goodly haruest of glory had fallen to him had hee fallen sooner himselfe What a lasting disgrace be-rusted his lustre by his liues lasting so long The world seeth it and sighes to see it Well hast thou done also vnto mee his Father for it is not vnknowne to thee what an anxiety and restlesse disquietnesse of thought possessed mee concerning his passage out of those bogs that the world had layd all about him And of his descent from so tottering a stand in the wheele of the destenies reuolution A feare a chill feare like a feuer still hung at mine heart-strings in doubt of his deliuerance from these dangers which now I see effected now is hee after all my cares after his education in the true fayth his discharge of the duety of a Christian souldier and his little progresse in the pathes of more maturity and discretion taken out of this worldes winter and placed in the caelestiall Summer climate and in the soule quickning Sunshine of the Trinity Well hast thou done to mee LORD in this also as long as the world had my Son my Son had my heart consequently the world kept it fixed on an vnfit and fickle foundation But now in calling him away thou hast euen almost there wants but one other pull torne me vp from my rooting in earth to be transplanted in thy celestiall paradise the world holds mee now but by two or three slender fiuers let but the mariners giue one other sweigh and mine anchor will come vp for altogetherâ— and I wil cast off al and say onely this It is good for mee to adhere vnto my GOD. Come Lord Iesus come quickly I was a sleeâ—e in sin Father but thou gauest me a sound pinche and set mee quickly on my feeâ—e to cast ouer my cause by thy decrees to prooâ—e my selfe guilty before thy bench to yeeld to the iustice of thine euer iust sentence and yet to avow thy mercies in euery pardoning the penitent And therefore I will euen make no more a doe but say with thy seruant Iob condemne mee not but shew me the cause why thou contendest with mee I haue sinned my mercifull Lord I confesse and I sinne dayly in sin was I bred in sinne was I borne sinne seazed my youth and hath lackeied my life vnto this age O my gracious Lord come thou and free mee from my secret sinnes lay thy finger Lord vpon my soule and tell mee that here and here is such a canker bred So shall I see the vlcerous carcasse of my spirit and seale my selfe to the sentence that condemnes mee comming truely about those dangerous sandes and doubling the cape of good hope vnder thy conduct my sacred Pilot and bearing in with full sailes to the hauen of thy gratious mercy I may turne all my plaints into praiers and all my sorrowes into speciall songs Because of this that though my bosome doe burne with anguish and though thou LORD doe not spare mee yet haue I this eomfort that I haue not suppressed my speech of the most holy nor beene a denier of the doctrine hee taught me Glory bee to the glorious GOD that in all mine vnrest I haue this grace of his to rest vpon In thy presence therefore my deere Lord I stand all naked O behold mee with a tender heart My eyes dissolue into moysture sorrowe had congealed them all into Ice with one extreame and now it thawes them all into teares with an other My soule melteth for heauinesse O rayse mee vppe according to thy worde Art not thou LORD he alone that possesseth my reignes and couered mee in my Mothers wombe Thou art hee Into thy handes was I cast from my mothers wombe O mine eternall all-sufficient LORD Thou knowest my setting downe and my rising vp thou vnderstandesâ— my thought a farre off And marke now whether our Gods counsell fayle vs in any part of our extreames Doth hee bid vs Cast thy burthen vpon Iehouah and he will sustaine thee hee wil be a rest for thy shoulders and a stay for thy feete Why then let my mine enemies tongues runne counter as long as they list let them say GOD hath forsaken him pursue him take him there is none to deliuer him from danger not any to reuenge his quarrell You erre you erre you maleuolent Sathanistes GOD hath not forsaken mee for I haue not forsaken him No my gracious GOD I will neuer bee ashamed at tribulation as long as I trnst in thee neuer shall the enemeie confounde mee hauing thee for the foundation of my hopes and whole affections For I haue no neede to start at any perill I know so fully that thou LORD wilt looke vpon mine afflictions and pardon mee all my sinnes Thou makest the wounde and thou bindest it vp It is the Lord God of hoastes that cureth those that are broken in heart and annointeth all their sores with his precious Balsam Hee onely searcheth the depth of all the soules putrid vlcers and salueth them with saluation Let shame then bee their continuall attendant that reioyce at this hurt of mine Confusion bee their companion that insult vpon the soule that is drenched in the depth of misery For I see I haue a gracious God on my side maugre all their inueterate malice And hee hath deliuered mee from sixe troubles and in the seauenth the euill shall not touch mee I may therefore fall but I shall neuer bee caste out nor troden downe I haue hold vpon the highest the LORD hath mee fast by the hand This LORD hath beene my good Lord and maister euer hee hath taught mee from my child-hood vnto this present hetherto haue I beene an instance of thine inestimable good-nesse and shall I thinke thou wilt fayle mee now in my old age and adde vnto the fayling of nature nay I will neuer doe it When my powers are all vanished then wilt thou stand my good LORD in all inconueniences Let my soule bee filled with euills and let my life approache the graue vnder neuer so great a loade of calamities yet shall my soule bee vigorous in her dutie still and speake of all thy marueilous workes Nay let death seaze mee neuer so soone yet my LORD and GOD will I neuer cease to say with thy seruant Though thou slaye mee my trust shall rest vpon thee for euer LORD giue vs grace O LORD giue thy seruant and hand-maide grace to say continually Let our life be in thy sonne Iesus Christ in him let vs haue the end of al our labours For wee are sure that our Redeemer liueth and that hee shall stand the last vpon earth That is thy Christ O Lord euen our onely Sauiour and supporter And though that wormes turne all our one bodies into themselues yet shall wee resume the selfe same flesh and behold the blessed in his Maiesty with these selfe same eyes And there and then shall wee see our Sonne againe deere wife yes assuredly in these very bodies wee our selues and no other for vs shall see him in that selfe same house of flesh that hee held on earth and in no other O thou incomprehensible sacred vnbounded indiuiduall and vnconfounded Trinitie grant that our meeting bee to all our ioyes Amen IN these teares beloued wife and in this manner of sorrow it is no sinne to take our orders and proceed graduates Wee may weepe lawfully thus as long as the streames that raine from our eyes do not make the riuer of our griefes ouer flowe their bankes so then keeping this channell let them droppe from our cheekes eternallie Let vs make vs pearles of them which no bloud no vineger may euer dissolue Wee must say adieu the worldes comfort needes must wee then lay faster hold vpon that in Heauen Adieu then Philip our sonne for a while and welcome Iesus our Sauiour for euer FINIS Iob. 14. 3. 15. 33 Ionah 4. 8. Psal. 39. 10 Iob. 1. 22. Ps. 30. 7. Ps. â— 21. 5. Iob. â— 25. Iob. 7. 10 â—erem 6 27 2 Sam. 18 2 Sam. 18 Iob. 12. 10. Iob. 14. 16. Iob. 24. 12 Psa. 39. 1. Iob. 9. 3. 12. Psal. 73 Psal. 145. 17 Wis. 4. 10. Psal. 116. 15. Iob. 18. 19. Iob. 21. 8. Wis. 4. 10. 11. Psa. 73. 28. Apoc. 24 20. Iob. 10. 1 Iob. 6. 10 Ps. 119. 28 Ps. 139. 13. Ps. 22. 11 Ps. 134 2 Ps. 55. 22 Ps. 79. 11 Iob. 5. 18 Psa 147. 3 Psa. 35. 26 Iob. 5. 19. Psal. 37. 24 Psal. 88. 4. Psal. 9. 1.
himselfe and is he not now seized of that reall inheritance where thou wouldest share with him with all thine heart hath hee not left thee his countrie and the church possessed with as plentifull and as pleasant fruit as such a greene stock as his could possibly bring to perfection yes and GOD himselfe hath layde it vp in his Granary that I thinke makes thee most melancholie because thou thinkest that God hath lost the more absolute vse that thy sonnes farther yeares might haue affoorded him Goe to keepe thy selfe content and let Gods losses lye vpon his owne hand it is in his power out of this heape of stones to rayse himselfe seruants the country souldiers and the Church supporters cannot he fill the heauens with legions of Saints the earth with hoasts of Protectors and his Church with millions of assistants but hee must bee faine to take a corruptible mans direction and stand drawing out the life of this man or that longer then his eternity liketh ah farre bee it from true sence to bee so beesotted Why so then I am satisfied giue mee leaue I will now take the bitte out of my mouth my selfe and plead the cause of the all-sufficient Creator euen against mine owne soule Why doost thou not see then deere wife how all the worlde like a Bowle is ouer-swayed by the ouer strong byas of iniquitie bends despite all opposition to black corruption oh how seculent how pestilent a vapour of sinne drawes euery man in with the first breath hee takes attracting vices as innumerable as Attomes euen in his first moment of respiration and the longer hee liueth to draw his breath the surer foote-hold hee giueth viciousnesse in his foule bosome and settleth the contagion in his soule which the deuill is sure of though he be sencelesse of Sathan hath a beadroll of those impious and daily increasing inhabitants though the poore Land-lord taketh no note of their entrie to possession nor receiues any rent of them but ruine happy hee too few so happy that can bring his action against them before GODS bench or in that celestiall starre-chamber and remooue them from possession by a bill of repentance but few such suites go forward the world comes with one bribe and the flesh with another either too easily GOD knowes can perswade the poore plaintiffe to let his action fall for this flesh let the soule let the spirit come neuer so fresh neuer so zealous neuer so hot in that zeale frō the hand of God it will finde one angle or other in wherein it may sow the seed of sin plant a too fruitefull infection And when the soule is once dipped in worldly delights what should deliuer it from being drowned therein What hold hath any one that is once ouer the shooes in iniquity vpon any thing that may saue him from slipping in ouer the shoulders what priuiledge had the court of heauen granted our sonne more then another had he a lease of his soules life letten him none And wee see and might learne by sight of it that vertue when it is exalted and eleuate if it begin once to drawe damnation in it becometh graduate in the most extreame degree of viciousnesse Yes yes when goodnesse once misseth the true tract and lights into the broade way of blacke destruction it will hardlye heare of any reclaime but maketh the more speede to mischiefe and runnes headlong to euident ruine So then was it not better for our sonne to haue taken paye for a little space in the Campe of Vertue then to haue beene enranked as an olde attendant in the Court of vice and had hee not better haue beene exposed to an houres sharpe toyle then to a yeares subtle temptation Thinke but of him as hee was indeed A youth of an egregious alacritye a penetrating spirit and an vnbounded ayme His vigorous vertue would enter vpon any enterprise and generally the effect would answere his endeauour his valour found no obstacle so obstinate but it would through it and bring glorie through it againe breaking the squadrons of the most sollid oppositions and mounting his honor vpon the rubbish of their ruined forces Now beeing such an one and such hee was indeed his heart lay open to all the assaults of affect of glory desire of renowne you know might soone haue put him out of the pace that vertue had taught him ambition is a great fowler and of exceeding cunning in her baytes why might not hee haue start out and haue slipt into one of her sprindges might not that holy hunger after honor haue turned his wrong side outward and haue led him cleere out of the sight of sobriety in affection yes and this hunger is most commonly an vtter enemie to the temperate diet of vertue and cannot endure to eate any thing that moderation prouideth Besides lofty spirits if they bee really eleuate can neuer brooke the horrible decay of honorable worth in these declining times and this Sunne-set of the world but will sometimes flie out and aduance their spirit in his ful freedome against these ages neglect of the deseruing worthie and then comes porte and power together with their appendants or hangbies and treades out the light of their most glorious lustre Ah this is too true and thus might our sonne haue beene lost had hee liued any longer But indeede true sorrowe will alwaies build vpon false grounds to augment it selfe if it bee not taken vppe in time and if it once gette heade it will haue a reason to shewe for any vnreasonable passion that it shall entertaine In truth it is true For hee that greeueth vnfainedlie greeueth also that any one should hold his griefes cause not sufficient to procure a greater affect of sorrow then hee endureth But tell mee now I pray thee louing wife wouldst thou not haue lost thy sonne no wouldst thou not haue had him transported from this ruined state that earth standeth in vnto that excellence of eeternity that heauen affordeth yes Why now then seeing that thou seest hee hath preuented thine expectation and is gotten vp thether long before thou thoughtst hee should why hast not thou reason to say with the wise man He pleased God and was beloued of him so that where as hee liued amongst sinners hee translated him This was Henock wife a man that was full of the feare of God And hee was taken away least wickednesse should alter his vnderstanding and least deceite should haue beguiled his minde And thus and no otherwise but thus hath our glorious GOD taken away our Sonne like a good Father who seeing his Sonne placed in the broadest beeach of peruersenesse takes him out of danger in time least hee should bee drawne into too euident danger and bee strucke downe by one shot or other from the assaylant enemy The deluge of wickednesse hath almost couered the highest mountaine of Godlinesse and good manners and therefore blessed be God that hath set our son in a
place of so blessed security The sonnes of men growe more and more peremptory against the prescriptions of the highest the monuments of goodnesse are so weather-beaten that iniquity and antiquity hath almost left no character thereof vndefaced the rust of irreligiousnes hath eaten into the most steely tempers of our age had our son thinkest thou any especiall protection promised him no effect in others confirmeth this to vs. Wipe away those teares once more that gush out in such abouÌ„dance seeming as if hee were not dead already to drowne him in his graue and consider but this How inumerable and almost ineuitable trap-falls are set in the tract of vertue in all her walkes Here you shall haue one that will kisse the visar of vertue but shew them her true face and you turne all their kisses vnto curses You shall haue other some that while shee is vnderfoote will lend her a hand to helpe her vp but when shee is vppe and hath gotten wing and mounteth then they either suspect hir themselues or buzze suspicions of her into the heads of others Affording hir all their diligent culture while shee is a springing but growing once aloft they make haie of her ere shee come to her hight and rend her vp by the rootes And then there is that pestilence reigning euer amongst men of equallity in what ranke soeuer I meane Envye and her nature and consequently her practise is euer to persecute that good which shee cannot paralell That hight which she cannot mount vnto shee presently vndermines setting all her Pioners cauillation detraction and derision on worke vpon the ruine of that glorie which shee cannot reach it is her food to bee felt heauy vpon the highest fortunes And this is the source of all the grudges malice and altercations that haue beene the pestilence which hath swept such multituds from the bosome of our mother France this malice oh this madnesse of the Nobility that for ought I can see are now but bastards to their ancestours valour these adulterous births haue obscured the rising glory of France with the mystes arising from the bleeding bodyes that haue fallen in this fatall warre wherein with thoughts more bloudy piercing then their armes Religion and all respect of goodnesse beeing thrust ouâ— of the true place the brother ranne head-long vpon his brother as vppon his fiercest enemie And looke now our sonne is acquit from hauing any hand in these desperate hacksters actions and sittes aloft looking downe and laughing at this little lumpe of earth so ouergrowne with Spuma Cerberi and the weedes of the Diuels haruest which he hath left beneath him But what comfort canst thou haue of this or I that share with thee in this sorrow if wee stand shaking our hands or arming our hearts against GOD who is the onely consolation in the extreamest agonie and anguish of heart Are not wee of them that haue receiued the seale of the Lion of Iudah are we not Christians Downe downe perturbed spirit thou abortiue of misery Why but God might haue shielded him from all these encounters of vicious extreames You neede not tell mee that I know hee might but had hee not made him a fraile mortall nay and had hee not appointed him a place in warres and instilled a Military vigor into him Being euery day betweene the chaps of death why might hee not be catcht at length is it possible to stand in a shower of hailstones haue not one to touch him GOD had made him valorous the likelier to bee ouerhaâ—dy in daring of death and so ouer-taken in his too much heat and too little dread God had made him with an heart that put forth his rigour in all the endeuoures of masculine vertue Alas what was hee in this but a fayre shotte-marke for foule Enuie a rocke for the vntaught billowes of iniurious suspect to beate against and perhaps though breaking manie of themselues first at length to shake downe into ruine Didst thou looke to haue him miraculously lifted vp from his seate in this sea of deprauation What warrant hath GOD giuen the for that what bargaine had Fate made with thee or mee including any such condition How much more com for t should we finde and how much more easily should wee settle the rebellious affects that keepe this coyle in our bosomes if wee would steppe a little out of this wildnesse of conceite and suffer our imaginations to bee guided vnto Truth by the sette order of nature by mans fraile estate in this order and by the reall cause of this frayltie of state Death ending man in this order time bringing him on to death and originall sinne the due deseruer of death bringing man forth to his first moment of time Such considerations as these were farre more fitte for vs then to cast off our thoughts at randon to suffer them flye beyond the pitche of our obedience to our maker And now tell mee true consideratis considerandis and all accompts beeing cast is not our sorrow exceedingly lightened to see our beloued sonne deliuered from those complete armed Battailions of deadly dangers that enuironed him on euery side Tell mee now thou vile and mis-beleeuing flesh hast thou not now reason to turne ouer a new leafe and to say with that holy singer I acknowledge O Lord that thy iudgements are iust and that thou hast afflicted me for my faith for tryall of my faith God is euer good vnto Israel and pure in heart He is so and when his wrath seemeth to threaten vs in most terrible thunder then raigneth hee his mercy vpon vs in a most mellifluous dew I will therefore turne mee I will leaue all and turne mee to my GOD and on him will I build my confidence And now shall my mouth bee shutte no more but I will turne it into a Trumpet in the cause and quarrell of the Almightie This will I resound and of this shall all the world returne an Eccho Thou hast done it O Lord and well hast thou done it Well hast thou done it for thou canst doe nothing but well being thy selfe the neuer dryed Well of goodnesse Vnto the good nothing befalls but good come it in neuer so horred a shape of mischiefe in a forme neuer so fearefull Well hast thou done vnto our sonne in taking him out of the perillous conflicts where-into hee had nowe set foote and that was all if hee had done that and bestowing his freedome gratis vpon him nay and besides crowned him with a Garland of such glory Had hee liued longer hee might haue runne astray the more the larger weight of worldly experience might haue bent him downewards and haue fixed his affections vpon fading glories For there was Salomon whose eminence of wisdome is by the diuinity of wisdome it selfe eternized vnto all after ages as also his fall is beeing the more amazefull vnto all posteritie by reason that is was from such an admired height of vniuersall vnderstanding Oh what a