enemies Beseeching thee of thy fatherly goodnesse and mercy to remit and pardon all mine offences which in thought word and deed I have committed against thy holy Laws and Commandements Furthermore I humbly beseech thee that by thy most gracious protection I may bee defended and preserved this night from all perils and dangers both of body and soule that mine eyes may sleep quietly my body rest securely and my soule ever watch unto thee constantly so that I never consent to the temptations and allurements of Satan but by the continuall direction and assistance of thy heavenly grace I may come to thine eternall glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Our Father which art in heaven hallowed c. A Psalme of contrition and confession Psal 38. O Lord rebuke me not in thy wrath neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure Ibidem I am troubled I am bowed downe greatly I goe mourning all the day long 22. I am powred out like water and all my bones are out of joint my heart is like wax it is melted in the middest of my bowels 31. I am forgotten as a dead man out of minde I am like a broken vessell 41. Lord be mercifull unto me heale my soule for I have sinned against thee 38. All my desire is before thee and my groaning is not hid from thee For I will declare mine iniquity Ibid. I will be sorry for my sinne The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit a broken 51. and a contrite heart O Lord thou wilt not despise O GOD 69. thou knowest my foolishnesse and my sinnes are not hid from thee I have gone astray 119. like a lost sheep seeke thy servant for I doe not forget thy commandements I acknowledge my transgressions 51. and my sin is ever before me Against thee Ibidem thee onely have I sinned and done this evill in thy sight There is no soundnesse in my flesh 38. because of thine anger neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin Ibidem For mine iniquities are gone over my head as an heavy burthen they are too heavy for me Ibidem My wounds stinke and are corrupt because of my foolishnesse 40. Innumerable evils have compassed me about mine iniquities have taken hold upon me so that I am not able to looke up they are moe than the haires of mine head therfore may heart faileth me A Psalme for remission Psal 51. HAve mercy upon me O God according to thy loving kindnesse according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions Wash mee thorowly from mine iniquity Ibid. and cleanse me from my sinne Purge me with hysop Ibid. and I shall be cleane wash me I shall be whiter than snow For thy name sake O Lord 25. pardon mine iniquity for it is great Remember not the sins of my youth Ibid. nor my transgressions according to thy mercy remember thou mee for thy goodnesse sake O Lord. Turne thee unto me Ibid. and have mercy upon me for I am desolate and afflicted Looke upon mine affliction and my paine Ibid. and forgive all my sins O keepe my soule Ibidem and deliver me let me not be ashamed for I put my trust in thee 39. Deliver mee from all my transgressions make me not the reproach of the foolish 31. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant save me for thy mercy sake 51. Hide thy face from my sins blot out all mine iniquities Ibid. Create in me a cleane heart and renew a right spirit within me Ibid. Cast mee not away from thy presence and take not thy holy spirit from me 141. Mine eyes are unto thee O Lord God in thee is my trust leave not my soule destitute A Psalme for mercy and direction Psal 69. HEare mee O Lord for thy loving kindnesse is good turne unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies Remember O Lord 25. thy tender mercies and thy loving kindnesse for they have beene ever of old Be mercifull unto mee 86. O Lord for I cry unto thee daily Shew mee thy waies 25. O Lord teach me thy paths Lead me in thy truth Ibid. and teach me for thou art the God of my salvation on thee doe I wait all the day O send out thy light 43. thy truth let them leade me let them bring me to thy holy hill and to thy tabernacles Cause me to heare thy loving kindnesse in the morning 143. for in thee doe I trust cause me to know the way wherin I should walke for I lift up my soule unto thee Ibid. Teach me to doe thy will for thou art my God thy spirit is good lead me into the land of uprightnesse 40. With-hold not thou thy tender mercies from me O Lord let thy loving kindnesse and thy truth continually preserve me 119. Order my steps in thy word and let not any iniquity have dominion over me 86. Teach me thy way O Lord I will walk in thy truth unite my heart to feare thy name 39. Lord make mee to know mine end and the measure of my daies what it is that I may know how fraile I am A Psalme of confidence in Gods mercie Psal 23. THe Lord is my shepherd I shall not want He maketh me to lie down in greene pastures Ibidem he leadeth me beside the still waters He restoreth my soule Ibidem he leadeth mee in the paths of righteousnesse for his Names sake Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will feare none evill Ibidem for thou art with me thy rod thy staffe they comfort me I will abide in thy Tabernacle for ever 61. I will trust in the covert of thy wings Because thou hast been my helpe 63. therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoyce For thou hast beene a shelter for me 61. and a strong tower from mine enemies I will come into thy house 5. in the multitude of thy mercy in thy feare will I worship towards thine holy Temple 62. My soule wait thou onely upon God for my expectation is from him Ibid. He only is my rock and my salvation he is my defence I shall not be moved 40. Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust A Psalme of praise Psal 104. I Will sing unto the Lord as long as I live I will sing praise unto my God whiles I have my being 7. I will praise the Lord according to his righteousnesse I will sing praise unto the name of the Lord most high 8. O Lord our God how excellent is thy name in all the earth who hast set thy glorie above the Heavens I will give thee thankes in the cōgregation 35. I will prais thee among much people I will worship towards thy holy Temple 138. and praise thy name for thy loving kindnesse and for thy truth for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name I will extoll thee my God 145. O King and I will blesse thy name for ever and ever Every day will I blesse thee Ibid. and I will praise thy name for ever and ever My mouth shall speake the praise of the Lord Ibid. and let all flesh blesse his holy name for ever and ever The Lord liveth 18. and blessed be my rock and let the God of my salvation be exalted 28. Blessed be the Lord because hee hath heard the voyce of my supplications 41. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting Amen Amen ECCLES 12.12 OF making many books there is no end and much study is a wearinesse of the flesh 13. Let us heare the conclusion of the whole matter feare GOD and keepe his Commandements for this is the whole duty of man Collectanea T. P. FINIS Imprimatur SA BAKER Iunii 30. 1637.
THE SINNERS Sanctuary ISA. 7.55 Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him returne unto the Lord and hee will have mercy upon him and to our God for hee will abundantly pardon HIERON The Lord doth neither performe the good things which he promised to the Saints if they returne to iniquities nor the evils which hee threatned to sinners if they returne unto salvation By THOMAS PACKER his Majesties Servant LONDON Printed by Iohn Haviland for Edward Blackmore and are to be sold at his shop in S. Pauls Church yard at the signe of the Angel 1638. TO THE CHILDREN of Men. ROM 3.23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God COme now Isa 1.18 and let us reason together saith the Lord though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow though they be red like crymsin they shall be as wooll Have I any pleasure at Ezec. 18.23 all that the wicked should die saith the Lord God and not that hee should returne from his waies and live 31. Cast away from you all your transgressions whereby yee have transgressed and make you a new heart and a new spirit for why will ye die O house of Israel 1 Sa. 12.23 I will teach you the good and the right way 24. Onely feare the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart for cōsider how great things he hath done for you Wee must serve the Lord our God Deu. 28.47 with joifulnesse and with gladnesse of heart for the abundance of all things Trust in the Lord with all thine heart Pro. 35. and leane not unto thine owne understanding In all thy waies acknowledge him 6. and hee shall direct thy paths Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust Psal 40.4 And be not conformed to this world Rom. 12.2 but be yee transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good that acceptable and perfect will of God Augustin Doe not understand that thou maist beleeve but beleeve that thou maist understand understanding is the reward of Faith Iohn 11.40 Jesus saith unto Martha Said I not unto thee that if thou wouldest beleeve thou shouldest see the glory of God Act. 18.27 When Apollos came into Achaia hee helped them much who had beleeved through grace Isa 7.9 If ye will not beleeve surely yee shall not bee established We beeleve and know Ioh. 6.69 that thou art Christ that Sonne of the living God Teach me good judgement and knowledge Psal 119.66 O Lord for I have beleeved thy Commandements It belongeth to every private man to judge of the doctrine of religion Brentius for satisfaction of his owne conscience and to discerne the truth from falshood That Religion which Lipsius is sincerely taken out of the holy Scriptures is the true and Christian Religion Andrad For they containe the most ample Canon that is the rule and square of Piety Faith and Religion August They have delivered unto us that there is but one God and one Christ one Hope and one Faith one Church and one Baptisme Ferus They are the sole rule of veritie and whatsoever differs or contradicteth the same it is error and cockle with what shew soever it commeth forth They are all plaine to him that understandeth Pro. 3.5 and right to them that finde knowledge All those things which appertaine to faith Aug. and direction of life are laid downe plainly in the holy Scriptures They are manifest to them Epiphan who repaire unto them with a religious heart Let not our Religion therefore consist in our fantasies for any truth Aug. whatsoever it be is better than any thing that can of our own head be devised Aug. Godly humility doth more easily finde out the Maker of the stars than proud curiosity the order of the starres Booke of nature into the book of Grace The depth of Predestination and the manner of Regeneration are difficult points of divine mysteries which a studious Divine an illuminated spirit cannot find out Ibidem Let us religiously adore these things by faith and not curiously search into them by reason further than Gods Word doth allow This is the perfection of the regenerate August If they acknowledge themselves to be imperfect The doctrine of the holy Ghost doth not encourage curiositie Bernard but inflameth charitie When the soule is overcome by the fever Chrysost or fiery heat of imaginations then it questioneth but when it is sound and in good temper it reasoneth not but faithfully beleeveth As zeale must erect our discretion Bernard that wee run not too slowly So discretion must direct our zeale that we run not too fast Aug. God will reveale wisdome onely to such as walke continually in the way of peace not in the way of precisenesse Harsnet Tell me what is not contained in the ten Cōmandements which of a Christian is to bee performed Lactant. When God opened his truth unto us he would have us know those things only which it behooved man to know for obtaining life But of those things which appertained to curious profane desires he spake not that they might bee hidden Why then doest thou seeke those things which thou canst not know neither art thou more blessed if thou knowest them Grace teacheth a man to put his knowledge in practice Harsnet He desires to be taught Idem that he may walke not that he may talke as too many doe Adde to your faith vertue 2 Pet. 1.5 and to vertue knowledge 6. And to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience godlinesse 7. And to godlinesse brotherly kindnesse and to brotherly kindnesse charitie 8. For if these things be in you and abound they make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitfull in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ Luther in Luke 6. Let us first repose Faith in God alone and then let us direct our works to the benefit of our neighbour As many as will not follow God Idem in Ephes 5. and walke in love and I shew forth their faith by their works are neither the sons of God nor heires of his kingdom What doth it profit Ia. 2.14 my brethren though a man say hee hath faith can faith save him The end of the Commandement is Charity 1 Tim. 1.5 out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of faith unfeined By faith which is conceived Haymo in the heart professed with the mouth and adorned with good works the just man liveth eternally Cyprian Life is here lost or wonne everlasting salvation is here provided for by the due worshipping of God and the fruits of faith Epiphan For in the age to come after a mans death there is
that in the Scriptures and Word of God wee are bidden to make and without the which we shall never obtaine pardon and forgivenesse of our sins Bernard Without this Confession the righteous man is judged unthankfull and the sinner reputed a dead man Therâ—fâ—re Conf ssion is the way of the sinner and neverthelesse becommeth the righteous Lord be mercifull unto me Psal 41. heale my soule for I have sinned against thee If any say I have sinned Iob 33. and perverted that which was right and it profited mee not He will deliver his soule from going into the pit Ibidem and his life shall see the light If we will with a sorrowfull Hom. de poenit and contrite heart make an unfeined confession of our sins unto God he will freely forgive them and put all our wickednesse out of his remembrance Ibid. I doe not say but that if any do finde themselves troubled in conscience they may repaire to their learned Curat or Pastor or to some other godly learned man and shew the trouble doubt of their conscience to him that they may receive at his hand the comfortable salve of Gods word Hom. de poenit But it is against the true Christian liberty that any man should be bound to the numbering of his sinnes as hath beene used heretofore in the time of blindnesse and ignorance Bellar. Calvin admitteth of private confession unto the Pastor when any is afflicted in his conscience and shall need anothers helpe Yet with this moderation that this confession bee free and not exacted and not injoyning a rehearsall of all particular sins Let us with a true and contrite heart Hom de â—oenit use that kind of confession which God hath commanded in his word If we confesse our sins 1 Ioh. 1. he is faithfull and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousnesse His Absolution WHo can forgive sins Mark 2.7 but God onely The Son of Man hath power upon earth to forgive sins 10. He will purge your conscience from dead workes Heb. 9.14 to serve the living God For this is not an humane Ambros worke neither is the holy Ghost given by man but beâ—ng called upon by the Priest is bestowed by God wherin the gift is Gods the ministery is the Priests Pet. Lumb God onely doth remit and reteine sins and yet he hath given unto the Church power of binding and loosing But God bindeth and looseth otherwise than the Church doth for he by himselfe only remitteth sins because hee purgeth the soule inwardly from the spot of sin freeth it from the depth of eternall death which the Church cannot do but hath power of binding and loosing that is of declaring what sinners are either loosed or bound Chemnit In absolution God himself by the ministery of the Gospell doth remit sins unto all beleevers The vertue and effect of remission is not in the Disciples Cajetan but in God who pardoneth We account of them Ambros as the Ministers of Christ Stewards of the Mysteries Sins are not loosed or reteined at the pleasure of men Aug. but according to the will of God praiers of the Church To the Lord our God belong mercies Daniel 9.9 and forgivenesses though we have rebelled against him Delivering fom sin Chrysost he ingrafteth righteousnes yea he extinguisheth sin and suffereth it not to be O Lord God Almighty Ordo Rom. antiq de Offic divin pag. 18. edi Rom. 1591. be mercifull to me a sinner that I may worthily give thankes unto thee who hast made me an unworthy one for thy mercies sake a Minister of the Priestly Office and hast appointed mee a poore and humble Mediatour to pray and make intercession unto our Lord Jesus Christ for sinners that returne unto repentance And therefore O Lord the Ruler who wouldest have all men to bee saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth who dost not desire the death of a sinner but that he may bee reconciled and live Receive my prayer which I powre forth before the face of thy mercy for thy servants and handmaids who have fled to repentance and thy mercie Nehemiah 9.17 Thou art a God ready to pardon gracious and mercifull slow to anger and of great kindnesse Behold Ambros that by the holy Ghost sins are forgiven but men to the remission of sins bring their Ministery They exercise not the authority of any power Therefore in all the servants there is no dominion Optat. but a Ministery Almighty God give unto thee absolution Tho. Aquin. and remission His amendment of life YOu were sometimes darknesse Ephes 5. but now are yee light in the Lord walke as children of light Set your affection on Colos 3. things above not on things on the earth Ephes 4. Put ye off concerning the former conversation the old man which is corrupt after the deceitfull lusts Ibidem And put yee on the new man which after GOD is created in righteousnesse and true holinesse Playfer That which is borne of the old man which is the flesh must dayly decrease in us and grow downwards Idem But that which is borne of the new man which is the Spirit must daily increase in us and grow upward Latymer Repentance and amendment of life are a sure remedy that our sins shall not bee our shame and confusion Vdall Bee carefull to live in godlinesse reforming your affection inwardly and your conversation outwardly according to the prescript rule of God word They that from the bottome of their heart doe acknowledge their sins Hom. de â—oenit and are unfeinedly sory for their offences will cast off all hypocrisie and put on true humilitie and lowlinesse of heart And as they did before give themselves to uncleannes of life Ibidem so will they henceforth with all diligence give themselves to innocency purenesse of life and true godlinesse The graces of God Oecumen as the flowers of a garden must not only be kept but also dressed that they may have not only a being but also an abounding Coloss 3. Put yee on therefore as the elect of GOD holy and beloved bowels of mercies kindnesse humblenesse of minde meeknesse long suffering Forbearing one another and forgiving one another 4 if any have a quarrell against any even as Christ forgave you so also doe ye Ibidem And above all things put on Charity which is the bond of perfectnesse Raban Mercy consisteth in giving almes cheerfully in suffering wrong patiently in reforming the rude lovingly Chrysost It is the safety of salvation the ornamâ—nt of faith and propitiation for sins Lyra. Let Christs humility also bee inwardly in your hearts and not outwardly as it is with hypocrites For unlesse wee bee beaten downe in humility â—â—all we