sonne but the father neither knoweth any mā the father but the sonne Thyne onely Trinitie whiche surmounteth all knowledge is knowen fully to none but to thy selfe alone What is it then that I vayne man haue sayd that I know thée for who knowes thée els sauyng thy selfe For thou onely O God in thy most holy and heauenly worde art termed almightie passing prayse worthy passing glorious passing exalted passing high and passing substantiall bycause thou art discerned to be aboue all thynges that can be imagined to be whether they be to be conceiued in vnderstandyng or to be perceiued by the senses aboue all names that are named not onely in this world but also in the world to come beyond all that is or can be deuised to be For truly aboue the reach of all reason vnderstādyng and being doost thou by thy substantiall and secret Godhead dwel vnapprochably and vnsearchably in thy selfe whereas is light vnapprochable brightnes vnsearchable incomprehēsible vnspeakable wherūto no brightnesse may come neare bycause it is certeinly vnable to be beheld vnable to be seene aboue reason aboue vnderstandyng aboue acces aboue all chaūge aboue all partnershyp whiche neuer any wight neither man nor aungell hath throughly sene nor can sée This is thy heauen O Lord this is thy heauen so faire ingrauen the light so passing priuie so passing vnderstāding so passing reason so passing all that is wherof it is sayd the heauen of heauens is the Lordes The heauen of heauens in comparison wherof all other heauēs are but earth bycause it is passing wonderfully heaued vp aboue all heauens In comparison wherof euen the very firie heauen it selfe is but earth for this is the heauen of heauens that is reserued to the Lorde bycause it is knowen to none but to the lord Vnto this heauen came neuer none but he that came downe from heauen for no mā knowes the father sauing the sonne and the spirite of them both Neither doth any mā know the sonne sauyng the father the spirite that procéedeth from them both The Trinitie is fully knowē to none but onely to thy selfe O holy Trinitie O passyng wonderfull Trinitie surmountyng all vtterance beyond all searchyng aboue all approchyng ouer incōprehensible ouer vnconceiuable farre aboue all thinges that be far passing all vnderstāding all reasō all reach and all beyng of the mindes that are aboue heauen which it is not possible either to vtter or to conceiue or to vnderstand or to discerne no not euen to the aungels that behold it How then come I by the knowledge of thee which art highest aboue all the earth aboue all heauens whō neither the Cherubins nor the Seraphins do know perfectly but are fayne to shadow their faces with their wynges when they looke vppon him that sittes vpon the high and stately throne crying saying Holy holy holy Lord God of hostes the whole earth is full of thy glorie The prophet was abashed sayd Alas I am toungtyde for I am a man of vncleane lippes My hart was afrayd and sayd wo is me that I held not my toung bycause I am a man of vncleane lippes But I sayd I knew thée Neuerthelesse Lord wo be to them that are toūgtyde when they should speake of thée for there be many that be to full of toung without thée And therfore O Lord my God I will not hold my peace for thou hast made me and inlightened me wherby I haue found my selfe knowen thée bycause thou shynest vppon me But in what wise haue I knowen thée I knew thée in thy selfe I haue knowen thée not as thou art to thy selfe ward but as thou art to me ward and yet not without thy selfe but in thy self for thou art the light that hath inlightened me For no man knowes thee as thou art in thy selfe but as thou art to me ward by thy grace thou art knowen euē vnto me But what art thou to me ward mercyfull Lord tell me thy silie seruaunt for thy mercyes sake tell me what thou art to me warde Say vnto my soule I am thy welfare hyde not thy face from me least I dye Giue me leaue to speake before thy mercy suffer me that am but earth and dust to speake before thy mercy for great is thy mercy towardes me For I that am but dust and ashes will speake to my god Tell me thy sillie seruaūt tell me thy rufull creature tell me for thy mercyes sake what thou art to me ward Thou hast thundered from aboue with a great noyse into the inward eare of my hart and hast broken my deafnes and I haue heard thy voyce and thou hast inlightened my blindnesse and I haue sene thy light and haue knowē that thou art my god And therfore haue I sayd I knew thée bycause I knew that thou art my god Yea I know thée to be the onely true God and thy sonne Iesus Christ whom thou hast sent The tyme hath bene that I haue not knowē thée Wo worth that tyme that I knew thée not wo worth that blindnesse when I saw thée not wo worth that deafnesse when I heard thée not Blind deafe as I was I rā ilfauoredly through the goodly thinges that thou madest And thou wart with me and yet was not I with thée For the thinges held me farre from thée whiche should not haue bene at all if they were not in thée Thou hast inlightened me O light of the world and I haue sene thée and loued thée For no man knoweth thée but he that sées thée and no man sées thée but he that loues thée It was late ere I loued thée thou beawtie so old so fresh it was late ere I loued thée wo worth the tyme that I loued thée not Of the acknowledging of a mās owne vylenes LOrd who is like vnto thée yea euen among the Gods who is like vnto thée which art of excéeding great holines dreadfull prayse worthy and a worker of wonders Long it was ere I knew thée the true light long it was ere I knew thée There was a great darke cloud before my fond eyes so as I could not sée the sonne of righteousnesse the light of truth I like a child of darknesse was wrapped in darknesse and bycause I knew not the light I was in loue with myne owne darknesse For asmuch as I was blind I was in loue with my blindnesse and by darknesse walked into further darknesse still But who brought me out of it when I like a blind wretch sate in darknesse and the shadow of death who tooke me by the hand to leade me out of it Who is he that inlightened me For I sought not him but he sought me I called not him but he called me And who is he It is euen thou my Lord God mercyfull and pitifull the father of compassion and God of all cōfort It is euen thou my holy Lord God whom I acknowledge with my whole hart yeldyng thankes vnto thy
name I sought not thée and yet thou soughtest me I called not vpon thée yet thou calledst me Yea thou hast called me by thine own name with a loude voyce hast thou thundred down from aboue into the innermore eare of my hart saying Let there be light and there was light so as the great cloud went away and the darke mist that couered mine eyes melted away and I saw thy light knew thy voyce and said Truth Lord thou art my Lord God that brought me out of darknesse and out of the shadow of death called me into thy wonderful light and so now I sée I thanke thée myne inlightener Then turned I backe and looked vpō the darknesse wherin I had bene and the déepe gulfe wherin I had lyen I trembled and was afrayde and sayd wo wo worth the darknesse that I had lien in Wo wo worth the blindnesse that letted me to sée the light of heauen Wo wo worth my former ignoraunce which letted me to know thée O Lorde I thanke thée myne inlightener and deliuerer for that thou hast inlightened me and I haue knowen thée It was late ere I knew thée O aūciēt truth it was late ere I knew thée O euerlastyng truth Thou wart in light I in darknesse therfore I knew thee not For I could not be inlightened without thée neither is there any light without thée ¶ A consideryng of Gods maiestie O Holiest of all holyes O God of inestimable maiestie O God of Gods and Lord of Lordes wonderous vnspeakable vnconceiuable whō the aungels in heauen are adrad of whō all the dominations and thrones do worship at the sight of whom all powers do tremble of whose mightinesse and wisedome there is no comprehending which hast founded the world vpō nothyng and shet vp the sea in the ayre as in a bottle O most almightie most holy most strong O God of the breath of all flesh at whose presence the heauen and earth shrinke away at whose becke all the elementes submit them selues Let all creatures worshyp and glorifie thée And I the sonne of thy handmayd do bow downe the necke of my hart by faith vnder the féete of thy maiestie yeldyng thée thankes for that thou hast of thy mercy vouchsaued to inlighten me O true light O holy light O pleasaunt light O excéedyng commendable light O wonderfull light which inlightenest all men that come into this world yea and euen the eyes of the aungels Beholde I sée I thanke thée for it Behold I sée the light of heauē the lightsome beames of thy coūtenaūce shyne down vpō the eyes of my minde and cheere vp my bones O that thy light were perfected in me Augment if I beséech thée O author of light I beséech thee augment that whiche shyneth into me Let it be inlarged I beseech thee let it be inlarged by thée What is this that I féele What fire is it that warmeth my hart What light is it that spreaddeth his beames into my hart O fire which euermore burnest and neuer art quenched kindle me O light whiche euermore shynest neuer art dimmed inlighten me O would to God I were set on fire by thée O holy fire how swéetly thou burnest how secretly thou shynest how amiably thou warmest Wo be to them that burne not through thee wo be to thē that are not inlightened by thée O soothfast light which inlightenest the whole world and whose brightnes filleth the whole world Wo be to the blynd eyes that see not thee the sunne that inlighteneth heauen and earth Wo be to the dazelyng eyes that cannot away with the sight of thee Wo be to them that turne not away their eyes from looking vpon vanitie For the eyes that are accustomed to darknesse are not able to abyde the beames of the souerein truth neither can they that dwell in darknesse skill how to make account of the light They see nothyng but darknesse they loue nothyng but darknesse they like of nothyng but darknes and bycause they plod on from darknesse to darknesse they wote not where they fall Wretched are they that forgoe they wote not what more wretched certesse are they that know what they forgo so as they fall with open eyes go downe alyue into hell O most blessed light which canst not be sene but of exceeding well cleared eyes Blessed are the cleane in hart for they shall see god O clensing power clense thou me heale myne eyesight that I may beholde thee with sounde eyes whom none but sound eyes may behold O vnapprochable brightnesse take away the scales of my forgrowen dimsightednesse with the beames of thy inlightenyng that I may looke vpon thee without dazeling and see thee the better by thy brightnesse I thanke thée my light Lo I sée Lord I beseech thée let myne eyesight be inlarged by thee Shore open myne eyes that I may consider the wonderfull misteries of thy law who art wonderfull among thy saintes I thanke thee O my light For loe I sée howbeit but through a glasse as in a riddle But when shall I sée thee face to face When shall the day of ioy and mirth come that I may enter into the place of thy wonderfull Tabernacle euen the house of God there to behold hym that sees me face to face that I may haue my longing to the full ¶ Of the longyng and thirsting of the soule after God. LIke as the Hert longeth for the sprynges of waters so longeth my hart for thée O god My soule thirsteth after thée O God whiche art the liuyng welspryng when shall I come and prease into thy presence O foūtaine of life O veyne of liuely waters when shall I come out of this desert waylesse and waterlesse land vnto the waters of thy sweetnes that I may sée thy power and thy glory and staūche my thirst with the waters of thy mercy O Lord the fountaine of life I am a thirst satisfie me I thirst Lord I thirst after thée the liuyng God O whē shall I come Lorde and shew my selfe before thy face Thinke ye that I shall sée that day I say that day of mirth and gladnesse that day which the Lord hath made for vs to be merie and ioyfull therein O excellēt and faire day which knowest none euentyde nor hast any Sunne goyng downe wherin I shall heare the voyce of prayse wherin I shall heare the voyce of gladnes thankesgiuyng wherin I shall heare it sayd vnto me Enter thou into endlesse ioy in the house of the Lord thy God where be thinges great vnsearchable wōderfull that cānot be nōbered Enter thou into ioy voyde of heauines which conteineth endlesse mirth whereas shal be all goodnes no euil whereas shal be all that thou wouldest nothyng that thou wouldest not There shal be the liuely life the sweete life thee amiable life the life that would do a mā good to be alwayes thinking of it There shal be none
vnapprochable and secret depth of the incōprehensible iudgemētes of thy wisedome alwayes rightful though vnespiable thou hast without any desert of theirs predestinated before the world called out of the world iustified in the world and wilt glorifie thē after the world But thou doest not this vnto all men wherat all the wise mē of the earth 〈◊〉 maruell and are abashed Yea and euen I O Lord when I bethinke me of it am afrayde and amazed at the depth of the riches of thy wisedome and knowledge wherunto I cannot reach and at the incomprehensible iudgements of thy Iustice for that of one selfe same péece of clay thou makest some vessels vnto euerlasting honor and othersome vnto euerlastyng shame Therfore whō thou hast chosen to thy selfe out of the multitude to be thy holy temple thē doost thou make cleane pouryng out cleane water vpon thē the names and number of whom thou knowest who onely tellest the nūber of the starres and callest thē all by their names Who also are written in the booke of lyfe who cannot in any wise perish and vnto whom all thinges worke to the best yea euen their sinnes For when they fall they be not broosed bycause thou puttest thy hād vnder them and kéepest all the bones of them so as not one of them is broken But most miserable is the death of sinners I meane of those sinners whom thou hast foreknowē vnto eternall death before thou madest heauen and earth accordyng to the great depth of thy secret howbeit alwayes rightfull iudgementes the number of whose names and of their lewd deseruinges is with thée which reckenest the nūber of the sand of the Sea and hast measured the bottom of the bottomles pit whom thou hast left vp to their owne vncleanesse and vnto whom all thinges worke to the worst and euen their prayer is turned into sinne so that if they should clymbe vp into the ayre and aduaunce their head aboue the cloudes yea and build their nest among the starres of the skye yet shall they bee destroyed in the ende as a dunghill Of such as first are righteous and afterward become wicked and contrariwyse GReat are these thy iudgementes O Lord God thou righteous mighty iudge which iudgest vprightly doost things that are déepe vnsearchable Which when I consider all my bones quake for of all men liuing vpō the earth there is none of vs sure to serue thee deuoutly purely in feare all the dayes of our lyfe nor to ioy in the with reuerence so as our seruice may bee without dread our ioy without trembling He that putteth on armour may not glory as he that putteth it of for before thee may no flesh glory but must quake tremble at thy presēce For we haue séene O Lord we haue heard of our fathers which thing I cānot thinke vpō without great dread nor speake of without great shudderyng that many haue heretofore clymbed after a sort vp to the skyes built their nest among the starres yet haue afterward falne downe euē into hell and their soules haue bene forehardened with euilles We haue sene starres fall from heauen by force of the stroke of the dragons tayle and them that lay in the dust of the earth wonderfully mounted vp at the present helpe of thy hand O lord We haue sene the liuyng dye and the dead rise from death them that walked among Gods children in the middes of firie stones wash away to nothyng like a péece of clay We haue séene darknesse quēch light light procede out of darknesse For publicanes harlots go before the natiue people into the kyngdome of heauen the childrē of the kingdome are cast out into vtter darknes And why commeth all this to passe but bycause they be mounted vp into that hill whereinto the first of their race went vp an Aungell and came downe a deuill Now thē looke whom thou hast predestinated them hast thou also called sanctified and clensed that they may bee a méete dwellyng place for thy maiestie with whō and in whō is thy holy cleane delight in whom thou hast pleasure makest their youth chéerefull dwelling with them in their remembraunce so as they be thy holy tēple which is a great dignitie and commendation of our manhode That the faythfull mās soule is Gods sanctuarie THe soule whiche thou hast created not of thyne owne substaunce but by thy word nor of the substaunce of any of the foure elementes but of nothing which truly is reasonable vnderstandyng spirituall euerlyuing and euer mouyng whiche thou hast sealed marked with the light of thy countenaūce and halowed by the power of thy washyng is so made capable of thy maiestie as it may be filled by thée onely and by none other And when it hath thée thē hath it the full lust there remaineth not any thyng els that it can desire outwardly But as long as it desireth any thyng outwardly it is manifest that it hath not thée inwardly for be thou once had there is not any thing more to be wished for For sith thou art the souereine good yea and all the good that may be there is no more for it to desire bycause he possesseth thée which art all the good Now if he desire not the whole good it resteth that he desireth somewhat which is not the whole good and therfore also not the souerein good so consequently not God but rather a creature But if he long after a creature he must néedes be euer hungry still bycause that although he atteine his desire of the creatures yet it abydeth vnsatisfied still in asmuch as there is nothyng that cā fill it but thou vnto whose image it is created And thou fillest them that desire nothyng but thée thou makest them worthy of thee holy blessed vndefiled and Gods frendes who count all thinges as dung that they may winne thée onely For this is the blessednes which thou hast bestowed vppon man this is the honor wherwith thou hast innobled him among all thy creatures and aboue them that thy name might be wonderfull ouer all the earth Beholde O most high souereine good and almighty Lorde my God I haue foūd the place where thou dwellest euen in the soule which thou hast created after thyne owne image and likenesse whiche séeketh and desireth none but thée alone and not in the soule that séeketh and desireth thée not That God cānot be founde neither by the outward senses nor by the inward wittes I Haue straied like a lost shepe séekyng thée outward whiche art inward And I haue taken much paine to séeke thée without me thou dwellest within me at leastwise if I haue a desire to thée I haue gone about the lanes and stréetes of the Citie of this world séekyng thée and haue not foūd thée bycause I did amisse to séeke that thing without whiche is as within I sent abroad all myne outward senses as messengers to séeke thée
thy glory And to know thy face is to know the power of the father the wisedome of the sonne the mercifulnes of the holy ghost the one vndeuidable being of the thrée persons in one souereine Godhead For the beholding of the face of the liuing God is the souerein good the ioy of the aūgels of all holy mē the reward of endlesse life the glory of all soules the euerlastyng gladnes the crown of honor the obteinemēt of happines the wealthfull rest the beawtiful peace the inward outward ioyfulnesse the paradise of god Here is the heauēly Ierusalē the happy life the fulnesse of blessednes the ioy of euerlastingnesse the peace of God which passeth all vnderstādyng This is the ful blessednes the whole glorification of mā namely to sée God face to face to sée him that made heauen and earth to sée him that made him that saued him that glorified him He shal sée him by knowing him be in loue with hym by liking him prayse him by possessing hym For he shal be the heritage of his people of his people the Saints of his people whō he hath raunsomed He shal be their possession of happinesse he shal be the reward recompēce of their lōgyng I wil be thine excéedyng great reward sayth he For great thinges beséeme great personages Verely my Lord God thou art excéedyng great aboue all Gods excéedyng great also is thy reward But thou thy self art ouer great thou thy selfe art an ouer great reward thou thy selfe art both he that crowneth also the crowne thou thy selfe art both the promiser and the promise thou art the recompēcer the recompēce thou art the rewarder and the reward of euerlastyng happines Thou thē art both the crowner the crowne O my God the diademe of my hope which is garnished with glorie a gladdyng light a renewyng light a glorious ornamēt my chief hope the desire of the hartes of all saintes their deare beloued The seing of thée thē is the whole hyre the whole reward and the whole ioy that we looke for For it is life euerlastyng yea I say it is thy wisedome Life euerlasting is to know thée the onely true God Iesus Christ whom thou hast sent Therfore when we shall sée thée the onely God the true God the liuyng God almightie single inuisible vnboundable vncōprehēsible thine onely begottē sonne God of thine own substaūce euerlastyng as well as thou euē our Lord Iesus Christ whō for our welfare thou hast sent into the world in the power of the holy Ghost thrée in persons one in beyng the onely holy God besides whom there is no God thē shal we hold that which we now séeke namely euerlasting life endlesse glorie which thou hast prepared for them that loue thée whiche thou hast layd vp in store for thē that feare thée and which thou wilt giue to them that séeke thée euen to them that séeke thy face for euer And thou O Lord my God which diddest shape me in my mothers wōbe who hath giuen me vp into thy hād suffer me not any more to be plucked out of one into many but gather me out of these outward thinges into my selfe frō my selfe vnto thée that my hart may alwayes say vnto thée my face hath sought thée out Lord I will séeke after thy face euē after the face of the Lord of all power wherein standeth the whole glorie of the blessed sorte for euer whiche to behold is the endlesse life euerlastyng glorie of the Saintes Let my hart reioyse therfore that it may reuerēce thy name Let the harts of them that séeke God reioyse but much more the hartes of them that finde god For if there be ioy in séekyng what maner of ioy shall there be in findyng Therefore I will alwayes séeke thy face earnestly incessantly if at any tyme the doore and gate of rightuousnesse may be opened vnto me that I may enter into the ioy of my lord This is the Lordes gate the rightuous shall enter in thereat ¶ A prayer to the holie Trinitie THou thrée coequall and coeternal persons one God the very father Sonne holy ghost who dwellest alone in euerlastingnesse and in vnapproachable light which hast foūded the earth by thy mighty power rulest the whole world by thy wisedome Holie holie holie Lord God of hostes dreadfull strong rightuous mercyfull maruelous prayse worthie to be beloued One God thrée persons one being power wisedome goodnes one vnseperable Trinitie I crye vnto thée open me the gates of rightuousnes whē I am come in I will prayse thée O lord Behold I poore begger knocke at thy doore O souerein housholder Commaund the gates to be opened at my knockyng accordyng as thou hast sayd knocke ye it shal be opened For truly O most mercyfull father the desires of my groning hart and the cryes of my wéepyng eyes doe knocke at thy doore All my desire is before thée and my gronyng is not hyd frō thée Lord turne not thy face any more away frō me neither flyng thou away frō thy seruaunt in a sume O father of mercies heare the houling out of thy ward reach hym thy singular good helpyng hād that it may drawe me out of the déepe waters out of the lake of miserie and out of the myre of filthynes that I perishe not thy pitifull eyes seyng it the bowels of thy mercy beholdyng it but that I may wade out vnto thée my Lord God so as I may see the riches of thy kyngdome alwayes behold thy face sing prayse to thy holy name O Lord which workest wonders whiche chearest my hart with remembryng thée which inlightenest my youth despise not myne olde age but make my bones to reioyse my hore heares to waxe fresh againe as the Eagle ¶ FINIS SAINT AVstens Manuell or litle Booke of the Contemplation of Christe or of Gods worde whereby the remembraunce of the heauenly desires which is falne a sleepe may be quickned vp agayne AT LONDON Printed by Iohn Daye dwellyng ouer Aldersgate 1574. ¶ Cum gratia Priuilegio Regiae Maiestatis The Preface FOr asmuch as we be set in the middes of snares we easly become cold in desire of heauenly thynges And therfore we haue neede of continuall defence that when we be shronke awaye we may be wakened to runne backe agayne to our true God the souereine goodnesse In consideration wherof not through rash presumption but for the great loue that I beare to my God I haue vndertaken this worke to his glorie to the intent I might alwayes haue with me a short and handsome abridgement of the chosen sayinges of the holie fathers concernyng my God by the fire of the readyng whereof the loue of him might be kindled in me as oft as it is waxed cold in me Assiste me now I beseech thee my Lord God whom I seeke whom I