in cryes and my eyes vvitnesse it vvith flouddes of teares O Dauid vvho art thou vvho novv art so humble euen in heart vvast not thou elected by God and anointed by Samuel the Prophet King of the Ievves vvas it not thou 2. Reg. 10. vvho killedst a lion and a beare 1. Reg. 17. foyledst at thy feete the great Giant Golias vvho braued the hostes of God made them all to quake Art not thou he of vvhom the yonge maydes virgins sange 1. Reg. 18. Saul stroke a thousand and Dauid ten thousand It is true I am he that did all this but I vvho killed the lion 1. Reg. 17. the beare and the Giant Golias am now slaine by an homebred yet more cruell beast concupiscence vvhich pretending to doe me a pleasure hath giuen me my deadlie vvound and like a trayterous Ioab seeming to offer me a kisse 2. Reg. 20. 1. Reg. 18. Psa 88 gaue me the stabb O Dauid art not thou he to whom God promised the Kingdome of Israel to continue in thy race for euer of vvhich race the Messias was to descende vvhy then art thou so deiected and humbled in heart I am he but I am now a greeuous sinner and those great titles prerogatiues and priuileges vvherevvith God heretofore honoured me doe now but aggrauat my sinnes and therefore not vvithstanding the aforesaid titles I am afflicted in spirit my heart is contrite broken vvith sorrovv and humbled 11. And yet ô Lord saith he I vvill not dispaire knowing thee to be mercifull and mercie it selfe Psa 21. Ps 70 ibid. Thou art my hope from the breastes of my mother thou art my hope from my youth In thee Lord I haue hoped let me not be confounded for euer Ps 131. Remember Dauid ô Lord and all his meeknes Remember vvhat I vvas heretofore Act. 13. a man according to thy heart consider not vvhat I am but pardon vvhat I am restore me to what I was to my former vertue grace and fauout and for my sinnes past I vvill offer thee a sacrifice not of oxen or sheepe but of my selfe of an afflicted spirit of a cōtrite humbled heart vvhich is more agreable to thee thē hecatombes of brute beastes I ô Lord vvill be my selfe the Priest my Altar shall be my soule my sacrifice my heart vvhich by contrition I shall breake and bruse by charitie I vvill burne vnto thy honour as a most gratefull holocauste knowing that a contrite heart and humbled thou wilt not despise 13. O the noble sacrifice of a contrite heart This sacrifice in all lavves be it the lavv of Nature before Moyses or the lavv vvritten before CHRIST or the nevv law since the comming of Christ is auaylable alwayes gratefull neuer abrogated as the old sacrifices are I neede not seeke farre countries for it it is vvithin me I neede not lay out mony to buy it it is myne CHRIST IESVS by his passion bought it and gaue it to me if I vvill I neede not begge it of any but CHRIST IESVS it is in my povver with his grace it is a sacrifice which euerie one may offer aswell the poore as the rich aswell the subiect as the King aswell the seruant as the Master it maybe offred asvvell in the night as the daye aswell in the field as the Church no time no place no person no hovver no moment vnfit for this sacrifice 14. I ô Lod remembring with Dauid my many greeuous sinnes am desirous with him to offer a sacrifice to appease thy anger cōceaued against me for them and because the sacrifices of brute beastes which were offered in the old lavv are not now pleasing vnto thee nor neuer vvere for themselues vnlesse they proceeded frō the invvard sacrifice of the heart I offer vnto thee the invvard sacrifice vvhich Dauid offered thee to wit a contrite and humbled heart beaten to povvder with contrition burned to ashes by loue of thee and charitie The zealous Moyses vvhen he saw that the Iewes had adored the golden calfe instead of God Exod. 32. vvas transported with such an holie rage furie that in this zeale he slew the Idolaters and caused the golden calfe their Idoll to be beaten to powder and mingling the powder with water caused the children of Israel to drinke it If Moyses was so angrie vvith that Idole which committed no Idolatrie but vvas onely the obiect of the Iewes Idolatrie to vvhich also it could not consent How should I detest my heart in what a rage should I be against it vvhy should I not beat it to povvder by contritiō it hauing committed a kinde of Idolatrie so often as it sinned mortallie in preferring the creature before the Creatour his cōmaundements and why should not I mingle this powder with the teares of contrition and drinke daylie this potion and make it my meate and drinke Psa 41. as he did vvho sayd Fuerunt mihi lachrymae meae panes die ac nocte My teares haue beene breads vnto me day and night 15. O sweet Iesus our true Moyses the veritie of the Ievves Moyses a tipe figure of thee who gauest vs the law writtē in heartes not in tables as he did vvho deliueredst vs not from a temporall captiuitie of Pharao as he did Exod. 17. but from an eternall thraldome of the Deuill strike vvith the rodd of thy crosse and consideration of thy passion suffred for our sinnes on it the rocke of my stonie heart that the teares of contrition may gushe forth and flow from it by my eyes as they did frō Dauids S. Peters S. Marie Magdalenes eyes O sweet Iesus resolue by the blood of thy passion my hard heart into the riuers of teares in vvhich Dauid Manasses S. Peter S. Marie Magdalene vvashed their soules frō the filth of sinne In this Iordā of teares vvash me ô Lord 4. Reg. 5. Luc. 4. from my leprosie of sinne vvith Naaman Syrus In this poole of Siloe vvash myne eyes vvith the blind-borne Ioan. 9 Ioan. 5. In this Probatica heale me and cure me of all my infirmities Ioan. 4. Wash me in this fountaine of liuing water which springeth vp to life euerlasting In this second baptisme called Baptismus flaminis regenerat me a new creature 2. Par. 33. Ionae 3. 4. Reg. 20. 1. Reg. 2 Psa 50. Luc. 7. Math. 26. These teares restored Manasses to his kingdome deliuerd Niniue from destruction prolonged Ezechias life fifteen yeares procured to Anna a Samuel to Dauid S. Peter S. Marie Magdalene and thousand other sinners remission of their sinnes And if in Noë his tyme the vvorld had beene vvashed in this water it had neuer beene drovvned in the Deluge In this vvater the ship of my soule shall sayle to the hauen of heauen securely because in this sea of teares there is no storme to shake it no surging vvaues to tosse it no rock to shiuer it in peeces or on which
theÌ„ not to be any more displeased with me for theÌ„ nor to thinke of punishing me at least eternallie for theÌ„ but to be haue thy selfe towards me hereafter as though thou diddest no more remeÌ„ber theÌ„ as though thy face eyes wese turned froÌ„ them and so to loue me hereafter so to behold me and with such a mild aspect countenaÌ„ce as though I had neuer sinned for so thou beholdest all truly penitent sinners and turning away thy angrie face from me behoulding me with a mild countenance wype away all my iniquities 3. Thou promisedst ô sweete Lord Ezech. 18. by the Prophet Ezechiel that if the impious shall doe pennance of all his sinnes c. ehou wilt not remember them that is so as to punish them at least eternallie Forget ô Lord my sinnes also in the same manner Thou promisedst by thy Prophet Micheas Michea 7. that thou wilt cast our sinnes into the bottome of the sea that is of the sea of thy mercie that they may be seene no more cast my sinnes into this sea that they may be drowned hidden from thy face Thou dist cast all the sinnes of Ezechias behind thy back Isai 38 cast also myne and turne thy face from them 4. I also ô Lord say so ô penitent sinner haue sinned with Dauid and I feare with him to appeare before thy face or to come in thy sight or presence And therefore as my first Parentes Adam and Eue did Gen. 3. I desire to hyde my selfe from thee if it might be in some bush or thicket Gen. 4. and as Cain had no sooner sinned but his countenance was abated and fallen so I guiltie of many and greeuous sinnes dare not looke thee in the face I count my selfe with Manasses vnworthie to looke vp to the height of Heauen Orat. Manaes Lucae 18. and with the penitent Publican I dare not so much as to lifte vp my eyes tovvards Heauen where thou art Wherefore ô Lord I cry to thee with Dauid to turne thy face from my sinnes It is not conuenient that thy Diuine eyes should cast their light and beames on so vile obiectes It is not conuenient they should looke on such filthines least they prouoke thee to disdaine to Indignation and anger remember them no more so as to be displeased with me for them remember them no more so as to punish me at least eternallie for them but as thou remembrest S. Marie Magdalenes sinnes and yet since her repentaÌ„ce art not depleased with her nor doest punish her for them so deale with me and in this sence turne thy face from my sinnes and behaue thy selfe towards me 5. But let myne owne eyes ô Lord and cogitations be euer fixed on my sinnes not to approue theÌ„ not to take delight in them nor yet thereby to dispaire of thy mercie towards me but as oft as I thinke of them to deteste and abhorre them to humble my selfe and to take notice of myne owne frayltie by theÌ„ to thinke into what danger of damnation they brought me how gratefull I should be to thee who hast deliuered me from this daunger To take heed hereafter least I fall againe into them to weepe for them and to crye thee mercie for them so oft as I thinke on them and by so fixing myne eyes and cogitations on them to cause thee to turne thy face and Diuine eyes from them and by thy grace and mercie to vvipe avvaye all myne iniquities Cor mundum crea in me Deus Spiritum rectum innoua in visceribus meis Create a cleane heart in me ô God and renevv a right Spirit in my bovvels 1. THere is no merit or desert in me ô Lord sayth Dauid on which as on a subiect thou maist worke my Iustification from sinne and cleanenesse of heart but as thou createdst the whole world of nothing so thou must create a cleane right and iust heart in me of nothing that is myne that is of no precedent merite of myne because the grace of iustification by which my heart is to be cleaÌ„sed from sinne is not giuen for any precedent good worke or deserte of myne For if by grace Rom. 11 I be Iustified then not by vvorkes othervvise grace vvere not grace no free guift but a reward 2. The almes I gaue to the poore the fasting wherewith I chastised my bodie my many prayers then made to thee ô Lord and whatsoeuer good worke I did whilest I was in the state of mortall sinne were dead workes the workes of a dead man dead in soule by sinne and so could not merite my Iustification and therefore hauing nothing in me which could merite my Iustification cleanenesse of heart thou ô Lord out of thy mercie for the merite of thy sacred passion must iustifie me and not for any thing in me and so thou must create my heart thou must create me a new creature of nothing of myne but onelie of thine that is of thy grace and mercie A sinner as a sinner is no creature of God and therefore in the Canticle Benedicite where all creatures euen to windes tempests dew snow yea and brute beastes are inuited to prayse blesse God the sinner is not inuited because he as a sinner is no creature of God but a moÌ„ster of his owne peruerse will yea a nothing sinne being no reall thing if it be true as it is most true which the wiseman saieth feare God and obserue his commandementes â—cclesiastes 12. for this is euery man then a sinner who is not this because he nether feareth God nor obserueth his commaundementes must be no man nothing and consequentlie if God will make him of a sinner iust and an obseruer of his commaundementes he must make him of nothing and therefore Dauid vseth the vvord create which signifieth a productioÌ„ of nothing as when God created the world of nothing And seeing that as cold is not expelled but by heate nor darkenes but by light nor any contrarie but by its contrarie my heart sayth Dauid can not be freed from the darkenes of sinne but by the light of grace nor from the filth of sinne but by the cleane and cleansing qualitie of grace and therefore I desire thee ô Lord sayth he to create in me this grace of nothing of myne that thereby my heart may be muÌ„dified and renewed 3. A peruerse heart is abominable to our Lord saith the vviseman Prou. 11. and therefore ô Lord create in me a new heart which shall be cleane and pleasing vnto thee my old heart was become by sinne old was clothed in the old habit of the old man the first Adam and the first sinner of meÌ„ take this oldnesse of sinne from me and from my heart and create in me a new heart a cleane heart 4. O Lord thou promisedst that thou wouldst giue to thy people a new heart Ezech. 36. and wouldst put a new spirit in the middest of them
PARAPHRASTICALL AND DEVOVT DISCOVRSES VPON THE PSALME MISERERE COMPOSED BY CH. M. Rent your heartes and not your garments and turne to the Lord your God because he is benigne and mercifull patient and of much mercie and readie to be gracious vpon the malice Ioel 2. ANNO M.DC.XXXV TO THE READER DIVERS of the learned Catholiques of our natiō Gentle Reader haue writtē sundrie bookes in our vulgar language to informe and instruct thy vnderstanding in matters of faith and Religion and I also according to my little abilitie and slender Talentes haue not beene wanting in that kinde And diuers also haue either translated other mens bookes or published their owne to mooue and stirre vp thy vvill to pietie and deuotion vvhom I desiring to imitate haue compiled for thee these Paraphrasticall discourses vpon the Psalme Miserere In which I bring in the Royall Prophet Dauid much lamenting bewailing and ruing his two great sinnes the murder of Vrias and his adulterie with his wife Bersabee thereby I endeauour to mooue the willes of all sinners to sorrovv repentance of their sinnes and amendement of their liues These discourses I intend principallie for great sinners vvho also still persist in their sinfull state of life though I exclude not other sinners vvhose sinnes are not so great as Dauids sinnes vvere no not any the least sinners because though some sinnes be mortall some veniall some greate some lesser yet if they be compared to the Diuine Maiestie vvhich they offend no sinnes are to be esteemed litle be they in themselues neuer so litle and so they also may take benefite by these my discourses I haue liued long out of my Countrie and so knovv not vvho are the greater vvho the lesser sinners yet this I knovv in generall that there must needs be many great sinners in England because vvhere there are ill-beleeuers there ordinarilie are ill liuers and vvhere there are many beleeuers as there are in England there are many ill beleeuers true faith and beleefe being but one and consequentlie many ill liuers true faith being the rule square of good life For although sometimes true and good beleeuers are not good liuers because they liue not according to the rule of their faith and Religion and sometimes ill beleeuers doe liue vvell morallie because guided by God his grace vvhich is vvanting to none they follovv naturall reason and their ovvne vertuous inclination and disposition not the preceptes of their Religion yet ordinarilie ill beleeuers are not good liuers at least amongest good beleeuers you shall finde moe good liuers then amongest ill beleeuers Wherefore these my Paraphrasticall Discourses and pitifull lamentations of King Dauid who was a true beleeuer and yet some times an ill liuer but in this psalme sheweth himselfe a true penitent I entend for all sinners as well Catholiques as not Catholiques and of what so euer Religiō I beeing debtour to all because I would haue them all to peruse these discourses Rom. 1. I abstaine from Controuersies in Religion least I should auert any from the reading of them onelie in paraphrasing the last two verses of this psalme occasion beeing offered I speake of the vnbloodie and daylie sacrifice of the Altar but so that I rather touch it then handle it mention it then treat of it suppose it then prooue it in that manner as I might hoping that this doctrine now will not be distastfull for seeing that now in Englād in very many churches Altars which heretofore were throwne downe are againe erected according to the laudable exāple and pious vse and custome of the Catholique euē primitiue Church to auerre a true sacrifice will not be ill taken because to allow of Altars is to allovv of a true sacrifice which vseth to be offered on them an Altar and a true proper sacrifice beeing correlatiues of which th' one inferreth the other and so the one can not be auerred vvithout the other nor th' one denied vvithout the other And although as I sayd there vvāt not bookes of pietie deuotion in Englād to mooue the good to deuotion pietie and good life sinners also to repentance the beginning after faith of all good life yet I vvould not therefore be silent rather by the exāple of other vvriters I was encouraged to offer my myte my small endeauours also for the cōuersion of sinners to follow therein not onelie their examples but the exāple also of my Sauiour IESVS CHRIST his Apostles For he dyed for sinners and came not to call the iuste but sinners to pennance and he left nintie nine in the desert Luc. 5 to seeke out one sheepe that vvas last and he and his Angels reioice more vpon one sinner that doth penance Luc. 15 then vpon nintie nine iuste that neede no penance And his Apostles trauersed the world through many stormes of persecution to gaine the soules of sinners and to gaine them thought it no losse to loose their ovvne liues And as sinne through humaine frayltie doth so domineere in this life that as the Prophet Dauid saith Psal 13 All haue sinned and transgressed all haue declined there is not one that doth good no not one to vvitt so as not sometime to sinne so nothing is more necessarie in this life then penance it being the onelie remedie against sinne and the ground of Iustification and saluation In Paradise there vvas no penance because there vvas no sinne that place being à place of innocēcie In Heauen there is no penance because sinne being à miserie can not haue accesse to that place of felicitie In Hell there is no true penance because though there be sinne yet that place is a place of obstinacie and sinne there is not pardonable But in this life and vvorld penance is necessarie because this life is subiect to sinne and in this life sinne is also pardonable vvhilest the sinner liueth And therefore Holie scripture inculcateth nothing more then penance and repentance Ezech. 18. Math. 3. Luc. 13. Act. 2. Hieron epist 8. ad Demetr cap. 6. Penance as S. Hierom telleth vs is a second table after Shipvvracke by which vve may escape drovvning and svvimme out of the sea of sinne to the hauer and hauen of of grace Penance is a salue against all the vvounds of the soule it is a plaster against all her sores of sinne it is a soueraigne receite against all her spirituall diseases And vvhereas many vvoundes and diseases corporall are incurable by corporall physicke no disease of sinne in this life is incurable but onely finall impenitence because it excludeth pennance And vvhereas no corporall physicke can of old make vs young or of dead liuing againe pennāce will make the soule after she is old and decrepite by sinne younge againe by grace and newnes of lyfe 2. Co. 4 Eph. 4. 4. Collos 3. Epla ad Tit. c. 3. 1. Pet. 1. 1. Rom. 6. 12. Gal. 6. It maketh vs
put of the old man and put on the new it regenerateth vs and maketh vs new creatures and after vve are dead in soule by sinne it restoreth vs to the life of grace yea glorie also if vve perseuer in grace For these causes I haue made these Paraphrasticall Discourses to allure sinners to repentance knowing hovv miserable a thing it is to liue in sinne hovv dangerous to deferre repentance and hovv hopelesse to dye in sinne without it And if by these my small labours I shall be so happie as to conuert any sinners yea but one sinner I shall esteeme it no small benefite not onely to the sinner conuerted but also to myselfe because S. Iames assureth me that he that maketh a sinner to be conuerted from the errour of his wayes Iacobi 5. shall saue his soule from death and couer a multitude of sinnes not onelie of the sinner vvhom he conuerteth but also of his ovvne because the conuersion of a sinners soule is a sacrifice for the conuerters soule more pleasing to God then if he had offered an hecatombe yea a world to God for his owne sinnes For as S. Chrysostome saith Chrysost ho 3. in 1. ad Corinth nullius rei pretiū est cū anima conferendū ne totus quidem mundus quare etiamsi diuitias innumeras dederis pauperibus nihil tale efficies quale is qui conuertit animam The price of nothing no not of the vvhole vvorld is to be cōpared to a soule Wherefore although thou shalt giue innumerable riches to the poore thou shalt not doe so great a worke as he that conuerteth a soule But of penance and the effectes of it I shall not need in this Epistle to vse moe words it being the principall subiect of my ensuing Paraphrasticall Discourses and therefore here I shall take my leaue of my Reader and desire him vvhether he be Catholicque or not Catholicque to take in good parte this my litle labour intended and taken for th' one as vvell as for the other and if he take profit by it let him thanke God th' Authour of all that is good if through my default it moue him not to that repentance and amendement of life vvhich I entended I must desire him to pardon me I vvas not so able as vvilling APPROBATIO POEnitentiae coronam hanc in qu◠nihil quod fidei Catholicae splendori morumue sanctorum integritati non sit consentaneum de speciosissimis Psalmi quinquagefimi floribus Poenitentium Principis memoriae scitè contexuit pius hic Paraphrastes Ita sentio Ed. St. S. T. D. APPROBATIO NIhil est in hac Paraphrasi Psalmi quinquagesimi fidei Catholicae aut bonis moribus contrarium sed plurima ad poenitentiam excitandam iuuandam conducēntia qua propter vtiliter excudi poterit Actum Duaci die 30. Martij 1635. Georgius Colvenerius Sacrae Theol. Doctor Regius ordinariusque Professor Duacensis Academiae Cancellarius librorum Censor PARAPHRASTICAL AND DEVOVT DISCOVRSES VPON THE FIFTITH PSALME MISERERE Miserere mei Deus Haue mercie on me ô God THE Royal Prophet Dauid hauing through humaine frayltie cōmitted twoe greate offences against the diuine Maiestie 2 Reg. 1◠12. no lesse then adalterie vvith BERSABEE and murder of her husband Vrias and beeing reprooued thereof by the Prophet Nathan accused by his own conscience and mooued by the diuine grace hee conceiueth such a detestation and horrour of those his sinnes and is so ashamed and confounded with the horride aspect of them that he falleth down prostrate at the feete of his GOD whom he had thus offended And at the first sorrow hindred his tongue from crauing pardon but his eyes vndertook the office of the mouth and tongue and pleaded better for the delinquent by teares then the mouth could haue donne by tongue and wordes teares being the best oratours At length his speeche comming to him he singeth or rather sobbeth forth this his dolefull Psalme and sonnette and peraduenture he playeth to it with his harpe but assuredlie with his harte and so maketh a sweete consort of his harte by sorrow of his eyes by teares of his voice by a lamentable tune And fearing God his Iustice he flyeth to his mercie and beginneth with that dolefull note miserere haue mereie As if he had sayd 1. THOV art iust ô Lord Psal 118. and thy Iudgement is right Ioel 2. but thou art also benigne and mercifull patient and of much mercie and readie to be gracious vpon the malice If thou wert iust onelie I should despaire knowing my two so great offences which now especiallie I lament If thou wert mercifull onelie I should presume but because thou art iust and mercifull my feare is mixt with hope and my hope with feare and I so feare thy iustice as I hope in thy mercie Thou art ô Lord I confesse so iust that thou art iustice it self and this maketh me feare but thou art also so mercifull that thou art mercie it selfe and this maketh me hope that discourageth me verie much this as much encourageth and giueth me the hart to saye Miserere mei Deus Haue mercie on me ô God If I were ô Lord as iuste and holy as a Sainte yet durst I not appeare before the eyes of thy iustice Iob 4. Iob 25. which in the Angelles found wickednes and in whose sight the moone doth not shine and the starres are not cleane but seeing that I am noe Sainte but a wretched sinner conceiued in sinne borne in sinne brought vp in sinne and guiltie of the twoe mentioned and many other sinnes how shall I dare to appeare before thy iustice For if the iust man trembleth before the Tribunal of thy Iustice how shall the sinner stand before it 2. But I appeale ô Lord sayth Dauid from thy iustice to thy mercie not as to an higher Tribunal for thy iustice and mercie are both infinite and so equall but as to a Tribunal more benigne more clement and gentle And although I be guiltie of greeuous and enormous sinnes and those so greate that if I regard them only and their ill disertes Gen. 4. I may say with Cain myne iniquitie is greater then that I may deserue pardon Yet they are not so greate but thy mercie is infinitelie greater soe compared to it they are not so greate but they may deserue pardon for if thou please ô Lord to put not only my sinnes but also all the sinnes of all men in one scale of thy diuine balance and thy mercie in the other thy mercie wold out waye and ouersway them and as the sands of the sea Iob 6. thy mercie wold appeare heauier 3. Wherfore ô mercifull Lord not daring to appeare before thee as a iust Iudge I present my selfe before thee as a mercifull and louing Father He that is presented as guiltie before a Iudge vseth to deny or diminish or excuse the fault but I presēting my selfe before thee ô Lord as
before a mercifull father doe neither deny nor excuse nor extenuat my fault thy prophet Nathan 2. Reg. 12. thy vnder Iudge hauing condemned me as guiltie of no lesse then adulterie and murder myne owne conscience hauing pronounced sentence against me crying in my name peccaui but stāding before thee as a cōdēned person I bring in no witnesse to defēd me no slightes nor excuses to hide my faultes as who can hide any thing frō thee whose eyes doe penetrate the most secret corners of our hartes onelie I pleade begge and clayme thy mercie crying Miserere mei Deus Haue mercie on me ô God Psal 119. for if thou shalt obserue iniquities ô Lord Lord who shall susteine it And therfore Psal 142. enter not into Iudgement with thy once seruāt Dauid examine not his case and cause according to the order of iustice but according to thy mercie I confesse all I haue nothing to say for my selfe but Miserere Haue mercie I hide not my fault nor can I it is too well known vnto thee onely I can saye Miserere Haue mercie 4. Deale not with me ô Lord sayth Dauid according to thy Iustice that would cast me in all lawe but according to thy mercie by that onelie I can be saued Thou art it is true soueraigne Lord of heauen and earth to whom euen Kings and potentates are but vassals but Lords also doe pardon their seruantes vvhen with teares of eyes sorrow of harte they demaund pardon I demaund it in the same manner Apoc. 5. Thou art a a Lion a Lion of the Tribe of Iuda but Lions also will spare them who prostrate themselues before them I prostrat both body soule vnto thee 5. I confesse that by sinne I am become Psal 31 Sicut equus mulas in quibus non est intellectus as a horse and mule which haue noe vnderstanding And my brutish appetites to which I haue been a slaue haue metamorphized me made me so brutish that I am in life and conuersation rather a brute beast then a reasonable creature Psal 35 but yet Men and beasts thou wilt saue ô Lord and in the law deliuered by Moyses though it be a lawe of terrour thou hadst pitie euen of brute beasts and therefore woldst not permit the Iew to plough with an oxe and an asse Deut. 22. Exod. 23. Deut. 14. least the asse should be ouer laboured nor to seethe the kidde in the milke of his damme that seeming crueltie nor in a nest to kill or take the old bird with the younge ones Deut. 22. nor to moosel the mouth of the oxe that treadeth out the corne Haue mercie then on me though by sinne more a beast then they 6. If I were the onelie sinner ô Lord thou shouldst haue lesse reason to pardō mee but seeing all haue sinned and transgressed Psal 13 seeing that all haue declined and that there is not that doth good noe not one if thou shouldst exercise iustice onelie on sinners thou shoulest finde none on whom thou couldst exercise thy mercie If thou shouldst punish all sinners thou shouldst haue none to pardon and so thy most gratefull attribute mercie should neuer showe it selfe And yet none of thy diuine attributes is so gratefull as thy clemencie none doe make thee so popular as thy mercie neither hath thy diuine nature any thing greater then that thou canst remitte sinnes nor more pleasing to men Angelles then that thou wilt If no sinner ô mercifull Lord had euer obtained mercie and pardon at thy handes then might it seeme arrogancie in me to demaund mercie but if many and verie grieuous sinners haue found mercie at thy hands then doe thou vouch safe to pardon me whom by pardoning others thou hast caused to hope for pardō and be not displeased if the burden of my dolefull sonnet be still the same Miserere mei Deus haue mercie on me ô God ô most mercifull God And thou ô Christian soule who hast sinned with Dauid cry peccaui I haue sinned with him cry miserere mei Deus haue mercie on me o God 7. Rue the day and hower yea the many dayes and howers in which thou hast offended God and acknowledge therein thy to too greate ingratitude because in offending him thou hast offended thy creatour by whom thou hast thy naturall being by whom thou liuest and breathest thou hast offēded thy Redeemer who to rāsome thee from death the deuill and sinne became man for thee and suffred the most shamefull and most painfull death of the crosse to giue to thee here in this life a spirituall life and being by grace and in the next life an eternall life and being by glorie Saye vnto him I ought my selfe wholie vnto thee for my creation and I ought my selfe again wholie vnto thee for my redemption and so I but one am twise thine and twyse due vnto thee And if I owe my selfe and consequentlie my all for my creation what shall I giue thee for my redemption What shall I render to our Lord Psal 115. for all thinges that he hath rendred to mee I ame lesse ô Lord then ether of these benefits of creation and redemption yea then the least of thy graces and fauours How vngratefull then was I to offend thee and thereby as much as lay in mee to take from thee who can neuer giue thee sufficient to iniure thee disgrace dishonour thee who can neuer render thee sufficiēt for the least of thy benefitts though I giue all I ame and haue yea though I could giue ten thousand tymes more then I am and haue But seeing I owe more then I am and haue and yet haue also beē so vngratefull as to offēd thee what wilt thou expect of me Thou knowest ô Lord that of an ill vnable debter thou canst expecte nothing but an acknowledgement of the debte an humble demaund of pardon for the offēce and remission of the debte as I doe in Dauids dolefull crye Which I repeate after him Miserere mei Deus Haue mercie on me ô God 8. And ô my not onlie ingratitude but impudencie who being not so much as a vile worme compared vnto thee ô Lord durst offend thyne infinite Maiestie and was not ashamed to commit those my heinous offences not onlie before thee but also against thee which I wold haue shamed to commit before my seruaunt or in presence of the poorest begger as though I had thought there had been no God or that thou vvho madst the eye didst not see or that thou who art euery where hadst not been present I sayd then in effect as the fornicatour or adulterer did in Ecclesiasticus Ecclesiastici 23. Who seeth me darknes compasseth me and the walles couer me and no man beholdeth me whom doe I feare The Highest will not be mindfull of my sinnes O Good God where was then my vnderstanding that I could thinke that I could hide
any thing from thy all seeing eyes That I could Imagin or could behaue my selfe as though Thy eyes were not brighter then the sunne Ecclesiastici 23. beholding round about all the vvayes of men and the bottome of the depth the hartes of men Or if I did know or thinke that thou didst see the sinnes which I committed in the darke or in the secret closet of my harte how impudent and shameles vvas I Who feared not to doe that before thy diuine eyes and in thy diuine presence vvhich I should haue shamed and blushed to doe in the presēce of the poorest begger howe couldst thou ô God endure this impudencie of so vile a sinner O yee blessed Angelles who carrie the sword of God his iustice how could you hold your hands seeing your Lord Prince so contemned by so vile malapert and saucie a varlet But vvhat shall I doe ô Lord If my sinnes past could so be recalled as not to haue been I vvould reuoke and recall all my offences But seeing I can no more recall my former euill actions then the daye or hower paste I can onelie vvish that I had neuer sinned and be hartily sorrie that I haue sinned and that I doe and so doing I can not but hope that thou vvilt forgiue and forget my sinnes for so thou hast promised by thy Prophet Ezechiel I take thee at thy word And this is thy promise Ezech. 18. But if the impious shall doe penaunce from all his sinnes which he hath wrought c. liuing he shall liue and shal not dye All his iniquities vvhich he hath vvrought I vvill not remember them In this thy promise I will hope because I know thou art veritie it selfe and so canst not deceiue or be deceiued thou art goodnes it selfe so vvilt not deceiue On this promise I will relye because I know thou art able and willing to forgiue their sinnes who are penitēt for them If thou wert able onlie but not vvilling I could not easilie hope nor could I if thou wert willing onelie and not able but seeing that thou art both able and vvilling I vvill hope for pardō for my sinnes and I vvill neuer let my hold goe of this hope it being grounded in thy promise but as Iob sayd Iob 13. Although thou shalt kill me I will trust in thee and animated and encouraged by this hope though I be a greeuous sinner and a great offendour I dare craue mercie vvith Dauid and crye Miserere mei Deus Haue mercie on me ô God 9. I intend ô Lord to leaue the state of sinne and to amend my life for hereafter and seeing that thy mercie is the source beginning of all thy workes I desire that by thy mercie this vvorke of myne amendement may be begunne Mercie vvas the beginning of creation for vvhen vve vvere nothing we could not deserue any thing and so it was thy mercie of nothing to make vs something and thy great mercie to make vs the greatest and noblest thing after the Angels Mercie is the beginning of the greate grace of predestination vvhich distinguisheth the elect from the reprobate as appeareth by those thy vvords to Moyses alleadged by thy Apostle Exod. 33. Rom. 9. See S. Aug. ep 105. ad Sixtum I will haue mercie on vvhom I vvill haue mercie and I vvill shevve mercie to vvhom I vvill shevv mercie Whence S. Paule inferreth That it is not of the vviller nor the runner but of God that sheweth mercie And a litle after therefore on vvhom he vvill he hath mercie and vvhom he vvill he doth indurate to vvitt permissiuelie And so it is not to be imputed to any merit of ours that vve are predestinated but to the onelie mercie of God Though to the reprobate also he giueth grace sufficiēt to be saued Mercie vvas the beginning of the Incarnation vvhich is the ground of all mans grace merit and glorie because it vvas decreed and effected by God S. Th. 3. p. q. 1. ◠3. not for mās merit but out of God his mercie and compassiō he tooke on mans miserie into vvhich by Adams sinne he vvas fallen and it being the beginning of all grace and merit could not be preuented by the merit of man but onelie by the mercie of God Mercie is the beginning of our redemption for although to Christ his passion and its value and merit our redemption vvas due by right of iustice yet that he did suffer for vs and suffring redeemed vs it was his mercie not our merit Mercie is the beginning of our Iustification and remission of sinnes because vve are iustified gratis Rom. 3. by his grace and grace is giuen gratis for no merit of ours but onelie for God his mercie for as S. Paule sayth Rom. 11. If by grace not for vvorkes or merits othervvise grace vvere not grace Mercie also is the beginning of our glorification for although glory be giuē for our merits and so in that respect be a reward Vide Aug. ep 105. ad Sixtum Rom. 6. yet our merits would not be merits if they proceeded not from grace which is giuē gratis therefore S. Paule sayth The grace of God life euerlasting And so I vvith Dauid desiring iustificatiō frō my sinnes and after it glorie and life euerlasting doe humblie craue thy mercie the ground of both saying vvith Dauid Miserere mei Deus Haue mercie on me ô God Secundum magnam misericordiam tuam According to thy greate mercie 1. IT is not so proper to the sunne ô Lord to illuminate and giue light nor to the fier to vvarme and giue heate as it is to thee to haue mercie because it is but an accidentall proprietie to the sunne to illuminate as it is also for the fire to heate but thou ô Lord art essentiallie mercifull and mercie it selfe therefore if thou wilt shew thy selfe to be thyselfe haue mercie on my sinfull soule and because thy mercie is infinite Haue mercie on me according to this thy greate mercie Litle miseries as sicknesses and diseases of the body require but litle mercie and may often tymes be healed cured by Physitians but sinne if it be mortall is a greate miserie as vvhich depriueth the soule of her life of grace makes her odious and deformed in the sight of God makes her an enemie to God and his Saintes and a freind onelie to the deuill depriueth her of life euerlasting and of the cleare vision and fruition of God if she repent not in tyme tumbleth her headlong into hel and into that inextinguible fier for euer where the damned shall euer burn neuer be consumed where they shall be dying and neuer dead where tormēts shall be without ease miseries without end and therefore requireth a greate and an infinite mercie and can not be pardoned but by God or by special power and authoritie from him which he onelie graunted to his Apostles their lawfull successours Mar.
2. for to them onelie Christ sayd Ioan. 20. Whose sinnes you shal forgiue they are forgiuen them And therefore Dauid whose consciēce accused him of mortall sinnes which he knew to be greate miseries desired God to haue mercie on him according to his greate mercie 2. Reg. 11. 12. Hee had committed two greate and heinous sinnes for he had committed adulterie vvith Bersabee and to couer it he had killed Vrias her husband and so he stoode in neede of a great mercie 2. O Dauid although thou hadst formerlie been a good King Act. 13. and a man according to God his hart yet I can not excuse thee now from greate sinne and great ingratitude and this thou thy selfe seest and confessest Thow didst violate the wife of Vrias thy faithfull seruant and valiant soldiour and to couer this fault thou addest an other to vvitt the death of this thy innocēt and faithfull soldiour O Dauid doth not the zeale of Vrias thy soldiour confound thee he would not lye vvith his owne wife whilest 2. Reg. 11. 12. The Arke of God and Israel and Iuda dvvelt in pauilions and his Lord Ioab and the seruants of his Lord aboade vpon the face of the earth thou at that tyme lyest with his wife in a soft bed takest thy vnlawfull pleasure with her He exposed his life for thee thy kingdome and the cause of God and thou causest him to be vniustly cruellie murdered and to be sure to kill him thou exposest to danger of death many other soldiours thereby giuest occasiō to the Infidelles to insult ouer the armie of God and to blaspheme the name of God who had eleuated to the dignitie of a King thee who now dealest more traitrously then many of them would haue done 3. And this treacherie crueltie iniustice and ingratitude thou cōmittest ô Dauid after many guiftes of grace nature which God had hestowed on thee Psalm 77. after he had chosen thee and taken thee from the flockes of sheepe from after the ewes with young had made thee of a shephearde a King and of a gouernour of a flocke of sheepe a King Pastour of the people of God after he had honored thee with so many victories first ouer Golias and then ouer the Philistians and Assyrians after he had deliuered thee so often from the hatred enuie and malice of Saul after he had indued thee with the light of prophecie and knowledge of diuine mysteries yea and and with great sanctitie also after he had promised to establish the scepter of Iuda in thy familie Psalm 88. and had begun to fullfill his promise Thou ô Dauid for one filthie and short pleasure ô inconstancie ô leuitie ô ingratitude forgetting all these graces fauours couldst find in thy hart to forsake so good a God and so great a benefactour for so short and so brutish a pleasure and to offend him so greeuouslie who had beene so beneficiall to thee But this thy great fault ô Dauid I need not to aggrauate thou knowest it better then any man else and thou acknowledgest it and therefore for so great a sinne and miserie thou desirest not whatsoeuer but a great mercie 4. God almightie his mercie in it selfe is alwaies great and so great that it is God him selfe for whatsoeuer is in God is God and so infinite as he is but yet this diuine attribute of mercie in its effectes is greater and lesser greater in those to whome many and greate sinnes are forgiuen lesse in those to whom lesser and fewer sinnes are pardoned Dauid therefore desireth God to shew mercie vnto him in effect according as he had shewed to the greater sinners 5. And I ô Lord say so ô sinfull Cstristiā acknowledging my selfe with Dauid a great sinner and if not in the same kind of sinne at least in some other kind as greate or greater and if not in carnall S. Tho. 1.2 q. 73. art 5. at least in spirituall sinnes which are of themselues greater then carnall sinnes as in Schisme Heresie enuy pride ambition hatred of my neighbour and the like doe desire thee to haue mercie on me according to thy great mercie in effect according to that mercie which thou shewedst to Dauid Manasses and other great sinners in the old lawe according to that great mercie thou shewedst to S. Peter S. Mathew S. Paule and S. Marie Magdalen in the new lawe for my sinnes being great doe require a greate mercie Or haue mercie on me according to that great worke of mercie the Incarnatiō to which peraduēture Dauid alluded for out of thy mercie onely not for our merit thou wast incarnate Or haue mercie on me according to that great worke of mercie thy painfull death and Passion which out of mercie and compassiō thou sufferdst for mās redemption And if ô heauenly father out of thy mercie and compassion towards vs thou sparedst not thy owne sonne Rom. 8. though equall consubstātiall vnto thee but for vs all deliueredst him vnto death no doubt thou art readie on thy part for this so extraordinary work of mercie to haue mercie on the greatest sinners Or else thou whosoeuer hast sinned with Dauid say with him haue mercie on me ô God according to thy greate infinite attribute of mercie which is as great as thy selfe who are essentiallie mercie and is so infinite that all the sinnes of the world are but litle drops in regarde of that sea of mercie In this mercie ô Lord that is in thy selfe who art this mercie I principallie hope and next in that great effecte worke of mercie thy Incarnation and bitter passion And if in the Ocean sea I can not want water to wash and coole me If in the sunne I can not want light to illuminate me nor in the fier heate to vvarme me much lesse can I vvant mercie in this Ocean of mercie or light of grace in this sunne of mercie vvhich shineth on the good and the badde or can my cold sinnes make me shiuer for want of heate of charitie in this infinite fier of mercie vvhich consumeth sinnes but saueth soules Et secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum dele iniquitatem meam And according to the multitude of thy commiserations take away myne iniquitie 1. MY sinnes ô mercifull God sayth Dauid are not onelie great but also many Prou. 24. for if the Iust finneth seuen tymes in a day venially I who haue of long tyme ledd a sinfull life vvho seldome resisted tentations and as seldome flyed the occasions of sinnes but rather sought for them who haue sinned so often that I may say with Manasses Orat. Manas 2. Par. 33 Peccaui super numerum arenae maris I haue sinned aboue the number of the sand of the sea And as Ecclesiasticus sayd Eccles c. 10. Arenam maris pluuiae guttas dies saeculi quis dinumerauit The sand of the sea and the droppes of rayne and the dayes
of the world who hath nuÌ„bred so may I say my sinnes of mouth harte deed my many sinnes of my fiue senses of the bodie of the faculties powers of my soule vvhich I committed euery day and night euerie hovver and moment in this place in that place and in all places who can recken they are so many that I my selfe can not number them thou onelie ô Lord hast theÌ„ all in thy couÌ„t-booke which one day will be produced against me if in the meane time by my sorrow with thy grace they be not caÌ„celled And whilest I thus multiplied my sinnes vvhat patience vvhat mercie ô Lord didst thou shevv vnto me when I prouoked on my part more and more by often sinning thy wrath and indignation thou extendedst thy patience and mercie for when thou mighst haue iustly takeÌ„ me in my sinnes for theÌ„ by sudden death mighst haue sent me presently to hell there to receaue my iust punishment as thou hast dealt with many no greater yea lesser sinners then I yet thou grauÌ„tedst me lesure and grace to repent and whilest I contemned thy goodnes patieÌ„ce and longanimitie thy benignitie expected me to penance wherfore resoluing by thy grace to multiplie my sinnes no more yea neuer to adde any one mortall sinne to my former I desire thee to pardon my former sinnes and because they are very many to haue mercie on me According to the multitude of thy commiserations and mercies 2. And thou ô Christian who hast multiplied sinnes vpon sinnes vvith Dauid peraduenture more then he desire God vvith him to haue mercie on thee according to the multitude of his mercies 2. Reg. 12. Say vvith him Thou forgauest penitent Dauid penitent Ezechias and penitent Manasses thou pardoneâ—st S. Peter S. Paul S. Matthew S. Marie Magdalene and thousands other great sinners pardon me also ô sweete Lord accordinge to these thy so many mercies Psal 88 commiseratioÌ„s Where are thyne old mercies ô Lord which thou shewedst heretofore to sinners Psal 21 In thee our forefathers though sinners as we haue hoped they haue hoped thou didst deliuer theÌ„ They ried to thee were saued they hoped were not coÌ„founded I cry ô Lord with them heare me as thou didst them I hope with them for mercie let me finde mercie at thy hands as they did and let not me be confounded Are all thy mercies spent are none left for me May I say vnto thee as Esau sayd to his Father Isaac Genes 27. Hast thou not reserued me also a blessing a mercie Hast thou one onelie blessing Father Hast thou no moe blessings nor mercies left for me no I can not say so Thou art ô Lord infinitelie more rich in mercies then Isaac vvas in blessings Thou hast bestowed thousands millions of mercies on sinners and yet thou hast infinite mercies reserued for other sinners that cry vnto thee for mercie Thy mercies are infinite and an infinite number can not be exhausted thy mercies are aboue the sandes of the sea Thy mercie is a sea which can not want the cooling waters of mercies sooner may the sea be dryed vp then the Ocean of thy mercies drawn drye Wherefore I cry with Dauid Haue mercie on me ô God according to thy great mercie because my sinnes are great and according to the multitude of thy commiserations and mercies because my sinnes are many as he cryed peccaui for his sinnes so vvill I send forth from hart and tongue many a peccaui and day and night and howerlie and whensoeuer my sinnes occurre to my memorie I vvill cry peccaui 3. And because I can not safely enough rely in my opinion on my peccauies not knowing whether they proceede from a truly coÌ„trite heart or no I vvill haue recourse to thy infinite mercies ô Sonne of God which are merites in respect of thee as which deserued of thy Father our redemption but in respect of me vvho deserued them not they are mercies And I shall offer vnto thee all the steppes thou vvalkedst on earth for me all the howers thou liuedst for me all the wordes thou spakest all the praiers and exhortations thou madst all thy Theandricke or humane-diuine workes and operations all thy miracles all the drops of sweate thou swetst for me in the garden all those lashes thou enduredst for me at the Piller all the prickes thou feltst in thy coronatioÌ„ with thornes all the pearsinges of the nayles all the panges on the crosse all that shower of bloud which rained froÌ„ the heauenly cloude of thy sacred humanitie yea all the drops of that shower of which euery one vvas a mercie to me of which euery one was such a merit in respect of thee that the least vvould haue been sufficieÌ„t to redeeme a thousaÌ„d worlds And according to this multitude of thy commiserations and mercies take away myne iniquitie And take our all the staynes and blottes which sinne hath left in my soule and crosse and cancell by thy death and passioÌ„ out of thy booke of accountes all the Items and debtes I owe take away my sinnes from my soule from thy eyes from thy memorie that they may not onelie be forgiuen but also forgotten and so buried in perpetuall obliuion 4. For although thou canst not forget any sinnes coÌ„mitted against thee no not S. Marie Magdalens sinnes which were vvashed avvay with many teares of eyes and harte yet when sinnes by true repentaÌ„ce and hartie sorrowe are remitted quite effaced and taken away thou doest no more impute them nor doest thou punish them at least with eternall payne as if thou hadst forgotten them therefore thou hast promised and this promise is my comfort that vvhensoeuer a sinner shall repent himselfe of his sinnes Thou wilt not remember them Ezech. 18. that is so as to punish them or to be offended vvith the sinner for them because by contrition and the grace thereof they are taken away as if they neuer had beene Amplius laua me ab iniquitate mea à peccato meo munda me Wash me more amplie from myne iniquitie and cleanse me from my sinne 1. A Fowle cloth and especiallie if it be also stained requireth much washing and no lesse rubbing and a soule that hath much sinned requireth much washinge by the teares of contrition and much rubbing by the austere workes of pennance King Dauid hauing cried peccaui Domino 2. Reg. 1â— I haue sinned to our Lord for his great and manifold sinnes deserued to heare from Nathan the Prophets mouth Dominus quoque transtulit peccatum tuuÌ„ our Lord also hath taken away thy sinne and so by that peccaui spoken vvith sorrow of heart the malice of his mortall sinnes was washed away yet he not attending so much to Nathans reuelation as to the greatnes of his sinne coÌ„mitted desireth to be more amplie washed to vvitt not onelie from the malice of his mortall sinnes of vvhich he vvill not be secure and of vvhich
ouercome vvhen thou art presumptuously Iudged not to haue kept this promise Or vvhen thou art Iudged to be so iust in punishing sinners as that thou are not also mercifull in pardoning them vvhen from the harte the sinner crieth for mercie thou maist ouercome Or els vvhich perhaps vvas also Dauids meaning pardō me ô Lord and doe not forsake me and my familie for this sinne as thou forsookest Saul and his familie for his disobedience that if any presume to Iudge that thou vvilt also forsake and cast me of as thou didst him not vvithstanding that thou hast promised to establish the Kingdome of Iuda and Israel in my familie thou by pardoning this my fault maist prooue thy selfe true in thy promise and so maist ouercome Psal 88 those rash Iudges Thou hast svvorne to Dauid thy seruant Ibidem for euer will I prepare thy seed Thou hast said I vvill put his seed for euer and euer Ibidem and his Throne as the dayes of heauen Ibidem And againe once haue I svvorne to my holy if I lye to Dauid his seed shall continue for euer And againe Our Lord hath svvorne trueth to Dauid he will not disappoint it of the frute of thy vvōbe I vvill set vpon thy seate Keepe these promises ô Lord notvvithstanding my sinne that thou maist ouercome those vvho thinke that for my sinne thou vvilt forsake me my familie Or lastly vvhen any doe rashly Iudge that thou sometimes punishest sinners in this lyfe to rigorously as thou punishedst Dauid seuerly partly in him selfe permitting his sōne Absalon to rebell against him and to abuse his wiues and concubines partly in his children Royall issue Thou maist ouercome vvhen thou art so Iudged thy iudgmēts being often secret neuer vniust 8. And saye thou ô Christian sinner vnto thy God I for my part ô Lord doe confesse that thou art Lord of life and death and maist vvithout any iniustice punish or annihilate euen the Innocēt at thy pleasure and no man can iustly saye vvhy didst thou so For Sap. 12. as the wiseman saith Who shall impute it to thee if the nations perish vvhich thou hast made much more maist thou punish those vvho dare offēd thy so great maiestie One mortall sinne deserueth an eternall Hell much more doth it deserue all temporall punishment of this lyfe and therefore ô Lord say what temporall punishment thou vvilt on me I shall neuer complaine of thy iustice but shall thinke thou dealest fauorably with me so thou sparest me eternally Hic vre hic seca vt in aternum parcas Here burn me here cutt and lance me that thou maist spare me eternallie 9. I desire thee Sweete Lord to giue me true pennance vvhich may quite vvash away my mortall sinnes change the eternall paine due to them into tēporall paine although temporallie thou punish me for it as thou punishedst Dauid yea though thou shouldst chastice me all my lyfe tyme I shall crie Psalm 118. Iustus es Domine rectum iudicium tuum Thou art iuste ó Lord and thy iudgment is right And seeing I haue begun to speake vnto thee Gen. 18 though I be but dust and ashes haue aduētured to begge of thee that repentance vvhich may wash avvay the malice of my mortall sinnes the eternall paine due vnto them I vvill not be affrayd to aske of thee also thou being so liberall a Lord such a repentance such a floud of teares as thou gauest to that penitēt sinner Marie Magdalen by which I may not onelie vvash away all the malice of my sinnes but also all the paine euē temporall due vnto thē And if after both my sinne and paine due to it be quite abolished thou shalt think it good to punish me for that I haue sinned I shall not complaine of thy seueritie but shall kisse thy rodde as being layd on by a louing Father for that will be for my greater caueat and better warning for my encrease of grace merite and vertue as also for my greater securitie Yea I will be content to vveepe daylie for my sinnes forgiuen and to exercise my selfe in workes of pennance and satisfactiō as fasting prayers and almesdeedes and according to the counsaile of the wiseman Eccl. 50. of sinne forgiuen I vvill not be vvithout feare But following the example of S. Peter S. Marie Magdalene other penitent sinners and conforming my selfe to my Sauiour IESVS-CHRIST vvho though he neuer did nor could committ the least sinne yet ledde a most austere life I will spēd the rest of my dayes in weeping and satisfying for my sinne past though peraduenture quite pardoned Ecce enim in iniquitatibus conceptus sum in peccatis concepit me mater mea For behold I was conceiued in iniquities and my Mother conceiued me in sinnes 1. THat I may the better facilitate my pardon ô Lord and induce thee the more easelie to mercie I desire thee sayth Dauid to consider of vvhat stocke and and race I am descended If the roote of the tree be infected sound fruite can not be expected of it if the sowne seed be tainted the corne must needs tast of it if the fountaine be muddie the riuer can not runne cleare if the foundatiō be ill layed the howse builded vpon it can not chuse but totter with euery blast of winde and if one be borne lame he can not but halt or goe awrye all his life time So it is with me ô my mercifull God the verie roote and beginning of my life was infected vvith originall sinne in the vvhich I vvas conceiued pardō me then if my vvorkes vvhich are my fruites be sower infected vvith sinne they proceeding from this infected and infecting roote Quis potest facere mundum de immundo conceptum semine Iob 14. Who can make cleane him that is conceiued of vncleane seed The foundatiō of my life ô Lord vvas ill layde not by thee for thou laydst a fundation of an innocent and happie life in Paradise by originall iustice but by Adams sinne who being our head infected all his members being our first parent transfused his sinne and the infection vvith it to all his posteritie Pardon me then ô mercifull God if I shake at euerie tentation of the world flesh and deuill yea if I fall at the puffes and blastes of these vvyndes my foundatiō being not firmly layed And seeing I vvas borne yea cōceiud lame crooked euen in soule not through thy default for thou createdst Adam and vs in him right vpright in soule and bodie in so much that by originall iustice his bodie was subiecte and obedient to his soule his sensualitie to reason and the inferiour part of his soule to the superiour but through Adams sinne vvho brake this goodlie frame made the first discorde in this heauenlie harmonie And vvheras thou madst man the first man right he hath intangled him selfe with infinite questions and oppositions betwixt
reason and sensualitie out of vvhich we his children can not extricate our selues How then ô Lord canst thou expecte of me that am borne lame and crooked to walke so right in the waye of thy cōmandemēts as neuer to halt neuer to stumble neuer to goe awrye neuer to swarue from the rule of reason and thy eternall Lawe Consider ô Lord that this originall sinne by dispoiling me of originall iustice which was the bridle and curbe of sensualitie and which in Adam before his sinne was prepared for me hath caused in me a great pronenesse propension to sensualitie to sinne and vice which being hard to resiste may make some excuse for my manifold sinne 2. And thou ô Christian penitēt sinner alleage also with Dauid thy pronenesse to sinne for thou wast conceiued in sinne as deeplie as he and consequentlie hast contracted thereby the like propēsiō to sinne For this may induce thy mercifull God in that respecte to be the more forward to pardon thee The Angels that fell by sinne could not alleadge this excuse because they had not this pronenesse to sinne so deserued not mercie but seeing thou art conceiued and borne in sinne and hast contracted this propensiō to sinne which is called fomes peccati and which stirreth vp to sinne cry vnto thy Lord Haue mercie on me ô God for behold I am conceiued in sinne and thereby I haue contracted a great pronenesse to sinne which with thy ordinarie grace I can hardlie resiste and without it not at all Haue mercie then vpon me ô mercifull Father excuse thy childes sinne to which he was so much inclined 3. I haue I confesse so much yeelded to this my propension that vvhereas thou hast giuen me reason and grace also sufficient to resiste this propensiō yet I yeelding to it did like the prodigall sonne lauish out prodigally my childs portion both of reason and grace and gaue my selfe to all licentiousnes But thou ô mercifull God art not lesse louing thē vvas that Father I as I hope no lesse penitēt then that his sonne Luc. 15 For as he did so doe I confesse that I haue sinned against heauen and earth and am not vvorthie to be called thy sonne And as he did so doe I return vnto thee againe by sorrow and repentance Embrace me then ô Lord and receaue me in to grace as that Father did his sonne and be not thou ô Eternall Father inferiour to that Temporall Father in mercie and compassion and shew thy selfe as thou art more prone to mercie then I am to sinne more prone to pardon then I vvas to offend Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti incerta occulta sapientiaetuae manifestasti mihi For behold thou hast loued truth the vncertaine and hidden thinges of thy wisdome thou hast made manifest vnto me 1. THou hast ô Lord loued veritie truth and sinceritie of hart in me and that before my falle I was a sincere and true louer of thee and thy lawe no double dealer in any my wordes or actiōs thou hast liked in me and for that cause thou hast reuealed vnto me manie thinges vncertaine to men though not to thee yea altogether hidden to them to witt the mysterie of the Incarnation thy lyfe and death Resurrectiō and Ascension which are the verities of the figures of the old lawe vnder which I liue and which verities thou louest ô Lord before all those shadowes figures for partly by faith partly by spirite of prophecie and reuelation I haue had such knowledge of future thinges that there is almost no mysterie of the new lawe no promise made vnto it vvhich thou hast not reuealed vnto me and which I haue not forseene and fortold also in my psalmes And so thou who hast done me so many fauours vvilt not I hope deny me that grace without vvhich all the reste of thy benefites vvill be cast away and vvill not any vvhitt pleasure me but vvill rather be to my greater damnation And vvhat is that it is remission of my sinnes without the which to haue been good vvill not benefit me without the which the guifte of prophecie and miracles and all other guiftes will not saue me but rather aggrauate my sinnes augment my dānatiō Wherefore ô Lord knowing my selfe to be a great sinner I still crye vnto thee as I did in the beginninge of this my penitentiall psalme Haue mercie on me ô God according to thy great mercie 2. Or saith this Royall Prophet and penitent sinner I might ó Lord in some sorte couer my fault extenuate and excuse my sinnes because as I haue saide in the precedent verse I was conceiued in iniquities and in a greate pronenesse propensiō to sinne but I know thou louest truth that is a sincere harte a true tongue that confesseth the truth And therfore I sincerlye cōfesse that this pronenesse to sinne doth not quite excuse me frō sinne because it could not enforce me against my will I by faith in the Messias who is the waye veritie and lyfe and by his life and death which was reuealed to me and by grace from his death and passion which was not wāting to me hauing had grace sufficiēt by which maugre this pronenesse to sinne I might haue resisted ouercome all tentation to sinne And therefore I will not excuse my selfe by my pronenesse to sinne but ingenuouslie sincerlie and in veritie confessing it I flye onelie to thy goodnes pronenesse to mercie 3. And ó Christian soule say thou also vvith Dauid vnto thy Lord I acknowledge that I haue receaued many benefites and fauours at thy handes Thou hast created me of nothing and made me of nothing something and not what thing soeuer but a reasonable creature resembling thee by the image of thy selfe which thou hast drawne and engraued in me I by sinne as I confesse haue marred what thou hast made and haue blurred slurred blotted and defaced this thy so glorious image But what ô Lord wilt thou therefore abādon thy creature thy owne handworke To haue created me is a great benefit but if thou leaue me to my selfe and in the miserie into which sinne hath plunged me this thy benefite of creation vvill be to me no benefite because better it is not to haue been then to be miserable as sinne maketh me now and vvill make me more miserable herafter in hell into vvhich it will tumbleme vnlesse thou first forgiuest and remittest it Thou then ô Lord who hast done so much for me as to make me vouchsafe to renewe me and to sette a new glosse and hewe on me by thy grace which may vvash avvay my sinne and ridde me of this miserie 4. Thou hast not onelie created me but also conserued me in the being thou gauest me by creation yea thou hast preserued me from manie corporall dangers And great are these benefites in thēselues but vnlesse thou remitte my sinne vvhich maketh me miserable better had it been for me that thou shouldst
not haue conserued me but rather annihilated me and so preuēted this my miserie better had it been for me that thou hadst not preserued me from corporall dangers of fire vvater and the like then to preserue and conserue me so giue me the tyme to fall in to a greater domage to vvitt of sinne vvhich offendeth thee maketh me miserable and exposeth me to hazard of hell it selfe 5. Thou hast heretofore iustified me and cleansed me from originall sinne by Baptisme from Actuall sinne by contrition the Sacrament of penance and other sacramentes Great are these benefites but if thou doe not againe iustifie me by thy grace and remitte these my last sinnes it vvill be little benefite to me rather thy former grace of iustification vvill aggrauate my sinnes committed after it and these my sinnes hauing depriued me of the grace of iustification haue mortified also my former merites done in grace so all will be lost vnlesse thou againe take mercie on me and againe remitte my sinnes 6. Thou hast redeemed me and didst bind thy selfe to thy eternall Father to pay no lesse ó the deare bargaine for my ransom then thy precious bloud and death And wilt thou now cast me of who cost thee so dearlie Trulie all this is lost in me I vvith it vnlesse thou againe forgiue me by thy grace apply this price paid for me vnto me and so againe pardon me 7. Thou hast called me to be a Christian and hast reuealed vnto me as thou didst to Dauid many hidden mysteries as the sacred Trinitie the sōne of God incarnate his life death Resurrection and Ascension and many other mysteries the secrets of thy wisdome vvhich thou didst hide from the Philosophers Sages of the world And hast thou done all this for me and vvilt not doe this one thing for me to vvitt pardon my sinnes without vvhich all the rest vvill not profite me but rather will augmēt my damnation Thou saidst ó Lord Matth. ◠Luc. 5. that thou camst not to call the iuste but sinners to penance And behold I confesse my selfe a greate and grieuous sinner and I harken to thy call desiring thee to harken to my petition vvhich is haue mercie on me according to thy greate mercie which I hope thou vviltt not deny thou hauing bestowed so many other benefites on me vvhich yet are all lost vnlesse thou adde this also vnto them 8. Or else I also ó Lord might aleadge with Dauid that I vvas conceiued borne in sinne thereby contracted a propension to sinne And I might adde therevnto my corrupt nature myne euill complexion and disposition my euill customes and ill companie vvhich haue allured me to sinne but because I know thou louest truth and sinceritie of harte I confesse ingenuouslie and I truly acknovvledge that notwithstanding all this I might with thy grace which is neuer wanting to them that demaunde it or vvill accept and vse it haue resisted all these alluremēts and incitements to sinne therefore I vvill not vse any such excuse for these might excuse as diuines say A tanto non à toto from parte but not from all but plainlie trulie and sincerlie confessing my greeuous sinne I fly onelie to thy mercie and vnder the shadovv or winges of that I desire onelie to shroude my selfe All I haue to say is peccaui as Dauid said and I beseech thee to speake those comfortable words to me which thou vtteredst to him 2. Reg 12. And our Lord hath taken away thy sinne Asperges me Hyssopo mundabor lauabis me super niuem dealbabor Thou shalt sprinckle me with hyssope and I shall be cleansed thou shalt wash me and I shall be whiter then snowe 1. I Cry not saith Dauid to Moyses nor Aaron nor the Preistes of the old lavv vnder vvhich I liue but to thee ô Eternall sonne of God God and man the Messias and Redeemer of the vvorld to sprinkle and washe me and cleanse me from the fylthe of my sinnes They could vvash the bodie from legall immundicities but not from the fylthe of sinne from vvhich I desire to be cleansed nay they could not cure the corporall leprosie but onely could pronoūce a declaratiue sentence Leuit. 14. vvhen it vvas healed but thou canst euen heale and cleanse my soule from the leprosie fylthe of sinne and therefore my hope is that thou vvilst sprinkle me not with the Cedar wood Leuit. 14. scarlet Num. 19. Vide Augu. to 4. q. 33. super Numer and hyssope dipped in the blood of the immolated sparow nor vvith the ashes of the redde cowe but vvith the blood of thy sacred humaine nature ruddie by its passion and prefigured by those figures by this blood shed in thy passion and sprinkled by the meanes of the humble hyssope of the crosse I hope thou shalt sprinkle me and I shall be whiter then the snowe 2. In this bloud is my hope because this onelie can take out the staine of sinne this onelie can wash away the fylthe of sinne wherewith my soule is defiled The blood of goates and oxen and such like sacrifices sprinkled saith Dauid can vvash avvay legall immundicities but it can not vvash avvaye the fylthe of sinnes but thy blood ô Blessed Sauiour can sanctifie and mundifie our soules from all filth of sinne 3. I forsee saith Dauid by faith in Christ that by the Sacraments of Baptisme and penāce in the new lavve and by cōtrition in all lawes soules are vvashed from the filthinesse of sinne but yet by the bloud also of the lambe Christ Iesus from vvhich they take their vertue Thy bloud ô Blessed Sauiour is the generall cause they are particular causes appointed to applie that thy bloud and passion is the principall morall cause of grace and remissiō of sinnes they are but instrumētall causes vvhich vvorke in vertue of that principall 4. And although now by wallovving my selfe in the puddle of sinne I am in soule more foule then the hogge that vvalloweth himselfe in the mire yet this lauer of thy bloud ô Lord vvill vvash me so cleane that I shall be whiter then driuen snowe And although my sinnes vvere as scarlet Isa 1. they shall be made vvhite as snovve And if they be redde as vermilion they shall be white as vvooll and my soule vvatred vvith this bloud and heauenlie rayne vvhich rayned out of the cloude of thy sacred humaine nature shall be made fertile and apte to bring forth the greene plantes sweete hearbes and flovvers of all manner of vertue and bathed in this bathe it shall recouer its former lustre beautie of grace vvhich it had lost by sinne and of a vessel of base seruice which it yelded to the vvorld flesh and Diuell it shall be a vessell of honour Because take avvay the rust from siluer Prou. 25. and there shall come forth a moste pure vessell a goodlie piece of plate fit to be set on thy cup-boord
svvelling burst as we read in the bookes of numbers And good reason because besides the offence committed against God and the vvrong done to her Husband this sinne maketh issues and successions to inheritance vncertaine and disturbeth families And therefore Dauid fearing least this sinne of blood should also crye vengeance against him he desireth to be deliured froÌ„ it saying in the plurall number Deliuer me from bloods that is not onelie from the bloodie murder of Vrias and his soldiours but also froÌ„ the adulterie vvith Bersabee this sinne also proceeding originallie from the heate of blood And saith Dauid Jf thou vvilt ô Lord deliuer me from these bloods as I hope thou vvilt thou being the God of my saluatioÌ„ my toÌ„gue shall exalte thy iustice that is shall reioice in this iustice and praise thee for it For although the remissioÌ„ of my sinne in respect of my vnworthines be mercie yet it is iustice in respect of CHRISTS passion vvhich I foresee behold because that did merit in rigour of iustice this remission and this iustice I shall praise for euer 6. Say thou also vvith Dauid ô penitent sinner I ô Lord am also guiltie of bloods and therefore I desire thee to deliuer me from bloods for if I be not guiltie of murder adulterie at least I am guiltie of many other sinnes vvhich all may be called bloods or sinnes proceeding from flesh and blood vvhich nourish and pamper coÌ„cupiscence the fountaine of all our sinnes for as S. Iohn telleth vs 1. Ioan. 2. all that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh the concupiscence of the eyes the pride of life These be the sources rootes and fountaines from vvhich all our sinnes doe proceede and so all our sinnes are bloods because they flow from concupiscence vvhich is inflamed by the heate of bloud Deliuer me therefore froÌ„ these rootes and I shall be free froÌ„ the braÌ„ches deliuer me from the fountaines and I shall be free froÌ„ the riuers deliuer me froÌ„ concupiscence of the flesh make that chast 1. Cor. 9. or giue me grace to chastise it with S. Paul that it may be chast take froÌ„ me concupisceÌ„ce of eyes huddwincke theÌ„ vvith thy grace that by them no sinne enter into my soule as a glance onelie of the eye caused Dauids adulterie Take from me pride of life giue me an humble heart represse aspiring thoughtes so shall I be free from pride ambition enuye and all other spirituall sinnes vvhich are bloods because they proceede from concupiscence vvhich is kindled by the heate of blood 2. Cor. 2 are the vvorkes of a sensuall man who perceiueth not the thinges which are of the Spirit of God Deliuer me then froÌ„ bloods that is from all sinnes O God the God of saluation because it is beseeming the God of saluation to saue and to haue mercie on sinners Which if thou doest ô Lord I promise with Dauid that my tongue shall exult in the praise of thy iustice for although in respect of vs sinners it be a great grace mercie to deliuer vs from sinne vve hauing nothing to deserue it yet in respect of CHRIST IESVS our God of saluation and Sauiour it is great iustice because he by his death and passion did merit this for vs and if for this his sacred death and passion the more then iust price of our Redemption thou please to deliuer me from bloods and sinnes I shall praise and exalt this thy iustice for euer and my tongue shall neuer be silent in the commeÌ„dation of it Domine labia mea aperies os meum annunciabit laudem tuam Lord thou wilt open my lippes and my mouth shall shew forth thy prayse 1. SInne ô Lord saith Dauid say so vvith him ô penitent sinner had stopped my mouth and made me dumme in thy prayses for vvhâ—lst I vvas in sinne I praised this vvorld but cared not for Heauen I praised the beautie of thy creatures but cared not for the beautie of thee their Creatour who art the fountaine of all beautie and beautie by essence they onelie by participatioÌ„ I coÌ„mended the pleasures of the bodie as the onelie pleasure as though there had beene no pleasure but in eating drinking and such like but cared not for the pleasures which the godlie take in contemplating thy goodnes in louing and seruing thee I praysed the Kinges Princes and Potentats of the earth and I admired their greatnes power spleÌ„dour and riches but in thy praises I vvas altogether mute though thou beest the King of Kinges and Lord of Lords Apoâ—â— 19. to vvhom the greatest Monarches are but Vice-Royes Lieutenantes and tenantes at vvill And so Psal 11 â— I who before my sinne did singe praise to thee seuen times a day vvas by sinne become dumme mute and tongue-tyed in thy praises But if thou deliuer me froÌ„ bloods that is froÌ„ sinne theÌ„ sinne the couer of my mouth and tye of my tongue being taken avvay thou wilt open my lippes and loose my tongue by thy grace my mouth shall shew forth thy praise Psal 33 Then I will blesse thee our Lord at all times thy praise shall be alwayes in my mouth 2. And thou ô penitent sinner desire God as Dauid did to open thy lippes which now are shutt by sinne and confessing the truth say thus vnto him Sinne ô Lord hath made me like an Infant in a spirituall life not able to forme any vvords in thy praise So that I may say vvith Hieremie Hier. c. 1. A a a ô Lord behold I can not speake because I am a child Wherefore ô Lord doe me the like fauour thou didst to this Prophet though I much lesse deserue it then he did Hier. c. 1. put forth thy hand touch my mouth and thereby put the vvords into my mouth vvhich I shall speake for then assuredlie my mouth shall shew forth thy praise Nay coÌ„fesse vnto thy God and say vnto him Sinne ô Lord hath not onelie stopped my mouth but hath also so polluted my lippes Isa c. 6. that I may saie vvith the Prophet Isaie I am a man of polluted lippes And greater cause haue I to saie so then he had for he esteemed his lippes polluted because he vvas silent vvhen he should haue spoken and therefore cryed Woe is me Isa c. â— because I haue held my peace But I haue spoken in detracting lying callumniating swearing the like vvheÌ„ I should haue beene silent and so I haue offended not onelie in omission as he did but also in commission and so haue much more polluted my lippes Send therefore ô Lord vnto me as thou didst to thy Prophet Isaie pardon me sweet Lord if I farr vnworthier then he presume to begge the same fauour at thy handes vvhich he did because it is not any myne owne merit but thy onelie mercie vvhich thus imboldeneth me one of thy Seraphins so called because as he is