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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10513	Dauids soliloquie Containing many comforts for afflicted mindes. As they were deliuered in sundry sermons at Saint Maries in Douer. By Io: Reading.	Reading, John, 1588-1667.; Hulsius, Friedrich van, b. 1580, engraver.	1627 (1627)	STC 20788; ESTC S115683	116,784	488

DAVIDS SOLILOQVIE CONTEINING MANY COMFORTS FOR AFFLICTED MINDS As they were delivered in Sundry Sermons at St. MARIES in Dover By IOHN READING LONDON Printed for Robert Allot at the signe of the gray hound in Pauls church yard 1627. Dauids Soliloquie CONTAINING many comforts for afflicted mindes As they were deliuered in sundry Sermons at Saint Maries in Douer By Io READING 2 Cor. 1. 3. 4 Blessed be God euen the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort Who comforteth vs in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we our selues are comforted of God LONDON Printed for Robert Allot and are to be sold at his Shop in Saint Pauls Church-yeard at the Signe of the Grey-hound 1627. TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE and most vertuous Lady the Lady Sara Hastings RIGHT HONORABLE THE rods of the almightie wherewith hee smiteth to heale are so many and diuers and consequently the smarts and griefes which affect the minde so variable both by reason of our sinnes multiplicity causing and our apprehensions entertaining them that I can neither reasonably hope this spiritual electuarie which I intend for the helpe of afflicted mindes can serue for euery malady nor iustly despaire of it meeting with some Readers who shall by the assistance of the same Spirit which gaue it being finde comfort in it and that in diuers kinds the indispositions of the soule being so complicate and mixed that there neede not as the Aegyptians were woont to haue a Physitian proper to euery disease hee that hath acquaintance with one grief of minde cannot but knowe many But forasmuch as their causes differ some proceeding of grosse melancholy others of darke vapours dulling the vnderstanding and disturbing the eluded phātasie others of other causes the consideration wher of is peculiar to the Physitian my present addresse is to those onely who are capable of the Ministers aduice and the comfort of Gods VVord Truely the ancient Sages seemd to writ many things learnedly to helpe the perturbations of minde some labouring to ground it on a supposed constancie not yeelding to calamities some to bring it to a kind of stupidity not feeling them like those Artlesse Physitians killing by too much correcting some abounding humor others inuenting some pleasing lenitiues and diuersions of all I may say in a word as Ambrose of Pythagoras euening musicke which hee vsed to refresh his heart wearied with cares in vaine did they desire to remoue secular griefes with secular remedies for they more defiled disordred the minde by seeking ease in pleasures But euery Christian may by the true touch-stone the holy Scripture presently discouer them all to be adulterate counterfet neuer any of thē so much as mentioning the name of Christ and through him comming to this caelestiall Catholi●on of Dauid HOPE IN GOD in which is the only sound cure of a troubled minde wher in the most illiterate Christian excelleth the most bookish Philosopher Seeing therefore by the good prouidēce of God I haue become acquainted with the vsage lineaments of a troubled soule not onely by the view of others malady but also by the sense of mine owne as Protogenes the Painter hauing his owne countenance set by an half-famishing dyet was thereby enabled to take the true aspect poutrait of meagre Lalysus to life And seeing I haue not onely gotten some knowledge of the disease the beginning of euery cure but experience which begat the Art of Physicke hath made mee so much an Empiric herein that I may at least as they woont to doe before the rules of healing were improued to an Art tell others by what meanes the Lord hath comforted me I haue therefore aduentured this Benoni the issue of mine experience into the publicke that those Sermons which in their deliuery were receiued with holy attention and good fruites of many Auditors might not like those Hebrew masculine bookes liue onely the houre of their birthes and presently bee cast away but remaine longer to Gods honour and the vse of his yet can I not probably excuse my presuming to tender your Honour this homely piece except I pleade your accustomed zeale to Religion and fauour to learning that you vouchsafed to honour our congregation with your presence while most of these meditations were deliuering The God of all consolation make them effectually profitable to the Reader and your Honour compleatly happy with all temporall and spirituall blessings in Christ Jesus in whom Irest Your Honours humblest seruant Jo. Reading DAVIDS SOLILOQVIE P●AL 42. 11. Why art thou cast downe O my soule and why art thou disquieted within mee Hope in God for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my countinance and my God THE summe of Christianity is that which Paul giueth in charge to Timothy Warre a good warfare holding saith and a good conscience The life of a Christian is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a trucelesse fight against the spirituall enemie to him that ouercommeth is appointed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an incorruptible crowne We must therefore take vnto vs the whole armour of God a principall part thereof is the sword of the Spirit the word of God and whereas all that being giuen by inspiration of God is profitable for doctrine for reproofe for correction and for instruction in righteousnesse that the man of God may bee perfect thorowly furnished vnto all good workes and therefore is the wholsome physicke for the soule common to all a promptuarie and store-house of spirituall receipts to cure all maladies of the minde a perfect directorie to all those holy duties required of man this one booke of Psalmes doth especially and most comfortably meet with the per●urbations and sicknesses of ● distempered minde It was penned by those holy men of God who in ●undry conditions of the Church prosperous and ●duerse in seuerall distresses of their owne did either ●ccōmodate those-hymnes ●o the publike vse or pow●ed out their soules to God ●pening the priuaties of ●heir owne hearts to him The matter and subiect ●c●reof is singular For whereas the other Prophesies were their Ambassies from God to the people or at least the abstracts thereof these are for the most part their Colloquies and secret Conferences with God concerning the inward senses of their spirits Soliloquies expostulations demōstrations of the minds estate the spirituall language of the soule to it selfe and God the searcher of hearts concerning it owne griefe So like are the things which are to those which haue beene that as they were not written for one time or age but for the Churches vse to the end of time euery man may apply something hereof to himselfe this booke is so compleatly furnished with all varieties that some part or other hereof draweth euery man to a priuate

bee added that the deceiued heart helpeth to beguile it selfe doe but search out thy soule that thou mayst throughly examine it and tell me if it will not shift into a thousand formes if it will not vanish as swiftly as the lightning leade thee importuning it stay yea too often from Church or the closet where thou art kneeling to pray from heauen to earth from east to west in a moment from businesse to businesse and when thou hast with strong cries tears and sighes forced it into the presence of God and art secure of thy hold vpon it tell me if with the flight of a thought it wil not plunge it selfe into the deepes of secular things if like some dreame thou shalt not loose it as thou findest it if at the best when it seemeth to render it selfe to thine inquisition behold I am here it bee not then as Obadiah said to Eliah When I am gone from thee the Spirit shall carrie thee into some place that l doe not know Tell mee if it will not put thee off to anothen day with pretences of present importunity affaires and the like that thou hast no need of troubling thy selfe now tell me if it deceiue thee not with shewes of holinesse tell me if when thou hast sound it it startle not as one impatient of being toucht tell me if thou canst with any violence hold it but that it will bee lost in a thousand distractions The reason of all this is because sinne can abide no examination lest the vglinesse of it should make it hatefull therefore so soone as it was borne it ranne with the sinner like some night-louing monster to hide in the thickets therfore it filleth with feare and shame that wee might hide it if it were possible from our own consciences and our owne consciences from our selues first there fore remooue those letts which stop the way to the examination of thy soule Secondly duely and carefully consider thy soules estate Examine your owne heart vpon you bed 〈◊〉 Let a man therefore examine himselfe Prone your selues examine your selues know ye not your owne selues Returne vnto thine heart and diligently consider thy selfe whence thou camest whither thou goest how thou liuest what thou doest what thou losest how much euery day thou profitest how much thou art defectiue what thoughts make mostfrequent incursions into thy minde what affections mooue thee most what temptations stratagems of the wicked spirit giue the fiercest assaults when thou hast as much as is possible gotē knowledge of the state of the inward and outward man not onely what thou art but wharthou oughtest to be then maist thou in thy thoghts be caried vp to the contēplation of God for by how much more thou profi test in the knowledge of thy selfe by so much more thou aspirest to higher things if thou hast already lifted vp thy soule set thy affectiō on things aboue learne to dwel ther with whatsoeuer distractiō thou art withdrawn euer hastē to returne thither custom will make it easy for thee todwel ther by holy thoughts nay it will be a punishment to thee to remaine else-where This cannot bee without a frequent and seuere examination of our soules And on the other part whilst wee finde not our sinnes those wayes will please vs which prouoke God to wrath when disobedient Saul said I haue fulfilled the word of the Lord then his iudgement is denounced so Sathan fighteth with his double weapons killing some with their owne sinnes but some also by their vertues either by the knowledge of them as the presuming or the opinion of them as the erring Such is our selfeloue and spirituall blindnesse that when wee feele the rod wee will not feele our sinnes when wee languish vnder our afflictions wee dare pronounce our selues iust and innocent so not finding our hearts corruption for which God striketh wee are smitten still I hearkened and heard but none spake aright no man repented him of his wickednesse saying what haue I done therefore the Lord threatned the iudgement Thou groanest vnder some affliction search to the bottome of thine heart there is some Ionah sleeping in hold cast him out and the storme will cease Otherwise for a man Pharash-like to grieue at his plagues and not consider the hardnesse of heart which causeth them is to cast on more and more wood and to complaine of the fire Knew thine iniquities for thou bast rebelled and then returne thee againe saith the Lord. Before wee can turne we must know our sinnes and examine our selues before wee can know them Neither is it casic by examination to finde our sins wee must as the Woman for the piece of Siluer light and sweepe wee must let down the word of God into our hearts The Iewes could not finde their sins Peters Sermon found them and they were pricked in their hearts Dauid could not finde his till the Word of God came to him by the Prophet Nathan then hee findeth them examine therefore but by the word of God and take this rule with thee So oftē thou hast happily examined thy soule not bin deceiued in thine inquest as thou findest by searching more cause to search further rest not contented when thou thinkst thou hast no sinne it is the wrath of God which causeth that for thy sinns thou shouldst not vnderstand thy sins lest thou shouldst repēt The first degree of hapines is not to sin the second is to acknowledge our sins Ther rū neth that entire vndeminished innocēcy which may saue Here followeth the remedy which may heale Thirdly iudge thy soule if wee would iudge our selues wee should not bee iudged the onely way to preuent afflictions is to condeme thy selfe as most worthy to be afflicted God like a gracious Father standeth with his rod in his hand to preuent striking he sheweth and threatneth his iudgements that he might not execute them vpon vs he sayeth Why will yee dye O house of Israel Hee desireth not the death of a sinner and mercy pleaseth him therefore he expecteth our repentance that hee might forgiue I will goe and returne to my place till they acknowledge their offence Take thee a roule of a booke saith the Lord to Ieremie and write therin all the words that I haue spoken to thee against Israel and against Iudah It may be that the house of Iudah will heare all the euill which I purpose to doe vnto them that they may returne euery man from his euill way that I may forgiue their iniquity and their sinne He expecteth thy voyce that he may not punish but pardon Preuent thine accuser if thou accuse thy selfe thou shalt feare no accuser sinne can hope for none other sentence but condemnatory which if thou faithfully pronounce vpon thy selfe God will not Fourthly thou must correct and reforme the euil in thy soule Phareah Sa●l Iudas could say they had sinned but