Prophet saith they shall cry vnto the hilles Math. 25. saying O ye hilles fall vpon vs and close vs in your Caues that we may not shewe our selues with such excéeding shame But wo worth ye wretches your hope is frustrate ye toyle against the tide weighing the force of that sentence definitiue Go ye caitiues into euerlasting fire long since prepared for Satan and his adherents What shall that cursed generation imagine then will become of themselues hearing this for if as Iob saith we can scarce abide to heare his mildest wordes Iob. 4. who can abide those thundring threats of his omnipotencie These words shall be so sharpe and so pearsing that at the verie instant the earth shall open it selfe wide and large and into the bottome and bowels thereof shall be whirled topsie turuie all those who Iob. 2 as the same Iob saith here haue had their paradise and pleasures in sundry sortes of Musicke and harmony trifleling out their time and yeares in all kinde of mirth and iollitie This fall and cracke of the earth S. Iohn describeth in his Apocalips in this maner I saw an Angell descending from heauen with great power and with such brightnesse that all the earth was lightned therewith and hée cryed aloude saying The great Cittie of Babilon is fallen downe and is made of the habitation of diuels and the cage of all filthy and abhominable fowles And further hée sayd I sawe another mightie Angell lifting vp on high a great stone much like to a mylstone and did cast it into the sea saying With such a violence shall the great Babylon bee throwne into the bottomlesse pitte and shall neuer recouer his estate againe In this sort shall the vngodly fall into the blacke and gastly prison full of confusion and vtter desolation Esay 66. But what tongue can expresse the innumerable sundrie sorts of torments in that place addressed for the wicked There their bodies shall be broyled with furious flames cōtinually there their soules shall be consumed with the worme of conscience which will neuer cease his gréenous gnawing There shall be that incessant howling and gnashing of téeth whereof the Scriptures treateth in so many places There these vnhappie wretches surseysed with cruell dispaire and rage shall waxe wood against GOD and themselues in suche dispiteous wise that they shall deuoure their owne fleshe and in a franticke moode rent it with their nayles crashing their téeth togither and spilling their Intrailes with sorrowe and sighing blaspheming and denying continually their creator that hath adiudged them to such sharpe punishments There euery of them shall crie out vpon his cursed condition and vnfortunate byrth estsoones repeating those pittifull bewaylinges and wofull wordes of patient Iob Iob. 3. but with a minde and intent farre contrarie to his These bee the wordes Curst be the day wherin I was borne and the night in whiche it was sayd A man is come into the worlde let that day be turned into darknesse let it not be reckoned of God nor beautified with light let it be ouerwhelmed with darknesse and shadowe of death let it be full fraught with obscuritie and bitternesse let that night be ouercast with a black cloude let not that day be numbred among dayes and moneths of the yeare Why did not death receiue me so soone as I was issued out of my mothers wombe why was I not carried from the place of my byrth straight to my graue why was I lulled in my mothers lap or why did she giue me suck This shall be their melodie their mydnight mattens their morning and euening prayer O filthie tongues which babble of nothing else but brawling and blasphemie O wretched cares which heare no other things but wofull mourning O vnhappie eyes whose obiect is miserie vppon miserie O wretched bodies who haue for your harbour a fierie fornace In what case shall they then be who héere earst wallowed in wealth and wantonnesse O what fléeting delight hath wrought continuall gréefe O what wofull habitations are addressed for you Now gone is all your gallant glée and iollitie wherein you delighted for a moment for which ye now lament eternally Now what doo your treasures auayle you where is your pompe and pleasure become the seuen fertile yeares are now ended quite and in place thereof are now succéeded the seuen barren yeares which shall so consume the abundance of those which are passed that there shall not remaine any one shadow or shewe thereof Therefore all your former felicitie is drenched and wrapped vp in the waues of wretchednesse and are now driuen to such straights and scarcitie that not so much as one droppe of water shall be granted vnto you wherwith ye might somwhat asswage the raging thirst which vexeth you so furiously neyther shall your wonted prosperitie reléeue your miserie but rather thereby ye shall be more fiercely afflicted For therein is accomplished this saying of Iob Iob. 21.24.25 that the sugred soppes of the vngodly shal be at the last deuoured with wormes Which S. Gregory in his Moralls expoundeth in this sort The memory of their wonted ioyes maketh their present paine to séeme more bitter by calling to minde how braue and frolike they haue bene and how base and vile they now are come and howe for loue of that which so soone slipte away they suffer that which neuer shall haue end Then shall they perceiue euidently the subtil slights of the enemie and being called to their account shall mutter too late these sayings of Salomon Sap. 5. Woe vnto vs wretches howe apparaunt is it now vnto vs that wée haue strayed from the trade of trueth that the light of instice hath not shined vpon vs and that the sunne of intelligence hath not risen ouer vs. Wée haue wasted and wearied our selues in the crooked and crabbed way of wickednesse but we haue not stepped one foote in the plaine and easie path which leadeth to righteousnesse What are we now abettered by our Princely traine and treasure All these thinges are now vanished as the fléeting shade and as the swift Courser chased vppon the spurre as a shippe driuen with the tide and tempest which leaueth behinde no print of his passage This and such like in the infernall pitte shall bee the talke of those which haue bene offendors For that the hope and trust of sinne is like vnto chaffe chased with the winde or as the skumme and froath of the Sea dispearsed with the waues as the smoke sodeinly dissolued into the ayre or as the remembraunce of a pylgrime passing by the way These be there the complaintes and this the perpetual penance of the vngodly which shall not assist them at all because the time is passed wherein they might haue bene reléeued hereby Come therefore in the time of grace and repentaunce and you that haue eares receiue the sounde aduise of our Lorde vttered by the Prophet saying Iere. 13. Serue and glorifie God before the
THE CONVERsion of a Sinner Faithfully translated out of Italian by M. K. Psalm 36. vers 27. Declina a malo fac Bonum Leaue sinne ere sinne leaue thee do good And both without delay Lesse fit he will to morrow be Who is not fit to day LONDON Printed by Thomas Creede for I. P. To the Reader I Doo heere present vnto thy fauourable view most curteous and gentle Reader this Pamphlet which wanting a particular Patron commeth as it were a begging vnto thee for no lesse then thy whole selfe and that chiefly for thine owne good The way to protect it is to direct thy life by it to suffer it to possesse thee assoone as thou hast possest it which if thou be so happie to accomplish it will teach thee to win Loue by feare Life by death yea euerlasting happinesse by the transitorie troubles of this wretched world And to giue it iust praise in a word it is a worke of the learned and spirituall Granado aptly translated by a vertuous Gentleman into our English Lamentationes Let Dread of paine for sinne in after time Let Shame to see thy selfe ensnared soe Let Greefe conceiued for foule accursed crime Let Hate of sinne the worker of thy woe With Dread with Shame with Greefe with Hate enforce To deawe the cheeks with teares of deep remorce Carmen So Hate of sinne shall make Gods Loue to grow So Greefe shall harbour Hope within thy hart So Dread shall cause the flood of Ioy to flow So Shame shall send sweete Solace to thy smart So Loue so Hope so Ioy so Solace sweete Shall make thy soule in heauenly blisse to fleete Vae Woe where no Hate doth no such Loue allure Woe where such Greefe makes no such Hope proceed Woe where such Dread doth no such Ioy procure Woe where such Shame doth no such Solace breed Wo where no Hate no Greefe no Dread no Shame No Loue no Hope no Ioy no Solace frame Non tardes conuerti ad Deum A brief Treatise exhorting sinners to repentance commonly called The Conuersion of a sinner The Argument Sinners are commonly coÌ„uerted to God through feare and dread Who if they read and well weigh holy writ would tremble and quake considering the iminent perils wherein they dwell and would diuert from their wicked wayes to the path of perfection thereby the better to ridde themselues from the gnawing gripes of a giltie conscience and dreadfull torments due vnto sin which otherwise God threateneth vppon them The first Chapter WE reade in the diuine Scriptures that God before he defaced vtterly rased the Citie of HierusaleÌ„ by Nabuchodonozor king of Babylon sayd to the Prophet Ieremie in this wise Iere 32. Take a booke not written in before and write therein that which I haue said vnto thée against Iuda and against Israel from the first day I began to talke with thée euen vntill this present day and publish it in the presence of all the people thereby to prooue whether this Nation vnderstanding the manifold miseries I minde to bring vpon theÌ„ will reuolt from their iniquities that in so dooing I may haue compassion vppon them pardon their offences and cease to exercise the whippe of my wrath which I haue alreadie prepared The Scripture addeth further that Baruch Scribe to this Prophet pronouncing that which hee had written in the open audience assembly of the people and Princes such horrour and feare fell amongst them that as meÌ„ amazed each beheld others considering the heapes of woes and wretchednesse which then was vttered before them This is the way gentle Reader that God then practised and hath don many times since to daunt mens hearts and violently to wrest them from their wickednesse as the most effectuall and forcible meanes that may bee founde to that purpose For such and so great are the things which the Scriptures and our fayth daylie telleth vs in the fauour of vertue and hatred of vice that if men would reade them attentiuely and ponder them aduisedly there is no doubt but their hearts would relent and their flesh tremble thereat considering the dreadfull daungers wherein they dwell Wherefore the chéefest thing that the Prophet desired aboue all others Deut. â—2 for the redresse of this vncurable maladie was this when hée said I would GOD this senselesse generation which are vtterlye deuoyde of counsell did know and throughly foresée what will happen vpon them which if they did as in dutie they are bound to doo they could not possibly procéede or coÌ„tinue longer in their so crooked course of life But they are all sunke in the vile sinke of sensuall delights some hunt after honours some for high promotions and dignities others beating theyr braynes day and night how to cloath curiously theyr carraine corps and to accomplish their carnall concupiscence haue no time eyes nor heart to looke to their owne estate and with the eyes of their minde to meditate vppon these things whereof the Prophet speaketh very properly Osea 7 saying Behold Ephraim is like vnto a Doue deceiued that hath no heart For the wicked haue heart wit and will inough to loue to couet and to count againe and againe vppon the pelfe of this world but they haue neither witte nor will once to thinke vppon the glory of the worlde to come which is so infinite and so inestimable that if the least part thereof bee exactly tried and examined in the minde it would suffice to euacuate the filthy smoake which hath shut vp the eyes of their vnderstanding and to make them to acknowledge and confesse their owne errour For this cause therefore beeing moued principally I haue thought it very requisite to set downe certaine perswasions tending to this purpose to the view of al that list to read or write them Following héerein the example of the Prophet Ieremie to shew not onely the gréeuous calamities that God hath prepared for the vniust but also the perfect blisse that he hath prouided for his seruants the godly that the euill disposed returning from their wicked race may be receiued into the fauour and mercy of God released of their trespasses and deliuered froÌ„ all those punishments which God menazeth vpon them in holy scriptures The Argument A Christian ought to consider his profession that he is subiect to death and must render a straight account in the other life of all his doings here Where he shall discerne sensibly the cryes and griefes intollerable wherwith death sinne rewardeth the vngodly both here and in the world to come there neither the beautie and fine feature of the body neither the flattery of false fortune nor yet the pompe of stately dignitie shall ought preuaile to withstand the wrath of the iust Iudge against the wretched sinner Chap. II. TAking my first entry in that which is most obiected to our sences Remember that thou art a Christian and a man Concerning thou art a man hold it for a ground infallible that
thou shalt die after which death because thou art a Christiā be sure thou shalt giue vp a reckoning of thy life forepassed Of this the faith which we professe wil not permit vs to doubt that other dayly experience doth confirme assuredly so that none can shunne or escape the one nor the other Be he Pope Prince or Emperour there shall come a time wherein eyther hee shall sée bright day continually or vgly night incessantly That time shall come without al doubt yet thou knowest not when whether it will be to day or to morrow In what time thou now readest this writing whole and sounde in all thy sences and members measuring the vayes of thy life according to thy businesse and delights shalt sée thy selfe in a bedde with a candle in thy hand attending the dint of death and sentence pronounced against humaine kinde which by no manner suite may bee released There shall be presented vnto thée the depriuation of all earthly delights the insupportable payne and passion of death the ende and last Pageant of thy life the horrour of thy graue the cursed condition of thy body allotted to be deuoured of woormes But the wretched estate of the soule will bee much more gréeuous vnto thée which béeing yet in the body knoweth not after an houre or two where his habitation shall be assigned Then in a moment thou shalt sée thy selfe sette before the tribunall seate of God almightie blaming and accusing vnto him thine owne naughtie life There thou shalt clearely discerne she foule enormious crimes whereof thou art guiltie and shall curse ten thousand times the day in which thou diddest transgresse the commaundements of God and the delight which stirred thée thereunto Then shalt thou meruaile at thy selfe how for so brickle pleasures as are those which thou imbrasedst diddest hazard thy selfe to endure perpetuall torments whereof thou now beginnest to haue a taste and smack for that the ioyes béeing now quite vanished away and the doome due vnto thée approaching neare that slender substance which was in them loosing his essence and beeing seemeth that it was nothing at all But the remorse and sting wherwith they presently prick and presse thy conscience appeareth to bée of inestimable force and efficacie Perceiuing therefore how for such transitorie trifles thou art at poynt to be bereaued of so incomparable felicitie béeing abashed thereat considerest thine owne distresse for that thou hauing runne out thy race there resteth no longer continuance of life nor leysure of repentance neither thy worldly fréendes neither the Idols to whom thou hast auowed the whole trauaile and terme of thy life can assist or succour thée at all yea those things which earst thou louedst most tenderly will be héere vnto thee the cause of grétest gréefe Tell me I pray thée when thou shalt sée thy selfe plunged in this perplexitie whither wilt thou turne what wilt thou doo to whom wilt thou crye To go backe it is impossible so goe forwarde intollerable to remaine as thou art thou mayest not what then wilt thou doo Then sayth God by the mouth of the Prophet the Sun shall not bee séene of the vngodly in the midday and I will bring darknesse vppon them in the bright day and I will conuert their pleasaunt sports to bitter plaints their dauncing and dallying to dolour and deadly dread Oh what wordes bee these Ezech. 32 The Sunne shall go downe in the midday because she huge heape of sinne then ouerwhelming the wicked which séeing by the iust iudgement of God the course of their life and time of repentance to b◠abridged many of them are so appalled with feare that they fall to flat dispayre of the mildenesse and mercy of GOD. And abyding yet in the middest of the day for so much as is remaynent of their mortall life which is the very time to merit or not to merit it séemeth vnto them that they haue no longer respect to doo good or euill but are vtterly excluded of both verily the passion of feare is of great force and vehemencie which maketh things that bee farre from vs séeme to bee present and of a trifle rayseth a tragedie If the consideration of this causeth them sometime to quake a little what then shall the feare of their vndoubted and iust ieopardie cause them to doo They béeing yet in this life beginne to suffer sensibly the gréefe and reproach of the Reprobate and in one very moment are both quick and dead For bewayling the present pleasures which they must forsake beginne to séele the future miserie which so much they feare They holde them most happie which tarry here behinde whereby they are prouoked to enuie which greatly augmenteth their griese To those the Sunne goeth downe at noone dayes for so much as which way soeuer they caste theyr eyes they sée themselues debarred on euery side from accesse to Heauen and that no beame or sparke of comfort appeareth vnto them for if they regarde the bountie of God they sée how sore they haue offended him if they behold his iustice they see him in a manner rigorously to rush vppon them for that hitherto the time and tide hath béene at their becke but now Gods turne is at hande If they looke backe to their life forepassed they sée what accusations groweth therof If to the time present they sée themselues to pecke ouer the pearch by péecemeale If they looke forwarde a little further they beholde the Iudge attending for their accounts Alasse what shall the séely wretches doo béeing atteinted with so many trespasses and affrighted with such furious feares at once For this cause the Prophet said that the bright day shall be turned into darkenesse thereby to giue vs notice that those things whereof the wicked are wont to take their greatest consolation should then be vnto them the cheefest cause of their discomfort It is a good thing I graunt for a man to sée his sonnes his friendes his house his worldly workes and all that he loueth besides but then this chearefull light shall bee altogither conuerted to profound darknesse for that all these things shall heape more heauinesse and shall become most bitter persecuters of their affectioned louers For as by nature and common custome we take no small delight in the present possession of those thinges which we loue and like well So likewise the losse thereof bringeth excessiue gréefe Therefore let the swéete children depart out of their fathers sight when hée lyeth at poynt of death and lette the mother also absent her selfe that shee may not giue and receiue by her presence so many sharpe assaults of sorrowe And his departure béeing into so far countries his iourney through so straunge and vnknowne waies the pinching smart which hee abideth will not permit him to haue confidence in any thing neyther will graunt him to take his leaue of his fréends If thou standest now vppon the same termes I spake of thou shalt well perceiue I haue not swarued from the truth