grieuous misdeeds committed both against heauen which is thy seate and earth which is thy footstoole O Lord I dare not looke vp vnto heauen I haue so sinned against heauen by sinning against thee that dwellest in heauen and by making more account of this worlde then of heauen I dare not lift vp mine eies vnto thee I haue so sinned against thee so as the sight of thee feareth me and thy feare most mightie God is on euerie side I doe acknowledge my wickednesse and my sinne is euer before thee Against thee onely haue I sinned and doone this euill that thou maiest bee iustified in thy sayings and cleere when thou art iudged I am hee whome thou diddest vouchsafe by adoption and grace to make thiâ—e owne sonne thou hast nourished and brought mee vppe but I haue rebelled against thee The Oxe did knowe his owner and the Asse his maisters crib but I thy sonne did not knowe thee I thy seede and chosen did not obeie thee Wherefore thou gauest mee ouer vnto my owne heartes lustes and diddest let mee followe mine owne imaginations So as I committed all kinde of filthinesse and receiued such recompence of my wickednesse as was meete so as now I am a stranger and forreiner vnto thee I am not therefore worthie of the name of a sonne O let me be numbred among thy hired seruantes O father beholde me in the face of thine annointed for one day in thy courts is better then a thousand with the vngodlie I had rather haue the place of meanest seruice and to bee a doore keeper in thine house then to dwell in the tentes of the vngodlie and sit in the seate of sinners I am he for whose sake thy onlie begotten sonne became man bowed the heauens and came downe made himselfe of no reputation but humbled himselfe euen vnto the death the death of the crosse Thou hast giuen this sonne for mee a most vilde seruaunt that of a seruant I might be made a sonne by beeing conformable vnto the image of thy sonne but I alas haue liued in the flesh haue quenched the spirit and haue walked like an infidel I haue forgotten God that made mee and the strong God of my saluation I haue beene reprobate and abhominable and vnto euery good work vnprofitable whither therefore shall I flee for succour if I looke vp to heauen I am dismaied for I haue sinned against heauen if I repaire vnto thee I am yet in miserie for I haue sinned against thee I am hee whome thou didst preuent with thy liberall blessinges vpon whome thou diddest bestowe a great portion of thy grace whome thy tender mercie embraced on euerie side But I haue wantonlie and wickedlie wasted them by liuing in my lustes and not in thy lawes by fulfilling the lustes of the flesh and of the minde by working all wickednesse and that with greedinesse Thou induedst mee with wisdome aboue others with a greater knowledge of thy word then others I was planted in the house of the Lord that I might flourish in the courtes of my God by being ingrafted into the bodie of the Church and communion of thy saintes and made partaker of thy holie sacraments Thou hast not done so to other nations neither haue other people had such knowledge of thy lawes But woe is me I haue despised these thy mercies broken thy couenants dishallowed thy most holie and reuerend name I haue sinned O father not meanlie as other men but mightilie aboue other for I haue sinned against heauen thy holie place before thee the holiest and in earth the place where thy name is called vpon I am not therefore worthie neither do I desire to be called thy son but let me be thy seruant and o Lord saue thy seruant who putteth his trust in thee O remember not my olde sinnes which I haue coÌ„mitted since I went from thee but of thy goodnes preserue thou him that is appointed to die Thy great bountie shewed to hired seruaunts remaining in thy house putteth mee in hope of the like to bee shewed vnto mee thy Sonne returning to thy house Thy seruants haue enough and I thy sonne O faether like vnto a runnagate continew 〈◊〉 scarcity they eate of the plenteousnesse that commeth from thy Table but I am constrained to beg my bread in desolate places And this misery O father I must needes confesse is of my selfe for I woulde needes depart from thee the health of my life the light of my countenance and my mercifull God Wherefore now sitting by the waters of Babylon I cannot but weepe when I remember thee O Sion But turne thou my captiuitie as the riuers of the south and let mee heare of ioie and gladnesse that the bones which thou hast broken may reioice Though I haue sinned against thee yet I come vnto thee and though thy iustice must shewe vengeaunce vpon sinne yet I appeale vnto thy mercie in thy deere sonne Christ for the pardoning of my sinne I haue sinned and doone wickedlie yet I knowe thy mercie is aboue my sinnes One depth swalloweth vp an other let the depth therefore of thy mercie deuoure and swallowe vp the depth of my sinnes Thy hande is not so short but thou canst saue nor thy eare so thicke but thou canst heare Heare mee therefore O King of Heauen nowe I call vppon thee and bee mercifull vnto my sinnes for they are great Shew some token of kindnesse which thou doest vse to shew to those who put their trust in thee before the sonnes of men Thou diddest not repell the Publican disdaine the Pharisie refuse the Harlot or exclude the thiefe Peter who denied thee and Paule who persecuted thee vppon their returne were receiued into grace Father I returne consider my complaint for I am brought very lowe deliuer my soule out of trouble and my life from the bloudthirstie and though I be not worthy to be thy sonne yet make mee thy seruant so I thy seruant shall reioice in thee I shall bee euer giuing of thankes for the operation of thy hands Grant this grace oh deere father for Iesus Christ his sake thy most deere son and my only blessed Sauiour Amen The ende of the second Booke of the regresse of the prodigall Sonne THE THIRD BOOKE Discouering of the ioyfull welcome home of the prodigal Son and the honorable entertainment which his Father gaue him The first Chapter That the meere mercie of God is the maine motiuâ— of our comming home to God and the sole efficient cause of our whole saluatioÌ„ plainly insinuated by this circumstance of this historie of the fatheâ— his seeing the prodigall sonne when hee was yeâ— a farre off A Reuerend and holie Bishop when as Saint Augustines A Bishops saying of Augustine mother was in exceeding heauinesse for hir sonneâ— peruersenesse before hee was conuerted seeing her strange passions and hir aboundaunt teares which shee powred out for him grauely aunswered thus It is impossible for thy sonne to perish for whome such â—eaers are
made white as snow though they be red as Scarlet they shal be as wooll if ye consent and obey ye shall eate the good things of the land In the like maner speaketh the Prophet Amos. Amos. 1 I lift vp vpon you euen a lamentation of the house of Israel the virgin Israel is falleÌ„ and shall no more rise But by and by he mittigateth his mood saying Seeke the Lord and ye shall liue Our sorrowes ende with sinne and God turneth with a sinner Iudgement is turned into mercie when sinne is turned into repentance And this doth Dauid in liuelie sort declare Psa 89 If my people forsake my lawes and walke not in my iudgements if they leaue my statutes and keepe not my commandements I will visit their iniquities with the rod and their sinnes with scourges heere is his iudgement But turne thine eye and behold his mercie But my mercie and louing kindnes will I not vtterlie take from him euer God taxed Adam grieuouslie for his sinne and layde a verie heauie iudgement vpon him enioyning him to hard labour to bring in his liuing with the sweate of his face and turmoyle of his bodie but this labour was stinted and restrayned to his time that it should not bee perpetuall and therefore hee addeth vntill thou returne vnto the earth from whence thou camest Gene. 3 And when our first parents sinned and God was to expell them the pleasaunt Paradise albeit they had grieued him hee had mercie on them and maketh them garmentes of beastes skinnes to defende them from the rage of time and to couer their shame that their nakednesse and filthinesse might not be seene Hee in sinuateth by this course taken with Adam that hee will take the same course with Adams children that in the middest of iudgement he will remember mercie and thâ— hee will vpon our conuersion shew vs his compâ—â—sion Wherefore arise from thy sin and Christ shall giue thee life despaire not of his grace for hee hath medicine to heale all our woundes God woundeth vs at the first but it is to heale and cure vs at the last The tenth Chapter That God vsuallie giueth vnto a sinner more then he can aske THe prodigall sonne not only speedeth with his father of his sute but he receiueth of him more then he desired Hee made but the motion to be a hired seruant but the father restored him to the dignitie of a sonne He preuented him moreouer with his liberall blessings and graciouslie receyued him with all feasting and reioycing Wherein wee may see how farre God exceedeth the manner of men and how mans kindnes is in no sort proportionable vnto the Lords goodnes When as Absalon had murthered his brother AmmoÌ„ 2. Sam. 2â— Dauid his father was in some sort conteÌ„ted to be intreated for him but he wold not grant him accesse vnto his presence to see his face againe But Gods good grace is such as he not onely remitteth sinners but admitteth them to his presence receyueth them to his table and suffreth theÌ„ continuallie to beholde their fathers face It is not therefore without good foresight experience of his bountie that the blessed Apostle Paul tearming God the father of all mercie not content therewith addeth to his stile this iust title The God of all consolation He thinketh it not inough to say that hee is mercifull but by amplyfying it thus hee woulde giue vnto him a kind of absolute and ouerflowing mercie It belongeth to mercie onelie to forgiue sinnes but God stayeth not there but followeth vs with his grace preuenting future sinnes Vpon this my soule receyueth great comfort and from hence deare Christian whensoeuer thou humblest thy soule before God and exhibitest thy sutes and supplications vnto him thou maiest cheere and comfort thy perplexed conscience For this is not written in vaine for vs for it serueth liuelie as all other scripture giuen by inspiration to instruct comfort vs. The meditation therefore whilest I muse vpon this man is this which my soule maketh That it is vsuall with God not onelie to grant the lawfull requests and petitions of his seruants but also because hee best knoweth our necessities to giue vs such graces as are needfull for vs beyonde our requests Hereof we haue instances innumerable in the Scriptures and we shall do well when our case requireth comfort to meditate vpon them Abraham besought God onelie for the life of Ismael â—â—n 17 saying vnto God Oh that Ismael might liue before thee But what was the comfort which Abraham receyued Trulie much euerie way more then his heart conceyued for God thus answered him Sarah thy wife shal beare thee a sonne and thou shalt call his name Isaac and as concerning Ismaell I haue heard thee and twelue Princes shall he beget and I will make a great nation of him Thus beside the life of Ismael which hee granted the summe of Abrahams sute in his abundant mercie aboue his desire he sent him also Isaac and vouchsafed such fauour and grace to Ismael as to blesse him so as kings proceeded from his loynes Salomon onelie requested Wisedome for the better carriage of himselfe in his gouernment 1. King 3 the Lord beside wisedome which hee gaue him aboue others heaped vpon him riches and worldly prosperitie far aboue others Ezechias requested but life at Gods hande 2. King 20 the Lorde not onely graunted it but gaue him a long life and graciously added fifteene yeeres vnto his dayes When as the three kings of Israel Iudah 2. King 3 and Edom were to warre with Moab and were greatlie distressed through want of water for their hoast and for their cattell and came vnto Elisha the man of God for supplie in this behalfe the Lord not onlie satisfied their hearts desire but moreouer went out with their armies before them and gaue them victorie ouer the Moabites The widow woman that was deepelie indebted 2. King 4 and had nothing to satisfie her cruell creditor he beeing vrgent and could not bee answered but that her two sonnes must become his bondmen according to the lawe hauing nothing else to discharge his accounts When shee came vnto the Prophet bemoaning her mishap and required his helpe to the Lord in her behalfe she forthwith had such a comfortable reliefe as shee had Oyle inough giuen her not onelie to defray all kinde of arrerages which was all she desired but sufficient beside to supplie future wantes which was more then she desired Mark 9 Those that brought the man of the palsie vnto Christ desired but bodily health for him but Christ not onely healed his bodie but cured his soule likewise saying vnto him Sonne bee of good comfort thy sinnes are forgiuen thee The theefe besought Christ onely to remember him when he came vnto his kingdome Luke 23 but Christ moreouer promised him Paradise and that hee should be with him that day in his kingdome The ruler requested but life for his sonne
willeth thee as thy father is perfect The third Chapter The readinesse of God in forgiuing sinne and his slownesse in punishing it signified by the father his running out to meete his prodigall sonne THe father espying his sonne a farre off contenteth not himselfe with the sight of him or with barelie pittying him or weeping for him and so leauing him but he further maketh haste and runneth out to meete him that neyther anie other in the way might hinder him or otherwise the conceit of his fathers seueritie vnhappilie terrifie him A similitude By this and other circumstaunces going before the order that God vseth in receyuing a sinner is notablie sette downe Hee is like vnto a Nurse who seeing her tender childe venturing to come vnto her that it shoulde not take a fall maketh speede and runneth to it Or like vnto a Vulture A similitude or greedie fowle who first seeing his pray a farre off flyeth swiftly vnto it seazeth vppon it and afterwardes deuoureth it so Goâ— first seeing a sinner a farre off in the vttermost coast and region of sinne taketh to him the winges of mercie and flyeth speedilie like a swift arrow to him hee lighteth vpon him culling him and kissing him and afterward incorporateth him and maketh him his owne The father woulde not stay vntil his sonne shoulde come vnto him and with all submission vpon his knees craue remission vntill hee had vrged him by many arguments and pearced his eares and heart with his complaintes it was enough with him to mooue him to helpe him to know his miseries albeit he came not into his presence to vtter them As it is sufficient to mooue a tender Father to knowe his sonnes aduersitie A similitude that hee is fallen into a Riuer where without speedie helpe he must needes bee drowned albeit hee grateth not his fathers eares with lowde crying vnto him so is it enough with God that hee knoweth our daungers that wee sticke fast in the deepe myre where no water is or that the streames runne ouer our soules albeit wee crie not vntill wee waxe hoarse vnto him and treble and beate often vppon the name of Our Father The Lorde seeth well the anguish of our mindes and our groaninges cannot bee hid from him And therefor hee sayeth thus by the Prophet Esay Before that they crie I doe heare them This father in running out to meete his sonne testifieth his loue which hee beareth to his sonne God is slow in punishing sinne howe readie he was freely to remit whatsoeuer sin his sonne did commit It is Gods nature so to doe It hath alwaies beene his custome to bee verie forward to shewe sauour to a sinner and to bee vnwilling and slow to punish him Genes 3 When as Adam had broken the couenant and was in the transgression it is saide that God walked in the Garden in the coole of the day When as hee came to take vengeance vppon sinne hee came not downe riding vpon the heauens as vpon an horse neither did hee come flying vppon the wings of the windes nay hee came no fast pace but walking and creeping as it were a Snayle If hee had delited in our confusion and did not rather expect our conuersion woulde hee not thinke you mende his pace and make more haste to punish vs Gene. 7 When as God was purposed to destroy the first world and wash away the horrible filthinesse of sinne which polluted the earth with the waters of his rage before this his iudgement was accordinglie executed it was a hundred yeares before to his preacher Noah published This his exceeding patience and long sufferance argueth flatly his slacknes in punishing vs For else he needed not to haue warned them at all or respited them so long but might haue soone ouerwhelmed them â—ed 19 When his doome definitiue was denounced against Sodom her sister Gomorrah her neighbor townes about he came familiarly to Abraham before of set purpose broke the matter vnto him that he might stay him by intreating for them For to signifie so much he suffreth dust and ashes to dispute with him and so farre to commune and preuaile with him as if there had beene but ten honest persons in the place the rest had beene preserued and saued for their sakes What proofe more pregnant can we haue then this of the teÌ„der mercy and louing kindnes of the Lord Pharaoh was the rankest rebell that I reade of for he spared not to say Exod. 14 Who is the Lorde that I should let Israel go I knowe not the Lorde neyther will I let Israel go Woulde such a fellowe thinke you haue beene spared Yet the Lorde did spare him and warned him seuen times before hee would destroy him Oh the exceeding bountie of our God towards vs. The Niniuits were a pestilent and peruerse people out of measure sinfull Ionas 3 for the outcrie of their sinne had sent an Eccho vppe to heauen and the Lord had presentlie decreed their destruction but though the sworde was nowe drawne out of the sheath to wound their hairie scalpe yet so good a God was he so slow to vengeance and full of mercie as their repentance mitigated his moode and shut vp the sworde of his anger and iudgement againe into the scabberd By the Arke of the Testimonie wherein the law was kept was the Mercie seate placed to signifie that as soone as wee haue offended the lawe there is mercie to bee had Psal 130 With the Lorde there is mercie sayth the Prophet Dauid and with him is plenteous redemption Now as he is thus backward slow to anger The Lord is swift in shewing mercy so is hee as forward and prone to mercie As hee but walketh when he punisheth a sinner so he runneth when he would saue a sinner as he did here to saue a notorious and miserable sinner Luke 19 Christ meaning to diuert into Zacheus his house or rather into his soule and to make him of an Vsurer and lim of the diuell a sonne of Abraham and a child of God he looketh vp to the fig tree wheron Zachee stood and saith Zachee come downe at once and come quicklie vnto me Ioh. 13 To Iudas Iscariot the thiefe and the traitor when hee was plotting and compassing his treason the Lord likewise said Iudas that which thou doest doe quicklie Iudas his treason was the worlds redemption and therefore he was so ready and greedie it should be finished Luke 22 Else where he likewise speaketh to the same effect saying I must bee baptized with a baptisme and howe am I grieued vntill it be ended This hee spake of his passion the cuppe of our blessing the earnest and price of our eternall saluation â—ctes 2 When the holie Ghost in the daie of Penticost came vppon the Apostles it came suddainly in a sounde from heauen as of a rushing and mightie winde It was in mercie to illuminate and