nor ceremoniall sacrifices doe please thee or shall at any time hereafter content thee for thou art a Spirit and wilt bee vvorshipped in Spirit And therefore The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit a broken and contrite hart ô God shalt thou not despise And because I knovve that no man in this vvorlde so long as he liueth doth come too late to desire mercy and fauour at thy hands but that he shall alwayes finde thee ready to giue it vnto vs therefore I desire thee againe O be fauourable and gracious vnto Sion build thou the wals of Ierusalem Deale with mee ô Lord graciously mercifully according vnto thy good will and pleasure and giue mee grace that the decayed and ruinous walls of my soule which are able to hold out no force of the enemy may againe bee inwardly reedified that I may offer vnto thee the true works of inward righteousnes which presently shall follow the outward being signes of the inward From whence afterwards as from a liuely fountayne shall flow the edifying of my neighbour frō which duplicity of works shall arise a sweete harmony acceptable vnto thy diuine Maiesty and a sacrifice ioyned to that with which thou thy self saidst that thou art well pleased For then shalt thou accept the sacrifices of righteousnes euen the burnt offering and oblation then shall they offer calues vpon thine Altar All these things I say ô Lorde shall they offer vpon thine Alter as a new sacrifice of which the Prophet spake This shall please the Lorde better then a young bullocke that hath hornes and hoofes that is the humanity of Christ our Redeemer thy Sonne and his sacrifice by whose merrits our workes before vnworthy of no value are made gratefull and acceptable in thy sight After this manner therefore ô Lord both I and others with mee who haue beene sinners lyuing now in thy worship and seruice will say Glory be to the Father and to the Sonne and to the holie Ghost As it was in the beginning c. VVe will prayse and glorifie thee alwaies both in this world and in the other as the Father Creator maker of all things and thy Sonne the Deuine Wisedome as him by whom we alone are worthy to be called and to be in deed thy Sons and the holy Ghost as the Doctour Teacher of grace the Comforter Patrone and Leader to all good purposes VVho in the distinction of persons in a perfect Trinity in the vnity of substance and in Maiesty doe liue and raigne without beginning vvithout end for euer and euer world without end Amen A most deuout Prayer of the name of Iesus O Good Iesus ô sweete Iesus ô Iesus the Son of the virgin Mary full of pitty and mercy O sweete Iesus haue mercy vpon me according to thine infinite goodnes O bountiful Iesus I an vnwoorthie sinner doe pray thee by that thy precious blood which thou dist shed vpon the Crosse for sinners vngodly men that thou wouldest wash me from all my sins that thou wouldest not despise thy seruant who humbly prayeth and calleth vpon this most holy name of Iesus This thy name Iesus is a sweet name yea it is sweeter then any Nectar or Ambrosia this thy name Iesus is a sauing name For what is Iesus but a Sauiour Therefore ô good Iesus who of thy goodnes hast created mee and vvith thy precious blood hast redeemed mee doe not suffer my soule to be haled downe to hell by reason of my many and great transgressions Let not mine iniquities ô good Iesus condemne my soule created of thine infinite goodnes Acknowledge in mee ô good Iesus and chalenge vvhat is thine that is my soule and take from mee that which is anothers that is all my sins and enormities O good Iesus haue mercy vpon mee as long as I am in this world least I be condemned in that fearefull day of iudgement O good Iesus if I a peruerse sinner shal deserue according to thy iustice to bee damned by reason of my greeuous and enormous sinnes I humbly appeale from thy seuere iustice to thy gracious pittifull mercy assuredlie trusting that thou my Lord Iesus wilt be gracious and mercifull to my soule as a gracious Father and a mercifull GOD. VVhat profit ô good Iesus will there be in my flesh if my soule goe downe to hell For it is certaine ô Lord that no man in hel shal yeeld praise to thy holy name Iesus O most mercifull Iesus bee mercifull to vs. O most sweet Iesus deliuer vs from all our tribulations and anguishes O good Iesus be gentle and kind to vs wretched sinners O most holy Iesus associate our soules with thine elect in heauen O most pittifull Iesus the saluation of all them that hope in thee comfort vs. O Iesus the Sonne of the most holy virgin Mary bestow on vs thy mercy grace wisedome charity chastitie humilitie and patience in all our aduersities and extreamities that wee may alwayes blesse glorifie honour and prayse Iesus Amen Laus tri-vni Deo FINIS Eccles 1. Eccle. 12. Esay 30 A similie What wee are to do in the morning What we are to doe at night What we are to doe when the houre soūdeth What we are to doe when wee sit at meate A prayer against tēptations A Prayer Iohn 17. Ierem. 20. Hugo lib. 3. de anima What man was before hee was borne Eccles 3. S. Augustine S. Bernard in his meditations Innocentius of the miseries of mans life Iob 14 Gene 3 Iob 10 Iob 21 Isidore Chrysost. Epist. ad The odor Laps The deuil is the King of pride Iob. 41. Greg. lib. 34. Moral cap. 25. 1 Iohn 3. Sinne is to be eschewed for three things Iob. 7. Apoc. 2. Esay 53. Ibidem God plagueth and punisheth sinne euery where Micah 7. A Simily A Simily Psal. 51. Sinne maketh the deuil merry Gen. 14. Gregory A Simily Iob 1. Iob 30. 1 Pet. 5. Iob 40. Luke 15. The dammage and hurt that comes to the soule by sinne Esay 59. Augustine Ezra 6. Ester 7. Prou. 19. Lib. 3. de consol Philoso cap. 1. Soph. 2. Psal. 21. Esay 59. A simily Esay 10. August Ser. 144. de tempt Lib. 4. de consola Philos. Psal. 49. 1 Iohn 3. Iohn 8. Math. 16. Luke 9. Hier. in an Epistle to Susanna Hier in an Epistle to Iuliana cap. True repentance August in his Soliloquies Three parts of repentance Contrition what it is In his 16. Sermon vppon the Cant. August Cassianus vpon the 120. Psalm Chrysost. of the compunction of the hart Confession In his 30. Sermon to the brethren in the wildernes In his 5◠Sermon de tempore Ierem. 8. Isidor lib. de Etym. Leo in a Sermon Satisfactiō Augustine in his Soliloquities Gregory Hom 5 ad Monachos Augustine in Psal 50 In what things satisfaction cōsisteth 1 Iohn 2 Ecclus 35 Luke 11 The fruites of almes-deedes Prou 16 2 King 4. Esay 58. Tob 4 Lib. 18. Moral c. 10 1 Kings 1◠Prou 3 Three
maketh a man the child seruant of the deuil hence is that of Iohn He that committeth sin is of the deuill And our Lord saith in the Gospell Yee are of your father the deuill Therfore ô thou sinner howe vnhappy art thou that feelest so great losses and dammages take pitty therefore on thine owne soule and doe not burden and loade it with sinnes These things being thus remember ô man and acknovvledge these three mayne and huge mischiefes which sinne bringeth vnto thee that is the offending of God the reioycing of the deuill and infernall torments Consider furthermore the noblenes of thy soul and hovve daungerous thy wounds be which could not be healed but onely by the blood and woundes of the Sonne of God Vnlesse the wounds of thy soule had been euerlastingly mortall and deadly the Son of God had not died for them Therefore doe not sleightly prize or lightly weigh the concupiscences of thy soule which that same supreame Maiesty of God did so greatly and highly account of Hee aboundantly poured out teares for thee euery night wash thou thy bed with teares water thy couch with continuall contrition He shed his blood for thee shed also thine by the daily affliction of thine hart and continuall tribulation of thy spirit Doe not regard what thy body desireth but respect vvhat thy soule willeth for Saint Gregory sayth where the body liueth a while in delights there the soule is tortured with perpetuall torments And by how much the body is afflicted in this life by so much the spirit reioyceth in the other Therefore Saint Augustine admonisheth vs very well Let vs denie our owne vvills for Iesus Christ for they must once be forsaken neither doth it please God that for temporall things we should loose eternall blessings If thou wast permitted certayne yeares to liue in the delights of this flesh with this cōdition that afterwards thine eyes should be plucked out or that thou being depriued of all delicates shouldest most miserably perrish through hunger and thirst and wretchedly contend with famine affliction misery I perswade my self that thou wouldest neuer wish for such manner of delicats What I pray thee is this life In truth it is not the space of one moneth vvhat doe I say of a moneth Nay it is not the space of one houre not of a minute no not of a moment if it bee compared to that eternall beatitude or to those torments of hell vvhich haue none ende and lyke which none can bee thought of The third Meditation for Wednesday howe dangerous it is to deferre repentance OVR Redeemer inuiting vs all vnto repentance sayth If any man will follow mee let him forsake himselfe and take vp his Crosse and follow mee for whosoeuer vvill saue his lyfe shall loose it It is necessary that all sinners doe take vp thys Crosse and carry it with perseuerance if they desire to raigne with Christ Iesus Wherefore Saint Hierome writing to Susanna saith that repentance ought to be equall or greater then the sinnes That repentance is necessary sayth hee which may either equalize the faults or exceede them And Saint Augustine saith Whosoeuer will be saued it is necesary that hee be washed at the least with the teares of the contrition of his hart being cleansed before by baptisme from all those blemishes and pollutions which sinne had spotted and soyled him withall But if thou shalt say that this is a hard saying and that thou canst not forsake the world nor hate thy flesh nor chastice thy body heare what is sayd not of mee but of Saint Hierome It is a difficult thing nay it is impossible that any one should enioy both present and future blessings that hee should fill his belly heere and his soule there that from delicacies he should passe vnto delightes that in both worlds he should be graced carry his head aloft and that hee should appeare glorious both in heauen in earth Which sentence Saint Gregory confirmeth Many saith he doe desire to flye out of the exile of this present life vnto celestiall ioy who in the meane time will not forsake the pleasures of this world The grace of Christ Iesus doth call them but the concupiscence of the world doth detaine thē They desire to dye the death of the righteous but they wil not liue as they doe such shall euerlastingly perrish because theyr works shal follow them The austerity of holy Iohn Baptists life sayth Saint Bernard is a hard sentence of death vnto sinners who when there arose not a greater then hee among those that are born of women did so chastice correct and afflict his most innocent body and yee hast to be clothed with silke fine linnen and purple and to fare deliciously O wicked man this is not the Kings high vvay vnto heauen Remember the rich glutton who vvas the Lorde of such great wealth who was cloathed in purple and fine linnen fared wel delicatly euery day who afterwards could not haue one smal drop of water to coole his tong beeing tormented in the midst of the flames of hel Cōsider this ô my frend repent whilst thou hast time Heare what Saint Gregory saith Although God promiseth pardō vnto the penitent yet he hath not promised to morrow vnto a sinner It is repentance to deplore sins past not to cōmit any hereafter Therfore it is very well sayde of S. Augustine Vaine is that repētance which the future fault doth pollute lamentations do nothing profit if sins be multiplied it nothing auaileth to craue pardon for euils if eftsoons thou renuest reiteratest thy follies We must note for the further manifestation of this matter that true repentance doth cōsist of three parts which are contrition of hart cōfession of mouth satisfaction of deed For we haue offended God three maner of vvayes by delight of thought by lapse of tong and by pride of works and these three are to be cured by three contrarie remedies delight of thought by the sorrow and contrition of hart the lapse of the tongue by the confession of the mouth and the pride of workes by vpright and vncorupted satisfaction Of these three parts therefore wee will speake and first of contrition which is a voluntary greefe taken for sinne committed with a purpose of confession satisfaction and heereafter not to sinne any more Contrition must haue foure degrees according to Bernard Furthermore know saith he that thou hast wholy recouered thy wits and sences if thou feelest thy conscience to be bitten with a fourefold compunction with a double shamfastnes and with a double feare Therfore in thy plangors and lamentations for thy selfe think of God thy maker think of thy father think of him who is bountiful gracious think of thy Lord and knowe that thou art guilty in each respect deplore and lament each offence thy feare doth make aunswer to the first and last thy
GRANADOS Spirituall and heauenlie Exercises Deuided into seauen pithie and briefe Meditations for euery day in the vveeke one Written in Spanish by the learned and reuerend Diuine F. Lewes of Granado Since translated into the Latine Italian French and the Germaine tongue And now englished by Francis Meres Maister of Artes of both Vniuersities and student in Diuinitie AT LONDON Printed by Iames Robarts for I. B. Anno. Dom. 1598. To the valorous and noble minded Gentleman Captaine Iohn Sammes Esquire F. M. hartily wisheth in this life the health yeeres happines of Galen Nestor and Augustus and in the other the delight rest and ioy of Abraham Isaac and Iacob THere bee three thinges Right worshipful greatlie desired in this lyfe Health VVealth Fame it is a question which of these is cheefe the sicke sayth Health the couetous commendeth VVealth and both these place good name last of all But they be both partiall Iudges because Health VVealth though they be neuer so good and so great end with the body and are subiect to time But honour fame renowne and good report doe tryumph ouer death and make men liue for euer Nunquā stigias fertur ad vmbras Inclyta virtus Immensum calcar gloria habet there is not a greater inticement vnto vertue then Fame true glory Spes famae solet ad virtutem impellere multos This made Alexander in honor of armes to emulate Achilles Scipio Africanus to imitate Xenophons Cyrus Caesar to patterne himselfe by Alexander Selimus Prince of Turkes to trace the steps of Caesar and Carolus Quintus to fire his thoughts at Philip Cominaeus his Lodouicus xi King of Fraunce Proceede noble and heroyick Spirite with young Troylus to ayme at Hectors glory And as the pregnancie of your Hopes promiseth to be an Huniades to the Turkes a Talbot to the French and a Drake to the Spanyard so also bee an Artaxerxes to Hippocrates an Alexander to Pindarus and Aristotle a Scipio to Ennius an Augustus to Virgil a Traian to Plutarch and a Mecaenas to all Schollers And then as the sworde dooth defend the penne of the Scholler so the penne shal grace the sword of the Souldiour shall tunablie sonnet that paracleticall verse out of Horace Dignum laude virum Musa vetat mori Learning indeede vvould bee soone put to silence without the ayde support of noble bountifull and generous spirits In hope of which ayde and supportation I present these diuine and celestiall meditations vnto your VVorship which vnder the title of your protection may doe as much good in England as they haue done in Spayne Portugall Italy Fraunce and Germanie Lodouicus Granatensis the Authour of these heauenly and spyrituall Meditations hath so cunningly portrayed in this Treatise the myseries and calamities of this lyfe and with such diuine eloquence depainted the future blessednes of the other that for stile hee seemes to mee another Cicero and for sounde and emphaticall perswasion a second Paule VVhose diuine spirit heauenly writing as it hath moued the Italians Camillus Camilli Georgius Angelierus Timotheus Bagnus Iohannes Baptista Porcacchius to translate his works into theyr language and Michael of Isselt to conuert thē into Latine Philippus Doberniner into the Germaine tongue so also hath it mooued me to digest thē into English that nowe at the length our Country might enioy that rare Iewel vvhich those famous Countries doe so highly prize For further commendation of the Authour and thys Booke I referre your VVorship to the present discourse which I assure my selfe will worke those motions in you that it shal neyther yrke you of your paines nor mee of my labour Thus boldlie presuming on your curteous acceptation I commit you to hys sacred protection who graceth heere vpon the earth the memories of the valiant and vertuous by the pennes of Schollers and glorifieth them in heauen with his chosen men of vvarre who with Iosua haue fought his battailes and with Dauid haue vnsheathed their swords to auenge his quarrell London the 24. of Nouember 1598. At your Worships commaundement Francis Meres The Contents of the seuerall heads discoursed in this Booke THE Prologue a briefe manner of Meditation Page 1. The first Meditation for Monday Of the miserie in which man is created page 21. The second Meditation for Tuesday of sinne and what discommodities come by it page 39 The third Meditation for Wednesday how dangerous it is to deferre repentance page 63 The fourth meditatiō for Thursday of the contempt of the world and with what hatred and diligence it is to be eschewed page 99. The fift Meditation for Friday of the vanity of the glory and magnificence of this world 120 The sixt Meditation for Saterday how death is to be feared and that a Christian ought so to liue that death may neuer find him vnprepared 147. The seauenth Meditation for Sonday of the ioyes of the blessed in heauen and of the paynes of the damned in hell page 166 Lastly there is annexed to these seauen celestiall Meditations an excellent Exposition vpon the one and fifty Psalme 208. THE Prologue and a briefe manner of Meditation ALl thinges passe away except the loue of GOD. Whē as the wise man had contemplated and by long experience learned the mutabilitie of all things neither had found any constancie or certainelie very little in any thing created in this world but many desires an vnsatiable thirst of men which violently forced them to hunt after these transitorie things at length he cryeth out Vanity of vanities all is vanity affliction of spirit And when he had runne thorow and experimēted all things in the world with a most wholesome councell he concludeth his disputation saying Remember thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth whiles the euill dayes come not nor the yeeres approch wherein thou shalt say I haue no pleasure in them whiles the Sun is not dark nor the light nor the Moone nor the starres nor the clowdes returne after the raine Feare God and keepe his commaundements for this is the whole dutie of man And because the whole safety of our soules and all our blessednes dependeth of this councell it is most aptly and fitlie spoken of S. Gregory That there is no such sacrifice offered to the Almightie as the zeale of the soule is vvhich sheweth by vvholesome doctrines the vvay vnto celestiall glory I beeing therefore moued by this zeale although vnworthy to teach haue gathered this short tractate out of diuers authorities of holy doctors that a soule drowned in the pollution of sinne beeing conuicted by these instructions authorities of holy men and enlightned of the holie Ghost might bee reduced to her Creator and Redeemer as a straying and lost sheepe or at the length might know her estate and the errors and daungers which she in this vvorld is in whilst shee continueth in sinne and being touched with the sorrow of contrition might returne vnto God and returning
doe not therfore cast away the siluer bowles in which the wine is but reseruing them they poure out the wine but God not onely casteth out sinne but also together with sinne hurleth downe headlong into the deepest Ocean of hel the vessels in which it is which are creatures reasonable soules made according to his owne image and redeemed with his precious blood Wherupon the wiseman saith Vngodlines and an vngodly man are alike hated of God That most patient man Iob sayth Thou doest visite me euery morning and triest me euery moment Therefore in vvhat should I hope or wherin should I trust but in the mere mercy of God and in the affiance of celestiall grace For bee it that I dwell amongst honest men be it that I conuerse and dyet with religious deuoute and faythfull friends be it that I reade holy Bookes godly Treatises and sing heauenly Himnes yet they little or rather nothing at all profit mee if the fauour of GOD forsake mee and leaue me to my nakednes and necessity Therefore there is none other remedy but to embrace patience to deny my selfe and vvholy to yeelde vp and offer my selfe vnto the deuine will and pleasure There was neuer any man so religeous who did not sometimes feele himselfe depriued of diuine consolation and that hee wanted the zeale and feruour of the spirit There neyther is nor hath at any time been any Saint vvhom temptation hath not sometimes taken holde of Certainely hee is not woorthy of that high and sublime contemplation of GOD vvho before hath not for the loue of GOD been exercised in sundrie and manifolde tribulations Almost alvvayes the praecedent temptation is vvoont to bee a token that comforte is at the doores VVherefore heauenlie consolation is promised vnto them that are approoued and tried vvith temptations which the Scripture affirmeth when it is said To him that ouercommeth will I giue to eat of the tree of life which is in the middes of the Paradice of God Wherefore God hath not eyther in heauen or vpon the earth so deere and faithfull a familier friend whō he deadly hateth not if he finde deadly sinne in him Wherfore albeit Christ loued Saint Peter entirely yet he had condemned him if he had died in that sin when thrice he denied his lord and Maister Secondly Gods hatred to sin heereby also appeareth that he would haue his onely begotten Sonne dye for the sinnes of men as Esay testifieth saying For the transgression of my people haue I strucken and plagued him And certainly the Sonne of God himselfe that he might destroy sinne deliuered his owne soule into the hands of death as the same Prophet sayth Who was euer found boyling with so great wrath against his enemies who that he might destroy them slewe his onely Sonne Thirdly Gods detestation to sinne is heereby also gathered that he hath persecuted it euen from the beginning of the world to the end not in one place but wheresoeuer he found it He found it in heauen and thence he banished it when he saw it remaining vppon the earth he came in his owne person that hee might expell it thence and at the last in the finall iudgement he vvill confine include sinne within the limits and bonds of hell as in his naturall place as the Prophet testifieth saying And he will cast all our sinnes into the bottome of the Sea Fourthly how greatly sinne displeaseth God this similitude argueth vvithout all doubt that fault is very odious and abhominable that causeth a Mother to cast her beloued Sonne into a burning furnace and not once to assay to take him thence againe so certainly there must needes be some great matter in it and exceedingly odious vnto God for which hee should cast his children into eternall flames if hee finde sinne in them vvhom notwithstanding hee so loued that hee refused not to dye for them Thou seest heere ô sinfull soule how odious and abhominable all sin is vnto God Wherefore if thou desirest to please God it is necessary that thou keepe thy selfe free and clean from sinne so that it possesse not the least place in thee For shee shall be accounted a very vnfaythfull woman who admitteth into her bed an other man besides her husband but especially if shee admitte one that is his enemy and of whom hee is to expect many discommodities and iniuries so also vnfaithfull is that soule vvhich of purpose and vvillingly giueth place vnto sinne vvhich Christ our Redeemer the true spouse of our souls hateth so deadly which wrought him so many discōmodities so many losses so many torments and for vvhich he vvas hanged naked vpon the Crosse. Wherfore heere it pleaseth and liketh mee vvell to imitate that regall Prophet and svveete singer of Israell and saye Create in me a cleane hart ô God and renue a right spirit within mee VVee sayd that the second reason why sinne was to be eschewed is because it maketh merry our auntient enemy the deuill vvhich is gathered by three signes and tokens The first is because hee seeketh for nothing in the whole world so industriously he hunteth not after gold nor siluer nor precious stones but after soules as it is figured in Genesis where the King of Sodome sayth in the person of the deuill Giue mee the soules and take the goods to thy selfe Saint Gregory affirmeth the same thing Perswade thy selfe that the deuill seeketh for none other thing then to deceaue and destroy soules for as an Hawke desireth nothing so much as the hart of that bird which he pursueth so the deuill desireth nothing so much as the soule of a sinner The second signe whereby we know that the deuill doth loue sin is the continuall temptation by which he impugneth and molesteth men neyther is euer wearied in solliciting man vnto sinne For there are almost nowe past sixe thousand yeares in all which time hee hath onely applied himselfe to this study that he might sinne and make man to sinne neyther is he tyred yea hee daily findeth and inuenteth nevve kinds of sinne hee is still nimbler and busier in his endeuors and temptations daily bringeth men into new errours as wee see in the booke of Iob. For when as God asked him whence he came he aunswered From compassing the earth to and fro and from walking in it Hee is so busied in preferring sinne that he hath not time to take any rest as Iob testifieth They that pierce me through saith he doe not sleepe The third signe that sinne pleaseth the deuill is that hee can neuer be satisfied with sin For although infinit thousands of men haue descended to hell for their impiety and pollution of sinne of whom the deuill is the ringleader yet he is not satisfied but alwayes hungerly Like a roaring Lyon walketh about seeking whom hee may deuoure as Saint Peter testifieth in his first Epistle generall He so hungreth and
thirsteth as it is sayd in the booke of Iob that he drinketh vp the riuer and hasteth not and hee trusteth that hee can draw vp Iorden into his mouth His mouth is hell and the riuer that runneth into his hellish mouth are sinners vvho with great celerity as swift riuers hast into his iawes whom hee swalloweth vp with great thirst and desire It is reported in the life 's of the Fathers that the Prince of deuils did commend and honour one of his traine yea commaunded him to sitte in his chayre of estate crovvned because hee had brought a certayne religious man to the sinne of luxurie vvhom hee had beene enticing fourty yeeres and could not bring him to nibble or byte at his bayte Therefore mourne and lament ô sinfull soule verie bitterlie seeing thou hast so often reioyced thy mortall enemies by sinning so mortallie to thy greate losse and daunger and in steede thereof yeeld repentance and a pure conuersion of heart vnto God that God and his Angells may in like manner reioyce For there is ioy in the presence of the Angels of God for one sinner that conuerteth The third principall reason for which sinne is to be eschewed is the great dammage we reape by it For first by sinne wee are estranged from God and made his enemies This is that which Esay saith Your iniquities haue seperated betweene you and your God and your sinnes haue hid his face from you that he will not heare If all the blessed Cittizens of that heauenly Country could either sinne or would sinne they should fall from heauen into the bottomles depth of hell and should vtterly loose the amity and friendship which they haue with God Heere-vpon Augustine saith If thy faythfull friend offend thee thou thinkest him woorthy to be reprehended howe much more worthy art thou to be blamed if thou sinnest against almighty God thy most gracious and mercifull Father Secondly sinne maketh his Author guilty of infernall torments And because the diuine law doth not much differ from humaine constitutions that which mans lawe doth to the body the same Gods lawe inflicteth vpon the soule Therfore mark how the law of man maketh the transgressor of the Kings commaundement and the contemner of his royall Maiesty guilty of death as it is written in Ezra where it is remembred that King Darius when he had promulgated his decree as concerning the reedifying of the temple at Ierusalem added at the end of his letter Pattens I haue made a decree That who soeuer shall alter this sentence the wood shall be pulled downe from his house and shall be set vp and he shall be hanged thereon and his house shall be made a dunghill for this This vvood is our owne consciences VVee haue the lyke example in Ester where Assuerus commaunded Haman to be hanged This is the sentence of GOD which he will pronounce at the last day agaynst them who shall bee found to haue liued in theyr sinnes let them be hanged vp in hell The third losse is sinne spoileth man in this lyfe of all spirituall graces and in the world to come of euerlasting glory wherefore Salomon saith Sin maketh men miserable Neither is a sinner onely miserable because hee hath not but also because hee hath lost himselfe and his liberty he maketh himselfe the deuills slaue and captiue neyther can he make any spyrituall gayne nor doe any thing in this state acceptable vnto God Neither doth hee liue albeit his body breath a little For a wicked man as sayth Boethius is not aliue but dead for by sinne hee hath seperated him-selfe from the light and is blind The same testifieth Sophonias They shal walke sayth hee as blinde men because they haue sinned agaynst the Lorde And Dauid sayth They haue not knowne nor vnderstoode they walke in darknesse all the foundations of the earth are out of square Esay in the person of sinners dooth more elegantly set them out in their colours We grope for the wall like the blind and we grope as one without eyes wee stumble at the noone day as in the twilight we are in solitary places as dead men Sinne is the same in the soule that rottennes is in an apple for as that doth corrupt the tast smell colour and the whole beauty of the apple so sinne doth rob the soule of the dignity of grace of the report of a good name and of the comlines of all her beauty For this cause Esay doth compare sinners to the mire of the streetes Augustine also affirmeth that a dead dogg doth not stink so filthily in the nosethrils of men as a sinfull soule doth before God and his Angels And the same Father in a certaine Sermon desirous to call a man from the way of sinners saith What doth it profit thee if all thinges be good in thine house and thou thy selfe be not good Tell mee I pray thee why wouldest thou haue any euil or naughtines in thine actions thoughts or desires wouldest not haue naughty graine nor an euill tree but a good one a good horse a good seruant a good friend a good child a good wife But why doe I remēber these great matters when thou wilt not haue a ragged but a whole garmēt to be briefe a good shooe and not one that is torn Or tel me of any thing that thou wishest for which is naught or that thou desirest any thing which is not good I thinke that thou vvouldest not haue a ruinous house but a good house and wilt thou onely haue an euill soule VVherein hast thou offended thy selfe In what hast thou deserued ill of thy selfe Wilt thou not haue anie thing euill among thy good things but only thy selfe Prefer I pray thee thy life before thy shooes All thinges that are obuious vnto thine eies are good beautifull and elegant and thou louest them and art delighted in them and hovve can it be that thou thy selfe wilt be euill vile impure and abiect If all thinges that are in thine house could speak they would crie aloude and say If thou desirest that vvee should bee good vvee also desire a good Maister and they would exclayme against thee vnto God and say O good God thou hast giuen vnto this man so manie good thinges and so much vvealth vvhen as hee himselfe is vvicked and euill vvhat doe those thinges profitte hym vvhich hee hath vvhen as his vnderstanding is blinded and he possesseth not the Lord that bestovved these things vpon him The fourth dammage is that sinne maketh a man a brute beast Therefore Boethius sayth If thou takest goodnesse from a good man hee shall bee a beast And Aristotle sayth in his Ethicks that such a man is vvorse then a beast Neyther dooth the holie Scripture dissent from them vvhen it sayth Man beeing in honour hath no vnderstanding but is compared vn-the beasts that perrish The fift dammage is that sin
shamfastnes to the two in the midst Be it that thy Father doth wink at thee that he that is bountiful gracious doth pardon thee but thy Lord Creatour will not He that spared not his Son wil not spare the workmanship of his hands nor a wicked seruant c. We offend the Lord our God the Creator of all things we more wickedly offend our heauenly father being so gracious bountifull who doth support nourish vs in which thing we are worse then dogs who do loue folow them of whom they are nourished but most vilely we offend God by crucifying againe by sinne our Redeemer as much as lieth in vs who hath redeemed vs by his most precious blood and hath deliuered vs from all the snarés entrappings of sinns from the cruelty of deuils and frō infernall punishments We must bee sorrowfull for three things for sin committed for good omitted for time lost Augustin speaketh of the dignity of cōtrition The cōtrition of the hart auaileth more then to go on pilgrimage throughout the world And Cassianus vpon the Psalme I called vnto the Lord in my trouble sayth the Lord doth not knowe how to put of him whō he knoweth to entreat him with a broken and pierced hart And Chrisostom sayth It is only compunction which maketh a man to abhor purple to desire sackcloath to worke righteousnes to loue teares and to auoid laughter Of Cōfession which is an other part of repentance S. Augustin saith that it is the health of soules an expeller of vices a restorer of vertue an impugner of wicked spirits a feare of hel an impedimēt of the deuill O holy admirable confession thou shuttest the mouth of hel and openest the gate of Paradice And in another place He that accuseth himself of his sins the deuil cannot accuse him at the day of iudgmēt if in cōfessing them he blot those things out by repentance which hee hath done neither doth renue that againe which he hath cōmitted But woe be vnto vs that whē so many so great blessings benefits are foūd in repētance yet there are so few found that do take it vpon thē Heereupon God complaineth in Ieremy saying I harkned heard but none spake right no man repented him of his wickednes saying What haue I done Heare what S. Isidore saith It is confession by which the lurking disease of the soule is opened to the prayse of God in hope to obtaine pardon Of which vertue Ambrose sayth When confession proceedeth frō a man then the vengeance of God ceaseth And Cassiodorus saith Iesus Christ is not their Iudge but their Aduocat who accuse thēselues by theyr own cōfession Leo also agreeth with these that is not to be cōdemned saith he in iudgment which was purged by confession Goe too therfore my brother follow the councell of Esay first recount thine iniquities that thou maist be iustified For the confession of sins is the beginning of righteousnes Of satis-faction which is a third part of repentance thus speaketh S. Augustine Satisfaction is to cut of the causes of sin and not to cherrish by suggestions any entrance into thē Gregory sayth thus vvee do not satis-fie although we cease from iniquitie vnlesse on the contrary side we persecute by opposite bewaylings the pleasures which wee loued Chrysostome consenteth vnto thys The reconciliation sayth hee ought to be equal to the precedent offence thou oughtest to be as readie to lament as to offend and as thine intent vvas to offend such also ought thy deuotion to bee in repenting for great sinnes doe require also great greefe and sorrow Wherefore Eusebius sayth A light and slight contrition dooth not effect that those debts may be forgiuē to which euerlasting death is due neyther is a transitory satisfaction sufficient for those euils for which eternall fire is prepared There is neede of much vveeping of much mourning of great griefe of heart to heale the griefes and sorrowes of the hart We must endeuour with the vvhole contrition of the spyrite that those olde euills vvhich as arrowes stick in our consciences may be pulled out It is not sufficient vvith the lips onely to say I haue offended spare me remit my sins But we are presently weary looke behind vs as Lots vvife did wherfore we are diligently to cōsider the words of Bernard He that perfectly knoweth sayth he the burden of sin the plagues greeuāces of his soul he shal litle or nothing at all feele the punishments castigations of his body neyther shall they be troublesome vnto him certainly perswading himselfe that God wil haue respect vnto him that he shall auoyd those things which hee was desposed and prepared to commit Hereupon S. Augustine saith writing vpon the Psalme Haue mercy vpon me ô God Many there be sayth he that are not ashamed to sinne but they are ashamed to repent O incredible madnes art thou not ashamed of thy wound art thou ashamed of the binding vp of thy wound Is it not being naked more vgly Run therfore to the Phision repent say I doe confesse mine iniquity and my sinne is alwayes before mee against thee onely haue I sinned and done this euill before thee Satisfaction consisteth in three things In prayer Almes-deedes Fasting which are as it were certaine antidotes against so many capitall vices by which we offend GOD and these three vices doe arise from three principall enemies of our soules Pride is ingendered of the deuill couetousnes of the world luxury of our own flesh of which thus speaketh Saint Iohn All that is in the world is the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life Prayer restraineth pride Almes-deedes banisheth couetousnesse and fasting brideleth lust Furthermore wee alwayes sinne eyther against God and so in like manner prayer is opposed against all that sin by it we are accepted of God as as the Wise-man saith The prayer of him that humbleth him selfe goeth thorowe the clowdes and coaseth not till it come neere and will not depart till the most High haue respect therevnto or we sinne against our selues against such a sinne fasting is effectuall according to that of Augustine Restraine bridle your flesh by fasting abstinence Or we sinne against our neighbour here almes-deedes are of force of which our Sauiour speaketh in Luke Giue almes and all things shall be cleane to you For as water extinguisheth fire so almes-deeds quench sinne Almes-deedes are called the water of GOD and a precept of mercy commaunded vnto vs of the sonne of God Wherefore for three causes we are bound to giue almes to exercise the works of charitie First because by mercy sin is wiped away VVhereupon Salomon sayth By mercie and truth iniquitie shall bee forgiuen The Scripture maketh mention of that poore widdow
as a most precious treasure Wherfore S. Gregorie sayd Woe be vnto mee if I shall negligently keepe the talent committed to me of the Lorde that is my soule redeemed with the precious bloode of that immaculate lambe seeing also that there is not any moment of time which I am not to giue an account of The thyrd example If any one be a Steward whose dutie is to dispose the goods of hys Lord if hee shoulde giue the best bread the best vvine and the best meates to strangers to the enemies of his Lord should sette before his Lorde mustie bread vnsauory meats putrified flesh corrupted fishes and dead vvine doe you not thinke that this seruaunt should badly fitte the humour of his Lord A wretched sinner is like to such an one vvho offereth to the worlde and to the deuill who are the enemies of Christ Iesus his lord the best and fairest flower of his youth and strength and to his God and lord the worst part of his lyfe barren and vnprofitable old age Dauid did not so who saith of himselfe I will keep my strength for thee ô Lorde And the Wise man sayth that from his youth hee sought for wisedome vvhich is true vertue But of all them that deferre repentance Saint Gregory saith Hee is farre enough of from fayth vvho expecteth old age to repent in For it is to be feared least while hee hopeth for mercy he fall into iudgement For not any day is within hys power therefore euery one ought to follow the counsel of Isidore and conuert hymselfe with all the diligence and hast hee can vnto the Lord for if hee lynger and loyter he shall at the length bee willing but not able to turne himselfe Which things beeing so repent my deere brother with all speede and celeritie and make no longer tarrying least thou be reprobated and shutte out with the foolish virgins The fourth Meditation for Thursday of the contempt of the world and with what hatred and diligence it is to be eschewed THE glorious Apostle S. Iohn saith Brethren loue not the world neither the things that are in the worlde For if any man loue the world the loue of the Father is not in him and the world passeth away and the lust thereof Saint Augustine expounding thys place sayth What wilt thou doe whether hadst thou rather loue temporall things and so passe away with the tyme or Christ our Sauiour and liue for euer If thou shalt loue thys world it will consume and destroy thee for it cannot defend them that loue it Thys VVorlde is as an excommunicated man for as the Church doth not pray for him that is excōmunicated so Iesus Christ dooth not pray for the world although he prayed for them that crucified him O how great madnes is it to serue such a lord who at the end of thy seruice is wont to giue no other wages but nakednes and desolation So Saladine that great Soldane of Babilon the conquerer of Asia being at the point of death and seeing no hope of life to remaine cōmanded his standard-bearer to bee called vnto him to whom hee thus spake saying Thou hadst wont to carry myne imperiall ensigne before me whē I went to warre nowe also carry the ensigne of my death which is thys poore vvinding-sheete carry it thorow all the streetes of Damascus and cry Behold the king of all the East dieth of all his spoyles trophyes carryes none other with him but thys worne thredbare winding-sheete The lyke is read of a certaine young king of Lothoringia vvho beeing readie to giue vp the ghost lying in a most magnificent pallace and in a rich sumptuous bedde cryed out with a loude voyce that he might be heard of all O lorde Iesus Christ how woorthily is this world to be condemned See in vvhat stately and royall buildings I haue lyued now vvretched creature that I am knowe not whither thys night following I shall goe what Inne I shall haue or what manner of entertainement I shall find Therefore ô sinner flie from the world flye I say from the worlde first because it leaueth thee in so great neede and misery For as the Apostle Saint Iames saith The amity of this world is the enmity of God Whosoeuer therefore will be a friende of the world maketh himselfe the enemy of God And Saint Gregory sayth A man is so much the neerer vnto God by howe much he is further of from the loue of the worlde For thys cause the Lord would bee carryed without the Citty to signifie that hee had no parte in the VVorlde and whosoeuer will bee pertaker of the fruites of hys passion hee must renounce the vvorlde and seperate himselfe from all worldlie conuersation if not in act yet in desire thys is that which almighty GOD commaundeth by his Prophet saying Get ye out of Babylon that euerie one may saue his owne soule Babylon according to the exposition of Saint Hierome is the house of confusion vvhich is this world in which confusion raigneth euery where as well in the Clergy as in the Layitie as well in olde as young as well in men as women Therefore it is very well sayd of Saint Iohn in his generall Epistle The whole worlde lyeth in wickednesse Saint Bernard also counselleth vs very well saying Flye out of Babylon flye and saue your soules Fly to the Citties of refuge where ye may both repent for sins past and for the present finde grace and safely looke for future glorie Let not the anguish and remorse of your sins hinder you nor the austeritie of repentance deter and afright you For neither the passions of this time nor the trybulation of thys world are woorthy for the fault past which is remitted for the present grace of cōsolation which is bestowed nor for the future glory which is promised To be briefe there is no bitternesse so great vvhich the Prophets meale will not sweeten which the wisedom of the tree of lyfe will not make sauory Wee are to knowe that the worlde is to be eschewed for foure causes the first of which is because wise and circumspect men are wont to flie and auoyd infectious and contagious places especially if they be weake and sickly or feare any infirmitie Such a place is the VVorlde which hath in it many euills many diseases of sin we see also much filthines many blemishes in it which cōtaminate pollute our soules for sinne it selfe is a contagious disease therefore not without cause we ought to eschew auoyd the societie and company of wicked and vngodlie men for it is not meet that the whole and sounde should dwell with the leaprous and diseased for the Wise man saith Hee that toucheth pitch shall be defiled with it and he that companieth with a proude man shal put on pride Certainly saith S. Ierom nothing dooth so hurte a man as naughty
did appeare vnto him would not be any whit carefull for repentance Of which I inferre that hee that in his youth and whilst hee is whole and sound neither feareth nor blusheth to offend God is vnwoorthy to haue his sinns forgiuen him in the agony of death For tell me what repentance is that which a man maketh when he plainly seeth that he can liue no longer yea who would liue more dissolutly then he did before if hee should recouer his former health Truly I my selfe haue seene very few rich men who haue repented at the houre of death and recouering agayne bodilie health haue not afterwardes beene woorse in theyr soules then they were before This I am assured and altogether perswaded of and I haue learned it by long experience and obseruation that they that alvvayes sinne vvithout anie feare and neuer in health will sette sinne at defiance nor renounce theyr pleasures that they sildome and very hardlie haue an happy ende as sayth Saint Hierome VVherefore my Brother if thou hast any discretion or if there bee anie light of reason within thee despise and forsake the riches honours and glorie of this world for his sake who created thee and who is ascended aboue all things VVhat shall it profit thee if thou gainest the whole world and loosest thy soule I knowe assuredly that the honours and glory of this world are impediments of grace and that which is worse hinderers of eternall saluation For it is no where reade that euer any man passed vnto eternall glory by the pleasures and delights of this world O howe vaine and false is the glory vvhich men hunt after and desire one of another and not of God He that desireth to be preferred before all men it is to bee feared least the higher hee ascends the greater will bee his fall That Angell was a Cittizen and an inhabitant of heauen who said I will ascend into heauen exalt my throne aboue beside the starres of God I will sitte also vppon the mount of the Congregation in the sides of the North. I will ascend aboue the height of the cloudes and I will bee like the most high But hee vvas made a deuill and fell into the deepest pitte of hell Therefore it is very well sayde of Saint Augustine O howe happie is hee vvhose heart onelie burneth vvith a desire of heauenlie glorie Who is not puffed vp in prosperitie nor cast downe in aduersitie Who as hee hath nothing in the vvorlde that hee loueth so hee hath nothing that hee feareth VVhat other thing is the glory of this worlde but a tickling of the eares O how cursed is he sayth Anselmus and ingratefull that seeketh for the glorie of thys vvorlde No honour is gotte vvithout trouble no dignitie vvithout disturbance no highnes without vanity Wherfore my brother if thou wouldest weightily consider of the great danger that follovveth vvorldly glorie vvithout doubt thou wouldest shunne and flie from all the vanity of this vvorlde and thou vvouldest onely desire to enioy that celestiall beatitude vvhich all the Saintes haue obtayned by so great labours and afflictions and now doe enioy with greater reioycing The sixt Meditation for Saterday howe death is to be feared and that a Christian ought so to liue that death may neuer finde him vnprepared BE mindfull saith the wiseman for death dooth not tarry the remembrance of it is the mother of many good things for the same Wiseman saith Remember the end and thou shalt neuer doe amisse And Saint Bernard saith Continuall remembrance of death is a great blessing Let a man alwayes carry this about with him and hee shall neuer offend And Saint Augustine sayth There is not any thing that more forciblie holdeth a man from sinne then the continuall remembrance of death This maketh a man humble lowly this bringeth a cōtempt of earthly things induceth a man to take vpon him the burden of repentance S. Hierome also doth subscribe vnto these saying Hee that perswadeth himselfe that he shall dye easily contemneth all things he despiseth the pride of lyfe who remembreth that ere long hee shall be cast into the earth for hee that knoweth that shortly he must be put vnder all mens feet be troden vpon by euerie one he will not desire to be extolled or to be lifted aboue others he that remēbreth that he must leaue all things by and by contemneth the lust of his eies but especially he despiseth the concupiscence of the flesh vvho considereth that after a short time his body shal be deuoured of the vvormes of the earth I wold to God saith S. Ierome that the kings Princes of the earth and the possessors of the riches of this worlde wold cōsider how after a short space of time they shall be carried out of theyr magnificent Pallaces and be enclosed included in a very narrow corner of a roome how they shall be caried out of their glistering famous buildings into a darke obscure Sepulcher out of their golden gilded houses painted with most beautiful most plesant flowers picturs into a Sepulcher replenished with crawling worms intollerable stink out of their Pallaces full of all the fine furniture riches of this world into an empty and hollow Sepulcher out of Pallaces in which a company of children and a troup of seruants daily attēded into a solitary desert forsaken Sepulcher seperated from all society and resort of men Tell mee where remayneth all that forepassed glory and pompe Where is the multitude of seruants and attendants that were wont to follow them Where are their costly delicate banquets They ioyed heere a little time and liued in their Pallaces in the midst of the delights of this world and nowe worms in a Sepulcher do frollick and feede on them Of this remembrance of death Petrus Damianus vvryteth vnto a certaine Countesse saying O that wee would remember deare Lady how the miserable soule is excruciated at the point of death with horrible feare cruell remorse and sharpe piercings it being now to depart out of the prison of the flesh It shall remember vices and sins committed which are so strictly forbidden It shall beholde the precepts of God which it hath not obserued partly throgh negligence and partly through contempt it shall lament the time spent without fruit which was granted it to repent in it shall mourne and bewaile because it hath so lately vnderstood the ineuitable and immutable vengeance of condemnation It shall bee compelled to forsake and leaue the flesh it shall desire to reuoke and recall the time past but it cannot neither shall it bee heard Looking backwardes it shall see all her life time as the tract and step of one pace And looking forwards seeing so euerlasting an age of eternity it shall howle and cry out that in so short a time it did not purchase that great glory which the Saintes shall enioy for euer and euer
danger yea as secure impure negligent and vvithout anie regarde wee hasten vvith greate celeritie to finde out this insufferable and importable euill But some man vvill say a finite sinne ought not to bee punished vvith an infinite torment Almightie GOD is iust and that which is finitely committed ought not to bee infinitelie plagued To which Saint Gregory aunsvvereth that hee should say vvell if the iuste and stricte Iudge should recompence punish onely the deedes and not the hearts of men For the wicked did therefore offende finitely because theyr lyfe vvas finite But they vvould haue lyued without ende that they might haue continued in sinne without end For they more desire to sinne then to liue and therfore they alwayes desire to liue heere that whilst they liue they may neuer cease to sin Therefore it belongeth to the iustice of the strict Iudge that they neuer want punishment who were minded in this life neuer to haue wanted sinne and that no ende of vengeance should bee alotted vnto them vvho would make no ende of sinning while they were able to offend This sayth hee Another reason is this The greater the person is who is offended the greater is the iniurie and offence and deserueth the greater punishment as both Aristotle and Chrysostome auerre For so great is the iniury as the person is great against whom the iniury is committed If the person bee noble a small iniurie becomes great and if the person be base and vulgar a great offence is accounted bur smally of Therfore because God is infinite in povver and in goodnes the iniury which is offered vnto him is also infinite and therefore it is requisite and meete that it bee punished with an infinite and eternall torment Wherefore my deare brother thou seeing vnderstanding these things considering of them daily diligently in thy mind be I pray thee carefull for the saluation of thy soule Let thine eyes alwayes behold the cruelty sharpnes and greatnes of the tormentes in hell alvvayes meditate vppon those thinges vvhich are profitable and wholesome for thy soule For it is much better for thee heere without intermission to lament thy sinnes and in thys world with fruit to craue pardon and forgiuenes of God then heereafter for euer to bewaile them in the vnquenchable flames of hell without any profitte or remedy In thys short course and pylgrimage of thy life thou maist by teares and repentance obtayne remission of thy sinnes and blot out the hand-vvryting that God hath agaynst thee Therfore mourne and lament a little in this world least heereafter thou mourne and lament without end humble thy selfe a little here least hereafter thou beest cast dovvne into vtter darknes and into the euerlasting flames of hell Blessed is hee that vvatcheth and laboureth in this world that he may be found worthy in the day of iudgment of the society fellowship of the iust But wretched and miserable is hee that through his ovvne fault and negligence depriueth himselfe of this glory For then shall God in the cloudes take the righteous and shall carry them with him into euerlasting ioy But sinners shall bee haled of deuills in to euer-during and euer-burning fire VVho vvill gyue riuers of vvater to my head and fountaynes of teares flovving night and day from mine eyes that I may vveepe for my sinnes and bevvayle my selfe and that I may entreate my Sauiour that hee would vouchsafe mee his grace that I may not bee found vnworthy when he shal come to iudgement least I heare that fearefull and dreadful sentence Depart from mee yee cursed into euerlasting fire I know yee not But that I may be worthy to heare that happy most sweete voyce Come yee blessed of my Father inherite yee the kingdome prepared for you To the which my Lord Iesus Christ bring me through the merrits of his most sacred passion Amen Laus tri-vni Deo FINIS AN Exposition vpon the one and fifty Psalme Haue mercy vpon me ô God VVritten in Spanish by the reuerend and learned Diuine F. Lewes of Granada Since translated into Latine Italian and French AND NOW ENGLISHED by Frauncis Meres Maister of Artes of both Vniuersities and Student in Diuinity AT LONDON Printed by Iames Robarts Anno Dom. 1598. TO THE RELIgious and deuout Lady the Lady Iudith Kinaston F. M. hartily wisheth the fruition of all blessings both of grace in this lyfe and of glory in the other TVVo motiues right worshipfull and vertuous Lady haue induced mee to dedicate this short but sound and diuine exposition vpon the one and fifty Psalme vnto your most Christian Ladyship The first is your tender care louing regard extended to my Loue my deare and espoused Second selfe The other is your mindfulnes of my preferment which if your Ladiship shall effect I shall continue my Thankfulnes for all curtesies in more spacious ample manner In the meane season let mee entreate your VVorship curteously to accept this small Present The Lord Iesus in whose hand is the length of dayes grant vnto your Ladiship a long peaceable and quiet life vpon earth replenished with affluence of the best thinges especially of that one thing that our Sauiour in the 10 of Luke told Martha was needfull that you may instruct my Mary to choose the good part which shal not be taken away from her that you with al the elect of God may be pertaker of that euerlasting ioy which neyther eye hath seen nor eare hath heard neither hath entred into mans heart From your Ladiships house nere Dowgate in London this 24 of Nouember 1598. Your Ladiships deuout Oratour Francis Meres AN EXPOsition vppon the one and fiftie Psalme Haue mercy vpon me ô God O Lord thou that art the Creatour and Maker of all this words frame and al things are thine and the worke of thine hands yet neuerthelesse thou wouldest onely bee called the God of Abraham Isaack and Iacob of whom thy chosen people Israell were to spring although most ingratefull In fauour of vvhom thou didst shevve thy povver and didst worke greate and meruailous thinges as well in subduing and subuerting theyr enemies which victories were full of all admiration as in staying the course of the Sunne and subiecting the raging Sea relentlesse stones and mightie ryuers to theyr obedience vvho warred vnder thy banners wherevpon thou also art called a valiant and strong GOD the God of armyes and the Lord of hostes But vvhen this people grewe rebellious and of a stiffe necke then also thou didst shewe thy selfe terrible and fierce and didst gouerne them with an yron rodde with feare and trembling and those that wold not be ruled by loue gentlenes by faire means would not walke in theyr duties thou didst punish by most swifte and horrible plagues didst raigne vengeance vppon them that durst presume to offende thy Maiestie so that thou didst beginne to bee also called a GOD of vengeance so that at
the hearing of thy name not onely men but also the Sea and the elements trembled And so long as thy fury was not pacified by thy onelie begotten Sonne the gates of heauen were so shutte vp that the iustest man aliue might not passe thorough them Neyther durst sinners considering theyr vnwoorthynesse and theyr greeuous sinnes and seeing no other gates open in all thys vvorlde besides those of iustice and vengeance venter to come neere thee for by custome they had learned that comming vnto thee for remedy they found damnation approching for saluation they tasted death because thou wast called a consuming fire Many ô Lord beeing daunted with this feare did wander vp and downe sinking vnder the burthen of desperation hauing no hope to find any mercie Others beeing seperated from thee by ignorance did goe astray as sheepe without a sheepeheard bleating vp and downe in this world Therefore sayd Dauid Say vnto my soule I am thy saluation as if he should say My eares are ful of terrible names and feareful tytles let the time come in which by a new name thou thy selfe mayst promise saluation to my soule And this shal be when thou shalt be called Iesus that is a Sauior This in tymes past sayde Dauid in the person of all men But after that thou didst remember thy mercie and the promises made vnto the Fathers that is that the tyme should come that thou thy selfe wouldest put on our humanity and misery when I say thou wentest out of the hal of thy power and iustice comming vnto vs didst enter into the Pallace of thy mercy and benignity thou didst aboundantly fulfil to all whatsoeuer thou hadst promised to anie But that greate follovver and Apostle of thy Sonne Iesus Christ our Lorde first began to call thee the Father of mercy and the GOD of all consolation A Father that hee might signifie that lyke a Father thou wouldest helpe vs A God because thou canst help whom thou pleasest So that sinners seeing thee to haue gone out of the hall of thy seueritie and to haue come into the Pallace of thy mercies and consolations seeing thee cloathed on euery side with theyr vestiments made one of theyr housholde they vvould no more vvander and vage vp and downe but beeing vnited to thy most holie Church they come to thy throane with sincere faith and firme hope desiring remission of their sinnes Thou hast done ô Lorde as hunters vse to doe who that they may not feare the vvilde beast doe cloathe themselues after the colour of the mountayne so also thou tookest vppon thee an earthen vesture like vs that thou mightest take whom thou wouldest For as thou didst show thine omnipotencie in times past by power and reuengement so thou now wouldest shew thy mercy by pardoning and forgyuing For to remitte an offered iniurie is no lesser glory then to reuenge it yea it is greater glory to forgiue it Therefore there is not neyther can there bee a sinne so great which thou doest not forgiue to him that is penitent If a sinner had beene so vnhappy that considering the greatnes of his sins he had not seene thy power and goodnes he had dispaired of pardon had sayde that which in times past our first brother Cain said and after him Iudas that is My sin is greater then can be pardoned and had layd violent hands vpon himselfe Therefore let him nowe reioyce and lyft vp his eyes to heauen whence commeth ayd and helpe to all them that are found in the tribulations and miseries of this world Let him open the eyes of his soule by fayth let him behold round about him ensignes and banners displayed not banners of warre of vengeance or of iustice but of pitty of mercie of pardon of friendship and of reconciliation to all them that desire it in truth Let him behold those honoured and graced in this Pallace who were wont to be his aduersaries and enemies There he shall see that great and famous sinner Magdalen receaued into fauour There hee shall see those humbled and brought low who supposed themselues wise and holie men and them exalted who confessed themselues sinners and of no merrit There hee shall see that sinner S. Peter who was a periured denier of his Maister to bee made a piller of the Church There hee shall see Saint Paule that wolfe and persecuter of the flock to be made a vessell of election Therfore let all sinners com let thē come I say to thys pallace of mercie and let them constantly and assuredly beleeue that no man in the world dooth heereafter so sinne or can sinne that hee cannot or may not obtaine remission at Gods handes for all his misdeedes neyther that any enmities or quarrels can arise to that height and passe vvhich can vtterly shutte vp the gates of frindship and reconciliation Wherefore I feeling my selfe burdened with the weight of my sinnes swallowed vp in the gulfe of misery desiring especially the sight of the eyes of my soule which errors and foule enormous sinnes haue shut vp and blinded and with greater desire and thyrst desiring thirsting for thy grace and fauour then the Hart or the Hunter dooth the vvater brookes I come to the throne of thy grace entreating beseeching thee ô Lord with that humility vvhich the greatest sinner can come withal knowing his vnvvorthines and his enormities done and committed before his eyes vvho once gaue him both being and life and after hee had lost it by sin and returned againe by repentance eftsoones restored it before his Maiestie who with his onely VVorde that is with his VVisedome created made all thinges of nothing before him in whose power it is not only to create a thousand other vvorlds but also to doe those things which can neyther enter into the thought of Angel or any other creature Before him I say I come and say Haue mercy vpon me ô Lord. And because ô my Lorde I haue no merrits by vvhich I may boldly presume to come vnto thee for I am not onelie vnwoorthy of this thy great mercy but haue also iustly deserued damnation destruction in hell I desire this According to thy great goodnes According to which if we wel consider howe thou hast alwaies vsed it towards sinners I beleeue and am verily perswaded that thou art more easie to be intreated and readier to forgiue then I through my weakenesse and infirmitie am prone vnto sin And because my sinnes haue so increased risen to that height that they are come into the presence of thy diuine Maiestie behold it was in my power to fall and through mine owne fault haue I gone astray but to rise againe and come home is not in my power except thou succourest and releeuest mee with thy singuler especial grace therfore I humblie desire thee to haue mercie on me According to the multitude of thy mercies Thee I say I most humbly do beseeche vvho hast beene so pittifull
thou wouldest purge me with hysope I shal be clean that thou wouldest wash mee and I shall bee whither then snow VVash mee ô Lorde with the water of that fountaine which floweth to eternall life vvhich thou didst promise to the vvoman of Samaria and purge me with the hysope of thy grace and with the fire of thy loue charitie burne away all the errors of my frailetie and all my wickednesse and then I shall bee cleansed frō all my sinnes then I shall returne vnto the state of innocencie then I shall be more pure and whiter then the whitest snowe Then Thou shalt make mee heare of ioy and gladnesse that the bones which thou hast broken may reioyce Then all my sences which hetherto serued the worlde the flesh and the deuill that lay drowned in pleasures world lie delights which are rather to be called sorrowes miseries afflictions and confusions shall receiue of thee ioy gladnesse and rest and they shall begin to heare and tast howe good and sweete ô lord thy Spirite is to them that serue thee with humilitie I hauing tasted of thy Spirit my flesh and bones which are nowe broken because they serued earthly and vile thinges shall returne with gladnesse to the obedience of thy Spirit They shall taste of the high misteries of thy workes shall know a great part of thy goodnesse graciousnesse which both heeretofore thou hast vsed and stil vsest daily to all the nations of the world wherefore they shall persecute those thinges vvith a deadly hate vvhich they haue passed thorow and that which heeretofore was sweet pleasant vnto them now they shall esteem it bitter that which they refused as bitter now they shall desire it as most sweet shall giue thee immortall thanks because thou hast deliuered them out of the depth of misery in which they wallowed beeing deciued with a false vizard of pleasure gladnes because now ô lord throgh thy gracious goodnesse I am come to the knowledge detestation of my sinnes beeing the ready way to saluation O Lord I pray thee Turne thy face from my sins and put out all my misdeedes Turne thy diuine face I say the beholding and contemplating of which is eternall lyfe deale not with me after my deserts but looke vpon mee with the eyes of thy mercy and take from mee all my wickednesse Purge me ô lord and cleanse me not only from sinnes past but from all those that may happen to mee heereafter Create in mee a cleane hart ô God and renue a right spirite within mee Take from me my stony hart which hetherto hath delighted it selfe with the loue and contemplation of abiect and vncleane things and therefore it is vncleane and polluted I pray thee ô lord take this from mee and vouchsafe to create another in me cleane pure and chast Take from me the spirit of pride of vaine-glory of couetousnes of luxury and of many other vices and slaueries which hath raigned in mee renew within me a right mild and humble spirit vvhich may thirst after all righteousnesse Thou knowest ô lorde that we are earth and a masse of iniquitie and that vnlesse thou doost support vs with thine hand we cannot do any thing but that which is earthly there-I pray thee Cast mee not away from thy presence and take not thy holy spirit from me But alwayes direct mee preserue mee with thy right hand that I may say as the Prophet sayd in times past The Lord is my Sheepheard I shall not want Take not from mee thy holie Spirit the true comforter of the afflicted who is the way of truth to all them that as wanderers lost and desolate doe enter into the blinde Laborinth of thys worlde yea rather Lord Restore to mee the ioy of thy saluation and stablish me with thy free spirit Giue mee grace that by meditating on those things vvhich thou hast wrought for our saluation and workest daily in beholding thy will who desirest not the death of a sinner but that hee may be conuerted and liue I may enioy that true ioy and rest which they enioy who beeing guiltie of eternall death doe heare that theyr sins are forgiuen them not of thē that haue no power to doe it but of him that is omnipotent who can neyther deceiue nor be deceiued who as hee cannot die so hee cannot fayle in his promise Take from me ô lorde the spirit of bondage which I haue hetherto obeyed and strengthen me in thy loue and grace with thy royall and free spirit not subiect to the worlde the flesh or the deuill that we may serue thee with ioy in the perfection of the works of righteousnes in the libertie of the Gospell to the which vvee are restored by thy Sonne Christ our lord and Sauiour And then ô lorde I beeing strengthened by thy mercie I shall not onely be free clean frō all sin but I shal march into the fielde as a couragious warriour valiant captaine I shall teach thy wayes vnto the wicked and sinners shal be conuerted vnto thee Who seeing me to be made of wicked iust of weake mighty of a seruaunt free of a subiect thine adopted sonne and considering thys to be doone not by mans strength but by diuine power they will bee conuerted vnto thee with all their hart and with all theyr soule But I pray thee ô my lord and the GOD of my saluation whilst I am conuersant vvith wicked peruerse and vngodly men doe not suffer me to sin with them or to pollute my selfe with theyr blemishes But Deliuer mee from blood-giltinesse O God thou that art the God of my health and my tongue shall sing of thy righteousnesse As the sunne vvith his beames dooth pierce and penetrate all thinges both pure impure and is not onely not polluted but also dooth purge those things that are infected corrupted so I beeing clothed with the beames and heate of thy charitie and loue may with out spotte and blemish be conuersant among the impure vncleane Thys if thou vvilt grant mee my tongue beeing directed and guided by thy grace and ayde shall plant thy righteousnes in their harts and they shall be deceiued when they shall thinke that it is my worke seeing that it is thine For of my selfe I am not sufficient to doe it nay I am not able to speake a worde without thy helpe grace That therfore they may acknowledge this and yeelde thee thy due prayse and not bestowe it on mee Open thou my lippes ô Lorde and my mouth shall shew forth thy prayse And now ô lorde I offer thee my spirit afflicted troubled because I haue offended thee to which I add a purpose of amendement Which sacrifice I know doth please thee to be that which thou requirest For thou desirest no sacrifice though I woulde giue it thou delightest not in burnt offerings For now is the time in which no burnt offerings