spoken that which God out of his holie word hath opened vnto me if you finde anie helpe thereby giue God the praise therfore and carrie this with you for euer that by manie afflictions both in the bodie and the mind you must enter into the kingdome of heauen Rawe flesh is noisome to the stomacke and is no good nourishment before it be sodden and vnmortified men and women be no creatures fit for God and therefore they are to be soaked and boiled in afflictions that the fulsumnes rancknes of their corruption maie be delaied and they maie haue in them some rellish acceptable vnto God And to conclude for the auoiding of all these temptations vse this sweet praier following which that godlie saint Maister Bradford made Oh Lorde God and deere Father what shall I saie that feele all thinges to bee in manner with me as in the wicked Blind is my minde crooked is my will and peruerse concupiscence is in me as a spring of stinking puddle O howe faint is faith in mee how little is my loue to thee or thy people how great is my selfe loue how hard is my heart by reason whereof I am mooued to doubt of thy goodnes towards me whether thou art my mercifull father and whether I be thy childe or no indeed worthilie might I doubt if that the hauing of these were the cause and not the fruit rather of thy children The cause why thou art my father is thy mercifull goodnes grace and truth in Christ Iesus which cannot but remaine for euer In respect whereof thou hast borne mee this good will to bring mee into thy Church by Baptisme and to accept me into the number of thy children that I might be holie faithfull obedient and innocent and to call me diuers times by the ministerie of thy word into thy kingdome besides the innumerable other benefites alwaies hitherto powred vpon me All which thou hast done of this thy good will which thou of thine owne mercie barest to me in Christ before the world was made The which thing as thou requirest straitlie that I shoulde beleeue without doubting so wouldest thou that I in all my deedes shoulde come vnto thee as to a father and make my mone without mistrust of being heard in thy good time as most shall make to my comfort Lo therefore to thee deere father I come through thy sonne our Lorde our mediatour and Aduocate Iesus Christ who sitteth on thy right hand making intercession for mee I praie thee of thy great goodnes and mercie in Christ to be mercifull to mee a sinner that I maie indeede feele thy sweet mercie as thy childe the time oh deere father I appoint not but I praie thee that I maie with hope still expect and looke for thy helpe I hope that as for a little while thou hast left me so thou wilt come and visite me that in thy great mercie wherof I haue great need by reasoÌ„ of my great miserie Thou art wont for a little season in thine anger to hide thy face from them whome thou louest but surelie O Redeemer in eternall mercies thou wilt shewe thy compassions For when thou leauest vs Oh Lord thou doest not leaue vs very long neither doest thou leaue vs to our losse but to our lucre and aduantage euen that thy holie spirite with bigger portion of thy power and vertue maie lighten and cheere vs that the want of feeling of our sorrowe maie be recompenced plentifullie with the liuelie sent of hauing thee to our eternall ioie and therefore thou swearest that in thine euerlasting mercie thou wilt haue coÌ„passion on vs Of which thing to the ende wee might be most assured thine oath is to be marked for thou saiest as I haue sworn that I will neuer bring anie more the waters to drowne the worlde so haue I sworne that I will neuer more be angrie with thee nor reproue thee The mountaines shall remooue and the hilles shall fall downe but thy louing kindnes shal not mooue and the bond of thy peace shall not faile thee thus saiest thou the Lorde our mercifull Redeemer Deere father therefore I praie thee remember euen for thine owne truth mercies sake the promise and euerlasting couenant which in thy good time I praie thee to write in my heart that I maie know thee to bee the onelie true GOD and Iesus Christ whome thou hast sent that I maie loue thee with all my heart for euer that I maie loue thy people for thy sake that I maie bee holie in thy sight through Christ that I maie alwaies not onelie striue against sinne but also ouercome the same dailie more and more as thy children doe aboue all things desiring the sanctification of thy name the comming of thy kingdome the doing of thy will on earth as it is in heauen c. through Iesus Christ our Redeemer Mediatour and Aduocate Amen FINIS Faultes to be corrected PAg. 12. lin 8. for or reade are Pa. 15. l. 28. Autonius Antonius Pa. 21. l. 27. or are Pa. 32. l. 27. word world Pa. 46. l. 6. sowing sauing Pa. 87. l. 24. first fift P. 90. l. 17. performed perfumed p. 91. l. 8. face force p. 92. l. 22. quietnes disquietnes p. 97. l. 22. first fifth p. 121. l. 4. wise weake p. 122. l. 25. soule saile p. 124. l. 10. entire center p. 149. l. 12. worketh wotteth p. 160. 8. seduce subdue p. 160. l. 26. exhortation experience p. 161. l. 13. burned buried p. 165. l. 3. babbling bibbing p. 182. l. 25. â—â—uetous conuerted p. 183. l. 3. dimisse diminish a Mat. 25. 1 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Luk. 13. 24. A caueat to all Protestants of what estate or coÌ„dition soeuer b 2. Cor. 13. 5. Psa. 119. 59 c Act. 20. 32. 1. 2. 3. 4. Mark that there is a true faith wrought by the holie Ghost verie like sauing faith yet no sauing faith a Ro. 1. 21. Psal. 19. 1. 3. b Ro. 7. 15. c Psal. 14. 1. Rom. 3. 10. 11. d Psal. 49. 20. e Act. 14. 71. Rom. 1. 21. f Heb. 6. 4. 2. Pet. 2. 23. g Matt. 22. 14. Luk. 13. 34. Prov. 1. ver 24. Iohn 9. 41. Luke 14. 6. h Psa 27. 8. i He. 10. 26 Act. 1. 16. 17. k 1. Sam. 29 21. l Gen 4. 13. m Eus. li. 8. cap. 17. 18. Socrat. lib. 3. ca. 11. o Act 2. 37. Rom. 8. 15. p Mark 6. 20. 26 q Mat. 27. 19. 24. r Mat. 27. 3. Heb. 12. 17 s Gen. 27. 38. 27. 41. 28. 9 t Exo. 8. 8. Math. 7. 7. u Gen. 4. 4. 1. Sa. 31. 4. Mat. 27 5. x 1 Re. 21. 27. 29. y Ex. 9. 27. Num. 22. 34. z Num. 23. 10. a Num. 11. 13. b Num. 11. 33. Psa. 78. 31. c Isa. 7. 11. 1 d Luk. 8. 13 2 3 e Iob. 13. 15 f Hâ—b 6. 4. Math. 13. 20. g 2. Pet. â— 14. 1. Ioh. â— â— Luke 1. 〈◊〉 Esa. 60.
as may appear in Caine Saul Achitophel Iudas and now of late in Iohn Hoffmeister a monke Latomus who for the space of certaine daies neuer left crying that hee was damned because that hee had wilfully persecuted the Gospell of Christ and so he ended his life Therefore most worthie is Paules counsell for the moderating of this sorrow It is sufficient saith he vnto the incestuous man that hee was rebuked of manie so that now contrariwise ye ought rather to forgiue him and comfort him lest he shoulde be swallowed vp of ouermuch heauines And further hee giueth another reason which followeth lest Sathan should circumuent vs for we are not ignorant of his enterprises And indeed cōmō experiēce sheweth the same that whē any man is most weak then Sathā most of all bestirreth himselfe to worke his cōfusion The third is that all mē which are hūbled haue not like measure of sorrow but some more some lesse Iob felt the hand of God in exceding great measure whē he cried O that my grief were well weied my miseries were laid together in the ballance for it would be now heauier then the sand of the sea therefore my words are now swallowed vp for the arrowes of the Almightie are in me and the venome thereof doth drinke vp my spirite and the terrors of God fight against me The same did Ezechia when on his death bed he said he brake al my bones like a Lion and like a Crane or a swallow so did I chatter I did mourne like a doue c. Contrariwise the thiefe vpon the crosse and Lydia in her conuersion neuer felt any such measure of grief for it is said of her that God opened hir heart to be attentiue to that which Paule spake presently after she intertained Paul and Silas cheerefully in hir house which she coulde not haue done if shee had beene pressed downe with any great measure of sorrowe neither are any to dislike themselues because they are not so much humbled as they see some others for God in great wisedome giueth to euery one which are to bee saued that which is conuenient for their estate And it is often seene in a festred sore that the corruption is let out as well with the pricking of a small pin as with the wide lance of a Raser XII The fourth thing in true humiliation is an holy desperation which is when a man is wholly out of all hope euer to attaine saluation by any strength or goodnes of his owne speaking and thinking more vilely of himselfe then any other can doe and heartily acknowledging himselfe to haue deserued not one onely but euen tenne thousand damnations in hell fire with the diuell and all his Angels This was in Paule when hee said of himselfe that he was the chiefe of all sinners This was in Daniell when in the name of the people of Israell he praied and said O Lorde righteousnes belongeth vnto thee and to vs open shame as appeareth this daie c. Lastly the same was in the prodigall childe who saide Father I haue sinned against heauen and against thee and I am no more worthie to bee called thy sonne XIII Many are of opinion that this sorrow for sin is nothing else but a Melancholike passion but in trueth the thing is farre otherwise as may appeare in the example of Dauid who by all coniectures was least troubled with Melancholie and yet neuer any tasted more deepelie of the sorrow and feeling of Gods anger for sinne then hee did as the booke of Psalmes declareth And if anie desire to knowe the difference they are to bee discerned thus Sorrow for sinne maie be where health reason senses memorie and all are sound but Melancholike passions are where the body is vnsound and the reason senses memorie dulled troubled Secondlie sorrow for sinne is not cured by any Phisicke but onelie by the sprinkling of the bloud of Iesus Christ Melancholike passions are remoued by Physicke diet musicke and such like Thirdlie Sorrowe for sinne riseth of the anger of God that woundeth pearceth the conscience but Melancholike passions rise onelie of meere imaginations stronglie conceiued in the braine Lastlie these passions are long in breeding and come by little and little but the sorrow for sinne vsuallie commeth on a sudden as lightning into a house And yet howsoeuer they are differing it must be acknowledged that they may both concurre together so that the same man which is troubled with Melancholie maie feele also the anger of God for sinne XIIII Thus it appeareth how God maketh the hart fit to receiue faith in the next place it is to be considered howe the Lord causeth faith to spring and to breed in the humbled hart For the effecting of this so blessed a worke God worketh foure things in the hart First when a man is seriously humbled vnder the burden of his sinne the Lord by his spirit makes him lift vp himselfe to consider to ponder most diligentlie the great mercie of God offered vnto him in Christ Iesus After the consideration of Gods mercie in Christ he commes in the second place to see feele and from his heart to acknowledge himselfe to stande in neede of Christ and to stand in neede of euerie drop of his most pretious bloude Thirdlie the Lorde stirreth vp in his heart a vehement desire and longing after Christ and his merites this desire is compared to thirst which is not onelie the feeling of the drines of the stomacke but also a vehement appetite after drinke and Dauid fitlie expresseth it when he saith I stretched foorth my handes vnto thee my soule desireth after thee as the thirstie land Lastlie after this desire he beginnes to praie not for anie worldly benefite but onelie for the forgiuenesse of his sinnes crying with the poore publican O God be merciful to me a sinner Now this praier it is made not for one day onelie but continuallie from daie to daie not with the lippes but with greater sighes groanes of the heart then that they can be expressed with the tongue Nowe after these desires and prayers for Gods mercie ariseth in the heart a liuelie assurance of the forgiuenesse of sinne For GOD who cannot lie hath made his promise Knocke it shall bee opened and againe Before they call I will aunswere and while they speake I will heare Therefore when an humbled sinner commes crying knocking at his mercie gate for the forgiuenesse of sinne either then or shortlie after the Lord worketh in his hart a liuelie assurance thereof And whereas hee thirsted in his hart being scorched with the heate of gods displeasure beating vpon his conscience Christ Iesus giueth him to drink of the well of the water of life freelie hauing dronken thereof he shall neuer be more a thirst but shall haue in him a fountaine of water springing vp
into euerlasting life XV For the better vnderstanding of this that God worketh sowing faith in the hart of man after this manner it must bee obserued that a sinner is compared to a sicke man oft in the scriptures And therefore that the curing of a disease fitly resembleth the curing of sinne A man that hath a disease or sore in his bodie before hee can bee cured of it hee must see it feele paine of it and be in a feare lest it bring him into danger of death after this he shall see himselfe to stande in neede of Phisick and he longeth till he be with the Phisitian when he is once come to him he desireth him of all loues to helpe him to shew the best skill he can he will not spare for any cost then he yeeldes himselfe into the Phisitians handes perswading himselfe that by Gods blessing he both can and will helpe him after this he comes to his former health againe On the same manner euerie man is wounded with the deadly wound of sinne at the very heart and he that woulde bee saued and escape damnation must see his sinne bee sorrowfull for it and vtterlie dispaire of his owne strength to attaine saluation thereby furthermore he must see himselfe to stande in neede of Christ the good Phisition of his soule and long after him and crie vnto him with deepe sighes and grones for mercie after this Christ Iesus will temper him a plaister of his owne heart bloud which beeing applied he shall finde himselfe reuiued and shall come to the assurance of the forgiuenes of all his sinnes So it was in Dauid when he repented of his adulterie and murther First God made him see his sinnes for he saith I know mine iniquities and my sinnes are euer before me Secondly he felt Gods anger for his sinnes make me saith he to heare ioy and gladnes that the bones which thou hast broken may reioice Thirdly hee vtterly dispaired of his owne strength in that he said stablish me with thy free spirit signifying therby vnlesse the Lord woulde staie him with his glorious power he should run headlōg to his own cōfusiō Fourthly he comes to see himselfe stand in great neede of Gods fauour one mercie will not content him hee praieth for the whole innumerable multitude of his mercies to bee bestowed on him to doe away his iniquities Fiftly his desire and his praier for the forgiuenes of his sin are set down in the whole Psalme And in his praier hee gathereth some comfort and assurance of Gods mercie towardes himselfe in that he saith the sacrifices of God are a contrite spirit a contrite and broken heart O God thou wilt not despise XVI There are diuers degrees and measures of this vnfained faith according as there be diuers degrees of Christians some are yet in the wombe and haue their mother the church traueling of them some are new borne babes feeding on the milk of the word some are perfect men in Christ come to the measure of the age of the fulnes of Christ. XVII The least measure of faith that any Christian can haue is compared to the graine of mustard seede the least of all seedes and to flaxe that hath fire in it but so weake that it can neither giue heate nor light but onely maketh a smoake and is called by the name of a litle faith and it may be thus described when a man of an humble heart doth not yet feele the assurance of the forgiuenes of his owne sinnes and yet hee is perswaded they are pardonable desiring that they might be pardoned And therfore praieth to God that he woulde pardon them and giue him strength to leaue them XVIII A litle faith may more plainly be known by considering these foure points first that it is onely in his heart who is humbled for sinne for the Lord dwelleth with him that is of a contrite and humble spirite to receiue the spirite of the humble and to giue life to them that are of a contrite heart Secondly it is in a man especially at the time of his conuersion and calling to Christ after which hee is to growe from faith to faith Thirdly this faith though it be in the hart yet it is not so much felt in the heart this was in Dauid at some times my God my God why hast thou forsaken me saith he The first wordes my God my God are speeches of faith yet the latter why hast thou forsaken me shewe that then he had no feeling of Gods mercie A little faith then is in the heart of a man as in the spring time the fruit is in the bud which yet appeareth not but only hath his nature and substance in the bud Lastly the beginnings and seeds of this faith are three The first is a persuasion that a mans own sins are pardonable this perswasion though it bee not faith yet it is a good preparation to faith For the wicked cut themselues of quite from Gods mercie in that with Cain they say their sinnes are greater then that they can be forgiuen The second is a desire of the fauor mercy of God in Christ of the meanes to attaine to that fauour This desire is a speciall grace of God and it hath the promise of blessednes and it must be distinguished from that desire which wicked men haue who though they desire life eternal as Balam did yet they cannot desire the meanes as faith repentance mortification c. The third is praier for nothing in this world but onely for the forgiuenes of their sins with great sighes and grones from the bottome of the heart which they are not able to expresse as they feele them Nowe this hearty praying and desire for the pardon of sinne can neuer come from the flesh but onely from the spirite who stirreth vp these heauenly motions of longing desiring sighing after remission of sinne and all other graces of God which hee bestoweth vpon his children And where the spirit of Christ dwelleth there must needs be faith for Christ dwelleth in the harts of the faith full by faith Therfore as Rebecca whē she felt the Twins striue in hir wombe though it pained hir yet shee knewe both that she had conceaued and that the children were quicke in hir so they who haue these motions holy affections in them before mentioned may assure themselues that the spirit of God dwelleth in them cōsequently that they haue faith though a weake faith XIX Examples of this small faith are euident in the Apostles who though they beleeued that Christ was the sauior of the world yet they were ignorant of his death and resurrection which are the chiefe meanes of saluation After his resurrection they were ignorant of his ascention of his spiritual kingdome for they dreamed of an earthly kingdome at his death they