heauenly kingdom whereof you shall neuer bee disposseâ—sed Reioice I say in him who is the very Ocean of ioy from whom all ioyes of the soule are deriued who onely giueth true ioy and full ioy and perfect ioy and ioy which shall neither end nor abate Of which ioy the onely hope is sufficient both to refresh and sustaine vs in all the trauerses of this life which incomparably exceedeth not onely all humane ioy that can be found but whatsoeuer can be either guessed or imagined And therefore I will not prescribe any limits to your ioy because it must not be moderate it cannot bee contained in any meane compasse If worldly ioy exceede golden meane then is it vicious but it is not so in spiritual ioy no more then it is in loue from whence it proceedes All morall vertues consist in a mediocritie which is limited by prudence But it is not so in loue or in any other diuine vertue As there is no mediocritie or meane in louing of GOD so is there not in reioicing in him The more we loue the more we reioyce and the more excessiue our loue and ioy is the more doe they draw to their perfection Wherefore then doe wee not with a holy scorne cast behinde vs the base vanishing pleasures of this world and bend all our endeauours after these heauenly felicities Or rather wherefore doe we with a sleepie sensualitie cast behind vs these heauenly felicities and bend all our endeuours after the base vanishing pleasures of this world Alasse Wherefore doe wee forsake the liuing springs and digge broken pits that will hold no water Is it out of opinion of safetie or is it for idle ease Goe wee then to the dead sea of this world let vs draw of their muddie waters of honour riches authoritie or any other witcherie of the world Certainely it will bee with great paine with great care and many times with great danger And then what followeth the atteining of them is not so laboursome as they are loathsome many times when they are atchieued Onely out of these liuing springs out of these sauing waters wee may alwaies draw both with safetie and with ioy Away then yee painted pleasures of this world mine eyes are dazeled with the blaze of too bright a Sunne to admit the beames of your pale light I am wholly inherited by a higher ioy which hath taken so absolute a conquest ouer all my powers that neither my sence can discerne nor my minde conceiue any other obiect As a man cannot looke with one eye vpon heauen and another vpon the earth so can hee not diuide his minde to ioy both in earthly and in heauenly things at once hee must die to the one if he intend to liue in the other Lord take from me all pleasure take away all patience in the flashie felicities of this life Let nothing stoppe let nothing hinder me from entring into thy house to behold thy bright and pure beautie to bewaile the deformitie of my sinnes which haue banished mee so farre from thy fauour to deplore my weakenesse and to implore thy grace to compose my behauiour and dâ—spose all my abilities to doe thee seruice O my GOD marshall my vnruly appetites traine them in thy discipline binde them vnder the commaund of reason and grace Let not my soule be chained in me but let it aspire to thee For in mee it is but in a prison in thee it is in paradise Reconcile and combine in mee two contrary affections feare and ioy That as a tired trauailer ranging in a wilde desert reioyceth to see the first cracke of day and yet is not altogether free from feare of the darkenesse and dangers of the night so albeit my errours past bee fearefull to mee yet let me entertaine a sweete hope to enioy those approaching ioyes whereof there is neither saciety nor end Thus cleansed by thy mercy and furnished with thy grace I renounce my will I offer it a sacrifice to thee I yeeld my selfe wholly to thy obedience O my GOD doe not refuse mee Prayse and Glory and Wisedome and Strength Dominion Riches and Power bee vnto our GOD for euermore A SVMMARY PRAIER O Omnipotent GOD most manifest and yet most secret and hid O bountifull Giuer and yet seuere exacter Thou O LORD who sitting aboue the Seraphims seest all things and in all things mayest bee seene Thou who art most powerfull and yet so pitifull that thou releeuest miserable and vile sinners O most glorious incomprehensible GOD encline thine eye fauourably to my distresse fauourably regard my poore petition which breaking from a broken soule must needs make an vntunable sound There is nothing O LORD which my soule more desires nothing is more due and delightfull to thee then that I should Loue thee Thou hast created mee to loue thee thou hast commanded mee to loue thee in this loue thou hast placed my felicity and my peace In this loue consist all good things which we enioy vpon earth and the greatest part of those which we hope for in heauen But no man can loue thee vnlesse hee know thee the knowledge of thee is necessary to beget this loue because wee cannot truely loue thee vnlesse wee vnderstand that all causes of loue are perfectly in thee O true delight of our hearts I cannot liue vnlesse I loue thee and I cannot loue thee vnlesse I know thee What then shall I do to atteine this knowledge The knowledge that wee haue comes by our sences which are as gates through which the representation of things sensible enter into our vnderstanding But neither can thy greatnesse enter through so narrow passages neither can wee imagine any representation whereby our vnderstanding may apprehend thee Thou hast formed all creatures in number weight and measure their nature and vertues are limited thou hast giuen them their bounds which they cannot exceed and therefore our vnderstanding is able to embrace them But thou art infinite thy being is boundlesse Nothing is aboue thee nothing beyond thee nothing wide of thee nothing without thee our vnderstanding cannot comprehend the confines of thy being As thou art infinite in power so art thou in nature thy nature is no lesse infinite in extent then eternall in continuance No man hath hitherto beene able to vnderstand the essence and nature of his owne soule whose offices and operations hee dayly discernes and this is because it beareth thy Image And how then shall I be able to vnderstand thee If my ignorance bee so dull and heauy in my selfe how shall I be of capacity to know thee O noble nature O infinite essence O incomprehensible Maiesty How shal I know thee For I cannot see thee My sight is dimme and thou art a light which canst not be approached Thou art most high and so must hee be whosoeuer shall attaine thee Who then will giue me the eyes of an Eagle that I may beholde this Sunne Who will giue mee wings
side walled with rockes aboue beaten with terrible tempests You must be not onlie skilfull but carefull of your course you must alwaies beare your hand on the helme your eie on the compasse lest it come to passe that you neuer escape If you doe not this for the loue of GOD doe it then for the loue of your selues whereunto by all rules of reason and nature you are stronglie bound If you doe not loue or regard your good at lest bee not in loue with your euill The loue of miserie is farre worse then miserie it selfe Assuredly in case you continue in this carelesse course in case you still beare your selues either desperate in running from GOD or dull and heauie in comming to him in case neither his benefits can allure nor his chasticements enforce you to a change of life he will cast his plagues vpon you so thicke as haile which will make you more miserable then you can imagine VERS XI Great plagues remaine for the vngodly but who so putteth his trust in the LORD mercy embraceth him on euery side 1. GODS heauie hammers vpon obstinate sinners 2 The multitude of GODS punishments 3 The seuerity of them 4 It is most easie for GOD to pardon sinnes and wherfore 5 It is not possible but that penitent persons should be forgiuen 6 The confidence of true penitents 7 Their saciety 8 Their ioy 9 Albeit the contray appeares 10 Penitents enioy most perfect pleasure in this life and wherefore 11 The pleasures of the wicked are worse then brutish 12 Penitents aâ—e blessed in their chasticements 13 The first reason hereof 14 The second reason 15 The afflictions of this life are both momentany and light 16 A short prayer CErtainely if you wil not embrace this friendly aduice If you esteeme these warnings to be of no weight If blinded either with dulnesse or with malice you perseuere in your sinnes If neither benefits nor scourges can hold you in obedience If neither promises nor threats can any deale mooue you If you can be reteined in order neither by hope nor by feare If like vntamed beasts you still wildlie runne through the thorny thickets of all vices and esteeme euerie lustfull thing lawfull to be done hee hath heauier hammers to breake your obstinacie to bridle your boldnesse and pride and to beate downe your rebellion against him Verely not the starres in the firmament not the sands of the earth not all the creatures in heauen and vpon earth are so manie in number so vnresistable in force as are the punishments which the obstinate shall endure Their infelicity houereth ouer their heads their curse traceth them step by step vntill it shall ouertake them in hell Here the most pleasant retreits are full of hideous hurlements nothing but terrours torments and teares without intermission or end Here is griefe without remedie complaint without pity repentance without mercy Here death alwaies liueth and life alwaies dieth death here life are immortall together life in dying and death in enduring Here both body and soule shall eternally liue in eternall death they shall liue together in a double death and both eternall the death of sinne and the death of punishment due to sinne On the other side they who contemne the vanitie of the world and apply themselues onlie to GOD they who repent them of their sinnes be they neuer so great if they doe not despaire shall vndoubtedlie be receiued to pardon and mercy For this is most easie for GOD to doe by reason of his goodnesse and the greatnesse of his mercies in comparison wherof all the sinnes of the world are nothing so little as a point in regard of the largest circumference as one sparke of fire in comparison of the vast Ocean So as if the greatest sinner in the world be penitent If he desire and sue for mercie all the water in the sea cannot so easilie extinguish one sparke of fire as the mercies of GOD will abolish his sinnes Verelie if a good man will be mercifull to his beast our good GOD will much more bee mercifull to his creature to his seruant to his childe Yea it is not possible but that mercy should be imparted to them that repent For the infinite mercies of Almightie GOD abound in all places they fill all things if they be not excluded and locked foorth But nothing excludeth mercie but impenitencie and hardnesse of heart And therefore if a man be penitent mercie will foorthwith enter because the impediment is remooued because nothing then remaineth in the soule which may resist or repell mercie If the window be opened the roome will be light and if the floudgates be vnbarred the streames will presentlie ouerflow But they who haue receiued mercy who are vnder the protection and guard of grace in what assurance doe they stand how boldlie do they walke with what confidence are they caried in all the passages of their life Mercy encreaseth confidence and coÌ„fidence againe encreaseth mercy As guiltines is the cause of feare so from mercie proceedeth confidence As all wickednesse is full of feare so the iust is confident as a Lion And whosoeuer receiueth mercie they shall be filled therewith They shall be so filled as they shall ouerflow they shal be enuironed with mercy on euery side And being vnder the peace protection of mercie hauing firme trust that their sins are forgiuen O good GOD to what felicitie are they aduanced what treasures are there in heauen which shall not be opened and imparted to them They shal be placed by the side of GOD they shall be apparrelled and adorned with so great glory so great happines shal be heaped vpon them as the spirit of man is vnable to apprehend much lesse to expresse The desire the hope the full faith and assurance hereof cannot but worke in them incredible ioy before they attaine the full fruition euen whilest they are vpon their passage to it Oh! with what cheerefulnesse with what delight doe they either remooue or surmount all difficulties which lie before them Howsoeuer their trauaile seemeth troublesome and hard yet the loue of their iourneyes end maketh it not onely tolerable but delightfull The onely thought of the end of their trauaile seasoneth all the meanes with sweetnesse through which they are enforced to wrestle to that end It may be conceiued indeed that the iust are plagued and that the wicked chiefly flourish in this life It seemeth to be so but it is not so It is so onely in appearance and shew but in very deed it is not so They are either blinded with grosse mists of ignorance or abused with deceiuable colours and shewes who thinke it so It appeareth so only to those who are so rowled vp in flesh and bloud that they esteeme nothing good or euill but that which appertaineth to the body Assuredly they whose sinnes are forgiuen enioy the most perfect pleasure euen in this life which in this sort doeth plainely appeare As the inward
that as a Doue I may approach this height But yet will I not thus giue ouer the chase the more hard it is the more hardly will I pursue it There is no wisedome but in knowledge of thee there is no rest but in louing thee there is no ioy but from beholding thy beauty I will not liue without this knowledge which is the originall both of loue and of ioy My eyes are dimme yea darke and blinde but grace will enlighten me Grace will effect that which Nature cannot And albeit I know thee very little and obscurely at the first yet is it better so to know thee then perfectly to know all things besides Albeit I cannot fully know thee yet will I aspire to such measure as I may and this will I loue and heerewith my soule shall rest content euen as a bird is content with the water which she taketh in her bill albeit shee bee not able to take the whole fountaine Yea thy grace will assist mee that if I shall but begin to loue thee a little thou wilt discouer thy selfe more plainly to my knowledge euen as thou hast sayd He that loueth me shall bee loued of the Father and I will loue him and manifest my selfe vnto him And to this end thou hast opened two bookes to the two eyes of my vnderstanding Faith and Reason To the eye of my Faith thou hast opened the booke of the sacred Scriptures wherein thou doest manifest thy merueiles and vnfold thy mysteries to beget in vs a loue and reuerence of thy Maiestie To the eye of my Reason thou hast opened the booke of thy creatures which in their perfections manifest thy beauty and thy goodnesse in their vse For this visible world this fabricature of creatures is a faire Booke wherein all men may read and thereby learne what thou art euery creature being so many letters to declare the excellencie of their maker Some declare thy beauty some thy greatnes some thy power some thy wisedome some thy prouidence all with different sweet sounds in a well tuned harmony set foorth thy goodnes and glory They are as a bright glasse wherein wee may behold thee that as thou art a glasse in heauen wherin all thy creatures are seene so are thy creatures a glasse vpon earth wherein we may behold and know thee They are trumpets of thy honor witnesses of thy worth bellowes of our loue spurres to our dulnes and Iudges of our vnthankefulnes They alwayes beat at our vnderstanding to instruct vs some part of thy perfections and shall we be so senceles that we cannot behold in them the Maiesty of their Creatour Shall we be like witlesse children who turne ouer bookes to please their phantasie in viewing pictures and colours but neither can read one letter nor vnderstand what the pictures represent O wasters of time we take pleasure onely in beholding thy signes but nothing regard what is signified and taught Assuredly we haue good cause to feare that which the Wise man threatneth that all creatures shall rise in armes against them who will not vnderstand O Father of light suffer not I beseech thee such an Aegyptian mist to enwrap my head that in neither of these bookes that neither by Faith nor by Reason I can discerne thee Enlighten my eyes that I may see thee enlarge my heart that I may know thee loue thee and adore thee not onely by Faith as thou hast reuealed thy â—elfe in thy word but by euidence of nature by plaine inuincible demonstration of Reason as thou art declared by thy workes That I may praise thee not only for the vse of thy creatures but for attayning by them to some knowledge of thee We cannot now see thee but couered with the veile of thy greatnes The dampie fogges of my sinnes wherein hitherto I haue liued doe altogether obscure thee No lesse then it hapneth vpon the first eruptions of fire from the mountaine Aetna the smoake whereof so darkeneth the confining countries that one man cannot see another But O fountaine of light dispell these filthy fumes with a gracious cast of thy countenance and then I shall be both able and desirous to beholde thee Make mee blessed by forgiuenes of my offences Couer my â—innes O LORD and thereby thou shalt Discouer thy selfe To this end remooue both from my tongue and from the most secret retreates of my soule all odious hypocrisie that by thy grace I may sincerely without faining or fainting in spirit repent my sinnes that I may applie my selfe to thy worship and seruice not in outward shew of pietie onely but with all the most inward sences and forces of my soule that I may not wilfully endeuour either to couer my sinnes by dissimulation or to extenuate them by excuse whence intolerable anguishes tortures gripes of conscience will certainely ensue But that casting away both vnseasoned pride and vnseasonable shame two great impediments to repentance I may freely lay open the very bowels of my soule and truely touch euery vntuned string of my heart before thee knowing right well that the more ready we are to confesse our offences the more ready thou wilt bee to forgiue them and the more diligent we are to conceale our sinnes the more powerfull thou wilt declare thy selfe both openly to publish and sharply to punish them In all temptations inward or outward wherewith my soule is dayly trauayled defend mee with thy inuincible ayd especially when furiously they assaile me when tempestuously they breake vpon mee Then O LORD stand firmely by me then couer me with thy mighty arme lest ouerflowing the bankes of thy protection they ragingly oppresse me and driue me like water-floods from all sight and sence of thee For thou LORD art my reliefe in all my necessities in all my dangers thou onely art able both powerfully to deliuer and safely to place me And therefore so season my soule with thy heauenly Grace that it settle neither confidence nor delight in any of thy creatures but that it be fixed onely vpon thee in whom it shall perpetually find both secure rest and perfect ioy Informe my vnderstanding to know thee Conforme my wil to obey thee Confirme my steps in the way of thy Commandements which will lead me to eternall blessednesse Set thy eye of fauour vpon me that by the gracious influence thereof I may be both directed strengthened in that way and neither turne aside nor make stay vpon any desires or delights of the world like bruit beasts empty of vnderstanding Haue mercy vpon all miserable men who stiffely sticke in the mire either of ignorance or of false opinions or else of worldly pleasures or cares thinking very seldome and little either of thee or of their own deplorable estate and stopping their eares to all aduice which soundeth against their sensuality If they will not be guided by thy gentle hand If thy fatherly benefits or promises can nothing auaile vse some seuerity vpon them Put a sharpe