am sure that my redemer liueth that with these eies I shall see him Though I do heer want bread to quench the crie of hunger and drinke to coole the heate of my burning stomach though I haue neither cloth to apparell mee nor friend to comfort me nor place to lodge in yet beholde I am sure that my redeemer liueth and that with these eies I shall see him If thou be a spirituall Lazar and wantest the crums of com fort if the diuell lay thine own sinnes before thee to the ende thou mayest eat with him the bread of desperation yet run to the lodge of comforte and there sing thou in spight of thy sinnes of Satan and al his hellish hounds I am sure that my redeemer liueth and that with these eies I shall see him In this lodge of comfort S. Iohn dooth finger out to thy hungrie soule the food of life saieng beholde the lambe of God that hath taken awaie the sinnes of the world But what was this lambe crucified dyd he not die yes and rose the thirde day a conquerour ouer sinne death hel the diuel and al his angels But yet perchanse thou wilt not beleeue it if thou doe not come hyther Thomas sayeth Christ and thrust in thy finger Dooest thou not beleeue it then come hither and trie trie and then truste This side of Christ is the sole lodge of rest for all spirituall Lazars that hunger and thirste after theyr saluation Marie Magdalen that was possessed with so many diuels Peter that had once twise yea the third time denied his maister Christ yea the theefe on the crosse by faith leapte into this side of safetie and lodge of Christ Iesus This lodge is his wounds which hee had on the crosse to heale vs which woundes alwaies are open for al st 〈…〉 ng Thomasses to harbour and to lodge in For at what time soeuer a sinner wil repent him of his sinnes I will blot al his sins out of my remembrance saith the Lord. Here is a lodge for al Lazars that grone in spirit All such as are heauie and laden heare and follow that proclamation of Baptist Repent al that with father Dauid weepe learne to wet the couch of their harts with the tears of their groning soules This lodge of comfort is open to all it is denied to none that repent haue they beene neuer so greuous sinners Besides these two sortes of Lazars there are some that are rich in temporal blessings and yet very Lazars in grace couetous men and vsurers they doo not onelie want that they haue but by euer seeking more and more they drowne theyr seelie soules in sinne and for a lodge of comfort they harbour in hellish Aegypt Thus was Diues the glutton a Lazar hee had plentie of all things and yet hee was not so riche in grace as to bestowe a crum of bread vpon Lazarus and therefore dooth hee nowe thirst for a drop of water and cannot get it to ease the furye of his tormenting toong Diues is the ringleader of the dance to al carelesse ritch men that haue departed this life as couetous wretches But vnto them that are yet aliue although they haue been a long time disciples of Diues yet are the woundes of Iesus Christ open to lodge them against the stormes of a frowning conscience Yea it is open for al sinners who are Lazars by nature and want the verie crums of goodnes they gape to receiue vs and they are alwaies fresh and greene Loe a fountaine of Christs pretious and outstreaming blood wherein al that repent are washed from their leprosie and deliuered from the sting of iniquitie for euer In the worlde there is nothing but miserie it is nothing but a kingdome of calamitie and the wounds of Christ are a lodge of al rest where ther is no paine no sorrow no vexation no trouble but all ioye euen such ioy as passeth al con ceipt to the which the Lord of his mercy bring vs al Amen A retrait from sinne Wherein is sounded as with a shrill trumpet in the eares of all men what damnable daungers depend vpon continuance in sin neglect of repentance abuse of the acceptable time of grace and other excellent meanes daily mouing men to the amendment of their finneful life made by the sayd E. H. COnsidering with my selfe the frailetie of man and the dangerous trappes of Satan which he hath laid in euerie corner of this wicked worlde to catch vs his craftie deuises which he worketh con tinuallye to snare vs and the drowsines of man as carelesse to auoid them I thought good to make this base retrait from sinne that beeing called from straieng we might come vnto the true sheepefold and so bee saued And here I might begin with wondering at the churlish nature of man who being so often called by the voice of God and his deputies from sinne doth yet notwithstanding walow therein like swine in filth and mire Duste and ashes shall the Lord himselfe crie vpon thee Sinne not and wilte thou not heare him if not sinning bee thy soules safetie wilt thou be so vnmindfull of thy selfe as to suffer thy gratious lord to haue the repulse Shal the king command his subiect and bee obeyed and the king of glorie commaund thee not to sinne and not bee obeied shal the good and trustie subiect be so dutiful to the king who is yet but duste and ashes and wilt thou shew thy self so rebellious against God who is the God of comfort father of mercie O thou drowsie creature awake bee wise Consider if God being wisedome doo cal thee from sinne then is it follie to follow sinne If God being the father of mercie doo cal thee from sinne the mother of endles misery then ô wretched creature returne repent least for mercie thou doo reap the rewarde of sinne which is death eternal But why should wee by sinning make our selues thrall to so tyrannous a maister as Satan and despise the cal of so lo uing a Sauiour as Iesus Christ crieng vnto vs Sinne not The seruice of Satan is miserable bondage the seruice of Iesus Christe is a blessed libertie it is a freedome that passeth al freedomes and so much the rather to be embraced as the other is myserable and to be detested yea it is with both hands to bee receiued forsomuch as our Lord Iesus Christ in commanding requireth it For being bondslaues of Satan so vile a varlot shall the Lord offer vs his seruice which is perfect libertie and shall we refuse it and not rather receue it Eue did so muche as obeie the lieng serpent in paradise shal we denie obedience to Iesus Christ she obeied to sin but her obedience wroght hir miserie and shal not we obey the Lord that our ende maye be felicitie For how can wee deseruing eternall miserie bee accepted to blisse if that by disobedience we prouoke to wrath the onelie purchaser of mercie I saie therfore where Christ crieth
desperation noe I wil not For the sunne of mercie can disperse the thick myst and great cloude of mine iniquitie the parching beame of thy sunne O Lord is not onlie able to calme but also to drie vp the angrie floud of sinne and so to dash the ship of Satan that diuelish pirat against the sands So that no storme of the Diuel shal ouerturne mee no raging blaste of sinne shall dismaie me no thundercracke of biting conscience shal sinke the little barke of my weake faith which is grounded vpon a rocke and ouercommeth the world Indeed if I were left to my selfe then were there noe waie but sinkinge and shipwracke but thanks be to thee O gratious god for it thou hast not left me to my self to wade in the Gulfe of desperation but thou hast spred foorth the beames of thy mercie and by the heate of thy charitie dryed the gulfe and kept mee from danger to thee therefore bee al glorie Amen The 4. Morning praier THe glorious facc of the sunne which sheweth it selfe casteth his beames ouer the whole world I take it for an argument and earnest penie of thy good wil towarde thy children in the number of whome I account my selfe though cheefe of sinners and not worthie to lose the latchet of thy sonnes shâ—â—e For if we enioye suche a benefite in this strange countrie togither with thine enimies then what ioyous sightes what store of thy goodnes shall wee reape in our natural countrie the blissefull land of Canaan where we shal not behold this worldly sunne and eie of the world but thee euen thee good Lord face to face the sunne of glorye and onelie starre of maiestie Such ioyes O Lord shal we haue in the beholding of thee as neyther eie hath seene nor eare hath heard nor hart euer conceiued Such ioys I say as passe the reach not onelie of man but also of Aungels and archaungels to esteeme of Blessed are the doore keepers of this house of ioye where thou O Lorde the sunne of righteousnes doost most clearely spread foorth the beames of thy diuine maiestie Ah! how long shal I liue in prison how long shall I iournie in this bodie of sinne before I see thee Lord let thy kingdome come Come Lord Iesus come I beseech thee Amen The 1. Euening praier O Lorde it is of mercie without merite that I am a branch of the vyne Iesus that I am thy house and temple of the holie Ghost It is of iustice that thou haste appointed thine house to be a place of praier and of dutie therefore that we should pray vnto thee For thus O Lord I thank thee that thou hast made mee thy childe to lodge thee and I acknowledge that of dutie I am bounde to serue thee But giue me O Lorde the grace of thy spirite to conduct mee in the waie of thy wil clense or create a new hart within me that I may be a fit lodging for thee and yeelde vp the sauourie sacrifice vnto thee which thou requirest of euerye Christian I meane the sacrifice of prayer the sacrifice of the heart which sauoureth sweetelie vnto thee And at this time in hope of the assistance of thy spirit 〈…〉 thee that as thou 〈…〉 cie couered me this day vnder thy winges of safetie so thou wilt defend and keepe me this night from storming Sathan who is woont not onlie by day but also and that especially by nighte to vndermine man when his senses are fettered in bandes of rest But I doo hope good Lorde that as I am then most vnable to withstande the buffets of Satan so thou wilte be most readie to succour me partlye bicause thereby thou shalte vnlocke the rich chest of thine infinite mercie and partlye because thou louest euerye thinge which thy handes haue made I will laye me downe therefore in hope of thy protection to whom be al glorie Amen The 2. Eueuing praier O Moste mightie and wise God powr into me aboundantlie the oile of thy grace vnfetter my stammering toong that I may vtter and vnrippe the strings of my blind want hart that I may sufficrentlie conceiue the infinitenes of thy fauour vnto me But what shoulde I saie of thine infinite goodnesse which thou haste shewed vppon mee where shall I beginne or where shall I ende to discourse of thy mercie I was nothing and what did mooue thee to make â—â—e a manne endued with reason and whie not a tree a frog a beast I am brought to a nonplus O Lorde what shall I saie I did disgrace thy goodnes and doo deface by my dailie sinnes the image of innocencie so that I was not onely borne wrapped in damnable estate but also daily incur the danger of dam nation and yet doost thou vnderprop mee in the promised seede in that blessed seede of Abraham euen thine own and one only beloued sonne Iesus Christ by whom thou hast redeemed mee My bodie and soule were maruelously eclipsed for want of grace and are dailie filthied in the puddle of iniquitie the reward whereof was death But what mooued thee I being a cast a way euen thine vtter enimie to wash and bathe me in the streame of thy sonnes pretious bloud I cannot tell good Lorde it was thy mercy to thee therefore bee the glorie both now and euer Amen The 3. Euening praier O Good GOD the sun is gon downe the web of this day is spun almost and night is at hand After day suc cedeth night after light darknes after faire weather a 〈…〉 die firmament and frowning element There is a myst 〈…〉 locked in this good God for thereby thou doest lesson vs of our mortalitie Our birth and life is like the daie our Death is like the night as the day perisheth so dooth our life vannishe with the vapour and as night succeedeth the daie so death followeth life the tearme and period of these our daies ô sweet Iesus of thy mercie beat this lesson into my head and roote it firmelie into my heart and take away the vaile from my minde that I may not onelie know and acknowledge but hourelye remember that I am mortall For it would bee a bridle to restraine and keepe me from raunging licentiouslie and a spurre to incite mee to liue holilie all the continuance of this my pilgrimage Thy spirit hath spoken it saiyng Remember thine end and thou shalt neuer perish Giue mee therefore thy grace that I may remember faithfully the night of this my bodye when I shall sleepe in the bosome of the earth til y e trumpet shall sound cal me to iudgement Help mee Lorde before this night Lord saue me or else I perishe Amen The 4. Euening praier O Louing Lorde of labouring and laden heartes looke downe with the eâ—e of thy pittie see the altar of the crosse where thy sonne thine onelie 〈…〉 is slaughtered 〈…〉 ther of heauen his 〈…〉 bored his head crowned with thornes his thirst quenched with vineger his side wounded and streaming bloud attend
not swallowed vp in griefe and sorrowe Lorde sweete Lord thou sendest thy seruants to cal me to the marriage thy fatlinges and oxen are killed and Dinner is readie Lorde giue mee grace to come vnto thee that beeing freed from sinne and eased of sorrow the fruit of sinne I may mary thee in the couenant of thy mercie and banquet with thee face to face at the table of ioye in thy heauenlie Ierusalem Lord louing Lorde and gratious God blesse the fruite of my wombe and take it into thy famylie For I beleeue Lorde that thou becamest of God the sonne of man to make it and all other whome thy father hath giuen thee the Children of God thy heauenlie Father According to my faith therefore O Lord be it vnto me Open the doore of thy mercie and lodge my child in the vertue of thy couenant that being my God and the God of my seede I maie glorifie thee both now and euer and offer vp the sacrifice of praise the fruites of a ioyfull spirit vnto thee Lord and Father of heauen it is thy wil that al men should be saued thy wil be doone and saue mee by thy mercie I beseech thee Amen A praier for the prisoner O Liuing GOD and louinge Father of Heauen I haue stood in the waie of sinners and wasted my days in iniquitie for the which I am iustlie tied in bands and shall suffer the shippewrack of this fraile and fading life O Lorde comfort me with thy holy spirit against the terror of death and so roote in mee the hope of saluation that I may looke in stedfast saith after the night of my passion to suppe and to be with thee in heauenly paradise Euill hath beene my life euen from the wombe haue I warred with euill nature against thee and to my power sought to destroy my selfe and to crucify my Iesus again most villanouslie But yet O. Lorde and father of mercie I beleeue verilie that al thy sonnes bloud is not dried vppe I am persua ded that there are some drops of grace reserued for all laden and labouring publicans and therefore comming vnto thee I crie and cal Lorde haue mercie vpon me a sinner Lorde O Iesu thou sonne of Dauid haue mercy vpon me Remember thy bloo die passion and with the testimonie of most thy holy spirite seale vp in my heart my saluation that I may die in thee and so liue with thee for euer Amē A praier to be said at the houre of death FAther of heauen into thy handes I doo commend my soule Lorde increase my faith strengthen my weaknes fortifie my soule with the Testimonie of thy fauour against the feare of death which is dreadfull vnto me O gratious God looke not vppon my merits for they are none nor vpon my life for it hath been very naught and abhominable but looke vpon Christ thy deer sonne and my louinge Iesus who beeing slaughtered vpon the altar of the Crosse crieth vnto thee for me and my brethren Father forgiue thē Thy sonne O Lorde died to deliuer vs was bound to lose vs out of hellish Aegypt that being freed by him wee might alwaies and solie serue him But mercie Lorde mercie is all my sute for I haue prophaned his pretious passion by my euill conuersation and done what laie in my power to crucifie him againe but notwithstanding Lord thou art alwaies mercifull and of great pittie and I beleeue verely that thy sonnes mercie is not abated who cried for the butchering Iewes Father forgiue them Louing God therefore burie mine iniquities and accept thy sonnes crie as a satisfaction for my sinne Lord haue mercie vpon me a sinner Amen A praier for the truth HEresie O Lorde is the spurre of dunghil cocks and hirelinges which faint and will not fight in thy quarrell against the wolfe for the sheepe of thy pasture Let not this spur blind the eies of christians let it not shut vppe the windowe of thy will Thy truth defende O Gratious God and with the whippe of thy iudgement scourge al penie gospellers and scowre thy fathers house which must be a house of praier that thy worde may be truly preached which is thy power vnto saluation Grant vnto vs the pure bread of life let it not bee sowred with the leuen of vnseasoned Rabbins least thy truth being eclipsed with euill doctrine be vtterly buried and so thy Lambes for hunger starued The babes of thy familie do hunger gape for meat they dailie crie vnto thee Father of heauen deliuer vs from euil Come Lorde Iesus come for thou art truth and the onely teacher of truth Roote vppe out of thy garden the weedes of heresie and hinder the blaste of slaundering Trumpetters whoe dooe nothing else but barke againste thy truth and bite the good names of others and al to the defacing of thy Gospel Amen A praier for the ploughman IT is thy iuste reward O GOD to man for his trecherie and disobedience against thy maiestie that he should get his liuing by the sweat of his browes I confesse therefore O thou iust God and louing father that I haue merited this bondage that thou maiest be iustified when thou art iudged Giue me thy grace O Lord that I may be diligent and faithful in my vocation to doo my dutie not so much for feare as for conscience Giue me thy grace that I may serue with a willing minde and a free conscience that beeing subiect to a Christian in body yet I may beare rule ouer sinn and Satan in a stedfast fayth and feare of thee Gard defend mee with thy grace and fense me with thy fauour Vphold my feet frō slipping staie mee that I fall not and if I fal raise me vp that I may not lie in the mire of desperation when sinne shall assault mee Plow my hart with the threats of thy pearsing lawe and harrowe it with a greeuous memorial of my omitied duetie but so O Lord that thou in the end doo so we in it the seede of thy Gospell the bread of immortalitie that I may liue in thee and by thee now and for euer Amen A praier for the blessing of his labour SVch was the fall of Adam O gratious God so great was his rebelliō against thy diuine maiestie that of desert thou maiest forsake him and staie the hand of thy boun teous liberalitie Notwithstanding Lorde because that thou hast commanded all men to aske and allured them to craue things necessarie by thy promise that hee that asketh shal haue therefore O Lorde in hope of thy wonted and offered mercie I come vnto thee in the names of Christ thy beloued sonne and my louinge husband desiring thee in the streames of thy bloodie teares to wash me from my sinnes to burie them in the bottome of the sea and to scatter them as chaffe before the winde that I being taken into thy fauour reconciled to thee in the blood of the immaculate lambe may looke in assurance for thy
appearance of the sunne in fulnes of comfort He desired to se the day but could not see it which is nowe paste wherin the sonne of God hath opened fully the storehouse of ioy and yet beeing wearie of the burthen of his bodie and willing to forsake it as a most stinking prison house without feare of death he crieth out Oh how long shall I lie in this prison Paule ioineth hands with father Dauid euen Paule that notable Organne of the holie Ghost who saide of himselfe It is not I that liue but Christ that liueth in mee Hee that in body saw the Lorde and knew that as a vapour his life should vanish so he in a small space should suppe with his mayster Christe in heauen after his ascension yet carriyng about himselfe this case of the soule accounteth himself wretched and therefore cryeth out Oh wretch that I am who shal deliuer me from this body of sin As if hee shoulde haue saide I knowe that the time will come when men will faint in faithe and broch infidelitie when this life shall bee more loued than wisely lothed this bodie more esteemed than godlinesse wil suffer I knowe foolish parentes will be so be witched with the immoderate loue of their children that they wil grudge at the will of God when he calleth them and sorrowe and sighe a long time after their departures which is both sinne and follie But I tell them that they ought to reioise bicause they are rested from theyr laboures bicause they are passed from Death to life because they are blessed For wretch O wretche that I am who shal deliuer mee out of this body of sinne The bodie which you haue lost is but a bodie of sinne it is but a prison of the soule as father Dauid speaketh it is but a burthen of the soule so that by Death they are deliuered from sinne to safetie from imprisonment to libertie from a yoke of myserie to endles felicitie and therefore oh wretch that I am who shal deliuer me from this body of sinne Paule indeed knewe that this world was an exile and Heauen his contrey that he was a pilgrim this world but an Inne heauen his home nay at a sight of his owne Countrey when hee was rapt hee saw at his owne home whence by sin hee was banished in Adam such ioyes as eie neuer sawe nor eare heard nor heart euer conceiued These are the ioyes which shal endure for euer for number vnmeasurable for durance perpetual and without end or period And therefore let euerye Christian bee readie and willing in ioy of spirit to welcome death in token thereof learne to crie out with Paule Oh wretch that I am who shal deliuer me from this bodye of sinne Lette vs account our selues wretched as long as we carry this weede of earth aboute vs vntill our soules bee vncased and wee deliuered from this body of sinne But if examples will not bee of force to schoole vs yet let nature speake and preuaile The seconde causes whereof you are made are the foure elements which concur to the constitution of euerye mixt creature and being euer at combat doe also naturally worke the shipwracke of the same according to the common axiome rule of nature The causes of corruption are all one with the causes of gene ration and therefore vnlesse we wil denie nature and be vn thankful to God for our creation we may not in anye case feare death which is mothered vpon nature our common and generall mother But if neyther example nor Nature will or can preuaile yet let the authoritye of our Heauenlie Creatour and his wisedome compell vs to welcome death and to accept willinglye the condition of our bodies Our bodies and soules God created he made them by the power of his almightie hande and hath lente them vnto vs but for a time to vse til mother earth require the bodie and he our soules For as of earth wee came so into earth wee must returne againe therefore vnles we will be vnthankfull to nature and rebellious to God wee must bee willing to paie our debts vnto him least if we doo it not he cast vs into prison til we haue paid the vttermost farthing So much for thy bodie Now consider thy soule As thy bodie is a prison so is thy soule during this pilgrimage a prisoner as it is a body of sin so is thy soule lodged in a most stinking prison as it is of earth earthy so is thy soule an exile from heauen heauenlie ther fore to feare death it is to feare the deliuery of thy soule from prison which is meere follie it is to wish a stinking lodging and a filthie cage to dwell in and euer to carie it about thee which is a very harde and extreame misery it is to wish thy continuall banishmente from the ioyefull realme of heauen thy natural countrey which is extreame madnes So that vnles you wil be counted foolish wretched carelesse and mad who are willed to be as wise as serpents you muste in no case feare death which is the best ghest that euer came to the godlie For now there is not cōdemnation to them that are in Christ Iesus but blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. The second weapon Consider thy life IT is short vncerteine and miserable It is short for man that is borne of a woman hath but a shorte time to liue the daies of man are the dayes of an hyrelinge yea winde and nothing as father Iob telleth vs. A man in his time is but grasse and flourisheth as a flower of the field For as soone as the wind goeth ouer it it is gone and the place thereof knoweth it no more as the prophet Dauid teacheth There is a time to be borne and a time to die And man is like a thing of naught his daies passe away like a shaddowe It is the proclamation of the Lorde vttered by Esay that al flesh is grasse and al the glorie of man as the flower of grasse And it is tolde vs by Paule that heere we haue no continuing cyttie but wee seeke for one to come This is it which is shaddowed vnto vs in sundrie similitudes Saynt Iames sayeth Our life is euen a vapour that appeereth for a little time and then vanisheth away Our daies on the earth also are but as a shadowe there is none abiding They are like a bubble in the water like a weauers shuttle like a smoke they are like a thought soone conceiued and soone ended Dailie experience dooth teache vs thus muche For wee see that by some storme or other the greene apple falleth before the mellowed fruite the lambe is brought to the slaughterhouse as wel as the sheepe the chicken is killed for the broath as wel and sooner than the cock yoong men passe awaie as wel as old our daies are short our life is as the shadowe Now therefore reason with me Shal we feare
1593. DAVIDS SLING against great GOLIAH Conteining diuers notable Treatises the names whereof folow next after the Epistle to the Reader by E. H. Mat. 26 41. Watch and praie Printed by R. Yardley and Peter Short Cum priuilegio Regiae Maiestatis To the Right Worshipfull Sir George Calueley knight High Sheriffe of the Countie Palantine of Chester increase of worship c. THe earth being the common mother and milch nursse of al liuing creatures 〈…〉 gentlie 〈◊〉 yeldeth a 〈◊〉 more plentiful crop of increase 〈◊〉 possibly be measured than euer at the 〈◊〉 of the husbandman in sowing 〈…〉 A pithie persuasion to thankfulnesse and such a notable motiue to dutifulnes as a better no not the like 〈◊〉 deuised or imagined The consideration whereof 〈◊〉 Worshipfull sinking into mine understanding and compared with the manyfold curtesies which continuâ—ly haue issued from you to my noâ—mal comfort and commoditie hath incensed set me on fire though not as I woulde yet as I could to shewe some manifest signe and argument that I haue your Worshippes goodnesse in freshe and dailie memorie which although I dare not vowe to requite yet wil I do what I can in some respect to deserue Vouchsafe therefore Right Worshipfull in the meane time since I haue no pretious mines to accept and like wel of this my simple mite simple I confesse in common valuation but pretious I dare aâ—oâ—ch in sound iudgement and reason A booke it is which a kinsman of mine not so neere as deere vnto mee at my vrgent request bestowed vpon mee in writing for my priuate vse and peculiar exercise Wherof when I had marked the commoditie and sawe that to communicate the same vnto the flocke of the faithfull were much better and more thanksworthie than to keepe it at home in my cofer impounded as my proper possession and portion of my patrimonye I was won and perswaded at the importunate sute and instance of sundrie my trustie friends who vpon circumspect perusing of the same gaue it due and deserued commendation to consent and agree Authore agrè serente prosus inuito that it should bee published for the common benefite of the multitude Very loth I was I speake my conscience to offend my kinsman and friend in anye pointe of presumption and muche more loath I vtter my secret thought to greeue any godlie and deuout soule by detaining any thinge the vse whereof might increase their comfort But beyng assaulted as I was incessantlie with ve hement perswasions and not able with al my fiue wits to withstand their weakest reason I became willing to bee ordered and ruled as they by discretion mighte dispose me in so honest a request The same not in writing Right Worshipful as I had it but in printe as you haue it being the firstlings of a Cheshire wit gathered in a famous seedeplot of great learning and profound knowledge I present vnto you with suche submission as beseemeth an inferiour to his superiour a clyent to his patrone a welwiller to his benefactor Beseeching you of your accustomed curtesie that as you haue from time to time beene not onely an earnest sauourer and furtherer of godlie and zealous men but also a supporter and mainteyner of vertuous and Christian meanings so it would please you with your title of credit and countenance as with a shield to defend this religious worke againste the dartes of the malicious that vnderpropped with so strong a piller and armed with such fuâ—â—iture of munition and defense it may haue safe conduct and free passage euen through the middest of Gods enimies and so come to the hands of the wel disposed and deuout Thus abruptlie concluding I commit your Worship and al yours to the â—uition and safegard of him who neuer faileth his the Lord God almightie who as hitherto he hath so hereafter he will euen vntil the day of your death I doubt not blesse you with the dew of heauen I meane his grace wherevnto I say Amen Your Worships for sundry causes most dutifully bound WILLIAM BAKER The Epistle to the Reader OVr aduersarie the diuel is so watchfull a lion to deuoure man that as Peter speaketh he roreth and runneth about seeking by al meanes possible to deuouâ—e him Thus his greâ—â—â—nesse to swallowe vs ought to bee a sufficient motiue to make man warie and a forceable meane to raise him out of the daungerous bed of sinne wherein we daylye yea and almoste 〈◊〉 commit spirituall fornication with the 〈◊〉 â—â—sides this at baptisme our sureties in our â—â—halfe did make their protestation before God the father and mother Ierusalem that we shuld leaue the whâ—â—râ—sh embracings of Satan and marrie our selues in holines of lâ—fe vnto Christ no lesse carefullie than be in the vertue of 〈◊〉 couenant mercifully did offer himselfe 〈◊〉 all his pretiâ—us â—ewels at baptisme The marriage was solemnlie celebrated by God the father in the wombe of the virgiâ—â— Marie but at baptisme wee in our owne per sons doe as it were ratifie it protesting that Christ shal be our husband and that from that time we wil take our farewel of the dyuell the world the flesh and al our enmes Thus being married before such witnesses we cannot reclaime our league of chastitie vnlesse we wil haue God himselfe and our mother the Church and Christ himselfe with al his holye espouse to beare witnesse of condemnation against vs to the ioy of Satan our capital aduersarie And therefore where the deuel is called a Dragon with seuen heads for his subtiltyâ— and ten hornes for his crueltie and now is dust and ashes by nature prone to euill and therefore vnable to withstand him it behoueth him to take that for his weapon which may keepe 〈◊〉 safe from the inuasion of Satan and vse that remedie whereby he 〈◊〉 preserue himselfe from periury and that 〈◊〉 praier Wherefore when man is enuironed with enimies when a guilty conscience warreth against him when the world by falshood and the flesh by her allurements is about to deceiue him then is standeth him vpon to take praier in hande that hee maye bee able to conquer al those monstrous Hydras or rather deceitful whors which 〈◊〉 and furnish themselues some way or other to make Christ our Sauiour a â—â—dowe And truely of that man woulde deepely consider with himselfe either that he is a periâ—red person that giueth place to the Dyuell or that he dooth to his power make Christ a weeping widdowe as curssed Ierusalem did or that Satan by trapping him in his whoorish trickes did vtterlie vndoe him it woulde not onlye inuite him but euen enforce him to praier which is the onely meanes that is able to keepe vs true and faithfull wiues to Christ Iesus And therefore the Lord our gratious Sauiour weighing with himselfe not so much mannes naughtinesse for the which bee deserueth a diuorcement as Satans woonderous pollicâ—e and his mothers wombe wherein he married vs and baptisme wherein he dooth apparell vs
or bubble in the water a verie wretch I am good Lord borne in sinne by nature wrapt in iniquitie and so thine vtter enimie worthie to perishe euerlastinglie But see thine owne goodnes sweete Lord thine hands formed mee beeing nothing thy mercie hath preserued mee till this day beeing nought And euen nowe sweete Iesu thou hast sent thy purseuant sicknes to bid me put off the old man put on the garment of faith that I being readie for the mariage may come and marrie thee in the couenant of thy father wherein al the nations of the world by promise are blessed Amen Another LOuing Iesu pittifull Iesu blessed Trinitie haue mercie vpon mee Beholde I am sicke Lorde iustlie buffeted for sinne the mother of euerie mortal infirmitie Yet Lorde louing Iesu pittie me pittie my case Louing father purge mee with Isop clense me from my secret sinnes drie vp the puddle of iniquity with the beams of thy mercy and clense me in the poole of thy pretious blood that this sicknes and infirmity the iust reward and penalty of sin and iniquity may cease and finish Beat me O God ô gratious God O father of heauen beate me in fauour and not in iudgement kisse me with the couenant of grace and be not angrie with mee O louing Iesu ful of pity and pitious compassion I would be clean and if thou wilt Lorde thou canst make me cleane Behold Lord I am sicke the palsie of sinne shaketh euerie part the leprosie of mine iniquitie hath ouer run al my soule and body but yet good Lorde and gratious Iesus if thou wilte thou canst make me cleane For thou art my father Almightie with whome nothing is impossible Lord I aske thy grace giue it mee I seeke it let me finde it I knocke for mercie open O Lord the chest of thy goodnes and enrich me with the iewels of grace that I may reign with thee in glory Amen A confession for the Sicke MY thoughtes my words my deedes al crie vnto mee Thou art a sinner And this doo I confesse vnto thee O Lord I cannot so much as think a good thought much lesse can I speake muche lesse can I doo wel I confesse that in me that is in my fleshe dwelleth no good thinge euen so vile a Creature so wretched a caitife that Satan might iustlie haue claimed my life in the swathecloth beeing borne the childe of wrath and heire of damnation I am a cankered branch of mother Eue that ancient stock of sinne whose heritage is nothing but iniquitie garded with an infinite sea of miserie For out of sinne as out of a filthie puddle or stayned fountaine issued the riuers of sicknes death and damnation with such a streame that they ouerranne and drowned the whole race of Adams curssed progenie So that as I confesse my selfe a sinner so doo I confesse that I am iustlie visited with this rod of sicknes wherwith thou art woont of thy iustice to beate wanton Adam that old man of sinne when he wil not be ruled Beat me therfore beate me O Lord to better me and sinite me enough so thou saue mee as I doo put my truste in thee Let Satan haue no power to harme mee nor the worlde with the baites of vanitie to snare me but defend me from al euil I beseech thee Amen Another O Bleeding Iesus O slaughtered Lambe O sweete babe of the virgin Marie and onlie beloued darling of God behold heere I lie sicke in bodie and sore in soule whome thou hast bought with thy pretious blood Helpe me saue me from sinne the fountaine of sicknes O fountain of mercie For I am a greeuous sinner by nature fettered with iniquitie wherein I was conceiued and borne O Iesu O Christ thou sonne of Dauid O gratious samaritan and piteous shepherd haue mercie vppon me haue mercie vpon me cal me clense me saue me salue me with the merit of thy passion againste the palsie of sinne and iniquitie O lambe of God thou hast taken awaie the sinnes of the worlde thou hast crucified the diuell confirme this faith in mee louing Lorde I beseech thee I beseech thee encrease my faythe and renew a righte spirit within mee Remember Lorde remember sweet Iesus thy crowne of thornes bruzed head thy boared handes nailed feete and crucified bodie Remember the pearsing speare thy wounded side and thy pretious blood that did spin and gush out Remember thy bloudie teares thy great thirst of my saluation and gall and vineger which thou didst drink to saue me and for thy mercie saue me and crie to thy father Father father forgiue him O Iesu be mine aduocate praie praie sweete Iesus praie for me and bestow some drop of thy bloud to wash me Amen A praier against desperation O Lorde I am a greeuous sinner I haue passed broken the banks of thy cōmandements from the wombe til this daie I haue with the pirat Satan sailed in the shippe of iniquity so that I maye saie with Paule I am cheefe of all sinners This must I needes confesse to thee O god of iustice this worm of conscience biteth me What then good Lord shal y e worme deuoure me shal this snake of conscience sting me to death what good Lord is the stream of thy mercy stopped are the riuers of thy grace dried vppe is there no drop of thy bloud left to washe my seelie soule doest thou not cal me saiyng Come vnto mee Yes good Lord and therefore despaire I wil not It is not thy will that anie sinner should perish and thou hast not onely said it but sworneit that thou willest not the deth of a sinner but rather his conuersion and life Behold therefore deere Father I come vnto thee being a greeuous sinner in hope of pardon in the name of Christe thy sonne who by his own testimonie came into this world to saue sinners Hee was content to blot out that obligation which satan hadde against me by the flood of his pretious bloud which issued out of hys glorious side In this poole he hath washed away the leprosie of sinne were it neuer so desperate And in token that he is ready to receiue a sinner hee stretcheth foorth both his sweete armes as ready to embrace and boweth downe his glorious head as willing to kisse the prodigall childe that craueth pardon for his misse-spent daies O Lord and gratious God I haue wasted my daies in vanitie I haue from time to time troden vnder my feete the pearles of Christyan profession euen frō the womb haue I beene a rebellious traitour to thy maiestie a friend to this world to godlines an enimie but nowe O Lorde I crie vnto thee forgiue me forgiue me Now I come vnto thee as thou hast called me now there fore couer me with the winges of thy mercie and tender mee as the hen dooth her chickens least Satan clawe me and so I perish Good Lord accept the bloud of thy sonne the merits of his manhood for a
satisfaction for my sinnes drown them in the streame of thy mercie cast them behinde thee good Lord I beseech thee O sweete Iesus lodge me in thy pretious wounds and look vpon me with thy piteous eie least that bee destroied which thou of thy great goodnes hast made and Christ thy sonne of inestimable loue and infinite charitie hath redeemed thorough his bitter passion This is the totall summe of my sute vnto thee Lord mercie mercie ô father of mercie mercie is the thing that I begge haue mercie vpon me haue mercie vpon me I beseech thee louing Lord haue pitie vpon me Bee thou my shepheard to defende mee my Castell of defense to saue me against the gaping diuel Thou hast store of mercie for them that aske it O Lorde therefore euen for the wounds of thy deere sonne haue mercie vpon me let not sinne sting me to death but lay to my sore soule the salue of thy mercie of thy mercie one drop of thy sonnes bloud a little dewe of thy blessing good Lorde I beseech thee Amen Another O Lorde my thoughtes my wordes mine actions haue taken weapons and waged battell againste mee and Satan that old rebellious traytour taketh part with them to ouerthrowe me thy poore and impotent souldiour He raiseth vp the snake of my conscience to sting me the poison of an euil life to infect mee with the desperat plague of Cains blasphemie and I am but fleshe vnable to withstande the furie of this dragon Oh what shall I doo I am a Sinner as Satan saieth and my conscience telleth mee and the rewarde is death as thy word dooth teach me What then shal I doo shal I die as Iudas O Lord is there no remedie surely my Lorde and my God I despaire in my selfe and confesse my selfe the child of wrath by naturs voice but yet O Lord it is thy voice it is the voice of grace that thy mercie is aboue al thy workes in token whereof thou camest into the world to saue sinners This is the piller that vpholdeth mee from falling this is the rod of iron that dasheth sa tan out of countenance and defeateth the argumentes of my sinnefull conscience Arme me with this buckler of faith in thy meritorious incarnation life and passion that I may not be giuen ouer as a prey to the dragon but crucifie the snakie persuasions of Satan and his companie Amen Another AVoid Satan thou shalte not tempt the Lords seruant thy works are destroied thy bandes are broken thou shalt not take or bind mee Auoid sinne for thou hast loste thy sting thou wast condemned in the fleshe nailed to the crosse and crucified with my Lord Christ vpon the tree Auoid death for thou art dead and hel for thou art swallowed vp in victorie Auoid thou dragon and all thine angelles for Michaell hath beaten thee and broken thy head he hath freed vs from sinne and ledde awaie captiuitye captiue euen hee Satan hath ouermastered thee that crieth out vnto me Feare not for I haue ouercome the world euen he that hath promised to bee with mee till the ende of my pilgrimage and crieth out that if hee bee with mee no man can bee agaynst me no not hell gates to preuaile against me Fight therefore Satanne as long as thou wilte thou shalt bee at length put to the foile for the mightie lion of the tribe of Iuda telleth mee that there is no condemnation to them that be in him that Iesus is the conquerour of the whole worlde and vanquisher of thee fight and rage thou neuer so much Ther fore auoide I saie awaie from me for in Christ haue I passed the sea of my sinnes thy cursed armie if thou folow to pursue mee thou shalt bee drowned in the red sea of Christes bloud to whome be all glorie Amen A praier for the auoidance of Gods wrath QTender harted Ioseph haue mercie vpon me Great is the floud of myne iniquities so great O God of mercie that vnles the banks of thy grace represse it it will ouerrunne and so drowne my see lie soule Drowne my sâ—â—s in the poole of thy mercie cast them into the sea of thy bottomles pity least the smoke of my wickednesse doo smother me and the rod of thy iudgement breake and brooze mee like a potters vessell For the bagge of mine iniquities is so stuffed and the stinge of my sinnes so poisonous and the sent of them so vnsauourye in thy nostrilles O Lorde that if thou wilt obserue it who may abide it the surest piller of thy Church woulde shake the fairest rose would wither the best lamb should abide the slaughter if the beames of thy mercie shoulde not partch and burne vp the ripe and plentious haruest of our iniquities O Lord therfore haue mercie vpon vs and beate vs not with the rod of thy furie but vnder prop the shippe of our weake faith with the anchor of thy mercy that beleeuing in thee we may not perishe but haue euerlasting life Thou hast apesed ô sweet Iesus the wrath of thy father againste sinne conceiued by thy meritorious passion that I might with the holie ones bee holie as thou art But I haue prophaned thy passion by my dailie faults such is the frailtie of the flesh for the which I iust ly may be refused But yet Iesus one drop of fauor bestowe vppon mee and crie For my bloudie passion father forgiue him I beseech thee Amen A praier for remission of Sinnes O Lord what do I dailie but wander in the field of vanitie what is my hart but a filthy prisoÌ„ of corrupt thoughts what is my mouth but a stinking chanell of vaine wordes what are my feete but chariots to bloudshed what are my hands but battellers with charitie what is my heade but a castell of wicked deuises and what is my life but a fardell of iniquitie I am nothing better than a deade tree the roote is perished the bough withered I am fruitles and good for nothinge but for the furie of the flame What then good Lorde shall it bee so I am no better than a deade tree but what shall I burne sweete Iesu O saue me for thy name sake and quicken me create a new hart within me ingraffe me in the true Oliue purge mee that I may bring foorth much fruite and for euer flourishe lyke a tree planted by the riuers side O powre the oile of grace into my defiled heart and season it with the salt of thy mercy least the sume of mine iniquities ascend vppe to thy nostrils and prouoke thy furie against me Powre downe some drops of thy pretious bloud from the clouds of thy mercy to quench out the angrie flame of sinne which I my selfe am not able to put out by the vertuous water of any merite Purge mee therefore with Isop O Lorde and then I shal bee cleane O lambe of God let me eate thy flesh and drink thy bloud that I may liue by thee and cloath me in
fatherlie prouidence Blesse O Lord the curssed earth so fructifie the barren earth with the deawe of heauen that we may haue great cause to glorifie thy name and sufficient for nature againste extremitie to releeue vs with thy store in time of necessity Amen A praier for peace AP pease O gratious God the surging waues of this present euill worlde cut downe the angrie make-bates and graunt vnto vs the peace of thy spirit that liuing in one minde and bearing about vs one wil grounded vpon thy gratious pleasure wee maye bee gathered into one sheepefolde and liue in brotherlie loue and vnfained vnitie O louing maker and God of peace it is a pitious thing to see the malice of the world it is a myserie to behold how thy members disioint themselues in ceremonies and beggerlie elements it is a hell to consider how mightie Saule rageth against little Dauid to see the beastlie crueltie and tiger like tyrannie of the Pharaos of this world who not tendring their owne case not regarding the end of thy passion or full and sole redemption do racke and rent the babes of thy Church thy beloued wife Redresse all this gratious God eyther cut off our enimies or else conuert them that wee may together wage battell against the diuell our archaduersarie Season the harts of our brethren that wil for a trifling ceremonie renounce thy veritie and breake the bandes of Christian vnity Continue the weake nouices of thy schoole in the libertie of thy Gospel that all offense being taken away we may serue thee the God of peace euen charitie it selfe in Charitie Amen A praier in time of Warre O Lorde and onelye peacemaker linke vs in vnitie that are deuided ioyne vs in loue that haue sundered our selues and so transgressed thy holie will If our cause bee euill good Lord amend vs and reconcile vs with the peace of thy spirit if it be good defende vs O Lorde and turne vnto vs or else confound our enimies Gratious Iesus thou knotte of peace which hast ioyned God thy father and man not onelie in fauour as friendes but also coupled vs in one brotherhood with thee as his children we beseech thee to sow the seede of concord in vs that we maie liue in thee as fruitful branches now and for euer O Lord giue vs thy grace that wee purchase no enuie nor be the fathers of sedition of warr or any insurrection but imprinte in our hearts thus much that thou art loue who shalt come to iudge the quicke and the dead Charitie shall iudge the world and confound al bruers of tumults Ingraue this lesson O Lord in the tables of our harts and for giue vs al that is past guide vs in that which is to come that we fall not but stande fast in the way of thy will Amen A praier for the Captaine DEfend the righteous cause of thy seruant assist mee with strength against mine enimies with the wisedome of thy spirit against the policie of man that beeing wholie guided by thee I may fight manfullie in thy quarrel to the building of thy Church and vtter rebuke of her aduersaries Without thee ô fountaine of goodnesse and God of mine estate I can doo nothing Arme mee therefore with thy grace with the buckler of thy word that I may bee able not onely to war with but also to ouermatch Satan my deadlye foe and al his hellish band setting themselues against thee and thine annointed Enriche me with thy mercie that I may bee able to put vpon mee the white raiment offaith and being clothed with it may stande sure against the foming minysters of the diuel that no storm may ouerturne or dismay me O Lord kepe me from al wrest ling affections from inordinate motions defende mee O Lord. Let al discord be remooued whereby thy pellican children may be disseuered But nourishe O God of loue thy babes with the spirite of patience that I and they beeing of one minde may doo our endeuoures and bende our whole strength to the reedifieng of mother Sion which traueleth with sorrowes and sinketh in the mist of heresies vnles thou pul hir out by the hande of thy mercie which doo O gratious God I beseech thee Amen A praier for the souldiour THis worlde is nothing else but a sea of trouble heere the diuel stormeth there the worlde frowneth on euerie side the flesh assaulteth vs so that our life may well be tearmed a warrefare and our daies a treasure of dangers O Lorde with the anchor of thy mercie vphold vs that we sink not in the sea of this troublous time but guide vs with thy holie spirit that our liues may please thee and wee in our death praise thee through Iesus Christ our Lord. Plant the tree of peace among vs lette it flourishe to the gladdening of our harts that al dissention cut off wee may be linked in one knot of Christian vnitie gathered into one sheepfold and guided by thee our onelie and one sheepheard Let nothing sunder the members of thy bodie but cherish and nourish them with a full persuasion of brotherhood in the vnitie of our Sauiour and thee our one and onlie father Amen A praier in time of dearth O Mightie God and maker of al things thou art iuste and in iustice hast thou scourged vs we confesse it O Lord. Our liues haue deserued thy whip the excessiue riot of sinne hath merited the famine and want of thy gratious benefites but not withstanding louing Lord burie our iniquities in the multitude of thy wonted goodnes and blesse vs with the store of thy mercie that as wee may nowe declare thy iustice reuealed agaynste sinne so likewise wee maye preach and blase abroad to the worlde the bottomlesse pit of thine infinit pittie O gratious Lord thou gauest thine onely sonne our Iesus to the death euen to the death of the crosse by his bitter passion to purchase our redemption As thou hast giuen him so good Lord giue vs all thy benefites with him that as thou hast by him redeemed vs so wee in him may bee sustained during this transitorie life with fulnesse of thy grace tyll the daie of his great visitation when meting him in the clouds we shall be set on his right hande to liue with him in sulnesse of ioye for euer Desend vs O Lord from extreme needines and correct vs not in thine anger but store vs with sufficient in thy mercie Foode and raiment good Lord wee aske no more Giue vs and grant vs this our petition and giue vs grace therwith to be content Amen A praier against the feare of death THy handes haue ramed me O lord And whereas to the ble 〈…〉 she of all his posteritie father Adam made himselfe thorough follie worse than nothing a curssed caitife euen thine vtter enimie it pleased thee of vnmerited goodnes to leaue the colledge of thy Saints the ninetie nine iust sheepe the bande of thy blessed angels to seeke the straieng sheepe the groate
all messengers welcome art thou Adue vile life farewell life sinneful life adue and welcome death the purseuant of my louing Sauiour for by thee my miserie shall end From war to peace from this stormie worlde into the calme countrie of heauen from gronings and sobbings from this vale of fighings to the pallace of ioy from earth to heauen from sinfull men wild beasts to beloued friendes by death I shall passe to life to haue the companie of holie Patriarkes and blessed Saints to haue the sight of the glorious Trinitie to haue and inherit such ioye as neither eie hath seene nor eare heard nor hart euer conceiued By death I shal haue libertie without imprisonment health without sicknesse ioye without sorrow plesure without paine in such securitie eternitie and perpetuitie as passeth all thoughtes The holie ones of GOD my father the blessed Aungels and Archangels they haue atteined it but neuer can they sufficientlie esteeme of it So that O death thou art welcome welcome sicknes for my Lord Iesus hath new sent thee to fetch me from this prison to his palace from a strange contrie to my home from this place of teares and mourning to the daie of marriage sweet Iesus to marry thee in thy mercies for euer Heare deerely beloued heare and reioyse with me Sicknes is com death is in comming as a purseuant from my louing Iesus to cite me to appeare before him that he may appoint me a man sion in his fathers house to sit with him at the table of ioy for euer O the great ioy and onlie ioy of a Christian Nowe I shall lie noe more in this prison nowe I shall haue Paules wish for I shall bee deliuered from this bodie of sinne now shal I depart in peace with Simeon to haue that peace that passeth all vnderstanding and surmounteth al thought Now now shall I see the amiable tabernacles of my Lorde nowe shall I enter the courtes of my God where one daye is better than a thousande else-where now shal I be a doorekeeper in the house of mine heauenlie father now shal I appeare before the presence of God now doth his kingdome come now Lord Iesus now thou cōmest to carrie my soule into ioy Into thy hands therefore I cōmit my spirite Beloued brethren this is my testamente which I leaue vnto you it offereth great ioye and no matter of Teares Shead therefore no teares for better is the daye of death than the daye of birth I entered my life with a crye it coste my mother payne and teares to beare mee but yet it cost my louing Iesus his bloud to saue mee you and all the world Enuy not therefore my luckines that now I shall passe from you out of this vale of teares vnto him who died that I with him mighte liue in ioye for euer If you will mourne mourne for your owne sinnes mourne for your selues that you shal not so soone sup with God my father as I shall doo mourne not for me for you shall shortly follow me and lose me but for a time when you shall see in heauen for euer For blessed are the dead that die in y e Lord whose name for euer bee glorified Amen A praier for the rich man THou art the Welspring of all good thinges O louinge Lorde thou art the riche store house and cheste of mercie for al naked Adamites O Loue inestimable Wee are born into this Vale of miserie not only wicked in soule but euen also naked in body a deserued entraunce for vs by father Adam through desire of souereigntie but an vndeserued thing it is O good GOD that notwithstanding our merited pouertie deserued nakednesse by rebellion against thy Maiestie thou shouldest thus cloath me with thy benefites with plentie against penurie with friendship against enimitie with health against sickenesse with store against needinesse This O Lord is an vnmerited benefite for the which after my bounden duty I giue thee harty thankes But what shall I say what sufficient thanks shall I render vnto thee for thou hast not onelye armed mee against pouertie 〈◊〉 but also chosen mee as a steward to vnlocke the chest of thy benefites to needye Lazarus that as thou hast loued mee so I should tender thee in him O Lord giue me thy grace that I may bee thy stewarde by clothing the naked by feeding the hungrie lodging the harbourles and defending the fatherles that I may bee able to render a faithfull accoumpt of my stewardshipp vnto thee i 〈…〉 the daie of reuelation Grau 〈…〉 this O Father for Christe his sake Amen Another O Father of Heauen and rich God of mercie Behold thy poore creature in sin riche in grace poore bestowe vppon mee some mite of thy mercie cloath mee with the merits of thy sonne Iesus and bathe my naked bodie in 〈◊〉 pretious bloud satisfie my hungrie soule with a crum of thy gratious blessings that being cloathed with the armour of his meritorious passion I neede not to feare the naked the desperate corruption or rather wages of nature Moisten my heart with the honyedew of thy great rich grace that as thou hast enriched me beyonde my desart beyng by sinne an enimie vnto thee so I maye continue riche in good workes to the profite of my neighbours to the comfort of mine owne soule and to the manifestation of thy glorious maiestie O Lorde thou art a zealous God Such a God as wishest my healthe and the safetie of thy Creatures haue therefore mercy vppon mee blesse me with faith towardes thee with loue towardes my neighbour and a godlie care towards my selfe that thou in thy selfe mayest be magnified my conscience reioise in the testimony of a good life whose reward in thy sonne Christe is life eternal Amen The Beggers praier O Mighty Lord and prouident GOD y e stewardes of thy plentious store-house are not moued to feede the hungrie to cloath the naked and lodge the poore Pylgrime at his piteous crie but notwithstanding all this their tyrannie Father forgiue them and pardon mee as I forgiue them that haue trespassed against me Rake the fire of charitie out of the dead ashes and quicken it O Lord that I may warme mee in thy familie in time of extremitie and they be ready in thy great audit to render a full account of theyr stewardshippe vnto thee But first of all doo I begge grace of thee that I may euer seek thy kingdome and so bee persuaded in hart by thy word that I shal want nothing but that all other things shal be added vnto me This doo I aske of thee O father of Heauen that euer criest Aske haue Giue mee faith to aske in certaintye that I may looke without doubt for this thy craued mercie ô Lord I beseech thee Amen Another LAue mercie vpon mee O Lorde and pardon myne offenses the rich men of this worlde will scarse looke vpon me or vouchsafe to relieue my necessitie with the crummes of
their ouer-streaming tables But yet O Lord I beseech thee forgiue them and denye mee not the crums of thy grace but looke vppon me with the pitious eie of thy louing countenance Assist mee so O Lorde with thy holy spirit that being alwaies content with my calling I may seeke to serue thee in holinesse and purenes of liuing without feare al the daies of my life Beate me with pouertie beate me O Lord strike wound doo thy good will ô louing God so thou saue mee of thy mercie wherin lieth al the ioy of my soule Giue mee thy grace neuer to misdoubte thy prouidence that neuer doubting of thy fatherly care I may with a gladsome heart endure the end of my warrefare Giue me a contented minde let thy wil be my wil and my will alwaies answerable to thy will that I neuer offende thee but doo my dutie in louing thee wishing well to all the world Amen The Widowes praier O LORD I thanke thee that thou hast scourged me with the death of myne husband He was bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh hee by the couenant of matrimonie was made one bodie with me thou gauest him vnto mee and thou haste taken him from mee blessed be thy name for euer The bandes of death haue sundered mee from him but I hope O Lorde by the power of thy holye spirite that nothing shall bee able to separate mee from thee myne onelye Iesus the onely ioye of my soule put the axe of thy mercie to the roote of wanton nature and cut it off that I doo not marrie the vanitie of this wicked worlde but put vpon mee the garment of innocencie and tie about my hart the iewel of faith that I may onelie marry thee in the couenant of thy heauenlie father louing Iesus and haue nothing to doo with the adulterer the Dyuell the father of deadly fornication This is the only bed of ioy wherein I will sleep O Lord the onlie arke of cōfort where in I wil saile till I shal see thee face to face To whome bee praise and honour both nowe and euer Amen The Tenants praier I Thanke thee O father of Heauen that thou haste made me after thin owne image Thou mightest haue made me a frog a worm a tree but thou hast not doone it O Lorde And what was in cause surelie not my merit for I was not before thou madest me it was thy mercye good Lorde the true mother of all mankind Thou hast not made me a king a ruler a lorde no Lorde but I thanke thee for it thou hast made me a tenant of men but yet in thee that euer I might acknowledge thee i◠them my cheefe Lorde in heauē Giue me grace O Lord to thankefull for this thy wil and dutifullie to walke in my voca tion and giue mee thy grace that as I am a tenant to man so I may alwaies bee a tenant to thee to doo thee seruice to paye thee yeerelie my hourely rent which is a thankfull hart for all thy benefites If man would haue mee to do wrong against right Lorde giue mee of thy grace to consider that better it is to be thy Tennant than mans If the diuel and the worlde entising mee to walke wantonly seeke my destruction giue mee grace O God to consider that al things are sub iect to thine vniuersall power and shal not they obeie how then can they or dare they assault me to hurt me fastening the anchor of my faith vpon so sure and firme a rocke if the fleshe make warre against the spirit to make me seruiceable to sinne minister strength vnto me O Lorde that being thy tenant and a child of thy familie I may winne the field and fighting valiauntlye may bee crowned eternallie with thy sonne Iesus my blessed Sauior Amen The fatherlesse childes praier O Lorde so narrowe is the mouthe of charitie so consumed is the firebrand of Christian loue that although the foxes haue their holes birds their neastes yet haue wee no place to reste our heads on As Pilgrimes wee wander from place to place and are driuen with the winds of pinching pouertie vpon the seas of this worlde to seeke reliefe but alas and woe to the world for it The rich man deuoureth all superfluitie or else hourdeth vppe to fill hys Garners niggardlie so that Lazarus may not onely walke amid the streetes naked but also lie begging at the gates full sore and yet go without the crums which fall from the Table to ease the tune of his necessitie O Lord therfore do I flie vnto thee haue thou mercie vpon me for it is onely thou which fillest with thy blessing euerie liuing thing I am better than a farthing sparrowe O Lorde thou knowest it and I acknowledge it to my comfort Feede my soule with the fleshe of thy sonne and set me drinke of his bloud that seeking firste thy kingdome I may in the end be crowned with glorie and sit at the table of ioy in heauen with thee O Lord grant this I beseech thee Amen A Sword against the feare of death Wherein is liuelie declared with what weapons a Christian souldiour should fight to hold and keepe his own made by the said E. H. The first weapon Consider thy selfe MAN dooth consist of twoe partes an earthly bodie and soule spiritual Thy bodie what is it It is a case of thy soule such a case as is a prison and therefore Dauyd desirous of life eternall and the sight of his master Christ cried out Oh howe long shall I lie in this prison Yea this case of the soule is such a cage of filth as a man of God hath said that no Bocardo noe dungeon no sinke no puddle no pitte is in any respect so euil a prison for this bodie as the body is of the soule For it is suche a case as stinketh in the sight of God a bodye of sinne is this cage of the soule and therefore cried Paule out oh wretch that I am who shal deliuer me from this bodie of sinne Beholde deere Chrystians such an heauie burden was the bodie to the soule that Paule was willing to giue this world a farewel with father Simeon hee wished that hee might depart in peace Oh that we had this courage of Paule or were as godlie wise as Dauid to locke that vpp in the closet of our heartes which they had fullie digested For then wee shoulde haue a wished famine of mourning Christians on rather vnchristian Painims who dooe weepe and waile for the dissolution of this earthie and fraile tabernacle which Dauid longed for and Paule with father Simeon desired Dauid that father of the faith ful and mouth of the holie spirite he was a man after GOD his owne hart whom God had spiced with grace and made of his mercie a vessel of honor He was a piller of mother Sion he liued in the childhood of the Churche when the cloud of the lawe did yet ouershaddowe the
death for the losse of a shadow shal wee by sighs and sobs storme againste the Lord for the losse of a vapour nay shall we not rather be glad to forgo the shadowe and by death desire to be knit more fullye to our bodie Iesus whereof wee are members in faith and hope O ye of lyttle faith crie vnto the God of hea uen Lord increase our faith Be content to leaue this vaporous life and welcome death and cry in a ful beleefe Come Lord lesu come shorten these latter daies for thine elect sake and saue vs. Saue vs O Lord saue vs haue mercie vpon vs and helpe vs helpe Lord and by a blessed death cite vs to appeare before thee For one daie in thy court is better than a thousand elsewhere Amen Secondly consider that thy life is vncerteine For death is like a theefe that commeth at vncertaine houres he is like a thundercracke that soundeth on a sudden yea this life is so vncerteine that death may ask his due in the swathcloth and none be able to resist him He is alwaies a prince hee ruleth not only in the haruest but also in the spring time and summer Yoong menne and babes olde men and maydes greene and ripe al are one death excepteth no persons hee neuer regardeth our yeares but with his sharpe syth on a sudden he cutteth al downe So y â— our life is like a ruinous house alwaies readie to fal like a thin thred alwaies readie to rotte like a running cloud wherof we are vncerteine where and when it falleth This cloud sometimes melteth in the cradle somtims in the chaire Death is like the sunne whensoeuer it shineth it melteth our cloudie life bee the cloud thereof neuer so thin or thicke in yeres Our life nowe being as vncerteine as the weathercocke which turneth at euery blast or like the waue which mounteth at euery storme or lyke the reede which boweth at euery whisteling winde whye shoulde we loue it and not rather loath it in comparison of the euerduring life of the heauenlie citizens wherevnto by death we passe in mercie Oh that al Christians woulde ingraue in their harts the wauering dayes of this vncerteine life and consider and looke for in a ful faith the certaintie of that ioyfull life wherevnto death dooth bring vs For then woulde wee that sayle as pilgrimes on the waters of this world and are tossed dangerouslie by diuers pyrates the flesh sinne and the diuell desire with hartie praier craue of the Lorde that in the barke of a liuely faith by his mariner death he woulde carrie vs to the certeine and blessed life of his saints If we were thus godly wise to consider the vncerteintie of this momentanie life or so happie as to ponder the eternall felicitie of Ierusalem and restful Cannaan we would rather ioy and be merrie when sicknes and death shal visit vs than mourne and sorrowe for it For they are the Lords ambassadours which are sent to bring vs tidinges that dynner and supper is readye and the banket of glorie to bee minystred and that we must come without tarrieng to marrie him and to enioy him face to face euen as he is and 〈…〉 fore with willing mind tâ—â—aie our debted bodies to mother earth whereof wee borrowed them and to him our soules that hee may marrie them in the couenant of his Eternall mercies We are borne into this world naked our heritage is sin and myserie our life is labour and sorrowe we our selues are but tenaunts vnder mother earth concerning our bodies and vnder GOD concerning our soules which God our God of ioy and father of comforte by his owne sonne hath bought vs an inheritance immortall and vndefiled for euer vnto the which by sicknes death as the messengers of his wil he calleth vs. Is all this so and shall wee feare death no for shame let vs bid adieu to this shorte and vncertaine lyfe and receyue death in ioy of spirite as an accomplishment of the obligation of his couenant wherewith he bound himselfe of his meere mercie beyond any merite of ours that wee shoulde neuer see death but haue euerlasting life Vnlesse therefore you will mourne against death bicause by it you passe from an vncerteine to a certeine life from these sorrowing and wauering daies to an euerlasting and incorruptible inheritance and so shew your selues rather willing to haue the fleshepots 〈◊〉 Aegypt for euer than to passe to heauen and to eate of comfortable manna not in the wildernes but in new Ierusalem see that ye feare not death but loue it and welcome it whensoeuer the Lorde will sende it vnto you Thirdlye consider thy life is miserable It is not only short but also miserable yea I may well tearme it a kingdome of miserie New borne babes do what they can to persuade vs of the truth of this matter For they beginne not this life with smiling countenance but with weeping eies By their crie what else dooth nature sing or signifie vnto vs but that thorough our sinnes our life is become a continual warfare and the world our enimie euen 〈◊〉 vale of miserie besette with thornes to pricke vs on euerie side Righteous Abell founde in his life time a thorn of his own blood to trouble molest him euen Caine his own brother to bache his blade in his bloud villanouslie to murther him Iohn Baptist the bright dayestar and forerunner of Christ the sunne of righteousnesse he found a thornie Herode to behead him and holie Stephan stonie Iewes to dispatche him Yea what is this life but a fardle of miserie wherein Christ our blessed sauior tasted of nothinge but of the sower grape of persecution For no sooner was this lambe of God come into the world but Herod by the decree of his hellishe conuocation was ready to deuo 〈…〉 him this was a miserie to mother Marie And maruelouslie doth it paint out the mysery of this life that the hony babe Iesus the very lambe of God and light of this world is so welcomen into the world which intended mischiefe And where hee by the prouidence of his heauenly father escaped the snare of the rauenous fowler yet for his sake doo the children and sucklings of Bethleem and the coastes thereof as many as were twoe yeeres old and vnder preache vnto vs the miserie of this our life The voice that was heard in Ramah moorning weping and great lamentation Rachell 〈…〉 eeping for hir children with out all comforte because they were not teacheth vs and crieth out vpon the miserable life of man If al careles Epicures would aske the iudgement of Father Iob in this case he would expounde the mysticall cries of tender sucklinges that man which is borne of a woman hath not onely a short time to liue but also a miserable life to lead that his life is a warfare continual labour and sorrow This iudgement of Iob without all doubte was rooted in him and his brother Ieremie And
thereof it came without question that they did cursse not onlie the daie of birth but also him that brought the message to their father that a child was borne They had fullie considered the degrees of their miserie Their birth place was but a foule and filthie dungeon they themselues were but a substance of bloud and instruments of their mothers their nourishment little better than venom their birth not without extreme pains of the deere mother and violent offense of their tender bodies They knewe throughlie that they were conceiued in filth and vncleannes born in sinne and care and nourished with paine and labour They dyd knowe themselues to haue bin like cralling wormes and that at their entrie into this worlde they were apparelled with bloud And therefore considering their miserable condition they curssed the daye of their wretched birth Yea this made father Ieremie to wishe that his mothers wombe hadde serued for his tumbe and father Esaie to bewaile his birth and to murmur againste the knees that helde him vppe and also the breasts that gaue him suck They had fully conceiued that man was made of the slime of the earth conceiued in sinne borne in paine and at the laste made a prey for wormes This miserie of mans life had they fullie digested and therefore wished to haue died before they were borne Come hither nowe beloued Christians wee are manie an ace short of Iob Ieremie or Esay in life and in iudgement One after a through sifting of this miserable life wished that his mothers wombe had been his tumbe another murmured at the paps that gaue him suck the third curssed the daie of his birth and not onelie that but him also that firste declared it Did they soe lyttle sette by this myserable life as to cursse it and so little loue the pappes that norished them as to murmur against them yea the verie knees that helde them vp and by reason of this wretched pilgrimage to be so wearie of this life as to wishe they had beene buried in their mothers wombe and shall wee feare death They wished they had neuer liued and shal we for feare of death wishe euer or a longe time to liue they curssed the daie of their birth whoe were holie men and shal we weepe for the daie of death the verie ende of their wishe did they murmur against the paps that gaue them sucke and shall not we welcome death when the Lord sendeth him naye they murmured euen againste the knees that did beare them vp and shal not we bee willing to surrender heade feete handes heart knees and al to mother earth and to salute death in ioy of spirit Fie for shame and out vpon vs if we doo not willinglie and merrilie wishe and crye Thy kingdome come ô father of heauen Come Lord Iesus come Let vs denie the olde man cherish our hope that wee haue in the full merites of Christ that when the Lorde shall call we may come vnto him without anye rebellion And as for death account of it but as a moste blessed ende or period of this wretched life an axe that cutteth off al miseries and therefore feare it not The thirde weapon Consider the commodities of death WE are tossed turmoyled vppon the seas of this world with manie a dangerous tempest euen till wee be we arie or at least should be with holie Paule of our short vncerteine miserable liues and then dooth the Lorde euen of mercie call vs to reste and ioy with his Saints in heauen 〈◊〉 that resting from our labours wee may continuallie pray se him with the band of his holie Angels By death he deliuereth vs from danger and therefore to arme vs against the feare therof it pleased the holie spirit to cal death a sleepe by the which being dispatched of all aduersities wee are brought to our graues therein to lie as it were in a soft featherbed and in a sweet sleep abiding the comming of Christ our lord whe◠hee shall knocke at the bedd◠and cal vs vppe to liue for eue◠with him and his holye Aungels Death therfore doth not swalow vp our bodies thogh for a time they must lie in the bellie of mother earth For death is a sleepe and is vnpossible as it is that a whole man being in a sound sleepe should not wake vp againe euen so vnpossible is it that a Chrystian shoulde continue in Death for euer And as for this sleepe it is but a shorte sleepe for the daye is at hand and the time of iudgmente draweth neere when dead bodies shall arise and the earth shal render them vp that be in her that meeting and appearing together with our beloued friends and set vpon the right hand of his blessing wee may as liuely members be fully knit in our body Christ Iesus So that death is but a sleepe and a shorte sleepe out of the which we and al our brethren sisters and friends that are departed in the Lorde shall rise more fresh than euer we were to leaue this fraile and earthie bodie and to haue it made like to the glorious bodie of Iesus Christ. And who now would feare death or who should grudge at the Lorde for castinge vs asleepe Death is a sleepe the earth is the Christian mannes featherbed where he must lie◠till the trumpet shall sound to awake him and call him vnto iudgement Who wil murmur againste this necessitie or rather againste this mercie for mercie it is that we die but for a time or rather sleepe for a time where of merit we shuld die for euer And therefore vnles by your gronings and sighings you wil exclaime against the mercy of the Lord by the which you are saued doo not feare Death or murmur against him but bles him with father Iob and thank him hartily that he hath granted thee thy daielye petition wherein thou praiest sayeng Our Father which art in heauen thy wil bee doone deliuer vs from euil For as for the first his will is doone whensoeuer any man dieth The verie farthing sparrowe can not fall without his prouidence the heares of our head can not perishe without his will much lesse dieth anie man without his will whoe far surpasseth all farthinge Sparrowes So that to wishe them aliue that are departed in peac it is to wishe that God his wil were not doone and what is that but to wishe that GOD were no God For if God bee God his wil is iust and muste needs be doone But as for many they will acknowledge that the will of God is doone againe that hi◠wil was iust in calling for their children whome hee had but lent them for a time and yet will carrie a biting sorrowe in their hearts and so wil they go neere to bringe death vppon themselues But to such mourning mothers I saye Why doo you mourne this life is a warfare death is asleepe Why do you mourne this life is short by condition and ful of myseries
paid or twyse required Sat. Though Christ once died to saue thee from sinne yet haue I thine euill life to laie against thee for the which thou art and shalt be mine Con. Christ indeede died to saue me and by his own death hath he fully bought mee from the wrath of his Father And I confes Satan to my Lord that I haue not liued after his lawe but manie waies transgressed his holye will but what then thou foule spirit am I thine no Satan no. For the Lorde hath mercy in store for euery Publican when he craueth it be he neuer so ill a liuer He is at this point with vs Aske and haue I will therefore aske mercie of God who gaue his owne son by his bloudie Death to saue mee and I am sure that I shall haue my sute For he hath spoken it and can not lie Thou liest therefore for I am not thine But thou sayest that I am and shal be thine Auoyd Satan auoid like a coward For he that is with mee hath broozed thy head euen the mightie Lion of the tribe of Iudah that hath promised to be with his church euen til the end of the worlde he is with me and if he be with mee whoe can be against me doo not therefore crake of this Satan that I am an euill liuer and therefore thine Giue ouer thy combat for if thou doo not I will call vppon my Capteine Michael by the power of his Angelike bande to dashe thee out of countenance whoe did beate thee in Heauen and all thy hellish armie The cal of Conscience in conflict for succour against present danger THe diuel O Lorde like a rauenous lion dooth seeke to teare the lambe of thy Pasture and vnlesse thou helpest there is none other waie but to the slaughterhouse It hath beene a continuall practyse of his euen from the beginning to rob thy childreÌ„ of the riches of their redemption wrought accomplished by the bloud shed of thy beloued sonne He someth like a bore of the desert and seeketh by violence to breake into the vineyard of my soule which thy handes O thou heauenlie husbandman haue planted Vp therefore and arise O gratious god and good shepheard of my soule And as thou hast promised so be thou with mee in time of this my skirmishe that I may giue Satan the foile and sleepe fafelie vnder the wings of thy mercy with whom is store of mercie To thee be al glorie both now and euer Amen The dead mans Schoole Wherein Death teacheth all Estates and degrees from the Prince to the begger many notable lessons most necessarie to be learned made by the sayd E. H. APproche ye sonnes of Adam you that are as I was and shall bee as I am Drawe neere and learne those thinges diligentlie wherein I shal instruct you First I would haue you to learne this lesson that as sinne came in by Adam so by sinne death as a due reward followed And therefore when you looke vppon mee remember whence you are falne in adam from grace into sinne from sin into death and therevpon sorowe for your sinnes and prepare your selues to death For it is the waie of all flesh There is a time to bee borne in sinne and a time to die for the same al flesh is grasse yee muste all wither and fade with the flower This natural death which foloweth the combat of the Elementes and sinne shal creep vpon your mortallims for as the sunne hath an east to rise in so he hath a West to fal in euen â—o you shall all dance with me one day and this day is vncertaine noe man knoweth when it shall come For it shall come at vnawares vpon you and therefore doe good and eschew euil sin not least a woorse thing than this naturall death doe happen vnto you For if you doo still wallowe in sin answer me What if death suddenlye strike you with his dart as hee dooth manie men howe woulde you bee able to stand in y e iudgement of God Therefore leaue off in time and liue lyke Christyans that GOD yet at the least seeing your liues are so wicked may find a good will and purpose in you towardes a godlie conuersation Do we not stil hold the same pace like old carthorses but repent and amend for the kingdome of God is at hand Secondly when you see mee remember the spirituall death of Adam wherein you are all wrapped by nature borne in sin children of wrath Dead you are in Adam starke dead in your sinnes vntill the Lord do regenerate you anew with his holie spirit and water your barren nature with the drops of his grace And herein see that you doo acknowledge your weakenes or rather your miserie that by sinne you are dead euen without life by nature and without anye power to attayne vnto life as I am and shall be vntill the Lorde doo knocke at my bed and raise mee from death to life to liue with him for euer Auoyde sinne therefore as your deadlie enimie whiche would rob you of life and fetter you in bandes of eternall death and crie vnto the Lord for helpe For withoute him against this enimie you can do nothing Crie with the prophet Dauid Create O Lord a new heart and renewe a right spirite within vs that beeing quickened againe by the dew of his blessing and strengthened with the armour of grace you may be able to withstand the furie of Sathan and constantly to endure the battell of a raging conscience Thirdlie when you looke vpon mee remember whereof you are euen of earth no better than duste and ashes to the which I nowe returne And therefore to the loftie minded manne I say Dust and ashes why art thou proud for earth thou art to earth thou shalt and become a prey for knawing wormes Decke thy bodye neuer so gloriouslie tie Iewels aboute thy neck lade thy fingers with ringes sit at thine ouerrunning tables and make merrie despise al men yet I tell thee thou art dust as I am so shalte thou be Thy bodie shal stinke which nowe thou embaulmest thy lofty looke shal bee humbled the wormes shall feede vppon thee Looke vpon me thinke vpon thy selfe be not as thou art but thinke vpon mee and what thou shalt be and folow him that is able of dust to raise thee to life crieth vnto thee Be humble and meeke as I am If thou refuse this exhortation remember that pride shall haue a fall that earth is heauy by nature and falleth that he that exalteth himselfe shall be humbled and hee that humbleth himselfe shal be exalted Acknowledge therefore that earth is thy mother which is the basest of al other elements and folowe Christ thy maister and onlie guide to his father in ioy that out of earth hee may raise thee to heauen and after thy resurrection for thine earthie and stinking bodie giue thee a glorious and immortall bodie that thou mayest shine with him like a starre