Their miserie hangs ouer their head misfortunes follow them at euery steppe vntill they haue throwne them head-long into that gulph the onely thought whereof is fearefull to all those which do remember it whose easiest places of retreate are full of cryes groanings and lamentations Where paine is without end griese without remedie repentance without mercy where death is immortall the body liuing but to dye and the soule to suffer where the soule feeles nothing but her sinne and the body but his punishment On the contrary those which couer themselues with the Lords fauour which make his mercy their buckler who haue no other hope but in his goodnesse who follow his comandements and are iealous of his will and pleasure what felicitie is there but they may attaine to what precious thing is there in heauen but shall bee opened vnto them They shall sitte side by side with their God and beeing enuironed with glory so much happinesse shall be heaped vpon them as the soule of man is not able to conceiue the least part thereof much lesse can my barren tongue expresse it 14. I will then reioyce ô my God in the hope of such and so many benefits as thou reseruest in heauen to crowne the iust withall Vnto this ioy I inuite you all which trust to the wordes of our Sauiour which loue iustice and righteousnesse there doth the reward of your labours attend you there you shall be placed in honor and glory there shall you exchange the sharpe thornes of this world for flourishing Lillies of all eternity Oh then shall the sweate of your afflictions finde most sweete rest Gold comes not forth of the flames in the Furnace more pure and shining to bee stamped with the Image of a great Prince and then to serue for the adornment of some rich cabinet as the hart of that man which loueth his God shall be drawne pure and cleane from the miseries of this world to be inuironed with splendor and glory What day can now displease mee in this world who shall hinder and stay me from entring into the howse of the Lord for to liue in his seruice vpon what day of my life shall I ceasse from bewailing those sinnes which kept me forth of his fauor vnite then in me ô my God these two contrary passions ioy and repentance to the end that like as the pilgrim who hath lost his way in a desert reioyceth when hee beholds the dawning of the day and yet for all that cannot forget the obscure darkenesse out of the which hee is yet scarce come nor lay aside his feare of so troublesome a night euen so haue I alwayes abhorred my sinnes past and haue neuerthelesse a certaine and liuely hope to enioy that eternall happinesse which thou hast purchased for vs by the price of the bloud of thy deere Sonne Iesus Christ. Alas how great is this loue when the Maister spareth not the life of his childe to redeeme his seruant Beeing then formed by thy hand redeemed by thy bloud and purified by thy mercy I offer my selfe vnto thee for a sacrifice of obedience reiect mee not ô my God Domine ne in furore Psalme 37. O Lord I must needs returne againe vnto thee and begin a new to implore thy mercy for thine anger seemeth to bee newly kindled against mee Alas my God wilt thou punish mee in thy wrath and cause me to feele the violence of thy iust furie which my sinnes haue stirred vp against me the torch consumed by fire falleth into ashes and I being deuoured by the heate of thine indignation shall vanish away and nothing will be left of me but onely smoake 2. For I see ô my God that thou hast let fly the sharpest arrowes of thy vengeance vpon mee thou hast touched mee with thine hand and thou takest it not of from me I feele remorse and terror in my conscience which doe astonish and bruze me like flashes of lightning and claps of thunder miseries come vnto me by heapes and one mishappe brings on another warre is no sooner ended but the plague assaileth mee and dâ—ath at the last bereaues mee of the deerest pledges which I haue in this world In what then ô my GOD shall I take comfort shall it bee in my selfe 3 Alasse there is no whole member about mee the disease hath pearced euen to the marrow of my bones there is no part about mee but doth reproch me for my sinnes and endures the punishment thereof I languish in my sorrow and no man comforts mee myne eyes serue mee for none other purpose but to behold my misery and my soule but to acknowledge my misfortune 4. I looke round about mee and as much as the eyes of my body and soule can discerne of the time past I see nothing aboue beneath nor on each side of me but sinne which compasseth me about and mine iniquites which crush and presse me downe they are heaped vpon my head like an heauy burthen and behold they smother me 5. How shall I resist them what strength haue I to defend my selfe seeing that my body falleth in peeces corruption runnes from it on euery side mysoares are no sooner shut but they open againe and if my body bee ill my soule is much worsse it is all confounded and trembleth for feare 6. And as sicknesse vndermines my body which is ready to die euen so doth sorrow my soule and steales away the strength thereof and as a sharp cold doth freeze and wither the tender new bud in the blosome euen so doth the finger of the Lord which hath touched my soule discourage it and make it to languish 7. But Alasse my God! what courage can I haue when I behold my selfe couered with wounds and that there is no part of my body free from greefe and that besides my disease my licentious pleasures present them-selues before me which reproch my sinne and deride my vanity I say to my selfe must I needs dippe my life in the honney of so many delights to steepe it afterwards in the gall of such bitter anguish where art thou now ô deceitful voluptuousnes which diddest melt my soule in the sweere licour of thy pleasures ô what a draught dost thou now leaue mee 8 Now ô Lord haue I not endured enough hath not my humility sufficiently chasticed my pride if I haue sinned thorow foolish presumption I haue since then fallen vpon the ground and couered mine head with ashes with mine owne arme I haue preuented my punishment I haue cleft my hart with cries and melted mine eies into teares and yet thy wrath continewes 9 It may be ô Lord that thou hast not perceued my laments thou who in the twinckling of an eye lookest thorow heauen and earth whose sight pearceth the very bottom of our hearts ô LORD thou hast read my thoughts and knowest mine intents what haue I craued but thy mercy wherein did I hope but in thy goodnesse wherefore haue I made a publicke profession of
me like a dead man in the caue of obscurity My soule is highly greeued within mee and mine heart is astonished like vnto his who walking with an erected countenance is by misfortune fallen into the bottome of some pit his sences are forth-with troubled he forthwith loseth his reason and torments himselfe hee knowes not what to will or do till calling his wits together he takes notice of the place where he is and the maner how he fell downe for then hee begins by little and little to get vp againe and to climbe with great labour from the place whereinto hee easily fell 5. Euen so I hauing called to memory from farre the remembrance of things past and representing to my selfe in a deepe meditation the workes of thine hands and considering exactly the things which thou hast wrought namely remembring the state wherein thou diddest create vs and then calling to minde that wherein I finde my selfe now as it were crusht downe in the ruines of sinne I curse the houre wherein my mother conceiued mee I detest the daye which first opened mine eye-liddes to cause mee to looke vppon heauen and earth the witnesses of my weaknesse and at last finding nothing in this world which can comfort mee in this distresse I come againe vnto thee 6. I fall downe on my knees before thee I lift vppe vnto thee mine armes and hands and my soule thirsteth after thy grace with as great a desire as the earth gaping with heate waiteth for a pleasing shower of raine in the hottest time of summer 7. Runne then hastily vnto me ô my God for I am already out of breath my courage faileth and loe I fall fainting downe wilt thou tarry till I am dead I am so already if thou make not the more hast for my sences faile by little and little my soule slideth sweetly out of my body leauing it without motion and I am like vnto him who is let bloud in his foote in hot water whose life runnes out with his bloud not feeling the cause of his death 8. Now ô Lord if thou keepest thy selfe farre from me turning thy countenance away I shall become like vnto those who goe downe into the bottome of the graue pale death will discolour my visage and benum my sences and that which is worsse spirituall death ô my God will kill my soule will fill it with feare and horror and bereaue it of the knowledge of thy singular goodnesse and the hope of grace which shineth in thy wonders like a glistering star in an obscure night 9. Cause me then betimes to vnderstand and feele the effects of thy mercy and in the morning when the sunne shall arise vpon the earth let thy clemency rise vpon me to enlighten mine ignorance and to direct mee in the way of thy commandements But let it not doe ô Lord like thy Sunne who at the end of his race plungeth it selfe in the sea hiding his light for a time from poore mortalls but let it perpetually assist me let it bee no more seperated from mee then my soule from my body for thy mercy is far more the soule of my soule then my soule is the life of my body 10. Let it not then leaue me let the brightnesse thereof still direct my pathes in thy waies let it still guide mee in the way which I must walke to come vnto thee For my spirit which hath throwne it selfe into the middest of the briers of this world which hath gonne astray amongest her thickest bushes can no more finde out her right way but walking at all aduentures loseth both her way and her labour going still back-wards from the place whether shee thought to arriue But my GOD I still waite for thy helpe I hope for succour from an high 11. I am prisoner in the hands of the cruellest enemies of my life make hast ô Lord to deliuer mee thou art my refuge receiue mee into thy protection teach mee what thou wouldest haue mee to doe for thou art my God vnto whome onely I now resolue my selfe to doe seruice Away far far from mee deceitfull pleasure which hereto fore diddest bewitch my soule and poyson my mind thou hast by thy lickorish delights inueigled me and with a little honney thou hast made me swallow a most bitter and deadly pill which spredding it selfe thorow my members hath in such sort mortified and made me giddy as there is small difference betwixt mee and a dead person and my body is not only thus mortified but my soule likewise wherein consisteth the originall of my life present and to come 12. It behooueth then thine holy spirit to come vnto me to warme againe my dying soule to take it by the hand to leade it into safety and to quicken it imprinting in it the image of thy righteousnesse which may defend it against the temptation which on eueryside doth beseege it and threaten her ruine 13. Thou wilt come then and at thine arriuall thou shalt draw my soule out of trouble and in shewing mercy vnto me thou shalt destroy all those which haue conspired against me Then shall my greefe haue an end and theirs beginne it shal be a beginning of their forrow which shall neuer end but as riuers rising out of their springs run on stil bigger bigger vntill they fall into the bosome of the sea which hath no bottome euen so shall their miseries encrease and at the last shall heape vpon them extreame torments and infinite distresse In this manner shall all those perish which vex my soule for ô GOD I am thy faithfull seruant whome thou hast remembred and thou wilt not forget those who in disdaine of my Lord haue so shamefully abused me they laughed at my misery but the time drawes on when they shall bewayle their owne Thy vengeance begins to bee kind bee against them and they shall wither like leaues vpon the trees at the approach of winter O GOD what glory shall I giue vnto thy name and how shall I beginne to declare thy praise shall I publish thy goodnesse in the creation of so many wonderfull workes which are vnderneath the sun thy wisedome in thy preseruation of them shall I preach thy Iustice in the condemnation and punishment of the pride of the Angels and disobedience of men Shall I sing of thy mercy in the redemption of those who offending thy lawe had throwne themselues head-long into the bondage of eternall death to what part of thy prayses may the humble sound of my voyce attaine and though my voyce were able what eares are capable to receiue it All things faile mee ô Lord in this businesse except courage and will which full of feruent affection doe crye out vnto thee Ayde with thy grace their weake strength and seeing the teares of my penitence haue washed away the filth of sinne wherewith my soule was heauily loden giue it now the winges of faith and hope which may carry it with a swift flight into thine armes to reunite
to comprehend the greatest wonders of the diuinity but eschewing the day-light of knowledge he went groaping vp and downe in the dennes and caues of ignorance and blockishnes and remained therein all his life-time hatching this miserable ritches and at the last is become like to a bruite beast For as a beast â—eigheth after his prouender and takes no care but how to feede euen so this man would not stir but for the necessities of the body nay he would scarcely vse that wealth which he had so much coueted being heerein much worse then all other beasts whose vnbridled appetite is satisfied by the vse of those things which they desire 13. O how scandalous and infamous is the life of such people what share haue they in this world or in the next but only shame in this and paine and torment in the other Let them now please themselues in their owne discourse let them grow proud in their wealth let them now a little call to mind the speeches they were wont to vse when they esteemed no man but themselues and their money and held all other men in contempt 14. Behold they are haled into hell like sheep to the slaughter death hath deuoured them and there is nothing left but their bare boanes which rotte in their graues 15. The iust man who with patience endured their pride his turne is now come loe his time is to raigne and he is now at his ease He riseth vp by the breake of day and after he hath giuen thankes vnto God he goes to behold the place where one of those miserable wretches dwelt the place where he was wont to braue and tiranize ouer the world and saies softly to himselfe praised be God who hath clensed the earth from this filth and hath giuen place vnto those which blesse his name This wretch is rotten and his glory with him He is now in torment and no man helps him let him remaine so hardly for death vnto him is a going on but not a comming back 16. As for my selfe ô Lord. I know very well that I must dye the sinne of our first parent hath bound vs to this debt it is the reward of his disobedience we must returne into the earth from whence we came Yet for all that ô Lord thou shalt redeeme me from death and deliuer me from the hands of hell when it would seaze on me Thou wilt not suffer me to goe downe so low thou wilt set me at liberty at the entry of the dore and wilt be satisfied that I should know without suffering the punishment of my deserued bondage and captiuity But what shall be the price of my redemption shal it be the goods of the earth the aboundance of gold and siluer Not so ô Lord. Thou thy selfe shalt be the price of my redemption thou shalt giue vp thine owne body to death to the end to deliuer my soule from hell thou shalt put on the sorrowes of the graue to the end to cloath me with the ioyes of immortallitie I will then hence-forward ô my God haue none other wealth but thou possessing thee I shall enioy the whole world louing thee I shall be in thee and thou in me and being so thou wilt bring thither all the wealth of the world all the strength all the glory of the world and wilt fill mee with an other manner of wealth then that of these poore wretches they know thee not their riches is but the fruite of their sinne which with their sinne shall perrish 17. Wee must not be amazed to see them sodainly wax riche nor account them happy for that if they doe abound in false honor which they hunt after and that they are loden with this vaine and fleeting glory which is nothing but a shew we must not wonder at it much lesse enuie them for it 18. For so soone as they shall kisse the earth and bee clothed with their winding sheete they shall carry away nothing with them but the cloth that couers them nothing shal follow them but their shadow Nay I beleeue that wil leaue them also for the light which causeth the shadow wil faile them insteed of these magnificent shews pompous solemnities wherewith they scared little children grief sorrow anguish pouerty misery shall wrap them about and cast them into the lake of Brimstone 19. And not without cause they tooke their pleasure in this life their happinesse was in this world they obteined what they wisht for wealth came to them by heapes greatnesse and felicitie was a burthen to them they loued none but such as inriched them they made much of none but those which encreased their reuenues they are dead haue nothing left them in the next world for they made no prouision of the wealth that is currant there they satisfied themselues to haue sufficient riches for this earthly life that is now ended and they are in pouerty They desired honor but it was vaine and fleeting which depended onely on the opinion of fooles they had it but they could not well tell how to keepe it They would needs sitte on the top of the wheele it turned round and threw them head-long downe Happy are they which can sitte at the foote thereof constant and vnmooued and behold in safety how it turnes about 20. But these miserable wretches did not so they willingly mounted the top from whence they fell into hell they are now of the number of their fathers they found their Ancestors there from whom they drew their birth and manners they imitated their vices and after death they pertake their punishment They learne but too late and when repentance is vnprofitable what it is to lift themselues vp against God and to resist his glory They learn what it is to afflict the iust to oppresse the poore to deride the afflicted They are confined in darknesse and the light shineth no more before their eyes They heare nothing but horror and gnashing of teeth they breath out nothing but sighs grones they do not moue vp and down but in feare and ttembling 21. When these wretched mad-men were in honor they knew not what it was and became like beasts without vnderstanding But alas this is no true comparison for when beasts die death takes away their feeling of sorrow as well as that of pleasure but these wretches which wold not know wherein their happinesse consisted who would not looke vpon eternall light who stopped their eares at the spirituall word their feeling shall remain for the subiect of their tormeÌ„ts their soule shal liue perpetually to coÌ„ceiue their misery and they shal for euer languish Quam bonus Israel Deus Psalme 72. HOw great is the goodnesse of our God how certaine is his helpe to those which waite on him to those I say who neuer turned away their thoughts from his mercy who holding the eie of their soule fixt on his prouidence haue neuer let slip the hope which they ought
the Lord hath heard my prayer my teares haue ouercome his wrath and loe I enioy the frute of his holy fauor The brightnesse of his goodnesse hath shined vpon me and behold the mists wherin my head was wrapped are on a sodaine scattered and vanished away 9. I had skarce opened my lips to inuoke his ayde my heart did skarcely dispose it selfe to craue his pardon when as I felt his grace to bee shed vpon me to comfort and quicken my languishing soule euen as an hot bath doth the members of a poore Pilgrime tired with trauell oh incredible clemency how comes it to passe O Lord that thou art so ready to forgiue I ranne on to offend thee and thou came'st flying to giue me pardon I haue employed all the dayes of my life to seeeke both by sea and land matter for my ambition auarice and licentiousnes and after that I had engulphed and lost my selfe in mine owne pleasures thou pearced'st in a momēt the heauens and clowdes and cam'st to deliuer me So as now I triumphe ouer my sinne which followes the tropheis of my penitency the which hath found fauour in thy fight And in this manner my hope which mine offences had almost smothered is reuiued more then before doth promise me not onely the Empires of the world which houer where the Lord enclineth them but openeth the highest heauens vnto me and assureth mee after an happie life in this world the enioying of diuine immortallity What shall then mine enemies doe now when they shall see such felicity heaped vpon me They shall blush for shame and shall by greatly troubled in their mindes they shall retire themselues all confounded and astonished For he whome they thought to destroy is raised higher then euer he was Alas they mocked mine ashes they iested at my fasts they flouted my teares and whilest by abstinence I tamed my flesh the true enemy to my soule they did swimme in worldly delights but loe the arme of God was ready to thunder on their insolency ô my God giue them leasure to perceaue the extreame danger wherein they are and to begge from an high the onely remedy for their disease and as for me who feele my selfe purified from those filthinesses which compassed mee about which feele my soule enflamed with the fire of thy charity teach my lippes to set forth thy prayses adresse my voyce to resound thy mercy and direct mine affection to loue thee sincerely and to establish her cheefe happinesse and highest felicity in the knowledge of thy truth Beati quorum Psalme 31. HOw happy my God are those whose offences thou hast pardoned and whose sinns thou hast buried in a tombe of forgetfulnesse For alas what can become of him whom thou causest to endure the iust punishment for his sinnes an armie of miseries enuirons him pouerty assailes him sicknesse afflicts him famine oppresseth him and death it selfe which he thinketh to bee the hauen of this tempestuous nauigation is the bottomlesse pit to draw him into eternall torments 2. Thrice and foure times happy then are they of whom God demandeth none account of their actions but is satisfied so that they humble themselues before him acknowledging their infirmity and opening vnto him the depths of their hearts For his mercy is to bee called vpon by true confession and sincerity of conscience hee that will be heard must humble himselfe before him As hee which goeth to a fountaine puts downe the mouth of his vessell before hee can fill it with liqour in like manner it behooueth him to cast himselfe down before his creator which will draw and taste of the water of this sacred fountaine from whence distilleth the humour which alone can cleanse and purge our consciences 3. I did thinke sometimes oh my God to hide my faults from thee haue said vnto my selfe How can hee tell or not what I haue done In this manner my sinne waxed old in my bones and like the sores of a sick man who is ashamed and dares not shew his disease to the surgeon they doe increase and waxe worse till the whole body perrish in like manner the sinnes which I haue hidden from thee haue wholy infected me 4. But at the last thou hast in such sort day and night layde thy heauy hand vppon mee and hast caused mee to taste so many kindes of misfortunes betwixt which my soule liueth without rest quelled with a continual pricking in my consciēce which pierceth the very bottom of my heart as I haue acknowledged my falt the which I now carry in my hand Take notice of it ô my GOD but not in thine anger for the streaming teares which haue quenched with weeping the light of mine eyes ought likwise also to haue extinguished the heate of thy iust indignation And then am I not the worke of thine hands and that which is more the liuely image of thy diuinity who is hee so transported with choller which will breake in peeces the workmanship which hee hath so much delighted to polish and bring to perfection because it is a little foule and slubberd This image is loden with filthinesse I confesse but is it not much better to clense burnish it then to destroy it and tread it vnder foote 5. Teach me then my God what satisfaction I am to make for I haue now discouered vnto thee all those faults which before I did conceale The feare which possessed me then when I hid my selfe from thee now when I lay my selfe open vnto thee is turned into hope of fauor and pardon And now I cast my selfe into thine armes as my surest refuge with the selfe same countenance as the poore patient who shewing his wound to the Surgeon lookes attentiuely vpon him and manfully endureth the search and lancing for the desire and hope which hee hath to bee healed But that which giueth me most hope of health is that those vices wherein I delighted heertofore doe now make mee afraide to behold them as the meates where-with a man is stuffed in health doe afterwards make him sicke at the heart That which made mee fierce doth now make mee ashamed when I consider the danger of death wherevnto my pride had exposed my poore soule I thanke that day which first gaue mee the light to acknowledge my fault I did on that day my GOD receiue a singular testimony of thy goodnesse towards mee let it please thee then that the pleasure which I haue receyued in displeasing my selfe may continue with me as long as that which I tooke in my vices For if I can take as great contentment in my penitencie as I haue taken in my sinne my happinesse shall bee equall to that of thine Angels and by my humilation before thee I shall see my selfe exalted to the highest toppe of thy fauour 6. Who doubteth ô Lord that thou wilt not receiue mee to mercy thou whose meekenesse and benignity is not only vnspeakable but incomprehensible I did no sooner thinke of
from the rocks of this world which on euery side threaten shipwracke to my soule and as the Sailer when he is arriued in the hauen crownes the masts of his ship with garlands of flowers in token that he is in safty euen so crowne me ô my God with the precious guifts of thine holy spirit for pledges of the eternall blessednesse which thou promisest me I say of thy spirit which reigneth in thy faithfull ones which distributes faith to thine elect charity to thy beloued and hope to those whome thou hast predestinated 13. Now whilest my soule continues in this exile looking euery day when thou wilt call it to thy â—elfe I will teach sinners the way they ought to follow for to please thee I will direct them left that in the darknesse of this world they stumble vpon the blocks which shall he presented to them they will beleeue me and they shall returne to thee ô father of light turne to thee ô Father of light they shall with all their hearts imbrace thy law and walke in thine obedience 14. I know ô Lord that there bee some who will stoppe their eares at my words and will grow stubborne in their sinnes they will plot my death and willingly would die their barbarous cruelty with my bloud Deliuer mee my GOD forth of their hands and preserue mee that I may declare thy righteousnesse and pronounce their condemnation I will fore-tel them of their miseries and so soone as my speech is ended thine hand shall strike them and so soone as thine hand hath stricken them behold they shall bee for euer crusht in peeces and confounded 15. And then thou shalt open my lippes and my mouth shall declare thy victory the aire wil be cleere the winds will bee appeased and the flouds will stand still to heare mee sound forth the wonders of the eternall GOD. For thy praise ô LORD shal bee the sacrifice which I continually will offer vp vnto thee which at all times will bee pleasing vnto thee 16. I would willingly haue bloudied thine Altars with the slaughter of much cattell I would willingly haue sacrifized a thousand Oxen and as many sheepe in thine honor but bloud stinkes before thee and their flesh thou acceptest not the smoake of such offerings consumes it selfe in the arie like wind and it can not ascend where thou art the onely voyce of a iust man mounteth higher then the heauens and thine Angells present it vnto thee 17. O how acceptable vnto thee is the sacrifize of an hart pearced thorow with repentance an hart that is humbled in the knowledge of his sinne such an one wilt thou neuer reiect hee that will go vp vnto thee must descend downe into himselfe the way to touch heauen to lie groueling vpon earth hee that wil bee heard of thee must hold his peace and hee that will bee crowned in thy kingdome must be beaten and scourged in this world These are the sacrifices which can reconcile vs vnto thee and enter vs into the alliance which thou hast made with vs. 18. If thou wilt haue vs ô Lord to offer vp vnto thee bulls and oxen and that wee shall make thine Altars smoake with the bloud of Beasts if thou wilt haue vs by the death of an innocent oblation to represent before thee the death innocency of him whome thou hast destined for the redemption of our soules if the figure of that which shall come to passe in the person of the Immaculate Lambe bee pleasing vnto thee in the slaughter of sheepe and rams pittifully then beehold thy poore people comforte desolate Sion encourage her poore inhabitants to the end that they may repaire the walls of thine holy citty and re-edifie thy teÌ„ple not in equall measure to thy deserts ô Lord but according to the riches and industry that the world can attaine vnto 19. Thither from all parts shall thy faithfull people come in heapes to offer sacrifize vnto thee there onely shalt thou accept the expiation for their sins But my God neither the bloud nor death of beasts can wash out their filthinesse the expiation of their sinne and disobedience is prepared before all eternity It is an inestimable sacrifize an immaculate burnt-offering that must draw away the vaile dissipate the darkenesse and breake downe the partition-wall for to make vs behold the truth of our saluation face to face which must cause the beames of the diuine mercy to shine vpon vs and reassociate vs to the communion of the eternall blessednes which we haue willingly renounced O must pittiful God which hast cleered the eies of mine vnderstanding made me to see the mistery of my saluatioÌ„ cause me ô Lord to tast the excellent frute which budding on the tree of the crosse shall quicken with his iuyce our mortified soules shall for euer keepe and preserue vs from the ruine and calamity which hath so miserably attainted man-kind hath spred it selfe all ouer them by their owne disobedience Domine exaudi Psalme 110. O Lord how long haue I cried out for thy mercy yet I am still expecting thine aide The aire is filled with my lamentations the winds haue carried the voyce of my complaint to the farthest parts of the earth and thine eare which vnderstandeth what is done in the deepest bottoÌ„ of hell harkeÌ„s not vnto my praier which pierceth the very heauens Thou art onely deafe ô Lord in my respect and the whole world will sooner then thy selfe giue eare to my laments No no my God thou hast too long stretched out thine arme vnto me to reiect me now when I come vnto thee for refuge 2. Now that I feele a thousand and a thousand griefes and that euills assaile mee on euery side turne not thy face away from mee ô Lord. Alas I haue placed all my comfort in the milde aspect of thy countenance I haue left the world and retired my selfe vnto thee I haue forsaken the children of the earth to the end to allie my selfe to the maister of heauen can'st thou now cast mee of doe not so ô Lord but all the dayes of my life helpe my infirmitie 3. So soone as my voice shall cry out vnto thee ô my God so soone let me feele thee let thy grace come downe as swiftly vpon mee as an Eagle to the succour of her yong ones For if thou assist mee not what combate can I wage against the enemies of my soule 4. My strength and my life doth continually vanish away like to a light smoake which in flying abroad looseth it selfe that eye which sees it come forth of the fire doth as quickly see it dispersed and accompanieth it in a moment from his originall to his end and they that aske what is become of it cannot so much as discerne the trace thereof Who hath seene peeces of wood lye drying in the sunne loose both their vigor and verdure let them behold my poore bones which are become drye and withered and craue nothing but a