euerlasting life is no man is able to conceiue much lesse able to vtter For the peace of god which is eternall life passeth all vnderstanding The eye hath not seene the eare hath not heard neither can mans harte conceiue those thinges which thou deare God hast prepared for them that loue thee Whatsoeuer therfore can be spoken or imagined of thy kingdom of the clearenes ioy and felicitie of the same is nothyng in comparison as we may see by the Prophets which because they could not otherwise vnder corporall things haue shadowed the same So that the confidence of eternall life what a thing it is can in no wise be told Howbeit some what we may be brought into some sight of it by earthly thinges to thinke on this sort If God hath geuē here so many thinges in a strange place how many are the great good thinges that be at home If in a prison are so many mercies how many are they in the palace If the wicked haue so many benefites what is the store prepared for thy seruāts O Lord If thy children finde such comfortes in the day of teares and mournyng what shall they finde in the day of the mariage If with beastes men beyng haue the vse of so innumerable blessings oh how many are the blessinges whiche they shall enioy with thy Angels and with thee thy selfe O dere God when they shal see thee and haue the fruition of thee in whome is fulnes without lothing of all good faire thinges so that nothyng can be more desired and that for euermore This thy children do not so see as they now beleue it I say that euen in their bodies they shal see it for euer as Job sayd They heleue that they shall see thee and their owne eyes beholde thee when these our corporall eyes our bodies beyng raised shall do their duties Such a knowledge of thee they beleue to haue as shall not be onely intellectuall and by faith as now it is but euen a full sight and fruition yea a comunction and felowship with thee Now they see but in a glasse euen in a darke speaking but thē they shal see face to face For faith though it be the substaunce of thinges hoped for and a certain darke sight of thee yet it may not be compared to the rewarde of faith glorious sight which we shall see in the life to come when fayth hope shall cease Now thy children know that they be thy children though it yet appeare not what they shall be We know say they that whē our Christ God and man shall appeare then shall we be lyke vnto hym for we shall see him euen as he is Oh great prerogatiue to see Christ as he is Which is not to be considered so much for the māhoode as for the Godhead it self as Paule doth also write that when all thinges are subiect vnto the sonne then shall he be subiect vnto thee deare Father also that God may be all in all And therfore Christ our sauiour praied for vs that we might know thee the onely true God Not that our Christ thy sonne is not with thee the true coequal and substanciall god but that we might know how that after the iudgement such a mystery of hys mediatourship shall not be in heauē as is now in earth Then thou blessed trinitie God the Father God the sonne and God the holy ghost shalt be all in all thou shalt be the end of our desires thou shalt be loked vpon without ende thou shalt be loued without lothyng thou shalt bee praysed without wearinesse Althoughe lothsomues be wont to folow fulnes yet our fulnes in the contemplatiō of thy pleasures shall bring with it no kinde at all of lothsomnes Sacietie of ioyes shall be in the beholding of thee Pleasures are on thy right hand for euer We shal be satiffied when we arise after thyne image I meane in the resurrection Oh deare father shew thy self vnto vs and we aske no more Oh graunt vs with thy Saintes in euerlasting lyfe to prayse wyth perpetual prayses thy holy name Happy then and happy again wer we if that day wer come that we myght sing wyth thy aungels elders and innumerable thousandes a new song say thou Christ Jesu which wast slayne art worthy to receyue power and riches and wisdome and strength honour and glory and blessyng In thys blessed lyfe all kynde of maladies griefes sorrowes and euils be farre away and all ful of all kinde of mirth ioy pleasure Oh that we might see now a litle with S. John that holy Citie new Jerusalē descending frō heauen prepared of god as a bride trimmed for her husbande Oh that we might now somethyng heare the great voyce speakyng out of the throne behold the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be hys people and he shal be vnto them their god he will wipe away all teares from their eies and death shal be no more nor wepyng nor crying nor sorrow for the former thinges are gone ¶ An other meditation of the blessed state and felicitie of the life to come THis body is but a prison wherein the soule is kept and that verely not beautifull nor bright but most foule and darke disquiet fraile and filled vp with much vermine and venemous vipers I meane it cōcerning our affections standing in an ayre most vnwholesome and prospect most lothsome if a man consider the excrementes of it by the eyes nose mouth eares hands feete and all the other partes So that no Bocardo no Little ease no Dungeon no Bishops prison no gatehouse no sincke no pit may be cōpared in any point to be so euill a prison for the body as the body is for and of the soule wherethrough the children of God haue bene occasioned to cry lament their long being in it Oh saith Dauid how long shall I lye in this prison Oh wretch that I am sayth Paule who shall deliuer me out of this body of sinne which is an heauie burden vnto the soule as the wise man sayth And therefore the godly cry now let thy seruant depart in peace Oh that I were dissolued and had put of this earthly and fraile tabernacle Take me vnto thee and bring my soule out of thys prison that it may geue thankes vnto thee O Lord. For so long as we be in thys body we can not see the Lord yea it is as an heauy habitation and depresseth downe sore the spirite fro the familiaritie which it els should haue with God This world life is an exile a vale of misery a wildernes of it self being voide of all vertues and necessaryes for eternall life full of ennemies sorrowes sighings sobbings gronings miseries c In daunger to hūger cold heate thirst sores sicknes tentations trouble death and innumerable calamities being momentanye short vnstable and nothing but vaine and therfore is cōpared to a warfare a womās trauaile a
CHRISTIAN Prayers and Meditations in English French Italian Spanish Greeke and Latine IMPRINTED at London by Iohn Daye An. 1569. IESSE DAVID SALOMŌ ABIA 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 IORAM OSIAS IOATAM AHAS ESECHIA Manss◠E R HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE Elizabeth Regina 2. PARALIPOM 6. Domine Deus Israel non est similis tui Deus in coelo in terra qui pacta custodis misericordiam cum seruis tuis qui ambulant coram te in toto corde suo ⧠Prayers to be sayd in the mornyng and first when you awake out of your sleepe pray thus MOste mercifull God and father of our Sauior Jesus Christ I moste humbly thanke thee for the sweete sleepe and comfortable rest which thou hast geuen me this night past besechyng thee that lyke as thou hast now awaked my body from sleepe so thou wouldest awake my soule from the slepe of sinne and darkenes of thys world and that which thou hast now awaked out of slepe thou wouldest after deathe wherof this sleepe is but an image restore rayse agayne to life euerlasting Oh gracious God make my body I hartely pray thee such a companion or rather a minister of godlines to my soule this day and all the tyme of this present lyfe that in the lyfe to come it may be pertaker with the same of euerlasting happines thorough Jesus Christ our Lord. * Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall shew light vnto thee Eph. 5 ¶ Occasions to meditate HEre call to mynd the great mirth and blessednes of the euerlasting resurrectiō Also remember to muse vpō that most clere light that bright mornyng and new clearenes of our bodies after the long darknes which they haue bene in All then shall be ful of vnspeakable ioyes and felicitie ⧠When you behold the day light pray O Lord God thou most glorious true lyght from whēce this light of the day sunne doth spring and shyne vnto vs O lyght which lightnest euery mā that commeth into this world O light which knowst no night nor euening but art alway a midday most cleare and fayre without whome all is most horrible darknes and by whō all things are most splendent O thou wisdome of the eternall father of mercies lighten my mynd that I may see those thynges onely which please thee and may be blynded to all other thynges Graunt me so to walke in thy wayes by the light of thy holy worde that nothing els may be lyght and pleasaunt vnto me * Lighten mine eyes O Lorde that I sleepe not in death least mine enemies say I haue preuailed against him Psal 30. ¶ Occasions to meditate MVse a while how much the light and eye of the mynde and soule is better then of the body Also how much more we ought to care for the soule that it may see wel then for the body Moreouer that beastes haue bodely eyes as well as men but men only haue eies of the mind and that such as are godly wise ⧠When you arise pray OVr first parentes cast downe themselues from a most excellent high honorable estate in to shame and misery and in to the deepe sea of all wickednesse and mischiefe but oh Christ thou puttyng forth thy hande didst rayse them vp agayne Euen so we except we be raysed vp by thee shall lye still for euer O good Christ our most gracious redemer as thou doost mercifully rayse vp now this my body euen so I beseeche thee rayse vp my mynde and harte to the true knowledge and loue of thee that my conversation may be in heauen where thou art * If you be risen with Christ thinke vpon those thinges that be aboue Colloss 3. ¶ Occasions to meditate THinke how foule the fall of Adam was by reason of sinne and so of euery one of vs from the height of gods grace Againe thinke vppon the inestimable benefite of Christ by whose helpe we daily arise agayne from our fallynges ⧠When you are made redy to begin the day withall pray O Almighty God most mercifull father thou knowest hast taught vs also somethyng to knowe that the weaknes of man and woman is great that without thy grace they can neither do nor thinke any good thing Haue mercy vpon me I hūbly beseche thee thy most weake fraile and vnworthy chylde Lighten my mynde that I may with pleasure looke vpon good thinges onely Enflame my hart with the loue therof that I may carefully couete them and at the last by thy gracious cōducting may happely attayne them thorough Jesus Christ our Lorde I distrustyng altogether myne owne weakenes commende and offer my selfe both soule and body into thy handes * Thy louyng spirite leade me forth into the lande of righteousnes Psal 143. ⧠Cogitations meete to begin the day withall THinke first that man consisteth of soule body and that the soule is from heauen heauenly firme and immortall but the body is from the earth earthly fraile and mortall Agayne thinke that though by reason of sinne wherein you are conceyued and borne the partes of the soule which do vnderstand and desire be so corrupte that without speciall grace to both partes you can neither know nor loue any good thyng in gods sight much lesse then do that is good yet this notwithstandyng thynke that you are regenerate by Christes resurrection which your baptisme requireth you to beleue and therefore to do also some good in the sight of God through Christ for whose sake our poore doynges are accepted for good the euill and infirmitie cleauing therunto not beyng imputed through faith Thinke that by fayth which is gods séede for they which beleue are of God and made Gods children geuen to those that be ordeyned to eternall life thinke I say that by fayth you receiue more and more the spirit of sanctification through the vse of Gods worde and sacramentes and earnest prayer to illuminate your minde vnderstanding iudgement and reason and to bow forme frame and inflame your affections with loue and power to do that that good is and therfore vse you the means aforesaid accordingly Thinke that by this spirite you are thorough faith coupled to Christ as a liuely member and so to God and as it were made one with hym and by loue which springeth out of this faith you are made one also with all that be of God and so you haue fellowship with God and all good men that euer were or shall be in all the good that God and all his saintes haue or shall haue Thinke that as by faith and loue through the spirite of God you are now entred into this communion the blessednes whereof no tounge can expresse so after thys lyfe you shall first in soule and in the last day in body also enioy for euer the same societie most perfectly which now is but begonne in you Thinke in consideration of your heauenly estate how your body is the temple of
the holy ghost your mēbers of Christ the whole worlde and all thinges therein are your owne Therfore say vnto your soule O my soule arise follow God contemne this world purpose well and pursue it long for the Lordes commyng be ready and watch that he come not vpon thée vnwares And forsomuch as you must liue to Gods pleasure sée the vocation and state of your life wherunto God hath called you and pray to god for grace knowlege and habilitie to take the most profitable thinges in hand well to begin better to go on and best of all to ende the same to Gods glory and the profite of others and thinke that tyme lost wherin you speake not or do not or at tho least thinke not something to Gods glory and the commoditie of his children ⧠At the sunne going downe pray HOw vnhappy are they O Lorde on whō thy Sunne goeth downe and geueth no lyght I meane thy grace which is always cleare as the midday Darke night vnto thē is the midday which depart from thee In thee is neuer night but alwayes day light most cleare This corporall Sunne hath his courses now vp now down but thou deare Lord if we loue thee art alwayes one O that thys blocke and veile of sinne were taken away frō me that there might be alwayes cleare day in my mynde ¶ Occasion to meditate THinke that as we are not sory when the sunne goeth downe because we know it will rise agayne euen so we should not sorrow for death wherwith the soule and body do parte asunder for they shall eftsones returne and come together agayne in most glorious wise ⧠When the candels be light pray MOst thicke and darke cloudes do couer our myndes excepte thy light O Lord do driue them away Thy Sunne O most wise worker is as it were a firebrand to this worlde Thy wisdome whereby light commeth to both soule and body is a firebrand to the spirituall world After day when the night commeth thou hast geuen for the remedy of darknes a candell After sinne for the remedy of ignoraunce thou hast geuen thy doctrine which thy deare sonne hath brought vnto vs. O thou that art the author and maister of al truth and art the true lyght make vs so to see that the dimnes of our myndes may be driuen cleane away * Thy worde is a lanterne to my feete a light vnto my pathes Psal 4. * Lift thou vp the light of thy countenaunce vpon vs and send ioy and gladnes into our hartes ¶ Occasions to meditate THinke that the knowledge which God geueth vnto vs by the candel light wherby we see those thyngs in this night of our bodies which are expedient for vs should make vs to wishe much more for this spirituall light of our soules this doctrine of our saluation and when we gette it the more to esteme it and diligently to embrace it Agayne that as all would be horrour without candell light so there is nothing but meere confusion where Gods worde taketh not place ⧠When you make your selfe vnready pray THys our lyfe and weake knit body by reason of sinne by little and little shall be dissolued and so shall be restored to the earth from whence it was taken then will be an ende of this vanitie which by our folly we haue wrought to our selues O most meke father so do thou vntie loose me for thou art he that hast knit these my weak members together that I may perceiue my selfe to be loosed and dissolued so may remember both of whome I was made and also whether I must go least I be had vnprouided vnto thy tribunall seate * Put of the olde man with hys lustes and concupiscences Col. 3 Ephe. 4. ¶ Occasion to meditate THinke that as we do willingly put of our garmentes because we shall receiue them againe when the night is past so we should not vnwillingly forsake our bodies when God by death shal call vs because we shall receyue them againe in the resurrection of the iust ⧠When you enter into your bed pray THe day now ended men geue thēselues to rest in the nyght and so this lyfe finished we shall rest in death Nothing is more like this life thē euery day nothing more lyke death thē slepe nothyng more like to our graue then our bed O Lord our keper and defender graunt that I now laying me downe to rest beyng vnable to keepe my selfe may be preserued from the crafts and assaultes of the wicked enemy And graunt further that when I haue runne the race of this lyfe thou wouldest of thy mercy call me vnto thee that I may lyue and watche with thee for euermore And now gracious God geue me to take my rest in thee and bring to passe that thy goodnes may be euen in sleepe before mine eyes that slepyng I be not absent from thee but may haue my dreams to draw me vnto thee so both soule and body may be kept pure and holy for euer * I will lay me downe in peace and take my rest Psal 4. ⧠An other prayer O Lord Jesus Christ my watchman and keper take me to thy care graunt that my body slepyng my minde may watch in thee and be made mery by some sight of that celestiall and heauenly life wherin thou art the king prince together with the father and the holy ghost where the Aungels and holy spirits be most happy citizens Oh purify my soule keepe cleane my body that in both I may please thee sleping waking for euer Amen ¶ Occasion to meditate THinke that as this troublesome day is now past and night come and so rest quietnes and pleasant sléepe which maketh most excellent princes and poore wretches alike euen so after the tumultes troubles temptations and tempestes of thys life they that beleue in Christ haue prepared for them an hauen and rest most pleasant and ioyfull As you are not afraid to enter into your bedde and to dispose your selfe to sléepe so be not afraid to die but rather cherefully prepare your selfe therunto Thinke that now you are néerer your ende by one dayes iourney then you were in the morning ⧠A prayer to God the Father for the true knowledge of the mystery of our redemption in Christ. O Almighty God Father of our Lorde Jesus Christ and by him also our father the father of all mercy and God of all consolation haue mercy vpon vs and heare our prayers We most humbly beseche thee for thy deare sonne Jesus Christes sake for his merites and cruell death which he suffred to deliuer vs from eternall death and the power of darknes send into our hartes thy spirite of truth to worke in vs a true liuely and stedfast faith that the cleare light and brightnes of thy gospell the glory of Christ may shine vnto vs lighten our mindes that we may learne vnderstand the wonderfull vnspeakable riches of the mystery of our redemption
humilitie and payedst the price of our raunsome by thy most bitter death and passion for the which I most hartely geue thankes to thee so of the same thy loue towardes vs in thy good time thou wilt come againe in the cloudes of heauen with power and great glory with flaming fire with thousandes of saintes with angels of thy power with a mighty cry shoute of an Archangell and blast of a trumpe sodenly as a lightning which shineth from the East c. when men thinke least euen as a thiefe in the night when mē be a slepe thou wilt so come I say thus sodainly in the twincklyng of an eie all men that euer haue bene be and shall be with women and children appearyng before thy tribunall iudgemēt seat to render an accompt of all thinges which they haue thought spoken and done against thy law openly and before all Aungels saintes and Deuils and so to receiue the iust reward of thy vengeaunce if that they haue not repented obeyed the gospell and so depart from thee to the Deuill his angels and all the wicked which euer haue bene be or shall be into hell fire which is vnquencheable and of paynes intolerable easeles endeles hopeles euen from the feare of thy glorious mighty power But if they haue repented and beleued thy gospel if they be found watching with their lampes oyle in their handes if they be found ready appareled with the wedding garmēt of innocency if they haue not hardened their hartes hourded vp the treasure of thy vengeaunce in the day of wrath to be reuealed but haue vsed the tyme of grace the acceptable tyme the time of saluatiō that is the time of this lyfe in the which thou stretchest out thy hande and spreadest thine armes calling and crying vnto vs to come vnto thee which art meeke in hart and lowly for thou wilt ease all that labour and are heauy loden if they haue visited the sicke and prisoners comforted the comfortlesse fedde the hungry clothed the naked lodged the harbourles if they haue not loden their hartes with glotony and surfeting and carefulnes of this life if they haue not digged and hid their talent in the ground doing no good therwith but haue bene faithfull to occupy thy gifts to thy glory and here washed their garmentes in thy bloud by harty repentance then shal thy aungels gather them together not as the wicked which shall be collected as fagots cast into the fire but as the good wheate that is gathered into thy barne then shall they be caught vp to meete thee in the clouds then shall their corruptible body put on incorruption then shall they be indued with immortality and glory then shall they be with thee and goe whether thou goest then shal they heare Come blessed of my Father possesse the kingdome prepared for you from the beginning c. then shall they be set on seates of maiestie iudging the whole worlde then shall they raigne with thee for euer then shall God be all in all with them and to them thē shal they enter and enherite the heauenly Jerusalem and the glorious restfull land of Canaan where is alwayes day and neuer night where is no maner of weping teares infirmitie hunger colde sickenes enuy malice nor sinne but alwayes ioy wtout sorow mirth without measure pleasure wtout paine heauenly harmony most pleasant melody saying and singing holy holy Lorde God of hostes c. Finally the eye hath not seene the eare hath not heard neither hath it entred into the harte of man that they shall then enherite and most surely enioy althogh here they be tormented prisoned burned sollicited of Sathan tempted of the flesh and entangled with the worlde wherethrough they are enforced to cry Thy kingdome come Come Lord Iesu c. How amiable are thy tabernacles Lyke as the harte desireth the water brookes c. Now let thy seruaunt departe in peace I desire to be dissolued and to be with Christ We mourne in our selues wayting for the deliueraunce of our bodies c. Oh gracious Lord when shall I find such mercy with thee that I may repent beleue hope and looke for these thinges with the full fruition of those heauenly ioyes which thou hast prepared for all thē that feare thee and so rest with thee for euermore ⧠A meditation concerning the lyfe euerlastyng the place where it is and the incomparable ioyes therof THat there is an enerlasting life none wil deny but such as wil deny God For if he be true iust which he must needes be or els he is not God then can there not be but an eternall life That he hath both spoken it and promised it in Math. 25. 1. Cor. 16. Hebr. 4. 11. 13. 1. Petr. 1. it plainly appeareth and els where in very many places So that to deny an euerlasting lyfe is to deny God to deny Christ and all that euer he did also to deny all pietie religion to condemne of foolishnes all good men martyrs confessors Euangelistes Prophetes Patriarckes Finally the deniall of eternal life is no thing els but a deniall of the immortalitie of the soule and so a plaine making of man no thing better then beastes If it be so let vs then eate and drinke for to morow we shall die Lord preserue vs frō this Saduceal and Epicureall impietie and graunt vs for thy mercies sake deare God that we may be assuredly perswaded that there is in deede an eternall life and blisse wyth thee for them that put their trust in thee amongst whome accompt me for thy mercies sake Agayne this eternall lyfe and the place appoynted for them that be thy seruauntes all men do graunt to be wyth thee Albeit they do not think that because thou art euery where therfore eternall life is euery where For they by thy worde do know that in as much as no man can see thee and liue this eternall lyfe and thy blessed presence is most pleasant and had in fruition after in an other world wher unto by corporall death they do depart and are translated to a place aboue them where thou dwellest in a light whervnto no man can approche Abrahams bosome they read was aboue as the place for the wicked was a lowe and beneath Helias was caught vp into heauen and thy sonne our deare sauiour prayed that where he is those also might be which thou hadst geuē him and might se his glory Now he deare father we learne by thy spirite was ascended and taken vp in his very body into heauen whether Steuen loked vp and sawe thy Christ standing on thy right hand to whom he prayed Oh Lorde Iesu receiue my spirite Graunt I beseche thee gracious god and father that I may haue a cleane hart more more to see thee and so in spirite to see and loke often vpō this place whether bring me at the length in body also I humbly pray thee Now what a thyng this
shadow a smoke a vapour a worde a storme a tempest in the which Gods people feele great molestations greefes troubles now of Sathan him selfe now of the world now of their owne flesh and that so wonderfully diuersly daungerously contrarily that they are enforced to cry Oh Lorde when shall we come and appeare before thee when shall this misery end when shall we be deliuered out of this vale of miserye out of thys wildernes out of thys continuall affliction and most perilousseas But where thou art Lorde and deare father of mercy there is not only no prison no dolours no sorow no sighinges no teares no sicknes no hūger no heate no colde no paine no temtations no displeasure no malice no pride no vncleannes no cōtention no tormentes no horrour no sin no filth no stinch no dearth no death no weeping no teares no misery nor mischiefe there is I say not onely no such thing or any e-euill noysome or displeasaunt thing but all libertie all light all pleasauntnes all ioy reioysing mirth pleasure pastime health wealth riches glory power treasure honour triumph comfort solace loue vnitie peace concord wisdome vertue melody meekenes felicitie beatitude and all that euer can bee wished or desired in most securitie eternitie and perpetuitie that may be thought not onely of man but of Angels and Archangels yea aboue all thoughtes The eye hath not seene the like the eare hath not heard it nor no hart is able to conceaue in any poynt any part of the blisfull beatitude which is with thee most deare God and Father most deare Lorde and Sauiour most gratious good God and comforter Where thou art O blessed God the Archaungels Aungels Thrones powers dominations Cherubins Ceraphins Patriarkes Prophets Apostles Martyrs Virgins Confessors and righteous spirites cease not to sing night and day Holy Holy Holy Lorde God of hostes honor maiestie glory power empire and dominion be vnto thee oh God the creator oh Lord Jesu the redemer oh holy spirite the comforter In recordation of thys Oh how thy childrē reioyce how contemne they the pleasures of thys worlde how litle esteme they any corporall greefe or shame how desire they to bee with thee How amiable are thy tabernacles Oh Lorde God of hostes say they my soule hath a desire to enter into the courtes of the Lorde my hart and my soule reioyceth in the lyuyng God Blessed are they that dwell in thy house they that may alwayes be praysing thee For one day in thy courtes is better then a thousand els where I had rather be a doore keper in the house of my God then to dwell in the tentes of vngodlines for the Lord God is a light defence And againe lyke as the Hart desireth the water brookes so longeth my soule after thee Oh God my soule is a thyrst for God yea euen for the liuing God When shall I come to appeare before the presence of God My soule thirsteth for thee my flesh also longeth after thee in a barren and dry land where no water is They thy childrē I meane O Lord desire the day of that their redemption stil they cry let thy kingdō come they cry Come Lord Jesu they lift vp their heades lookyng for thy appearing Oh Lorde which will make their vile body lyke to thine owne glorious immortall body for when thou shalt appeare they shall be like vnto thee Thy Aungels will gather them together they shall meete thee in the cloudes and bee alwayes with thee They shall heare thys ioyfull voyce Come ye blessed of my father possesse the kingdome prepared for you from the beginning Then shall they be like to thy Aungells Then shall they be like vnto the Sunne in thy kyngdome Then shall they haue crownes of glory and be endued with white garmentes of innocēcie and righteousnes and Palmes of victory in their handes Oh happy is he that may but see that immortall and incorruptible inheritance which they shall enioy for euermore Amen ¶ A Meditation of the presence of God THere is nothyng that maketh more to true godlines of life then the perswasion of thy presēce deare father and that nothyng is hyd from thee but all to thee is open and naked euē the very thoughtes which one day thou wilt reueale and open either to our praise or punishment in thys life as thou diddest Dauids faultes which he dyd secretly 2. Reg. 12. or in the lyfe to come Math. 25. for nothyng is so hid that shall not be reuealed Therfore doth the Prophet say Woe to thē that keepe secrete their thoughtes to hide theyr counsell from the Lorde and do their workes in darknes saying who seeth vs Graunt to me therefore deare God mercy for all my sinnes especially my hid and close sinnes Enter not into iudgement with me I humbly besech thee Geue me to beleue truely in thy Christ that I neuer come into iudgement for thē that with Dauid I might so reueale them and confesse them vnto thee that thou wouldest couer thē And graunt further that hence forth I alwayes thinke myself cōtinually cōuer saunt before thee so that if I do well I passe not of the publishing of it as hypocrites doe If I do or thinke any euill I may forthwith know that the same shall not alwayes be hid from men Graunt me that I may alwayes haue in minde that day wherin hyd workes of darknes shall be illumined and also that sentence of thy sonne that nothing is so secret which shall not bee reuealed So in trouble and wrong I shall finde comfort and otherwise be kept through thy grace frō euil which do thou worke I humbly besech thee for Christes sake Amen ⧠A Meditation of death and the commodities it bringeth WHat other thing do we dayly in thys present life then heape sinne vppon sinne and hourde vp trespasse vpon trespasse so that thys day is worse alwayes then yesterday by encreasing as dayes so sinnes and therefore thy indignation good Lorde agaynst vs but when we shall be let goe out of the prison of thys body and so taken into thy blessed company then shall we be in most safety of immortalitie and saluation thē shall come vnto vs no sicknes no nede no paine no kind of euill to soule or body but what soeuer good we cā wish that shall we haue and what soeuer we loth shall be farre from vs. O deare father that we had fayth to beholde these thinges accordingly Oh that our hartes were perswaded therof and our affections enflamed with the desire of them Then should we liue in longing for that which now we most loth O helpe vs and graūt that we being ignorant of thinges to come and of the tyme of our death which to thee is certain may so liue and finishe our iourney here that we may be ready and then depart when our departing may make most to thy glory our comfort through Christ What is thys lyfe but a smoke a vapour
also inwardly so reforme and renew her that she may be accōpted worthy of thee her spouse through Iesus Christ our lord Amē ¶ A prayer taken out of the same Psalme WE acknowledge O Almighty God wyth how daungerous spotte of sinnes we haue defiled our soules which beyng most greuous and sorrowfull vnto vs and we not able with our owne power nor by any kinde of good workes to washe away the same spottes this onely refuge is left vs to flie vnto thee the fountaine of mercy that it may please thee to haue pitie vpon vs to washe away our iniquities to blot out our sinnes and cleanse the corruptions wherunto we are from our birth and conception subiect For when thou shalt haue freely liberally pardoned the offences and misdoinges wher with we are loden then shalt thou appeare most true faithful constant in thy promises Vouchsaue to sprinckle vs with the bloude of of thine onely sonne by which alone our body and soule may be restored to perfect and healthfull gladnes We craue to haue a new hart created in our bodies and to haue a principall spirite geuen vs wherby not as by constraint but earnestly hartily and willingly we may offer to thee the sacrifice of an afflicted and abased courage which thou art wont neuer to despise Finally that so beyng made cleane and purified by thy fauour and mercy we may alway offer to thee sacrifices of prayse through Iesus Christ our Lord Amen ⧠Domine exaudi PSALME CII I It seemeth that this prayer was appoynted to the faithfull to pray in the captiuitie of Babilon A consolation for the buildyng of the churche whereof followeth the prayse of God to be published vnto all posterities The conuersion of the Gentiles and the stabilitie of the church HEare my prayer O Lord and let my cry come in vnto thee Hide not thy face from me in the tyme of trouble encline thyne eares vnto me when I call O heare me and that right soone For my dayes are consumed away like smoke my bones are brent vp as with a firebrand My hart is smitten downe and withered like grasse so that I forget to eat my bread For the voice of my groning my bones will scant cleaue to my flesh I am become lyke a Pellicane in the wildernes lyke an Owle that is in the desert I haue watched and am euen as a sparrow that sitteth alone vpon the house top Mine enemies reuile me all the day long and they that are mad vpon me are sworne together against me For I haue eaten ashes as it were breade and mingled my teares with weping And that because of thyne indignation and wrath for thou hast taken me vp and cast me downe My dayes are gone lyke a shadow and I am withered like grasse But thou O Lorde shalt endure for euer and thy remembraunce throughout all generations Thou shalt arise and haue mercy vppon Sion for it is tyme that thou haue mercy vpon her yea the tyme is come And why thy seruauntes thinke vppon her stones and it pitieth them to see her in the dust The heathen shall feare thy name O Lorde and all the kinges of the earth thy maiestie When the Lord shall build vp Sion and when his glory shall appeare When he turneth him vnto the prayer of the poore destitute and despiseth not theyr desire This shall be written for those that come after and the people whiche shall be borne shall prayse the Lord. For he hath looked downe from his sanctuary out of the heauen did the Lord beholde the earth That he might heare the mourninges of suche as be in captiuitie and deliuer the children appointed vnto death That they may declare the name of the lord in Sion and his worship at Jerusalem When the people are gathered together and the kyngdomes also to serue the Lord. He broughte downe my strength to my iourney and shortned my dayes But I said O my God take me not away in the middest of myne age as for thy yeares they endure throughout all generations Thou Lord in the beginning hast layde the foundations of the earth and the heauens are the workes of thy handes They shall perish but thou shalt endure they shal all wax olde as doth a garment And as a vesture shalt thou chaunge them and they shall be chaunged but thou art the same and thy yeares shall not faile The children of thy seruants shall continue and their seede shall stand fast in thy sight A prayer taken out of the CII Psalme OF our selues O almighty God we are vnwoorthy that our prayers shoulde haue accesse vnto thee forasmuch as we haue daily broken thy law and commaundemēts and haue liued not accordyng to thy gospell and our vocation But thou of thy mercifulnes hide not away thy face from our prayers supplications For we are greuously vexed and assaulted with great perils Wherfore bow down thine eare vnto vs and spedily graunt fauour to vs that call vppon thee First we craue to be releued of our sinnes and offences that our feble hart may be strengthened in thy way and that thou do moisten the consumed strength of our soule with thy holy spirite that we may liue to thee and being restored renewed we may make thy name and thy gospell to be well reported Then we pray thee to turne thy force and power against those that slaunder and blaspheme the name of thy sonne and his holy doctrine Haue mercy now we beseche thee on Zion that is thy churche for now it seemes to be tyme that thou shew her thy fauour Looke downe we pray thee from thy hie habitation and behold our calamities Heare the groning of those that be bound beaten and in maruelous wise tormēted for thy names sake Saue thy sheepe out of so great daungers which are not onely put to death but also cursedly threatened with extreme damnation by Antichrist that yet at length thy childrē may liue with rest and quietnes in thy presence through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen ¶ An other out of the same Psalme OAlmighty father the company of the faithfull craueth thy helpe which is cruelly oppressed wyth the tiranny of sinne so as the oily moisture of godlines is almost dried vp in them their mouth is stopped that it cannot syng thy prayses and there is in a maner in the whole body no one member that doth his duetie to relieue an other Wherfore thou that art alwayes one rise vp to succour vs for now we thinke it tyme for thee to helpe thy afflicted church This if we shall obtaine we doubt not that the feare of thy name true godlines shall be largely spread abroad For if thou shalt rescue the people from so greuous miseries thou shalt make men know that thy truth endureth alway cōstant and vnremoued which euer remaneth one toward thine elect how so euer heauen and earth be tossed with chaunges and shaken til they perishe By this thy truth not of
our owne strengthes and deseruinges but by thy louing and mercifull working we pray to be saued and restored thorough Iesus Christ our Lord Amen ⧠Deprofundis cla PSALME CXXX ¶ The people of God from their bottomles miseries do cry vnto God and are heard They confesse their sinnes and flee vnto Gods mercy OUt of the depe haue I called vnto thee O Lord Lord heare my voyce O let thine eares consider wel the voyce of my cōplaint If thou Lorde wilt be extreme marke what is done amisse oh Lord who may abyde it For there is mercy with thee therfore shalt thou be feared I looke for the Lorde my soule doth wait for him in his word is my trust My soule flyeth vnto the Lorde before the mornyng watch I say before the morning watch O Israell trust in the Lord for with the lord there is mercy and with him is plenteous redemption And he shall redeme Israel from all his sinnes ¶ A prayer taken out of the same Psalme THou art oft wont O almighty God greuously to afflict thy faythfull people that thereby they may retourne to thee with feruent and perfect repentaunce whereof nowe in thy churche we haue experience in these most troublesome times For we that heretofore haue infinite wayes bene vnthankfull to thee haue daily broken thy law are oftentimes so vexed with the fiercenes of the diuell and his seruantes that we are constrained to cry to thee out of the most depe pitte of our miseries to pray thee that thou wilt not so seuerely punishe our sinnes If thou O God be determined to marke and punish our iniquities according to their deseruinges which of vs shall be so cleane and holy that he shall be able to stand before thy righteousnes But sith we knowe that thou art full of exceding mercy we do both morning euening loke vp for thy helpe Although therefore our offences be many yet it may please thee of thy most plentifull goodnes and mercy to succour vs that beyng deliuered from these instant perils and from the miseries that oppresse vs we may both beleue and report that with thee alone is true redemption through Iesus Christ our Lord Amen An other prayer taken out of the same psalme FOrasmuch as O almighty God we are continually tossed in the depe sea of temptations ▪ and are not able of our selues to withstand them we do for our great necessitie beseche thee mercifully to relieue vs. For if thou beyng iudge and examiner of all our doynges shalt narrowly marke all our offences against thee and rigorously punish them who shall be able to stand before thy throne Wherefore sithe there is with thee great and infinite clemency as our only trust is therin so we beseche thee that our iniquities may therby be redeemed With this onely confidence we are daily hourely nourished and do trust that thou wilt neuer forget the true Israell that is thy church Graunt therfore we pray thee that we may obtayne of thee pardon of our sinnes as the true and perfect fruite of this affiaunce thorough Iesus Christ our Lord Amen ⧠Domine exaudi PSALME CXLIII ¶ An earnest prayer for remission of sinnes acknowledging that the enemies did thus cruelly persecute hym by Gods iust iudgement He desireth to be restored to grace to be gouerned by his holy spirite that he maye spende the remnaunt of his life in the true feare and seruice of God HEare my praier O lord and consider my desire hearken vnto me for thy truth righteousnes sake And enter not into iudgement with thy seruaunt for in thy sight shall no man liuyng be iustified For the enemy hath persecuted my soule he hath smiten my life downe to the ground he hath layd me in the darkenes as the men that haue bene long dead Therfore is my spirit vexed within me and my hart with in me is desolate Yet doo I remember the tyme past I muse vppon all thy workes yea I exercise my selfe in the workes of thy handes I stretch forth my handes vnto thee my soule gaspeth vnto thee as a thirstie land Heare me O Lord and that soone for my spirite waxeth faint hide not thy face frō me least I be like vnto them that go downe into the pit O let me heare thy louyng kindnes betymes in the mornyng for in thee is my trust shew thou me the way that I should walke in for I lift vp my soule vnto thee Deliuer me O Lord from mine enemies for I flie vnto thee to hide me Teache me to do the thing that pleaseth thee for thou art my god let thy louyng spirite lead me forth into the land of righteousnes Quicken me O Lorde for thy names sake and for thy righteousnesse sake bryng my soule vnto thee And of thy goodnes slea myne enemies and destroy all them that vexe my soule for I am thy seruaunt ¶ A prayer taken out of the 143. Psalme WE do earnestly desire O lord God that thou wilt encline to our common petitions and for thy truth and mercies sake heare the prayers that we poure out before thee And we deny not that the sinnes wherwith we haue greuously offēded thee do not so deserue But if thou wouldest deale with vs by extremitie of thy law iudgement and dryue vs to seuere trial forasmuch as no mortall man yea no creature be the same neuer so pure and holy were able to abide it we also without doubte must nedes be condemned and not able to stand before thy iudgemēt seat in thy presence It may therefore please thee with thine accustomed clemency and pity to behold how vehemently our ennemy pursueth our soules wherby we are so vexed and ouercome that our case semeth litle to differ from the estate of the dead so sore is our spirit accombred within vs and our harte astonied Yet do we wel remember of thy former and auncient mercy wherby thou art wont wondrously to succour thine elect whē theyr cases are most dispaired Wherefore now we doo not onely lift vp our handes but also with all our hartes we crye to thee that thou wilt deliuer thy church frō thyne enemies and so gouerne vs wyth thy good spirit that hereafter we may accordyng to thy wil good pleasure faithfully do those things that are vpright and holy beyng brought out of this distresse reuiued by thy strengthe and helpe through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen ¶ An other out of the same Psalme SO great O Lorde is our wante of righteousnesse that all such as are well in structed with thy spirite do well know how vnable we are to stande before thy iudgement Therfore when we wey our deseruinges our spirite fayleth and our harte is amased But by and by we turne to thy mercy and do confesse that our vnrighteousnesse commeth not of our self but is thy worke Vpholden and encouraged with thee we flie to thy fauour in our perils of this lyfe For vnlesse thou doo helpe vs we