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 other wise 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 perfections 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 Lard how long the course of mine age shall be and when thou wilt end my dayes 24 Go not about O Lord to cut of the thred of my life 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 beginnings 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 see me to remaine heere vpon the earth for none other cause but to behold round about them thine incomprehenâ—…ble greatnesse on the one side and their infirmitie on the other side 27 A man changeth not his shire 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 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 nor 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 this contagious disease of ours which our fathers transferred ouer vnto vs hauing 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 and 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 â—aue called vpon thy name hearken â—nto my voice and heare my praier For all hope of succour is taken from â—e and I see nothing about me but â—orror and trembling and yet haue I â—ot beene discouraged and do waite â—or at thy hands that which thou hast â—romised to all such as shall liue in the â—eare of thy name and in the obediâ—nce of thy commaundements 2 Giue thou therefore O Lord a fauourable eare vnto mine heartiâ— praier If my sinne stand betweene thee and me to whet thee againâ—… mine iniquitie and to make thee contrarie vnto the praiers which I maâ—… vnto thee beate back the same wiâ—… the looke of thy mercifull eye or 〈◊〉 O Lord shut vp for a time the eyes 〈◊〉 thy iustice vntill such time as the eaâ—… of thy louing kindnesse hath receiueâ— my confession and the humble requeâ—… which I make vnto thee for grace Foâ— I come not before thee to braggeâ— mine owne iustification but of 〈◊〉 great louing kindnesse and benigniâ—… 3 If thou shouldest keepe a registâ—… of our sinnes and we come to an â—…dite before thee who were able 〈◊〉 God to abide thy seuere iudgementâ— For what day of life is there that haâ— not deserued a world of tormentâ—… Thou mightest draw out O Lord 〈◊〉 the paines of hell and yet the greateâ— part of my sins should go vnpunished 4 But although we haue mightâ— offended yet for all that thou ceasâ— not to receiue any sinner that commeâ— vnto
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 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 fought at the place where mine enemies assaulted me I may be found at the gate when thou openest it to enter with thee in triumph sitting at thy feet when as thou shalt iudge both 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 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 thē 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 eare against the oppressed innocent I will at all times blesse the Lord c. Psalme 34. 1 BLessed be thy name ô Lord which hast cōforted me in misery blessed be he for euer that hath holpen me in 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 here in 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 age and my forces vanish and decay but my soule which stoutly standeth against humaine corruption dooth not onely continue but also dayly encreaseth in this holy affection For if I thinke to take my rest mine heart stirreth my thought And if I thinke to stop my mouth my soule is ready to breake out betweene my lippes and forceably frameth my voice to set foorth the glorie and praise of my God My soule who maketh thee so eager to praise thy God Thou knowest right well and I also see it very well that thou hast had thy being from him and lookest by him to be glorified what vsurie makest thou with him Thou giuest vnto him a parcell of his praises and by this meanes thou lookest that he should associate thee with the riches of his glory For from him alone thou must hope to haue some honor The heauens shall passe and weare away like an old garment and be changed as men change a couering But God shall continue still triumphing ouer the destruction of the world The peaceable and meeke people shall sit by him and heare the triumphant hymnes which shall be song in his victorie and conquests and all full of melodie and reioicing shall ioyne their voices vnto the trumpets of the angels 2 Let vs begin therefore betime to learne to sing the praises of his glorie magnifie him and exalt his name as high as our voices will serue vs let vs straine out our cries to the end they may ascend as high at the least as we are able to see so as the ayre being filled with our songs it may cary them vpon the wings of the winds vnto the vttermost parts of the earth to the end that euery one may be awakened with the sound of our notes and reioyce in hearing the name of the Lord of heauen and earth thus sounded out who is the most faithfull and most assured helper of all those which call vpon him 3 I haue fought after him and he forthwith hath vnderstood me I knew not my selfe whither to go and after I had turned mine eyes on euery side and being forsaken of the world could see nothing which was able to helpe me I returned into my selfe and pitifully beheld my selfe bewailing my calamitie and all at once he gaue me courage and strength making mine heart to leape our of the gulfe of heauinesse and tribulation which had swallowed me vp said vnto me trust in me for loe here I am Then cried I out and said O Lord where art thou make hast to helpe me quickly And I had no sooner spoken but
not able to comprehend the reason For thy counsels are maruellous high and thy wisedome terrible profound But in the end ô Lord whatsoeuer thou disposest off here in this world is finished by Iustice 26 For as many as withdraw them selues from thy obedience and estraunge them selues from thy grace shall perish most miserably and all they which breake the faith of the couenant which they haue sworne to serue theyr concupiscences and filthie lustes and goe an whoring â—ith the earth and with their carnall â—ffectioÌ„s all they that defile their consciences and prostitute their soules â—nto wicked and impioâ—s cogirations hall be rooted out and passe through the fury of thy reuenging hands 27 But as for me ô Lord I will neuer depart from thee neither hope for any other felicitie but so to cleare stick fast to thy sides as that I will neuer depart thence I will so stedfastly looke â—pon thee as that I may obserue the twinklings of thine eyes and so confirme my selfe vnto whatsoeuer thou desirest of me follow ranke by ranke whatsoeuer thou commandest me I intend to put my whole trust in thee and seeing I know thee to be altogether good and almightie and as I assuredly beleeue that thou louest me so also will I constantly beleeue that thou wilt assist me and geue me all things that are necessary for me O how excelleÌ„t most assured is that hope that is built vpon the promise of the most good almighty God who hath geuen me such a number of earnest pence of his beneficence so many pawnes of his liberalitie that he might make 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 vnspeakeable 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 Chuâ—ch 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 mystreries of thine incompreheÌ„sible wisedome to the end that euery one hearing 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 glocious hâ—…y 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 Lorâ— 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 are they that shall one day dwell with the companions of thy blessednes glory for to heare that which is said of it this is not a place for all the world to come vnto for this is a place of a monstrous height and of an infinite largenesse and compassed adorned with incredible magnificence I know not what else to say vnto thee but that this is a very high hill vppon the top whereof is a maruellous beautifull Garden beset and furnished with all sorts of delicat fine flowres wherein also are plaÌ„ted many rowes of trees of infinit sorts of fruites and moystned bedeawed with most liuely and cleare running waters Certainly this is a veâ—y hye hil in deed for who soeuer commeth there must on euery side runne through grieuous and hard tribulations yea an hundreth times harder then either the flint or rocky stone And he that will come there must be alwayes farre from the center of the earth that is to say hee must no be too too farre in loue with himselfe but must tread vnder his feet all sensuall and earthly affections This is in truth like a most flourishing Garden for in it are resident the seeds and causes of all things which dayly bring forth most infinit goodly effects and most noble and excellent works for the partitions and deuisions thereof there is a goodly disposing of the parâ—… of the world so iustly and euenly measured as possibly can be deuised The frutes thereof are the pleasant and sweet sauouring contemplations of wisedome wherewith it nourisheth and satisfieth the soules there dwelling The running waters thereof are the spring heads issuing from the eternall bountie which spreadeth it selfe from an high ouer all the parts of the world and coÌ„tinually batheth and refresheth them O most beautifull holy hill who shal ascend vnto thy top and who shal rest in the bosome of this so glorious and delightfull an abiding place 2 Euen he that is purified within the sacred flames of an holy and deuout zeale that hath so eased his soule of the dregs of the world that there is nothing left to hinder his course from going that way For when the desire of our
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 is 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. 1_AFter I had layed in soake mine hart in my tears sighed a thousand times with sorrowe in the reckning vp of my sinnes I thought ô Lord that I had appaised thy wrath and thereby forthwith to haue ended my miseries But alas as I looke vnto the world and thinke with an innocent life to conuerse amongst men I see their enuie turned vpon me and all their purposes drifts directed to do me hurt So as I stand in doubt whether I be reconciled vnto thee 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 side I call to mind that thou art the great and mightie God of Iustice whose eye seeing all things knoweth the deepest secretest corners and whose almightie 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 innocent seruants prosper in thy sight and dayly pride vp them-selues in the happie successe of their vngodlynes I confesse ô Lord that I stand like a block and as one being blindfolded with this sight am not able to pierce through these thick mists which thus enuiron the eyes of mine vnderstanding But 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 rampard 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 as 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 a 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 shalt endure be thou assured that I will geue 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 soming raging billowes of the sea who roring far off suriously 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 bay grin mutine with very anger but it is without power and there is but one weapon amongst all the rest â—eâ—t 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 and skill for the killing of men was â—uer able to finde out or deuise aâ—… yet if my God be my conductor aâ—… leader I will passe through them 〈◊〉 without any feare Agayne if he bee angry with the world and shaâ— like him to serue him-selfe with 〈◊〉 hands to be aduenged of them fâ—… theyr vngodlynesse I my selfe 〈◊〉 cut them all in peeces not leauing so much as a tayle of any 〈◊〉 them 6 Nay I do now reioyce when 〈◊〉 I heare saye that the wicked baâ—… them-selues against mee and doo assure my selfe that it is God which â—…lend me matter wherein to glorie For be thou O Lord onely neeâ—… mee blesse my weapons and mine enemies are confounded But what weapons verely do thou but blowe onely vppon this people and thoâ— shalt scatter them all as a great winde driueth the dust too and fro neuerthelesse O Lord I beseech thee bloâ—… not vppon them the wind and blast 〈◊〉 thy curse but tarrie a little while 〈◊〉 thou please to see if thy patience will bring them backe to do their duties And as for my selfe although I â—e couered ouer with their wounds and defamed with their iniurious deaâ—ings yet had I rather haue them subâ—ect vnto thy mercie then vnto thy â—ustice and desire if thou thinke it good that their iniustice might rather â—erue 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 â—or vengeance my vowes coniure nothing but thy mercie and my thoughts â—re addressed vnto nothing but vnto â—eace Wouldest thou vnderstand the â—umme of my desires and the end of â—ll my prayers it is O Lord that I â—ay passe my dayes in seruing thee faithfully and that thou wouldest graunt me thine holie house to dwell â—…n and that all the while that I am â—eperated from thee and a great â—ay off from thine heauenly Taberâ—acle tyed vnto the earth by reason of the counterpoise of my boâ—ye I might vnite and tye all my â—houghtes vnto thee and conforme â—nd frame my selfe wholy vnto thy will O blessed habitation that is able to couer vs from all worthly 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 commâ—… downe from the heauens to keepe companie with vs and fillest vs with thy selfe that we might be voyd oâ— sinne and conuertest our carnall 〈◊〉 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 thaâ— I being incorporate into thee 〈◊〉 farre-forth as mine infirmitie aâ—… thine infinitenesse will permit I may be enlightened with the beames of thy wisedome to the end that mine vnderstanding being enlightened 〈◊〉 may learne mee to knowe thy wiâ—… For this is the thread ô Lord which may assuredly guide me through the windings and turnings of the laberinth of this world and this is the passeport which must bring vs vnto that euerlasting life which we so incessantly 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 morâ—…ized 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 yet not content with that hast made me to enter into â—…e holie of holiest and bottomes of â—…y Sanctuarie where thou wast wont â—o reueale the greatest secrets of thy will graunt that I may so well coâ—â—eiue them as that I may cause thy faithfull seruants faithfully to vnderstand them 10 For sith thou hast aduaunced mee into so eminent and high 〈◊〉 place as one set vpon an hye rocke â—o be seene of the whole world and â—onored aboue all mine enemies let the foundation of my faith be aâ— firme as any stone and the grâ—… which thou shalt bestow vpon me 〈◊〉 be a testimonie of thy righteousneâ—… making me worthie and capable of 〈◊〉 benefits which it shall please thee 〈◊〉 vouchsafe me 11 As for my selfe O Lord I 〈◊〉 take paines reueâ—entlie to vse tâ—… ministerie which thou hast commâ—ted vnto mee Thou knowest how 〈◊〉 haue carried my selfe therein I haâ—… turned my selfe euery way reknoâ—ledge that which might best like thâ—… I haue most willingly offred vnto thâ—… calues and sheepe in sacrifice I haâ—… willingly bathed thine Aulter wiâ—… bloud but that was too too small an â—…fring for thee I haue ô Lord sacriâ—…ced mine hart consecrated mine affeâ—tion vowed my thoughts and hauing pluckt them from the verie bottom 〈◊〉 mine heart I haue offered them vâ—… thee with my voyce whereby thou hâ—… vnderstood whatsoeuer my soule haâ—… desired which was nothing else but 〈◊〉 please thee in all mine actions My crying out then hath bene my offring which thou diddest gratiously accepâ— 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 â—ot my mouth for I
speake not vnâ—o thee but with mine heart which â—ryeth our saying vnto thee O Lord why haue I sought thee so carefully â—ay and night both in peace and warre in quietnesse and in trouble 〈◊〉 haue desired nothing in the world â—ut to see thy face I meane nor 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 〈◊〉 thou be that increated word which hath created al things which doth paâ—… 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 maâ—… therein such a great number of beaâ—tifull 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 〈◊〉 in thy word as in a looking glasse of thy Deitie 14 Seeing then that thou seeâ— 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 nor 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 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 sit hence 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
Tygres feeding his eyes and cruell hart with seeing a poore man pluckt quite cleane in pieces and dismembred After the same manner do the wicked feed their desires in beholding the troubles which scourge the innocents 6 O how prowd and arrogant doth this make them for they thinke that the earth was made for them alone nay they suppose that it is not great enough to hold them As for other men they looke ouer their shoulders at them and it should seeme that they enuie them because they liue and disdainfully say in murmuring wise Shall we alwayes see this raskall before vs Shall this bundle of miserable wretches be euer still in our eyes And besides when they are alone they say What begger is this What beast is it Thus we see how they are louers of them-selues without companion and they know no good thing here in this world but them selues none worthie desert but them selues and taking them selues as Gods they adore themselues seruing nothing but their owne lusts and reuerencing nothing but their owne passions so as they are couered ouer from top to toe with pride iniustice and impietie 7 They are fat with nothing but with wickednes and their bodies are not fatter with grease then their soules are with sinnes iniquities All manner of villanies and abhominations rumble tosse vp and downe in their coÌ„sciences all their desires thoughts tend to nothing but vnto some fiâ—thinesse or malignitie at this their eyes leere and gleere at this it is that their hands itch hereon is all their heart set other affection haue they none they are moued with nothing but with malice a man would say that this were it which stirreth and emboldneth their bodies 8 Thou shalt see that after they haue along while forethought themselues of their sinnes after they haue chawed down their wicked purposes executed any cursed enterprise how they glory therin braue all the world speake of Authority they haue law to do what so euer they do there can nothing be so stoutly or yet so proudly imagined as they do but if they had any shame at the least that being contented liceÌ„tiously to outrage men yet might they coÌ„teine theÌ„selues froÌ„ most villanously blaspheming the holy name of God 9 But what shall I say my God they haue lifted vp their heads against heauen disdainfully looked vpoÌ„ the seat of thy mightines as if they would haue sayd who is like vnto vs which do here in this world what we lust yea euen we vnto whose bowes all men bend themselues and vnto whome nature her selfe serueth for a walking staffe And as for the earth they will not so much as once vouchsafe as it were to looke on it but in the end casting their eyes vpward by way of commiseration say what is all this that we see but that whose abundance is noysome to vs and whose fertilitie troubleth vs 10 This is in very deed the cause ô Lord why all the people being astonied assemble them selues together to behold this monstrous sight men run euery where vnto this spectacle and know not what to say when they looke vpon this wonderfull shew for they are there fast tyed gaping and looking on it 11 And in the end they lose their patience and begin to murmure and why doth God which seeth all things say they perceiue this Is not this he which hath that great seeing eye which sawe all things before they were made seeth them in their being and foreseeth them to bring them to their end Is this he whose prouidence is sayd to be as great in the gouernment of the world as his goodnes was great in the creation of the same If he â—ath disposed all things by compasse and created all things by measure If his iustice be presideÌ„t and hath the chiefe place in the gouernment of this world what doth he at this present how is it that he is now asleepe 12 Behold how the wicked spoyle his goods and possesse the ritches of the world a man would say that all things are creâ—ted for them goods rayne downe vpon them as they would desire honors roll in by heapes â—nto their houses felicitie holdeth them whether they will or no they desire and haue they wish and it commeth vpon them 13 And in the end I my selfe thus sayd also what now my God what a thing is this for the iustifying of mine hart and the ruling of mine actions according to thy commandements are all in vaine I gaue ouer all mine owne 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 coÌ„tinuall 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 wheÌ„ 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 Ah 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 geatâ— 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 ouerthrewst 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 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 21 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 vpoÌ„ 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 awhit 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 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 the 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 â—ith much ado that which is here oâ—…â—…th before me The eyes of my boâ—e are very duskish and mistie and â—…e eyes of my soule farre worse and â—ens thoughâ—s are maruellous vncerâ—ine and weake for the earthly and â—…rruptible body dulleth and maketh â—…le our spirits and â—yeth and bindeth 〈◊〉 senses fast vnto the earth in so â—…ch as that without thee I can not â—ope for any thing here below in the â—orld nor yet promise vnto my selfe â—y certaine knowledge of what thing â—…uer What am I able being here â—…on the earth to iudge and discerne â—hout thy ayd and without it pleaâ—…h thee to enlighten my spirit with â—…se things which thou hast ordeyâ—…d in heauen in the seate of thine eâ—…itie But thou also ô Lord hast â—…plyed my want and led me by the â—…d to make me see the counsels of â—e eternall wisedome thou hast as 〈◊〉 â—ere made me in loue with thee â—…d hast heaued and thrust my spirit 〈◊〉 of my body to make it capable of 〈◊〉 heauenly light and of thy wise â—poses 25 Surely when I consider of these wondrous things I am cleane gone my hart is taken from me and I am fallen into a swound ô God What is this my God which thou hast made me see O thou the God of my hart of my thoughts of my hope and thou ô God whome I esteeme to be my only felicitie and whome to loue I haue from henceforth destined all my affections I now know ô Lord what thou art 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
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 tarry 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 what so euer 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 alittle 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 magnificēce do now behold her mōstrous spoile do ye not thinke that you see a vineyard laid wide open where into 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 groūd 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 whē 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 sight 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 as there was any strength in me I might haue sayd that I was with my last master and that God had put me into the hands of an enemy of whome I could neuer haue bene rid but by departing out of this life Samech What reliefe or comfort ô Lord may I haue in my miseries In what place may I lodge the rest of my hope Thou hast vtterly extirped and rooted out the race of I ehuda the very stalke of Kings Prophets And as if by laying open mine entrayles thou mightest pluck out mine heart euen so hast thou taken from me my braue and valiant children by rooting out some and sending captiue othersome Thou hast chosen out a very good time for thy selfe to ruyne and sack me and to geue me for a pray vnto my greatest enemies and thou hast taken a very good order in all things for the ouerthrowing of that which I hold most deare which I haue made chiefe choyse of to loue and wherein I haue setled all mine whole affection But alasse with what crueltie if I may dare say so hath Ierusalem seene all her streetes paued with the torne members of the bodies of her poore children They haue bene layd vpon the rack their bones haue bene broken in pieces and their bloud hath run downe the chanels like streames There might you see the poore Virgins vtterly discomforted there is no more maydenly shamefastnesse left to coulor their faces withall that is to say no more of their fathers bloud to leape vp into their visages to mixe with their teares Ain Alasse what is there left for me to do in such a strange an affliction as this but incessantly to weepe And therefore I will weepe and weepe my fill I will conuert mine eyes into fountaynes and fill mine heart with sorrow and griefe Ha is it not possible to kill my selfe with weeping Ha when shall I sigh so much as that I may sigh my soule out of my body For seeing I haue none other consolation and that God alone who is able to ease my misery is farre away from me I can hope of none other end vnto my dolor but to suffer it consume it selfe to the end that as
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 thing 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 self 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 Stye 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 whither 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 from 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 punishmēt 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 I do be short thou hast very well knowne their counsels and thoughts And I do verely thinke that there was 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 cōsider 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 and arrogancie they haue forsaken thee to follow their own presumption thou must needs leaue them in their error and they must needs perseuere in their sinne and this hard scale of impenitencie must of force couer ouer their whole hearts and a greater curse canst thou not lay vpon them then this then to blinde their minds and take away from them their senses For when thou shalt come at once in the day of vengeance with a rod of iron in thine hand and breake them all in shards like a potters vessell there shall be nothing vnder the heauens by many thousands of degrees so miserable as they for they shall find no mercy at all because they themselues were mercylesse they shall be poore and there shall be none to helpe them and they shall be afflicted and none shall comfort them In the meane while ô Lord haue thou an eye vnto vs and second our patience with thine holy mercy to the end that as long as thou shalt please to exercise vs with the iniuries and opprobries of the wicked our hearts fayle vs not and that our soules may alwayes be able to lift them selues vp vnto thee and looke for thine ayde taking the miseries which it pleaseth thee to send vs for a tryall of our faith hoping that after our long patiēce thou wilt crowne vs as victorious wrastlers and cause vs triumphantly leade the wicked against whome we continually wrastle here in this life CHAPTER IIII. Aleph I Knowe O Lord right well that we must yeeld vnto thy will and that we do but kicke against the pricke in complayning of thee Neuerthelesse I can not keepe in my griefes much lesse my sighs when as I behold this strange desolation And although my soule biddeth me hold my peace yet can not mine heart keepe it selfe from sighing For who ô Lord would not haue pitie of this to see all the beawtifull golden walls of thy temple bescrabled and scraped all the goodly golden vessels so finely wought now melted and clipt in pieces all the ritch Iasper Porphirie of thy sanctuary brokē layd in gobbets cast about all the corners of the Citie in so
much that that place which shone as bright as the Sunne is now become like a ruinous darke dungeon Beth. Besides who would not grone to see the children of the best houses who were so much made of and so beloued as that they were accompted as pretious as any gold to be now cast vpon the leystalles like the shards of a broken pot Ha ô Lord our God this was not mens worke but thine owne Yea why forsookest thou after this sort thine owne most deare and most excellent workemanship createdst thou there to destroy them Gimel O I would thou haddest shewed as great fauour at our at the least vnto the childreÌ„ of Ierusalem thou diddest vnto the most vile abiest creatures on the earth for the very yong serpents them selues finde their dams teats who bring them vp vntill such time as they are able to shift for them selues Alasse thou hast made the women of Ierusalem to become more cruell then serpents more sauage then the women of Lamia which haue no womanlike shape nor condition but the very face for their hearts and the rest of the members of their bodies are most hidious and fearefull Nay there is not so little amitie amongst the very Ostridges who amongst the foules of the ayre are the most wilde and vntameable as there is in the women of Ierusalem by reason of their continuall affliction which hath so degenerated them Daleth Wee haue seene the yong children that there lay streaking out them selues yawning and gaping with lips as dry as sticks their tongs cleeuing vnto the rooffes of their mouthes with very drought and sucking winde in stead of milke for their mothers at the first offered them their breasts but they were so dry as that they yelded nothing but bloud In so much that the poore wretches hauing nothing to breede any iuice or moysture in them dryed vp whereby they fell into a consumption and so most pitifully languishing and wearing away forthwith dyed And they that were somewhat bigger ranne after their fathers and hanging about their heeles cryed so lamentably vpon them for bread as that it would haue made the stones in the streete to haue rent in sunder with compassion But what shall I say verely they had nothing to geue their for all that their fathers could do for theÌ„ was to wish them dead and curse the day that euer they begot them to see them now in so miserable an estate He. O Lord our God what an alteration of life was this Yea what an inexorable crueltie This is a miserie which scourgeth the whole world and whippeth both hye and lowe For they that were wont to liue most delicately and pamper their bodies begged in the hye wayes and dyed of honger yea and they that were wonted to lye on their downe beds and had their couerings of veluet and silke and troad vppon nothing but vppon Tapâ—stry thought them selues now to be in very good case if so be they could get a dunghill to lye vpon Vau. In so much that for any thing that I can see ô Lord thou iudgest our sinnes to be more haynous then the sinnes of Sodome For thou hast punished vs more cruelly then euer thou diddest them For they were ouerthrowne in a moment and fire from heauen deuoured them presently And besides there was none but thy selfe that dealt in this for she was not committed vnto the mercy of men left vnto the discretion of her enemies nor yet vnto the iniuries that follow the taking of Cities Zain It is a common saying that there is no right iudging of misery but by way of comparison and then beginneth it to touch the quicke when as a man compareth his estate wherein he presently standeth with that wherein he sometime was As when I bethinke me of the magnificence of those of Nazareth and see what miserable caytifes they now are For it was a maruellous glorious thing to see them come vnto Ierusalem to the feast m their robes as white as the driuen snow so neate and white were their clothes their faces were smoothly paynted and glistered like yuorie and their cheekes as ruddie as any rose or rather as ruddie as any rubie Het But they that had seene them now might haue sayd that they had blowne the cole all their life long at a smythes forge or had bene begrimed for the nonce and would haue rather taken them for the Lazars of a spittle house then otherwise for their bones beare out their skins and a man would haue sayd that their skins had bin like parchmeÌ„t wrapt about a dead carrion and I verely beleeue that there is as much moysture in a dry slough or ditch as was in any of their bodies Thet. Yea and they which past the edge of the sword came to a far better market then they for their misery 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 savd 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 vp 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
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 continually 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 wâ—…soeuer the lasâ— 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 â—hou 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 aulâ—eâ—s mine action shall â—ee a song of thy praise and goodnesse and so will goe day and night into thy church lifâ—ing vp mine eyes vnto thee and hauing my thoughts fixed on thee I will openmine heart and thou shalt fill it with thy grace that it may sanctifie all mine affections and so I thereby may set forth nothing more then thy glory FINIS