I beseech thee I beseech thee and still I beseech thee that the most sweete odour of thee and thy mellifluous loue may descend and enter into my hart Lett that admirable and vnspeakable fragrance of thy sauour come into me which may kindle an euerlastingly a burning desire of thee in my hart and which may draw out from thence those vaynes of water which spring vp to eternall life Thou art immense O Lord and therfore it is but reason that thou be loued and praised beyond all measure by them whome thou hast redeemed with thy pretious Blood O thou most benigne louer of man O thou most mercifull Lord and most vnpartiall Iudge to whome the Father gaue all power of Iudgment Thou seest how vniust a thinge it is that the children of this world the children of night and darknes should with a more ardent desire indeauour and study and seeke perishing riches and transitory honors then we thy seruants doe loue thee our God by whome we are created and redeemed But if on the other side a man will affect some man with so great loue as that one of them will scarce indure the absence of the other if the Spouse be transported with so great ardour of affection to her fellow Spouse that through the greatnes of her loue shee can take noe rest nor beare the absence of that dearest freind without deep sorrowe with what loue with what labour with what feruour ought that soule which thou haste espoused to thy self by Faith and other mercyes loue thee her true God and her most beautifull Spouse who hast so loued and saued her and haste done so many and so great thinges for her good For although this world haue certayne delights and loues belonging to it yet doe they not so delight as thou O God In thee the iust man is indeed delighted because thy loue is sweete and quiet for the harts which thou dost possesse thou fillest with tranquillity sweetnes and delight On the other side the loue of this world and of the flesh breeds anxiety and pertubation and depriues thoses soules of quietnes into which it enters for it doth euer sollicite them with suspitions perturbations and many fears Thou art therefore the delight of iust persons that iustly For the strength of rest and peace is with thee and a life vncapable of perturbation He who enters into thee O deere Lord enters into the ioy of his Lord and shall haue nothing more to feare but shall finde himselfe to be perfectly well in the most excellent place which can be thought and he will say This is my rest for all eternityes this shal be my habitation for I haue chosen it And agayne Our Lord gouernes me and nothing shal be wantinge in that place of full feedinge yea there it is that he hath lodged me Sweete Christ deare Iesus fill my hart for euer I beseech thee with the vnquenchable loue and the continuall memory of thee in such sort as that I may all burn vp like any eager flame in the sweetnes of thy loue which many waters may neuer be able to extinguish in me Grant O most sweete Lord that I may loue thee and that through the desire of the I may discharge my selfe of the waight of all carnall desires and of the most greiuous burthen of all earthly concupiscences which impugne and oppresse my miserable soule that running lightly after thee in the odour of thy pretious oyntements till I be effectually satisfyed with the vision of thy beauty I may with all speed arriue thither by thy cōduct For there are two kindes of loues one good and another badd one sweete and another bitter and they cannot both remayne in one hart And therefore if any man loue any thinge in dishonour of thee thy loue O Lord is not in him That loue of sweetnes and that sweetnes of loue not tormenting but delightinge a loue which remaineth sincerely and chastely for all eternity a loue which euer burnes and is neuer quenched O sweete Christe O deer Iesus O Charity my God inflame me all with thy fire with thy loue with thy sweetnes and delight with thy ioy exultation with thy pleasure and ardent desire which is holy and good chaste and pure secure and serene that being all full of the sweetnes of thy loue and all burnt vp in the flame of thy charity I may loue thee O God with my whole hart and with all the marrow of my affections haueing thee still and euery where in my hart in my mouth and before my eyes so that there may neuer be any place open in me for any adulterine or impure loue Hearken to me O my God hearken to me O thou light of mine eyes Hearken to what I aske and teach me what to aske that thou maist hearken to me O thou pittious and most mercifull Lord doe not become inexorable to me for my sinns but for thyne owne goodnes sake receiue these prayers of thy Sonne and grant me the effect of my petition and desire by the intercession prayer and impetration of the glorious Virgin Mary my Lady and Mother and of all thy other Saints Amen CHAP. XXXVI A most deuoute Prayer by way of thanks-giueing O Christ our Lord the Word of the Father who camest into the world to saue sinners I beseech thee by the most indulgent bowells of thy mercy amend my life better my actions compose my manners take all that from me which hurteth me and displeaseh thee and giue me that which thou knowest to please thy selfe and profitt me Who is he but onely thou O Lord who can make a man cleane he being conceiued of vncleane seed Thou art an Omnipotent God of infinite piety who iustifiest the wicked and reuiuest such as are dead through sinn thou changest sinners and they are so no more Take from me therefore whatsoeuer is displeasing to thee in me For thyne eyes haue seene my many imperfections Send forth I beseeche thee thy hand of piety towards me and take from me whatsoeuer is offensiue in me to thyne eyes Before thee O Lord is my health and sicknes conserue that I beseech thee and cure this Heale me O Lord and I shal be healed doe thou saue me and I shal be saued thou who curest the sick and conseruest the sound thou who with the onely beck of thy will restorest that which is in decay and ruine For if thou vouchsafe to sowe good seede in thy feild which is my hart it will first be necessary that with the hand of thy pitty thou shouldest pluck vp the thornes of my vices O most sweete most benigne most loueing most deer most desirable most amiable and most beautifull God infuse I beseech thee the multitude of thy sweetnes and of thy loue into my hart that I may not so much as desire yea or euen thinke of any carnall thinge but that I may loue onely thee and haue onely thee in my hart and mouth Write
no comfort till I shall obteyne to see thee in thy celestiall bedd of state Thee who art my beloued and most beautifull Spouse my Lord and my God That beholding there in the society of such as thou hast chosen that glorious and admirable most beautifull countenance of thine which is topp full of all true sweetenes I may with profound humility adore thy Maiesty And then at last being replenished with the celestiall and vnspeakable iubilation of eternall ioy I may cry out with such as loue thee and say Beholde that which I aspired too I see That which I hoped for I haue That which I desired I inioy For to him am I conioyned in heauen whome being yet on earthe I loued witth my whole power I imbraced with entire affection and I inheared to with inuincible loue Him doe I praise adore and blesse who liueth raigneth God for euer and euer Amen CHAP. XXXVIII A Prayer to be made in affliction HAue mercy on me O Lord haue mercy on me deer Lord haue mercy on me most miserable sinner who cōmitt vnworthy things and doe endure such as I am worthy of for I am daily sinninge and daily feeling the scourge of sinn If I consider the euill which I cōmitt daily it is noe great matter which I suffer It is much wherein I offend and it is little which I endure Thou art lust O Lord and thy iudgment is right yea all thy iudgments are iust and true Thou art iust and true O Lord our God and there is noe iniquity in thee Thou O mercifull and Omnipotent Lord dost not afflict vs sinners cruelly and vniustly But when we were not thou didst make vs with thy hand of power and when we were lost through our owne fault thou didist admirablie restore vs by thy pitty and goodnes I know and am well assured that our life is not driuen on by rash and irregular motions but it is disposed and gouerned by thee O Lord our God So that thou hast a care of all butt especially of thy seruants who haue placed their whole hope in thy mercy I doe therefore beseeche and humbly pray thee that thou wilt not proceed with me according to my sinns whereby I haue deserued thy wrathe but accordinge to thyne owne great mercy which surpasseth the sinns of the whole world Thou O Lord who doest inflict exterior punishments vpon vs giue vs interior patience which may neuer faile that so thy praise may not departe from my mouth Haue mercy on me O Lord haue mercy on me and helpe me accordinge to what thou knowest to be necessary for me both in body and soule For thou knowest all things thou canst doe all things thou who liuest for euer CHAP. XXXIX A verie deuoute Prayer to God the Sonne O Lord Iesus Christe the Sonne of the liueing God who didest drinke vp that Calice of thy Passion thou being extēded vpon thy Crosse for the Redemption of all mortall men vouchsafe this day to giue me helpe Beholde I come poore to thee who art riche miserable to thee who art mercifull Let me not goe empty or despised from thee I am hungry now when I beginn let me not giue ouer empty of thee I come to thee almost starued let me not departe from thee vnfed And if now before I eat I sighe grant at least after I haue sighed that I may eate First of all O most sweete Iesus I confesse myne owne iniustice against my selfe before the magnificence of thy mercy Behold O Lord how I was conceaued and borne in sinne and thou didst wash me and sanctify me and after that I did yet pollute my selfe with greater sinnes For I was borne in Original sinn which was necessary to me but afterwards I weltred in actuall sinn which was voluntary Yet thou O Lord beinge not vnmindfull of thy mercy didst take me from the house of my father of flesh and blood and out of the Tabernacles of sinners and didst inspire me to follow thee with the generation of them who seeke thy face and who walke in the right way and who dwell amongst the Lillyes of chastity and who feed with thee at the table of profound pouerty And I vngratefull for so many benefits did after I had receaued Baptisme worke many wicked deeds and committed many execrable crymes And whereas I ought to haue remoued those former sinns I did after add new sinns to those These are my wickednesses O Lord whereby I haue deshonored thee defiled my selfe whome thou haste created after thyne owne Image and likenesse by pride vaine glorye and a number of other sinnes whereby my vnhappy soule is afflicted torne and destroyed Behold O Lord how my iniquityes haue ouergrowne my head and how they oppresse me as any heauy burden might doe And vnlesse thou whose property it is to haue mercy and to forgiue be pleased to put the hand of thy Maiesty vnder me I shall not faile to be miserably drowned in that bottomlesse pitt Consider O Lord God and see because thou art holy and behold how my enemy insulteth ouer me saying God hath forsaken him I will persecute him and take him for there is none to deliuer him But thou O Lord how long Conuert thy selfe to me and deliuer my soule and saue me for thy mercyes sake Haue mercy vpon thy Sonn whome thou didst begett weth noe small sorrow of thine and doe not so consider my wickednes as thereby to forgett thyne owne goodnes Who is that Father which will not deliuer his Sonne Or who is that Sonne whome the Father will not correct with the staffe of pitty Therefore O my Father and my Lord though it be true that I am a sinner yet I leaue not for all that to be thy Sonne because thou haste both made me and made me agayne As I haue sinned so doe thou reforme me and when thou shalt haue mended me by thy correction deliuer me then to thy Sonne Can the Mother forgett the Childe of her wombe Yet supposeing she could thou hast promised O Father that thou wilt not forgett him Behold I cry out and thou hearest me not I am tormented with sorrowe and thou comfortest me not What can I say or what shall I doe most wretched creature that I am I am vtterly without all comfort and I am cast of from the sight of thyne eyes Woe is me from how great happinesse into how great misery am I fallen Whither was I goeinge and yet where am I arriued where am I or rather where am I not To whome did I aspire and yet now what kinde of things be they for which I pant and sighe I haue sought for happinesse and behold I hawe mett wish infelicity Bebold I am euen dyinge and Iesus is not with me without fayle it is better for me not to be at all then not to be with Iesus it is better for me not to liue at all then to liue without life But thou O Lord Iesus and what
affections of the mind to the dominion therof Loue alone is sufficient is pleasing of it selfe and for it selfe Loue is the merit it is the reward it is the cause it is the fruit it is also the vse of the fruit for by loue we are conioyned to God Loue maketh that two spirits grow to be one Loue maketh that the same thinges be willed and not willed by them Loue maketh vs first to order and compose our liues afterward it enableth vs to consider of all thinges which are present as if they where absent and in the third place it enableth vs to behold internall and supernall thinges with a cleane and pure eye of the hart By loue we are first taught how to vse those contentements well which may be taken in the world afterward those worldly contentements grow to be despised and at the last euen the secretes of God come to be disclosed CHAP. XIX What it is which God requireth of vs that so we may be like him selfe GOD the Father is loue God the Sonne is loue God the holy Ghost is the loue of the Father and the Sonne This charity this loue doth require somewhat of vs which is like that that is to say it requireth charity whereby as by a kind of coniunctiō in bloud we may be associated and ioyned to him Loue forgets that supreme dignity it considers not the reuerence which it is bound to beare He that loues doth of himselfe draw confidently neere to God and expresseth himselfe in a familiar manner without perturbation or feare He looseth his labour and liues in vane who loues not But he that loueth doth still carry his eyes erected towardes God whome he loueth whom he desireth vpon whom he meditateth in whome he delighteth by whome he is fedd and euen made fat Such a louing and deuout person doth so sing and so he reades and in all his actions he is so ful of circumspection and care as if God were euer present before his eyes and so indeed he is He doth so pray as if he were taken and presented before the face of that Maiesty in his soueraigne Thron Where thousands of thousands are seruing him and a million of thousands are present with him When loue visiteth a soule it awaketh her if she be asleep it counselleth softneth and doth wound the hart It illuminateth those thinges which are darke it vnlocketh those thinges which are shut vp it inflameth those things which are cold it mitigateth a harsh vntoward impatient minde it puts sinne to flight it represseth all carnall affection it amendeth manners it reformeth and reneweth the spirit and it bridleth the light acts and euill motions of slippery youth All these thinges are done by loue when it is present but vpon the departure thereof the soule begins already to be faint weake as if the fire were withdrawne from vnderneath a pot which had beene seething CHAP. XX. Of the confidence of a soule which loueth God A Great thing is loue wherby the soule of her selfe doth confidently approach to God doth constantly inheare to God doth familiarly aske questions of God and consulteth with him vpon all occasions The soule which loueth God can neither thinke or speake any other thing she contemneth all thinges else she loatheth all Whatsoeuer she considereth whatsoeuer she saith it smells of loue it sauours of loue so truly doth the loue of God make her all his owne Whoso euer desires to haue the knowledge of God let him loue In vaine doth any man giue himselfe to reading to meditating to preaching to praying if he do not loue The loue of God begetteth loue in a soule makes her bend her selfe towards him God loueth to the end that he may be loued againe When he loueth he desireth no other thing but to be beloued as knowing that they who loue him are to be made happy by that loue The soule which loues doth renounce al her owne particular affections and doth wholy apply her self to loue that so she may be able to pay loue with loue And yet when she shall haue spent whatsoeuer she either hath or is vpon the loue of that torrent which flowes out from that ouer tunning fontaine of loue we must take heed of thinking that there is any equality of springing plenty afforded betweene that loue and this loue betweene God and the soule betweene the creatour and the creature And yet on the other side if the soule do loue as much as it can there can be nothing said to be wanting where al is giuen Let not that soule feare which loues but let that other tremble which loueth not The soule which loues is caried on by praiers she is drawn by her desirs she dissembleth her merits she shuts her eyes against his Maiesty she opens them to delight in his beauty she lodgeth her self in him who is her sauing health and she treateth with him after a confident manner By loue the soule doth step aside and doth grow into excesse beyond the senses of the body so that she which feeleth God doth no longer feele her selfe This is done when the soule being allured by the vnspeakeable sweetnes of God doth steale her selfe as it were from her selfe or rather when she is forcibly carried and so doth slip from her selfe that she may inioy God with supreme delight Nothing were so highly sweet if withal it were not extremely shorte Loue giueth familiarity with God familiarity giues a daring to aoproach that daring giueth gust that gust giueth hunger The soule which is touched with the loue of God can think of nothing els can desire nothing els but doth often sigh and say As the Hart desireth the fountains of water so doth my soule desire thee O my God CHAP. XXI What God did for man GOD for the loue of men came downe to men he came into men and he was made man The inuisible God was drawne by loue to become like his slaues Through loue he was wounded for our sinnes Weake and wicked men may finde a safe strong retreate in the woūds of our Sauiour There do I securely dwelle for I see his very bowells through his wounds VVhatsoeuer is wanting to me I fetch from those wounds of my Lord which flow with mercy nor want they holes through which it may be able to flow By those holes which were made in his body we may discerne the very secrets of his hart we may discerne a great mystery of goodnes we may discerne the bowells of the mercy of our God where with that Orient from on high hath visited us The wounds of Iesus Christ are full of mercy full of pitty full of suauity and full of charity Men digged through his handes and feet they transpierced his side with a launce By these ouertures I haue meanes to tast how sweet my Lord God is for indeed he is meeke and sweet of aboundant mercy to all such as call vpon him in
vp enough Let my life runn on towards thyne imbracements and lett it neuer looke aside till it be all hidden vp in the hidden ioy of seeing thy face In the meane tyme this I know that it goes ill with me when I want thee O Lord. And not onely is it ill with me in respect of the things which are without me but in respect of them also which are within me For whatsoeuer plenty there may be in the world which is not my God is noe better to me then meere beggery For it is thou alone who canst not be changed either into better or worse thou who indeed and simply art alone thou to whom it is not one thing to liue and an other thing to liue happily beccause thou art thyne owne Beatitude But thy creature to nhom it is one thing to liue and another thinge to liue happily must not attribute eyther happy life yea or so much as life to any other thing then thy grace Therefore is it that we stand in need of thee and not thou of vs. For although we had noe beeing at all yet there would be nothing wanting to thee of that compleat good which thou art It is necessarie therfore that we adhear still to thee O Lord that by thy continuall assistance we may be able to liue holyly and vprightly For we are drawē downe fast enough by the waight of our frailty but by thy guifte we are kindled and carried vpward and we are inflamed and we fly on whither we are goeinge which is towards the peace of Ierusalem For I haue reioyced in those things which haue beene said to me let vs goe into the howse of our Lord. There hath a rectifyed and good will placed vs and so as that we can desire noe more but that we may remaine there for euer But because whilest we are in this body we wander as pilgrims from thee therefore we haue not here any permanent Citty but we expect another which is to come for our habitation is in Heauen And therefore by the conduct of thy grace doe I goe into the most retyred corner of my hart and I sing loue songs to thee O my Kinge and my God groaninge out certaine groanes which indeed cannot be described in this place of my pilgrimage where thy lawe is the song in which I delight my selfe And calling Ierusalem to minde I extend and stretch the whole power of my hart towards it Ierusalem which is my Country Ierusalem which is my Mother And towards thee also who art the ruler the illuminator the father the tutor the defendor the pastor the chaste and strong delight therof the solide ioy all wnspekable good things yea all of them together because thou art the onely supreame and true good Nor will I be drawen aside from this exercice till thou O my God and my mercy shalt draw together all that which I am from this despersion and deformity wherein I finde my self and till thou shalt conforme me to thy selfe and confirme me therein for all eternity in the communion of that most deere Mother of mine whither the flower and first fruites of my spiritt are already gone before CHAP. XIX He distinguisheth betweene that wisdome which is called the house of God and that other wisdome which is supremely diuine THis is that howse of thine O God noe earthly howse nor yet built of any corporeal thinge in heauen but I meane that spirituall howse which is partaker of thyne eternity because it is for euer to remaine without spott For thou hast appointed that it should remaine for euer and for euer thou haste imposed a precept and it shall not passe away Yet that creature O God is not eternall as thou art eternall because it was not without beginning for it was made Of all the Creatures this Wisdome is that which was created first I meane not that Wisdome which was absolutely coeternall and coequall with God the Father wherby all things were created and in which Beginninge heauen and earth was made but I meane the Wisdome which is created namely that spirituall nature which by the contemplation of thy light is light for euen this although it be created is called Wisdome But as much difference as there is betweene the light which doth illuminate and that which groweth to be light by being illuminated so much difference also there is betweane thee who art the supreame wisdome creatinge all things and this other which is created as also there is betweene that Iustice which iustifieth which is thy selfe O our God and that Iustice which is produced in vs by our beinge iustified For we also are called the Iustice of God the Father in thee who art his Sonne our Lord by the testimony of the Apostle Though therfore the first of all the creatures was a kinde of Wisdome Which was made to be a rationall intellectuall mind inhabiting thy holy Citty our mother which is aboue and which is free and eternall in the Heauens what Heauens but those Heauens of the Heauens which praise thee because this is that wherof it is said The Heauens of the Heauens to our Lord although we finde no Tyme before that Creature because it was before the creation of Tyme as being the first of all the creatures yet neuerthelesse thou art before it O Eternall God the Creator of all things from whome as soone as it was made it tooke a beginninge though not indeed of Tyme because Tyme was not then created but yet a beginninge of that nature which it was come to haue It came therfore so from thee O Lord our God as that it is cleerly another thing then thou art For although I finde noe Tyme neither before it nor in it it is yet neuertheles fitt to behold thy face neither is it euer diuerted from thence Hence it comes that it is not subiect to any change Yet a kinde of mutabillity is still in it wherby it would growe all darke and cold vnlesse by adhearing to thee with an excessiue loue it did like a sunn which were euer bright as noone day both shine and boile vp with heat towards thee In fine that creature doth so adhear to thee our true God who art truely eternall that although it be not coeternall to thee yet neuerthelesse it is not discharged nor distracted from thee into any variety or vicissitude of tyme. But it reposeth in the most true cōtemplation of thee alone For to such an one ô Lord as loues thee as much as thou commandest thou dost cleerly discouer thy selfe and it sufficeth him And from hence it growes that the Angells doe neuer decline either from thee or from themselues but perpetually they remaine in the same state incessantly beholding thee and incessantly loueinge thee who art the true light and the chaste loue O how blessed and sublyme is this Creature of Creatures most happy in eternally adhearing to thy beatitude happy and excessiuely happy in haueinge thee
haste brought me to the vnderstanding of truthe casting away the darknes of ignorance and whereby thou haste drawen me out of the foolish bitternes of this world and so accompanyinge it with the sweetnes of thy charity thou haste made it delightfull and deer to me I doe with a lowde voice inuoke thee O blessed Trinity with that sincere loue which groweth out of Faith which Faith thou haueing nourished euen from my cradle did'dst inspire by the illustration of thy grace and which thou hast encreased and confirmed in me by the documents of my Mother the Church I inuoke thee O holy and blessed and glorious Trinity in Vnity the Father the Sonne and the Holy Ghoste our God our Lord and our Paraclete Charity Grace and Communication the Father the Sonne and the Illuminator the Fountayne the Riuer and the Irrigation or wateringe All things by one and all things in one from whome by whome in whome all things The liuing life the life proceeding from the liuing life the life liuing One from himselfe One from one and One from two One being from himselfe One being from another and One being from two other The Father is true the Sonne is Truth and the Holy Ghoste is Truth Therfore the Father the Sonne and the Holy Ghoste are one essence one power one goodnes one beatitude from whome by whome and in whome all things are happie what things soeuer are happie CHAP. XXXII That God is the true and souuereigne life O God the true and Souuereigne life from whome by whome and in whome all things doe liue which haue any true and happy life O God who art that goodnesse and that beauty from whome by whome and in whome all things are faire and good which haue any beauty or goodnesse in them O God whose faith doth excite vs whose hope doth erect vs and whose charity doth vnite vs O God who requirest that we seeke thee and who makest vs finde thee and who openest to vs when we knocke O God from whome to be auerted is to faâ—l and to whom to be conuerted is to rise and in whom to remayne is to be immoueable O God whome noe man looseth but he who is deceaued no man seeketh but he who is admonished and noe man findeth but he who is purged O God whome to know is to liue whome to serue is to reigne whome to praise is the ioy and saluation of the soule I praise thee I blesse thee and I adore thee with my lipps with my hart and with all the whole power I haue And I present my humblest thanks to thy mercy and goodnes for all thy benefitts and I sing this Hymn of glory to thee Holy Holy Holy I inuoke thee O blessed Trinity beseechinge that thou wilt come into me and make me worthy to be the Temple of thy glory I begge of the Father by the Sonne I begge of the Sonne by the Father I begge of the Holy Ghoste by the Father and the Sonne that all vice may be farr remoued from me and that all holy vertue may be planted in me O Immense God from whome all things by whome all things in whome all things both visible and inuisible are made Thou who doste inuiron thy workes without and fillest them within who dost couer them from aboue and dost susteyne them from belowe keepe me who am the worke of thy hands and who hope in thee and who onely confide in thy mercy Keepe me I beseech thee here and euery where now and euer within and without before me behinde me aboue and belowe and round about that no place at all may be left for the treacherous attempts of my enemies against me Thou art the Omnipotent God the keeper and the Protector of all such as hope in thee without whome noe man is safe none freed from danger Thou art God and there is noe other God but thou neyther in heauen aboue nor on earth belowe Thou whoe performest workes of prowess and so many wonderfull and vnscrutable things which exceed all number Praise is due to thee honor is due to thee and to thee Hymns of glory are due To thee doe all the Angells the heaueÌ„s all the power therof sing Hymns and praises without ceaseing and all creatures and euery spiritt doth praise thee the holy and indiuiduall Trinity as it becomes the creatures there Creator the slaues their Lord and the souldiers their King CHAP. XXXIII The praises of men and Angells TO thee doe all the Saintes and they who are humble of hart to thee doe the spiritts and soules of iust persons to thee doe all the Cittizens of heauen and all those orders of blessed spiritts sing the hymn of honor and glory adoreinge thee humbly without end All the Cittizens of heauen doe praise thee O Lord after a most honorable and magnificent manner and man who is an eminent parte of thy Creatures doth also praise thee Yea and I wretched sinner and miserable Creature that I am doe yet labour with an extreame desire to praise thee and wish that I could loue thee with excessiue loue O my God my life my strength and my praise vouchsafe to lett me praise thee Grant me light in my hart putt thou the word into my mouth that my hart may thinke vpon thy glory and my toÌ„gue may singe thy praises all the day longe But because it is noe hansome praise which proceeds out of the mouth of a sinner And because I am a man of polluted lipps Clense thou my hart I beseeche thee from all spotts sanctify me O thou Omnipotent sanctifier both within and without and make me worthy to sett forth thy praise Receaue with benignity and acceptation from the hand of my hart which is the affection of my soule receiue I say the sacrifice of my lipps and make it acceptable in thy sight and make it ascend vp to thee in the odour of sweetnes Let thy holy memory and thy most diuine sweetnes possesse my whole soule and draw it vp at full speed to the loue of inuisible things Let it passe from the visible to the inuisible from the earthly to the heauenly from the temporall to the eternall and lett it passe on so farr as to see that admirable vision O eternall Verity O true Charity O deer Eternity thou art my God to thee doe I sigh day and night to thee doe I pant at thee doe I ayme to thee doe I desire to arriue He who knowes thee knowes Truth and he knowes Eternity Thou O Truth dost preside ouer all things We shall see thee as thou art when this blind and mortall life is spent wherein it is said to vs where is now thy God And I also said to thee Where art thou O my God In thee am I refreshed a little when I power out my soule towards thee by the voice of my exultation and confessioÌ„ which is as the sounde of a man who is bankquetting end celebratinge some great festiuity And
that admirable and most goodly house of thine where the voice of ioy and exultation is euer ringing out in those Tabernacles of the Iust Blessed are they who dwell in thy house O Lord for euer and for euer shall they praise thee Blessed are they truely blessed whome thou hast chosen and assumed into that celestiall inheritance Beholde how thy Saints O Lord doe florish like the Lilly they are filled with the euer springinge plenty of thy house thou giuest them to drink of the torrent of thy delights For thou art the fountayne of life and in thy light they shall see light in so high degree as that they who are but a light illuminated by thee ô God who art the illuminateing light doe yet shine in thy sight like the Sunn it selfe O how admirable how pretious and how beautifull be the habitations of thy house O thou God of all strength This sinfull soule of mine is carried with extreame desire to enter thyther O Lord I haue loued the beauty and order of thy house and the place of the habitation of thy glory One thinge I haue begged of our Lord and I will neuer leaue to begg the same that I may dwell in the house of our Lord all the days of my life As the Stagg runns panting towords the fountaines of water so doth my soule runn thirstinge after thee O God When shall I come and once appeare before thy face When shall I see my God after whome my soule is in a deadly thirst When shall I see him in the land of the Liueinge for in this land of the Dyinge he cannot be seene with mortall eyes Vvhat shall I doe miserable creature that I am beinge bound vp hand and foote by these chaynes of my mortality What shall I doe Whilest we remaine in this body we wander from our Lord. Vve haue not here any permanent Citty but we are looking after another which is to come for our habitation is in heauen Vvoe be vnto me for that my abode nere is prolonged I haue dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar and my soule hath beene too true a dweller there Vvho will helpe me to the winges of a doue that I may fly and rest Nothinge can be so delightfully deare to me as to be with my Lord. It is good for me to adheare to my God Grant to me ô Lord whilest I am confined to this mortall flesh that I may adheare to thee as it is written He who adhears to our Lord becometh one spiritt with him Grant me I beseech thee the wings of Contemplation that beinge indued therewith I may fly vp a pace towards thee And because all that which is sinfull and weake is workeinge downeward ô Lord hold hold thou my hart that it may not rush into the bottomes of this darke valley that by interposition of the shadow of the earth it may not be seuered from thee who art the true Sunn of Iustice and so may be hindred from beholdinge celestiall things by the drawinge of black cloudes ouer it Therefore am I aspireinge to those ioyes of peace and to that most calme and delight-full state of light Hold thou fast my hart in thy hand for vnlesse it be by thee it will neuer be able to rayse it selfe to thinges aboue Thither doe I make all haste where supreame peace doth reigne and where eternall tranquillity is resplendent Hold fast and guide my spiritt and raise it accordinge to thy good will that so thy selfe beinge the guide therof it may ascend into that region where there is an eternal spring and where thou feedest Israel for euer with the food of truthe that there at the least with some swifte and catchinge thought I may now lay hold of thee who art that Souereigne Vvisdome remaineinge ouer all things and gouerninge and conducteinge all things But to the soule which is striuing and struglinge towards thee there are many thinges which call vpon it by way of giueinge it impediment O Lord I beseeche thee that they may all be putt to silence by thy commandement Lett my very soule be silent to it selfe Lett it passe by all things Lett it transcend all thinges created and dispatch them all away from it selfe Lett it arriue to thee and vpon thee who art the onely Creator of all things let it fasten the eyes of Faith let it aspire towards thee let it be wholy attentiue to thee let it meditate vpō thee let it contemplate thee let it place thee euer before her eyes and lock thee vp in her hart thee who art the true and soueraigne good that ioy which must neuer haue an end Many Contemplations there are whereby a soule which is deuoute to thee may be admirably intertayned fedd but in none of them is my soule so delighted and laid to rest as in the thought of thee and when it thinks and contemplates thee alone How great is the multitude of that sweetnes of thine wherewith thou dost admirably inspire the harts of thy louers How admirable is that deernes of thy loue which they enioy who loue nothinge but thee who seeke nothinge nor desire so much as to thinke of any thinge but thee Happy soules are they whose onely hope thou art and whose onely worke is Prayer Happy is that man who sits in solitude and silence and stands still vpon his guard day and night and who whilest he is imprisoned in this poore litte body of his may yet be able in some proportion to haue a taste of thy diuine sweetnes I beseech thee ô Lord by those pretious wounds of thyne which thou wert pleased to beare vpon thy Crosse for our saluation and from whēce that precious Blood did flow whereby we are redeemed be pleased to wounde this sinfull soule of myne for which thou didst also vouchsafed to dye Wound it with the fiery and most puissant dart of thy excessiue charity For the Word of God is full of life and efficacy and it is more penetratiue then any sharp two-edged sword Thou art that choise arrow and that most sharp sword which is able by thy power to pearce through the hard buckler of mans hart Strike through my hart with the dart of thy loue that my soule may say to thee I am wounded with thy loue And doe it in such sort as that out of this very wound of thy loue abundance of tears may streame downe from mine eyes day and night Stricke through O Lord strike through I beseeche thee this most hard hart of mine with the deare strong pointed launce of thy loue and pearce downe yet more deepely into the most interiour parte of my soule by the mighty power of thy hand And so drawe forth out of this head of mine abundāce of water and from these mine eyes a true fountaine of tears which may continually flowe through my excessiue loue and desire of the vision of thy beauty To the end that I may mourne day and night admittinge of
I was washed in Baptisme hath tolerated nourished and expected me when I was all wrapped vp in the filth of other sinns Thou O my good Lord didst expect my amendement and my soule expecteth the inspiration of thy holy grace that I may come to pennance and goode life O my God my Creator my expecter and my feeder I thirst after thee I sigh towards thee and vehemently desir to attaine to thee And as the poore childe beinge depriued of the presence of his most benigne father doth incessantly weepe and cry out and imbrace by his memory that fathers face with his whole hart so I not so mueh as I should but so much as I can am mindefull of thy Passion mindfull of thy stroakes mindfull of thy stirpes mindfull of thy wounds mindfull how thou wert murthred for me how thou wert embalmed how thou wert buried and mindfull also of thy glorious Resurrection and admirable Ascension These things doe I hold fast with vndoubted faith I lament the miseries of my banishment I hope for the onely consolation of thy coming and I desire the glorious contemplation of thy face Woe be vnto me in that I was not able to behold that Lord of Angells being humbled to the conuersation of men to the end that he might exalt men to the conuersation of Angells when God being offended dyed that man who offended him might liue Vvoe be vnto me that I obteyned not to be amazed in being present at that spectacle of admirable and inestimable piety Vvhy why at least O my soule doth not the sword of most sharp sorrow pearce thy hart since thou wert not able to haue endured that launce which wounded the side of thy Sauiour since thou couldest not behold those hands and feete of thy Creator to be so violated with nayles and the bloode of thy Reddeemer so hydeously to be shedd Vvhy at least art not thou inebriated with the bitternes of tears since he drunck the bitternes of gall Why art thou not in compassion of that most holy Virgin his most worthy Mother my most worthy Lady O my most mercifull Lady what fountaynes shall I say they were which brake out of thy most chaste eyes when thou didest obserue how thy onely innocent Sonne was bound and scourged and slaine in thy presence Vvhat tears shall I beleeue did bedewe and bathe thy most sweet holy Face when thou didest behold that Sonne of thyne who was also thy God thy Lord extended vpon the Crosse without any falt of his and that flesh which was of thyne owne flesh to be so wickedly torne by wretched people wiih what kinde of sobbing sighes shall I conceaue thy most pure hart to haue beene torne when thou heardest those words Woeman beholde thy Sonne and the Disciple Vvoeman beholde thy Mother when thou tookest the Disciple for the Master and the seruant for the Lord. O that I had beene the man who tooke downe my Lord from the Crosse with that happy Ioseph That I had embalmed him with odours That I had Lodged him in the sepulchre or at least that I had followed him and had obteyned so much that to so great a funerall as that some little parte of my obsequiousnesse had not beene wantinge O that with those happy woeman I had beene frighted by that bright vision of those Angells and had heard that message of the Resurrection of our Lord That message of my comfort That message so much expected and desired O that I had heard these words from the mouth of the Angell Doe not feare you seeke Iesus crucifyed but he is risen he is not here O thou most meeke most benigne most sweete and most excellent Lord when wilt thou giue me a sight of thee for yet I neuer sawe thât incorruption of thy blessed body I neuer kissed those places of thy wounds that pearcinge of the nayles I neuer bathed those ouuertures of thy true thy admirable thy inestimable and incomparable Flesh and Blood with the tears of ioy When wilt thou comfort me and when wilt thou giue me cause to conteyne this sorrow of mine For indeed this sorrow will not end in me as long as I shall be in pilgrimage frō my Lord. Vvoe be to me O Lord woe be to my soule for thou who art the comforter therof didest goe thy wayes out of this world without so much as biddeing me farewell When thou didest putt thy selfe vpon those new wayes of thyne thou gauest thy blessing to thy seruants but I was not there Thou wert carried vp to heauen in a cloude but I saw it not The Angells promised that thou wouldest returne but I heard them not Vvhat shall I say what shall I doe whither shall I goe where shall I seeke him when shall I finde him Vvhome shall I aske Vvho will declare to my beloued that I languish for loue The ioy of my hart is gone My mirth is changed into sorrow My very flesh and my hart haue fainted O thou God of my hart and my part God who art my portion for euer My soule hath refused to be comforted vnlesse it be by thee my true sweetenes For what haue I to care for in heauen but thee and what haue I desired on earth but thee It is thou whō I desire for whom I hope and whom I seeke To thee my hart doth say I will seeke thy countenance and I will seeke it yet agayne O turne thou not thy face from me O thou most benigne louer of mankinde to thee the poore creature is lefte thou art the helper of the Orphan O thou my safe Aduocate haue mercy on me who am a forsaken Orphan I am left as a pupill wihout a father my soule is as solitary as a Vvidowe Behold the tears of my desolation and widowehoode which I offer thee till such tyme as thou shalt returne Come therefore Lord come now appeare to me and I shal be comforted Afford me thy presence and I shall haue obteyned my desire Reueale thy glory and I shall be in perfect ioy My soule hath thirsted towards thee O how abundantly doth my very flesh thirst after thee My soule hath thirsted towards God who is the liueinge fountayne When shall I come and appeare before the Face of our Lord When wilt thou come O my comforter whome I will expect O that I might be sure to see that ioy which I desire O that I might be satiated when thy glory shall appeare of which I haue so great hunger O that I might be inebriated by that springinge plenty of thy house towards which I sighe O that thou wouldest giue me to drinke deepely of the torrent of thy pleasure which I thirst after O Lord let my tears in the meane whyle be my bread day and night till such tyme as it may be said to me Behold thy God till my soule may hear this word Beholde thy Spouse Feed me in the meane tyme with my sighes refresh me with my sorrowes Perhapps my Redeemer
all reuerence and deuotion and which thou O Lord our God our Priest didst immaculately institute and didst commaund to be offered vp in commemoration of thy charity that is of thy death and passion for our saluation and for the dayly reparation of our frailty Let my mind be confirmed whilest I am in the midst of those so great misteryes by the sweetnes of thy presence Let it find that thou art there at hand and let it reioyce before thee O thou fire which euer flamest O thou loue which euer burnest sweet Christ deere Iesus thou eternall and neuer fayling light thou foode of life which dost refresh vs and yet dost neuer diminish in thy selfe who art dayly eaten and yet dost euer remaine entiere shine thou vpon me kindle me illuminate and sanctify this vessell which is thine owne Make it empty of malice replenish it with grace and when it is once full keep it so that I may receaue this food of thy flesh to the saluation of my soule and that by feeding on thee I may liue of thee and by thee that so I may arriue to thee and repose in thee CHAP. XII Of spirituall ioy O Thou sweetnes of loue and thou loue of sweetnes let my stomacke feed on thee let euen my bowels be all filled with the Nectar of thy loue and let my mind vtter that good word O charity O my God thou hunny which is so sweet thou milke which is so white Thou art the food of strong persons make me increase towards thee that so I may feed vpon thee and tast thee withth epalate not of a sick but of a sound person Thou art the life by which I liue the hope to which I doe adhere and the glory which I desire to obtaine Hold thou fast my hart rule my mind direct my vnderstanding erect my loue suspend my thoughts and draw the mouth of this spirit which thirsteth after thee into those liuing streames of celestiall running waters I beseech thee impose silence vpon these tumultuous thoughts of flesh and bloud let these conceits of the earth of the waters and of the ayre and of these heauens which re we see hold their peace Let all visions reuelations which are imprinted vpon the imagination be silent and euery tongue and sensible expression and what soeuer els which hath his complete beeing by passing on Let euen the soule be islent to it self and let it outstrip and exceed it selfe by not thinking of it selfe but only of thee O my God because thou in very deed art all my hope all my confidence For in thee O my God and my Lord in thee O most sweet O most amiable O most mercifull Christ Iesus there is a part of the flesh and bloud of euery one of vs. Now therefore where a part of me doth raigne there do I beleeue my self to raigne Where my bloud hath dominion there do I also confide my selfe to be in dominion where my flesh is glorifyed there doe I know my selfe to be glorious For howsoeuer I am a sinner yet I cannot despaire but that I shal be admitted to this communication of thy grace And although my iniquityes forbid me yet that substance of mine doth inuite me and although my sinnes do exclude me yet that participation of nature doth not suffer me to be reiected CHAP. XIII That the VVord Incarnate is the cause of our Hope FOr our Lord is not so an enemy as that he can forebeare to loue his owne flesh and the parts of his owne body his owne bowells I might iustly haue despayred by reason of my excessiue sinnes vices of those infinite negligences and faults which I haue commited and which I dayly do commit by thought word and deed and by all those meanes wherby the frailty of mans nature may sinne vnlesse the Vvord my God had become flesh and had dwelt amongst vs. But now I dare not despaire because he growing obedient to thee euen to the death and that the very death of the Crosse did take that hand-writing of our sins and nayling it to the same Crosse did crucify both sinne and death In him therefore doe I securely conceaue hope who sitteth at thy right hand and interceedes for vs. And confiding in him I trust I shall arriue to be with thee in whome we are risen and haue liued againe and haue ascēded vp to heauen and are remaining there To thee be praise glory honour thankesgiuing for euer CHAP. XIV How sweet a thing it is to thinke of God O Thou most mercifull Lord who didst so loue and saue vs who didst so quicken and exalt vs O most mercifull Lord how sweet is the memory of thee How much more I meditate on thee so much more art thou sweet amiable to me Therefore doth it delight me extremely to behold thy excellencyes with a pure sight of the mind and with a most sweet affection of pious loue according to the little power I haue in this place of my pilgrimage Where although I be apperrelled with a poore garment of flesh and bloud I do yet continually aspire to the consideration and desire of thy admirable amability and beauty For with the dart of thy charity am I wounded and I am all on a light fire of desire concerning thee I couet to arriue to thee and thee doe I desire to behold Therefore will I euer stand vpon my guard with vigilant eyes I will be singing in spirit and I will also sing with my vnderstanding with all my forces will I prayse thee who art both my Creatour and my Redeemer I will penetrate the heauens with my affectiō and I will so approch to thee with my desire that I may be held but onely in body by this present misery and all my thoughts and the greedines of my desire shal be euer vpon thee that so my hart may be where thou my treasure art who art so desirable so incomparable and so deerely amiable But behold O my most pittifull and most merciful God whilest I am applying my selfe to the consideratiō of thy immense goodnes and pitty my hart is not able to goe through with it For thy grace thy beauty thy vertue thy glory thy magnificence thy Maiesty and thy charity doth exceed all the powers of our mind And as the splendour of thy glory is inestimable so is the benignity of that eternal charity of thyne vnspeakable whereby thou hast adopted them for thy sonnes ioyned them close to thy selfe whom formerly thou hast created of nothing CHAP. XV. How much tribulation endured for Christ our Lord is to be desired O My soule if dayly we were to suffer torments yea and euen to endure the very paines of hell that for a long tyme together to the end that we might arriue to see Christ in his glory to be associated to his Saints would it not be fit for vs to beare all that affliction if therby we
Good but only the supreme Good can satisfy it and withall it is of so great liberty that it cannot be constrained to commit any sinne It is therefore the proper will of euery one which is the cause of his saluation or damnation so that nothing more rich can be giuen to God then a good will A good will draweth God downe to vs it addresseth vs vp to him By a good will we loue God we chuse him we runne to him we arriue to him and we possesse him O how excellent a thing is this good will wherby we are reformed according to the resemblance of God and are made like to him So amiable to God is this good will as that it refuseth to inhabit that hart wherin a good will is not to be found A good will doth make that supreme Maiesty of the Trinity stoop downe to it For wisedome doth illuminate it towards the knowledge of truth Charity doth inflame it towards the loue of goodnes and the Paternity doth preserue that which it did create that it may not perish CHAP. XXVI VVhat the knowledge of truth is WHat is that knowledg of truth It consisteth first in a mans knowing himselfe in being that which a man ought to be and in reforming that which should be amended It doth therefore consist in knowing and louing the Creatour for this is the whole good of man See then how vnspeakable the loue of this diuine loue is It made vs of nothing and it gaue vs whatsoeuer we haue But because we loued the guift more then the giuer we fell into the snare of the diuell and became his slaues Then did God being moued to mercy send his Sonne to redeeme those slaues and he also sent the holy Ghost to the end that he might make those slaues his sonnes He gaue the Sonne as a price of our redemption and the holy Ghost for the priuiledge of his loue and so he imparteth his whole selfe as the inheritance of our adoption So doth God as being most pittifull most mercifull through the desire which he hath of the loue of man not only impart his mercyes but his very selfe that so he might recouer men not so much to him who is God as to themselues That men might be borne of God God was first born of man Who then is he that hath a hart so hard as that it cannot be softned by this loue of God this loue I say of his so preuenting so vehement which made him be content to become man for the loue of man Who now wil be able to hate a man whose nature and resemblance he seeth in the humanity of God Infaillibly whosoeuer hateth him hateth God and so he destroyeth whatsoeuer he doth For God was made man for man that as already he was mans Creatour so also he might be his redeemer and that he might purchase him out of his owne stocke And to the end that God might be beloued by man in a more familiar manner he appeared in the similitude of man that so both his externall and internall senses might be made happy in God the eye of his soule being intertained fed by his diuinity the eye of his body by Gods humanity to the end that whether he should worke inwardly or outwardly this human nature which he created might be able to feed deeply sweetly vpon him CHAP. XXVII VVhat the mission of the holy Ghost doth worke in vs. THis Sauiour of ours was borne for vs he was crucified and he died for vs that so by his death he might destroy ours And because that bunch of grapes of his flesh and bloud was carried to this wine-presse of the Crosse because the expression thereof being made the new winer of his Diuinity began to flow from thence the holy Ghost was sent downe wherby the vessels of our harts were to be prepared and new wine to be put into new skins that first our harts might be cleansed least els the wine powred in should be polluted and that afterward they should be tyed vp least otherwise when it were infused it might be spilt That they might I say be cleansed from all ioy which could be taken in sinne and that they might be fastened against all ioy which could be taken in vanity For that which is good can neuer come vnles first that be sent away which is euill The ioy which is taken in sinne polluteth and the ioy which is taken in vanity scattereth vs. The ioy which is taken in sinne maketh the vessell fowle and the ioy which is taken in vanity maketh it to be full of holes Ioy is taken in sinne when sinne is loued and ioy is taken in vanity when transitorie things are beloued Cast the refore away that which is euill that thou mayst receaue that which is good Powre out all bitternes that thou mayst be filled with sweetnes The holy Ghost is ioy loue Cast out the spirit of the diuell the spirit of the world that thou maist receaue he spirit of God The spirit of the Diuell breedeth a ioy in sinne and the spirit of the world breedeth a ioy in vanity Now both these ioyes are naught for the one of them hath vice in it the other giueth occasion to vice The spirit of God will come when these wicked spirits are cast out and it will enter into the tabernacle of thy hart and will produce a good ioy and a good loue whereby the loue of the world the loue of sinne shall be put to flight The loue of the world doth intice and deceaue the loue of sinne doth pollute and carry on to death But the loue of God doth illuminate the mind it doth purify the conscience it makes the soule reioyce it demonstrates God CHAP. XXVIII Of the working of that soule which loueth God HE in whome the loue of God remaines is euer thinking how he may arriue to God how he may leaue the world how he may decline the corruption of flesh and bloud and to the end that he may find true peace he euer hath his desire his hart erected towards heauenly things When he is sitting when he is walking when he is resting in fine whatsoeuer he be doing his hart departeth not from God He exhorteth all men to the loue of God he recommendeth it to all men he proueth to all the world both by his hart and by his tongue and by his workes how sweet the loue of God is and how bitter that is of the world He despiseth the glory of the world he discouereth it to be full of affliction and he declareth how fond they are who place their confidence therin He wondreth at the blindnes of men for louing such thinges as those he wondreth how it is possible for all men not to forsake these transitory and fraile things of the world He conceaueth that euery one should find tast in that which is so sauoury to himselfe that
reioyce no lesse for him then for thy selfe And if two or three or many more were possessors of it thou wouldst reioyce for euery one of them as for thy selfe supposing that thou louedst euery one of them as thy selfe What kinde of thing will therfore that perfect Charity be of innumerable Angels blessed men since no one loueth another lesse then himselfe no otherwise will euery one reioyce for any other then for himselfe If therfore the hart of man will scarce be able to containe it self for the single ioy which himselfe will takes in so great a good how will he be capable of this so great ioy of so many others Againe looke how much more a man loues another and so much more doth he reioyce at his good And now as in that supreme felicity euery one will without comparison loue God better then himselfe and all the rest so also will he without comparison reioyce more in the felicity of God then in that of himselfe of all the rest of his fellow-Saints And if they shal loue God withal their hart all their mind and al their soule in such sort as that yet all their hart all their minde all their soule cannot sufficiently comprehend the dignity of that loue without faile they will also reioyce with all their hart withal their mind withall their soule so that all their hart mind soule shall not be able to containe the fulnes of that ioy CHAP. XXXVI Of the fulnes of the ioy of Heauen O My God and my Lord my hope the ioy of my hart tell my soule if this be that ioy wherof thou hast said by thy sonne Aske you shall receiue that so your ioy may be full For I haue found a certaine ioy which is full and more then full the hart the mind the soule and the whole man being full thereof But yet in heauen there will be another ioy beyond measure greater then this is There they who are to enioy it shall not enter into all that ioy but they being all full of ioy shall enter into that ioy of their Lord. Tell me O Lord tell thy seruant tel it to my hart within if this be that ioy into which those seruants of thine shal enter who are to enter into the ioy of their Lord But euen that ioy wher with thy elect shall reioyce hath neither bene seen with the eye nor heard by the eare nor hath it entred into the hart of man So that yet I haue not bene able to say O Lord how great that ioy is which thy Elect shall enioy It is certaine that they shall ioy as much as they loue they shall loue as much as they shall knowe thee O Lord. But how great shall that loue be It is certaine that neither the eye hath seene nor the eare hath hard nor hath it entred into the hart of man in this life how much they shal knowe loue thee in that other life O my God I beseech thee that I may knowe thee that I may loue thee that I may ioy in thee And if in this life I may not do it to the full yet at least make me profit in it more more that at last I may arriue to that fullnes Let the knowledge which heere I haue of thee proceed further that so it may there be full Let my loue of thee increase heere that so it may be full there that heere my ioy may be great in hope there full in deede O Thou true God I beg that I may receiue what thou hast promised that so my ioy may be fulfilled In the meane tyme let my minde meditate vpon it let my tongue speake of it let my hart loue it let my discourse worke vpon it let my soule be hungry and euen my very flesh thirst after it and let my whole substance desire it till such tyme as I shall enter into the ioy of my Lord where I may remaine for euer Amen FINIS