courage in the world And therefore it may well be said that he is very guilty for an innocent man is alwayes bold in his owne defence And yet all this could neuer moue mee 16 And why so verely because I trusted in my God and fully assured my selfe that he would assist me For although the whole world banded against me and heauen and earth coniured my ruine and ouerthrow yet if he be mine ayder and defendor I am sure alwayes to conquer For with the breath of his mouth hee made all things and in breathing againe vpon them he will destroy them all if it please him and therefore I will fight vnder his cloth and liuerie because I shall be sure to haue the victorie 17 I haue sayd vnto them many times Reioyce not at my miserie and although I be neuer so much tormented and afflicted yet braue not your selues vpon me for the hand of the Lord is able euen to reach you and therefore trust not his patience ouer much for as his feet are of wooll so are his armes also of iron For if he once lay them vpon your heads ô ye impotent soules he will so crush you together as that a man would thinke that you had neuer bene 18 And I haue taken the rods in my hand and imprinted with them vpon my shoulders the condemnation of my sinne I haue appeared before thee ô Lord with weeping teares with repentance in my mouth and with a sorrowfull hart and haue fought with my selfe that mine enemie might not triumph ouer me 19 I haue openly confessed my fault I haue in an happie houre shewed foorth my sinne and I had great care to runne vnto thy mercy whilst time and season serued 20 But the more I humble my selfe before thee to drawe the running water out of this fountaine of thy grace which floweth from thy goodnes the more mine enemies glut me and deale cruelly and butcherlike with me their troupe dayly encreaseth and ioyne them selues together on euery side neuer foreseeing the tempest that will shake them in a thousand peeces They through their pride blow the hote burning coles of thine ire they despite thy power which they will too too soone make tryall of to their great destruction To be short in setting most confidently their brasen faces against heauen and earth they wallow and welter them selues in their filthie pleasure and blot out as much as in them lye the mark of the deitie which thou hast sealed in their soules close vp their eyes against the hope of saluatioÌ„ which shineth brightly in thy word 21 I cease not ô Lord to admonish them of it but they repay me ill for good and laugh at that which I by my good example do to please thee They walke at the corners of the streetes slaÌ„derously to accuse me burden me with a thousand villanies I confesse ô Lord that heereby I lose my patience 22 But I beseech thee ô Lord to strengthen my weaknes and in no wise forsake me for else I shall stumble as a yong child at the first headlong break-neck which shall offer it selfe vnto me Increase in me ô Lord strength courage equall vnto mine afflictioÌ„ hold me vnder thy wing geuing me alwayes that coÌ„stancy firmnesse which I shal haue need of for that purpose neither more nor lesse then a louing mother doth when as she geueth the teat vnto her sucking child so soone as she perceiueth it beginneth to cry 23 Nourish me therfore ô Lord with the milke of thy holy loue to the end that I being some-what able to stand may day night walke the trance of thy paths that I may come vnto saluation the hope whereof shineth in thy promises so as if my sin shall go about to cut me off in they way I may vnclose mine eyes neuer shut them againe vntill such time as I haue drowned swallowed them vp in my teares Haue mercy on me ô Lord. Psalme 50. HAue pitie on me ô my God according to the greatnesse of thy clemencie and in the multitude of thy mercy forgeue me the punishment which I haue iustly deserued For if thou lookest that my fastings watchings and prayers should make satisfaction for my sinne Alas ô Lorde when would that be Mine offence exceedeth heauen and earth and hath surpassed as farre as it can the greatnesse of the whole world Who can then bring it to passe for the vtterly blotting of it out saue only thine holy mercy which is so much the greater by how much thy righteousnes excedeth ours It is thy mercy ô Lord that enuironeth the vniuersall world and which vpholdeth all the staggering corners thereof that are readie to fall vpon our heads to burie in the ruine of it with vs the remembrance of our sinnes to turne away thine eyes from our vnthankfull disloyall vnmercifull and stiffenecked race and generation which disauoweth thee her being creation and conseruation Let this mercifull goodnes of thine therefore ô Lord which shineth in thy deitie aboue all the rest of thy vertues spread it selfe now ouer me not thinly and sparingly but flowingly and bountifully And as thou diddest once let the waters ouerflowe the tops of the hyest mountaines to extinguish and swallow vp the wicked so also make thou a brooke of mercy ô Lord to disgorge and poure it selfe forth vpon me not to drowne ô Lord but to wash and cleanse me 2 Howbeit thou art not contented to purge me for once neither doest thou say vnto me that thou hast regenerated and washed me in the bloud of the vndefiled innocent lamb for how pure and cleane soeuer thou once hast made me thou shalt now finde me as foule and filthie For I am now fallen into so deepe a filthie sinke and am so bemired and besmeared as that thou wouldest neuer know me by reason that I am so disfigured For I sometimes question with my selfe and aske my selfe whether I be he or no whome thy hands created but mine heart is so confounded and ashamed as that it dareth not geue me any answere O my God thou createdst me of the clay and slime of the earth and loe ô Lord I am euen the very selfe and same that I was before thou diddest put thy hand vnto me I haue quite and cleane marred my shape countenance by cloathing my selfe with clay and dirt But why doest thou not ô Lord reforme me anew Is thine hand shortned Is thy will in doing good to thy creature abate Alas thou art Almightie thou art alâ—ogether good why then makest thou not haste O Lord my God the worke of thine own hand setteth it selfe against thee and taketh pleasure in disfiguring and deforming of it selfe but set thou ô Lord thy selfe against thy workmanship and make it glorious perfect in despite of it selfe But I ô Lord will no more peruersely deale against thee take me hold me turne me which may soeuer thou wilt knead mould make new againe
afflictions haue not thy teares and bitternesse of thy sorrow otherwise mollified thine heart canst thou benefit thy selfe no whit by the remembrance of thy miseries past that thou mightest be humbled so as thy humilitie might entreat the iustice of God and conâ—ure his goodnes In the end I came to this and in reuoluing all these discourses in my brayne I began to rayse vp againe mine hope which the greatnesse of my sinne had vtterly benummed Het And thus I sayd within my selfe the Lord hath yet shewed me great fauour and grace in that he hath not vtterly cast me off but hath geuen me my voyce to call vpon him for mercy For a man shall at last finde alwayes pitie and compassion in him if so be he will patiently attend his good pleasure and leysure The Sunne neither riseth nor falleth but it seeth his mercy His goodnes spreddeth it selfe ouer all the earth neyther is there any corner thereof which beareth not his marke And furthermore I say that the Sunne shineth not but to be seene and to cause to see O Lord our God how great is thy goodnes how assured is thine ayd how certaine is thy word and how infallible thy promise As for my selfe I wil trust in none but in thee and if so be I may haue thy grace and fauour for my portion I care for none of the rest My soule is fully resolued hereof and do feele it say vnto my conscience that she putteth all her trust in thee and layeth vp her saluation in thy hands Thet. How can she do better For God neuer halted with them which put their trust in him for at one time or another either early or late he hath shewed them that his goodnes is infallible and that the hart which seeketh it findeth it farre or neere and that the soule which desireth it obtaineth in either soone or late We must therefore wayt for it patiently and not murmure if God come not vnto vs at the first call let vs hold our peace and let him do it and he will in the end do that which she shall see to be most for his glory most necessary for our saluation For great things are not brought to passe nor made perfect but with patience and long suffering And let vs not despaire if so be things fall not out as we would wish at the first chop For he doth nothing but for our good for as he is Almightie so is he also only good and as he is only good so is he also only wise and that which we thinke many times to be most against vs is most profitable for vs and the wholesomest medecines are commonly most bitter Beleeue me it is a good thing for a man a little to beare the yoke in his youth that is to say to haue afflictions which may somewhat bow and bend his neck and abate his pride Iod. Let a wise man therefore which feeth him selfe fallen into any great calamitie be quiet and say nothing but patiently beare his yoke and the more that his miserie encreaseth let him be the more couragious and yet neuerthelesse let him lift vp his eyes vnto heauen and cry God mercy and imagine thus with him selfe that it can not be but that he hath done amisse seeing that the hand of God doth so visit him Let him prostrate him selfe vpon the ground and clothe him selfe with sacke and cast ashes on his head to see if he can any way appease the wrath of God and although he hath no hope thereof yet let him quiet him selfe and let him patiently beare the iniuries that are done him offer his cheeke to him that will strike him and satisfie him selfe as well with reproch as another man would fill him selfe with bread Coph And why so forsooth because he right well knoweth that God will in the end appease his wrath and that after that men shall haue driuen him to the ground that God will take him vp in his lap and although he let him alone for once yet will he in the end haue compassion vpon him according to the greatnes and multitude of his mercies For God taketh no pleasure in seeing men afflicted and it is much against his heart to torment them yea euen when his iustice enforceth and strayneth him thereto And he doth it for the benefit of men because he feareth that his ouer-great indulgence will cast them downe so headlong into sinne as that they shall neuer be able to recouer them selues any more For he correcteth them as a good father doth who in chastising his sonne weepeth with griefe that he driueth him thereunto not meaning thereby to do him any hurt but rather good Lamed It is not beleeue me the purpose of God to tread men vnder his feet and to triumph ouer them in their afflictions much lesse to hold them fast bound and posternd as the trophees of his power Neither is it his meaning to throw them into miserie pouertie and there to leaue them for he knoweth best what they haue need of and iudgeth aright what is most profitable for them He is nothing like vnto those wicked Iudges which take pleasure in nothing but in cuffing and boxing of men and to haue occasion to hang and torture them vpon the wheele He neuer beholdeth our sinnes but with sorrow of heart neither hateth he any thing so much as to punish And so all the calamities which he layeth vpon vs are but as threatning words to aduertise vs to runne vnto his grace before he enter into iudgement with vs to the end that wheÌ„ he would coÌ„demne vs we might plead the pardon and remission of our sins which he shall haue graunted vs. Mem. It may be ye will say vnto me â—hat is it then that so tormeÌ„teth men seeing ye say that it commeth not froÌ„ God who is altogether good and that iâ— is not hee which commandeth it Commeth not both good and ill from the most high Doth not he distribute the same vnto vs in such manner and measure as pleaseth him selfe O wretched poore man why murmurest thou against God Is it not enough that he hath geuen thee life and that without him thou shouldest be nothing Thou wilt contest against him euen thou a creature against thy creator thou a vile sinner against him that is altogether iust thou that art altogether weake against him that is Almightie Nun. Our miseries come not from God but from our selues let vs examine our liues and lay open our actions and if we search well we shall finde the cause of them to proceede from our selues For the roote of them is in our owne hearts which being infected corrupt and marre what so euer commeth out of them Let vs therefore cut off sinne by the stumps let vs teare and pull in pieces the hart strings of iniquitie and in stead of this concupiscence which buddeth and bringeth forth naught else but sinne and damnation replant therein the liuely and pure loue of
the hand of thy iustice which would swallow me vp Thou shalt turne away the dart of death whose point hath pierced me euen to the very hart Thou shalt lengthen the course of my yeares which my sinne hath already shortened And thou shalt bee contented that thou hast reprooued me without vtterly vndoing me and made me to acknowledge and confesse my sinnes with punishing me for the same 12 And although I thinke my selfe blessed and as it were in most excel-cellent peace yet do I vse nay rather abuse the blessings and riches which thou hast lent and vouchsafed mee yea and although I say I should be drunken with the hony sweet pleasures of this world yet loe a store of affliction and misery is betide me which as a most bitter brooks is come vpon me to drowne me and swallow me vp But as I was about to giue vp the ghost I felt thee taking me by the hand and by a wonderfull helpe drewest me by little and little out of that fearefull gulfe O Lorde the weight that sunke me to the bottome was the waight of my sinnes They lay so thick and heauie on my head and held me so to the ground as that I knew not how to lift vp mine eyes vnto heauen much lesse was I able to hold vp my head and open my mouth to vtter and shew forth thy holy grace and mercy Thou hast broken the chaines of the wicked affections which held me bound vnto these cursed sinnes And neuerthelesse because they are euer before thine eyes and that my repentance in some measure coniureth thy goodnesse and mine iniquity sharpeneth thy iustice yet hast thou cast all mine offences behinde thy back and turned them all away from thy presence to the end there might be nothing betweene me and thy mercy to hinder me from being enuironed by the same as mine only and assured defence But how can this be ô Lord that thou who seest all things both present to come which seest through the earth and piercest the bottomes of our hearts that in regard of me alone ô Lord thou becommest blinde and seest not my sâ—…nes which enuiron me round about O how wonderfull great is thy mercy which blindfoldeth the eyes of thy Deitie which hideth from thee that euery one seeth and maketh thee forget that which thou knewest before such time as it was done 13 From whence ô Lord commeth this great change and alteration in thee whence commeth it that to do me fauour thou puttest so farre from thee thy iustice which is naturally in thee I wonder but yet cannot I tell from whence this thy so great clemency and louing kindnesse proceedeth It is yea it is ô Lord because thou wilt saue vs whether we wil or no and to draw vs as it were by force out of that condemnation which we most iustly haue deserued For thou art the God of glory iealous of honour and praise for thou art alone worthy therof Thou knowest right well that very hell shall praise thee and thou knowest also ô Lord that death it selfe shall set forth thy praise Seeing that thou hast created all things to testifie thine infinite goodnesse and power shall death which is one of thy works make an end of thy praise Yea and seeing thou hast here placed man to lift vp his eyes vnto heauen and to behold thy glory and to sing both with the heart and mouth a continuall hymne therof and if thou take away his life is not that a breache of one of the organes of thine honour And if thou send him to hell is not that to defame thy workmanship Thou hast ô Lord sowne by the mouthes of thy Prophets the truth of thy promises Shall they that are pent vp in the earth gather together the fruite thereof shall they whome the death of the body hath closed vp the eye liddes and whome the death of the soule engendred through their impenitence hath sealed vp the eyes of the spirit making them go groping to hell wandring and stumbling from paine to paine and from torment to torment No no it shall be the liuing man that shall publish and set forth thy praise the man I say that liueth and that liuing life which is maintained by those blessings which thou bestowest vpon vs here on the earth and that life which is nourished by the beholding of thy Deitie and by the blessings which thou hast laide vppe in heauen Euen so O Lorde do I at this day with them seeing it hath pleased thee to conuert my miseries into grace and blessing and to turne away from me death and dolors which brought them vnto mee Mine infirmitie is at this day seeing it so pleaseth thee an argument of thy glory thou workest such miracles in me as are able to astonish an whole world To the end ô Lord that the fathers may tell vnto their children what the effects of thy mercies are how sure the effect of thy promises and how vndoubted the truth of thy word And so whensoeuer the last and hindermost posteritie shall vnderstand what hath be fallen vnto my person it will praise and blesse thy holy name 15 Seeing then my God that thou hast assured me this life I meane this earthly and corporall life graunt me also assurance of this heauenly and diuine life to the end that I being most full of all hope and strength may passe the rest of my daies in praising and seruing of thee continually Mine aboade ô Lorde shall be alwaies at the feete of thine aulters mine action shall bee a song of thy praise and goodnesse and so will goe day and night into thy church lifting 〈…〉 eyes vnto thee and hauing my thoughts fixed on thee I will open â—ine heart and thou shalt fill it with thy grace that it may sanctifie all mine affections and so 〈◊〉 thereby may set forth nothing more then thy glory FINIS
sinnes putrified within my bones and as the vlcers and foule sores of a shamefast diseased man who dareth not shew his disease vnto the Surgion encrease and waxe worse euen to the vtter ouerthrow of the body euen so haue the sinnes which I haue hid from thee mightily infected me 4 But in the end thou hast day and night so heauily laid thy hand vpon me and made me taste of such a number of sorts of miseries amongst which my soâ—…le â—aketh 〈◊〉 rest being ouercome â—ith 〈◊〉 continuall pricking of â—y conscience thâ—… pierceth euen through mine heart that I haue acknowledged my fault which I presently heare vpon â—ine hand Behold and acknowledge this my God but not in thine anger for the dropping teares which with much weeping haue almost put out mine eyes ought also put out thy iustly hoate burning ire And besides am not I the worke of thine owne hands nay am not I rather the very liuely image of thy Deitie And what is he that is so angrie as that he wil bruse or breake the worke which it pleased him so to polish and make perfect when as he seeth it to be foule filthy In very deed I must needs confesse that this image is laden with filthie matter but is it not better to make it cleane and neate then to breake it in peeces and tread it vnder feete 5 Teach me then my God what satisfaction I shall make for I haue now laid open vnto thee all the sinnes which before I had concealed For the feare wherein I was when I hid my selfe from thee is at this present that I haue discouered my selfe vnto thee changed into hope of grace and pardon And now I cast my selfe betweene thine armes as into the most assured defence I haue euen with such a countenance as the poore pacient that sheweth his wound to the Barbar looketh wishly vpon him and couragiouslie suffereth his searching and lancing by reason of the desire and hope that he â—…h to be healed But that which gâ—…th me a greater hope of health is that the sinnes wherein I before tooke pleasure make me now abhor to see them euen as the meaâ—es wherewith a man in health gorgeth himselfe are very lothsome vnto his stomack when he is weake and sickly And that which made me before bold â—…d malepart I am now ashamed of when as I consider the hazard of death whereunto my pride had exposed my poore soule I giue my most hearty thankes for the day wherein I was enlightened to acknowledge my sinne I do acknowledge my God that day to be a singular testimonie of thy goodnesse toward me graunt then that the delight which I haue taken to be displeased with my selfe may likewise continue as long with me as I haue had pleasure to dwell in my sins For if 〈◊〉 take as great pleasure in my repentance as I haue taken in my sinne my felicity shal be without doubt equal with thine angels shall see me in the humiliation of my selfe before thy maiestâ—… ascend to the highest â—op of â—hy 〈◊〉 6 Who doubteth O Lord that thou wilt not receiue me vnto mercy whose mercy and benignitie no tongue is able to expresse nor hart comprehend I did neuer thinke so soone to returne vnto thee as thou wast alwayes ready to offer thy selfe vnto me I did neuer sooner say that I would confesse my sinne but that thou diddest by and by graunt me thy grace I haue no sooner acknowledged the punishment which my sinnes deserued but that thou hast remitted them I haue taken the rods into my hands to scourge my flesh thou hast pluckâ— them out of my hands To be short I thought thou wouldest haue proclaimed open warre against me and thou offeredst mâ— a most charitable peace and reconciliation O Lord how farre readier and more willing art thou to forgiue then to punish Can a good father receiue his child more gratiously that cryeth him mercy then thou hast receiued me when as I haue humbled my selfe at thy feeâ—e my heart also leapeth with ioy and boileth with an holy feruentnesse to praise thy name reâ—…yceth in the grace that thou hast shewed vnto it accusing none but it selfe of that that is past and â—…eth out saying 〈◊〉 is I that haue â—…ed it it is I 〈◊〉 haue done it it is I that haue taken pleasure in it but yet my God hath had mercy vpon me 7 How could he denie me his mercie seeing that the Saints which are the holy men and women liuing haue prayed do pray and will continually pray for me They are they which beseech his maiestie for me and are a meane of his grace fauour towards me What can they O Lord craue at thy hands to greater purpose and obtaine of thee more easily then when they pray for me Alas it is very meet that they should crie call vpon thee for me seeing that the impietie of mine heart hath so blinded my sences by wicked thoughts as that my soule cannot any more lift vp her selfe towardâ— heauen to stretch forth her hand vnto him who alone is both able and willing to saue And therfore what more remameth but that they whom thou vouchsafest to come neare vnto thee by faith and holinesse of life may pray for me vnto thee that thou wouldest haue mercy vpon me As for my selfe who am mine owne capitall enemie I haue neuer had eyther â—kill or yet will to pray vnto thee for my trespasse And therefore I do presently comfort my selfe to see how thou hast opened mine eyes that I may behold what a foule and black conscience I haue and hast mollified mine heart that I might lodge contrition in my soule And although it hath not beene so soone as it ought to haue beene yet it neuer came so late but that thou vouchsafedst to receiue me as thou art wonted to do those that haue not ouerslipped the occasion to repent themselues 8 For they that hasten themselues to sinne and willingly neglect to repent wheÌ„ as they might haue acknowledged their sinnes and haue had the meanes to do it but haue tarried vnto the very end of their liues to crie thee mercy and make their eyes burst out into a deluge of teares it is very dangerous but that they must deceiue themselues and that true repentance can neuer after enter into such hard hearts and their weeping and wailing to be but the â—oâ—…owes of desperate people and thy mercy to shew it selfe deafe vnto their ouer late repentance 9 But as for me I ranne in a blessed time vnto thee as to my refuge and to the end of my hopes and vnto my comfort in the trouble which after that manner hath encompassed me as the feare of death taketh hold on him who is destined vnto a shamefull punishment And therefore I beseech thy maiestie make me taste and feele that pleasure which he feeleth that is deliuered and freed from his bonds or chaines set at libertie out of
of his way is glad when he seeth the dawning of the day peepe and yet cannot forget the great darkenesse out of which he is but newly gotten ne yet cast of the feare which he had of so tedious a night Euen so also haue I a continuuall horror of my sinnes past and yet a sure and ioyfull hope of enioying that euerlasting blessednesse which thou hast purchased for vs with the bloud of thy dearely beloued sonne Christ Iesus O Lorde what a loue is that when as a maister dooth not spare the life of his owne onely sonne to redeeme his slaue Wherefore O most louing Sauiour seeing that I being formed with thine owne hands bought with thy bloud and purified by thy mercie I do here offer my selfe an obedient sacrifice vnto thee my God and Sauiour and therefore reiect me not Lord in thy wrath reprooue me not Psalm 37. I Must O Lord returne vnto thee and beginne againe to call vpon thee and to beseech thee of thy mercy For it seemeth to me that thine anger is rekindled against me Alas my God wilt thou chastise me in thine anger and make me feele the violence of thy iust furie which my sinnes haue prouoked thee to do The flame being consumed by the fire falleth into ashes and I being deuoured with the heate of thine anger do so vanish away as that there remaineth not so much as the smoake 2 For I see my God that thou hast discharged the sharpest arrowes of thy vengeance against me thou hast touched me with thine hand and neuer takest away the same from me I feele the gnawing and terror of my conscience which astonish and bruse me eueÌ„ as it were thunder and lightning my miseries came vpon me one after another and one mischiefe presseth another warre is no sooner finished but that the plague assaulteth me and in the end death bereaueth me of the dearest pawnes I haue in this world Wherein then shall I take comfort my God shall it be in my selfe 3 Out alas my good God I haue neuer an whole member in me for my misery is entred euen into the marrow neither is there any part of me that reprocheth me not with my sinne and for the which I am not pained I languish in my griefe and there is none to comfort me mine eyes serue me for none other purpose but to looke vpon my miserie and my soule for nothing else but to acknowledge my cursednesse 4 I looke round about me and so farre as the eyes of my body and eyes of my soule can discerne what is past I see nothing either aboue me or below me or yet on any side of me but sinne which inuironeth me round about and mine iniquities which presse and ouerthrowe me They lyâ— heaped vpon my head as a very heauy burden and loe how ready they are to throttle and strangle me 5 How shall I be euer able to resist them What strength haue I to defend me from them seeing that my body is ready to fall in peeces The very filthinesse of them flowe on euery side me my vlcers and sores are no sooner closed vp but that they breake out againe and if my body be ill can my soule be well Must not she be altogether ashamed and tremble with horror and feare 6 After the same maner that a disease vndermineth my body maketh it stoope to death sorrow vndermineth my soule bereaueth her of her strength and as great cold congealeth in the bud the tender blossom withereth drieth it vp euen so dooth the finger of the Lord which hath touched my soule cause it to languish and to be out of heart 7 But alas my God what courage can I haue when as I see my selfe thus couered ouer with wounds and no part of my body free from paine and euer and besides this my miserie the rememberance of my dissolute pleasures is still before my face and reproch me with my sinne laugh at my vanitie Then say I thus vnto my selfe must I season my life with the honie of so many delights and afterward kneade them with the gall of so bitter anguishes Where now art thou ô thou deceitfull voluptuousnesse which drownest my soule in the sweet licour of thy pleasures Oh what drinke is that that thou leauest me 8 Haue not I ô Lord endured enough hath not mine humilitie sufficiently chastized mine arrogancie If I haue through fond presumption sinned alas I haue sithence that crepe vpon the earth I haue couered mine head with ashes and with mine arme haue I preuented my payne I haue cut through mine heart with crying out I haue drowned mine eyes in teares and yet thine anger continueth still 9 Is it of set purpose ô Lord that thou hast not perceiued my teares It is thou I say who with the twinkle of â—hine eye trauersest both heauen and earth euen thou I meane whose sight goeth beyond the depth of our harts It is thou ô Lord that hast read euen my very thoughts and knowne mine intent What haue I desired but thy mercie Wherin haue I trusted but in thy goodnes Why haue I made open profession of repentance but to condemne my selfe If my toong hath not throughly expressed my minde and caused my desier to be vnderstood alas ô Lord thou knowest what we would haue before we once thinke of it It is enough for vs to lift vp our harts vnto thee and thou forthwith grauntest our petitions 10 Why stayest thou ô Lord so long before thou geuest me that holie coÌ„solation which thou hast promised me I am quite spent my hart is gone my senses are trouble my streÌ„gth faileth my sight waxeth dim my soule is vpoÌ„ the shore of my lips ready to fly away 11 All my friends are now about me bewailing my death they are out of all hope of my health they dreame of nothing but of my funerall saying where is now that help which he looked for to come froÌ„ his God where is his fauour which he so promised to himselfe 12 The flatterers are gon away from me they thought to haue parted my goods they meant to haue preuented my fatall houre I am noisome to the whole world in the case that I now staÌ„d 13 They whisper in mine eare and tell me a thousand tales They dayly bring me in new acquaintances and thinke of nothing but to betray me He lieth say they on his death-bed and will neuer rise vp aliue againe What do we feare that the shadowe of his bones will bite vs 14 And I as if I had bin deafe made shew that I heard them not and as if I had bin dumb spake not one word vnto them for my patieÌ„ce was my buckler and my constancy my rampart 15 And euery man seing me so patieÌ„t said surely this man is dumb for when he is touched he saith not a word would he abide all these indignities if he had any feeling of his honor and credit or yet the least
the same dayly vnto thee for an offering vnder the holie vayle of thy most holie word 9 For seeing ô Lord thou hast mortrized mee within thy holie Tabernacle shewing me the holie mysteries of thy diuinitie that in the hardest time of mine aduersitie thou hast gathered hid and drawne me vnder thine Aulter and yet not coâ—tent with that hast made me to enter into the holie of holiest and bottomes of thy Sanctuarie where thou wast wâ—… to reueale the greatest secrets of thy will graunt that I may so well conceiue them as that I may cause thy faithfull seruants faithfully to vnderstand them 10 For sith thou hast aduaâ—…ced mee into so eminent and high a place as one set vpon an â—ye rocke to be seene of the whole world and honored aboue all mine enemies let the foundation of my faith be as firme as any stone and the grace which thou shalt bestow vpon me to be a testimonie of thy righteousnesse making me worthie and capable of the benefits which it shall please thee to vouchsafe me 11 As for my selfe O Lord I will take paines reuerentlie to vse the ministerie which thou hast committed vnto mee Thou knowest how I haue carried my selfe therein I haue turned my selfe euery way to reknowledge that which might best like thee I haue most willingly offred vnto thee calues and sheepe in sacrifice I haue willingly hathed thine Aulter with bloud but that was too too small an offring for thee I haue ô Lord sacrificed mine hart consecrated mine affection vowed my thoughts and hauing pluckt them from the verie bottom of mine heart I haue offered them vnto thee with my voyce whereby thou hast vnderstood whatsoeuer my soule hath desired which was nothing else but to please thee in all mine actions My crying out then hath bene my offring which thou diddest gratiously accept opening the heauens to gather them together and to receiue them And therefore ô Lord I will all the dayes of my life sing thy prayse and recite an Hymne of thy glorie 12 Heare ô mercifull God my songs and receiue in good part the voyce which testifieth thy goodnesse and publisheth thy mercies Encrease my strength and courage that I may strayne my cryes and spirits to thee And sith thy mercie is neuer deafe vnto those which sincerely call vppon thee encline the same to me for all sorts of felicities follow her continually Incline the same I say ô Lord for thou hast promised it vnto all those that call vpon thee 13 How often hast thou heard mine heart I say mine heart and not my mouth for I speake not vnto thee but with mine heart which cryeth out saying vnto thee O Lord why haue I sought thee so carefully day and night both in peace and warre in quietnesse and in trouble I haue desired nothing in the world but to see thy face I meane not O Lord thy diuine face wherein is imprinted that fearefull Maiestie which shineth as the lightning which no mans eye is able to abide to behold but that face at the least which is couered and courtayned with thy workes which although no man is able to see but the verie hinder parts thereof and that verie hardly also yet me thinketh it to be most wonderfull and maketh me beside my selfe as it were Sith then O Lord if thou be that increated word which hath created al things which doth part of thy will and thy will a part of thy selfe doth it not represent it selfe vnto me as thy face for me to note marke therein such a great number of beautifull and excellent lineaments of Diuinitie which shine most brightly in euery part thereof O Lord I am in loue with this rare beautie neyther haue I any other care thought but that I may enioy this thy presence which offreth it selfe vnto me in thy word as in a looking glasse of thy Deitie 14 Seeing then that thou seest mine holie and sincere loue depriue me not then of this holie obiect which sanctifieth and blesseth my cogitations and thoughts And although my sinnes which are most foule and filthie make thee to be displeased with me yet I most humbly beseech thee not to be angry with me neither turne thou away this thy faire and wonderfull face from me For thou O Lord art angry with none but with such as glorie in their sinnes and stubburnely persist in their iniquities But I thy seruant my God humble my selfe before thee and do acknowledge most vnworthie sinner that I am not once to dare appeare in thy presence if thy louing kindnesse did not bring me in vnto thee And therfore thou art not to reiect me for if thou shouldest thou must also therewith reiect thy mercie whereunto I am coupled and so fast linked as that as it cannot be seperated from thee so is it also now fast linked vnto my repentance 15 And therefore thou shouldest if it might so please thee dwell and remayne with me and seeing it hath liked thee to allow me for thy seruant and to thrust me into this combat thou art not to leaue and forsake me in it for if thou shouldest my destruction would turne to thy shame where on the other side my victorie will turne to thy glorie And therefore O Lord I beseech thee to help me euermore For as mine infirmitie striueth commonly against me so also haue I need to haue continuall help on euery side of me For if thou keepe thy selfe neuer so little awhile from me my soule will euen vanish away and so will also my bodie if my soule be once gone For thou O Lord art farre away more the soule of my soule then my soule is the soule of my bodie I right well knowe that thy Diuine Maiestie hath a most vnworthie dwelling place in mee but yet I humblie beseech thee disdaine not to come into it for where thou once entrest all magnificence aboundeth and there is alwayes honor sufficient where thou art And besides O Lord thou receyuest no honor by comming to visit me but I thy poore seruant am honored by thy presence Why shouldest thou leaue the glorious bright Heauens and bright shining Starres and to come downe heere belowe to seeke for nothing that can bee sayd to bee honorable But it is as I thinke because thou wouldest haue thine Angelles knowe and vnderstand that they ought not to pride vp themselues in theyr magnificence seeing they are thy creatures and that thou canst make the most vile enhabitant on the earth as honorable as any one of them This is it why thou commest downe from the heauen of heauens to haue mercie vppon vs and hauing the like feeling of our miseries thou commest to reestablish vs in our auncient perfection And because that wee as much as in vs lyeth haue defaced the image of the Deitie which thou haddest imprinted in vs thou commest to recharge and recouer the liniaments of our first nature halfe defaced It is thou then who as thou wast our
remedies it is far better to entertaine them by wisedome that they empaire not for in the end it is length of time that must ripen and heale them For the people by experience recouer health and then they seeke after good and honest men and abhorre those whome before they had made much of They are like vnto pale-coulored maydes which eate all the worst things that possibly they can get but they cast them by and by vp againe For so soone as they are stirred and moued they vse for the seruing of their turne the most desperate and most wicked men but they are no sooner quieted and in a good moode and that this inconsiderate boyling heate hath runne ouer they by and by make no accompt of those villaines but are the first that will lay hold on them and plague them And therefore is not the common-weale greatly benefited when as good men preseruâ— them selues for such a dangerous time and forsake not either through anger or despaire the ship wherein they see the drunken passengers for a time rage and storme I confesse in deed that he must needs in such a case runne into a thousand hazards and suffer a thousand indignities But whosoeuer taketh the paine to him bâ—longeth the merite and reward and through trauell glorie encreaseth But especially amongst vs Christians who make profession to endure and abide by it and haue enrolled our selues vnder a Captaine that layeth before our eyes an hard and tedious warfare and assigneth vnto vs no crowne before such time as we haue sustayned many strange afflictions and innumerable trials and corrections He braggeth no whit of his victories nâ— yet of his souldiers that haue followed him otherwise then for their patience By this only vertue haue they conquered so many Prouinces Kingdomes and Empires and were no way glorious but by the receiuing and bearing of iniuries How can we then better follow him then by hazards opprobries and iniuries And in what a more worthie and recommendable occasion can we endure all this then to serue for the good and preseruation of our countrey If loue which God hath so highly commended vnto vs may so preuaile with vs as to hazard our goods and liues for the safetie of our neighbour what ought we to do for such an innumerable number of men and such a number of cities and prouinces vnto which nature hath conioyned and allyed vs by all one lawe language manners and secret affection which she hath imprinted in vs from the which whosoeuer separateth himselfe is adiudged of all the nations of the world vnworthie to behold the day light and to liue and be esteemed amongst men as an vnnaturall and cruell Parricide Now God came not into the world to dissolue and adnihilate this naturall obligation but contrarywise more surely to strayne and tye the knot by this loue which he hath so greatly recommended vnto vs. Euen so we also see that when we once begin to cut asunder the bond of the common affection vnto our countrey that all manner not onely of disorders but of most abhominable crimes and wickednesses set in foote and thefts murders rapes extortions and sacrileges forthwith rule and reigne Now what is it in the whole world which a man can more mislike more abhorre kindle his furie more and more stirre and prouoke him to ruyne and confound people What shall wee then say whilest so many labour headlongly to ouerthrow both themselues and their countrey will you euen you I say that haue alwayes had charge and whose office bindeth you to take paines for the common weale remayne as it were carelesly in the desert to see your selfe being safe the fire burne your countrey and reserue your selfe to behold the ashes thereof What a grief would it be vnto you not to haue brought the ayde which you might haue done or at least not to haue made an assay proofe thereof Do you not dayly see that after our frieÌ„ds are dead we say euen with sighs if we had done such a thing it may be that he had bene aliue Come therefore and contribute with vs your wisedome and resolute counsels that we may saue that which in this world is most deare vnto vs. Forbeare this purpose of yours to liue a solitarie life and drawe you vnto your rest euen then when wee shall all at once haue brought the Ship to the hauen or else being ouercome with that foolish opinion of such as would willingly cast away themselues be saued with some boord of the wracke But if we perish therein death which way soeuer he may come shall haue shewed vs no small fauour in taking vs away from the beholding of so lamentable a spectacle or sight A MEDITATION OF THE PSALMES OF DAuid his repentance ANCHORA SPEI 1594. A MEDITATION vpon the Psalmes of Dauid his repentance Lord in thy wrath reprooue me not c. Psalme 6. TAke away ô Lord the arme of thy seueare and heauy vengeance from me for it will else driue me downe headlong as a violent streame into euerlasting death and condemnation and consume mee like fier and the rest of my bodie shall be turned into ashes And what eye shall be able to abide but must needs perish with feare to behold the onely looke of thine angrie face when as in casting thine eye vppon vs thou shalt pierce the verie bottoms of our hearts and discouer the secrets of our vncleane consciences For our abhominable sinnes will blowe the bellowes of thy iust anger vpon our heads and thine hote burning wrath will all at once cast vs downe headlong into that fearefull gulfe of paines torments and miseries And therefore before such time as thy furie doth arise against me and that thou with iust disdaine commest to ouerthrow and destroy me I beseech thee to geue eare vnto the humble and grieuous groanes which my fearefull heart powreth out vnto thee 2 Mercie therefore ô Lord mercie I craue Oh my God what wilt thou do Shall thy mightie power and strength make tryall of mine infirmities Thinkest thou my God that I come before thee to wrastle against thy mightie power No no O Lord it is vnto thy clemencie that I runne it is vnder her wing that I place my selfe that she might arme herselfe against the rigour of the condemnation which I most iustlie haue deserued Appease therefore somewhat what thy countenance and seeing that I haue a long while called vpon thy goodnesse helpe and deliâ—… me from all those euils which do â—…siege me for behold I leade my life in most pittifull manner and me thinketh that all my bones are brused and broken 3 Howbeit it is not my poore bodie onely that is thus cruelly afflicted but my miserable soule also doth sorrow and grieue This soule of mine O Lord yea euen this soule of mine who is fully and wholy purposed with her voice to glorifie the author of her life is cast downe and become desolate without either courage or strength And
as the fearfull Doue hideth her selfe in some small hole or creauie at the noise of thunder euen so my soule when she beholdeth thine heauie indignation seeketh the darkest and obscurest places for her retraite But how long O Lord will thine anger last 4 Howbeit come O my Lord come and looke vpon me with thy pittifull eyes with which thou canst not blot out my sinne alone but all the sinnes of the world also For I feele my â—oulâ— sticke fast in a most filthie and deepe puddle of iniquitie therein she lieth drowned ouer head and eares and stretcheth out her hand O Lord vnto thee alas pluck her out of it O Lord and set her againe into the way of saluation Saue her O Lord for she coniureth thee therunto by thine infinite goodnesse and incredible mercy True it is O Lord that she no whit deserueth the same neither oughteth she to hope for any helpe at his hand whom she hath so cowardly forsaken against whose honour she hath so wickedly conspired the reward of whose sinne deserueth no fauour but hell fier and eternall death 5 But who O Lord shall sing thy praises and sound thy name in the infernall pit and in the bottomlesse depth of death For it is the house of sorrow for there is nothing heard and seene but howling torments where contrariwise thy praise consisteth onely in setting forth of thine infinit mercy goodnesse and clemencie 6 And besides behold on the one side how humble repentance maketh intercession for me and hath sworne that she will neuer depart from me vntill such time as she hath reconciled me vnto thee And on the other side consider how humble praier importuneth thee for me and hath sworne also that she will neuer be froÌ„ thine heeles vntill such time as she hath reconciled me vnto thee O my God thou hast often times seene my teares heard my grones I daily wash my face with tears through the remeÌ„brance of my sins I cause my bed to swim with the teares that trickle down my eyes what is that O Lord which repentance coÌ„mandeth me that I do not religiously obserue 7 I cast downe mine eies tremble with feare when I behold thy angry countenance I patiently beare the rebukes of mine enemies take in good part their reproches as a iust punishmeÌ„t for my sinnes I walke before their faces in sackcloth ashes and with the confession of my mouth I kneele at the feete of thine aulters I with rods make leane my flesh which caused my soule to sin howbeit mine enemies do but laugh at my trouble which place them selues round about me with mocks to betray me 8 But when as thou hast mercie vpon me I will say vnto them Away from me yee children of iniquitie yee shall no longer laugh at my miserie The Lord hath heard my praier and my teares haue appeased his anger and behold I now enioy the fruite of his holy fauour The light of his goodnesse hath shined vpon me and behold the stormes that came about my head are calmed and dasht in a moment 9 With much a do haue I opened my lips to call vpon him for aide with much a do could I get mine heart to crie him mercy and I haue found his grace to be powred vpon me comforting and quickening my languishing and sick soule euen as warme water refresheth a poore surbatred trauller O incredible clemency how ready O Lord art thou to pardon and forgiue I runne to offend thee and yet thou wilt shew me fauour I haue bestowed all the daies of my life both by sea and by land to hunt after ambition couetousnesse and filthie lust and when I haue beene ouer head and eares and vtterly vndone in my beastly delights yet hast thou in a moment pierced the heauens and the cloudâ— to come downe to deliuer me so as behold me now triumphing ouer my sinne which most humbly followed the trophes of my repentance which hath found grace before thee And so the hope which my sinnes had as it were strangled is now more liuely then euer it was before which promiseth me not onely the Empires of the world that bend themselues which way soeuer the Lord enclineth them but also openeth vnto me the highest heauens and assureth me after an happy life here in this world to enioy the heauenly immortalitie 10 What will mine enemies theâ— do when as they shall see me stored with so great felicitie They will then surely blush with shanie their soules will be greatly troubled and returne altogether confounded and amazed for he whom they thought to be vtterly ouerthrowne is now set in an higher degree then euer before he was Alas they all made a scorne at my ashes they laughed at my fastings and whilst I with abstinence straue against my flesh the very enemy vnto my soule they bathed themselues in the pleasures of the worlde but loe the arme of the Lord is ready to thunder lighten vpon their insolencie O my God giue them a long time a acknowledge the extreame danger wherein they are and to call vnto thee from on high for the onely remedy of their disease and as for my selfe who feele my soule purge her selfe of the filthy matters which are in and about â—er who feele my spirit inflamed with the fier of thy loue teach my lips to set forth thy praises lift vp my voice to resound thy mercies and guide mine affections sincerely to loue thee and to establish in the knowledge of thy tâ—…th my soueraigne happineâ— châ—efest felicitie Blessed are they vnto whom c. Psalme 31. BLessed are they my God whose sinnes thou hast pardoned and whose iniquities thou hast buried in the toombe of obliuion Alas what shall become of him whose iust punishment thou doost still continue vpon him for his iniquities An armie of euils encompasse him pouerty assaulteth him sicknesse afflicteth him famine presseth him and death it self which he thinketh to be the porte of this tempestuous nauigation is the bottomlesse pit which must draw him vnto euerlasting torments 2 And therefore they are three or foure â—imes blessed whom God calleth not vnto a reckoning for their deedes but is contented to haue them humble themselues before him acknowledging their infirmities opening vnto him the very bottom of their harts For we must by true confession and with a sincere conâ—…ience call vpon him 〈◊〉 his mercies and he that will be heard must humble himselfe before him for as he that goeth vnto a riuer or pond putteth downe the mouth of his vessell to take vp the water so must he also do that humbleth himselfe before his creator that will draw and taste of the water of this holy spring from whence runneth the moisture which onely purgeth and clenseth our consciences 3 I haue somtimes thought O my God to hide my sinnes away froÌ„ thee and haue said within my selfe how shall he vnderstand what I haue done or not And so haue my
prison and deliuered from the punishment wherein his enemy had long time held him â—aptiue And contrariwise that the enemy of my soule shall blush with shame when as he shall see that I shall so deuoutly call vpon the ayde of my good God who with the very winke of his eye is able to deliuer me from the voluntarie bondage which I had vowed vnto damnable voluptuousnesse euen then when I dranke the sweet honie of the delightfull pleasures which she with a deceitfull hand gaue vnto me within this foule and filthie cup of the world 10 Alas when as I remember the time that thou returnedst thy selfe after that sort vnto me and with this mercifull eye of thine gauest me a signe of pardon mercie and saluation me thought verely that I then saw the bright sunne rising vpon the tempests and fell stormes of the sea which by little and little cutting with his beames betweene the clouds brought againe cleare and pleasant weather and calmed the raging and billowing surges And me thinketh I do alwayes heare this sweete and gratious saying when as thou saiest vnto me Feare not for behold my spirit which shall guide thy foote steppes and wayes neither shall he lift â—p his eye aboue thee and thou shalt now marche vnder the conduct of him who bringeth pure and cleane foules into my kingdome of glorie All so soone as I heard these wordes spoken I fixed mine eyes vpon my guide and leader not once looking off no more then a carefull and diligent maister of a shippe easteth his eye aside from the pole or bright shining starre by which he guideth and ordereth the course of his nauigation O my God what rest shall I enioy when as I shall haue walked in the wayes which thou hast taught me to go in euen I my selfe I say who haue troade beside the path which leadeth vnto thine holy tabernacle I was already entred into this thick forrest of the world where all they easily lose themselues who for the enioying of the pleasure of thick queachie shadowie places leaue the day light which should shew them the way For euen by and by the dolefull sight of the night bringeth them together and putteth them foorth as a pray to the wilde beasts who will pluck them in peeces and cruelly deuoure them And thus was I hindered and staied in this labyrinth without hope to haue euer come out of it againe had dest thou not put into my hand the bottom which I must needs winde vp to bring me out of this perilous prison And now loe I am at libertie to serue my God who hath so deliuered me and to present before him his ownâ— pure and cleane image and to vow into his goodnesse so many fauoures wherewith he hath pleased to gratifie me And he hath not onely heard me before all the rest of his creatures granting vnto me the vse of diuine reason but also hath lifted me vp amongst men into an honourable and magnificent throne so as there remaineth nothing vnto my felicitie but to learne to know and after that I had forgot my selfe he enlightened me by his holy light and gaue me time and will to bewaile my sinfull life past and to amend it also for the time to come 11 And therefore my good friends do as I haue done and recouer his fauour in good time for he himselfe calleth you vnto the way of saluation and do not as the melancholike and froward Moyle dooth who kicketh at him that pricketh him to go right foorth because he wanteth both sence knowledge and iudgement 12 And so thereby he hath a bitte put into his mouth and is continually spurred about the flankes After the same sort The Lord at the first summons that he setteth you in his wayes if yee submit not your selues vnto his will he will powre downe vpon you an huge heape of calamities which will make you more wretched and miserable then miserie it selfe 13 Yee right well see how cleerlie the starres shine in the heauens and the sand which rolleth on the sea shore howbeit there is not so much sand in the sea nor so many starres in the skies as the obstinate shall endure plagues and punishments Their cursednesse hangeth ouer their heads their miseries follow them at their heeles euen vntill such time as that they are cast downe headlong into that gulfe the thinking whereof dooth terrifie whom soeuer remembreth it and whose pleasantest resting places are full of weeping crying howling and groaning where the paine is without end the dolour without remedie and the repentance without mercie where death is immortall the body liueth but to die and the soule but to suffer where the soule feeleth nothing but her sinne and the body nothing but his paine But contrariwise they that couer themselues vnder the grace and fauour of the Lord Iesus which make his mercy their shield and buckler hope in nothing but in his gratious goodnesse follow his commaundements and precepts and are iealious of his will what felicitie and happinesse is there which they shall not attaine vnto Nay what is there in heauen neuer so good and pretious that is not opened vnto them They shall sit cheeke by cheeke with their God and being all encompassed with glory shall be filled and heaped vp with so many blessings as that the heart of man can no way possiblie be able to conceiue the least part of them so farre of is it then as that my babbling tongue cannot possiblie expresse the wonderfulnesse of them 14 I will therefore reioyce my God in carefully waiting and looking for the manifold benefits which thou reseruest in heauen to crowne the righteous withall Vnto this cheerfulnesse do I inuite al those whom thou hast sworne in the word of Sauiour which louest the law of his righteousnesse This is it that attendeth the recompence of your trauels This is it wherein you shall be placed in honour and glorie This is it that shall change the sharpe thorne of the world into the flourishing and beautifull Lillie of all eternitie Oh then shall the dropping and painfull sweating of your afflictions finde most gratious rest The golde commeth not out of the fierie furnace more pure nor brighter to be cast to make the image of some great Prince and afterward to be set vp as an ornament in some rich closet then the heart of him that loueth his God he will draw him pure and cleane out of the miseries of the world and compasse him with brightnesse and glorie What is there now in the world that I shall like of What shall staie and let me from entring into the house of the Lord to liue to serue him What day of my life shall I cease to bewaile my sinnes which haue so farre estranged me from his grace And therefore I humblie beseech thee my God to reconcile these two contrary passions in me repentance and ioye to the end that as the poore traueller wandring in the deserts out
from the rocks of this world which on euerie side threaten my soule with wracke And as the Marriner when he is come to the hauen crowneth the maste of his Ship with floures in token that he is in safetie euen so O Lord crowne thou me with the pretious gifts of thine holie Spirit as pawnes of thy euerlasting blessednesse which thou hast promised me With the gifts I say of that Spirit of thine which reigneth amongst thy faithfull which distributeth faith vnto thine elect loue vnto thy best beloued and hope vnto those whome thou hast predestinate to euerlasting life 13 Now all the while that my soule resteth thus banished looking still to be called home agayne vnto thee I will teach the wicked to walke in the way that may best please thee and set them also in it for feare they hurt not them-selues in the darkenesses of this world against the stumbling blocks which they may suddainely light vppon lying before them And so they will beleeue me and returne vnto thee ô Father of lights and with all their hearts embrace thy faith and walke in thine obedience 14 I know O Lord that there will be some such found as will stop their eares at my words and will obstinatly continue in their sinnes coniure my death and defile their barbarous crueltie with my bloud O my God deliuer me out of their hands and reserue me to declare thy righteousnes and to pronounce their condemnation I will foretell them their miseries and they shall feele them and I shall no sooner hold my peace but that thy hand shall be vppon them and thy hand shall no sooner haue stricken them but that they shall be broken to fitters and be vtterly destroyed 15 And then thou shalt open my lips and my mouth shall set forth thy victorie for the ayre shall be still the winds shall be calme and the flouds shall be quiet to hearken vnto my resounding voyce which shall sing out the wonders of the eternall God For thy prayse ô Lord shall be the sacrifice that I will alwayes offer vp vnto thee and which thou also wilt euer haue good liking of 16 I would gladly haue embrued their Aulters with the bloud of a great number of cattell I would gladly haue cut the throats of a thousand oxen and of a thousand lambs to haue done thee honor but bloud stinketh in thy nostrels neither takest thou pleasure in the flesh of beasts The smoke of such offerings the winds carrie away so as they neuer ascend vnto thee But the voyce onely of a iust man passeth aboue the heauens and the Angelles present the same before thee 17 O what an acceptable sacrifice before thee is a broken and contrite heart and an humble heart that acknowledgeth his sinne thou wilt neuer reiect for if it will come vp vnto thee it must first come downe and if it will touch the heauen it must first crawle vppon the ground if it will haue thee to heare it it must fyrst be silent and if it will be crowned in thy kingdome it must fyrst be beaten and scourged in the world These are the Sacrifices O Lord wherewith wee must he reconciled vnto thee and enter into couenant as thou hast set it downe vnto vs. 18 But if it be thy pleasure ô Lord that we shall offer bulls and bullocks vnto thee and perfume thine Aulters with the bloud of beasts if thou wilt that we by the death of an innocent burnt offering should represent vnto thee the death and innocencie of him whome thou hast destined to redeeme our soules If the figure of that which should come in the person of the vnspotted lambe doth please thee by the killing of Weathers and Sheepe looke then with pitie vppon thy poore people comfort thou desolate Syon and encourage her poore enhabitants to the end they may set vp againe the walls of thine holie Citie and reedifie thy Temple not according to that equall proportion O Lord which thou deseruest but according to the wealth and industrie that the poore world can possibly affoord 19 Thither shall come from all parts thy faithfull in great multitudes to offer vp sacrifice vnto thee and there shall the expiation and purging of their sinnes be acceptable vnto thee But it shall neither be the death of beasts that shall wash away their spots for the cleansing of their disobedience and preuarication was prepared from all eternitie This is an inestimable sacrifice a burnt offering without spot which shall drawe away the curtayne disperse and destroy the darkenesses breake downe the wall or hedge that we may see the truth of our saluation face to face make the beames of his diuine mercie shine vpon vs and reassociate vs vnto the communion of that euerlasting blisse which we willingly haue renounced O most mercifull God which hast vnseeled the eyes of mine vnderstanding to see the misterie of my saluation make me O Lord to taste the excellent fruite which flourishing vppon the tree of the Crosse shall with the iuice thereof quicken and geue life vnto our dead soules preserue and warrant vs for euer from that ruine and calamitie which hath so miserably brought together the race of mankinde and ouerflowed them through their disobedience Lord heare my Prayer Psalme 102. I Haue ô Lord cryed and called vppon thee a long time for thy mercie and do yet looke for ayd and help from thee The ayre is filled with my cryes The winds haue carried the voyce of my dolor and griefe euen vnto the vttermost parts of the world and thine eare which heareth and vnderstandeth whatsoeuer is done in the bottomlesse pit of hell doth not yet heare and vnderstand my prayer which reacheth and beateth the very heauens Wilt thou therefore be deafe only vnto me and shall all the world heare me saue thy selfe alone No no my God thou hast oueâ—-long stretched out thine armes now to reiect mee when as I come vnto thee for refuge 2 And now that I feele a thousand and a thousand sorrowes and that miseries assayle me on euery side do not turne thy backe vpon me ô Lord. Alas haue I setled my whole power and strength vpon the sweet countenance of thy face Haue I diuorced my selfe from the world to the end I might drawe neere vnto thee and haue I forsaken the children of the world that I might ioyne my self vnto the master of the heauens and wouldest thou now forsake me O Lord deale not so with me but assist mine infirmitie all the dayes of my life 3 Let my voyce no sooner cry and call vnto thee my God but that I may also soone feele thee and let thy grace descend as speedely vppon me as an Eagle hasteth her selfe to ayd her yong on s For if thou assist me not what maner of fight shall I be able to make against the enemies of my soule 4 My strength and life would dayly vanish away as the light smoke doth in flying in the ayre for the
eye which seeth it goe out of the fire seeth it also forthwith consumed and in a moment accompanied both with his originall and his end and if any should aske what is become of it there is not one that can so much as tell where the trace only of it is to be found He that hath seene the loppings of wood wither in the sunne and loose their strength and verdure hath also seene my poore bones become both drye and consumed meeâ—e for none other thing but for the graue The graue yea surely the graue which is the happiest thing that can betide me if so be so small a pit may be able to stay the violent course of mine extreame misery 5 Who soeuer he be that hath seene grasse cut downe and tanned with the Sunne in the field and lose the coulor and wither and looke vppon my gâ—stly and deadly face he would thinke that I were able to make death afeard Mine hart is parched within mine entrailes and my bloud drieth vp within my vaines for I remember not to put bread into my mouth and do still forget to eate my meales 6 My mouth serueth me for none other purpose but to cry out lament and the ordinary voice of my griefe is so strong as that it draweth after it all the rest of my strength Now if so be that my body being so extreamely full of heauinesse consume it selfe by little and little and my bones horribly sticke through my skinne what cause haue I to take care for the sustayning of this miserable body of mine which is the matter and substance of all my miseries Wherefore should I be watchfull for the conseruing of this life of mine which wrestleth against so many enemies and is cast downe with so many afflictions Were it not much better for me in ending my life to make also therewith an end of all miseries 7 Is the Pellican more full of greefe then I who liuing in the most solitary deserts of Egipt tormenteth her selfe for the killing of her yong ones and washeth them in her owne bloud to restore them to life which she had taken from them Is her sorrow greater than mine Hath nor my sinne procured the death of the child whome I more dearly loued then my selfe And now that I haue dried vp all my teares the bloud will gush out of mine eyes for feare I should be voide of teares in so lamentable and cursed a case But the Pellican hath redeemed with her own bloud the price of her yong ones and I most miserable wretch that I am shall be depriued for euer of the child which I so tenderly loued And I will also abandon both the day and the light and confine and limit my selfe within the most darke places that I can finde out euen as a shritch owle dooth that commeth not out of his hole all the while it is day light 8 I am continually kept waking still dreaming of my miserie and seeking to hide my selfe before such time as the infelicitie which runneth vpon me enforceth me And being altogether mated and out of heart I seeke after some corner to hide my selfe in euen as the wilde sparrow that flieth out of the raine and winde seeketh after some couert or sunne shine place to bathe and drie her selfe in 9 Mine enemies seeing me in this case and with such a countenance stand mocking of me therewith and cast my miserie in my teeth and they which were wont to make a great accompt of me instead of sorrowing with me in mine afflictioÌ„ haue coniured against me What reckoning then should any man make of the wealth of this world and if he were able to get as great richesse and as many friends as were possible and then to haue his friends so traiterous and so double as to make little or no accompt of breaking their faith and promise 10 And surely my strength is decayed the flower beauty of my well coloured and smooth ruddy checkes is quite cleane gone for I haue sowne my bread vpon the ashes and moisted my drinke with my teares And shall I for all this become a laughing stock vnto this infidelous generation 11 It is very true that I haue bene met withall before thy face in the day of thy wrath thou hast laid againe vpon me the arme of thy vengeance and am become therewith frushed in peeces Men haue had me in great estimation and honour and loe how I am now drest and dealt withall O vaine presumption vnto what steepe break-neck hast thou lifted me vp to make me leape such a leape Alas what did I finde in my selfe why I should conceiue in mine heart such an opinion of my selfe 12 As we see the shadow of the body by little and little decrease when as the sunne is risen aboue the same and reduceth it as it were vnto a small point euen so all so soone O Lord as thine anger is vpon me my life my goods and my greatnesse is by little and little dispersed and come to nothing in such sort as that loe I am like vnto the grasse that is tedded abroade without grace and colour which men cock vp to giue vnto the cattle to feed on and like vnto a great many goodly sweete smelling flowers bound vp in a bottle amongst a sort of thistles 13 But do I for all this lose my hope No no my God for thy power is infinite and lasteth for euer and thy mercie immeasurable which will spred it selfe ouer all such as shall trust in thee One age shall passe after another but the remembrance of thy goodnesse shall neuer haue end one generation shall succeed another but it shall be alwaies for the setting forth of thy praise and good dealing 14 Thou wilt one day my God awaken to haue mercie vpon Sion for the time of mercie draweth neare And loe I see it euen at hand The flouds and riuers powre not out so much cleare water into the deepe sea as thy goodnesse will spred abroad thy fauour and grace vpon the face of this earth Open your hearts yee people open your hearts I say for the liberall hand of my God will fill them with an holy zeale which will make thee farre purer and cleaner then the gold in the fining pot 15 Now the house of Sion O Lord is the refuge which all thy seruants looke for it is it which they so greatly loue and which they so earnestly desire it is it where they looke to finde mercy it is the temple O Lord which thou wilt destroy in three daies and raise it vp againe in other three that it may be the house of euerlasting life the seat of saluation the treasure of grace and temple of eternitie 16 Then shall all the nations my God be afraide and all the kings of the earth tremble at the brightnesse of thy glorie What corner of the world shall be so secret where the noise of thy blessed comming shall not sound and be
heard where shall that people be so farre from the sunne so confined and limitted in darknesse as will not vnseele their eyes to behold the cleare burning brightnesse of saluation which will shine vpon them Yea heauen it selfe shall encrease his flames to giue light vnto this thine entrance into the world and the kings shall run from all places to do homage vnto the king of kings vnto the gouernor both of heauen and earth 17 For he hath set vp and aduanced his kingly throne vpon Sion in great costly array there shall he be seene wholy encompassed with glory darkning the Sunne and Moone with the brightnesse of his face 18 But why hast thou O Lord so highly exalted the throne of thy glory hast thou done it because thou wouldest not vouchsafe to heare the praiers of thy faithfull seruants And because thou wouldest make no reckoning of the whole world which in deed is nothing in respect of thy greatnesse Alas no my God Thou hast lifted vp the self vpon an eminent place that all the inhabitants of the earth might see acknowledge thee and so run vnto thy grace and mercy for thou shouldest be alwaies ready to come at the humble summons of thy seruants neuer disdaine their pittifull petitions And behold them also standing as miserable offenders condemned vnto bolts shackles looking for the comming of some king that should set them free at the entrance into his kingdome Euen so ô Lord deliuer thou them who haue giuen themselues vp into the bondage of sinne and with the onely twinke of thine eye the mainacles shall fall from their wristes 19 Then shall they be all heard to sing a glorious song vnto the victorious king their voices shall be heard throughout al the corners of the earth and the remembrance of thy singular bountie and infinite mercy shall be engraued within the memory of men and so passe from age to age euen vnto the last posteritie The earth shall then be consumed all the waters dryed vp the ayre vanished and the heauens haue an end which shall as yet sing the glory of the eternall God 20 The eternall God who hath vouchsafed merely and ioyfully to cast downe his eyes from the highest heauens into the very deepest place of the bowels of the earth for the acknowledging of the torments of the miserable detained captiues in hell heard their groanes is himselfe suddenly runne thither to vnbinde and set at libertie his poore captiue prisoners and all their posteritie where death with the weapons of sinne had ouercome them and confined them in his most darke prisons But the God of life hath ouercome death and hath freed and cleared them quite from thence 21 To the end O Lord that they might set foorth thy praise in Sion and preach thy louing kindnesse in Ierusalem And although euery one of them had an hundreth mouthes and their voices as lowd as thy thunder yet should they neuer be able to attaine and reach vnto the greatnesse of thy glory All the parts of the world conspire not nor ioyne not themselues together saue onely to represent in their motions a part of thine infinite power and goodnesse howbeit they neuer looke to come neere thereunto for they are more then bottomlesse depths which haue neither bottom nor yet brinke and therfore they must onely behold them a farre of 22 And therefore I most humbly beseech thee my God to be contented that thy people assemble and reunite themselues both in bodies and minds deuoutly to offer vp vnto thee that holy will which they haue to honour thee for the effect can in no wise otherwise be able to come neare that which thou deseruest Accept therefore O Lord the humble submission of the kings of the earth which come before thee to yeeld vnto thee their homage and seruice due vnto thee as vnto their soueraigne chiefe Lord. They shall cast their scepters vnto the earth and their crownes at their feete and present for a sacrifice vnto thy maiesty their humble praiers and innocent consciences And I will be the first my God which will cast downe my selfe before thee to worship and serue thee with all mine heart to thee alone will I consecrate my spirit Quicken it therefore O Lord that being purified by the holy zeale of thy loue it may receiue in it selfe as it were in a cleare looking Glasse the image of thine incomprehensible excellency perfection feele in it self the reflexion of thy sincere amitie aswel as thine infinite goodnesse accompanied with the number of thine elect to be an inheritor with them in euerlasting life 23 Now I haue already felt my good God that thou hast enlightened my soule with thy grace and haue presented the fauour which thou wouldest shew vnto all the children of the earth Heretofore hath my spirit a far of takeÌ„ a note how thou proceedest for the deliuerance of the world but it hath beene afraid to die before such time as thou wert come and that is because thou hast heard it call vpon thee saying Tell me O Lord how long the course of mine age shall bâ— and when thou wilt end my dayes 24 Go not about O Lord to cut of the thred of my life at the first or second winding vp of the spindle neither stay it ouer short in the middest of the course Attend my God vntill the time be come when thou must set open the treasure of thy graces to make an entrance for men vnto the largenesse of saluation or if thou hast at least appointed mine end and that my life cannot stretch so farre yet remember my posteritie and let him be borne of my race that must sanctifie the world by his comming 25 I right well know O Lord that at the first thou madest heauen and earth and whatsoeuer excellent thing we see here in this world to be the worke of thine owne hands 26 But all this shall come to an end euen as an old worne garment a man shall enquire what is become of it and there shal be no mention made thereof at all It was made and it shall be vnmade it had a beginning it must haue an end But thou alone O Lord which hast beene from all eternitie shalt be alwaies one and the same For age time which consume all things serue for none other purpose but to confirme thine euerlastingnesse and to set foorth thy Deitie men seeme to remaine heere vpon the earth for none other cause but to behold round about them thine incomprehensâ—ble greatnesse on the one side and their infirmitie on the other side 27 A man changeth not his shirt so often but the earth oftner changeth her inhabitants one putteth forth another and all is renued euen in a moment But thou my God art euen the same at this day that thou wast at the beginning Euery prouince of the earth hath a great catalogue of kings who haue there commaunded one successiuely after
the more my voice cryeth vnto thee the stronger it is my courage encreaseth more and my praier betteâ— pleaseth me And therefore do I begin againe daily to crie vpon thee Lord heare my praier giue eare vnto my complaint for in praying to thee my God consisteth all mine whole comfort It is my praier O Lord which coniureth thy louing kindnessâ— to purge my sinnes not by reason of the seueritie of the punishment but by the meanes of the effect of the grace which thou hast graunted vnto vs by which thou doest abolish by thy souereigne and absolute power the remembrance of our sinnes 2 And therefore enter not O Lord into iudgement with thy seruant ne yet leaue him vnto the rigour of thy lawes for no man liuing that shall appeare before thee at thy iudgement seate shall be iustified No man shall escape this fearefull condemnation the punishment whereof is not onely cruell but immortally rigorous also Alas O Lord who can be saued before thee It is thou that art offended it is thou that wilt â—ccuse vs It is thou that hast seene ouâ— iniquities and wilt attest them â—nd it is thou that shalt iudge vs. When the accuser shall be witnesse and the witnesse Iudge what shall become of the offendor What defence can he make to iustifie himselfe O Lord my God I will not â—…rrie vntill this blowe light vpon me I will defend me with â—…y fauour and grace to oppose it vnto thy Iustice And thy grace is obtained by the acknowleding and confessing of our sinnes and the humbling and submitting of our mindes Loe I here cast downe my selfe prostrate before thee and lay open my sinnes and therefore I beseech thee O Lord to haue mercy vpon me 3 My sinnes my God the capitall enemie vnto my soule haue so terrified me and cast me downe as that I now lie crawling vpon the ground daring not once to looke vp vnto heauen For so soone as I lift vp mine eyes I see the light which shineth vpon me discouer on the day a great many of sinnes which accuse my conscience And then I feele forthwith shame take holde on my guiltie face and to make me cast downe my countenance vnto the ground a countenance vnworthy to behold the heauens the maister wherof she hath so grieuously offended too too cowardly a face to cast the eyes thereof vpon such places which haue so many thunder-bolts prepared to roote out the guiltie 4 My spirit therefore hath led me into darke places and buried me as a dead man in the cranuies of obscuritie My soule is made very sad in me and mine hart stirreth it selfe like vnto one walking with his nose lifted vp into the weather who through his retchlesnesse falleth into the boâ—rome of a well hauing forthwith thereby beene amazed is incontinent void of iudgement falleth out with himselfe and tormenteth himselfe vntill such time as being come againe to his wits he knoweth both the place wherein he is and vnderstandeth the maner how he fell in and then beginneth by little and little to get vp againe vnto the top thereof and yet is scarslie able to note and marke the place whence he so easily fell 5 And so hauing called to minde as farre as I possibly could the memorie of things past hauing set before me in a deepe meditation the workes of thine hands and hauing exactly considered the perfection thereof yea and remembring the estate wherein thou hast created vs and besides setting before me him by whome I feele my selfe now as it were oppressed vnder the destruction of sinne I cursed in my self the houre wherein my mother conceiued me I abhorred the day which first opened vnto me mine eye lids whereby I might see heauen and earth witnesses of mine infirmitie and in the end finding nothing in the world that in this distresse might comfort and helpe me I at last addressed my selfe vnto thy most excellent maiestie 6 I fell on both my knees before thee I stretched out mine armes and hands vnto thee and my soule thirsting for thy grace waited with a great desire for the same as the chapping ground through heat looketh for a gratious and sweet showre in the hoatest daies of sommer 7 Make hast therefore vnto me O my God for I am already out of breath for loe mine heart fainteth and I am at the point to swound wilt thou stay vntill I be dead I am already so if thou make noâ— hast for my sences do by little and â—…tle faile me my soule glideth gentlie out of me leauing my body without moouing and I am like vnto him who letting his foote bleede in the water looseth his life with his bloud without feeling the occasion or cause of his death 8 If thou O Lord holdest thy selfe aloofe from me and turnest thy face â—…ay I shall become like vnto those that go downe vnto the bottom of hell â—…le death will make my face looke wanâ—… and my feeling to sleepe â—ay a worse thing then this will betide me my God for spirituall death will kill my soule make it horribly a feard and take from her the acknowledgement of thy singular goodnesse and the hope of grace which shineth in thy miracles as a bright shining starre in a darke night 9 Make me therefore O lord in thy good time to vnderstand and feele the effect of thy mercy and when the sunne riseth in the morning vpon the face of the earth let then thy louing kindnesse rise vpon me for the enlightening of mine ignorance and leade me in the way of thy wyll But let it not deale with me O Lord as the sunne dooth who at his fall plungeth him selfe into the sea keeping away his light for a time from poore wretched and distressed men But let thy fauour and grace continually assist and defend mee and neuer depart more from me then my soule doth from my body for thy mercy is farre away more 〈…〉 of my soule theâ— my soule is 〈◊〉 lâ—fe of my bodie 10 And therefore let 〈…〉 neuer forsake me but let 〈◊〉 â—ight direct my footsteps alwayes in thy wayes and leade me continually in the way which must bring me vnto thee For my spirit which hath run it self through the strange â—…ches of this world and strayed into the broad and thicke bushes thereof can neuer find out her tract againe but rusheth out at all aduentures and loseth both her path and also her payne going alwayes back from the abiding place whither she was deteâ—…ned to goe But I my God do alwayes attend thine ayd for it is from aboue that I looke for help 11 I am a captiue in the hands of the most cruell enemies of my life and therefore I most humbly beseech thee ô Lord to make haste to deliuer me I flye vnto thee for refuge receiue mee into thy protection Teach mee what thou wouldest haue me to do for thou art my God whome alone I am resolued now to serue And now away away from me
is not yet come which I haue appointed and in the meane while trust thou assuredly vnto my promise and looke whatsoeuer affliction thou â—…aâ—t endure be thou assured that I will geâ—… thee strength to ouercome it My courage ô Lord encreaseth wheÌ„ as I feele thee thus to second me and this thine exhortatioÌ„ emboldneth me more vnto patience then all the applause of the people doth him that fighteth a combat wheÌ„ he is most stroÌ„g and lusty in his fight There is nothing now that I am afeard of for all these conspiracies all these slanderous reports against mine head honor seme to me like vnto the foming raging billowes of the sea who roting far off furiously breake them-selues against the foot of a rock and scatter them-selues abroad at the first stroke and the blow is but a vaine sound which is the end of all these great threats Certainely the conscience of an innocent man founded and grounded vpoÌ„ thy grace is more stable sure then all the greatest rocks cannot be shaken nor moued by any iniurious brags 3 What shall I now feare any more Shall I feare a rout of the wicked that goe about to beset me round and cluster about me to see if they could take me They geue out sometime one signe sometime another to assay if they can lay hold on me Behold and see diligently how they note and marke me and how they bend theyr browes and grind theyr teeth at me I verely beleeue that the greatest thing which they desire is to eate me with their teeth to teare me in pieces to fill them-selues with my flesh to gnawe my bones and to drinke my bloud O cruell and sauage beasts how can you thus despise your owne flesh how can you thus abiure all humanitie Do you think that although you haue forgotten God that God hath forgotten his seruants Do you thinke that his seruants are so far from his hand as yours is farre from iustice 4 Well go too yee haue like mad Tygres fomed out vpon me your poyson yee haue cried out and houled at me fastned your teeth clutches vpoÌ„ me howbeit all your blowes slip ouer me as it were ouer a most cleare chrystall they cannot hurt me mine innocencie is not to be wounded with all that ye can deuise but are in the end enforced to retire all wearied and gasping for breath lying vpon the belly ye â—ay grin mutine with very anger but it is without power and there is but one weapon amongst all the rest left you and that is a will to do ill But neuerthelesse because your voyce is abhominable before God and that with your threats ye blaspheme him vnto his face he will vtterly roote ye out and throw vpon you the mountaines which your ambition and couetousnesse haue heaped vp so hye thinking thereby to scale his Throne and to rob him of his glory 5 O Lord what a spectacle hast thou made for mine eyes to behold nay I am now so assured of thy mercie so comforted by reason of the care which I see thou hast of thy faithfull seruants as that although I should see the greatest armye that possibly could be yet would I not be afeard of it Let there an armye be brought against me composed of all the nations of the world and let there be placed in the vauntgard on the right hand a battell of Scythians and on the left hand a battell of Ethiopians and in the reregard the East India and America and all the rest of the world in the middest to serue for a battell and adde thereunto whatsoeuer Arte â—…d skill for the killing of men was euâ—… able to finde out or deuise and yet if my God be my conductor and leader I will passe through them all without any feare Agayne if hee bee angry with the world and shall like him to serue him-selfe with my hands to be aduenged of them for theyr vngodlynesse I my selfe will cut them all in peeces not leauing so much as a tayle of any of them 6 Nay I do now reioyce when as I heare saye that the wicked band them-selues against mee and doo assure my selfe that it is God which wiâ—… lend me matter wherein to glorie For be thou O Lord onely neere mee blesse my weapons and mine enemies are confounded But what weapons verely do thou but blowe onely vppon this people and thou shalt scatter them all as a great winde driueth the dust too and fro neuerthelesse O Lord I beseech thee blowe not vppon them the wind and blast of thy curse but tarrie a little while if thou please to see if thy patience will bring them backe to do their duties And as for my selfe although I be couered ouer with their wounds and defamed with their iniurious dealings yet had I rather haue them subiect vnto thy mercie then vnto thy iustice and desire if thou thinke it good that their iniustice might rather serue to try me withall then for their condemnation 7 Thou knowest O Lord my desires thou readest them in mine hart neither haue I euer called vppon thee for vengeance my vowes coniure nothing but thy mercie and my thoughts are addressed vnto nothing but vnto peace Wouldest thou vnderstand the summe of my desres and the end of all my prayers it is O Lord that I may passe my dayes in seruing thee faithfully and that thou wouldest graunt me thine holie house to dwell in and that all the while that I am seperated from thee and a great way off from thiâ—e heauenly Tabernacle tyed vnto the earth by reason of the counterpoise of my bodye I might vnite and tye 〈◊〉 my thoughtes vnto thee and conforme and frame my selfe wholy vnto thy will O blessed habitation that is able to couer vs from all worldly passions from all the lusts of the flesh and to be short from all the assaults of the Deuill For there ô Lord thou art present with vs and commest downe from the heauens to keepe companie with vs and fillest vs with thy selfe that we might be voyd of sinne and conuertest our carnall will into a liuing and quickning spirit that we might effectually feele thy maruellous works comprehend thy mercies and conceiue of thy power and almightinesse 8 Suffer therefore my God that I being incorporate â—…to theâ— so fâ—rre-forth as mine infirmitie and thine infinitenesse will permit I may be enlightened with the beames of thy wisedome to the end that mâ—ne vnderstanding being enlightened she may learne mee to knowe thy will For this is the thread ô Lord which may assuredly guide â—e through the windings and turnings of the laberinth of this world and this is the passeport which must being vs vnto that euerlasting life which we so â—…cessantly gape and sigh for Reueale vnto me therefore this thy will and lay it vp in my soule that I may there keepe it most dearely and in the middest of thy Church I may set vp an Aulter in my mouth presenting
their great magnificences vanish away into smoake and become like vnto a streame whose spring-head is dammed vp his bed becommeth parched with drinesse the skirts of his garments lose their beauty and his trees which he hath planted on a row wither and drie vp But such as haue recourse vnto God and forsake him not and referre all vnto his honour shall neuer want any good thing because the spring head of all goodnesse which is the loue of God floweth ouer their soules and spreddeth it selfe throughout all the parts of their bodies 10 Now sith that you see that the feare of the Lord bringeth so great profit and that his feare is it which reconcileth vs vnto him his conciliation getteth vs grace enlargeth our felicity come ye vnto me that I may learne yee how yee shall feare him as a most good merciful father who neuer denieth mercy vnto him which acknowledgeth his sinnes and giueth himselfe to walke in the way of well doing 11 Desire ye to please him and by that meanes to liue in his grace that is to say to liue blessedly and passe your dayes with a quiet minde and aboundance of whatsoeuer is necessary for this life and yet to go forward on the way of this immortall life which attendeth vs after we shall be departed from hence To be short desire ye his blessing that is to say firme and assured prosperitie which engendreth in you spirituall reioycing which laieth your heart continually open to breath out his honor cōtentedly to vse the benefits which he lendeth vnto you here in this world I will deliuer out vnto you in few words how yee shall attaine vnto this meanes For I know wherewith he is pleased and what actions of ours they are that are agreeable vnto his liking 12 The first thing that ye shall do is this Keepe your tongue that it speake nothing to the dishonor of God nor vtter any bitter angry talke Mark what a small and little thin member this is yet it is the sterne of our life which turneth and windeth our spirit which way soeuer it pleaseth For when it is once filled with corrupt filthy speech it carrieth the passions of our hearts from whence they are conceiued euen into the bottom of our vnderstanding and in such sort watereth them as that they are like vnto an earthen pot ouer much soaked in water so loseth therby the forme and shape of the reason which God had breathed into it See ye not that one sparke of fire setteth an whole house on a burning flame Euen so the tongue as the baite of sinne giueth it an entrance into vs bringeth it deafly in setting by that means our soules on fire wasteth and consumeth whatsoeuer good thing is within vs. Let vs then commaund our lips to receiue nothing but the bare and simple truth and banish lying deceit for euer from them For if we keepe in fast shut the wicked thoughts which may arise in our hearts without giuing thē vent they will in the end choke themselues euen as fire that hath no ayre 13 And therfore let vs first of all put all lying deceit farre away from vs for the true praise which God looketh for at our hands is that we should imitate him as much as our nature will permit Now he is the God of truth and of iustice who can neither loue not make much of vs so long as lying which is contrary to him shall dwell in vs. Secondarily we must estrāge our selues frō all sin whatsoeuer for to eschue ill is the beginning to do well and alwaies prouided that if God findeth vs void of wicked intents he will fill vs with good ones and teach vs that which we ought to wish and procure and the thing which we ought principallest to desire he teacheth vs. And that is peace which he would haue vs desire with all our hearts First peace with him which is the store-house of all goodnesse which we can neuer haue except we yeeld him that obedience which we owe him And then peace amongst our selues without the which we can neuer haue hi◠For he hath commanded vs to loue our neighbours as our selues so as if in stead of this we breath out nothing but bloud spoiles what peace would we haue with him whose lawes and commaundements we infringe and breake And withall that warre is no better then the blossome of iniustice which is abhominable before God 14 His eye which is this well framed and louing eye beholdeth none but the iust and righteous his light enlighteneth none but them neither are his miracles shewed but in fauour of them and his eares are not open but vnto their praiers and we may properly say that his iustice is on his side that examineth the life of those which offer themselues vnto him and to him recommendeth their praiers which are of an vpright heart 15 And as for those that take pleasure in ill dooing he looketh vpon them indeed but it is with a furious burning eye whose beames are like the arrowes of paines and miserie wherewith he woundeth their soules filling them with feare and astonishment besides a thousand other miseries which he laieth on them as earnests of torments which attend them He dreameth not of them otherwise then of the rooting out of their memorie from the ◅ce of the earth and by iustice to wash the arrowes of their polution which are left for he sufficiently knoweth their impenitent hearts which haue insolently neglected his holy mercy 16 Now the righteous haue not so done for they haue in good time returned vnto God and calling vpon his clemencie haue in the end obtained it they reioyced therein and it remained with them as it were their portion he hath deliuered them out of all their troubles wherein they were plunged and receiued them vnder his grace as vnder a brasen wall so as no violent mischiefe what soeuer can be able to make them false hearted 17 Vndoubtedly God is maruelous good fauourable thou mightest say that he is alwaies fauourable vnto the afflicted which call vpon him and forsaketh him not day nor night For no sooner hath our griefe sorrow humbled vs and made vs know what need we haue of him but that he is by and by ready at hand to saue vs. 18 In very deed the righteous are afflicted with strange calamities and a man might properly say that they are the very subiect and matter of miseries to worke on there are so many mischiefes come tumbling in one in anothers necke to oppresse them But this is not to any other end saue to make the mercy of God shine more gloriously in them For the greater that the tribulation is the more doth the pitty and compassion shine in the preseruing of them 19 For he keepeth euen the very least bone they haue nay there shall not one haire of their heads fall not be pluckt in sunder but by his expresse
come any thing neere the number of them Now what obedience is it that we should yeeld vnto thee how should we ghesse to do that which might please thee who is able to sound the bottome of thy thoughts and who shall be able to vnderstand that which thou wouldest haue I therefore beseech thee only that thy will be done For lâ—…h thou art altogether good thou willest nothing but good things and for thee both to do and to will is all one and in making this prayer vnto thee we wholy submit our selues vnto thee who neuer faylest to will vs well and to performe the fame also For whatsoeuer ô Lord thou hast willed waâ— done and from this thy will as from a liuely and pleasant spring head are deriued all the benefits wherewith the whole face of the earth is couered and wherewith all the heauens are beautified Continue thou the same towards vs and seeing thy loue is as a fire that encreaseth according as it findeth matter to burne let it encrease and enlarge it selfe in doing good vnto vs vnto vs I say poore miserable wretches in whose weakenesse miserie and infirmitie it shall finde it selfe matter enough to exercise and worke vpon When I pray thee ô Lord That thy will be done my meaning is to beseech thee that thou wouldest eftsoones root out of mine heart all these worldly desires and willes which being borne in the corruption of the flesh can not haue any fellow-feeling and agreement with the law of the spirit neyther geue thou me the bridle to liue as I lust and seeing that I am thy child and honorest me with this title let me neuer be bondslaue vnto my affectioÌ„s but keepe me vnder the rod of thy law vnder the tutorship of thy 〈…〉 demeÌ„ts to the end that my 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 many as haue swoâ—…se to 〈…〉 â—…ing framed to serue and 〈◊〉 thee worthely may also be reâ—dy â—…erfull in the ministerie of thy â—eâ—…ce so long as we shall abide here below in this mortall world as thine Angels and other most blessed soules are in that heauenly habitation and so Thy will be done in earth as it is in heauen And seeing it is thy will that our frayle and mortall bodies do dayly decay and had need to be repared and strengthned by some new nourishment that wee might haue continually recourse vnto thee Geue vs my God our dayly bread and geue vs therewith the grace so to vse it and all other thy benefits which thou hast bestowed vpon vs that we in some measure nourishing and maintaining our bodies grieue not nor vexe not our soules making them thereby lesse able to come vnto the knowledge of thy truth And in vsing thy liberall dealing with thanksgeuing we tye not for all that our affections vnto earthly and worldly things but make vs so to passe through these temporall benefits as we lose not for the getting of them the eternall blessings Let not the taste of earthly bread wherewith we feed our bodies make vs forget our heauenly bread that bread of life that eternall bread which nourisheth strengthneth our soules keepeth them from death filleth our mouthes with the Deitie and maketh vs the temples of our God to receiue him into our bodies and to be made members of his members Graunt vs my God that by this bread or rather by this flesh we may be incorporated into our Redeemer and as he in taking and putting on of our flesh was partaker of our death euen so we taking and putting on of his flesh may be partakers of his immortalitie And seeing we haue my God bene made vessels and receptacles of his Deitie wash vs and make vs cleane to the end that he comming to dwell in vs thou mayest finde nothing there to geue thee occasion to depart from vs and to make vs voyd of thy grace and of our saluation Now it is impossible for vs to be made cleane without thou forgeue vs our sinnes and remit our debts For we haue bene bondslaues both vnto sinne and vnto death and whatsoeuer we clayme to be ours it belongeth vnto him neither haue we any thing either to pay our raunsome or yet to discharge our debt and therfore ô Lord it is thou that must do it Thou hast once for all redeemed vs and set vs at libertie but yet notwithstanding we dayly fall into the hands of the enemy we daily commit a thousand sinnes which make vs bond vnto sinne cease not for all this my God to opeÌ„ vnto vs this treasure froÌ„ which we may take the price of our libertie Be thou ô Lord more strong stout in pardoning of vs then we are in offending of thee Let thy merciful hand stretch it selfe out continually vnto vs for sin cleaueth fast vnto the marrow of our bones and groweth and waxeth old in vs which maketh vs wheÌ„ we are old to be after a sort more filthy infectious were it not that thou continually applyest vnto our miserie the merit and worthinesse of thy holy passion to the end that we in some measure launching wounding our consciences thou mayest strengthen and heale our wounds and rub out with the oyle of thy mercy the skarres that may of them remayne Otherwise ô Lord I should be afeard that thou in casting thine eyes ordinarily vpon vs wouldest in the end be so angry and grieued as that thou wouldest come very fast vpon vs to be reuenged of the wickednes which we our selues haue coÌ„mitted Forgeue vs therfore our offences that is to say our sins which we coÌ„mit all the time of our life And forgeue vs ô heauenly Father as we from our very harts forgeue theÌ„ that trespasse against vs. Cause vs coÌ„tinually to set before vs this loue by which thou hast not only takeÌ„ vpoÌ„ thee to pay our debts but the punishment for our sins that we may iudge what an vnreasonable thing it should be for vs to looke to haue any fauour at thy hands who wil not agree with our neighbors considering there is no comparison betweene the offences which we commit against thee and the offences wherwith they offend vs. Pluck cleane out of our harts all pride malice for their sakes for whose ayd and succour thou causedst vs to be borne Geue vs gentle and meeke spirits which may keepe vs in vnitie and brotherly loue by patiently meekly bearing the infirmities one of another For we right well know my God how easily we slip yea how easily we stumble and fall in the way of thiâ— slippery and irkesome life We haue too too little force and strength continually to keepe our feet and to resist the winds which driue vs forward into the steepe breake-necks of all wickednes and iniquitie And therfore we pray most earnestly vnto thee Not to leade vs into tentation and to keepe farre froÌ„ vs all occasions which may any way cause vs to offend thee and to arme vs with thy holy spirit against all those
obiects which of them selues offer them vnto vs without the which we shall be alwayes ouercome and by the which we shall continually be vaÌ„quishers in this wrestling against sinne for this prize and garland of victory is for none but for such a one as thou doest second in this fight Graunt vs therefore such grace as that when any extraordinary desire of getting worldly ritches assayle vs that thou wilt strengthen vs with a mind to obtaine heauenly ritches and valiantly contemne and despise the goods of this world and the vncertaine and frayle knowledge of them And let vs remember that they passe away as the cloudes in the ayre from one countrey vnto another and in the end melt and consume away to nothing and that for the most part the gold and siluer which we so greedely gather and heape vp together with so great toyling moyling serue vs to none other â—nd but to bring condemnation on our heads And if so be that thou of thine owne goodnes departest with more vnto vs then we any way deserue graunt vs eftsoones a will to vse them well and charitably communicate them vnto those that haue greater need of them then we haue For the earth is thine and we are but the gardiens and farmers thereof our goods are thine and we are but the dispensers and stewards of them And therefore if we refuse to geue them vnto those which aske them of vs in thy name thou wilt not only take them from vs but wilt also for our vnthankfulnes and infidelitie make vs pay double vsury for theÌ„ And graunt vs also this grace that the gloriousnes of the honors of this world blind not vs and draw vs on to desire more then is expedient for our saluation And let it alwayes be imprinted in our thoughts that there is no true honor in this world but to serue thee worthely and that for the seruing of thee the place of honor is too too base that the greatnes therof coÌ„sisteth in humilitie As for the rest which we so wonder at admire it is but a deceitful light after which we hunt with opeÌ„ mouth is like vnto those little fires which appeare in the night about the riuers They shine and cast light but in the dark and carry them which follow them euen to their drowning if they take not very great heed of them For our worldly pomps secular dignities neuer appeare but in this darke world wheÌ„ we haue winkingly cast our eyes vpon the heauenly light they seeme to vs to shine as bright as the fire their clearenesse is like vnto a basen of gold finely polished but in following of them we fall into the running brooks where we are incontinently lost and vndone We vncertainely flote amiddest the wills of Princes and the opinions of the common people so long as that we stumble at last at some scandale or offence which mightely shaketh and shiuereth vs. And therefore my God geue me coÌ„stancie that I be not shaken with beholding these vanities but make me only ambitious of thy glory and cause that my spirit in lifting vp it selfe towards immortalitie feed not it selfe with the smokes of this world Neyther let me enuy those which possesse all these frayle and transitorie goods and honors but let my desire be to approach as neere as I possibly can the example of good life which thou hast pictured out vnto vs with most liuely coulors in the table of thine owne life And this being done let all the violent passions of ire wrath and rancor be banished from my soule and let my desires be to do good vnto all the world and hurt to none and let my body and soule be euer waking and employed about good and commendable works without euer to be englutted with pale and ill fauoured slouthfulnesse And let this filthie and infamous gluttonie which abuseth thy gifts and which is drowned in wine and buried in superfluous eating and drinking be far away from me Quench also ô my heauenly Father all these shamelesse prickings of the flesh which allure vs to breake the chastitie of our bodies and puritie of our minds Beate backe from vs all obiects which may stirre vp in our soules any slippery and shamelesse affections And to be short Deliuer vs from all euill namely from all euill Angels not giuing them any power ouer vs. And if thou knowest that we are about to cast our selues headlong into euill make speed to pluck vs back and stretch out that fatherly had of thine which is alwayes more ready to shew mercy then iustice Saue vs ô Lord maugre our selues neither let our relaps and peruersenesse so sharpen and quicken thee against vs as that thou remember not thy selfe that thou art not only our God but our Father also MEDITATIONS VPON THE Lamentations of IEREMIAH Translated out of French into English by Tho. Sto. Gent. 1594. Vnto the Kingdome of France Guill du Vair greeting SEing most miserable and wretched Prouince that thy ouer great exceeding in thine auncient and wonted delights pleasures hath brought thee into this outragious fury and that thine ill hap hath caused thee to put to these thy rent and torne hands to plucke out thine owne bowels withall and to disfigure thine own face yet if there he any intermission of this hoâ—e broyling mischiefe see thou employ the same about the beholding and looking vpon thy miserie But if so be thou be too too fearefull of the miseries which thou best brought vpoÌ„ thy selfe or caust not abide the sight of them behold and looks vpoÌ„ the ruine destruction of these miserable Hebrewes because it is the truest glasse that thou canst looke in But whoÌ„ aâ— thine eyes shall haue borrowed their image and face to behold and see thy miseries therein let them also borrow teares of thee to wayle and mourne for them For the chiefest remedy to ease thy sorrow and griefe is for thee to acknowledge the same and then to haue compassion thereof And when will that be forsooth euen then when God who loueth thee more then thou louest thy selfe shall by his owne loue ouercome that desire of thine which thou hast to destroy thy selfe And in waiting for this good and praying for the same I do here prepare and make ready for thee holy teares that thou mightest thereby mollifie thine hard hart and extinguish therein the wrath of God enflamed against thee It may be that they will well like thee as a charitable remedy ought to do and it may be that they will mislike thee and then wilt thou do â—…en do who vtterly râ—iect whatsoeuer is offred them for their good And whether they please or displease thâ—… yet will I neuer cease both to loue and serue thee For what 〈◊〉 it that I should more vâ—…â—…ly and willingly loue and serue then 〈◊〉 â—…are and best beloued Countrey 〈◊〉 deare Countrey I say that maketh some 〈◊〉 of me The Lord my God saue and presence
honor her began forthwith to disdaine and looke sourely vpoÌ„ her For her shame lay opeÌ„ vnto the eyes of al the world was set before euery man as a laughing stocke some asking her what was become of all her wealth some what was become of all her honor and there was neuer an honest womaÌ„s child which had not a gird at her In so much that she could do nothing else but weepe and being all ashamed and comfortlesse she was driuen to goe hide her selfe Thet. And wheÌ„ she saw her self alone and in what estate she stood she found her self from the crowne of the head to the sole of the foot to be most filthie and her garmeÌ„ts to be most beastly berayed with bloud and mire And as the Peacock when he hath spread abroad his tayle in looking at his feet letteth it fall downe agayne abating thereby his pride euen so hath she plucked downe 〈◊〉 heart sorrowed within her selfe and cared no whit for death by reason that all things misliked her but chiefly and aboue all her poore and miserable life She was giuen to be altogether sad without hauing any bodie to comfort her For her friends had forsaken her or if they were neere about her it was to none other end but to afflict her Wherefore when as she found no help here vpon earth she lamentably lifted vp her head vnto heauen with deep sighes froÌ„ the bottome of her hart addressed herselfe vnto God and sayd O Lord hast thou not compassion vppon me in this my great affliction Seest thou not mine extreame miserie Surely there is none can saue me so well as thy selfe Come therefore if thou be the God of mercy and forsake not thine humble and old seruant for mine enemy setteth his foote vpon my throate and causeth me most shamefully to belch Come therefore ô Lord for my continuall iniury is thy shame and the outrage that is done vnto a seruant redoundeth to the mayster And therefore come ô Lord for mine enemy â—…geth me beyond all measure and without all pitie Iod. He hath layd his bloudy hand vpon that which I accompted most deere and spared no whit of that which I made reckning off to be most holy Thou hast seene him enter into thy Sanctuary and into that place which ought to haue receyued none but sanctified persons no none but pure and cleane soules and such as are worthie to be partakers of the beholding of thy diuine maiestie hath seene receyued and touched euen pollution and impietie it selfe and seene his sacrilegious hands steale away the ornaments of thy Temple destroyed the habitation of thy deitie and the abiding place of thy grace as if thy lawes and prohibitions forbidding them not to abide and carry in that place no nor once to enter thereinto had bene but as it were a very song Where wert thou then ô Lord and although thou carest not for the iniuries which we haue receyued why art thou not yet reuenged of the wrongs done vnto thy selfe Caph. Thou hast bene ô Lord very angry against poore Ierusalem and hast sayd that thou haddest no will to come to help it by reason of the great and manifold offences thereof It is now time ô Lord or else neuer for all her miserable inhabitants goe shamefully a begging for their liuing and haue geuen whatsoeuer good thing they haue for a mouth full of bread and bought full dearely the water which they haue dronke Forsake not ô Lord this our earnest prayer and turne a-little thine eyes of mercy vpon vs for if our pride hath heretofore estranged vs fom thee our humilitie shall now reconcile vs vnto thee There can be now nothing ô Lord to be seene so humble vile and abiect as we are nor there is nothing that hath more need of thee then we haue neyther can there be any thing found to be more pitifull then thy selfe Lamed Tell me I beseech ye you that passe by and see my ruines and do consider the remayne of my greatnesse and then tell me if there be any thing in the whole world so miserable as it is and that euer sithence you haue had eyes that euer you sawe any dolor like vnto mine Tell me I pray you if euer ye were able to keepe your eyes from shedding of teares whensoeuer ye beheld my desolation I speake vnto you I say which haue heretofore seene this Citie so wonderfully furnished with welth ritches her greatnes magnificeÌ„ce do now behold her moÌ„strous spoile do ye not thinke that you see a vineyard laid wide open whereinto all sorts of beasts are entred who haue not only spoiled the vintage of the grape but haue also broken downe the hedges pluckt in sunder the very armes of the vines And this ye see is the pleasure of God he is iustly angry with me hath determined to visit me in his fury Mem. His vengeance is come downe from heauen like lightning it is come to thunder and lighten vpon me and is entred into the very marrow of my bones nothing can be seene to be done more suddainely more earnestly or more powerfully For in a moment it is come ouerthrowne all in a moment and all in a minute shaken into fitters pieces For my Temples and my Castles which reached vnto the clowdes lye now euen with the grouÌ„d Our Cities are like vnto plaine heathes wheron you may driue Carts God hath made me right well know to my cost his power and might He hath made me heare an horrible lesson We thought by our wisedomes to haue bene able to withstand the blow of his iustice howbeit there is neither wisedome nor councell against God We haue bene entrapped on euery side For wheÌ„ we thought to come out and to be in safetie we were fast intangled in his nets and the more haste we made to get out the faster were we masshed in the end were cast downe headlong into that punishment which he had prepared for vs like vnto the mariner who thinking to escape a shelf or flat falleth into a gulfe which swalloweth him vp For our misery is in deed a very gulfe where our fight is taken away and we brought back into an inaccessible wildernes where there is none to comfort vs in so much as that our eyes neuer geuing ouer weeping are able inough to drowne vs in our owne teares Nun. I neuer ô Lord looked to escape it for thou hast too too long had an eye vnto my sinnes and hast determined of the punishment which I should suffer it is ouer long ago since thou didst couple my sinnes together and holdest them fast linked within the hand of thy iustice In the end I found my selfe all at once oppressed and felt my sinnes as an hard and insupportable yoke tye me fast to be tormented I yelded my neck vnto the punishment as an oxe vnto the yoke vnder the hand of an vnmercifull master My misery gaue me no rest nor intermission so long
streames of bloud and thou hast seene them lying on their backs with their eyes vp vnto heauen beseeching thine ayde And thou ô Lord hast notwithstanding all this turned away thine eyes from them and as if thou haddest bene a God not to be intreated hast without either pitie or mercy run through them all with the sword of thy fury Tau Thou hast inuited all my neighbour nations round about me to come to my discomfiture as it were vnto a mariage and to take part of my spoiles Thou hast brought them in such great multitudes to take possession of me an to compasse me as that I can not deuise which way to escape theÌ„ Thou thy selfe hast sounded to the assault animated them to my destruction and stopped vp the passages for feare that any of vs should be saued And truly thy will hath bene done vpon all the children which I haue brought vp nay there is not one of them saued mine enemies haue made a shambles of theÌ„ they haue murdered and massacred them till they cryed hoâ— withall and lo seest thou them weary with killing yet carest thou not to see them do it to let them to do it and to cause them do it Hath the remembrance of our sins made thee forget the remembraÌ„ce of thy clemency Hast thou created vs in thy mercy to destâ—oy vs in thy fury Be thou then no more Almightie if thou wilt not become both all curteous all kind To be short be thou no more God without thou wilt be likewise pitifull Ha ô Lord why hast thou called vs thy people if thou wilt be no more our protector Why hast thou called vs thy childreÌ„ if thou wilt not deale with vs as a father Haue therefore ô Lord compassion vpon vs and seeing thy mercy is infinite euer since before the world was cause that thine ire which was neuer vntill our sins were may take end and dye with them and that as our repeÌ„tance hath set vs againe into the especiall way of obedience godlinesse so also it may bring vs againe into thy fauour CHAPTER III. Aleph IT is I euen I my selfe that hath so many times foreseene and foretold of the afflictions that should light vpon poore Ierusalem It is euen I that so often haue announced her misery and stirred her vp therewith vnto repentance but as my spirit of prophesie hath done her no good in her obstinacie no more hath it also done me For I my selfe am ouertaken with the common destruction as well as the rest For when the wrath of the liuing God commeth vppon a people it ordinarily cutteth downe the corne with the tares and darnell and bindeth vp as it were in one sheafe both the good and the bad For he hath suffred me sith it is so his pleasure to be led into a darke place of abode and hath bereaued me both of day and light I was confined and limited into a fearefull and darke prison where I saw neither sunne nor moone I may very well say that he hath borne an hard hand vpon me and that his grace was turned into an implacable indignation which had neither ease nor end Bet. He made me waxe old before my time my skinne wrinkled with sorrow and griefe my flesh fell away and my bones payned me as if they had bene broken in pieces Now the long continuance in prison made me thus feeble for I saw my selfe closed vp as I had bene walled in round about geuing me nothing but gall to feed on and torment to exercise my selfe withall But vnderstandest thou where they shut me vp verely euen in more obscure and darke places then those wherein the damned soules are Gimel What Must I haue such wide walles to keepe me in and must I haue such bolts and shackles at my heeles for feare of running away But alasse God was not pleased only thus to confine and limit me in such an hidious prison but after that the gates and windowes were shut he also closed vp his eares when I called vpon him In so much as that my soule was captiued as well as my body and was depriued of that sweet comfort which she was wonted to haue with God her comforter And this in very deed was the thing that astonyed me when as I sawe all my hope cut off at once For all my hope and trust was in God for when I had lost his fauour I then right well felt that I was in very deed a prisoner and that I had vtterly lost all my directions and that I was shut vp within a wall farre stronger then any stone or brasen wall for all the prisons in the world are nothing so cruell vnto a man as to be without the grace and fauour of God Daleth For he that should meete with an hungry Beare in the middest of a wildernesse could not be in greater danger then my selfe nor he that should meete a roaring Lyon hunting after his pray could not be more afrayd then I. For I sawe my selfe vtterly vndone not knowing what way to take For the wrath of God cut off the way from me in euery place it went out more speedily then any Lyon and layd on farre more stoutly then any Beare and then what resistance was I able to make and what else remayned for me but vtterly to despaire Thou wouldest verely and properly haue sayd that God had bound and set me vp as a Butt for him to shoote all the arrowes of his fury at me He. He drew out of the Treasure of his wrath as out of a well furnished Quiuer his arrowes of affliction and torment where-with he shot mee through and through brake in sunder my loynes euen as a man would breake a dogs backe with a great leaueâ— O poore miserable broken backt wretch that I am I am pulled strayned ioynt by ioynt and am left a laughing stocke vnto the whole world They made songs of me which they song euery day in the open streetes God gaue me most bitter drinke and made me very dronke with wormewood wine Vau. Alasse what a kinde of entertainement call ye this he made me eate bread that was halfe flintie and my poore teeth were brokeÌ„ with these dayntie morsels And me thought I was very well when as my bread was halfe knoden with ashes and in the end I grew very impatieÌ„t for my soule could neither abide the present miserie wherein I was nor yet hope for any better hereafter to come and so descryed she her selfe so that the ayd which I looked for at Gods hand was lost in very deed all my hope was cut off on that side I must no more make accompt of his grace for hee hath brought me sith it so liketh him vnto the end both of my miseries and also of my dayes Zain Neuerthelesse I straightway tooke my selfe with the manner said Ouâ— alasse poore Ieremiah canst thou tell what thou doest Is this all the benefit which thou hast reaped by thine
God which flourisheth and fructifieth vnder the husbandrie of his discipline Let our hearts lift vp them selues straight vnto heauen as noble and vpright plants and put foorth their thoughts as the branches and lift vp their motions thither as the flowres or blossoms and place their words as leaues let them bring foorth their good workes as their fruites and in looking vp alwayes vnto heauen make them selues worthie thereof and from thence looke for the growing and ripening of them And as yong plants in the hoatest time of sommer when as the yawning earth chappeth through drinesse looke for rayne from aboue to be refreshed euen so let vs also in the extremitie of our necessitie looke and call for the sweet milke of the grace of God to bedeaw our lips and sustayne our selues Now to the end that we might obtaine this grace let vs lift vp our hearts hands vnto him bowe our knees and prostrate our selues before his face in coÌ„fessing our sins beseeching him of mercy And let vs say vnto him It is true ô Lord that we haue sinned and do protest that we haue kindled thy wrath against vs and this is the iust occasion for which thou hast vnto this day made thy selfe inexorable vnto our prayers Samech But how inexorable Forsooth euen thus farre that when we haue thought to haue lifted vp our eyes vnto thee thy fury hath bleared them like thunder lightning Thou hast beaten and broken vs without all pitie or mercy All the world hath miserably forsaken vs we are like vnto the loppings and shreddings of trees and vnto the beesoms of an house which serue for none other purpose but to be cast into the fire To be short we haue bene thrust out amongst all the nations of the earth as a matter of opprobie and wrong Phe. Which of our enemies ô Lord is there that haue not had their mouths open to rayle against vs and looke which way soeuer we haue turned our selues we haue alwayes found that which we most eschued Our ruine and desolation lyeth wayting for vs like traps and snares set in the wayes where we might haue escaped and as one being in an ineuitable mischiefe I had none other recourse but vnto mine eyes My teares haue trickled downe aboundantly and haue bitterly bewayled my mishap and the misery of my fellow citizens and of thee my best beloued Ierusalem Ain And as our miseries neuer ceased no more also did mine eyes so as a man would haue verely sayd that through affliction mine heart was in the presse to squeeze teares out of it as men squeeze water out of a spunge Thus did I leade my life continually vntill such time as I had enforced thee ô Lord to haue pitie on me and had with my teares quenched the heat of thine anger What other things should I haue done when as I sawe before mine eyes so many Cities destroyed so many houses burnt so many Templs cast downe so many men slayne and so many mayds forced and defloured And surely I had had a very steely hart if I could haue held my selfe from weeping and although it had bene of steele yet had my dolor bene strong and able inough to haue molten it into weeping Sade Ha what a thing is this they draue vs before them as men driue cattle We fled from our enemies and yet they pursued vs we yelded our selues vnto them and yet they massacred vs and all this they did not geuing them any occasion of offence They led me into the bottome of the arse of a ditch and tyed a stone about my necke as they do about a dogs necke when they meane to drowne him And verely I had like to haue bene drowned for mine afflictions had aboundantly runne ouer the very crowne of mine head and had almost choked me and all the help that I had was to cry out and say O Lord I dye haue mercy vpon me Coph I was as it were in a bottomlesse depth in the hole of a prison I knew not but by my memorie whether there had bene eyther Skye or Sunne in the world so monstrous darke was the place wherein I was And yet ceased I not to call vpon thee my Lord my God and sent vp my faith wither my senses could by no meanes reach And thou neuer reiectedst me but receiuedst my prayer for my sobs in the end moued thee and made thee turne againe vnto thy first resolution I felt thee forthwith to assist and help me yea euen at the very first instant I say that I began to pray vnto thee And still me thought I heard thee say vnto my soule be of good courage feare not Resch And so ô Lord thou canst tell that as great a sinner as I am that thou wilt help and succour me euen for thy Christ his sake and for thy mercy promise and truth sake For thou that vnderstandest the very bottoms of our harts canst truly iudge that my soule hath bene carryed away vnto sinne by her senses and concupiscence but as soone as she felt thy rods she conuerted vnto thee her creator and redeemer for whom alone as she hath had life so also aduoweth she the restauration thereof after sinne For the question ô Lord is of the iudging betweene mine enemies and me whether it be reasonable that my misery should serue them for a sport or whether it be hye time that they should beare part of the punishmeÌ„t Iudge it ô Lord thou that knowest the righteousnes of my cause For thou knowest their thoughts their cruell purposes the plagues which they haue prepared for me I haue mine health by reason of their inhabilitie for if they had as great power as they haue will I had abidden as much as they had bene able to haue layd vpon me Syn. Thou hast sufficiently seene ô Lord that they haue dealt with me as farre as they might and thou knowest also that there is no iniury which they haue not committed and spoken against me And to be sâ—ort thou hast very well knowne their counsels and thoughts And I do verely thinke that there as neuer word came out of their lips wherwith they purposed not to hurt me and beleeue me their minds were neuer vnoccupied in finding out some cunning deuise or other to hurt me And coÌ„sider I beseech thee whether euer they arose or lay downe that their talke was not on me neyther had they euer any other matter to sing on but to speake euil of me Tau Go to then ô Lord seeing they haue ouer come thy patience wilt thou not daunt their malice and sith nothing can driue them to repentance wilt thou not punish them And seeing they take so great pleasure in ill doing shall they not feele and abide thy displeasure by course For once I am sure that thou art iust and sith thou art so thou must needs pay them home according to the works of their owne hands And seeing that through their pride
and arrogancie they haue forsaken thee to follow their own presumption thou must needs leaue them in their error and they must needs perseuere in their sinne and this hard scale of impenitencie must of force couer ouer their whole hearts and a greater curse canst thou not lay vpon them then this then to blinde their minds and take away from them their senses For when thou shalt come at once in the day of vengeance with a rod of iron in thine hand and breake them all in shards like a potters vessell there shall be nothing vnder the heauens by many thousands of degrees so miserable as they for they shall find no mercy at all because they them selues were mercylesse they shall be poore and there shall be none to helpe them and they shall be afflicted and none shall comfort them In the meane while ô Lord haue thou an eye vnto vs and second our patience with thine holy mercy to the end that as long as thou shalt please to exercise vs with the iniuries and opprobries of the wicked our hearts fayle vs not and that our soules may alwayes be able to lift them selues vp vnto thee and looke for thine ayde taking the miseries which it pleaseth thee to send vs for a tryall of our faith hoping that after our long patiēce thou wilt crowne vs as victorious wrastlers and cause vs triumphantly leade the wicked against whome we continually wrastle here in this life CHAPTER IIII. Aleph I Knowe O Lord right well that we must yeeld vnto thy will and that we do but kicke against the pricke in complayning of thee Neuerthelesse I can not keepe in my griefes much lesse my sighs when as I behold this strange desolation And although my soule biddeth me hold my peace yet can not mine heart keepe it selfe from sighing For who ô Lord would not haue pitie of this to see all the beawtifull golden walls of thy temple bescrabled and scraped all the goodly golden vessels so finely wrought now melted and clipt in pieces all the ritch Iasper Porphirie of thy sanctuary brokē layd in gobbets cast about all the corners of the Citie in so much that that place which shone as bright as the Sunne is now become like a ruinous darke dungeon Beth. Besides who would not grone to see the children of the best houses who were so much made of and so beloued as that they were accompted as pretious as any gold to be now cast vpon the leystalles like the shards of a broken pot Ha ô Lord our God this was not mens worke but thine owne Yea why forsookest thou after this sort thine owne most deare and most excellent workemanship createdst thou them to destroy them Gimel O I would thou haddest shewed as great fauour at the least vnto the childrē of Ierusalem as thou diddest vnto the most vile abiect creatures on the earth for the very yong serpents them selues finde their dams teats who bring them vp vntill such time as they are able to shift for them selues Alasse thou hast made the women of Ierusalem to become more cruell then serpents more sauage then the women of Lamia which haue no womanlike shape no◠condition but the very face for their hearts and the rest of the members of their bodies are most hidious and fearefull Nay there is not so little amitie amongst the very Ostridges who amongst the foules of the ayre are the most wilde and vntameable as there is in the women of Ierusalem by reason of their continuall affliction which hath so degenerated them Daleth Wee haue seene the yong children that there lay streaking out them selues yawning and gaping with lips as dry as sticks their tongs cleeuing vnto the rooffes of their mouthes with very drought and sucking winde instead of milke for their mothers at the first offered them their breasts but they were so dry as that they yelded nothing but bloud In so much that the poore wretches hauing nothing to breede any iuice or moysture in them dryed vp whereby they fell into a consumption and so most pitifully languishing and wearing away forthwith dyed And they that were somewhat bigger ranne after their fathers and hanging about their heeles cryed so lamentably vpon them for bread as that it would haue made the stones in the streete to haue rent in sunder with compassion But what shall I say verely they had nothing to geue them for all that their fathers could do for thē was to wish them dead and curse the day that euer they begot them to see them now in so miserable an estate He. O Lord our God what an alteration of life was this yea what an inexorable crueltie This is a miserie which scourgeth the whole world and whippeth both hye and lowe For they that were wont to liue most delicately and pamper their bodies begged in the hye wayes and dyed of honger yea and they that were wonted to lye on their downe beds and had their couerings of veluet and silke and troad vppon nothing but vppon Tapistry thought them selues now to be in very good case if so be they could get a dunghill to lye vpon Vau. In so much that for any thing that I can see ô Lord thou iudgest our sinnes to be more haynous then the sinnes of Sodome For thou hast punished vs more cruelly then euer thou diddest them For they were ouerthrowne in a moment and fire from heauen deuoured them presently And besides there was none but thy selfe that dealt in this for she was not committed vnto the mercy of men left vnto the discretion of her enemies nor yet vnto the iniuries that follow the taking of Cities Zain It is a common saying that there is no right iudging of misery but by way of comparison and then beginneth it to touch the quicke when as a man compareth his estate wherein he presently standeth with that wherein he sometime was As when I bethinke me of the magnificence of those of Nazareth and see what miserable caytifes they now are For it was a maruellous glorious thing to see them come vnto Ierusalem to the feast in their robes as white as the driuen snow so neate and white were their clothes their faces were smoothly paynted and glistered like yuorie and their cheekes as ruddie as any rose or rather as ruddie as any rubie Het But they that had seene them now might haue sayd that they had blowne the cole all their life long at a smythes forge or had bene begrimed for the nonce and would haue rather taken them for the Lazars of a spittle house then otherwise for their bones beare out their skins and a man would haue sayd that their skins had bin like parchmēt wrapt about a dead carrion and I verely beleeue that there is as much moysture in a dry slough or ditch as was in any of their bodies Thet. Yea and they which past the edge of the sword came to a far better market then they for their misery