you; it was our turn yesterday; it will be yours to-day. We once had our parts to act upon the stage of the world; we once were young, strong, and healthy, as you are now, and thought as little as you of what we are now come to: like you, we set our hearts upon those trifles and toys, that we could but enjoy for a moment; and for these we neglected eternity. Senseless wretches as we were! we chose rather to be slaves to a cheating world, to inconstant, perishable creatures, which abandoned us so soon, than to serve that Lord and Master to whom nothing dies; and who neither in life nor death ever forsakes those who forsake not him. Christians, let us take this warning; let the miscarriages of so many others teach us to be wise; let us not set our hearts on this miserable world; nor look upon any thing as truly great, but that which is eternal.

Day 6: On the happiness of serving God.

THE SIXTH DAY.

On the happiness of serving God.

CONSIDER these words of the Prophet Isaiah: say to the just man, it is well: Isai. iii. 10. and reflect on the manifold advantages which this short world well comprises and ensures to the just, both for time and eternity. Honour, riches and pleasure, are the things on which the world sets the greatest value. But they are not to be found where the world seeks them, but only in the service of God. Can any honour upon earth be compared to that of being a servant, a friend, an adopted son of the great king of heaven? Such a soul is far more dignified, in the eyes of God and his angels than the greatest emperor in the universe. She is a child of the eternal Father, a spouse of the eternal son, a temple of the eternal spirit; heiress of the kingdom of heaven, and sister and companion to the angels. Oh! my soul, let such honours as these be the only object of thy ambition.

2. Consider that the truest riches are to be found in the service of God; not, indeed, always those worldly possessions, which are attended with so many cares and fears; which are daily exposed to so many accidents, and which are not capable of satisfying the heart: but the inestimable treasure of the grace of God, which is the seed of everlasting glory; the gifts of the Holy Ghost; the love of God; in a word, God himself; whom the whole world cannot take from the soul, unless she be so miserably blind as to drive him away by mortal sin. Add to this the fatherly providence of God over the just; that his eyes are always upon them to take care of their welfare; that his angels always encamp about them to guard them by night and by day: Ps. xxxiii. v. 8. that, as he formerly said to Abraham, Gen. xv. he himself is their protector, and their reward exceeding great. He is their friend, and the best of friends; the shepherd of their souls, who leads them out to his admirable pastures, to the fountains of living water. His tenderness towards them is beyond that of a father, nay, beyond that of the tenderest mother: Isaiah xlix. 15, 16. In short, God is all things to those that fear him. Oh! my soul, seek no other treasure than him. Fear nothing but the losing of him If thou hast him, nothing can make thee miserable; but without him, nothing can make thee happy.