ô Lord and to be serued in at that table in Heauen where the Angels are vvaiters and the blessed are commensalls and thy diuinitie is the viande on vvhich they feede by cleare vision and fruition for all eternitie 5. And thou ô penitent Christian confesse vvith Dauid that by sinne thou art slurredd and defiled more then the sovve vvashed in volutabro luti 2 Pet. 2. in the wallowing of mire so as thou needest to cry with Dauid to be sprinkled vvith the blood of the immaculate lambe Christ Iesus by the meanes of the humble and contemptible hyssope of the crosse The blood of Goates and oxen and the ashes of an heifer being sprinkled sanctifyeth the polluted to the cleansing of the fleshe hovv much more hath the blood of Christ Heb. 9. vvho by the Holy Ghost offered himselfe vnspotted vnto God cleansed our conscience from dead workes to serue the liuing God This lauer of this bloud I desire because it cleÌ„aseth the soule from dead workes that is deadlie sinnes vvhich bring death to the soule Sprinkle then and vvash me ô Lord vvith this bloud Apoc. 7. that I maybe on of those happy ones who haue washed their robes and made them vvhite in the bloud of the lambe For vvhereas my soule by sinne is vglie in thy sight and therefore forsaken of thee and diuorced from thee and betrothed to the Diuell after she shall be vvashed in this lauer and restored to her former beautie vvhich she receaued by baptisme she may breake vvith the Diuell and vvith all that is contrarie to thy vvill and pleasure and may be made againe a gratefull spouse vnto thee vvorthie thy loue in this life and thy eternall imbracementes in the next Auditui meo dabis gaudium latitiam exultabunt ossa humiliata To my hearing thou shalt giue ioy and gladnes and the bones humbled shall reioice 1. ANd vvhen thou hast forgiueÌ„ me my sinnes and cleansed my soule from the fylth of them then shall the remorse and worme of conscience the brood of sinne be killed and my conscience no more gnawed vvith it but insteed of it a great calmenes quietnes yea a gladnes of harte shall followe vvhich shall be a coÌ„tinuall banquet to my soule because as the wiseman saith A secure mind Prou. 15. is as it vvere a continuall feaste and the eares of my soule shall alvvayes heare those comfortable wordes vvhich by thy Prophet NathaÌ„ thou vtterdst vnto me â— Reg. 12. And our Lord hath taken avvay thy sinne then to the eares of my vnderstanding thou shalt giue ioy and gladnes then to them nothing shall souÌ„d not melodious nothing not gratefull nothing not coÌ„fortable vvhich shall so comfort my soule that my bones humbled that is the forces and powers of my soule vvhich vvere debilitated and deiected and which were euen faynte vvith feare of thy iudgements shall reioyce and shall recouer their spirituall forces and strength againe by vvhich I shall be made constant couragious to resiste all tentations and to persiste for euer hereafter in thy seruice and so euer enioy the ioye and gladnes of harte vvith which thou feedest and refreshest all thy deuoted freinds and seruantes 2. Demaund thou also ô penitent sinner vvith Dauid the ioye and gladnes of harte and conscience in lieu of the remorse gnawing vvorme bredde by sinne vvhich continually tormenteth the conscience For if euer thou possesse this calme of conscience ioy of harte vvhich God his Spirit imparteth vvhen it giueth testimonie that is a morall certitude to our spirit and conscience that vve are the sonnes of God if sonnes heyres also Rom. 8. heyres trulie of God and coheyâ—es of Christ then the yoke of CHRIST vvill seeme sweete and the burden of his lawe easie and his seruice honour and pleasure then fasting vvill seeme feasting prayer vvill neuer seeme long In almes-deeds we shall seeme rather to receiue then to giue at least it vvill seeme beatius â—are quam accipere a more blessed thinge to giue Act. 20 then to take Then vertue vvill appeare in its owne lustre amiable and vice though seasoned vvith neuer so much corporall pleasure vvill seeme brutish vglie beastlie O Lord let me neuer loose this ioy and gladnes by vertue of vvhich my bones spirituall forces of my soule humbled and vveakned by sinne may reioyce and receaue their forces againe and I thereby may vvalke cherfullie in the vvaies of thy commandements and so vvalking may carrie this ioy and gladnes of harte grounded in grace and the obseruations of thy commandements vvith me to Heauen and euen to those eternall ioyes vvhich there are layde vp in store for all those that departe heÌ„ce with Ioy and gladnes of conscience deuoid of all sinne Auerte faciem tuam à peccatis meis omnes iniquitates meas dele Turne away thy face from my sinnes and wipe away all myne iniquities 1. ANd after my conscience shall haue enioyed this calme quietnes after the storme of sinne shall be appeased vvhich made debate betwixt thee and me and incensed me against thee by malice and prouoked thee against me by anger I beseech thee ô Lord saith Dauid to turne away for hereafter thy face froÌ„ my sinnes There is no child that hath committed a fault but feareth the eyes and face of his Father there is no scholler that hath played the trewant vvho dreadeth not the sight of his Master no theefe that quaketh not at the sight of the Iudge no marueill then if Dauid feared the sterne countenance of God he being his Father vvhom he disobeyed his Master vvhom he had neglected his Iudge vvhom he had slighted and therefore he had reason to desire God to turne avvay his face from his sinnes 2. I know saith Dauid my sinnes can not be hidden from thy all-seeing eyes vvhich reach to the sight of all thinges past present future But yet I desire thee to turne away thy frowning angrie couÌ„tenance from them and not to be displeased any more vvith me for them and to laye aside all cogitation of punishing me for them Thou still remembrest the moste penitent sinners sinnes and offences but yet since they were washed avvay by the teares of contrition and remitted and pardoned by thy grace mercie thou doest not remember theÌ„ so as to be displeased with the penitent sinner for theÌ„ or so as to haue the thought of punishing him at least eternallie Thou seest still the peniteÌ„t sinners sinnes though longe since remitted but thou art no more displeased vvith him for theÌ„ nor doest thou think of punishing him at least eternally for theÌ„ Thou lookest on him still his sinnes past but thou lookest not on him with an angrie but with an amiable looke And in this sence saith Dauid I desire thee after my sinnes are forgiueÌ„ after the ioye of coÌ„science which followeth their forgiuenesse to turne away thyne angrie countenance froÌ„ me
diuine sight 8. But although this sacred bloud and passion of Christ be the generall cause of all remission of sinnes yet there are many other particular causes which in vertue of that doe also remitte sinnes as Baptisme and other Sacraments in the new Lawe and the water of contrition in all Lawes And this lauer of Christs bloud Dauid by faith forsawe and desired to be washed and bathed in it and to be cleansed frō the filth of sinne by it 9. We are defyled in generall by twoe sinnes to witt originall and Actuall or personall sinne and because originall sinne is contracted not by our owne personall acte or will but by the will of our first parent Adam Rom. 5. in whome as S. Paule saith All haue sinned therefore to wash out the fylth of this sinne no personall acte of ours is required as children are not capable of any such acte but in the Lawe of nature the faith of the parents manifested by some externall signe was sufficient in the Lawe of Moyses circumcision and in the new Lawe Baptisme doth suffice But because our actuall sinnes are committed by our owne proper Willes a lauer and Baptisme of contrition called by the Diuines Baptismus flaminis baptisme of the Spirit was euer in all Lawes necessarie And for this water Dauid cryed when he sayd Wash me more amply from myne iniquitie 10. And almightie God out of compassion of the thirst Dauid suffered in this kind stroke the rocke of his stony hart hardened by sinne and made the waters of contrition to gush forth in that aboundance and with that impetuositie that he saith in an other place Psal 118. myne eyes haue gushed forth issues of waters and he will not weepe once onelie for his sinnes he will weepe day night and this lauer of teares where in he desireth to wash his soule shall not be a torrent which runneth impetuously but for a tyme it shall be an euer running fountaine Psal 6. for saith he I will euery night wash my bed I will water my couche with teares See Genebrard on this Psalme And the Hebrew text by an hyperboly explicateth yet more the aboundance of his teares for whereas our vulgar Latin text hath Lauabo per singulas noctes lectū meū I will euery night wash my bed The Hebrew hath natare faciam I vvill make my bed swimme with the floudes of my teares S. Marie Magdalen though beautifull in body by sinne vvas become so lothsome a creature in soule and in the sight of God that she durst not looke Christ in the face but Standing behind besides his feete Luc. 7. began to vvater his feete vvith teares yet being bathed in this water she became as white as driuen snowe S. Peter what a sinne did he wash away by this lauer He had denied his master Christ Iesus three tymes and not at the threatning of a Tyrant but at the voice of a wooman and she a wench an hand-maid and he had also abiured him Mat. 26 Mar. 14 Luc. 2. with oathes curses most vnworthely and vngratfully considering his masters loue vnto him and yet goeing forth and weeping bitterly this great sinne vvas vvashed so cleane avvay as if it had neuer been 11. Say then ô sinfull Wighte vnto thy mercifull God If Dauid Manasses Marie Magdalene other great sinners haue been vvashed cleane frō their sinnes why should I dispare to be vvashed from the filth of my sinnes I Confesse that I am a great sinner and cōsequently defiled and polluted from top to toe but I desire thee ô Lord to vvash me in the vvater of contrition vvhich hath vertue from thy bloud for then I make no doubt to be cleansed I cry ô Lord vvith Hieremie the Prophete Who vvill giue vvater to my heade Hier. 9 and to myne eyes a fountaine of this vvater that I may vveepe day and night For lesse vvill not serue to vvash my defiled soule 1. Par. 11. I cry vvith Dauid ô that some man Christ Iesus God and man vvould giue me vvater of this cisterne of Bethleem Gen. 6. This vvater of contrition is an other Noes floud vvhich drowneth sinnes and saueth soules to vvhich vvater if the sinners of the world at that tyme had had recourse they had neuer beene drowned in the deluge It is an other redde sea Exod. 14. redde vvith the bloud of Christ from vvhich it hath its vertue which drowneth the Egyptiās the deuill all his hellish troupes of sinnes but saues soules and the true Israëlites by vvhich out of Egipte that is out of the state of sinne vve passe to the land of promise heauen the home of our soule and the land of the liuing and blessed This vvater is distilled in the limbecke of our hart by the Holy Ghost the fyer of charitie vvhich maketh it to ascende to the eyes and thence to Heauen because it is Ioan. 4. Aqua saliens in vitam aeternam vvater vvhich stringeth to life euerlasting 12. O Lord I demaund not vvith thy blessed virgin-mother for wine for the Bride I cry onelie for this vvater that vvasheth away the fylthe of sinne cooleth the heate of concupiscence mollifieth our stony hartes and like an heauenly raine maketh fertille the soyle of our soule and causeth it to bring forth the florishing plantes and sweete herbes and flowers of all māner of vertues which setteth a new glosse on our soule and maketh the Image of God therein engrauen to appeare most amiable to God and his Angels and Saintes asswageth God his ire indignation and extinguisheth the fyre of hell Giue me this vvater ô Lord and I shall esteeme it aboue the most precious vvines It shall be meate and drinke vnto me and I shall say vvith our Royall Prophet Fuerunt mibi lacrymae mea panes die ac nocte Psal 41. my teares haue been breads vnto me day and night the gratefull refection of my soule 13. And giue me ô sweete God a vvaterie ground aboue and a vvaterie beneath Iudie 1 as Axa asked of Caleb Water I beseech thee vvith this water of contrition not onelie the eyes of my bodie but also the eyes of my foule and not onelie the inferiour parte of my soule but also the superiour If the eyes of my soule superiour part be vvatered vvith this heauenlie vvater it is sufficiēt although the eyes of my body should be drye but I desier thee to vvater both that not onelie my hart and eyes of my soule may weepe but that also the eyes of my bodie may gush forth vvith teares for that one helpeth the other many tymes the sorrovv of the superiour part redounds to the inferiour and vvhen the hart sorroweth the eyes shed forth teares I desier not teares for temporall losses I defier to behold them vvith drye eyes and if I should vveepe neuer so much for such losses vveeping would not helpe me giue me grace to weepe
te Thou hast made vs ô Lord to thee and our heart is neuer quiet till it rest in thee Seeke then ô my soule for true riches true beautie true pleasure true contentement but seeke for them in God where they are not in creatures where they are not seeke for vvhat thou seekest but not where thou seekest If thou seeke still for thē in the creatures thou shalt alvvaies seeke and neuer finde if thou seeke for thē in God there thou shalt finde them for that there they are in their prime cause and fountaine there they are in their prime perfection 7. Returne then ô my soule to thy Lord God and remember vvhat ioye and solide consolation thou enioyedst when thou louedst and seruedst him Thē thou spakest not but of him thoughtst not but of him dreamedst not but of him louedst nothing but him or for him reioicedst in nothing but in him or for him this brought thee such ioy and consolation that thou enioyedst a kind of Heauen in earth and hadst a tast feeling of the ioyes of Heauen vvhich there are laid vp in store for them that feare God loue him and serue him 8. This a wordling vvill not easelie conceaue for he hauing or esteeming no other Heauen but this vvorld and proposing to him selfe no beautie but corporall beautie no riches but vvordlie riches no pleasure but carnall pleasure is a sensuall man 1. Cor. 2. which perceaueth not those thinges that are of the spirit of God But a spirituall man vnderstandeth vvhat I saye knoweth by experience that it is true For if the bodie as it is animated by the sensuall parte of the soule hath its delights if corporall beautie please the eyes of the body if musicke of mens voices or instrumēts please thr eares if worldlie riches content in some sorte for a tyme vvhat delight hath the soule according to her reasonable and superiour parte vvhich is more noble and hath more pure noble obiectes what delight taketh the deuoute soule in the contemplation of Heauenlie thinges in the exercise of morall and supernaturall vertues If vertue could be seene sayth one as to the spirituall mans eye it is seene mirabiles excitaret amores it would straūglie enamour vs If a beautifull creature draweth and as it vvere enchanteth our affections vvhat delight taketh the deuout and contemplatiue man in the loue and cōtemplation of God the creatour fountaine of all beautie riches pleasure perfection if the good vve find in creatures though finit and imperfect not pure but mixt with something that is displeasing in it doth so allure vs hovv doth the goodnes of God in vvhom God and good is all one vvhose goodnes is the fountaine of all that is good in creatures rauish and transport the deuout and spirituall man 9. O sweet Lord render me this ioy of thy saluation so called because it is the effect of iustifying grace caused by the merite of thy sacred passion our redemption and saluation If thou now render it to me againe it vvill be after my disgust discontentement taken in sinne and in the seruice of the vvorld as a greate benefite so far more gratefull and pleasing then it vvas before my sinne For euen as the good cheare the Prodigall sonne made after his returne to his Father and after the huskes he had eaten Lucae 15. seemed more delicious then euer it did before Or as peace is more vvellcome after vvarre sweet more pleasing after sower and heate after cold light after darkenes sight after blindnes health after sicknes libertie after seruitude rest after labour is more gratlull so the manna of spirituall consolations vvherewith novv I shall be feasted vvill seeme more delicious after my hoggish fare in sinne and the peace of conscience after vvarre vvaged against God by sinne the sweetnes of vertue after the sower tast of sinne the heate of grace charitie after the nipping cold of sinne the light of grace after the darkenes and blindnes I endured in sinne my spirituall health receaued by grace after the mortall sicknes of sinne my libertie of spirit and grace after the slauerie of sinne the rest and quietnes of minde after my drudgerie in sinne will be more pleasing gratefull and delightfull then euer they vvere before my sinne 10. Render me then ô Lord this ioy of thy saluation and doe not onelie render it but conserue it to my dying daye that I may carrie it vvith me to the eternall ioyes of Heauen and that it may be thus conserued in me I beseech thee to confirme me with thy principall Spirit the holie Ghost the principall Spirit and fountaine from vvhich all create spirits of grace doe flowe let this Spirit conserue this ioy of my saluation so constantly that I may neuer loose it so pure that it may neuer be mixed vvith any ioy of thy creatures which is not pleasing to thee let this Spirit be my guide my directour my conductour my protectour in all my vvayes actiōs and proceedinges that I may neuer loose againe by sinne thy iustifying grace purchassed by penance and consequently may euer conserue this ioy of thy saluation this ioy of conscience the effect of this grace 11. The Apostles and Martyrs by this principall Spirit and the spirit of grace vvhich it giueth vvere so confirmed and hartned that all the tormentes vvhich they suffered of the cruell Tyrants and persecutors could not daunt them but they so ioyed in their persecutions and tormentes that either they felt them not or they ioyed in feeling them for thy sake Their persecutions were of themselues the bitter vvaters of Mara Exod. 15 but by the vvood of the Crosse dipped in them that is by consideration of thy passion suffered on it they became sweet They vvere of themselues bitter pills but being wrapped in the sugar of this ioie of saluation they seemed not bitter but pleasing to the taste of the soule this thy principall Spirit did so fill their heartes with ioye that there was no place for greefe or sorrow but vvhen they vvere scourged persecuted they wēt frō the sight of the Councell reioicing because they were accounted worthie to suffer reproch for the name of IESVS Act. 5. And if thou vouchsafe ô Lord to confirme me vvith this principall Spirit by the grace it giueth I shall neuer be separated againe from thee by sinne I shall neuer forsake so good a God as thou hast beene vnto me either for feare of persecutiō or death it selfe or for loue of whatsoeuer the world cā afford but rather shall so ioy in all temporall sufferances and losses for thee here on earth that I shall be made worthie to ioy and reioice vvith thy Angells and saintes by thy cleare vision and fruition for all eternitie Docebo iniquos vias tuas impij ad te conuertentur I will teach the vniust thy wayes and the impious shall be conuerted 1. A Scarr spott or blott in the
in cryes and my eyes vvitnesse it vvith flouddes of teares O Dauid vvho art thou vvho novv art so humble euen in heart vvast not thou elected by God and anointed by Samuel the Prophet King of the Ievves vvas it not thou 2. Reg. 10. vvho killedst a lion and a beare 1. Reg. 17. foyledst at thy feete the great Giant Golias vvho braued the hostes of God made them all to quake Art not thou he of vvhom the yonge maydes virgins sange 1. Reg. 18. Saul stroke a thousand and Dauid ten thousand It is true I am he that did all this but I vvho killed the lion 1. Reg. 17. the beare and the Giant Golias am now slaine by an homebred yet more cruell beast concupiscence vvhich pretending to doe me a pleasure hath giuen me my deadlie vvound and like a trayterous Ioab seeming to offer me a kisse 2. Reg. 20. 1. Reg. 18. Psa 88 gaue me the stabb O Dauid art not thou he to whom God promised the Kingdome of Israel to continue in thy race for euer of vvhich race the Messias was to descende vvhy then art thou so deiected and humbled in heart I am he but I am now a greeuous sinner and those great titles prerogatiues and priuileges vvherevvith God heretofore honoured me doe now but aggrauat my sinnes and therefore not vvithstanding the aforesaid titles I am afflicted in spirit my heart is contrite broken vvith sorrovv and humbled 11. And yet ô Lord saith he I vvill not dispaire knowing thee to be mercifull and mercie it selfe Psa 21. Ps 70 ibid. Thou art my hope from the breastes of my mother thou art my hope from my youth In thee Lord I haue hoped let me not be confounded for euer Ps 131. Remember Dauid ô Lord and all his meeknes Remember vvhat I vvas heretofore Act. 13. a man according to thy heart consider not vvhat I am but pardon vvhat I am restore me to what I was to my former vertue grace and fauout and for my sinnes past I vvill offer thee a sacrifice not of oxen or sheepe but of my selfe of an afflicted spirit of a cōtrite humbled heart vvhich is more agreable to thee thē hecatombes of brute beastes I ô Lord vvill be my selfe the Priest my Altar shall be my soule my sacrifice my heart vvhich by contrition I shall breake and bruse by charitie I vvill burne vnto thy honour as a most gratefull holocauste knowing that a contrite heart and humbled thou wilt not despise 13. O the noble sacrifice of a contrite heart This sacrifice in all lavves be it the lavv of Nature before Moyses or the lavv vvritten before CHRIST or the nevv law since the comming of Christ is auaylable alwayes gratefull neuer abrogated as the old sacrifices are I neede not seeke farre countries for it it is vvithin me I neede not lay out mony to buy it it is myne CHRIST IESVS by his passion bought it and gaue it to me if I vvill I neede not begge it of any but CHRIST IESVS it is in my povver with his grace it is a sacrifice which euerie one may offer aswell the poore as the rich aswell the subiect as the King aswell the seruant as the Master it maybe offred asvvell in the night as the daye aswell in the field as the Church no time no place no person no hovver no moment vnfit for this sacrifice 14. I ô Lod remembring with Dauid my many greeuous sinnes am desirous with him to offer a sacrifice to appease thy anger cōceaued against me for them and because the sacrifices of brute beastes which were offered in the old lavv are not now pleasing vnto thee nor neuer vvere for themselues vnlesse they proceeded frō the invvard sacrifice of the heart I offer vnto thee the invvard sacrifice vvhich Dauid offered thee to wit a contrite and humbled heart beaten to povvder with contrition burned to ashes by loue of thee and charitie The zealous Moyses vvhen he saw that the Iewes had adored the golden calfe instead of God Exod. 32. vvas transported with such an holie rage furie that in this zeale he slew the Idolaters and caused the golden calfe their Idoll to be beaten to powder and mingling the powder with water caused the children of Israel to drinke it If Moyses was so angrie vvith that Idole which committed no Idolatrie but vvas onely the obiect of the Iewes Idolatrie to vvhich also it could not consent How should I detest my heart in what a rage should I be against it vvhy should I not beat it to povvder by contritiō it hauing committed a kinde of Idolatrie so often as it sinned mortallie in preferring the creature before the Creatour his cōmaundements and why should not I mingle this powder with the teares of contrition and drinke daylie this potion and make it my meate and drinke Psa 41. as he did vvho sayd Fuerunt mihi lachrymae meae panes die ac nocte My teares haue beene breads vnto me day and night 15. O sweet Iesus our true Moyses the veritie of the Ievves Moyses a tipe figure of thee who gauest vs the law writtē in heartes not in tables as he did vvho deliueredst vs not from a temporall captiuitie of Pharao as he did Exod. 17. but from an eternall thraldome of the Deuill strike vvith the rodd of thy crosse and consideration of thy passion suffred for our sinnes on it the rocke of my stonie heart that the teares of contrition may gushe forth and flow from it by my eyes as they did frō Dauids S. Peters S. Marie Magdalenes eyes O sweet Iesus resolue by the blood of thy passion my hard heart into the riuers of teares in vvhich Dauid Manasses S. Peter S. Marie Magdalene vvashed their soules frō the filth of sinne In this Iordā of teares vvash me ô Lord 4. Reg. 5. Luc. 4. from my leprosie of sinne vvith Naaman Syrus In this poole of Siloe vvash myne eyes vvith the blind-borne Ioan. 9 Ioan. 5. In this Probatica heale me and cure me of all my infirmities Ioan. 4. Wash me in this fountaine of liuing water which springeth vp to life euerlasting In this second baptisme called Baptismus flaminis regenerat me a new creature 2. Par. 33. Ionae 3. 4. Reg. 20. 1. Reg. 2 Psa 50. Luc. 7. Math. 26. These teares restored Manasses to his kingdome deliuerd Niniue from destruction prolonged Ezechias life fifteen yeares procured to Anna a Samuel to Dauid S. Peter S. Marie Magdalene and thousand other sinners remission of their sinnes And if in Noë his tyme the vvorld had beene vvashed in this water it had neuer beene drovvned in the Deluge In this vvater the ship of my soule shall sayle to the hauen of heauen securely because in this sea of teares there is no storme to shake it no surging vvaues to tosse it no rock to shiuer it in peeces or on which
put of the old man and put on the new it regenerateth vs and maketh vs new creatures and after vve are dead in soule by sinne it restoreth vs to the life of grace yea glorie also if vve perseuer in grace For these causes I haue made these Paraphrasticall Discourses to allure sinners to repentance knowing hovv miserable a thing it is to liue in sinne hovv dangerous to deferre repentance and hovv hopelesse to dye in sinne without it And if by these my small labours I shall be so happie as to conuert any sinners yea but one sinner I shall esteeme it no small benefite not onely to the sinner conuerted but also to myselfe because S. Iames assureth me that he that maketh a sinner to be conuerted from the errour of his wayes Iacobi 5. shall saue his soule from death and couer a multitude of sinnes not onelie of the sinner vvhom he conuerteth but also of his ovvne because the conuersion of a sinners soule is a sacrifice for the conuerters soule more pleasing to God then if he had offered an hecatombe yea a world to God for his owne sinnes For as S. Chrysostome saith Chrysost ho 3. in 1. ad Corinth nullius rei pretiū est cū anima conferendū ne totus quidem mundus quare etiamsi diuitias innumeras dederis pauperibus nihil tale efficies quale is qui conuertit animam The price of nothing no not of the vvhole vvorld is to be cōpared to a soule Wherefore although thou shalt giue innumerable riches to the poore thou shalt not doe so great a worke as he that conuerteth a soule But of penance and the effectes of it I shall not need in this Epistle to vse moe words it being the principall subiect of my ensuing Paraphrasticall Discourses and therefore here I shall take my leaue of my Reader and desire him vvhether he be Catholicque or not Catholicque to take in good parte this my litle labour intended and taken for th' one as vvell as for the other and if he take profit by it let him thanke God th' Authour of all that is good if through my default it moue him not to that repentance and amendement of life vvhich I entended I must desire him to pardon me I vvas not so able as vvilling APPROBATIO POEnitentiae coronam hanc in qu◠nihil quod fidei Catholicae splendori morumue sanctorum integritati non sit consentaneum de speciosissimis Psalmi quinquagefimi floribus Poenitentium Principis memoriae scitè contexuit pius hic Paraphrastes Ita sentio Ed. St. S. T. D. APPROBATIO NIhil est in hac Paraphrasi Psalmi quinquagesimi fidei Catholicae aut bonis moribus contrarium sed plurima ad poenitentiam excitandam iuuandam conducēntia qua propter vtiliter excudi poterit Actum Duaci die 30. Martij 1635. Georgius Colvenerius Sacrae Theol. Doctor Regius ordinariusque Professor Duacensis Academiae Cancellarius librorum Censor PARAPHRASTICAL AND DEVOVT DISCOVRSES VPON THE FIFTITH PSALME MISERERE Miserere mei Deus Haue mercie on me ô God THE Royal Prophet Dauid hauing through humaine frayltie cōmitted twoe greate offences against the diuine Maiestie 2 Reg. 1◠12. no lesse then adalterie vvith BERSABEE and murder of her husband Vrias and beeing reprooued thereof by the Prophet Nathan accused by his own conscience and mooued by the diuine grace hee conceiueth such a detestation and horrour of those his sinnes and is so ashamed and confounded with the horride aspect of them that he falleth down prostrate at the feete of his GOD whom he had thus offended And at the first sorrow hindred his tongue from crauing pardon but his eyes vndertook the office of the mouth and tongue and pleaded better for the delinquent by teares then the mouth could haue donne by tongue and wordes teares being the best oratours At length his speeche comming to him he singeth or rather sobbeth forth this his dolefull Psalme and sonnette and peraduenture he playeth to it with his harpe but assuredlie with his harte and so maketh a sweete consort of his harte by sorrow of his eyes by teares of his voice by a lamentable tune And fearing God his Iustice he flyeth to his mercie and beginneth with that dolefull note miserere haue mereie As if he had sayd 1. THOV art iust ô Lord Psal 118. and thy Iudgement is right Ioel 2. but thou art also benigne and mercifull patient and of much mercie and readie to be gracious vpon the malice If thou wert iust onelie I should despaire knowing my two so great offences which now especiallie I lament If thou wert mercifull onelie I should presume but because thou art iust and mercifull my feare is mixt with hope and my hope with feare and I so feare thy iustice as I hope in thy mercie Thou art ô Lord I confesse so iust that thou art iustice it self and this maketh me feare but thou art also so mercifull that thou art mercie it selfe and this maketh me hope that discourageth me verie much this as much encourageth and giueth me the hart to saye Miserere mei Deus Haue mercie on me ô God If I were ô Lord as iuste and holy as a Sainte yet durst I not appeare before the eyes of thy iustice Iob 4. Iob 25. which in the Angelles found wickednes and in whose sight the moone doth not shine and the starres are not cleane but seeing that I am noe Sainte but a wretched sinner conceiued in sinne borne in sinne brought vp in sinne and guiltie of the twoe mentioned and many other sinnes how shall I dare to appeare before thy iustice For if the iust man trembleth before the Tribunal of thy Iustice how shall the sinner stand before it 2. But I appeale ô Lord sayth Dauid from thy iustice to thy mercie not as to an higher Tribunal for thy iustice and mercie are both infinite and so equall but as to a Tribunal more benigne more clement and gentle And although I be guiltie of greeuous and enormous sinnes and those so greate that if I regard them only and their ill disertes Gen. 4. I may say with Cain myne iniquitie is greater then that I may deserue pardon Yet they are not so greate but thy mercie is infinitelie greater soe compared to it they are not so greate but they may deserue pardon for if thou please ô Lord to put not only my sinnes but also all the sinnes of all men in one scale of thy diuine balance and thy mercie in the other thy mercie wold out waye and ouersway them and as the sands of the sea Iob 6. thy mercie wold appeare heauier 3. Wherfore ô mercifull Lord not daring to appeare before thee as a iust Iudge I present my selfe before thee as a mercifull and louing Father He that is presented as guiltie before a Iudge vseth to deny or diminish or excuse the fault but I presēting my selfe before thee ô Lord as
before a mercifull father doe neither deny nor excuse nor extenuat my fault thy prophet Nathan 2. Reg. 12. thy vnder Iudge hauing condemned me as guiltie of no lesse then adulterie and murder myne owne conscience hauing pronounced sentence against me crying in my name peccaui but stāding before thee as a cōdēned person I bring in no witnesse to defēd me no slightes nor excuses to hide my faultes as who can hide any thing frō thee whose eyes doe penetrate the most secret corners of our hartes onelie I pleade begge and clayme thy mercie crying Miserere mei Deus Haue mercie on me ô God Psal 119. for if thou shalt obserue iniquities ô Lord Lord who shall susteine it And therfore Psal 142. enter not into Iudgement with thy once seruāt Dauid examine not his case and cause according to the order of iustice but according to thy mercie I confesse all I haue nothing to say for my selfe but Miserere Haue mercie I hide not my fault nor can I it is too well known vnto thee onely I can saye Miserere Haue mercie 4. Deale not with me ô Lord sayth Dauid according to thy Iustice that would cast me in all lawe but according to thy mercie by that onelie I can be saued Thou art it is true soueraigne Lord of heauen and earth to whom euen Kings and potentates are but vassals but Lords also doe pardon their seruantes vvhen with teares of eyes sorrow of harte they demaund pardon I demaund it in the same manner Apoc. 5. Thou art a a Lion a Lion of the Tribe of Iuda but Lions also will spare them who prostrate themselues before them I prostrat both body soule vnto thee 5. I confesse that by sinne I am become Psal 31 Sicut equus mulas in quibus non est intellectus as a horse and mule which haue noe vnderstanding And my brutish appetites to which I haue been a slaue haue metamorphized me made me so brutish that I am in life and conuersation rather a brute beast then a reasonable creature Psal 35 but yet Men and beasts thou wilt saue ô Lord and in the law deliuered by Moyses though it be a lawe of terrour thou hadst pitie euen of brute beasts and therefore woldst not permit the Iew to plough with an oxe and an asse Deut. 22. Exod. 23. Deut. 14. least the asse should be ouer laboured nor to seethe the kidde in the milke of his damme that seeming crueltie nor in a nest to kill or take the old bird with the younge ones Deut. 22. nor to moosel the mouth of the oxe that treadeth out the corne Haue mercie then on me though by sinne more a beast then they 6. If I were the onelie sinner ô Lord thou shouldst haue lesse reason to pardō mee but seeing all haue sinned and transgressed Psal 13 seeing that all haue declined and that there is not that doth good noe not one if thou shouldst exercise iustice onelie on sinners thou shoulest finde none on whom thou couldst exercise thy mercie If thou shouldst punish all sinners thou shouldst haue none to pardon and so thy most gratefull attribute mercie should neuer showe it selfe And yet none of thy diuine attributes is so gratefull as thy clemencie none doe make thee so popular as thy mercie neither hath thy diuine nature any thing greater then that thou canst remitte sinnes nor more pleasing to men Angelles then that thou wilt If no sinner ô mercifull Lord had euer obtained mercie and pardon at thy handes then might it seeme arrogancie in me to demaund mercie but if many and verie grieuous sinners haue found mercie at thy hands then doe thou vouch safe to pardon me whom by pardoning others thou hast caused to hope for pardō and be not displeased if the burden of my dolefull sonnet be still the same Miserere mei Deus haue mercie on me ô God ô most mercifull God And thou ô Christian soule who hast sinned with Dauid cry peccaui I haue sinned with him cry miserere mei Deus haue mercie on me o God 7. Rue the day and hower yea the many dayes and howers in which thou hast offended God and acknowledge therein thy to too greate ingratitude because in offending him thou hast offended thy creatour by whom thou hast thy naturall being by whom thou liuest and breathest thou hast offēded thy Redeemer who to rāsome thee from death the deuill and sinne became man for thee and suffred the most shamefull and most painfull death of the crosse to giue to thee here in this life a spirituall life and being by grace and in the next life an eternall life and being by glorie Saye vnto him I ought my selfe wholie vnto thee for my creation and I ought my selfe again wholie vnto thee for my redemption and so I but one am twise thine and twyse due vnto thee And if I owe my selfe and consequentlie my all for my creation what shall I giue thee for my redemption What shall I render to our Lord Psal 115. for all thinges that he hath rendred to mee I ame lesse ô Lord then ether of these benefits of creation and redemption yea then the least of thy graces and fauours How vngratefull then was I to offend thee and thereby as much as lay in mee to take from thee who can neuer giue thee sufficient to iniure thee disgrace dishonour thee who can neuer render thee sufficiēt for the least of thy benefitts though I giue all I ame and haue yea though I could giue ten thousand tymes more then I am and haue But seeing I owe more then I am and haue and yet haue also beē so vngratefull as to offēd thee what wilt thou expect of me Thou knowest ô Lord that of an ill vnable debter thou canst expecte nothing but an acknowledgement of the debte an humble demaund of pardon for the offēce and remission of the debte as I doe in Dauids dolefull crye Which I repeate after him Miserere mei Deus Haue mercie on me ô God 8. And ô my not onlie ingratitude but impudencie who being not so much as a vile worme compared vnto thee ô Lord durst offend thyne infinite Maiestie and was not ashamed to commit those my heinous offences not onlie before thee but also against thee which I wold haue shamed to commit before my seruaunt or in presence of the poorest begger as though I had thought there had been no God or that thou vvho madst the eye didst not see or that thou who art euery where hadst not been present I sayd then in effect as the fornicatour or adulterer did in Ecclesiasticus Ecclesiastici 23. Who seeth me darknes compasseth me and the walles couer me and no man beholdeth me whom doe I feare The Highest will not be mindfull of my sinnes O Good God where was then my vnderstanding that I could thinke that I could hide
of the world who hath nuÌ„bred so may I say my sinnes of mouth harte deed my many sinnes of my fiue senses of the bodie of the faculties powers of my soule vvhich I committed euery day and night euerie hovver and moment in this place in that place and in all places who can recken they are so many that I my selfe can not number them thou onelie ô Lord hast theÌ„ all in thy couÌ„t-booke which one day will be produced against me if in the meane time by my sorrow with thy grace they be not caÌ„celled And whilest I thus multiplied my sinnes vvhat patience vvhat mercie ô Lord didst thou shevv vnto me when I prouoked on my part more and more by often sinning thy wrath and indignation thou extendedst thy patience and mercie for when thou mighst haue iustly takeÌ„ me in my sinnes for theÌ„ by sudden death mighst haue sent me presently to hell there to receaue my iust punishment as thou hast dealt with many no greater yea lesser sinners then I yet thou grauÌ„tedst me lesure and grace to repent and whilest I contemned thy goodnes patieÌ„ce and longanimitie thy benignitie expected me to penance wherfore resoluing by thy grace to multiplie my sinnes no more yea neuer to adde any one mortall sinne to my former I desire thee to pardon my former sinnes and because they are very many to haue mercie on me According to the multitude of thy commiserations and mercies 2. And thou ô Christian who hast multiplied sinnes vpon sinnes vvith Dauid peraduenture more then he desire God vvith him to haue mercie on thee according to the multitude of his mercies 2. Reg. 12. Say vvith him Thou forgauest penitent Dauid penitent Ezechias and penitent Manasses thou pardoneâ—st S. Peter S. Paul S. Matthew S. Marie Magdalene and thousands other great sinners pardon me also ô sweete Lord accordinge to these thy so many mercies Psal 88 commiseratioÌ„s Where are thyne old mercies ô Lord which thou shewedst heretofore to sinners Psal 21 In thee our forefathers though sinners as we haue hoped they haue hoped thou didst deliuer theÌ„ They ried to thee were saued they hoped were not coÌ„founded I cry ô Lord with them heare me as thou didst them I hope with them for mercie let me finde mercie at thy hands as they did and let not me be confounded Are all thy mercies spent are none left for me May I say vnto thee as Esau sayd to his Father Isaac Genes 27. Hast thou not reserued me also a blessing a mercie Hast thou one onelie blessing Father Hast thou no moe blessings nor mercies left for me no I can not say so Thou art ô Lord infinitelie more rich in mercies then Isaac vvas in blessings Thou hast bestowed thousands millions of mercies on sinners and yet thou hast infinite mercies reserued for other sinners that cry vnto thee for mercie Thy mercies are infinite and an infinite number can not be exhausted thy mercies are aboue the sandes of the sea Thy mercie is a sea which can not want the cooling waters of mercies sooner may the sea be dryed vp then the Ocean of thy mercies drawn drye Wherefore I cry with Dauid Haue mercie on me ô God according to thy great mercie because my sinnes are great and according to the multitude of thy commiserations and mercies because my sinnes are many as he cryed peccaui for his sinnes so vvill I send forth from hart and tongue many a peccaui and day and night and howerlie and whensoeuer my sinnes occurre to my memorie I vvill cry peccaui 3. And because I can not safely enough rely in my opinion on my peccauies not knowing whether they proceede from a truly coÌ„trite heart or no I vvill haue recourse to thy infinite mercies ô Sonne of God which are merites in respect of thee as which deserued of thy Father our redemption but in respect of me vvho deserued them not they are mercies And I shall offer vnto thee all the steppes thou vvalkedst on earth for me all the howers thou liuedst for me all the wordes thou spakest all the praiers and exhortations thou madst all thy Theandricke or humane-diuine workes and operations all thy miracles all the drops of sweate thou swetst for me in the garden all those lashes thou enduredst for me at the Piller all the prickes thou feltst in thy coronatioÌ„ with thornes all the pearsinges of the nayles all the panges on the crosse all that shower of bloud which rained froÌ„ the heauenly cloude of thy sacred humanitie yea all the drops of that shower of which euery one vvas a mercie to me of which euery one was such a merit in respect of thee that the least vvould haue been sufficieÌ„t to redeeme a thousaÌ„d worlds And according to this multitude of thy commiserations and mercies take away myne iniquitie And take our all the staynes and blottes which sinne hath left in my soule and crosse and cancell by thy death and passioÌ„ out of thy booke of accountes all the Items and debtes I owe take away my sinnes from my soule from thy eyes from thy memorie that they may not onelie be forgiuen but also forgotten and so buried in perpetuall obliuion 4. For although thou canst not forget any sinnes coÌ„mitted against thee no not S. Marie Magdalens sinnes which were vvashed avvay with many teares of eyes and harte yet when sinnes by true repentaÌ„ce and hartie sorrowe are remitted quite effaced and taken away thou doest no more impute them nor doest thou punish them at least with eternall payne as if thou hadst forgotten them therefore thou hast promised and this promise is my comfort that vvhensoeuer a sinner shall repent himselfe of his sinnes Thou wilt not remember them Ezech. 18. that is so as to punish them or to be offended vvith the sinner for them because by contrition and the grace thereof they are taken away as if they neuer had beene Amplius laua me ab iniquitate mea à peccato meo munda me Wash me more amplie from myne iniquitie and cleanse me from my sinne 1. A Fowle cloth and especiallie if it be also stained requireth much washing and no lesse rubbing and a soule that hath much sinned requireth much washinge by the teares of contrition and much rubbing by the austere workes of pennance King Dauid hauing cried peccaui Domino 2. Reg. 1â— I haue sinned to our Lord for his great and manifold sinnes deserued to heare from Nathan the Prophets mouth Dominus quoque transtulit peccatum tuuÌ„ our Lord also hath taken away thy sinne and so by that peccaui spoken vvith sorrow of heart the malice of his mortall sinnes was washed away yet he not attending so much to Nathans reuelation as to the greatnes of his sinne coÌ„mitted desireth to be more amplie washed to vvitt not onelie from the malice of his mortall sinnes of vvhich he vvill not be secure and of vvhich
onelie for spirituall losses for hauing offended thee by sinne for hauing by sinne lost thy grace thy fauour yea life euerlasting because teares shed for sinne and spirituall losses are neuer in vaine are neuer frustrated because teares to obtaine those fauours are better oratours then wordes and the eyes by teares doe sooner persuade then the mouth by vvordes vvherefore Hieremie the Prophet in his Threnes or Lamentations vvisheth Hierusalem then captiuated and desolate and in her he speaketh to euerie sinfull soule to shed teares as a torrent by daye and night Hierâ—e â—am 2. sâ—u Thren 2. to giue no rest to her selfe neither to let the aple of her eye be silent I desier of thee ô Lord this torreÌ„t yea fouÌ„taine of teares which from the heart vseth to falle in to the eyes that I may shedde for my sinnes not a fevve drops but a torrent and not a torreÌ„t onelie which ruÌ„neth for a tyme but a fountaine also vvhich runneth perpetually that I may crye as Dauid did not onelie vvith mouth and tongue but vvith harte and eyes also not onelie vvith vvords but also vvith teares Washe me more amelie from my iniquitie and clense me from my sinne Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego cognosco peccatum meum contra me est semper Because I doe knovve myne iniquitie and my sinne is before me alvvayes 1. BEfore that I vvashed my selfe saith Dauid in the vvater of coÌ„trition I vvas a greate sinner but did not knovve nor acknovvledge as I ought to haue done the greatenes of my sinne I vvas defiled yet savve not my ovvne filthynes but since I haue beholden and looked my selfe in this vvater I see my sinnes and I knovve myne iniquitie and my sinne is before me alvvaies No meruayle then that God did not pardoÌ„ Dauid before he acknowledged his fault and no meruayle that before his contrition of harte he did not acknowledge it because his eyes vvere bleared and blinded vvith carnall luste and so he did not see nor knovv his sinne but after the teares of contrition his eyes vvere cleared and then in this vvater he savve his sinne and seeing it he acknovvledged it and acknovvledging it he asked pardon asking pardon he deserued it and deseruing it he obtained it 2. The vulgar Latine text hath Et peccatum meum contra me est semper which may be traÌ„slated not onelie and my sinne is before me alvvayes but also and my sinne is alvvayes against me as is vvere accusing me yea and tormenting me vvith the remorse and gnavving vvorme of conscieÌ„ce vvhich it engendreth And indeed God hath engrauen in our hartes and soules a conscience of sinne vvhich like a lavve dictateth vnto vs vvhat is lawfull what vnlawfull and telleth the theefe murderer that they sinne against Iustice the fornicatour that he offendeth against Chastitie the lyer that he contradicteth the truth The conscience is also a vvitnesse vvhich accuseth the sinner before God euen of his most secret sinnes and whether he be in bed or at borde at home or abroad alone or in companie it still crieth against him guiltie And like a Iudge it coÌ„demneth him and like an executioner by remorse it tormenteth the delinquent by day and by night and in the night vexeth him vvith fearfull dreames in the daye crosseth his recreations and pastimes vvith melancholicke dumpes and mixeth his vvyne with vvater that is his ioye vvith sorrowe So that as the murderer hath alwayes his murder and the Iudge and executioner before his eyes or imagination so a sinner hath no sooner committed his sinne but conscieÌ„ce putteth it before his eyes and placeth it also as an enemie against him So that sinne is at it vvere alwaies in armes against vs terrifying and threatning and therefore the sinner should alvvaies be in armes against it detesting it vvishing he had neuer coÌ„mitted it punnishing it by vvorkes of pennance and satisfaction 3. And here I note that Dauid saith myne iniquitie my sinne signifying by the Pronownes possessiue my and myne that sinne is the sinners possession so vve say my land my house my gold my siluer But ô the vnhappie possession by possessing temporall goods and riches vve are rich and happie for this world but by possessing sinne vve are poore not rich beinge depriued of grace all spirituall riches of the soule vve are miserable not happie Sinne being the greatest miserie that is Wee possesse sinne as a snake or viper in our bosome or as a plague or mortall sicknes And whereas we may leaue or giue avvay our temporall lands mony other thinges at our owne pleasure vve can not be ridde of sinne without Gods grace and our much sorrovv and as vve take possession of it vvith pleasure vve can not be dispossessed of it but by sorrovve and contrition of harte and manie austerities of pennance 4. As Dauid said that his sinne was alwaies before him and against him so may euery sinner say Cain had no sooner killed his brother Abel but his conscience presented vnto him his sinne in that heinous manner that he hung dovvn the head like a sheepe byter and to vse the phrase of the Scripture his countenance was fallen Gen. 4. and goe he vvhere he vvould he could not put from his eyes the sight of his sinne but it scarred him so that he feared that euerie one he mette would kill him The sonnes of Iacob after they had vnnaturally sould their Brother Ioseph to the Ismaelites Gen. 37 this their sinne still crossed their sight and vvhensoeuer any aduersitie happened to them they imputed it to this their sinne Gen. 42 saying Worthily doe vve suffer these thinges because we haue sinned against our Brother 5. And some sinners when their sinnes present themselues before their eyes Gen. 5. despaire as Cain did but others so soone as their sinnes shewe themselues in their vgly hewe doe acknowledge them and acknovvledginge them doe crye to God for mercie knowing that his mercie is greater then all the sinnes of the vvorld So Dauid did 2. Reg. 12. vvho not onelie vvhen Nathan the Prophete checked him for his murder of Vrias and adulterie vvith Bersabee his vvife but in this psalme in euerie verse almost and in all his life time cried peccaui and euen in the night vvhen his eyes should haue slepte he made them avvake to gush forth teares and to vvater his bed vvith them 6. So S. Peters denyall of his Master came often into his mynd Niceph. lib. 2. c. 37. Baron anno Christi 69. especially vvheÌ„ the cock crowed and moued him to such teares that it is vvritten of him that his eyes vvere redde vvith often vveeping and his face furrovved vvith the trickling dovvn of his teares And so ô Mercifull God let my sinnes be alvvayes before myne eyes to humiliat me and to make me knovve myne ovvne frayltie to make me take heed for hereafter to make me abhorre these moÌ„sters to make me deteste these
the spirituall and inward sacrifice is more pleasing to God then are externall sacrifices yea in respect and comparisons of the inward sacrifice God as it were dispiseth the externall sacrifices as we haue seene aboue 7. And hence it is that in the nevv lavv vvhich is of Christ all those externall sacrifices of the Jewes are abrogated vvith their lavv now there is no proper externall sacrifice but the bloodie sacrifice of christ offered on the crosse for our Redemption and the vnbloodie sacrifice of the same christ which he offered at his last supper for applicatiō of that Matth. 26. and vvhich is repeated daylie in the office of the church and at the Altar of vvhich also Malachie prophecied vvhen he saith that instead of the sacrifice of the Ievves a cleane oblation should be offered in all places Malac. 1. vvhich prophecie can not be vnderstood of the sacrifice of the Crosse that beeing offered but once and in one place nor of anie externall sacrifice of the Iewes such sacrifices beeing in that place of Malachie reiected nor of improper sacrifices of prayer good vvorkes c. they being many this sacrifice mētioned by Malachie being one and they being improper sacrifices this of which Malachie speaketh being proper as vvhich is by him opposed to the Ievves proper sacrifices but of the sacrifice vnbloodie offered at the Altar which is a cleane oblation vnbloodie whether we regard the externall signes the accidentes of bread and wine or that vvhich they cōtaine which is the bodie blood of Christ offered in them by the Priest in an vnbloody manner and vvhich by ancient fathers councelles is called a sacrifice and euer in the church hath beene esteemed and offered on an Altar as a sacrifice 8. Wherefore now we are not to sacrifice oxen and calues or lambes as the Iewes did now we are sayde to immolat the calfe whē we sacrifice by austeritie our ovvne flesh now we sacrifice the lambe when we suppresse our ovvne furie and anger and shevv our selues meeke gentle to those who haue wronged or offended vs novv vve sacrifice the goate vvhen vve represse lasciuiousnes now the turtle vvhen vve keepe our chastite vndefiled novv the young pigeon vvhen vve liue in charitie vvith all God novv vvill not haue vs sacrifice brute beastes but our brutish passions and sensualities not other liuing creatures but our selues so that God novv taketh no pleasure in the externall and carnall Iewish sacrifice but in the inward and spirituall sacrifices of Christians and as I sayd in the externall sacrifice of his sonnes sacred bodie and blood on the Altar 9. And amongest all the inward and spirituall sacrifices the afflicted spirit a contrit humbled heart is that which especiallie pleaseth God When Dauid considered his sinnes against God his heart vvas contrit that is rent broken with sorrowe and vvhen he considered that his sinne vvas not onelie an offence of God but also a miserie to himselfe vvhich made him more odious to God his Angells then the vilest toade or serpent then it humbled his heart and at the same time made it Cor contritum humiliatum a contrit or broken and humbled heart His heart vvas broken with sorrow vvhen he considered how good a God how clement a Prince how tender a Father hovv great a benefactour hovv louing a friend he had offended it humbled his heart vvhen by his sinne he experienced his ovvne frayltie savv into vvhat danger of eternall damnation he was fallen it brake his heart whē he considered that sinne is the greatest disease that is greater then any ague palsey or leprosie for that these are but diseases of the body sinne of the soule And it humiliated his heart to see himselfe become by sinne a Lazar and a foule leper it brake his heart when he considered that sinne is the greatest wound that is greater then a stabb through the bovvelles of the body for that onelie woundeth killeth the bodie sinne stobbeth vvoundeth yea killeth the soule by depriuing it of the life of grace therefore the vviseman biddeth vs to flye from sinne as from the face of a serpent Eccl. 21. because saith he the teeth of a Lion are his teeth killing the soules of mē It humiliated him to see himselfe thus vvounded and by so base a thing as his sinne vvas a filthie brutish pleasure and a traiterous murder It brake his heart vvith sorrovv vvhen he considered that sinne especiallie if it be mortall is a greater euill then Hell it selfe for that hell is onelie malum paenae the euill of payne sinne is malum culpae the euill of fault offence of God vvhich is the greatest euill Hell is but malum poenae an euill of paine it is an effect of God his iustice inflicted by God sinne is no effect of God nor creature of God but onelie a bastardly Impe of the sinners peruerse vvill It humiliated him vvhen he considered that he vvas oppressed vvith the greatest euill that is that God could not lay so great an euill on him though he should heape vpon him all the paynes in Hell as he layde on himselfe by his sinne It brake his heart to consider that he had sinned it humbled his heart in that he vvas sure he had sinned and had wepte for his sinnes and yet vvithout reuelation he could not tell whether his sinne was forgiuen or no Eccl. 9. whether he was worthie hatred or loue and though it was reuealed to him that his sinne vvas forgiuen 2. Reg. 12. by Nathan the Prophet yet it was sufficient matter of humilitie to haue sinned and therefore S. Paule though he vvas sure his sinne of persecuting the first Christians vvas forgiuen him 1. Tim. 1. and that he had obtayned the mercie of God because he did it beeing ignorant in incredulitie yet because he had persecuted the church of God he thought it a sufficiēt matter of humilitie 1. Co. 15 and a motiue euer after to thinke himselfe an Abortiue and the least of the Apostles not worthy to be called an Apostle onelie because he had heretofore persecuted the church of God And therefore Dauid not content that the Prophet Nathan told him 2. Reg. 12. that God had taken away his sinne weepeth still bevvayleth and lamēteth that he did sinne breaketh his heart with sorrovv humbleth it knowing that a contrite and humbled heart God vvill not despise 10. O Dauid vvho art thou vvho thus filleth the aire with cryes throbbes sobbes and lamētations vvho art thou vvho fetchest from thy heart so deepe and so dolefull sighes vvherevvith thy heart is broken rent and humbled I am a criminall saith he and a guiltie person condemned by God and by his Prophet Nathan yea and by myne owne conscience vvhich forceth me to crye peccaui of no lesse sinnes then murder and adulterie vvhat meruaile then if my heart breake vvith sorrovv my mouth sound it out