as the fearfull Doue hideth her selfe in some small hole or creauie at the noise of thunder euen so my soule when she beholdeth thine heauie indignation seeketh the darkest and obscurest places for her retraite But how long O Lord will thine anger last 4 Howbeit come O my Lord come and looke vpon me with thy pittifull eyes with which thou canst not blot out my sinne alone but all the sinnes of the world also For I feele my â—oulâ— sticke fast in a most filthie and deepe puddle of iniquitie therein she lieth drowned ouer head and eares and stretcheth out her hand O Lord vnto thee alas pluck her out of it O Lord and set her againe into the way of saluation Saue her O Lord for she coniureth thee therunto by thine infinite goodnesse and incredible mercy True it is O Lord that she no whit deserueth the same neither oughteth she to hope for any helpe at his hand whom she hath so cowardly forsaken against whose honour she hath so wickedly conspired the reward of whose sinne deserueth no fauour but hell fier and eternall death 5 But who O Lord shall sing thy praises and sound thy name in the infernall pit and in the bottomlesse depth of death For it is the house of sorrow for there is nothing heard and seene but howling torments where contrariwise thy praise consisteth onely in setting forth of thine infinit mercy goodnesse and clemencie 6 And besides behold on the one side how humble repentance maketh intercession for me and hath sworne that she will neuer depart from me vntill such time as she hath reconciled me vnto thee And on the other side consider how humble praier importuneth thee for me and hath sworne also that she will neuer be froÌ„ thine heeles vntill such time as she hath reconciled me vnto thee O my God thou hast often times seene my teares heard my grones I daily wash my face with tears through the remeÌ„brance of my sins I cause my bed to swim with the teares that trickle down my eyes what is that O Lord which repentance coÌ„mandeth me that I do not religiously obserue 7 I cast downe mine eies tremble with feare when I behold thy angry countenance I patiently beare the rebukes of mine enemies take in good part their reproches as a iust punishmeÌ„t for my sinnes I walke before their faces in sackcloth ashes and with the confession of my mouth I kneele at the feete of thine aulters I with rods make leane my flesh which caused my soule to sin howbeit mine enemies do but laugh at my trouble which place them selues round about me with mocks to betray me 8 But when as thou hast mercie vpon me I will say vnto them Away from me yee children of iniquitie yee shall no longer laugh at my miserie The Lord hath heard my praier and my teares haue appeased his anger and behold I now enioy the fruite of his holy fauour The light of his goodnesse hath shined vpon me and behold the stormes that came about my head are calmed and dasht in a moment 9 With much a do haue I opened my lips to call vpon him for aide with much a do could I get mine heart to crie him mercy and I haue found his grace to be powred vpon me comforting and quickening my languishing and sick soule euen as warme water refresheth a poore surbatred trauller O incredible clemency how ready O Lord art thou to pardon and forgiue I runne to offend thee and yet thou wilt shew me fauour I haue bestowed all the daies of my life both by sea and by land to hunt after ambition couetousnesse and filthie lust and when I haue beene ouer head and eares and vtterly vndone in my beastly delights yet hast thou in a moment pierced the heauens and the cloudâ— to come downe to deliuer me so as behold me now triumphing ouer my sinne which most humbly followed the trophes of my repentance which hath found grace before thee And so the hope which my sinnes had as it were strangled is now more liuely then euer it was before which promiseth me not onely the Empires of the world that bend themselues which way soeuer the Lord enclineth them but also openeth vnto me the highest heauens and assureth me after an happy life here in this world to enioy the heauenly immortalitie 10 What will mine enemies theâ— do when as they shall see me stored with so great felicitie They will then surely blush with shanie their soules will be greatly troubled and returne altogether confounded and amazed for he whom they thought to be vtterly ouerthrowne is now set in an higher degree then euer before he was Alas they all made a scorne at my ashes they laughed at my fastings and whilst I with abstinence straue against my flesh the very enemy vnto my soule they bathed themselues in the pleasures of the worlde but loe the arme of the Lord is ready to thunder lighten vpon their insolencie O my God giue them a long time a acknowledge the extreame danger wherein they are and to call vnto thee from on high for the onely remedy of their disease and as for my selfe who feele my soule purge her selfe of the filthy matters which are in and about â—er who feele my spirit inflamed with the fier of thy loue teach my lips to set forth thy praises lift vp my voice to resound thy mercies and guide mine affections sincerely to loue thee and to establish in the knowledge of thy tâ—…th my soueraigne happineâ— châ—efest felicitie Blessed are they vnto whom c. Psalme 31. BLessed are they my God whose sinnes thou hast pardoned and whose iniquities thou hast buried in the toombe of obliuion Alas what shall become of him whose iust punishment thou doost still continue vpon him for his iniquities An armie of euils encompasse him pouerty assaulteth him sicknesse afflicteth him famine presseth him and death it self which he thinketh to be the porte of this tempestuous nauigation is the bottomlesse pit which must draw him vnto euerlasting torments 2 And therefore they are three or foure â—imes blessed whom God calleth not vnto a reckoning for their deedes but is contented to haue them humble themselues before him acknowledging their infirmities opening vnto him the very bottom of their harts For we must by true confession and with a sincere conâ—…ience call vpon him 〈◊〉 his mercies and he that will be heard must humble himselfe before him for as he that goeth vnto a riuer or pond putteth downe the mouth of his vessell to take vp the water so must he also do that humbleth himselfe before his creator that will draw and taste of the water of this holy spring from whence runneth the moisture which onely purgeth and clenseth our consciences 3 I haue somtimes thought O my God to hide my sinnes away froÌ„ thee and haue said within my selfe how shall he vnderstand what I haue done or not And so haue my
heard where shall that people be so farre from the sunne so confined and limitted in darknesse as will not vnseele their eyes to behold the cleare burning brightnesse of saluation which will shine vpon them Yea heauen it selfe shall encrease his flames to giue light vnto this thine entrance into the world and the kings shall run from all places to do homage vnto the king of kings vnto the gouernor both of heauen and earth 17 For he hath set vp and aduanced his kingly throne vpon Sion in great costly array there shall he be seene wholy encompassed with glory darkning the Sunne and Moone with the brightnesse of his face 18 But why hast thou O Lord so highly exalted the throne of thy glory hast thou done it because thou wouldest not vouchsafe to heare the praiers of thy faithfull seruants And because thou wouldest make no reckoning of the whole world which in deed is nothing in respect of thy greatnesse Alas no my God Thou hast lifted vp the self vpon an eminent place that all the inhabitants of the earth might see acknowledge thee and so run vnto thy grace and mercy for thou shouldest be alwaies ready to come at the humble summons of thy seruants neuer disdaine their pittifull petitions And behold them also standing as miserable offenders condemned vnto bolts shackles looking for the comming of some king that should set them free at the entrance into his kingdome Euen so ô Lord deliuer thou them who haue giuen themselues vp into the bondage of sinne and with the onely twinke of thine eye the mainacles shall fall from their wristes 19 Then shall they be all heard to sing a glorious song vnto the victorious king their voices shall be heard throughout al the corners of the earth and the remembrance of thy singular bountie and infinite mercy shall be engraued within the memory of men and so passe from age to age euen vnto the last posteritie The earth shall then be consumed all the waters dryed vp the ayre vanished and the heauens haue an end which shall as yet sing the glory of the eternall God 20 The eternall God who hath vouchsafed merely and ioyfully to cast downe his eyes from the highest heauens into the very deepest place of the bowels of the earth for the acknowledging of the torments of the miserable detained captiues in hell heard their groanes is himselfe suddenly runne thither to vnbinde and set at libertie his poore captiue prisoners and all their posteritie where death with the weapons of sinne had ouercome them and confined them in his most darke prisons But the God of life hath ouercome death and hath freed and cleared them quite from thence 21 To the end O Lord that they might set foorth thy praise in Sion and preach thy louing kindnesse in Ierusalem And although euery one of them had an hundreth mouthes and their voices as lowd as thy thunder yet should they neuer be able to attaine and reach vnto the greatnesse of thy glory All the parts of the world conspire not nor ioyne not themselues together saue onely to represent in their motions a part of thine infinite power and goodnesse howbeit they neuer looke to come neere thereunto for they are more then bottomlesse depths which haue neither bottom nor yet brinke and therfore they must onely behold them a farre of 22 And therefore I most humbly beseech thee my God to be contented that thy people assemble and reunite themselues both in bodies and minds deuoutly to offer vp vnto thee that holy will which they haue to honour thee for the effect can in no wise otherwise be able to come neare that which thou deseruest Accept therefore O Lord the humble submission of the kings of the earth which come before thee to yeeld vnto thee their homage and seruice due vnto thee as vnto their soueraigne chiefe Lord. They shall cast their scepters vnto the earth and their crownes at their feete and present for a sacrifice vnto thy maiesty their humble praiers and innocent consciences And I will be the first my God which will cast downe my selfe before thee to worship and serue thee with all mine heart to thee alone will I consecrate my spirit Quicken it therefore O Lord that being purified by the holy zeale of thy loue it may receiue in it selfe as it were in a cleare looking Glasse the image of thine incomprehensible excellency perfection feele in it self the reflexion of thy sincere amitie aswel as thine infinite goodnesse accompanied with the number of thine elect to be an inheritor with them in euerlasting life 23 Now I haue already felt my good God that thou hast enlightened my soule with thy grace and haue presented the fauour which thou wouldest shew vnto all the children of the earth Heretofore hath my spirit a far of takeÌ„ a note how thou proceedest for the deliuerance of the world but it hath beene afraid to die before such time as thou wert come and that is because thou hast heard it call vpon thee saying Tell me O Lord how long the course of mine age shall bâ— and when thou wilt end my dayes 24 Go not about O Lord to cut of the thred of my life at the first or second winding vp of the spindle neither stay it ouer short in the middest of the course Attend my God vntill the time be come when thou must set open the treasure of thy graces to make an entrance for men vnto the largenesse of saluation or if thou hast at least appointed mine end and that my life cannot stretch so farre yet remember my posteritie and let him be borne of my race that must sanctifie the world by his comming 25 I right well know O Lord that at the first thou madest heauen and earth and whatsoeuer excellent thing we see here in this world to be the worke of thine owne hands 26 But all this shall come to an end euen as an old worne garment a man shall enquire what is become of it and there shal be no mention made thereof at all It was made and it shall be vnmade it had a beginning it must haue an end But thou alone O Lord which hast beene from all eternitie shalt be alwaies one and the same For age time which consume all things serue for none other purpose but to confirme thine euerlastingnesse and to set foorth thy Deitie men seeme to remaine heere vpon the earth for none other cause but to behold round about them thine incomprehensâ—ble greatnesse on the one side and their infirmitie on the other side 27 A man changeth not his shirt so often but the earth oftner changeth her inhabitants one putteth forth another and all is renued euen in a moment But thou my God art euen the same at this day that thou wast at the beginning Euery prouince of the earth hath a great catalogue of kings who haue there commaunded one successiuely after
another but the heauens and the earth continually sing vnto vs that thou hast alwaies beene alone euer like vnto thy selfe and that neither the time past ne yet the time to come can any wayes alter not change thee 28 Now my Lord although we must depart from hence yet do I not doubt but that I shall one day taste of that sweet fruite which shall heale 〈◊〉 contagious disease of ours which 〈◊〉 fathers transferred ouer vnto vs â—…uing eaten the fruite of death and of sinne For our children shall come after vs and therefore O Lord shew vs this fauour as to continue our posteritie from age to age vntill such time as we altogether shall appeare before thy face not to receiue sharpe â—…d seuere iudgement but to enter by the merite and intercession of thy deare beloued sonne into the enheritance of the eternall blessednesse which shall be purchased for all thy faithfull by the adoption of thy sonne in the house of thy seruant Dauid From the depth of depths Psalm 129. FRom the depth of depths haue I cryed vnto thee my God being lost and buried in the most fearefull caues of the earth I 〈◊〉 called vpon thy name hearken 〈◊〉 my voice and heare my praier 〈◊〉 all hope of succour is taken from 〈◊〉 and I see nothing about me but horror and trembling and yet haue I not beene discouraged and do waite for at thy hands that which thou hast promised to all such as shall liue in the feare of thy name and in the obedience of thy commaundements 2 Giue thou therefore O Lord a fauourable eare vnto mine heartie praier If my sinne stand betweene thee and me to whet thee against mine iniquitie and to make thee contrarie vnto the praiers which I make vnto thee beate back the same with the looke of thy mercifull eye or els O Lord shut vp for a time the eyes of thy iustice vntill such time as the eare of thy louing kindnesse hath receiued my confession and the humble request which I make vnto thee for grace For I come not before thee to bragge of mine owne iustification but of thy great louing kindnesse and benignity 3 If thou shouldest keepe a regiser of our sinnes and we come to an â—…dite before thee who were able 〈◊〉 God to abide thy seuere iudgemeâ—… For what day of life is there that 〈…〉 not deserued a world of tormenâ— Thou mightest draw out O Lord 〈◊〉 the paines of hell and yet the greatest part of my sins should go vnpunished 4 But although we haue mightily offended yet for all that thou ceasest not to reciue any sinner that commeth vnto thee with confessioÌ„ of the mouth and contrition of the heart He hath 〈◊〉 sooner looked towards thy mercy but that he feeleth it working in him and breaketh destroieth the sinne which freeseth his heart with feare horror And the punishment which hangeth ouer his head recoyleth farre away from him and caryeth with it this miserable carefulnesse which tormeÌ„teth the consciences defiled with iniquitie And therefore O Lord haue I not forsaken thy lawes but haue alwaies waited to see when it would please thee to graunt me fauour and grace for the vnwise man that despaireth by reason of his sinne and giueth ouer his soule 〈◊〉 â—…emned is like vnto the abhoâ—…â—…ole vsurer who hauing susteined 〈…〉 in his goods by and by beâ—… himselfe of his life also 〈◊〉 soule hath not done so my 〈◊〉 although she hath felt thine haâ—… lying most heauily vpon me executing part of the punishment which my sinnes haue deserued yet hath she alwaies conserued in her selfe that sound hope which she hath had in thy promises Euen as the blowes light vpon my backe I crie out and say vnto thee O Lord my God thy will be done and giue me as great strength as thou layest affliction on me Measure my punishment by my strength and as my torment encreaseth euen so augment my courage and so hast thou done O Lord. 6 Let Israell therefore looke vp and trust in his God euen from the day breake vnto the shutting in of the euening looke for none other helpe but from him For his helpe is ready sure for him that calleth vpon him with a sincere conscience and a pure will And although the miserie hath beene neuer so great and extreame yet so soone as the Lord hath vnderstood the crie of his seruants they haue all so soone felt also their deliâ—…rance 7 For he most bountifully 〈…〉 out his mercy and is infinitely â—…full to all those that come vnto him Insomuch as that his goodnesse putteth out as it were the sorrow which we haue for our sinnes maketh vs as it were reioyce in our fall as being the cause whereby we haue made triall of his louing kindnesse For if our sinnes surpasse all measure his gâ—…ce exceedeth all our thoughts We haue deserued long and hard captiuitie and loe who it is that freeth vs and hath brought vs a most sweete libertie We haue blinded the eyes of our spirite and loe who commeth to enlighten them 8 O Israell thou hast offended the Lord thou hast scorned his lawes thou hast made a iest at his commandements thou hast forgotten the good turnes which he fauourably hath bestowed vpon thee He hath drawne thee out of most miserable captiuitie fed thee with the bread of heauen â—…de purposely streames flow out of hard rocks to make thee drinke hath chosen for thy dwelling place the most delitious garden in the world made a couenant with thee giuen thee his will to keepe and thou hast coâ—…red against his honour gone an whoring vnto strange goddes troden his lawes vnder thy feâ—…e To be short thou hast deserued more punishment then there is to be had in hell And yet notwithstanding he offereth to graunt thee grace and with the price of his own bloud would redeeme thee from the bondage of sinne whervnto thou most voluntarily boundest thy selfe Behold him who hath himselfe paide their ransome that betraid him who tooke vpon him the punishment which we deserued and satisfied for our transgressions With what wordes then are we any way able to thanke him for all these mercies Open my lips therefore my God my Creator and redeemer that my voice may be heard and mine heart enflamed with a boiling affection to praise and thanke thee and humble me also in the acknowledging of my selfe to the end thou â—…st heare me in the knowledge of the holy mysterie by which we are â—…incorporate into thee and renued in thy couenant that we may enter into that blessed fellowship of glorie in which all they shall triumph which shall be partakers of the merit of the passion of thy best beloued sonne the true and onely Sauiour of the world Lord heare my prayer Psalm 142. O Lord man in the end is weary of all things a continuall course bringeth him out of breath ouermuch starinâ— dimmeth the eies and a shrill sound deaffeth the eares but
the more my voice cryeth vnto thee the stronger it is my courage encreaseth more and my praier betteâ— pleaseth me And therefore do I begin againe daily to crie vpon thee Lord heare my praier giue eare vnto my complaint for in praying to thee my God consisteth all mine whole comfort It is my praier O Lord which coniureth thy louing kindnessâ— to purge my sinnes not by reason of the seueritie of the punishment but by the meanes of the effect of the grace which thou hast graunted vnto vs by which thou doest abolish by thy souereigne and absolute power the remembrance of our sinnes 2 And therefore enter not O Lord into iudgement with thy seruant ne yet leaue him vnto the rigour of thy lawes for no man liuing that shall appeare before thee at thy iudgement seate shall be iustified No man shall escape this fearefull condemnation the punishment whereof is not onely cruell but immortally rigorous also Alas O Lord who can be saued before thee It is thou that art offended it is thou that wilt â—ccuse vs It is thou that hast seene ouâ— iniquities and wilt attest them â—nd it is thou that shalt iudge vs. When the accuser shall be witnesse and the witnesse Iudge what shall become of the offendor What defence can he make to iustifie himselfe O Lord my God I will not â—…rrie vntill this blowe light vpon me I will defend me with â—…y fauour and grace to oppose it vnto thy Iustice And thy grace is obtained by the acknowleding and confessing of our sinnes and the humbling and submitting of our mindes Loe I here cast downe my selfe prostrate before thee and lay open my sinnes and therefore I beseech thee O Lord to haue mercy vpon me 3 My sinnes my God the capitall enemie vnto my soule haue so terrified me and cast me downe as that I now lie crawling vpon the ground daring not once to looke vp vnto heauen For so soone as I lift vp mine eyes I see the light which shineth vpon me discouer on the day a great many of sinnes which accuse my conscience And then I feele forthwith shame take holde on my guiltie face and to make me cast downe my countenance vnto the ground a countenance vnworthy to behold the heauens the maister wherof she hath so grieuously offended too too cowardly a face to cast the eyes thereof vpon such places which haue so many thunder-bolts prepared to roote out the guiltie 4 My spirit therefore hath led me into darke places and buried me as a dead man in the cranuies of obscuritie My soule is made very sad in me and mine hart stirreth it selfe like vnto one walking with his nose lifted vp into the weather who through his retchlesnesse falleth into the boâ—rome of a well hauing forthwith thereby beene amazed is incontinent void of iudgement falleth out with himselfe and tormenteth himselfe vntill such time as being come againe to his wits he knoweth both the place wherein he is and vnderstandeth the maner how he fell in and then beginneth by little and little to get vp againe vnto the top thereof and yet is scarslie able to note and marke the place whence he so easily fell 5 And so hauing called to minde as farre as I possibly could the memorie of things past hauing set before me in a deepe meditation the workes of thine hands and hauing exactly considered the perfection thereof yea and remembring the estate wherein thou hast created vs and besides setting before me him by whome I feele my selfe now as it were oppressed vnder the destruction of sinne I cursed in my self the houre wherein my mother conceiued me I abhorred the day which first opened vnto me mine eye lids whereby I might see heauen and earth witnesses of mine infirmitie and in the end finding nothing in the world that in this distresse might comfort and helpe me I at last addressed my selfe vnto thy most excellent maiestie 6 I fell on both my knees before thee I stretched out mine armes and hands vnto thee and my soule thirsting for thy grace waited with a great desire for the same as the chapping ground through heat looketh for a gratious and sweet showre in the hoatest daies of sommer 7 Make hast therefore vnto me O my God for I am already out of breath for loe mine heart fainteth and I am at the point to swound wilt thou stay vntill I be dead I am already so if thou make noâ— hast for my sences do by little and â—…tle faile me my soule glideth gentlie out of me leauing my body without moouing and I am like vnto him who letting his foote bleede in the water looseth his life with his bloud without feeling the occasion or cause of his death 8 If thou O Lord holdest thy selfe aloofe from me and turnest thy face â—…ay I shall become like vnto those that go downe vnto the bottom of hell â—…le death will make my face looke wanâ—… and my feeling to sleepe â—ay a worse thing then this will betide me my God for spirituall death will kill my soule make it horribly a feard and take from her the acknowledgement of thy singular goodnesse and the hope of grace which shineth in thy miracles as a bright shining starre in a darke night 9 Make me therefore O lord in thy good time to vnderstand and feele the effect of thy mercy and when the sunne riseth in the morning vpon the face of the earth let then thy louing kindnesse rise vpon me for the enlightening of mine ignorance and leade me in the way of thy wyll But let it not deale with me O Lord as the sunne dooth who at his fall plungeth him selfe into the sea keeping away his light for a time from poore wretched and distressed men But let thy fauour and grace continually assist and defend mee and neuer depart more from me then my soule doth from my body for thy mercy is farre away more 〈…〉 of my soule theâ— my soule is 〈◊〉 lâ—fe of my bodie 10 And therefore let 〈…〉 neuer forsake me but let 〈◊〉 â—ight direct my footsteps alwayes in thy wayes and leade me continually in the way which must bring me vnto thee For my spirit which hath run it self through the strange â—…ches of this world and strayed into the broad and thicke bushes thereof can neuer find out her tract againe but rusheth out at all aduentures and loseth both her path and also her payne going alwayes back from the abiding place whither she was deteâ—…ned to goe But I my God do alwayes attend thine ayd for it is from aboue that I looke for help 11 I am a captiue in the hands of the most cruell enemies of my life and therefore I most humbly beseech thee ô Lord to make haste to deliuer me I flye vnto thee for refuge receiue mee into thy protection Teach mee what thou wouldest haue me to do for thou art my God whome alone I am resolued now to serue And now away away from me
age and my forces vanish and decay but my soule which stoutly standeth against humaine corruption dooth not onely continue but also dayly encreaseth in this holy affection For if I thinke to take my rest mine heart stirreth my thought And if I thinke to stop my mouth my soule is ready to breake out betweene my lippes and forceably frameth my voice to set foorth the glorie and praise of my God My soule who maketh thee so eager to praise thy God Thou knowest right well and I also see it very well that thou hast had thy being from him and lookest by him to be glorified what vsurie makest thou with him Thou giuest vnto him a parcell of his praises and by this meanes thou lookest that he should associate thee with the riches of his glory For from him alone thou must hope to haue some honor The heauens shall passe and weare away like an old garment and be changed as men change a couering But God shall continue still triumphing ouer the destruction of the world The peaceable and meeke people shall sit by him and heare the triumphant hymnes which shall be song in his victorie and conquests and all full of melodie and reioicing shall ioyne their voices vnto the trumpets of the angels 2 Let vs begin therefore betime to learne to sing the praises of his glorie magnifie him and exalt his name as high as our voices will serue vs let vs straine out our cries to the end they may ascend as high at the least as we are able to see so as the ayre being filled with our songs it may caâ—y them vpon the wings of the winds vnto the vtter most parts of the earth to the end that euery one may be awakened with the sound of our notes and reioyce in hearing the name of the Lord of heauen and earth thus sounded out who is the most faithfull and most assured helper of all those which call vpon him 3 I haue sought after him and he forthwith hath vnderstood me I knew not my selfe whither to go and after I had turned mine eyes on euery side and being forsaken of the world could see nothing which was able to helpe me I returned into my selfe and pitifully beheld my selfe bewailing my calamitie and all at once he gaue me courage and strength making mine heart to leape out of the gulfe of heauinesse and tribulation which had swallowed me vp said vnto me trust in me for loe here I am Then cried I out and said O Lord where art thou make hast to helpe me quickly And I had no sooner spoken but that his spirit descended into me and as a strong and mighty winde driueth the cloudes before is euen so did it driue from round about me all manner of griefes and afflictions 4 Come therefore and runne vnto him come then for the way is easie and open on euery side he sheweth himselfe in all places and in what place soeuer we are he calleth vs vnto him He is so afeard of vs that we would go astray as that he commeth downe from heauen to carry a lampe before vs to giue light vnto our feet he is also the father of lights which more cleerly and purely lighteth our soules then our bodies For the light which lighteth our eyes is to cause vs to see that which we are either to follow or to eschew but this light of all goodnesse and bountie enlighteneth our soules and of it selfe putteth farre from vs and driueth away whatsoeuer may hurt and offend vs. Come therefore and draw neere therevnto for so long as it shineth vpon vs you shall be sure to go vpright and nothing shall be able to do you hurt your strength shall renew in you and nothing shall confound you for if your sâ—…les shall appeare it shal disperse them and if your 〈◊〉 come thither it will send them back and ouerthrow them 5 Will you see a most excellent proofe of his aide and singular mercy Behold then this poore and miserable caitife who is held to be an especiall vnhappy man yea such a one as is thought to be a man without all hope of recouerie the onely comfort of all miseries who hath but a very little cried out vnto God and he forthwith heard him and deliuered him out of the misery wherein he was he hath brought him to the port and setled him in a place of safety 6 He sendeth his angels to helpe his seruants who compasse them about as a most sure guarde and will not suffer them to stirre a foote from them before such time as they haue rid them out of danger For as he himselfe is great so hath he also mighty strong ministers and although he of himselfe is able to do all things and yet notwithstanding all his greatnesse he executeth his will by his creatures gouerning the lesser by the meaner the meaner by the higher and the higher by himselfe 7 Taste thou and consider a little how kinde and fauourable his goodnesse and mercy is and how blessed he is that putteth his trust in him The Swallow is very carefull of her yong ones and yet she oftentimes leaueth theÌ„ to cry by reason of hunger somtimes she giueth them the sower with the sweet but our God commeth at the first call nay at the first signe we make yea at our first wish so soone as he seeth vs thirst for his helpe he putteth his most sweet delicate dugs and breasts of his bounty vnto our mouthes streameth the sweet milke of his grace into our lips which stancheth cooleth the thirstinesse of our infirmity quencheth the heat which our sin as foule filthy vlcers sores haue engendred in our consciences 8 And therfore seeing he is so good gratious vnto vs and denieth vs nothing that we aske looke somwhat vnto your selues I beseech you I speake vnto you vpon whom he hath bestowed so many benefits whom he hath sanctified with his holy blessings and whome he hath set a part to be his elect and partakers of his loue And beware yee offend him not with your vnthankfulnesse thereby make you vnwortthie of his benefites through distrust and incredulitie of his beneficence For they that feare him want nothing in fearing him they trust in him and they feare him with a feare that proceedeth of loue not with a feare that he will do them some ill but with a feare not to offend him but rather with a fatherly reuerence who is farre readier to do vs good then we are carefull to demaund of him For he knoweth of himselfe what is most necessary for vs and preuenteth forthwith our desires if they be agreeable vnto his will and enricheth vs when we are most poore and maketh vs valiant when we are most weake 9 And contrariwise the richmen of the world whose goods he hath not blessed they I say are not worthy of their riches but starue with their aboundance their goods melt into pouerty
the sea do But alasse the sea hath sometimes calme winds and thou ô Syon hast in thine affliction nothing but stormes and tempests the sea hath ports and hauens to come into and thou billowest continually in trauell and payne O poore Ierusalem who shall then be able to saue thee seeing thy misery is greater then either heauen or earth from whence then shalt thou finde remedy Nun. Shall thy Prophets do it which haue so long troubled thine head which haue deliuered vnto thee their dreames and old wiues tales and entertayned thee with vanities and leasings whereas they should haue boldly told thee of thy sinnes and so thereby haue called thee backe vnto repentance But they imagined and thought vpon Anticks and being sotted and in loue with their owne shadowe◠presumptuous opiniōs vndid them selues in all their discourses and enterprises Samech Behold in what a case thou now standest ô poore desolate Syon for thou receyuest herein both losse and shame together for now all they that go by clap their hands and shake their heads at thee saying Is this that so braue and honorable Citie that was so full of all magnificence and more full of all delights and pleasures then all the Cities of the earth beside Phe. There is not one that passeth by thee which hath not a cast at thee to bite and sting thee and who will not after their groining manner thus say we wil now haue it we wil deuoure it and nothing shall keepe vs from it this is the day which we haue so long looked for and now is the houre which we haue dayly hoped after Ain Behold Ierusalem the reason why God preserued thee so long is because thou wert worthie of it Thou thoughtest that his threats had bene vayne and friuolous and now thou seest whether he be a lyer or not and whether he be able to performe that which he promiseth yea or no. For he foretold thee that if thou obeyedst not his lawe that he would destroy thee make thee an heape of stones and see now if he hath mist it Yea he hath ruined thee without remission and made thee a scorne vnto thine enemies and geuen them all power and authoritie ouer thee Sade But God in the end began to waxe weary of their insolency because they carryed thē selues too too proudly of their conquest for after they had troden vnder feet the greatnes of Ierusalem they meant againe to deale with his maiestie and blaspheme his name and hauing ouerthrowne the walles of this holy Citie they bragged that they would make warre against God him selfe and triumph ouer the spoyles of his Temple Let their example ô Ierusalem serue thy turne and take occasion to appease God by thy repentance that he may turne the punishment which he hath prepared for thee vpon thine enemies Let thine eyes forthwith burst into bloudy teares and weepe continually day and night geue no rest to thy sighes let thy pitifull eyes speake for thee and looking vp still vnto heauen attend thou thine ayde from thence Coniure by thine humble lookes this diuine mercy that it may ease thy weakenes and conuert his iustice vnto the chastising of the insolency of thine enemies Coph Lift vp lift vp I say both thy body and soule all at once and before it be day so soone as thou shalt awake put thy selfe in a readinesse to pray vnto God to prayse and thanke him for that he by the torments which he hath caused vs to abide hath brought thee back into the right way as men do oxen with the goade vnto the knowledge of his name and the acknowledging of thine iniquities And before his face that is to say when thou hast obtayned fauour at his hand to looke vpon thee and seest him to haue compassion on thee distill thine heart through thine eyes and melt it all into teares by thine earnest repentance euen as the Sunne would melt the snow newly fallen into water But if so be that thy teares will not touch him and bring him to haue compassion of thy miserie lift vp thy hands yet at the least vnto him and beseech him to be contented with thy miseries and not extend them vnto thy poore innocent childrē who are there dispersed dying of hunger and weakenesse in corners saying vnto him Resch O Lord if thou haue any eyes behold this pitifull spectacle and if thou haue any cares harken vnto our prayers and consider how great our miserie is Behold how thou hast bene auenged of vs and see what a spoyle thou hast made of vs. And in very deed I must needs confesse that we haue deserued it and I do protest that we are vnworthie of thy mercy and do also vow that we our selues are the causes of our owne miserie But what haue these poore and wayling children done whom thou seest screaking out them selues faintly drawing their breath Why should the child whom hunger torment had drawne out before the time of the mothers womb was ready to deliuer it which is not as it were so great as a mans hand be rent in pieces by her which should bring it forth and so be eaten by her and the same to go downe by peece-meale into the body out of which it came whole and sound Surely happy and twise happy are the Tygres and Lyons whelps in comparison of these whose dammes will aduenture their own liues against whatsoeuer violence shall be offred their yong ones rather then they would suffer them to take any hurt at all O Lord how canst thou abide this horrible dealing Is it possible that thou which art altogether good gratious wouldest abide such great impietie to be wrought that thou which art so wise wouldest allow of such a cruell acte and that thou which art Almightie wouldest suffer such a strange outrage Shew thy selfe ô Lord shew thy selfe as thou art and although for a time thou art determined to exercise thy seueritie and iustice yet thinke vpon this also that thy mercy must reigne haue her course Content thy selfe that so much bloud is spilt for the appeasing of thine heauie wrath Thou hast not bene pleased with the bloud of our sheepe and oxen alone but wilt needs also haue thine Aulters couered with the bloud of thine owne Priests for they haue sacrificed their owen liues and thy Prophets likewise haue bene offred vp in oblation and yet thou art no whit appeased Syn. What more wouldest thou haue at out hands Thou hast seene abroad in the fields the gray haired and decreped old men and women lye vpon the ground crying out groaning and weeping thou hast seene lying within our walles the slaughter of our youths our streetes strawed all ouer with legs and armes our riuers running ouer with bloud and neyther sexe or yet age spared Thou hast seene amongst the dead the yong and tender maydens with their haires sheueled about their heads hauing their breasts lying open with great wounds out of which gushed
and arrogancie they haue forsaken thee to follow their own presumption thou must needs leaue them in their error and they must needs perseuere in their sinne and this hard scale of impenitencie must of force couer ouer their whole hearts and a greater curse canst thou not lay vpon them then this then to blinde their minds and take away from them their senses For when thou shalt come at once in the day of vengeance with a rod of iron in thine hand and breake them all in shards like a potters vessell there shall be nothing vnder the heauens by many thousands of degrees so miserable as they for they shall find no mercy at all because they them selues were mercylesse they shall be poore and there shall be none to helpe them and they shall be afflicted and none shall comfort them In the meane while ô Lord haue thou an eye vnto vs and second our patience with thine holy mercy to the end that as long as thou shalt please to exercise vs with the iniuries and opprobries of the wicked our hearts fayle vs not and that our soules may alwayes be able to lift them selues vp vnto thee and looke for thine ayde taking the miseries which it pleaseth thee to send vs for a tryall of our faith hoping that after our long patiēce thou wilt crowne vs as victorious wrastlers and cause vs triumphantly leade the wicked against whome we continually wrastle here in this life CHAPTER IIII. Aleph I Knowe O Lord right well that we must yeeld vnto thy will and that we do but kicke against the pricke in complayning of thee Neuerthelesse I can not keepe in my griefes much lesse my sighs when as I behold this strange desolation And although my soule biddeth me hold my peace yet can not mine heart keepe it selfe from sighing For who ô Lord would not haue pitie of this to see all the beawtifull golden walls of thy temple bescrabled and scraped all the goodly golden vessels so finely wrought now melted and clipt in pieces all the ritch Iasper Porphirie of thy sanctuary brokē layd in gobbets cast about all the corners of the Citie in so much that that place which shone as bright as the Sunne is now become like a ruinous darke dungeon Beth. Besides who would not grone to see the children of the best houses who were so much made of and so beloued as that they were accompted as pretious as any gold to be now cast vpon the leystalles like the shards of a broken pot Ha ô Lord our God this was not mens worke but thine owne Yea why forsookest thou after this sort thine owne most deare and most excellent workemanship createdst thou them to destroy them Gimel O I would thou haddest shewed as great fauour at the least vnto the childrē of Ierusalem as thou diddest vnto the most vile abiect creatures on the earth for the very yong serpents them selues finde their dams teats who bring them vp vntill such time as they are able to shift for them selues Alasse thou hast made the women of Ierusalem to become more cruell then serpents more sauage then the women of Lamia which haue no womanlike shape no◠condition but the very face for their hearts and the rest of the members of their bodies are most hidious and fearefull Nay there is not so little amitie amongst the very Ostridges who amongst the foules of the ayre are the most wilde and vntameable as there is in the women of Ierusalem by reason of their continuall affliction which hath so degenerated them Daleth Wee haue seene the yong children that there lay streaking out them selues yawning and gaping with lips as dry as sticks their tongs cleeuing vnto the rooffes of their mouthes with very drought and sucking winde instead of milke for their mothers at the first offered them their breasts but they were so dry as that they yelded nothing but bloud In so much that the poore wretches hauing nothing to breede any iuice or moysture in them dryed vp whereby they fell into a consumption and so most pitifully languishing and wearing away forthwith dyed And they that were somewhat bigger ranne after their fathers and hanging about their heeles cryed so lamentably vpon them for bread as that it would haue made the stones in the streete to haue rent in sunder with compassion But what shall I say verely they had nothing to geue them for all that their fathers could do for thē was to wish them dead and curse the day that euer they begot them to see them now in so miserable an estate He. O Lord our God what an alteration of life was this yea what an inexorable crueltie This is a miserie which scourgeth the whole world and whippeth both hye and lowe For they that were wont to liue most delicately and pamper their bodies begged in the hye wayes and dyed of honger yea and they that were wonted to lye on their downe beds and had their couerings of veluet and silke and troad vppon nothing but vppon Tapistry thought them selues now to be in very good case if so be they could get a dunghill to lye vpon Vau. In so much that for any thing that I can see ô Lord thou iudgest our sinnes to be more haynous then the sinnes of Sodome For thou hast punished vs more cruelly then euer thou diddest them For they were ouerthrowne in a moment and fire from heauen deuoured them presently And besides there was none but thy selfe that dealt in this for she was not committed vnto the mercy of men left vnto the discretion of her enemies nor yet vnto the iniuries that follow the taking of Cities Zain It is a common saying that there is no right iudging of misery but by way of comparison and then beginneth it to touch the quicke when as a man compareth his estate wherein he presently standeth with that wherein he sometime was As when I bethinke me of the magnificence of those of Nazareth and see what miserable caytifes they now are For it was a maruellous glorious thing to see them come vnto Ierusalem to the feast in their robes as white as the driuen snow so neate and white were their clothes their faces were smoothly paynted and glistered like yuorie and their cheekes as ruddie as any rose or rather as ruddie as any rubie Het But they that had seene them now might haue sayd that they had blowne the cole all their life long at a smythes forge or had bene begrimed for the nonce and would haue rather taken them for the Lazars of a spittle house then otherwise for their bones beare out their skins and a man would haue sayd that their skins had bin like parchmēt wrapt about a dead carrion and I verely beleeue that there is as much moysture in a dry slough or ditch as was in any of their bodies Thet. Yea and they which past the edge of the sword came to a far better market then they for their misery
was not long they were acquitted once for all But to dye of cruell famine and to see and feele one so long a dying is a most miserable thing they felt them selues continually wither away and knew not how their strength went froÌ„ them without a man would haue sayd the earth had consumed it For they were like vnto a plant whose roote was cleane dried vp which in the beginning waxeth yellow in the neither parts and so by little and little the boughes and armes thereof dye and in the end the whole body dryeth vp and is good for nothing else but to be cast into the fire Iod. Ye may thinke that I haue very much spoken of things and yet they are but flowres in respect of the rest of the miseries which necessitie hath suggested vnto vs and which if I had an hundreth tongs I were neuer able to expresse Shall I tell them ô Lord Alasse I will not for then I should accuse thine ouergreat seueritie in deliuering out the excessiue miseries wherein thou hast plunged vs. Notwithstanding I will do it I will tell them ô Lord to the end thou mightest at the last haue compassion of vs and somewhat hold backe thy reuengefull arme For thou hast layd it ouer heauely vpon vs we haue seene it and must we needs see it ô Lord and shall our eyes be our owne still after we haue seene it We haue seene the mothers I say through famine and want so degenerate from their kind as that they haue dismembred their owne children puld them in pieces boyled them on the fire and deuoured them with their teeth to satisfie that cruell famine wherewith they were afflicted Coph Ha ô Lord our God what thoughtest thou to haue done with vs meantest thou to shew thy selfe to be almightie as well in thy fury as in thy mercy to shew all thine actions to be infinite to shew that when thou goest about to set thy selfe to be cruell that thou art out of all measure cruell and to shew thy self wheresoeuer thou passest when thou art in choller to be a deuouring fire which setteth on fire raueneth consumeth and to be such a one as thou hast shewed thy self to be in visiting poore Syon euen vnto the coÌ„suming the very foundatioÌ„s thereof Lamed O most strange and most incredible thing these newes haue bene told vnto other Kings and Princes of the earth to all other strange people but they could neuer beleeue any iote of it For thus they haue sayd What is it possible that this holy Ciâ—… which God hath chosen for his dwelling place where he hath set vp his throne on the earth where he will be worshipped whither all nations haue carried their offrings where he hath appeared and answered vnto the cryes of those that haue prayed vnto him the same onely to be taken and to fall into the hands of her enemies Surely we will neuer beleeue it nay we do not beleeue that if they found the gates thereof stand wide open that they durst once enter into it Mem. And â—et for all this ô Lord it is euen so the poore cittie is vtterly vndone and razed but after what sort and wherfore Forsooth for the sinnes ô Lord of our prophets and for the sinnes of our priests who haue shed the bloud of the righteous euen in the middest of Ierusalem Nun. They haue run vp and downe in the streats like mad men and reeled too and fro' as men drunken with the bloud of innocents They are so polluted and defiled as that all the world is a feard to touch them for feare of being imbrued with them Yea and they themselues are ashamed to go into the temple for feare of violating it with the bloud which commeth froÌ„ their cloths Samech I do assure ye that the very heathen themselues haue bene afeard of them I say euen they that know not God but by the light of nature and haue cried out against them saying O ye wicked and cruell caitiues hence and away and defile not the place which is delicated vnto your God and they againe with great indignity despitefully haue said no no. Beleeue verily that God dwelleth not amongst such kinde of people Phe. For a man may easily see that their God hath forsaken them hath dabd them in the necks and set them at diuision and discord They haue tasted of nothing so little as of godlines and therfore they must looke no more for any helpe from heauen What the very ancient seruants of God appointed to serue at his aulter haue not so much as once blushed in committing most horrible and great wickednesses the elder sort which should haue bin the most modest haue bin most mad and had no compassion of their equals neither could the age of their afflicted companions driue them to any compassion And seeing that all humanitie is rooted out of their harts how is it possible for God to dwell in them Beleeue me these are no men but counterfet Tygres And therefore God will deale with them as he dealeth with brute beasts and make one of them praye vpon another Ain Ha ô Lord these people haue sayd rightly Thou hast made vs to feele it in deed for after all these our furious pranks the time of punishment came vpon vs for our enemies enuironed vs on euery side and whilst we were gaping and looking for ayd from men and looked so wishlie for them as that we were weery of looking could see none at all come wee were very foolish in looking for helpe from men to defend vs from thee ô Lorde which makest warre against vs. Alasse what are mens forces able to do against thee What rampart in all the whole world is able to defend vs against thy wrath Sade We haue bene taken as Partriges in the cod of a net thou hast driuen vs together on a Couie and afterward coueredst vs wee thought to haue escaped and our feete slid we are fallen and are snared in the net we haue assaied to fleet from one place to another and we haue bene alwaies staied And why so forsooth because the day was come We haue hastened the punishment by our perseuering in euill doing and haue in the end enforced God to pronounce the ineuitable iudgement of our condemnation against vs. Coph When God hath resolued to do a thing all things both in heauen and earth are ready to execute his will euery thing maketh it selfe ready to serue his purpose our enemies are more swift to pursue vs then are the Eagles the Stock doues For they haue followed vs euen to the tops of the mountaines and met with vs in the deserts I do verely beleeue that if we were in the deepest dungeons that euer were that they would there finde vs out Resch And what shall I say where found they out our good Iosias euen him whom thou haddest annointed to raigne ouer vs and whom we esteemed and made more of then of our owne liues