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A59782 The third part of The practical Christian consisting of meditations, and Psalms illustrated with notes, or paraphrased, relating to the hours of praier, the ordinary actions of day and night, and severall dispositions of men. By R. Sherlock D.D. Rector of Winwick.; Practical Christian Sherlock, R. (Richard), 1612-1689. 1677 (1677) Wing S3257; ESTC R221141 121,011 380

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which from thy Wounds and Stripes and Bonds does flow Ps 25.14 Pluck my feet out of the net of every temptation to finfulness and error Ps 119.48 and let my hand be continually lift up unto thy Commandments to do them that I be not lyable to be bound by any of the spirits of vengeance in the fiery chains of the nether Hell where is weeping and wailing MEDITAT VI. Of the Laments of Hell THere shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth Mat. 25.30 They shall deservedly weep in Hell whose eyes upon earth have been full of Adultery 2 Pet. 2.14 lasciviousness and greediness of the creature whose eyes have been set upon their covetousness Pro. 30.13 and their eye-lids lifted up with scorn and contempt of others who have been guilty of any of these or of any other sinful pollutions and have not wept and bewailed the same with the tears of Repentance Wo unto you that laugh now in your sinful pleasures Luc. 6.25 for ye shall mourn and weep either here or hereafter And 't is sad and sottish to put off this necessity of weeping to the other world where the tears of sorrow and sad Repentance shall avail nothing And this is all the water that Hell affords Luc. 16.24 not a drop to cool the tongue tormented in those scorching flames only those driesly tears which the violence of her torments do extort which being salt and brinish and spent in vain shall the more increase the bitterness and augment the miseries of the condemned sinner O that now my head were waters Jer 9.1 and mine eyes a fountain of tears by weeping here to prevent the weeping in Hell hereafter now to bewail my sins that I sorrow not when 't is too late where weeping and wailing shall not asswage but augment my sorrows Lament O sinner and gnash thy teeth through a holy indignation to be so foolish and mad as for a little sinful pleasure or dirty delight to run the hazard of being obnoxious to never ending pains and sorrows Blessed are they that mourn Mat. 5.4 both for their own sins and for the sins of others through the fear of Hell and desire of Heaven for they shall be comforted their fears prevented their desires obtained A broken and a contrite heart Ps 51.17 O God thou wilt not despise A heart broken with godly sorrow for sin and venting it self in tears with Prayers Humiliations and Confessions mixt with Faith in the blood of my dear Redeemer Thus Lord thus I humbly beg to be delivered from thy wrath and from the deplorable wailings of a sad eternity Amen MEDITAT VII Of the perpetuity of Hell Torments THe Perpetuity of Hell torments is in the thought thereof a Torment unspeakable for in every instant of the Sufferings of the damned they suffer all the torments of those infinite thousands of years to come the continuance whereof is not measured by Time but by the bottomless abyss of eternity and the immutability of divine justice and what is time to eternity Behold as a drop of water is to the sea Eccl. 18.10 and a gravel stone in comparison of the sand so are a thousand years to the dayes of etcrnity In this life fear hath torment but torment hath no fear but hope rather of release and delivery but in Hell the damned both fear what they suffer and also suffer what they fear even the everlasting duration of their sufferings They that are cast into the Lake of fire and brimstone shall be tormented day and night for ever Rev. 20.10 and ever Are not they then without understanding that work wickedness Ps 14.4 who being endued with Reason and capable of counsel who knowing the shortness of this life and the uncertainty of the same and withal believing the everlasting duration of the life to come do nevertheless bend all their thoughts and endeavours upon what concerns this present remporary Being even to the great hazard of being obnoxious to the Pains and Inrments of a sad eternity such madness in the hearts of men can never be throughly bewail'd even with tears of blood Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come Mat. 3.7 That there is a wrath to come every Christian believes and 't is a fierce wrath and a terrible even indignation and wrath Rom. 2.8 9. tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doth evil and hath not repented him of the evil and of the iniquity he hath done Of the coming of this wrath also frequent warning is given both by the works and by the word of God by the Ministers of his Church but who takes warning given who regards the power of this wrath very few regard it though the less it be regarded the more fierce it will be for even thereafter as a man feareth so is thy displeasure Ps 90.11 Fear thou the Lord Pro. 3.7 O my Soul fear the Lord and depart from evil Thou Ps 76.7 O Lord thou alone art to be feared and who may stand in thy sight when thou art angry The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life Pro. 14.27 to depart from the gates of death Fear not them that can kill the body Mat. 10.28 but are not able to kill the Soul but fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear Heb. 12.28 For our God is a consuming fire 29. The LXXXVI Psalm PARAPHRASED verse 1 BOw down thine ear to him who now bowes down his heart and bear me O Lord confessing for I am poor extremely wanting of the graces of thy Spirit which should make me rich towards God I have little or no treasures laid up in Hearen and therefore I am in misery lyable to the eternal miseries of Hell But verse 2 Preserve thou my soul from that dismal place of torments for I am heby separate and devoted to thy service though a poor unprofitable servant and upon this account I make bold to call thee my God whom I worship and serve and humbly beseech thee to save thy servant who putteth his trust in thee for the riches of grace and salvation wherein verse 3 Be merciful unto me O Lord who art rich in mercy for I will call dayly upon thee that it may please thee in great mercy to deliver me from that misery whereunto my poorness in grace but abounding sins make me obnoxious verse 4 Comfort the soul of thy servant that the sorrows of death overwhelm me not For unto thee O Lord do I lift up my soul being hereunto encouraged by thy grace and goodness verse 5 For thou Lord art good even the inexhaustible fountain of goodness and gracious propitiously inclined to hear the supplications of thy people and of great mercy against the greatness of iniquity unto all them that
assurance put your trust in the Lord especially for spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ nor greedily desiring with most men the good things of this life verse 6 There be many that say who will shew us any good meaning worldly goods but the man that is godly doth say verse 7 Lord lift thou up the light of thy Countenance upon us by the Lord saith one is meant the Father by his Countenance the Son and by the light of his Countenance the Holy Ghost whose light of Grace and Truth embeams our souls to the hopes of the eternal light of Glory verse 8 Thou hast put gladness in mine heart Cordial joy is a beam displayed from the light of God's Countenance since the time their corn and wine and oyl increased such increase adds nothing to the true joy of the heart which consists in being rich towards God not to the world verse 9 I will lay me down in peace and take my rest being confident of thy grace and favor I shall sleep securely not fearing the worst of evils this night can befal for 't is thou Lord only that makest me dwell in safety to whom be all Glory even to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. PSALM XXXI To the Seventh Verse verse 1 IN thee O Lord as a powerful protector have I put my trust that my hopes in thee may prevent my fears against which I also pray let me never be put to confusion not eternally though I temporally suffer for my due correction deliver me in thy righteousness not for mine but for thine own righteousness sake who hast promised deliverance to them that trust in thee verse 2 Bow down thy ear of mercy and hear me being bowed down in misery and the proper object of mercy make haste to deliver me Come holy Jesus my Redeemer come quickly to deliver me that I fail not in my temptations and troubles verse 3 And be thou my strong rock that I may stand firm against every shock of temptation and my house of defence like a house built upon a rock sure is my defence whilst my sure trust is in thee that thou mayst save me In no other do I seek for Salvation verse 4 For thou art my strong rock and my castle which renders me inexpugnable by all the assaults of my adversaries Be thou also my guide that I neither presume too much upon thy favour nor yet despair of thy mercy but betwixt these extreams lead me in the right way for thy names sake not for any desert in me but that thy name may be glorified by me verse 5 Draw me out of that net of inveigling temptations which they my ghostly adversaries have privily laid for me suggesting evil under the shew and pretence of what is good for thou art my strength against which no powers of earth or hell can prevail verse 6 Into thy hands I commend my spirit So prayed my blessed Redeemer when he gave up the ghost and so will I ever say to him who dyed for me Into thy hands who art mighty to save I commend my spirit in all the concerns of its health and Salvation For thou hast redeemed me O Lord thou God of Truth O suffer not that Soul to perish which thou so dearly purchased Glory be to God the Father who hath Created me and all the world Glory be to God the Son who hath Redeemed me and all mankind Glory be to God the Holy Ghost who hath Sanctified me and all the elect people of God PSALM XCI To be used at this time by the direction of St. Basil verse 1 WHoso dwelleth and flitteth not but continues under the defence of the most high in a holy and humble confidence of the protection of the most high God of Heaven shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty be continually protected by him who hath all might and power to defend And therefore verse 2 I will say not with my lips only but with an affectionate heart unto the Lord who seeth and inclineth to the secret desires of the Soul Thou art my hope even all the happiness I hope for and my strong hold against all my weaknesses and defects my God in him will I trust not presuming upon any power that is either in or from my self or from any other doubt not then O my Soul verse 3 For he shall deliver thee from the snare of the hunter that great pursuer of Souls unto death the Devil and from the noysom pestilence the pestilential tongues of scoffers detractors slanderers c. verse 4 He shall defend thee under his wings of merciful protection and thou shalt be safe under his feathers as the hen gathereth her chickens under her feathered wings when any storm or danger appears His faithfulness and truth in keeping promise with his people shall be thy shield and buckler against all the fiery darts of the Devil verse 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for any terror by night of any terrifying dreams or black illusions suggested by the spirits of darkness nor for the arrow that flyeth by day more open and day-time assaults of the Devil verse 6 For the Pestilence that walketh in darkness such diseases as secretly and in the night season do unperceivably infect either the soul or body nor for the sickness that destroyeth in the noon-day which do more openly and in the day-time seise and consume this mortal life verse 7 A thousand shall fall beside thee and ten thousand at thy right hand many shall fall away into destruction that presume to be numbred among the Sheep of Christ on his right hand but it shall not come nigh thee thou shalt not thus fall either into sin or condemnation verse 8 Yea with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the ungodly to thine unspeakable consolation not for their distress but that thou hast escaped the same recompense of evil works verse 9 For thou Lord art my hope and whilst he is so O my Soul thou hast set thy house of defence very high for 't is setled in him who dwelleth in the high and holy Heavens and therefore thou maist be confident that verse 10 There shall no evil either of sin that is mortal or of punishment that is eternal happen unto thee casually befall thee but through thine own fault neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling any temporal evils to afflict thee but for thy good verse 11 For he shall give his Angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways Are they not all ministring Spirits sent forth to minister to them that shall be heirs of Salvation Heb. 1.14 verse 12 They shall bear thee in their hands be ready at hand powerfully to assist thee that thou hurt not thy foot against a stone stumble and fall not upon any rock of offence verse 13 Thou shalt go upon the Lyon and Adder the young Lyon and the Dragon-shalt thou tread under thy
temptation he is defective in some exterior acts of obedience 6. At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto Thee because of thy righteous judgments Davine Praise is to be celebrated night and day and our failings of divine Worship in the day may be supplied in the night 7. I am a companion of all them that fear thee and keep thy Commandments The society of holy men is both a great comfort and a great furtherance in the way of godliness 8. The Earth O Lord is full of thy mercy O teach me thy Statutes Gods common blessings are extended unto all but his special favours are reserved for them that keep his Commandments Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. The Prayer WHat ever my part or portion be upon earth be thou my portion O Lord and the lot of mine inheritance Preserve me in the Unity of the Holy Catholick Church and in the Communion of Saints to the hopes of eternal glory through Jesus Christ The Ninth Part. Verses 1. O Lord thou hast dealt graciously with thy servant according to thy Word Gods gracious promises do move him to be merciful in his dealings with us far beyond our merits 2. O learn me true understanding and knowledge for I have believed thy Commandments In the mysteries of godliness what we cannot believe by Understanding we must understand by Believing 3. Before I was troubled I went wrong but now have I kept thy Word The rod of affliction and good discipline keeps the Soul in humility and obedience 4. Thou art good and gracious O teach me thy Statutes Even in adversity God is no less gracious than in prosperity 5. The proud have imagined a lye against me but I will keep thy Commandments with my whole heart Though the Devil and his instruments invent and suggest lyes to subvert the truth yet by a sincere obedience they are discovered and rejected 6. Their heart is as fat as brawn but my delight hath been in thy Law Through pride and luxury the heart of the wicked is fatted with delight but humility and obedience is the joy of the righteous Soul 7. It is good for me that I have been in trouble that I may learn thy Statutes Temptations and troubles yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby 8. The Law of thy mouth is dearer unto me than thousands of gold and silver Grace excells gold as much as heaven excells earth or the soul the body Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. The Prayer THou art good and gracious O Lord even in the chastisements of thy servant Let both thy favours and thy frowns be sanctified unto me and all the temptations of my ghostly enemies make me cleave more stedfastly in my obedience to thy most holy Lawes esteeming thy Commandments far above all earthly treasures as being the way to those never-failing treasures of Celestial glory through Jesus Christ The Tenth Part. Verses 1. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me O give me Vnderstanding that I may learn thy Commandments To know God and obey his Laws is the End of our Creation after the Image of God and the perfection of our Being is thereby attained 2. They that fear Thee will be glad when they see me because I have put my trust in thy Word Examples of piety rejoyce the hearts of them that truly fear God 3. I know O Lord that thy judgments are right and that thou of very faithfulness hast caused me to be troubled 'T is most righteous and just that they who fall from God by pride and disobedience be first humbled by afflictions before they be restored to his grace and favour 4. O let thy loving kindness be my comfort according to thy Word unto thy servant Let this be my comfort in all my troubles that they are sent according to thy Word in mercy to humble not in fury to consume and destroy me 5. O let thy loving mercies come unto me that I may live for thy Law is my delight Both the life of grace and glory are the issue of God's loving mercy and the soul is qualified for this mercy by love and delight in the Lawes of God 6. Let the proud be confounded for they go wickedly about to destroy me but I will be occupied in thy Commandments A constant regular obedience to God's Commandments confounds all the machinations of the devil and all his instruments 7. Let such as fear Thee and have known thy Testimonies be turned unto me Wherein the Prayers and example of the godly are both strength and consolation 8. O let my heart be sound in thy Statutes that I be not ashamed The sincerity of the heart in the performance of Religious duties will preserve us from that confusion which is the portion of Hypocrites The Prayer THat I may attain that perfection and felicity whereunto thou hast created me O Lord I humbly beg the spirit of wisdom and understanding both to know and in all things to obey thy most holy will In all my Humiliations for my sins and temptations of the devil let thy loving mercies support me the prayers and examples of thy Saints and Servants assist me O let my heart be sincere and sound in thy service that I may escape that everlasting confusion which is the portion of Hypocrites and my lot may be with thy faithful servants for ever to sing Glory to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c Our Father which art c. CHAP. III. Of Meditations for the Sixth hour of Prayer or twelve a Clock AT Evening and Morning and at Noonday will I pray So resolved holy David Ps 55.18 Dan. 6.10 and so prayed holy Daniel and at this hour prayed S. Peter also a Act. 10.9 And shall not such eminent examples move thee also at this hour to converse with heaven especially remembring I The arrow that flyeth by day and the destruction that wasteth at the noon-day Ps 91.5 6. The Arrows of Temptation fly thick about us and the devil as a roaring Lyon continually goeth about seeking whom he may devour 1 Pet. 5.8 Fly then to the God of thy refuge upon the sacred wings of devout Prayers and holy Meditations Call to mind II. That 't was at this hour our first Parents for their Pride and disobedience were driven out of Paradise and let this consideration humble thy Soul at this Hour under the mighty hand of God that he may draw thee out of that mass of corruption wherein with the rest of mankind thou art originally involved and exalt thee to the hopes of admittance into the celestial Paradise which being lost by the disobedience of the First Adam was regained by the obedience of the Second Adam who III. As at this hour of the day was listed up on the Cross as was the Brazen Serpent in the Wilderness Luk. 23.44
destructive and their right hand is full of gifts even their righteous actions are for bribes and sinister ends transacted and such are all they who make a gain of godliness verse 11 But as for me though others pursue their worldly interests through injustice and bribery yet I will walk innocently that 's the desire and resolution of my Soul O deliver me through the precious blood of my Redeemer which was shed for my deliverance defend me from all my ghostly enemies that would destroy mine innocence and be merciful unto me let thy mercy both pardon my by-past transgressions and support me through all the perils of this mortal life verse 12 My foot standeth right fixed in my affections to cleave unto thee and I will praise the Lord in the congregations in the assemblies of the Lord's people in the house where his Honour dwelleth and so shall I hope to be hereafter admitted into the blissful company of Angels and Saints to Praise the Lord for ever saying Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. The XLIII Psalm PARAPHRASED verse 1 GIve sentence with me O God when I stand before thee to be judged according to my works done in the body whether good or evil O then defend my cause against the ungodly people Plead for me against all the accusations of men women devils in whose company or by whose temptations I have done any evil O deliver me from the deceitful and wicked man that I be not ranked amongst such upon the left hand of unrighteousness and infelicity verse 2 For thou art the God of my strength By whom I am enabled to resist all my ghostly enemies why hast thou put me from thee leaving me to mine own weak frail and sinful self And this is the reason why go I so heavily in the ways of thy service and of mine own salvation whilst the enemy oppresseth me being destitute of thy help the grand enemy of God and man overpowers me with his temptations and assaults But that I may manfully resist and overcome verse 3 O send out thy light and thy truth the light of thy Grace and the truth of thy righteousness which discerns the cause of the righteous from the ungodly that they may lead me out of all the errors of this sinful life that being separated from the allurements and society of the ungodly they may bring me to thy holy hill where thy Temple is scituate and to thy dwelling the place where thine honor dwelleth verse 4 And that I may go to the Altar of God both Sacramental and Mystical upon the Altar of my heart to offer up my whole self to be a living Sacrifice Holy acceptable unto God even the God of my joy and gladness who makes glad my heart by the consolations of his Holy Spirit when I approach his Altar and upon the Harp which is an instrument of a Triangular figure and represents the heart of man wherewithal I will give thanks unto thee O holy and ever blessed Trinity Father Son and Holy Ghost one God over all blessed for ever and my God even the God of my joy and worship my glory and my Crown O then verse 5 Why art thou so heavy O my Soul There is no sorrow but for sin because this alone separateth the Soul from the God of all consolation and why art thou so disquieted within me 'T is thy unquiet passions and unruly lusts which disturb thy reason and withdraw thee thus disquieted from a sincere dependance upon thy God but return return unto thy rest O my Soul verse 6 O put thy trust in God all thy sorrows and distempers are from thy self thy health and joy is from the Lord and for this I will yet give him thanks who is to be praised in both the seasons of sadness and joy for in both He is the help of my countenance the lightsome gladness of my heart and my God both of my Being and Well-being even the God of all that I am and all that I have and all that I hope to be which is to enjoy the beatifical vision of his divine Majesty for ever to sing Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. THE Third general Meditation Upon the PAINS of HELL MAny are the opinions and disputes and too curious also the disquisitions touching the place and nature matter manner and duration of the pains of Hell But it would be more Christian prudence strictly to search and find out those crooked deceitful and polluted paths which lead to that dismal place of torments that we may decline and avoid them 'T is surely better by much not to feel by woful experience the miseries of the damned than exactly to know and accurately to discourse of them And may this be ever my study blessed Lord my continual care and fear and constant endeavour not in the least particular to sin against thee for thy wrath and indignation which resteth upon sinners is a fierce wrath and a terrible 't is not in the power of frail man to sustain the fury of it MEDITAT I. Of the pain of Loss THe first and 't is esteemed by many holy Fathers the greatest of Hell Torments is that which is call'd by Divines The pain of Loss whereunto the wicked of the world are sentenced in these several expressions Mat. 22.13 25.30 41. Luc. 13 27. Take him away Cast him out I know you not Depart from me ye cursed The Pains of Sense in hell are intolerable saith Chrys yet for a man to suffer a thousand Hells is less irksome S. Chrys Hom. 28. than to be banisht from Heaven to be driven from the presence of God to be exil'd out of the regions of Light and Joy to be rejected of the Lord and to hear from him I know you not Depart from me The Loss of Heaven must needs be the greatest of evils because 't is the Loss of the greatest and most perfect good and of all that is truly good To lose good things we do now enjoy in the world may be recompenced with advantage by the gain of heaven but to lose Heaven it self to forfeit the right and title we once had happily obtained to be inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven is a loss irreparable Nothing can compensate nothing can equal nothing to be compared to this Loss Id. Serm. 't is hell enough it self if there were no other In this life the most wise and holy understand not throughly the fulness of Heavenly joys and so cannot be sensible of the torment of their Loss but in the next life our eyes shall be opened and the veil upon our hearts removed and then shall the ungodly see to their unspeakable grief and anguish of spirit the vast difference betwixt the never fading pleasures of the right hand of God and the empty transitory pleasures of sin betwixt that fulness of joy in the presence of
concupiscence Thy carnal lusts and thy worldly lusts being now followed and fulfilled are the fuel that feeds that dismal fire of the infernal lake and the Worm also that never dieth is bred of the same corruption even in the dunghil lusts of the heart actuated by the hot suggestions of Sathan And as the fire of concupiscence doth now more or less rage in thy heart so as to follow the sway thereof so shall the fire of hell be more or less raging hereafter if these lusts do not dye within thee before the death of nature seize thee Take then the advice of the wise Syracides Eccl. 7.17 Humble thy self greatly for the vengeance of the wicked is fire and worms And of S. Paul Col. 3.5 Mortifie therefore your members that are upon earth fornication uncleanness inordinate affection evil concupiscence and covetousness which is Idolatry For which things sake the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience Blessed Jesus by the merits and mysteries of thy Circumcision I humbly beg the true Circumcision of the spirit and by the virtue of thy Crucifixion strengthen me to crucifie the flesh with the affections and lusts lest any of those exorbitant fires being not opportunely quenched involve me in those flames of hell which are unquenchable MEDITAT IV. Of the extent of Hell pains WHen I consider righteous Job on the dunghil Greg mor. the holy Baptist hungring in the wilderness S. James beheaded S. Peter crucified the Torments and deaths of innumerable Martyrs the manifold afflictions of the holy and elect people of God I cannot but consider and know assuredly that very great and many shall be the torments of the wicked in the world to come since God suffereth those whom he dearly loves to be so much afflicted in this life The Pains of Hell in the extent of them do herein differ from all present bodily pains that these are partial only in some particular parts joynts and members of the body whilst other parts are free from pain But in Hell the whole man in all the senses internal and external in all the parts of his body and powers of his soul yea the most spiritual faculties shall be tormented with Fire and Brimstone rage and despite grief and anguish misery and malediction The pains of Hell are a concourse of all kinds of pain and of all at the same time and of all of them for ever The Taste shall be punished with bitterness the Appetite with hunger and the Tongue with thirst the Sight with horror the Hearing with astonishment the Smell with stench the Heart with anguish the Imagination with fear the Reason with madness the Judgment with confusion and in the very Bowels fire unquenchable And this is most just that as the wicked have employed all the powers and parts both of Soul and Body as weapons of unrighteousness unto sin so should their punishment be in all their senses members faculties that as each hath transgrest by sinful pleasure and inordinate delight so each should have its peculiar afflicting torment 'T is undoubtedly true that all persons condemned to the flames of the nether hell are not equally tormented therein for though the fire of hell be one and the same yet it torments not all after the same manner nor in the same degree of torture but every man shall therein more or less feel the smart of its fury as by the nature quality and frequency of his sin he hath less or more deserved the same Gen. 18.25 for shall not the Judge of all the world do right The more high peremptory and presumptuous as also the less obstinate and impenitent sinner shall both suffer under the torment of the same fire but not in the same degree of pain and suffering But alas the lowest degree of suffering in that place of horror is punishment enough if seriously considered to affright the sinner from all the errors of his ways There be many who now think this or that to be severe commands Love your enemies Deny thy self Fast and Watch and Pray Take up thy Cross but surely 't will be much more hard and bitter to hear Tho. à Kemp. Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire O let not then the severest commands of the Gospel nor the difficulties and labors of Repentance startle and affright thee let not the breach or neglect thereof seem a light and a small thing unto thee but Remember that to endure the pains of Hell but one hour is more exceeding painful and afflicting than a thousand years of the most strict and severe austerities in Fasting and Sackcloth and Ashes Here blessed Lord here in this life let me be punished for my sins but spare O spare me in the life to come and from those intolerable pains of the nether Hell good Lord deliver me through Jesus Christ MEDITAT V. Of the Bonds and Chains of Hell RIghteous art thou O Lord Ps 119.137 and upright are thy Judgments 'T is a justice becoming the just Judge of the world that the licentious and prophane who in this life would not be bound up nor restrained from following and fulfilling their exorbitant lusts but have walked in the counsel of the ungodly and stood in the way of sinners that they who bound up their hands from doing the works of Gods Commandments and bound up their feet from walking in the paths of his most holy Laws that they whose sins are bound upon their Souls and not loosed by true Repentance through Faith in the Blood of Christ 't is just I say that such should incur this sad and dismal sentence Mat. 22.13 Bind him hand and foot To be bound to one place though in silken Cords or chains of Gold though 't were on a bed of Roses or the sweetest perfumes to be so tyed as not to be able to stir hand or foot is a very great punishment to the free active and stirring soul of man How much more then a sorer punishment is it to be bound in fiery chains eating through the flesh into the very bowels nay through all the most hidden and deepest recesses of the Soul and be forced to lye down in a bed of Flames and therein not to be able to stir either hand or foot not to move or change from side to side for the least ease or mitigation of torment He must have a heart of stone or rather of flint the hardest of stones who in remembrance of his sins is not greatly terrified and humbled in the very thought and apprehension of these fiery tormenting chains of Hell Blessed Jesus whose innocent tender hands were rudely seiz'd and bound with cords of injustice and violence vouchsafe to loose all the bonds and chains of my sins wherewith both my hands and feet affections and actions are infettered and infested and grant that the wounds they have made in my soul being washed with my tears may be healed by the soveraign balsome