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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A06447	The sinners guyde A vvorke contayning the whole regiment of a Christian life, deuided into two bookes: vvherein sinners are reclaimed from the by-path of vice and destruction, and brought vnto the high-way of euerlasting happinesse. Compiled in the Spanish tongue, by the learned and reuerend diuine, F. Lewes of Granada. Since translated into Latine, Italian, and French. And nowe perused, and digested into English, by Francis Meres, Maister of Artes, and student in diuinitie.; Guía de pecadores. English	Luis, de Granada, 1504-1588.; Meres, Francis, 1565-1647.	1598 (1598)	STC 16918; ESTC S108893	472,071	572

his neighbour hath fulfilled the Law What greater prayse may be vttered or spoken of any other vertue Besides all thys the most beloued disciple of Christ I meane Iohn in his canonicall Epistles doth repeate nothing so often neyther commendeth any thing so much as this vertue And that he teacheth in his Epistles he confirmeth in his history nothing was so cōmon in his mouth as Bretheren loue one another and that through the whole course of hys lyfe yea when he was conuersant among the Disciples hee would often and sundry times on one day repeate it and when he was demaunded why he repeated it so often he answered the demaunders Because it is the precept of the Lord and if it alone be done it is sufficient ¶ Of the duties of Charitie HE therefore that would satisfie the Diuine will let him assuredly knowe that amongst all the principall matters that GOD commaundeth there is not one so much beate vppon and so often required as this commaundement of loue yet so that we vnderstand not thys to be a bare and a naked affection but to haue annexed vnto it all the effects which are wont to concurre with true loue for otherwise it were not woorthy of the name of loue as the same Euangelist showeth saying Who so hath this worlds good and seeth his brother haue neede and shutteth vp his compassion from him howe dwelleth the loue of God in him My babes let vs not loue in word neyther in tongue but in deed and in verity Therefore vnder the name of loue amongst many other sixe things are comprehended To loue to counsayle to releeue to beare to pardon and to teach by good examples which workes are so ioyned with Charitie that as any one hath moe or fewer of them he hath more or lesse Charitie Thys we say to this end because there are found some who say I loue but theyr loue hath no effect but the name onely There be others who loue and by good admonitions and counsailes doe giue some relish of it but they doe not open theyr coffers neither put theyr hands into theyr Chest that they may releeue the necessities of theyr brethren and neyghbours Againe there be others that helpe theyr neyghbour with theyr aduice releeue hym with that they possesse yet they beare not the iniuries and infirmities of theyr brother nor follow the counsaile of the Apostle who sayth Beare ye one anothers burden so fulfil the law of Christ. Some beare patiently the iniury offered vnto thē but they do not pardon mercifully him that hath iniured them and although in their harts they beare no hate yet outwardly they doe not show forth their loue by benefits by pliantnesse and by fauour These although they doe not faile in the first yet they doe not profit in the second neither doe they come to the perfection of this vertue There be some that haue all the fore-said effects but they edifie theyr neighbor neyther with words nor with good examples which surely is the noblest among the duties of Charitie According to this order euery man may examine himselfe that he may vnderstand what he hath and what is wanting vnto him in this vertue For we may say hee that loueth is in the first degree of charitie hee that loueth and giueth counsell in the second he that loueth counsaileth and releeueth in the third he that loueth counsaileth releeueth and suffereth in the fourth he that loueth counsaileth releeueth suffereth and pardoneth in the fift but he that loueth counsaileth succoureth suffereth pardoneth and teacheth edyfying by examples or godly words which is properly of those that are perfect and who are Apostolike men he hath ascended the sixt steppe and standeth vpon the vpmost staire And these be the positiue or affirmatiue acts which are required in charitie for they showe what we ought to doe for our neighbour There be others negatiue which teach what wee ought not to doe to our neighbour of which sort these are Not to iudge another not to detract another mans estimation not to couet his goods not to lust after the dignity or the wife of our neighbour not to giue him an offence or scandalize him eyther by raylings or vnhonest words or those that are superfluous much lesse by examples or ill counsailes He that diligently obserueth all these he fulfilleth whatsoeuer is required in the perfection of this diuine commaundement And if thou desirest a particuler and a briefe memory of all these comprehended in one worde see that thou hast as wee sayd before the hart of a mother towards thy neighbour and thou shalt altogether fulfill whatsoeuer hath hetherto been spoken Consider how a wise a religious mother louing her sonne admonisheth him if any danger be neere vnto him she succoureth him in need she beareth his errors and faults with patience sometimes chasticing them with iustice some-times couering and concealing them vvith wisedom For all vertues do waite vpon this one as the Queene and mother of all other Vertues Consider also howe the same mother reioyceth at the good and sorroweth at the ill hap of her sonne no otherwise then if they were her owne With vvhat great zeale she affecteth his profit and honour how deuoutly and diligently she alwayes prayeth vnto GOD for him to be short how shee is more carefull for the health and safety of her sonne then for her owne and that shee is cruell and seuere towards herselfe that shee may be gentle and good to her sonne If thou canst come thus farre that thou louest thy neighbour with such an hart then thou art come to the perfection of chatie but if it be not giuen vnto thee to ascend so high yet at least let this be the scope of thy desires and alwayes direct thy lyfe hether that thou maist be lifted higher and higher and that thou mayst not sticke in lower matters But if thou shalt aske mee howe thou mayest be induced with such an hart to loue a forreiner I say that thou oughtest to consider of thy neighbour not as a forreiner or an alian but as the image of GOD the workmanshyp of his hands his sonne and the liuely member of Christ. Hence it is that Saint Paule so often admonisheth vs that all we are the members of Christ therefore by sinning against our neighbour wee sinne against Christ and by dooing good vnto our neighbour vvee do good vnto Christ. So that thou must consider of thy neighbour not as a man or such a man but as of Christ himselfe or a liuely member of him And although thy neighbour be not such an one in respect of the matter of his body yet hee is such an one in regard of the participation of the same spirit and of the greatnes of the reward remuneration seeing that Christ sayth He that receaueth his neighbour receiueth him neyther shall his reward be other then if hee had receiued Christ hymselfe

my maker I thy worke I giue thee thanks ô my Lord God by whom I liue and by whom all things liue I giue thee thanks ô my framer fashioner because thy hands haue made me fashioned me I yeeld thee thanks ô my light because thou hast enlightned mee and I haue found both thee and my selfe This is therfore the first of the diuine benefits and the foundation of all the other For all other doe presuppose a Being which is giuen by this benefit and so all are gotten and ioyned with this as accidents with their substance in which they haue their ground and footing that by this meanes thou mayst vnderstand how large liberall a benefit it is and how worthy it is that thou shouldest deepely and profoundly consider of it Goe too therefore if God requires so great a thanksgiuing of thee for euery one of his benefits what doest thou thinke that he will require for this alone which is the foundation of all the other Especially seeing that it is the condition of the diuine Godhead that as he is most liberall in bestowing of his benefits so is he most desirous and as it were couetous in requiring thanks for them Not because hee doth stand neede of them but because our duty doth will them For in the old Testament we reade that God did no sooner bestow one benefit vpon his people but forth-with it being scarse bestowed he commaunded that it should be had amongst them in perpetuall memorie and that for it they should giue euerlasting and immortall thanks So when he deliuered his people from the Egyptian seruitude and yoake scarsely they were gone out of that Countrey when he commaunded that euery yeere they should celebrate a solemne feast in remembrance of that benefit For that end also he slew all the first borne of the Egiptians and forthwith commaunded that all the Israelites first borne should be sanctified vnto him as well of men as of beasts which after that should be borne of them or amongst them The Lord sent the Israelites Manna from heauen where-with they might be fed and hee fed them with that kinde of meate forty yeeres in the wildernes as soone as they had begun to eate it he commaunded them to gather a certaine measure of the Manna and to put it into a pot and to lay it vp before the Testimony that all posterity might haue knowledge of this benefit Not long after that he gaue them a famous victory against the Amalekites and sayd vnto Moses Write this for a remembrance in the booke and rehearse it in the eares of Iosua If therfore God be so carefull that the memory of his temporall benefits should liue for euer amongst his people what will he not require of vs for this immortall benefit seeing that our soule which he hath giuen vnto vs is immortall Heerevpon sprung that consideration which moued the holy Patriarches to build Alters that there might be monuments and remembrances as often as they receaued any particuler benefits of the Lord yea they did remember in the names of their sons receaued benefits least they shold be buried in obliuion Wherfore a certaine holy man very well concluded that man should not oftner breathe then he should be mindfull of his God For euen as he alwayes hath a Being so alwayes ought he to giue thanks to his Lord God for his immortall Being which he hath receaued of him The Bond of this obligation is so great that also it was not vnknown to the Ethnick Philosophers but there were amongst them that exhorted men that they should not be ingratefull to God Epictetus a Stoicke Philosopher was wont to say O man be not ingratefull to that high power for benefits receaued as are thy sight hearing tast c. But more for thy life which he hath giuen thee and for other things with which he nourisheth and sustaineth thee Giue thanks to him for the ripe fruites for wine for oyle and for all other things But especially thou oughtest to blesse him because he hath bestowed vpon thee the light of reason that thou mayst vse all them afore-sayd and that thou mayst know theyr valour and worth If an Heathen man shall so commend gratitude shall exact it so strictly for cōmon benefits what ought not a Christian man to doe who hath also receaued a greater light of faith and greater more excellent benefits and blessings of God But perhaps thou wilt say that these common benefits doe seeme rather to be of Nature then of God to which why therfore am I bound for the disposition or the order of thinges which are regularly done and doe obserue theyr course Alas this is not the voyce of a Christian but of an Ethnick yea rather of a Beast But that thou mayst know and acknowledge this more manifestly heare the same Philosopher chiding and correcting such men Thou wilt say perhaps that nature bestoweth these benefits vpon thee Ah thou too much ingratefull man doest thou not mark that in saying that thou doest change a name of God vvhat other thing is Nature then God who is the first and chiefest nature Not therefore ô ingratefull man art thou to be excused when thou saiest that thou art bound to Nature and not to GOD seeing that not any nature may be found without God If thou shouldest obtaine any thing of Lucius Seneca and afterwards shouldest say that thou art indebted to Lucius and not to Seneca thou dost not change thy Creditor but onely his name Another reason why we are bound to serue GOD our Lord because he is our Creator FVrthermore not onely the debt of iustice but also our own necessitie doth binde vs to haue alwaies a respect and an eye to our Creator if after that we be created we will attaine vnto felicitie and perfection For we must know that those thinges which are borne and breede after a common manner of speaking are not forthwith borne with all their perfection They haue many things perfect yet many things in them are wanting which afterwards are perfected That perfection he must adde and giue who began the worke So that it pertayneth to that cause which gaue the first Beeing to giue also the finishing and perfection Heere-vpon it is that all effects in their kinde haue recourse and looke backe to their causes that of them they may receiue their last perfections Plants do labour as much as lies in them that they may finde out the Sun and that they may send foorth theyr rootes into the earth which produced and brought them foorth Fishes also doe not goe out of that water which engendered them a Chickin being excluded out of the Egge by and by doth hatch it selfe vnder the winges of the Henne and followeth her wheresoeuer shee goeth The same doth a Lambe who after that he is brought forth presentlie hasteth to the dugges of his Damme and if there were a thousand sheepe

me thou didst fast thou didst watch thou didst run hether thether thou didst sweat thou didst weepe and thou didst proue by experience those miseries which my sinnes deserued and yet thou wast without any sinne neyther was there guile found in thy mouth neyther hadst thou offended but wast offended To be briefe for me thou wast taken forsaken of thine denied sold presented now before this Iudge now before that falsely accused before them beaten with fists spette vpon mocked whypped crowned with thornes reuiled with blasphemies hanged vpon the Crosse dead and buried At the length thou didst free me from all euill dying vpon the Crosse and ending thy life thy mother looking on at which time thou wast found in so great neede and misery that in that thine intollerable thirst a small drop of water was denied vnto thee by which thou mightest refresh and coole the heate of thy mouth Not onely thou wast forsaken of all externall things but also of thine owne Father What is worthy of greater admiration then that the God of so great a maiestie should end his lyfe vpon the cursed tree of the Crosse with the title of a malefactour When any man yea of meane estate commeth to that misfortune that he is to be punished with like death for his offence and fault and thou by chaunce dost know him seeing his countenaunce thou canst not sufficiently wonder considering into what an vnhappy estate his misery hath cast hym that hee must vnder-goe a death so cruell and ignominous Wherefore if it be an admirable thing to see a common man of inferiour degree to be compassed with so miserable calamitie what will it be to see not a man but the Lord of all creatures to be so plunged Can a thing be seene with greater admiration then God himselfe to be brought into so great misery for the offences of one malefactour And if by how much the person is more worthy and more noble who is slaine by so much hys case is more admirable and more miserable O yee Angels to whom the height and excellencie of this Lord is so perfectlie knowne vnderstood tel me what was your griefe and discruciatement What was your admiration astonishment when ye saw him hanging vpon the tree The Cherubins whom God in the old Testament commaunded to be placed at the two ends of the Arke of the Couenant theyr faces beeing turned one to another towards the Mercie-seate as though they beheld it admiring wondering doe signifie vnto vs that those high and supreame spirits were astonished when they did see and behold a worke of so great pietie when I say they did see God made the propitiatorie sacrifice of the worlde hanging vpon a tree Nature herselfe stoode astonished and all the creatures were suspended from theyr functions the principalities and powers of heauen were amazed considering this inestimable goodnesse which they knew to be in GOD. What then shall they doe who doe not swimme in waters of so great admiration of the Sea What shal they doe who are not drowned in the Ocean of this goodnes How cannot he but be amazed as another Moses astonished then in the Mount when the figure and patterne of this misterie was reuealed vnto him and he cryed out with a loud voyce The Lord the Lord strong mercifull and gracious slowe to anger and aboundant in goodnesse and truth Beeing able neyther to say nor doe any thing but to proclaime with a high voyce that mercy which God then shewed to him What shall hee doe that couereth not his face as Elias dyd when he saw God passe by him not in the figure of his maiestie but in the forme of his most lowly humility not ouerthrowing Mountaines renting in sunder Rocks by his infinite power but presented to the eyes of a froward Nation commaunding Rocks to be rent and clouen in sunder through his compassion Who then will not shut the eyes of his vnderstanding who will not open the bosome of his will that he may perceiue the greatnesse of thys loue and benefit and loue thys Lord without any meane or measure O the height of loue ô the depth of vnmeasurable humility ô the greatnes of mercy ô the bottomlesse pitte of incomprehensible goodnes O Lord if I bee so greatly indebted to thee because thou hast redeemed me what doe I not owe thee for that manner by which thou hast redeemed me Thou hast redeemed mee with most great dolours with contumelies and ignominies not to be borne in so much that thou wast made a reproch of men and the scorne of the whole vvorld Through thy reproches thou hast honored me through thy accusations thou hast defended me through thy blood thou hast washed me through thy death thou hast raysed me and through thy teares thou hast freed me from euerlasting weeping and gnashing of teeth O good Father who so tenderly louest thy chyldren thou art that good and true Sheepheard which giuest thy selfe foode for thy flocke O thou most faythfull Keeper who lavest down thy life for thy Sheepe which thou tookest to defend keepe vvith what rewards shall I recompence this so great a benefit vvith what teares shall I requite thy weeping vvith what lyfe shall I remunerate thy holy and pure liuing There is too huge and great a difference betweene the life of man and God betweene the teares of the Creator and the creature But if ô man it be apparent vnto thee that thou art not onlie indebted vnto God that hee dyed not onely for thee alone but for the whole world beware thou be not deceiued For so he dyed for all that also he dyed for euery one For by his infinite wisedome all they for whom he suffered were so present to his eyes that they were all comprehended as it were in one and with his vnmeasurable loue he embraced all in generall and euery one in particuler and he so shedde his blood for all as if it had beene for one To conclude his loue was so great and so exceeding that as the holy men of GOD doe say if but one onely amongst all men had been guiltie and faultie yea for him alone he would haue suffered all that which he suffered for all Marke therefore and ponder with thy selfe howe much thou art indebted to thys Lord who hath doone so great thinges for thee and would haue doone much greater if thy necessitie had required greater ¶ Of this afore-said it is gathered how great an offence it is to offend our Sauiour I Would that all creatures would tell mee if any benefit greater if a greater bond if greater fauour thē this may be found Let the whole assembly and company of Angels tell me if God did euer such things for them Who then is he that will refuse to offer himselfe vp wholy a sacrifice to GOD For three causes saith Anselme ô Lord I owe all that to thee that I am First because thou hast created mee

so metrically ordered not of foure or fiue voyces as that is which wee now vse but tuned and ruled with the variety of so many numerous and harmonious voyces as there be Elect What great pleasure wil it be to heare theyr most sweet songs which S. Iohn heard in his Reuelation And they worshipped God sayth he saying Prayse and glory and wisedome and thanks and honour and power and might be vnto our God for euermore Amen If the glory and pleasure be so great to heare this harmonie and consent of voyces what wil it be to see the concord of bodies and soules so conformable and vniforme But how much more admirable wil it be to behold so great vnion of men and Angels What doe I say of men and Angels Yea so great an vnion betweene man and God himselfe Aboue al these it cannot fitly be imagined how acceptable and welcome a thing it wil be to see those most spacious fields and fountaines of lyfe and those most delicate feedings vpon the mountaines of Israel What wil it be to sit at that royall table to haue a place amongst those inuited Nobles and to dip thine hand into the dish with God that is to enioy one and the same glory of God There the Saints shal rest shal reioyce sing prayse and going in and out they shal finde pastures of inestimable delight If the rewards of Vertue be so great and so precious which our Catholique faith doe promise vs who wil be so blind slothful negligent and so peruerse that is not moued to contend with his whole strength for the obtayning of a reward so copious ample and large THE TENTH TITLE That the last of those foure last things that happen vnto vs that is Hell fire doth bind vs to seeke after Vertue CHAP. X. THE least of those good things which hetherto we haue remembred ought to be sufficient to beget a loue of Vertue in our minds by which we may obtayne so great blessings Now if to this vnmeasurable glory the greatnes of the torments of hel be added which are prepared for the wicked who wil be so hard harted and of so rebellious a mind that vices being forsaken wil not hereafter willingly embrace Vertue For the vngodly and peruerse shal not comfort themselues with this voyce Be it that I am wicked vngodly what then Shal I not enter into that heauenly glory Shal I not reioyce with God In this consists al my punishment Of other things I am not careful because I shal haue neyther glory nor any other punishment O my brother thou art deceaued the matter stands not so For it is of necessity that one of these must happen vnto thee that either thou shalt raigne eternally with God or that thou shalt be tormented with the deuils in euerlasting flames For betweene these two extreames there is no meane This is excellently shadowed out vnto vs in the figure of those two baskets which the Lord shewed vnto the Prophet Ieremy before the gate of the Temple for one basket had verie good figs euen like the figs that are first ripe and the other basket had very naughty figs which could not be eaten they were so euil The Lord by this spectacle would shew vnto his Prophet two kindes of men one to whom hee would shew mercy the other that he would punish according to his iustice The estate and condition of the first kinde of men was passing good neyther can a better be giuen of the other exceeding ill then which a worse cannot be found The condition and lot of the good is to see God which is the chiefest of al blessings but the misfortune and vnhappines of the wicked shal be to be depriued fo●●uer of the sight of God which euil is the worst of al euils These things ought they diligently to consider and alwayes to meditate vpon who feare not to commit sinne when as they see so great a burthen and so cruel and direful punishment appoynted for sinne Porters and Cariers when they are called to carry a burthen on their shoulders first they looke diligently vpon it then they peise and lift it vp and try whether they be able to vndergoe it and whether they can carry it and thou ô miserable man to whom sinnes are so pleasing that for a little pleasure hast enthralled thy selfe to carry the burthen of it ah mad man first prooue and assay how great the waight is of the burthen that is of the punishment which thou shalt suffer for this pleasure that thou mayst vnderstand whether thou hast strength to beare it That this proofe may be made more conueniently I wil bring hether a certaine consideration by the which after some manner thou shalt be able to vnderstand the quality and greatnes of the torments of hel that thou mayst make a triall whether thou beest sufficient to beare the burthen which thou vndertakest to carry when thou sinnest Let this then be the first consideration the greatnes and infinite immensity of God who will chastice and punish sinne that wee may see what an one God is in all his works This is it that I would say that God is great and admirable in al things not onely in the sea in earth and in heauen but also in hel In so much that if the Lord be God in al his works as we see that he is he wil be God also in his wrath in his iustice and in the punishment of sinners For this cause the Lord sayth by Ieremy Feare ye not me or will ye not be afrayde at my presence which haue placed the sand for the bounds of the Sea by the perpetuall decree that it cannot passe it and though the waues thereof rage yet can they not preuaile though they roare yet can they not passe ouer it That is ouer the limits appoynted of me As if he should say is it not meete that ye feare the arme of the Lord so mighty whose greatnes this admirable worke doth sufficiently shew He therfore that is great in al his works shal he not be great in punishing of sinners Hee that for one thing is worthy whom we doe reuerence and adore shal he not be worthy for an other thing that he may be feared For this cause the same Prophet although he was innocent and sanctified in his mothers wombe so greatly feared the Lord when he sayd There is none like vnto thee ô Lord thou art great and thy name is great in power Who would not feare thee ô King of Nations For to thee appertayneth the dominion for among all the wise men of the Gentiles and in all their kingdomes there is none like thee And in an other place I kept me farre off from men because my hart was full of the feare of thy wrath Although this Prophet was certaine that this wrath was not kindled against him yet it was so great that it brought feare vpon him Therefore it was sayd

his Pallace that not onely the wals of the King but also the eyes of the King may defend him from his enemies then the which gard none can be safer so the heauenly King by the same prouidence doth defend his Hence it is that we see and reade that the Saints oftentimes being compassed with many dangers temptations haue endured them and borne them with a minde quiet and vntroubled and with ● countenance and iesture cheerefull pleasant and merry For they are assured that they haue that faithfull gard present which will neuer forsake them and then chiefely and especially to be present when the dangers come to the highest Those three young men felt this whom Nabuchodonozer commaunded at Babilon to be cast into the firy furnace among whom the Angell of the Lord walked in the midst of the fire and cast out the flame of the fire out of the furnace and made the midst of the furnace like a coole and refreshing wind and the fire touched them not neyther troubled them nor brought any greeuance vnto them And the King was astonished and sayd Did wee not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire And behold I see foure men loosed and walking in the midst of the fire And the fourth is beautifull as the sonne of God Thou seest then how the presence of our Lord is at hand in troubles That argument of this matter is not lesse which the Lord performed for that holy young man Ioseph after he was sold of his brethren For hedeliuered him from sinne as it is in the booke of Wisedome he went downe with him into the dungeon and fayled him not in the bands till he had brought him the seepter of the realme and power against those that oppressed him and them that had accused him he declared to be lyers and gaue him perpetuall glory These examples confirme that Diuine promise which is in Dauid I am with him sayth the Lord in trouble I will deliuer him and I will honour him O happy trouble which deserueth to haue such a companion Which seeing that it is so let vs all lift vp our voyces with Saint Bernard and say O Lord send me trouble that thou mayst alwayes be with mee With this the ayde and supply of all vertues doe ioyne themselues which concurre at this time that they may strengthen corroborate and rayse vp the distressed minde For euen as when the hart is distressed and afflicted all the blood from euery part runneth thether that it may releeue and comfort it that it faynt not so the soule when it is oppressed with griefe and anguish forthwith all the vertues runne vnto it and releeue it now after this manner now after that But after a more especiall maner Fayth is present bringing a cleare and plaine knowledge both of the good things and of the euill in the life to come in comparison of which all the calamities and miseries of this world are of no moment Hope commeth which maketh men patient in all their troubles and afflictions in looking for a reward The loue of God commeth with which loue they being inflamed desire with great feruentnes to beare all kinde of sorrowes and afflictions in this life Obedience and the conforming of our wils with the Diuine will runneth hasteth hether at whose hands they receaue with ioy and without murmuring whatsoeuer is giuen vnto them Patience ioyneth herselfe vnto these whose property is to strengthen the shoulders that men may be able to beare all those burthens which are layd vpon them Humility hath also heere her function and worke which bendeth the hart as a young twig shaken and tossed to and fro of the stormy wind of tribulation and maketh man to be humbled vnder the mighty hand of the Lord whilst he acknowledgeth that those things which he suffereth are much lesser then his sinnes 〈◊〉 To conclude the consideration of the labours and ●orrowes of Christ crucified and the afflictions of all the holy Saints doe exceedingly helpe in comparison of whom all our tribulations are as though they were not After this manner therfore the vertues helpe them who are in affliction and calamity euery one with their proper and peculier functions neyther onely with theyr functions but also if I may say so with their words and exhortations First of all 〈…〉 The afflictions of this present time are not woorthy of the glory which shall be shewed vnto vs. Charity sayth that it is meete and reason that we should suffer and beare all things for his loue who so deerely and tenderly hath loued vs. Gratitude sayth with blessed Iob Shall we receaue good at the hand of God and not receaue euill Repentance sayth it is meet that he should suffer something against his will who so often hath wrought wickednes against the Diuine will Faythfulnes addeth that it is right and reason that he should be once found faythfull and gratefull in his life who hath receaued so great gifts and so many graces of God through the whole course of his life Patience admonisheth that tribulations are the matter of patience Or doe bring forth patience and patience bringeth forth experience and experience hope and hope maketh not ashamed Obedience sayth that there is not a greater sacrifice or more acceptable to God then in all trouble to cōforme ourselues to the good pleasure of Gods will But amongst all the vertues liuely Hope helpeth man in that time after a singuler and an especiall manner and it wonderfully strengtheneth our hart in the midst of tribulations The Apostle declareth this who when hee had sayd Reioycing in hope he further addeth and patient in tribulation not being ignorant that one followeth another that is of the ioy of Hope followeth the fortitude of Patience For which cause the Apostle not vnelegantly calleth Hope an anchor for euen as when it is fastned into the earth it keepeth the shyppe safe which stayeth in the midst of the waues and maketh it that it feareth not the billowes of the raging sea so liuely Hope beeing firmly fixed vppon the heauenly promises preserueth the minde of the righteous vnremoued in the midst of the waues of this world and maketh it that it contemneth and despiseth all the storme tempest of the winds So it is reported that a certaine holy man did in times past who seeing himselfe enclosed on euery side with tribulations sayd That good that I looke for is so great that all punishment and all torment is a pleasure vnto me Therefore thou vnderstandest my brother how all vertues concurre to strengthen the mindes of the righteous when they see them in a straight And although a man be weake and fearfull yet forthwith he returneth to himselfe to his right mind and with greater affection and zeale sayth If thou shalt fayle in the time of triall when God hath determined to try proue thee where is thy liuely Fayth by which thou