The paradise of the Christian soul/Chap. VII. The Worship and Honour of the most Holy Name of Jesus.
CHAPTER VII.
The Worship and Honour
OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS.
So wonderful are the praises, great the privileges of this honey-dropping Name, as to merit that every one who would be truly Christian should cling to it with the highest honour and love. It is in this Name that we pray for and obtain whatever we desire. If you ask the Father any thing in my Name, he will give it you.[1] But let us hear the praises of this honey-dropping Name from the Doctor whose words drop honey.
Jesus, he says, is honey to the mouth, melody to the ear, joy, nay, and medicine also, to the heart. Is any one of us sad? Let Jesus come into his heart, and leap up thence to his lips. Behold, at the rising light of this Name are all the clouds Scattered, and calmness returns to the sky.
If any one fall into sin, does he by despairing rush also into the snare of death? No; but if he invoke the name of Life, shall he not instantly breathe again and live?
Whose hardness of heart, or indolence, such as often exists, or dull or sluggish indifference, has ever withstood successfully this saving Name? Whose is that dried-up fountain of tears, which, at the invocation of Jesus, has not at once the more abundantly sprung forth?
Nothing restrains so much the sudden impulse of anger, allays the swelling of pride, heals the wound of envy, extinguishes the flame of lust, quenches the thirst of avarice, and banishes all that is unseemly in desire.
For when I name Jesus, I set before myself a man meek and humble of heart, kind, temperate, chaste, merciful, and, in short, conspicuous for all probity and holiness; and this is God Almighty himself, who both heals me by his example and strengthens me by his aid.
All this is conveyed to my ears when Jesus is sounded in them. As man, therefore, I take from him examples; as the Mighty One I receive from him aid: the former I use as aromatic drugs, and add to them pungency with the latter; and so I make a confection the like of which can be made by no physician.
Such is the electuary, O my soul! which thou hast stored up for thee in the vessel of this word: Jesus, Saviour. Saving, indeed, it is, and can never be found without efficacy for any complaint thou mayest have.
May it be ever in thy breast, and ever in thy hand; that all thy thoughts, actions, &c., may be directed by it to Jesus![2]
A Sweet and Easy Method
OF PRAYING ALWAYS, AND AT THE SAME TIME OF HONOURING THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS.
Because we are commanded by Christ, always to pray, and never to faint,[3] and by the Apostle, all whatsoever we do in word or in work, to do all things in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ;[4] you have here a compendious and easy method of praying always, and at the same time of honouring Jesus. Here, I say, you have burning aspirations selected out of the royal Prophet, by which the soul may not only be easily elevated to God in every action, but also be instructed in certain, as it were, rules and means that may be useful for the perfecting of our works.
HOLY ASPIRATION
In praise of the most holy Name of Jesus.
Save me, O Lord, by thy Name, and judge me in thy strength.
And for the glory of thy Name, O Lord, deliver us, and forgive us our sins, for thy Name’s sake.
Let them trust in thee who know thy Name, for thou hast not forsaken them that seek thee, O Lord.
I will freely sacrifice to thee, and will give praise to thy Name, O Lord, because it is good.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord, from henceforth, now, and for ever.
IN THE MORNING WHEN THOU RISEST.
Enlighten my eyes, that I never sleep in death, lest at any time my enemy say: I have prevailed against him.
I have slept, and have taken my rest; and I have risen up, because the Lord has protected me.
If I have remembered thee upon my bed, I will meditate on thee, O Lord, in the morning, because thou hast been my helper.
Oh, that my ways may this day be directed to keep thy justifications!
I am thy servant, give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies.
WHEN GOING FROM HOME.
I have been delighted in the way of thy testimonies, as in all riches.
Be thou to me a God, a protector, and a place of strength, that thou mayest make me safe.
Though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for thou art with me.
Shew, O Lord, thy ways to me, and teach me thy paths.
I have kept thy commandments and thy testimonies, because all my ways are in thy sight.
WHEN RETURNING HOME.
Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in my innocence, and I have put my trust the Lord, and shall not be weakened.
Be thou , to me a God, a protector, and a house of refuge, to save me.
If I said. My foot is moved, thy mercy, O Lord, assisted me.
Remove far from me the way of iniquity, and out of thy law have mercy upon me.
Thy good spirit shall lead me into the right land; for thy Name’s sake, O Lord, thou wilt quicken me in thy justice.
WHEN GOING INTO CHURCH.
Because of the multitude of thy mercy, I will come into thy House; I will worship towards thy holy Temple in thy fear.
Hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication, when I pray to thee, when I lift up my hands to thy holy Temple.
Thus will I bless thee all my life long, and in thy Name I will lift up my hands.
That I may see the delight of the Lord, and may visit his Temple.
As the hart pants after the fountains of water, so my soul pants after thee, O God.
BEFORE PRAYER.
Let my prayer come in before thee; incline thy ear to my petition.
Hear, O God, my prayer, and despise not my supplication; be attentive to me, and hear me.
As the eyes of the handmaid are on the hands of her mistress, so are our eyes to the Lord our God, until he has mercy on us.
Hear thou my voice, O Lord, according to thy mercy, and quicken me according to thy judgment.
Uphold me according to thy word, and I shall live; and let me not be confounded in my expectation.
AFTER PRAYER.
Let my request come in before thee; deliver thou me according to thy Word.
Hear me, O Lord, for thy mercy is kind: look upon me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
According to thy mercy remember thou me, for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord.
One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after, that I may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life.
My soul has relied on his Word, my soul has hoped in the Lord.
BEFORE READING THE HOURS.
I will sing praise to thee in the sight of the Angels; I will worship towards thy holy Temple, and I will give glory to thy Name.
I will extol thee, O God, my King, and I will bless thy Name for ever, yea, for ever and ever.
So will I sing a psalm to thy Name for ever and ever, that I may pay my vows from day to day.
That I may hear the voice of thy praise, and tell of all thy wondrous works.
According to thy Name, O God, so also is thy praise; thy right hand is full of justice.
AFTER THE HOURS.
Shout with joy to God, all the earth; sing a psalm to his Name, give glory to his praise.
Hear, O Lord, my voice, with which I have cried to thee; have mercy on me, and hear me.
Seven times a day I have given praise to thee, for the judgments of thy justice.
The free offerings of my mouth make acceptable, O Lord, and teach me thy judgments.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord from henceforth, now, and for ever.
BEFORE MASS.
I will go into thy House with burnt-offerings; I will pay thee my vows which my lips have uttered.
And I will go in to the altar of God, to God who gives joy to my youth.
Let thy Priests be clothed with justice, and let thy saints rejoice. I will freely sacrifice to thee, and will give praise, O God, to thy Name, because it is good.
Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.
AFTER MASS.
Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; save me in thy mercy, O Lord; let me not be confounded, for I have called upon thee.
I stretched forth my hands to thee; my soul is as earth without water to thee.
For thee my soul has thirsted; for thee my flesh, oh, how many ways I
That thy beloved may be delivered, save me with thy right hand, and hear me.
A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit; a contrite and a humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
WHEN PRAYING FOR OTHERS.
Enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Arise, O Lord, help us, and redeem us, for thy Name’s sake. '
Save thy people, O Lord, and bless thy inheritance, and govern them, and exalt them for ever.
That they may put their hope in God, and may not forget the works of God, and may seek his commandments.
Save thy servants, O God, that trust in thee.
AT READING OR STUDY.
Give me understanding, O Lord, and I will search thy law, and I will keep it with my whole heart.
Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord; to thee have I fled; teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God.
I am thy servant, give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies.
Make me to understand the way of thy justifications, and I shall be exercised in thy wondrous works.
Holy and terrible is his Name; the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
BEFORE GOING INTO COMPANY OR CONVERSATION.
Judge me, O Lord, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy; deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man.
And save me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth has spoken vanity, and their right hand is the right hand of iniquity.
Uphold thy servant to good, let not the proud calumniate me.
Behold, I have loved thy commandments, O Lord, quicken thou me in thy mercy.
Save me, O Lord, for there is now no saint, for truths are decayed from among the children of men.
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