he doo more then that he hath doone eyther by promising or threatning to drawe vs to himselfe and to withdraw and terrifie vs from sinne This notwithstanding béeing of such weight what shal I blame the boldnesse or bluntishnesse of men which beléeuing this assuredly doubt not to dally out the day in sinne to sléepe with sinne to arise with sinne and to bathe themselues in the beastly puddle of all iniquities and to doo all this without feare without scruple without abridging their sléepe or abating their fare as though all their beléefe were a dreame and the sayings of the Euangelists fables of Titius the Giaunt and such like Howe couldest thou doo more then thou doest if thou diddest doubt of thy beléefe sith it is euident that hitherto onely the shame and feare of the wordle hath brideled thy appetites yet the feare of God cannot restraine thée from satisfying thy sensualitie nor make thée blush in executing thy diuellish deuices Tell me blind as thou art depriued of vnderstanding béeing in suche securitie and confidence wherevpon worketh the worme of conscience whither is fayth vanished knowledge iudgement reason which onely endued thée with the title to bee called a man Doest thou not dread so huge so certaine so vndoubted daungers If thou were set at the table and serued with meates and some man should come vnto thée thogh a knowne lyer saying that the meates set before thée were impoysoned thou wouldest doubt and dreade to cate it were the meate neuer so delicate and he a lyer that did aduise thée Then if the Prophets if the Apostles if the Euangelists if God himselfe doth cry vnto thée saying Death is in the potte O wretched man death dwelleth in gluttonie which the diuel presenteth before thée and darest thou to receiue thy death with thy owne hands and to drinke the dramme of thy damnation What now auaileth this beléefe buried in thy bosome where is his light his firmnesse as stéele his pearsing sharpenesse séeing none of all these things can extenuate thy sinne O madde myser O franticke foole made sencelesse by the subtile sleightes of the Serpent adiudged to eternall darkenesse both within and without for that thou goest straight from inwarde to outward darkenesse Blinde thou art because thou seest not thy miserie sencelesse because thou doest not perceiue thy perdition and more obdurate then the Diamonde because thou féelest not the weightie béetle of the worde of the Lorde O wreche wrapte in woe tenne thousande folde woorthie to be bewayled with no other teares then those whiche shall lament thy damnation saying If thou knewest the contentment the quiet the peace and riches that God in this life hath offered vnto thée which nowe are thus shut and kept from thée O wretched was the dismall day of thy natiuitie but muche more miserable shall bee the day of thy death which shall be the verie doore and first steppe to thy damnation Howe muche better had it beene if thou haddest neuer béene borne then to bee tormented for euer Howe muche better had it béene for thée neuer to haue béene baptised nor to haue knowne the fayth sithe there they serue thée to none other ende but to make thy faulte more gréeuous for if the reache of reason bee sufficient to cause the guilt of the Philosophers to be inexcusable for that they knowing God in a sort did not glorifie him as the Apostle saith Howe muche lesse can he excuse himselfe whosoeuer hée be hauing receiued the light of faith and the water of Baptisme and yearely receiueth the holy Communion and euery day heareth his doctrine doth nothing that belongeth therevnto as the Philosophers themselues haue shewed to haue done in their liues But what shall we inferre of all that we haue said before if not to conclude briefly that there is no other fence no other wisedome no other counsell in the worlde but to reiect all the lettes and intricate cares of this life and to pursue that onely pathe where is obteyned sure peace and eternall blisse To this reason doth inuite vs iustice lawe heauen earth hell life death and the mercy of God To this the holy Ghost doth enioyne vs by the mouth of Ecclasiastick saying My sonne employ the flourishing yeres of thy youth to discipline that in thy age thou maist sucke the swéete sappe of sapience as he which tilleth and soweth expecteth with patience the commoditie that groweth thereof Thy griefe smart shal be very slender and soone shalt haue a plentifull haruest My sonne harken to my words and despise not the aduise I giue thée put voluntarily thy féete into the fetters that prudence hath prepared and thy neck into her yoke bowe downe thy shoulders and take her bonds vpon thée and let it not gréeue thée to bee tyed therewith Couple thy selfe to her with all thy heart with al thy forces and with all thy might Follow her footesteppes search her diligently and thou shalt find her and when thou hast found her léese her not againe in any condition For she shal giue comfort to thy crooked age and that which earst séemed sowre and tedious vnto thée shall become swéete and delectable and her fetters shall bee the foundation of vertue and her chaines the iewels of glorie For in that happie life her bondes are the bulwarkes of health Thus much saith Ecclesiastick by which wordes hée notifieth vnto vs the great beautie the delights the liberbertie and riches of true wisdom which is vertue it selfe and the knowledge of God of which we héere treate But if this be not suffient to mollifie thy stonie heart lift vp thy eyes and looke not to the water of the world which fléeteth quickly but beholde that Lord who dying vpon the Crosse and sharpely satisfying for that whiche thy sinnes deserued Where he standeth in that forme as thou seest with his féete fastened to stay for thée and with his armes stretcht abroad to receiue thée and with his head declining to giue thée at thy comming as to the prodigall sonne the swéet kisse of reconciliation There he calleth to thée if thou hast the grace to heare him with so many cryes as he hath woundes in all his bodie Imagine with thy selfe that thou hearest his wordes in thy heart sounding in this sort Turne vnto me turne vnto me O Samaritane turne vnto me for I will receiue thée Thou knowest well that thou hast committed adultery with all those louers thou lustest after yet for all this turne vnto me and I will pardon thée turne vnto me I say for I am thy father thy God thy Creator thy Sauior thy faithfull friend thy onely benefactor thy full and perfect felicitie thy finall ende In me thou shalt find rest ioy peace health truth wisedome and all treasures In mée thou shalt finde the flowing vaine of the liuely water which chasest thirst away and lifteth vp a man to life eternall In me thou shalt stand like vnto the trée planted by the riuers side
which yéeldeth his fruite in due and conuenient time whiche neuer léeseth his verdure and all that hée doeth shall succéed prosperously My brother these are the voyces the drums and trumpets wherewith Gods eternall wisedome calleth sinners vnto him if thou wilt harken to this harmenie and not lysten to the Syren songes of the subtil Serpent turne thy selfe vnto to God and amende thy life spéedily to the which ende this Treatise is addressed But how this is to be performed shal be shewed in the next volume The ende of the Conuersion of a Sinner Sundrie profitable Contemplations gathered by the saide Author The Argument A Christian man which couetteth to come vnto God must make his enterance through the gate of compunction generally confessing all his offences Wherevnto it shall auaile him much to exercise himselfe euery day in certaine Prayers and godlie Meditations and in the considerations of death and of Gods seuere iudgement CHAP. I. HE therefore that is departed out of Egypt and beginneth to march towards the land of promise hee that like vnto the loste sonne reremembreth himselfe and openeth his eyes to behold the beames of glittering vertue and knoweth the perplexitie wherein hée is plunged and the fraude of this fraile life and desireth to returne to the plenteous repastes of his fathers house his first passage must be through the straights of penance where it behoueth him ruthfully to record in his minde the former ryots and excesses and firmely to purpose the amendment of them And for that this discussion and examination ought to bee as the Prophet sayth with affliction and remorce of conscience it is the part of the penitent at that time to vse al such praiers ronsiderations as by any meanes may stir him to teares and dolour To the which auaileth much the consideration of death of Gods finall iudgement of the paines of hell and of the passion of Christ suffered for the satisfaction of our sinnes Sith it is apparant that if there had bin no defects on our side there had héene no cause of his gréeuous annoy These and such like considerations may mooue vs to sorrow and to the detestation of sin which is the chéefest part of repentance In the which we should exercise our selues not onely the space of fiue or sixe dayes but the greatest part of our life Wherein many penitents are deceiued who béeing most diligent in scouring their conscience and scanning their faultes are quite carelesse in bewayling of them whereas both the one and the other are most necessarie but chéefly the last And I thinke verily that the cause why so many faynte in the following of vertue and in long time cannot attaine to perfection and sometime to surcease their iourney begunne is because they haue not layde a sure foundation nor haue not planted the rootes déepe inough in this exercise For this béeing the piller of all the building when the foundation it selfe is féeble the worke cannot bee firme which is erected vppon it To the which ende it is very necessarie to assigne certaine dayes many or sewe as the holy ghost shall direct vs wherein as I haue sayde before we may exercise our selues in all such prayers and meditations as maye induce vs to this sorrowe For the plainer declaration of this doctrine I minde to impart vnto you a fewe of the foresaid considerations which may serue not onely to stirre vs to be sory for our sinnes and to the hatred thereof but also to allure vs to the loue of vertue and to the feare of God and to the contempt of the world for al this is néedfull to nouices and beginners The Argument He that list to encline his heart to the hatred of sinne and to the dread of God must conuey himselfe into some couert corner and must bend and imploy his minde to the contemplation of the heauenly blisse and the iniquities which abound here in earth CHAP. II. VVHosoeuer then will haue his heart setled hereupon and wil fasten this firmly in his mind must euery day once or twise take a time most quiet conuenient for that purpose and sequestring himselfe into a secret place al other earthly thoughts and vain imaginations being laid apart arming himselfe first with the shield of faith humbly crauing the grace of the holy spirit to assist him in this behalfe assuming to himselfe the minde of that deuout Publican which durst not to lift vp his eyes towards Heauen for the confusion and horrour of his offences Let him repeate some generall confession or else the Psalme Miserere mei deus with so great deuotion as he can deuise and suddenly let him apply his minde to the considerations following that by this meanes he may attain the feare of God through the sorrow the dread and detestation of sinne The Argument In the first cōsideration a christian ought to runne ouer the multitude of the mortal offences that he hath committed CHAP. III. THe first sting that may stirre vs to the woe and hatred of our iniquities is to consider the infinit number of them and to fixe them before our eyes as a terrible troupe of armed Souldiers that the soule may be appalled with so hidcous a spectacle Runne ouer therefore bréefely all the commaundements of God through all the capitall sinnes through all the sences the powers and parts as well of thy body as of thy soule and thou shalt perceiue that there is scarce any commandement which thou hast not transgressed nor any sinne wherein thou haste not sunke nor any sence externall or internall which thou haste not abused nor any benefite which thou haste imployed to that ende for which it was giuen thée But as the Prophet sayth God hath giuen thée his golde and siluer and therewith thou haste serued Baal Looke therefore into thy selfe throughly and viewe the race of thy life passed and thou shalt sée a huge webbe fraught full of deceit of trecherie of pride of lyes of slouth of enuie of couetousnesse of hatred of entisements of blasphemie of malice and of a thousand other manners of mischiefes and thou shalt finde that like a brutish beast in all and euery of these thou haste followed and fulfilled thy sensuall delights without regarde of the lawe of iustice or reason and thou shalt perceiue that thou hast liued as a Gentile or Pagan altogither which neuer knewe God or as though thou so beleeuest that there were no God no death no iudgement no paine no blisse nor any thing else to be thought but euen to be borne and to dye He then that hath liued this many yeares so disorderly shall it not be reason that he imploy the fewe dayes that are remayning of his life in bewayling his former yeares fondly consumed and to féele sensibly the ruine and decay of the powers of his soule and the time that hee might hane gayned in this while which hee shall not get hereafter For time lost can neuer be recouered Throw therefore thy selfe
THE CONVERsion of a Sinner Faithfully translated out of Italian by M. K. Psalm 36. vers 27. Declina a malo fac Bonum Leaue sinne ere sinne leaue thee do good And both without delay Lesse fit he will to morrow be Who is not fit to day LONDON Printed by Thomas Creede for I. P. To the Reader I Doo heere present vnto thy fauourable view most curteous and gentle Reader this Pamphlet which wanting a particular Patron commeth as it were a begging vnto thee for no lesse then thy whole selfe and that chiefly for thine owne good The way to protect it is to direct thy life by it to suffer it to possesse thee assoone as thou hast possest it which if thou be so happie to accomplish it will teach thee to win Loue by feare Life by death yea euerlasting happinesse by the transitorie troubles of this wretched world And to giue it iust praise in a word it is a worke of the learned and spirituall Granado aptly translated by a vertuous Gentleman into our English Lamentationes Let Dread of paine for sinne in after time Let Shame to see thy selfe ensnared soe Let Greefe conceiued for foule accursed crime Let Hate of sinne the worker of thy woe With Dread with Shame with Greefe with Hate enforce To deawe the cheeks with teares of deep remorce Carmen So Hate of sinne shall make Gods Loue to grow So Greefe shall harbour Hope within thy hart So Dread shall cause the flood of Ioy to flow So Shame shall send sweete Solace to thy smart So Loue so Hope so Ioy so Solace sweete Shall make thy soule in heauenly blisse to fleete Vae Woe where no Hate doth no such Loue allure Woe where such Greefe makes no such Hope proceed Woe where such Dread doth no such Ioy procure Woe where such Shame doth no such Solace breed Wo where no Hate no Greefe no Dread no Shame No Loue no Hope no Ioy no Solace frame Non tardes conuerti ad Deum A brief Treatise exhorting sinners to repentance commonly called The Conuersion of a sinner The Argument Sinners are commonly coÌ„uerted to God through feare and dread Who if they read and well weigh holy writ would tremble and quake considering the iminent perils wherein they dwell and would diuert from their wicked wayes to the path of perfection thereby the better to ridde themselues from the gnawing gripes of a giltie conscience and dreadfull torments due vnto sin which otherwise God threateneth vppon them The first Chapter WE reade in the diuine Scriptures that God before he defaced vtterly rased the Citie of HierusaleÌ„ by Nabuchodonozor king of Babylon sayd to the Prophet Ieremie in this wise Iere 32. Take a booke not written in before and write therein that which I haue said vnto thée against Iuda and against Israel from the first day I began to talke with thée euen vntill this present day and publish it in the presence of all the people thereby to prooue whether this Nation vnderstanding the manifold miseries I minde to bring vpon theÌ„ will reuolt from their iniquities that in so dooing I may haue compassion vppon them pardon their offences and cease to exercise the whippe of my wrath which I haue alreadie prepared The Scripture addeth further that Baruch Scribe to this Prophet pronouncing that which hee had written in the open audience assembly of the people and Princes such horrour and feare fell amongst them that as meÌ„ amazed each beheld others considering the heapes of woes and wretchednesse which then was vttered before them This is the way gentle Reader that God then practised and hath don many times since to daunt mens hearts and violently to wrest them from their wickednesse as the most effectuall and forcible meanes that may bee founde to that purpose For such and so great are the things which the Scriptures and our fayth daylie telleth vs in the fauour of vertue and hatred of vice that if men would reade them attentiuely and ponder them aduisedly there is no doubt but their hearts would relent and their flesh tremble thereat considering the dreadfull daungers wherein they dwell Wherefore the chéefest thing that the Prophet desired aboue all others Deut. â—2 for the redresse of this vncurable maladie was this when hée said I would GOD this senselesse generation which are vtterlye deuoyde of counsell did know and throughly foresée what will happen vpon them which if they did as in dutie they are bound to doo they could not possibly procéede or coÌ„tinue longer in their so crooked course of life But they are all sunke in the vile sinke of sensuall delights some hunt after honours some for high promotions and dignities others beating theyr braynes day and night how to cloath curiously theyr carraine corps and to accomplish their carnall concupiscence haue no time eyes nor heart to looke to their owne estate and with the eyes of their minde to meditate vppon these things whereof the Prophet speaketh very properly Osea 7 saying Behold Ephraim is like vnto a Doue deceiued that hath no heart For the wicked haue heart wit and will inough to loue to couet and to count againe and againe vppon the pelfe of this world but they haue neither witte nor will once to thinke vppon the glory of the worlde to come which is so infinite and so inestimable that if the least part thereof bee exactly tried and examined in the minde it would suffice to euacuate the filthy smoake which hath shut vp the eyes of their vnderstanding and to make them to acknowledge and confesse their owne errour For this cause therefore beeing moued principally I haue thought it very requisite to set downe certaine perswasions tending to this purpose to the view of al that list to read or write them Following héerein the example of the Prophet Ieremie to shew not onely the gréeuous calamities that God hath prepared for the vniust but also the perfect blisse that he hath prouided for his seruants the godly that the euill disposed returning from their wicked race may be receiued into the fauour and mercy of God released of their trespasses and deliuered froÌ„ all those punishments which God menazeth vpon them in holy scriptures The Argument A Christian ought to consider his profession that he is subiect to death and must render a straight account in the other life of all his doings here Where he shall discerne sensibly the cryes and griefes intollerable wherwith death sinne rewardeth the vngodly both here and in the world to come there neither the beautie and fine feature of the body neither the flattery of false fortune nor yet the pompe of stately dignitie shall ought preuaile to withstand the wrath of the iust Iudge against the wretched sinner Chap. II. TAking my first entry in that which is most obiected to our sences Remember that thou art a Christian and a man Concerning thou art a man hold it for a ground infallible that
a gallant superscription as héere thou seest grauen by the hande of God It was much lesse then this that Quéene Sabba had heard of Salomon and yet she came from the vttermost partes of the earth to trie whether those things were true which were reported vnto her Wherefore then hearing such and so certaine tydings of vertue doest thou not betake thée to a litle trauell If thou wilt be assured hereof graunt thy selfe vnto the word of God and confidently commit thy selfe into his handes loose thy selfe from the hands which hath wrapt and wonne thée and thou shalt sée that the same of vertue is lesse then her merite and that whatsoeuer we haue said is nothing in comparison of that she is in her proper effect The Argument To perseuere in sinne with a thousand excuses and delaies intending to amend his life hereafter deceiueth a Christian maruellously For by this meanes he blindeth and burieth himselfe in the durtie dunghill of vice and waxeth daily more prone therevnto in such wise that iniquitie taking deep roote in the intrailes of his mind it will very hardly be remoued CHAP. VIII NOtwithstanding all these assertioÌ„s whereby the condition of vertue is iustified sufficiently the wicked wil neuer want their wonted excuses and delaies for as it is written He that will shake off his friend searcheth for a cause of quarrell but in so dooing he meriteth a gréeuous reprehension and controlment Yet some there be which with one onely worde will easily reply to all this saying It sufficeth them to amend hereafter and then to reduce the course of their life to a better order foolishly feyning to themselues that it is too hard a matter presently for them so to doo and that in time to come they may attempt atchieue this thing with more facilitie How fondly man deceiueth himselfe which is one of the grossest errours wherewith a man may delude himselfe For if thou mindest so long to procéede and perseuere in that perillous path wherein thou art entred still augmenting the heape of thine iniquities howe canst thou so easily hereafter forsake it at thy pleasure thy naughtie conditions béeing growne by continuall custome into an habite Further if thou continue héerein euill custome shall bee more fortified and confirmed and nature shall be corrupted the more and the diuell shall preuaile and haue more power vpon thée and shalt be still farther from the fauour of GOD and consequently more blinde more enclined and plunged déeper in the stinking puddle of iniquitie Then howe can it be more easie for thée to performe this businesse béeing increased with these newe difficulties by reason of thy perseueraunce in sinne If euery time that thou doest offend thou leauest behinde thâ—â— a dayes iourney of thy voyage towardes vertue how canst thou more readily frame thy selfe thereunto hereafter hauing let slip so many daies iourney as thou hast committed offences It may well appeare that by this answere thou art instructed by the father of lyes and falshood that after thou hast so long inured thy selfe to vice and folly and haste runned a race so farre from the trade of vertue shall then bee most easie for thée to attayne therevnto But among these things what shall I say of the great power of custome and of the force shee hath to binde and wrap thée fast in wickednesse For true it is that as they which fasten a nayle in any thing with euery stroke they driue it further in and yet with other strokes further and so the more still they strike the more they fasten it and waxeth thereby the more harde to pull out againe In like maner by each euill fact we commit vice as it were with a béetle is more déepely rammed into our minde where it is fixed so fast that there can very hardly bee founde any force able to remooue it Whereby wée sée not seldome that the olde age of those who in their flourishing yeares were wholely giuen to carnalitie is often subiect to the dissolute manners of theyr youth yea although they then abhorre them and nature thereof disclaymeth vtterly which onely commeth to passe through the tyranny of euill custome For it is affirmed by Iob that the bones of the wicked shall be full of those vices that they vsed in their youth which shall accoÌ„pany them in their graues in such sort the vice hath no other end then death which is the dissolution and extinguishment of all mortall things which onely suffiseth to redresse and cure it And the cause hereof is custome coÌ„firmed which nowe is growne to nature For vicious appetites taking such roote in the bones and bowels of their souls is euen like vnto a ioynt ague which hauing setled it selfe in the intrailes of a man is become incurable The very same thing is shewed by our Sauiour in the resurrection of Lazarus which had lien dead nowe foure daies whome GOD called againe to life with such vehement shrikes and cries notwithstanding hee raised many from death before with such falicitie thereby to make it knowne vnto vs what a wonder it was that God raised him againe who foure dayes had béene dead and buried This long since is espied to be in sinne For as Saint Augustine openeth this place of these foure dayes the first is the delight we haue in sinne the second is the consent of minde the third the accomplishment in déede the fourth the perseuerance in sin and he that is come to this point is Lazarus lying dead foure dayes who cannot be receiued but with the loud lamentations and teares of our Sauiour If peraduenture this chaunce vnto thée which very seldome hapneth to any tell mee what lawe canst thou alleadge for thy leawdnesse that God before all worlds hauing loued and created thée to inuest thée with the glory of eternall felicitie wilt not consume in the seruice of him who hath bin thy benefactor and friend so long in this short brickle life that thou enioyest The Argument Repentance ought not to be deferred to the end of life for theÌ„ God doth seldome grant them his grace to dye well For he that hath lead a leaud life hath commonly a worse death and so findeth a righteous recompence for his vniust deserts CHAP. IX BVt some there be so blinde shamelesse that it suffiseth them not to haue sinned all their life passed but they resolue with themselues wilfully to wallowe therein vntill they sensibly féele themselues assited with the very sommons of death O dreadfull time full of perplexitie what thinkest thou with this price to purchase the Kingdome of Heauen and to merit the societie and seate of Angels Doest thou not sée that whatsoeuer is done at this time is necessitie and not will is forced and not frée is constraint and not consent is feare and not friendship yet it is loue not the loue of God but selfe loue which shunneth naturally his owne annoy Doest thou not perceiue that these things are méere opposite
that deare brother take it for vnfeigned veritie that the quiet and contentment which thou expectest cannot bee had in this world but to bee rich in the fauour of God but in contemning thereof and in estéeming lesse of earthly things then they be indeede Go rounde about the sea and land wander whither thou wilt as saith S. Augustine thou shalt finde wretchednesse euery where if thou walk not in the way of the Lord in whom consisteth all felicitie and contentment The Argument The way of God is now nothing difficult nor austere at all but is become very plain and easie by the instruction and ensample of Christ but especially by his passion his resurrection and assention and after by his sending downe of the holy Ghost CHAP. XII OTher there be which excuse themselues saying The way of God is very hard and this is onely because his precepts are repugnant to the inclinatiō of mans appetites This is one of the principall causes that maketh men to loath this labour but the authors of such allegations though they bee Christians and liue vnder the lawe of grace they knowe not yet the first letter that standeth in the Alphabet of this lawe nor haue any smacke of this misterie O thou vnhappie wretche which makest profession to bee a Christian tell mee I beséech thée wherefore came Christ into the world wherefore did he shead his blood why did he institute so many sacramentes why sent hee the holy Ghost what is ment by the Gospell by grace by this word Iesu what doth this renowmed name of Lorde and Sauiour signifie which thou woorshippest If thou knowest not aske of the Euangelist who sayth His name shall be Iesu for it shall be hée that shall saue his people from their sinne But what is it to be a sauiour and deliuerer from sinne if by him wee doo not meritte pardon for our offences passed and grace to excuse those that are to come For what cause came Christ into the world if not to helpe vs to saluation Wherefore dyed he vppon the Crosse if not to slay sinne why did he rise againe after his death if not to reuiue vs Likewise wherefore spent hee his blood if not for a medicine able to heale thy festered woundes wherefore ordained hee so many Sacraments if not for a speciall remedie against sinne what is she chéefest fruite of his comming and possion if not to shewe vs thereby the way to Heauen which before was austere and difficult Esai 40. As appeareth by Esaias where hée saith At the comming of Mossias the crooked wayes shall become straight and the bitter passages pleasaunt large and wide Besides all this why did he send his holy Ghost if not of flesh to make thée spirituall and wherefore did hee sende it in the forme of fire if not to the ende thou shouldest bee inflamed as fire illuminated fortified and transformed into himselfe and should drawe thée to heauen whence he descended that he might powre vppon thée the grace and vertue that floweth from him abundantly thereby to lighten the heauie yoake of sinne to mittigate the exercise of vertue by reioysing in aduersity by hope in perils and by ouercomming in temptations This is the beginning the middle and ende of the Gospell that as one carnall man and a sinner which was Adam made vs all earthly and sinners so an other man béeing celestiall and iust descending from Heauen made vs all celestiall and iust What other thing did the Euangelistes write of What other promises did the Prophet forespeake of what else did the Apostles preache of There is no other diuinitie but this this is the woorde abreuiated this God wrote vppon the earth this is the consummation and abridgement heard by the Prophet Esay which was verified by the sequell of the great abundance of vertue and iustice which came into the world immediately after Then deare brother behaue thy selfe as though thou wert newly conuerted to christianitie and aske of some skilfull Diuine what thou art charged to doo by this thy Religion of whome thou shalt receiue no other aunswere then that it behooueth thée to bee a good man which to accomplish this profession giueth thée comfort and courage and causeth the carnall man to become spirituall giuing vnto him the holy Ghost the better thereby to procéede in the promises Surely it is a great ouersight that thou bearing the name of a Christian so many yeares knowest not yet what difference is betwéene the written lawe and the lawe of grace In this then consisteth the difference sith thou knowest it not that lawe enioyned a man to bee iust not furnishing him with forces necessarie for that exployt but this also chargeth vs to bee iust and good giuing grace and abilitie to accomplish this commaundement therefore for this cause and no other it is tearmed the law of grace That pressed vs to battaile without weapons to fight willed vs to ascend to Heauen but gaue vs no ladders to climbe prescribed to men that they should bee spirituall yet did it not inspire them with the holy Ghost that they might be spirituall But now it is otherwise for this lawe ceasing the other succéeded which farre excéeded it by his merites and by the sacred blood of Christ And yet as though the olde lawe were not extinguished nor Christ come into the world thou standest Iewishly coniecturing that of thy selfe thou art sufficient to fulfill and execute this lawe and so to be iustified Wherefore euery one that vnderstandeth this shall perceiue apparantly that many Authors agrée that this way of the Lord is both swéete and sowre Psal 18. For loue of the wordes issuing out of thy mouth saith the Prophet I trudge a iourney harde and vnsauery I am delighted with thy Commaundements as with the greatest treasures For this way conteineth in it selfe both partes that is it is difficult and easie difficult in respect of nature easie in respect of vertue and grace in suche sort that which was harde by one reason is light by another As our Sauiour sheweth when hée said That his yoke was easie and his burthen pleasaunt for a yoke and burthen is all ene in signification But to say it was swéete declareth the facilitie hée had in bearing it here through the grace which was giuen vnto him So that if thou demaundest howe it is possible that béeing a yoke it should be easie séeing it is the propertie of a yoke to bee heauie and hatefull Wherevnto it may be answered that God doth quallifie the gréefe of those that willingly submitte themselues to the saide yoke as he hath promised by the Prophet Esay saying I will bee as hée whiche looseth the yoke and as he that vnloadeth a mans necke from the weight thereof What thing is more woorthie of admiration then this that a yoke is easie and that by God it is made portable for that himselfe supporteth the burthen Wherefore then dooth it séeme a thing incredible vnto
beloued sonne and all the sorrowe and torments that he hath suffered for me Therefore most mercifull father for the feruent loue and petitions of thy deare sonne forgiue the faults of thy histoyall vassall regarde the noble sacrifice offered by thy sonne and race out of thy remembraunce the disobedience of thy leaud seruaunt For the raunsome that he hath payde for my deliuerie surpasseth farre any my debts or trespasses whatsoeuer Oh that it would please thée to put in a payre of balance my leaudnesse thy liberalitie my wickednesse and thy woundes no doubt the peise of them would bee more weightie a great deale For what guilt can bee so gréeuous for which such sorrowe cannot satisfie sufficiently which cannot bee washed away with such affliction with so many teares and with such obedience and humilitie with such inuincible patience and aboue all with such immeasurable loue What crime can be so enormous which may not bee cleansed with that bloudie sweat yea whole flouds of blood What sinne is there so execrable which is not cured by Christes death Oh heauenly Father I offer here vnto thée the selfe-same my Sauiour and Redéemer Iesus Christ thy sonne beloued most tenderly His sharpe sorrowes his agonies incomprchensible the which thou knowest exactly to be suffered for my defects and in stead of the contrition which I ought to haue for them I offer vnto thee his bloudie sweat in stead of my teares which I cannot shed because of the adamanticall harnesse of my hart I offer vnto thée his humble and feruēt praiers for all my slouths and negligences For ende I offer vnto thée all his loathsome labours and vertuous exercises his austere life and all that he hath wrought therein and the bitter tormēts that he did abide as a worthie sacrifice of thy diuine glorie for all the iniquities wherewith my whole life I haue offended thée and for the good things which I haue omitted and left vndone Which liuest and raignest for euer and euer Amen The Argument In the sixt consideration a man should thinke vpon death the last iudgement and bell paines And how greeuous will be the separation of the soule from the bodie by meanes of death which by reason of diuers accidents occurring then togither is the very receit of excessiue sorrows anxieties CHAP. VIII TO these considerations I wil adde other thrée out of Sarasinus of Fermus that is death iudgement and she paines of hel which are a very necesry appendix to all that we haue treated of before The same Doctor telleth vs that to him that is newly conuerted nothing is more behouefull and requisite then the meditation of death both for that it repelleth vaine delightes as also because the practise thereof is of such facilitie as the whiche we daily viewe with our eyes and féele with our hands yea we may rather say that our surest portion is with death and that we dye continually hauing a bodie so corruptible that euery houre altereth chaungeth his shape and neuer resteth in one estate Like vnto a riuer that passeth with a furious and headlong course wherof no part can be marked throughly for it running swiftly whilest ye note one waue straight it is not the same that ye looked vppon before but is turned into another Many deuout considerations may be had cōcerning death which the matter it selfe yéeldeth sufficiently to him that aduisedly deliberateth herevpon Of which minding to collect a fewe I doo affirme that if thou intende to reforme thy life when thou risest in the morning perswade thy selfe so much as thou maiest that the same will bee the last day of thy life and dispose of thy soule and worldly affaires in suche sort as though in verie déede thou shouldest not liue one houre longer and thinke not that thou deceiuest thy selfe in so dooing for if death may attache thée euery day thou shouldest likewise daily attende his comming And farther I say vnto thée that no one day of thy life shall passe without many negligences vnlesse thou doest enforce thy selfe to beléeue that euery of them is the laste of thy life Thinke also vppon the dreadfull stroke of Death which because it is so vncertaine ought to bee feared continually And consider to howe many perilles of death we are subiected and thou shalt finde that they are innumerable as well within the bodie as without in so muche that if thou looke warily about thée thou shalt perceiue Death to be paynted in euery place and businesse Thinke also what pressures and agonies shall assault thée at the poynte of death To this consideration it shall assist thée much to beholde sometimes a man dying Marke the accidents and painefull passions of that houre howe his bodie lyeth forsaken of naturall heats his sences without force or moouing as though it were a very stone the extremities and vttermost parts waxe colds the face is turned into the colour of leade the bowles of the eyes dipped in the mouth full of fome the tongue swollen the necke winding to euery side Then marke also howe the brest beateth and panteth and is readie to burst asunder with paine the lippes waxe blewe the téethe become dumbe Finally all the bodie dissoluing it selfe and being forsaken of the soule with sorrowe inestimable the man resteth a lumpe of earth Thou perceiuing and viewing well such perplexities in other maiest likewise represent the same spectacle in thy selfe imagining that the Phisttians haue nowe giuen thée ouer as knowing the maladie to bee incurable thy friendes and kinsfolkes about thy bedde whose presence shal augment the griefe of thy departure O how dreadfull shall that separation be where welth shall not asswage thy woe but shall rather plunge thée déeper in the gulfe of calamities neyther shall honours assist thée yea thou shalt leaue them with like vehement smart as thou gottest them with gréedie desire and for thy wonted delights shalt reape the fruites of a gnawing conscience What then wilt thou doo béeing brought to this poynt what counsell wilt thou then take To go out of thy bodie will be intollerable to abide there impossible to deferre thy departure cannot be graunted thée neither maiest thou returne to thy sensuall delightes which nowe are senslesse togither but knowing thy selfe and scanning them more narrowly shalt bee abashed at thine owne brutish behauiour and if it were possible wouldest flie from thy selfe Shalt sée thy selfe beset with horrible monsters that is with thine owne sinnes of whom whither soeuer thou wandrest thou shalt be pursued and hedged in all that is passed shall séeme vnto thée as the twinkling of an eye and shalt know the time to come to be infinite Then mayest thou well say with the Prophet The dolours and daungers of death hath inclosed mée rounde about and the furie of hell hath assaulted mée By this minding and meditation of death thou shalt acquire many great commodities First thou shalt be stirred and incensed to the seruice of God the feare of
whom is the foundation of wisedome and beginning of true blisse Endeuour therefore so to arme and addresse thy selfe at all poynts that thou be not vanquished by sinne Farther shalt viewe thine owne wretchednesse and infirmities whiche will serue as a corzie to quallifie the swelling rancor of pride and to establish humilitie the very quéene and guide of all other vertues And shalt easily reiect hatefull auarice and gréedie gaping for earthly vanities For the memorie of death causeth thée to knowe that none of these thinges can be called thine which thou canst not carry with thee out of this world And thou coÌ„tinuing in this exercise vnwares thy dread shall be turned into desire and death shall not séem so terrible vnto thée for that it depriueth thée of thy temporall life as delightful and acceptable because it giueth ende to so many gréefes and miseries and giueth enterance to life and light eternall And thou shalt perceiue howe little cause thou haddest to complaine or to be sorie weighing that whilest thy bodie doth perishe and consume in the graue thy soule liueth blisfully in heauen with a firme beléefe to rise againe at the last day to life euerlasting The Argument In the seuenth consideration ought to be premeditated how seuere and rigorous Christ will be at the day of iudgement for that his countenance will then declare to the wickid beholders nothing else but furious wrath and reuenge which none can escape for there must be giuen vp an exact account of all thinges done and thought of in this world CHAP. IX EAch man proueth and perceiueth in himselfe by often experience that his vnderstanding by the apprehension of some fearfull obiect or weightie consideration retireth and coucheth closely within it selfe and for that instant repelleth easily all other idle imaginations For which cause it is most prositable counsayle that a sinner at his first conuersion exercise himselfe seriously in such cogitations for that by this meanes péeuish fansies sometime through dread sometime through wonder will be either brideled or banished quite If the memorie of death as is aforesaide hath such force to cut off and to restraine our vaine and bagraum thoughts howe much more may this be done by the remembraunce of that which insueth after death immediately whiche is Gods iudgement and the paines of hell By which meditations if thou often thinke vpon them shall be brought to passe that which Ecclesiastick affirmeth Remember thy daies whereby hee meaneth that which then shall happen vnto thee and thou shalt neuer doo amisse S. Hierome not without iust cause said Whether I eate or drinke mee thinkes still I heare the sounde of the Trumpet buzzing in my eares Arise from death and come to your iudgement Which howe terrible it shall be cannot be imagined sith all other terrours or tragedies whatsoeuer in comparison of this is nothing at all Many times God hath manifested his iudgements in this worlde as when hee drowned the worlde with the great floud when hee burned Sodome and the Cities adioyning when he strooke Egypt with diuers dreadfull plagues when he made the earth to open in the desert to swallow vp sinners all which iudgements beeing compared to that generall iudgement which shall be exercised in the last day are but shadowes but shewes and figures of the veritie If then thou desire to come to thy selfe and to gather thy wits togither with the remembraunce of this represent to thy imagination the terriblenesse of Christ thy iudge whose countenance shall declare nothing else but rigour and reuenge as at the first comming he shewed mildenesse altogither From whom thou canst not appeale to any other because he is supreme Iudge neither canst thou auoide his furie because he is most puissant and for that hee is the very fountaine and God of knowledge nothing can be concealed from him And because he hateth iniquitie out of measure hee will not suffer any sinne to be vnreuenged There thou must bee accountable of all thy transgressions debts and trespasses whereof if the least be inough to put thée in extreame danger and perplexitie who can make satisfaction for so many debtes and arrerages as shall bee exacted at thy handes Then thou shalt bee examined how thou hast vestowed thy time howe thou haste ordered thy body howe thou hast gonerned thy sences and how thou hast guided thy heart howe thou hast answered to the diuine inspirations how thou haste acknowledged so many curtesies In the which accusation thou shalt bee conuinced with so many witnesses as are the creatures which thou hast abused by sinne which then will be so stirred to reuenge the wrong done vnto their creator that if it were possible those which are immortall would dye with feare For it shall be a horror inestimable to sée the worlde all on fire the buildings and princely Pallaces ouerthrowne and torne in péeces the earth to tremble to viewe the elements to chaunge theyr course the Sunne to bee darkened the Moone and Starres to léese theyr light to beholde the death and destruction of all creatures the open gaping of graues to heare the voyce of the terrible trumpe and wofull waylings of nations to marke the discouering of consciences to regarde the monstrous deformed diuels and she inâ—â—â—nall furnace sparkling with furious flakes But of all other things shall be most terrible to looke vppon the victorious flagge of the Crosse clittering in the ayre with all the ensignes of the glorious passion of our Sauiour To sée the Iudge to charge his enemies for the making frustrate yea the reitteration of so many torments as hee hath suffered for their redemption Who might more easily endure the smart of hell paines then to sée themselues so accused and accursed of the Lord of bountie and courtesie and to be expelled from his presence to perpetuall punishment The Argument In the eight consideration we ought to premeditate vpon the intollerable terrour of hell paines which shall be perpetuall But of al those torments the most greeuous is the losse and lacke of Gods chearefull countenance without any hope for euer to gaine it againe CHAP. X. BUt it may so chance that mauger thy might for all these considerations ydle thoughts will not forsake thee though it must néedes bee a sounde fléepe and a very drowzie dreame that will not bee awaked with such incitations Yet thou must not be discomforted but howe much more difficults doo arise so much the more stoutly thou shouldest striue to atchieue thy enterprise Assay then whither the search of hell paines will bee more behouefull vnto thée concerning which two things are chiefly to be noted that is the vehemencie of their smart and the time of their continuance The least of these is able to mollifie the most stubborne and stony heart of the worlde but the which is not mooued neither with the one nor with the other is eyther dead in his soule or else beléeueth not that which the Christian faith sheweth For though the greatnesse of hell torments cannot bee imagined nor expressed filled with most iust feare If thou accustome thy selfe to such exercises aâ—â— doest perseuer therin in short space thou thalt become a newe man for by these meditations thy minde shall be brought to despise the world to shun sinne to fear these paines and to loue vertue And though at the beginning thou bee appaled and affrighted vehemently yet hand patience a while for thy colde feare shall be qualified and tempered with the heat of loue as the black night is turned by little and little into the bright shining day EINIS