it by patience the 13. to the Romans Therfore doth belong hereunto that is there to the time of sufferinges these two vertues patience and hope for with these two winges specially faith and hope you must enforce your selfe to flée vp into heauen But patience muste fight the battell with the dragon which wil strengthen and hinder your way to heauen Ninthely nowe welbeloued séeing that your sicknesse somwhat lingereth and that God for a time doeth prolong his helpe and deliuerance and will not soudenly as we desire pray and think deliuer you but wil awhile try proue your faith for your faith must be tried by aduersitie and temptation as gold is tried and proued in the fire Therefore you must be patient For albeit our Lorde GOD for a time withdraweth his merciful helpe yet will he not long be absent It should not stande with his godly nature mercie that he shoulde for euer forsake you being his childe through faith in Christe Wherfore though you a little while for the time of your suffering must sing with Christe the lamentable song and say My GOD my GOD wherefore hast thou forsaken me yet will not God long tarrie nor be absent he suffereth you to swimme a while but not vtterly so be drowned he suffereth you peraduenture one day but he will by and by afterwards raise you vp againe and giue you euerlasting peace and happinesse Therefore albeit you doe not for a little time sée Christe in his throne of grace yet shall you shortly sée him againe Iohn the .16 For his anger that is to say his fatherly correction endureth but the twinkling of an eye and he hath pleasure and delight to saue And therefore doeth our Lorde God him selfe comfort you in the Prophet Esai the .54 Cap saying thus Beholde I haue hidden my face a little from thee in the short time of anger neuertheles I will haue mercie vpon thee with my continuall fauour saith the Lorde God our deliuerer Therefore saith Saint Paule the seconde Epistle the .4 Chap. to the Cor. Although our trouble whiche is but transitorie and easie though we thinke it very heauie much and long yet doth it breede and bring foorth an euerlasting and a meruilous weightie and vnmeasurable dignitie and estimation vnto vs whiche we cannot beholde with these eyes but with inuisible eyes For no eye hath sene nor no eare heard nor no mans heart can expresse that GOD hath prepared for them that loue him Esai 64. And .1 Cor. 2. But in these things must Gods children a while be pacient suffering polished and pressed and fully bethinke and consider these comfortable sayings which be spoken vnto vs as to children the .12 to the Hebr. out of â—he Prouerbes of Solomon in the third Chapter as it is there written Take â—ot slightly but earnestly regard the Lordes â—hastening or correction and dispaire not â—hen he punisheth thee For whom the Lord â—oueth him doeth hee punish correcteth â—uery childe that he taketh to him selfe If â—ou abide his correction patiently then â—oeth God shewe him selfe as to his â—hildren for where is a sonne whome â—he father doeth not correct Howbeit â—uery chastening while it is a doing it â—oeth not reioyce vs but maketh vs sad â—nd pensiue but afterward it bringeth 〈◊〉 ioyful fruite of righteousnes to them â—hat be exercised in it And therefore â—aith Saint Iames in his first Chapter Esteme it for a perfect ioy when you chance â—o fall into many temptations and know that â—our faith if it be perfect worketh pacience â—ut patience shall perfectly abide vnto the â—â—nde To the end it may be perfect and haue â—t all no manner of imperfection .. For He that abideth to the ende he shal be blesâ—â—d Matth. the .10 Therfore a Christian may well boast him selfe of trouble séeing that we knowe that Trouble bringeth patience patience bringeth experience experience bringeth hope hope will neuer be confouÌ„ded Let vs not be ashamed for the loue of GOD is powred out into our heartes through the holy ghost which is giuen vnto vs the .6 to the Rom. Thus shall you in patience looke for the mercifull helpe and visitation of God and in your heart sing the pleasaunt song of thankesgiuing of the holy man Simeon Luke the second and say thus Lord nowe lettest thou thy seruaunt departe in peace as thou hast saide For mine eyes haue seene thy saluation whiche thou hast prepared for al people To be a light to lighten the heathen and to be the praise of all thy people of Israel For I haue nowe God be praised obteined the knowledge of thy saluation which is in the forgiueing of sinnes Through the tender mercie of our God whereby he hath visited vs that came from aboue That he might appeare to them that satte in darkenesse and in the shadowe of death and leade our feete into the way of peace as Zacharias did sing Luke the second The tenth welbeloued your sickenesse continueth and doth not leaue off and you thinke long for helpe yet must you giue ouer these things ye must not shrinke from God nor be faint harted but in patience haue a perfect and stedfast hope that God will not be long away though he séeme to tarrie but or it be long will come and help you yea the longer God withdraweth from you his gratious helpe the mightier and better hereafter will your helpe and comfort be for God standeth yet a while behind the wal as a louing and friendly bridegrome and looketh through the window priuily in vpon his spouse and marketh whether she doth so loue her bridgrome that she will wayt and tarrie for him and that she may perceiue that he at the length will reache out his hande to her plucke her foorth bring her home His loue is as strong as death but vnder it is hidden very life and felicitie Therfore despaire not euen in the very daunger of death and sing once againe with this congregation and with all the holy elected Saintes of GOD in your heart in this manner In the middest of our life we be compassed about with death whom shal we séeke to for help that we may get grace thou only oh Lord art high we be sorry for our misdéedes which haue offended thée oh holy Lord God oh mightie Lord God oh holy merciful Sauiour euerlasting God let vs not be drowned in the bitter danger of death Lord haue mercy vpon vs. In the middest of death the gaping of hell assaulteth vs who can deliuer vs from this great peril that canst thou Lorde alone doe thy great mercy hath compassion on our complaint and great miserie Holy Lorde GOD oh mightie Lord God oh holy mercifull Sauiour oh euerlasting God let vs not dispaire for the déepe pit of hell Lord haue mercy vpon vs. In the middest of the sorrowes of hell our sinnes lye hard vpon vs then whether shal we flée from hence
shall set against death For death hath layde hand vpon this innocent Lord and wearied him without al right and equitie whereby death euen lost al his strength and might so that he can do no more when this Lord laieth hand vpon him and taketh to him selfe those that be his Therefore be not afraide for Death is swallowed vp in victorie 1. Cor. 15. You haue a great vordeale or aduauntage for as much as you haue of your side the most valiant and most mightie which shall neuer be able to be ouercome yea him that is Lord both of death of life If death come vnto you would deuour you wil eate you vp and swallowe you downe yet can our Lord God whiche is the right life it selfe by his almightie cōming and might make you aliue againe yea in the middest of death holde you by life and make you liue for euer For you shall not denie or refuse to make this exchaunge where you shall haue an euerlasting and blessed life in stead of a transitorie perishing and labourious life which is ful of miserie misfortunes and plagues Let death take from you such a life as will last but the twinckling of an eye which fléeth and passeth away like a shadowe and our Lorde giue you an euerlasting life Amen Thirtéene Well nowe dearly beloued if your sinne done and committed do tempt you again and your sore misdéedes which you haue done therefore would dismay you make you faint harted heauie pensiue as though Christe would disdaine you bicause of your sinnes and so not take you to him and to his fauour then shall you set before your eyes Christ your God and Lorde as the holy scripture setteth him foorth not follow your owne imagination your reason For in the holy Scripture you shal finde here and there how maruellous comfortable our Lorde Christe hath ben at all times to miserable sinners howe loath he is to contemne or despise the miserable troubled assaulted and sorrowful sinner howe he doth not withdraw him selfe from them or with drawe his helpe from them whiche vndoubtedly is a great comfort to al troubled sinfull hearts For behold and remember the whole life of our Lorde Christ then shall you not only perceiue that he hath not onely taken to his fauour one or two sinners hath taken pitie only vppon them but he hath flocked into the middest of sinners wherby he might helpe them foorth of their sinnes First sée his generation his great grandfather had he not many sinners in his petigrée as Iuda by name Dauid Manasses Thamar Rachab Barsaba and such like and very many moe Wherefore doth our faithfull and good Lorde not be ashamed flée from sorrowful and penitent sinners why doth he not Surely euen therfore that therby all sorrowfull sinners shuld the more boldly haue a hartie resort and recourse vnto him specially séeing that he vppon such sinners could take and shewe his truth loue and friendship wherby they might thereby winne and haue a liuelier passage and fréedome to beholde all goodnesse all trueth and helpe to be in this only bearer and carrier of our sinnes Beholde further and looke vpon the birth of our lord Christ in his birth So soone as he was borne into the world he suffered him selfe to be séene made open and to be knowne through the Angels from heauen to the poore people specially to the shepheards in the fielde there must to them be shewed this comfortable ioy Behold to you this day is borne a Sauiour This ioy shal all people haue There by his Angels is the innocent childe Iesus giuen and declared first to the poore shepheards and after that to the whole world But who be the shepheards who be al people surely al poore and miserable sinners for whose sake Christe came and was borne to helpe them out of their sinnes As also then such a name was giuē vnto him namely Iesus that is to say a Sauiour that shall loose his people from their sinnes Behold also and sée vprightly wherfore was Christe at the eight day circumcised so shed his innocent bloud Surely for the cause of poore and wretched sinners For Saint Paule saith Gala. 4 that Christ hath yealded him selfe therfore vnder the lawe and circumcision to the intent he might deliuer them that were vnder the lawe But who were more hardly snarled vnder the lawe then the wretched sinner Sée yet to whom did Christ preach and whome did he turne and conuert Any other then the poore sinner To whome hath he friendlier spokē helped or counselled made whole both in body and soule then euen the poore cumbred and sorrowfull sinner Mark also with whom did Christ wander goe about here through the Iewishe lande and commaunded that they should preach abroad his wholsome Gospell Surely with his welbeloued Apostles But what were they Wretched sinners as Matthewe and likewise Peter yea did they not shewe them selues many times before Christe to be weake worthy reproch and fraile How oft hath our good Lord friendly rebuked them taught them taken in good part their weaknesse helped them suffered and borne with their faults and wants and yet neither condemned them nor cast them away but continually handled them after the best manner whereby at the last he might deliuer them frō their sinnes There hath Christ not only receiued poore sinners in so much as he touched the hurt of their soul but also the harmes of their body Howe many thousand men hath he many times fedd when their hunger and néede went into his heart and he tooke pitie of their miserie Oh how many amongest them were miserable sinners yea infidels and not worthy to haue and receiue such goodnesse at Gods hand How many hath he healed in their bodies from agues dropsie and leprosie Item such as were lame crooked blind and haunted and possessed with euill spirits Yea some he did raise from death it selfe and alwayes shewed him selfe in all things as the very true Sauiour of the whole world by that meanes to bring the Infidels to faith and to be short done the best to euery man and shut out no man that had néede of his helpe and had called vpon him as the holy Euangelistes here and there do euidently and plainly declare With which louing comfortable and gratious examples of Christe they shew vnto vs his great vnspeakble loue and mercy and declare shew the same vnto vs with all diligence Whereby we may learne to knowe aright our Lorde Christe specially that he is therefore come to helpe miserable sinners both in body and soule both from temporall and euerlasting hurte whervnto sathan hath brought al mankinde For Christe is therefore come that he should destroy the worke of sathan 1. Ioh. 3. Whome so euer he helpeth in soule him helpeth he also in body And though he doe not alwayes hourely declare the same in this world yet at Doomes day it will appeare where he
be sinne to the intent that we shoulde be made in him righteousnesse auayleable before him 2. Cor. 5. Therefore we nowe beleeue saith Saint Paule further Rom. 3. that man is made righteousnesse without the workes of the lawe onely through faith As Saint Peter also saith in the tenth Chapter of the Actes Of Christe saith he witnesse all the Prophets that through his name al that beleeue in him shall haue forgiuenesse of their sinns For Christ saith S. Peter further 1. Pet. 2. hath offered vp our sinnes on his body vpon the crosse that we being dead to sinne might liue to righteousnes by whose wounds ye are made whole Such and like sayings is the holy Scripture very ful that altogether witnesseth that we be made iust righteous and sanctified through faith in Iesus Christ without any our owne doinges For Christe is the only ransome for our sinnes for we be bought through the precious bloud of Christe Fiftly ye shall nowe forgiue euery man willingly from the bottome of your heart forget and forgiue what so euer hath béene done against vs whether ye knowe it or knowe it not whether it be with worde or déede by any meanes done against you for séeing that our Lorde God of méere grace hath cast behinde him and forgiuen you so many sinnes which you haue so many times committed against him from your childhoode till this time small and great sinnes which many oftentimes ye haue committed all the dayes of your life so that if God should reckon all your olde sinnes and deale with you after his strong iudgement aske satisfaction punish those offences he might gréeuously visite you as a righteous God and yet doth he not so nor neuer hereafter will doe but as a mercifull father of speciall grace forgetteth and forgiueth all and the same will neuer more thinke vpon nor reckon but couer them and scrape them out Likewise doeth he also require for thankes laude and prayse none other thing but ye forgiue and forget your neighbours what so euer they haue at any time offēded against you And you shal not only your offenders gladly and heartily forgiue but also againe shewe your selfe against them thankfull And for the poore widowes and fatherlesse children according to your abilitie prouide something whereby they may be fed clothed and mainteined so shal they at the last day be your witnesses that your faith was a perfect faith séeing it is liuely by workes Gala. 6. Make your election sure through such works of loue as Saint Peter saith 2. Pet. 1. ¶ If the sicke body be any thing rich then a body may bee the more earnest and diligent to exhort them to almes giuing but so that the sicke person be not persuaded to put trust in his owne workes and bring him into a vaine hope that he shal purchase heauen by his almes Therefore consideration must be had to the soule that it be not lead out of the right way into the way that is full of briers and thornes Howe they that stand by are to be exhorted to pray for the sicke Tenthly beloued in Christ our Lorde séeing we be at this present here gathered together I put you in remēberance that ye will be mindfull of our true Christian duetie that we are bound one to an other as members of Christe that ye will diligently and earnestly remember the griefes and sicknesses of this our friend and not onely haue an earnest compassion vppon him but also earnestly and truely pray to our Lorde God for him that our Lord God will behold his owne sonne in whom he doth much delight that he will mitigate and shorten the great sicknesse paines and passions of this our sicke friende and graunt vnto him a true Christian patience that with all confidence he may wholy put his affiaunce and comfort in Gods mercy and continually vnto the end stedfastly abide in true faith vppon Christe our deliuerer and in those thinges that apperteine to our blessed hope to remaine and abide willingly and patiently take and beare suche his crosse layde vpon him vntill our Lord God of his mercy do visit him and deliuer him and bring him at his appointed time out of this trouble and miserie to euerlasting ioy and felicitie Séeing then that our Lord Christ hath promised vs then we be gathered together in his name he will gratiously heare vs and graunt those thinges that we desire Now let vs call vpon almightie God in true faith and pray in the name of Christ our Lord so will he certeinly at the last heare vs according to his fatherly will good pleasure therefore make your prayer to GOD our heauenly father and say Our father c. Almightie GOD vouchsafe mercifully to graunt our prayer through Christe our Lorde Amen ¶ If the sicknesse do linger and driue off so that the patient be assaulted with grieuous sicknesse then may a body sometime shewe him of these comforts following and alwayes declare one comfort or two For like as a body must nowe and then releeue the sicke body with comfortable medicines and brothes likewise shal now and then releeue and quicken the soule whereby the soule may haue her sustenaunce And yet we shall not be tedious to the sicke and make him haue no delight or be offended in his head and euer to haue regard whether he be troubled with any temptation and whether he haue a desire and lust to heare Gods word for the sicke must haue his ease and quietnesse So that with too much reading and crying vpon him ye bring him into raging or passions and make his head ydle feeble and weake Herein ought euery body to vse discretion and put difference FFirst welbeloued in Christe let not any tentatiō make you faint harted for Christe is a valiant mightie king ouer death sinne and all aduersitie Therefore abide vpon this stone which is Iesus Christ stande fast and so cannot the gates of hell preuaile against you Then this Lord and King is gone before you vnto death he hath trodē the pathe and made the way and also hath ouerthrown death taken his strength from him so that death cannot hurt you hinder you nor kéepe you backe Therefore be not dismayed euen in the middest of death and thinke thus In the name of God Gods will be don All this geare will be gone within a twinkling of an eye Then shall I passe thorough the snares of death Then haue I throwen at my backe all misfortune feare and desperation For this present death is vnto the faithful a safe port through which I shall goe into heauen Then muste sinne death hell paines passions hunger thirst frost trouble and all aduersitie together ceasse and leaue-off Therefore be not dismaied for if GOD be with you who shal be against you Say avaunt and fare well nowe the whole worlde and also the Prince of this worlde whiche woulde hinder you the way to euerlasting life for as much
as Christe is your Iustice your Loadesman and your Guide Secondely well be loued if Gods wrath threatening and punishment shoulde feare you dismay you or trouble your mind as though our Lord God as an earnest and seuere Iudge should deale with you according to his extreme iustice for your sinnes past then shall you from henceforth call vpon our Lord Christe the vnspotted Lamb of GOD whiche hath taken your sinnes vppon him and thus flée from the place of Gods iustice commit your selfe to the mercie seate of Christe our Lorde For ye haue a speciall and faithfull promise of our Lord Iesus Christe for he hath bestowed and giuen him selfe for wretched sinners and so bound and pledged him selfe for all penitent sinners that he will stand to them and deliuer them from Gods wrath Also Saint Paule witnesseth 1. Thes 1. God hath our Lorde Iesus saith the holy Apostle raised vp from death that hath deliuered vs from the wrath to come And 1. Thes 5. saith Saint Paule further God hath not appointed vs to inherit his wrath but to inherit his blessednesse through our Lorde Iesus Christe whiche died for vs. Marke and consider this diligently Thirdly welbeloued if the worlde do trouble you and though some folkes specially your enimies and euil willers reioyce and be glad that you according to their desires be so gréeuously handled and that you be now by God so fore punished and that they therfore mocke scorne despise you and make greate cheare at your trouble yet let not that trouble nor tempt you for séeing that wicked people mocked Christe at the houre of his death and made great cheare at it likewise shall you of the worlde not escape such thinges Séeing you be a member of Christe you muste suffer in your body all such troubles as wanted in Christes passion as Saint Paule saith the first Chap. to the Colossians Therefore is the worlde a stubborne proud and wicked child of sathan whiche is full of all wickednesse dissimulatioÌ„ mockerie backbiting Christ for our comforte hath tolde vs before that we muste suffer and beare many thinges of the worlde and that the worlde shoulde laugh vs to scorne and shoulde reioyce at our trouble and we on the other side a little while shuld be pensiue and sorrowfull But Christ comforteth vs and saith Your sorrow shal be turned into ioy Iohn 6. And Iohn 17. In the world you shall haue sorrowe care but comfort your selfe I haue ouercome the worlde Thus shall you in faith beare all the wickednesse of the world suffer and ouercome For Our faith is the victorie that hath ouercome the worlde Iohn 15. Fourthly moreouer dearely beloued if Moses the lawegiuer set vppon you and will make you afraid with his debt booke and put you out of countenaunce for your great debtes notable sinnes whiche you are bounde to satisfie and pay the terrible iudgement of God as that ye are a breaker or transgressor of gods lawes and therfore will call you to accompt and giue euidence against you and condemne you with your own hand writing your own conscieÌ„ce knowing the same to be true complaine vpon you and accuseth you then shall you before Moses by and by bring forth your Christian libertie wherby Christ hath made you frée and deliuered you from the lawe and from the curse and malediction thereof For If Gods sonne haue made you free then be you free in deede Iohn 8. And as Saint Paul further doth shew and confirme such fréedome Galat. 3. where he saith thus Christe hath deliuered vs from the curse of the lawe when he was made a curse for vs. Thus can the curse neuer more ouerrunne nor trouble you séeing it hath once all together fallen vppon Christe the most innocent Lambe Therefore séeing Christe is the ende of the lawe whosoeuer beleeueth on him is made righteous Rom. 10. Therfore saith Saint Peter Be you lustie and strong Actes 15. that â—e are nowe taught that forgiuenesse of sinâ—es commeth by this man and of all them whereof ye could not be made righteous in the lawe of Moses Who so euer beleueth on Christ is righteous Here is nowe onely all sinnes taken away So that no man can or dare lay any thing to the charge of the faithfull neither Moses nor the lawe Therfore be of good comfort Fiftly furthermore dearely beloued I doe aduise you that you will not suffer the great weight and burden of your sinnes to presse and weigh you downe and trouble you For sinne I assure you is an heauie burden to a fearefull conscience Wherefore continually cast your sinnes from you and out of your consciences and caste them vppon Christ for he is the right carrier of our sinnes as holy Saint Iohn witnesseth Iohn 1. where he saith Behold this is the Lambe of God that beareth or carrieth away the sinns of the world Therefore let the Lorde and valiaunt Champion take vppe your sinnes and carrie them vppon him selfe For God hath appointed him thereunto as Saint Paule saith where he saith thus GOD hath appointed him namely Christ that neuer knewe sinne to be sinne it selfe for our sakes to the intent that we shoulde be by him that righteousnesse that is auayleable before god Behold this righteous and innocent Lord hath taken all your sinnes vppon him selfe borne them satisfied for them and ransomed them and hath clothed you decked and trimmed you with his innocent righteousnesse and iustice For Christ saith the Prophete Esaie 53. is for our sinns wounded and for our sinnes beaten and smitten Correction is laide vppon him to the intent that we should haue peace and by his wounds should be healed Behold for Gods sake thinke vpon this with all diligence ernestly Christ saith the Prophet is wounded for our sinnes whereby we might be made whole The wrath the correctioÌ„ is cleane gone ouer him to the intent that we should be without correction might inioy peace with god So haue you deliueraunce in Christe by his bloud namely forgiuenes of your sinnes according to the richnesse of his grace Ephe. 1. For Christe is therefore come into this worlde to make sinners holy blessed 1. Tim. 1. As Christ witnesseth of him selfe Matth. 18. And Luke 19. The sonne of man saith he is come to seeke and to make blessed that that is lost For God hath not sent his sonne into the worlde that he should condemne the world but that the world by him shold be made hapie whosoeuer beleeueth on him shall not be iudged Also Christe is the forgiuenesse of our sinnes Beléeue this comfortable saying from the bottome of your heart and stay your selfe more vppon Gods mercifull promise then of the deceites of sathan and of the daungerous imaginations of your reason Giue God the honour bicause he is so merciful a God that of a wretched sinner he will make a child of God if a man
you very stoutly and that continually with many and diuers temptations and thinketh thus with so many and sundrie assaults and forces to dismay amaze enféeble match make desperate a féeble and vnexperienced Christian wherby he may driue an vnexperienced Christian at the last to put him selfe at all aduentures to giue ouer and yeld him selfe to euery temptation and to be ouercome to the intent that at the last he may fall into doubt yeald him selfe wholy prisoner to the wicked enimie and to submit him selfe vnto him from which our Lord defend you of his good grace with his holy spirite Amen Therfore if now at the last any such come vnto you and that sathan will lay vnto you that God after his maiestie is a great deale too high mightie to haue any regarde or to make any reckoning of you be gratious to you shewe you mercy then let such high imaginations and thoughts passe which touch the vnsearchable maiestie of God and come from thence to Christes humanitie and howe he tooke vppon him our nature and beginne at his cradell to take holde vpon God that is most high and too farr aboue our reach For In Christ dwelleth the whole fulnesse of the Godhead bodily Colos 2. And as Christe him selfe saith Io. 14. He that seeth me saith Christe to Philip hee seeth the father Doest thou not beleue that I am in the father and that the father is in me Therefore thus begin with Saint Thomas Iohn 20. and call thus vpon Christ say My God my Lorde Thus shall you séeke out the maiestie of God finde him and take holde on him that is only in Christe there is the euerlasting godhead and high maiestie onely to be sought and found and without our Lorde Christ shall you neuer finde God nor lay hand vpon him therefore thus cry with the woman of Chanaan Oh thou sonne of Dauid haue mercy vpon me Matth. 15. The thirtéenth And if beloued temptation after this sort would preuaile against you as though god were not nigh you neither in heauen nor in earth to succour and helpe you but that he doth vtterly despise and forsake you that sathan woulde lay and cast before you mocking and blasphemie and say Beholde where is thy God vppon whome thou hast so long trusted beholde howe well he heareth thée beholde what haste he maketh to help thée how wisely hast thou committed thy selfe to him either what great care hath he of thée he suffereth thee to sticke fast and starue in thy greatest danger perils Oh surely this is not the right God that thou takest for the right God and whom thou honourest callest vpon else would he neuer suffer thée now so miserably to be destroyed perish c. WheÌ„ any such or the like blasphemie of sathan is laid before you then holde your peace be quiet at such blasphemie neuer dispute with sathaÌ„ but by by turne you to Christe crucified to Gods sonne him selfe and cal vpon him with your whole hart that he will come and ayde you with his holy spirite and strike sathan that he may be driuen away from you and call vppon Christe your mediatour onely that he wil stand betwéene the high maiestie of God and you miserable sinner and do like a good mediatour will withdrawe his great and mightie righteousnesse and iustice take your sinnes vpon him and so goe before you intreate and reconcile you Otherwise will the maiestie of God be too much too highe and terrible so that you shall before God be afraid amazed and out of countenance Therefore take this Lord and mediatour by the hand if ye will drawe nigh to God and haue any thing to do with him For this mediatour hath ben a long time ordeined by God himselfe for vs that we through him might be reconciled to God as witnesseth Saint Paul. 1. Tim. 2. where he saith thus There is one God and one meediatour betweene God and man namely the man Iesus Christe that hath giuen him selfe for all for deliueraunce The fourtéenth If welbeloued your sinne doth nowe accuse you for that you not onely in your youthe when your body was sound and lustie did sinne offend God but also euen now in your sicknesse ye haue displeased God by impatience murmuring misbeléefe c. as we al be borne in sinne be sinners and so remaine and abide till we come to our graue therefore let not your sinne in any case make you despaire but acknowlege and confesse and accuse your selfe before your Lord God and be sorrie for them with all your heart aske mercy therefore before God in Christe our Lorde For it is impossible in this life that in the sight of God we shoulde be found so cleare pure and without fault or sinne as holy Saint Iohn witnesseth .1 Iohn .1 where he saith thus If we say we haue no sinne then shall we deceiue our selues and the trueth is not in vs. Therefore in the middest of sinne we haue this onely comfort when we acknowledge our sinne the vnquietnesse of our conscience and the trouble of our hearts cumbereth vs that we call then vpon our atturney Christ the Lord to the intent that he for euer be gratious vnto vs intreat speak for vs towards his deare father as then Saint Iohn when we sticke in sinne comforteth vs. 1. Ioh. 2. where he saith thus If any man sinne yet haue we an aduocate to the father Iesus Christe that maketh vs righteous and he is the attonement for our sinnes From hence shall you séeke youre refuge and succour and in euery assaulte of your sinnes comfort your selfe that you haue such a peacemaker before God the father whome the father doth accept and allowe that can speake well and is eloâ—â—ent and can handle your cause and plead for you best Surely this is a gret and a perfect comfort that we haue our fleshe and bloud sitting aboue at Gods right hand the father which doeth take vppon him the whole progenie of man intreateth for vs pleadeth our cause turneth the wrath of GOD from vs as holy S. Paule also witnesseth Rom. 8. where he saith thus Christ is at the right hand of God and maketh intercession for vs. This is his holy office that he deliuereth wretched sinners from Gods anger defendeth and kéepeth them therefore flée only to this Lord Christe when your sinne grieueth or troubleth you The fiftéenth If now in these long lingering assaults and conflicts welbeloued your heart waxe cold be vnlustie drowsie as you thinke that there is no more faith in your heart and that for vnlust you can neither pray nor beléeue yet shall you not therefore giue ouer or be afraid for the Lord God bringeth his many times so déepe vnder the crosse that they can neither beléeue nor hope and thinke with them selues that their heartes be vtterly cold and frosen yea very stiffe that neither
not though I be a very wretched sinner altogether for these causes séeing that thou by thy worde hast commaunded and promised that I shal be heard in what daunger and trouble so euer I be when I call vpon thée and that then I shall honour thée and euer acknowledge thée to be the true and very God séeing I perceiue that what so euer thou promisest that thou dost perfourme effectually Therefore beléeue I certeinly thy worde that thou wilt not denie it but vndoubtedly perfourme whatsoeuer thou hast once spoken therfore I beséech thée from the bottome of my heart that thou wilt help me out of my trouble and sicknesse and neuer forsake me but gratiously send me thy fatherly helpe and deliuer me from my distresse For there is no body vpon whō I can perceiue any helpe or goodnesse but only vpon thée therefore helpe thou me my lord and God but not according to my deserts worthinesse or goodnes but through the deserts of thy sonne Iesus Christe which hath purchased vnto me from thée all grace and fatherly fauour him dost thou loue and hast great pleasure in him and therfore thou wilt not forsake me for his sake but rather shewest vnto me all goodnesse therfore I commit my self wholy vnto thy mercy and fatherly goodnesse and put my whole cause vnto thée as to my louing father that thou wilt deliuer me out of all this trouble griefe weaknes paines when it shal please thy godly will therfore I will not appoint vnto thée neyther time nor space but earnestly hope vpon thée that thou wilt heare me and defend me though my case appeare very straunge and as impossible as it may be for thou art almightie hast might and power ouer all things and besides this thou art my father and art willing to doe it if it were nowe necessarie Therfore at thy hand I looke for al goodnesse be it vnto me according vnto thy true promise Amen Thirdly moreouer welbeloued let vs once againe lift vp our heartes and mindes vnto him from whome all help and goodnesse commeth chiefly vnto the father of all light which giueth euery good gift gratiously heareth vs Therfore séeing that your paines necessitie miserie and griefes stil continue therefore pray vnto our Lord God with holy Dauid and say thus Oh Lord punish me not in thine anger correct me not in thine me Lord be gratious vnto me for I am feeble heale me Lorde for my bones be afraide Turne thee Lord and deliuer my soule help me according to thy pleasure be not far from me for trouble is at hand for here is none that can helpe Remember Lorde thy mercy and thy goodnesse which hath ben since the world beganne Remember not the sinnes of my youth nor mine offences but thinke vpon me after thy mercy and according to thy goodnesse Lorde haue mercy vppon my misdeedes which be very great turne thee to me be gratious vnto me for I am forsaken and in miserie the heauinesse of my heart is great lead me out of my necessitie and need Behold my miserie and distresse and forgiue me all mine offences Lorde be gratious vnto me according to thy goodnesse and blot out all my sinnes after thy great mercy wash me cleane from mine offences make me pure from my sinnes for I acknowledge myne offences and my misdeedes be euer before me On thee alone haue I sinned and haue done euill in thy sight Hide thy face from my sinnes and blot out all mine offences Make a cleane heart within me and giue me a newe right spirit Cast me not out of thy sight and take not thine holy Ghost from me Comfort me againe with thy helpe and giue in me the spirite of peace Be vnto me a strong tower whether I may for euer flee for succour for thou hast promised to helpe me for thou art my rocke and my hill Oh Lorde I cry vnto thee bicause thou art gratious Lord for thy great goodnesse heare me with thy true help heare me Lorde for thy goodnesse is comfortable turne thee vnto me according to thy great mercy Lord be not farre from me My God make hast to helpe me Vpon thee Lord do I trust God helpe me out of all my needs and set me at libertie Looke vppon me and heare me Lord my god Lighten myne eyes that I may sleepe soundly in the middest of death I loue thee with all my heart Lorde God my strength Lorde my rocke my hill my deliuerer my God my castell vpon whome I trust my buckler and horne of my saluation my defence Lord in thee doe I trust let me neuer be confounded Deliuer me for thy iustice sake Bowe downe thine eares to me make speede to help me Be vnto me a strong rocke and an hill where thou maiest helpe me For thou art my rocke and my hill and for thy name sake leade me and bring mee foorth come to my soule and deliuer it keepe my soule and deliuer me Let me not be confounded for I trust in thee Lorde quicken me for thy name sake leade my soule out of this daunger for thy righteousnesse sake for my soule fainteth in my bodie and the feare of death is falen vpon me Feare and trembling compasseth me and loathsomenesse is falen vpon me I lie with my soule among the Lions therefore oh Lorde heare my prayers and let my crie come vnto thee Hide not thy face from me in my neede Bowe downe thine eare vnto me when I call vpon thee then heare me betime Nowe Lord wherein shall I comfort me I hope vpon thee leaue off from troubling me that I may refreshe my selfe before I goe hence and come no more againe If it please any man to say all the whole Psalms to be said to the sicke I will not complaine vppon him Therfore they that list may when he list sometime take these Psalmes hereafter following and read the same to the sicke and sometime make some shorte rehearsall of them and with them comfort the sicke body specially the 25. 51. 70. 71. 77. 87. 88. 103. 130. c. And if neede require a man may often repeate them or take some comfortable part of them and also like comfortable sayinges out of my litle booke called The spiritual conflict all which for shortnesse I leaue heere vntouched Fourthly if the sick bodie draw on and is neare his ende then say our beléefe that is the xij Articles of our holy faith thus J Beleeue in God the father Almightie maker of heauen and earth And in Iesus Christ his onely sonne our Lord whiche was conceiued by the holy Ghost borne of the virgin Marie suffered vnder Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried hee descended into hell he rose againe the third day from the dead he ascended into heauen he sitteth on the right hand of God the father Almightie from thence he shal come to iudge the quicke and the dead I beleeue in the holy ghost The holy catholique Church
that doeth nothing else then looke to the sicke helpe them vp strengthen them and maketh them whole and as Esaie saith He will not breake a brused reede nor he will not quench the smoaking flaxe I beléeue also the rising of the body that my body whiche the wormes shall eate shall arise againe euen as it was before For Christe at the last day shall raise it vppe according to his promise where he saith Iohn 6. This is the will of him that sent me that whosoeuer seeth the sonne and beleeueth on him shall haue euerlasting life and I will raise him at the last day And Whosoeuer eateth of my flesh and drinketh of my bloud hath euerlasting life and I will raise him vp at the last day I beléeue that after this life there shal be an euerlasting life so that I shal liue with Christ for euer according to his promise Iohn 5. where he saith Verily verily I say vnto you who so euer heareth my worde and beleeueth on him that sent me he hath euerlasting life and commeth not into iudgment but he passeth clean through death to life And Whosoeuer beleueth on the sonne he hath euerlasting life And Verily verily I say vnto you if any mā will keepe my word he shall not see euerlasting death Item I am the breade of life saith Christ Iohn 6. which is come from heauen whosoeuer shall eate of this breade shall liue for euer Nowe welbeloued séeing your time draweth on stand stedfast vpon the only rocke Christe our Lorde Then can no storme no whirlwinde yea hell gates them selues can not remoue nor ouerwhelme you For whosoeuer beléeueth vpon our Lord God shal neuer fall nor be ouerturned but shall abide for euer Therfore call vpon our Lord God with your whole heart for he is rich ouer all that call vpon him and he will be nigh to all them that pray to him to al them that call vpon him with their heartes and graunteth all thinges which they that feare God do require heareth their cry and helpeth them Therfore cal vpon God the most highest in the name of Iesus Christe that he will shewe vnto you his great plentifull mercy and powre out vpon you in the time of grace richly his mercy For séeing that our Lord is the spring it selfe of Gods mercy and Christ his onely begotten sonne is the pipe conduit wherby such plentie of grace and mercy floweth and is conueyed vnto vs take yet againe fast hold in this your extreame néede of the ouerflowing and floud of Gods grace specially Iesus Christe the scrine and casket wherein Gods mercy is locked vp for Christ is ful of grace and truth Ioh. 1. For the euerlasting sonne of God hath brought with him such great plentie of grace that he hath therewith fulfilled the whole worlde for heauen and earth is full thereof And also Christe is full of truth so that he is not alonly the truth it selfe but also meaneth heartily and truly with vs and will take to him selfe your soule with great veritie and earnestly Therfore be of good comfort that your name is written in the booke of life you are fully cleansed with the bloud of Christ and annoynted with the holy Ghost The same holy spirite assureth your heart that you also be one of the very children of god And albeit it doeth not as yet appeare what you be yet knowe you that when it shall appeare then ye shall be like vnto him Iohn Chap. 8. For ye shall be partaker of the godly nature Pet. 2. Chap. 1. specially when Christe our sauiour shall come hither from heauen and glorifie your miserable body and make it like vnto his glorified body after his mighty power and working Phil. 3. Christe Iesus is the onely refuge of all poore penisent sinners he onely is your strength your comfort hope and strong tower in all néede and aduersitie Therefore goe without feare into the danger of death Christ in the twinckling of an eye being your euerlasting king will plucke you out againe bring you to light and make you righteous and liuing Wherfore giue your self ouer valiantly from this life vnto death and be not afraide séeing that death hath lost all his might and strength on the faithfull Christ the victorious conquerer hath taken from death al his strength so that from hence foorth he can no more hurt wearie or deuour any Christian Wherefore will ye then be dismaide or afraide for suche a shadow or visar of death Death may for a litle while roare whet his téeth but he can do no more for Christe hath taken his sting from him and likewise is Gods euerlasting iudgment through the Sauiour of the worlde taken from you And Christ the only sonne of God hath appeased the iustice of God layde the same farr enough out of your way So that from hencefoorth you shall neuer be called to appeare before the iudgment seate of GOD nor you shall not néede to appeare neither aunswere for your sinne bicause Iesus your sauiour hath made you frée from it Therefore chearefully appeale from the iudgment seate vnto the throne of mercy which is Christ your deliuerer call earnestly vpon the stoole of grace whervpon gods mercy resteth and dwelleth in Christe Iesus the sonne of the highest therfore can no complaint come against you nether sinne death hell nor sathan him selfe Christ is the true Lion of the tribe of Iuda which for your sakes hath subdued vtterly all your enimies wiped blotted out all sinne and swallowed vp death so there remaineth now no more but that the body must suffer and abide only one litle shiuering and shrinking after that you shal be perfectly safe and sure Fight therefore manfully as a valiant Rutter or Capteine against the dragon and hell gates then will Christ with the hoast armie of heauen méete you and receiue your soule to carrie it with him into euerlasting ioy and felicitie Amen ¶ If any be disposed they may rehearse againe to the sicke the twelue Articles of our beleefe for they be the very ancor yea the very foundation of our beleefe which wee can neuer sufficiently meditate and thinke vpon It is therefore very meete and necessarie seeing in our youth wee bee baptised in them that wee continually be fed with them then shall wee ioyfully die in them It were very good that we should alwayes in time of our health remember them and learne perfectly to vnderstande them Then when we lye on our death bed we shall not so much neede to be put in remembraunce And if a man ready to die in time of neede specially if death come soudenly vpon him confesse no more but the onely articles of our true and auncient faith and Christian religion it were sufficient specialy if those articles were holden and professed by him that lyeth dying with a faithfull heart For we hope yea we earnestly beleeue that our beloued ancestors in the
time of their prosperitie and good health maye learne how to vse and behaue them selues and learne in time to dye For nothing is more certeine then death and nothing more vncerteine then to come vnto the right knowledge to dye Therfore ought euery man before to prepare himselfe and to make ready to take this iourney in hand and go forward wherby he may be carefull for that that will necessarily followe But specially ought we to remember these thinges before-hand and cōtinually exercise our selues in the crosse of warre specially nowe in the sore daungerous warre against the cruell enimie of Christendome the Turke which if he haue the victorie spareth no man but without all mercy heweth downe the miserable Christians striketh them and shooteth them through where many times the wounded bodies a long time lye in the gréene medowes before they be brought into the slaughter house in great daunger of desperation if he were not before well prepared and exercised in Gods worde So that this souldier must fight with his body against the Turke and with his soule against the Diuell him selfe Howbeit this shall be their comforte out of the Prophet Daniel the 7. Chapter That these murtherers of christians bloudhoundes doe onely by this meanes prepare Christian soules and doe further them to euerlasting life For he setteth him selfe with all his might in greate force against the Saintes of God and chiefly warreth against them Wherefore without all question when so euer a Christian man is slaine and ouercom by the Turke yet dyeth he with a safe cōscience in that that he is a Christian for he séeth that this warre is against the Saintes of GOD without cause For the Turke hath no lawfull occasion to fight against the Christians and so miserably to spill Christian bloud Thus therfore dye they so much the ioyfuller séeing they go foorth in the obedience of their superiours and do not only defend their owne countrie and people but also with their owne bloud help to preserue Christian religion Therefore good Christian learne in time to dye for thou knowest neither time nor houre neither place nor manner when howe either what maner of death thou shalt haue specially in this last and dangerous time Therefore deferre not till the last pushe least that you tarrie too long Learne learn this cunning while thou hast time memorie and oportunitie therevnto Then shall you go the surest way séeing the daye must néedes come yeald thy selfe in time with desire and will therevnto for it can not be avoyded Wherevnto our Lorde GOD giue vs grace that we may well and happily depart Amen Howbeit no man is to be tied and bound to vse euery matter as it is herein conteined but if any other can or haue better much good do it them for I haue here remembred certeine temptations wherein I my selfe like a poore simple plaine man haue bene tempted and assaulted with and haue experienced if I may boast my self of my weaknesse for I haue thrise béene at that point that euery man gaue me ouer and despaired of my life in this worlde yet at the last our Lorde GOD by his great power reuiued me wherefore I giue vnto him euerlasting prayse and thankes in Christ our Lorde I will not say that in my days I haue gone to many Christian people I haue comforted them and haue bene at their end whose names be written in the booke of life where I haue experienced diuers and many temptations GOD graunt both thée me his godly grace that we may also blessedly sléepe at the last in Christe our Lorde and through Gods power at the last day may be raised vp to euerlasting life Amen How to aduise and comfort them that lye in prison and be by the Magistrate iudgged to dye FIrste welbeloued Almightie God giue you his grace and true patience whereby you may beare and patiently suffer this your deserued crosse layde vpon you séeing the matter is come thus far with you that Gods iudgment and the punishment of the magistrate is falne vpon you yeald your self willingly therevnto and thinke that this correction commeth from God him selfe Therefore refuse not the correction of the Almightie as it is written in Iob the 5. Séeing then that euery mans iudgement commeth from God our Lord as it is in Solomon the 29. of his Prouerbes receiue such iudgement and punishment vp from our Lord God as a fatherly correction as the Epistle to the Hebrues witnesseth Chapter 12. where the text saith thus My sonn make not light of the correction of the Lorde and despaire not when thou art punished by him For the Lord doth correct him whom he loueth and he beateth euery sonne which he taketh to him selfe And so it commeth to passe as Solomon saith in his highe song the 8. Chapter that the loue which the Lorde beareth vs is as strong as death It appeareth vnto the world as though the loue of God were very misfortune death and destruction Howbeit there is vnder such loue great mercy goodnesse life and blessednesse hidden For If we be iudged we be corrected by the Lorde to the intent that we should not be damned with the world as saith S. Paule in the first epist. to the Corinthians the 10. Chap. Therefore learne here with spirituall eyes to beholde that you vnder punishment may sée grace vnder correction peace and vnder death life Thus shal not this crosse layd vpon you be very sore and fearfull but you may beare it and you also shal patiently suffer it For God can soone end this crosse that you shall be able to carrie it For as much then as God our Lorde hath appointed to euery man a certeine end of his life which he shall not passe Iob. 14. thinke you nowe that your appointed time by God is nowe come and this day is by God appointed vnto you for a certeine end of your life Trouble not your selfe much therefore after what maner you haue taken your life from God and that you shall so soone deliuer it him againe But set your will to Gods will and say Father thy will be done and not mine if it be thy pleasure that I shall drinke this cuppe which thou hast filled for me giue me thy grace thervnto that I may continue in a true Christian belefe vnto mine end and that I may vnder this my crosse and suffering in perfect patience passe through it to euerlasting life Amen Secondarily For as muche as you haue now heard that this crosse and punishment commeth from God him selfe and is laide vpon you by God through an ordinarie magistrate you shall vnderstand nowe further well learne to knowe the great and earnest anger of God ouer sinne for it is no smal matter before God when a man behaueth him selfe contrarie to Gods lawe and continually without ceasing offendeth and prouoketh God with his vnpenitent liuing GOD is very angrie with suche déedes and is
muche offended against sinne not only with temporall punishment but also with euerlasting Therefore you shall vnderstande well knowe and learne that you by meanes of your doings and sinne haue wrought and deserued not only a temporall but also an euerlasting death For if God would deale with you acording to his earnest and vttermost iudgment then should your punishment be euerlasting and neuer haue end But séeing that God hath forséene you from the beginning and hath taken and receiued you through his fatherly correction in the time of grace but specially nowe at this time he will turne your euerlasting punishment into temporal punishment cut short his euerlasting anger and displeasure to a timely and tēporal anger And yet the same before him is no anger but a fatherly visitation whereby he will make you leape ouer the way to euerlasting damnation and lead you out of it and by this crosse he will bring you to the right way to heauen Therefore our Lord GOD of grace and fauour by meanes of the innocent death of his welbeloued sonne our Lord Christ will take from you the euerlasting punishment and take the same from your soule and lay it vppon your body so that both your body and your soule may at the length be made frée and deliuered wholy both from worldly and euerlasting punishment Therfore this worldly correction is laid vpon the body but as it were the space of the twinckling of an eye whereby you being warned of your vnpenitent life might leaue off to sin which otherwise will not be and you would still haue continued in sinne and thereby at the last haue fallen into the feareful anger of God and euerlasting torment plague Howbeit God of his great mercy hath taken mercy of your fall and will deliuer you from his great mightie strong and euerlasting iudgement The righteousnesse and iustice of God hath earnestly sought and required to haue her right vpon you that is to say euerlasting punishment and paine but the mercy of God hath on your behalfe stept in the middle and hath foughten against iudgement and mercy hath obteined the victorie and driuen iudgement backe so that she shal neuer hereafter lay any thing to your charge how be it so that righteousnesse is partly agréed with all and satisfied but onely temporally as farre as concerneth the body but not the soule This is a wonderfull battel and on your side maruellously brought aboute through grace For what is this temporal transitorie suffering enduring as it were but the twinckling of an eye in comparison of the euerlasting tormentes where you should haue abidden the euerlasting death and paine Therefore is this a tollerable yea rather an acceptable and pleasaunt exchaunge séeing we by our sinne haue deserued the euerlasting wrath of God punishment that this punishment now shall endure but for a time yea rather but the twinkling of an eye which else should haue béene euerlasting and fearefull if God in his anger would haue delt with vs Therefore nowe welbeloued you shall doe like one that hath his house a fire and burneth all in a flame so that it is vnpossible to be quenched Then wil he throwe out and fetche from thence all his treasure iewels And if he can saue them from burning he may with them build vp an other house Thus must you likewise do Your house I meane your body is of a light flame it so burneth with sinne that there is no hope to quench it you must now let your old house burne and now looke about and bethinke you howe to saue and deliuer your treasure and iewels that is your soule through a true faith in Christ your deliuerer then shall you wel at Doomes day thorough that iewel come to a new house where you shal haue a new bodie in the blessed resurrection of the elected and chosen people of God which neuer dieth nor thorough fire can be consumed But you shal then haue such a bodie as shal neuer die nor at any time suffer any griefe punishment paine harts sorrow trouble or néed neuermore forsakē but enioye euerlasting peace and blessednes Therefore praye now that he wil rule and turne the harts of the magistrates that they will lay vpon you of fauour such correction as shal be most séemely in this case that you may quietly suffer and beare For God ruleth the heartes of the magistrates and sitteth amongst them in their counsel iudgements And séeing the great magistrate is of your side you haue altogether and can lacke nothing Thirdly marke also further welbeloued that Gods iudgement euer beginneth at his owne children For whensoeuer he purposeth to correcte the world with his displeasure and earnest punishment first of all he séeketh out his owne and visiteth them and correcteth them first of all with his fatherly rodde whereby he may saue and deliuer them from the endlesse and euerlasting damnation as S. Peter sheweth in his first Epistle and 4 Chap. out of the holy prophet Ieremie in the 25. Chapter The iudgement of God saith he beginneth at Gods house And as Dauid saith Psa. 75. The Lord hath a cuppe in his hand which is full of mightie wine he skinketh and filleth out of it But godlesse people must drincke all out and make a carrouse and suppe vppe the very dregges of Gods wrath It is hereby ment GOD giueth euery bodie their measure that they shal suffer but the grounds and dregges remaine for the vngodly especially for the stubborne froward and vnpenitent world which will néedes perishe in their stubbornes But the iudgement anger correction and visitation which God of his grace layeth vppon his children is after many sortes God correcteth some of his children with sicknes some with pouerty some with imprisonment some with contempt that they be not regarded nor any accompt made of them some other with temporal death by the magistrate as he hath now purposed to correct you therefore it appeareth outwardly that God sheweth himselfe as thoughe he were angrie with you But With him there is no anger for his anger lasteth but the twinkling of an eye after that he taketh vppe his againe with euerlasting grace and mercie As the prophet Esaias in his 54. Chapter saith And as Dauid remembreth in his 89. Psalme If the children of grace breake and forsake Gods commandementes and keepe not Gods lawes then will God with his rodde seuerely visite them But hee will not turne his grace from them The cause is the mercifull couenaunt which God hath by meanes of his onely begotten sonne made and established with his children Fourthly thus you shall earnestly beléeue that this your suffering care shame martyrdome and death is not sufficient thereby to purchase euerlasting life For if you by your death and paines might before God do penance and satisfie then dyed our Lord Christe in vaine but séeing he dyed he hath by that his suffering passion and death done
blessed houre and that the holy Ghost wil lead him carrie him and guide him in the right way to saluation and that he may obteine at the length euerlasting peace and felicitie We now require that this may be done Therefore say Our father which art in heauen c. Doe you require this say Yea. Well now welbeloued say you also Our father c. And yeld your selfe willingly to die and say Father thy will be done c. Almightie God kéepe you going out of this miserie from hencefoorth euermore Amen Say Lord into thy hands I commit my soule Amen ¶ In some place while the Executioner doth lead foorth the poore man and is about the execution some sing in the meane season Nowe pray we the holy Ghost as in Michshen and Sachsin c. And in some place the minister in ths meane time saith the belefe Whatsoeuer any man thinketh good and profitable that may he set foorth and doe and let the poore condemned man sleepe in the Lorde in holy hope that whatsoeuer is now sowen in shame and dishonour shall be at the last day in greater honour and glory raysed vp againe Our Lord vouchsafe to preserue vs all one with an other gratiously from sinne and keepe vs from sinne and shame for euermore through Christ Iesus his only begotten sonne in the holy Ghost Amen A faithful and Christian exhortation to repentaunce and to leade a life in the feare of GOD. SYrach amongst his sayings in the 18. Chapter warneth vs that we should in time refraine our selues from sinne and repent our selues whilest we can sinne where he also saith Doe not delay your repentance vntill you be sicke but amend your selues whilest you may sin driue not off the time to be good nor tarrie not to better thy life til the time of thy deth In this matter he mindeth to set before our face the feare of God whereby we should not onely absteine or forbeare to sinne but also for the residue of our life kéepe our selues from sinne with greate diligence Specially if we groundly déepely consider the earnestnesse and righteousnesse of God howe our Lorde God is an earnest enimie to sinne but specially to such sins as man estéemeth to be no sinne or will not acknowledge for sinne but will holde and take them as vertues and rightly done and defend them as things well done and so wholy goe forwarde and continue in an vnrepentant and stubborne life whereby he falleth from thence without all sorrowe and repentance without ceassing grieuously to sinne against God his maker in great contempt despite pride and carelesnesse whereof then God taketh a great misliking and abhomination so that he must néedes méete with suche offences with all punishment reuengeance plagues especially with dearth war pestilence c. And God our Lorde bendeth him selfe also against all suche sinnes with all manner of power with all his elements as the aire the fire the water and the earth that we may behold with our eyes such apparent anger and punishment of God and must néeds taste of them in all places For from whence commeth suche warre bloudshead Who is guiltie thereof what is the very cause Is not sinne and our vnpenitent froward and proude liuing when man without all shame without all feare of God gréedily wantonly ragingly and stubbornly doth sin against our Lord God and maker Whereby it commeth to passe that many proude wanton filthy liuers be taken by God and punished very straungly Here lye in an houres space many thousandes slaine there be many times many hundreds drowned there many executed with the sworde fire water the whéele and gallowes There suffereth GOD many times within one halfe yere many thousands dy on the pestilence there many to be hungerstarued here many thousandes swallowed vp with earthquakes there many perishe in vprores and rebellions And to be short no man is able to reckon or remember howe many God must take and punishe and likewise cause to be made an example in the world whereby such foolish stubborne and godlesse wayes might be auoyded and shunned But who doeth earnestly once think vpon these things who doth turne him selfe or studie to auoyde these fearefull plagues of God who setteth before his eyes such examples of Gods anger thereby to amend his life Surely very fewe come before such execution and punishment of God and in time turne them selues before such fearefull iudgement of God auoyd sinne and thinke to begin a godly and vertuous life But in these dayes the proude froward and wicked world neuer thinketh of any of these things And thereby it commeth to passe that so many lewde so many false so many stubborne so much falshood so much sinne filthinesse beareth such a great swinge that at the length almightie God wil be so angrie that within a while there wil be no way to escape no forbearing no forgiuenesse more take place but God must in the end without more pitie or mercy hurle the pitcher to the ground with great violence and without all grace and forbearing dash them together with thunder and lightening with haile and shewers and with grieuous feare and tempestuous stormes Therfore on the behalfe of weaklings and of suche as be fraile in their liuing and conuersation I thinke good to aduise and warne them that they doe not make of their weaknesse and frailtie a wicked custome least at the length they fal into an vnpenitent and blockish life and conuersation whereby God will be grieuously offended Therefore it behoueth them in time beforehande to acknowledge their weake and sinfull liuing be sorrie for them and haue full purpose to amende their life after that sighe to obteine a heartie longing towardes a godly life and at the last to fight against sin to withstand it with all our power that there do not followe of our weakenesse an vnpenitent and blinde conuersation and least they miserably dye in that blindnesse and after that perishe euerlastingly from whiche our Lorde gratiously vouchsafe to kéepe vs Amen Againe that such weakelings in their conuersation receiue the time of grace in season not loyteringly seeking for it contemning it nor be slouthfull therein For Here is the acceptable time now is the day of grace as holy Saint Paule writeth in the second to the Corinthians the sixt Chap. Therefore let vs to our profite and for our blessednes sake imbrace it in time conuenient and not suffer it to passe away from vs or suffer suche an acceptable time of grace from God the very Iubilie yeare yea the golden yeare for euer to flée in the winde but rather pray for grace in the right and in the time méete conuenient Whereof Dauid saith in the 32. Psal. In which time al holy and suche as be weake in faith doe séeke for our Lorde God and pray for our Lorde God and call for grace and forgiuing of their sinnes and hope vppon his mercy which is promised vnto
where may we abide in safetie to the Lord Christe alone Thou hast shead thy bloud that hath satisfied for our sinns oh holy Lord God oh holy mightie God oh holy mercifull sauiour oh thou euerlasting God let vs not fall backe from the comfort of our faith Lord haue mercy vpon vs. Behold thus shall we reioyce in our greatest daunger and withall our heart Sing vnto our Lord God a song of thankesgiuing which is the right sacrifice of thankes Psal. 50. These be the right singers to God when the whole armie of heauen singe with vs and giue vnto God prayse and thankes Therefore nowe without all feare and trembling hope vppon the endlesse mercy of God that this your trouble and heauinesse and dangerous gronings and sighings commeth vp to Gods compassion and commeth neare inough to his heart But herein shall you stay your self and hope and so shall you be strengthened Esaie 30. And thus shal you conclude in your heart and earnestly hope and with S. Paule say thus Rom. 8. I knowe certeinly that neither death nor life neither Angel nor principalitie neither power present or to come neither aboue nor beneath nor none other creature may remoue vs from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord. To be short Who will accuse the elected of God God is hee that doth iustifie who can condemne vs Christe is hee that died yea rather that is risen againe which sitteth on Gods right hand and forgiueth vs. Nowe if death sinne diuel hel all trouble aduersitie and plague fall vpon me in heapes yet will I before you all abide still in my God and still remaine a childe of euerlasting ioy and felicitie Amen The eleuenth though welbeloued that ye do persuade your selfe as though God himselfe were against you and were angrie with you by reason of forepassed sinnes yet ye shall not be afraid nor dismaye your selfe For God many times doth proue his appeareth vnto them outwardly as though he were verie angrie with them as thoughe he would lay hands on them punish them and vtterly condemne them Therefore séeing God first will make you to liue he wil before huÌ„ble you seeing he will bring you to heauen he will first caste you downe into hel For Our Lord sleyeth and reuiueth God doth cast vs into hel and leadeth vs out againe As holy Anna saith the first of Samuel the 2. Therefore in this temptation learne rightly and properly to knowe the nature and propertie of god He meaneth not euil towardes you but by this meanes he tryeth your faith and your hope that ye may be found to be perfect Surely it is a hard fight to wage battel with God him selfe as the good Patriarch Iaacob did a whole night long but at the length he had the victorie and lay aboue And therefore was he called Israel Likewise also must the spirituall Israel doe and in spiritual fight preuaile and haue the ouerhand And to be short at length it must come to passe with you thus that you must nowe onely beléeue vpon hope where no hope is Rom. 8. For True faith is a certeine assuraunce to obteine those things and not doubt on the whiche we can neither beholde nor see Heb. 11. This is your case for in outward appearance and féeling ye sée nothing but death him selfe but the eyes of your faith looke further for they sée life in the middest of death in the middest of sinne true ioy and perfection in the middest of hell heauen in the middest of Gods anger and punishment grace and euerlasting welfare This is surely a strang and wonderfull sight and this is also an excellent passing and fine knowledge a cunning aboue all cunnings whiche declareth vnto vs howe we shall find in death perfect life howe we in the déepest miserie shall be comforted how we in the greatest doubtes shall be instructed to be short when it appeareth vnto vs that we are vtterly vndone euery body hath forsaken vs euery body withdraweth their succour from vs and before our eyes there appeareth nothing but destruction and vtter vndoing we shall make much adoe and wonderfully busie our selues and in our reason and opinion knowe not whether to goe we seeme to liue and yet we dye we sée and féele and yet be in the middest of death But here we must lay aside all féeling seeing vnderstanding wisedome and reason and vtterly forsake them and with these comforts to be merrie in the middest of death and slide through it as through sléep to the blessed hope that God will through his mercy in the promise of Christe euerlastingly kéepe vs and make vs inioy his blessings What so euer Gods wil be let things appeare outwardly as they will let thinges goe and stand with vs as God will yet beleue we stedfastly that Gods grace and goodnesse will defende vs for euer contrarie to all mans reason and imagination for he will not ascribe our saluation nor giue the honour glory prayse thereof vnto vs or our workes eyther to our indeuour but vnto his endlesse mercy that at the last day we should must confesse that our saluation was not in our power in our doings in our will and might but onely in the mercy and onely grace of God which we haue obteined through Christ our onely Sauiour For which grace and good will we are bound to giue to God continual thankes and only laude and prayse his holy name and ascribe vnto him all honour power might and maiestie behold thus shal you fight and striue with God against god and push and enforce your selfe as it were through very thistles thornes to enter into heauen and there againe beginne in your heart to sing the comfortable song of the holy Dauid Psalme 73. where he thus singeth If I haue onely thee my Lord and my God I passe of nothing neither in heauen nor in earth though my body and my soul be in contempt yet art thou my God alway my heartes comfort and my health And then will GOD comfort you and say thus Esaie 41. Be not afraid I am with thee be not faint hearted for I am thy God I will strengthen thee I will helpe thee out I will holde thee vppe through the strength of my righteousnesse Twelfthly if welbeloued many assaultes and temptations fall vpon you as it were by heapes yet let them not â—ismay or discourage you for sathan â—oth willingly bestowe all his cunning when the matter commeth to the push â—r extremitie If he could not ouercome you in your life time whilest ye were â—n perfect health then wil he now more â—trongly withstande and assault you now in your weaknesse Therfore now â—earne and be expert in deede what the â—ubtiltie and craft of the wicked fiende â—s what sleightes and deuises he vseth and practiseth against you for his nature and condition is with great rage and fiercenesse to set vpon men he commeth to