in this present life be thou unto me Jesus in death be thou unto me Jesus in the last judgement be thou unto me Jesus in the life which is everlasting I know thou wilt sweet Jesus for as thou art immutable in thy essâ—nce so also thou art immutable in thy mercy Thou wilt not change thy name Lord Jesus for my sake alone who am a miserable sinner Yea rather thou wilt become my Saviour For thou dost not cast out him that cometh unto thee Thou that hast given me a will to come unto thee grant also unto me that coming I may be received For thy words are truth and life Let the propagation of originall sinne within me condemne me yet thou art my Jesus Let my conception in sinne condemne me yet thou art my Jesus Let my forming in sinne and under the curse condemne me yet thou art my Saviour Let the corruption of my nativitie condemne me yet thou art my Saviour Let the sinnes of my youth condemne me yet thou art my Jesus Let the course of my whole life defiled with most grievous sinnes condemne me yet thou art still my Jesus Let deâ—th the just punishment of my many and grievous sinnes and offences condemne me yet thou art my Saviour Let the severe sentence in the last judgement condemne me yet thou art my Jesus In me is sinne reprobation damnation In thy name is righteousnesse election salvation I was baptized in thy name I beleeve in thy name In thy name will I die In thy name will I rise again In thy name will I appeare in judgement In this name are all good things prepared for us and shut up as it were a treasure So much are they diminished as my diffidence is increased which that it may be farre from me I beseech thee by this thy name good Jesus that for my sinne and unbelief I be not damned whom by thy precious merit and saving name thou wouldst have saved Meditat. V. An exercise of faith from the love of Christ in the agonie of death The grace of Jesus Christ to me Is th' onely true felicity SEe Lord Jesus how injurious I am to thy passion My heart is vexed and my soul is very sorrowfull because I have no good works of mine own because I have no merits when as thy passion is my action thy works my merits I am injurious to thy passion when as I seek for the supplement of my works whereas it is in it self all-sufficient If I should finde righteousnesse in my self thy righteousnesse would profit me nothing or else I should not so much desire it If I seek for the works of the law by the law shall I be condemned But I know that now I am no longer under the law but under grace I have lived wickedly I have sinned holy Father against heaven and before thee I am not worthy to be called thy sonne yet thou wilt not refuse to call me thy servant Deny me not I pray thee the fruit of thy passion let not thy bloud wax barren but let it bring forth fruit and deliver my soul. My sinnes have alwayes lived in my flesh but I intreat thee let them at length die with me Hitherto the flesh hath alwayes ruled over me but let the Spirit at length triumph Let the outward man be subject to corruption and worms that the inward man may be glorified Hitherto I have alwayes given way to the suggestions of the devil but grant hereafter I beseech thee that I may trample them under my feet Satan is readie at hand to accuse me but he hath nothing in me The sight of death affrighteth me but death is the end of my sinnes and the beginning of an holy life Now at length shall I be able perfectly to please thee O my God Now at length shall I be confirmed in goodnesse and vertue Satan terrifieth me with my sinnes but let him accuse him which took upon him my infirmities whom the Lord hath smitten for my sinnes The debt which I ow is great indeed and I cannot pay any part thereof but my trust is in the riches and bounty of him that hath undertaken the payment Let him discharge me who hath made himself suretie for me Let him pay for me who took my debt upon himself I have sinned O Lord and my sinnes are many and grievous But this horrible sinne I will not commit to make thee a lyar who by thy words works and oath dost testifie that satisfaction is made for my iniquities I am not afraid by reason of my sinnes for thou art my righteousnesse I am not afraid by reason of my ignorance for thou art my wisdome I am not afraid of death for thou art my life I am not afraid of my errours for thou art my truth I am not afraid of corruption for thou art my resurrection I am not afraid of the sorrows of death for thou art my joy I am not afraid of the severitie of judgement for thou art my righteousnesse Distill upon my withered soul the dew of thy grace and quickening consolation My spirit waxeth dry but it shall shortly rejoyce in thee My flesh doth languish and is withered but it shall shortly bud forth I am subject to corruption but thou shalt deliver me from corruption for thou hast delivered me from all evils Thou hast created me How then can the workmanship of thy hands be dissolved Thou hast redeemed me from all mine enemies How then can death have rule over me Thou hast bestowed thy body and bloud and all that thou hadst yea even thy self for my salvation How then shall death withhold them which thou hast redeemed with so precious a ransome Thou Lord Jesus art righteousnesse it self So then my sins cannot prevail against thee Thou art life it self and the resurrection So then my death cannot prevail against thee Thou art God Therefore Satan cannot prevail against thee Thou hast given me the earnest of thy Spirit in that do I glorie in that do I triumph and am fully perswaded without doubting that I shall be admitted to the marriage of the Lambe Most deare bridegroom thou art my wedding-garment which I put on in baptisme thou shalt cover my nakednesse neither will I sow the supplement of my righteousnesse to this most precious and beautifull garment What is mans righteousnes but the cloth of a menstruous woman How then can I dare to patch that most precious garment of Christs righteousnesse with this abominable ragge In this garment will I appear before thy face in judgement when thou shalt judge the world in righteousnesse and equitie In this garment will I appear before thy face in the kingdome of heaven This garment shall cover my confusion and reproch that no man remember it any more for ever There shall I appear glorious and holy in thy sight And this my flesh this my body shall be arayed with beatificall glory which glory shall be
grant unto me of his goodnesse that I may beleeve his word and promises I will use the help and support of prayer to strengthen my faith and I will not suffer the Lord to depart out of the chamber of my heart untill I have obtained salvation By the power of the Lord I shall be able to be preserved unto salvation The power of the Lord doth lift me up and comfort me but mine own infirmitie doth cast me down and make me sorrowfull But the power of the Lord shall be perfected in my weaknesse He shall strengthen me from whom cometh all the strength of my faith The grace of God doth lift me up but mine unworthinesse doth cast me down But if there were any worthinesse in me then it were no grace but a reward If of works then certainly not of grace For grace is not any way grace unlesse it be every way gratis Therefore have I no respect unto my works That which is amisse he will amend that which is wanting he will make up that which he will not impute against me shall be as if it were not Therefore is my salvation onely from God and therefore sure Meditat. XLIII That we must think daily upon our death Think every day to be thy last And when night comes thy life is past O Faithfull soul look foâ— death every houre Because it waits for thee every houre In the morning when thou risest O man think that it is thy last day And in the evening when thou goest to bed think that it is thy last night upon earth Whatsoever thou doest whatsoever thou goest about look about thee and consider with thy self first whether thou wouldest do such things or no if thou shouldest die that houre and so go to Gods judgement What! Dost thou think that death doth not approch because thou thinkest not of it or dost thou think that it draweth nearer because thou thinkest upon it whether thou thinkest upon it or no whether thou speakest of it or no it hangs alwayes over thy head Life was lent unto thee not given as a free-hold Upon this condition thou didst enter in that thou shouldest go out Naked thou camest and naked thou must go This life is a pilgrimage when thou hast travelled a good while then thou must return home again Thou art but a farmer and tenant in this world and not a perpetuall lord Every houre think with thy self whither thou hastenest every moment In this we are deceived in that we think we die then when we breathe out our last Every day every houre every moment we die Whatsoever is added unto our life is taken from it and as it increaseth it also decreaseth we fall not into death suddenly but walk into it step after step This life of ours is a way and every day we must ridde some of it Life and death seem to be most distant but they are as neare as neare can be For one passeth away and the other cometh on As it is with those that travel by sea they oftentimes come to the haven and yet they neither feel nor so much as think whither they are carried So likewise it is with us whatsoever we do whether we eat drink or sleep we draw nearer alwayes to our death Many have passed away their life even in the time whiles they were seeking after things belonging to the sustentation of this life No man entertains death joyfully unlesse he hath long before prepared himself for it In this life die daily unto thy self that so in death thou mayst live unto God Before thou diest let thy sinnes die in thee In thy life time let the old Adam die in thee So at thy death Christ shall live in thee In thy life time let the outward man daily decay that at thy death the inward man may be renewed in thee Death translateth thee from time to eternitie for as the tree falls so it lies How carefully then ought we to think upon the houre of death Time passeth away but the infinite space of eternitie remains behinde In time therefore make thy self ready for eternitie What we shall be for ever whether blessed or miserable it shall be decreed at the houre of death In that one moment is eternall felicitie either enjoyed or lost Wherefore O faithfull soul how solicitous and carefull oughtest thou to be in preparing thy self for that houre Thou wilt easily contemn all worldly things if thou considerest with thy self that thou must die Consider that thine eyes shall be darkened in death and thou wilt easily turn away thine eyes from beholding vanitie Consider that thy eares shall wax deaf at thy death and it shall be easie for thee to stop thy eares against impious and filthy speeches Consider that thy tongue shall be tied at thy death and thou wilt have more regard unto thy words Set before thine eyes the cold sweat and anxietie of those that are ready to die and thou wilt easily contemn all worldly delights Look upon the nakednesse of them that depart out of this world and povertie in this life will not seem grievous unto thee Consider the trembling of the whole bodie at the point of death and thou wilt easily contemn the splendour of the world Consider the mourning of the soul being compelled to go out of the house of the bodie and thou wilt easily beware of the guilt of all sinne Consider the corruption that followeth after death and thou wilt easily bring down thy proud flesh Consider how naked thou art left at thy death being forsaken of all the creatures and thou wilt easily turn away thy love from them and turn it towards the Creatour Consider how narrowly death looks to thee that thou carrie away nothing with thee at thy death and thou wilt easily contemn all the riches of the world He that in this life dieth daily through his sinnes doth passe from death temporall unto the punishments of death eternall No man is translated unto everlasting life but he that begins here to live in Christ. That in death therefore thou mayest live be ingrafted into Christ by faith Let death be alwayes in thy thoughts because it is to be expected alwayes We carry death alwayes about us because we alwayes carry sinne about us and the wages of sinne is death But if thou wouldest escape the bitternesse of death keep the word of Christ. Faith doth conjoyn and unite us unto Christ Therefore they which are in Christ die not For Christ is their life He that is joyned unto God by faith is one spirit with him And therefore the faithfull man dieth not for ever because God is his life The people of Israel passed through the Red sea unto the promised land but Pharaoh and his host were drowned So the death of the godly is unto them the beginning of true life and the gate of paradise but the death of the wicked is not
requires that I should live chastly modestly and temperately But how often hath the love of drunkennesse and lust made my soul captive to sinne How often do fires of lust flame within me although my outward members be restrained He that looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath already committed adultery with her in his heart saith the Text How often therefore in the sight of God do we commit adultery The inordinate and immoderate use of meat drink and wedlock often steals upon us and makes us appear guilty before thee if thou wouldest enter into judgement with us Thy holy Writ requireth that in bargaining I deceive not my neighbour in any sort but that I rather further and procure his good that I traduce not his faults but rather cover them with the cloke of charitie and that I do not censure him rashly and unadvisedly But how often do I seek mine own profit by injustice How often do I spend my judgement rashly upon my neighbour Thy holy will requires that my spirit minde and soul be free from concupiscence But how often doth my flesh solicite me to sinne and contaminateth my spirit with wicked concupiscences As a fountain doth abound with continuall bubbling of water So doth my heart alwayes swell with evil concupiscence For these and all other my sinnes and defects I offer unto thee most holy Father the most perfect obedience of thy Sonne who loved all men with perfect love and in whose mouth was found no guiâ—◠〈◊〉 whose words and deeds no aberrations no corruption in nature To this propitiation I flee with true faith and by faith I â—uck out of his wounds as much as is sufficient to justifie me and save me Have mercy on me my God and my Father Amen PRAYER VI. He sheweth that we often partake in other mens sinnes HOly God and just Judge Thou â—ast committed unto me not onely the care of mine own soul but also the care of my neighbours But how often doth my neighbour through my negligence suffer great losse of godlinesse How often do I neglect freely and boldly to chide him when he sinnes How often do I being hindred either by favour or fear reprove him for his sinnes more slightly then I ought In pouring out prayers for his salvation I am too remisse in reprehending his sinnes I am too-too timorous in furthering his salvation I am too slothfull insomuch that thou mayest justly require at my hands the bloud of my neighbour that perisheth If there were in me a perfect and sincere love of my neighbour surely from thence would proceed freedome in reproving of sinne If the fire of sincere charitie did burn in my heart surely it would break forth more clearly into the spirituall incense of prayers to be made for the salvation of my neighâ—ours For a man to pray for himself it is a duty of necessity But to pray for the salvation of his neighbour it is a deed of charity As often therefore as I neglect to pray for the salvation of my neighbour so often I condemne my self for the breach of the commandment of the love of my neighbour My neighbour dies the death of the body and sorrow fills all with lamentation and mourning when as yet the death of the body brings no hurt to a godly man but rather gives him a passage into a celestiall countrey My neighbour dies the death of the soul and behold I am nothing troubled at it I see him die and grieve not at all when as yet sinne is the true death of the soul and brings with it the losse of the inestimable grace of God and eternall life My neighbour delinquisheth against the king who can onely kill the body and behold I seek by all means his reconciliation but he sinneth against the King of all kings that can cast both body and soul into hell-fire and yet I behold it in security and consider not that this offence is an infinite evil My neighbour stumbles at a stone and I runne presently to save him from a fall or otherwise to raise him up if he be fallen He stumbles at the corner-stone of our salvation and behold I securely passe by it and labour noâ— with care and diligence to lift him up again Mine own sinnes are grievous enough And yet I have not been afraid to participate in other mens sinnes Be propitious O God unto me great sinner and overburdened To thy mercy I flee in Christ and through Christ promised unto me I come unto this Life being dead in sinne I come unto this Way having gone astray in the path of sinne I come unto this Salvation being by reason of my sinne guilty of damnation Quicken me guide me and save me thou which art my Life my Way and my Salvation for ever and ever Amen PRAYER VII He sheweth that we are many wayes convinced of sinne HOly God and just Judge If I look up to heaven I think with my self that I have many wayes offended thee my God and Father I have sinned against heaven and before thee I am not worthy to be called thy sonne If I look down upon the earth I think with my self how I have abused thy creatures by my sinnes I have infinitely abused not onely the darknesse of the night but also the light of the day to work works of darknesse If I look upon the examples of sinners upon whom thou in thy just judgement hast inflicted punishment I finde that the weight of my sins will counterpoise theirs If I look upon the examples of the saints I finde that I come farre short of them in my holy service of thee If I think upon the angel my keeper I finde that often I put him to flight by my sinnes If I think of the devils I finde that I have often given place to their suggestions If I weigh with my self the rigour of thy law I finde that my life is many wayes irregular If I look upon my self I finde that the very cogitations of my heart do accuse me before thy judgement If I think upon the houre of death to come I finde that it is the just reward of my sinnes and unlesse thou of thy meere mercie for Christ his sake shalt receive me the gate and entrance into everlasting death If I think upon the judgement to come I finde my deserts such that thou mayst justly call me to the most exact account and punish my sinnes according to the strict severitie of thy law If I think upon hell I finde that I have deserved by my sinnes the most just punishment there If I think upon eternall life I finde that I have by my sinnes justly fallen away from all hope of attainment All things therefore convince me of my sinnes Onely thou O my God be not thou extreme against me To Christ thy beloved Sonne my onely Mediatour I betake my self By him I most firmly beleeve I shall obtain thy
that the raging madnesse and desire to persecute which they have in their mindes may hereafter cease Let them know O Lord and acknowledge that it is not onely a vain thing but also very dangerous to kick against the pricks Why do they imitate the furie of wolves when as they know that the bloud of Christ the immaculate Lambe was poured 〈◊〉 for us Why do they thirst to shed that innocent bloud for which they know that the bloud of the very Sonne of God was poured â—orth upon the altar of the crosse Convert them O Lord that they may be converted unto thee from their heart and so obtain the fruit of their conversion in this life and in that which is to come Amen PRAYER VII He supplicates for those that are afflicted and in miserie ALmighty eternall and mercifull God which art the Saviour of all men especially of the faithfull and by thy Apostle hast commanded us to make prayers for all men I intreat thee for all those that are afflicted and in miserie that thou wouldest support them by the consolation of thy grace and succour them by the aid of thy power Indue with power and strength from above those that labour and sweat in the most grievous agonie of Satans tentations Make them partakers of thy victory O Christ thou which didst most powerfully overcome Satan Let the cooler of thy heavenly comfort raise up those whose bones are become dry with the fire of grief and sorrow Bear up all those that are ready to fall and raise up those that are already fallen Be mercifull unto those that are sick and diseased and grant that the disease of the body may be unto them the medicine of the soul and the adversities of the flesh the remedies of the spirit Let them know that diseases are the handmaids of sinne and the forerunners of death Give unto them the strength of faith and patience O thou which art the most true Physician both of soul and body Restore them again unto their former health if it be for the everlasting salvation of their souls Protect all those that are great with childe and those that be in labour Thou art he that dost deliver children out of the straits of their mothers wombe and dost propagate mankinde by thy blessing be present with those that be in labour O thou lover and giver of life that they be not oppressed with an immoderate weight of sorrows Nourish those that are orphans and destitute of all help and succour Defend the widows that are subject to the reproches of all men thou which hast called thy self the Father of the fatherlesse and the judge and defender of the widows Let the tears of the widows which flow down from their cheeks break through the clouds and rest not untill they come before thy throne Heare those that be in danger by sea which cry to thee and send up their sighs unto thee seeing before their eyes their neighbours suffer shipwrack Restore libertie unto those that are captive that with a thankfull heart they may sing of thy bounty Confirm those that suffer persecution for righteousnesse sake that they may get the conquest over all their enemies and purchase the everlasting crown of martyrdome Be present with all those that be in danger and calamitie and grant that they may possesse their souls in true patience and denying their own wills take up their crosse Let them follow him under the crosse on whom they beleeve that he died for us upon the crosse And especially I commend unto thee most gracious Father those which are about the gates of death and are between time and eternitie and wrestle with all their strength with that last enemie Confirm them O thou most potent Conquerour of death Deliver them O most glorious Captain and Authour of life that they be not overwhelmed in the waves of tentations but by thy conduct they may be brought unto the haven of everlasting rest Have mercy upon all men thou which art the Creatour of all Have mercy upon all men thou which art the Redeemer of all To thee be praise and glory for ever and ever Amen FINIS The summe of Gerards prayers redâ—ced into a form of morning prayer for the use of an English familie The foure capitall words signifie the foure parts of Gerards prayers and the Arithmeticall figures point 〈◊〉 every prayer of those parts HOly God and just Judge Thine eyes are more purâ— then the sunne and cannot behold any thing that is unclear The Cherubims and Seraphims cover their faces before thy glorious majestie The heavens of heavens are not clean in thy sight How theâ— shall earth sinfull earth dust and ashes appear before thee We presume not O Lord to come before thâ— tribunal to plead for our righteousnesse for all our righteousnesse is aâ— filthie rags But we prostrate our selves with all humilitie of body and soul at thy mercy-seat to make CONFESSION of our sinnes Heare Lord and have mercy We confesse that 1 We sinned in the loyns of our first parents we were conceived in sinne we were shapen in iniquitie 2 In our childhood originall sinne brought forth actuall and actuall sinnes have increased in us ever since as our dayes have increased Who can reckon up the sinnes of his youth Who can tell how oft he offendeth The just man sinneth seven times a day But 3 We have sinned seventy times seven times every day â— 5 All thy holy laws and commandments we have broken in thought word and deed 6 We have been partakers of other mens sinnes 7 We are many wayes convinced of our sinnes We are convinced 8 By the contrition of heart and the testimonie of our conscience 9 By the greatnesse of thy mercy and thy benefits bestowed upon us 10 By the severitie of thy â—ustice declared in the death and passion of thy Sonne our Saviour Iesus Christ. Thou art an holy God and nearest not sinners Thou art a just Judge and thy justice must be satisfied We are sinners and the wages of sinne is death Thy justice must be satisfied or else we cannot escape death We have nothing of our own to give for the ransome of our souls Therefore we offer unto thee holy Father that which is not ours but thy Sonnes 1 For our originall sinne we offer unto thee just Judge his originall righteousnesse who is righteousneâ— it self for our conception in sinne we offer unto thee his most sacred conception who was conceived by the holy Ghost for our birth in sinne we offer unto thee his most pure nativitie who was born of a pure virgin 2 For the offences of our youth we offer unto thee his most perfect innocencie in whose mouth was found no guile 3 For our daily slips and falls we offer unto thee his most perfect obedience who made it his meat and drink to do thy will in all things 4 5 For our often breach of thy commandments we offer
sinners grievously afflicted on the crosse God dies upon the crosse God suffers God poureth forth his bloud Judge the greatnesse of the danger by the greatnesse of the prize Judge the danger of the disease by the value of the remedie Surely those wounds were great indeed which could no otherwise be cured but by the wounds of the living and quickening flesh Surely that disease must needs be great which could not be cured but by the death of the physician Consider thou faithfull soul Gods most fierce anger against us After the fall of our first father the eternall onely begotten and well beloved sonne of God becomes suter unto his Father for us And yet his anger was not turned away from us He by whom the world was made interceded for us became our advocate and took the cause of us miserable sinners upon himself And yet his anger was not turned away from us Our Saviour took upon him our flesh that by the glorie of the divinitie communicated unto the humanitie he might expiate and purge our sinfull flesh that by the saving vertue of his most perfect righteousnesse communicated unto our nature he might wipe away that venemous qualitie of sinne which cleaveth to our nature and in stead thereof conferre grace upon us And yet his anger was not turned away from us Our sinnes and the punishment of our sins he taketh upon himself His body is bound whipped wounded pierced crucified buried His bloud like a dew distilled most copiously down all his members at his passion His most holy soul is made sorrowfull above measure yea even unto death He feels the pains of hell The eternall Sonne of God crieth out that he is forsaken of God So great was his bloudie sweat so great was his anguish that he which comforteth the angels stood in need of an angel to comfort him He dies who is the authour and giver of life to every living thing If this comes to paâ—se in the green tree what shall become of the dry wood If this comes to passe in the just and holy what shall become of sinners How shall God punish us for our own sinnes who is so wrathfully displeased with his own sonne for other mens sinnes If his sonne is so grievously punished shall we his servants think to escape alwayes unpunished What shall the reprobate suffer if such be the sufferings of his best beloved If Christ departed not without a scourge and yet came into the world without sinne what scourges do they deserve which come into the world in sin live in sin and depart in sinne The servant rejoyceth whilest the sonne is in grievous dolour and pain and that for his sinne The servant heapeth up the anger of God whilest the sonne doth thus labour to pacifie and appease his Fathers wrath Oh the infinite anger of God! oh his unspeakable furie oh the inestimable rigour of his justice He which is thus enraged against his onely and best beloved sonne the partaker of his own essence and that not for any sinne of his own but because he intercedeth for the servant what will he do to the servant that persevereth and continueth still securely in his sinnes Let the servant fear and tremble and be sorrowfull for his own merits when the sonne is thus punished and yet not for his own Let the servant fear who ceaseth not to sinne when the sonne of God is thus afflicted for sinne Let the creature fear which hath crucified his Creatour Let the servant fear which hath slain his Lord. Let the sinner and the ungodly fear which hath thus tormented the pious and the godly Beloved let us heare his cries let us behold his teares he cries from the crosse Behold O man what I suffer for thee I cry unto thee because I die for thee behold the punishments that I suffer behold the nails with which I am pierced and see if any grief be like unto my grief Although my outward grief be thus great yet my inward grief is more grievous because I finde thee so unthankfull Have mercy have mercy on us thou whose propertie it is to have mercy and convert our stony hearts unto thee Meditat. III. Of the fruit of true and serious repentance Our Saviour cry'd Repent repent As John that 'fore our Saviour went THe foundation and beginning of holy life is saving repentance For where there is true repentance there is remission of sinnes And where there is remission of sinnes there is the grace of God And where there is the grace of God there is Christ And where Christ is there is his merit And where there is Christs merit there is satisfaction for sinnes And where there is satisfaction for sinnes there is righteousnes And where there is righteousnesse there is joy and tranquillitie of conscience And where there is tranquillitie of conscience there is the holy Spirit And where the holy Spirit is there is the sacred and holy Trinitie And where the holy Trinitie is there is eternall life Therefore where there is true repentance there is eternall life Where there is not true repentance neither is there remission of sinnes nor the grace of God nor Christ nor his merit nor satisfaction for sinnes nor righteousnesse nor tranquillitie of conscience nor the holy Spirit nor the holy Trinitie nor eternall life Why therefore do we deferre our repentance and why do we procrastinate it from day to day To morrow is not ours and to repent truely is not in our power And in the day of judgement we must give an account not onely for to morrow but also for the present day To morrow is not so certain as the destruction of the impenitent is certain God hath promised remission to the repentant but he hath not promised to morrow There is no place for Christ his satisfaction where there is not true contrition in the heart Our sinnes do separate betwixt God and us so saith the Prophet Esay And by repentance we return again unto him Acknowledge and bewail thy sinnes so shalt thou finde God in Christ appeased towards thee I blot out thine iniquities saith the Lord Therefore our sinnes are enrolled in the court of heaven Turn away thy face from my sinnes begs the Prophet Therefore our iniquities are set in the sight of God Be converted unto us O God prayeth Moses Therefore our sinnes do separate us from God Our sinnes have answered us complaineth Esay Therefore they accuse us before Gods judgement-seat Cleanse me from my sinnes prayeth David Therefore our sinnes appeare most foul and filthie in the sight of God Cure my soul for I have sinned against thee prayeth the same David Therefore sinne is the disease of the soul. Whosoever shall sinne against me I will blot him out of my book saith the Lord Therefore for our sinnes are we blotted out of the book of life Cast me not away from thy face prayeth the Psalmist
he hath already punished in his Sonne The truth of the Lord endureth for ever As I live saith the Lord I will not the death of a sinner but rather that he turn from his wickednesse and live Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will refresh you saith our Saviour Shall we make God a liar and labour by the weight of our sinnes to bear down his mercy To make God a liar and to denie his mercy is a greater sinne then all the sinnes of the whole world and therefore Judas sinned more in despairing then the Jews in crucifying Christ. But rather where sinne hath abounded there also grace hath abounded much more and overweigheth our sinnes by infinite degrees For sinnes are but the sinnes of men but grace is the grace of God Sinnes are temporall but the grace of our Lord is from eternitie to eternitie Satisfaction hath been made for our sinnes and the grace of God is repaired by the death of Christ and is established for ever unto which I betake my self as a devout suppliant Meditat. XI Of the satisfaction made for our sinnes The death of Christ is life to thee If thou a Christian truly be COme unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will refresh you they are the words of our Saviour It is true indeed Lord Jesus I am burdened overmuch and I sigh under the weight of my sinne But I make haste unto thee the fountain of living water Come unto me Lord Jesus that so I may come unto thee I come unto thee Lord because thou first camest unto me I come unto thee Lord Jesus and with anxietie I desire thee for I finde no goodnesse in my self But if I found any goodnesse in my self I should not with such anxietie desire thee True Lord Jesus I labour and am heavy laden neither can I compare my self with any of the saints or penitent sinners unlesse it be with the thief upon the crosse Lord have mercy upon me thou which hadst mercy on the thief upon the crosse I have lived wickedly I have lived iâ— sinne but I desire to die the death of the holy and righteous But holinesse and righteousnes are farre from my heart Therefore to thy holinesse and righteousnesse do I flie Let thy soul Lord Jesus succour me let it succour me seeing that thou layedst it down for a price of redemption for many Let thy most sacred body which was afflicted with rods spittings buffetings and thorns and fastened to the crosse for me let that succour me Let thy sacred and holy bloud O Jesus let that bloud succour me which ran out of thy side at thy death and passion which cleanseth us from all our sinnes Let thy most holy divinitie succour me thy divinitie which upheld thy humanitie at thy passion which also resting and not shewing it self the great mysterie of our redemption was finished which added infinite strength and weight unto thy passion Insomuch that God by his own bloud hath purchased unto himself me miserable man Let thy wounds succour me in which all my cure consisteth Let thy most holy passion succour me Let thy merit succour me as being my last refuge and a remedie against my sinnes For in that thou sufferedst thou sufferedst for me Therefore in that thou meritedst thou meritedst for me and for mine unworthinesse Therefore God commendeth his love towards us and proveth it by a testimonie surpassing the understanding of all men yea of the angels themselves in that Christ died for us when as yet we were sinners and the enemies of God Who can choose but admire this Who can choose but be astonished at it The Sonne of God intreated by no man yea hated of all men in great mercy intreated for us who were sinners and his enemies Neither intreated he onely but also satisfied Gods justice for us by his most poore nativitie by his most holy life by his most bitter passion by his most cruel death O Lord Jesus Thou that intreatedst for me sufferedst for me and diedst for me before I could desire thy merit and passion or move thee by my prayers to pay the ransome for me how canst thou cast me away from thy face How canst thou denie unto me the fruit of thy most holy passion when as now out of the deeps I cry unto thee and beg the fruit of thy merit with tears and sighs I was an enemie by nature when thou diedst for me but I am made by grace thy friend thy brother and thy sonne Thou heardst an enemie before he prayed unto thee and how canst thou despise thy friend which comes unto thee with prayers and tears Thou wilt not cast out him that cometh unto thee because thy word is truth Thou hast spoken unto us in spirit and truth and we have received from thee the words oâ— eternall life Attend and raise up thy self O my soul Before we were sinners by nature but now we are just by grace Before we were enemies but now we are friends and kinsfolks Before our help was in the death of Christ but now it is in Christ his life Before we were dead in sinnes but now we are quickned in Christ Oh the exceeding love of God wherewith he loved us Oh the superabundant riches of his grace whereby he hath in heaven provided a place for us Oh the tender mercie of our God whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us But if the death of Christ hath brought unto us righteousnesse and life what shall his life do If our Saviour dying paid the price unto his Father what shall he do now being alive and interceding for us For Christ liveth and dwells in our heart if the remembrance of his most holy merit live and flourish in it Draw me Lord Jesus that I may possesse in the truth of the thing that which here I expect by the firmnesse of hope Let thy servant I pray thee be with thee and let him behold the glorie which the Father hath given to thee and let him inhabit the mansion which thou hast prepared in thy Fathers house Blessed are they that dwell in thy house O Lord They shall praise thee for ever and ever Meditat. XII Of the nature and properties of true faith Faith is not faith or if it be Faith is but dead wants charity O Thou beloved soul consider the power of faith and give thanks unto God who is the onely giver thereof It is faith alone that doth in such manner ingraft us into Christ that as vine-branches do draw their sap from the vine so we also from him do draw life righteousnesse and salvation Adam fell from the grace of God and lost the divine image by his incredulitie But we are again received to grace and the image of God begins to be renewed in us by faith By faith Christ becomes
life and the words of eternall life The cup of benediction is the communion of the bloud of Christ and the bread which we break is the participation of the Lords bodie We cleave unto the Lord Therefore we are one Spirit with him We are united unto him not onely by the communion of nature but also by the participation of his bodie and bloud I do not therefore say with the Jews How can this man give us his flesh to eat But rather crie out How doth the Lord distribute unto us his flesh to eat and his bloud to drink I do not prie into his power but do admire his benevolence I do not examine his majestie but I reverence his goodnesse His presence I beleeve the manner of his presence I know not I am certainly assured that it is most neare and inward We are members of his body flesh of his flesh and bone of his bones He dwelleth in us and we in him My soul desireth to dive by cogitation into this most profound abysse but cannot finde with what words to set forth and declare that goodnesse and therefore is altogether amazed at the sight of the greatnesse of the grace of the Lord and the glory of the blessed Meditat. XIX Of the mysterie of the Lords Supper Be wise Do not to farre enquire 'To that thou rather shouldst admire IN the Lords holy Supper there is set before us a mysterie to be trembled at and to be adored of us by all means There is the treasure and treasurie of divine grace We know that there was a tree of life planted by God whose fruit might have conserved our first parents and their posteritie by the fertilitie and felicitie thereof There was also placed in paradise a tree of the knowledge of good and evil But even that which was appointed by God for their salvation and life and for an exercise of their obedience became unto them an occasion of death and condemnation whilest they poore wretches obeyed the devils allurements and their own desires Here also is prepared a tree of life that sweet wood whose leaves are for medicine and whose fruit for meat The sweetnesse thereof doth take away the bitternesse of all evils yea of death it self Unto the Israelites was given Manna that they might be fed with heavenly food Here is that true Manna which came down from heaven to give life unto the world This is the heavenly bread and the angelicall meat of which whosoever eateth shall never hunger The Israelites had the ark of the covenant and the mercy-seat where they might heare the Lord speak face to face Here is the true ark of the covenant that is the most sacred bodie of Christ wherein the treasures of all science knowledge and wisdome are laid up Here is the true mercy-seat in the bloud of Christ which makes us to be beloved in the beloved neither doth he speak unto us onely by his inward consolation but also dwelleth in us neither doth he feed us onely with heavenly Manna but with himself Here is the gate of heaven indeed here is the angels ladder For can heaven be greater then he that is in heaven Can heaven be more nearly united unto God then the flesh and humane nature which he hath assumed Heaven indeed is the throne of God But in the humane nature assumed by Christ resteth the holy Spirit God is in heaven But in Christ dwelleth the fulnesse of the divinitie Certainly this is a great and infallible pledge of our salvation He had no greater thing to give unto us For what is greater then himself What is so closely united unto him as his humane nature which is assumed into the fellowship of the most blessed Trinitie and made the treasurie of all heavenly goods What is so nearly conjoyned unto him as flesh and bloud And yet with these most heavenly nourishments doth he refresh us miserable worms and make us partakers of his nature And shall not he then make us partakers of his grace Who ever hated his own flesh How can the Lord then despise us whom he feedeth with his own flesh and bloud How can he forget those unto whom he hath given the pledge of his own bodie How can Satan be able to overcome us seeing that we are fed with heavenly food that we faint not in battel We are deare unto Christ because he bought us at so deare a price We are deare unto Christ because he feeds us with such deare and precious things We are deare unto Christ because we are his flesh and members This is the onely Panacea of all spirituall diseases this is the medicine of immortalitie For what sinne is there so great that the sacred flesh of God cannot expiate What sinne is so great that the quickning flesh of Christ cannot heal What sinne so mortall that is not taken away by the death of the Sonne of God What fierie darts of the devil can be so deadly that they cannot be quenched in this fountain of divine grace What so great stain of the conscience that this bloud cannot purge The Lord was present to the Israelites in a cloud and in fire But here is no cloud but the sunne of righteousnesse the present light of our souls Here is not felt the fire of Gods fury but the heat of his love neither doth he depart from us but makes his mansion with us Our first parents were brought into paradise that most sweet and fragrant garden the type of eternall beatitude that being put in minde of Gods bountie they might perform due obedience unto their Creatour Behold Here is more then paradise in this place For the creature is filled with the flesh of the Creatour The penitent conscience is cleansed by the bloud of the Sonne of God By the body of Christ are nourished the members of Christ the head The faithfull soul is fed with divine and heavenly dainties The sacred flesh of God which the angels adore in the unitie of person which the archangels reverence at which the Powers do tremble and which the Vertues admire is our spirituall food Let the heavens rejoyce and let the earth be glad but much more the faithfull soul upon whom such and so great benefits are bestowed Meditat. XX. Of serious preparation before we come to the Lords Supper A wedding garment put thou on Or keep from this communion HEre is no common cheere nor the feast of some ordinarie king but here is the holy mysterie of the body and bloud of Christ to be handled of us Therefore a due preparation is required lest we finde death in stead of life and receive condemnation in stead of mercy How did that most holy Patriarch so famous for the strength of his faith how did he fear and tremble when the Sonne of God appeared unto him in the
think upon three things present the brevitie of this present life the difficultie of being saved and the paâ—citie of them that shall be saved Alwayes think upon three things to come Death then which nothing is more horrible judgement then which nothing is more terrible the pains of hell then which nothing is more intolerable Let thy evening prayers amend the sinnes of the day past Let the last day of the week amend the faults of the dayes past In the evening think how many are plunged that day into hell and give thanks unto God for granting thee time to repent There are three things above thee which never let slip out of thy memorie The eye that sees all the eare that heares all and the book wherein all things are written God hath communicated himself wholly unto thee Communicate thou thy self wholly unto thy neighbour That is the best life which is busied in the service of others Shew obedience and reverence to thy superiour give counsel and aid to thy equall defend and instruct thy inferiour Let thy bodie be subject to thy minde and thy minde to God Bewail thy evils past and esteem not the goods that are present and desire with all thy heart the goods which are future Remember thy sinne to grieve for it Remember death that thou mayst cease from sinne Remember Gods justice that thou mayst be kept in fear Remember Gods mercie that thou mayst not despair As much as thou canst withdraw thy self from the world and addict thy self wholly unto the service of the Lord. Alwayes in delights think that thy chastitie is in danger in riches think that thy humilitie is in danger in many businesses think that thy godlinesse is in danger Study to please none but Christ Fear to displease none but Christ. Alwayes pray thou unto God to command what he will and to give what he commands Pray unto him to cover what is past and to govern what is to come As thou desirest to seem so also thou must be For God judgeth not according to the shew but according to the truth In thy words take heed of much babling because for every idle word thou must give an account in the day of judgement Thy works be they what they will do not passe away but are cast as certain seeds of eternitie If thou sowest in the flesh of the flesh thou shalt reap corruption If thou sowest in the spirit of the spirit thou shalt reap life everlasting The honours of the world shall not follow thee after death neither shall thy heaps of riches follow thee neither shall thy pleasures follow thee neither shall the vanities of the world follow thee But after all thy works shall follow thee As therefore thou desirest to be at the day of judgement to day appeare to be such in the sight of God Do not esteem those things that thou hast but rather esteem those that thou wantest Be not proud for what is given thee but be humbled rather for that which is denied thee Learn to live whiles thou mayst live In this life is eternall life either obtained or lost After death there is no time to work but the time of recompense begins In the life to come working is not expected but the reward of working Let holy meditation bring forth in thee knowledge and knowledge compunction and compunction devotion and let devotion make prayer The silence of the mouth is a great good for the peace of the heart The more thou art separated from the world the more acceptable thou art unto God Whatsoever thou desirest to have ask of God whatsoever thou hast give unto God He that is not thankfull for that which is given already is unworthy to receive more Gods graces cease to descend when our thanks cease to ascend Whatsoever happeneth unto thee make use of it for good When thou art in prosperity think that thou hast then an occasion to blesse and praise God When thou art in adversitie think that thou art then put in minde of thy repentance and conversion Shew the strength of thy power in helping the strength of thy wisdome in instructing and the strength of thy riches in doing good Let not adversitie cast thee down neither let prosperitie lift thee up Let all thy life be directed unto Christ as unto the mark Follow him in the way that thou mayst overtake him in thy countrey In all things have a speciall care of profound humilitie and ardent charitie Let charitie lift up thy heart unto God that thou mayest cleave unto him And let humilitie keep thy heart down that thou beest not proud Judge God to be a Father for his clemencie a Lord for his discipline a Father for his power and gentlenesse a Lord for his severitie and justice Love him as a Father piously fear him as a Lord necessarily Love him because he willeth mercy fear him because he willeth not sinne Fear the Lord and trust in him acknowledge thy misery and proclaim his mercy O God thou that hast given us to will give us also grace to perfect Meditat. XXIX Of the shaking off securitie To live it is not but to die To live in all securitie COnsider thou devout soul what an hard matter it is to be saved and thou shalt easily shake off all securitie At no time and in no place is there securitie Neither in heaven nor in paradise and then much lesse in the world An angel fell in the presence of the divinitie and Adam fell in the place of pleasure Adam was created after the image of God and yet notwithstanding he was deceived by the treacheries of the devil Solomon was the wisest of men and yet his wives turned away his heart from the Lord. Judas was in the school of our Saviour and did every day heare the saving word of that chief Doctour and yet was not he safe from the snares of Satan He was plunged headlong into the pit of covetousnesse and so into the pit of eternall punishment David was a man after Gods own heart and he was unto the Lord as a most deare sonne and yet by murder and adulterie he became the sonne of death Where then is there securitie in this life Relie with an assured confidence of heart upon the promises of God and thou shalt be safe from the invasions of the devil There is no securitie in this life but that which is infallibly promised to those that beleeve and walk in the way of the Lord But when we come unto future happâ—nesse then at length we shall have full securitie In this life fear and religion are coupled together neither must one be without the other Be not secure in adversitie but whatsoever adversitie happâ—neth unto thee in this life think that it iâ— the reward of thy sinnes God often punisheth secret offences by open corrections Think upon the grievous stains of
power of Christ Against the terrour of the law she rests in the gospel of Christ Against the sinnes which accuse her she rests in the bloud of Christ which speaketh better things before God then the bloud of Abel Against the terrour of death she rests with confidence in the session of Christ at the right hand of the Father And thus our faith findeth rest in Christ and our love findeth great rest also He that by his love cleaveth unto earthly things hath no true rest because earthly things themselves have it not in them They cannot fully satiate the souls appetite because they are all finite But our soul being created after the image of God doth desire that infinite good in which is all good As therefore our faith ought not to relie upon any of the creatures but upon the merit of Christ onely So also our love should not be settled upon any of the creatures nor upon our selves For self-love hindereth the love of God We must preferre the love of God before all Our soul is the spouse of Christ To him alone therefore must she adhere Our soul is the temple of God Therefore she must give entertainment to none but him Many seek for rest in riches But without Christ there is no rest to the soul. Where Christ is there is povertie if not in act yet in affect He being the Lord of heaven and earth had not where to rest his head And so would he commend and sanctifie povertie unto us Riches are without us But that which will quiet the soul must be within To what shall our soul cleave unto at death when we must leave all worldly things Either our riches forsake us or we them often in our life but alwayes at our death Where then shall our soul finde peace and rest Many seek for rest in pleasures But pleasures can bring no rest or delight unto the soul although they may unto the body for a time At length grief and sorrow follow as companions Pleasures belong unto this life But the soul was not created for this life because she is by death compelled to depart How then should she finde rest in pleasures Without Christ there is no rest to the soul But what was the life of Christ Extreme grief from the first moment of his nativitie even unto his death By this means he the true prizer of things would teach us what to think concerning pleasure Many seek for rest in honours But miserable are they that at every change of popular breath are compelled to want their rest Honour is without and a flitting good But that which will give rest unto the soul must be within What canst thou say more of the praise and glory given by men then of Apelles his commended picture Consider the corner wherein thou keepest What is the proportion thereof to a whole province to all Europe and to all the habitable world That is true honour indeed which God shall hereafter give unto the elect The rest of a thing is in its end neither doth a thing rest naturally untill it hath attained to its end and place God is the end whereunto the soul was created For it was made after the image of God Therefore it cannot be quiet and at rest but in its end that is in God As the soul is the life of the body So is God the life of the soul. As therefore that soul doth truly live in which God dwelleth by spirituall grace So likewise that soul is dead which hath not God dwelling in it And what rest can there be to the soul that is dead That first death in sinne doth necessarily draw with it the second death of damnation Whosoever therefore doth firmly cleave unto God with his love and inwardly enjoyeth divine consolation his rest can no outward things disquiet In the midst of sorrows he is joyfull in povertie rich in the tribulations of this world secure in troubles quiet in the reproches and contumelies of men still and in death it self living He regards not the threats of tyrants Because he feels within the riches of divine consolation In adversitie he is not made sorrowfull Because the holy Spirit within doth comfort him effectually In povertie he is not vexed Because he is rich in the goodnesse of God The reproches of men do not trouble him Because he enjoyeth the delights of divine honour He regards not the pleasure of the flesh Because the sweetnesse of the Spirit is more acceptable unto him He seeketh not after the friendship of the world Because he seeketh the love of God who is mercifull and a friend unto him He gapeth not after earthly treasures Because his chief treasure is hidden in the heavens He feareth not death Because in God he alwayes liveth He doth not much desire the wisdome of the world Because he hath the Spirit within to be his teacher That which is perfect taketh away that which is imperfect He feareth neither lightning nor tempests nor fire nor water nor flouds nor the sorrowfull aspects of the planets nor the obscuration of the lights of heaven Because he is carried up above the sphear of nature and by faith resteth and liveth in Christ. He is not drawn away by the allurements of the world Because he heares within him the voice of Christ which is sweeter He fears not the power of the devil Because he feels Gods indulgence He that lives and overcomes in him is stronger then the devil that in vain labours to overcome him He follows not the enticements of the flesh Because living in the Spirit he feels the riches of the Spirit and by the vivification of the Spirit mortifies and crucifies the flesh He fears not the devil his accuser Because he knows Christ to be his Advocate This true rest of the soul he grant unto us who is the onely authour and giver thereof our Lord God blessed for ever Meditat. XXXIII Of the puritie of conscience Labour to have a conscience pure When all things fail that will endure IN every thing thou takest in hand have a great care of thy conscience If the devil incites thee to any sinne stand in fear of the inward check of thy conscience If thou art afraid to sinne in the presence of men let thine own conscience much more deterre thee from sinne The inward testimonie is of more efficacy then the outward Therefore although thy sinnes could escape the accusations of all men yet they can never escape the inward witnesse of thy conscience Thy conscience shall be in the number of those books that shall be opened at the judgement to come as is testified in the Revelation The first is the book of Gods omniscience in which the thoughts words and deeds of all men shall manifestly appeare The second book is Christ which is the book of life in this book whosoever shall be found written by true faith shall be carried by the angels
humilitie of Christ thy bridegroom and of him learn also chastitie Great is the dignitie of chastitie which was consecrated in the body of Christ Great is the dignitie of chastitie because whiles we are in the flesh it makes us to live as out of the flesh As nothing is more vile then to be overcome of the flesh So nothing is more glorious then to overcome the flesh Neither must we onely avoid outward fornication but also impure cogitations Because God is judge not onely of the outward acts but also of the inward thoughts Piety is often wounded by the looks and chastitie is often wounded by the eyes Heare what truth it self saith He that looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath alreadie committed adulterie with her in his heart As the fight is difficult So shall the victorie also be glorious It is a difficult thing to quench the flaming fires of lust Lust incites them that are not yet come to the yeares of youth it inflames those that are young and it wearieth those that are old and decrepit It despiseth not cottages neither doth it reverence palaces But as difficult as it is here to fight so laudable shall it be hereafter to triumph The first sparks are presently to be quenched and we must not adde fewel to the fire of evil concupiscences The Apostle when he reckons up the vices with which we must strive bids us not fight with fornication but flee from it Flee saith he from fornication For even as a stranger feigning simplicitie comes to us like a beggar to deceive us if we denie him entrance he goes his way if we receive him in he becomes our guest and gathers strength and at length if we consent he becomes our lord and master So the motions of evil concupiscence assail us if we foster them not they depart away if thou wouldest not have this enemie to rule over thee receive him not into the house of thy heart Keep us O God in sanctitie of life and chastitie of body Meditat. XXXVIII Of the flitting swiftnesse of this present life The life of man's a rolling stone Mov'd to and fro and quickly gone THink O devout soul upon the miserie and brevitie of this life that thy heart may be lifted up to the desire of the celestiall inheritance This life whiles it increaseth it decreaseth whiles it is augmented it is diminished Whatsoever is added to it is also taken from it It is but a point of time that we live yea it is yet lesse then a point Whilest we turn our selves immortalitie comes upon us We are in this life as in a strange house Abraham had not in the land of Canaan a place to dwell in but onely an hereditarie place for buriall So this present life is like unto an inne and to a burying-place The beginning of this life is presently the beginning of death Our life is like unto him that saileth for whether he stand sit or lie down still he comes nearer nearer unto the havē goeth thither whither he is carried by the motion of the ship So also we whether we sleep or wake lie down or walk will or nill are carried still moment after moment till we come to our end This life is rather a death because every day we die For every day we spend some of our life This life is full of grief for things past full of labour for things present and full of fear for things to come Our ingresse into this life is lamentable because the infant begins his life with tears as it were foreseeing the evils to come Our progresse is weak because many diseases afflict us and many cares torment us Our egresse is horrible because we do not depart alone but our works follow us and we must passe from death to Gods severe judgement We are conceived in sinne we are brought forth in miserie we live in pain and we die in anguish We are begotten in uncleannesse we are nourished in darknesse and brought forth in sorrow Before we come forth we are a burden to our wretched mothers and when we do come forth we do like vipers tear a way We are strangers in our birth and pilgrims in our life because we are compelled to depart away by death The first part of our life is ignorant of it self the middle part is overwhelmed with cares and the last part is burdened with grievous old age All the time of our life is either present past or to come If it be present it is flitting if it be past it is then nothing if it be to come it is then uncertain We are filthines in our originall we are bubbles in our life and we are meat for worms at our death From earth we come on earth we go to earth we must return The necessitie of our birth is base our life miserable and our death lamentable Our body is an earthly house in which do dwell together sinne and death which every day consume it All our life is a spirituall warfare Above devils lie in wait for our destruction On the right hand and on the left the world oppugnes us Beneath and within the flesh fighteth against us The life of man is a warfare Because in this life there is a continuall fight between the flesh and the spirit What true joy then can a man have in this life when there is in it no certain felicitie What thing present can delight us when other things do passe away but that which hangeth over our heads doth never passe away And again what can delight us when that which we love is quite ended and grief that shall never have end doth approch still nearer unto us This is all we gain by long life To do more evil to see more evil and to suffer more evil This is all that long life doeth for us It makes our accusation the greater at the last judgement What is man The slave of death and as a passenger on the way He is lighter then a bubble shorter then a moment more vain then an image more empty then a sound more brittle then glasse more changeable then the winde more flitting then a shadow and more deceitfull then a dream What is this life The expectation of death the stage of mockeries the sea of miseries an hemine or phial of bloud which every light fall breaketh and every fit of an ague corrupteth The course of our life is a labyrinth we enter into it when we come out of the wombe and we go out of it by the passage of death Ware nought but earth and earth is but a fume A fume is nought as nought do we consume This life is frail as glasse is sliding as a river is miserable as a warfare And yet it seems to many much to be desired This life seems outwardly as a gilded nut But if thou openest
the end of their evils but it coupleth together those evils which are past and those that follow after They passe from the first unto the second death So neare is the union between Christ and the faithfull that death it self cannot dissolve it In the thickest cloud of death the torch of Gods grace shineth before them In their dangerous journey Christ provideth for his beloved the angels to be their protectours The bodies of the Saints are the temples of the holy Ghost The holy Ghost will not suffer his own temples altogether to be destroyed by death The word of God is the incorruptible seed It is not destroyed by death but it is hid in the hearts of the godly and shall quicken them in their due time Meditat. XLIIII Consolations at the death of friends Grieve not when friends and kinsfolks die They gain by death eternitie THink O devout soul upon Christ thy Saviour and thou shalt not be afraid for the terrours of death If the violence of death doth make thee sorrowfull let the power of Christ make thee joyfull The Israelites could not drink the waters of Marah by reason of their bitternesse but God shewed unto Moses a tree which being cast into the waters made them sweet If thou art affrighted by reason of he bitternesse of death God sheweth unto thee a tree which turneth it into sweetnesse that is a branch that did spring from the root of Jesse This branch is Christ and whosoever keepeth his word shall never see death This life is burdensome And therefore it is good to be eased of it The miserie of a Christian dieth But the Christian man dieth not That which we call death is but going a journey it is not an end of life but a beginning of a better life We do not lose our friends at their death but send them before us our friends do not die but life enjoy they go before us they do not go from us for ever It is not death but a departure When the godly depart out of this life they enter again into life The death of thâ— godly is gain unto them Do our friends die Make this interpretation of it That they cease to sinne they cease to be tossed and they cease to be miserable Do they die in the faith Interpret that thus That they depart out of the shadow of life that they may passe unto true life from darknesse to light and from men to God Our life is a navigation and death is the haven of securitie and safetie Therefore we must not grieve that our friends are dead but rather rejoyce in their behalf that out of the turbulent sea they are come safe to the haven This life is the souls imprisonment but death sets her at libertie Therefore old Simeon being about to die crieth out Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace He desires to be set at libertie being shut up in the prison of the bodie We must rejoyce therefore in the behalf of our friends that they are as it were delivered out of prison and received into true libertie In like manner the Apostle desires to be dissolved as being bound to his body of earth in a kinde of miserable servitude What shall we be sorrowfull that our friends are delivered out of their bonds and set at libertie What shall we for their sakes put on black mourning clothes when as they have put on white robes For it is written that unto the elect are given white robes in token of innocencie and palms in their hands in token of victory Shall we macerate our selves with tears and sighs for their sakes when as God hath wiped all tears from their eyes Shall we mourn and trouble our selves with grief when as they are in the place where there is neither mourning nor grief nor any cry heard but they rest from their labours Shall we for their departure kill our selves with immoderate grief when as they do enjoy the fellowship of the angels and true solid joy Shall we for their sakes weep and wail when as they sing a new song of the Lambe having harps and golden phials Shall we grieve that they are departed from the earth when they themselves rejoyce that they are departed What profit it is for to depart out of this world Christ shewed who when his disciples were sad because that he said he should depart answered If ye loved me ye would rejoyce rather If as thou wert sailing a stormie tempest should arise and the windes lift up the waves and threaten shipwrack wouldest not thou haste to the haven Behold the world staggereth and reeleth and threatneth her ruine not onely for her old age but also by the end of things And dost not thou thank God and art not thou glad for thy friends that being departed the sooner they are delivered from ruines shipwracks and imminent plagues In whose hands art thou kept safer then in the hands of Christ In what place can the souls of thy friends rest safer then in the kingdome of paradise Heare what the Apostle saith concerning death Death is gain It is gain to have escaped the increase of sinne it is gain to have left the things that are worse and to have passed to the better Although those whom by death thou hast lost were very deare unto thee yet let God be more deare unto thee whose will it was to take them unto himself Be not angry with the Lord for taking away what he hath given He hath received his own he hath taken nothing from thee Do not take it ill that the Lord doth require what he did onely lend thee It is onely the Lord that foreseeth evils to come It was his providence therefore to take away thy friends that they might not be entangled in the misfortunes to come They that die in the Lord rest sweetly in their graves when those that are alive are tormented grievously even in the palaces of their kingdome If by death thou hast lost those that were deare unto thee Beleeve that thou shalt hereafter receive them more deare unto thee A little distance of time doth separate thee from them But blessed and secure eternitie shall joyn thee again unto them For we hope upon a most true promise that we shall depart out of this life from whence some of our friends are departed before us and that we shall come to that life where the more known the more deare they shall be unto us and amiable without fear of any dissension What'ever souls have been before or shall hereafter be Shall be receiv'd i' th theatre of huge capacitie There shall we know the face of them that of our kindred be And speak answer in our course each interchangeably There with the brother sister shall and sonne with father be And there they shall keep
God for the expectation of our conversion I Render unto thee most mercifull Father immortall thanks for that thou wouldest with so great patience and long-suffering expect my conversion and hast brought me out of the path of sinne unto the fellowship of thy kingdome How great is thy long-suffering that thou hast not cast me away from thy face and thrust me down into everlasting torments whereas I have deserved it a thousand times How many thousands hath death prevented before they could attain unto true repentance How many sinners hath the devil made obstinate that they might not obtain forgivenesse of their sinnes There was no distinction in nature between me and them onely thy goodnesse and long-suffering My offence was no lesse then theirs but thy grace did abound Thy mercie strove with my miserie I went on in my sinne and thou didst go on in thy mercy I deferred my conversion and thou didst deferre my punishment I went astray and thou didst call me I refused to come and still thou didst expect me This thy goodnesse most indulgent Father I cannot extoll with sufficient praises This thy long patience most mercifull God I cannot recompense with any merits Thou didst preserve me from many sinnes whereinto the corruption of the flesh the deceit of the world and the perswasion of the devil would have thrown me headlong as well as others Neither hast thou onely kept me from falling into sinne but also hast most graciously expected my conversion from sinne into which I had fallen I finde thee more mercifull then I am sinfull I sinned and thou madest as if thou didst not see it I contained not my self from wickednesse and yet thou didst abstain from punishment I did long time prolong my iniquity and thou didst prolong thy pitie What were then my deserts Surely evil and the worst of evils to wit my sinnes many in number most grievous for weight and detestable for varietie Therefore to thy grace and bountie alone do I attribute it that thou hast so long expected my conversion and delivered my soul out of the snares of â—â—nne To thee O Lord be praise hoâ—our and glory for ever and ever Amen PRAYER VIII He renders thanks for our conversion I Render thanks unto thee my God for that thou hast converted my heart that was hard and knew not how to repent and for that thou hast taken from me my stony heart and given me an heart of flesh I had of my self power to sinne But I had not of my self power to rise again to repentance I could go astray of my self But I could not return again into the way without thee For even as he that is born crooked from his mothers wombe cannot be made straight by naturall means but onely by divine and supernaturall power So my soul being by nature crooked and prone to sinne and the love of earthly things could by no humane power but thy grace onely be rectified and lifted up to the love of thee and heavenly things I could deform my self by my sinnes most foully But thou onely couldst reform me As the Ethiopian cannot change his skinne nor the leopard his spots Sâ— neither can I do that which is good being by nature addicted unto the love of that which is evil Thou my God didst convert me and I was converted and when I was converted then I repented and when I was instructed then I smote my thigh I was dead in sinne And thou didst quicken me As much power as a dead man hath to raise himself So much had I to convert my self Unlesse thou hadst drawn me I had never come unto thee unlesse thou hadst stirred me up I had never watched unto thee unlesse thou hadst illuminated me I had never seen thee My sinnes were more sweet unto me then hony and the hony-combe But I am to thank thee that now they are sharp and bitter unto me for thou hast given me a spirituall taste The works of vertue were more bitter unto me then gall and aloes But I am to thank thee that now they are become pleasant and sweet for thou hast by thy Spirit changed the corrupt judgement of my flesh I went astray as a sheep that is lost and declined to the way of iniquitie But thou which art the good shepherd hast found me out and brought me again unto the flock of thy saints It was late ere I knew thee for there was a great and darksome cloud of vanitie before mine eyes which would not suffer me to see the light of the truth It was late ere I saw the true light because I was blinde and loved blindnesse and walked through the darknesse of sinne into the darknesse of hell But thou hast illuminated me thou soughtest me when I sought not thee thou calledst me when I called not upon thee thou convertedst me when I was not converted unto thee and thou saidst with a most powerfull voice Let there be light in the inward parts of his heart and there was a light and I saw thy light and I knew mine own blindnesse For this thy immense and infinite benefit I will praise thy name for ever and ever Amen PRAYER IX He renders thanks for the forgivenesse of sinnes I Ow and render unto thee eternall and mercifull God great thanks for that thou hast not rejected me when I came unto thee but diddest most readily receive me and most mercifully forgive me all my sinnes I was that prodigall sonne most indulgent Father I was that prodigall sonne that by living riotously wasted his Fathers substance For I have defiled the gifts of nature I have refused the gifts of grace I have deprived my self of the gifts of glory I was naked and destitute of all good things and thou coveredst and enrichedst me with the robe of righteousnesse I was lost and condemned and thou of thy free grace hast bestowed upon me eternall salvation Thou of thine ardent mercy didst embrace me and kisse me in sending thy most beloved Sonne that is in thy bosome and thy holy Spirit which is the kisse of thy mouth as ample witnesses of thine infinite love Thou clothedst me with my first robe in restoring me my former innocencie Thou gavest me a ring for my hand by sealing me with thy Spirit of grace Thou didst put shoes upon my feet by arming me with the Gospel of peace Thou killedst the fat calf for me by delivering thy most deare Sonne to death for me Thou didst cause me to feast and make merrie by restoring the joy of heart and the true peace of conscience unto me I was dead and through thee I was restored to life I went astray and through thee I came again into the way I was consumed with povertie and through thee I entred again into my former possession Thou mightest in thy just judgement have rejected me seeing that I was polluted with so many sinnes covered with so
The law of sinne in my members is repugnant unto the law of mâ— minde which is renewed But givâ— unto me the Spirit of thy grace that I may captivate the law of sinne and not be captivated by the old flesh The flesh within me lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh The spirit indeed is ready but the flesh is weak Grant therefore unto my spirit the riches of thy strength and vertue that it may overcome the evil concupiscences of the rebellious flesh That whorish Dalilah with her allurements doth daily set upon me But strengthen thou me by thy Spirit in the inward maâ— that at length she overcome me not O how grievous and hard a thing is it for a man to fight against himself that is against his flesh How difficult and hard a matter is it for one to overcome a domestick enemie Unlesse in this combate thou dost arm me with thy heavenly strength there is great fear that I shall be constrained to yeeld unto this enemie by reason of her secret and hidden treacheries Presse burn â—aunce mortifie the old man that I may escape his fawning deceit and seducement Grant unto me that I may daily die in my self that by the allurements of the flesh I be not separated from the life that is in Christ. Kindle in my heart the fire of the Spirit that I may sacrifice unto thee the beloved sonne of all my evil lusts and mine own will Flesh and bloud cannot inherit the kingdome of God Let them therefore die in me that I be not excluded from the kingdome of heaven They that live according to the flesh shall die But they which by the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the flesh shall live They that are Christs do crucifie the flesh with the lusts thereof Therefore strike thorow and crucifie my flesh O Christ thou that wast upon the altar of the crosse pierced thorow and crucified for me Amen PRAYER II. He prayes for the conservation and increase of faith THou hast lighted in my heart thou living and eternall God the light of saving faith which I humbly beseech thee of thy goodnesse and clemencie to keep and increase I often feel weaknesse of faith I often waver and am tossed with storms of doubts and fears Therefore I humbly call upon thee with thy blessed Apostles that thou wouldest vouchsafe to increase it My heart propounds unto thee a good word Thou wilt not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax I carrie my treasure in a vessel of clay The torch of faith I bear about me in a brittle vessel What else remains there but that with serious prayers and sighs I commend it unto thy custodie and daily pray unto thee for increase of the same In the darknesse of this life and present world make me partaker of the heavenly light of faith Thy word is light and life Grant unto me of thy mercie that by true faith I may stick unto thy word and be made by thee a sonne of light and life Against all the tentations of Satan against all oblocutions of the world yea against the cogitations of mine own heart let the comfort of thy word prevail in me One word of Scripture is of more worth then heaven and earth in that it is more firm then heaven and earth Effect in me by thy holy Spirit that I may firmly beleeve thy word and yeeld my reason and my senses to the obedience of faith Thy promises are of thy meer free grace neither do they depend upon the condition of my worth and merits I may therefore with most assured faith relie upon them and with my whole heart trust in thy goodnesse By faith Christ dwells and lives in my heart Conserve therefore in me the free gift of faith that my heart may be and alwayes remain the habitacle of Christ. Faith is the seed of all good works and the foundation of holy life Conserve therefore most bountifull Lord and confirm this in me that my spirituall harvest and dwelling suffer no losse Strengthen my faith that it may overcome the world and the prince of the world Increase the light thereof that it may daily cast forth more clear beams outwardly Conserve it in the midst of the darknesse of death that it may cast a light before me to true life Rule me by thy holy Spirit that I lose not this faith by consenting unto the lusts of the flesh and taking pleasure in sinne against my conscience But confirm in me that good work which thou hast begun that by perseverance of my faith I may obtain the inheritance of eternall life Amen PRAYER III. He prayes for the conservation and increasâ— of hope ALmighty eternall and mercifull God I beseech thee by the most sacred wounds of thy Sonne to uphold in me the prop of saving hope Sometimes my heart doth wave lik a ship in the midst of the sea But grant thou unto me the safe and firm anchor of immoveable hope Still the waves of tentations and doubts Thou that art the God of hope and all consolation As certain and immoveable as the truth of thy promise is so certain may the firmnesse of holy hope be in me I rest upon thy promises And thou wilt not leave me destitute of aid My confidence is in thy bountie And thou wilt not leave me destitute of comfort I know on whom I have beleeved and I am sure that he is able to keep that which is committed unto him by me against that day I am most certainly perswaded that thou which hast begun a good work in me wilt also finish it untill the day of Jesus Christ. There are three things that lift me up when I am prostrate that uphold me when I am falling that direct me when I am wavering to wit thy love in my adoption the truth of thy promise and thy power in performance This is the threefold cord that thou lettest down unto me into this prison out of my heavenly countrey that thou mayst lift me up and draw me unto thee unto the sight of thy glory This hope is the anchor of my salvation This is the way that leadeth unto paradise The meditation of thy command makes me hope The meditation of thy goodnesse suffers me not to despair of thy mercie the meditation of mine own frailtie suffers me not to hope and trust in my self or mine own power and merit By how much the lesse my hope is fastened on these frail and fluxible sands of present goods and humane aid By so much the more solidly and certainly it is stablished upon the firm and immoveable rock of thy promise and celestiall things Unite my heart unto thee that I may altogether withdraw my self from the woâ—ld and cleave unto thee with all my heart Unto thee I flee as unto the throne of grace and altar of mercie and ark of the covenant
Without the love of God there is no desire of eternall life How then can any one be partaker of the chiefest good which loveth not which seeketh not which desireth not Such as thy love is such art thou because thy love transformeth thee into it self Love is the chiefest couple because the lover and the thing loved become one What hath conjoyned the most just God and wretched sinners What hath conjoyned them being infinitely distant one from the other Infinite love And yet that the infinite justice of God might not be weakned the infinite price of Christ interceded Again what hath conjoyned together God the Creatour and the faithfull soul created things infinitely distant Love In the life which is eternall we shall be joyned to God in the chiefest degree Why Because we shall love him in the chiefest degree Love uniteth and transformeth if thou lovest carnall things thou art carnall If thou lovest the world thou shalt become worldly But flesh and bloud cannot enter into the kingdome of God If thou lovest God and celestiall things thou shalt become celestiall The love of God is the chariot of Elias ascending up into heaven The love of God is the joy of the minde the paradise of the soul it excludeth the world it overcometh the devil it shutteth hell it openeth heaven The love of God is that seal by which God sealeth the elect and beleevers God at the last judgement will acknowledge none to be his but those that are sealed with this seal For faith it self the onely instrument of our justification and salvation is not true unlesse it doth demonstrate it self by love There is no true faith unlesse there be a firm confidence and there is no confidence without the love of God That benefit is not acknowledged for which we do not give thanks and we do not give thanks to him whom we do not love If therefore thy faith be true it will acknowledge the benefit of our redemption wrought by Christ it will acknowledge and give thanks it will give thanks and love The love of God is the life and rest of the soul When the soul departs from the body by death then the life of the body departeth When God departs out of the soul by reason of sins then the life of the soul departeth Again God dwells in our hearts by faith God dwells in the soul by love because the love of God is diffused in the hearts of the elect by the holy Spirit There is no tranquillitie to the soul without the love of God The world and Satan do much disquiet it But God is the chief rest of the soul There is no peace of conscience but to those that are justified by faith there is no true love of God but in them that have a filiall confidence in God Therefore let the love of our selves the love of the world the love of the creatures die in us that the love of God may live in us Which God begin in us in this world and perfect in the world to come Meditat. X. Of our reconciliation with God Fear not my soul be not dismaid For Iesus Christ thy debts hath paid CHrist truly took our infirmities and bare our griefs and sicknesses O Lord Jesus That which in us merited eternall punishment thou tookest upon thy self That burden which would have pressed us down into hell thou hast undergone Thou wast wounded for our iniquities thou wast broken for our sinnes By the bluenesse of thy wounds are we healed The Lord hath laid upon thee the iniquities of us all Surely wonderfull indeed is this change Thou takest our sinnes upon thy self and bestowest thy righteousnesse upon us Death due unto us thou undergoest thy self and conferrest life upon us I cannot therefore by any means doubt of thy grace or despair by reason of my sinnes The worst thing that was in us thou tookest upon thy self How then canst thou despise that which is the best in us and thine own work to wit our soul and body Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption For he is truly sanctified whose sinnes are abolished and taken away Blessed is the man whose iniquities are forgiven and to whom the Lord imputeth not his sinnes How can God impute our sinnes to us when he hath already imputed them to another For the wickednesse of his people he hath smitten his best beloved Sonne By the knowledge of him therefore he shall justifie many and shall bear their iniquities How shall he justifie those that are his Heare and attend O my soul He shall save them by the knowledge of him that is by the saving acknowledgement and firm apprehension by faith of the mercie and grace of God in Christ. This is life eternall to know and acknowledge thee the onely true God and Iesus Christ whom thou hast sent And therefore if thou shalt confesse with thy mouth the Lord Iesus and beleeve in thy heart that God raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved Faith apprehendeth Christs satisfaction He bare the iniquities of those that are his he suffered for the sinnes of many he interceded for the transgressours For he should have had very few just unlesse in mercy he had received sinners Thou shouldst have had few just O Jesus unlesse thou hadst remitted the sinnes of the unjust How then shall Christ judge according to severitie the sinnes of the penitent which he hath taken upon himself How shall he condemn him that is guilty of sinne seeing that he himself was made sinne for us Will he condemn those whom he calleth his friends Will he condemn those for whom he hath intreated Will he condemn those for whom he died Lift up thy self therefore O my soul and forget thy sinnes for the Lord hath forgotten them Whom dost thou fear as the punisher of thy sinnes but the Lord who himself made satisfaction for thy sinnes If any other had payed the price of my redemption I might have doubted whether the just Judge would accept of that satisfaction If a man or an angel had satisfied for my sinnes yet still there might be a doubt whether the price of redemption were sufficient But now there is no place for doubt How can it be that he will not accept of that price which he hath payd himself How can that choose but be sufficient which is from God himself Why art thou troubled O my soul All the wayes of God are mercie and truth Iust is the Lord and just are his judgements Why art thou troubled O my soul Let the mercy of God raise thee up let the justice of God also raise thee up For if God be just for one offence he will not exact double satisfaction For our sinnes he hath smitten his Sonne How then can he smite us his servants for them How can he punish our sinnes in us which
his nativitie An angel bids him flee into Egypt The angels minister unto him in the desert The angels minister unto him in the whole ministerie of his preaching An angel is present with him at the agonie of death An angel appeares at his resurrection The angels are present at his ascension The angels shall be with him when he returns to judgement So then as the angels waited upon Christ in the dayes of his flesh so also are they solicitous for all them that are incorporated into Christ by faith As they served the head so do they also serve the members They rejoyce to serve them on earth whom they shall have their companions in heaven They do not deny their ministerie unto them whose most sweet fellowship they hope for hereafter The angels of God appeared to Jacob in the way to his countrey So in this life which is the way to our heavenly countrey the angels are the keepers of the godly The angels defended Daniel in the midst of the lions So likewise they defend all the godly from the treacheries of the infernall Lion The angels preserved Lot from the fire of Sodom So by holy inspirations and protections against the devils tentations they often preserve us from the fire of hell The angels carry the soul of Lazarus into Abrahams bosome And so they translate the souls of the elect unto the palace of the heavenly kingdome The angel leads Peter out of prison And so he doth often deliver the godly out of most apparent dangers Great is the power of our adversarie the devil But let the guard of the angels lift us up Doubt not but these will be present to aid thee in all dangers because the Scripture describeth them with wings under the figure of Cherubim and Seraphim that thou mayst know assuredly that they will come with incredible celeritie to bring aid and succour Do not doubt but these will be thy protectours in all places because they are most subtile spirits which no body can resist All visible things give way unto them and all bodies alike though they be solid and thick by them are penetrable and passable Do not doubt but these spirits know thy dangers and afflictions because they alwayes behold the face of thy heavenly Father and are alwayes ready prest for his service Know also thou devout soul that these angels are holy Therefore study for holinesse if thou wouldest enjoy their fellowship Likenesse of conditions doth most beget friendship Accustome thy self therefore to holy actions if thou desirest to have the angels to be thy keepers In every place and angle stand in awe and reverence of thy angel and do nothing in his presence which thou wouldest be ashamed to do in the sight of man These angels are chaste Therefore they are driven away by filthy actions Smoak drives away bees and an ill savour drives away doves So lamentable and stinking sinne drives away the angels the keepers of our life If by sinne thou deprivest thy self of their tuition How canst thou be safe from the devils treacheries If thou beest destitute of the angels protection How canst thou be safe from the invasioâ— of many dangers If thy soul be not fenced by the wall of the angels defence the devil will easily overcome it by his deceitfull perswasion The holy angels are sent by God as his messengers to us Therefore thou must be reconciled unto God by faith if thou wilt have an angel to be thy keeper Where the grace of God is not neither is there the guard of angels Let us behold the angels as Gods saving hands which are moved to no work without his direction There is joy in heaven before the angels over one sinner that repenteth The teares of the penitent are as it were the wine of the angels But an impenitent heart puts to flight the angels our keepers Let us therefore repent that we may cause the angels to rejoyce The angels are of an heavenly and spirituall nature Let us therefore think upon heavenly and spirituall things that they may take pleasure to be with us The angels are humble and hate pride altogether because they are not ashamed to tend little children Why then is earth and ashes proud when the heavenly spirits so humble themselves At death especially the devils subtiltie is to be feared because it is written that the serpent lieth in wait for the heel The heel which is the extreme part of the bodie is the last term of our life In that last agonie of death the angels guard is most necessary that they may deliver us from the fierie darts of the devil and carry our soul when it is gone out of the prison of our bodie into the heavenly paradise When Zacharie was in the temple busie about his holy function the angel of the Lord came unto him So likewise if thou delightest in the exercise of the word and prayer thou mayst rejoyce to have the angels thy protectours O most mercifull God thou that leadest us through the desert of this world by the conduct of the holy angels grant that we may at length be carried by them into the kingdome of heaven Meditat. XXVII Of the devils treacheries The devils treacheries who knows A thousand wayes he seeks our woes COnsider thou devout soul in what danger thou art because the devil thine adversarie is alwayes lying in wait for thee He is an enemie for boldnesse most ready for strength most powerfull for subtiltie most cunning for engines well stored in fight indefatigable into all shapes changeable He enticeth us into many sinnes and having enticed us he accuseth us before Gods judgement seat He accuseth God to men and men to God and men one to another He exactly considers every ones naturall inclination and then he layes for them the snares of tentations As in the besieging of cities the besiegers come not against the strong and fortified places but where they finde the walls weak the ditches plain and the turrets without guard So the devil when he assaults the soul of man first sets upon that part which he findes softest and best affected for him the easier to work upon If he be once overcome he doth not presently remove but comes again to tempt with greater force that so he may by tediousnesse and neglect overcome those whom by violence of tentations he could not overcome Against whom will he not use his subtile tricks when he was so bold as to set upon the Lord of majestie himself with his craft and subtiltie What Christian will he spare when he sought to winnow Christs apostles themselves like wheat He deceived Adam in his nature instructed Whom cannot he deceive in his nature corrupted He deceived Iudas in the school of our Saviour And whom will he not deceive in the world the school of errour In all states the devils
treacheries are much to be feared In prosperitie he lifts us up with pride In adversitie he drives us to despair If he sees a man delighted with frugalitie he entangleth him in the fetters of unsatiable covetousnesse If he sees a man of an heroicall spirit he sets him on fire with flaming anger If he sees a man somewhat merrier then ordinary he incites him to burn with lust Those whom he sees to be zealous in religion he labours to entangle in vain superstition Those whom he sees exalted to dignities he pricks them forward with the spurres of ambition When he allureth a man to sinne he amplifies Gods mercie and when he hath cast him headlong into sinne he amplifies Gods justice First he will leade a man to presumption and afterwards he labours to bring him to desperation Sometimes he assaults outwardly by persecutions sometimes he assaults inwardly by fiery tentations Sometimes he sets upon us openly and by force sometimes secretly and by fraud In eating he sets before us gluttony in generating luxurie in exercising sluggishnesse in conversing envie in governing covetousnesse in correcting anger in dignitie pride In the heart he sets evil cogitations In the mouth false speakings In the other members wicked actions When we are awake he moves us to ill works when we are asleep he moves us to filthy dreams So then in every place and in every thing we must beware of the devils treacheries We sleep but he watcheth We are secure and he goes about like a roaring lion If thou shouldest see a lion ready to assault thee how wouldest thou fear and tremble When thou hearest that the infernall lion lies in wait for thee doest thou sleep soundly on both eares Consider therefore thou faithfull soul the treacheries of this most potent enemie and seek the aid of spirituall arms Let thy loyns be girt with the girdle of truth and covered with the breast-plate of righteousnesse Put on Christs perfect righteousnesse and thou shalt then be safe from the devils tentations Hide thy self in the holes of Christs wounds as often as thou art terrified by the darts of this malignant serpent The true beleever is in Christ as therefore Satan hath no power over Christ so hath he no power over the true beleever Let thy feet be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace Let our confession of Christ be alwayes heard in our mouthes So no tentations of the devil shall hurt us The words of the enchanter do not so drive away the corporall serpent as the voice of constant confession doth put to flight this spirituall serpent Take the shield of faith to quench all the fiery darts of this most wicked enemie Faith removes mountains understand the mountains of doubts persecutions and tentations The Israelites whose doore-posts were signed with the bloud of the paschall Lambe were not smitten by the destroying angel So likewise those whose hearts are by faith sprinkled with the bloud of Christ shall not be hurt by this destroyer Faith relies upon Gods promises Now Satan cannot overthrow Gods promises Therefore Satan cannot prevail against faith Faith is the light of the soul and the tentations of the malignant spirit do soon appeare through this light By faith our sinnes are thrown into the profound sea of Godâ— mercie and in that the fiery darts of the devil shall be easily quenched We must put on likewise the helmet of salvation that is holy hope Endure tentation and expect an issue out of the tentation For God is the moderator of them that contend and the crown of them that overcome If there be no enemie then no fight if no fight no victorie if no victorie no crown Better is that fight that brings us nearer to God then that peace which alienateth us from God We must also take the sword of the Spirit that is the word of God Let the consolations in Scripture prevail more with thee then the contradictions of the devil Christ overcame all Satans tentations by the word and still by the word Christians overcome all Satans tentations To conclude In prayer thou hast great aid against tentations As often as the little ship of the soul is ready to be overwhelmed with the waves of tentations awake Christ by thy prayers We overcome visible enemies by striking but we overcome our invisible enemie by pouring forth prayers Fight thou O Christ both in us and for us that so through thee we also may overcome Meditat. XXVIII Generall rules of a godly life He 's onely wise who God doth know And doth by life his knowledge show EVery day thou drawest nearer to thy death judgement and eternitie Therefore think every day how thou mayst be able to stand in that most strict and severe judgement and so live for ever Look diligently unto thy thoughts words and deeds because hereafter thou must give an exact account for all thy thoughts words and deeds Every evening think that thou shalt die that night Every morning think that thou shalt die that day Do not deferre thy conversion and good works till to morrow because to morrow is uncertain but death is certain and hangs over thy head every day Nothing is more contrary to godlinesse then delay If thou contemnest the inward calling of the holy Spirit thou shalt never attain to true conversion Deferre not thy conversion and good works till thy old age but offer unto God the flower of thy youth It is uncertain whether the young man shall live till he be old But it is certain that destruction is prepared for the young man which is impenitent No age is fitter for Gods service then youth which flourisheth in strength both of body and minde For no mans sake undertake an evil cause for it is not that man but God that shall hereafter judge thee Do not therefore preferre the favour of men before the grace of God In the way of the Lord either we go forwards or else we go backwards Therefore examine thy life every day whether thou goest forwards or backwards in the study of pietie To stand in the way of the Lord is to go back Do not delight then to stand still in the course of godlinesse but study alwayes to walk in the way of the Lord. In thy conversation be courteous towards all grievous to none familiar with few To God live piously to thy self chastly to thy neighbour justly Shew favour to thy friend shew patience towards thy enemie shew thy good will towards all and thy bountie to whom thou art able In thy life die daily unto thy self and unto thy vices So in death thou shalt live unto God Let mercie appeare in thy affection courtesie in thy countenance humilitie in thy attire modestie in thy neighbourhood and patience in tribulation Alwayes think upon three things past the evil committed the good omitted and the time pretermitted Alwayes
Angel was lamed in one foot the other being sound and whole By the two feet is understood a double love the love of ones self and the love of God Then shall a man be partaker of Gods blessing when he halts upon the foot of self-love the other foot that is of the love of God remaining sound and whole It is impossible for thee with one eye to behold heaven and earth So it cannot be that with one and the same will a man should love himself inordinately love God also Love is the chiefest good of our soul Therefore we must give the chief good of our soul to the chiefest good that is to God Thy love is thy God that is whatsoever thou lovest chiefly thou settest in the place of God But God is truly the chief being Whosoever therefore loveth himself judgeth himself to be God and setteth himself in the place of God which is the greatest idolatry that can be Whatsoever thou lovest chiefly thou makest it to be the end of all other things and thou judgest it to be the last complement of all thy desires But it is God onely who is the beginning and the end of the creatures he is the first and the last he onely filleth the desire of our hearts and there is no created thing that can satisfie thy desires Therefore thou must preferre the love of God before the love of thy self God is the beginning and the end In him therefore must our love begin and in him also must it end The essence of God is without all the creatures as God was in himself from all eternitie So withdraw thou thy love from all the creatures Such as thy love is such are thy works If thy works proceed from true faith and love of God they are acceptable unto God and appear great in his eyes though in the eyes of all men they seem but small If they proceed from self-love they cannot please God Self-love defileth the most excellent works When Christ was in the house of Simon a certain woman broke a vessel of precious ointment and anointed the head of Christ The work seemed to be small and yet notwithstanding it was acceptable unto Christ because it proceeded from true faith pure love and serious contrition Sacrifice in the old Testament was a work acceptable unto God and yet God was not well pleased that Saul set apart the spoils of the Amalekites to offer sacrifice unto God Why Because this did not proceed from the love of God For if he had loved God truly he would not have contemned the commandment of God about the burning of all the spoils He loved himself and his own devotion Love is a kinde of fire For so the Church prayeth Come O holy Ghost and kindle in the faithfull the fire of thy love Fire doth not cleave fast unto the earth but alwayes tends upwards So thy love must not rest in thee but it must be lifted up unto the Lord. Again to denie ones self is to renounce his own honour Unto the chief good alone is due the chiefest honour And God is the chiefest good He that seeketh his own glory cannot seek Gods glory as our Saviour said unto the Pharisees How can ye beleeve which receive honour one of another Behold the example of Christ and follow it He often witnesseth of himself that he seeks not his own glory that he receiveth not honour from men and that he is humble in heart All thy gifts thou receivest from God Therefore render them again unto God The rivers of all goods do flow from this fountain of Gods goodnesse Therefore let them all flow back again into the sea The herb which is called Tornsol or Heliotropium doth alwayes turn it self unto the sunne by vertue whereof it draws its life and nourishment So do thou with all thy gifts and honour turn thy self towards God and attribute nothing unto thy self If thou hast any thing of thine own thou mayest seek thine own honour and attribute thy gifts unto thy self But seeing that thou hast nothing of thine own but all from God therefore thou must seek not thine own honour but the honour of God The seeking his own honour doth turn a man away from God We have an example in Nabuchadnezzar who said Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of my kingdome by the strength of my power and for the honour of my majestie But what follows Whiles the word was in the kings mouth a voice came from heaven saying To thee O Nabuchadnezzar is it spoken Thy kingdome is departed from thee thou shalt be cast out from the company of men and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field Even so if thou out of vain-glorie and pride dost boast of thy Babylon that is the building of thy good works and take the glory thereof unto thy self and not give it unto God thou shalt be cast away from the sight of God Last of all To deny ones own self is to renounce his own will We must alwayes obey the best will And Gods will is alwayes the best We must obey his will from whom we have all that we have And from God comes all that we have We must obey his will who leadeth us alwayes unto life and that which is good Delight in the Lord and he shall give thee thy hearts desire Our own will leads us unto death and unto damnation By what did our first father fall from the grace of God and state of salvation into eternall damnation By leaving the will of God and following his own will He neglected the commandment of God and gave eare unto the perswasion of the devil Therefore the true disciple of Christ renounceth his own will and desires to follow the will of God Behold Christ He being in the agony of his passion offered his own will as a most acceptable sacrifice unto God Offer thou also unto God thine own will and so shalt thou perfect that denial of thy self which Christ requireth Let thy holy will O Lord be done in earth as it is in heaven Meditat. XXXII Of the true rest of the soul. Thy soul can nothing satiate But God who did thy soul create IN the transitorie things of this world the soul often seeks for rest but findes it not Why Because the soul is more worthy then all the creatures and therefore she cannot finde peace quietnesse in them as being more vile All worldly things are flitting and transitorie but the soul is immortall How should she then finde true rest in them All those are terrestriall but our soul hath a celestiall originall How should she then satiate and fulfill her desire in them In Christ she findes rest he can satisfie and fulfill her desire Against the wrath of God she rests in the wounds of Christ Against the accusations of Satan she rests in the
into everlasting fire because ye fedde me not when I was hungry The holy seed of almes-giving as it is sowed sparingly or bountifully so it shall be reaped sparingly or bountifully If thou wouldest be in the number of the sheep do good unto the sheep Let the goats cause thee to fear For they are placed at the left hand not because they took any thing away but because they gave not Incline our hearts O God unto thy testimonies and not to covetousnesse Meditat. XXXVI Of the properties of true love and charitie The signe by which the Saints we know It is by love their faith to show TRue sincere love is an inseparable property of the godly No Christian without faith and no faith without charitie Where there is not the brightnesse of charitie neither is there the heat of faith Take away light from the sunne and thou mayst take away charitie from faith Charitie is the outward act of the inward life of a Christian man The bodie is dead without the spirit and faith is dead without charitie He is not of Christ that hath not the Spirit of Christ he hath not the Spirit of Christ that hath not the gift of charitie Charitie is the fruit of the Spirit The tree is not known to be good unlesse it bring forth good fruit Charitie is the bond of Christian perfection As the members of the bodie are knit together by the spirit that is the soul So the true members of the mysticall bodie are united by the holy Spirit in the bond of charitie In Solomons temple all was covered with gold within and without So in Gods Spirituall temple let all be beautified with love and charitie within and without Let charitie move thy heart to compassion and thy hand to contribution Compassion is not sufficient unlesse there be also outward contribution Neither is outward contribution sufficient unlesse there be also inward compassion Faith receiveth all from God and charitie giveth it again unto our neighbour By faith we are made partakers of the divine nature But God is love Therefore where charitie sheweth not it self without let no man beleeve that there is faith within No man beleeveth in Christ which loveth not Christ And no man loveth Christ unlesse he love his neighbour He doth not yet apprehend the benefit of Christ with true confidence of heart whosoever doth denie unto his neighbour the office which he oweth unto him That is not truely a good work which proceedeth not from faith Neither is it truely a good work which proceedeth not from charitie Charitie is the seed of all vertues It is no good fruit which springeth not forth from the root of charitie For charity is the spirituall tast of the soul For unto it alone is every good thing sweet every hard thing sweet all adversitie sweet and all pain and trouble sweet yea more the taste of charitie maketh even death it self most sweet For love is strong as death yea stronger then death because love brought Christ to die for us And love doth so stirre up the true godly that they doubt not to die for Christ. All the works of God proceed from love yea punishments themselves So let all the works of a Christian man proceed from love In all the creatures God hath set before us the glasse of love The sunne and the starres shine not to themselves but to us The herbs purge not themselves but us Aire water beasts and all creatures serve man Do thou also give thy self wholly to serve thy neighbour Tongues profit not without charâ—tie Because without charitie knowledge of tongues puffeth up but charitie edifieth Knowledge of mysteries profits not without charitie Because the devil also hath knowledge of mysteries but charitie is onely proper to the godly Faith also which can remove mountains profits not without charitie For such faith is the faith of working miracles and not of salvation Charitie is better then the gift of doing miracles Because that is the undoubted mark of true Christians but this is sometimes granted to the wicked It profits not to give all that one hath unto the poore if there be not charitie For the outward action is done in hypocrisie if there be not inward love Rivers of bounty profit not unlesse they spring from the fountain of charitie Charitie is patient For no man is easily angry with him that he loveth truly Charitie is bountifull For he that by charitie hath bestowed his heart which is the chief good of the soul how should he denie the outward goods which are lesse Charitie envieth not Because he that is in charitie looketh upon anothers good as upon his own Charitie thinketh no evil No man easily hurts him whom he loveth truly and from his heart Charitie is not puffed up Because by charity we are all made the members of one bodie and one member prefers not it self before another Charity doth not behave it self undecently For it is the property of an angrie man to bear himself undecently but charitie is the bridle of anger Charitie seeketh not those things which are her own Because that which one loveth he preferreth before himself and seeketh the profit thereof more then his own Charitie is not provoked to anger For all anger proceedeth from pride but charity puts it self under all Charitie imagineth no mischief For it plainly appeareth that he is not yet in perfect charitie whosoever worketh mischief against any one Charity rejoyceth not in iniquitie For charitie maketh anothers miserie to be her own Charitie beareth all things beleeveth all things hopeth all things endureth all things For charitie refuseth not to do unto others as she desires that others should do unto her Tongues shall cease prophesies shall cease and sciences shall be destroyed But charitie shall not cease but the imperfection thereof shall be taken away and the perfection thereof shall be compleat in the life to come God commanded two altars to be built in the tabernacle and fire was carried from the outward to the inward God hath congregated a twofold Church a militant and a triumphant The fire of love shall at length be translated from the militant to the triumphant Think upon these things O devout soul and study after holy love Whatsoever thy neighbour be yet he is one for whom Christ vouchsafed to die Why then dost thou deny to shew thy charitie to thy neighbour when as Christ did not stick to lay down his life for him If thou lovest God truly thou must also love his image We are all one spirituall body Let us therefore have all one spirituall minde It is unfit that they should be at variance upon earth which must at length live together in heaven Whilest our mindes agree in Christ let our wills also be conjoyned We are the servants of one Lord It is not fit that we should
and vertues is better then all earthly riches Wherefore Because vertue pleaseth God but riches do not please him without vertue The povertie of Christ must be more acceptable unto us then the riches of the whole world Povertie was sanctified through Christ. He was poore in his nativitie poore in his life and poorest of all at his death Why dost thou stick then to preferre povertie before worldly riches when as Christ preferred it before heavenly riches How will he commit his soul unto God who doth not commit unto him the care of his body How will he lay down his life for his brother who doth not bestow his riches upon him Riches bring forth labour in the getting fear in the possessing and grief in the loosing And which is most to be lamented the labour of the covetous doth not onely perish but it causeth them also to perish as Bernard teacheth Thy love is thy God Where thy treasure is there will thy heart be also He that loveth these bodily worldly and perishing riches cannot love the spirituall heavenly and eternall riches Wherefore Because those presse down the heart of man and draw it downwards but these lift it upwards The love of earthly things is as the birdlime of spirituall punishments as one of the true lovers of Christ said Lots wife which was turned into a pillar of salt doth yet preach unto us Not to look back to those things which are in the world but to go straight on to our heavenly countrey The Apostles left all and followed Christ. Wherefore Because the knowledge of the true riches taketh away the desire after false riches If we have tasted the Spirit the flesh pleaseth not our taste If Christ be sweet to a mans taste then the world is bitter unto it But why dost thou so much seek after pleasures Let the remembrance of him that was crucified crucifie in thee all desire of pleasure Let the remembrance of hell-fire quench in thee all the fire of lust Compare the short moment of pleasure with eternall punishments Pleasures are brutish and they make us like brutes The sweetnesse of the kingdome of heaven pleaseth not his taste that is daily full with the husks of the swine Let us mortifie all sensuall pleasures and let us with Abraham offer to God as a spirituall sacrifice this our beloved sonne that is the concupiscences of our soul by renouncing voluntarily all pleasure and by embracing the bitternesse of the crosse It is not a plain way strewed with roses but a sharp way and set with thorns that leadeth unto the kingdome of heaven The outward man increaseth by pleasures but the inward man by the crosse and by tribulations As much as the outward man is augmented so much is the inward man diminished Pleasures serve the bodie but the true godly have least care of their body and the greatest care of their soul. Pleasures do captivate our hearts that they cannot be free in the love of God Not pleasures but the contempt of pleasures at death shalt thou carry away with thee and bring to judgement Let the fear of God then wound thy flesh that the love of the flesh deceive thee not Keep alwayes in thy minde the memory of Gods juâ—gement that the perverse judgement of thy sensuall appetite lead thee not into bondage Look not upon the flattering face of the serpent but look back upon his stinging tail Overcome thou by the grace of Christ that at length thou mayst as conquerour be crowned by Christ. Meditat. XL. Of the profit of tentations The palm-tree grows the more prest down And crosses prove the Churches crown IT is profitable for the faithfull soul to be tried and confirmed by tentations in this world Our Saviour himself would wrestle with the devil in the wildernesse that for us and for our salvation he might overcome him and be the first champion in our quarrel He descended first into hell and afterwards ascended up into heaven So the faithfull soul doth first descend into the hell of tentations that so it may ascend into celestiall glory The people of Israel could not come to possesse the promised land of Canaan before they had overcome divers enemies Neither can the faithfull soul promise unto it self the kingdome of heaven untill it hath overcome the flesh the world and the devil Tentation proveth purgeth and enlighteneth us Tentation proveth us For faith shaken by adversitie is confirmed more strongly in the rock of salvation it enlargeth it self more into the boughs of good works and riseth up higher unto the hope of deliverance When Abraham being commanded to sacrifice his sonne shewed himself ready to obey Gods command after the tentation the angel of the Lord appeared unto him saying Now know I that thou fearest God seeing that for my sake thou hast not spared thine onely sonne Even so in tentations if thou shalt offer unto God the beloved sonne of thy soul that is thine own will thou shalt be reputed one that truly feareth God and thou shalt in thine heart heare God speaking unto thee Fire proves gold and tentation proves faith The souldiers valour is seen in the fight And the strength of our faith appeareth in tentations When the whirling windes and the stormie waves beat upon the ship of Christ then it appeareth of how little faith some of the disciples are The Israelites whom God commanded to be led forth to overcome the Midianites were first proved at the waters So they which are to be admitted into their heavenly countrey after the conquest of their enemies are first to be proved in the waters of tribulations and tentations Whatsoever adversitie therefore whatsoever tentations happen unto the faithfull soul let her think with her self that they are for triall and not for deniall Tentation also purgeth To purge out the pestilent humour of self-love and the love of the world Christ our Physician useth many grains of bitter Aloes Tribulation sends us to search our conscience and recalls to our memorie the sinnes of our life past And further as Physick preserveth the bodie from contagious diseases So also doth tribulation preserve the soul from sinnes Man is alwayes prone to sinne But more in time of prosperitie then in adversitie Riches are thorns to many men Therefore God plucks out the thorns that they may not choak their souls Varietie of worldly businesse hindereth many from the service of God Therefore God sendeth diseases upon them that they may come to themselves and begin to die to the world and to live to God Some men have tumbled down the hill of great prosperitie And have enjoyed truest rest in their adversitie The honour of the world puffeth men up with pride Therefore God brings them into contempt and withdraweth from them the fewel of pride Last of all Tentation enlighteneth We come not to know the frailtie and vanitie of all
worldly comfort but by tentations Stephen when he was stoned saw the glorie of Christ So Christ manifests himself unto the contrite soul in calamities There is no true and solid joy but where God dwelleth and Gods dwelling is in the contrite and humbled spirit Affliction it is and tentation which humbleth the spirit and maketh it contrite Therefore true and solid joy is in the soul of the afflicted Tentation is the way to come to the knowledge of God Therefore the Lord saith I will be with him in trouble I will deliver him and make him see my salvation Blinde Tobie saw nothing either above him beneath him or before him and therefore he saw not himself But being enlightned of God by the angel Raphael he saw all things which before he could not see using no other medicine but the gall of a fish To shew that our eyes are to be anointed with the gall of bitternesse that so we may be enlightned and come to the true knowledge of our selves and worldly things Why saith the Apostle that we know but in a glasse Because in tentations we come to know that God maketh the elect joyfull under the shew of sorrow and quickeneth them under the shew of death and healeth them under the shew of sicknesse and enricheth them under the shew of povertie Therefore must the crosse and tentation be welcome unto him whosoever is not unthankfull to Christ who was crucified and tempted for us O good Jesus Let me be burned here let me be smitten here that I may be spared hereafter O good Jesus Thou which dost often cast us off from thee by sparing us make us to return unto thee by striking us Afflict and presse the outward man that the inward man may grow and increase O good Jesus Fight within me against me Be thou the moderatour of the fight and the crown of my victorie Whatsoever adversitie I feel in this life let it tend to the strengthening and increasing of my faith O good Jesus Help my weak faith For so thou hast promised by thy holy prophet As a mother comforteth her children so will I comfort you As a mother cherisheth and nourisheth her sucking infant with much care So do thou O good Jesus erect and confirm my languishing faith Grant that thy inward comforts may prevail more with me then the contradictions of all men and the devil himself yea and the cogitations of mine own heart O thou good Samaritane poure the sharp wine into the wounds made by my sinnes but poure in also the oyl of divine comfort Multiply my crosses but give me also strength to endure them Meditat. XLI Here are foundations of Christian patience Take up thy crosse do but endure To overcome thou shalt be sure BE quiet O devout soul and endure with patience the crosse which God hath laid upon thee Consider the passion of Christ thy bridegroom He suffered for all of all and in all He suffered for all yea even for them which despise his precious passion and wickedly trample his bloud under their feet He suffered of all He is delivered he is broken in pieces he is forsaken of his heavenly Father he is forsaken of his disciples he is rejected of the Jews his own peculiar people For they preferred Barabbas the thief before him He is crucified of the Gentiles He suffers for the sinnes of all men And therefore he is afflicted of all men He suffered also in all His soul was sorrowfull even unto death and being pressed with the sense and feeling of Gods anger cries out that he was forsaken of God All the members of his bodie are in a bloudy sweat His head is crowned with thorns His tongue tastes a cup of gall and vineger his hands and feet are boared with nails his side is wounded his whole bodie is scourged and he is stretched forth on the crosse He suffered hunger thirst cold contempt povertie reproches wounds death and the crosse And then how unjust a thing were it for the servant to rejoyce when the Lord suffereth How unjust were it that we should rejoyce in our sinnes when our Saviour is so grievously punished for them How unjust were it that the other members should not condole when the head is afflicted But rather it is necessary that we enter through many tribulations into the kingdome of heaven as it was necessary that our Saviour should by his passion enter into celestiall glorie Consider also the bountifull reward The sufferings of this present life are not worthy of the glorie which shall be revealed unto us How great soever our suffering is it is but temporall yea sometimes but for a day But the glorie is everlasting God doth exactly observe all our adversities and will at length bring them to judgement How disgracefull a thing then will it be at the generall assembly of the whole world to appear without the jewels and bracelets of the crosse and passions He shall wipe away all tears from the eyes of those that are his O happy tears which shall be wiped away by the hand of such a great Lord O happy crosse that shall finde a crown in heaven David was not ten whole yeares in his exile but he was fourtie in his kingdome Here we have the shortnesse of our suffering prefigured and the eternitie of the glorie which is to follow It is but a moment of time wherein the Saints are exercised by the crosse But the mercies by which they are comforted are for ever And thus after adversitie in the morning follows prosperitie in the evening Consider also the tribulation of all the Saints Behold Job mourning on the dunghill John hungry in the wildernesse Peter stretched out upon the crosse James beheaded of Herod with the sword Behold Mary the blessed mother of our Saviour standing under the crosse She was the type of the Church the spirituall mother of our Lord. Blessed are ye saith Christ when men shall persecute you for my names sake For so have they done to the Prophets O glorious persecution which makes us conformable unto the Prophets and Apostles and all the Saints and even unto Christ himself Let us therefore suffer with those that suffer let us be crucified with those that are crucified that we may be glorified with those that are glorified If we be true sonnes indeed let us not refuse the condition of the rest of our brethren If we truly desire the inheritance of God let us accept it wholly For the sonnes of God are not onely heirs of joy and glory in the world to come but also of heavinesse and sufferings in this present world For God scourgeth every sonne whom he receiveth He punisheth their sinnes here that he may spare them at the judgement to come He multiplies tribulations here that he may multiply their reward hereafter And so not
holy-day for all eternity Therefore think not onely upon the time of thy friends forsaking thee that is at their death but think also upon the time when they shall be restored again unto thee that is at the resurrection To them that firmly beleeve the resurrection death seemeth not death but rather a quiet sleep The whole universe seems to be a glasse in which we may behold the resurrection The sunne that sets every night riseth again in the morning The herbs that are dead in the winter shoot up again in the spring The Phenix at her death reneweth her self again When times and seasons are past they return again After fruits are come to maturity still there succeed others Seeds unlesse they die and be corrupted they rise not again with increase All things are preserved by perishing and generated by corrupting Shall we think then that God hath to no end or purpose set before us these types in nature Shall nature be more powerfull then God who hath promised that our bodies shall rise again He that quickneth the grain of the seeds that are dead and rotten that thou mayest live thereby in this world shall not he much more raise up thee and thine that thou mayest live with them for ever God hath called thy loving friends unto their beds And do not thou envie them their quiet rest The resurrection will shortly come It may be thou didst hope that thy friends before their death would have been profitable members of the militant Church But it hath pleased God to make them members of the Church triumphant Seeing it hath so pleased God be thou also well pleased It may be thou thoughtest that thy friends before their death would have attained to the knowledge of divers things But it hath pleased God to take them up into the heavenly Academie there to learn true wisdome Seeing therefore it hath so pleased God be thou also well pleased It may be thou didst hope that thy friends before their death would be raised out of the dust and be set with princes But it hath pleased God to make them the fellows of heavenly princes that is the holy angels Seeing therefore it hath so pleased God be thou also well pleased It may be thou didst hope that thy friends before their death would have gathered together much riches But it hath pleased God to make them partakers of the delights of his heavenly kingdome And therefore seeing that it hath so pleased God be thou also well pleased Holy God thou hast taken away nothing but what thou gavest blessed be thy name for ever and ever Meditat. XLV Of the last judgement Remember that Christ Jesus shall Thoughts words and deeds to judgement call THe Father judgeth no man but hath committed all judgement to his Sonne I know Lord Jesus that thou wilt come as the severe Judge of all men to bring their thoughts words and deeds to light though they were done in darknesse Above there shall be a severe judge beneath hell gaping within the conscience gnawing without the fire flaming on the right hand sinnes accusing on the left hand the devils terrifying The good angels keeping out of heaven and the evil angels pulling down to hell Then Lord Jesus to whom shall I betake my self in these my straits I am afraid of all my works knowing that thou sparest not every one that offendeth I shall there be set between time and eternity Time will be past but the infinite space of eternitie will remain behinde The malignant spirits will require their wicked works unto which they have perswaded me and in that severe judgement they will produce all they know against me that they may draw my soul into the fellowship of their torments All the host of heaven shall consume away the heavens shall be rolled together like a scrole all the host of them shall fall even as a leaf falleth from the vine or figge-tree The sunne shall be ashamed and the moon shall be brought to confusion But if these the works of thy hands which never committed any evil against thee if they flee away from thy sight how shall I miserable sinner be able to appear before thy face The heavens of heavens are not clean in thy sight What am I then that drink iniquitie like water But if the righteous shall scarce be saved where shall the sinner appear Whither then shall I fly or to whom shall I go but unto thee O Lord Thou shalt be the Judge of my sinnes who diedst for my sinnes For the Father judgeth no man but hath committed all judgement unto his Sonne The Father delivered all judgement to the Sonne but the Son again was delivered for our sinnes For God so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Sonne not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through him How canst thou then condemn me Lord Jesus when as thou wast sent by thy Father to save me Thou â—idst fulfill the will of thy Father in all things How then wilt thou not fulfill it in saving me miserable sinner It is not the will of thy Father that one of the little ones should perish And I am a little one in thy sight and a little one also in mine own sight For what am I but dust and ashes Neither onely dust and ashes but also a very little one and a very dwarf for proficiencie in piety Perfect therefore in me little one the will of thy Father Thou camest O Jesus to save that which was lost How then canst thou condemn him that desires to be saved My sinnes will accuse me and call upon the Judge for severe sentence But thou hast taken my sinnes upon thee Thou takest away the sinnes of the world How then hast thou not taken away mine also How canst thou condemn me for my sins when thou diedst for them Thou diedst for the sinnes of the whole world How then hast thou not died for mine also Certainly Lord Jesus if thou hadst meant to deal with me in thy strict judgement thou wouldest never have descended from heaven to take upon thee my flesh to die and to be crucified The devils will accuse me and require of my soul the works whereunto they have perswaded me But the prince of this world is condemned and hath nothing in thee and if he hath nothing in thee then certainly he hath nothing in me For I beleeve in thee O Lord therefore thou abidest in me and I in thee He will accuse me that am thy friend He will accuse me that am thy brother that am the beloved sonne of the eternall Father How then canst thou deal with me in thy strict judgement seeing that I am thy friend thy brother and thy sonne At that judgement Moses will accuse me and pronounce me accursed for not keeping all that is written in the book of the law
hath pleased thee to conjoyn unto thee the humane nature in a most neare bond of personall union Although therefore my sinnes do hinder me yet the communion of nature doth not repell me I will adhere wholly unto thee because thou hast wholly assumed me wholly Amen PRAYER V. He renders thanks for Christs passion HOw great thanks do I ow unto thee O most holy Jesu for that thou hast taken upon thee the punishment of my sinnes and hast endured hunger thirst cold wearinesse reproches persecutions sorrows povertie bonds whips pricking of thorns yea and that most bitter death of the crosse for me sinner How great is the flame of thy love which forced thee of thine own accord to throw thy self into that sea of passions and that for me most vile and unthankfull servant Thy innocency and righteousnesse made thee free from all sufferings But thy infinite and unspeakable love made thee debter and guilty in my room It is I that trespassed and thou makest satisfaction It is I that committed rapine and thou makest restitution It is I that sinned and thou undergoest the passion O Jesu most benigne I acknowledge the bowels of thy mercy and the fiery heat of love Thou seemest to love me more then thy self seeing thou deliverest up thy self for me O most innocent Jesu what hast thou to do with the sentence of death O thou most beautifull amongst the sonnes of men what hast thou to do with spittings upon thee O thou most righteous what hast thou to do with whips and bonds These things belong not unto thee They are all due unto me But thou of thine unspeakable love didst descend into the prison of this world and take upon thee the shape of a servant and most willingly undergo the punishment that was due unto me I was for my sinnes to be adjudged to the lake that burneth with everlasting fire But thou by the fire of love being burnt upon the altar of the crosse dost free me from it I was to be cast away for my sinnes from the face of my heavenly Father And thou for my sake complainest that thou art forsaken of thy heavenly Father I was to be tormented of the devil and his angels for ever And thou of thine infinite love dost deliver thy self unto the ministers of Satan to be afflicted and crucified for me As many instruments as I see of thy passion so many tokens do I see of thy love towards me For my sinnes are those bonds those whips and those thorns which afflicted thee all which of thine unspeakable love thou enduredst for me Thy love was not yet satisfied with taking my flesh upon thee but thou wouldest make it as yet more manifest by that most bitter passion of thy soul and bodie Who am I most mighty Lord that for me disobedient servant thou thy self wouldst become a servant so many yeares Who am I most beautifull Bridegroom that for me the most filthy vassal of sinne and whore of the devil thou hast not refused to die Who am I most bountifull Creatour that for me most vile creature thou hast not been afraid of the passion of the crosse I am to thee most loving Bridegroom the true spouse of bloud for whom thou dost poure forth such plenty of bloud I am to thee most beautifull Lily a thorn indeed that is full of prickles It is I that laid upon thee a heavy and sharp burthen with the weight whereof thou wast so squeezed that drops of bloud did distill abundantly from thy sacred bodie To thee Lord Jesu my alone Redeemer and Mediatour for this thine unspeakable love will I sing praises for ever Amen PRAYER VI. He renders thanks for our calling by the word VNto thee O Lord my God is most due all praise honour and thanksgiving for that thou wouldest by the preaching of thy word make manifest unto us that thy Fatherly will and determinate counsel concerning our salvation By nature we are darknesse we sit in darknesse and in the region of the shadow of death But thou by the most clear light of the Gospel dost dispell this darknes In thy light do we see light that is in the light of thy word we see that true light that lighteneth every one that cometh into this world What use were there of a treasure that is hid and a light that is put under a bushel I do therefore declare with thankfulnesse that great benefit in that thou hast by the word of thy Gospel revealed unto us that treasure of benefits in thy Sonne How beautifull are the feet of those that bring good tidings and tell of salvation This peace of conscience and salvation of the soul by the preaching of the Gospel thou dost yet declare unto us and call us unto the kingdome of thy Sonne I was led into the by-paths of errours as it were a weak and miserable sheep But thou hast called me into the way again by the preaching of thy word I was condemned and utterly lost But thou in the word of thy Gospel dost offer unto me the benefits of Christ and in the benefits of Christ thy grace and in thy grace remission of sinnes and in remission of sinnes righteousnesse and in righteousnesse salvation and life everlasting Who can sufficiently in words expresse those bowels of thy mercy yea who can in minde conceive the greatnesse the riches of thy goodnesse The mysterie of our salvation kept secret from eternitie by the manifestation of thy Gospel thou dost lay open unto us The counsels which thou hadst concerning our peace before the foundations of the world were laid thou dost reveal unto us by the preaching of thy word which is a lantern unto our feet whiles we go through this darksome valley intâ— light everlasting What had it profited us to have been born unlesse by Christ thou hadst delivered us when we were captivated through sinne What had it profited us to have been redeemed unlesse thou hadst by thy word declared unto us the great benefit of our redemption Thou dost spread forth thy hands unto us all the day Thou knockest at the gate of our heart every day and callest us all unto thee by thy word O Lord most benigne how many thousand thousands of men do live in the blindenesse of Gentilisme and in errours and have not seen that light of thy heavenly word which thy bounty hath granted us of all men most unthankfull Alas how often through our contempt and unthankfulnesse do we deserve that thou shouldest take from us the candlestick of thy word But thou of thy long patience dost make as if thou sawest not our sinnes and of thy unspeakable mercy dost yet continue unto us that most holy pledge and most precious treasure of thy word For which thy great benefit we render unto thee eternall thanks and we humbly beseech thee to continue it still unto us Amen PRAYER VII He renders thanks unto
that thou hast received me into the covenant of grace and made me an heir of everlasting life I acknowledge it is thy gift that I was born of Christian parents and by them brought unto this heavenly fount How many thousands of infants are born in Gentilisme and without this sacrament do die in their sinnes There is no difference in nature between me them Onely thy superabundant grace hath made a difference I was joyned with them in communion of sinne But I was separated from them by participation of thy grace How great is this thy goodnesse that thou diddest finde me when I sought thee not that thou didst heare me before I asked that thou didst open unto me before I knockt This thy mercie exceeds all praise yea and all admiration I was baptized in thy holy name thy name for me was called upon Therefore I am received into the heavenly family being made the sonne of my heavenly Father the brother of Christ and the temple of the holy Ghost This is an holy and heavenly laver In it therefore I am washed and purged from all my uncleannesse It is the laver of regeneration and renovation By it therefore I am regenerated renewed by the grace of the holy Ghost Whatsoever Christ my Saviour merited by his most holy obedience by the effusion of his most precious bloud of all that he hath left the saving fount of baptisme as a pledge Therefore the conferring of baptisme is the besprinkling of the bloud of Christ. That precious bloud of Christ doth make me clean from all my sinnes and makes me whiter then snow in the sight of God O eternall God thou hast made an eternall covenant with me in baptisme unto which I have alwayes recourse by true and serious repentance Thou hast betrothed me unto thee for ever in judgement and righteousnesse in grace and mercy Thou hast given me an earnest and pledge of thy Spirit in baptisme Therefore thou wilt not cast me away from thy face but being mindefull of thy promise thou wilt lead me into the joyes of the celestiall marriage As at the baptisme of Christ my Mediatour and head the heavens were opened So by the communion of the same baptisme thou hast opened unto me the gate of paradise As at the baptisme of Christ the holy Ghost descended upon him and a voice from heaven did testifie that he was the beloved Sonne of God So by the same communion of the same baptisme I am made a partaker of the holy Ghost and adopted to be a sonne of God For which inestimable benefit I will give thanks unto thee my God for ever Amen PRAYER XIII He renders thanks for the sacrament of the Lords supper HOw great thanks do I ow unto thee most high God for that in the most sacred mystery of the supper thou dost feed me with the bodie and bloud of thy Sonne What is there in heaven or in earth of more price and excellency then that body which is united to thy Sonne personally What more certain testimonie and pledge of thy grace can there be then the precious bloud of thy Sonne poured out for my sinnes on the altar of the crosse The very price of my redemption thou bestowest upon me that I may have a most certain testimony of thy grace towards me As often as I fall through my sinnes from the covenant of baptisme So often by true repentance and the saving use of this supper I am restored unto it again It is a sacrament of the new Testament and it alwayes enriches me with new gifts of the Spirit In this body life it self dwells and therefore it refresheth me and quickneth me unto everlasting life By the effusion of this bloud satisfaction is made for our sinnes And therefore by the drinking thereof the remission of my sinnes is confirmed unto me Christ saith it Truth it self saith it Whosoever shall eat my flesh and drink my bloud hath eternall life and I will raise him up at the last day that is to the life of glory For this is the bread of life which descended from heaven that whosoever shall eat thereof may not die but have everlasting life It is the eating by faith that Christ so commends which must needs be added unto the sacramentall eating that so that which was appointed to life may be received by us unto life I come therefore with true faith unto this heavenly banquet being firmly perswaded that the body which I eat was delivered unto death for me and the bloud which I drink was poured forth for my sinnes I cannot in any wise doubt of the remission of my sinnes when as it is confirmed by the participation of the price which was offered for my sinnes I cannot in any wise doubt of Christ his dwelling in me when he seals unto me the same by the communion of his body and bloud I cannot in any wise doubt of the assistance of the holy Spirit when my infirmity is strengthened with such safegard I am not afraid of Satans assaults when as this angelicall food doth make me strong to fight I am not afraid of the allurements of the flesh when as this quickning and spirituall food doth corroborate me by the vertue of the Spirit These taken and drunk do make Christ to dwell in me and me in Christ. The good shepherd will not suffer the sheep that is fed with his own body and bloud to be devoured by the infernall wolf Neither will the power of the Spirit suffer me to be overcome by the weaknesse of the flesh To thee O Saviour most benigne be praise honour and thanksgiving for ever and ever Amen PRAYER XIIII He renders thanks to God for preserving us from sundry evils TO thee O eternall and mercifull God I render eternall thanks for that thou hast hitherto preserved me from infinite evils and dangers and hast kept me safe by the guard of thy holy angels Thy privative blessings by which thou dost keep me from evil are more in number then thy positive by which thou dost conferre good upon me As many evils of soul and bodie as I see in others so many tokens do I see of thy mercie toward me For my deliverance from those evils is to be attributed as due onely to thy goodnesse How great is the power of the devil How great is his subtiltie As often therefore as that malignant and most subtile spirit and our most potent adversarie doth labour to do us any mischief so often by the buckler of thy benignity and by the guard of thy holy angels being protected I have been able to escape his nets But who can reckon up the treacherous assaults and invasions of the devil Who can therefore reckon up the riches of thy bounty When I sleep by night the eye of thy providence doth watch over me that the infernall enemy which goeth about like a roaring lion may not be able by his
by thy guard and upholden by thy aid I may become at length the conquerour Within are fears without are fights For within the devil doth wound my soul with venemous and fiery darts of tentations Without he wearies me with sundrie adversities and a thousand kindes of treacheries He is a serpent for his subtiltie and fallacie a lion for his violence and invasion a dragon for his crueltie and oppression He attempted to assault the very captain of the heavenly host And will he spare me a common souldier He did not doubt to set himself in opposition against the very head And what wonder then if he go about to overthrow a weak member of the mysticall bodie There is no power in me to withstand him being strong and armed There is no wisdome in me to escape the snares and gins of this enginer that hath a thousand stratagemes To thee therefore with humble sighs do I betake my self whose power cannot be termed and whose wisdome cannot be numbred Be present with me O Christ thou which art the most strong Lion of the tribe of Judah that in thee and through thee I may be able to get the conquest over that lion of hell Thou hast fought and overcome for me Fight likewise and overcome in me that thy strength may be perfected in my weaknesse Enlighten the eyes of my minde that I may discern the treacheries of Satan Direct my feet that I may escape his hidden snares Let the victory in tentation be a testimonie unto my heart of my heavenly regeneration Let the presence of thy grace confirm unto me the promise of victorie Furnish me and arm me with the strength of thy fortitude that in this combat I may be able to stand and hereafter judge him of whom I am now oppugned The more in number and the more dangerous the treacherous assaults of this enemy are the more ardently do I flee unto the aid of thy mercy One while he inspires into me the unsatiable desire of earthly things that having bound me in the fetters of avarice he may lead me out of the way of righteousnesse Another while he inflames me with the fire of anger that my heart may burn within me till I have done my neighbour some mischief Another while he solicits me to lust and the love of pleasures Another while he suggests into my minde envie and ambition Before he precipitates and throws me headlong into sinne he perswades me it is lighter then the aire or a feather or an autumn leaf and this is to make me secure And when he hath precipitated me into sin then he tells me it is greater then the universe of heaven and earth and more weighty then the balance of Gods mercy and this is to make me despair These so many and so great and treacherous assaults and fallacies I cannot foresee How much lesse then shall I be able of my self to escape them Unto thee therefore do I flee who art my strength and the rock of my fortitude for ever Amen PRAYER XIIII He prayes for a blessed departure out of this life and for a blessed resurrection unto life everlasting O Jesu Christ Sonne of the everliving God thou that wast crucified and raised up again for us thou that didst destroy our death by thy death thou that hast merited by thy resurrection a blessed resurrection for us unto life everlasting I worship thee I pray unto thee with my whole heart the onely true God together with the Father and the holy Spirit to grant unto me a happie egresse out of the miseries of this life and a blessed ingresse in the resurrection and in the day of judgement unto life everlasting I know that there is an appointed term of my life in thy divine determination and that after death follows judgement Be present with me in the houre of death thou that sufferedst death for me on the crosse Protect me in the day of judgement thou that wast for me unjustly condemned When the tabernacle of this my earthly house shall be dissolved lead my soul into an habitation in my heavenly countrey When my eyes shall be darkened in the agony of death kindle in my heart the light of saving faith When my eares shall be stopped in the houre of death speak unto me inwardly by thy Spirit and comfort me When a cold sweat doth come forth out of my dying members make me to remember thy bloudy sweat which is a sufficient ransome for my sinnes and a defensive remedie for me against death In thy sweat there appeareth fervency in thy bloud a price and in the running down thereof sufficiency When my speech shall begin to fail me in that last agonie grant that I may sigh unto thee by the grace of thy holy Spirit When those extreme distresses seize upon my heart be thou present with me by the consolation and help of thy quickning grace and take me into thy charge and tuition when all other creatures denie me aid Grant unto me that I may patiently endure all horrours and troubles and bring my soul at length out of this prison I beseech thee by thy most sacred wounds which thou enduredst in thy pâ—ssion upon the crosse for me to grant unto me that I may be able to quench the fiery darts of Satan wherewith he doth strike at me in the houre of death I beseech thee by those most bitter torments which thou sufferedst that I may be able to endure and overcome all the violent invasions of the infernall powers Let my last word in this life be the same with which thou didst consummate all upon the crosse and receive my soul which thou hast redeemed with so deare a price when I shall commend it into thy hands Let a blessed resurrection follow a blessed death In that great day of thy severe judgement deliver me from that cruel sentence thou which in my life didst with thy ready help protect me Let my sinnes be covered with the shadow of thy grace and overwhelmed in the bottom of the sea Let my soul be bound up in the bundle of the living that with all the elect I may come into the fellowship of everlasting joy Amen The fourth Part. Of Supplications for others The Argument The meditation of our neiâ—hbours wants and indigencies concern the common good and welfare of the Church and Common-wealth anâ— makes us look upon others miseries as our own This is the fruit of tâ—ue and sinceâ—e charitie which bindes us altogether into one mystiâ—all body under one head which is Christ and commends unto us a serious care of the whole Church and of all the particular members thereof That is not a true member of the bodie which labours not as much as in it lies to preserve in safetie the whole structure of the body That is not a true member of the 〈…〉 that suffereth And the same reason is of force in the mysticall body of Christ.
consequently into the pit of hell Let them remember the commandment of honouring their parents let them be carefull to recompense their parents after the manner of storks let them remember to feed them as they have been fed by them that they precipitate not themselves into the gulf of sundry evils Let parents and children with joynt desires study in this life to worship thee the true God that they may bear parts in consort and together praise thee in the life to come Let servants obey their masters with alacritie and with fear and with singlenesse of heart not with eye-service or to please men but as it becometh the servants of Christ. In like manner let masters embrace their servants with fatherly kindnes that they turn not their just government into tyrannical cruelty Let their societie in their private house be an oeconomicall private Church beloved of God and of the angels Amen PRAYER V. He prayes for parents brethren sisters kinsfolk and benefactours MOst holy and mercifull God from whom large heaps of sundry benefits descend down upon us who hast given unto me kinsfolk and benefactours to be helps unto me in this present life I beseech thee to bestow upon them in the life to come everlasting rewards Those whom thou hast joyned unto me in a speciall bond of nature and bloud I do specially commend unto thy protection Those unto whom I do ow speciall love and respect with serious and fervent prayers I commend unto thy keeping Grant that my kinsfolk may with joynt consent and unanimitie serve thee in the true faith and with true pietie that they may receive all of them hereafter a crown of eternal glory Unto my parents whom thou hast made next after thee the authours of my life and my informers in true pietie I cannot by any means render deserved rewards I humbly beseech thee therefore who art the authour of all good and the rewarder of all benefits to recompense their benefits here with temporall rewards and hereafter with eternall Let the example of Christ thy Sonne who about the agonie of his death commended unto his disciple the care of his mother let his example teach me even to the last breath to take care for my parents Let nature it self by the example of the stork teach me that I ow perpetuall thanks and rewards unto them for their merits Unto thee mercifull Father I commend the care and tuition of my brethren sisters and kinsfolk Let them become the brethren and sisters of Christ and so heirs of the kingdome of heaven Let us all be joined together in the kingdome of grace whom thou hast joined together in the life of nature And let us all together with those whom by death thou hast separated from us and taken unto thy self let us all at length be joined together in the kingdome of glory Make us all citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem as thou hast made us in this life members of the true Church The same likewise I intreat of thee for all my benefactours whose health and welfare both of soul and body I am bound to desire and further even by the law of nature Receive them into the everlasting tabernacles of the citie which is above whom thou hast used as thy instruments to conferre upon me so many and so liberall benefits My heart propoundeth unto thee the infallible promise of thy word that thou wilt of thy meer free grace recompense even a cup of cold water How much more then wilt thou be liberall and bountifull to those that with full hand bestow benefits of all kindes upon those that want Let not thy graces cease to run down upon them that poure forth so plentifully upon others Let the fountain of thy goodnsse alwayes spring unto them from whom such plentifull rivers of liberality do flow Grant I beseech thee most mercifull God that they which sow temporall things so liberally may reâ—p with much increase things spirituall Fill their souls with joy that feed the bodies of the poore with meat Let not the fruit of their bounty perish though they show it by bestowing of the goods that perish Give unto them that give unto others thou that art the giver of every good gift blessed for ever Amen PRAYER VI. He prayes for enemies and persecutours LOrd Jesu Christ the onely begotten Sonne of God that hast prescribed us in thy word this rule of charitie Love your enemies blesse them that curse you do good to them that hate you pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you I beseech thee who art most gracious and most readie to forgive to forgive mine enemies and the persecutours of the Church Give unto me the grace of thy holy Spirit that I may not onely forgive mine enemies from mine heart but also pray for their health and salvation even from my soul. Whet not against them the sword of severe revenge but anoint their heads with the oyl of thy mercie and compassion Extinguish the sparks of hatred and anger that are in their hearts that they break not forth into the infernall flames of hell Let them know and acknowledge that our life is but a vapour and a smoke that soon vanisheth away that our bodie is but ashes and dust that flyeth away that they bear not immortall anger in their mortall bodies nor entertain into this brittle tabernacle of clay their souls enemie Let them know likewise that inveterate hatred is their greatest enemie because it kills the soul and excludes them from the participation of heavenly life Illuminate their mindes that they beholding the glasse of thy divine mercie may see the deformitie of anger and hatred Govern their wills that being moved by the example of thy divine forgivenesse they may leave off and cease to be angry and to do harm Grant unto me mercifull God that as much as in me lies I may have peace with all men and turn the hearts of mine enemies to brotherly reconcilement Let us walk with unanimitie and concord in the way of this life seeing that we hope all for a place in our celestiall countrey Let us not disagree upon earth seeing â—hat we all desire to live together hereafter in heaven We all call upon thee our Lord our God which art in heaven And it is not meet for the servants of the same Lord to fall out one with another We are one mysticall bodie under Christ our head And it is base and shamefull for the members of the same bodie to fight one with another They which have one faith and one baptisme ought to have one spirit and one minde Neither do I pray alone for my private enemies but also for the publick enemies and persecutours of the Church O thou which art truth it self bring them into the way of truth O thou which art power it self bring to nought their bloudie endeavours and attempts Let the brightnesse of the heavenly truth open their blinde eyes