from the rocks of this world which on euery side threaten shipwracke to my soule and as the Sailer when he is arriued in the hauen crownes the masts of his ship with garlands of flowers in token that he is in safty euen so crowne me ô my God with the precious guifts of thine holy spirit for pledges of the eternall blessednesse which thou promisest me I say of thy spirit which reigneth in thy faithfull ones which distributes faith to thine elect charity to thy beloued and hope to those whome thou hast predestinated 13. Now whilest my soule continues in this exile looking euery day when thou wilt call it to thy â—elfe I will teach sinners the way they ought to follow for to please thee I will direct them left that in the darknesse of this world they stumble vpon the blocks which shall he presented to them they will beleeue me and they shall returne to thee ô father of light turne to thee ô Father of light they shall with all their hearts imbrace thy law and walke in thine obedience 14. I know ô Lord that there bee some who will stoppe their eares at my words and will grow stubborne in their sinnes they will plot my death and willingly would die their barbarous cruelty with my bloud Deliuer mee my GOD forth of their hands and preserue mee that I may declare thy righteousnesse and pronounce their condemnation I will fore-tel them of their miseries and so soone as my speech is ended thine hand shall strike them and so soone as thine hand hath stricken them behold they shall bee for euer crusht in peeces and confounded 15. And then thou shalt open my lippes and my mouth shall declare thy victory the aire wil be cleere the winds will bee appeased and the flouds will stand still to heare mee sound forth the wonders of the eternall GOD. For thy praise ô LORD shal bee the sacrifice which I continually will offer vp vnto thee which at all times will bee pleasing vnto thee 16. I would willingly haue bloudied thine Altars with the slaughter of much cattell I would willingly haue sacrifized a thousand Oxen and as many sheepe in thine honor but bloud stinkes before thee and their flesh thou acceptest not the smoake of such offerings consumes it selfe in the arie like wind and it can not ascend where thou art the onely voyce of a iust man mounteth higher then the heauens and thine Angells present it vnto thee 17. O how acceptable vnto thee is the sacrifize of an hart pearced thorow with repentance an hart that is humbled in the knowledge of his sinne such an one wilt thou neuer reiect hee that will go vp vnto thee must descend downe into himselfe the way to touch heauen to lie groueling vpon earth hee that wil bee heard of thee must hold his peace and hee that will bee crowned in thy kingdome must be beaten and scourged in this world These are the sacrifices which can reconcile vs vnto thee and enter vs into the alliance which thou hast made with vs. 18. If thou wilt haue vs ô Lord to offer vp vnto thee bulls and oxen and that wee shall make thine Altars smoake with the bloud of Beasts if thou wilt haue vs by the death of an innocent oblation to represent before thee the death innocency of him whome thou hast destined for the redemption of our soules if the figure of that which shall come to passe in the person of the Immaculate Lambe bee pleasing vnto thee in the slaughter of sheepe and rams pittifully then beehold thy poore people comforte desolate Sion encourage her poore inhabitants to the end that they may repaire the walls of thine holy citty and re-edifie thy teÌ„ple not in equall measure to thy deserts ô Lord but according to the riches and industry that the world can attaine vnto 19. Thither from all parts shall thy faithfull people come in heapes to offer sacrifize vnto thee there onely shalt thou accept the expiation for their sins But my God neither the bloud nor death of beasts can wash out their filthinesse the expiation of their sinne and disobedience is prepared before all eternity It is an inestimable sacrifize an immaculate burnt-offering that must draw away the vaile dissipate the darkenesse and breake downe the partition-wall for to make vs behold the truth of our saluation face to face which must cause the beames of the diuine mercy to shine vpon vs and reassociate vs to the communion of the eternall blessednes which we haue willingly renounced O must pittiful God which hast cleered the eies of mine vnderstanding made me to see the mistery of my saluatioÌ„ cause me ô Lord to tast the excellent frute which budding on the tree of the crosse shall quicken with his iuyce our mortified soules shall for euer keepe and preserue vs from the ruine and calamity which hath so miserably attainted man-kind hath spred it selfe all ouer them by their owne disobedience Domine exaudi Psalme 110. O Lord how long haue I cried out for thy mercy yet I am still expecting thine aide The aire is filled with my lamentations the winds haue carried the voyce of my complaint to the farthest parts of the earth and thine eare which vnderstandeth what is done in the deepest bottoÌ„ of hell harkeÌ„s not vnto my praier which pierceth the very heauens Thou art onely deafe ô Lord in my respect and the whole world will sooner then thy selfe giue eare to my laments No no my God thou hast too long stretched out thine arme vnto me to reiect me now when I come vnto thee for refuge 2. Now that I feele a thousand and a thousand griefes and that euills assaile mee on euery side turne not thy face away from mee ô Lord. Alas I haue placed all my comfort in the milde aspect of thy countenance I haue left the world and retired my selfe vnto thee I haue forsaken the children of the earth to the end to allie my selfe to the maister of heauen can'st thou now cast mee of doe not so ô Lord but all the dayes of my life helpe my infirmitie 3. So soone as my voice shall cry out vnto thee ô my God so soone let me feele thee let thy grace come downe as swiftly vpon mee as an Eagle to the succour of her yong ones For if thou assist mee not what combate can I wage against the enemies of my soule 4. My strength and my life doth continually vanish away like to a light smoake which in flying abroad looseth it selfe that eye which sees it come forth of the fire doth as quickly see it dispersed and accompanieth it in a moment from his originall to his end and they that aske what is become of it cannot so much as discerne the trace thereof Who hath seene peeces of wood lye drying in the sunne loose both their vigor and verdure let them behold my poore bones which are become drye and withered and craue nothing but a
off theyr hands 19. Then shall they all bee heard to sing a song of glory to the victorious King their voice shall bee heard in all the parts of the earth and the memory of thy singular goodnesse and infinite mercy shall bee engraued in mens mindes to passe from age to age euen to their last posteritie when the earth shall bee consumed the waters dryed vppe the firmament vanished away and the heauens come to an end euen then shall men sing forth the glory of the eternall God 20. The eternall GOD who hath vouchsafed from the highest heauens to cast his eyes downe to the depths of the earth to take notice of the torments of poore captiues deteined in the prisons of hell who hath heard their gronings and made haste to vnbinde and deliuer these poore wretched prisoners and their whole posterity Death had ouercome them with the weapons of sinne and confined them in his darke prisons but the God of life hath vanquished death and set them all at liberty 21. To the end ô Lord that they may declare thy praise in Sion and preach thy mercy in Ierusalem But though euery one of them had an hundered mouthes and a voyce as strong as thy thunder they should neuer bee able to attaine to the greatnesse of thy glorie All the parts of the world doe conspire together but to represent in their motion some part of thy power and infinite goodnesse and yet they shall misse the marke for they are bottomlesse pitts and more then bottomlesse pitts which haue neither banke nor bottome and which must onely bee look't vpon a farre off 22. Bee pleased then ô my God that thy people assembled together and revnited in body and minde doe deuoutly offer vnto thee the holy desire and will which they haue to honor thee for the effect it selfe can in no sort draw neer to thy desert Take it in good worth ô Lord that the Kings of the earth doe come and humble themselues before thee to pay the homage and seruice which is due vnto thee as to their souerain Lord. They shall lay their scepters on the ground and their crownes at their feete and shall present thee with a sacrifice of humble deuotion and an innocent conscience I will be the first ô my God that will prostrate my selfe before thee to adore and serue thee with my whole heart I will settle my thoughts on thee onely vnto thee alone will I consecrate my spiritte Quicken it ô Lord to the end that it beeing purified by the holy heat of thy charity it may receaue into it selfe like a well-pollished looking-glasse the Image of thine incomprehensible beauty and perfection and that it may feele the reflection of thy sincere affection so as thine infinite goodnes may make it one of the number of thine elect to bee a coheire with them of eternall life 23. I doe now already feele ô my God that thou hast enlightned my soule by thy grace and hast shewed me the mercy which thou wilt offer to all the children of the earth my spirit hath already seene from a farre off how readily thou walkest to deliuer the world which was in danger of death before thine arriuall that was the cause why thou heardest it cry out vnto thee saying tell me ô Lord the number of my yeares and what time thou wilt giue an end to my daies 24. Cut not of the thred of my life ô Lord at the first or second turne of the wheele shorten it not in the middest of his course stay my God til the time be come when as thou wilt open the treasures of thy graces to giue a largesse of saluation vnto men or if at the least thou hast determined of mine end and that my life cannot bee so farre stretched out yet remember my posterity and cause him to bee borne of my stocke who by his comming shall sanctifie the world 25. In very deed ô Lord I know that in the beginning thou diddest make heauen and earth and all that excellence which wee see in this world is the worke-man-shippe of thy hands 26. But all that shall weare away like an ouer-worne garment men shall seeke after and enquire what is become of it but it shall bee no more found it hath beene made and it shal be vndone it had a beginning and must needs haue an end but thou alone ô Lord which art from all eternity shalt remayne for euer at one stay Age and time which consumes all things doe but confirme thine essence and publish thy diuinity and it seemeth vnto me that men are borne vpon the earth to none other end but to behold on the one side thine incomprehensible greatnes and their owne weakenes on the other 27. Men shift not shirts so often as one selfe-same land doth oftentimes change hir inhabitants the one pusheth on another and all is renued in a moment But thou art yet my God to day the same that thou wert at the beginning Euery Prouince of the earth makes mention of a great number of Kings which haue commaunded therein one after another but heauen and earth doe continually sing vnto vs that thou hast alway beene alone euer like thy selfe and that neither the time past nor that which is to come can in any sort change thee 28. Yet notwithstanding ô Lord that we must part hence I doe not lose my hope to taste one day of the sweet fruite which will heale vs of this contagious disease which our first parents haue communicated to vs by eating of the fruite of sinne and death For our children shall succeed vs and thou wilt doe vs this fauour ô Lord to continue our posterity from age to age vntill that all of vs together doe appeare in thy presence not to receaue a rigorous iudgement but to enter by the merrits and intercession of thy welbeloued Sonne our Sauiour into the inheritance of eternall blessednesse which shal be purchaced for all thy faithfull ones by the adoption of thy sonne in the house of thy seruant Dauid De profundis Psalme 129. FRom the bottome of the deepes I haue cried vnto thee oh my God being buried and lost in the most fearefull cauernes of the earth I haue called vpon thy name listen to my voyce and giue eare vnto my praier for all hope of aide was taken from mee I saw nothing round about me but feare and trembling and yet notwithstanding I was not discourraged but haue expected from thee that which thou hast promised to all those which shall liue in the feare of thy name and in the obedience of thy commandements 2. Lend then a fauourable eare ô Lord vnto my prayer if sinne haue set it selfe betwixt thee and mee to whet thee on against mine iniquitie and to make thee an enemy to my request chace it away from the aspect of thine eye of mercy or else ô Lord shut for a while the eye of thy iustice vntill that thine eare of clemencie hath receiued
Their miserie hangs ouer their head misfortunes follow them at euery steppe vntill they haue throwne them head-long into that gulph the onely thought whereof is fearefull to all those which do remember it whose easiest places of retreate are full of cryes groanings and lamentations Where paine is without end griese without remedie repentance without mercy where death is immortall the body liuing but to dye and the soule to suffer where the soule feeles nothing but her sinne and the body but his punishment On the contrary those which couer themselues with the Lords fauour which make his mercy their buckler who haue no other hope but in his goodnesse who follow his comandements and are iealous of his will and pleasure what felicitie is there but they may attaine to what precious thing is there in heauen but shall bee opened vnto them They shall sitte side by side with their God and beeing enuironed with glory so much happinesse shall be heaped vpon them as the soule of man is not able to conceiue the least part thereof much lesse can my barren tongue expresse it 14. I will then reioyce ô my God in the hope of such and so many benefits as thou reseruest in heauen to crowne the iust withall Vnto this ioy I inuite you all which trust to the wordes of our Sauiour which loue iustice and righteousnesse there doth the reward of your labours attend you there you shall be placed in honor and glory there shall you exchange the sharpe thornes of this world for flourishing Lillies of all eternity Oh then shall the sweate of your afflictions finde most sweete rest Gold comes not forth of the flames in the Furnace more pure and shining to bee stamped with the Image of a great Prince and then to serue for the adornment of some rich cabinet as the hart of that man which loueth his God shall be drawne pure and cleane from the miseries of this world to be inuironed with splendor and glory What day can now displease mee in this world who shall hinder and stay me from entring into the howse of the Lord for to liue in his seruice vpon what day of my life shall I ceasse from bewailing those sinnes which kept me forth of his fauor vnite then in me ô my God these two contrary passions ioy and repentance to the end that like as the pilgrim who hath lost his way in a desert reioyceth when hee beholds the dawning of the day and yet for all that cannot forget the obscure darkenesse out of the which hee is yet scarce come nor lay aside his feare of so troublesome a night euen so haue I alwayes abhorred my sinnes past and haue neuerthelesse a certaine and liuely hope to enioy that eternall happinesse which thou hast purchased for vs by the price of the bloud of thy deere Sonne Iesus Christ. Alas how great is this loue when the Maister spareth not the life of his childe to redeeme his seruant Beeing then formed by thy hand redeemed by thy bloud and purified by thy mercy I offer my selfe vnto thee for a sacrifice of obedience reiect mee not ô my God Domine ne in furore Psalme 37. O Lord I must needs returne againe vnto thee and begin a new to implore thy mercy for thine anger seemeth to bee newly kindled against mee Alas my God wilt thou punish mee in thy wrath and cause me to feele the violence of thy iust furie which my sinnes haue stirred vp against me the torch consumed by fire falleth into ashes and I being deuoured by the heate of thine indignation shall vanish away and nothing will be left of me but onely smoake 2. For I see ô my God that thou hast let fly the sharpest arrowes of thy vengeance vpon mee thou hast touched mee with thine hand and thou takest it not of from me I feele remorse and terror in my conscience which doe astonish and bruze me like flashes of lightning and claps of thunder miseries come vnto me by heapes and one mishappe brings on another warre is no sooner ended but the plague assaileth mee and dâ—ath at the last bereaues mee of the deerest pledges which I haue in this world In what then ô my GOD shall I take comfort shall it bee in my selfe 3 Alasse there is no whole member about mee the disease hath pearced euen to the marrow of my bones there is no part about mee but doth reproch me for my sinnes and endures the punishment thereof I languish in my sorrow and no man comforts mee myne eyes serue mee for none other purpose but to behold my misery and my soule but to acknowledge my misfortune 4. I looke round about mee and as much as the eyes of my body and soule can discerne of the time past I see nothing aboue beneath nor on each side of me but sinne which compasseth me about and mine iniquites which crush and presse me downe they are heaped vpon my head like an heauy burthen and behold they smother me 5. How shall I resist them what strength haue I to defend my selfe seeing that my body falleth in peeces corruption runnes from it on euery side mysoares are no sooner shut but they open againe and if my body bee ill my soule is much worsse it is all confounded and trembleth for feare 6. And as sicknesse vndermines my body which is ready to die euen so doth sorrow my soule and steales away the strength thereof and as a sharp cold doth freeze and wither the tender new bud in the blosome euen so doth the finger of the Lord which hath touched my soule discourage it and make it to languish 7. But Alasse my God! what courage can I haue when I behold my selfe couered with wounds and that there is no part of my body free from greefe and that besides my disease my licentious pleasures present them-selues before me which reproch my sinne and deride my vanity I say to my selfe must I needs dippe my life in the honney of so many delights to steepe it afterwards in the gall of such bitter anguish where art thou now ô deceitful voluptuousnes which diddest melt my soule in the sweere licour of thy pleasures ô what a draught dost thou now leaue mee 8 Now ô Lord haue I not endured enough hath not my humility sufficiently chasticed my pride if I haue sinned thorow foolish presumption I haue since then fallen vpon the ground and couered mine head with ashes with mine owne arme I haue preuented my punishment I haue cleft my hart with cries and melted mine eies into teares and yet thy wrath continewes 9 It may be ô Lord that thou hast not perceued my laments thou who in the twinckling of an eye lookest thorow heauen and earth whose sight pearceth the very bottom of our hearts ô LORD thou hast read my thoughts and knowest mine intents what haue I craued but thy mercy wherein did I hope but in thy goodnesse wherefore haue I made a publicke profession of
to the afflicted which call vppon him hee forsakes him not neither day nor night so soone as sorrow hath humbled vs and caused vs to know what neede wee haue of him behold hee is at hand to saue vs. 18. The righteous indeede are afflicted with strange calamities and wee may in a maner say that they are the subiect of misery so many euills doe at once seeme to ouer-whelme them But it is onely to make the mercy of God the more illustrious notable in their behalfe For the greater that their tribulation is the brighter doth Gods pitty and compassion shine in their conseruation 19. Hee preserueth the least of their bones yea namely not an haire of their heads shall perish or be pluckt off but by his expresse will and he neuer wils it but for their good and saluation More-ouer a their wealth and store is vnder his protection and when hee pleaseth hee will multiply their riches hee will make his blessings to florish in their houses and hee will encrease their wealth and possessions aboue all enuy 20. On the contrary the life of the wicked shal be miserable If at the least-wise for to try theÌ„ to inuite them to returne vnto him he doth lend theÌ„ some wealth in this life hard and lamentable shall bee their death Death which shall turne them ouer to eternall torments Death which shall plung them in the botomlesse pitte of fires vnquencheable there to bee deuoured and neuer consumed there to bee euer languishing and neuer dead such shall bee the end of the wicked and of him which persecuteth the iust man 21. And thy poore seruants in the meane time whom thou hast so deerely redeemed out of the hands of death and sinne shall enioy in all happinesse the saluation which thou hast purchased for them and holding death and sinne in bands vnder their feete in the chaines of thy mercy they shal trust in thee so long as they shall remain in this worldly exile after that they are come forth of it they shall enioy that eternall blessednesse which thou hast promised them beholding in thy countenance that fountaine of brightnes goodnes and beauty wherwith thou diddest create heauen earth and al therein contained Noli Aeâ—ulari Psalme 36. IN regard that Gods prouidence which gouerneth the world oweth a recompence to euery man according as hee hath deserued I am sometimes amazed to see how those whose onely study is to do euill do receiue so many fauours in this life and doe bath them-selues in so many kindes of pleasures But as my heart begins to swell and to bee despited in it selfe I feele as it seemeth vnto me the spirit of God which comes and toucheth me and plucking me by the eare it saith vnto me soft and faire soft and faire thou poore wretch thou losest thy selfe in this ouer-deepe and dangerous discourse comfort thou thy selfe in mee and enuie not the good of the wicked bee not iealous of those which worke iniquity 2. For that which thou thinkest to bee their felicity is but a vaine shaddow a false and deceitfull image which will bee lost betwixt their hands will flie away when they shall thinke to hold it fast As the hay which is mowen downe fades withers in a moment euen so in a moment shal the magnificence of the wicked lose his colour brightnesse The herbes in a garden are not so soone withered as thou shalt perceiue the riches of the wicked to fal away and perish Hast thou not beheld the flower Emerocall true beauty of a day which flourisheth with a crimson dye in the morning keepeth his coulour all day long and in the euening becomes so pale and withered as though it had bin bitten with the frozen teeth of winter The happinesse of the wicked if a deceitfull smile of an apparent felicity may be termed a happinesse doth properly resemble that flower for it is withered so sodainly is changed in so short a time and is transformed in such diuerse manner as it is a wonder to behold it 3. Put then thy trust in God and beleeue it the insolence of the wicked shall neuer continue so long as the diuine iustice shall beare rule and bee likwise assured that the iust man shall neuer bee forsaken what affliction so euer he be in Discourage not thy selfe but continue in wel doing for he which perseuers vnto the end shall be saued Dwell in the land which thy God hath giuen thee content thy selfe with the graces which he hath giuen thee and enter not into iudgment with him For thou shalt find in the end that the riches of the wicked are but giuen them to keepe 4. Reioyce thou in the hope which thou hast in thy God lay aside the melancholy which thou hatchest in thy soule which like rust eats consumes thy heart For when thy minde shall bee once purified and thy thoughts lifted vp to thy Lord he will accomplish all thy wishes will cause thee to enioy all that which y u art able to desire 5. But do not present thy selfe before him with wauering goe not vnto him with diffidence do not hide thy thoughts opeÌ„ the very bottom of thy heart before him discouer thy thoughts For it is impossible to deceiue him and it is dangerous to goe about it He seeth and noteth all things chiefly a double and vnbeleeuing heart the which aboue all things else hee detesteth but hee receiueth and embraceth the poore man that is humbled hee harkeneth to his prayer and giues him before hand that which he ment to ask 6. Nothing is wanting neither wealth nor honour vnto him which hath his fauour if thou please him once hee will cause the glory of thy righteousnesse to shine brighter then the day light and the equity of thy iudgments to glister like the mid-daies sunne For people on all sides shall be seene to come from thee blessing thy house for a temple of iustice praysing thy word for an oracle and reuerencing thee as the cause of their rest and liberty Euery one shall exalt thine integrity as the protector of good men and sure defence of the afflicted But the more honour and glory that thou receiuest humble thy selfe so much the more vnder the hand of thy GOD and acknowledge this good to come from him and yeeld him homage The homage which hee demandes of thee besides thy heart is but thy mouth and hands thy mouth to set foorth his praise thy hands to serue him according to his commandements 7. Loe this is that which the spirit of God told mee I communicate it to you my friends and make yeepertakers of these holy aduertisements to the end that if here-after you see any one to prosper in his affaires and yet to blaspheme in his life yee should not bee offended thereat nor be angry in your selues though hee which worketh iniquity do abound in all manner of wealth 8. Be quiet then in your minds
things acknowledged the goodnesse and mercy of God and the folly misery and infirmity of men 4. That is the reason why beeing wholy confounded in the admiration of his greatnesse and compassion of our owne weakenesse I thought good forthwith to listen vnto that which my soule taught me and to take carefull heed of those things the knowledge and truth whereof it shewed mee couertly and vnder a disguised forme And after I had carefully vnderstood and examined it I tooke my Harpe in hand and framing my voyce to the sweet tunes thereof I prepared my selfe to commit my conceits to the ayre and to cause my meditations to bee heard of all those which would giue eare vnto them to the end they might bee pleasing vnto God the author of such holy thoughts and serue for a wholsome instruction to the fauorable hearer of my discourse 5. If yee would then know what I said vnto my selfe it was thus what should I feare in the hardest time of my life whereof should I bee afraide though death did lay his hand vppon mee and tooke me out of this world Alasse death is a strange peece of worke I know not any one but would seare him seeing no man can defend himselfe from him How can I shield my selfe from his darts what rampiar can I make against his assaults which vndermines and ouerthrows houses castles Cittyes Kingdomes Empires which thretens the destruction of the world and will at the last giue end vnto himselfe no armour will preuaile but innocency Thereof will I make a strong shield of steele For vnles I looke well to my selfe the traitor sin deaths hired soldiar will dog me at the heeles he will lodge in my concupiscence and will turne mee ouer at the time of the fight into the hands of damnation 6. O deere and pretious innocency thou art onely our safety vnder thy trust wee constantly wayte for all that which may happen vnto vs and wee knowe thee to bee stronge enough to defend vs from death ô foolish madde men which forsaking this trusty protection do strengthen themselues in their power and greatnesse and highly account of their riches and magnificence They reckon vppe the nations which are vnder their gouernment they number the treasure which they haue vnder locke and key but how can all this defend them from death 7. If the brother cannot redeeme his brother with the price of his owne life if being willing to dye for him inexorable death will not accept thereof what shall man then giue vnto death for his owne ransome shal he giue those goods which are not his owne or the Empiers which dye with him nothing lesse God will by no meanes be appeased after he hath pronounced his iudgment against mortal men He will compound with no man man is his creature the clay of his earth from whom when he pleaseth he will draw that spirit which he breathed into him man hath nothing to say against it nor must not dispute with him 8. Let vs I pray you a little rate the price of mans soule let vs see what he will offer vnto God to redeeme it from him let him labour all his life time let him goe to the corners of the earth let him thrust his hands into the bowels of the mynes let him draw drye the golden dugges of both the Indies let him spoile the East of her pearles and hauing heaped all this together let him come and trafficke with God for the prolonging of his life It is eauen as though a prisoner should make offer to leaue his irons if he might haue his liberty Poore wretch that which thou thinkest to be thy safety is the window whereat death enters Death comes of sinne sinne from thy concupiscence thy concupiscence is nourished enflamed and encreased by those trumperies God will talke with thee when thow art starke naked as he sent thee into this world before he will capitulate with thee he wil haue thee to render that which thou hast stolne from him his goods which thou hast mispēt then thou maiest consider whether thou hast any thing of thine owne to pay the double yea the foure-fould for the punishment of thy euill life Alasse poore mad creature if thou commest once to that point what wilt thou say to death seeing that the wisest men haue bended their necks vnder his yoake Thou who neuer madest acount of any thing but of thy corruptible and perrishing ritches dost thou think to be preserued from corruption and the wise man who as much as in him lay did immortalize himselfe in this life and conuersed with the Angells could not shield himselfe from it thou seest him come to his end and yet thou hopest to be immortall no no the wise and the foolish dye both together yet for all that in a diuerse fashion for the wise mans death is but a passage at his returne hee shall finde his Tallent infinitely multiplyed the glory which hee sewed shall growe vp in aboundance and shall shaddow the generation of his children 10. But these poore blinded people who haue euer their eyes fixed on the ground their minde shut in their pursse who haue no more vnderstanding but to loue those things which loue nothing who neglect the Sunne and Moone the chiefe workes of nature to admire stones marble gold and siluer the excrements of the earth shall leaue the wealth which they so much loued and for which they hated all the rest You shall see them striue with death they would gladly drawe their wealth with them to the graue but death will strike them ouer their fingers and make them leaue off their hold Beeing halfe dead they shall open their eye liddes to beehold with halfe an eye their treasures but at the last they must marche away they must forsake all this trashe a stronger power hales them away But vnto whom shall they leaue this store Perhappes an vnknowne stranger shall bathe him-selfe in the sweate of this poore wretched creature vnto whom for a portion shall bee alotted a graue of fifteene or twenty foot at the most that must be his house let him dwell there if he will 〈◊〉 And what is now become of those goodly pallaces where are those guilded roofs those gallant rankes of carued Pillars those marbles so brauely pollished those emblems engrauen in brasse and all his other miracles of vanity is there nothing left for him He purchased lands to continew from generation to generation he gaue names to his houses truely he was a great Lord. 12. Alasse the poore man when he was in honor had not the witte to know it and now he is like to the beastes and resembleth the horse and asse which haue no reason nor vnderstanding For what greater honor could he desire then to haue bene cast in the mould of the diuinity and to be placed amongst the workes of God to command ouer them as his Lieftenant He was little inferiour to the Angells and had a soule able
to comprehend the greatest wonders of the diuinity but eschewing the day-light of knowledge he went groaping vp and downe in the dennes and caues of ignorance and blockishnes and remained therein all his life-time hatching this miserable ritches and at the last is become like to a bruite beast For as a beast â—eigheth after his prouender and takes no care but how to feede euen so this man would not stir but for the necessities of the body nay he would scarcely vse that wealth which he had so much coueted being heerein much worse then all other beasts whose vnbridled appetite is satisfied by the vse of those things which they desire 13. O how scandalous and infamous is the life of such people what share haue they in this world or in the next but only shame in this and paine and torment in the other Let them now please themselues in their owne discourse let them grow proud in their wealth let them now a little call to mind the speeches they were wont to vse when they esteemed no man but themselues and their money and held all other men in contempt 14. Behold they are haled into hell like sheep to the slaughter death hath deuoured them and there is nothing left but their bare boanes which rotte in their graues 15. The iust man who with patience endured their pride his turne is now come loe his time is to raigne and he is now at his ease He riseth vp by the breake of day and after he hath giuen thankes vnto God he goes to behold the place where one of those miserable wretches dwelt the place where he was wont to braue and tiranize ouer the world and saies softly to himselfe praised be God who hath clensed the earth from this filth and hath giuen place vnto those which blesse his name This wretch is rotten and his glory with him He is now in torment and no man helps him let him remaine so hardly for death vnto him is a going on but not a comming back 16. As for my selfe ô Lord. I know very well that I must dye the sinne of our first parent hath bound vs to this debt it is the reward of his disobedience we must returne into the earth from whence we came Yet for all that ô Lord thou shalt redeeme me from death and deliuer me from the hands of hell when it would seaze on me Thou wilt not suffer me to goe downe so low thou wilt set me at liberty at the entry of the dore and wilt be satisfied that I should know without suffering the punishment of my deserued bondage and captiuity But what shall be the price of my redemption shal it be the goods of the earth the aboundance of gold and siluer Not so ô Lord. Thou thy selfe shalt be the price of my redemption thou shalt giue vp thine owne body to death to the end to deliuer my soule from hell thou shalt put on the sorrowes of the graue to the end to cloath me with the ioyes of immortallitie I will then hence-forward ô my God haue none other wealth but thou possessing thee I shall enioy the whole world louing thee I shall be in thee and thou in me and being so thou wilt bring thither all the wealth of the world all the strength all the glory of the world and wilt fill mee with an other manner of wealth then that of these poore wretches they know thee not their riches is but the fruite of their sinne which with their sinne shall perrish 17. Wee must not be amazed to see them sodainly wax riche nor account them happy for that if they doe abound in false honor which they hunt after and that they are loden with this vaine and fleeting glory which is nothing but a shew we must not wonder at it much lesse enuie them for it 18. For so soone as they shall kisse the earth and bee clothed with their winding sheete they shall carry away nothing with them but the cloth that couers them nothing shal follow them but their shadow Nay I beleeue that wil leaue them also for the light which causeth the shadow wil faile them insteed of these magnificent shews pompous solemnities wherewith they scared little children grief sorrow anguish pouerty misery shall wrap them about and cast them into the lake of Brimstone 19. And not without cause they tooke their pleasure in this life their happinesse was in this world they obteined what they wisht for wealth came to them by heapes greatnesse and felicitie was a burthen to them they loued none but such as inriched them they made much of none but those which encreased their reuenues they are dead haue nothing left them in the next world for they made no prouision of the wealth that is currant there they satisfied themselues to haue sufficient riches for this earthly life that is now ended and they are in pouerty They desired honor but it was vaine and fleeting which depended onely on the opinion of fooles they had it but they could not well tell how to keepe it They would needs sitte on the top of the wheele it turned round and threw them head-long downe Happy are they which can sitte at the foote thereof constant and vnmooued and behold in safety how it turnes about 20. But these miserable wretches did not so they willingly mounted the top from whence they fell into hell they are now of the number of their fathers they found their Ancestors there from whom they drew their birth and manners they imitated their vices and after death they pertake their punishment They learne but too late and when repentance is vnprofitable what it is to lift themselues vp against God and to resist his glory They learn what it is to afflict the iust to oppresse the poore to deride the afflicted They are confined in darknesse and the light shineth no more before their eyes They heare nothing but horror and gnashing of teeth they breath out nothing but sighs grones they do not moue vp and down but in feare and ttembling 21. When these wretched mad-men were in honor they knew not what it was and became like beasts without vnderstanding But alas this is no true comparison for when beasts die death takes away their feeling of sorrow as well as that of pleasure but these wretches which wold not know wherein their happinesse consisted who would not looke vpon eternall light who stopped their eares at the spirituall word their feeling shall remain for the subiect of their tormeÌ„ts their soule shal liue perpetually to coÌ„ceiue their misery and they shal for euer languish Quam bonus Israel Deus Psalme 72. HOw great is the goodnesse of our God how certaine is his helpe to those which waite on him to those I say who neuer turned away their thoughts from his mercy who holding the eie of their soule fixt on his prouidence haue neuer let slip the hope which they ought