appearance of the sunne in fulnes of comfort He desired to se the day but could not see it which is nowe paste wherin the sonne of God hath opened fully the storehouse of ioy and yet beeing wearie of the burthen of his bodie and willing to forsake it as a most stinking prison house without feare of death he crieth out Oh how long shall I lie in this prison Paule ioineth hands with father Dauid euen Paule that notable Organne of the holie Ghost who saide of himselfe It is not I that liue but Christ that liueth in mee Hee that in body saw the Lorde and knew that as a vapour his life should vanish so he in a small space should suppe with his mayster Christe in heauen after his ascension yet carriyng about himselfe this case of the soule accounteth himself wretched and therefore cryeth out Oh wretch that I am who shal deliuer me from this body of sin As if hee shoulde haue saide I knowe that the time will come when men will faint in faithe and broch infidelitie when this life shall bee more loued than wisely lothed this bodie more esteemed than godlinesse wil suffer I knowe foolish parentes will be so be witched with the immoderate loue of their children that they wil grudge at the will of God when he calleth them and sorrowe and sighe a long time after their departures which is both sinne and follie But I tell them that they ought to reioise bicause they are rested from theyr laboures bicause they are passed from Death to life because they are blessed For wretch O wretche that I am who shal deliuer mee out of this body of sinne The bodie which you haue lost is but a bodie of sinne it is but a prison of the soule as father Dauid speaketh it is but a burthen of the soule so that by Death they are deliuered from sinne to safetie from imprisonment to libertie from a yoke of myserie to endles felicitie and therefore oh wretch that I am who shal deliuer me from this body of sinne Paule indeed knewe that this world was an exile and Heauen his contrey that he was a pilgrim this world but an Inne heauen his home nay at a sight of his owne Countrey when hee was rapt hee saw at his owne home whence by sin hee was banished in Adam such ioyes as eie neuer sawe nor eare heard nor heart euer conceiued These are the ioyes which shal endure for euer for number vnmeasurable for durance perpetual and without end or period And therefore let euerye Christian bee readie and willing in ioy of spirit to welcome death in token thereof learne to crie out with Paule Oh wretch that I am who shal deliuer me from this bodye of sinne Lette vs account our selues wretched as long as we carry this weede of earth aboute vs vntill our soules bee vncased and wee deliuered from this body of sinne But if examples will not bee of force to schoole vs yet let nature speake and preuaile The seconde causes whereof you are made are the foure elements which concur to the constitution of euerye mixt creature and being euer at combat doe also naturally worke the shipwracke of the same according to the common axiome rule of nature The causes of corruption are all one with the causes of gene ration and therefore vnlesse we wil denie nature and be vn thankful to God for our creation we may not in anye case feare death which is mothered vpon nature our common and generall mother But if neyther example nor Nature will or can preuaile yet let the authoritye of our Heauenlie Creatour and his wisedome compell vs to welcome death and to accept willinglye the condition of our bodies Our bodies and soules God created he made them by the power of his almightie hande and hath lente them vnto vs but for a time to vse til mother earth require the bodie and he our soules For as of earth wee came so into earth wee must returne againe therefore vnles we will be vnthankfull to nature and rebellious to God wee must bee willing to paie our debts vnto him least if we doo it not he cast vs into prison til we haue paid the vttermost farthing So much for thy bodie Now consider thy soule As thy bodie is a prison so is thy soule during this pilgrimage a prisoner as it is a body of sin so is thy soule lodged in a most stinking prison as it is of earth earthy so is thy soule an exile from heauen heauenlie ther fore to feare death it is to feare the deliuery of thy soule from prison which is meere follie it is to wish a stinking lodging and a filthie cage to dwell in and euer to carie it about thee which is a very harde and extreame misery it is to wish thy continuall banishmente from the ioyefull realme of heauen thy natural countrey which is extreame madnes So that vnles you wil be counted foolish wretched carelesse and mad who are willed to be as wise as serpents you muste in no case feare death which is the best ghest that euer came to the godlie For now there is not cōdemnation to them that are in Christ Iesus but blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. The second weapon Consider thy life IT is short vncerteine and miserable It is short for man that is borne of a woman hath but a shorte time to liue the daies of man are the dayes of an hyrelinge yea winde and nothing as father Iob telleth vs. A man in his time is but grasse and flourisheth as a flower of the field For as soone as the wind goeth ouer it it is gone and the place thereof knoweth it no more as the prophet Dauid teacheth There is a time to be borne and a time to die And man is like a thing of naught his daies passe away like a shaddowe It is the proclamation of the Lorde vttered by Esay that al flesh is grasse and al the glorie of man as the flower of grasse And it is tolde vs by Paule that heere we haue no continuing cyttie but wee seeke for one to come This is it which is shaddowed vnto vs in sundrie similitudes Saynt Iames sayeth Our life is euen a vapour that appeereth for a little time and then vanisheth away Our daies on the earth also are but as a shadowe there is none abiding They are like a bubble in the water like a weauers shuttle like a smoke they are like a thought soone conceiued and soone ended Dailie experience dooth teache vs thus muche For wee see that by some storme or other the greene apple falleth before the mellowed fruite the lambe is brought to the slaughterhouse as wel as the sheepe the chicken is killed for the broath as wel and sooner than the cock yoong men passe awaie as wel as old our daies are short our life is as the shadowe Now therefore reason with me Shal we feare
his side doo testifie a iust condemnatiō against vs that we did so vnthankfully vse them to destroy the sonne of God and yet doo commyt sinne to our power seeking to slaie him againe O yee butchers consider this innocent Lambe how he bleedeth and sheaddeth his pretious bloud to cleanse you from sinne and so to saue you from Satan drinke vp in faith the droppings of his bloud and moisten your soules therwith eate him and chewe him for hee is the bread of life which whosoeuer eateth he shall neuer hunger any more Bid war to old Adam proclaime battell against the subtile serpent and fight like good souldiers of Christ crucified against sinne that death and hel beeing put to the foile by the strength of your valiant capitain ye may at length be registred among the blessed saints of God for euer But if al this will not moue thee O foolish creature to repentance neither the miserable seruice of Satan nor the horrible end of sinne nor the maiestie or mercie of Iesus Christ nor the villanie that sin wrought vnto him which all ought to be forcible motiues and sufficient retentiues from sinne yet consider a while the condition of sinners which of al other is most miserable For first they are Gods enimies euen such rebellious enimies as with open armes in Satans quarrel vnder corrupt nature as their souereigne resist Gods gouernment which thing O sinfull man is of all other most horrible to be Gods enimie to be at war with God to be hated of the most mightie puissant and omnipotente Lord of hosts Neither doo sinners by warring against the honor of God vnder sinne and Satan onelye purchase the anger and hatred of God vpon their heads but also they greeue the courtiers of Ierusalem which is aboue and put the Angels and Saints of God to great greefe and sor row For if that they reioise at the conuersion of a sinner and bee gladde when the loste groat is found and the straieng sheepe brought to the sheepfold then what greefe what sorow what heauinesse do sinners purchase vnto them when being loste they wil not be found and being straieng sheepe they will not be brought to the sheepefold of grace againe And heere it may please all sinners to consider that as repenting wee gladden the Angels and Saintes of God and make the diuell to repine and greeue so when wee commit sinne and decline from the right line of righteousnes then do we keepe wakes for the diuel then dooth he hop for ioy when we defraud the good angels of God of their ioy These irreuocable sinners these the Lorde dooth hate as vtter enimies yea rotten and stinking carion is more sweete before men than is such a soule before God and his Aungels And therefore let all such repent not onelie because they are iniurious to God and offensiue to the good but also bicause they are stinking creatures and such as the Lord neither may nor will abide vnles they returne vnto him in sackcloth and ashes and therefore repent and amend Secondly those sinners that stop their eares against the retrait of these motiues let them consider their woonderous follie For sinne is the dung of the old serpent and he that sinneth for the vilest thing that is forsaketh the most pretious iewel in heauen and earth For what dooth mans soule lose by sinne from whom departeth she from whom doth she separate hir selfe euen frō God her maker her redeemer and Sauiour yea when shee sinneth she forsaketh saluation and her owne safetie she runneth into the stinking lappe of the diuell her desperate aduersarie and hasteneth hirselfe vn to hell Yea by sinne the kingdome of the diuel is inlarged for he that committeth sinne is the seruant of sinne And what if I saye that sinne maketh man like to Satan for whatsoeuer deformitie or filth is in the diuell that is by sinne of the which if the Deuill might bee freed he were a noble and excellent creature Euen so the soule of man by sinne is made filthie and deformed like the Diuel And what an iniurie is this to God that by sinne of his owne image wee shoulde make the image of the diuell Repent therefore and consider thirdlie that it gladdeneth the diuell to see vs sin because thereby we become his dwelling house Now how cursed a thing is sinne which maketh the temple of God the temple of Satan what follie nay what madnes is it to lodge the diuel in our heartes and to driue Christ and his holie spirit out of doores Why shoulde man deale so vnthankefullie with him that being God came from the top of the heauens to this vallie of miserie to take mans flesh vpon him that hee might be his Iesus or why should we sinne and by continual sinning bid adieu to the spirit of holines harbor satan in our harts shall he by whom al creatures were made glorious by sinne bee banished far from vs and he by whome all creatures were deformed bee wholie lodged within vs But tel me O man Christ is saluation life ioy loue and all in al the diuell is the father of death a murderer a manslaier a tyrant a prince of darknesse the worker of woe Now answer doest thou like better of death than of lyfe of paine than of ioye of hatred than loue of damnation than saluation and of hel than of hea uen if thou doo then shalt thou depart curssed into the euerlasting fire But if thou doo prefer Iesus Christ with his inesti mable blessings before Satan then why doost thou wallowe in sinne which is the onelye waie to preferre Satan in this world to establish his kingdome of darknes Wherfore O miserable man repent and amende consider that Iesus Christ like an euangelical henne neuer ceaseth clocking to gather thee vnder his winges like a chicken let him not clock cal in vaine neither be thou like vnto them that stoppe their cares against the charmer charme he neuer so wiselie Consider that God created thee wholie to serue him with al thy hart soule strength and power remember that thou at baptisme diddest vowe and swear obedience to his name remember that before GOD and al the bande of the holye Aungels and Saints thou didst renounce satan al his works and repent vnlesse thou wilte haue God and all his heauenlie Citizens at the great daie of reuelation to giue sentence of condemnation against thy periurie And why O miserable man shouldest thou break thy faith giuen to God in baptisme it is not an oth to bee repented For the seruice of the Lorde is onelie mans safetie as the seruice of Satan is the only cause of mans miserie The gailor that helde vs in a slauishe and spirituall Aegypt was not Pharao but the diuel and that for sinne and therefore if we couet to inhabi◠the land of promise and to liue in libertie free from calamitie it standeth vs vppon to returne vnto the Lorde who is onelie able by
the wooll of thy mercie that no winter of storming sin doo pinch my seely soule This doo O Lorde for thy mercies sake Amen Another O Lord like a witles sheep I wander in the perillous wildernes of sinne I am lost ô my God in the field of vanitie where Satan seeketh to trappe and deceiue me with the flattering baite of finfull pleasure Good Lorde leaue thy ninetie nine and looke for the loste sheepe till thou haue founde hir For I am loste good Lord and must needs perish vnlesse thou saue me Draw mé vp to thee in the bucket of thy mercie and place mee in thy safe pasture of grace the onelye sting that ouermaistereth Satan Choose me into the college of ioy that I maye sleepe in the lap of thy word which is thy power vnto saluation Doo this O Lorde for thine owne sake that thine aungels maye haue occasion to reioyse and to set foorth thy glorie Look for the lost groate O gratious God and find it out with the candle of thy mercie and lock it vppe in the treasure of ioye euen me O Lord that thou thy selfe in great ioye maiest call thine holie angels and heauenlie companie to reioyse with thee because thou hast founde me a lost groate and strayeng sheepe Be thou my Iesus euen for thine owne sake washe awaie the leprosie of sinne that beeing cleansed I may returne in ioy to found out the praises of thy holye and vndeserued dealinges with mee thine enimie Amen Another BEnd downe thy piteous eie O Lord from the palace of heauen and looke vppon me thy poore and wretched creature Behold I thy handiwork thine owne workmanship am disgraced nature hath wrapped me in sinne the diuell hath defaced bodie and soule so that I am nothing better than a lumpe of iniquitie The euill gardener hath planted weeds in thy garden the euil husband hath sowne tares and cockle in thy field O Lorde with the sword of thy mercie digge vp the weedes of sinne and with the beames of thy pitie partch vp the cockle and tares of Satan that I may flourish like a branch of thy sonne Iesus and growe like a flower in the pasture of grace by the dewe of thy blessing Scatter awaie from thy face with the wind of thy mercie the chaffe of iniquitie and gather thine owne corne into the garner of glorie Let me not starue for want of grace but feede mee with mercy and make me a simple doue that hauing the wings of a liuelie faith and faithful conscience I may fly vppe to the beacon of the crosse there to eate the merite of thy Sonne Christ my mightie Iesus O Lorde wrap me in his passion and deathe that no storme of sinne doo touch mee to my vtter condemnation Amen A praier for increase of Faith WHat man O God was so fettered in the snare of sinne that he coulde not by any meanes delyuer himselfe and therfore was for euer to lie bound with the chain of Satan in hell it pleased thee ô Lord to worke meanes of deliuerie by thine owne sonne to vnloose the shackles of sinne that man might be set at libertie For this I giue thee moste hartie thanks O gratious God and father of mercie For what a thing is this Man was loste through his owne follie Iudas for mony but Adam for an apple forsooke thee and so deserued not onely to bee forsaken but also like an vtter enimie and rebellious traitor to bee executed in iustice and iudgement But behold O ye sonnes of men where man was vnable and angels not sufficient to worke recouerie of grace and deliuerie from Satans slauery hee spared not to shedde the bloud of his sonne for the redemption of man and satisfaction of his iustice Behold and woonder God hath but one soune his deare sonne his onely ioye his owne image his expresse substance and yet doth he sende this one babe like a Lambe in this euil worlde among foxes to bee torne and cruellie butchered that by the drops of his pretious bloud he might washe the filthie face of our soules and with y e wooll of his passion the merit of his slaughter so cloth vs that noe storme of raging sinne might dismaye vs. The streames of thy sonnes bloud vnlesse wee bathe our selues in them vnles we wash vs in the poole of his bloud his passion O father of heauen shall nothing auaile vs. Giue vs therefore good God a full and sound hand that we may receiue the bloud of thy sonne Christe to our saluation Increase our faith in vs giue vs a winged faith that wee may flie vnto Christ thy sonne and our Sauiour standing on the beacon of the crosse to purchase there demption of the whole world But especiallie in time of extreamitie when Sathan dooth seeke to choake vs with the smoothering smoke of sin and like a wilie pyrate seeketh to sinke the shippe of our weake faith then O Lord when hee raketh our sinnes out of the ashes and calleth a parlement of his hellish aungels to accuse vs before thee and thine holie companie that being conuinced of trecherie to thy maiestie wee may abide the rod of thy furie euen then O Lorde giue vs a feathered faith that we may flie aboue the reache of Satan rest in the wounds of thy decre◠sonne in safetie without perill of shipwracke be the waues of sinne neuer so outragious or the winds of iniquitie neuer so tempestuous Couer vs with the winges of thy fauour garde vs with the hand of thy power and pul vs out of the deepe mire of our secret sinnes that being drowned in thy mercie we maye in a liuely faith spring out of the puddle of miserie into the sea of thy merites for our endlesse safety Amen A praier for preachers O Thou good sheepherd of our soules haue mercie vpon vs thou hast appointed vs as Vicars and Deputies vnder thee or rather for nurses for thee to traine vp the babes of thy family in the loue and feare of thee Giue vs we beseech thee the pure milke of thy Gospell to feed them but especiallie the light of honest conuersation to guide them out of this vallie of darkenesse vnto thee the true morninge starre and sunne of righteousnes Arme vs with the buckler of thy truth that wee may not onlie bicker with but also put to flight Satan that rauenous Lion O Lorde who seeketh by subtiltie to trapp and deuoure the lambs of thy pasture Wepon vs with Scriptum est It is written O Lorde which is thy power vnto saluation and the onely buckler whereby thou didste defende thy selfe in thy threefold combat with Satan Take from vs the leauen of the Pharisees the sowred dough of heresies beeyng the verie canker of Christian profession and the onely pitch that defileth the table of thy Children that wee may feede thy children onely with the worde of thy mouth This do O Iesus for thine owne sake Amen A praier for the increase of Preachers SAtan O Lord sayleth
mercie vpon me and giue me thy grace not onelie to be thankefull for this thy gratious gift but also dutifull to vse it after thy good will and pleasure It is thy wil O father of Heauen that chyldren shoulde come vnto thee yea that all men shoulde be saued and come to the knowledge of the truth Fil the cup of thy mercie O Lorde and let mee drinke of it and my children pledge me that we may together bee wrapped in the garment of Grace and at length be married vnto thee into the kingdome of glorie Take my tender babes O Lord into thy familie that as children of thy house together with me they may sit with father Abraham Isaac and Iacob at the table of ioy in ioy vnspeakeable and in pleasure inconceiueable Giue them the spirite of thy fauour that they may crie truelie vnto thee Abba Father assured in their consciences that they are thy children and coheires with our Sauiour Iesus of life eternall O father shew thy mercy for thy mercies sake Amen The Childs praier IAm borne a naturall child O father of Heauen weake in bodie blinde in soule in all parts maimed and as it were lapt in bands of myserie O Lord renew mee wholie make me a babe of thy familie that I may suck the paps of thy word which is of power to saue bodie and soule Lop the tree of nature O gratious God and restraine me within the banks of thy wil by the bri dle of thy spirite that I neuer passing the limites of thy good pleasure may of thy mercie be taken as worthy to sit with father Abraham in the restefull lande of Canaan Regenerate me O Lorde and make mee a new creature that hauing put off the olde manne I may bee transformed into thee the second Adam in newnes of life and be freed from albruntes of storming nature blowes of tyrannous Satan that I maie sleepe in the lap of thy Church in safetie for euer O sweet Iesu let no tempest of sinne or thunderboult of Satan or hys mynisters ouerturne mee thy poore Creature sayling vpon the foming seas beset and bea ten with the surges of this present worlde but gard me with thine hand and let thine holie Angels pitch their tents about me least the brickle barke of my bodie being broozed with the waues of wickednesse and the shippe of my soule shaken with the tempests of iniquitie I vtterlie come to naught and become a castaway In al dangers therefore giue me grace to crie vnto thee with a lowde voice Helpe mee thou that canst stil the roughnesse of the sea or else I perish Amen The Husbandmans praier IA pore husbandman O lord GOD doo come vnto thee for succour Iesus thou sonne of Dauid haue mercie vppon mee Thou art the true vine and GOD thy father the husbandman and a braunche ingraffed in thee by grace and nourished by the iuice of mercie O Lord when the pock of my corrupt nature breaketh out and the wild Oliue sheweth it selfe then of thy fauour lop and crop mee purge mee that I may budde in thee and beare fruite worthie repentance Giue me thy grace that I tie not my hart to this world nor locke my thoughts in the chaine of vanitie but free me from the slauerie of the diuell and vnlose the desperate knot of my sinneful conscience that sinne beeing disiointed by remission and my conscience vn linked from sinne I may serue thee in holines and righteousnesse all the daies of my life Aide mee O father of heauen when the branch of sinne will ouerwantonlie flourish old Adam passe the limits of thy holie will Doo this O father and onely good husbandman for thine owne sake Amen The Maydseruants praier AL estates O Lorde depend vpon thee Kinge and begger Magistrate Clergieman maister and scholler al come of thee And me thou hast made a poore handmaid which I do not only willinglie beare as knowing thou haste allotted mee this calling but also very many waies I haue to thank thee for it For thou hast not onely deliuered me from the slauish seruice of Satan but also dooest by this my yoke restraine the wanton reliques of stained nature preserued me from the pampering of the old man in pleasure and idlenesse Secondlie that I am not seruaunt to any Heathen Turke or Saracen but vnto a Christian in suche a place where thy Gospel is preached freely and fullie Thirdlie and speciallie because thou hast called me vnto such an estate of life as wherein I knowe I doo well please thee For who liueth after thy Gospell if not I whoe get my liuing with the sweate of my browes I doo not glory heere in vaine but to thee bee the glorie who hast turned the cursse into such a blessing O Lord giue me grace to consider this that I may bee more diligent in my calling more earnest in seruing thee than euer I haue beene heeretofore Forgiue me al that is past and guide me in thinges to come that I may neuer haulte in my vocation Giue mee a sounde and perfect faith in thy sonnes blood O father wherin he hath washed of his great mercie my poore soule that notwithstanding I serue a mortal man yet aboue him in all thinges I may serue thee to whome be all glorie both nowe and for euer Amen A praier for a woman with child IN the beginning of the world O father of heauen after thou hadst formed man of the slime of the earth and yet prince ouer all creatures it pleased thee of thy goodnes to create a woman of his side as well for his solace as for the continuance of his seede It was thy worde vnto them Increase and multiply This increase was easie but mother Eue hath made it hard by passing the bounds of thy wil to al her posteritie so that the woman conceiueth and bringeth foorth in great paine and dangerous trauel the fruit of her wombe in so greate paine O Lord in such extreme pangs that vnles thou quench the flame of her sorrowes with the water of comfort it is impossible for her to beare that into this vale of miserie which thou of thy goodnesse hast fra med she conceiued Wherfore thou GOD of woonders and Father almightie of Heauen as thou hast by the slaugh ter of thine only lambe taken awaie the sinnes of the whole worlde and condemned sinne in the fleshe so take awaie the pangs of childbirth the fruit of sinne from all womankind especially this woman that bearing ioy fullie that which shee hath conceiued fruitfullie and thou hast fashioned gratiously shee maye glorifie thee most carefully and praise thee most thankefully the onely staie of hir estate in al extremitie both now at this present and hereafter euerlastingly Amen A praier for a woman in trauell LOrde saue mee or else I perish Lord haue mercie vpon me a sinner Pitiful Iesu shew thy mercy vnto me and let the light of thy countenance shine vppon me that I be
not swallowed vp in griefe and sorrowe Lorde sweete Lord thou sendest thy seruants to cal me to the marriage thy fatlinges and oxen are killed and Dinner is readie Lorde giue mee grace to come vnto thee that beeing freed from sinne and eased of sorrow the fruit of sinne I may mary thee in the couenant of thy mercie and banquet with thee face to face at the table of ioye in thy heauenlie Ierusalem Lord louing Lorde and gratious God blesse the fruite of my wombe and take it into thy famylie For I beleeue Lorde that thou becamest of God the sonne of man to make it and all other whome thy father hath giuen thee the Children of God thy heauenlie Father According to my faith therefore O Lord be it vnto me Open the doore of thy mercie and lodge my child in the vertue of thy couenant that being my God and the God of my seede I maie glorifie thee both now and euer and offer vp the sacrifice of praise the fruites of a ioyfull spirit vnto thee Lord and Father of heauen it is thy wil that al men should be saued thy wil be doone and saue mee by thy mercie I beseech thee Amen A praier for the prisoner O Liuing GOD and louinge Father of Heauen I haue stood in the waie of sinners and wasted my days in iniquitie for the which I am iustlie tied in bands and shall suffer the shippewrack of this fraile and fading life O Lorde comfort me with thy holy spirit against the terror of death and so roote in mee the hope of saluation that I may looke in stedfast saith after the night of my passion to suppe and to be with thee in heauenly paradise Euill hath beene my life euen from the wombe haue I warred with euill nature against thee and to my power sought to destroy my selfe and to crucify my Iesus again most villanouslie But yet O. Lorde and father of mercie I beleeue verilie that al thy sonnes bloud is not dried vppe I am persua ded that there are some drops of grace reserued for all laden and labouring publicans and therefore comming vnto thee I crie and cal Lorde haue mercie vpon me a sinner Lorde O Iesu thou sonne of Dauid haue mercy vpon me Remember thy bloo die passion and with the testimonie of most thy holy spirite seale vp in my heart my saluation that I may die in thee and so liue with thee for euer Amē A praier to be said at the houre of death FAther of heauen into thy handes I doo commend my soule Lorde increase my faith strengthen my weaknes fortifie my soule with the Testimonie of thy fauour against the feare of death which is dreadfull vnto me O gratious God looke not vppon my merits for they are none nor vpon my life for it hath been very naught and abhominable but looke vpon Christ thy deer sonne and my louinge Iesus who beeing slaughtered vpon the altar of the Crosse crieth vnto thee for me and my brethren Father forgiue thē Thy sonne O Lorde died to deliuer vs was bound to lose vs out of hellish Aegypt that being freed by him wee might alwaies and solie serue him But mercie Lorde mercie is all my sute for I haue prophaned his pretious passion by my euill conuersation and done what laie in my power to crucifie him againe but notwithstanding Lord thou art alwaies mercifull and of great pittie and I beleeue verely that thy sonnes mercie is not abated who cried for the butchering Iewes Father forgiue them Louing God therefore burie mine iniquities and accept thy sonnes crie as a satisfaction for my sinne Lord haue mercie vpon me a sinner Amen A praier for the truth HEresie O Lorde is the spurre of dunghil cocks and hirelinges which faint and will not fight in thy quarrell against the wolfe for the sheepe of thy pasture Let not this spur blind the eies of christians let it not shut vppe the windowe of thy will Thy truth defende O Gratious God and with the whippe of thy iudgement scourge al penie gospellers and scowre thy fathers house which must be a house of praier that thy worde may be truly preached which is thy power vnto saluation Grant vnto vs the pure bread of life let it not bee sowred with the leuen of vnseasoned Rabbins least thy truth being eclipsed with euill doctrine be vtterly buried and so thy Lambes for hunger starued The babes of thy familie do hunger gape for meat they dailie crie vnto thee Father of heauen deliuer vs from euil Come Lorde Iesus come for thou art truth and the onely teacher of truth Roote vppe out of thy garden the weedes of heresie and hinder the blaste of slaundering Trumpetters whoe dooe nothing else but barke againste thy truth and bite the good names of others and al to the defacing of thy Gospel Amen A praier for the ploughman IT is thy iuste reward O GOD to man for his trecherie and disobedience against thy maiestie that he should get his liuing by the sweat of his browes I confesse therefore O thou iust God and louing father that I haue merited this bondage that thou maiest be iustified when thou art iudged Giue me thy grace O Lord that I may be diligent and faithful in my vocation to doo my dutie not so much for feare as for conscience Giue me thy grace that I may serue with a willing minde and a free conscience that beeing subiect to a Christian in body yet I may beare rule ouer sinn and Satan in a stedfast fayth and feare of thee Gard defend mee with thy grace and fense me with thy fauour Vphold my feet frō slipping staie mee that I fall not and if I fal raise me vp that I may not lie in the mire of desperation when sinne shall assault mee Plow my hart with the threats of thy pearsing lawe and harrowe it with a greeuous memorial of my omitied duetie but so O Lord that thou in the end doo so we in it the seede of thy Gospell the bread of immortalitie that I may liue in thee and by thee now and for euer Amen A praier for the blessing of his labour SVch was the fall of Adam O gratious God so great was his rebelliō against thy diuine maiestie that of desert thou maiest forsake him and staie the hand of thy boun teous liberalitie Notwithstanding Lorde because that thou hast commanded all men to aske and allured them to craue things necessarie by thy promise that hee that asketh shal haue therefore O Lorde in hope of thy wonted and offered mercie I come vnto thee in the names of Christ thy beloued sonne and my louinge husband desiring thee in the streames of thy bloodie teares to wash me from my sinnes to burie them in the bottome of the sea and to scatter them as chaffe before the winde that I being taken into thy fauour reconciled to thee in the blood of the immaculate lambe may looke in assurance for thy
all messengers welcome art thou Adue vile life farewell life sinneful life adue and welcome death the purseuant of my louing Sauiour for by thee my miserie shall end From war to peace from this stormie worlde into the calme countrie of heauen from gronings and sobbings from this vale of fighings to the pallace of ioy from earth to heauen from sinfull men wild beasts to beloued friendes by death I shall passe to life to haue the companie of holie Patriarkes and blessed Saints to haue the sight of the glorious Trinitie to haue and inherit such ioye as neither eie hath seene nor eare heard nor hart euer conceiued By death I shal haue libertie without imprisonment health without sicknesse ioye without sorrow plesure without paine in such securitie eternitie and perpetuitie as passeth all thoughtes The holie ones of GOD my father the blessed Aungels and Archangels they haue atteined it but neuer can they sufficientlie esteeme of it So that O death thou art welcome welcome sicknes for my Lord Iesus hath new sent thee to fetch me from this prison to his palace from a strange contrie to my home from this place of teares and mourning to the daie of marriage sweet Iesus to marry thee in thy mercies for euer Heare deerely beloued heare and reioyse with me Sicknes is com death is in comming as a purseuant from my louing Iesus to cite me to appeare before him that he may appoint me a man sion in his fathers house to sit with him at the table of ioy for euer O the great ioy and onlie ioy of a Christian Nowe I shall lie noe more in this prison nowe I shall haue Paules wish for I shall bee deliuered from this bodie of sinne now shal I depart in peace with Simeon to haue that peace that passeth all vnderstanding and surmounteth al thought Now now shall I see the amiable tabernacles of my Lorde nowe shall I enter the courtes of my God where one daye is better than a thousande else-where now shal I be a doorekeeper in the house of mine heauenlie father now shal I appeare before the presence of God now doth his kingdome come now Lord Iesus now thou cōmest to carrie my soule into ioy Into thy hands therefore I cōmit my spirite Beloued brethren this is my testamente which I leaue vnto you it offereth great ioye and no matter of Teares Shead therefore no teares for better is the daye of death than the daye of birth I entered my life with a crye it coste my mother payne and teares to beare mee but yet it cost my louing Iesus his bloud to saue mee you and all the world Enuy not therefore my luckines that now I shall passe from you out of this vale of teares vnto him who died that I with him mighte liue in ioye for euer If you will mourne mourne for your owne sinnes mourne for your selues that you shal not so soone sup with God my father as I shall doo mourne not for me for you shall shortly follow me and lose me but for a time when you shall see in heauen for euer For blessed are the dead that die in y e Lord whose name for euer bee glorified Amen A praier for the rich man THou art the Welspring of all good thinges O louinge Lorde thou art the riche store house and cheste of mercie for al naked Adamites O Loue inestimable Wee are born into this Vale of miserie not only wicked in soule but euen also naked in body a deserued entraunce for vs by father Adam through desire of souereigntie but an vndeserued thing it is O good GOD that notwithstanding our merited pouertie deserued nakednesse by rebellion against thy Maiestie thou shouldest thus cloath me with thy benefites with plentie against penurie with friendship against enimitie with health against sickenesse with store against needinesse This O Lord is an vnmerited benefite for the which after my bounden duty I giue thee harty thankes But what shall I say what sufficient thanks shall I render vnto thee for thou hast not onelye armed mee against pouertie 〈◊〉 but also chosen mee as a steward to vnlocke the chest of thy benefites to needye Lazarus that as thou hast loued mee so I should tender thee in him O Lord giue me thy grace that I may bee thy stewarde by clothing the naked by feeding the hungrie lodging the harbourles and defending the fatherles that I may bee able to render a faithfull accoumpt of my stewardshipp vnto thee i 〈…〉 the daie of reuelation Grau 〈…〉 this O Father for Christe his sake Amen Another O Father of Heauen and rich God of mercie Behold thy poore creature in sin riche in grace poore bestowe vppon mee some mite of thy mercie cloath mee with the merits of thy sonne Iesus and bathe my naked bodie in 〈◊〉 pretious bloud satisfie my hungrie soule with a crum of thy gratious blessings that being cloathed with the armour of his meritorious passion I neede not to feare the naked the desperate corruption or rather wages of nature Moisten my heart with the honyedew of thy great rich grace that as thou hast enriched me beyonde my desart beyng by sinne an enimie vnto thee so I maye continue riche in good workes to the profite of my neighbours to the comfort of mine owne soule and to the manifestation of thy glorious maiestie O Lorde thou art a zealous God Such a God as wishest my healthe and the safetie of thy Creatures haue therefore mercy vppon mee blesse me with faith towardes thee with loue towardes my neighbour and a godlie care towards my selfe that thou in thy selfe mayest be magnified my conscience reioise in the testimony of a good life whose reward in thy sonne Christe is life eternal Amen The Beggers praier O Mighty Lord and prouident GOD y e stewardes of thy plentious store-house are not moued to feede the hungrie to cloath the naked and lodge the poore Pylgrime at his piteous crie but notwithstanding all this their tyrannie Father forgiue them and pardon mee as I forgiue them that haue trespassed against me Rake the fire of charitie out of the dead ashes and quicken it O Lord that I may warme mee in thy familie in time of extremitie and they be ready in thy great audit to render a full account of theyr stewardshippe vnto thee But first of all doo I begge grace of thee that I may euer seek thy kingdome and so bee persuaded in hart by thy word that I shal want nothing but that all other things shal be added vnto me This doo I aske of thee O father of Heauen that euer criest Aske haue Giue mee faith to aske in certaintye that I may looke without doubt for this thy craued mercie ô Lord I beseech thee Amen Another LAue mercie vpon mee O Lorde and pardon myne offenses the rich men of this worlde will scarse looke vpon me or vouchsafe to relieue my necessitie with the crummes of