that which hath beene in this little treatise sette downe and of the thinges that euery good Christian is bounde to learne and haue by heart Cap. 27. IN this little treatise gentle The some of the hole book reader hath beene hitherto as briefely as might bee shewed thee the rules and aduises whereby thou oughtest to guide thy selfe aswell on working as holidaies and howe thou maist exercise thy selfe in prayer and because this mortal life cannot be passed ouer without the tentations and assaults of such our aduersaries as here in this worlde doe enuiron vs there are weapons and remedies giuen thee to vanquish them with and to preserue thee from sinne by meanes whereof thou maiest also atchiue suche vertues as bee needefull for thee Againe forasmuche as this our temporall life is thrall to many infirmities and in fine to dint of death the port perforce we must all of vs passe by for this cause haue I herto annexed two Chapters wherein is shewed thee in what sorte thou must gouerne thy selfe in tyme of sicknesse when it shall please God therewith to visit thee as also howe thou ought to behaue thee in a transe and houre of death when our Lorde through his good prouidence shall thinke meete to bring thee thither This haue I thought and deemed sufficient for thee that if of the giuer of all goodnesse thou hast receaued a good will and desire to amende thy life and to liue like a true Christian thou maiest by perusing this pamplet learne how to attaine thine Intente and to haue a firme truste and confidence to attaine eternall life the onely end whereto thou wast created It remayneth nowe that for the conclusion and knitting vp of this little worke I admonish thee beseech thee and exhort thee asmuch as I can and may possibly that if thou haste once laid hand to the plough to exercise thy selfe in diuine seruice taking Luke 9. the rules and aduices which in this treatise are prescribed thee for thy guide and gouerment that in no wise thou looke backe againe nor let not thy selfe by any trouble and toiles which may crosse thee in this life bee ouercome and vanquished And if at any time it so chanced aswell it may do eftsoones by reason of lets and hinderances thou shouldest be for some time forced to intermitte thine ordinary and wonted exercises be not any deale dismaide therewith but when this time of trouble is once ouer shot renewe againe thy course and followe Mark 13. Mat. 24. Luk. 22. Apoc. 16. it as if thou hadest neuer failed perseuering till the ende as is needefull if thou mind to attaine the crowne and to winne euerlasting happinesse For in doing thus I dare on the behalfe of our Lord Iesus christ assure thee that this perseuerance shall ease thy paine that pincheth at first and looke howe much the more thou doost perseuere and so much more comfort help consolation and heauenly light shalt thou receaue of his most bountifull liberallity See therefore thou content not thy selfe with once reading ouer of this treatise but read it eftsoones ouer for so it is most expedient Forsomuch as the thinges that are here in treated of sith they be the rulers and remembrances which thou oughtest in spirituall life to leuell and guide thy works by it behooueth at all times to reade them when thou purposest to practise them For besides that the bare reading shal be a laudable and good exercise for thee and serue as a parte of prayer the reiterating and frequentation of reading shal helpe thee to learne by heart what in action thou art bound to execute and so maist thou afterwards exercise thee in each point with much more facillity and lesse a doe a great deale And therefore albeit this little labour may profit each one that with a good and godly intent wil vouchsafe to reade it yet was it principally intended for the simple and more ignorant sort and for that cause haue I thought good to annex here in the end such things as many of them wotte not and yet are bound to knowe Seeing that euery artisan thinks it meete to knowe such things as belonge vnto his art howe much more is a true Christian bound for to know what appertaineth to his profession an art boue all arts and to be prepared as the apostle Saint Peter saith to yeald accompt of that he beleeueth and hopeth and what it behooueth him to doo to liue according to Gods wil and pleasure and to obtaine euerlasting life withall Wherfore for such as bee in this behalfe blame worthy negligent I haue here set downe such thinges as without daunger of their owne weldooing they neither ought nor can be ignorant of that by reason of those notes and shorte remembrances they may both vnderstand what they want and learn it here commodiously And as for the texts I haue here set thē forth both in Latin and vulgar tongue for euery one to learne them as beste shall like them not respecting so much the wordes as the substance and sap conteined in the same Finis Faults escaped Fol. 12. lin 23. for temptarions read temptations fol. 13. lin 21. for some read read some fol. 34 line 10 for patt part fol. 59. line 20. for sercuitie security fol. 59. line 24. for heart heat fol. 96 li. 1 for doe thou thou doe A briefe meditation on the Lordes praier O our Father High in Creation Sweet in loue Rich in possession Which art in Heauen The spectacle of Eternity The crowne of Maiestie The treasure of Felicitie Halowed be thy name That it may be honie in our mouthes Melodie in our eares Religion in our hearts Let thy kingdome come Sweet without mixture Quiet without trouble Secure without losse Thy will be doon in earth as it is in Heauen That we may hate what thou hatest Loue what thou louest Fulfill al that thou likest A Meditation on the Lords praier Giue vs this day our daily bread Of doctrine Of charity Of life euerlasting Forgiue vs our trespasses Doone against thee Against our neighbors Against our selues As we forgiue thē that trespas against vs In their wordes In their persons In their deedes Lead vs not into temptation Of the world Of the flesh Of the Deuil But deliuer vs from euil That is past That is present That is to come LEt dread of paine for sinne in after time Let shame to see thy selfe insnared so Let griefe conceiued for foule accursed crime Let hate of sinne the worker of thy woe With dread with shame with greefe with hate enforce To deaw thy cheekes with teares of deepe remorce So hate of sinne shall cause Gods loue to grow So greefe shall harbour hope within thy hart So dread shall cause the floud of ioy to flow So shame shall send sweet sollace to thy hart So loue so hope so ioy so sollace sweet Shall make thy soule in heauenly blisse to fleet Woe where such hate doth no such loue allure Woe where such greefe makes no good hope proceed Woe where such dread dooth no such ioy procure Woe where such shame doth no such solace breed Wo where no hate no greefe no dread no shame Doth neither loue hope ioy or sollace frame Finis Imprinted at London by Peter Short for William Leake
alreadie disposed to repentaunce of the which as before I sayd this Declina à malo auoyd euill is the first part I would propound these few points for their consideration First the enormity of sin in the which there is nothing but all kinde of things that should terrefie a man for before that man by suggestion of the Serpent transgressed the commaundement of God what death nay what dreame of death had man being created immortall 1. Cor. 15. Nowe death the last enemie that shall bee destroyed is most irrigular and enormous and most aduersant vnto Rom. 5. the life of man Death commeth by sinne for by a man came sinne and by sin came death into the worlde There is no worldling that is not afrayed of death But it is a wōder that the worldlings are not afraid of that thing which causeth death Perswaded I am that if a mans eye were so spirituall to see things corporall a man would abhorre the sight of any sinne were it neuer so small A man that hath a care of neatnesse and cleanlinesse in apparaile can not abide the least moat in the world or the least spot that may be imagined in any part of his apparell and all this is because he would not offend the eyes of men But a man that is little lesse in degree then the Angels and made for Psal 8. the praise of his creator who regardeth not the bodie but maketh an account of the soule hath no regard of the decking of his soule but onely followeth the lustfull delights of the flesh If then men bee so diligent in brushing and cleansing of their garments that they should not offende the eyes of carnall men doth it not behooue thee to take heed that the garments of thy soule be not defiled with the most filthie spots of sin in the sight of Almightie God Secondly let him that loueth his own saluation alwayes diligently consider the frail estate of this world And let him weigh how short all carnal delights are That man will quickly abhor the way of sinne which considereth that the pleasure of the flesh is verie short but the paine that is due vnto it to bee eternall The worlde passeth awaie and the desire thereof 1. Ioh. 2. and all men passe awaie by death and no man is permitted to staie long in this worlde for what is the worlde but a great deepe and a troublesome Sea in the which there are so manie monsters of sinne as there bee euill desires in men O false deceiptfull and impure worlde which so fowlly doost deceyue those that trust in thee and doost drowne those that doe followe thee in the depth of hell How happie are those that contemne thee for Christ his sake And making a comfortable diuision doe speedilie depart from thy vanities whatsoeuer wee see in the worlde is vanitie and euerie louer of the worlde is vaine and shall quickly be corrupted Thinke that you shall quicklie die for nothing doth so much withdraw a man from sinne as the often and diligent meditation of Ies Syra death for it is sayd Remember thy latter end and thou shalt neuer sinne the necessitie of death beeing thought vpon diligently dooth terrifie the minde and keepeth it from sinne Thirdly the meditation or thinking vpon the last iudgemēt in the which al men must be presented before the iudgement seate of Christ helpeth much to the flight of sin No man can escape this terrible iudgement but we must all appeare in it of the which day of iudgement doth the Prophet say very great Ioel. 2. and terrible is the day of the Lord and who can abide it And Salomon saith All things that are done vnder the Sun Prea 21. wil the lord bring to iudgmēt c. And in Esai we reade The Lord will come to Esai 3. iudgment with the elders princes of his people And Amos wo be to them which desire the day of the Lord for why Amos. 5. doe yee wish the day of the Lorde for that day is darkenesse and not light And Sophonie pronouncing the bitternesse of that day saieth the voyce Soph. 1. of the day of the Lorde is bitter there shall the strong man bee troubled That day is a day of anger of trouble and anguish a day of calamitie and miserie a day of darknesse and blindnes a day of mist and whirlewinde in the fire of the zeale of the Lord shal all the earth bee deuoured because hee shall quickely dispatch with all the dwellers on the earth Saint Ambrose saieth that nothing is more profitable for an honest life than to thinke that he shall bee our iudge which knoweth the secretes of our heartes and is not delighted with dishonest thinges For all we as Saint Paul saith must be presented before the tribunall seate of Christ for euerie man shall receyue as hee hath doone in his bodie eyther good or euill At that terrible houre the puritie of the heart will bee more worth then the subtill perswasions of Rhetoricians a cleere conscience shall auaile more than all the money in the worlde For hee that shall iudge all things cannot bee deceyued nor by entreatie changed Fourthly the consideration of the bitternesse of the eternall paines is auaileable to the eschuing of sinne for there is not so vehement a tentation of carnall pleasure but it may bee repressed if a man thinke of the punishment that the wicked suffer in hell And here least a man should thinke that there is no hell I will make but this discourse There is no nation as Tullie saith so barbarous but it hath this sentence naturallie written in their harts Deos esse That there are Gods Nowe that there is a God by the scriptures it is manifest For saint Paule saith for the inuisible thinges of him that is his eternall Rom 1. power and Godhead are seene by the Creation of the worlde beeing considered in his workes to the intent that they should not be excused And for the singularitie of one God what dooth not Nature tell vs seeing that we see all thinges concurre to the conseruation of one whole vniuersity And Aristotle himselfe the greatest enimie of one prouidence of all thinges in the worlde dooth not onely confesse but also proue that there is one onelie Primus motor the first moouer which being granted we must say that there is a God a Creator a Conseruer a gouernor of all things and consequently a prouider for all thinges For if there be a God it is requisite that in him should be all kind of perfection So if we count it a perfection in an vnreasoble Creature to haue a care of the young that is procreated of it howe much more is it a perfection in almightie God not onely willingly and not of necessitie to create all things but also to haue a perpetual care of things created aswel visible as inuisible reasonable as vnreasonable And as the scripture Psal 145.
an assemblie fraught full of shame and sorrowe clad in that fooles coate so ilfauoured an attire with the crowne of thornes enuironing his sacred Mat. 15. Mat. 27. Ioh. 61. head the reede in his tied hands in lue of a scepter that hard corde about his tender necke his Diuine visage all puft vp and sweld with the blowes and stripes he hath receaued and abhominablie disfigured with filthie blood and spittle yea from top to toe no one spot free from wounds neither was this enough to soften those flintie hearts Fryday ON Fryday meditate how our Sauiour Ioh. 19. accepting the most wrongfull sentence pronounced against him caried the crosse himselfe on his back whereon he was presently after to bee crucified for so had those his cruell enimies appointed that therby his tormēts reprochfull ignominies might euery wayes growe greater Now sithence our Lorde and sauiour beareth thus vpon his shoulders all thine iniquities enforce thy selfe to yeeld him thanks for this so singular a benefit and to helpe him like another Cyreneus Mat. 27. Mar. 15. Luk. 23. to carrie his crosse in imitating his example and see thou keepe these deuout women companie that followed him to whome hee saide howe they were rather to weepe ouer themselues and their children For if he doe these things in greene wood what shall be done Luk 23. in the drie The which wordes thou oughtest to applie to thy selfe in being carefull not to be like a peece of crabbed wood barren and fruitlesse in thy life but to force thy selfe euery day to bring foorth fruite of good woorkes though it be with labor and paine for if thou beare him companie in this life in his grieues thou shalt according as Saint Paule promiseth bee a companion with him in the other life in his ioyes and vnspeakable consolations Meditate secondly how those vnmercifull tormentors so soone as they were now com to the mount of Caluari stript forthwith in cruell wise that louing Lamb tearing his skinne to his excessiue griefe beeing through the greene woundes festered to his Garments and afterwards stretcht him out vppon that hard bedde of the crosse which the worlde had prepared for him and so with outstretched armes of his abundaunt charitie offered hee himselfe vp to his euerlasting father as a true and liuely sacrifice for the sinnes of the whole world And thus his hands and most holie feete being with sharpe nailes fastned to the crosse they hoist him vp on high hanging most pitifully thereon Weigh here diligentlie what griping griefs his most rufull virgin mother suffered hearing the strokes of the hammer wherewithall they crucified him and seeing him afterwards hoisted so vp vpō that hard crosse with such opprobrius shame and infinite paines and torments Now then behould a while with the eies of thy soule this thy sauiour thus hanging nayled vpon the crosse and gather vppon this holesome tree the fruit of life it plentifully affordeth it to thee for here is alwaies forth-comming the supply for all thy needes the salue for all thy sores the satisfaction for all thy sinnes and herein maiest thou as in a glasse plainely perceaue all thy wants and imperfections sith this is a muche more beautifull and bright glasse then those were that god commanded to be set in the Temples for the Priests to looke them in at such Exo. 38. time as they were to minister for that the godly soule which shall attentiuely admire it selfe in this mirrour may soone espy and easily finde out all her faults and follies whatsoeuer That nakednesse and extreame pouertie wee see vpon the crosse vtterly ouerthroweth all our pompes and superfluous decking that crowne of thornes condemneth our pride and ambition the gaule and vineger which was giuen him to drincke cryeth out against our gourmandise disordinate drinking those weeping withered eyes accuse the loosenesse and lacke of modesty in ours those outstretched armes redy to embrace both frends and foes finde fault with our rancor and reuenge that moste sacred bodie wounded all ouer from top to toe argueth and that seuerely the lasciuiousnesse and sensuall appetite of ours Thus seest thou how all the staines and sinfull spots of thy whole life doo manifestlie appeare in this vnstayned mirror full of all perfection Thirdly if thou haue any spare time left thou maist meditate the other egregious and notable thinges which happened about our Sauiours death but chiefly those seuen speeches he vttered being vpon the crosse for in the first Father forgiue them for they know Luk. 23. not what they doo Is charitie towards our foes highly commended In the second Vertly I say vnto thee that this day shalt thou bee with mee in paradise Luk. 23 is mercy toward sinners in soueraigne wise sette out In the third Beholde thy sonne beholde thy mother a pietie and Ioh. 19. zeale towards parents In the fourth I thirst a feruent desire of our neighbours welfare In the fift My God my Ioh. 19. God why hast thou forsaken me an humble Mat. 27. Mar. 15. Psal 21. Ioh. 19. Luk. 23. praier in tribulation In the sixt It is accomplished a perseuering in obedience till the end In the seuenth Father I commend my spirit into thy handes a perfect and entire resignation into the hands of God which is the period and summe of all our perfection Saturday ON Saturday meditate the piercing of our Sauiours side with that cruel Ioh 19. speare to the incomparable griefe and heart breake of his mother And pause here a while to behold both this other his infinit most precious woūds sithence these are to be thy refuge thy phisick and chiefe consolation In the old law we read how God commāded certain cities to be assigned in the land of promise wherto such as had cōmitted any offence might securely make their refuge but now in the law of grace Deut. 19 there is none so secure a refuge as is the harboring in these most sweet woūds where to sinners may flie a great deale more securely to eschue the perils and persecutions of this worlde then they could do in olde time to their assigned cities And herein shall that wound in our sauiours side chiefly helpe thee figured by the window which god commanded Noe to make in the side of the Arke by the which all the beasts that shuld scape the flood were to enter in euen so now al such as find themselues endangered in the terrible sourges of this tēpestuous world if so they couet to scape drowning let them haue recourse to those most sacred sores and wide wounds let them enter at this open window and therein shall they be most secure and finde themselues in true peace and tranquilitie Meditate afterwards with how great deuotion the Redeemer of the worlde Mat. 27. Mar. 16. Luk. 23. Ioh. 19. was taken down from the crosse laid on the earth before his louers friends who with a right rufull
thy life past fraught full of filth and sin and feeing the sundrie staines thou art now presently defiled with thereby thou mayest humble thy selfe and force thee to amende such faults as thou findest in thee and withall begin to hate this life so full of calamities and daungers wherin for thy better and more orderlie proceeding consider these three pointes following 1. Examine first the sundry imperfections which thou presently findest in thee how first thou lack est a pure right intent in most of thy actions doing them for the worlde or for some worldly interest where indeed thou oughtest to doe them purely for God Thou mayst finde likewise thine inclinations to be disordered being wholy bent to the vaine and transitory things of this worlde The like disorder shalt thou finde and perceiue in all thy sences thoughts wordes and works seeing there is no true vertue to be found in thee which by the examination thereof thou shalt well perceiue As first for Charitie which thou wantest as also Humilitie Patience Chastitie Temperance and so through all the rest about the which thou maist discourse particularlie howe often thou vsest to offend in each one falling into such vices as be opposite and contrarie to the said vertues Secondly consider howe smally thou hast profited since it pleased God to helpe thee with his grace and giue thee these good motions and purposes to amende thy life and howe manie times thou hast left such works vndone as thou purposedst to doe and howe ofren thou hast falne in relapse of thy former follies which thou determinest in anie wise to abstaine from Thinke withall howe much better others haue behaued themselues in this time and profited more in vertue then thou hast done And heere oughtest thou to purpose firmely to imitate them and to seeke newe remedies and meanes of amenâ—â—â—ent humblie crauing grace of God to execute the same Thirdly weigh what small affection thou oughtest to beare towardes this wicked worlde and present life fraught full of such paines and grieuous miseries and wherein no true sacietie or contentation is to bee founde yea that which is woorst of all wherein are so manie rockes to reele agaynst and so infinite occasions to offende that souereigne Lorde who so woorthily deserueth to be honoured loued and most dutifully obeyed Wednesday 2. Med. ON Wednesday thy Meditation may bee of death a thing greatlie profitable to eschewe sinne And this muste thou meditate euen as though that houre were now arriued imagining therefore it is so and how thou art nowe come to that latter time of so great griefe and frighting feare discoâ—â—â—â— vpon these articles folowing First how in that houre there is a separation and diuorce to be made be twixt the soule and bodie by meanes whereof the soule shall not onely bee separate from the bodie but also from all thinges it loued in this life and how thou must needes leaue heere behinde thee wife riches kinsfolks and al thy other deare friends with eache other thing be it neuer so well beloued neyther shalt thou carrie any thing awaie Iob. 1 1. Tim. 6 Eccles 5 with thee but onely the good and euil works thou hast wroght in this world Concerning secondly what we suffer in this sundering of our soules and bodies the agonies temptations and frightes the vision of deuils which in dreadfull and terrible shew appear before vs the perils that pinch the soule on euery side the anxietie it receiueth imagining what shall become both of it selfe and of the withered and consumed body Thirdly thinke howe thy soule thus parting from thy body with inestimable greefe the body shal then be buried and yeeld it food to worms neither shall any one iot of riches rest with it but onely that poore peece of winding sheet it shall be wrapped in and that small circuit of earth wherein it shall be enterred Now the soule it shall bee presented before Christ the dreadfull Iudge to whom it shal yeeld a most strict and narrow reckoning of all her life and shall receiue as she hath don in the body an euerlasting doom weigh well heere what the soule shall feele whiles it waiteth for this doome not wotting on which side it shall bee sent Out of these considerations may Documentes these right profitable lessons be gathered to wit how small trust and confidence wee ought to haue in this life wherein death may euery day and hower assaile vs as also to riches kinsfolkes and friendes whoe cannot any waies helpe vs at that time yea all abandon and forsake vs On the other side what contentation wee shoulde then receiue by hauing liued well and gained a certaine faithfull friend who might in that houre helpe and greatly succour vs. See therfore thou endeuor thy selfe now to do that thou wouldest in that houre haue done and force thee to please thy true friend in deede which is Iesus Christ that hee maie succour thee in that houre of so apparant perill Thursday 2. Med. ON Thursday thy meditation let bee of the last day of iudgement which we according to our beliefe do certainly looke for and shall come without fail yea perhaps in thy daies concerning the which thou shalt meditate these three points First howe terrible and dreadfull a day that shal be aswell by reason of the signes and wonders that shal go before it in the Sunne Moone the sea and other creatures with the ruine and ouerthrow of the whole world as also through that most dreadfull sounde of the terrible trumpet whereby all shall Mat. 13. Sap 3. Dan. 12. be in one moment raised vp againe Secondly consider the brightnesse and beautie which the elect shall rise 2. Cor. 5. 10. 14. in and the vglines and grisly grimnes of the reprobate besides the most straight account which they shal yeeld to Christ of all the workes words and thoughts of their whole life and what vtter shame and confusion the wicked shall suffer before all the Angels and millions of men Thirdly think how highly the good shall bee fauoured and honoured before that vniuersall assemblie and what the reprobate shall feele seeing Christ in such power and maiestie and Mat. 24. with that finall doome throwe them downe to eucrlasting torments Out of these points debated at leisure and in more particularitie thou maiest Documents gleane this profite howe to auoid this shame confusion of that day wheÌ„ to euery one their sins shal be discouered There is no better a remedy then with Dauid to poure out thy soule before God in confessing thy sinnes in crying peccaui and to call for mercy at Gods hand saying haue mercy on me Lorde And then repent thee of thy sinnes weighing withall that if men doo heere trauaile so much to attaine some temporal degree and riches and so greatly force themselues to flie the dangers and disgraces of this life what oughtest thou to doo to be made partaker of that soueraigne dignitie and
restore or hâ—â—le one of thine eies or any other memâ—er that thou lackest The benefite of preseruation howe euery moment The benefit of preseruation he preserueth and keepeth thee which if hee did not thou shouldest foorthwith returne to that nothing which thou wert first made of And this is asmuch as though hee created thee anewe besides thy preseruation he hath made al the other Creatures that be in the vniuersal World whereof some bee to nourish thee some to cloath thee other to yeelde thee honest delight and recreation to all thy sences other to cure thy griefes and sicknesses and finallie al the creatures thou seest vnder the Cope of heauen yea and Heauen it selfe too shalt thou find how God hath created for some vse and seruice of thine Weigh now wel if thou wouldest thinke thy selfe so greatly bound to one that had bestowed some Iewel or other gratious guift vppon thee howe much more art thou to repute thee bound and indebted to him that hath heaped so manie gifts togither vpoÌ„ thee that without any mite of thine own meriting Think afterwards of the benefite of redemption which containeth in it al the things thy sweet Sauiour did and suffered for thy raunsome paying first how he discended from heauen to earth for thee The benefit of redemption and beeing borne was for thee laid in a maunger for thee began he the eight day after his birth to shed his precious blood for thee did hee all his life long endure so innumerable annoiances paines persecutions in going sweating preaching fasting watching praying and finally for thee did hee suffer the most grieuous bitter torments anguishes and ignomious reproches that may be possible rehearsed being obedient euen vnto the death of the crosse If thou ponder these things more particularly and by peece-meal they will yeelde matter enough to enflame thy heart with zeale be it neuer so frozen and prouoke thee to loue him who hath so dearly loued thee and with so great a price redeemed thee Secondly call to mind the particular benefits thou hast receiued chiefly Particular benefits The benefite of vocation that of thy vocation how god through his great mercie hath called thee to his holie faith and baptisme wherein hee bestowed his grace gifts vpon thee whereof an infinite number of other nations neuer tasted Think how many times thou hast lost his grace through thy sinnes and yet God hath forborne and staied for thy repentance yea prouoked thee thereunto by many godly inspirations and after hath receiued thee againe and forgiuen thee Consider also the remedies he hath left thee to recouer keep encrease this grace and spirituall life withall which are the holy Sacraments for the which he deserueth to bee highlie thanked as hauing vouchsafed to leaue vs so great a treasure Thinke also how manie other particular benefites he hath done and doth daylie bestowe vpon thee giuing thee more temporall riches more honour more abilitie more powers more prosperitie then others recuring thine infirmities deliuering thee from many perils relieuing thy necessities with other innumerable and hidden benefits that thou thy selfe art ignorant of Thirdly consider that if thou hadst receyued the aforesayde benefites or any one of them of what man so euer how entirelie thou wouldest haue loued and thanked him and how willinglie thou wouldest haue drudged to do him anie kind of seruice thought no paines too great to haue shewed thee gratefull vnto him howe much more reason is it then thou shewe thy selfe such a one towards thy heauenly Lord and God to whom for his great goodnesse thou art more deepelie indebted and the more woorthie to bee beloued and serued Do that Dauid sayeth Let thy soule blesse the Psal 12. 0 Lorde and neuer forget his so manifolde benefites For if hee see thee thankefull hauing his benefites alwayes in minde and yeelding laudes and prayses to the giuer thou shalt euery day month and yeere receiue more reliefe and new bounties at his most bountifull hand These bee the meditations which thou maist make on Euenings or in an other weeke obseruing alwayes in the beginning and ending of each one what hath beene foretolde thee in the former Chapter Other Meditations wherein the better learned may at other times exercise themselues certaine also for the simpler sort wherein the mysteries of the life of Christ be intreated of Cap. 10. FOrasmuch as this exercise of praier is of so great profite and that wherewith the spirituall life is as it were nourished and sustained I haue thought good as amplie to entreat therof And wil adde somewhat more in this chapter to that which hath beene saide already desiring to satisfie both the learned and the ignorant that is to say both those that bee more capable of this exercise and such as haue not so great capacitie For the first sort wherof the former meditations bee most fit and fruitfull neuerthelesse to the ende they may haue more ample matter to meditate vpon some weeks they may The life of Christ diuided into three parts 1 intermeddle the Meditations of the life of Christ which is diuided into three parts or periods The first is of the incarnation of the son of God vntill his baptisme wherin are contained his incarnation natiuitie circumcision adoration in the Temple flight into Egypt returning to Nazareth and the doctors in the Temple where the blessed virgin had lost him of all the which mysteries S. Luke and S. Mathew write in their first chapters of their Gospels A man may meditate likewise what he did from 12 yeeres vpward vntill his baptisme according to euery one their godly deuotion for that wee find nothing written thereof in the holy Gospel The second part of Christ his life beginneth at his baptisme and continueth vntill his sacred passion wherein are comprehended his baptisme fasting temptation in the wildernesse his preachings and manie miracles hee wrought vntill his last supper whereof the historie of each one may bee gathered out of the holie Gospels The third part comprehendeth his last supper his passion his resurrection and ascention whereof I haue alreadie intreated in the seuenth Chapter These Meditations of the life and myracles of our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ may be fitly distributed and meditated in one or two weekes by such as haue ley sure and learning to gather the storie out of the holie Gospell obseruing pardie in all their meditations the aduices and instructions aboue said especially of picking fruitfull notes and doctrine for their soules out of these holie instructions and of gouerning themselues in the beginning and ending of each one as is aforesaid Certaine remedies for such as could not happilie finde sauour or deuotion in the former meditations Cap. 11. WOtting wel as I haue alreadie sayde what great good this exercise of prayer doth purchase to our soules I haue in this respect beene more willing to extende my selfe a little the further in entreating
goodnes The which a deuout and spiritual man marking well euery time hee heard the clocke strike said thus in his hart Ah my Lord God P. Ignat in horas singulas col ligebatsese cap. 1. lib. 5 vitae ipsus loe nowe another houre of my life spent whereof I am to yeeld thee a reckoning And so forst himself withal to spend the next houre better then the former Secondly cōsider how if thou once let slip the time vnfruitfullie that is giuen thee to fructifie and doo good in Galath 6 Time past is past recouery it can neuer bee possiblie recouered againe and so must thou needes afterwardes lament the losse of so pretious a thing through thy negligence and yet want meanes to win it any more for albeit thou haue a meaning to doo well hereafter yet is it vncertein whether thou shalt haue time and leysure Mat. 24. 25 Apoc. 3. granted thee to doo so And if thou haue it yet is the good thou shalt then doe due to that present time and so thou both mightest oughtest haue done before Thirdly consider how long painfull The toile of worldlings confoundeth the sloth of Christians the toiles and sweates of worldelie men bee to scrape a few riches together and to purchase some temporall promotion and howe they refuse no paines to satisfie others humors and to gaine their gratious lookes and fauours And thus be thou vtterly confounded that they to get vaine and transitory thinges should be more diligent then thou to purchase a most precious and euerlasting riches Bee ashamed likewise that they are more Luk. 16. diligent and carefull to please men but bondslaues of the worlde then thou to please God that celestiall and omnipotent monarch The second remedie to make thee The second remedy The hope of gaine in heauen ought to make vs take pain◠in earth take paines and to worke well in this life is to thinke eftsoones of the glorious fruit that these thy good trauels and labours will one day affoord and yeeld thee For if the husband doe dig and delue and till his ground in frost snow and the coldest winter windes that blow and withall this hardnesse goeth so lustilie away in hope of sommers yeeld that sometimes dooth deceaue him how much more reason is Iam. 5. it that thou shouldst trauaile and take paines to serue God in this life hoping as thou dooest for so plentifull a haruest in the life to come which neuer did nor can possiblie deceiue vs as both our faith and all the holy scriptures doo assure vs. And if the hyred seruant weigh not the toile of his whol daies trauaile for ioy of the wages he Math. 10. Luke 6. 1. Cor. 3. looketh to receiue at night why dost not thou in like manner animate thy selfe to worke in this life remembring the abundant and incomparable hire that shal be paide thee at night to wit after death Neither can any man attaine to so great a reward but by great paines and trauaile as Saint Gregorie testifieth Cal to mind also the anguishes griefes and infinit torments that S. Gregory such suffer and shall doe euerlastinglie as in this life through sloth and negligence refused to take any paines to serue God and to fulfill his diuine Mat 3 7 ca. 21 Luke 13 Iohn 15. commaundementes and so be dead like barren braunches without bearing fruit which if thou seriouslie doe thinke of will put life into thee and make thee beare right patiently any paines whatsoeuer The third remedie to redresse this vice and to animat vs not to shrink at The third remedy againste sloth the toiles which wee must take in this life to serue and please God with is that which the apostle prescribeth to the Hebrues to wit the oft thinking Heb. 12 and rethinking of the life and passion of our Sauiour Iesu Christ sithence if Ber. ser 43 in Can. Our sauiors passiō ought to make vs paineful we eftsoones did consider howe this good Lorde of ours was from his infancy brought vp in trauell and how he passed his whole and most holy life euen from the crib to his crosse in continual turmoiles and troubles these his afflictions of this world suffice to eaze and lighten ours seemed they neuer so intollerable his drops of sweats would asswage our heates encourage vs to bear him company wotting wel how Matth. 10 Luke 6 Iohn 13 and 15. vnseemly a thing it is for the seruant to be in better estate then the maister If he therfore take such pains in this life for loue of vs it is not much that wee on the other side take some paines for his loue and our own profit This consideration caused the holy faints afore time with such feruour and diligence to walke in our Lords waies herewith did they cheerfully passe their trobles fastings watchings other lothsome labours of this temporall life and so mayst thou doo in like manner if thou set the same mirror continually before thine eies The last remedy that shall in this matter helpe thee greatly is to make The Fourth remedie Euery day to be accoumpted our dying day Luke 12. Math. 24. 25. Marke 13 accompt that each day is the last daie of thy life which with good cause thou mayst doo and thinke on seeing thou art not assured whether the next day shal be giuen thee or no. Thinke therfore how thy whole state for euer dependeth onely on this one daies behauiour so animate and cheere vp thy selfe saying My dolors shal indure but for this day it is not much that I behaue me diligently therein especially knowing the profit that is to ensue thereof Remedies against the sin and temptation of Couetousnesse Chap. 20. THe second enimie that wee The tentations of the secōd enemy Ber. Ser. 59. ad soro rem haue in this life is the world which is meant and vnderstood by the concupiscence of our eies conformably to the authoritie of S. Iohn aforesaid sithence the great variety of things that are in this world as riches and other temporall commodities do engender in vs a certeine curious desire to see them of seeing groweth a longing and seeking to haue them weening they should be both profitable and pleasant to vs and then hauing once obtained and gotten them followeth a couetousnesse which is a disordinat desire wherwith Couetise defined wee loue possesse and enioy them as also an insatiable appetite to haue alwaies more then that we haue already The which vice for that it is a very dangerous one yea as the apostle saith the roote of al wickednes is couetousnes 1. Tim. 6 It behoueth therefore we be prouided of good weapons and sufficient remedies to resist the same for feare of beeing ouercome withal Wherefore the best and most conuenient for this purpose are these aduises following Remedies for the poore man couetous First if thou bee poore and haue
people ought to doe For such as prolong their preparation and conuersion vntill the houre of death hauing lyued loosely and without the feare of God al their time of health albeit they bee not to despaire but to make the best shift they can for their poore soules in the small time that is left behinde yet are they in great daunger no doubt and in a very perillous estate These The wicked liuer◠dying to be doubted being they whose saluation saint Augustine doubteth of Let vs therefore as saint Paule warneth vs Doe well whiles we haue time continually watching Galath 6 and preparing our selues to death according to out Sauiors councell Mat. 24 Sith we neither wot the daie nor houre thereof therefore watch and with care prepare thy selfe First see thou cleanse and purge thy soule with wholesome praier and exhortation The first aduise in time of sicknes either before or in thy sickenesse especially before the purging of thy bodie For God many times sends sicknesse to the body for the sinnes of The soule to be purged before the body the soule And therefore it may bee the cause once ceasing to wit sinnes thy sicknesse also being the effect shal also cease The body afflicted for the sins of the soule Now if hauing vsed this remedie thy sicknesse continue then take this second aduise accept it with a willing mind as a gift which thy heauenly father for thy soules health to forward thee looke to the safeguard of the same with consideration of the singular loue he beareth thee so vnworthy a member thinke therefore to conforme thy selfe to his will that thy painefull pilgrimage may be past ouer to his glory and the vsuall health of thy soule and body These and such like aduises for thy troubled body thou mayest vse during such time as God shall put thee in such remembrance by visitation to escape and be cured of But if thy mallady be mortall and no remedie but this temporall life must be determined and ended by it then ouer and aboue take these aduises following The first is perceiuing sicknes increase that thou most vigilantly awake and rouse vp thy self to dispose both of thy temporall and spirituall affaires as if then these wordes were spoken vnto thee deliuered by the prophet Esay to king Ezechias Dispose of thy house for thou shalt die and not liue Dispatche therefore and make perfect thy Will which euery good Christian ought to doo in the time of health when hee may with better ease sounder iudgement and more mature aduise performe and doo the same and not to driue it till the last hour when all these commodities doe faile him sith daily experience dooth informe vs howe through the lets and incumbrances of sicknesse the Wils that are made in that time be very rawly perfourmed and many times vnperfectlie drawne and penned Hauing therefore I saie thy Will in a readinesse by thee with thy satisfaction therein conteyned thou mayest then as shall seeme best vnto thee alter or adde therevnto any thinge by waie of councell but if thou hast beene heretofore negligent in this matter then mayest thou amende with wisedome such wilfull ouersighte eyther by aduisement of thy friend or how thou wilt dispose it to thy contentment The second is when that is fully finished The secōd aduise in time of death touching temporal causes I mean then to occupie thy minde with heauenly matters forgetting the World as if it were not but as if thou A forgetting of worldly affaires hopedst to enioy a glorious kingdome aboue and giue thy selfe ouer to thy Lorde and Sauiour moste willinglie least thou be in thy conscience otherwise afflicted The third is to giue warning that thou beest not troubled with any housholde matters whatsoeuer And see this chieflye doone when death is at thy doore and thy life draweth fast to an end let this aduise bee most carefully executed least the sight or hearing of such matters might then with drawe thy affection to them quite from Diuine and heauenlye thinges which at such time thou must oughtest to bee in loue withall The fourth is that some deuout The 4. aduise manne being called if thou chance to fall in those tearmes and confer with him vpon other matters belonging to thy soules health considering thy bodie is not but earth and passing the time in godly conference and prayer thy soule may lifte and eleuate it selfe The deth of Christ a help in death our sweetest comfort to heauenly and spiritual ioyes celestiall and most glorious thinking especially on the passion of Christ Iesus for thy better resolution of thy fixed faith And thus pray with them in the best manner that thou canst Of the tentations that are commonly felt in the houre of death and the remedies against the same Cap. 26. THere bee many anguishes and anxieties which the soule dooth commonly feele in the perillous traunce and houre of death this beeing the moste terrible thinge that can happen vnto vs in this life sith at that time the soule dooth suffer on euerie side and which way soeuer it turneth doth finde great cause of corsie and extreame annoy First it suffereth in respect of the The extreame anguishes of the soule in the time of death body from which it parteth with no small paine It suffereth likewise in parting from temporall thinges which it leaueth heere behinde and look how much they were in life time loued of it and so much more doo they in that houre of death torment it It suffereth through the great dread it hath of the strict accoumpt which it knoweth wel must forthwith be passed to the dreadfull iudge of euery thing it hath doon in all hir life time It suffereth through the horrible visions of Deuils which in that houre appeere the sight wherof is an intollerable torment And much more doth it suffer through the greeuous and bitter assaults wherwith in that houre they farre more siercelie set vpon it then euer they did before For like as towardes the ende of the world and time of general iudgement the prince of darkenesse shal most terriblie and with greater rage and fury assault mankinde as he knoweth better how smal a time is then remaining for him to doo the same and to infest it any longer In like manner doo the deuils behaue themselues towardes such as be at the point of death againste whom they bend all their might and maine all their sleightes and subtileties whatsoeuer sith they know well that if the soule in that last houre doe escape their dreadfull clookes they loose what they pretended to gaine all her life time in this world For so doe the Doctors commonly saie vpon the sentence of the Apocalypse That Apoc. 2 the diuell descendeth with great rage wotting well that hee hath but a small time lefte So that the anxietie and bitternesse of that houre shal be great and no man by wordes shall exaggerate