10. Finally there shall be inward and outward darknesse both of the body and minde farre more obscure then those of Egypt which might be felt and touched with the hand There shall be fire but not suche as we vse commonly which smarteth a little and vanisheth quickly but such as is most fit for that place that is which afflicteth vehemently and neuer ceaseth to torment If this be true how can it be that those whiche beléeue and confesse the same should line so loosely and sléepe in such securitie What daunger what tedious toyle would not any man gladly vndertake rather then he would endure one day yea one houre the least of these torments Why then to shun a perpetuitie of calamities so tragicall doo they not imploy themselues to so easie trauaile as that which is requisite to the following of vertue This thing were inough to sequester a mans soule from his sences and to bring him to an extacie that deliberateth aduisedly herevpon Yet if among these huge heapes of miseries were any hope of ende or redresse it woulde quallifie somewhat their gripings corsies but alas they find it there farre otherwise for the gates of comfort are closed vp on all sides In all kinde of heauinesse that may happen in this life resteth alwayes some reliefe wherein the afflicted may repose himselfe as that which is administred either by reason of time fréendes or company of many whiche doo participate with him in the same mishap or by hope to be released at last may mittigate their maladie But in this euill onely the cundits of grace are so stopped and the passages of common comfort so interrupted that these vnhappie creatures can finde fauour on no side neither from heauen neither from the earth neither of the time passed nor present nor of that to come nor of ought that can be else but they séeme to be pressed and pearsed of all partes and that all creatures coÌ„spire against them whereby at last they ware wood and wrath with themselues This is the extreme straightnesse whereof the wicked bewayle themselues by the Prophet in this sorte Psal 17. The dread of death hath hedged me in on euery side and the infernall frightes haue inuironed met round about in such wise that whereon soeuer they péepe or prie their obiect is alwayes miserie exempted of mercie The Virgines whiche stoode prest at the Pallace of their spouse were receiued in Matth. 15. as the Euangelist saith and sodeinly the gates were locked O perpetuall pinning faste O immortall inclosure O gate of comfort which neuer shall be opened which is as though he had saide Closed is the porte of pardon shut is the doore and hatch of hope and intercession of grace of consolation and of meriting any more The sixe daies are vanished wherin Manna was to be gathered but the Sabboth it could not be founde wherfore he must fast alwaies which would not prouide for himselfe in time The yâ—le sluggard saith Salomon fearing the colde will not till his grounde in the Winter whereby he shall begge in the sommer and nothing shall be giuen him And againe He that laboureth in the sommer and time of haruest is discréete but he that then betakes him to sleepe is the sonne of perdition What greater confusion can there be then that which hapned to the riche myser who might haue purchased his place in heauen with the crums of bread that fell froÌ„ his table by his couetousnesse in deteyning that litle is now brought to such penury himself that he craueth shall craue coÌ„tinually one drop of water shal neuer obtaine it In whose heart doth not this request of that wretch moue a remorse O father Abraham pittie my case and send Lazarus Luke 16. that he may dip the top of his finger in the water and may touch my toong therewith for this fire tormenteth me out of measure What lesse petition could be demaunded then this for he durst not request one vessell of water neither would he that Lazarus should wet all his hande nor his whole finger which is to be wondred at but only the toppe of his finger and yet it would not be graunted vnto him By which thou seest how close the gates of grace are shulte and howe farre the prohibition and curse stretcheth which is prepared for the vngodly sith they cannot get so small a matter In such sort that cast they their gastly lookes which way they will let them extend their hand to what place them list they shall finde no crum of comfort be it neuer so small And as one fallen into the sea plunging in the deapth of the waters can finde no perfect footing and often stretching out his arme catcheth and graspeth round about in vaine being now euen swallowed in the gulfe So shall it happen to the accursed crue to whome the worlde is without any stabilitie for wading in the waues of such woe wretchednesse and alwaies striuing with death without trust or stay of any succour to leane vnto Of all the gréefes which is suffered in that mischéeuous place and harbour of aduersitie this is the greatest for if these punishmentes were determinable by any time yea though it were a thousande yeares or a hundred thousande million of yeares it were some kinde of comfort for that which hath end is not altogither to be dispraïsed but the paine of the wicked shall be eternall and the time of their distresse shall be coequall with the diuine glorie of God so long as God shall liue so long shall they dye and when God shall cease to be that he is then shall they likewise leaue to be that they are O dying life O liuing and immortall death I know not whether I should call thée life or death for if thou be life why dyest thou if thou be death how doest thou still endure I will not therefore call thée the one nor the other for that neither the one nor the other conteyneth ought that good is Life hath his limits and death dureth but for a time which much auayleth to the asswaging of sorrowes but in thée are neyther boundes nor space at all What then art thou Verely thou art the penaunce of life and the plague of death for thou hast the sting and torment of death euerlastingly and of life thou hast the perpetuitie without intermission GOD spoyled both life and death of their happinesse and committed to thée that which was left for the perpetuall punishment of the vngodly O cursed confection O bitter pill berest vtterly of all the benefites and delights that floweth from our swéete Samour Christ which is the foode that all wretched sinners féede vpon I wish therfore deare brother that not sildome thou wouldest erect thy earthly minde to the consideration of this eternitie and as a beast of the world wouldest sometimes make thy repast thervpoÌ„ Which that thou mayest performe effectually propone before thy eyes of vnderstanding the affliction that a
a gallant superscription as héere thou seest grauen by the hande of God It was much lesse then this that Quéene Sabba had heard of Salomon and yet she came from the vttermost partes of the earth to trie whether those things were true which were reported vnto her Wherefore then hearing such and so certaine tydings of vertue doest thou not betake thée to a litle trauell If thou wilt be assured hereof graunt thy selfe vnto the word of God and confidently commit thy selfe into his handes loose thy selfe from the hands which hath wrapt and wonne thée and thou shalt sée that the same of vertue is lesse then her merite and that whatsoeuer we haue said is nothing in comparison of that she is in her proper effect The Argument To perseuere in sinne with a thousand excuses and delaies intending to amend his life hereafter deceiueth a Christian maruellously For by this meanes he blindeth and burieth himselfe in the durtie dunghill of vice and waxeth daily more prone therevnto in such wise that iniquitie taking deep roote in the intrailes of his mind it will very hardly be remoued CHAP. VIII NOtwithstanding all these assertioÌ„s whereby the condition of vertue is iustified sufficiently the wicked wil neuer want their wonted excuses and delaies for as it is written He that will shake off his friend searcheth for a cause of quarrell but in so dooing he meriteth a gréeuous reprehension and controlment Yet some there be which with one onely worde will easily reply to all this saying It sufficeth them to amend hereafter and then to reduce the course of their life to a better order foolishly feyning to themselues that it is too hard a matter presently for them so to doo and that in time to come they may attempt atchieue this thing with more facilitie How fondly man deceiueth himselfe which is one of the grossest errours wherewith a man may delude himselfe For if thou mindest so long to procéede and perseuere in that perillous path wherein thou art entred still augmenting the heape of thine iniquities howe canst thou so easily hereafter forsake it at thy pleasure thy naughtie conditions béeing growne by continuall custome into an habite Further if thou continue héerein euill custome shall bee more fortified and confirmed and nature shall be corrupted the more and the diuell shall preuaile and haue more power vpon thée and shalt be still farther from the fauour of GOD and consequently more blinde more enclined and plunged déeper in the stinking puddle of iniquitie Then howe can it be more easie for thée to performe this businesse béeing increased with these newe difficulties by reason of thy perseueraunce in sinne If euery time that thou doest offend thou leauest behinde thâ—â— a dayes iourney of thy voyage towardes vertue how canst thou more readily frame thy selfe thereunto hereafter hauing let slip so many daies iourney as thou hast committed offences It may well appeare that by this answere thou art instructed by the father of lyes and falshood that after thou hast so long inured thy selfe to vice and folly and haste runned a race so farre from the trade of vertue shall then bee most easie for thée to attayne therevnto But among these things what shall I say of the great power of custome and of the force shee hath to binde and wrap thée fast in wickednesse For true it is that as they which fasten a nayle in any thing with euery stroke they driue it further in and yet with other strokes further and so the more still they strike the more they fasten it and waxeth thereby the more harde to pull out againe In like maner by each euill fact we commit vice as it were with a béetle is more déepely rammed into our minde where it is fixed so fast that there can very hardly bee founde any force able to remooue it Whereby wée sée not seldome that the olde age of those who in their flourishing yeares were wholely giuen to carnalitie is often subiect to the dissolute manners of theyr youth yea although they then abhorre them and nature thereof disclaymeth vtterly which onely commeth to passe through the tyranny of euill custome For it is affirmed by Iob that the bones of the wicked shall be full of those vices that they vsed in their youth which shall accoÌ„pany them in their graues in such sort the vice hath no other end then death which is the dissolution and extinguishment of all mortall things which onely suffiseth to redresse and cure it And the cause hereof is custome coÌ„firmed which nowe is growne to nature For vicious appetites taking such roote in the bones and bowels of their souls is euen like vnto a ioynt ague which hauing setled it selfe in the intrailes of a man is become incurable The very same thing is shewed by our Sauiour in the resurrection of Lazarus which had lien dead nowe foure daies whome GOD called againe to life with such vehement shrikes and cries notwithstanding hee raised many from death before with such falicitie thereby to make it knowne vnto vs what a wonder it was that God raised him againe who foure dayes had béene dead and buried This long since is espied to be in sinne For as Saint Augustine openeth this place of these foure dayes the first is the delight we haue in sinne the second is the consent of minde the third the accomplishment in déede the fourth the perseuerance in sin and he that is come to this point is Lazarus lying dead foure dayes who cannot be receiued but with the loud lamentations and teares of our Sauiour If peraduenture this chaunce vnto thée which very seldome hapneth to any tell mee what lawe canst thou alleadge for thy leawdnesse that God before all worlds hauing loued and created thée to inuest thée with the glory of eternall felicitie wilt not consume in the seruice of him who hath bin thy benefactor and friend so long in this short brickle life that thou enioyest The Argument Repentance ought not to be deferred to the end of life for theÌ„ God doth seldome grant them his grace to dye well For he that hath lead a leaud life hath commonly a worse death and so findeth a righteous recompence for his vniust deserts CHAP. IX BVt some there be so blinde shamelesse that it suffiseth them not to haue sinned all their life passed but they resolue with themselues wilfully to wallowe therein vntill they sensibly féele themselues assited with the very sommons of death O dreadfull time full of perplexitie what thinkest thou with this price to purchase the Kingdome of Heauen and to merit the societie and seate of Angels Doest thou not sée that whatsoeuer is done at this time is necessitie and not will is forced and not frée is constraint and not consent is feare and not friendship yet it is loue not the loue of God but selfe loue which shunneth naturally his owne annoy Doest thou not perceiue that these things are méere opposite
but if thou bee not yet come to this gulfe beléeue them that haue made their passage before thee as Ecclesiastes sayth They which passe ouer the Seas do tell strange perils if such things doo occurre ordinarily before the departure what shall happen after If the eue and vigil be so dreadfull how shall the feast it selfe bee and day of saluation Tell me I pray thée what wilt thou thinks when thou béeing depriued of this light and life alone poore and naked without any other companion then thine owne guiltie conscience shalt make thy appearance be-before the supernall seate of the righteous Iudge where a rigorous and seuers reckoning shall be erected of thée There shall be no talk of hanging heading or depriuing of this mortall life but onely of the death and life eternal If in the recordes of this rufull reckoning thou be déepely charged with arrerages debts and trespasses what yrkesome agonies shall thy poore heart then indure How much shalt thou bee confounded How sore shalt thou repent thée to haue done amisse How distressed of comfort and counsell shalt thou bee The gréefe of the Princes of Iuda was excéeding great when they beheld the pearsing sworde and Souldiers of Sesacke King of Egypt to bee dispearsed through the stréetes of Hierusalem when by theyr present plague and punishment they recognized and confessed theyr former defects But what is all this béeing compared to the confusion and wee which there shall wrap the wicked on euery side what shall they doo whither shall they flée who shall bee theyr shield and befence For there wéeping and wringing of handes doo not mooue compassion there detesting of former follies is not accounted of there no petition no promise will be accepted There no truce dayes or time of repentance can be graunted for that hauing finished the last pageant of the play they cannot enter the stage againe to play theyr part afreshe there neither eloquence nor worldly wealth nor fauour may purchase pardon for that Salomon sayth Prou. 11. Ezech. 17. In the dayes of tribulatiō richnesse shal be of no force and shall be despised vtterly onely Iustice and equitie shall defend thée from death But who can describe or paint in his colours the seueritie of his iudgement This exhortation then béeing so good and so fruitfull I beséech thée deare brother sucke out the sappe and swéete thereof for thy commoditie scanning and considering attentiuely this wherevpon vpon thou must trust and depend as she thing which concerneth thy perpetuall wealth or woe and though herein are many things well worthy to bee noted yet aboue al others let these thrée things neuer be forgottē Then first what gréeuous paine thou must then suffer for hauing purchased by thy desert Gods indignation The second how feruently thou wilt wish that thou haddest framed thy lifs according to his holy will and pleasure The third that looke what penance thou wouldest thē be glad to performe if it might be granted thée now through mature deliberatiō to assay and labour to liue in such sort as then thou wilt wish to haue liued The Argument At the day of iudgement a Christian must be accountable particularly of each little thought and fact committed in this life where the sinner being cōuicted by the iust sentence of God shall be detruded to perpetuall paines gastly shrikes and to the profound darknesse of the infernall prison and there being scorched with the glowing coales which be neuer extincted through wrath and fury shall curse both God and himselfe and calling eftsoones to minde all the good and euill which he hath omitted and committed augmenteth thereby his owne annoy He therefore that will not obiect himself to so many miseries must cal himselfe to repentance in time Chap. III. AFter death followeth the particular and speciall iudgement of euery mā and after that the generall and vniuersal iudgement of all men wherein shall be fulfilled the saying of the Apostle Wee must all of force shew our selues before the iudgemēt seat of God that euery one may giue an account of the good euil he hath done in this body Many matters are to bee considered in this iudgement but one of the chéefest is to mark of what things we must giue a reckening I will search Hierusalem diligently saith God with a candle in my hand Such is the phrase of the Scripture whereby we ought to be admonished how narrowly we shal be thē sisted and searched in the very least things that may be For there shal not be one fond cogitation nor one minute of an houre mispent but it shall bee skored vp in this reckoning Who is not abashed and appaled at these words of our Sauiour saying Verily I say vnto you that at the time of this audite men shall be accountable of euery idle worde which they speake vnaduisedly Then if of these words which hurt or hinder no man a reckoning shal be required what shall be required I pray you of dishonest and vnséemely spéeches of filthy imaginations of hands bathed and imbrued with blood of wanton lookes and vncontinent eyes In figne of the whole life imploied and consumed in leawdnesse and trecherie If this be true as it is most true what can bee inferred or gainsayed why this iudgement shoulde not bee so rigorous as it is knowne to bee indéede Howe full of ignominie shall hee bes who in the open face of such a reuerent Senate is prossed and burthened with each vaine worde that hath passed him from the time of his natiuitie Who will not woonder at such a straunge demaunde neuer heard of before and who durst to aduouche it vnlesse it had béene the wordes of Gods owne mouth What King hath euer exacted an account of any his subiects to the value of of a pinne O how excellent is the Christian religion howe pure is the sinceritie which by it wee are taught and with howe great care doth it demaunde the same puritie againe and how sharply doth it punish our defects héerein Further how passing great shal be the shame and reproch of the reprobate when all the mischiefs which hitherto they haue closely couered in the corners of their house and all the brutish vehauiour of theyr youth with all the secret sores and festered carbunckles of their conscience shall be published in the theater and open view of all the world And further who standeth vpon such sure grounde that hearing this his colour doth not begin to chaimge copis Some rather then they will disclose the secrets of their heart to one man in a place sequestred from all accesse béeing ouercome with shame in eschewing thereof haue bidden the brunt of many huge perils How shall they then be confounded whē their most couert drifts and treasons shall bee reuealed in the presence of God and his Angels before so many millions of men and women as haue béene from the beginning are now and shall be hereafter This confusion shal be so great that as the
day be depriued before the darke night of death steale vppon you and ere your féete be entrapped or ye stumble at that foule blacke hillocke Therefore take the time and day whilest ye haue it for it shall be turned into darknesse And our Lord himselfe who better then any other knoweth the deapth of this daunger aduertiseth vs hereof in his Euangelist saying Luke 11. Take héed that your hearts be not opprest with too much meate drinke and with ouermuch care and turmoyle of this world least that dreadfull day catch you at vnwares which will steale vpon you like a théefe and vpon all those which inhabit vpon the face of the earth Therefore watch and pray continually that you may be deliuered from these huge heapes of calamities which hereafter will happen that you being cleane and vndefiled may be presented before the sonne of the pure Virgin the promoter of all our auaile and profit The Argument Those which haue loued God and liued according to his will shall be rewarded in Paradise which is the glory and merit that good men do respect Which notwithstanding any difference that is among the elect bringeth a common comfort and pleasure to them all because there is perfect charitie and God is all in euery thing Wherfore no other exercise is vsed there or no other paine or trauaile then to loue God to laude and glorifie him incessantly for euer CHAP. IIII. NOw that we haue declared the coÌ„demnation and sharpe sentence to be pronounced vpon the wretched sinner it followeth consequently that we treat likewise of the glorious recompence wherewith the righteous shall be endued which is nought else but that happie life and kingdome which God hath ordeined for his chosen people euen from the creation of all things which is such and so excellent that neither with the tongue of men nor Angels it can be expressed But that ye may haue some taste of this heare what S. Augustine briefly saith in commendation hereof in a certaine meditation of his in this sort O life alotted by God to them that loue him a liuing life a life voide of care a blessed life a quiet life a pleasaunt life a pure life a chaste life a life enemie to death a life that knoweth no gréefe voyd of molestation of smart of anxietie voyd of all corruption voyd of perturbatioÌ„s not subiect to varietie change or mutabilitie A life full of beautie and perfection where no enemie shall molest thée nor no trespasse offend thée when is perfect vnitie vnfeigned and holie loue where all feare is far away where is one eternall day without alteration where God is séene face to face which is the foode of all that there abive Swéet GOD with an vnsatiable heart and greedie minde I couet thy hidden treasures and the more I long after them the more I luste and burne in desire considering thée my delight my life and Sauiour in contemplation whereof I féele my selfe excéedingly refreshed and reuiued O moste happie life O very blessed kingdome altogither with out death and without ende which doest not yéelde to any succession or alteration of times where is bright day continually without interruption of night there it is not knowne what mutation meaneth where the tryumphant Souldiour accompanied with a glittering crewe of Angelles singeth vnto GOD without ceasing the passing praise of Sion hauing gotten the crowne of euerlasting felicitie I would to God that my sin my gréeuous guilt were forgiuen me Thrise blessed were my soule if after this painefull pylgrimage I might be worthy to sée and beholde thy glory the beatitude the beautie the walles and the gates of thy Citie thy stréetes thy pallaces thy noble Citizens thy worthie King setled in his throne of magnificence Thy walles are made of precious stones thy gates are beautified with shining Pearles thy stréetes are paued with pure gold which resounde and ring aloude with the peales of perpetuall praises Thy houses are buylded with quadrant stones adorned with Saphyrs thy beames and rafters are of golde where no corruption can abide nothing may enter that is defiled O Hierusalem our mother thou art braue and pleasaunt in thy deuises the force of no aduersitie is felte in thée neither any of those discommodities are susteyned whiche here we find Thy ioyes are farre aboue any which this wretched life can yéelde vs. In thee is neuer founde night darkenesse nor chaunge of times Thy light issueth neither from lampe nor from the Moone nor yet from the stars but God the light of all lightes is ho which lightneth thée The supernall Emperour kéepeth continuall residence in the middest of thée enuironed and assisted with many millions of his ministers There the angelicall quires answere each to other melodiously there the frutes of true nobilitie doo yéelde a pleasaunt sent and spectacle to the beholders there is celebrated the feast of those who being safely arriued from the bottomlesse sea of these miseries and mishappes are incorporate in one societie with those which possesse eternall life There is the company of the Prophets the royall ranke of the Apostles the inuincible hoast of innumerable Martyrs there is the sacred conuent of graue Confessors there are the true religious the deuout women who despising all delights and dalliance haue conquered their fraile inclination There are the virgins and younglings which with their vertuous indnstry haue shunned she allurements of this vile deceitfull world There are the innocent lambs who robbing themselues of all earthly pleasures doo now skip and leape for ioy in theyr propper and peculiar houses And whatsoeuer difference there be in glory amoÌ„g them notwithstanding the solace and contentation is common to all There charitie ruleth béeing entire and perfect for that god is all in all whom they alwaies sée and séeing him continually are euer enflamed with his loue therefore they louing praise him and praysing loue him all their exercise all their endeuour is to magnifie him without ceassing or intermission O how happie were I and most happie if after the dissolution of this corporall prison I might heare the swéete musicall songs of that celestiall harmony and sing Psalmes of coÌ„mendation to the eternall king of al the woorthy company of the most happie Cittie Now happie shoulde I be yea twise blessed if I might attaine to this felicitie to sing stand before my King my God my guide and to behold him in his glorie as himselfe hath promised to be séene Ioh. 7. wheÌ„ he said O father my desire is that all those may be with me which thou hast giuen me that they may see the cleare brightnesse which I had with thée before the foundation of the world And all this is vouched out of S. Augustine Now tell me then what a chearefull day shall that be which shall so illuminate and clarisie thy courage if at the full consummation of this pilgrimage thou passe from mortalitie to immortalitie and in the same time that otherâ—
whom is the foundation of wisedome and beginning of true blisse Endeuour therefore so to arme and addresse thy selfe at all poynts that thou be not vanquished by sinne Farther shalt viewe thine owne wretchednesse and infirmities whiche will serue as a corzie to quallifie the swelling rancor of pride and to establish humilitie the very quéene and guide of all other vertues And shalt easily reiect hatefull auarice and gréedie gaping for earthly vanities For the memorie of death causeth thée to knowe that none of these thinges can be called thine which thou canst not carry with thee out of this world And thou coÌ„tinuing in this exercise vnwares thy dread shall be turned into desire and death shall not séem so terrible vnto thée for that it depriueth thée of thy temporall life as delightful and acceptable because it giueth ende to so many gréefes and miseries and giueth enterance to life and light eternall And thou shalt perceiue howe little cause thou haddest to complaine or to be sorie weighing that whilest thy bodie doth perishe and consume in the graue thy soule liueth blisfully in heauen with a firme beléefe to rise againe at the last day to life euerlasting The Argument In the seuenth consideration ought to be premeditated how seuere and rigorous Christ will be at the day of iudgement for that his countenance will then declare to the wickid beholders nothing else but furious wrath and reuenge which none can escape for there must be giuen vp an exact account of all thinges done and thought of in this world CHAP. IX EAch man proueth and perceiueth in himselfe by often experience that his vnderstanding by the apprehension of some fearfull obiect or weightie consideration retireth and coucheth closely within it selfe and for that instant repelleth easily all other idle imaginations For which cause it is most prositable counsayle that a sinner at his first conuersion exercise himselfe seriously in such cogitations for that by this meanes péeuish fansies sometime through dread sometime through wonder will be either brideled or banished quite If the memorie of death as is aforesaide hath such force to cut off and to restraine our vaine and bagraum thoughts howe much more may this be done by the remembraunce of that which insueth after death immediately whiche is Gods iudgement and the paines of hell By which meditations if thou often thinke vpon them shall be brought to passe that which Ecclesiastick affirmeth Remember thy daies whereby hee meaneth that which then shall happen vnto thee and thou shalt neuer doo amisse S. Hierome not without iust cause said Whether I eate or drinke mee thinkes still I heare the sounde of the Trumpet buzzing in my eares Arise from death and come to your iudgement Which howe terrible it shall be cannot be imagined sith all other terrours or tragedies whatsoeuer in comparison of this is nothing at all Many times God hath manifested his iudgements in this worlde as when hee drowned the worlde with the great floud when hee burned Sodome and the Cities adioyning when he strooke Egypt with diuers dreadfull plagues when he made the earth to open in the desert to swallow vp sinners all which iudgements beeing compared to that generall iudgement which shall be exercised in the last day are but shadowes but shewes and figures of the veritie If then thou desire to come to thy selfe and to gather thy wits togither with the remembraunce of this represent to thy imagination the terriblenesse of Christ thy iudge whose countenance shall declare nothing else but rigour and reuenge as at the first comming he shewed mildenesse altogither From whom thou canst not appeale to any other because he is supreme Iudge neither canst thou auoide his furie because he is most puissant and for that hee is the very fountaine and God of knowledge nothing can be concealed from him And because he hateth iniquitie out of measure hee will not suffer any sinne to be vnreuenged There thou must bee accountable of all thy transgressions debts and trespasses whereof if the least be inough to put thée in extreame danger and perplexitie who can make satisfaction for so many debtes and arrerages as shall bee exacted at thy handes Then thou shalt bee examined how thou hast vestowed thy time howe thou haste ordered thy body howe thou hast gonerned thy sences and how thou hast guided thy heart howe thou hast answered to the diuine inspirations how thou haste acknowledged so many curtesies In the which accusation thou shalt bee conuinced with so many witnesses as are the creatures which thou hast abused by sinne which then will be so stirred to reuenge the wrong done vnto their creator that if it were possible those which are immortall would dye with feare For it shall be a horror inestimable to sée the worlde all on fire the buildings and princely Pallaces ouerthrowne and torne in péeces the earth to tremble to viewe the elements to chaunge theyr course the Sunne to bee darkened the Moone and Starres to léese theyr light to beholde the death and destruction of all creatures the open gaping of graues to heare the voyce of the terrible trumpe and wofull waylings of nations to marke the discouering of consciences to regarde the monstrous deformed diuels and she inâ—â—â—nall furnace sparkling with furious flakes But of all other things shall be most terrible to looke vppon the victorious flagge of the Crosse clittering in the ayre with all the ensignes of the glorious passion of our Sauiour To sée the Iudge to charge his enemies for the making frustrate yea the reitteration of so many torments as hee hath suffered for their redemption Who might more easily endure the smart of hell paines then to sée themselues so accused and accursed of the Lord of bountie and courtesie and to be expelled from his presence to perpetuall punishment The Argument In the eight consideration we ought to premeditate vpon the intollerable terrour of hell paines which shall be perpetuall But of al those torments the most greeuous is the losse and lacke of Gods chearefull countenance without any hope for euer to gaine it againe CHAP. X. BUt it may so chance that mauger thy might for all these considerations ydle thoughts will not forsake thee though it must néedes bee a sounde fléepe and a very drowzie dreame that will not bee awaked with such incitations Yet thou must not be discomforted but howe much more difficults doo arise so much the more stoutly thou shouldest striue to atchieue thy enterprise Assay then whither the search of hell paines will bee more behouefull vnto thée concerning which two things are chiefly to be noted that is the vehemencie of their smart and the time of their continuance The least of these is able to mollifie the most stubborne and stony heart of the worlde but the which is not mooued neither with the one nor with the other is eyther dead in his soule or else beléeueth not that which the Christian faith sheweth For though the greatnesse of hell torments cannot bee imagined nor expressed filled with most iust feare If thou accustome thy selfe to such exercises aâ—â— doest perseuer therin in short space thou thalt become a newe man for by these meditations thy minde shall be brought to despise the world to shun sinne to fear these paines and to loue vertue And though at the beginning thou bee appaled and affrighted vehemently yet hand patience a while for thy colde feare shall be qualified and tempered with the heat of loue as the black night is turned by little and little into the bright shining day EINIS