thy credit and provide things honest before men A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches and loving favour than silver and gold (k) Prov. 22.1 It seasoneth the gifts that we have received and maketh them profitable unto others Be our parts never so transcendent Be our gifts never so excellent Be we never so loaden with spirituall graine and food and treasure yet if we have not a good name to grace them and countenance them we can do very little or no good with them It was an honour to Demetrius that he had a good report of all men and of the truth if self (l) 3. Epist John v. 12. but stand no more upon thy credit than upon thy conscience neither regard more the shame of men than the fear of God Have him still before thine eyes who hath thee alwayes before his eyes look up unto him continually who never leaveth to look down upon thee so shalt thou walk evermore in his presence and be sure to become ever the more upright 25. NEither derogate any thing from the Majestie of God albeit he vouchsafe ordinarily to use externall and ordinary meanes in bringing his purposes to pass for he useth them freely not of necessity and he is as well able to manifest his power without them as with them He hath a prerogative above the prerogative of any Prince to work above and besides yea and against nature Neither yet magnify the creatures which the Lord at any time is pleased to use above that which is convenient for any rare gifts and qualities that we see in them for that were to set them in the place of God who have no more efficacy than that which is given them from above from him who is the guide of nature and the cause of causes according to his own pleasure but first and above all give thou glory to God to whom onely it is due and then for the Lords sake honour thou the means because God hath put the honour of an instrument upon it 26. NEver distrust in thy least or greatest vexation any the least or greatest promise of God for not one jot or one tittle of any shall fail to be performed in due time Man is variable in his love and promises to his neighbour Men are subject even the best men both to deceive and to be deceived Men promise much and perform little but as God is not deceived so he cannot deceive and if thou be of any spirituall experience thou canst not but know that the Lord often bringeth to passe more than he promiseth to do Doubt not therefore at any time of his Word who is many times better than his Word 27. ACcount it and acknowledge it alwayes with all thankfulnes as a great mercy of God that he sendeth thee to school and speaketh to thee who art not able to abide the beauty and brightnes of his majestie by men and brethren like unto thy self and subject to like passions If God himself should appeare unto thee and utter his voyce his voyce from heaven then wouldst thou fear and quake and fall down as a dead man or cry out with great astonishment as many of the Fathers did Alas I shall dye we hear not the thunder without feare we behold not the brightnes of the Sun without dazeling how then should we hear the immediate voice of God or see his glory without confusion Then if by Gods mercyes thou recoverest thy sences thou wouldst make request to have the ministers of the Word to speak unto thee again whom now thou despisest and whose words thou contemnest now as base and contemptible thou wouldst then desire and imbrace 28. REmember it and consider it as a principle whensoever thou hearest that howsoever we may not obey either man or Angell if he speak any thing contrary to the written Word though he come with all shew of learning and all appearance of unspotted and undefiled pureness yet the greatest princes of the world are bound to heare and obey the meanest man that God doth send so far as he teacheth according to his commission If Princes resist the word of truth in the Preachers mouth they resist not the messenger but the master that sent him 29. GRow better as thou growest elder Be not like a dead hedge with the many by standing longer waxing rottener Art thou past growth in body yet art thou not come to thy full growth in soul thou so journest here in this valley of teares untill thy faith be turned into vision and thy hope into fruition As a new born babe desire the sincere milk of the Word that thou mayest grow thereby [m] 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I Pet. 2.2 The Apostle speaketh it to the eldest as well as to the youngest There is no bound for this thy growth but the common bound of thy mortality Grow still in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ [n] 2 Pet. 3.18 c. without whom all knowledge is ignorance all wisedom foolishnes all learning madness and all religion errour or hypocrisy or superstition and of whom the greatest part of that which thou knowest is not the least part of that which thou knowest not Never be to teach unwilling or to learn ashamed 30. THink not thou hast knowledge enough for then thou clearely bewrayest thy want of knowledge such as have attained and received the greatest knowledge do find in themselves the greatest ignorance such as imagine themselves to be most sure and rich in understanding are indeed most sottish and childish in the matters of God like empty vessels that make the greatest sound Hereby thou shalt try thy self whether thou hast reached to any measure of acceptable knowledge if it work and kindle in thee a desire of more knowledge if it do praferre facem hold the light before thee to see thy own weakness and if it teach thee that still thy wants are greater than thy wealths 31. DEspise not undervalew not the the holy Word of God because it is conveied unto thee by sinfull man Forsake not the exercises of religion for the wickedness or unworthiness of the Minister As thou art not to receive his doctrine for his good life so thou art not to reject it for his evil life An evill Messenger may deliver a good message The Pharisees in the dayes of Christ were lewd livers full of pride covetousnes hypocrisy and dissimulation and many of them of other tribes than of Levy yet so long as they fate in Moses chaire that is held themselves to Moses text and doctrine the disciples are commanded ded to heare them as damned hypocrits as they were and to do whatsoever they commanded [o] Matth. 23.2 3. which words our Saviour would never have delivered if either the Minister might have defiled the Word or any man be allowed for the faults of the Minister to have rejected and refused the Lords Mysteries 32. IF thou wouldst increase in
Eremicus theologus OR A Sequestred Divine HIS APHORISMS OR BREVIATS of Speculations IN TWO CENTURIES By Theophilus Wodenote B. D. sometimes fellow of Kings College in Cambridge Cantic chap. 4. ver 16. Awake O Northwinde and come thou South blow upon my garden that the spices thereof may flow out LONDON Printed by T. W. for Andrew Crook at the Green Dragon in S. Paul's Churchyard 1654. TO THE HIGHLY BORN HONORABLY MINDED AND WORTHY OF HONORABLE AND HIGH RESPECT MATTHEW HALSE of Efford in the County of Devon Esquire THEOPHILUS WODENOTE one of his obliged Oratours dedicates these his Aphorisms or Breviats of Speculations And daily beseecheth God for him that both he and all his issue so specious already by affinitie with so many Noble Progenies and still growing more and more eminent by their own sincere and abundant piety and charity may by divine mercy be preserved thorough faith unto salvation APHORISMS OR BREVIATS of Speculations The first Centurie 1. BEfore and after and in all businesses and at all times remember Prayer how canst thou hope to speed in any thing thou do'st if thou do'st it not in Gods fear and with his favour which is the very soule of thy soule and life of thy life so profitable so necessary that by it thy souls salvation and life it self liveth Let not thy unworthiness deterr thee though thou art subject to many passions and canst not pray as thou oughtest Elias was subject to the like and yet prayed and was heard (a) James 5.17 18. Upon a crie made the thief seeks to flie and neighbours come to help upon a prayer made the Devill shifts away and God comes to succour 2. IN petitioning Almighty God Ask and it shall be given you seek yee shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you (b) Matth. 7.17 Not alone ask and it shall be given you ther 's not a full point but seek and knock as well as ask our Saviour useth a threefold phrase and urgeth the duty from one degree to another with interposition of proportionable promises to signifie that we must pray often be earnest and zealous for cold suters proove cold speeders Cold and superficial requests can never pierce the clouds nor find any manner of access to the Throne of Grace The prayer of the righteous availeth much but with this condition if it be fervent (c) James 5.16 but put not ferventness in copiousness of syllables but of sense not in lip-labour but in heart-labour God esteemeth not the loudness or the length but the strength of prayer nor weighes he the ready words but the radicall devotion of him that praeth Thou mayest pray and cry and outcrie others even without crying out Moses prayer could not be heard on earth (d) Exod. 14.15 and yet the cry of it came up to heaven when the tongue cannot speak to God if with heart we can sigh to him he understandeth that language and we shall be sure of help A sigh sometimes will serve if truly from the soul 3. TRust not with the Papists to scale the high fort of Heaven by the broken and rotten ladder of the merits of Saints or thy own works or worthyness but place all thy hopes and moove all thy sutes in the Name of Jesus Christ without whom neither thou nor any of the Saints have any thing to do with God but pray God for thy right in Jesus Christ not to enter into judgment with thee but claime all thy right to blessedness by thy right in Jesus Christ without whom no man hath right in any thing saving in Gods indignation and his own destruction 4. PRay that thy faith may be scientious and unfeigned that thy lise may be conscientious and unspotted Mans life and religion are for the most part like A sound faith a sweet behaviour A false faith a debauched demeanour The fountaine being fowle and noysome can the water be faire and wholesome Can a bad tree bring forth good fruit Do men gather grapes of thornes or figs of thistles [e] Matth. 7.16 Neither can their outward conversation be pure whose inward perswasion is not perfect 5. WHat books soever other men admire and make their Jewels Let the Scriptures be dearer unto thee than all other books together Let them be a lampe to thy feet and a light unto thy paths [f] Psal 119.105 Set and settle thy continuall considerations upon them Wherein nothing is superfluous nor any thing wanting wherein whatsoever is taught is truth whatsoever is commanded is goodness whatsoever is promised is perfect happiness yea which not onely for pure and perfect matter but for high and heavenly expressions so farr excell that they are not to be mentioned with any other writings by way of comparison 6. HOw ragged are mens expressions How poor the pithiness of their discourses In sight of the sacred Scriptures their most accomplished Treatises are not so much as the light of a candle to the glorious brightness of the Sun in his chiefest splendour In Gods book every particle hath his poize every tittle is usefull every syllable is sententious every word is wonderfull He that once truly knows it cannot chuse but love it He that truly loves it cannot chuse but with all the veines of his heart commend it to others 7. TAke not upon thee to justify whatsoever any the most learned men without speciall inspiration hath published but whatsoever any pen-man of Scripture to whom the Holy Ghost did dictate hath set down defend to thy death and with thy death Men may erre not knowing the Scriptures [g] Matth. 22.29 not attaining to the perfect sense of them Apollo's a learned Doctour fervent in the Spirit and mighty in the Scriptures yet was he ignorant in divers things and received instruction from Aquila and Priscilla [h] Acts 18.26 We know in part and we prophesy in part said S. Paul [i] 1 Cor. 13.9 after long study and many wonderfull revelations after God had exalted him to the third heaven and there shewed him more than a man might conceive In sundry things as men we are many times much mistaken but not a word in all the sacred volumes that can be either false or faulty the Scriptures of God cannot erre 8. TAke not advantages but advertisements by Scripture read it not to feed a faction but to find a truth look both forward and backward and diligently ponder the circumstances that thou mayest the more clearely perceive the substance catch not at the words or phrases but consider what the will of the Lord is Think not when Christ saith that all that ever came before him were thieves robbers [k] John 10.8 that therefore Moses Elias Elisha Isaiah Jeremiah and the rest of the Prophets were no better than thieves and robbers because they went before Christ in time but that such only were thieves as professed themselves to be the door of the sheep or received or
be works where there is not faith but there is certainly no true faith where there are no works They are the tokens and trials the pulse and breath at least of a lively faith and by want of them thou mayest as well conclude want of faith as by the ceasing of the pulse and breath conclude the ceasing of life 61. IT is not enough to do well unless thou speedily dispatch what thou dost Delayes in any thing that is good are ill and in the best things worst deadness and drowsiness in doing duty is no fit service in his sight who requireth ferventness and cheerfulness in all good actions There may be as great a fault in practising a vertue too late as in performing a vice too soon say not to thy neighbour go and come again and to morrow I will give thee when thou hast it by thee [q] Prov. 3.28 when thou hast wherewith to supply his wants to day To morrow may never come either to him or thee or if it come to thee it may come unseasonable and unable to do him good what availeth it to let the grass grow when the horse starveth or when the steed is stollen to shut the stable door 62. ARt thou advanced to authority and established in high place make not much of vile persons of what estate soever whose true title for all their other titles is that they are the enemies of God but make much of and be sure to honour those that sear the Lord and walk in his wayes how mean soever they are upon earth if ever thou desire and hope to inherit glory with them in heaven Look not with so great regard how personable men are or of what birth or wealth as of what faith and conscience and pious deportment shew most curtesy to those that are most Christian and give best countenance to them that are of best behaviour If God have deputed thee to keep his room to resemble his Majestie to bear his image it is not onely comely but necessary thou shouldst follow his example whose bountifull favours never fail the righteous nor the light of his loving countenance at any time shineth on the wicked 63. LOve all even thy deadlyest enemyes and do good unto them and that not only in their prosperity and flourishing estate but in their greatest need so far as thou dost not maintain and help them against Christ yea as thou seest the gifts of God more cleerly to shine more manifestly to multiply in them so let thy love increase towards them Let not their will or work to hurt thee overcome thy will or work to help them Adjoin not thy impatiency to their injustice keep them not off from thee by opposing or upbraiding but rather draw them neerer unto thee by prayer and kindness It is in vain for thee to represent and press what evill they have done unto thee how many wayes they have wronged thee should Christ have loved none but his friends he had never loved thee It is impossible for men to do that wrong one to another which we have done all to God There can be no surer pledge to thy soul that thy sins are forgiven with God and that he favoureth thee than if thou find a readiness in thy self to remit injuries and to favour those that do them but especially make much of the houshold of faith but more affectionatly and more liberally Christians by profession Majori affectu effectu Ber. Saints by calling heires by faith but especially do good to those that are the sons of God by grace and adoption that are thy brethren by grace sanctification whom God hath ingraven as a signet in the palm of his hand and whom he tendereth as the apple of his ey Let them have the privilege of an elder brother even a doubly portion who when for thy miscarriages they privatly blame thee do not meanly profit thee and pleasure thee by shewing thy sins to thy self and covering them from other and yet that is all the injury thou art like to receive from them 64. BE not hollow-hearted but sincerely affected Be not like subtill Saul [r] 1 Sam. 18.17 and hypocriticall Absalon [ſ] 2 Sam. 15.5 onely kind in fair salutations and friendly words but like faithfull Jonathan [t] 1 Sam. 18.4 and honest Onesiphorus [u] 2 Tim. 1.16 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in deeds make good thy kindness and manifest thy truth and that not forcibly or with grudging but with good will cheerfully and that not sparingly or basely but bountifully and with a large hand If thou shalt do this from the true ground because God hath commanded and to a right end that God may be glorified and thy neighbour bettered there shall not be wanting any thing to true liberality 65. SUch as are wronged and oppressed and cannot help themselves be ready to help by all good means thou canst afford by thy deeds and by thy words by thy Counsell and by thy comforts by thy pleading with men for them and prayers to to God and the more help them the weaker they are to help themselves and the stronger thou art to help them He that hasteneth to be mercifull to another shall himself in the like case soonest obtaine mercy Neither is there a surer signe than mercy to be found of any mans present being under mercy 66. FOr thy neighbours vertues allow not his vices Neither for his vices condemne his vertues Hate not so much his sodaine passions as never to love his sober actions obscure not the glory of Gods gifts upon whomsoever bestowed but wisely distinguishing between every mans good properties and his bad Let the one be as a rock the other as a rule let the one divert thee the other direct thee 67. NEither seek nor admit imbowelled intireness or any speciall familiarity with those notorious hypocrits those soul-murderers who either poyson the Church with heresy Pejus est Ecclesiam scindere guà m idolis sacrificare August or which is worse than to sacrifise to Idols dismember and rent it asunder with schism who labour to alienate the minds of men from their right teachers and from the Word and Sacraments in the Church of this Land because of their private dislikings and discontents to the hinderance of the chief business and furtherance of the common enemy whose friendship is servitude and abides not equality whose kisses are treasons whose religion is policy and whose policy wickednes who infect all whom they can draw within the compass of communication and intise as many as they can possibly within that compass with whom a man cannot peaceably live in this world except he will believe with them and with whom a man cannot believ if he perfectly trust to live in the world to come 68. BE not more carefull what thou eatest or drinkest than amongst whom thou eatest or drinkest For there are some whose places we should rather desire than their persons
things for the salvation of thy soul Almighty God hath from everlasting ordained both the ends and the means not the ends without the means nor the means without the ends but both of them All lawfull means may well stand with Gods providence and faith therein yea by not divorcing the means from the end we both declare our sincere obedience in using such weak means as are subordinate thereunto and decline security and presumption two main enemies of our most holy faith 45. BY daily prayer and practice stir up the gifts of the Holy Ghost in thee lest in the end thou lose thy store with stock and all constantly keep on rowing against the stream of thy naturall corruption against which if thou do not strive continually but stand at a stay it will carry thee away and all thy merchandize as a boat standing loose upon the river is carryed backward if it be not wafted forward is by the sway of the water driven downward unless it be stil labouring to go upwards 46. OBserve diligently what adversaries be abroad and warily watch that there be no traitours at home All that hurt thee are not without thee there are enemies too within thee and such as may do thee more harm than all the rest look upon thy outward senses and reflect upon thy inward affections lest by the former evills enter and lest by the later evills conquer 47. TAke heed to thy mouth that thou speak not unadvisedly and to thy hands that they act not unpreparedly but especially and above all things look to the inward affections of thy heart for as the fountain is such is the river that runneth from it If the fountain be sweet the river that floweth from it will not be sowre as the Wood is so the Fire will be unsavoury wood will make unwholsome fire but pure Frankincense or dry Juniper will yield a pleasant perfume so if the soul be sanctified the lips will be seasoned but if the thoughts and affections be ungodly they will bring forth lewd words and wicked actions for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh said the God of Truth who knew the heart [h] Matth. 12.34 what the heart readeth the mouth repeateth 48. COnsider thy proper and personall sins whereunto by the corruption of thy nature thou art most inclined from which thou can'st hardliest abstain as beeing more strong and more working in thee than some others are and against them make thy spiritual compacts and barricadoes most durable and most guard thy walls with Redoubts and outworks where the hedge is lowest every beast will seek to enter and where we are weakest Sathan that beast will be strongest his temptations will be thickest where our defence is slenderest 49. STand to thy watch looke to thy wayes keep a continuall guard over thy self in all occurrences and not only beware of personall sins towards which thy nature most bends but of those also which are incident to thy present estate whatsoever it is In wealth beware of high-mindedness in health of wantoness in mirth of forgetfulnes in want to distrustfulness in loss of pensiveness and in death of fearfulness 50. ABstain as farr as thou canst not only from every sin but also from every baite that may be a means to bring thee unto it Look not thou upon the wine saith the Holy Ghost by the mouth of Salomon when it is red when it giveth his colour in the cup when it mooveth it self aright [i] Prov. 23.31 and accordingly look not upon the meat that may betray thy appetite and then thy affections young Daniel refused the meat that was allotted unto him by Nebuchadnezzar which of it self was lawfull to be received with thanksgiving because the King should not intice him thereby to forsake his own God or to leane to the others Religion [k] Dan. 1.8 51. CHeck not Gods Word with the licentious Antinomian give not Gods Spirit the lie who in every place warneth us that the Morall Law is not abolished by the Law of faith but established [l] Marth 5.17 18 19 20. In the uprightness integrity of thy heart endeavour to walk still in the old way of Gods Commandements if ever thou mean to come to Heaven by the new and living way Christ Jesus For every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure [m] 1 Joh. 3.3 Examin and proove thou still and fashion thy works by the Law as by a right levell which God hath left to be a rule of righteousnes to remain in full strength power and vertue for ever Although thou canst not fulfill it yet put it not out of thy sight or care stray from it as little as thou canst though thou canst not obey it so fully as thou wouldst 52. HOwsoever thou fall through infirmity or human frailty into sin as who is free from falling It is not possible for any meer man to be without all offence [n] 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysostom Howsoever being surprized by Sathan inveigled by slights inticed by sinners thou be taken and upon a sudden overtaken in a fault for it were a proud perswasion above mans state and against-Gods Truth to think thy self safe from sin yet be not so insolent and impudent stand not in justification of it for that sheweth less grace and more corruption while men though otherwise badly disposed blush and are touched with some bashfulness though they cannot contain themselves yet there is hope of them some signe of salvation is the acknowledgment of sin [o] Signum salut is agnitio peccati Bern. but when they justify their bad doings and boldly defend what they have done they are almost desperate and give small hope of amendment without speciall grace To sin is human weakness but to plead for it wilfull wickednes Defence of a fault doubles it and is a forerunner of obduration Thy sin perhaps was small as thou didst commit it but surely 't will be great if thou strive to maintain it for that cuts off all repentance Nay it makes thy sin grow up into a wicked height of scandall and so it may be not only a snare to thy selfe but an unhappy seducement to other warranting many more to be sinfull 53. THere are many things evill in themselves of which thou mayest speak without any evill as of stealing killing which are wicked to be practized not wicked to be published but there are other things lawfull to be done which are non dicendas unlawfull and unhonest to be plainly spoken of and therefore forbear unless it be upon good cause and with great modestie so much as to mention them Let no corrupt communication proceed out of thy mouth but that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister grace unto the hearers grieve not the Holy Spirit of God [p] Ephes 4.29 30. Neither give him occasion touching his comfortable and defensive presence to depart
serve him to believe his truth and walk in his Commandments Him will God love most who shall winne most to the love of God (f) Is in amore Dei major erit qui plurimos ad ejus amorem trahit Greg. in hom wherefore hath God given thee light but that thou shouldst give light to others How canst thou be sure of thy own calling if thou hast no delight to call others Thou art not turned to God thy self if thou bear not that heart that thou wouldst even think thy self happy mightest thou be a means to turn another unto God The Prophet Isaiah that Evangelical Prophet and Prophetical Evangelist prophecying of the Kingdom of Christ bringeth in the people so full of zeal that they stir up one another saying Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in in his paths (g) Isaiah 2.3 And Zachariah saith They that dwell in one City shall go to another saying Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord and to seek the Lord of Hosts (h) Zachar. 8.21 74. BE not wise to thy self Be not a niggard of thy knowledge but communicate thy knowledge to others Cover not thy candle with a vessel neither put it under a bed but set it on a candlestick that they which enter in may see the light (i) Luke 8.16 So shalt thou perform the intent of thy stewardship so shalt thou be of the number of those who profiting teach and by teaching profit knowledge may fitly be resembled to the Widows oyl which the more it was powred out the more it increased knowledge may be well likened to the five loaves which the more they were distributed the more they multiplyed As contrariwise if knowledge be not imparted it will be impaired If we keep it private we shall be deprived of it 75. ARt thou learned and able to teach others yet disdain not that any should teach thee what mortal meer man ever attained to that depth of judgment as not to be yet ignorant in many profitable concernments Even in the same profession that may be hidden from one which is known to another to attend is no hinderance but that a man may speak to speak is no hinderance but that a man may hear therefore Job matcheth them together saying Let a man of understanding tell me there is he prepared to learn let a wise man harken to me (k) Job 34.34 there is he provided to speak speaking and hearing amongst all that are wise-hearted cannot be prejudicial one to another 76. ATtend as often and as carefully as thou mayest to all wholesome and convenient directions Be more desirous to harken to others than to hear thy self but especially when thou meetest with such as excell in knowledge as are filled with the knowledge of Gods will in all wisedom and spiritual understanding by whom in many things thou mayest exactly cure thy ignorance by learning in silence who are as profitable Well-springs plentifull and perpetual such as fail not nor can be drawn dry at any time whose hearts feed their mouths and thereout excellent observations in one usefull respect or other readily flow as a free stream from a full fountain 77. COntemn not neither lightly pass over such things as thou seest but seriously search and seek not only what temporal but especially what spiritual use thou canst draw from them that may enrich thy soul and help to build thee up in Christ Jesus learn wich the Bee to gather celestial honey as well from the weed as from the flower learn by the Dust thy baseness by the Grass thy frailty by the Ant diligence by the Sheep patience by the Oxe thankfulness by the Clouds bountifulnes learn by the Darknes the time of thy ignorance by the Light the time of the Gospel by every thing something that may wean thee from earth and win thee to Heaven 78. COmmune often with thy own heart and let thy spirit make diligent search wherein thou hast offended in thought word deed by sins of omission or commission against God thy neighbour and thy self stand not in thine own light be not partial but examin thy self earnestly thoroughly uprightly Neither only examin but upon examination condemn thy self fall at Gods feet and humbly cry for mercy Thus if thou judge thy self before thy self in this thy day thou shalt not be condemned in the last day before the Judgment Seat of Christ in the presence and audience of all the world 79. DIscover to thy Surgeon thy sores to thy Physician thy disease to Almighty God thy sins It is a good disgrace that procureth grace He preventeth his cure that doth not publish his cause (l) Ipse sibi denegat curam qui suam medico non publicat causam Aug. epist 188. The Lord indeed knoweth all things but yet requireth thy confession is acquainted with all thy wishes and all the volutations of thy mind but nevertheless expecteth thy words (m) Novit Deus omnia vocem tatamen tuam expectat Ambros de poenit l. 1. cap. 23. 80. THink not thy self immediately made clean from all thy iniquity transgression and sin if thou shed a few tears and bewail them but be sorrowful for them and sorrowful that thou canst be no more sorrowful considering that if a river were turned into tears flowing from thine eyes thou couldst never sufficiently be grieved for thy offences if God should in his Justice only require it and yet dispair not but take a true and comfortable and fast hold upon God by a lively faith who is gracious and abundant in mercy whose mercy hath neither bottom nor measure who will not the death of a sinner but rather that he should repent and live disliking himself for his manifold misdemeanors and cleaving to God for his manifold mercyes 81. BE not so cast down in the sight of thy own unworthyness as to think because thou deservest not Gods mercy therefore thou shalt never be partaker of it For how plentiful are his gracious promises every where of favour and compassion the which though there be no cause in thee why he should confirm yet is there cause enough in himself why he should perform who whatsoever he will he can and whatsoever he hath promised he will who alwayes useth to be as good as his word who is infinite in his mercy and infallible in his truth 82. IF thou wouldst repent truly and thoroughly pray earnestly to the Lord that it would please him of his infinite compassion to look upon thee with the eyes of his grace The most merciful God is the only giver of repentance unto life n (m) Act. 11.18 It is not in mans power to repent when he will but when God will It is not thy own or any others indeavour that can do any thing in this way till God put to his help untill Christ did