side walled with rockes aboue beaten with terrible tempests You must be not onlie skilfull but carefull of your course you must alwaies beare your hand on the helme your eie on the compasse lest it come to passe that you neuer escape If you doe not this for the loue of GOD doe it then for the loue of your selues whereunto by all rules of reason and nature you are stronglie bound If you doe not loue or regard your good at lest bee not in loue with your euill The loue of miserie is farre worse then miserie it selfe Assuredly in case you continue in this carelesse course in case you still beare your selues either desperate in running from GOD or dull and heauie in comming to him in case neither his benefits can allure nor his chasticements enforce you to a change of life he will cast his plagues vpon you so thicke as haile which will make you more miserable then you can imagine VERS XI Great plagues remaine for the vngodly but who so putteth his trust in the LORD mercy embraceth him on euery side 1. GODS heauie hammers vpon obstinate sinners 2 The multitude of GODS punishments 3 The seuerity of them 4 It is most easie for GOD to pardon sinnes and wherfore 5 It is not possible but that penitent persons should be forgiuen 6 The confidence of true penitents 7 Their saciety 8 Their ioy 9 Albeit the contray appeares 10 Penitents enioy most perfect pleasure in this life and wherefore 11 The pleasures of the wicked are worse then brutish 12 Penitents aâ—e blessed in their chasticements 13 The first reason hereof 14 The second reason 15 The afflictions of this life are both momentany and light 16 A short prayer CErtainely if you wil not embrace this friendly aduice If you esteeme these warnings to be of no weight If blinded either with dulnesse or with malice you perseuere in your sinnes If neither benefits nor scourges can hold you in obedience If neither promises nor threats can any deale mooue you If you can be reteined in order neither by hope nor by feare If like vntamed beasts you still wildlie runne through the thorny thickets of all vices and esteeme euerie lustfull thing lawfull to be done hee hath heauier hammers to breake your obstinacie to bridle your boldnesse and pride and to beate downe your rebellion against him Verely not the starres in the firmament not the sands of the earth not all the creatures in heauen and vpon earth are so manie in number so vnresistable in force as are the punishments which the obstinate shall endure Their infelicity houereth ouer their heads their curse traceth them step by step vntill it shall ouertake them in hell Here the most pleasant retreits are full of hideous hurlements nothing but terrours torments and teares without intermission or end Here is griefe without remedie complaint without pity repentance without mercy Here death alwaies liueth and life alwaies dieth death here life are immortall together life in dying and death in enduring Here both body and soule shall eternally liue in eternall death they shall liue together in a double death and both eternall the death of sinne and the death of punishment due to sinne On the other side they who contemne the vanitie of the world and apply themselues onlie to GOD they who repent them of their sinnes be they neuer so great if they doe not despaire shall vndoubtedlie be receiued to pardon and mercy For this is most easie for GOD to doe by reason of his goodnesse and the greatnesse of his mercies in comparison wherof all the sinnes of the world are nothing so little as a point in regard of the largest circumference as one sparke of fire in comparison of the vast Ocean So as if the greatest sinner in the world be penitent If he desire and sue for mercie all the water in the sea cannot so easilie extinguish one sparke of fire as the mercies of GOD will abolish his sinnes Verelie if a good man will be mercifull to his beast our good GOD will much more bee mercifull to his creature to his seruant to his childe Yea it is not possible but that mercy should be imparted to them that repent For the infinite mercies of Almightie GOD abound in all places they fill all things if they be not excluded and locked foorth But nothing excludeth mercie but impenitencie and hardnesse of heart And therefore if a man be penitent mercie will foorthwith enter because the impediment is remooued because nothing then remaineth in the soule which may resist or repell mercie If the window be opened the roome will be light and if the floudgates be vnbarred the streames will presentlie ouerflow But they who haue receiued mercy who are vnder the protection and guard of grace in what assurance doe they stand how boldlie do they walke with what confidence are they caried in all the passages of their life Mercy encreaseth confidence and coÌ„fidence againe encreaseth mercy As guiltines is the cause of feare so from mercie proceedeth confidence As all wickednesse is full of feare so the iust is confident as a Lion And whosoeuer receiueth mercie they shall be filled therewith They shall be so filled as they shall ouerflow they shal be enuironed with mercy on euery side And being vnder the peace protection of mercie hauing firme trust that their sins are forgiuen O good GOD to what felicitie are they aduanced what treasures are there in heauen which shall not be opened and imparted to them They shal be placed by the side of GOD they shall be apparrelled and adorned with so great glory so great happines shal be heaped vpon them as the spirit of man is vnable to apprehend much lesse to expresse The desire the hope the full faith and assurance hereof cannot but worke in them incredible ioy before they attaine the full fruition euen whilest they are vpon their passage to it Oh! with what cheerefulnesse with what delight doe they either remooue or surmount all difficulties which lie before them Howsoeuer their trauaile seemeth troublesome and hard yet the loue of their iourneyes end maketh it not onely tolerable but delightfull The onely thought of the end of their trauaile seasoneth all the meanes with sweetnesse through which they are enforced to wrestle to that end It may be conceiued indeed that the iust are plagued and that the wicked chiefly flourish in this life It seemeth to be so but it is not so It is so onely in appearance and shew but in very deed it is not so They are either blinded with grosse mists of ignorance or abused with deceiuable colours and shewes who thinke it so It appeareth so only to those who are so rowled vp in flesh and bloud that they esteeme nothing good or euill but that which appertaineth to the body Assuredly they whose sinnes are forgiuen enioy the most perfect pleasure euen in this life which in this sort doeth plainely appeare As the inward
of sinne deliuer mee both from the pleasures and cares of this world which are cables to tye me fetters to hold mee captiue from turning to thee Deliuer my soule and saue me First deliuer my soule from present distresse then addresse me in the right way of thy saluation It is true that there is no desert no goodnes in me that should any wayes mooue thee to pitie or relieue mee For I haue loosely abandoned thee I haue trayterously conspired against thine honour I am altogether vnworthy but in wrath and reuenge to bee regarded of thee But I entreat thee by thine infinite goodnesse which is sufficient to abolish all the sinnes in the world euen in the lowest descent of humilitie for thy mercies sake I beseech thee to saue mee LORD I crie to thee in the confidence of thy mercies and not of my merits whereto no saluation but eternall death and destruction is due And if thou wilt not absolutely be entreated yet this word mercie is a maine argument to mooue thee or to assure me at the least that thou wilt saue me For thou art merciful both inwardly in thy selfe outwardly to others It is thy proper nature to beê merciful it is more proper for thee to do good to impart thy selfe to al things then it is for the Sun to enlighten then for the fire to giue heat thou canst not but exercise the actions of mercie But vpon whom vpon righteous persons what needeth that For they haue no miserie because they haue no sinne which only is misery which onely needeth mercie Is it then vpon small offenders is it to a certaine degree and measure of sinne Why but thou art exceeding mercifull infinite in mercie no lesse infinite in mercie then in nature for thou art mercy Verely as the rich man oweth his reliefe to the poore and the greater his riches are the greater is his debt as also the more poore a man is the more right hee hath to demaund reliefe euen so the greater thy mercies are the more must thou exercise the same vpon miserable sinners and the more miserable and sinfull a man is the more boldly may he come to thee for mercie The miserable sinner ouercharged with sinnes may confidently make his suit vnto thee to doe thy duty to exercise thy action to take away his misery to impart to him thy mercie that where sinne abounds grace also may more then abound Men doe therefore giue sparingly or at the least in some measure because the more they giue the lesse they reteine but thy treasure cannot be either exhausted or diminished thou departest with nothing by imparting to others by giuing abundantly thou hast nothing the lesse Thou art a fountaine of pitie and mercie from whence innumerable streames proceede the waters whereof are infinite both in quantitie and in vertue as well to cure our wounds and infirmities as to wash away our filthines and refresh our weakenesse O infinite fountaine how canst thou bee dried O sweetnesse O sacietie of desires what languishing soule came euer to thee and was not both cured and clensed and fully refreshed Doubtlesse O Lord thou art exceeding mercifull and wilt both readily and largely distribute thy mercies among offenders Thou wilt deliuer them saue them if they turne vnto thee if with penitent hearts they desire thy mercie Thou art more liberall to giue then they can be either desirous or willing to receiue VERSE V. For in death no man remembreth thee and who will giue thee thankes in the pit THE wisedome of GOD bindeth our assurance 2. To what end man was created 3. The time of life limited for repentance 4 Paine causeth forgetfulnesse of any thing but of it selfe 5. As after death repentance is vnprofitable so at the instant of death it is very doubtfull 6. The discommodities of late repentance AND it is not onely thy mercie which bindeth my reason but also thy wisedome For I am thy creature the worke of thy hands the worke which thy wisedome hath framed to some end Thy wisedome hath framed nothing in vaine nothing but to some end without attayning which end it should not perish But it is all one if I had beene created for nothing and in vaine and if I should not attaine to the end for which I was created To what end then did thy Wisedome create mee in this World Certainely that I should know thee and that by knowing thee I should loue thee and that in louing thee I should neuer cease to remember thee neuer cease to praise thee neuer cease to sorrow when I offend thee To this end I was created and I am desirous to accomplish this end I am desirous to be an instrument for extolling thy praise and setting foorth thy glory But in case I die thus charged with sinne before thou turnest thy mercie to me before I turne to thee by repentance what honor will thereby rise to thee what benefit to my selfe How shall I then partake of thy goodnesse How shall I publish and praise the same For so long as we enioy the benefit of life We nay repent we may leaue our sinnes we may returne to the state of grace But after death followeth iudgement when no error can be either repented or repaired but euery man shall suffer according as hee hath done In this liâ—e we may both dispose our selues and incite others to blazon thy praise but in the dungeon of death who will thanke thee who will thinke on thee who will sing thy praises in the bosome of Hell This is not a proper place for the sweet harmony of thy praise for the ioyfull memoriall of thy name Thy praise consisteth in a thankefull publication of thy grace goodnesse and mercie But this is the house of horror heere thy full furie and vengeance inhabite here can bee neither thankfull nor ioyfull remembrance of thee It is familiar to the pleasures of this life if they be great to cause vs to forget both thee and our selues But we are far lesse sensible of pleasure then of paine paines are more sharpe to vs in a high degree then pleasures are sweet Sharpe paines doe so strongly affect the bodie they doe so viòlently possesse the minde that it cannot once thinke of any other thing Who may then remember thee as he should being vnder the hand of thy terrible wrath Who shall either loue thee or laud thee in the ouglie den of death where the eies are possessed with hideous hurlemeÌ„ts the eares with desperate fruitles wailings all the faculties and parts both with intolerable and endlesse torments VVhere nothing is either suffered or done but effects of thine implacable wrath Assuredlie they are cursed by thee who are condemned to this place and heere againe they curse and blaspheme thee For this cause the wiseman exhorteth vs to turne to thee to forsake our sinnes and to make our prayers before thy face But what is it to do all these
wickednesse shall haue no opportunitie to vndermine my weakenes If a building be weak and the walls decline a smal force is suâ—ficient to prostrate it to the ground But our weake nature detorted from originall Iustice and much empaired by frequencie of sinne is alwaies prone and enclinable to euill the Imagination of mans heart is euill euen from his youth And therefore I will auoid all outward occasions that may attract me to euill among which familiar conuersing with euill men is the chiefe For if two contraries be applied together the stronger must necessarilie destroy the weaker But as we are more enclinable to vice then to vertue so vice is more strong in the wicked then vertue in the good whereby it followeth that the societie of euill men is most dangerous to the good and that as an hundred sound men shall sooner take the plague from one infected person then he recouer his health by them so the good are more often peruerted by the wicked then the wicked conuerted by the good For this cause GOD loueth nor to see his children among the wicked For this cause hee commanded his people that they should not ioyne in marriage with the Gentiles Exo. 34. For this cause also he commaunded them to destroy the inhabitants of the countrey which they were to possesse lest by societie in their conuersation they should be drawne into societie of their sinnes as afterwards they were indeed Elihu marueiled at Iob and the Apostle at the Philippians that among the wicked they could liue well Lot who liued in Sodome needed the hand of an Angel to draw him foorth Saint Peter being in the company of the other Apostles confessed the LORD to be the Sonne of GOD but denied him in Caiphas house when he stood among the wicked by the fire GOD commanded that no man should touch any creature that was vncleane and that whosoeuer touched a dead body he shoud be vncleane But no creature is so vncleane as a sinner no death is like to the death of sinne And therefore I will auoid wicked men as the most vncleane of liuing creatures and the most loathsome of those that are dead I will not regard either kindred or kind acquaintance I will esteeme all the wicked alike I will cast off my neere friends I will pull out my eyes I will cut off my hands rather then they shall draw me to euill I will rather liue in desarts and caues rather with dragons and vipers then in the society of those that are euill I will not touch these pitchy companions I will not in the least matters haue to deale with them If a small rupture in a bancke be not timelie stopped it will weare greater and all the valley will be surrownded thereby Of the seede of a serpent commeth the cockatrice and of small beginnings dangerous effects may ensue I will not therefore bee negligent in smallest matters I will not contemne any enemy He that despiseth small things by lâ—ttle and little shall decay The wine saith the Prophet is mixed with water Verely as wine mingled with water looseth both sweetnes strength so the good loose credit vertue by society with the euill But as a man who standeth vpon firme ground will cast foorth boords and lines to saue such as are in danger of drowning and yet will not approach so neere as to be drowned with them so I will affoord the wicked what helpes I can for their safety but will haue an eie that they fasten not vpon mee that they draw me not into their destruction Away from me also all yee mine enemies who intend any wickednesse against mee take away your malice for your mischiefe is at an end The LORD is now at peace with me hee hath put vp the sword of his iustice he hath giuen to me his mercifull hand In vaine shall you now either attempt against mee or insult ouer me It is not onely vanity but iniquity which now you shall contriue against me You shall neuer effect your euill intentions Hate me you may but harme me you cannot You shall neuer preuaile against him who hath preuailed against the Almighty My teares haue ouercome the Omnipotent the voice of my teares hath vanquished the inuincible These luke-warme droppes haue quenched GODS anger qualified his iustice recouered his mercy won his loue True teares are the language of heauen they speake strongly to GOD he heareth them well No voice hath more free and familiar accesse to him none is more acceptable none better vnderstood Hee who often regardeth not the voice of the tongue will alwaies heare the voice of our teares The voice of the tongue is framed in the mouth but the voice of teares proceeds from a heart surprised either with ioy or with griefe Hee who regardeth onely the heart doth much regard this language of the heart Therefore in all the anguishes of my soule I will vse few words heereafter but powre forth my sorrow in silent teares whensoeuer I sin I will write my supplication for pardon with teares whensoeuer I would obtaine any curtesie or fauour from GOD I will addresse my desire with teares Teares are too mighty Orators to let any suit fall When teares crie vnto GOD when hee is importuned by teares he will presently grow familiar with vs. They haue so perswading a silence so conquering a complaint that by entreating they command by yeelding they ouercome When they seeme most pitifull then are they most powerfull when they seeme most forsaken then are they most victorious This dew of deuotion neuer falleth but it is an assured signe of a beautifull day euen of GODS fauour to cleere vpon vs. Vpon what face soeuer it droppeth it maketh the same amiable in the eies of GOD. I will not therefore giue ouer my weeping my face must bee still adorned with these liquid pearles the Angels shall still bathe themselues in these streames of my eies vntill death damme vp the springs they shall not cease running But heerein vse some caution O my soule for that thy teares may be profitable that they may be more acceptable to GOD they must not proceede from a softnesse and tendernesse of nature but thou must powre foorth thy very heart in teares They must not proceed from any worldly respect not from feare of death or of hell not absolutely from loue of thy selfe but from loue towards GOD and from griefe for offending so good a Father so great a Lord so pure a perfection and glorie This loue is the fire wherwith these siluer drops are melted in the furnace wherewith the flowers of deuotion and grace are distilled into teares This loue is the sun which resolueth dark pitchie clouds into raine which resolueth thicke foggie mists into dew and maketh the ayre pleasant and cleere Without this loue teares are nothing but excrementall water they are nothing worth if they be not warmed and
be committed which by this redemption is not discharged And this is true in regard of sufficiencie but in regard of efficacie it perteineth only to the elect who are the Church the true house and familie of Israel But there can bee no offences either for number so great or for qualitie so grieuous but this redemption is sufficient for them Can this redemption which is of infinite value bee restreined to any limits of offences Shall not hee whose arme is neuer shortned be alwayes able to forgiue Shall not he who forgaue to one debtor 10000. talents be alwayes willing to forgiue verely in case that debtor had owed more talents vpon his submission more had bin forgiuen Such is the pitie of almighty GOD towards miserable men that hee neuer reiecteth their vnfained repentance albeit a sinner be at the height of euill let him in singlenesse and sinceritie of soule turne to the LORD and he shall be embraced If you finde in the Scriptures any sinnes termed vnpardonable as the sinne against the holy Ghost the sinne vnto death for which wee are forbidden to pray you must not vnderstand it as if they could not bee pardoned in case the sinner did vnfainedly repent for this were no better then bitter blasphemie But such sinnes are said to bee vnpardonable because they deserue blindnesse and hardnesse of heart and to bee depriued of the effectuall ayde of Grace because the sinner neuer either turneth or stoppeth but alwayes runneth forward from badde to worse Let their eyes bee blinded that they see not and euer bowe downe their backes Let them fall from one wickednesse to another and not come into thy righteousnesse Not that GOD doeth positiuely blinde any man or bowe downe their backes but priuatiuelie in that hee doeth not enlighten and direct them His sufficient ayde hee denieth to none but by reason of some eâ—ther heinousnesse or obstinacie in sinne hee denyeth his most speciall and effectuall ayde to some Hereupon their sinnes are sayde to bee vnpardonable because albeit they might repent yet they did not Wherefore O man to bridle thy broad bouldnesse in sinne vnderstand that there are certaine periods and bounds which when sinners exceede GOD leaueth them destitute sometimes by denying his effectuall ayde sometimes by abridging the terme of their life For the bloudie and deceitfull man shall not liue out halfe their dayes When the number of sinnes prefixed by GOD are once exceeded when the measure runneth ouer when the sinner hath digged his owne pitte Death shall come hastily vpon him and take from him both the present and future life at once Verely hee that hath appointed barres for the proud waues of the sea hath also set limits and termes to thy sinnes hee hath prefixed limits for his effectuall grace but his aboundant redemption is alwayes sufficient And therefore O feeble sinner albeit thou hast offended the most High and conspired against his Maiestie albeit thou hast forsaken his Law and forgotten his benefits albeit thou hast harlotted with thy owne humours and fouled his honour vnder thy feete in a word albeit thou hast merited more torments then hell canne afford yet neuer despaire neuer bee terrified by thy weake suspicions But abstaine from thy sinnes let thy will abhorre them and then approach with trust to the throne of mercie and assuredly thou shalt finde grace not onely sufficient but effectuall for all thy sinnes For then thy Redeemer by his inualuable blood will free thee from the seruitude of sinne whereto thou haddest voluntary sould thy selfe then will hee take vpon him the paine which thou haddest incurred then discharge the obligation which thou haddest forfeited But herewith thou must bee incorporate into the family of Israel namely the Church of GOD thou must with Nathaniel be an Israelite indeede in whom is no guile for to these onely this redemption pertaineth Thou must earnestly endeauour first to bridle thy sensuall appetites and by degrees to mortifie them Thou must serue GOD in righteousnesse and both constantly and closely adhere to him by loue So shalt thou bee rightly disposed to participate of thy redemption so shall riuers of heauenly riches flowe into thy soule But whosoeuer is a stranger to this house of GOD or liuing therein is no part thereof whosoeuer I say doeth eyther obstinately or carelesly perseuer in sinne and neuer regard to disingage himselfe by repentance hee shall neuer participate of the infinite treasure of this redemption the floudes of GODS mercies and of the merits of his Redeemer shall neuer enter or approach his soule they are sufficient but not effectuall for his discharge And further so ample and aboundant is this redemption that thereby the LORD will deliuer his people not onely from their sinnes and from eternall punishments due to their sinnes but hee will finally free them from the miseries and calamities which in this life driue in their faces Or if hee deferre this deliuerance for a time yea if hee stay vntill hee deliuer them at once from the calamities of the world and from the world it selfe yet is hee present with them all the meane time hee refresheth them with his spirit he sprinckleth the diuine dewe of his Grace vpon them which maketh aswell their life as the calamities of their life not onely tolerable but sweete For they who beleeue although they be faint and feeble hearted yet they know that neither death nor the diuell shall preuaile against them because GOD is their Redeemer This is the office of GOD thus will hee haue to doe with sinners to abolish their sinnes to abolish either their miseries or the sence of their miseries and to create in them rigâ—teousnesse and life And furthâ—â— the LORD doth not only eyther end or ease our miseries but he doeth more he conuerteth them to our good It is a propertie of the greatest goodnesse to change the nature of euill and to conuert it into good If a vine bee not pruned it runneth out into superfluous stemmes and branches and growes feeble and fruitlesse in the end Bee content therefore that thy desires be pruned with afflictions It is painefull to bleede but it is mortall to wither In this life pascimur patimur wee are so nourished with the blessings of GOD that therewith also wee are nurtured with his crosses And shall I tell thee O my friend shall I acquaint thee with an infallible experience how all the calamities of this life may not onely bee endured but vtterly broken how thou mayest obtaine a most glorious conquest This is worth the knowing and by assistance of grace not vneasie to bee done The Apostle findeth in one man two the spirit and the flesh the minde and the members the soule and the body These are so chained together as they make but one and yet so contrary as they make two They are so contrary as the life of the one is the death of the other the raising vp
himselfe but in the proper nature his house bee turned to a prison so albeit the body of man was once a pleasant habitation yet when by sinne it was turned to a prison the soule findeth therein many miserable molestations A prison is a place horrid and vncleane wherein the companions are theeues murtherers and other malefactours the place commonly a sinke whither all the filth of a city doth draine And albeit a childe bornâ— and brought vp in a prison and neuer acquainted with other life will laugh and desport and not onely take contentment but delight in that place yet if an honest man who knoweth liberty chance to come there how is he annoyed with the filth How with the vile society which he is constrained to endure What friends what suit will hee make for his discharge So they who neuer looked out of their body are well pleased with the euill qualities thereof But they who haue conuersed in a heauenly life and yet are gayled in this prison of mud and tied to the society of a thousand disordred appetites as so many malefactors how vnquiet are they how wary how desirous to be at liberty Heereupon one cried Bring my soule out of prison and I will prayse thy name And another I desire to bee dissolued And againe Who shall deliuer me from this body of death Out of the deepest dungeon of this prison O LORD I crie vnto thee deepely couered with naturall corruption deepely ouerwhelmed with actuall transgressions deepely charged both with sence and feare of thy wrath I streine foorth my voice vnto thee LORD thou art alwayes farre distant from sinners and now out of this deepe distance I doe not weakly desire thee but with deepe sighes and groanes from the depth of my heart I call vnto thee I haue sinned and thou hast punished I haue displeased thee and thou hast disquieted me according to the greatnesse of my sinnes thy punishments haue beene great vpon mee Out of this depth both of infirmities and of calamities with an inflamed spirit I lift vp my voyce hands eyes and soule vnto thee Heare me O LORD who doest no sooner heare then helpe Oh! let the complaint of my sobbing soule haue accesse to thy gentle audience Looke not vpon my sinnes and vpon thy iustice but looke vpon my miseries and vpon thy mercies turn away thy face from me as I am sinfull but regard me as I am sorrowfull for my sinnes Despise not O LORD the worke of thy hands For thou knowest of what mettall we are made thou knowest the bad temper thereof thou knowest not only our weakenesse but our prone inclination to euill Insomuch as if thou shouldest examine our actions by the exact ballance and then smite them by the seuere sword of thy Iustice all must despaire wee must all bee damned For there is none so innocent vnder heauen who canne eyther answere thy Iustice or endure it Not one canne stand before thee in Iudgement not one canne answere one for a thousand But thou wilt not bee so rigid and seuere against thy feeble creatures For with thee abideth not onely Iustice but also Mercie not onely Iustice for obstinate sinners but Mercie for the penitent Thou art aboue measure milde and fauourable to all that repent thou canst not deny thy Mercie from any who desire it from an humble heart And therefore albeit my sinnes presse heauie vpon me albeit they trouble my soule with many terrours yet will I worship thee with a dutifull and obedient feare I will hope in thee but not cease to feare I will hope but not presume and therefore must I feare I will hope in regard of thy goodnesse I will feare in regard of my owne euill I will hope in thee for thy mercies and I will feare thee for thy iustice Vpon these two wings will I flie vnto thee with these two eyes will I looke for thee but my trust addresseth it selfe especially to thy mercy â—f this mercy thy word hath giuen assurance thy word expresseth much fatherly affection thy word is full of many sweet promises of remission of sinnes and therefore my trust laieth hold vpon thy word For were it not a dishonour to a King would not people speake shrewdly of him if hauing promised his pardon hee would execute men for the same offence Assuredly whatsoeuer some Kings may doe thou canst not thou canst not denie thy word because thou canst not denie thy selfe Thy iustice will not suffer thee either to reuoke or lightly to regard the promises of thy mercy in case we apprehend them in seasonable time And therefore I will not be either betrayed by pleasures or benummed by sluggish sloath I will not suffer time to passe vntill time shall be altogether past When there cannot possibly be any harme in haste I will not aduenture vpon the dangers of delay O LORD my maker Quicken me with thy inciting grace that I may with all speed addresse my selfe both to entreat and to embrace thy mercy that I may timely begin to attend vpon thee For albeit no part of my life should be either shortned or mispent Albeit I should be most couetously carefull to imploy euery minute thereof yet is man too mortall to attaine performance of the least part of his duty to thee And although I bee not presently releeued although for a long time thou with-holdest thy helpe let not my hope be wearied in wayting for thee let me both patiently and constantly expect thy pleasure And so must all doe who sincerely serue thee who put their trust in thy word and so they shall neuer be disappointed of their hope For not only thy Mercy is most faithfully assured by thy word but thy Iustice also is plentifully satisfied by the inualuable blood of our Redeemer which is so noble and precious in thy sight that there neither are nor can be any sinnes for expiation of which it doeth not suffice It openeth the gate of grace to all that repent it excludeth none it sufficeth for all Let no man feare the multitude of his sinnes this Mercy and this Redemption doe infinitely surmount them they infinitely ouerballance the sinnes of all men in case they repent LORD thou art a great Physition thou knowest all our sicknesses and art most expert in all sorts of remedies Whatsoeuer our diseases are neuer so grieuous neuer so desperate thou hast variety of remedies in store and knowest right well how to applie them thy Mercie and thy Redemption thou hast alwayes at hand Wherefore with all feare and reuerence which my weakenesse is able to apprehend I resort now to thy throne of Grace most humbly entreating thy Mercie and the benefit of thy plentifull redemption Repell mee not from thy presence I beseech thee vntill I bee reconciled to thy fauour For I am no stranger to thy house I am one of thy people a citizen and member of that Church which thou hast so aboundantly redeemed Grant mee O gracious
of the one is the ruine of the other whereupon the Scripture saith that hee who loseth his life shall saue it That is hee who loseth his sensuall life shall saue his spirituall life Betweene these two men there is such a perpetual combate that therupon the life of man is termed a warfare betweene these two men all the maine businesse of this life consistes Now then beate downe this mortall and bodily man breake thy vnbrideled appetites set aside thy carnall pleasures and desires and thou shalt liue peaceably and at sweet content no worldly troubles shall molest thee Thou complainest of externall oppositions but thy enemies are within thy proper passions make warre against thee Vanquish these enemies and thy complaints will cease He is a great LORD who commandes himselfe hee who commandes his owne will is more powerfull then many great kings Many great kings cannot make their enemies to be friendes but this is done by commanding thy will For wherefore are iniuries and aduersities troublesome to thee beâ—ause thou canst not endure them thou esteemest them thy enemies therefore they perplexe thee But bee friendes with them and loue them and then they will not molest thee then they will bee pleasant to thy taste thou wilt be gladde then and glory in them If worldly troubles bee grieuous to thee the fault is in thy selfe it is in thy power to loue them doe but cutte off the desires of the world and thou wilt neuer complaine of any worldly thing Complaine of thy inward desires thou mayest but of externall accidents thou canst not iustly complaine because they cannot hurt thee vnlesse thou wilt If any thing seemes grieuous to thee take thy selfe in hand chastice thy inward enemies and thou shalt bee quiet As moathes consume the cloath and wormes the wood wherein they breede So thy owne concupiscences consume thy heart They gnawe thy bowels like the vipers broode and worke out their birth by thy torment and death It is most infallible that no man is wronged but by himselfe Thou art thine owne enemie Master thy selfe and thou shalt haue calme quiet and ioy of spirit As swine will not wallow in drie clay so distempered passions will not tumult in a mortified mind Open my lippes O LORD my GOD that my voyce may vent foorth those prayses to thee which the boyling desire of my heart canne possibly frame that it may exhaust the very spirit of my soule in praysing thee for this inestimable benefit of my redemption Abase me to the knowledge of my selfe abase mee in the knowledge of my selfe to the end that I may aduance to the knowledge of this great misery LORD I haue nothing in my selfe to offer to thee either in recompence of all the good which thou hast done vnto me or in satisfaction of all the euill which I haue done against thee Whatsoeuer I haue is already thine as flowing from thy plentifull hand wherefore I offer them wholly to thee to be directed to thy seruice And not onely all that I haue but I offer my selfe to bee thy perpetuall seruant That heereafter I no more bend or binde my selfe to accomplish my will but thine that I seek not my owne pleasure or aduantage but what is pleasing and acceptable to thee LORD I prostrate my selfe before thy feet I yeeld my selfe wholly into thy holy hands deale with me as a Lord deales with his vassall or slaue dispose of me euen as thou wilt But because all this is no more then nothing I approach with trust to thy throne of grace and present to thee the most precious oblation the most rich treasure that can be found in heauen or in earth namely the life death bloud labours vertues and merits of my Redeemer which albeit they were proper to him in regard of his passion yet in regard of his satisfaction they are more mine then his I offer to thee I say his base birth his extreme pouerty his trauailes and banishment his precious teares his blessed bloud his baptisme his temptation all the contradictions and rude reuilings of his enemies all the sowre sorrowes and torments of his passion the whippes the crowne of thornes the nailes the speare the crosse and the tombe I offer to thee his infinite zeale of thy glory his perfect obedience to thy will his ardent loue towards vs. I offer to thee his incredible humility his inuincible patience and gentlenesse and all other glorious vertues which sparkled in him as starres in the firmament as precious stones in a princes crowne I offer to thee all his merits not as a treasure of others but as my owne riches by inheritance His workes were finite but the merits of his workes are infinite I offer him wholly to thee hee is wholly mine in that his loue is mine For when he gaue me his loue he gaue me himselfe sith loue is no gift vnlesse the giuer be giuen with it yea it is no loue vnlesse it be as liberall of that which it is as of that which it hath O holy CHRIST the repayrer of our life the sweetnesse of our soule the refuge against our calamities what flintie heart regarding what thou hast suffered will not be enflamed with the fire of thy loue will not aduance into hope of thy mercy And blessed be thou O All-powerfull and All-mercifull GOD who hast giuen vs such right and interest in him that wee may make this oblation to thee both in thankefulnesse for ALL thy benefits and in full satisfaction for ALL our sinnes I beseech thee O LORD for his sake forgiue ALL my sinnes who for our sake endured ALL the punishments of my sinnes I will not enquire into the depth of this mystery but I will embrace it with the loue of my will The more incomprehensible it is the more worthy is it the LORD who is incomprehensible not onely in himselfe but in his workes He hath so loued vs that he hath done many things for vs which farre exceed the faculty of our vnderstanding by which hee hath much more deserued our loue then by those things which wee are able to vnderstand Prayse and Glory and Wisedome and Strength Dominion Riches and Power bee vnto our GOD for euermore A SVMMARY PRAYER O Almightie GOD the beginning the end in whom the beginning and the end are one when thou diddest fashion and create man his soule thou diddest frame as of a most diuine matter thy proper breath so in a most diuine forme euen in thy owne Image For this glorious guest thou diddest prepare the palace of his body not onely commodious for vse but curiously both framed and furnished for delight But afterwardes by reason of his transgression this palace was turned to a prison whereby it was much changed in condition For as if a man for some offence be committed prisoner to his owne house hee becommeth soone weary of the place wherein hee tooke much pleasure before especially if not onely in regard of