Resurrection of thy Sonne when wée were worthy to be condemned for sanctifying vs by the Holy Ghost being by nature vile for preseruing vs hitherto and that in safetie by thy prouidence and for thy fatherly prouiding for vs all things necessarie to this present morning and for that thine assured and most comfortable promise that thou wilt glorifie vs in the heauens with thée after this mortall and miserable life ended And wee praise thy great and gracious goodnesse for so mercifully preseruing vs this night past from all dangers and for that thou hast giuen vs comfortable rest and sléepe in the same whereby our weake bodies are refreshed and haue receiued the more strength and power to enter into this day and to vndertake the workes of our callings and because by reason of the corruption of our natures we are pressed downe with dulnesse and beclouded with ignorance so as wee cannot rightly vnderstand nor truely performe our duties either in thy seruice or our owne worldly functions without thy blessing we here vpon the knées of our hearts doe humbly and heartily pray thée for Jesus Christ thy beloued Sonnes sake to assist vs with thy Holy Spirit that these our praises and prayers may bee accepted of thée and that our ignorance may be banished by the light of thy holy Spirit that wee may plainely sée and perceiue our owne errors and wants the detestablenesse of our sinnes and through his bloud obtaine pardon of all our imperfections and defects with liuely and effectuall renewing of our obedience to thée in all our workes wordes and duties this day Remember not O Lord the sinnes we haue committed nor our neglect of the duties we haue omitted call not to minde the transgressions of our youth which we haue forgotten nor looke vpon the wickednesse of our riper yéeres which doe presse vs downe through the sense of thy seuere iudgements threatned against vs for them and let thy grace we humbly beséech thée from henceforth euer beeextended towards vs vouchsafe thy holy Spirit vnto vs euermore to direct vs that neither the weaknesse dulnesse and peruersnesse of our owne natures in doing that which is good nor the strength of our naturall inclinations to doe that which is euill be any hinderance to the worke of thy grace in vs. But so much the more good Father watch euer vs that neither Sinne nor Satan preuaile against vs that wee obtayning at thy hands this great mercy may the more fréely chéerfully prosperously passe this day and that our labours being taken in hand in thy feare may through thy blessing succéede to thine owne glorie our comfort and to the good of them whom they may concerne And forasmuch as the passing through this world is many wayes euery where dangerous and full of perils by reason not only of Satans malice but also by reason of the practices of our corporall enemies our owne infirmities crosses losses troubles and many miseries Assist vs gracious God and leuing Father that we may escape all these inconueniences and not to fall into any sinne or corporal danger this day but rest secure and safely protected vnder thy power and prouidence and carry our selues vpright in all our actions through Christ our Lord. Amen O Lord increase our faith A Prayer in the Euening for priuate Families O Gracious Lord God and most leuing Father in Jesus Christ wee thy most vnworthy seruants doe humbly intreate thée to accept from vs in his Name our vnfained thanks for the manifold pledges of thy loue towards vs. Thou hast made vs and not wee our selues and where thou mightest haue made vs beasts thou hast formed and shaped vs men and women and furnished vs with many spirituall blessings besides infinite corporall comforts which not onely this day now presently past but all the dayes of our liues doe witnesse for day vnto day vttereth thy goodnesse towards vs and night vnto night approueth thy prouidence ouer vs. The day is now past darknes is gone ouer our heads resembling rightly our ignorance for without the light and knowledge of thy sauing Truth we liue in darknesse in the strongest and most glorious light of the Sunne The eye of the body may bee light when the vnderstanding as touching heauenly things may be so dark as not able to apprehend our owne wants and imperfections Thus O Lord doe wee acknowledge our hearts to bee eclipsed with the dulnesse and blindnesse of our naturall reason and vnderstanding whereby we yet are able and doe onely séeke and search finde and follow the forbidden vanities of this wretched life tasting and vsing them with carnall pleasure and forbidden delight as the sins which wee haue committed this day and the good duties we haue omitted doe testifie against vs to our shame this euening and yet such is thy great goodnesse and mercy towards vs as thou this day in our ignorance hast instructed vs in our blindnesse hast guided vs in our necessities reléeued vs in our wearinesse refreshed vs now brought vs to the euening of this last day wherein wee haue liued and that in safetie so that wee cannot but acknowledge this day to haue béene a day added by thy blessing to thy former manifold fauours which we haue daily receiued at thy hands possible it is not for vs to number vp the benefits and blessings which thou hast bestowed vpon vs through all our life they are numberlesse yet wretches that wee are wee haue as it were striued to equalize nay rather to exceede thy blessing in the number of our transgressions Our naturall corruption the sinne of Adam cleaueth vnto vs his posteritie so fast as it hath filled vs euen from our conception with the séedes of all euill so that we brought that into the world with vs which without thy grace and frée pardon in Christ cannot but confound vs But thou hast giuen thy Sonne Jesus Christ a meanes of propitiation in whom thou reconcilest all that beléeue in him vnto thy selfe Therefore haue we boldnesse through him to intreat thée of pardon for all the sinnes we haue euery one of vs committed this day as our euill thoughts idle words and wicked actions whereby thou hast béene euen this day iustly prouoked against vs besides our former abusing of thy patience and despising of thy Word whereby thou threatnest to punish sinners and whereby thou hast promised to blesse and comfort them that serue thée in truth Thou mayst iustly condemne vs also for our vnthankefulnesse for thy mercies especially for our vnfaithfulnesse in not beléeuing thy promises But now Lord wee beséech thée that the old man our corruption by the new man thy Spirit sinne may bee abandoned and cast out that sinne no longer haue dominion ouer vs mortifie in vs the whole bodie of sinne and so clense vs that we carry not vnto our beds this night any dregs of the same but may bee fully washed through thy Sons bloud from euery spot stayne that
meanes as by the ayre wherein I breathe and moue and by foode which nourisheth bloud the vitall spirits and outward members visible to men yet in the same house of clay there is a spirituall and an inuisible life which is nourished in a more diuine manner not by bread that perisheth but by the word of God which worketh faith the life of the soule which feedeth on things that are aboue and not on things of the earth And therefore doth the Spirit of God for instruction lay downe before the sonnes of men the fruits both of the one and of the other of the flesh and of the spirit which are contrary one to the other to shewe what bitter fiuits proceede of the flesh to moue man to flie them and the sweet fruits of the Spirit to allure vs to follow them The fruits of the flesh saith Saint PAVL are manifest meaning indeed too common which are Adultery Fornication Uncleannesse Wantonnesse Idolatry Witchcraft Hatred Debate Emulations Wrath Contentions Seditions Heresies Enuie Murder Drunkennesse Gluttony and such like affirming also that they that do such things shall not inherit the Kingdome of heauen A fearefull conclusion against those onely that with delight cōmit them for that they are so contrarie to the Law of the Spirit which produceth Loue Ioy Peace Long suffering Gentlenesse Goodnesse Faith Meekenesse Temperance against such there is no Law But here ariseth and I doe apprehend a fearefull fallacie to lye hidden in the performance of these spirituall workes for as I may flatter my selfe to bee spirituall and yet be more carnall so may I censure a man carnall that is more spirituall for the performance of these spirituall works as it were literally and in outward shew is meere carnalitie ostentation tending to Pharisaicall glorie better fruits proceede not from mee by nature then to seem what indeed I am not sincere and pure religious holy counterfaiting the workes of the Spirit by a kinde of outward imitation of men indeede truely sanctified And aboue all other sins this which is hypocrisie is most to be condemned for that it deceiues not onely other men but the counterfeit himselfe But being indeede endued with the quickning Spirit which causeth me to die vnto the world and the vaine-glorie thereof then shall I inwardly and spiritually liue vnto God and the works that I shall doe shall witnesse vnto men that I dissemble not with God yet when I finde my selfe most and best inclined to spirituall actions I finde and feele againe and againe the buffets of my corrupt nature wresting mee to the contrarie what shall I then say doe I good because I will doe good and doe I not euill because I will not do euill nothing lesse for my will is no further free to do that which is good then it is made free by the grace of God And againe my will is so farre prone to euil by how much I am not preuented by grace To euery good worke God giues the will and the deed and euill is alwaies present with mee Therefore I in part desire and in part feare to die yet I must die Forasmuch therefore as I know I shal die and that the way to die well is first to liue well which is not in my owne power I must seeke the meanes of God and therefore it behoueth me to be much conuersant in his Word wherein the way is described and the meanes prescribed and yet not vnderstood by naturall wisedome but by the Spirit of God which reueileth the same therefore ought I to aske wisedome of him that is wisedome it selfe who willeth me to aske and I shall receiue wisedome to seeke and I shall find grace to knocke and hee will open the dore of diuine knowledge how to walke in the way of a godly life the true and perfect preparation to a happy death and this death is the gate of eternall life To aske seeke knock importeth prayer and prayer an inward heartie desire to obtayne that at the hands of God which I by no other means can obtayne and this by a feruent firme and constant assurance that GOD to whom I pray will grant my request in the merits mediation of his Sonne so that I neede not doubt but that if I aske spirituall things spiritually and wauer not in my Faith I shall obtayne grace so to walke in this life as I shall not fear to die but with cheerfull alacritie imbrace it when it offers it selfe vnto me therefore will I open my mouth vnto him that hath promised to fill it I will addresse my heart to him that can and will direct it and so present my prayers before his mercies Seate prostrate vpon the knees of mine vnfayned heart and he will heare me and saue me A Prayer for a godly life and a happy death The Prayer O Gracions and most louing Lord God in Jesus Christ the fountaine of Life and the Disposer of the same by death how where or when it shall best please thee euer for the best to them that loue thy name I cannot but confesse and acknowledge that death cannot but be fearefull if a godly life go not before O what a terrour therefore befals me O Lord through the consideration and calling to mind the former course of my most corrupt and sinfull life How can I but feare to be dissolued when I thinke of and call thy iudgements into my minde and that hell and destruction attends the death of the wicked but the righteous shall be glad in thee and trust in thee and all the vpright in heart shall reioyce to whome death shall bée great aduantage Let it therefore please thée O my most gracious God and louing Father to remember thy mercies and in the multitude of them put away cleanse me of all my sinnes and so reforme me that hence-forth I may walke before thee and be vpright I am a man void of counsell neither is there any vnderstanding in me I am not sufficient of my selfe so much as to think a good thought but my sufficiencie is of thee Therefore teach mee thy way O Lord that I may hence-forth walke in thy truth Knit my heart vnto thee that I may feare thy name make my heart vpright in thy Statutes for thou Lord hast pleasure in righteousnesse and hée is blessed in whose heart are thy wayes Graunt therefore gracious Lord that according to the riches of thy grace I may be strengthened by the Spirit of the inward Man that CHRIST may dwel in my heart by faith and so my whole spirit soule and bodie may bee kept blamelesse to the cōming of the Lord Iesus And if I haue found fauour in thy sight shew me thy way that I may know thée and may walk from henceforth all the dayes of my life in a sincere sanctified conuersation and take away the vaile wherewith my mind is couered that I
heart a sanctified spirit that I may walke here before thée and here doe thy will as thy Saints and heauenly Companies doe thy will in Heauen that in this earthly Pilgrimage I may bee numbred among thy Saints Militant that I may not feare to bee translated from this place of banishment vnto that Inheritance purchased by Christ my Redéemer where I shall partake of his glory with thy Saints now Triumphant in that most glorious new Ierusalem While I liue here let thy Word bée deare vnto me let the Crosse of my Lord and Sauiour Christ be euer before the eyes of my mind euer assuring my selfe that his death is my life make mee therefore holy as he is holy And as hee layd downe his most sacred bodie in the Earth for a time and rose againe to glorie and as hee resigned his afflicted yet innocent Soule into thy hands euen for me to follow him so grant that whensoeuer or howsoeuer my soule shall leaue this mortall bodie it may follow my Loue Iesus to the place to which hee is gone before While I liue here leaue me not Father vnto my selfe for I am weake and mine enemies are strong but thou art Truth the strongest kéepe mée vnder thy feathers and bind mée vp in the bundle of thine Elect neuer to be deuided or set apart from them that shall bee saued make my life perfect to euery good worke and worke in mee that which is pleasant in thy sight through Jesus Christ Amen Lord increase and euer confirme my faith MEDIT. III. THough death now be the end of my fleshly part it is sufficient that I am assured of the continuing life of my soule after the temporall death of my body which yet shall not so perish but it shall haue a future being and bee re-vnited to my soule and so bee made one glorified body by the glory of Christ my Redeemer The present consideration of death can therefore but put mee in minde of and giue mee desire to bee dissolued to enioy a better life And thereby so much the more mooue me to frame my life in my health as if I were presently dying Death is certaine common to all the time vncertaine to all yet all liue not as if their death were neer or that they did think that death would come at all But let no man deceiue himselfe by his long life that death is farre off or that it hath forgotten him it will come as a Thiefe suddenly to some sooner to some later to all when they least suspect it In the first Age of the World men liued long many hundred yeeres Methusalah almost one thousand yeeres Adam Noah and many others to an extraordinarie age In their dayes it might haue beene conceiued by the number of their yeeres that they might haue liued many thousand yeeres But being all seene in their times and turnes to dye the opinion of a perpetuall life in earth was found erronious As the World grew in age so decreased the ages of men In Dauids time the age of man was seldome aboue threescore and ten if hee liued to fourescore it was reputed a great age rare yet nothing pleasant to the partie for weaknesse and infirmities of so many kinds commonly possesse the bodies and mindes of that age as these dayes are but a burden vnto them yeelding only sorrow heauinesse griefes and miseries And yet many of that decrepit age are loth to dye which may argue no godly preceding life Moses before Dauids time liued one hundred twenty yeeres and was then in that state of strength and agilitie of bodie and perfection of his sences as in his best age and strongest yeeres yet he dyed Mine own naturall father liued one hundred and three yeeres lusty and strong much admired for his agilitie euen to that age yet I doe not by these precedents collect any probabilitie or hope that I shall liue much more then halfe his yeeres though I presently feele no apparant tokens but desire of my dissolution And therefore I account my life but a meere watch for the time of death If I had seene the man that had liued many thousand yeeres and were yet in health and strength I should bee farre from flattering my selfe that I might liue the longer for his long life yet I see that one man couets to attaine vnto the yeeres of the most aged The man of sixtie or seuentie yeeres desires to liue to eightie he of eightie to one hundred yet doe we scarcely see one man of ten thousand to see one hundred nor one of one hundred seuentie yeeres nor one of fiftie fortie yeeres If I should liue one hundred yeeres when death comes it is but as if I were in my Cradle Twentie yeeres in expectation seemeth farre more then one hundred yeeres past I thinke it therefore wisedome not to allow vnto my selfe the assurance of many yeeres not of many dayes nay not of one houre for I see some suddenly stricken dead yea in a moment a fearefull spectacle yet little moouing some beholders But this vse Wisedome teacheth me to make of other mens lots namely to keepe continuall watch ouer my desires wordes and wayes that I may so liue as if I saw Death with his Dart at my brest Death then being certaine and his comming vncertayne by the rule of right reason I should bee alwayes readily prepared for Death imports feare and Feare presupposeth danger Danger requireth watchfulnesse Watchfulnesse patience Patience Faith and Hope As touching the first namely feare it is both filial and son-like and seruile or slauish which last I exempt as not the feare required of mee in this expectation and watchfulnes for death But the feare which becomes a most dutifull sonne to a most louing father is it wherewith I desire alwaies to be truly qualified hauing an eye euer vnto God as the eye of a Mayden to the hand of her Mistris fearing in loue not louing for feare When Baruch read the booke of the curses against Iudah and Israel vnto the people both the good and the bad feared Some fearing as children desiring to be reformed according to the Law of the Lord some as slaues feared the horror of punishment threatned without eyther the loue of God or their owne reformation This is not the feare that Salomon prescribes where he saies Feare ye the Lord all his Saints and depart from euil He that sayes he feareth God and walketh not in his wayes feareth not at all as he ought to feare and that for want of Wisedome for as wisedome is giuen to them that feare God so doth the feare of God shew it selfe by wisedome namely by gouerning his life according to the Word of God Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord and walketh in his waies So that it is not in mee nor of my selfe to feare God I must be first blessed of God before I can truly
fit to stand alwayes vpon my Watch-towre in continuall Prayer that I bee not vnder the least power of any of mine enemies when my separation shall come I will indeuour to make vse of the Parable of Christ my Sauiour who by way of premonition saith Vnderstand this as being a matter of chiefe consequence for my safetie If the good man of the house which is the soule of euery man dwelling in the bodie knew at what houre the Thiefe namely Death would come hee would be readie to entertaine it And would not suffer his house his bodie to be digged thorow namely by violence to be surprized and to be desperatly spoyled of his goods his soule to be tormented perplexed by a guilty conscience and an vnrepentant heart for sinne committed against God but would bee still watching to preuent euery euill motion to sinne and wait for that Thiefe Death willingly to lay downe his bodie for a time in the graue and to yeeld vp his soule to God that gaue it in Christ who redeemed it As touching this watchfulnesse it is comprehended in a godly life and in a continuall serious obedience to God eschewing euill and doing good in seeking peace and following it This is true watchfulnesse and blessed is the man whom the Lord when hee commeth shall find thus waking For he that slumbreth in security carelesse of future dangers leding an vngodly life not remembring his end and what accoūt he is to make when Death comes vpon this man he shal be suddēly carryed to the place of ex treme and perpetuall torment neuer to bee relea sed I will therefore pray that I may retayne a continuall watchful heart and striue to liue soberly because I know not the time A Prayer that I may be alwayes readily prepared for Death The Prayer O Lord my God who hast created mee of nothing here to liue and breathe in the Earth for some few dayes few were the many thousand yéeres in comparison of thine Eternitie and yet the end of these my dayes altogether vnknowne vnto mee Therefore thou commandest me to watch and to awake to siue righteously and not to sinne and yet by nature I sléepe in carnall securitie Thou willest me not to sleepe as doe other but to watch and bee sober but alas I slumber in mine owne vanities the deceits of sinne True Wisedome willeth mée to watch because the time of my dissolution is at hand when I shall bee no more breathe no more but bee taken from all the pleasures and delights of this life Frame in me therefore I beséech thée good Father a watchfull heart Banish from me the darknesse of ignorance and all wicked affections by the knowledge of thy truth Giue mee grace to order my life according to that certaine and sure rule of all righteousnesse and sinceritie by the vertue of the Spirit of Iesus Christ. The darknesse of the night is past and I haue the light of thy Word giue me therefore the will and ablenesse to cast off the workes of darknesse and to put on the armour of light That I may henceforth walke honestly as in the day not in gluttonie and drunkennes nor in chambering and wantonnesse nor in strife and enuying but by putting on the Lord Iesus Christ and not to take thought for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof I am subiect O Lord to many temptations giue me therefore the Spirit of Wisedome and strength to resist and ouercome them And that I may kéep cōtinuall watch ouer all my thoughts words and wayes that I bée at no time idle in wel-doing that Death which standeth at my doore finde me not without the Lamp of Loue faith and Obedience burning in my heart Make mee holy and constant in all good and godly duties that with a pure and sanctified con science I may at all times and in all places serue thee walking before thee in truth and that with a perfit heart that I fall not into the power and lust of mine Aduersaries nor be ouer-swayed with the destres of my corrupt heart but bee found perfect to euery good worke for thou art my God Uigilant and watchful is Death still attending to seize vpon mée yet cannot before thine appointed time for my time is in thine hand Giue me therfore a watchful heart that I may liue to thée and die in thée that whensoeuer it shall come to passe that I must yéeld my body to the dust I may be sound waking my heart settled vpon Heauen and heauenly things So shall not this death be terrible but most acceptable vnto me being the way by which I shall enter into that holy place new and spirituall Ierusalem where the filthy garments of sinne shame and confusion shall bee taken from mee and the most glorious Robes of Righteousnesse in the merits of thy glorified Soune bée put vpon me neuer to war old which grant most louing father for his sake So be it O Lord increase my faith and giue mee euer a watchfull heart pure and holy MEDIT. VI. The third cause of watchfulnesse the vncertaine Comming of Christ to Iudgement THe third cause of watchfulnesse I find to be lest my finall iudgement come vpon me suddenly as by vnprouided Death and I be found not only idle in wel-doing but in doing that which is euill And if I should not though much vnlikely lay downe this mine earthly Tabernacle before that generall dissolution of all things being doubtlesse not farre off the sudden comming of that Day will not excuse me for as I shall bee then found I shall be iudged I shall receiue the sentence due vnto me either in mercie or seueritie at the instant of Christes appearing and yet shall not preuent them that haue slept euer since the death of innocent Abel So that whether I goe before or stay till hee come I shall finde no difference for in the graue there is no remembrance of good or euill no feare of future danger or hope of Happinesse to come and therefore the time of my bodies sleep in the Earth bee it long or short is not conceiued or felt Only my soule that shall goe before cannot but apprehend it selfe not fully perfect vntill that generall Day when my body shall bee raysed againe out of the dust and partake together with my soule the vnspeakeable glorie of Christ my Sauiour not that I haue deserued it but the prayse I yeeld vnto him that hath merited the same for mee euen by his death It much behoueth mee therefore to watch and to make mine account ready for I find that the generall Audit is at hand where I shall be strictly examined how I haue bestowed the talents which I haue receiued of my Lord. At which generall Audit all must appeare Emperours Kings Potentates Bishops yea from the greatest to the least all shall bee summoned with the fearfull sound of a terrible Trumpet sounding far lowder then the most
may behold thy glorie and bee changed into the same Image by thy Spirit It is thou only that giuest wisedome and out of thy mouth proceeds knowledge and vnderstanding therefore Make me more and more to abound in knowledge and all iudgement that I may discerne betweene good and euill and bée kept pure with-out offence vntill the finall dissolution of this my mortall body filled with the fruits of Righteousnes which are by Jesus Christ vnto the praise and glorie of God Let mée not good Father be giuen ouer to the lust of my Aduersarie nor to mine owne corrupt hearts desire that iniquitie should haue dominion ouer mé◠but make mee perfect to euery good worke who workest in thy Children both the wil and the deede O Lord teach me to do thy will for thou art my God make my heart constant and euer kéep it vnblameable before thée in holinesse that I may serue thée in al holy duties with a good conscience and may walk before thée in truth and with a perfect heart doing that which is good in thy sight Let thy peace which passeth all vnderstanding preserue my heart mind in Iesus Christ euen to the end and in the end yea euen when the Messengers and pangs of death shal take hold on me euen then support me that Satan with his malicious suggestions and infernall temptations preuaile not against mée in laying before the eyes of my guiltie conscience the vglinesse of my sinnes past or by drawing my minde into any forbidden thought or desire Draw me out of the net that hee priuily layeth to catch my soule in breake it for mee for thou art my strength make haste to deliuer me and saue me for My soule is filled with euils and my life draweth neere vnto the graue And what man liueth and shall not see death Séeing then deare Father I am appointed to die and that death cānot bée comfortable vnto mée when it commeth vnlesse a godly life goe before prepare my hart O Lord prepare it to a holy conuersation and a ioyfull and gladsome resolution that I may lay down this mortall body of miue in the dust whence it was taken and made and to surrender my soule with all heauenly alacritie into thine hands that gauest it And when the snares of death the terrors of the graue take hold of mee then Lord let me find fauour with thée in Christ my Redéemer in whom I beséech thée to deliuer my soule Amen Lord euer increase and confirme my faith MEDITAT II. NOw then I hauing by the grace of God in some measure learned to liue and to know I shall dye what remayneth but that I looke for the day and attend the houre not knowing when it will come And therefore to bee alwayes ready hauing also through Christ receiued the spirit of boldnesse to remooue out of this bodie to bee with the Lord. This boldnesse I confesse I haue not of my selfe it is the gift of God who in the beginning made mee to his Image without spot but spotted before I was borne by him that was once without spot whose fault is now by imputation nay by action mine whereby I bringing sinne and corruption into the World with me haue deeply defiled my selfe by like actuall disobedience and therefore may iustly feare the face of that seuere and iust Iudge especially hauing so many and so strong Aduersaries Satan with his principalities and powers and spirituall wickednesse a million of sinnes and a guiltie conscience besides the horrours of Death and the Graue enough to cast my sinfull soule into vtter destruction were there not a power aboue his power and principalities to subdue his I thanke God in Christ I haue beene taught and I know that the seed of the woman hath subdued Satan led him all his powers principalities and spirituall wickednesse captiue triumphing ouer him and them vpon the Crosse making a shew of them openly And this I am not only taught to know but I beleeue the same stedfastly Lord strengthen my beliefe As for my siunes past I feare them not for Christ suffered for them once the iust for the vniust to bring me to God As touching death I knew that my Redeemer liueth and he hath taken away the sting therof and made a way for mee through the graue to come vnto glorie through the valley of death to passe vntill I come to the Lord my God in Sion I cannot yet but confesse that notwithstanding my boldnesse I feele many wauerings I am not at all times alike bold but often tremble at the consideration of death because I haue had no experience of the terrour thereof and therefore though the Spirit be willing my flesh is weake But I am so much the more strengthened by how much I doe consider that euen the dearest of Gods Children haue sometimes staggered at the consideration of death Saint Paul himselfe confesseth that he had fightings without and terrours within Peter for feare of death denyed his Master And our Sauiour Christ being lest vnto his manhood wished though contrarily resolued that the Cup of the Crosse might passe and that hee might not drinke of it Death comes with an vgly and fearefull countenance to all but especially to them that haue their consolation here Death nay the remembrance of death as the Wiseman affirmeth is better to him that hath the wealth the pleasures and happinesse of this life And vnlesse the Lord by his grace support and sustaine the best man he will feare and faint at the approching of death Therefore will I make my prayer vnto God in Christ to giue me strength and an holy resolution to imbrace death when it shall come A Prayer against the feare of death fit to be said at all times especially in sicknesse The Prayer O Lord my God and gracious Father in Iesus Christ who hast formed mee of the dust of the Earth and by thy Spirit made me a liuing soule in a mortall bodie Giue mée grace continually to remember my mortality how I am borne to dye and that after death I shall come to Judgement yet hast thou hidden the time when the place where and the maner how I shall dye from mee all knowne to thée Teach mee therefore Gracious Father teach mée so to number my daies as to consider that the more they increase in number so much the neerer I draw to the time of my dissolution therefore giue mee wisedome and a heart whereby I may apply me thereunto that I may be at all times and in all places watchfull and readie to imbrace the comming of that which I cannot auoyde Let mée not rest secure in health nor be dismayde in sicknesse but let my heart bee euer set on the things that are where I desire and hope to come and not on the things which I sée and partake herein this life Teach mee thy wayes instruct me in thy Lawes giue me a repēting
Paul that his grace is sufficient for mee yet doth it much behooue me to take continuall heede vnto my waies yea to the very motions of my corrupt heart for mine inward desires are not long hid from him who will neuer let slip the least shew of whatsoeuer euill and prophane inclination But as the fire is a little inkindled in and by mine owne nature So is he readie with a thousand ministers and impious meanes to blow it and to bring it to an vnquenchable flame of sinfull actions Therefore my heartie desire is for the withstanding of his temptations to practise whatsoeuer things are true whatsoeuer things are honest whatsoeuer things are iust whatsoeuer things are pure whatsoeuer things are worthy loue whatsoeuer things are of good report the practice of which things is true watchfulnes most irksome and most offensiue to al mine enemies Things true Satan the father of lyes hates deadly things honest are contrarie to mine owne naturall and carnall inclination which of it selfe delighteth in pleasure in vanities and all kinde of prophanenesse Things of good report the World indureth not but rather backe-biting and slandering This capitall Aduersarie the Deuill doth not assaile me singly nor alone but commonly combines together with the World and my corrupt nature then as so many Captains each of them with a band of infernall Souldiers the Deuill with his angels powers and principalities the Flesh with a thousand contagious cogitations vngodly affections and forbidden vanities and the World with a million of vexations set vpon me A man hauing but one mortal enemie wil watchfully beware of him either to flie him or be prepared with weapons sufficient to incounter him though hee seeke but to depriue the life of the bodie How much more then behooueth it mee to bee watchful hauing so many and so mightie so mortall Aduersaries that seeke not only my bodily death but the confusion also of my soule and if I be not armed with grace the least of these will easily preuaile against me There is nothing more aduātagious to these mine enemies then mine owne corrupt inclination the fruits whereof are as meat and drinke vnto mine Aduersaries which are the works of darknesse therefore will I striue with an holy endeuour to abandon and cast off the works of darknesse deare vnto mine enemies and to put on the armour of light which is vnto them as death I wil set mine affections on things that are aboue and not on things that are on the earth I will auoid euill and cleau◠vnto that which is good Many venimous and viperous Serpents lurke in the way of this life to escape their poyson in practice I looke not but to resist their power I doubt not for the Lord is my strength to whom I will flie for succour A Prayer against Satan and his ministers the World and mine owne corruption The Prayer MOst gracious Lord God and most mercifull in Jesus Christ who art most pitifull in beholding the daily strong tentations where with I am tryed by the policies of Satan looke vpon me for he taketh as it were vnto himselfe in aide the vanities of the world laying them before the eyes of my corrupt minde to seduce me from the sweete consolation that I haue in the contemplation of heauenly things vnto the delights and pleasures of earthly deceits And further thou knowest O Lord how subtilly hee windeth himselfe as it were into the secret inclinations of my heart by obseruing the least shew of my outward actions maliciously watching to trap me and by his baits painted out as it were with the glittering shew of ease of pleasure of profit such like deceiuing succeeding contentments indeuoureth to traine mée into his snares What am I good Father that I should vndergoe and beare the burden of so many subtill wiles secret snares and strong temptations as this most mortal aduersary of mine frameth against mée how can I escape so vigilant and so powerfull an enemie that can command principalities powers and all spirituall wickednesse to attend his most deadly designes vnlesse thou by thy grace preuent him I disclaime any power in my selfe to resist his deuices and doe rather acknowledge that in steade of resisting I doe assist him against my self by the vanities of mine own corrupt nature and therefore doe wholly and altogether relie vpon thy méere merciè wherein thou hast compassion on thy weake children thus beset with such and so many deadly Aduersaries and compassed about with so great a trsupe of wickednesse Make mee therefore strong good Father in the power of thine owne strength Put vpon mée thy defensiue armour that I may yet manfully in the Spirit of truth encounter all my spirituall and secret enemies Gird me with the girdle of Truth put on mee the brest-plate of Righteousnesse and the inuincible and impenetrable shield of Faith so shall I be able to quench the sterie darts of the Deuill and with the sword of the Spirit wound the strongest of them that rise vp against me for thou with thy Helmet of saluation shalt kéepe me euer safe so as neither Satan Death nor Hell shall bée able to preuaile against me O Lord my God work I beséech thée in mée that which is pleassng in thy sight and grant according to the riches of thy grace that I may bee strengthened by thy Spirit in the inward man that Christ may dwell in my heart by Faith and so my whole spirit soule and body may be kept frée from the power of sin Satan blamelesse to the comming of the Lord Jesus to whom bee glorie and praise for euer O Lord increase my faith MEDIT. V. The second cause of watchfulnesse the vncertaintie of the time of death THe second cause of watchfulnesse is the vncertayne comming of death To the end therefore that I may prouide for his comming and not bee afraid as no doubt by nature flesh and bloud cannot but bee at the consideration of the supposed horror it bringeth with it I must entertayne a godly care to liue well and that in the continuall expectation of the time when it will come for a godly sincere and a religious life can neuer be too suddenly surprised by death come it where when and how it will so shall I be sure to die in the Lord. Though I should lose my head with Iohn Baptist bee stoned with Stephen though I should be burned with fire slaine by the sword with Iames or by whatsoeuer other ignominious cruell or tormenting death yet I am the Lords and with him I shall liue for euer Yet am I not secure as if I needed not to feare for I cannot but confesse that howsoeuer I indeuor to leade a godly life I find in my selfe many and sundrie relapses and desertions though not finall yet fearefull through the manifold temptations of Satā working by through mine owne corruptions therefore I finde it
horrible thunder and all things shall bee suddenly surprized by the greatnesse of his Maiestie that shall appeare with flames of fire And many that shall liue to behold this fearefull Apparition as all men shall remayning aliue in that Day for none shall bee able to shut their eyes and the eyes of them that are now rotten in the graues shall be opened shall seeke to hide themselues from the face of that most terrible Iudge but in vaine The sight of the Iudge that can condemne but the bodie is fearfull to the offendor What then will the sight of this Iudge of Iudges bee vnto the wicked to sinfull and secure worldlings who comes not with a mortall Sherife accompayned with a Trayne of fantasticall Attendants but with millions of Angels at whose presence the Heauens shall shrinke away with a noyse the Elements shall melt with â—eate and the earth with the works thereof the great and glorious Buildings and the things therein shall bee burnt with vnquenchable Sulpher O who will not consider this who will not watch and be sober knowing that this great and terrible Day this Day of Wrath is comming and at hand a Day of Wrath to the wicked but to them that feare God in loue and liue in his feare a Day of ioy and gladnesse there fore shal they hold vp their heads for their redemption draweth neere Seeing then that all things that wee see and here enioy the Heauens aboue vs the Earth beneath vs the Seas and all things in them shall bee thus consumed and wee know not how soone nor when one particular iudgement namely the day of our death shall be What manner persons ought wee to bee appeare must euery man and answere answere alas what can we answere to him that comes not to iudge the bodie onely which yet is terrible but the soule and bodie not to a temporall punishment but to eternall torment The stoutest cannot but be stricken dumbe at the very sight of this great Iudge who will giue sentence according to that euery one hath done in the flesh good or euill O that I could therefore clense my heart from euill to good I cannot it is the worke of the Spirit of God in mee which hee worketh euen of his owne good pleasure freely therfore I pursuing this good begunne in mee daily going on from faith to faith from grace to grace I shall become fit through Gods acceptance in Iesus Christ to waite for the Day of death or the generall dissolution with gladnesse It is the rich grace of GOD bestowed on me whereby I haue my conuersation in Heauen from whence I looke for the comming of my Sauiour the Lord Iesus In whom and by whom there is laid vp for mee the Crowne of Righteousnesse and not for me only but for all them that loue and looke for his second appearing I will therefore watch and pray by the grace of GOD continually that I may bee counted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to passe and that I may stand before the Sonne of man without feare A Prayer for continuall watchfulnesse that neither the generall nor the particular Day of Iudgement come vpon mee vnprouided The Prayer O Lord my God in Jesus Christ who art terrible and fearefull euen to them that séeke thée how much more fearfull wilt thou appeare when thou settest thy wrathfull countenance against the wicked such as now haue no feare of thy Name Giue me I pray thée a continual watchful heart euer to bée exercised in diuine and heauenly things and leaue mee nor vnto mine owne affections which are by nature full of corruption and sinne wherein if thou shouldest take mee suddenly I should be found a most vnprofitable seruant to bee bound hand and foot and east into vtter darknesse where shall bee weeping and gnashing of teeth O hide thy face from my sin and blot out all mine iniquities Create in mee a cleane heart O God and renew a right spirit within me Restore to me the ioy of thy saluation and stablish me with thy free Spirit Why art thou cast down O my Soule and vnquiet within me waite on God he neuer faileth them that trust in him Waite thou on the Lord O my Soule keepe his way and he shall exalt thee that thou shalt inherit the Land euen the Land of Promise Spirituall Canaan new Ierusalem When the wicked shall perish thou shalt see it Such as are blessed of GOD shall inherit the Land And they that bee cursed of him shall be cut off Endue mee therefore good Father with thy grace that I may euer thinke of my end that I presume not vpon long life resting secure as if I had none account to make vnto thée of my time and talents heere receiued of thée and how they haue béene spent by me nor any holy duties required to bee performed in this my Pilgrimage and Banishment where I haue no continuing Citie but I séeke one to come Holy Father giue mée thy Spirit and Grace euer to bring forth heauenly fruits that whensoeuer wheresoeuer or howsoeuer I shall depart hence I may be yet found faithfull and of the number of them whom Christ when hee commeth may find waking in well-doing that the sentence Go ye cursed be not pronounced against me but bee of the societie of them that shall heare Come yee blessed Grant this for Jesus Christs sake in and by whom I haue the promise of eternall life to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost bee all power and praise ascribed for hee is worthie Lord increase my faith MEDIT. VII WAtchfulnesse then being a principall meane to preuent the sudden surprise that death might make vpon mee there followeth necessarily Patience an inseparable companion of Watchfulnesse which implies care attendance and attention The care here meant is not for any worldly thing for these I cast my care vpon God for he careth for me But such a care as Paul had of all the Churches 2. Cor. 11. 28. seeking the kingdome of God and the righteousnes thereof Matt. 6. 33. then will not God faile mee nor forsake me The care therfore that I couet to haue is how to preuent sinne and flye Securitie which are contrary to a godly care and consequently contrary to true watchfulnesse and therefore farre from true patience which worketh not vpon securitie and carnall peace but vpon wayting for the promise of Redemption This is the patience which the Children of God haue whose patient abiding shall be gladnesse I will not therefore render euill for euill nor rebuke for rebuke but contrariwise I will blesse knowing that I am thereunto called that I should be the heire of blessing 1. Pet. 3. 9. And if I be rayled on for the name of Christ shall I discouer my weakenesse through impatience no there is a blessing promised for the Spirit of glorie and of God resteth on
dumbe some blind some dead in an instant Doe not our owne eyes besides our owne yea moderne Histories witnes the same Terrible is the Lord in his wrath and who shall stand in his sight when he is angry He is terrible euen to the Kings of the earth Nay vnto such as seeme to be and are not truely religious as Ananias and Sapphira his wife who lying vnto the holy Ghost were striken suddenly dead It is a fearfull thing to fal into the hands of the liuing God especially when he is angrie We are all by nature the children of wrath dead in trespasses and sinnes So is al the world subiect to the iudgement of God being found guiltie in his sight If GOD therefore should marke what is done amisse who could abide it or expect worldly cōforts from him Therefore whether yee shall in this life receiue pouertie or riches sicknesse or crosses or whatsoeuer calamities and afflictions and in what measure soeuer perswade your selues that it is far short of what yee haue deserued therefore take his chastisemēts with patience and endeuour stedfastly alwayes to abound in the workes of the Lord assuring your selues your labour shall not bee in vaine for God wil be euer readie to work for you beyond that yee are able to aske or thinke PART III. Obiection against Gods miraculous working at this day SOme yet wil say that the time of Gods working miracles namely miraculously and beyond the apprehension of naturall vnderstanding is past and ended and there is now no experience of such supply by Gods prouidence as when God sent Eliah to the widdow of Sarepthah and foode by a Rauen extraordinarie meanes indeede which nowe are neither visibly nor actually done Beware of this rash censure it is the voice of meer Infidelitie for God is God yester-day namely of old and to day and for euer his loue is not diminished his power is not weakned his prouidence preuented nor his command and absolute authoritie ouer his creatures any way or by any meanes encountred or the execution of his will opposed but is euen the first and the last neuer altering nor changing but as hee had subiects of mercy and iudgement to worke vpon and meanes by which to worke so hath hee at this day and vntill the finall dissolution of all things he will still work by meanes without meanes against meanes His promises are Yea Amen not to our Fathers only but to vs and all posterities for euer those he performeth at this day yet not so visibly and apparantly as in the dayes of our Fathers of old We haue not a Moses I confesse to bring water out of the Rocke by striking with his rod nor an Aaron to turne a Rod into a Serpent and to deuoure the counterfeit Serpents of the Inchanters Wee haue no Eliah to pray for fire to consume Gods enemies nor an Elisha to diuide a Riuer with his cloke No Paul that with his word can dispossesse a spirit of diuination nor a Peter that with his word can make a cripple to goe sound Many miracles in former times done are recorded both in the old new Testament through the power of GOD by the hands of men which kind of working miracles are ceased but the power of God continueth the same for euer euer working wonderfull things with-out the cōpasse of humane apprehension and sets before our eyes daily examples of his extraordinarie working in mercy for the comfort of his children and as before is said in iustice and iudgement against the wicked according to the song of the blessed Virgin The Lord sheweth strength with his arme he scattereth the proud in the imagination of their hearts he putteth downe the mightie from their seate and exalteth the humble and meeke he filleth the hungrie with good things and sendeth the rich emptie away Is not this a strong confirmation of the faith of Gods children plunged in perils visited with afflictions and tossed to and fro in the troublesome and tempestuous Sea of this world in which are they not cōmanded to pray for their deliuerie And to whom pray they not vnto the same GOD as our forefathers did If GOD therefore were not now in his Mercie Loue Power and Prouidence as hee was then as able and willing to helpe wee were taught both to pray and to feare in vaine neither his Mercie nor Iustice could appeare as with our owne eyes wee haue seene the wicked to perish and the innocent deliuered euen by the hand of God himselfe that his Glorie and Power might by the iust punishment of the one and maruellous deliuerance of the other be seene and celebrated of all them that feare him The Holy Ghost doth euery where in the Scripture make vs see and perceiue the great and manifold benefits which come by aduersitie he declareth them to all but all haue not the true apprehension that it is sēt for their good And vnlesse ye be inlightened in the spirit of your mindes and the cloudes of your carnal cogitations be driuen away by the wind of diuine vnderstanding yee cannot but mistake the good pleasure loue and fauour of God that causeth all things to worke together for the best to them that loue him and grudge at your heauenly Fathers Discipline Ye are poore murmure not nor grudge at the prosperitie of others Learne of Dauid the contrarie who in his haste and vnaduisedly fretted to see the prosperitie of the wicked that alwayes prospered and increased in riches And thought indeed that God made no difference betweene the good and the bad the righteous and the wicked and therefore thought it a vaine thing to bee curious to liue well considering that notwithstanding his continuall seruing of God yet was he punished and chastened euery morning namely daily the wicked still secure and in no danger this strange course of Gods working hee as it were admired and began to consider if hee could finde out the cause but it was too deepe for his naturall wisedome but when hee entred into the Sanctuarie of God when he had consulted with the holy Spirit of God and had learned his Word then he vnderstood what the end of these flourishing men would be he considered that God had set them in slipperie places how hee east them into sudden desolation wherein they perished and were fearefully confounded Put therefore your trust in God he will guide you in all your occasions by his counsell and after your godly life ended hee will receiue you to Glorie Seeke therefore neither helpe nor comfort but of GOD alone for there is none in Heauen but hee and desire none in the Earth but him If ye fall into troubles beware as neere as ye may it bee not for euill doing for the Magistrate beares the Sword for sinners If ye bee troubled for well-doing yee need not feare yee haue
daily offend if yee bee truely sorrie for it hee will not cast you off but will receiue you as his sonnes and daughters Mary Magdalen was a woman of a defiled conuersation Peter weake for fear denied his Master Dauid committed two great sinnes Whoredome and Murder Paul persecuted Gods people yet vpon Repentance they all receiued pardon Yee may not therefore imitate them as they were sinners but imitate their Repentance and lye not in your sinnes God indeed is gracious but ye may not sinne that grace may the more abound God for bid for although God be mercifull hee is not totally mercie but is also iust and in his iustice hee might condemne all humane creatures for no man is righteous in his fight And therefore none without Christ in whom all that shal be saued are saued Take theresore holde of him and his mercies and mediation through Faith so were your sins as red as bloud they shal be made as white as snow and were they as Purple bee made as white as wooll by the sheading of his bloud vpon the Crosse. Cast off all feare and despaire therefore only beware of relapses fall not backe againe bee not like the Dogge and the Sow and take heede of presumptuous sinning as to sinne perswading your selues ye will and can repent when yee list and so much the more boldly because ye haue learned that God is mercifull This is to quench his Mercie and to incense his Iustice and to harden your hearts in the custome of sinning so should ye haue Iudgement without Mercie Such as thus sinne against God are enemies to the Crosse of Christ and contemners of the Mercie of God who shall melt away as Waxe at the fire and perish at the presence of God But the Righteous shall bee glad and reioyce yea they shall leape for ioy not the Righteous in their owne opinion or the Righteous in shew but the truly Righteous to whom the Righteousnesse of Christ is freely imputed Take heede therefore that yee assume not vnto your selues to bee righteous for before God there is none no not one righteous in the Earth ye may obiect and say How then shall any man reioyce seeing there is none righteous none in or by their owne inherent Righteousnesse for the best mans actions are in and of them-selues euill euermore without Christ. He therefore that is truely righteous is righteous by imputation not by actuall perfection Abraham nor Isaak nor Iacob nor Iob nor Dauid nor Daniel no not Enoch or Elias nor Peter nor Paul nor that Diuine Apostle Iohn were of them-selues by nature so perfect holy or righteous as that any of them durst to stand vpon their owne merits by them to bee saued no the Blessed Virgin acknowledged Christ to bee her Sauiour Beware therefore of that generation of Vipers Iusticiaries who assume vnto themselues that puritie and power as they do and are able to fulfill all the Commandements and whole Law of God which the most righteous man Christ excepted could neuer doe Christ came to saue Sinners confessing their owne vnworthinesse not such as neede no other workes of Redemption but their owne workes of perfection by which workes they shall bee iudged without the imputation of the worthinesse of Christs Merits vnlesse they repent their iudgement is pronounced alreadie O flye from the hearing of any bewitching tongue whatsoeuer that shall indeuour to make you beleeue that yee may liue without sinne They are Lyers the children of the father of Lyes and would make you Lyers like vnto themselues who though they bee men in shape yet are they Monsters indeed they would seeme Dcified and alas they are Deuils incarnate haue no conuersation with such men yet striue and studie to be perfect namely to attaine vnto such perfection as the dearest children of God can haue in this life Stand not at a stay but endeuour to proceed from faith to faith from one diuine vertue to another vntill yee become perfect in Christ in whom and not in your selues your absolute perfection consisteth and when yee haue done all that yee can acknowledge your selues farre imperfect and vnprofitable seruants for the way to glorie is by humilitie and hee that exalteth himselfe shall be brought low The humble man thinks euery man better then himselfe and thinkes his best actions worthy rather to bee reprooued then rewarded And vpon due consideration of his deserts is so farre from iustifying himselfe as hee is ashamed of his owne vnworthinesse he casts himselfe downe and the Lord lifts him vp But hee that iustifies himselfe lifts himselfe vp and makes himselfe equall with God and God doth cast him downe to haue his portion with Lucifer Remember the reiection of the proud Pharises iustification and the acceptation of the Publicans humiliation your humilitie consisteth in your voluntarie subiection vnto the Ordinances of God who reuealeth vnto the poore in spirit the knowledge of his will and hides it from them that assume vnto themselues knowledge sufficient without the Doctrine of his Word Yee can in nothing bee more like vnto Christ then in meeknesse and humility two adiuncts of Christ not much vnlike in operation The first namely Meekenesse is most properly shewed in your conuersation among men The second which is humilitie sheweth it selfe in patient submitting your selues without any inward discontent to what it pleaseth God to doe with you or against you against you neuer though your carnall vnderstanding may so conceiue it Iob was contented with all his afflictions resoluing himselfe that though GOD would kill him yet would he trust in him And should you professing humilitie grudge when any thing befalls you for your good farre be it from you rather prayse God exalt his Name fall downe before his footstoole imbrace his Discipline for he is holy and to be loued and feared loued in that hee is your God who hath created you and preserued you to bee feared in that hee is iust and may iustly condemne you in the strictnesse of his Iustice. Enter therefore into his gates with prayse and into his Courts with reioycing prayse him and blesse his Name for hee is good his Mercie is euerlasting and his Truth namely the performance of his promises endureth from generation to generation Serue him with gladnesse and come before him euer with ioyfulnesse for though hee be in the Heauens yet looketh hee downe from his holy Sanctuarie to heare the mournings of the Prisoners and to deliuer them that are appointed to death Let your soules therefore euermore prayse the Lord not your tongues and lippes only which are outward and oftentimes Organs of Hypocricie Remember and keepe in minde all his benefits for they are more towardes you then yee are able to number hee for giueth all your sinnes he healeth all your infirmities he giueth you all good things he preserueth you in troubles supplyeth your
yet remaynes in our corrupt hearts that we being thus washed in the Lauer of perfect regeneration the precious bloud of that slayne Lamb by faith we may not feare the assaults of Satan nor any malicious instrument of his this night but may be safely kept and preserued by thy prouidence and receiue such rest and sléep as may onely refresh vs let thy Angels guard vs and our soules and bodies and all that we haue that we it may bee kept and preserued safe vntill the morning and for euer Amen O Lord increase our faith A Confession of sinne a Prayer for pardon and for a godly and sanctified life O God and Father of all Goodnesse and Fountaine of Mercie the Guide of the Righteous the Giuer of all perfect gifts and the Sanctifier of the heartes of all that shall be saued shew thy selfe vnto me who am a defiled and deformed wretch whom originall corruption and actuall sinnes haue so polluted as I am not worthy to stand in thy sight or that thou shouldest dwell in mée by thy holy Spirit And therefore I cannot without feare and astonishment without trembling and shame approch into thy presence séeing mine owne filthinesse and considering thy great Maiestie Integritie and Puritie yet am I embeldened to come vnto thée coÌ„passed with many infirmities especially with 〈◊〉 and corruption which if I would endeuour to conceale I cannot they are so open and manifest to thine All-séeing eye that the more I labour to hide them so much the more they breake forth and shew themselues vnto thée O looke not vpon them as a Judge to condemne me for them but as a louing and mercifull Father and Phisician to cure mée of them so shall I not onely willingly discouer vnto thée all the sores and pollutions of my corrupt heart and pro phane life which by search I shall bée able to finde in my selfe but intreate thée also with the Lancet of thy Loue to cut searifie rip vp and find out all the hidden filthinesse that lurketh in my soule in my minde in my will and in mine affections and apply the Playster of the sauing Bloud of Jesus Christ to heale mee throughout that there remaine no more grosse corruption in mée and learne mée so to search and know the wickednesse of my heart that I may not spare my dearest and most familiar sinne but may â—ast it out as the chiefest worker of my miserie Lord let it become bitter lothsome and méerely hatefull vnto my soule as a most deadly infection howsoeuer it hath béene heretofore séeming swéet pleasing and delightfull vnto my carnall part Let mée abhorre all iniquitie and truely abstaine from all occasions to sinne againe Giue mée strength O Lord to ouercome my sinfull lusts and what wanteth in my power supply by thy grace that I may at least still striue against euery sin through the power of thy Spirit that I may bée approoued a member of thy Militant Church here where yet I am a stranger and where I continually féele the wearisome warfare betwéene the flesh and the Spirit wherein I haue neuer the victorie but by thine only power but the fâ—yle euer by mine owne weaknesse O subdue my flesh and fleshly minde to thine obedience that I neuer make ship wracke of a good conscience by yéelding vnto the motions of my corrupt heart which I daily féele in my selfe to rebell against thy reueiled will and make mée lightly to estéeme of the vaine and deceiuing things of this World that I may truly shew my selfe to take no thought for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof but by a constant deniall of mine owne will approoue my selfe to liue by Faith after thy will And giue mée grace that in nothing I may offend thy Maiesty and let mée neuer giue way to mine owne corrupt will and affections to commit the least sinne whereby I may quench that sparke of that Spirit and Grace thou hast begun in mée Enlighten my heart that I may know thy will aright and rightly behaue my selfe according vnto the same not for a day and then fall to the workes of mine owne peruerse will againe but that my Righteousnesse may shine more and more through a constant perseuerance vntill it come to that perfection as may truly testifie vnto my conscience that I am the same that I desire to séeme to be not according to the opinion that others haue of mee but according to that measure oâ— holinesse thou requirest to be in me let my outward integritie bee in all holy simplicitie and godly purenesse among men as in thy sight And the more that Satan by his meanes and ministers endeuoureth to withdraw mine obedience from thée so much the more let mée striue to maintaine that dutie and obedience which I owe vnto thée And let thy loue towardes mée draw mée to loue thée aswell when thou touchest mée with aduersttie as when thou giuest me prosperitie and fayle mée not in my greatest néed Teach mée O Father to séeke and obtaine all things at thy hands by the meanes and merits of Jesus Christ in whose name I humbly offer vnto thée this my weake and imperfect Sacrifice Accept it yet in him he is thine only Sonne in whom thou art euer well pleased hée is my Redéemer and hath paid the ransome for me which for my sinnes was laid vpon me and hee sitteth now a Mediator at thy right hand euen for me Scatter therefore O Lord my sinnes as a mist and mine iniquities as a Cloud and let my Righteousnesse appeare as the Sunne and mine Integritie before men as the noone day that my heart may alwayes behold thée And let thy face of fauour and loue spread its beams so ouer mee that I being inlightened by thée may walke as in the cléere Light of sauing Truth and be euer led by the hand of thy Grace that neither sinne Satan the World nor mine owne corruptions cause me to stumble and fall Giue me good Father the Spirit of perfect Prayer And although through the coldnesse of my Zeale and weaknesse of Faith I cannot cry vocally vnto thée alwayes alike yet accept the will and the sighes and grones of my heart which cannot bee expressed yet knowne to thée Thou knowest the meaning of the heart and hee that inwardly mourneth for his sinnes though hee outwardly cry not for Mercie thou hearest him it is thy Grace that worketh sighes in the sorrowfull heart and which inkindleth the fire of Zeale whereby the tongue is mooued from the beléeuing heart euen in often inforced silence to pierce at length euen the Heauens with the loudnesse of its cry And thou againe graciously grantest the faithfull hearts desire by outward reliefe or inward comfort so that nothing wanteth to him that séeketh thée but hee is filled with all ioy and spirituall consolation In this ioy let all worldly ioyes bee swallowed vp in mee and let mee preferre the peace of a good conscience before all carnall peace and
in sicknesse The Prayer O Lord my God I waite on thée My soule keepeth silence vnto thee for of thee commeth my saluation therefore do I submit my self vnto thy will giuing thée thankes for thy patience towards me in Jesus Christ nor thou hast shewed thy selfe towardes mee slowe to wrath and full of goodnesse and mercy Increase euer more and more thy graces towards mee that in this my Pilgrimage towardes my graue I may possesse my soule in patience waiting thy good time for my deliuerie for here where I now dwel I neither hear nor sée taste nor touch any truly comfortable thing only thy Word is my spirituall consolation and the hope of future glorie my ioy And were I not fed with the hope of a better life by death I were of all men most miserable for nature could not with patience beare the burden of this miserable life being so ful of all infirmities both of body and mind so fraught with sins of all sorts and accompanied with so many and sundry crosses and finally subiect to thy seuere Judgement But thy fauour and thy loue and thy patience towards me worheth in me patience knowing that the time is comming and at hand wherein I shal be fréed from this mortal and miserable to enioy a life immortall and glorious O confirme therefore increase the patience attendance and attention which thou hast begun in me that after I haue here done thy will I may receiue the promise wherein thou hast assured me that the patient abiding of the righteous shall be gladnesse Thou art a God of mercy and blessed are they that waite for thee Grant therefore Lord that I may be found blamelesse in the day of my distation and that I may here walke worthy of thee through Christ beeing strengthned with al might thrugh thy glorious power to all patience and long suffering with ioyfulnes Amen Lord increase my faith MEDIT. VIII Of Repentance and Merit NO man be he neuer so holy is free froÌ„ sinne and therefore neuer free from occâ—sions to mooue him to Repentance And I acknowledge that Repentance Patience Watchfulnesse Attendance and Attention are of no force vnlesse Faith be the ground of euery of them For it sufficeth mee not to bee sorrie for my sins as it séemeth Iudas and Kain were vn lesse by Faith I can feele assure my selfe that my sinnes are also pardoned as neither of them did for it is the free gift of God which God vouchsafed not to them Neither is it sufficient for mee to watch with Patience or to attend the bringing forth of outward oftentiue and vaine-glorious works but I must feele in my selfe the infallible tokens of mine effectuall calling and ingrafting into Christ through Faith before I can bring forth workes worthy amendment of life which is true Repentance Some tokens of mine effectuall calling I feâ—le in my selfe for I desire to do good yet euen then is euill present with me I delight in the Law of God as conceruing the inner man Namely as I am regenerate But I see another Law in my members rebelling against the Law of my minde and lending me captiue vnto the Law of sinne which is in my members So that I cannot doe the good I would doe but the euill which I would not do that I doe Should I then thinke that because I feele not the signes of my calling in perfection and because I am not free from all touch of infirmities and sinnes in thought word and deed that therefore I haue no Repentance God forbid for to perswade my selfe that I haue no sinne were to deifie my selfe and to make mee equall with Christ as doe those that are faithed from yet by their workes of Merit and of Supererogation presume to affirme that they can bring not only them-selues but others to saluation whose arrogate Merit stinkes before God making the death of Christ of none effect the highest Blasphemie that mortall man can spew out against the Trinitie for hereby is the most vnsearchable loue of God the Father in sending his Sonne made vain and fruitlesse the obedience of Christ to his Fathers will made needlesse and his death causlesse and the worke of the Holy Ghost who giueth Faith in the hearts of them that shall bee saued excluded and the corrupt heart of miserable man wherein by nature is nothing but sinne the dregges whereof will remaine euen in the regenerate man during this mortall life exalted aboue the merits of Christ. Which Blasphemy be farre from me Hee that can merit his owne Saluation needs no Repentance which I disclay me and cleaue only and alone to the merits of Christ my Sauiour in whom my Repentance imperfect is reputed true Repentance howsoeuer the â—ing of sinne remaines in me yet without mortall venome only to keepe me euer in minde of mine imperfections for when sinfull motions arise in mee I cannot but acknowledge in my selfe corruption which cannot but humble mee before God and occasion me to pray for the Spirit of Repentance and that God will deliuer mee from this bodie of sinne A Prayer for true Repentance and a reformed life The Prayer O Lord my God I come here into thy presence fearefull to looke vp to Heauen where thou sittest from whence thou beholdest all my wayes and obseruest all mine actions in earth cursed and euill and wherein I haue too too long wallowed my selfe and as it were bathed my selfe in the bloud of mine owne soule which I haue diuersly wounded through my sinnes seldome or neuer calling my selfe to an account what I haue done but resting secure haue followed vanitie vpon vanity heaping â—â—â—ne vpon sin as if there were neither pleasure nor profit but in a carnall course of life O touch my heart with a true sorrow for euery idle thought of my heart for euery vaine word of my mouth and for euery act that I haue commited against thy sacred Maiestie giue mee grace to call to minde my sinnes of all sorts of all seasons and of all places howsoeuer or wheresoeuer I haue done and committed them that they appearing vnto mee in their vgly likenesse I may truely lothe them hate and abhorre them and vnfainedly repent them while Ihane time and while thy Mercies may be found for in death there is no remeÌ„brance of thee and in the graue who shall prayse thee Returne O Lord deliuer my soule saue mee for thy mercies sake withdraw not thy tender mercie from mee O Lord let thy Merrie and thy Truth alwayes preserue me Open Lord my dimme eyes the â—ies of my heart that I may hence-forth sée and walke in thy wayes Soften and molliste my hard and stonie heart that with Peter I may go out of my sinnes and bitterly bewaile them Send thy light and thy truth let them lead mee let them bring me vnto thine holy Mountaine and to thy Tabernacles Giue me a truly repenting heart through a liuely Faith in the Merits
of thy Sonne in whom say vnto my Soule and seale it vnto mee by thy holy Spirit that thou art my Saluation Lord increase my faith and accept my Repentance MEDIT. IX Of Faith and Hope and the effects of them both and of the glorie to come FAITH HOPE the maine Pillars whervpō are builded all other Diuine Vertues are the meere gift of God without which I doe acknowledge I cannot be saued Saint Paul writing vnto the Hebrewes describes the faith whereby I beleeue in Christ not to be a dead but a working faith knowne by the effects whereof are many Examples Rom. 11. And whereby many most worthy men approued themselues to bee of God and to bee beloued of God who by their faith apprehended things absent and vnseene to their vnspeakable comfort as really and truly a◠if they had beene present and visible confirming thereby that faith is the ground of things which are hoped for and the euidence of things which are not seene By this our faithfull Fore-fathers saw Christ long before he came in the flesh and beleeued him to come to bee the Messiah Moses saith Christ saw my dayes So did the Prophets Dauid and many other who hoped for that which they saw not yet at length obtained the visible glorie of the same Sonne of God by whom and in whose bloud to bee shed they were saued Without faith howsoeuer a man may liue in a seeming sincere course of life before men though he bee obserued to doe no man wrong yet if hee take not hold of Christ by this liuely faith if hee imbrace not his Word lay it vp in his heart if he bring not forth fruits worthy amendment of life he pleaseth not God for in nothing is GOD pleased but in and by his Sonne and is delighted is none but in such as seeke him and serue him in and by his Sonne I cannot come vnto God without Christ nay I cannot beleeue that God is but by Christ. I cannot hope to receiue the good things of Heauen not with patience abide for them but that Christ hath purchased the same for me and promised the same vnto me And therefore I beleeue them to bee certaine and sure though yet but in expectation therefore I wait with patience The Husbandman wayteth for the Haruest many dayes after his chargeable and laborious committing the Seed vnto the earth if the Haruest were instant vpon the casting away of the Seed there were neither Patience nor Hope in the Seedes-man And if by experience hee found not that the Seed cast into the Earth would render recompence hee would either forbeare to cast it away or being sowne neuer hope for fruit So I wretched man though I deserue no other fruit to reape then I haue sowne namely of the flesh corruption yet I hope to reape what I haue not sowne namely of the Spirit euerlasting life and that through Iesus Christ who and not I hath cast the Seed of the Spirit into my Soule the fruit whereof I shall reape at the generall Haruest to mine owne euerlasting vse as if the Seed had beene mine owne for which I hope with patience in Faith As the Light followeth the Sunne so Hope followes Faith But if I beleeued not God in Christ and in him had assurance through Faith of the performance of his promise of future glorie I might well say with Saint Paul I were of all men most miserable for to endure here miseries crosses enemies labours anguishes and perplexities of bodie and minde and to bee also frustrate of future comfort my case were worse then the Bird in the Ayre the Fish in the Sea or the brute Beast of the Field But glorie bee to God in Christ who hath assured mee of a Kingdome to come an inheritance immortall Edifie your selues saith Saint Iude in your most holy Faith praying in the Holy Ghost and keep your selues in the loue of God looking for the Mercie of our Lord Iesus Christ vnto eternall life Eternall life then being the end of my Hope I will with patience abide it for comming I know it will come And the delay of mine enioying it is but the try all of my faith which yeeldeth me that assurance that to mee is much more precious then Gold that perisheth and shall bee found to my glorie at the appearing of Iesus Christ whom though I haue not seene yet I loue him beleeue and reioyce in him with ioy vnspeakeable and glorious and shall receiue the end of my Faith euen the saluation of my soule after this death It may bee demanded Is it so easie a matter to obtaine eternall life To beleeue onely no I beleeue not that simply to beleeue can obtaine saluation But if I confesse with my mouth the Lord Iesus and doe beleeue in my heart that God raysed him vp from the dead I shall bee saued It may bee againe obiected Here is yet but faith of the heart and confession of the mouth If this bee all that is required to saluation it is not so hard a thing as it is conceiued to obtaine it I hold in deed that the bare confession of Christ and to beleeue that Christ is though I beleeue him to bee the Sauiour of the World and yet doe not apply his merits and death vnto my selfe my Faith profits mee little and my Confession nothing at all Thou beleeuest saith Saint Iames that there is one God thou doest well the Deuils also beleeue and tremble and therefore barely to beleeue that there is a God and a Christ to confesse as much is no more then the Deuils doe Therefore this Faith and this Confession is not sufficient to my saluation for then should the Deuils that beleeue bee also saued but they beleeue and tremble I beleeue and hope desiring to shew my Faith by my workes Abraham indeed was iustified by his faith that before the attempting of the offering of his son But by the offering of his sonne hee shewed that his faith was not a naked and bare faith but a faith accompanied with obedience good Workes for his workes preceded not his iustification but beeing first iustified he beleeued and obeyed Abraham beleeued God and it was imputed to him for righteousnesse Faith being the gift of God brings forth good Works which in Abraham grew not by nature but by the free mercie of God wrought and working by the Holy Ghost whose fruits they were yet in Gods mercie imputed as the fruits of Abraham so what-soeuer good thing proceedeth of my faith in Christ I assume it not as mine though through Christ so imputed I beleeue that true and sauing Faith cannot bee without good Works for without good Works faith is dead And I also beleeue that there may bee works of themselues good and yet without true faith not onely not acceptable to God but rather condemned of him for