exercised therein by all to expresse and make manifest our profession before men Secondly in invocation to God that it would please him to send downe into my heart the messenger of his love the Holy Ghost to assure me by manifest signes and tokens set down in his Word that Christ is formed in my soule that the Lord of life rules in the triangle of my heart that the Sonne of God is conceived in my minde that so beleeving the truth of this dayes commemoration and finding in my heart the operation of this heavenly work I may now as the year begin to spring and grow in all pious and commendable qualities to the praise and glory of God the comfort of others and endlesse salvation of my owne soule Amen THE SUNNE Or A Meditation on the Nativity of Christ THus though ruggedly having finished the outward Court of this beautifull Fabrick I should now begin to garnish the Inner or Middle Temple and therein display the laborious actions of the glorious High Priest But when I considered the curious carvings rare Imbroyderings and rich materialls fit for such a building I stood at a stand not daring further to proceed considering my owne poverty and insufficiencie for the performance thereof especially in the very entrance the splendor of this radiant Sunne did so dazle the eye of my understanding that I was resolved to rest my selfe in the door of this Tabernacle for I doe humbly acknowledge that I am not inriched with the pure gold of divine learning nor the fine silk of sweet eloquence but yet I praise God for it I am indued with some confused notions as unhew'd timber ragged expressions as Badgers skins and rough invention as Camels haire which were of some use in the Tabernacle as well as gold purple silke and fine linnen therefore having laid the foundation of this worke and reared it up to the first story I would not be accounted a foolish builder to leave off in the middle of my worke so though I have not such elegant expressions and learned divisions as the learned yet I will assay to make a course peece of worke thereof And though I have not such Eagles eyes as to behold the Divinity of this glorious Sunne yet being covered with the vaile of humanity my tender weak eyes may looke upon him and see him as on this day to arise in the firmament of his Church as the Sun of righteousnesse with healing under his wings for Salvation sprung from on high this day hath visitedus Now as the Sunne I will here write of him in those usuall names by which the Sun is called which will lively demonstrate the comparative nature of either if my dark expressions do not too much ecclipse their lustre The naturall Sun is called by foure names Sol Apollo Phoebus and Titan. First he is called Sol because he appeares alone All other lights vanish at his presence There is but one Sun in the Firmament so likewise Christ is the only begotten Sonne of God by eternall generation others are the sons of God by adoption He the holy one of God even holinesse it selfe in the abstract others are holy by donation in the concrete He the onely Saviour of mankinde no salvation but by him he the only intercessor and mediator between God and man excluding Saints and Angels He the light that came into the world without whom is darknesse In briefe he is the only King that governs defends protects the Saints the only Priest that offered himselfe a Sacrifice for the redemption of mankinde and the only Prophet that shewes the way of salvation to his chosen so equivalent to Sol. Secondly the naturall Sunne is called Apollo the God of wisdome knowledge and learning He that was famous in his time for Musick Physick Poetry and Divination so in like manner Christ is the eternall wisdome of the Father the fountain of al heavenly knowledge the true Physitian of the soule the good Samaritan that binds up the broken hearted heals the afflicted spirit and mollifies the hard dispositions of mans depraved nature frozen in sinne and wickednesse he that only can make the sad heart rejoyce and make mercy the disconsolate soul whose soule-ravishing parables answers and doctrines were such as never man spake of whose Prophesies and divinations not one jot or tittle shall fall to the ground without their accomplishment so the true Prophet and so divine Apollo Thirdly the naturall Sunne is called Phoebus the spring of light the discoverer of all things and the expeller of darknesse so Christ is the true light which enlightneth every man that commeth into the world of his fulnesse we all receive the light of grace he is the searcher of the heart the tryer of our spirits he knows our thoughts long before nothing is hid from his sight he shewes the vanity of the world the deceitfulnesse of riches the shame of pleasure the folly of sport the danger of greatnesse inconstancy of honour and strickt account to be given for all At his presence all the grosse darknesse of mans ignorance vanishes he is the fountaine of knowledge for all the light that all mankinde ever had have or shall have is but as a spark to this Sun or as a drop to this Ocean so like Phoebus And lastly the Sun is called Titan for his burning heat parching nature and revenging qualities which he takes upon Grasse and graine in the scorching Summer so Christ the Sunne of righteousnesse in the hot Summer of the last judgement when he shall appeare in the clouds with power and great glory shall take vengeance upon his enemies and ease him of his adversaries Then shall he speake unto them in his wrath and vex them in his hot displeasure Then when his wrath shall be kindled and wax hot he shall wound even Kings in the day of his fury with a Scepter of Iron and break them in peeces like a potters vessell Then shall his enemies look upon him whom they have pierced and be confounded with shame and consumed for feare of his heavy displeasure for who is able to abide and stand before that consuming fire so in this respect as I conceive agreeable to Titan. Now having taken a view of this glorious Sun behold him to arise in the rags of our nature out of the cloudy undefiled bed of the blessed Virgin in this briefe story By consent of all writers both Pagan Jewish and Christian Iesus whom we beleeve and confesse to be the true Christ was borne the twenty fifth day of December Anno Mundi 4021 in the end of the forty one yeare of the reigne of the Emperour Octavius Caesar surnamed Augustus which was fifteene yeares before his reigne ended and in the thirty fourth yeare of Herods reigne in Jewry when the three famous Monarchies of the Assyrians Persians and Grecians was past over and ended and the Romans were entred into the fourth which was greater than any of the rest
dust and ashes dare speak unto him for my sins cry for vengeance and shall I be silent for pardon Gracious God either silence them or heare me If thou wilt not heare the voice of my words heare the voice of my tears if thou wilt not heare them heare the voice of thy sonnes blood which speaketh better things then the blood of Abel I confesse I have sorely displeased thee but it troubleth me that I have so incensed thee I have grieved thy Spirit but it grieveth me that I should be so gracelesse as to grieve that Spirit of grace which sealeth thy chosen to salvation I deserve that thou shouldest even abhorre me for my sinnes but I abhorre my selfe for them in dust and ashes I have offended thee in gluttony but I now fast for it in pride but I humble my selfe in laughter and sports but I weepe for it in sinfull joyes but I mourne for it I have wallowed in filthy pleasures but I wallow for it in dust and ashes I have broken all thy Comman dements but I have broken my heart in true contrition for it Thou didst not break a bruised reed wilt thou grinde to powder a broken heart What profit is in my blood O Lord when I goe downe into the pit Nay what profit is in thy blood O blessed Redeemer if they for whom it was shed goe downe into the pit of destruction shall the dust give thanks unto thee O Lord or the ashes and cinders of hell praise the God of heaven Heare O Lord and have mercy upon me thou that healest those that are broken in heart and givest medicine to cure their sicknesse raise up my prostrate and dejected soule Why diddest thou hunger O Lord but to satisfie for my gluttony why didst thou thirst but to satisfie for my drunkennesse why didst thou weepe but to satisfie for my sinfull joyes why didst thou endure unspeakable torments but to satisfie for my lewd pleasures why didst thou dye an ignominious death but to satisfie for my sinfull life why didst thou shed thy blood but to satisfie for my crimson sins Adam our first parent did eat the forbidden fruit and all our teeth are set on edge but thy fasting forty dayes hath fully satisfied for his eating But I renew my sins daily and thou renewest thy mercies The guilt of my sinne is great but the price of thy blood is greater I have offended an infinite Majestie but satisfaction hath beene made by an infinite Majestie My wickednesse cannot exceed thy goodnesse for my power of sinning is finite but thy faculty of pardoning is infinite Wherefore sith my sinnes be they never so many never so weighty fall within the measure of thy mercy and compasse of thy goodnesse and sith it is all one with thee to give what I ask and to incite me to aske to heale my wounds and to make me feele the smart of them Lord who hast given me the one deny me not the other rebuke the surges of temptations and quiet my soule Thou who in the dayes of thy flesh offeredst up prayers with strong cries here the strong loud cries of a penitent sinner Thou who tookest upon thee our infirmities take pity upon them thou who wert in thine agony stricken with horror and unutterable griefe allay the troubles of my affrighted conscience Thou who fastedst forty dayes accept of my humiliation these forty dayes and grant that my stomack may not onely fast from accustomed meats but all my sences from their usuall delights and most of all my heart from worldly comforts and contentments Let no sight delight me till I see my sins removed like a mist and thy countenance shine upon mee Let no sound or voice delight me till I heare thee by thy Spirit to speake peace to my conscience and say to my soule I am thy salvation Let no pleasant fields and gardens delight me till I have gathered red flowers out of that garden which was watered with thy blood Let no fruit delight me till I have fully tasted of the fruit of the tree of thy crosse Let no meat delight me till with the sowre hearbs of sorrow and anguish of heart for my sin I have eaten the Christian Passeover the flesh of thee that immaculate Lambe slaine from the beginning of the world Heare me blessed Redeemer and as thou wrotest in dust when thou tookest the woman in adultery so I beseech thee write my sins in dust bury them all in the ashes of oblivion So be it Amen SATVRNE OR a Meditation on Goodfriday HAving in the former meditations shewed you an immaculate Lambe and the first fruits of the meritorious blood thereof then how the said Lambe was prepared to be a fitting Sacrifice for the expiation of the sins of the whole world Now I should according to my promise in the entrance of this work show you how this Sacrifice was laid upon the Altar of the Crosse as on this day under the metaphor of the Planet Saturne But herein I perceive my owne inability and presumption that I should dare to adventure upon such holy things in such vile comparisons for the expulsion of Saturne out of his kingdome by his brother Titan and sonne Jupiter is no way equivalent to the malice of the Jewes against our blessed Saviour For Saturne broke covenant with his brother and kept three of his male children alive contrary to the condition which he held his kingdome by And therefore Titan had just cause to make warre against him and recover his inheritance due to the first borne And Jupiter likewise did expell his father out of his kingdome because his father threatned to kill him But Christ had done offence to none he had broken no bonds but rather made up the breach hee was so farre from destroying that he came on purpose to save and redeeme that which was lost And what were the troubles of Saturne King of Creet to the unsupportable sufferings of Christ the King of glory Nay what were all the troubles of all the men that are or ever were in the world to the troubles of our blessed Saviour And where is the patience of Saturne Iob or any other that was in Christ For as the light of the natural Sun is darknesse to the Splendor of the Sunne of Righteousnesse so all the excellency and worth that is in all mankind is not able fully to demonstrate the excellencie that is in Christ yet because Saturne was imprisoned by his Brother and driven out of his Kingdome by his own sonne I did intend to shew how our blessed Saviour as on this day was bound imprisoned by the cruell Jews his brethren according to the flesh of the Virgin Mary and driven out of the Kingdome of this world by those which should as obedient children to the cōmands of God their Father have kept their hands from killing the innocent But being conscious of my owne insufficiency for the performance of such a work it being excellently
thou cursedst and it withered without naturall affections bemoane thee as the stones that clave the veile that rent and the earth that quaked at thy Passion without wil voluntarily offer thee service the Foale to beare thee the Dove to manifest thee the Fish to discharge thee the Sunne to hide thy ignominy among men and here the Cloud to veile thee from mortall eye and transport thee into heaven O Lord my Redeemer how excellent is thy Name in all the world Thou makest the Light thy Garment the Angells thy Messengers the Aire thy race the Clouds thy Chariot and flyest upon the wings of the wind into heaven Thou art ascended up on high thou hast led Captivity captive In thy Passion thou wast Deaths death and killedst it In thy buriall thou wast the Graves grave and destroyedst Destruction And now in thy Ascension thou conqueredst Conquest it selfe and ledst Captivity captive and receivedst Gifts for men for the whole Church and every beleever O Lord bestow these Gifts liberally upon me that I may grow in grace and the knowledge and love of thee This day thou liftedst up thy body from the earth lift up my heart from it This day thou transportedst thy body to heaven transport my desires thither This day thou setledst thy self in thy Throne at the right hand of thy Father fix my thoughts and settle mine affections on thee in heaven and on heaven for thee Amen VENVS OR A Meditation on Whitsunday IN the old Testament I find that two several times fire descended from heaven upon sacrifices prepared for offrings of a sweet smelling savour unto the Lord. The first was when Manoah the father of Sampson at the commandement of the Angel offered a Kid upon a stone Then did he whose name is marvellous do wondrously and ascended in the flame up into heaven for the strengthning of Manoahs faith and for the confirmation of the truth of his promise The other was when Eliah for confirmation of the true religion and extirpation of idolatry called for fire from Heaven which consumed the sacrifice and licked up the water in the Trench round about the Altar Then did the Lord manifest himself to be the only God that all superstitions and will-worship is the invention of mans braine And in the New Testament I reade that as on this day the Holy Ghost the third person in the blessed Trinity descended from heaven and sate upon the heads of 120 men and women assembled and prepared as a sacrifice acceptable to God with unity charity and devotâ—on in the likenesse of cloven fiery tongues then did God the Sonne worke wonderfully in performing his promise by sending his dejected Disciples a holy Comforter by whose comming besides the internall joy and incredible alacrity and exultation of minde they received also fortitude and audacity to goe forth into the world They received the gift of tongues enabling them to converse and deale with all sorts of people They received wisdome and learning with most powerfull illumination in highest mysteries whereby to preach to teach and convince their adversaries They received the gift of prophesie to foretell things to come together with the power of working signes and miracles whereby the whole world remained astonied and for a taste or earnest penny of that which should ensue concerning the infinite increase of that little congregation they saw 3000 of their adversaries converted to them in one day by a Sermon of S. Peter But all the parâ—iculars of this story is so divinely performed by M. Austin that in his work as in a glasse I perceive my gifts of learning and devotion are as farre inferiour to his as the frothy filthy and carnall love in Venus is inferiour to the holy Spirit of Gods love Yet because I have oft found in Scripture that the Lord is pleased for the illumination of mans dark understanding to speake of himselfe as of a man attributing to himselfe eyes nose mouth armes hands feet c. And affections also as anger zeale joy love c. whereas these qualities are not properly in God for he is voide of corporeall habit being of an infinite and incomprehensible essence Therefore I was so presumptuously bold as in my former expressions to demonstrate the meritorious actions of our blessed Saviour by those forenamed Planets so in this day to write of this blessed spirit of Gods love as it hath correspondency with mans but finding my ability to be insufficient for such a work I conclude with the prayer for the day in these words Incomprehensible Spirit the third person in the blessâ—d and glorious Trinity who after the Father had manifested himselfe to the world in the works of creation and the sonne in the works of Redemption finished in the flesh diddest manifest thy selfe on this day in a wonderfull manner by the sound of a â—ushing winde and the light of fiery tongues manifest thy self most powerfully and gloriously in the universall Church by enlarging her bounds and making up her breaches by hallowing her assemblies and furnishing her Pastors and knitting the hearts of all her members in true love the bond of perfection perfect the work of sanctification in thine elect manifest thy selfe also gloriously this day declare thy gifts in the tongues of thy Preachers and eares of the hearers and the hearts of all the congregation Direct the mouthes of thy Preachers that they may skilfully sow the seed and open the eares and mollifie the hearts of the hearers that they may receive it profitably bring forth the fruits of the Spirit abundantly which are love joy peace long suffering gentlenesse goodnesse faith meeknesse temperance c. O eternall and infinite Holy Ghost the love of the Father and the Sonne who diddest descend upon our Saviour in the likenesse of a Dove without Gall purge out of my conscience all gall of malice and bitternesse and grant that with meeknesse I may receive the ingrafted word which is able to save my soule O holiest Spirit eternall breath of the Father and the Sonne and former of the word in the womb who camest with a sound come downe upon me in the sound of thy word preached though not in extraordinary gifts of Prophesie tongues and he ling yet in the ordinary graces of faith hope and charity the spirit of supplication and prayer of wisdome and spirituall understanding of power and ghostly comfort O heavenly Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Sonne who descendedst from Hâ—aven like a mighty rushing winde throw me downe to the ground inhumility and prostrate my heart soule before thee Bâ—at downe all strong holds of 〈…〉 nall maginati 〈…〉 and worldly thoughts resisting thy grace chase away all clouds of error out of my understanding cleare my wil from all fogs of noisome desires coole and refresh me in the heat of persecution fill the sailes of my affections and drive me speedily into the faire haven where I would be O divine fire burning continually
the midst of Heaven so was the Virgin Mary at this time as some Geographers affirme in the middest of the earth at Nazareth a City in the Tribe of Zebulon three dayes journey from Ierusalem Secondly as the Sunne comming into the Aequator makes the day and night of equall distance so also Christ the Son of Righteousnesse as this day comming by divine inspiration or semination into the wombe of the blessed Virgin The cloudy night of the ceremoniall Law and the bright day of the glorious Gospell were now upon even tearmes The law like the Moon having enlightned the world for almost two thousand yeares as some say gives place to the Sun of the Gospell to finish his race to enlighten them that sat in the darknesse of ignorance and shadow of ceremonial figures and types But as yet this Sun did not break forth it was hid under a cloud as on this day it newly entred into this blessed Aequator For now it was that the blessed Virgin by a celestiall creature An Angell of great power Gabriel by name sent from the blessed Trinity was shewed the wonderfull conception of her Lord and Maker that she should bring him forth that by his word brought forth all things that she should be a Mother and yet a Virgin That the Holy Ghost should come upon her and the power of the most High should over shadow her Here is a wonder above all wonders for from eternity it was never heard that Eternity should enter into the Kalendar of Time that Immensity should be comprehended Infinity bounded Ubiquity inclosed and the Deity incarnated Yet this day the heavenly marriage of the humane Nature with the Divine by an unconceiveable hypostaticall union was declared that it should bee consummated in the undefiled bed of the Virgin Mary This contract was long before all time made in heaven and spoken of by Prophets ever since the world began The promised seed of the woman in Adams time typified in the heavenly dew in â—edeons fleece in these particulars First as that fleece so the Virgin received this heavenly dew when all the world was barren besides her Secondly the filling that fleece was a signe of the Jewes delivery and the conception of this Virgin a signe and a beginning of ours Thirdly this fleece received the dew without hurt to the wooll and this Virgin conceived this immortall dew without the corruption of her flesh Fourthly Gedeon wrung out this dew and filled a vessell with it And Mary brings forth her Son that fills this great Vessell the World and all that is in it But lastly in this she exceeds the fleece of Gedeon for of the fleece of her body Christ made himselfe a Garment even his own flesh which he weares to this day and will doe for ever This was foretold by Esay expressely Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bring forth a Sonne And in a figurative speech by Jeremy Behold saith he the Lord will worke a new thing upon earth a woman shall compasse a man A strange saying yet true for it was no new thing for one of mankind to bee made of another so was Eve of Adam long since for a man to be made without man and woman is older for so was Adam And for one to bee made of man and woman is almost as old and much more common but for one to be made of a woman without man that 's a rare and new thing indeed And so was Christ only And to shew it is a new worke we begin our accounts and reckonings as from this day and date the year accordingly This month the year begins to conceive and bring forth fruite in the delightfull Spring and some affirme that God began the worlds creation as on this day to shew that all things become new For the confirmation of the truth of this glorious conception consider the predictions before rehearsed and many other as of the time Gen. 49. 10. The Scepter shall not depart from Iuda nor a Law-giver from betweene his feet untill Shiloh come Of the place Esay 9. 1. The Land of Zabulon and Nepthalim neare the way of the sea beyond Iordan and Galilee of the Gentiles a people that sate in darknesse and in the shadow of death saw a great light And of his line and stocke Esay 11. 1. There shall come a Rod out of the stem of Iesse and a branch shall grow out of his roots The very manner thereof is very observable and the Message or Annunciation made unto the Virgin by the Angell as it is related by the Evangelist and Fathers make it apparent and conspicuous for albeit it depend principally upon the relation and credit of the Virgin her selfe who was only privie thereunto and upon the testimony of Ioseph to whom it was revealed by the same Angell afterward yet wee may consider the circumstances of the thing it selfe as first the simplicity of both the reporters then how that it is not likely that Ioseph being Just as is described would have concealed a thing so much against himself and against the Law if he had not been some way assured of the truth thereof Thirdly the innocent age of the Virgin who was not past fourteene yeares old at that time as Saint Augustine and some other ancient Fathers doe prove by manifest arguments All these things doe make it improbable that shee would invent such a thing of her selfe And finally the strange prophesie which shee uttered in her Canticle of Magnificat and which we see now fulfilled albeit at that time very unlikely to wit that all Generations should call her blessed doe make it plainly appeare that the matter must needs be true But why stand I thus upon that which is an Article of our Beleefe and requires more the mouth of Faith to receive and apprehend it then the hand or tongue of humane reason to demonstrate or describe it for he is anathematized that doth not beleeve this Gospell therefore I will now leave to write any further of this story and apply this dayes worke in these uses First in contemplation of the Aequator my heart stated in the midst of my body Christ the Sunne infused therein by the Spirit of God making so long as I live in this vale of misery if it were possible my spirituall and civill actions of even distance both in the service of God and duties of my calling that I may endevour truely to worship and serve God in spirit and body which are both Gods workmanship And if on either side it should exceed not to bee as on this day the most part in the dark night of mens traditions and newly entring into the day of spiritual illumination but rather that the night of cloudy shadowes should vanish and give place to the day of spirituall verities Yet I doe conceive it requisite and very fit that in the Church and service of God there should be decent comely and reverent comformity and uniformity used and
grace And the duty on our part that we may be fitted for this great benefit is a godly resolution joyned with an earnest endeavour to consecrate our selves to the forsaking of sin and wickednesse and a lively faith whereby we lay hold and feele the power of this inward washing by the Holy Ghost Therefore I conclude with the prayer for the day which I finde excellently framed to my hand in these words Most tender and compassionate Lord now first knowne by thy name Jesus who being the true Vine which yeeldest the wine that gladdeth the heart wast pruned this day with the sharpe knife of circumcision and bâ—eddest for me have pitty and compassion on me who with weeping eyes and a bleeding heart come unto thee beseeching thee that these drops of blood which fell from thee this day may satisfie for the sin of my Birth and the whole streame that ran from all the parts of thy body in the Garden and on the Crosse may expiate all my numberlesse actuall sins whether they be sinnes of lighter tincture or of a skarlet dye sinnes like beames or sins like moats sins conceived in the heart only or sins brought forth into act sins in my beleefe or sins in my life sins once committed or sins often repeated sins before or after my calling sins of impiety against thee or sins of Iniquity against my neighbour or sins of impurity against my owne flesh for of all these I have a great load they are more in number then the haires of my head they are a burden too heavie for me to beare they lye upon my conscience like so many Talents of lead and would presse me downc to hell did not thy mercy take hold of the hand of my faith to support me in hope even above hope How should I hope if I think upon thy greatnesse how should I not hope iâ— I think upon thy goodnesse How should I hope if I weigh my sins How should I not hope if I weigh thy Merits How should I hope if I coÌ„sider my Actions How should I not hope if I consider thy Passions How should I hope if I number my Transgressions How should I not hope if I number thy Blessings and favours towards me How should I hope if I remember how oft I have refused grace after it hath bin offered unto me How can I but hope if I remember how oft Grace hath been offered unto me after I refused it And still hope I will as long as thou retainest thy Name JESUS which this day thou receivedst when thou offeredst the first fruits of thy blood for my sin without which thou couldst not have been my JESUS for so foule and festered were my sores that nothing could heale them but a bloodie knife But why should this bloody instrument be applyed to thy purest tenderest Immaculate flesh made all of Virgins blood There was no superfluity to be pared off in thee nor ranke blood to be let out the superfluous skinne was on me yet the knife is on thee the festered sores were in my body yet the lance is in thy flesh Thou hast the paine I the ease thou the smart I the cure O wonderfull Cure O more wonderfull Love out of the mouths of babes and sucklings as thou hast ordained so maist thou justly challenge Praise who in thy Inâ—ancie madest such an assay of my Redemption and tenderedst the earnest of thy blood for me Not nine dayes old thou sheddest drops of blood for mee far more precious than so many drops of the richest Balsamum to cure my wounds Let all flesh praise thee who healest it by thy wounds eternall thanks be given unto thee for thy Circumcision whereby thou hast abolished Circumcision it selfe and provided me an easier remâ—dy of originall sin the sacred Laver of Regeneration Water now serveth in stead of blood and a gentle rubbing of the flesh for cutting and wounding it By the Circumcision of thy flesh thou hast merited for me the fulfilling of thy Fathers promise and condition of his Covenant to circumcise the fore-skin of our hearts By this thy rasor thou hast fitted the Tables of my heart now write thy Lawes and love in them By receiving this Seale of the Covenant in thy flesh thou hast sealed to me thy care of me in thy nonage First O Lord I am everlastingly to praise thee for taking my flesh upon thee and next for leaving part of it with me as a pledge of thy love thou bearest to me from thy Mothers wombe In thy infancie thou bleddest for me in thy twelfth yeare thou arguedst for me in thy youth thou obeyedst for me and in thy ripe and perfect age thou sufferedst and dyedst for me To thee therefore as it is my bounden duty I offer the buds of my child-hood the blossoms of my youth and the fruits of my age As thou betimes didst set to the work of my Redemption and on those termes acceptedst the Name JESUS So let me betimes give my name to thee and enter into thy service Let me beare thy yoke even from my youth Lord who this day wert circumcised in the flesh Circumcise me in the heart that I may in purity sincerity and uprightnesse of heart walk before thee all the dayes of my life neither circumcise my heart only but my ears eyes hands head and feet that no superfluity of maliciousnesse nor impurity remain in me Now thou hast renewed the face of the earth renew this day and repaire thy decayed Image in me Thou hast begun a new year begin in me a new Reformation make mee I beseech thee a cleane heart and renue a right spirit within me The yeare like the Serpent hath cast off his old skin and put on a new so let mee also cast off my old Man and put on the new Man and from this day to my old age and death walk in newnesse of life That I may be a fit guest to bee admitted into the new heaven where dwellâ—â—h Righteousnesse and to be entertained at thy Table and drink new Wine with thee in thy heavenly Kingdome for evermore Amen MARS or a Meditation on Ashwednesday IN time of the ceremonial Law the Paschall Lambe was commanded to bee rosted with fire dressed and prepared with sowre hearbs to be a fitting sacrifice to God for the people And Christ the true Paschall Lambe in accomplishment thereof throughout the whole course of his life was continually broyled in the fire of affliction and seasoned with the sowre revilings and bitter taunts of malicious men that he might become a pleasant sacrifice to God his Father Now as the Planet Mars is three yeares before he accomplish or fulfill his celestiall race so likewise Christ in the race or circuit of his ministeriall office was three yeares viz. from the one and thirtieth yeare of his age to his death And as Mars though in himselfe inoffensive yet opposed by contrary aspects proves fatall so Christ if well placed in pious hearts
and temporâ—ll conferred upon me purchased by thy sufferings ad this one above the rest the special gift of remembrance of these thy sufferings that wheresoever I am whatsoever I doe I may have thy passion in my heart and thy wounds bleeding a fresh in my minde with an infinite hatred of sin that procured them and love of thy goodnesse who enduredst them for me Thy Church since thou leftest her is a widow and I am as one of her dead children not as the Samaritan was hâ—lfe dead but wholly dead in my sins and transgressions Thou Lord art the true Elias who raisedst and doest raise from death this widowes children to life by stretâ—hing thy body over them O my gracious Lord apply thy body stretched this day on the crosse to me Lay thy head to my head thy hands to my hands thy feet to my feet and thy heart to my heart that I may receive warmth from thy blood and ease from thy stripes health from thy wounds and spirit from thy breath and strength from thy grace to stand up from the dead and walke with thee henceforth in newnesse of life So be it Amen IVPITER OR a Meditation on Easter-day WHen I did first compose this Annuall world my thoughts were so presumptuous as to promise to my unlearned selfe a power and faculty to fit every dayes meditation to the resemblance which I first propounded in the entrance into this Tabernacle but as I have come farre short in the precedent expressions so I feare I shall come much more behinde in the subsequent meditations Yet I will adventure to show that the Sacrifice which was offered unto God upon the Altar of the Crosse on Goodfriday for the expiation of the sins of mankinde is truly exhibited to every worthy receiver in the blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist or Lords Supper And therfore the Christian Church in all ages hath piously appointed this yearely feast of Easter to be by every one of her members solemnely observed instead of the Jewes Passeover whereby every beleeving soule may be assured that if he finde the blood of that most immaculate Lambe sprinkled upon the doore post of his heart the destroying Angell shall have no power to enter therein Which assurance that he may obtaine first before hee receive these sacred mysteries he ought to be fitted with the preparing graces of true sorrow and hearty contrition of spirit for sinnes past joyned with penitent resolutions and endeavours to lead a new life in time to come perfect love and charity with all men joyned with longing desires to participate the benefits of Christs passion and humility of spirit joyned with holy revâ—rence and godly devotion Secondly in receiving he ought to be indued with the comprehensive grace of a true lively and justifying faith And last of all he ought to have the reteining graces of hearty praise and thanksgiving for all Gods inestimable benefits especially for the Word and Sacraments joyned with joy and cheerefulnesse in the service of God and constant perseverance in all these heavenly graces to his lives end The man that is thus qualified for the reception of this heavenly repast may with aged Simeon take into his hands his Lord and Saviour yea and see him with the eye of his faith take with a pure hand eat with a clean mouth and keep in a sanctified heart this sacred bread this chosen Manna the word of life and food of Angels for by and with the sacred elements though not in or under them he doth partake of the flesh of God spiritually for his words are spirit and life yea truly in very deed for he is the living bread that came downe from heaven his flesh is meat indeed and his blood is drink indeed As at sumptuous feasts where curious services are we see the proportion and shape of the Deer or Fowle set out in gold and colours on the outside or lid of those baked meats which are truly contained under it and to be eaten so if we may draw a resemblance of so high and divine a mysterie from an earthly and humane repast under the figures of bread and wine as it were the printed lid or cover thou O devout soule feedest on the meat of Angels the dainties of heaven and flesh of thy Saviour who is there described in thy sight and before thee crucified That which is represented in the signe to the eye of the body is presented in the thing signified to the eye of the soule and hand of thy faith what is shadowed in the Sacrament is truly also exhibited by it If thou beleevest that thou eatest thou eatest that thou beleevest Let no hereticall Harpies pluck from thee this heavenly dish or meat as Celaeno did Aeneas's Beware of two sorts of heretiques especially those that seeke to beguile thee in the Sacrament or rather of it viz. The Sacramentaries and Papists the one denying the signe the other the thing signified the one offereth thee a shadow without the body the other the body without the shadow or resemblance and consequently neither of them giveth thee the true Sacrament to whose nature essence both are requisite The Sacramentaries would rob thee of the Iewel the Papists of the Casket Lay thine hands on both hold both fast as thou seest the one so beleeve the verity substance of the other as thou takest the one receive the other as thou handlest the one apprehend the other as thou feedest with thy mouth on the one feed in thy heart on the other And as truly as the one nourisheth thy body to a temporall the other shall preserve thy soule to eternall life For it is the tree of life which growes in the midst of the Paradise of God his Church on earth The way to the mysticall tree in Paradise was guarded by an Angell waving a flaming sword the way to this in like manner is fenced there stands an Angell at the Table Gods minister brandishing the sword of the Spirit and forbidding under paine of death any to eat of this fruit that have their teeth set on edge with the Apples of Sodome and Grapes of Gomorrah Other fruits and meats are prepared for us but we must be prepared for this before we eat it the bread of the earth cannot feed when thou eatest it till it be changed into thy body because thou art more excellent then it but this bread which came downe from heaven is more excellent then thou art and therefore thou must be changed into it before it nourish thee All other meat is received as it is in it selfe and no otherwise but this is divers as it is received other meat affecteth and altereth the taste but here the taste altereth the meat for if it be worthily received it is the body and blood of Christ if unworthily it is but bare bread and wine If it meet with a spirituall taste and appeâ—ite and stomack purged and prepared it proveth the food of life