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
in the right way let me not range out of it any more novv that by the same grace I am vvashed from my sinnes let me not defile my selfe againe now that I am by this grace cured of my disease of sinne let me not fall into it againe novv that my mortall wouÌ„des are healed by this grace let me not renew them For vvhat vvould it auaile to be risen vp if I fall againe the after fall vvould make my rising more difficult What to haue vvalked in the vvayes of thy commaundementes if I loose this vvay againe I shall the more hardlie finde it What to haue been vvashed cleane in the lauer of penance and by thy grace if like a swine I vvallovv my selfe againe in the puddle of sinne the stayne vvill more hardlie be gotten out better it is for me to say vvith the Spouse Cant. 5 I haue washed my feete hovv shall I defile them What vvill it auaile to haue beene cured of the ague of sinne if I admitte an other accesse of it Recidiuation is more dangerous then the former sicknes What to haue been healed of so many mortall vvoundes as mortall sinnes if I renevv them againe the renevving makes them harder to be cured then before Wherefore turne not thy face froÌ„ me by vvithdrawing thy grace for then I shall fall againe into all those miseries to haue vvell begun is a small thing how many good beginners are novv in Hell perseuerance is that vvhich maketh vs goe on to the end and the end crowneth the vvorke And therefore ô Lord take not thy holy spirit from me Take not from me the create spirit of grace by vertue of vvhich I may perseuer to the end yea ô Eternall Father ô Eternall Sonne giue me your increate spirit the holy Ghost vvho proceedeth from you both and vvho is equall coequall and consubstantiall to you both and who is your mutuall loue and eternall knotte of freindship take not froÌ„ me this your increate Spirit So long as this Spirit supporteth me I can not fall Heauen vvill sooner fall then I so supported can fall 4. And thou ô penitent Christian desire almightie God to turne his face from thy sinne but not from thee it being thy onelie comfort in this life to haue its benigne aspect and the light of grace which proceedeth from it and vvhich illuminateth thy vvay vvhich thou art to vvalke Desire him also not to take avvay his holy Spirit from thee vvithout vvhich liuing thou art dead liuing in bodie dead in soule vvhich if thou fall will raise thee if thou stand vvill so direct thy steppes as thou shalt neuer fall againe Ioan. 1. This Spirit houered ouer the waters in the first creation gaue them fecunditie to bring forth fish and fowle The same spirit houered ouer the waters of Baptisme when thou vvast regenerated of water and the holy Ghost Ioan. 3. and gaue it force to this day to bring forth Spirituall fishes to vvitt Christâ—ans who are spawnes and young fishes of the great fish CHRIST IESVS Tertul. lib. de Baptismo Aug li de Ciuit ca. 18. stiled by the Sybille in the first letters of her Greeke verses 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth a fish because in the riuer of Iordan vvhere he was Baptized by S. Iohn Baptist he like a fish did as it vvere swimme and thereby gaue vertue to the water of baptisme to regenerat ChristiaÌ„s whereas ChristiaÌ„s haue their origin froÌ„ the water as fishes haue This Spirit againe houered ouer the vvaters of contritioÌ„ the SacrameÌ„t also of penaÌ„ce wheÌ„ it inspired into me the Spirit of coÌ„punction and contrition by which from my sinnes committed after Baptisme I vvas againe vvashed and rose againe from sinne to iustifying grace Let it giue me also ô most mercifull Lord the grace and guift of perseuerance vvhich is all in all and without vvhich all is nothing Do not take this Holie Spirit from me and I shall perseuer to the end against all tentations maugre all the Deuills in Hell 5. S. Peter before he vvas fortified by this Spirit vvas so frayle fearfull and cowardlie that he denied his Master at the voice of a Maide-seruaunt a woeman dashed him out of countenance but after he vvas armed fortified by this Holy Spirit he feared not the Tyrants of the vvorld nor all the tormentes that cruell heartes could deuise but like a rocke vvithstood the boisterous windes of their persecutions vvhich did but breake wast themselues mooued not him And he the rest of the Apostles vvho fled vvhen their Master vvas taken and vvho eueÌ„ after his death and resurrection assembled themselues together and shutte the doores Propter metum Iudaeorum for feare of the Ievves Ioan. 20. after they had receaued this Holy Spirit they feared not the Tyrants of earth nor all the Deuills in Hell Yea they but twelue set vpon all the vvorld and not iointly neither but singlie and made a conquest of a greater world then euer Alexander the Great did subdued not onelie their bodies as he did but their vvilles and vnderstanding subiected the Empire to the Churche the Scepter to the crosse made philosophie stoupe to Christes doctrine Matth. 10. and Idolatrie to Christian religion And whereas they were sent as sheepe amongest vvolues yet these sheepe strengthened by this Holy Spirit were to hard for the wolues and as fire coÌ„uerteth all into it so they inflamed vvith this HeaueÌ„lie fire consumed sinne and Idolatrie and like so many walking fiers set all the world on fire conuerted all to Christ and made all like themselues that is Christians 6. I ô Lord request at thy bountifull handes with Dauid a guift of this Holy Spirit Act. 20 and this Heauenlie fire which descended on the first Christians in the forme of fierie tongues corroborate and encourage me by this Holy Spirit inflame me with this heauenlie fire and harden me with it that no assaults of the Deuill world or flesh may be able to ouerthrowe me that for feare of persecution I may not deny thee but as now as I hope I am risen by thy Holy Spirit and grace of iustification so by thy guifte and grace of perseuerance the proper effect of it I may neuer fall againe by mortall sinne from thy grace fauour face and eternall vision the blisse of the blessed which is onelie graunted to them who perseuer to the end Redde mihi letitiam salutaris tui Et spiritu principali confirma me Render vnto me the ioy of thy Saluation and confirme me with thy principall Spirit 1. I Remember ô Lord saith Dauid say the same ô penitent soule with him what ioye peace of conscience and comfort I enioyed in thee and in thy seruice before my sinne and when I was enriched with thy grace the fountaine of true peace and ioye Then I tasted and sawe how sweet thou art then I experienced Psal 33 how great is the multitude of thy
sweetnes ô Lord which thou hast hidd for them that feare thee and hast hidden from the worldlings vvho feare thee not Sap. 12. O hovv good and sweet is thy spirit ô Lord in all Math. 11. Thy seruice is à yoke but sweet it is a burden but light And ô my infelicitie who when I sinned left thee and all this true ioye and consolation When by Iustifying grace I liued in thy house I aboūded with this bread of consolation but whē by my sinne I left the house of thee my eternall father followed the seruice of the world vvith the Prodigall sonne Luc. 15 then instead of this bread of true consolation I vvas fedd as he vvas after he left his fathers house with the huskes of worldlie consolation with carnall and brutish pleasures the hoggish fare of sinners vvhich neuer quencheth thirst neuer slaketh or assuageth hunger neuer giueth contentement 2. When I serued thee ô Lord J drank of the fountaine of liuing waters and true pleasures Ioh. 4. whilst I drank those waters I neuer thirsted after any other but vvhen I forsooke thee the Creatour and fountaine of liuing water Hierem 24. and digged to my selfe cisternes broken cisternes which are not able to hold water that is whē I thought to extinguish my thirst by my loue of creatures or create riches or pleasures I found thē to be broken cisternes which doe not containe the water of solid comfort pleasure or contētement When I serued thee I was fedd vvith Manna Num. 21. the bread of Angels which containeth in it selfe all delight but vvhen by sinne I loathed and left this foode of Angels and sought to satisfie myne appetite with worldly and carnall pleasures ô what an ill exchange I made I then sold vvith Esau my spirituall first birth-right Gen. 25 vvhich grace gaue vnto me for a messe of potage Exod. 25. I exchanged Manna for the flesh pottes yea onions and garlick of Egipt I left thee ô Lord the Creatour in whom I had true contentement for thy creatures which by reason of their insufficiencie can not content 3. Thou hast created vs ô Lord to thy selfe and for thy selfe and hast made vs capable of thy selfe by thy cleare vision and fruition and thou being rich eminēt in excellēcie aboue all beautifull most good yea a sea of goodnes hast made vs capable of all these thy Diuine attributes and perfections But because we seeke for these thinges not in thee where they are where onely they content but in thy creatures where is but a shadow of them and vvhere they doe not content we by abuse haue made this our capacitie of fruition of thee thy Diuine perfections which onely can satisfie and fill vs the cause of all our discontentement yea our vices and disorders For whereas thou hast made vs capable of thy Diuine excellencie to vvhich supreame honour is due we by abuse seeke for this excellencie and honour not in thee but in our selues desiring too much to excell others and to be esteemed aboue them this is pride ambition which is neuer satisfied Others giue this excellencie and supreame honour to creatures as to the sunne moone starres and this is Idolatrie vvhereas thou hast made vs capable of thy beautie which is the cause and fountaine of of all beautie we leauing thee doe seeke for it in thy creatures where is but a shadow of that thy beautie and this is carnall concupiscence which is neuer filled Whereas thou hast made vs capable of thy riches and aboundance vvhich comprehendeth all the riches and varieties of Sea and Land that also most eminentlie vve by abuse seeke this aboundance and varietie of all thinges in thy creatures and trouble Sea Land to procure it this is riotte and auarice vvhich is neuer contented whereas thou hast created vs capable of thy bountie liberalitie by vvhich thou shinest raynest by thy guiftes and fauours on the good and badde and castest a largesse of thy infinite guiftes and benefites on all thy creatures euē to the young rauens and crawling wormes we by abuse seeke for this bountie out of thee would be liberall not out of thy aboundance but out of our owne store and this is lauishing prodigalitie vvhich spendeth till it hath ruined the spender and his familie and aftervvard stealeth to spend more more and so findeth no end nor content in spending 4. And the reason vvhy these creatures and create perfections can not content our will or appetite is because thou ô Lord hast giuen to our vvill an infinite capacitie capable of thy selfe who art an infinite sea of all goodnes and perfection whereas thy creatures are finite and limited in perfection an so can not fill a vessell as our vvill is of infinit capacitie and thy creatures are also imperfect so doe not onelie not satisfie and fill vs but doe also by reasō of this imperfection and disproportion cause in vs a spirituall thirst and hungre vvhich vexeth and tormēteth vs. One vvorld was not great enough to content Alexander the Great nor would many worlds haue satisfied him though thy had beene as many as Democritus imagined what rich man was euer satisfied vvith riches vvhat ambitious mā vvith honours what luxurious mā vvith carnall pleasures And no maruayle no create thing is proportionat to mans infinit capacitie All create perfections are defectiue insufficient and vayne like to painted grapes and so can giue no solid satietie or consolation 5. For vvhat are the gold and syluer landes and liuinges and all the riches of the vvorld vvhich are gotten with labour kept with care and lost with sorrow but pelfe and trash and fruites of the earth and so earthlie and consequentlie improportionate to our soules appetite vvhich is spirituall what are the pleasures of the bodie but gay stinking flowers thornie roses sweet poysons delights of brute beastes in vvhich we agree vvith them vvhich so are the pleasures of the bodie that they are the greatest displeasures of the soule what are the honours and estimations of the vvorld which so daste wordlings eyes but blastes of mens mouthes or the transitory conceites of mens mindes which often are erroneous alwaies inconstant and more changable thē the vvinde passing more swiftly them the waues of the running water And as yet the man vvas neuer found which vvas satisfied vvith these painted gugawes 6. Thou onelie ô my Lord and God vvho art infinit in all perfection and goodnes canst fill the infinit capacitie of our soule Thou onelie art the center of our desires in vvhom onelie they rest The stone vvill sooner rest in the ayre before it come to the center then the soule of man in creatures before it come to thee her creatour her first efficient and last end Fecisti nos Domine ad te saith S. Austin inquietum est cor nostrum Aug. lib. 1. Confes cap. 1. donec requiescat in
inflamed with charitie so he inflameth that he with an hot cole taken from the Altar may touch my mouth Isa c. 6 and purge my lippes from all filth of sinne See S. Thom. Lyra. Hector Pintus and SaÌ„ctius on the sixt chap. of Isaiâ— that is that he vvith the burning cole of charitie taken from the Altar of the crosse or CHRIST his passion endured on the crosse for that is the source of all grace and charitie may purge my hart and lippes as gold in the fornace from all drosse of sinne that my hart may thinke nothing my mouth and lippes may speake nothing which is not pure chast and holie For then my mouth vvill be apt to shew forth thy praise Or else send ô Lord one of thy Priestes who by office is a Seraphin instituted and ordained to illuminate and inflame the heartes of the people by preaching and administration of the Sacramentes And let him either by the burning cole of thy word for thy word is fired exceedinglie or by that sacred burning cole of CHRISTS holie bodie in the Eucharist burning continuallie vvith the Diuinitie Ps 118. yet not consumed taken from the holie Altar vvhere it is offered daylie in the Church of God may inflame my heart purge first it and then my lippes vvhich are the interpreters of the heart from all filth of sinne Or else ô my svveet God send vnto me one of thy Seraphins one of thy Priests vvho ministeriallie by meanes of the SacrameÌ„ts vvhich he ministreth giueth the Holie Ghost that he by the hot cole of this holie Spirit proceeding as ardent loue from God the father and God the sonne coequall and consubstantiall vnto them vvho in the day of Pentecoste descending fom heauen in the forme of fierie tongues inflamed purged th' Apostles and first Christians may inflame purge my heart lippes from all filth of sinne and so may make me fitt to shew forth thy praise for vntill I be purged from sinne Ps 49. I am a sinner to the sinner thou sayst why doest thou declare my iustices and takst my Testament by thy mouth And Ecclesiasticus telleth me Eccleisastici 15. that praise is not comelie in the mouth of a sinner 3. But open my mouth ô Lord stopped by sinne and purge my lippes polluted by sinne and then not onelie my mouth shall be the trumpet to sound forth thy prayses vvhich thou ô penitent sinner must say after him but my soule shall say to her selfe Ps 102. My soule blesse thou our Lord and all the thinges that are within me my vnderstanding my vvill my memorie my heart and all that is in me shall blesse and prayse God yea my body and all the senses and partes of it as myne eyes myne eares the rest of my senses my heade my haÌ„des my feete in imploying theÌ„selues in thy seruice shall be so many trumpets to sound forth thy praise 4. And not onelie vvith bodie and soule I vvill praise thee but I vvill coniure all people and natioÌ„s to ioyne vvith me in thy praise for I vvill crye vnto them Ps 1â—6 Praise our Lord all the Gentiles praise him all the peoples yea I vvill coniure all thy creatures asvvell reasonable as vnreasonable sensible as vnsensible to praise thee and confesse thee to be their Creatour and to say as they doe say euerie day to those that haue intelligence He made vs Psa 99. and not we our selues I vvil vvith Sidrach Dan. 3. Misach Abdenago call vpon all creatures to praise thee I will sing daylie their Canticle and Benedicite All workes of our Lord blesse our Lord ye Angels of our Lord praise and superexalt him for euer ye Heauens blesse our Lord praise and superexalt him for euer All waters that are aboue the heauens blesse ye our Lord praise and superexalt him for euer Sunne and Moone blesse ye our Lord praise and superexalt him for euer In the like manner I vvill inuite the starres planets the showers and dewes the vvindes and tempests fire heate frost and cold yce and snovv and the rest vvhich are inuited to the praise of God in this Canticle for that all those creatures though many of them be deuoide of reason many also of sense doe praise God in exciting men by consideration and contemplation of these admirable vvorkes of God to the praise of him 5. For as vvhen vve see a picture vvell dravvne or a statue cunninglie carued we by and by commend not onelie the picture statue but also and especiallie the painter and Caruer so vvhen vve looke vpon the Heauens and those euer shining lights vvhich may be ouershadovved but neuer are put out and the goodlie order and disposition of the Heauens elemeÌ„tes and creatures in theÌ„ vve praise not onelie them but much more the Creatour And in this fence the HeaueÌ„s though they haue neither reason nor sence are sayd to shew forth the glorie of God Ps 18. vvherefore hence forth with thy grace ô Lord all my actions shall be directed to thy honour glorie euerie morning so soone as I rise or awake both they and all I am haue shall be offered designed for thy honour and so by vvord and worke I will euer shew forth thy praise and I vvill neuer cease froÌ„ singing praises vnto thee till I come to sing Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus Holie Holie Holie vvith the quire of thy Heauenlie musicians thy Saintes and Angels Quoniam si voluisses sacrificium dedissem vtique Holocaustis non delectaberis Because if thou wouldest haue had sacrifice I had verilie giuen it with holocaustes thou wilt not be pleased 1. I Promised thee ô Lord saith Dauid that my mouth should shew forth thy praise Ps 4â— because I take the sacrifice of praise to be more pleasing vnto thee otherwise if thou wouldst haue had sacrifice to vvit the materiall corporall sacrifice of brute beastes I would verilie haue giuen it And thou knovvest ô Lord that in such sacrifices I haue not beene vvanting but I know they are not pleasing to thee nay vvith Holocaustes vvhich were the best kind of externall sacrifices as being wholie burnt and consumed to thy honour thou art not delighted as they are taken in themselues vvithout the internall sacrifice of the minde Salomon in the dedication of the Temple 3. Reg. 2. offered of oxen tvvo tvventie thousand of sheepe an hundred tvventie thousand and yet all these sacrifices taken nakedlie in theÌ„selues without the inward sacrifices of the minde were not pleasing to God Mich. 6. For as Micheas sayth Nunquid placaripotest Dominus in millibus arietum can our Lord be pacified with thousaÌ„ds of Rammes Or as thou ô Lord thy selfe sayst will I eate the flesh of oxeÌ„ Ps 49. ibid. or will I drinke the blood of buckgoats Immolate to God the sacrifice of praise and pay thy vovve to the highest 2. And vvhat
it running it selfe may suffer shipvvrack nor Pirates to bord it and spoile it And to this port hauen of Heauen eternall blisse felicitie bring me ô Lord through the vvaters of contrition and if it shall so please thee through the vvaters also of tribulation and aduersitie vvhatsouer Benignè fac Domine in bona voluntate tua Sion vt aedificentur muri Hierusalem Deale fauourablie ô Lord in thy good will with Sion that the walles of Hierusalem may be built vp Tunc acceptabis sacrificium iustitiae oblationes holocausta tunc imponent super altare tuum vitulos Then shalt thou accept sacrifice of iustice oblations and holocaustes then shall they lay calues vpon thyne Altars These tvvo verses are explicated to gether by reason of their connexion the second yeelding a reason of the first 1. THe first thing that a sinner must aske of God Almightie is pardon for his sinnes committed and by it God his grace fauour for till that be obtained the sinner is an enemie to God and odious to his sight so not like to be heard but pardon for his sinnes and consequentlie grace and fauour beeing once purchased then he may be bold to be a suter and a begger for other benefites Dauid as we haue seene in the former verses of this Psalme hath oftē prayed for mercie forgiuenes for his sinnes now hoping yea knowing by reuelatiō from the Prophet Nathan that by his pennance remissiō of his sinnes is obtayned and he now in grace and fauour he taketh the heart to pray to God for other benefits and because the common good is to be preferred before ones priuate commoditie he asketh God neither health nor wealth nor lōg life nor any such priuat benefite but being zealous of the common good and especially of the publique worship and honour of God which bringeth with it many blessings to a countrie he desireth God to deale fauorablie with Sion that the walles of Hierusalem may be built vp 2. He alwayes shewed a great zeale for Hierusalem because it vvas the Metropolitan and head Citie as also because there God was religiouslie serued and vvas afterwards whē the Temple should be built much more to be honoured by the many sacrifices which there were to be offered and especiallie because the Messias CHRIST IESVS was to teach preach and worke miracles in that Citie and Temple and was to sanctifie and honour both by his sacred presence all vvhich he forsaw in spirit by faith and the guift of Prophecie Psalm 136. 3. And therefore saith he If I shall forgeth thee ô Hierusalem let my right hand be forgotten let my tōgue cleaue to my iawes if I doe not remember thee if I shall not set Hierusalsm in the beginning of my ioye The like or greater zeale shevved tovvards the Arke and temple though this as then vvas not bult Behold 1. Par. 17. saith he I dwell in an house of Cedar and the arke of the couenant of our Lord is vnder skinnes that is vnder a tabernacle or pauillon And againe If I shall enter into the tabernacle of my house If I shall ascend into the bed of my couch Psal 131. If I shall giue sleepe to myne eyes and slumbring to myne eye liddes rest to my tēples vntill I find a place for our Lord a tabernacle for the God of Iacob O the zeale of Dauid He would not he could not sleepe nor rest till an house and temple for God vvas built he had rather to haue lyen out of the doores then that God should want his temple and house of prayer and sacrifice wherein to dwell therefore he would haue built the temple in his owne dayes if that God had not tould him by Nathan the Prophet that not he 2. Reg. 7. but his sonne Salomon should build it 4. But although he built not the Temple yet such vvas his zeale that he prouided the materialles and almost all that vvas necessarie for the building of it and besides stones tymber brasse iron such like 2. Paral 29. he gaue three thousand talentes of Gold of Ophir and seuen thousand talentes of Siluer tovvards the building of it and besides all this he gaue vnto Salomon a description of the temple and tould him the order of the Musicians and Leuites vvhich were to sing and serue in the tēple and he composed the psalmes and sonnettes and prouided the musicall instrumentēs which were to be vsed in it as aboue vve haue seene and so it maybe called in a manner asvvell Dauids as Salomons temple 5. He desireth then that Hierusalem may be builded that is accōplished for although he speaketh onelie of the walles of Hierusalem yet he taketh the parte for the whole and by the vvalles of Hierusalem he vnderstandeth Hierusalem And although the citie of Hierusalem for the greatest part vvas then built yet he desireth that it may be augmented and perfected especiallie vvith the addition of the Temple the greatest strength and ornament of the Citie beeing the house of God in vvhich he dwelling the Citie could not be vvithout defence or guard 6. And although he knevv by reuelation frō God that this temple would infalliblie be builded by Salomon yet partlie to shevv his zeale and desire partlie because he foresavve that this temple vvas to be one of the cheefe wonders and miracles of the vvorld and therefore could not be brought to passe without God his cooperation nor succeede prosperouslie vnlesse God as it vvere did lay the first stone second this statelie building and Master-peece of masonrie he prayeth to God for the building hastening of it 7. And why ô Royall Prophet doest thou so earnestlie desire that Hierusalem should be built That it may be an honour to thee and thy sonne Salomon the principall Authours of it or that it may be a perpetuall monument of thy riches or magnificence or that it may be an ornament to the Citie and a vvonder to the vvorld No no thy thoughts vvere leuelled to an higher marke Thou desiredst that God thereby might be glorified that his name might thereby be honoured praysed for thou foresavvest by the guift of Prophecie the light of faith that the holie Arke vvith great pompe and solēnitie to the great glorie of God should be transported and translated in to the temple Thou knewest that in that temple God should be highlie praysed by Hymnes Psalmes Canticles and all manner of musicall instrumētes Thou didst foresee the great goodlie sacrifices vvhich by liuelie faith deuotiō of the Priestes should be offered to God his honour thou didst foresee that after this temple should be sacked by Nabuchodonosor raised and reared vp again Nehē 3. Agg. 2. as it vvas in the time of Nehemias and after by Herode the Messias should honour it by his sacred presence preaching teaching and miracles Whereby as Aggeus prophecied Agg. 2. Great should be the glorie