Their miserie hangs ouer their head misfortunes follow them at euery steppe vntill they haue throwne them head-long into that gulph the onely thought whereof is fearefull to all those which do remember it whose easiest places of retreate are full of cryes groanings and lamentations Where paine is without end griese without remedie repentance without mercy where death is immortall the body liuing but to dye and the soule to suffer where the soule feeles nothing but her sinne and the body but his punishment On the contrary those which couer themselues with the Lords fauour which make his mercy their buckler who haue no other hope but in his goodnesse who follow his comandements and are iealous of his will and pleasure what felicitie is there but they may attaine to what precious thing is there in heauen but shall bee opened vnto them They shall sitte side by side with their God and beeing enuironed with glory so much happinesse shall be heaped vpon them as the soule of man is not able to conceiue the least part thereof much lesse can my barren tongue expresse it 14. I will then reioyce ô my God in the hope of such and so many benefits as thou reseruest in heauen to crowne the iust withall Vnto this ioy I inuite you all which trust to the wordes of our Sauiour which loue iustice and righteousnesse there doth the reward of your labours attend you there you shall be placed in honor and glory there shall you exchange the sharpe thornes of this world for flourishing Lillies of all eternity Oh then shall the sweate of your afflictions finde most sweete rest Gold comes not forth of the flames in the Furnace more pure and shining to bee stamped with the Image of a great Prince and then to serue for the adornment of some rich cabinet as the hart of that man which loueth his God shall be drawne pure and cleane from the miseries of this world to be inuironed with splendor and glory What day can now displease mee in this world who shall hinder and stay me from entring into the howse of the Lord for to liue in his seruice vpon what day of my life shall I ceasse from bewailing those sinnes which kept me forth of his fauor vnite then in me ô my God these two contrary passions ioy and repentance to the end that like as the pilgrim who hath lost his way in a desert reioyceth when hee beholds the dawning of the day and yet for all that cannot forget the obscure darkenesse out of the which hee is yet scarce come nor lay aside his feare of so troublesome a night euen so haue I alwayes abhorred my sinnes past and haue neuerthelesse a certaine and liuely hope to enioy that eternall happinesse which thou hast purchased for vs by the price of the bloud of thy deere Sonne Iesus Christ. Alas how great is this loue when the Maister spareth not the life of his childe to redeeme his seruant Beeing then formed by thy hand redeemed by thy bloud and purified by thy mercy I offer my selfe vnto thee for a sacrifice of obedience reiect mee not ô my God Domine ne in furore Psalme 37. O Lord I must needs returne againe vnto thee and begin a new to implore thy mercy for thine anger seemeth to bee newly kindled against mee Alas my God wilt thou punish mee in thy wrath and cause me to feele the violence of thy iust furie which my sinnes haue stirred vp against me the torch consumed by fire falleth into ashes and I being deuoured by the heate of thine indignation shall vanish away and nothing will be left of me but onely smoake 2. For I see ô my God that thou hast let fly the sharpest arrowes of thy vengeance vpon mee thou hast touched mee with thine hand and thou takest it not of from me I feele remorse and terror in my conscience which doe astonish and bruze me like flashes of lightning and claps of thunder miseries come vnto me by heapes and one mishappe brings on another warre is no sooner ended but the plague assaileth mee and dâ—ath at the last bereaues mee of the deerest pledges which I haue in this world In what then ô my GOD shall I take comfort shall it bee in my selfe 3 Alasse there is no whole member about mee the disease hath pearced euen to the marrow of my bones there is no part about mee but doth reproch me for my sinnes and endures the punishment thereof I languish in my sorrow and no man comforts mee myne eyes serue mee for none other purpose but to behold my misery and my soule but to acknowledge my misfortune 4. I looke round about mee and as much as the eyes of my body and soule can discerne of the time past I see nothing aboue beneath nor on each side of me but sinne which compasseth me about and mine iniquites which crush and presse me downe they are heaped vpon my head like an heauy burthen and behold they smother me 5. How shall I resist them what strength haue I to defend my selfe seeing that my body falleth in peeces corruption runnes from it on euery side mysoares are no sooner shut but they open againe and if my body bee ill my soule is much worsse it is all confounded and trembleth for feare 6. And as sicknesse vndermines my body which is ready to die euen so doth sorrow my soule and steales away the strength thereof and as a sharp cold doth freeze and wither the tender new bud in the blosome euen so doth the finger of the Lord which hath touched my soule discourage it and make it to languish 7. But Alasse my God! what courage can I haue when I behold my selfe couered with wounds and that there is no part of my body free from greefe and that besides my disease my licentious pleasures present them-selues before me which reproch my sinne and deride my vanity I say to my selfe must I needs dippe my life in the honney of so many delights to steepe it afterwards in the gall of such bitter anguish where art thou now ô deceitful voluptuousnes which diddest melt my soule in the sweere licour of thy pleasures ô what a draught dost thou now leaue mee 8 Now ô Lord haue I not endured enough hath not my humility sufficiently chasticed my pride if I haue sinned thorow foolish presumption I haue since then fallen vpon the ground and couered mine head with ashes with mine owne arme I haue preuented my punishment I haue cleft my hart with cries and melted mine eies into teares and yet thy wrath continewes 9 It may be ô Lord that thou hast not perceued my laments thou who in the twinckling of an eye lookest thorow heauen and earth whose sight pearceth the very bottom of our hearts ô LORD thou hast read my thoughts and knowest mine intents what haue I craued but thy mercy wherein did I hope but in thy goodnesse wherefore haue I made a publicke profession of
repentance but to condemne my selfe if my tongue hath not liuely expressed my desire alasse Lord thou knowest what wee would haue before we haue thought thereon It is sufficient to lift vp our harts vnto thee and forthwith thou grantest our petitions 10. But wherefore ô Lord dost thou delay to giue me the holy comfort which thou hast promised me alasse I am hable to do no more my hart faileth me my sences are troubled my strength forsaketh mee my sight waxeth dimme and my run away soule is already vpon the brinkes of my lippes 11. All my friends stand about me and doe already bewaile my death they haue no hope of my health they take care for my buriall and question with them-selues where is the helpe he expected from his God wher is the fauor which he promised to himselfe from him 12. Flatterers are departed from me they did thinke to deuide my spoiles they would haue preuented my fatal houre so troblesome am I to the whole world in the state wherin I stād 13. They rounded one another in the eare and made a thousand tales of me they did daily inuent new practises against me and thought on nothing so much as to betray me he is said they vpon his death bed he wil neuer rise vp againe what doe we feare wil the shaddow of his bones bite vs 14 And I as if I had beene deafe made as though I heard nothing and like a dumbe man I answered not a word my patience was my buckler and my constancy my rampier 15 Euery one that sawe me so patient in mine aduersity did say this man for a certaine is dumbe when he is taunted hee replies not could he indure all these indignities if any feeling of courage or reputation were left him Hee must needs bee guilty for innocence is euer bold in her owne defence yet all this did not mooue me 16. Wherefore I trusted in my God and am assured that he will helpe me Let the world bend it selfe against me let heauen and earth conspire my downefall so long as I haue his aide I shall alwaies conquer By the breath of his mouth hee created all things and by his breath if he please he can destroy them I will fight vnder his banner and I am assured of victory 17 I haue often-times saide vnto them reioyce not at my misery though I am tormented and afflicted braue me not for the Lord is long enough to reach you trust not to his long patience for though hee hath feete of woll his armes bee of Iron If he once lift them ouer your heads ô yee impenitent soules he will crush you in such sort as there shal bee no more remembrance of you 18. As for my selfe I haue handled the rod I haue imprinted vpon my shoulders the condemnation of my sinne I haue O Lord appeared before thee with teares in mine eyes repentance in my mouth and sorrow in my heart I haue fought with my selfe for feare least myne enemies should triumph ouer me 19. I haue openly confessed my fault I made my sinne manifest in time I tooke care to run vnto thy mercy in due season 20. But the more I humble my selfe before thee to draw of this running water out of the fountaine of thy grace which streameth from thy goodnesse the more doe mine enemies oppresse mee their number doth daily encrease they strengthen them-selues on euery side and foresee not the tempest which will crush them in peeces They kindle by their pride the furnace of thy wrath they despite thy power which to their destruction they shall soone make proofe of In a word they being secured against heauen and earth doe wallow in their filthy pleasures and rase out as much as in them is the marke of diuinity which thou hast imprinted in their soules and shut their eyes at the hope of saluation which shineth on them out of thy word 21. I do not ceasse ô my God to admonish them but they pay me euil for good and turne into laughter all that which I doe to please thee and to giue them good example they doe slanderously traduce mee vp and downe the streets and lay a thousand wickednesses to my charge I confesse ô Lord that I beginne to loose my patience 22 But my God strengthen mine infirmity and forsake mee not by any meanes otherwise I should fall like a little childe into the first pitte I come at Encrease strength and courage in mee ô Lord as much as thou hast afflicted mee giuing mee firme constancie as often as I shall stand in need thereof no lesse then a charitable mother who so soone as shee heareth her childe crye doth straight wayes giue it the dugge 23. Nourish me then ô Lord with the milke of thine holy charity to the end that beeing in some sort strengthened I may day and night run on in thy paths to attaine saluation the hope whereof shineth in thy promises And if sinne come and stand in my way I will open the floud-gates of mine eyes and will not close them againe till I haue drowned it in my teares Miserere mei Deus Psalme 50. HAue pitty vpon me ô my GOD according to the greatnesse of thy louing kindnesse and by thine immense mercy pardon the punishment which I most iustly haue deserued For if thou expectest that my fasts watchings and prayers should make satisfaction for my sinnes alas ô Lord that wil neuer be Mine offence beeing measured by the compasse of heauen and earth surpasseth the greatnesse of the whole world who then can enuiron and wholy blot it out but only thy holy mercy which is by so much greater as thy righteousnesse exceedeth ours It is thy mercy ô Lord which cricleth the whole vniuerse which keepeth fast together the parts of the world which shake and are ready to fall vpon our heads to bury with vs in their ruine the memory of our sinnes to turne away thy sight from our ingratefull disloyall and disobedient generation which disadvoweth her birth creation and conseruation frō thee Let then this mercifull goodnesse which shineth in thy diuinity aboue al thy other vertues spred it selfe now vpon me not in a sparing manner but prodigally and without measure And as thou diddest once cause the waters to ouer-runne the tops of the highest mountaines for to smother and ouer-whelme the wicked cause in like manner a torrent of mercy to ouer-flowe me not O Lord to drowne but to bathe and purifie mee 2. And be not satisfied with once clensing mee doe not tell mee that thou hast regenerated and washed mee in the bloud of the chaste and innocent lambe for notwithstanding my purenesse then thou shalt now finde mee foule and deformed I did plunge my selfe in a deep filthy vault and am so durty and disfigured as thou wilt no more know mee I doe sometimes question with my selfe whether I am hee whom thou diddest create with thine owne hands or no but my heart beeing confounded and ashamed
from the rocks of this world which on euery side threaten shipwracke to my soule and as the Sailer when he is arriued in the hauen crownes the masts of his ship with garlands of flowers in token that he is in safty euen so crowne me ô my God with the precious guifts of thine holy spirit for pledges of the eternall blessednesse which thou promisest me I say of thy spirit which reigneth in thy faithfull ones which distributes faith to thine elect charity to thy beloued and hope to those whome thou hast predestinated 13. Now whilest my soule continues in this exile looking euery day when thou wilt call it to thy â—elfe I will teach sinners the way they ought to follow for to please thee I will direct them left that in the darknesse of this world they stumble vpon the blocks which shall he presented to them they will beleeue me and they shall returne to thee ô father of light turne to thee ô Father of light they shall with all their hearts imbrace thy law and walke in thine obedience 14. I know ô Lord that there bee some who will stoppe their eares at my words and will grow stubborne in their sinnes they will plot my death and willingly would die their barbarous cruelty with my bloud Deliuer mee my GOD forth of their hands and preserue mee that I may declare thy righteousnesse and pronounce their condemnation I will fore-tel them of their miseries and so soone as my speech is ended thine hand shall strike them and so soone as thine hand hath stricken them behold they shall bee for euer crusht in peeces and confounded 15. And then thou shalt open my lippes and my mouth shall declare thy victory the aire wil be cleere the winds will bee appeased and the flouds will stand still to heare mee sound forth the wonders of the eternall GOD. For thy praise ô LORD shal bee the sacrifice which I continually will offer vp vnto thee which at all times will bee pleasing vnto thee 16. I would willingly haue bloudied thine Altars with the slaughter of much cattell I would willingly haue sacrifized a thousand Oxen and as many sheepe in thine honor but bloud stinkes before thee and their flesh thou acceptest not the smoake of such offerings consumes it selfe in the arie like wind and it can not ascend where thou art the onely voyce of a iust man mounteth higher then the heauens and thine Angells present it vnto thee 17. O how acceptable vnto thee is the sacrifize of an hart pearced thorow with repentance an hart that is humbled in the knowledge of his sinne such an one wilt thou neuer reiect hee that will go vp vnto thee must descend downe into himselfe the way to touch heauen to lie groueling vpon earth hee that wil bee heard of thee must hold his peace and hee that will bee crowned in thy kingdome must be beaten and scourged in this world These are the sacrifices which can reconcile vs vnto thee and enter vs into the alliance which thou hast made with vs. 18. If thou wilt haue vs ô Lord to offer vp vnto thee bulls and oxen and that wee shall make thine Altars smoake with the bloud of Beasts if thou wilt haue vs by the death of an innocent oblation to represent before thee the death innocency of him whome thou hast destined for the redemption of our soules if the figure of that which shall come to passe in the person of the Immaculate Lambe bee pleasing vnto thee in the slaughter of sheepe and rams pittifully then beehold thy poore people comforte desolate Sion encourage her poore inhabitants to the end that they may repaire the walls of thine holy citty and re-edifie thy teÌ„ple not in equall measure to thy deserts ô Lord but according to the riches and industry that the world can attaine vnto 19. Thither from all parts shall thy faithfull people come in heapes to offer sacrifize vnto thee there onely shalt thou accept the expiation for their sins But my God neither the bloud nor death of beasts can wash out their filthinesse the expiation of their sinne and disobedience is prepared before all eternity It is an inestimable sacrifize an immaculate burnt-offering that must draw away the vaile dissipate the darkenesse and breake downe the partition-wall for to make vs behold the truth of our saluation face to face which must cause the beames of the diuine mercy to shine vpon vs and reassociate vs to the communion of the eternall blessednes which we haue willingly renounced O must pittiful God which hast cleered the eies of mine vnderstanding made me to see the mistery of my saluatioÌ„ cause me ô Lord to tast the excellent frute which budding on the tree of the crosse shall quicken with his iuyce our mortified soules shall for euer keepe and preserue vs from the ruine and calamity which hath so miserably attainted man-kind hath spred it selfe all ouer them by their owne disobedience Domine exaudi Psalme 110. O Lord how long haue I cried out for thy mercy yet I am still expecting thine aide The aire is filled with my lamentations the winds haue carried the voyce of my complaint to the farthest parts of the earth and thine eare which vnderstandeth what is done in the deepest bottoÌ„ of hell harkeÌ„s not vnto my praier which pierceth the very heauens Thou art onely deafe ô Lord in my respect and the whole world will sooner then thy selfe giue eare to my laments No no my God thou hast too long stretched out thine arme vnto me to reiect me now when I come vnto thee for refuge 2. Now that I feele a thousand and a thousand griefes and that euills assaile mee on euery side turne not thy face away from mee ô Lord. Alas I haue placed all my comfort in the milde aspect of thy countenance I haue left the world and retired my selfe vnto thee I haue forsaken the children of the earth to the end to allie my selfe to the maister of heauen can'st thou now cast mee of doe not so ô Lord but all the dayes of my life helpe my infirmitie 3. So soone as my voice shall cry out vnto thee ô my God so soone let me feele thee let thy grace come downe as swiftly vpon mee as an Eagle to the succour of her yong ones For if thou assist mee not what combate can I wage against the enemies of my soule 4. My strength and my life doth continually vanish away like to a light smoake which in flying abroad looseth it selfe that eye which sees it come forth of the fire doth as quickly see it dispersed and accompanieth it in a moment from his originall to his end and they that aske what is become of it cannot so much as discerne the trace thereof Who hath seene peeces of wood lye drying in the sunne loose both their vigor and verdure let them behold my poore bones which are become drye and withered and craue nothing but a
graue A graue in deed too happy for mee if so small a pitte may bee able to stay the violent course of mine extreame misery 5. Hee that hath seene the mowed grasse to turne coulor and wither in the field let him looke vpon my pale and leane visage which seemeth to make death it selfe afraid Mine heart waxeth drie in the midest of my intrailes my bloud withereth within my veines for I no more remember to giue bread to my mouth and euery day I forget to eate meate 6. My mouth serueth me for none other vse but to crie out and lament and the vsuall voice of my sorrow is of such force as it carries away with it all the remainder of my strength so as my sorrowfull body doth by little and little consume it selfe and my boanes doe already pierce my skinne why then should I bee carefull to pamper this wretched body which is the subiect of my miseries wherefore should I study to preserue this life which wrestleth with so many discontents and is tormented with so many afflictions were it not better for mee by ending my life to giue an end to my miseries 7. The Pellican which in the most solitarie deserts of Aegipt torments her selfe for killing her yong ones and bathes them with her bloud to restore them to life which shee berest them of is shee more sorrowfull then I dooth shee feele more griese then my selfe hath not my sinne procured the death of that child whom I loued better then my selfe and now that all my teares are drawne dry bloud will gush foorth of mine eyes for feare that weeping should faile mee in such a lamentable misfortune But the Pellican with the price of her bloud redeemes the life of her yong ones and my wretched self shal for euer bee depriued of that child whom I so deerely loued Therefore will I abandon the light of the day and will confine my selfe in the thick darknesse like vnto the fatall Owle which stirreth not foorth of some hollow place vntill the night hath spred his obscure mantle ouer the earth 8. I am continually awake alwayes rauing vpon my mishap and seeking to hide my selfe from the miserie which followes me apace I seeke nothing so much as some corner to bestow my selfe in like to the wilde Sparrow who beaten with the winde and raine searcheth out some place of couert to keepe her from the storme 9. Mine enemies seeing me in this plight haue derided mee they haue reproched mee with my misery and those which were wont highly to esteeme mee in steed of bewailing mine afflictiō haue conspired against mee Of what worth then are the goods of this world if friends bee the most pretious richesse that a man can purchase and if they prooue treacherous and disloyall and make so small account of violating their faith 10. My strength is indeed diminished the floure of my complexion is withered for I haue strewed my bread with ashes I haue tempered my drinke with teares but therfore shal this vnbeleeuing race make mee the argument of their laughter 11. It is true that I met with thine angrie countenance in the day of thy wrath thou hast laide on mee the arme of thy vengeance it hath crusht mee to peeces I was glorious among men and behold I am now cast downe to the ground O vaine presumption vnto what height hast thou raised mee to giue mee so terrible a downefall Alas what matter could I finde in my selfe that might beget such a selfe-conceit in mee 12. Euen as wee see the shaddow of a body to decrease by little and little when as the sunne stands right ouer it and at last becometh a small point in like manner so soone as thy wrath did ascend ouer mee ô Lord my life my wealth and my greatnesse did consume away by little and little in such sort as I seeme like to the withered haye without sap and beauty it is gathered for the fodder of cattell and so many faire sweet and odoriferous flowers are made vp in bottels among weedes and thistles 13. But shall I therefore despaire not so my God for thy power is infinite and lasteth for euer thy mercy is immense which spreds it selfe ouer all those which trust in thee Ages shall passe away one after an other but the memory of thy goodnesse shall neuer haue end for euer one generation shall succeed an other and they shall continually set forth thy praise and louing kindnesse 14. Thou wilt one day awake ô my God and shew fauor vnto Sion for the time of mercy is at hand It is already come behold I see it The riuers send not so many cleere waters into the large bozome of the Ocean as thy goodnesse shall shed foorth fauours and mercies vppon the earth Open your hearts oh yee people open your hearts for the liberall hand of my GOD will fill them with an holy heate which shall cleanse and purifie them more then gold is in the furnace 15. Now the building of Sion is ô Lord the refuge which thy seruants waite for that it may become the dwelling place of eternall life the seate of saluation the treasury of grace and the temple of eternitie 16. Then my God shall the nations bee astonished and all the Kings of the earth shall tremble at the brightnesse of thy glory What remotest corner is there in the world but shall resound thy happy comming what people are there vnder the sunne so confined in darkenesse but will open their eyes to behold the glistering brightnesse of saluation which shall shine vpon them Heauen it selfe shall encrease the number of his torches to giue light to this thine entrie into the world and Kings shall runne from all parts to doe homage to the King of Kings and to the Lord of Heauen and Earth 17. For in Syon hath hee erected his royall throne in magnificent and sumptuous manner there shall men behold him all enuironed with glory darkning the Sunne and Moone with the brightnesse of his countenance 18. But what is the cause ô Lord that thou hast so highly exalted the throne of thy glorie Is it because thou wilt contemne the humble prayers of thy faithfull seruants and neglect the whole world which is nothing in comparison of this thy greatnesse Alas not so my God Thou hast lifted vp thy selfe in an eminent place to the end that all the inhabitants of the earth may see and acknowledge thee to haue recourse to thy grace mercy for thou wilt be alwayes ready to come at the humble summons of thy seruants and thou wilt neuer scorne their pittifull requests Behold they are all set in order like poore galley slaues condemned to the chaine which waite for the arriuall of some King to set them at liberty on the day of his coronation In this manner ó Lord dooest thou deliuer those which haue giuen them-selues ouer to the bondage of sinne at the onely twinckling of thine eye their Irons shall fall from
off theyr hands 19. Then shall they all bee heard to sing a song of glory to the victorious King their voice shall bee heard in all the parts of the earth and the memory of thy singular goodnesse and infinite mercy shall bee engraued in mens mindes to passe from age to age euen to their last posteritie when the earth shall bee consumed the waters dryed vppe the firmament vanished away and the heauens come to an end euen then shall men sing forth the glory of the eternall God 20. The eternall GOD who hath vouchsafed from the highest heauens to cast his eyes downe to the depths of the earth to take notice of the torments of poore captiues deteined in the prisons of hell who hath heard their gronings and made haste to vnbinde and deliuer these poore wretched prisoners and their whole posterity Death had ouercome them with the weapons of sinne and confined them in his darke prisons but the God of life hath vanquished death and set them all at liberty 21. To the end ô Lord that they may declare thy praise in Sion and preach thy mercy in Ierusalem But though euery one of them had an hundered mouthes and a voyce as strong as thy thunder they should neuer bee able to attaine to the greatnesse of thy glorie All the parts of the world doe conspire together but to represent in their motion some part of thy power and infinite goodnesse and yet they shall misse the marke for they are bottomlesse pitts and more then bottomlesse pitts which haue neither banke nor bottome and which must onely bee look't vpon a farre off 22. Bee pleased then ô my God that thy people assembled together and revnited in body and minde doe deuoutly offer vnto thee the holy desire and will which they haue to honor thee for the effect it selfe can in no sort draw neer to thy desert Take it in good worth ô Lord that the Kings of the earth doe come and humble themselues before thee to pay the homage and seruice which is due vnto thee as to their souerain Lord. They shall lay their scepters on the ground and their crownes at their feete and shall present thee with a sacrifice of humble deuotion and an innocent conscience I will be the first ô my God that will prostrate my selfe before thee to adore and serue thee with my whole heart I will settle my thoughts on thee onely vnto thee alone will I consecrate my spiritte Quicken it ô Lord to the end that it beeing purified by the holy heat of thy charity it may receaue into it selfe like a well-pollished looking-glasse the Image of thine incomprehensible beauty and perfection and that it may feele the reflection of thy sincere affection so as thine infinite goodnes may make it one of the number of thine elect to bee a coheire with them of eternall life 23. I doe now already feele ô my God that thou hast enlightned my soule by thy grace and hast shewed me the mercy which thou wilt offer to all the children of the earth my spirit hath already seene from a farre off how readily thou walkest to deliuer the world which was in danger of death before thine arriuall that was the cause why thou heardest it cry out vnto thee saying tell me ô Lord the number of my yeares and what time thou wilt giue an end to my daies 24. Cut not of the thred of my life ô Lord at the first or second turne of the wheele shorten it not in the middest of his course stay my God til the time be come when as thou wilt open the treasures of thy graces to giue a largesse of saluation vnto men or if at the least thou hast determined of mine end and that my life cannot bee so farre stretched out yet remember my posterity and cause him to bee borne of my stocke who by his comming shall sanctifie the world 25. In very deed ô Lord I know that in the beginning thou diddest make heauen and earth and all that excellence which wee see in this world is the worke-man-shippe of thy hands 26. But all that shall weare away like an ouer-worne garment men shall seeke after and enquire what is become of it but it shall bee no more found it hath beene made and it shal be vndone it had a beginning and must needs haue an end but thou alone ô Lord which art from all eternity shalt remayne for euer at one stay Age and time which consumes all things doe but confirme thine essence and publish thy diuinity and it seemeth vnto me that men are borne vpon the earth to none other end but to behold on the one side thine incomprehensible greatnes and their owne weakenes on the other 27. Men shift not shirts so often as one selfe-same land doth oftentimes change hir inhabitants the one pusheth on another and all is renued in a moment But thou art yet my God to day the same that thou wert at the beginning Euery Prouince of the earth makes mention of a great number of Kings which haue commaunded therein one after another but heauen and earth doe continually sing vnto vs that thou hast alway beene alone euer like thy selfe and that neither the time past nor that which is to come can in any sort change thee 28. Yet notwithstanding ô Lord that we must part hence I doe not lose my hope to taste one day of the sweet fruite which will heale vs of this contagious disease which our first parents haue communicated to vs by eating of the fruite of sinne and death For our children shall succeed vs and thou wilt doe vs this fauour ô Lord to continue our posterity from age to age vntill that all of vs together doe appeare in thy presence not to receaue a rigorous iudgement but to enter by the merrits and intercession of thy welbeloued Sonne our Sauiour into the inheritance of eternall blessednesse which shal be purchaced for all thy faithfull ones by the adoption of thy sonne in the house of thy seruant Dauid De profundis Psalme 129. FRom the bottome of the deepes I haue cried vnto thee oh my God being buried and lost in the most fearefull cauernes of the earth I haue called vpon thy name listen to my voyce and giue eare vnto my praier for all hope of aide was taken from mee I saw nothing round about me but feare and trembling and yet notwithstanding I was not discourraged but haue expected from thee that which thou hast promised to all those which shall liue in the feare of thy name and in the obedience of thy commandements 2. Lend then a fauourable eare ô Lord vnto my prayer if sinne haue set it selfe betwixt thee and mee to whet thee on against mine iniquitie and to make thee an enemy to my request chace it away from the aspect of thine eye of mercy or else ô Lord shut for a while the eye of thy iustice vntill that thine eare of clemencie hath receiued
had their wealth in this world it shall bee said vnto them Depart hence for you stand indebted in a great summe thinke vppon yeelding an account of the goods which were committed to your keeping and pay the arrerage for the mis-spending of them Your dwelling is prepared for you where you deserue among eternall paines and torments the rigor whereof hath beene often denounced vnto you and yet it could neuer drawe you from your vngodly life yee shall now feele it because then yee did not feare it But as for those ô LORD which haue beene patient in thy name and suffered in thine honour the furie of the wicked thou wilt say vnto them Come yee blessed children of my Father enter into the Tabernacle of glory to iudge with him the quick and the dead Comfort thy selfe then my soule waite for this time hope in GOD GOD almighty and most mercifull who hath neuer forsaken the iust man in his aduersitie nor neuer stopt his eare against the innocent which was oppressed Benedicam Domino in omni tempore Psalme 34. BLessed be thy name o Lord which hast comforted mee in my sorrow blessed bee it for euer which hast succoured mee in mine affliction All things haue their appointed houre and all the actions of men are disposed by times and seasons change serueth for rest and rest refresheth the ordinary labour of liuing creatures nothing can continue at one staye without relaxation yet for all that heerein this rule faileth for I ô my God doe and will continually blesse thy name the sunne rising shall finde mee praysing thy name the sunne setting shall leaue mee praysing thy name I will thereby beginne the moneths and the yeares and thereby I will finish them ô eternitie I haue no feeling of thee in this world but onely in this will of mine which is euer ready perpetually to praise and glorifie thy name ô my God My body consumeth with age and my strength fades away but my soule obstinate against eorruptible humanity dooth not onely last but encreaseth dayly in this holy affection If I thinke to take my rest my heart giueth spurres to my thoughts If I thinke to bee silent my soule breakes forth betwixt my lips and by maine force formeth a voyce which prononnceth the glory of my LORD What makes thee ô my soule so feruent in the praises of my God I see wel that thou knowest that thou hast drawne thine essence from him and waitest by him to be glorified what vsury doest thou offer him Thou presentest him with a parcell of his praises and thou in the meane time expectest to be made partaker of the ritches of his glory For from him only thou art to hope for al honour The heauens shall passe away shall weare like an old garment it shall be changed but God shal remain to triumph ouer the ruines of the world Peaceable and meeke people shal be on euery side about him they shall heare the triumphant hymnes which shall be sung to his victory and filled with ioy they shal accord their voices to the trumpets of the Angells 2. Let vs beginne then betimes to learne the songes of his glory let vs magnifie him and exalt his name as high as our voyces will stretch let vs re-enforce our cries to the end they may ascend as high at the least as we can discerne them that the ayre filled with our songes may carry them on the winges of the winde to the very farthermost partes of the earth to the end that all people may be wakened with the sound of our tunes and reioyce when they shall in this manner heare the name of the Lord of heauen and earth to be exalted the lord who is the trusty assured refuge of all those which call vpon him 3. I sought him and he forthwith heard me I no more knew whether to goe and after that I had cast mine eyes on euery fide finding nothing able to succor me the whole world forsaking me I returned towards my selfe and bewayling my calmity beheld my selfe And on a sodaine he at once filled me with strength and courage and causing my soule to rebound out of the gulfe of sorrow and tribulation which had swallowed me vp he said vnto me trust in me for I am here then I cryed out ô Lord where art thou make hast and quickly help me and forthwith his spirit came downe vpon me and as a strong wind driueth away the cloudes euen so did it driue from me all manner of griefe and aflictions 4. Come then and runne vnto him come the way is easie it is open on ouery side he shewes himselfe euery where in what place so euer we be he calls vs vnto him He is so much affraid least we should goe astray as he comes downe from heauen to carry the torch before vs to giue light vnto our feet For hee is the Father of light and giues a purer light to our soules then to our bodies it dissipates and scatters of it selfe all that which may hurt and offend vs. Come then and draw neere vnto it for so long as it shall shine vppon you you shall walke with an erected browe and nothing shall be able to offend you your strength shall be renued within you and nothing shall bee able to confound you if your sinne offers to shew it selfe it will driue it away if your enemies come towards you it will ouer-throw them 5. Will yee behold an excellent proofe of his helpe and singular mercy Looke vppon this poore miserable wretch who was accounted the maister-peece of misfortune who was supposed to haue lost al that he had yea very hope it selfe the onely comfort of the miserable yet he no sooner cryed vnto God but he foorthwith heard him and deliuered him from the misery wherein hee was hee hath brought him to the hauen and set him in a place of safety 6. He sends his Angels to the ayde of his seruants who compasse them about like a strong guard and stir not from them till they haue deliuered thē out of al danger For as he is great so are his ministers mighty and albeit of himselfe he is able to doe all thinges yet in regard of his greatnesse he executeth his wil pleasure by the means of his creatures gouerning the small ones by the meane the meane ones by the highest and the highest by himselfe 7. Taste then a little how sweet his mercy and goodnesse is how happy is he which putteth his trust in him The swallow is very carefull of her young ones yet she often lets thē cry out for hunger mixing their sweet with bitternesse but our God comes at the first cry at the first signe at our first wish and so soone as he perceaues that we thirst after his succour he puts into our mouthes the fertill dugges of his goodnes and sheds betwixt our lippes the sweet milke of his grace which quencheth the thirst of our infirmity and the
returning vnto thee but thou diddest meete mee I did no sooner say that I would confesse my misdeeds but thou diddest grant mee pardon I did no sooner know what punishment belonged to my sinne but thou forgauest it I tooke the roddes in hand to chastice my flesh and thou tookest them from mee To bee short I thought that thou wouldest haue proclaimed war against mee and thou offeredst mee a charitable reconciliation Oh how much more rather ô Lord doost thou pardon then punish Can a good Father more louingly receiue his Childe which beggeth his pardon then thou hast receiued mee when I did cast my selfe at thy feete Mine heart also leapeth for ioy and boyleth with an holy heat to praise thy name it reioyceth in the fauor which thou hast shewed it accusing none but it selfe for what is past and cryeth out it is I which willed it it is I which haue done it it is I which tooke pleasure therein but my God was mercifull vnto mee 7. How could he haue refused me his mercy seeing Christ Iesus is my Aduocate and thy Saints whose prayer is so deere vnto him haue prayed doe pray and will continually pray vnto him for mee They are those who make intercession for mee who procure his fauour for mee who implore his goodnesse for in those prayers which they powre out for thy vniuersall Church I hope to haue my part They haue need alas to intercede for mee seeing that the impiety of my heart hath in such sort blinded mine vnderstanding by her euill thoughts as my soule could not looke vp towards heauen to lift vp her hand to him who onely can and will saue it what remained for mee more but that those whom thou drawest neere to thy selfe and whom thou hast receiued into the sacred consistory of thine eternity should beseech thee to haue pitty vppon mee Vpon me who a cheife enemy to my selfe haue neuer could nor would haue prayed vnto thee for mine offence I doe now then comfort my selfe for that thou hast opened mine eyes to see the lothsomnesse of my conscience for that thou hast mollified my heart to make true contrition to lodge therin If it hath not beene so soone as it shold it hath not at the leastwise beene so late but thou hast vouchsafed to receiue mee as thou art wont to doe those who let slippe no time of repentance 8. For those which make haste to sinne and do willingly neglect repentance when they perceiue their faults and haue meanes to doe it deferring till their liues end to craue thy mercy louing kindnesse and to make a deluge of their eyes they are in great danger of deceiuing themselues and true repentance cannot afterwards enter into their hardned hearts their sorrow will be like that of desperate people and thy mercy prooue deafe to their too late repentance 9. But I runne in time to thee as vnto the refuge and end of my hopes to my comfort in tribulation which hath enuironed mee in the same manner as the feare of death sezeth vpon him that is appointed to some shamefull punishment Cause mee then now to taste the pleasure which that man feeleth in his heart who is freed from Irons deliuered out of prison and defended from the punishment wherein his enemy hath a long time held him captiue And on the contrary let the enemy of my soule blush for shame when hee shall perceiue mee so deuoutly to craue the assistance of my God who with the onely twinckling of his eye can deliuer me from the voluntary bondage which I vowed to damnable voluptuousnesse at such time as I drank the sweet honney of delicious pleasures which it presented vnto mee with a deceitfull hand in the loathsome cuppe of this world 10. Alas when I call to minde the time that thou diddest thus returne vnto mee and when with that eye of mercy thou madest a signe vnto me of pardon mercy and saluation it seemeth vnto mee that I doe verily behold a cleere sunne-shine to arise amiddest the stormes and tempests of the sea who by little and little perceiuing the clowdes bringeth back a cleere and calme season and vniteth the raging waues of the water Euery houre I seeme to vnderstand that sweet and gracious word when thou diddest say Feare no more for behold my spirit shall direct thy pathes and shall not lose the sight of thee thou shalt walke now vnder his conduct who bringeth in pure cleane soules into my glorious kingdome So soone as I heard this word I fixed mine eyes on my guide like the attentiue Pilot on the shining starre that directeth the course of his Nauigation O God! how sweet shall that rest bee which I shall enioy after that I haue walked in those wayes which thou hast taught mee I which went astray out of the path which leadeth to thy holy Tabernacle I was already entred into the thick forrest of this world where such doe easily loose them selues who to enioy tho pleasure and sweetnesse of the shades doe flye from tho light of the day which should direct them in their iourney for soone dooth the fearfull face of night afright them and deliuers them for a prey vnto wilde beasts that cruelly teare deuoure them I did already wander in this Labyrinth and I was hopelesse to get forth of it but that thou diddest put the thred into my hand which brought mee out of this dangerous prison Be hold I am now at liberty to doe homage and seruice vnto that GOD which did deliuer mee to present vnto him his image pure and vndefiled and to acknowledge all those fauors which it hath pleased him to bestow on mee to proceed from his onely goodnesse Hee hath not onely heard mee aboue his other creatures giuing mee the vse of diuine reason but hee hath likewise among men lifted mee vp into a throne of honor and magnificence so that there was nothing left to perfect my happinesse but onely to bee able to know it and after that I had forgotten my selfe he did enlighten me by his holy light and gaue mee time and will to bewaile my life past and to amend in time to come 11. Doe then like mee that are my friends and haue recourse in time to his mercy for he himselfe calleth you into the way of saluation and bee not like to the stubborne Mule which kicketh against the spur hee wanteth reason knowledge and iudgement 12. For a bit is put into his mouth and he doth continually feele the spurre in his side In like manner if at the first warning which the Lord giues you to returne into his wayes you doe not obey his will hee will raine vppon you showers of calamities which will make you more miserable then misery it selfe 13. You see the starres which twinckle in the firmament the sand which lyeth on the Sea shoare but neither hath the sea so much sand nor the heauens so many starres as there are punishments prepared for the obstinate
me like a dead man in the caue of obscurity My soule is highly greeued within mee and mine heart is astonished like vnto his who walking with an erected countenance is by misfortune fallen into the bottome of some pit his sences are forth-with troubled he forthwith loseth his reason and torments himselfe hee knowes not what to will or do till calling his wits together he takes notice of the place where he is and the maner how he fell downe for then hee begins by little and little to get vp againe and to climbe with great labour from the place whereinto hee easily fell 5. Euen so I hauing called to memory from farre the remembrance of things past and representing to my selfe in a deepe meditation the workes of thine hands and considering exactly the things which thou hast wrought namely remembring the state wherein thou diddest create vs and then calling to minde that wherein I finde my selfe now as it were crusht downe in the ruines of sinne I curse the houre wherein my mother conceiued mee I detest the daye which first opened mine eye-liddes to cause mee to looke vppon heauen and earth the witnesses of my weaknesse and at last finding nothing in this world which can comfort mee in this distresse I come againe vnto thee 6. I fall downe on my knees before thee I lift vppe vnto thee mine armes and hands and my soule thirsteth after thy grace with as great a desire as the earth gaping with heate waiteth for a pleasing shower of raine in the hottest time of summer 7. Runne then hastily vnto me ô my God for I am already out of breath my courage faileth and loe I fall fainting downe wilt thou tarry till I am dead I am so already if thou make not the more hast for my sences faile by little and little my soule slideth sweetly out of my body leauing it without motion and I am like vnto him who is let bloud in his foote in hot water whose life runnes out with his bloud not feeling the cause of his death 8. Now ô Lord if thou keepest thy selfe farre from me turning thy countenance away I shall become like vnto those who goe downe into the bottome of the graue pale death will discolour my visage and benum my sences and that which is worsse spirituall death ô my God will kill my soule will fill it with feare and horror and bereaue it of the knowledge of thy singular goodnesse and the hope of grace which shineth in thy wonders like a glistering star in an obscure night 9. Cause me then betimes to vnderstand and feele the effects of thy mercy and in the morning when the sunne shall arise vpon the earth let thy clemency rise vpon me to enlighten mine ignorance and to direct mee in the way of thy commandements But let it not doe ô Lord like thy Sunne who at the end of his race plungeth it selfe in the sea hiding his light for a time from poore mortalls but let it perpetually assist me let it bee no more seperated from mee then my soule from my body for thy mercy is far more the soule of my soule then my soule is the life of my body 10. Let it not then leaue me let the brightnesse thereof still direct my pathes in thy waies let it still guide mee in the way which I must walke to come vnto thee For my spirit which hath throwne it selfe into the middest of the briers of this world which hath gonne astray amongest her thickest bushes can no more finde out her right way but walking at all aduentures loseth both her way and her labour going still back-wards from the place whether shee thought to arriue But my GOD I still waite for thy helpe I hope for succour from an high 11. I am prisoner in the hands of the cruellest enemies of my life make hast ô Lord to deliuer mee thou art my refuge receiue mee into thy protection teach mee what thou wouldest haue mee to doe for thou art my God vnto whome onely I now resolue my selfe to doe seruice Away far far from mee deceitfull pleasure which hereto fore diddest bewitch my soule and poyson my mind thou hast by thy lickorish delights inueigled me and with a little honney thou hast made me swallow a most bitter and deadly pill which spredding it selfe thorow my members hath in such sort mortified and made me giddy as there is small difference betwixt mee and a dead person and my body is not only thus mortified but my soule likewise wherein consisteth the originall of my life present and to come 12. It behooueth then thine holy spirit to come vnto me to warme againe my dying soule to take it by the hand to leade it into safety and to quicken it imprinting in it the image of thy righteousnesse which may defend it against the temptation which on eueryside doth beseege it and threaten her ruine 13. Thou wilt come then and at thine arriuall thou shalt draw my soule out of trouble and in shewing mercy vnto me thou shalt destroy all those which haue conspired against me Then shall my greefe haue an end and theirs beginne it shal be a beginning of their forrow which shall neuer end but as riuers rising out of their springs run on stil bigger bigger vntill they fall into the bosome of the sea which hath no bottome euen so shall their miseries encrease and at the last shall heape vpon them extreame torments and infinite distresse In this manner shall all those perish which vex my soule for ô GOD I am thy faithfull seruant whome thou hast remembred and thou wilt not forget those who in disdaine of my Lord haue so shamefully abused me they laughed at my misery but the time drawes on when they shall bewayle their owne Thy vengeance begins to bee kind bee against them and they shall wither like leaues vpon the trees at the approach of winter O GOD what glory shall I giue vnto thy name and how shall I beginne to declare thy praise shall I publish thy goodnesse in the creation of so many wonderfull workes which are vnderneath the sun thy wisedome in thy preseruation of them shall I preach thy Iustice in the condemnation and punishment of the pride of the Angels and disobedience of men Shall I sing of thy mercy in the redemption of those who offending thy lawe had throwne themselues head-long into the bondage of eternall death to what part of thy prayses may the humble sound of my voyce attaine and though my voyce were able what eares are capable to receiue it All things faile mee ô Lord in this businesse except courage and will which full of feruent affection doe crye out vnto thee Ayde with thy grace their weake strength and seeing the teares of my penitence haue washed away the filth of sinne wherewith my soule was heauily loden giue it now the winges of faith and hope which may carry it with a swift flight into thine armes to reunite
to comprehend the greatest wonders of the diuinity but eschewing the day-light of knowledge he went groaping vp and downe in the dennes and caues of ignorance and blockishnes and remained therein all his life-time hatching this miserable ritches and at the last is become like to a bruite beast For as a beast â—eigheth after his prouender and takes no care but how to feede euen so this man would not stir but for the necessities of the body nay he would scarcely vse that wealth which he had so much coueted being heerein much worse then all other beasts whose vnbridled appetite is satisfied by the vse of those things which they desire 13. O how scandalous and infamous is the life of such people what share haue they in this world or in the next but only shame in this and paine and torment in the other Let them now please themselues in their owne discourse let them grow proud in their wealth let them now a little call to mind the speeches they were wont to vse when they esteemed no man but themselues and their money and held all other men in contempt 14. Behold they are haled into hell like sheep to the slaughter death hath deuoured them and there is nothing left but their bare boanes which rotte in their graues 15. The iust man who with patience endured their pride his turne is now come loe his time is to raigne and he is now at his ease He riseth vp by the breake of day and after he hath giuen thankes vnto God he goes to behold the place where one of those miserable wretches dwelt the place where he was wont to braue and tiranize ouer the world and saies softly to himselfe praised be God who hath clensed the earth from this filth and hath giuen place vnto those which blesse his name This wretch is rotten and his glory with him He is now in torment and no man helps him let him remaine so hardly for death vnto him is a going on but not a comming back 16. As for my selfe ô Lord. I know very well that I must dye the sinne of our first parent hath bound vs to this debt it is the reward of his disobedience we must returne into the earth from whence we came Yet for all that ô Lord thou shalt redeeme me from death and deliuer me from the hands of hell when it would seaze on me Thou wilt not suffer me to goe downe so low thou wilt set me at liberty at the entry of the dore and wilt be satisfied that I should know without suffering the punishment of my deserued bondage and captiuity But what shall be the price of my redemption shal it be the goods of the earth the aboundance of gold and siluer Not so ô Lord. Thou thy selfe shalt be the price of my redemption thou shalt giue vp thine owne body to death to the end to deliuer my soule from hell thou shalt put on the sorrowes of the graue to the end to cloath me with the ioyes of immortallitie I will then hence-forward ô my God haue none other wealth but thou possessing thee I shall enioy the whole world louing thee I shall be in thee and thou in me and being so thou wilt bring thither all the wealth of the world all the strength all the glory of the world and wilt fill mee with an other manner of wealth then that of these poore wretches they know thee not their riches is but the fruite of their sinne which with their sinne shall perrish 17. Wee must not be amazed to see them sodainly wax riche nor account them happy for that if they doe abound in false honor which they hunt after and that they are loden with this vaine and fleeting glory which is nothing but a shew we must not wonder at it much lesse enuie them for it 18. For so soone as they shall kisse the earth and bee clothed with their winding sheete they shall carry away nothing with them but the cloth that couers them nothing shal follow them but their shadow Nay I beleeue that wil leaue them also for the light which causeth the shadow wil faile them insteed of these magnificent shews pompous solemnities wherewith they scared little children grief sorrow anguish pouerty misery shall wrap them about and cast them into the lake of Brimstone 19. And not without cause they tooke their pleasure in this life their happinesse was in this world they obteined what they wisht for wealth came to them by heapes greatnesse and felicitie was a burthen to them they loued none but such as inriched them they made much of none but those which encreased their reuenues they are dead haue nothing left them in the next world for they made no prouision of the wealth that is currant there they satisfied themselues to haue sufficient riches for this earthly life that is now ended and they are in pouerty They desired honor but it was vaine and fleeting which depended onely on the opinion of fooles they had it but they could not well tell how to keepe it They would needs sitte on the top of the wheele it turned round and threw them head-long downe Happy are they which can sitte at the foote thereof constant and vnmooued and behold in safety how it turnes about 20. But these miserable wretches did not so they willingly mounted the top from whence they fell into hell they are now of the number of their fathers they found their Ancestors there from whom they drew their birth and manners they imitated their vices and after death they pertake their punishment They learne but too late and when repentance is vnprofitable what it is to lift themselues vp against God and to resist his glory They learn what it is to afflict the iust to oppresse the poore to deride the afflicted They are confined in darknesse and the light shineth no more before their eyes They heare nothing but horror and gnashing of teeth they breath out nothing but sighs grones they do not moue vp and down but in feare and ttembling 21. When these wretched mad-men were in honor they knew not what it was and became like beasts without vnderstanding But alas this is no true comparison for when beasts die death takes away their feeling of sorrow as well as that of pleasure but these wretches which wold not know wherein their happinesse consisted who would not looke vpon eternall light who stopped their eares at the spirituall word their feeling shall remain for the subiect of their tormeÌ„ts their soule shal liue perpetually to coÌ„ceiue their misery and they shal for euer languish Quam bonus Israel Deus Psalme 72. HOw great is the goodnesse of our God how certaine is his helpe to those which waite on him to those I say who neuer turned away their thoughts from his mercy who holding the eie of their soule fixt on his prouidence haue neuer let slip the hope which they ought
to haue in his fauour How happy are they whom the sundry encounters of this world could neuer shake in their assurance of the diuine iustice how great and praise-worthy is the constancie of such people 12. For to speake truth my foote did often-times slip in this way I did often slide and almost fell to the ground Like vnto those who ascend a sharpe and thornie passage when they feele them-selues pricked with some thorne or bryer doe presently with the paine let goe their hold whereby they went vp and forth with tumble down vnlesse they bee soone stayed euen so ô my God whilst I take vpon me to iudge of thy works and to behold how thou disposest thy graces being pricked grieued at the prosperity of the wicked I fetch many false steps and am ready to fall head-long downe and to iudge amisse of thy wisedome and iustice 13. How comes it to passe say I that people which know not God but to blaspheme him who thinke they haue hired him to serue their libidinous and peruerse affections who care not otherwise for him but only to haue him serue for a coulour to their wickednesse and for a maske to their iniquities that they should neuerthelesse reape the fruite of his fauor and possesse in peace and quiet the very creame of his blessings I confesse it ô my GOD that I am iealous of their prosperity and I enuy it and it seemeth vnto mee that it is altogether against reason 4. What man that beholds them will say that they should euer die who is it but would thinke that they had purchased of thee at a price immortality in this world and parted stakes with thee of an eternall continuance in all felicity In other matters of this world some change is seene which sheweth that of necessety an end must follow but in their happinesse is such firmnesse descerned as it seemeth that they still encreasing as they doe will at last attayne thy infinitenesse and seate them-selues in thine Heauenly throne for there is no manner of likely-hood to imagine that any thing should hurt them nor that the least misfortune should once draw neere the lustre of such magnificence It is a matter incredible to thinke that any euell should hurt their pretious bodies enuironed with such numbers of excellent riches 5. Other men waxe crooked with trauaile labour is their trade of life they are borne in teares and grow vp in sighs they waxe olde in lamentations the sea is oftener free from winde then their life from torment so many arrowes stick not about a white as miseries and aflictions are seene to encompasse other men But these men only are free and safe and with a firme and smooth course of life they bath themselues with ease in the pleasures of this world and make the calamities of honest people and such as feare God their only sport and pastime Who hath seene a tyrant from a theater to behold his slaues fighting with Tygers Lions and to feed his cruell eies and heart with the inhumane sight of those poore dismembred creatures in the selfe same manner doe these vile wretches feed their wishes with the sight of the aflictions which scourge the innocent 7. Oh how proud and arrogant it makes them they think that the earth was made only for them and that it is not bigge enough to hold them As for the other sort they behold them at one side and it seemeth that they enuie that they liue and they scornefully mutter these words shall we neuer be rid of these rascalls wil they still be in our sight Then they say among themselues what is this fellow but a varlet that man but a foole So in loue are they with themselues that they account nothing in this world goodlier then themselues they adore them-selues like Gods they serue their owne lusts reuerence their owne passions so as they are couered ouer head and eares with pride rapine and iniustice 7. They are fatte onely with mischeefe their bodies are not so larded with fatte as their soules with sinnes All manner of villainy and abhomination dwells in their consciences all their thoughts and wishes tend to filthinesse they fixe their eies onely therevpon their fingers itch at it they haue none other minde nor affection and mallice doth animate and giue motion to their bodies 8. Yee shall see them so soone as they haue a long time thought on their sinne chewed their euell plottes and executed some wicked enterprise how they will glorie in them braue the world and talke as though they had authority for whatsoeuer they did If there were any shame in them they would at leastwise satisfie them-selues with their licentious outrages exercized vpon men and not thus vilanously blaspheame and curse the sacred name of God 9. But what ô my God they haue listed vp their heads against Heauen they haue scornefully beheld the seate of thy greatnesse as if they should say what is there to bee compared vnto vs To vs who do what wee list in this world who haue aboundance of all things As for the earth they vouchsafe not to looke on it or if in pitty they cast their eyes on it they say what is this earth but that which cloyes vs with her aboundance wearies vs with hir fruitfulnesse 10. This is truely the reason ó Lord why all the people beeing amazed come together in heapes to view this prodigy and runne from all partes to behold this spectacle and they are mute to see this wonder they are there fixed and looke one vppon another 11. At the last they waxe impatient and beginne to murmur What doth not God who seeth all things perceiue this Is it not hee which hath this greate all-seeing eye who bath beheld things before they were created sees them in their beeing and force-sees their end Is not his prouidence saide to bee as great in the gouernment of the world as his goodnesse was wonderfull in the creation thereof If hee hath disposed all things in order if hee hath created by measure if his iustice bee present in the gouernement of the world what doth hee at this time where doth hee now sleepe 12. Behold the wicked haue seazed on his benefits and possesse the wealth of the world a man would thinke that al was made for them ritches raines downe vpon them honours enters their houses in heapes happinesse laies hold on them perforce they desire and haue they wish and obtaine 13. And at the last I my selfe haue likewise said my God how comes this to passe I haue in vaine iustified myne hart and ruled mine actions according to thy commandements I haue despoiled my selfe of al affections for to loue nothing but thee I haue circumcized my heart from all euill desires I haue fettered my will in thy law to the end it might only serue thy glory eschew sinne and sinners I kept company with the innocent and haue lifted vp my hands with them not
thee to inlighten my mind of those things which thou hast ordaided in heauen in the seate of thine eternity Yet ô Lord thou hast supplied that defect and hast led me by the hand to see the secrets of thine eternal wisedome thou hast in a manner rauished me and taken my soule out of my body to make it capable of the diuine light of thy wise purposes 25. In very deed when I enter into the consideration of these wonders my heart fainted and I fell into a swoune what is this ô my God my God what hast thou made mee to see God of my heart God of my thoughts God of my hope God whome I account all my wealth to loue whome I haue hence-forward destined all my affections I know now ô Lord what thou art how iust how mighty and I will neuer more be astonisht to see strange matters in this world the reason whereof I am not able to comprehend For thy councells are wondrous high this wisdome is merueilous deepe But in the ende ô LORD whatsoeuer thou disposest in this world endeth in iustice 26. For all those who forsake thine obedience and leaue thy fauour shall most miserably perrish all those which violate the faith of the alliance which they haue sworne vnto and yet serue their owne concupiscences and commit whoredome with the earth and their fleshly affections all those which polute their consciences and prostitute their soules to wickednesse and impious cogitations shal be rooted out and passe through the fury of thy reuenging hands 27 But as for me ô my God I will neuer depart from thee I will neuer hope for any other good but to be first ioyned to thy sides I will fixe mine eyes vppon thee to the end to obserue thy becke and to conforme my selfe to whatsoeuer thou desirest of me and I will follow steppe by steppe all that which thou shalt commaund me I meane to put all my trust in thee and seeing that I know thee to be al good and almighty as I steedfastly beleeue that thou louest mee I will likewise firmely beleeue that thou wilt ayde mee and giue me whatsoeuer shal be necessary for me ô how goodly and certaine is the hope which is builded on the promise of almighty God who hath giuen mee so many earnest pence of his bounty so many pawnes of his liberallitie and all to make me beleeue that the recompence which he hath promised me for seruing him faithfully is most certaine and sure Wherefore ô my GOD doest thou thus prodigally lode mee with blessings why doest thou promise mee such aboundance of them seeing there is in mee nothing but sinne and infirmitie 28. I know very well ô Lord that it is because I shall haue matter enough to spred abroad euery where of thine immense mercy and vnspeakable goodnesse to the end I may publish thy praise in all the gates in all the streetes of thy holy Sion that going vp into thine holy hill in the middest of those whom thou hast gathered together in thy Church to receiue thy blessings and to serue to thy glory I may acquaint them with the secrets of thy wisdome which thou hast pleased to reueale vnto mee And that directing my voyce by the stile which thy holy spirit hath framed I may bee able to vnfold the sacred mysteries of thine incomprehensible wisedome to the ende that as many as shall heare mee to discourse of the knowledge wherein thou hast instructed mee may admire not mee which am but an hoarce instrument of thy glory but the wonderfull effects of thy quickning spirit which shall animate mee to this godly holy and worthy worke And after ô Lord that thou hast a while kept vs at this stay in this earthly Sion lift vp our eies towards the holy Sion encourage vs to aspire to this blessed dwelling place and teach vs who they are vnto whom thou hast promised it and how wee ought to carry our selues to become worthy of so faire so holy and so glorious an habitation Domine quis habitabit in Tabernaculo Psalme 15. IT is thy pleasure then ô Lord thar this world to vs should be a wearisome Pilgrimage Al day long we walk vp downe in it and at night we can find no rest for our tired members If we thinke to lay downe our heads on our pillowes to giue slumber to our eye-liddes afflictions like so many flies disquiet vs and the very passions which are ingendred in our flesh like dangerous scorpions do waken and poison vs and at the last kill vs vnles we kil them on the wound What may we hope for seeing that as strength decreaseth our euills doe encrease seeing that on what side so euer wee turne our selues wee walke in the middest of this world and this world is euery where full of miseries Where shall wee then expect rest not in this miserable life where wee are sent like champions to the game to encounter with all manner of aduersities but onely ô Lord in thy Tabernacle in the sacred dwelling place of thy diuinity where our trauailes are to bee crowned O happy yea thrice happy hee for whom thou hast prepared this goodly and delectable place of retreate which will sweeten and comfort our passed griefes in the bosome of thy grace and refresh vs in the armes of thy mercy But who are they who shall one day dwell with thee as beholders of thy felicity and glorie for to heare so much as is spoken thereof that place is not accessible to all the world it is a place of fearefull heigth of infinite largenesse decked with incredible magnificence I can no otherwayes describe it then that it is a very high hill on the toppe whereof a maruailous goodly garden is to bee seene set with all sortes of flowers hedged in with an infinite number of fruit-trees watered with cleere and running fountaines it is verely an hill for to mount it it behooues vs to climbe vpon all sides on tribulations a hundred times harder then flint or rocks And in ascending it we must goe still farther and farther from the center of the earth that is to say from the loue thereof and to put all sensuall and earthly affections vnder foot It is indeed like a flourishing garden for there groweth seedes and causes of all thinges which do daily flourish with infinite faire effects and excellent workmanship it hath for compartiments the goodly disposing of the worlds parts so iustly measured as nothing more the fruits are the sweete and sauory contemplations of wisedome wherewith it nourisheth and filleth those soules that dwell there it hath for fountaines the springs gushing foorrh of the eternall goodnes which poures it selfe from on high into all the parts of the world doth continnually bath and refresh them O faire and holy hill who shall ascend thy toppe who shall rest in the very bosome of so goodly and so delectable a mansion 2. He who purified in the sacred flames of an
only the hands of my body ô my God but those of my soule which are my affections the which I haue wash ed and purified in the torrent of my teares 14. I haue done pennance and haue all day long scourged my selfe beating my hart with continuall sighes peircing it with sharpe contrition and haue driuen away by force of my bloudy teares that viscuous humor which had ouerflowed my will with very bitter gall Euery morning when I arose I cryed thee mercy for my sinnes and I haue detested mine offences I did euery day awake with this purpose and with it I beganne my dayes worke 15. I said to my selfe lo this is al I can say those which feare God and serue him are aflicted those which blaspheme him are at their ease And therevpon I beganne to detest the condition of those which glory ô Lord in being thy children thy chosen and went foreward and said Are these they who are called the children of the Almighty God surely they are reprobate children seeing that others possesse the inheritance of theit father and they in the meane time are in extreame pouerty The other who ouerflow in wealth and vnto whom God is so fauourable and indulgent are his children this name belongs vnto them because they enioy his benefits and are next him masters ouer his workes 16. As for my selfe to speake truly I thought that the matter went thus I could not chuse but vexe and torment my selfe and said alasse my God how comes this to passe can it be thus seeing thou hast pronounced threatnings against the wicked and prepared punishment for them in a word I was in extreame perplexity 17. But at the last I perceiued what thy purpose was and I peirced to the bottome of thy sanctuary I entred as I thought into thy holy consistory and there learn'd thy meaning heerin For after that I had resolued my selfe to wait the end which thou hast prepared for such people I knew foorth with that thy iustice neuer lies though it be somtimes long ere it come it recompenceth her slownesse by the rigor of the punishmeÌ„t I then stedfastly determined to behold what would become of these people 18. Truly at the last thou didest pay them home thou didest giue them the reward of their mischeefe and deceit For when they thought themselues to be at the toppe of their greatnesse loe thou madest them leape downe into the pitte of misery All their pompe and magnificence all their ritches were in the end like to an high and lofty scaffold which they ascended to giue them the more shamefull downefall 19. Good God what discomfort what desolation there is nothing at all round about them but lamentations all their officers and vshers runne vp and downe beating their brests and alwaies hanging downe their heades like vnto a flower which is much beaten with the raine and is also pittyed of those men who were wont to enuy them They doe pittifully behold the ruines of their Idoll and perceiue how madde they were to make a wretched mortall man their God who was but smoake and winde For if a man consider their end hee may see how in a moment they are vanished there is nothing so short as the way from their greatnesse to their ruine the change was so sodaine as sight could not comprehend it They were heere they were there they were and are no more their foote-steps can hardly bee perceiued to this passe hath their finne brought them it layde snares a long time for them loe at the last they are fallen into it Whilest it vndermined the foundation of their house they went vp to the top thereof to the end their fall might bee the higher They still went vpwards and thought all beneath them to bee their owne but at the last they went vp so high as they lost themselues in the ayre before they could come downe to the ground and so vanished like the wind 20. They became like vnto dreames from which wee awake for as men say when they awake I did but dreame this or that euen so when such men are gone the people will say The greatnesse of these men was but a dreame it was a meere vanity and folly which had nothing in it sure and certaine For thou wilt in such sort abolish their memory as no man shall think of them but to deride their pride and to condemne their insolency It shall be said loe these are the ruines of their houses these places belonged to these proud sirs who cared neither for God nor men who tooke delight in all manner of euill and filthinesse who built them so many houses with the boanes of poore people and cimented their pallaces with the bloud of the needy behold there remaines nothing of what they haue heeretofore beene but the markes of their shame lightening fell vpon them and consumed them to nothing 21. We must not ô Lord iudge rashly of thy prouidence he that will consider rightly thereof must with patience attend the end must be directed by thy spirit and inuoke it for his guide and comfort For whilst my heart boyled with anger and that for very spâ—te I fetched great sighes from the bottome thereof and that all the partes of my body were in a sweate I had almost lost my selfe and yet neuerthelesse it was to no purpose at all for after all this vexation I was as wise and well resolued as before 22. I was so troubled as I could not tell whether I were a beast or a man nay verily I was like a beast and I could comprehend no more then if I had wholy lost mine vnderstanding But neuerthelesse I still held fast my hope in thee and the more I perceiued my sence and iudgement to faile the faster did I runne vnto thee and humbly besought thee to open my minde and to cause mee to vnderstand thy will 23. Thou diddest take mee by the hand and gently sette mee in the right way of thy will thou diddest acquaint mee with thy purpose Thou hast done more then that for as I thinke thou diddest open mine eyes and heauen at one instant where I did see the fulnesse of thy glory I say ô Lord that thou diddest cause mee to see it for it is a thing that without thee no mortall man canne attayne vnto 24. For alas what should such a poore and weake creature as I am seeke in heauen that cannot well see that which is vnder my feete nor perceiue but with much a doe that which is before mee on earth my bodyly eyes are very dim but those of my soule are much more The cogitations of men are full of weakenesse and vncertaintie for the earthly and corruptible body doth dull our spirits and staketh our sences to the ground So as without thee I can hope for nothing in this base world nor promise to my selfe certaine knowledge of any thing How can I beeing on earth iudge without thy helpe and vnlesse it please