heard where shall that people be so farre from the sunne so confined and limitted in darknesse as will not vnseele their eyes to behold the cleare burning brightnesse of saluation which will shine vpon them Yea heauen it selfe shall encrease his flames to giue light vnto this thine entrance into the world and the kings shall run from all places to do homage vnto the king of kings vnto the gouernor both of heauen and earth 17 For he hath set vp and aduanced his kingly throne vpon Sion in great costly array there shall he be seene wholy encompassed with glory darkning the Sunne and Moone with the brightnesse of his face 18 But why hast thou O Lord so highly exalted the throne of thy glory hast thou done it because thou wouldest not vouchsafe to heare the praiers of thy faithfull seruants And because thou wouldest make no reckoning of the whole world which in deed is nothing in respect of thy greatnesse Alas no my God Thou hast lifted vp the self vpon an eminent place that all the inhabitants of the earth might see acknowledge thee and so run vnto thy grace and mercy for thou shouldest be alwaies ready to come at the humble summons of thy seruants neuer disdaine their pittifull petitions And behold them also standing as miserable offenders condemned vnto bolts shackles looking for the comming of some king that should set them free at the entrance into his kingdome Euen so ô Lord deliuer thou them who haue giuen themselues vp into the bondage of sinne and with the onely twinke of thine eye the mainacles shall fall from their wristes 19 Then shall they be all heard to sing a glorious song vnto the victorious king their voices shall be heard throughout al the corners of the earth and the remembrance of thy singular bountie and infinite mercy shall be engraued within the memory of men and so passe from age to age euen vnto the last posteritie The earth shall then be consumed all the waters dryed vp the ayre vanished and the heauens haue an end which shall as yet sing the glory of the eternall God 20 The eternall God who hath vouchsafed merely and ioyfully to cast downe his eyes from the highest heauens into the very deepest place of the bowels of the earth for the acknowledging of the torments of the miserable detained captiues in hell heard their groanes is himselfe suddenly runne thither to vnbinde and set at libertie his poore captiue prisoners and all their posteritie where death with the weapons of sinne had ouercome them and confined them in his most darke prisons But the God of life hath ouercome death and hath freed and cleared them quite from thence 21 To the end O Lord that they might set foorth thy praise in Sion and preach thy louing kindnesse in Ierusalem And although euery one of them had an hundreth mouthes and their voices as lowd as thy thunder yet should they neuer be able to attaine and reach vnto the greatnesse of thy glory All the parts of the world conspire not nor ioyne not themselues together saue onely to represent in their motions a part of thine infinite power and goodnesse howbeit they neuer looke to come neere thereunto for they are more then bottomlesse depths which haue neither bottom nor yet brinke and therfore they must onely behold them a farre of 22 And therefore I most humbly beseech thee my God to be contented that thy people assemble and reunite themselues both in bodies and minds deuoutly to offer vp vnto thee that holy will which they haue to honour thee for the effect can in no wise otherwise be able to come neare that which thou deseruest Accept therefore O Lord the humble submission of the kings of the earth which come before thee to yeeld vnto thee their homage and seruice due vnto thee as vnto their soueraigne chiefe Lord. They shall cast their scepters vnto the earth and their crownes at their feete and present for a sacrifice vnto thy maiesty their humble praiers and innocent consciences And I will be the first my God which will cast downe my selfe before thee to worship and serue thee with all mine heart to thee alone will I consecrate my spirit Quicken it therefore O Lord that being purified by the holy zeale of thy loue it may receiue in it selfe as it were in a cleare looking Glasse the image of thine incomprehensible excellency perfection feele in it self the reflexion of thy sincere amitie aswel as thine infinite goodnesse accompanied with the number of thine elect to be an inheritor with them in euerlasting life 23 Now I haue already felt my good God that thou hast enlightened my soule with thy grace and haue presented the fauour which thou wouldest shew vnto all the children of the earth Heretofore hath my spirit a far of takeÌ„ a note how thou proceedest for the deliuerance of the world but it hath beene afraid to die before such time as thou wert come and that is because thou hast heard it call vpon thee saying Tell me O Lord how long the course of mine age shall bâ— and when thou wilt end my dayes 24 Go not about O Lord to cut of the thred of my life at the first or second winding vp of the spindle neither stay it ouer short in the middest of the course Attend my God vntill the time be come when thou must set open the treasure of thy graces to make an entrance for men vnto the largenesse of saluation or if thou hast at least appointed mine end and that my life cannot stretch so farre yet remember my posteritie and let him be borne of my race that must sanctifie the world by his comming 25 I right well know O Lord that at the first thou madest heauen and earth and whatsoeuer excellent thing we see here in this world to be the worke of thine owne hands 26 But all this shall come to an end euen as an old worne garment a man shall enquire what is become of it and there shal be no mention made thereof at all It was made and it shall be vnmade it had a beginning it must haue an end But thou alone O Lord which hast beene from all eternitie shalt be alwaies one and the same For age time which consume all things serue for none other purpose but to confirme thine euerlastingnesse and to set foorth thy Deitie men seeme to remaine heere vpon the earth for none other cause but to behold round about them thine incomprehensâ—ble greatnesse on the one side and their infirmitie on the other side 27 A man changeth not his shirt so often but the earth oftner changeth her inhabitants one putteth forth another and all is renued euen in a moment But thou my God art euen the same at this day that thou wast at the beginning Euery prouince of the earth hath a great catalogue of kings who haue there commaunded one successiuely after
Creator so also wilt be our Redeemer and as thou hast beene our Father so also wilt be our protector and defender And it is thou O Lord who although the whole world hath reiected vs yet hast stretched out thine armes and gathered vs together vnder the wing of thy louing kindnesse 16 And so is it most meet for I knowe not whither else to goe My Father and my Mother haue forsaken mee I meane the Father that begot mee and my Mother that tenderly nursed me and brought me vp did abhorre mee when as they sawe mee set my whole hart vpon thee and leaue the vanities of this world They neuer looked on me but with griefe and held me but for a castaway My brethrens making much of me turned into disdaine the kinde and sweet amitie of my sisters chaunged into contempt and the gratious meetings of my deerest friends were turned into mockerie Whither then must I flye If my dearest friends entreate me after this sort what will mine enemies doo vnto me whose mouthes are full of gall and their tongs full of deadly poyson whose ordinarie actions and exercises are nothing else but doing of wrong and speaking contumeliously But euen then when I am most geuen ouer then art thou neerest vnto me embrasest me most fauourably and powrest vpon my head the treasures of thy mercie most largely 17 Now seeing it hath pleased thee thus to enlarge thy grace towards me that I might be conserued teach me I beseech thee how I may serue thee Learne me what thy law is and how I must direct my steps that I may continually walke a right in that narrow and thornie path which must conduct me vnto the port of saluation For it is long sithence O Lord that I left that broad and easie way sowed with the pleasures of this world and which bringeth all those that follow the same vnto destruction damnation Shew me therefore my God thy way for vnder such a guide I can neuer stray shew it me O Lord I say for if I go neuer so little out of it I am vtterly vndone mine enemies lie in waite to surprise me and to make me subiect to dishonour me and so consequently thy selfe O Lord because they know that I serue thee faithfully 18 Deliuer me not therefore into their hands that they may deale with me according to their hearts desire For then were mine honour at an end They haue already made strong their part suggested a thousand accusations and framed a world of witnesses but their leasings haue returned vpon their owne heads and borne witnesse against themselues for lying cannot be hid she is full of crackes on euery side truth pierceth it on euery part For she is made of many odde peeces which fall away one from another assoone as they are touched and in opposing her selfe vnto innocencie she melteth away as snowe against the Sunne 19 But although they had me euen as themselues would wish oppressed with slaunders quelled vnder the burthen of their iniuries yet would I not for all that be discouraged I haue not O Lord put my trust in the benefits and honours of this world for that is almost alwaies the portion of the wicked and are as it were the rewards of their vnfaithfulnesse dissimulations and wicked dealings this is the marchandise which most commonly is not bought but with this money My hope O Lord is altogether in thee the world is not capable to be able to containe it the fruite of my labours groweth not in the land of the dying but that which I looke to gather together O Lord is in the land of the liuing there it is that I hope to see my felicitie nay rather thine my God Others looke for the fruite after the budding and blooming time but I O Lord looke for it after the fall of the leafe For after the leafe of the body shal be fallen I hope and trust that my soule shall bud in new fruit be clothed againe with the euerlasting verdure of immortalitie for euer 20 And therefore my soule haue patience and carry thy selfe man-like redouble thy courage valiantly and attend vntill my God commeth vnto thee Be not astonied or affeard to see the prosperitie of the wicked neither be thou amazed to see them oppresse the godly but stand to it to the end And when thou seest O Lord that I am not of my self strong inough assist me and lend me thy shoulders for feare the afflictions of the wicked cause mee to depart from my stand where thou hast placed me second my feruentnesse and zeale that hauing couragiously sought at the place where 〈◊〉 enemies assaulted me I 〈…〉 fouâ—d at the gate when thou 〈…〉 it to enter with thee in triumph 〈◊〉 at thy feet when as thou shalâ— iudge bâ—th the quick the dead Then shall we see what a great change there is betweene our life and theirs and what paiment tarrieth for them they haue had their felicitie in this world therefore then shall it be said vnto them Stand aside for yee owe the rest and consider that yee shall render an accoumpt of those benefits which were giuen you to keepe and be amerced for your abusing of them Your habitation is prepared for you as you deserue depart into euerlasting paines and torments yee haue beene many times told of the rigour thereof yet haue you not so much as a very little turned away from your cursed liues therfore shall ye now feele it seeing you would not as then any whit feare it And as for those ô Lord which haue bene pacient for thy names sake and suffered for thine honor the rage of the wicked thou shalt say vnto the 〈◊〉 Come yee blessed children of my father enter into the Tabernacle of glorie that yee may iudge with him both the quick and the dead Comfort thy selfe now therefore my soule with this expectation and hope trust in God euen in the almightie and most merciful God who neuer forsooke the iust in aduersitie nor stopped his care against the oppressed innocent I will at all times blesse the Lord c. Psalme 34. 1 BLessed be thy name ô Lord which hast coÌ„forted me in misery blessed be he for euer that hath holpen me 〈◊〉 mine affliction All things haue their time and all mens actions are distributed by times and seasons change serueth for rest and rest for the refreshing of the ordinary labour of the liuing neither can any thing continue without rest in any occupation and trade Neuerthelesse herein this rule faileth that is I do blesse and for euer will blesse thy name O Lord at the sunne rising I wil praise thy name and at his going downe I will praise the same at that will I begin both moneths and yeares and at that also will I end them O eternitie I haue no feeling of thee in this world but in this my will to praise and glorifie my God for euer My body melteth away with
and iudgement fayle me the speedelier runne I vnto thee and humbly beseech thee to open my spirit that I may know and vnderstand what thy will is 23 Thou hast taken and held me fast by the hand and set me gently againe in the way of thy will and madest me vnderstand thy purpose and mind nay thou hast done more then that for me thinketh thou hast opened both mine eyes and the heauens all at once that I might see the mightinesse of thy glorie Thou hast I say ô Lord made me to see it for this is a thing whereunto no mortall man without thee is able to reach 24 For alasse should I poore weake thing that I am go to seeke for that in heauen which I cannot very well see at my feet who cannot perceiue but with much ado that which is here oâ— earth before me The eyes of my bodie are very duskish and mistie and the eyes of my soule faâ—re worse and mens thoughts are marâ—ellous vncertaine and weakâ— for the earthly and corruptible body dâ—lleth and maketh idle our spirits and tyeth and bindeth our senses fast vnto the earth in so much as that without thee I can not hope for any thing here below in the world nor yet promise vnto my selfe any certaine knowledge of what thing soeuer What am I able being â—ere vpon the earth to iudge and discerne without thy ayd and without it pleaseth thee to enlighten my spirit with those things which thou hast ordeyned in heauen in the sâ—ate of thine eternitie But thou also ô Lord hast supplyed my want and lâ—d me by the hand to make me see the couâ—sâ—… of thine eternall wisedome thou haâ—… 〈◊〉 it were made me in loue with 〈◊〉 and hast heaued and thrust my 〈◊〉 out of my body to maâ—e 〈◊〉 capable of the heauenly light and of thy wise purposes 25 Surely when I consider of these 〈…〉 things I am cleane gone 〈…〉 is tâ—…en from me and I am 〈…〉 ô God What is 〈◊〉 my God which thou hast made 〈…〉 the God of any hart of 〈…〉 of my hope and thou 〈◊〉 God â—hoâ—e I esteeme to be my onlâ— felicitie and whome to loue I haue from henceforth destined all my affections I now know ô Lord what thou aâ— how iust and how puissant I will now neuer be abashed more ne yet astonyed to see the strange and wonderfull things of the world whereof I am not able to comprehend the reason For thy counsels are maruellous â—…gh and thy wisedome â—eâ—iâ—ble profound But in the end ô Lord whatsoeuer thou disposest oâ—… here in this world is finished 〈◊〉 Iâ—stice 26 For as many as withdraw them 〈◊〉 from â—y obedience and estrâ—… them selues from thy grace â—…aâ— perish most miserably and â—ll they which breake the faiâ—h of the 〈◊〉 which they haue sworâ—… to â—eruâ— theyr concupiscences and 〈…〉 and goe â—n whoring with 〈…〉 â—arth and 〈…〉 all they thâ—… 〈…〉 sciâ—… and proâ—… 〈…〉 vnto 〈◊〉 and 〈…〉 shall be rooted 〈…〉 the â—…y of thy reueâ—ging 〈◊〉 27 〈◊〉 as for me 〈…〉 depart from thee neither hope for 〈◊〉 other felicitie but 〈…〉 stick faâ—… 〈◊〉 â—…y â—…des as 〈◊〉 I â—…ll â—…uer dâ—pâ—rt â—hence I will so stedfastly lookâ— vpon tâ—eâ— as that I 〈◊〉 obserue 〈◊〉 tâ—…nâ—ling of thine â—yes and so confirme my selfe vnto whatsoeuer thou desirest of me follâ—… ranke by ranke whatsoeuer thou coâ—…andest 〈…〉 iâ—…eâ—d 〈◊〉 pâ—… 〈…〉 aâ—d seeing I 〈◊〉 thee to be altogether good and almightie and 〈…〉 â—…redly beleeue that 〈…〉 also will I constan◠〈…〉 wilâ— assist me and gâ—u◠〈◊〉 all 〈◊〉 that are necessary for 〈◊〉 O how 〈◊〉 câ—…lâ—Ì„t most assured iâ— tâ—…t 〈…〉 is 〈◊〉 vpon the 〈…〉 good almighty God 〈…〉 mâ— such 〈◊〉 â—…mbâ—… 〈…〉 of hiâ— beneâ—… 〈◊〉 so 〈…〉 hiâ— liberalitie◠〈…〉 me beleeue that I shall be assured of the reward which he hath promised me if I serue him faithfully Why doest thou my God most liberally bestow vpon me so many benefits why doest thou promise me such infinitenesse seeing there is in me nothing but sinne and infirmitie 28 I right well see ô Lord that it is to the end that I may be the man to declare abroad euery where thine immensurable mercy and vnspeakâ—able goodnes and publish thy prayse throughout all the gates places of resort and secret corners of Syon thine holy Citie To the end that I going vp into thine holy hill amongst those whome thou hast assembled in thy Church for the receyuing of thy blessings and seruing of thy glory might make them vnderstand the secrets of thy wisedome which thou hast vouchsafed to reueale vnto me And that in addressing my voyce with that stile which thine holy spirit hath framed in the same I might vnfold the holy mysteries of thine incompreheÌ„sible wisedome to the end that euery one heaâ—ing me discourse of the knowledge wherein thou hast instructed mee might be had in admiration not of me who am but an hoarse instrument of thy glory but of the maruellous effects of thy quickning spirit who shall embolden me vnto this glorious holy and solemne worke But ô Lord after thou hast for a while entertained vs here in this estate vpoÌ„ this terrestriall Syon lift vp our eyes vnto that heauenly Syon embolden and encourage vs vnto the attayning of that blessed aboad and teach vs which are they vnto whome thou hast promised the same And teach vs also how we must carry our selues to be made worthy of so excellent holy and glorious a dwelling place O Lord who shall dwell in thy Tabernacle c. Psalme 15. 1 THE world ô Lord sith it hath so pleased thee is vnto vs a tedious pilgrimage wee dayly walke therein and cannot finde any nights rest for our wearyed members For if we thinke to lay downe our heads vpon the pillow or bolster to geue our eyes sleepe our afflictions importune vs like flyes yea and the very passions which are bred within our flesh do swell puffe vs vp and venome vs like dangerous scorpions and kill vs if we presently kill not them What are we like to hope after seeing that as we lack strength so must the miseries also needs grow vpon vs seeing that which way so euer wee turne or are any way able to turne vs we shall finde our selues altogether in the middest of the world and this world find it how and where we will is onely full of misery Where then shall we finde rest we shall neuer find it in this miserable life where-into we are put as chief wrestlers to striue against all manner of aduersities but rather ô Lord in thy Tabernacle in the holy dwelling place of thy Godhead where our labors shal be crowned O blessed yea thrise blessed is he for whom thou hast prepared this so goodly and pleasant a withdrawing place for the mitigating and comforting of his paines and griefes past within the bosome of thy grace and resteth himselfe betweene the armes of thy mercy But who
another but the heauens and the earth continually sing vnto vs that thou hast alwaies beene alone euer like vnto thy selfe and that neither the time past ne yet the time to come can any wayes alter not change thee 28 Now my Lord although we must depart from hence yet do I not doubt but that I shall one day taste of that sweet fruite which shall heale 〈◊〉 contagious disease of ours which 〈◊〉 fathers transferred ouer vnto vs â—…uing eaten the fruite of death and of sinne For our children shall come after vs and therefore O Lord shew vs this fauour as to continue our posteritie from age to age vntill such time as we altogether shall appeare before thy face not to receiue sharpe â—…d seuere iudgement but to enter by the merite and intercession of thy deare beloued sonne into the enheritance of the eternall blessednesse which shall be purchased for all thy faithfull by the adoption of thy sonne in the house of thy seruant Dauid From the depth of depths Psalm 129. FRom the depth of depths haue I cryed vnto thee my God being lost and buried in the most fearefull caues of the earth I 〈◊〉 called vpon thy name hearken 〈◊〉 my voice and heare my praier 〈◊〉 all hope of succour is taken from 〈◊〉 and I see nothing about me but horror and trembling and yet haue I not beene discouraged and do waite for at thy hands that which thou hast promised to all such as shall liue in the feare of thy name and in the obedience of thy commaundements 2 Giue thou therefore O Lord a fauourable eare vnto mine heartie praier If my sinne stand betweene thee and me to whet thee against mine iniquitie and to make thee contrarie vnto the praiers which I make vnto thee beate back the same with the looke of thy mercifull eye or els O Lord shut vp for a time the eyes of thy iustice vntill such time as the eare of thy louing kindnesse hath receiued my confession and the humble request which I make vnto thee for grace For I come not before thee to bragge of mine owne iustification but of thy great louing kindnesse and benignity 3 If thou shouldest keepe a regiser of our sinnes and we come to an â—…dite before thee who were able 〈◊〉 God to abide thy seuere iudgemeâ—… For what day of life is there that 〈…〉 not deserued a world of tormenâ— Thou mightest draw out O Lord 〈◊〉 the paines of hell and yet the greatest part of my sins should go vnpunished 4 But although we haue mightily offended yet for all that thou ceasest not to reciue any sinner that commeth vnto thee with confessioÌ„ of the mouth and contrition of the heart He hath 〈◊〉 sooner looked towards thy mercy but that he feeleth it working in him and breaketh destroieth the sinne which freeseth his heart with feare horror And the punishment which hangeth ouer his head recoyleth farre away from him and caryeth with it this miserable carefulnesse which tormeÌ„teth the consciences defiled with iniquitie And therefore O Lord haue I not forsaken thy lawes but haue alwaies waited to see when it would please thee to graunt me fauour and grace for the vnwise man that despaireth by reason of his sinne and giueth ouer his soule 〈◊〉 â—…emned is like vnto the abhoâ—…â—…ole vsurer who hauing susteined 〈…〉 in his goods by and by beâ—… himselfe of his life also 〈◊〉 soule hath not done so my 〈◊〉 although she hath felt thine haâ—… lying most heauily vpon me executing part of the punishment which my sinnes haue deserued yet hath she alwaies conserued in her selfe that sound hope which she hath had in thy promises Euen as the blowes light vpon my backe I crie out and say vnto thee O Lord my God thy will be done and giue me as great strength as thou layest affliction on me Measure my punishment by my strength and as my torment encreaseth euen so augment my courage and so hast thou done O Lord. 6 Let Israell therefore looke vp and trust in his God euen from the day breake vnto the shutting in of the euening looke for none other helpe but from him For his helpe is ready sure for him that calleth vpon him with a sincere conscience and a pure will And although the miserie hath beene neuer so great and extreame yet so soone as the Lord hath vnderstood the crie of his seruants they haue all so soone felt also their deliâ—…rance 7 For he most bountifully 〈…〉 out his mercy and is infinitely â—…full to all those that come vnto him Insomuch as that his goodnesse putteth out as it were the sorrow which we haue for our sinnes maketh vs as it were reioyce in our fall as being the cause whereby we haue made triall of his louing kindnesse For if our sinnes surpasse all measure his gâ—…ce exceedeth all our thoughts We haue deserued long and hard captiuitie and loe who it is that freeth vs and hath brought vs a most sweete libertie We haue blinded the eyes of our spirite and loe who commeth to enlighten them 8 O Israell thou hast offended the Lord thou hast scorned his lawes thou hast made a iest at his commandements thou hast forgotten the good turnes which he fauourably hath bestowed vpon thee He hath drawne thee out of most miserable captiuitie fed thee with the bread of heauen â—…de purposely streames flow out of hard rocks to make thee drinke hath chosen for thy dwelling place the most delitious garden in the world made a couenant with thee giuen thee his will to keepe and thou hast coâ—…red against his honour gone an whoring vnto strange goddes troden his lawes vnder thy feâ—…e To be short thou hast deserued more punishment then there is to be had in hell And yet notwithstanding he offereth to graunt thee grace and with the price of his own bloud would redeeme thee from the bondage of sinne whervnto thou most voluntarily boundest thy selfe Behold him who hath himselfe paide their ransome that betraid him who tooke vpon him the punishment which we deserued and satisfied for our transgressions With what wordes then are we any way able to thanke him for all these mercies Open my lips therefore my God my Creator and redeemer that my voice may be heard and mine heart enflamed with a boiling affection to praise and thanke thee and humble me also in the acknowledging of my selfe to the end thou â—…st heare me in the knowledge of the holy mysterie by which we are â—…incorporate into thee and renued in thy couenant that we may enter into that blessed fellowship of glorie in which all they shall triumph which shall be partakers of the merit of the passion of thy best beloued sonne the true and onely Sauiour of the world Lord heare my prayer Psalm 142. O Lord man in the end is weary of all things a continuall course bringeth him out of breath ouermuch starinâ— dimmeth the eies and a shrill sound deaffeth the eares but
deceitfull pleasure which heretofore hast bewitched any poore soule and poysoned my spirit thou hast with thy sweet delights fed me and made the wiâ—h a little baâ—… of hony to swallow a deadly potion which running through my members hath so astonished and mortified me as that there is no differeÌ„ce betweene me and a dead man nay worse then that for it is not my body that is thus mortified but it is my soule wherin coÌ„sisteth the principall matter both of this present life and also of the life to come 12 And therfore thy holy spirit must light vpon me to rewarme and fetch againe my dying soule and take it by the hand to quicken and set it in a safe place imprinting therein the image of thy rightuousnesse to serue her as a sauegard against all tentations which besiege her on euery side and threaten her destruction 13 Thou shalt come therefore and at thy comming shalt draw back my soule from tribulation and in shewing of me mercy shalt destroy all those that haue coniured against me And then shall my sorrow haue an end and theirs shall begin and the beginning of their sorrow shall neuer câ—…se But as the streames comming out of the spring heads do still growe larger and larger vntill such time as they enter into the deepe Seas where is neyther brinke nor bottome euen so shall theyr miserie day by day encrease and in the end will heape vppon them extreame dolour and infinite distresse 14 And so shall all they perish which shall vexe my soule for I ô God 〈◊〉 thy faithfull seruant whome thou hast remembred and wilt remember all those who in disdayne of my Lord haue thus shamelesly troubled mee They laughed at my miseries but now behold the season wherein they shall bewayle theirs Thy vengeance beginneth to waxe hoat against them and a man shall see them fall like vnto the leaues of trees in the beginning of winter O God what glorie shall I render vnto thy name and at what end shall I begin to set foorth thy prayse Shall I publish thy goodnesse in creating so many wonderfull works which are vnder the Sunne Thy wisdome in the conseruing of them Shall I preach abroad thy iustice in the condemnation and vengeance of the pride of the Angels the disobedience of men Shall I sing foorth thy mercy in the redeeming of those who by transgressing thy lawes haue cast them-selues downe headlong into the bondage of eternall death vnto what part of thy prayses may the sound tune of my voyce attaine reach Yea put the case that my voyce were sufficient thus to do where are the eares that are able to receiue them I want all things ô Lord for the taking in haÌ„d of this enterprise sauing courage will which being full of feruent affection cry out as much as iâ— possible vnto thee And therefore I humbly beseech thee to ayd their weak indeuours and seeing that the teares of my repentance haue washed away the filthines of my sinne wherwith my spirit was greatly charged burdened geue vnto it now the wings of faith hope that may swiftly carry the same into thine armes to reunite it selfe vnto her first originall being without hauing any other thought but such as may tend to the honor of thy seruice and aduancement of thy glory A MEDITATION VPON THE SEAVEN PSALMES OF the Consolation of Dauid 1594. A MEDITATION vpon the seauen Psalmes of the Consolation of Dauid The Lord is my light c. PSALME 26. AFter I had layeâ— in soâ—… min◠〈◊〉 in â—y tears sighed a thousand times with sorrowe in the â—eckning 〈◊〉 of my sinnes I thought ô Lord 〈◊〉 I hâ—… appâ—ised thy wâ—…th and thereby forthwith to haue ended my miâ—…e◠〈◊〉 alas as I looke vnto the world and thinke with an innocent life â—o conuerse amongst men I see their 〈◊〉 turned vpon me and all their purposes drifts directed to dâ—â—e 〈◊〉 â—o 〈◊〉 stand in doubt whether I be reconciled vnto â—…ee or no and whether thou be satisfied with this my repentance But in turning mine eyes euery way I perceiue that this affliction is common to me and to all honest and good men by the parts that I see playd them on euery side and how their constancie is alwayes in danger and contrarywise to see how the wicked easily regorge pleasure and all maner of benefits maketh me confounded and astonied For on the one 〈◊〉 I caâ—… to mind that thou art the great and mightie God of 〈◊〉 whose 〈◊〉 seeing all â—hiâ—gs â—…weth the deeâ—… â—ecrâ—… corâ—… and whose 〈◊〉 hand reacheth vnto the farthest parts of the world And on the other side I see those that lift vp their heads against thee and oppresse thy poore and â—…noâ—… 〈◊〉 prosper in thy â—ight and dayly pride vp them-selues in the happâ—…â—ucâ—eâ—… of the 〈◊〉 godlâ—neâ— I confesse ô Lord that I stand like a block and as one being blindâ—…ed with this 〈◊〉 am not able to pâ—erce through these thick mists which thus enuiron 〈◊〉 eyes of mine vnderstanding â—uâ— in the end ô Father of lights thou vnseeledst mine eye-lids and enlightning me with the beames of thy wisedome hast made me vnderstand why thou so vsest them and deliuering me from the payne and care wherein I was hast filled me with the assurance of my saluation and geuen me a most certaine consolation comfort So as I do not only at this present care for the thretnings of threatners and disdaine their insolencie but being râ—mpard with wonderfull constancie and great courage I offer my selfe vnto the combat and cry with a loud voyce Come who so euer will and dare for I now feare nothing For although God for a while exerciseth his faithfull seruants yet forsaketh he them not wheÌ„ they stand in need but in such sort compasseth their aduersitie with their forces 〈◊〉 that they become alwayes conquerors in this fight And to say truly so long as I am assured of his mercie what occasion can I haue euer to feare 2 He hath now taken my life into his protection and couered me all ouer with the wings of his power who can enforce him to set me ashore What shall I need to feare seeing that all the world feare and dread him which defendeth me his forces are not the armies of men but legions of Angels his ministers are not Princes and Captaines but thundring lightning and stormes his wrath is not blowes and hurts but earthquakes swallowing vp of Cities and drowning of whole Countreys Thou hast alreadie ô Lord all these armyes and hosts in thine hand and art readie to thunder them against the proude boldnesse of the wicked that haue coniured the ruyne of good men But because my God thou holdest back for 〈◊〉 time the arme of thy diuine vengeance comfort mee in the meane while with a sure hope that thou wilt neuer forsake mee And mee thinketh that thou sayest continuallie vnto mee tarrie a little for the time
is not yet come which I haue appointed and in the meane while trust thou assuredly vnto my promise and looke whatsoeuer affliction thou â—…aâ—t endure be thou assured that I will geâ—… thee strength to ouercome it My courage ô Lord encreaseth wheÌ„ as I feele thee thus to second me and this thine exhortatioÌ„ emboldneth me more vnto patience then all the applause of the people doth him that fighteth a combat wheÌ„ he is most stroÌ„g and lusty in his fight There is nothing now that I am afeard of for all these conspiracies all these slanderous reports against mine head honor seme to me like vnto the foming raging billowes of the sea who roting far off furiously breake them-selues against the foot of a rock and scatter them-selues abroad at the first stroke and the blow is but a vaine sound which is the end of all these great threats Certainely the conscience of an innocent man founded and grounded vpoÌ„ thy grace is more stable sure then all the greatest rocks cannot be shaken nor moued by any iniurious brags 3 What shall I now feare any more Shall I feare a rout of the wicked that goe about to beset me round and cluster about me to see if they could take me They geue out sometime one signe sometime another to assay if they can lay hold on me Behold and see diligently how they note and marke me and how they bend theyr browes and grind theyr teeth at me I verely beleeue that the greatest thing which they desire is to eate me with their teeth to teare me in pieces to fill them-selues with my flesh to gnawe my bones and to drinke my bloud O cruell and sauage beasts how can you thus despise your owne flesh how can you thus abiure all humanitie Do you think that although you haue forgotten God that God hath forgotten his seruants Do you thinke that his seruants are so far from his hand as yours is farre from iustice 4 Well go too yee haue like mad Tygres fomed out vpon me your poyson yee haue cried out and houled at me fastned your teeth clutches vpoÌ„ me howbeit all your blowes slip ouer me as it were ouer a most cleare chrystall they cannot hurt me mine innocencie is not to be wounded with all that ye can deuise but are in the end enforced to retire all wearied and gasping for breath lying vpon the belly ye â—ay grin mutine with very anger but it is without power and there is but one weapon amongst all the rest left you and that is a will to do ill But neuerthelesse because your voyce is abhominable before God and that with your threats ye blaspheme him vnto his face he will vtterly roote ye out and throw vpon you the mountaines which your ambition and couetousnesse haue heaped vp so hye thinking thereby to scale his Throne and to rob him of his glory 5 O Lord what a spectacle hast thou made for mine eyes to behold nay I am now so assured of thy mercie so comforted by reason of the care which I see thou hast of thy faithfull seruants as that although I should see the greatest armye that possibly could be yet would I not be afeard of it Let there an armye be brought against me composed of all the nations of the world and let there be placed in the vauntgard on the right hand a battell of Scythians and on the left hand a battell of Ethiopians and in the reregard the East India and America and all the rest of the world in the middest to serue for a battell and adde thereunto whatsoeuer Arte â—…d skill for the killing of men was euâ—… able to finde out or deuise and yet if my God be my conductor and leader I will passe through them all without any feare Agayne if hee bee angry with the world and shall like him to serue him-selfe with my hands to be aduenged of them for theyr vngodlynesse I my selfe will cut them all in peeces not leauing so much as a tayle of any of them 6 Nay I do now reioyce when as I heare saye that the wicked band them-selues against mee and doo assure my selfe that it is God which wiâ—… lend me matter wherein to glorie For be thou O Lord onely neere mee blesse my weapons and mine enemies are confounded But what weapons verely do thou but blowe onely vppon this people and thou shalt scatter them all as a great winde driueth the dust too and fro neuerthelesse O Lord I beseech thee blowe not vppon them the wind and blast of thy curse but tarrie a little while if thou please to see if thy patience will bring them backe to do their duties And as for my selfe although I be couered ouer with their wounds and defamed with their iniurious dealings yet had I rather haue them subiect vnto thy mercie then vnto thy iustice and desire if thou thinke it good that their iniustice might rather serue to try me withall then for their condemnation 7 Thou knowest O Lord my desires thou readest them in mine hart neither haue I euer called vppon thee for vengeance my vowes coniure nothing but thy mercie and my thoughts are addressed vnto nothing but vnto peace Wouldest thou vnderstand the summe of my desres and the end of all my prayers it is O Lord that I may passe my dayes in seruing thee faithfully and that thou wouldest graunt me thine holie house to dwell in and that all the while that I am seperated from thee and a great way off from thiâ—e heauenly Tabernacle tyed vnto the earth by reason of the counterpoise of my bodye I might vnite and tye 〈◊〉 my thoughtes vnto thee and conforme and frame my selfe wholy vnto thy will O blessed habitation that is able to couer vs from all worldly passions from all the lusts of the flesh and to be short from all the assaults of the Deuill For there ô Lord thou art present with vs and commest downe from the heauens to keepe companie with vs and fillest vs with thy selfe that we might be voyd of sinne and conuertest our carnall will into a liuing and quickning spirit that we might effectually feele thy maruellous works comprehend thy mercies and conceiue of thy power and almightinesse 8 Suffer therefore my God that I being incorporate â—…to theâ— so fâ—rre-forth as mine infirmitie and thine infinitenesse will permit I may be enlightened with the beames of thy wisedome to the end that mâ—ne vnderstanding being enlightened she may learne mee to knowe thy will For this is the thread ô Lord which may assuredly guide â—e through the windings and turnings of the laberinth of this world and this is the passeport which must being vs vnto that euerlasting life which we so â—…cessantly gape and sigh for Reueale vnto me therefore this thy will and lay it vp in my soule that I may there keepe it most dearely and in the middest of thy Church I may set vp an Aulter in my mouth presenting
the same dayly vnto thee for an offering vnder the holie vayle of thy most holie word 9 For seeing ô Lord thou hast mortrized mee within thy holie Tabernacle shewing me the holie mysteries of thy diuinitie that in the hardest time of mine aduersitie thou hast gathered hid and drawne me vnder thine Aulter and yet not coâ—tent with that hast made me to enter into the holie of holiest and bottomes of thy Sanctuarie where thou wast wâ—… to reueale the greatest secrets of thy will graunt that I may so well conceiue them as that I may cause thy faithfull seruants faithfully to vnderstand them 10 For sith thou hast aduaâ—…ced mee into so eminent and high a place as one set vpon an â—ye rocke to be seene of the whole world and honored aboue all mine enemies let the foundation of my faith be as firme as any stone and the grace which thou shalt bestow vpon me to be a testimonie of thy righteousnesse making me worthie and capable of the benefits which it shall please thee to vouchsafe me 11 As for my selfe O Lord I will take paines reuerentlie to vse the ministerie which thou hast committed vnto mee Thou knowest how I haue carried my selfe therein I haue turned my selfe euery way to reknowledge that which might best like thee I haue most willingly offred vnto thee calues and sheepe in sacrifice I haue willingly hathed thine Aulter with bloud but that was too too small an offring for thee I haue ô Lord sacrificed mine hart consecrated mine affection vowed my thoughts and hauing pluckt them from the verie bottom of mine heart I haue offered them vnto thee with my voyce whereby thou hast vnderstood whatsoeuer my soule hath desired which was nothing else but to please thee in all mine actions My crying out then hath bene my offring which thou diddest gratiously accept opening the heauens to gather them together and to receiue them And therefore ô Lord I will all the dayes of my life sing thy prayse and recite an Hymne of thy glorie 12 Heare ô mercifull God my songs and receiue in good part the voyce which testifieth thy goodnesse and publisheth thy mercies Encrease my strength and courage that I may strayne my cryes and spirits to thee And sith thy mercie is neuer deafe vnto those which sincerely call vppon thee encline the same to me for all sorts of felicities follow her continually Incline the same I say ô Lord for thou hast promised it vnto all those that call vpon thee 13 How often hast thou heard mine heart I say mine heart and not my mouth for I speake not vnto thee but with mine heart which cryeth out saying vnto thee O Lord why haue I sought thee so carefully day and night both in peace and warre in quietnesse and in trouble I haue desired nothing in the world but to see thy face I meane not O Lord thy diuine face wherein is imprinted that fearefull Maiestie which shineth as the lightning which no mans eye is able to abide to behold but that face at the least which is couered and courtayned with thy workes which although no man is able to see but the verie hinder parts thereof and that verie hardly also yet me thinketh it to be most wonderfull and maketh me beside my selfe as it were Sith then O Lord if thou be that increated word which hath created al things which doth part of thy will and thy will a part of thy selfe doth it not represent it selfe vnto me as thy face for me to note marke therein such a great number of beautifull and excellent lineaments of Diuinitie which shine most brightly in euery part thereof O Lord I am in loue with this rare beautie neyther haue I any other care thought but that I may enioy this thy presence which offreth it selfe vnto me in thy word as in a looking glasse of thy Deitie 14 Seeing then that thou seest mine holie and sincere loue depriue me not then of this holie obiect which sanctifieth and blesseth my cogitations and thoughts And although my sinnes which are most foule and filthie make thee to be displeased with me yet I most humbly beseech thee not to be angry with me neither turne thou away this thy faire and wonderfull face from me For thou O Lord art angry with none but with such as glorie in their sinnes and stubburnely persist in their iniquities But I thy seruant my God humble my selfe before thee and do acknowledge most vnworthie sinner that I am not once to dare appeare in thy presence if thy louing kindnesse did not bring me in vnto thee And therfore thou art not to reiect me for if thou shouldest thou must also therewith reiect thy mercie whereunto I am coupled and so fast linked as that as it cannot be seperated from thee so is it also now fast linked vnto my repentance 15 And therefore thou shouldest if it might so please thee dwell and remayne with me and seeing it hath liked thee to allow me for thy seruant and to thrust me into this combat thou art not to leaue and forsake me in it for if thou shouldest my destruction would turne to thy shame where on the other side my victorie will turne to thy glorie And therefore O Lord I beseech thee to help me euermore For as mine infirmitie striueth commonly against me so also haue I need to haue continuall help on euery side of me For if thou keepe thy selfe neuer so little awhile from me my soule will euen vanish away and so will also my bodie if my soule be once gone For thou O Lord art farre away more the soule of my soule then my soule is the soule of my bodie I right well knowe that thy Diuine Maiestie hath a most vnworthie dwelling place in mee but yet I humblie beseech thee disdaine not to come into it for where thou once entrest all magnificence aboundeth and there is alwayes honor sufficient where thou art And besides O Lord thou receyuest no honor by comming to visit me but I thy poore seruant am honored by thy presence Why shouldest thou leaue the glorious bright Heauens and bright shining Starres and to come downe heere belowe to seeke for nothing that can bee sayd to bee honorable But it is as I thinke because thou wouldest haue thine Angelles knowe and vnderstand that they ought not to pride vp themselues in theyr magnificence seeing they are thy creatures and that thou canst make the most vile enhabitant on the earth as honorable as any one of them This is it why thou commest downe from the heauen of heauens to haue mercie vppon vs and hauing the like feeling of our miseries thou commest to reestablish vs in our auncient perfection And because that wee as much as in vs lyeth haue defaced the image of the Deitie which thou haddest imprinted in vs thou commest to recharge and recouer the liniaments of our first nature halfe defaced It is thou then who as thou wast our
affection because I would loue none but thee I haue circumcised mine hart of all his wicked desires and fettered my will with the shackles of thy loue because it should serue nothing else but thy glory and in eschuing both sinnes and sinners I haue kept companie with the innocents and washed mine hands amongst them and not the hands of my body only my God but the hands of my soule that are mine affections which I haue washed and purified with the brookes of my teares 14 I haue embraced repentance scourged my selfe all day long beating mine hart with cōtinuall sorrows pricking it with sharp and piercing contritions and driue from it with many sorrowfull sobs all that ill and cursed humor which hath engalled my will Euery morning when I rose I cryed thee mercy for my sinnes and detested mine iniquitie and thinking to amend my life I continually watched ouer this purpose and thereupon I began my dayes worke 15 I sayd within my selfe whē I was alone loe as for my selfe all that I am able to say is this that in the end they which feare God and serue him are afflicted and they that blaspheme his name liue at all ease pleasure And therupon I began ô Lord to detest the condition of all those who glorifyed them selues in being thy children and chosen people and began to say Are these they that are called the children of the Almightie God verely these are the children of reprobation for loe the other sort possesse the inheritance of their Fathers and these men liue in extreame pouertie But the others are they that abound in all wealth and vnto whome God is so fauourable and indulgent which are his children it is they vnto whome this name belongeth seeing they enioy his benefits and are masters next vnto him selfe of his works 16 As I my selfe ô Lord verely thought that I knew it to be so and to say truly I was told that it was so indeed I could not hold me from vexing tormenting my selfe saying A◠my God how doth this fall out Is it possible that it should be thus considering how thou hast threatned the wicked and how thou hast also prepared punishment for them To be short I became strangely and wonderfully perplexed when I considered of this geare 17 But I at last perceyued thy mind and purpose and hauing entred into the depth of thy sanctuary me thought I was come into thy holie consistorie and vnderstood thy councell therein For after I had resolued with my selfe to see the end whereunto thou haddest prepared those peoples I forthwith saw that thy iustice is most true and that although it sometimes maketh slow haste yet it payeth home at the last with seueare punishment and therefore I verie stedfastly waited and looked what should become of them 18 And truly in the end thou payedst them thorough stitch and rewardedst them according to their craftie and wicked dealing For when they thought them selues at the highest degree of honor behold thou ouerthrewest them and castedst them down headlong in a bottomlesse depth of miserie For all their pomps magnificences and ritches were nothing vnto them in the end but an high and eminent scaffold to bring them vp vnto that steepe and high breake-necke from whence they were most shamefully rolled downe ouer and ouer 19 O most true God what a desolation discomfort is this There is nothing but weeping about them for all they of their guards and all their pentioners do nothing else but beate their brests holding down their heads as the Lilly holdeth downe his when it is sore rayne-beaten and hauing compassion of those whome they were wont to enuy They most lamentably looke vpon the ruine of their idoll and consider with them selues how foolish they were to make a mortall and miserable man their God who was no better then wind or smoke For if a man considereth and marketh their end he shall see them dispatcht and gone in a moment neyther is there any thing that commeth more speedily to an end then the way of their greatnesse bringeth them thereunto and they haue bene so suddainely changed as that there could be nothing possibly to be seene of them Behold and looke on them for once they were and now they are not hardly can a man see their footsteps and marke whither their sinnes haue brought them it was a great while before the snare or grin could be made fit for them but loe in the end they lighted into it For during the time that the foundation of the house was in vndermining they climbed the higher that their fall might be the greater They continually clambered vp higher and higher and thought that whatsoeuer was below them was theirs only but in the end they clambered vp so high as that they lost them selues in the ayre before they could get againe to the earth so as they were caried away with the wind 20 And loe they became as dreames when men awake for as a man sayth when he awaketh I dreamed well to thinke of such a thing euen so shall it fare with you for when such men as ye are shall vanish away and come to naught the people will then say surely the greatnes of these men was but as a dreame and a very meere vaine and inconstant folly For thou wilt make them of so little worth as that they shall be neuer once thought of but as in a mockerie and in discommending and condemning their pride and insolencie will say See how their houses are ruined behold the place where these outragious Sirs dwelt who cared neither for God nor men which delighted in nothing but in filthinesse wickednes who haue built so many and so many houses with the boanes of the poore and cimented their palaces with the bloud of the needy and loe there remaineth nothing of all that they had but the markes and notes of their ignominie for the tempest hath passed ouer them and there is not so much as any one tittle or iote remayning of them Thus we see ô Lord that we must not rashly iudge of thy prouidence and therefore who so euer will iudge therof must patiently wait vnto the end and suffer himself to be led by thy spirit must call vpō thee also for the comforting addressing of him for notwithstanding that I fret fume chafe sigh grone and haue set euery part of my body in a sweat with sore labor and brought my selfe as it were euen to deaths dore yet am I neuer a-whit the better for it and after I had tormented my selfe I found my selfe as resolute as I was before 22 I was so vexed and grieued I say as that I knew not whether I was a man or a beast nay I was in very deed like a beast and could no more comprehend the same then if I had vtterly lost mine vnderstanding Howbeit I still stand to that hope which I haue in thee and the more I see my sense
side where the law iudgeth rightly Neither doth auarice make his hand shake nor fauour to hold vp his hand to take but keepeth him selfe alwayes equall and vpright and faithfull and iust vnto all others geuing by his wisedome authoritie vnto his iudgements 7 He that shall thus liue shall without doubt ascend vnto the height of this happy hill The Angels shall carry him vp in their armes guide his feet for feare of stumbling and in the end place him before the face of the eternall truth where he shall for euer enioy the pleasant abiding place of this most excellent hill lifted vp aboue the heauens to be the habitation of glorified innocencie and be reunited vnto the principall of his being which is that euerlasting Deitie and diuine eternitie All things here below altâ—… and change haue an end and are consâ—med but he whose vertue shall haue lifted him vp vnto this heauenly blessednes shall continue in most glorious estate and vanquish all times and ages Strengthen therefore ô Lord our courages and comfort vs in these worldly afflictions And seeing it is thy good will and pleasure that good men shall goe this way through the insolencies and iniuries of the wicked susteine thou their hope which is shaken by their afflictions and by the prosperitie of the wicked and graunt them constancie to continue vnto the end that they may see the repayment both of the good and of the bad A MEDITATION OF THE Lords Prayer ANCHORA SPEI 1594. A MEDITATION of the Lords Prayer I Come vnto thee my God as vnto the common Father of the whole world I come vnto thee I say who in the creation and conseruation of all thy works hast witnessed thy selfe to be a most affectioned louing Father To thee I come as to my right Father who hast not contented thy selfe with the geuing me of my being life and feeling as thou hast done vnto the rest of thy liuing creatures but hast sent downe on me thine holy spirit filled my soule with an heauenly light and beaâ—e of thy Diuinitie I come vnto thee my God regenerated reincorporated into thy familie by a new grace I come by reason I have appeased the wrath of my Father through the satisfaction of my Redeemer I come because thou thy selfe-hast called me vnto thee and holdest forth thine armes Receyue me therefore my God not after the austeritie of a iust Iudge but according to the compassion of a pitifull father and accept this mine earnest prayer which being conceyued in the bottome of mine hart hath disclosed it selfe by my lips â—nd flyeth with my voyce vnto the fauourable eare of mine heauenly Father seeing it hath pleased thee ô Lord to suffer me so to call thee Cause it ô Lord my God to pierce the heauens where thou thy selfe art I know right well that thy Throne is aboue and that thou keepest vnder thy feet both the Sunne and the Starres and the earth to be but a very tittle and my selfe being the least part thereof am a great deale lesse then nothing Who then shall dare to make me so saucy â—s to lift vp mine eyes vnto thee It is euen thou my God who fittest on hye to behold at once all the works of thine hands the better to vnderstand our wants and dayly to poure vpon vs thy grace as a most sweet showre Euen thou who hast thy selfe sayd Aske and yee shall be heard But thou wilt be prayed vnto with a constant faith cause it therefore to be borne and growe in my soule for it is a gift that cannot come but from the Treasure of thy grace and as at other times thou hast addressed the lips of infants to glorilye thee gouerne now the infancie and infirmitie of mine hart that it may deliuer vnto my mouth such a prayer as may very well like and please thee And because thou mayest know my God that my prayer is sooner conceyued in my soule then in my lips and that although the binden of my â—…esh greeueth and vexeth my spirit yet breatheth it out as much as it can thine honor and prayse And the first petition that I make vnto thee is this Hallowed be thy name or rather let thy name hallow and sanctifie me that I may be after able to blesse glorifie thee But which of thy names shall I blesse that wherwith thou hast confouded cast down the enemies of thy people or else that wherewith thou hast blessed all the nations of the earth Wilt thou be praysed as the God of hosts ô Lord God of all battailes or as the Sauiour and Redeemer of the world Shall I tell abroad how thou hast made all things of nothing how thou hast sowen the heauens with starres couered the earth with flowres fruites riuers and with all liuing creatures and Man like vnto thy selfe Or shall I speake but of that incredible loue by which thou hast deliuered thine owne only Sonne vnto death to purchase for vs life euerlasting I have not breath inough ô Lord for such an enterprise but let it content thee that I sanctifie thy name with an humble and chast thought and that my meditation be alwayes fixed vppon all the benefits wherwith it pleaseth thee continually to fauour me so as both my selfe and as many as thou hast placed here in this world as in the middest of a ritch Temple for the beholding and admiring on euery side the excellency of thy Deitie we neuer turne our vnderstandings vnto any other thing but to the comprehending and learning of thy will to the end that we being reunited in one and the selfe same desire to serue thee Thy kingdome may come and that after we shall haue cast off the yoke of sinne which so long time hath thralled and captiued vs thy loue alone may reigne in our consciences A most blessed and prosperous reigne for to obey thee is to commaund our vnruly appetites and to command them is for a man to be master of his owne selfe and for a man to be master of him selfe is the most souereigne principalitie It is an easy matter my God to obey thee thy yoke is gratious and the tribute which thou exactest on vs is nothing else but to haue vs to be blessed Confirme vs therefore ô Lord in this thy will and assist the zeale of thy good seruants repressing the insolencie of all such as blaspheme against thy Maiestie because that thy lawe and thy truth do reigne throughout the world O King of kings which hast the dominion of our hearts who by our humilitie and obedience hast established thine Empire bend our wills vnder thy law to the end that we looking all to one end aspire not but to the aduancing of thy glory and that our good actions may testifie the good discipline of the King of heauen vnto whome we do homage and who alloweth vs for his subiects of whome we hold so many benefits and graces as that we can not possibly
honor her began forthwith to disdaine and looke sourely vpoÌ„ her For her shame lay opeÌ„ vnto the eyes of al the world was set before euery man as a laughing stocke some asking her what was become of all her wealth some what was become of all her honor and there was neuer an honest womaÌ„s child which had not a gird at her In so much that she could do nothing else but weepe and being all ashamed and comfortlesse she was driuen to goe hide her selfe Thet. And wheÌ„ she saw her self alone and in what estate she stood she found her self from the crowne of the head to the sole of the foot to be most filthie and her garmeÌ„ts to be most beastly berayed with bloud and mire And as the Peacock when he hath spread abroad his tayle in looking at his feet letteth it fall downe agayne abating thereby his pride euen so hath she plucked downe 〈◊〉 heart sorrowed within her selfe and cared no whit for death by reason that all things misliked her but chiefly and aboue all her poore and miserable life She was giuen to be altogether sad without hauing any bodie to comfort her For her friends had forsaken her or if they were neere about her it was to none other end but to afflict her Wherefore when as she found no help here vpon earth she lamentably lifted vp her head vnto heauen with deep sighes froÌ„ the bottome of her hart addressed herselfe vnto God and sayd O Lord hast thou not compassion vppon me in this my great affliction Seest thou not mine extreame miserie Surely there is none can saue me so well as thy selfe Come therefore if thou be the God of mercy and forsake not thine humble and old seruant for mine enemy setteth his foote vpon my throate and causeth me most shamefully to belch Come therefore ô Lord for my continuall iniury is thy shame and the outrage that is done vnto a seruant redoundeth to the mayster And therefore come ô Lord for mine enemy â—…geth me beyond all measure and without all pitie Iod. He hath layd his bloudy hand vpon that which I accompted most deere and spared no whit of that which I made reckning off to be most holy Thou hast seene him enter into thy Sanctuary and into that place which ought to haue receyued none but sanctified persons no none but pure and cleane soules and such as are worthie to be partakers of the beholding of thy diuine maiestie hath seene receyued and touched euen pollution and impietie it selfe and seene his sacrilegious hands steale away the ornaments of thy Temple destroyed the habitation of thy deitie and the abiding place of thy grace as if thy lawes and prohibitions forbidding them not to abide and carry in that place no nor once to enter thereinto had bene but as it were a very song Where wert thou then ô Lord and although thou carest not for the iniuries which we haue receyued why art thou not yet reuenged of the wrongs done vnto thy selfe Caph. Thou hast bene ô Lord very angry against poore Ierusalem and hast sayd that thou haddest no will to come to help it by reason of the great and manifold offences thereof It is now time ô Lord or else neuer for all her miserable inhabitants goe shamefully a begging for their liuing and haue geuen whatsoeuer good thing they haue for a mouth full of bread and bought full dearely the water which they haue dronke Forsake not ô Lord this our earnest prayer and turne a-little thine eyes of mercy vpon vs for if our pride hath heretofore estranged vs fom thee our humilitie shall now reconcile vs vnto thee There can be now nothing ô Lord to be seene so humble vile and abiect as we are nor there is nothing that hath more need of thee then we haue neyther can there be any thing found to be more pitifull then thy selfe Lamed Tell me I beseech ye you that passe by and see my ruines and do consider the remayne of my greatnesse and then tell me if there be any thing in the whole world so miserable as it is and that euer sithence you haue had eyes that euer you sawe any dolor like vnto mine Tell me I pray you if euer ye were able to keepe your eyes from shedding of teares whensoeuer ye beheld my desolation I speake vnto you I say which haue heretofore seene this Citie so wonderfully furnished with welth ritches her greatnes magnificeÌ„ce do now behold her moÌ„strous spoile do ye not thinke that you see a vineyard laid wide open whereinto all sorts of beasts are entred who haue not only spoiled the vintage of the grape but haue also broken downe the hedges pluckt in sunder the very armes of the vines And this ye see is the pleasure of God he is iustly angry with me hath determined to visit me in his fury Mem. His vengeance is come downe from heauen like lightning it is come to thunder and lighten vpon me and is entred into the very marrow of my bones nothing can be seene to be done more suddainely more earnestly or more powerfully For in a moment it is come ouerthrowne all in a moment and all in a minute shaken into fitters pieces For my Temples and my Castles which reached vnto the clowdes lye now euen with the grouÌ„d Our Cities are like vnto plaine heathes wheron you may driue Carts God hath made me right well know to my cost his power and might He hath made me heare an horrible lesson We thought by our wisedomes to haue bene able to withstand the blow of his iustice howbeit there is neither wisedome nor councell against God We haue bene entrapped on euery side For wheÌ„ we thought to come out and to be in safetie we were fast intangled in his nets and the more haste we made to get out the faster were we masshed in the end were cast downe headlong into that punishment which he had prepared for vs like vnto the mariner who thinking to escape a shelf or flat falleth into a gulfe which swalloweth him vp For our misery is in deed a very gulfe where our fight is taken away and we brought back into an inaccessible wildernes where there is none to comfort vs in so much as that our eyes neuer geuing ouer weeping are able inough to drowne vs in our owne teares Nun. I neuer ô Lord looked to escape it for thou hast too too long had an eye vnto my sinnes and hast determined of the punishment which I should suffer it is ouer long ago since thou didst couple my sinnes together and holdest them fast linked within the hand of thy iustice In the end I found my selfe all at once oppressed and felt my sinnes as an hard and insupportable yoke tye me fast to be tormented I yelded my neck vnto the punishment as an oxe vnto the yoke vnder the hand of an vnmercifull master My misery gaue me no rest nor intermission so long
God which flourisheth and fructifieth vnder the husbandrie of his discipline Let our hearts lift vp them selues straight vnto heauen as noble and vpright plants and put foorth their thoughts as the branches and lift vp their motions thither as the flowres or blossoms and place their words as leaues let them bring foorth their good workes as their fruites and in looking vp alwayes vnto heauen make them selues worthie thereof and from thence looke for the growing and ripening of them And as yong plants in the hoatest time of sommer when as the yawning earth chappeth through drinesse looke for rayne from aboue to be refreshed euen so let vs also in the extremitie of our necessitie looke and call for the sweet milke of the grace of God to bedeaw our lips and sustayne our selues Now to the end that we might obtaine this grace let vs lift vp our hearts hands vnto him bowe our knees and prostrate our selues before his face in coÌ„fessing our sins beseeching him of mercy And let vs say vnto him It is true ô Lord that we haue sinned and do protest that we haue kindled thy wrath against vs and this is the iust occasion for which thou hast vnto this day made thy selfe inexorable vnto our prayers Samech But how inexorable Forsooth euen thus farre that when we haue thought to haue lifted vp our eyes vnto thee thy fury hath bleared them like thunder lightning Thou hast beaten and broken vs without all pitie or mercy All the world hath miserably forsaken vs we are like vnto the loppings and shreddings of trees and vnto the beesoms of an house which serue for none other purpose but to be cast into the fire To be short we haue bene thrust out amongst all the nations of the earth as a matter of opprobie and wrong Phe. Which of our enemies ô Lord is there that haue not had their mouths open to rayle against vs and looke which way soeuer we haue turned our selues we haue alwayes found that which we most eschued Our ruine and desolation lyeth wayting for vs like traps and snares set in the wayes where we might haue escaped and as one being in an ineuitable mischiefe I had none other recourse but vnto mine eyes My teares haue trickled downe aboundantly and haue bitterly bewayled my mishap and the misery of my fellow citizens and of thee my best beloued Ierusalem Ain And as our miseries neuer ceased no more also did mine eyes so as a man would haue verely sayd that through affliction mine heart was in the presse to squeeze teares out of it as men squeeze water out of a spunge Thus did I leade my life continually vntill such time as I had enforced thee ô Lord to haue pitie on me and had with my teares quenched the heat of thine anger What other things should I haue done when as I sawe before mine eyes so many Cities destroyed so many houses burnt so many Templs cast downe so many men slayne and so many mayds forced and defloured And surely I had had a very steely hart if I could haue held my selfe from weeping and although it had bene of steele yet had my dolor bene strong and able inough to haue molten it into weeping Sade Ha what a thing is this they draue vs before them as men driue cattle We fled from our enemies and yet they pursued vs we yelded our selues vnto them and yet they massacred vs and all this they did not geuing them any occasion of offence They led me into the bottome of the arse of a ditch and tyed a stone about my necke as they do about a dogs necke when they meane to drowne him And verely I had like to haue bene drowned for mine afflictions had aboundantly runne ouer the very crowne of mine head and had almost choked me and all the help that I had was to cry out and say O Lord I dye haue mercy vpon me Coph I was as it were in a bottomlesse depth in the hole of a prison I knew not but by my memorie whether there had bene eyther Skye or Sunne in the world so monstrous darke was the place wherein I was And yet ceased I not to call vpon thee my Lord my God and sent vp my faith wither my senses could by no meanes reach And thou neuer reiectedst me but receiuedst my prayer for my sobs in the end moued thee and made thee turne againe vnto thy first resolution I felt thee forthwith to assist and help me yea euen at the very first instant I say that I began to pray vnto thee And still me thought I heard thee say vnto my soule be of good courage feare not Resch And so ô Lord thou canst tell that as great a sinner as I am that thou wilt help and succour me euen for thy Christ his sake and for thy mercy promise and truth sake For thou that vnderstandest the very bottoms of our harts canst truly iudge that my soule hath bene carryed away vnto sinne by her senses and concupiscence but as soone as she felt thy rods she conuerted vnto thee her creator and redeemer for whom alone as she hath had life so also aduoweth she the restauration thereof after sinne For the question ô Lord is of the iudging betweene mine enemies and me whether it be reasonable that my misery should serue them for a sport or whether it be hye time that they should beare part of the punishmeÌ„t Iudge it ô Lord thou that knowest the righteousnes of my cause For thou knowest their thoughts their cruell purposes the plagues which they haue prepared for me I haue mine health by reason of their inhabilitie for if they had as great power as they haue will I had abidden as much as they had bene able to haue layd vpon me Syn. Thou hast sufficiently seene ô Lord that they haue dealt with me as farre as they might and thou knowest also that there is no iniury which they haue not committed and spoken against me And to be sâ—ort thou hast very well knowne their counsels and thoughts And I do verely thinke that there as neuer word came out of their lips wherwith they purposed not to hurt me and beleeue me their minds were neuer vnoccupied in finding out some cunning deuise or other to hurt me And coÌ„sider I beseech thee whether euer they arose or lay downe that their talke was not on me neyther had they euer any other matter to sing on but to speake euil of me Tau Go to then ô Lord seeing they haue ouer come thy patience wilt thou not daunt their malice and sith nothing can driue them to repentance wilt thou not punish them And seeing they take so great pleasure in ill doing shall they not feele and abide thy displeasure by course For once I am sure that thou art iust and sith thou art so thou must needs pay them home according to the works of their owne hands And seeing that through their pride
was not long they were acquitted once for all But to dye of cruell famine and to see and feele one so long a dying is a most miserable thing they felt them selues continually wither away and knew not how their strength went froÌ„ them without a man would haue sayd the earth had consumed it For they were like vnto a plant whose roote was cleane dried vp which in the beginning waxeth yellow in the neither parts and so by little and little the boughes and armes thereof dye and in the end the whole body dryeth vp and is good for nothing else but to be cast into the fire Iod. Ye may thinke that I haue very much spoken of things and yet they are but flowres in respect of the rest of the miseries which necessitie hath suggested vnto vs and which if I had an hundreth tongs I were neuer able to expresse Shall I tell them ô Lord Alasse I will not for then I should accuse thine ouergreat seueritie in deliuering out the excessiue miseries wherein thou hast plunged vs. Notwithstanding I will do it I will tell them ô Lord to the end thou mightest at the last haue compassion of vs and somewhat hold backe thy reuengefull arme For thou hast layd it ouer heauely vpon vs we haue seene it and must we needs see it ô Lord and shall our eyes be our owne still after we haue seene it We haue seene the mothers I say through famine and want so degenerate from their kind as that they haue dismembred their owne children puld them in pieces boyled them on the fire and deuoured them with their teeth to satisfie that cruell famine wherewith they were afflicted Coph Ha ô Lord our God what thoughtest thou to haue done with vs meantest thou to shew thy selfe to be almightie as well in thy fury as in thy mercy to shew all thine actions to be infinite to shew that when thou goest about to set thy selfe to be cruell that thou art out of all measure cruell and to shew thy self wheresoeuer thou passest when thou art in choller to be a deuouring fire which setteth on fire raueneth consumeth and to be such a one as thou hast shewed thy self to be in visiting poore Syon euen vnto the coÌ„suming the very foundatioÌ„s thereof Lamed O most strange and most incredible thing these newes haue bene told vnto other Kings and Princes of the earth to all other strange people but they could neuer beleeue any iote of it For thus they haue sayd What is it possible that this holy Ciâ—… which God hath chosen for his dwelling place where he hath set vp his throne on the earth where he will be worshipped whither all nations haue carried their offrings where he hath appeared and answered vnto the cryes of those that haue prayed vnto him the same onely to be taken and to fall into the hands of her enemies Surely we will neuer beleeue it nay we do not beleeue that if they found the gates thereof stand wide open that they durst once enter into it Mem. And â—et for all this ô Lord it is euen so the poore cittie is vtterly vndone and razed but after what sort and wherfore Forsooth for the sinnes ô Lord of our prophets and for the sinnes of our priests who haue shed the bloud of the righteous euen in the middest of Ierusalem Nun. They haue run vp and downe in the streats like mad men and reeled too and fro' as men drunken with the bloud of innocents They are so polluted and defiled as that all the world is a feard to touch them for feare of being imbrued with them Yea and they themselues are ashamed to go into the temple for feare of violating it with the bloud which commeth froÌ„ their cloths Samech I do assure ye that the very heathen themselues haue bene afeard of them I say euen they that know not God but by the light of nature and haue cried out against them saying O ye wicked and cruell caitiues hence and away and defile not the place which is delicated vnto your God and they againe with great indignity despitefully haue said no no. Beleeue verily that God dwelleth not amongst such kinde of people Phe. For a man may easily see that their God hath forsaken them hath dabd them in the necks and set them at diuision and discord They haue tasted of nothing so little as of godlines and therfore they must looke no more for any helpe from heauen What the very ancient seruants of God appointed to serue at his aulter haue not so much as once blushed in committing most horrible and great wickednesses the elder sort which should haue bin the most modest haue bin most mad and had no compassion of their equals neither could the age of their afflicted companions driue them to any compassion And seeing that all humanitie is rooted out of their harts how is it possible for God to dwell in them Beleeue me these are no men but counterfet Tygres And therefore God will deale with them as he dealeth with brute beasts and make one of them praye vpon another Ain Ha ô Lord these people haue sayd rightly Thou hast made vs to feele it in deed for after all these our furious pranks the time of punishment came vpon vs for our enemies enuironed vs on euery side and whilst we were gaping and looking for ayd from men and looked so wishlie for them as that we were weery of looking could see none at all come wee were very foolish in looking for helpe from men to defend vs from thee ô Lorde which makest warre against vs. Alasse what are mens forces able to do against thee What rampart in all the whole world is able to defend vs against thy wrath Sade We haue bene taken as Partriges in the cod of a net thou hast driuen vs together on a Couie and afterward coueredst vs wee thought to haue escaped and our feete slid we are fallen and are snared in the net we haue assaied to fleet from one place to another and we haue bene alwaies staied And why so forsooth because the day was come We haue hastened the punishment by our perseuering in euill doing and haue in the end enforced God to pronounce the ineuitable iudgement of our condemnation against vs. Coph When God hath resolued to do a thing all things both in heauen and earth are ready to execute his will euery thing maketh it selfe ready to serue his purpose our enemies are more swift to pursue vs then are the Eagles the Stock doues For they haue followed vs euen to the tops of the mountaines and met with vs in the deserts I do verely beleeue that if we were in the deepest dungeons that euer were that they would there finde vs out Resch And what shall I say where found they out our good Iosias euen him whom thou haddest annointed to raigne ouer vs and whom we esteemed and made more of then of our owne liues
the hand of thy iustice which would swallow me vp Thou shalt turne away the dart of death whose point hath pierced me euen to the very hart Thou shalt lengthen the course of my yeares which my sinne hath already shortened And thou shalt bee contented that thou hast reprooued me without vtterly vndoing me and made me to acknowledge and confesse my sinnes with punishing me for the same 12 And although I thinke my selfe blessed and as it were in most excel-cellent peace yet do I vse nay rather abuse the blessings and riches which thou hast lent and vouchsafed mee yea and although I say I should be drunken with the hony sweet pleasures of this world yet loe a store of affliction and misery is betide me which as a most bitter brooks is come vpon me to drowne me and swallow me vp But as I was about to giue vp the ghost I felt thee taking me by the hand and by a wonderfull helpe drewest me by little and little out of that fearefull gulfe O Lorde the weight that sunke me to the bottome was the waight of my sinnes They lay so thick and heauie on my head and held me so to the ground as that I knew not how to lift vp mine eyes vnto heauen much lesse was I able to hold vp my head and open my mouth to vtter and shew forth thy holy grace and mercy Thou hast broken the chaines of the wicked affections which held me bound vnto these cursed sinnes And neuerthelesse because they are euer before thine eyes and that my repentance in some measure coniureth thy goodnesse and mine iniquity sharpeneth thy iustice yet hast thou cast all mine offences behinde thy back and turned them all away from thy presence to the end there might be nothing betweene me and thy mercy to hinder me from being enuironed by the same as mine only and assured defence But how can this be ô Lord that thou who seest all things both present to come which seest through the earth and piercest the bottomes of our hearts that in regard of me alone ô Lord thou becommest blinde and seest not my sâ—…nes which enuiron me round about O how wonderfull great is thy mercy which blindfoldeth the eyes of thy Deitie which hideth from thee that euery one seeth and maketh thee forget that which thou knewest before such time as it was done 13 From whence ô Lord commeth this great change and alteration in thee whence commeth it that to do me fauour thou puttest so farre from thee thy iustice which is naturally in thee I wonder but yet cannot I tell from whence this thy so great clemency and louing kindnesse proceedeth It is yea it is ô Lord because thou wilt saue vs whether we wil or no and to draw vs as it were by force out of that condemnation which we most iustly haue deserued For thou art the God of glory iealous of honour and praise for thou art alone worthy therof Thou knowest right well that very hell shall praise thee and thou knowest also ô Lord that death it selfe shall set forth thy praise Seeing that thou hast created all things to testifie thine infinite goodnesse and power shall death which is one of thy works make an end of thy praise Yea and seeing thou hast here placed man to lift vp his eyes vnto heauen and to behold thy glory and to sing both with the heart and mouth a continuall hymne therof and if thou take away his life is not that a breache of one of the organes of thine honour And if thou send him to hell is not that to defame thy workmanship Thou hast ô Lord sowne by the mouthes of thy Prophets the truth of thy promises Shall they that are pent vp in the earth gather together the fruite thereof shall they whome the death of the body hath closed vp the eye liddes and whome the death of the soule engendred through their impenitence hath sealed vp the eyes of the spirit making them go groping to hell wandring and stumbling from paine to paine and from torment to torment No no it shall be the liuing man that shall publish and set forth thy praise the man I say that liueth and that liuing life which is maintained by those blessings which thou bestowest vpon vs here on the earth and that life which is nourished by the beholding of thy Deitie and by the blessings which thou hast laide vppe in heauen Euen so O Lorde do I at this day with them seeing it hath pleased thee to conuert my miseries into grace and blessing and to turne away from me death and dolors which brought them vnto mee Mine infirmitie is at this day seeing it so pleaseth thee an argument of thy glory thou workest such miracles in me as are able to astonish an whole world To the end ô Lord that the fathers may tell vnto their children what the effects of thy mercies are how sure the effect of thy promises and how vndoubted the truth of thy word And so whensoeuer the last and hindermost posteritie shall vnderstand what hath be fallen vnto my person it will praise and blesse thy holy name 15 Seeing then my God that thou hast assured me this life I meane this earthly and corporall life graunt me also assurance of this heauenly and diuine life to the end that I being most full of all hope and strength may passe the rest of my daies in praising and seruing of thee continually Mine aboade ô Lorde shall be alwaies at the feete of thine aulters mine action shall bee a song of thy praise and goodnesse and so will goe day and night into thy church lifting 〈…〉 eyes vnto thee and hauing my thoughts fixed on thee I will open â—ine heart and thou shalt fill it with thy grace that it may sanctifie all mine affections and so 〈◊〉 thereby may set forth nothing more then thy glory FINIS