who feare God fol. 11. 12. CHAP. 4. Of mans foolish and fearefull delay of praier and true repentance till the vncerten houre of death and sudden departure fol. 19. 20. CHAP. 5. Of Gods manifold and good meanes to bring vs to repentance and reconciliation with him if we haue any sparke of grace in vs 28. CHAP. 6. Of three excellent meanes of good gouernement fol. 38. 39. CHAP. 7. Of the good meanes to awake vs out of the sleep of sinne and to quicken vs to a new conuersation fol. 47. 48. CHAP. 8. Of mans lamentable frailty and weaknesse euer to bee suspected and the desire hee should haue to be reconciled with God in Christ fol. 53. 54. CHAP. 9. Of true repentance the notable benefit therof fol. 59. 60. CHAP. 10. of the excellent good and profit of afflictions to Gods true children fol. 67. Lastly two praiers annexed to bee said in a priuate family both morning and euening The Prentises practise in godlines and his true freedome CHAP. 1. IT was a notable saying my deere and welbeloued brethren in Christ whosoeuer was the Author That there is nothing great on earth but Man and nothing great in man but his soule and therefore as all creatures admire and serue and benifit man the wonder of the world so should man himselfe also admire and tender and seeke the behoofe aduancement of his soule the wonder of wonders for this is our glory our crowne our perfection our very life saue this and saue all But I know not how it comes to passe This which should bee our cheefe and onely care the most part of men cast behind their backes and they that are taken to husband other matters well and prudently in this are so vnthrifty and ill husbands that they set all at six and seuen and suffer that onely pretious thing which ouerballanceth the whole world to go to irrecouerable wracke and ruine So that the Lords prophets of our time haue euen as iust cause as euer Ieremie had to take vp that sad complaint Ier. 12. The earth is fallen to vtter desolation for that there is no man that considereth in his heart no man that pondereth aright his owne estate Iere. 12. But Atheisme and prophanenes and secure licentiousnes haue gotten such sway that scarse any man beleeues God to be God scarse any mā thinks hee hath a soule to saue they laugh they make merrie they feast they frolick they sing care away all the day long as if heauen were but a dreame hell but a fable the soule an idle title of a thing which is not and themselues sent hither to no other end but to sport and play and follow the lusts and vanities of their wicked hearts The Lord hath planted vs in a good soile he hath put fresh earth about vs he hath prunde vs and set a ditch and a wall to incircle fence vs and now he longeth for the first ripe fruits and we are all become like the summer gatherings there is not a cluster to presēt vnto him And therfore many a time ere this but that some good vinedresser hath entreated wee may stand yet one yeare longer there had beene set to vs a hatchet a fire an vnquenchable fire the iust reward of such vnprofitable trees as doe but cumber the ground wherein they grow O my brethren that we would be once but so wise as to see our folly the fearefull danger wee stand in by meanes thereof Hath God created vs in his owne Image that we should thus vilely continually deface his glorious likenes Hath Christ redeemed vs from the power of the Diuel with no lesse price thē his owne hart bloud that voluntarily wee should cast our selues into the bōdage of Satan Hath he by offering vp himselfe for vs purged vs from sin that we should afresh run headlong to vncleannes Hath he therefore made vs heires of heauen that through our owne default we should be firebrands of hell Hath hee therefore saued our soules that we should negligently wilfully cast away soules and bodies for euer Where is our zeale to God-ward where is our reuerent feare of his maiesty wher is our Christianity where is our faith and godlines where is our thankes we giue to the Lord for his so innumerable benefits where is our seruice obedience we yeeld to our Lord Iesus Christ for his sauing health nay where is our very reason wherein wee differ from bruit beasts who by nature are lead to desire and follow things profitable to them to shun the hurtfull and yet we hauing the direction of reason the illumination of grace besides haue no desire of euerlasting profit nor feare of endlesse destruction What if God should instantly send forth the decree of his wrath vpon vs to roote vs out of the Land of the liuing and would receiue no intercession or atonement for vs as he threatned his owne people when they had prouoked him to wrath that though Noe Iob and Daniel should beg for them yet he would not heare them nor should his affection bee towards such a people Oh my brethren if this should bee to vs it had been good for vs we had neuer beene borne yea the vnreasonable beasts and senselesse creatures the most vgly things of nature were in happier case then wee for they haue no reckoning to make whē their life is gone out of them or their substance dissolued but then beginneth our wofull audit then our debts and arrerages shal be produced against vs then shall wee heare that heauy sentence Bind him hand and foote and cast him into vtter darknes whence he shal not come out till he haue paid the vttermost farthing But the Lord in mercy hath yet spared vs though it be not long since that he made the graue to open his widest mouth vpon vs it is yet called to day his eie is yet ready to pitie vs his eares are open to heare vs let vs not harden our hearts and prouoke him as wee haue done with our wickednes and impenitencie but let vs both soundly and sodainly conuert to him and he will receiue vs imbrace vs and his fierce wrath shall be turned from vs. Oh how well it becomes a man saith the wise Hebrew when he is reproued Eccles 20 4. to shew repentance for so shall hee escape wilfull sinne Consider what I say the Lord giue you and me vnderstanding in all things And now let vs enter into some larger discourse of this matter that we may the better see our vanitie and follie in going on in our sins and putting off our repentance and conuersion as we doe from day to day and from time to time to the high displeasure of almightie God and the feareful hazarding of our owne saluation And because I speake to such as are many of liberall education all of good capacitie and apprehension I will tie my selfe to some order in the handling
to it Goe into the Citie suruay the stately gates firme walles beautiful edifices neat streets rich houshold stuffe all the desirable things in the warehouses and Chests of Merchants Goldsmiths Iewellers c. and all these are nothing to it Goe into the Court note the multitude of suters traine of attendants magnificent feasts pompous seruice musical Instruments faire Ladies glistering Courtiers maskes reuels all the pleasures of a King and all these are nothing to it Let the best wit in the world bestow his vtmost skill to set out all the delights and pleasures of the sonnes of men in their liueliest colours yet all his expence of oratorie will scarse giue you a glimpse of this Rack your owne thoughts vpon the tenters shape out in your conceit a thousand formes of pleasure yet all these are scarse a shadow of it And thinke what a kinde of blisse that is which passeth all companion all vtterance all conceite of the wisest humane heart Neither is this for a day or a moneth or for terme of yeares but an euerlasting state of blessednes vndeterminable so lōg as God is God and that is world without end wee want a word to expresse it And shall wee let slip such a booty through our negligence or wilfulnesse or sloth or inconsideratenes If wee doe carelesly ouergoe but a good bargain in our ordinarie trades which might yeeld vs a few crownes profit how doth it vexe and chafe vs afterward and doe we thinke such a losse as this will be borne with ease if wee once ouergoe it when it might earst haue beene had for so little timely paines Beleeue me my Brother the onely losse of heauen to a soule able to apprehend the losse is a sufficient hell if the Lord had appointed no other torment for euill doers Come come stand no longer in thine owne light see thy good and take it Why wilt thou let slip the opportunitie which nothing in the world can purchase thee againe Why shouldest thou not euen in this houre change thy life and make an end of wilfull sinning against the Lord Is it for that thou art loth to forgoe thy olde delights thy pleasant companions and boon societies alas what are those sliding base delights to the solide and noble delights I spake of euen now or thy earthly fellowships to the societie of Angels and heauenly spirits Is it for that the wayes of godlinesse are hard and painfull and laborious Is not the enioying of a Kingdome a good salue for that sore surely if all the paines and labours of all men in the world were layed vpon thy shoulders if all thy life were nothing but weeping and lamentation like Ezekiels booke nay if thou shouldest for a time endure hell fire it selfe that afterward when Christ cōmeth in his glory thou mightst be reckoned among his Saints and enioy the heritage of his chosen children yet were not all thy paines and sufferings worthy to be ballanced with the participation of such an infinite vnspeakable waight of glory But to the vnwilling euery thing is an excuse For the seruice of God is easie his yoke is sweet I will runne the way of thy commandements saith the kingly Prophet when thou shalt enlarge my heart And againe My delight is in thy commandements yea they are the ioy and reioycing of my heart What doest thou feare lest thou sholdst fal away again after thou hast bin once inlightned that there can be no more renuing by repentance so thy last end should be worse then thy beginning care thou by making thine election sure by good workes pray vnto the Lord for his strength and assistance and feare not this feare for it will bee as impossible for thee being once regenerate and made the child of GOD to fall finally away from godlinesse as it was for Ieremy to hold his peace notwithstanding his resolution of silence when the word of the Lord was as fire or gunpowder in his heart Doest thou doubt whether God wil performe his promise then neuer take vpon thee the name of a Christian he renders vengeance to the vngodly why should we doubt whether he will recompence and reward weldoers Thou shalt heare thousands complaine of the falsehood and faithlesnesse of the world whom thou trustest if any haue complained of Gods slacknesse God hath driuen him out of his owne proofe anon after to recant and to say with the Prophet This is my weaknes Doest thou feare the reproch of nicknames and ignominious termes which the new conuerted children of GOD do alwaies light on art thou so without heart and so very a coward to be blowne from thy profession with the breath of a prophane mouth haddest thou rather keepe credit with the world and the Diuell by weltring in sinne then serue GOD after the way which is counted discreditfull by the godlesse of the world A generous horse though twenty curres come out barking and snarling at his heeles as he trotteth along the streete keepeth on his pace without so much as looking backe at them So when these barkers of Gods seruants and deriders of religion and good things step forth against thee to hinder thee in thy course of a new conuersation let the height of thy mind disdaine to regard them or take notice of them thinke they are but the Diuels ban dogs hissed on by him to make thee breake thy pace in the waies of godlinesse and therefore so much the more couragiously goe on that they may see how much they are despised If all this cannot moue vs we haue hard and foolish hearts and I can say no more but we may go forward in our sotted course til we reap the fruit of our ouer weening But I hope better things of you my brethren and such things as accompany the feare of God and saluation though I thus speake Suffer not I beseech you for Christ Iesus sake my hope to bee in vaine THE THIRD PART CHAP. 8 HERE methinkes I heare some say whose willes and affections the Lord hath begun to renue and change whom yet Satā would wrap about with the cords of their owne frailty I would faine repent but I cannot my faith is so weake and my heart so hard that I cannot be sory for my sinnes as I would This is a sweet saying my Brethren For what can a man haue more then to feele his wants for otherwise how should we hunger thirst after righteousnesse and vndoubtedly he that hungers thus shall be satisfied for the Lord that knoweth what we want better then we our selues lookes not so much to the outward shew of repentance as to the inward affections of the heart which are as actions in his sight and though our faith and repentance bee but weake yet let vs know this assuredly that the Lord looketh more on the quality then on the quantitie Is a weake faith no faith is a weake repentance no repentance nay The desire of reconciliation with God in Christ saith
euill when the Authors themselues are displeased at it and assure vs that vpon the reckoning there is nothing but terrour and discomfort to bee gained by it And why should we not loue wel doing when the very enemies therof commend it as being the ground of a quiet conscience and that is like a cōtinuall feast where there is mirth and cheare all the day long O my brethrē it is the inward purenes of the heart that neuer makes vs change colour it is innocencie that neuer galles the mind neuer pricks the inward parts it is seasonable repentance that breedes that internall glee which is a certaine taste of the future felicity and a beginning of the ioyes of heauen in vs and that which maketh vs feele incredible pleasures amidst the most greuous troubles miseries of this life Once saith a godly writer man was in paradise Now paradise is in man and that is the ioy of a good conscience which makes him confident and secure and resolute at all times so that though the heauen should melt and the earth be remoued yet he is vnshaken for he knoweth in whom he hath beleeued and if the Lord be God he shall not miscary Wouldest thou haue this security this peace this boldnes wouldest thou liue this blessed life wouldest thou bee without frights without checks without prickings in thy hart then fly from sinne abandon all that may offend the Maiesty of GOD worke out your saluation with feare and trembling seek the Lord cal vpon him trust in him thanke him sweare not by his sacred name prophane not his sabbaths kil not quarell not hate not in thy heart let not the sunne go downe vpon thy wrath defile not thy body through lust cosen not oppresse not slander not couet not another mans labour to say truely both now and to your liues end that thou maist say with the blessed Apostle Acts. 24. I haue endeauoured to walke in all good conscience alwaies both towards God and towards men and that same peace of God which passeth all vnderstanding shall keepe your hearts and mindes in Christ Iesus But if you let go the raines to your old licentiousnes and bee more wicked to day then yesterday to morrow then to day if you say to the good motions of Gods spirit as the false friend in Salomon to his neighbour Go and come againe to morrow or as Festus to Paul when I haue a conuenient time I will heare further of you and so passe along your daies in all iollity voidnes of care your things seeming to be in peace because the strong man hath full possession of all yet when the lease of your life shal be expired and the parting houre is come vpon you then your sin which slept before the dore shall start vp lie heauy vpon your soule and conscience and then howsoeuer the Lord may haue suffered you to thriue and grow great in the world yet you shal find that it is not your soft beds nor your pretious waters nor your sweet musick nor your pleasant company nor your sealed bags nor your rich purchases nor your statutes and euidences can ease your minde or buy you this peace this blessing this inestimable treasure which a religious life might haue purchased before Beyond all this whilest we remain impenitent GOD heareth not our prayers Psal 66. If I incline my heart to any vvickednesse the Lord vvill not heare me Prou. 15. the sacrifice of the wicked is abomination to the Lord nay their very prayer is turned into sinne And what comfort can wee looke for in the troubles and dangers incidēt to our life when that which should bee our refuge shelter to resort to encreaseth our danger and in stead of bearing of the storme falles downe like a ruinous house vpon our heads we are besides out of the compasse of Christs intercession he excepts worldings wicked ones by name out or his prayers And if he will not plead our cause who dares speake for vs if wee bee out of his protection where is our assurance any desperate villanie may strick his dagger to our heart the Diuell may teare vs in peeces and carry vs to hell there is none to succour vs. Moreouer whilest we take part with sinne against God all the creatures take Gods part against vs the horse hath his heeles ready to strike out our breath the bull hath his hornes ready to goare vs the boare his tuskes to haunch vs the dog his phangs to pull out our throates the tiles ouer our heads are prest to braine vs the fly in our cup to choake vs our owne knife is ready to glance into our flesh euery thing else is ready to worke mischiefe to vs euery little iob vnder our feete to giue vs a brusing fall and they doe onely wait while the word be giuen them and they wil instantly accomplish their charge Besides so long as we continue to worke euill in the sight of the Lord and doe not turne vnto him with all our harts and thinke vpon his commandements to doe them nothing shall be succesfull vnto vs Mal. 2.2 God will curse our blessings our waies shall not prosper wee shall bee cursed in the citie and cursed in the field cursed shall our basket be our dough cursed shall be the fruit of our bodie Deut. 28 and the fruit of our land and the encrease of our cattell cursed shall wee be when wee go our and cursed also when wee come in The Lord shall send vpon vs cursing and trouble and shame in all that wee set our hand to doe Marke yet further how particularly the Lord goeth on with his threatnings Thou shalt betroth a wife and another man shall lie with her thou shalt build a house shalt not dwell therein thou shalt plant a vineyard and shall not eate the fruit thereof The stranger that is among you shall clime vp aboue on high thou shalt come beneath alowe he shall be thy head and thou shalt bee the taile Thou shalt bee contemned in thine owne country Thou shalt neuer but suffer wrong violence alwaies so that thou shalt be euen mad for the sight which thine eies shall see things shall go so crosse notwithstanding all thy prouidence and industrie that it shall make thee at thy wits end to thinke of it O my Brethren who would continue in sinne one houre longer that seeth himselfe hemd in on euerie side with so many curses and iudgemēts as it were so many armies of the Lord fighting directly against him who would lay his eies together before he had made his peace with God and once for euer bid defiance to his former sins who would liue this wretched life ful of vexation and terrour and cursing forlorne of God and his creatures destitute of all succours without any care to redresse it till he be come to shake hands with it whē he may presently redresse it by present
by an vtter destruction chastening in the meane time the countries round about vs as hauing some hope of their turning and amendment Let vs therefore with all speed humble our selues vnder Gods mighty hand and make a godly vse of his iudgments that euery litle chastismēt of his may driue vs to a lothing forsaking of our former euil waies that we may stand in awe and not sinne for our God is a iealous God and a consuming fire so shall he smel a sauour of rest and receiue an attonement for the land so shall the light of his countenance be lifted vp vpon vs and so shal it go well with vs and with our children after vs in their generations The word preached Gods Ministers Another very direct meanes to this end is the preaching of Gods word the voice of his Prophets ministers rising vp early premonishing vs of our dāger shewing vs the way wherin we should walk Therfore the Lord when he sent the Prophet Ieremie to the people of Israel and Iuda he bade him proclaime a fast and tell them what he had threatned against them Ier. 36. Because saith the Lord it may be when they heare the euill that I purpose to bring vpon them they will returne from their wickednesse and so by that meanes I may forgiue them their sinnes and receiue them to fauour This is the manna that came downe from heauen this is the immortall seed by which so many are borne to God How great cause haue wee to blesse the Lord that it hath pleased him so to dispose of vs that wee should be borne and bred in such a time and among such a people as professe the faith of Iesus Christ and are daily taught and instructed both to beleeue and liue accordingly Our Fathers longed to see these dayes and could not see them we feare no burning nor imprisonment for professing the doctrine of Christ wee neede not crosse the seas to seeke instruction wee may in a blessed freedome of minde and body approch to Gods altars and sit at the feete of the Lords Prophets and heare those heauenly comforts and directions from their mouthes Neuer was London so well supplied with godly reuerend Ministers since the first stone of her walles was layd then in this very day The Lord Iesus continue and encrease the number But what account make we of these meanes we can content our selues to sit an houre in the Church to heare Gods word taught not for conscience but for fashion as our deedes make plaine For where almost is he or she that hath left any one deere sin this seauen yeares though twice seauen yeares they haue heard it condemned nay which is strange vpon the monday we commit those very sinnes which vpō the Sabbath day before were to our faces most particularly reprooued which were enough to discourage vtterly those men of God in the worke of their ministerie they taking such paines watching for vs whē we sleep studying and spending their spirits to bring vs to repentance and we like wretches making small account of it and profiting little in godlinesse by it but that the Lord hath sayd his word shal neuer goe forth in vaine but either it shall lift vs vp higher to his courts in heauen or sinke vs downe deeper into the pit of hell And the labours of his Ministers shall be as highly rewarded for leauing the gracelesse ones without excuse as for conuerting a weake soule from going astray A Seruaunt when hee is commaunded to do any thing by his Master will feare to looke his Master in the face or to come in his way if hee neglect it and doe it not How dare wee then hauing sate in the Church and there heard out of the Pulpit the seate of Gods Oracles sin forbidden repentance enioyned our negligence taxed not once but continually from time to time with precept vpon precept line vpon line I say how dare we presse so boldly without any awe or reuerence into the presence of God the great Master of all Masters in the world Sabbath after Sabbath and yet guilty to our selues in the meane time of so great disobedience vnlesse wee come thither in an insolent fashion to stout and out-face the Lord or to laugh in our sleeues at his weaknesse that will be borne in hand with a cunning semblance and as well pleased as if the deede were performed O my brethren tremble to dally in this sort with the Almighty if hee speake let his seruants heare if hee command deferre not to doe it receiue it not as the word of man but as it is indeede the word of God Pray aforehand that you may feele the vertue and power of it in your heart renuing and changing your willes and affections let the feete of them be beautifull that bring this tidings of peace and good things vnto you They are the Embassadours of the euerliuing God and disposers of his secrets they are our Fathers in Christ by whom wee are new begotten to eternall life The Lord hath giuen them power out of his word to pronounce his sentence so that what they binde on earth is bound in heauen and what they loose on earth is loosed in heauen Let vs haue them in singular loue reuerence for their works sake The contempt of their persons is a notable policie of the diuell to make their teaching be contemned also Let vs shew our thankfulnesse to God for them in obeying those things which they command vs in his name They haue called vpon vs long enough for amendment let them now haue cause to commend vs that wee haue amended Let our hearing be at length a ioy to them lest their sorrow be hereafter a witnesse against vs One Ionah conuerted Niniueh what a shame is it to vs that so many Ionahs should doe no good in London Another meanes to set vs forward in the way of repentance Good bookes conference is the reading of good bookes mutuall conference and exhortation one of another These doe both after one sort bob vs continually on the elbowe and euen importune vs to well doing and would worke some good effect if we were not negligent carelesse in the vsing of them But so it is how much time doe we spend idlely in doing nothing or vnthriftily in doing naught neuer taking a good booke in our hands all the weeke long though we haue choice of manie and our trades will beare it or if wee begin it growes irksom straight before wee haue turned one leafe ouer or if we haue the patience to goe thorow to the end slightly enough wee cast it in a corner to be moulded and moath-eaten and are as much the better as he that hath lookt in a glasse is after his backe is turned because we doe not stirre vp and whet our remembrance by a second more aduised reading esteeming our olde bookes as olde friends which must euer now and then be visited
auoiding of euill so shal they first feare to doe that which you hate and at length fall in loue with that which you practise It shall get you more authority and respect with them heere and increase the blessednes of your own soules another day that you haue been the meanes through the blessing of God to saue your poore prentises soules also And heere I shall desire my worshipful masters of this City to whose sight this little hādfull of papers may come not to take offence at any thing I haue spoken out of zeale and heartie meaning nor to impute it to arrogancie in me that I haue intermedled in their offices From which proud sin I thank my God I am free but if it be iust that I haue saied and agreeable to Gods word that they will not disdaine to do it it shall not only be no disparagement but praise and honor to them comfort to other of Gods children and ioy to the Angels in heauen that by their religious care their seruāts are made Gods seruants with them and there is such a towardly and hopefull succession to stand vp after them that as the Thessalonians were examples of godlines to those of Macedonia so Londoners at length may be like exāples of piety religiousnes to all the neighbor townes of Great Britaine also CHAP. 7. THe next good meanes to waken vs out of the sleepe of sinne and to quicken vs to a new cōuersation is the sweete consolation and ioy which God giueth vs in our soules and consciences of his seruice after we haue once made our peace with him by sound and seasonable repentance This is the peace that passeth all vnderstanding this is the earnest of our inheritance this is a present taste or say of the ioyes of the life to come I knowe my words seeme to the carnall and vnregenerate a fained thing as the womens report of Christs resurrection did at first to the Disciples but if thou wouldst doe as they did neuer leaue till in thine owne person thou hast tried out the truth of this matter thou shouldest feele within thee such a paradise of sweetnesse as thou thy selfe were not able to vtter Thou shouldest see with what cōfortable cheere Christ would offer himself vnto thee with what delicates he would refresh thy soule what secret affections hee would inspire into thee and with how pleasant a cup of loue he would make thee merrie if thou wouldst follow his pathes forsaking the by-wayes of sinne and worldly vanities The least drop of this diuine sweetnesse would vtterly distast vnto thee all the pleasures of sinne that euen the remembrance of them would be irksome and vnsauorie For mine owne part I haue had experience of this which I say For to my shame I speake it I haue beene as leaud and as wicked a fellow as euer thou hast beene whosoeuer thou art and one that hath made as small conscience of sinning against God as euer thou hast done either in swearing or lying or prophaning the Lords Sabbath or in deriding the deere Saints and seruants of God Nay what vice would I haue left vnpractised if I might haue come to the knowledge of it what pleasure or vanitie or abomination can be named whereof I would not haue had not a dram or sip but a drunken carouse if the Lord by good meanes had not restrained me from such effusion of beastlinesse It irketh me to thinke in what a fearefull state I liued at that time for had not God beene very mercifull vnto me the earth might haue opened and swallowed me vp quick for rebelling against his great Maiestie being Lord of heauen and earth but such was his goodnesse to spare me and such was his patience to waite for my repentance for euer magnified be his holy name therefore For this cause when once it pleased his Maiestie in some measure to giue mee a sight and feeling of my sinnes through the preaching of his word which I had a long time heard in vaine before as also by meanes of some of my Brethren in Christ Iesus stirring mee vp continually with such like admonitions as I doe now stirre vp thee I consulted not with flesh bloud but presently set my selfe to resist my former euill inclinations resoluing and endeuouring euery day to change the tenor of my life and to serue God in better manner then euer I had done before giuing small regard what the companions of my leaudnesse and other of the prophane multitude did say of me nor what deriding termes they bestowed vpon men for I saw no other way but either I must be a hell-hound or be called a Puritan And therefore I chose rather to suffer reproch with the children of God and to abide the name of hypocrite and dissembler c. then to be a varlet with euery varlet or accounted an honest fellow amongst the prophane And so continuing in this course and framing my selfe to liue more more in the feare of God shaking off my olde sinnes I felt in my selfe in short time such a sweete and comfortable change and such internall heauenly ioy of Gods seruice that I would not haue exchanged it againe for all the choicest delights of the world heaped at once vpon my heart And surely my Brother if thou wouldest once enter into this resolution as I haue done turning from dead works to serue the liuing God thou shouldest see what a banquet of celestiall delicates hee would set before thee and how plentifully hee would powre forth the wine of his consolations vnto thee that thou mightest say as Iudith did in another case I will drinke now freely O my Lord Iudith 12.18 because my heart is merrie this day more then euer it was in all my life before Only for this shalt thou feele sorrow that thou hadst not sooner embraced the meanes of thy conuersion that the sooner thou mightst haue beene partaker of this diuine ioy and these soules rauishing comforts The last meanes I will speake of is the consideration of the ioyes of heauen whereof the ioy of Gods children here is but a little drop or spark that heauen the consummation perfection or euerlasting well-head of all pleasures that can be seene named or conceiued seene named or conceiued said I nay no eye hath seene no eare hath heard no thought hath euer comprehended the ioy the pleasure the felicity the glory which GOD hath layed vp in the life eternall for them that serue him with an vpright heart in this world The Scriptures doe sometimes resemble heauen to a Paradise or pleasant field sometimes they describe it by a goodly Citie sometimes by a Kings Court but what are these but worldly descriptions of that which passeth all the world Go out into the most delightfull parts of the Country view the faire hilles the flowrie vallies the crystall fountaines the cleere riuers sweet woods goodly plaines variety of fruites melody of birds c. and all this is nothing