Therefore for our sinnes God casts us off Take not thy holy Spirit from me Therefore as bees are driven away with smoak and pigeons with ill savours so by our sinnes is the holy Spirit driven out of the temples of our hearts Restore me the joy of thy salvation Therefore sinne doth torment the minde and dry up the moisture of the heart The earth is defiled by the inhabitants thereof which have transgressed the law crieth Esay Therefore sinne is a contagious and infectious poison Out of the deeps have I cryed unto thee O Lord saith the Psalmist Therefore our sinnes presse us down unto hell We were sometimes dead in our sinnes saith the apostle Therefore sinne is the spirituall death of the soul. By mortall sinne man loseth God God is the infinite and incomprehensible good Therefore to lose God is an infinite and incomprehensible evil As God is the chiefest good so sinne is the chiefest evil Punishments and calamities are not absolutely evil for many times there comes good of them Yea rather it appeares that they are good because they come from God who is the chiefest good from whom can proceed nothing but that which is good They were in the chiefest good to wit in Christ And the chiefest good cannot partake in that which is evil truely so called And moreover they leade us unto the chiefest good that is to life everlasting Christ by his passion entred into his glorie And so do Christians by tribulations enter into eternall life Therefore sinne is the chiefest evil because it withdraws us from the chiefest good The nearer thou comest unto God the further thou departest from sinne The nearer thou comest unto sinne the further thou departest from God How saving therefore is repentance which withdraws us from sinne and brings us back again unto God! Sinne is measured by the greatnesse of him that is offended But him the heavens the earth cannot contain In like manner such is our repentance as he unto whom we return by repentance The sinner is accused by his conscience which he hath defiled by the Creatour whom he hath offended by the sinnes which he hath committed by the creatures which he hath abused and by the devil by whom he hath been seduced How saving then is repentance which frees us from such accusations Let us make haste therefore let us make haste to such a saving medicine for such a grievous disease If thou repentest at thy death thou dost not leave thy sinnes but thy sinnes leave thee Thou shalt scarce finde any one that repented truely at his death unlesse it were the thief upon the crosse Fourteen yeares have I served thee said Jacob to Laban it is time now that I should provide for mine own house And if thou hast served the world and this life so many yeares is it not fit that thou shouldest begin now to make provision for thy soul Every day doth our flesh heap sinne upon sinne Let the Spirit therefore every day wash them away by repentance Christ died that sinne might die in us And shall we suffer that to live and reigne in our hearts for the destroying whereof the sonne of God himself died Christ enters not into the heart of man by grace unlesse John Baptist prepare the way by repentance God poureth not the oyl of mercie but into the vessel of a contrite heart God doth first mortifie us by contrition that afterwards he may quicken us by the consolation of the Spirit He first leads us into hell by serious grief that afterwards he may bring us back again by the taste of grace Elias first heard a great and strong winde overturning mountains and cleaving rocks and after the winde an earthquake and after the earthquake there appeared fire At length there followed a small and still voice In like manner terrour goes before the taste of Gods love and sorrow before comfort God bindes not up thy wounds unlesse thou lay them open by confession and bewail them He covers not unlesse thou first uncover He pardons not unlesse thou first acknowledge He justifies not unlesse thou first condemne thy self He comforts not unlesse thou first despair in thy self This true repentance God by his holy Spirit work in us Meditat. IIII. Of the name of JESVS Blessed blessed name of Jesus Who tormented was to ease us O Good Jesus be thou my Jesus for thy holy names sake have mercy on me My life condemnes me but the name of Jesus shall save me For this thy names sâ—ke do unto me according to thy name seeing that thou art a true and a great Saviour surely thou dost respect those that are sinners indeed yea great sinners Have mercie on me O good Jesus in the time of mercie that I be not condemned in the time of judgement If thou receive me into the bosome of thy mercy thou shalt have never the lesse room If thou bestow upon me the crumbes of thy goodnesse yet thou shalt want never the more For me thou wast born for me thou wast circumcised to me also thou art become a Jesus How sweet and delightfull is this name For what is Jesus but a Saviour and what harm can happen to those that are saved what else can we desire or expect beyond salvation Receive me Lord Jesus into the number of thy sonnes that together with them I may land thy holy and saving name Though I have lost my integritie yet thou hast not forgotten thy mercy Though I had power to lose and condemne my self yet thou in thy mercie art more powerfull to save me Lord do not thou so look upon my sinnes as to forget thy mercy do not so ponder and weigh my offences that they overpoise thy merit do not so remember my wickednesse as therefore to forget thy goodnesse Remember not thy anger against my guiltinesse but remember thy mercie towards my miserie Thou who hast given me a minde to desire thee withdraw not thy self from my desire Thou who hast shewed unto me my unworthinesse and just damnation hide not from me thy merit and the promise of everlasting salvation My cause is to be tried at the heavenly tribunall but this is my comfort that in the court of heaven thou hast assigned unto thee the name of a Saviour for that name was brought down from heaven by an angel O most mercifull Jesus to whom wilt thou be Jesus if not to miserable sinners that seek thy grace and salvation They that trust in their own righteousnesse and holinesse seek salvation in themselves but I flie unto thee my Saviour for I finde nothing in my self worthy of eternall life Save the condemned shew mercie to the sinner justifie the unrighteous absolve the accused Thou Lord art truth thy name is holy and true Let thy name also become true in respect of me and become thou my Jesus and Saviour Be thou unto me Jesus
infinite love of the eternall Father in that he would deliver his onely begotten Sonne to death for us He loved us when we were his enemies And can he forget us when we are reconciled unto him by the death of his Sonne Can he forget the precious bloud of his Sonne when as he telleth the tears and the steps of the godly Can Christ in his life forget those for whom he was willing to undergo death Can he in the time of his glory forget those for whom he suffered so great torments Consider thou faithfull soul the manifold fruits of the Lords passion Christ poured forth for us a bloudy sweat that in the agonie of death a cold sweat might not oppresse us It was his pleasure to wrestle with death that we might not faint in the agony of death It was his will to suffer most grievous anxietie and sorrow even unto death that he might make us partakers of everlasting joy in the heavens He would be betrayed with a kisse which is a signe of friendship and good will that he might blot out the sinne by the which Satan betrayed our first parents under the colour of friendship He would be apprehended and bound by the Jews that he might set us at liberty which were bound in the chain of our sinnes and subject to be cast into everlasting damnation He would begin his passion in the garden that he might purge away sinne which took its beginning in the garden of paradise He would be comforted by an angel that he might make us angels fellows in the heavens He was forsaken of his own disciples that he might glue unto himself us who had most shamefully revolted from God Before the Councel he was accused by false witnesses that Satan might not accuse us by the law of God He was condemned on earth that we might be absolved in heaven He that committed no sinne was speechlesse that we might not in the day of judgement be strucken dumbe by reason of our sinnes He was willing to be buffeted that we might be freed from the sting of conscience and buffetings of Satan He suffered himself to be mocked that we might insult over Satan the insulter His face was covered that he might remove from us the vail of sinne by which we were hindred that we could not behold the face of God as being involved in damnable ignorance He would be disrobed that he might restore unto us the robe of innocencie which we had lost by sinne He was pricked with thorns that he might cure the compunctions of our hearts He underwent the burden of the crosse that he might take from us the burden of everlasting punishment He crâ—â—d out that he was forsakâ—n of God that he might purchase for us an everlasting habitation with God He thirsted on the crosse that he might merit for us the dew of Gods grace and free us from everlasting thirst He would be scorched in the fire of Gods anger that he might free us from the fire of hell He stood as guiltie that he might absolve us He was condemned that we might be delivered from condemnation He was scourged by the hands of the unrighteous that he might free us from the scourges of the devil He cried out for grief that he might preserve us from everlasting exclamation He poured forth tears that he might wipe away tears from our eyes He died that we might live He felt the pains of hell that we might never feel them He was humbled that so he might cure our sinfull tumour He was crowned with thorns that he might merit for us a celestiall crown He suffered of all that he might save all His eyes were darkened in death that we might live in the light of celestiall glory He suffered ignominie and reproches that we might heare the angels sing chearfully in heaven Despair not then O faithfull soul An infinite good was offâ—nded by thy sinnes and an infinite price is payed for them Thou shouldest have been condemned for thy sinnes But the Sonne of God took upon him the sinnes of the whole world and was condemned for them Thou deservedst to be punished for thy sinnes But God hath punished them alreadie in his Sonne The wounds of thy sinnes are great But the balsam of Christs bloud is more precious and of vertue to cure them Moses pronounceth thee cursed because thou hast not kept all that was wrote in the book of the law But Christ was made the curse for thee In the court of heaven there is an hand-writing against thee But Christ hath cancelled that with his bloud Let thy passion therefore O Christ be my last refuge Meditat. VIII Of the certainty of our salvation My hope shall never be confounded Because my hope on Christ is grounded WHy art thou troubled O my soul and why dâ—st thou still doubt of the mercie of God Remember thy Creatour Who created thee without thee Who formed thy body in secret in the lower parts of the earth Who took care of thee when thou wast not will not he have care of thee now he hath made thee after his own image I am the creature of God to the Creatour do I convert my self Though my nature be infected by the devil though it be wounded by theeves that is by my sinnes yet my Creatour liveth He which made me can also renew me He which created me without any evil can take all evil from me whatsoever hath entred into me by the suggestion of the devil by Adams prevarication by my own action yea though it hath over-run my whole substance Therefore my Creatour can reform me if so be that it stands with his good pleasure and will and certainly he will for who ever hated his own workmanship Are we not before him like clay in the hands of the potter If he had hated me certainly he would never have created me when I was nothing He is the Saviour of all men but especially of them that beleeve He created me wonderfully but he redeemed me more wonderfully It never appeared more plainly that he loved us then in his wounds and passion Surely he is truly beloved for whose sake the onely begotten Sonne of God is sent from the bosome of his Father Iâ— thou didst not desire my salvation Lord Jesus why didst thou descend from heaven But thou didst descend upon earth to die on the crosse God to redeem a servant spared not his own Sonne Therefore assuredly God loveth man with a wonderfull love seeing that he hath delivered up his Sonne to be afflicted slain and crucified for the redemption of man Very deare and very great was the price of our redemption Therefore great and deare is the mercy of our Redeemer It might seem to some that God loves his adopted sonnes as dearly as his onely begotten Sonne For that on which we bestow any thing is dearer then that which we bestow That he might
he hath already punished in his Sonne The truth of the Lord endureth for ever As I live saith the Lord I will not the death of a sinner but rather that he turn from his wickednesse and live Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will refresh you saith our Saviour Shall we make God a liar and labour by the weight of our sinnes to bear down his mercy To make God a liar and to denie his mercy is a greater sinne then all the sinnes of the whole world and therefore Judas sinned more in despairing then the Jews in crucifying Christ. But rather where sinne hath abounded there also grace hath abounded much more and overweigheth our sinnes by infinite degrees For sinnes are but the sinnes of men but grace is the grace of God Sinnes are temporall but the grace of our Lord is from eternitie to eternitie Satisfaction hath been made for our sinnes and the grace of God is repaired by the death of Christ and is established for ever unto which I betake my self as a devout suppliant Meditat. XI Of the satisfaction made for our sinnes The death of Christ is life to thee If thou a Christian truly be COme unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will refresh you they are the words of our Saviour It is true indeed Lord Jesus I am burdened overmuch and I sigh under the weight of my sinne But I make haste unto thee the fountain of living water Come unto me Lord Jesus that so I may come unto thee I come unto thee Lord because thou first camest unto me I come unto thee Lord Jesus and with anxietie I desire thee for I finde no goodnesse in my self But if I found any goodnesse in my self I should not with such anxietie desire thee True Lord Jesus I labour and am heavy laden neither can I compare my self with any of the saints or penitent sinners unlesse it be with the thief upon the crosse Lord have mercy upon me thou which hadst mercy on the thief upon the crosse I have lived wickedly I have lived iâ— sinne but I desire to die the death of the holy and righteous But holinesse and righteousnes are farre from my heart Therefore to thy holinesse and righteousnesse do I flie Let thy soul Lord Jesus succour me let it succour me seeing that thou layedst it down for a price of redemption for many Let thy most sacred body which was afflicted with rods spittings buffetings and thorns and fastened to the crosse for me let that succour me Let thy sacred and holy bloud O Jesus let that bloud succour me which ran out of thy side at thy death and passion which cleanseth us from all our sinnes Let thy most holy divinitie succour me thy divinitie which upheld thy humanitie at thy passion which also resting and not shewing it self the great mysterie of our redemption was finished which added infinite strength and weight unto thy passion Insomuch that God by his own bloud hath purchased unto himself me miserable man Let thy wounds succour me in which all my cure consisteth Let thy most holy passion succour me Let thy merit succour me as being my last refuge and a remedie against my sinnes For in that thou sufferedst thou sufferedst for me Therefore in that thou meritedst thou meritedst for me and for mine unworthinesse Therefore God commendeth his love towards us and proveth it by a testimonie surpassing the understanding of all men yea of the angels themselves in that Christ died for us when as yet we were sinners and the enemies of God Who can choose but admire this Who can choose but be astonished at it The Sonne of God intreated by no man yea hated of all men in great mercy intreated for us who were sinners and his enemies Neither intreated he onely but also satisfied Gods justice for us by his most poore nativitie by his most holy life by his most bitter passion by his most cruel death O Lord Jesus Thou that intreatedst for me sufferedst for me and diedst for me before I could desire thy merit and passion or move thee by my prayers to pay the ransome for me how canst thou cast me away from thy face How canst thou denie unto me the fruit of thy most holy passion when as now out of the deeps I cry unto thee and beg the fruit of thy merit with tears and sighs I was an enemie by nature when thou diedst for me but I am made by grace thy friend thy brother and thy sonne Thou heardst an enemie before he prayed unto thee and how canst thou despise thy friend which comes unto thee with prayers and tears Thou wilt not cast out him that cometh unto thee because thy word is truth Thou hast spoken unto us in spirit and truth and we have received from thee the words oâ— eternall life Attend and raise up thy self O my soul Before we were sinners by nature but now we are just by grace Before we were enemies but now we are friends and kinsfolks Before our help was in the death of Christ but now it is in Christ his life Before we were dead in sinnes but now we are quickned in Christ Oh the exceeding love of God wherewith he loved us Oh the superabundant riches of his grace whereby he hath in heaven provided a place for us Oh the tender mercie of our God whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us But if the death of Christ hath brought unto us righteousnesse and life what shall his life do If our Saviour dying paid the price unto his Father what shall he do now being alive and interceding for us For Christ liveth and dwells in our heart if the remembrance of his most holy merit live and flourish in it Draw me Lord Jesus that I may possesse in the truth of the thing that which here I expect by the firmnesse of hope Let thy servant I pray thee be with thee and let him behold the glorie which the Father hath given to thee and let him inhabit the mansion which thou hast prepared in thy Fathers house Blessed are they that dwell in thy house O Lord They shall praise thee for ever and ever Meditat. XII Of the nature and properties of true faith Faith is not faith or if it be Faith is but dead wants charity O Thou beloved soul consider the power of faith and give thanks unto God who is the onely giver thereof It is faith alone that doth in such manner ingraft us into Christ that as vine-branches do draw their sap from the vine so we also from him do draw life righteousnesse and salvation Adam fell from the grace of God and lost the divine image by his incredulitie But we are again received to grace and the image of God begins to be renewed in us by faith By faith Christ becomes
think upon three things present the brevitie of this present life the difficultie of being saved and the paâ—citie of them that shall be saved Alwayes think upon three things to come Death then which nothing is more horrible judgement then which nothing is more terrible the pains of hell then which nothing is more intolerable Let thy evening prayers amend the sinnes of the day past Let the last day of the week amend the faults of the dayes past In the evening think how many are plunged that day into hell and give thanks unto God for granting thee time to repent There are three things above thee which never let slip out of thy memorie The eye that sees all the eare that heares all and the book wherein all things are written God hath communicated himself wholly unto thee Communicate thou thy self wholly unto thy neighbour That is the best life which is busied in the service of others Shew obedience and reverence to thy superiour give counsel and aid to thy equall defend and instruct thy inferiour Let thy bodie be subject to thy minde and thy minde to God Bewail thy evils past and esteem not the goods that are present and desire with all thy heart the goods which are future Remember thy sinne to grieve for it Remember death that thou mayst cease from sinne Remember Gods justice that thou mayst be kept in fear Remember Gods mercie that thou mayst not despair As much as thou canst withdraw thy self from the world and addict thy self wholly unto the service of the Lord. Alwayes in delights think that thy chastitie is in danger in riches think that thy humilitie is in danger in many businesses think that thy godlinesse is in danger Study to please none but Christ Fear to displease none but Christ. Alwayes pray thou unto God to command what he will and to give what he commands Pray unto him to cover what is past and to govern what is to come As thou desirest to seem so also thou must be For God judgeth not according to the shew but according to the truth In thy words take heed of much babling because for every idle word thou must give an account in the day of judgement Thy works be they what they will do not passe away but are cast as certain seeds of eternitie If thou sowest in the flesh of the flesh thou shalt reap corruption If thou sowest in the spirit of the spirit thou shalt reap life everlasting The honours of the world shall not follow thee after death neither shall thy heaps of riches follow thee neither shall thy pleasures follow thee neither shall the vanities of the world follow thee But after all thy works shall follow thee As therefore thou desirest to be at the day of judgement to day appeare to be such in the sight of God Do not esteem those things that thou hast but rather esteem those that thou wantest Be not proud for what is given thee but be humbled rather for that which is denied thee Learn to live whiles thou mayst live In this life is eternall life either obtained or lost After death there is no time to work but the time of recompense begins In the life to come working is not expected but the reward of working Let holy meditation bring forth in thee knowledge and knowledge compunction and compunction devotion and let devotion make prayer The silence of the mouth is a great good for the peace of the heart The more thou art separated from the world the more acceptable thou art unto God Whatsoever thou desirest to have ask of God whatsoever thou hast give unto God He that is not thankfull for that which is given already is unworthy to receive more Gods graces cease to descend when our thanks cease to ascend Whatsoever happeneth unto thee make use of it for good When thou art in prosperity think that thou hast then an occasion to blesse and praise God When thou art in adversitie think that thou art then put in minde of thy repentance and conversion Shew the strength of thy power in helping the strength of thy wisdome in instructing and the strength of thy riches in doing good Let not adversitie cast thee down neither let prosperitie lift thee up Let all thy life be directed unto Christ as unto the mark Follow him in the way that thou mayst overtake him in thy countrey In all things have a speciall care of profound humilitie and ardent charitie Let charitie lift up thy heart unto God that thou mayest cleave unto him And let humilitie keep thy heart down that thou beest not proud Judge God to be a Father for his clemencie a Lord for his discipline a Father for his power and gentlenesse a Lord for his severitie and justice Love him as a Father piously fear him as a Lord necessarily Love him because he willeth mercy fear him because he willeth not sinne Fear the Lord and trust in him acknowledge thy misery and proclaim his mercy O God thou that hast given us to will give us also grace to perfect Meditat. XXIX Of the shaking off securitie To live it is not but to die To live in all securitie COnsider thou devout soul what an hard matter it is to be saved and thou shalt easily shake off all securitie At no time and in no place is there securitie Neither in heaven nor in paradise and then much lesse in the world An angel fell in the presence of the divinitie and Adam fell in the place of pleasure Adam was created after the image of God and yet notwithstanding he was deceived by the treacheries of the devil Solomon was the wisest of men and yet his wives turned away his heart from the Lord. Judas was in the school of our Saviour and did every day heare the saving word of that chief Doctour and yet was not he safe from the snares of Satan He was plunged headlong into the pit of covetousnesse and so into the pit of eternall punishment David was a man after Gods own heart and he was unto the Lord as a most deare sonne and yet by murder and adulterie he became the sonne of death Where then is there securitie in this life Relie with an assured confidence of heart upon the promises of God and thou shalt be safe from the invasions of the devil There is no securitie in this life but that which is infallibly promised to those that beleeve and walk in the way of the Lord But when we come unto future happâ—nesse then at length we shall have full securitie In this life fear and religion are coupled together neither must one be without the other Be not secure in adversitie but whatsoever adversitie happâ—neth unto thee in this life think that it iâ— the reward of thy sinnes God often punisheth secret offences by open corrections Think upon the grievous stains of
power of Christ Against the terrour of the law she rests in the gospel of Christ Against the sinnes which accuse her she rests in the bloud of Christ which speaketh better things before God then the bloud of Abel Against the terrour of death she rests with confidence in the session of Christ at the right hand of the Father And thus our faith findeth rest in Christ and our love findeth great rest also He that by his love cleaveth unto earthly things hath no true rest because earthly things themselves have it not in them They cannot fully satiate the souls appetite because they are all finite But our soul being created after the image of God doth desire that infinite good in which is all good As therefore our faith ought not to relie upon any of the creatures but upon the merit of Christ onely So also our love should not be settled upon any of the creatures nor upon our selves For self-love hindereth the love of God We must preferre the love of God before all Our soul is the spouse of Christ To him alone therefore must she adhere Our soul is the temple of God Therefore she must give entertainment to none but him Many seek for rest in riches But without Christ there is no rest to the soul. Where Christ is there is povertie if not in act yet in affect He being the Lord of heaven and earth had not where to rest his head And so would he commend and sanctifie povertie unto us Riches are without us But that which will quiet the soul must be within To what shall our soul cleave unto at death when we must leave all worldly things Either our riches forsake us or we them often in our life but alwayes at our death Where then shall our soul finde peace and rest Many seek for rest in pleasures But pleasures can bring no rest or delight unto the soul although they may unto the body for a time At length grief and sorrow follow as companions Pleasures belong unto this life But the soul was not created for this life because she is by death compelled to depart How then should she finde rest in pleasures Without Christ there is no rest to the soul But what was the life of Christ Extreme grief from the first moment of his nativitie even unto his death By this means he the true prizer of things would teach us what to think concerning pleasure Many seek for rest in honours But miserable are they that at every change of popular breath are compelled to want their rest Honour is without and a flitting good But that which will give rest unto the soul must be within What canst thou say more of the praise and glory given by men then of Apelles his commended picture Consider the corner wherein thou keepest What is the proportion thereof to a whole province to all Europe and to all the habitable world That is true honour indeed which God shall hereafter give unto the elect The rest of a thing is in its end neither doth a thing rest naturally untill it hath attained to its end and place God is the end whereunto the soul was created For it was made after the image of God Therefore it cannot be quiet and at rest but in its end that is in God As the soul is the life of the body So is God the life of the soul. As therefore that soul doth truly live in which God dwelleth by spirituall grace So likewise that soul is dead which hath not God dwelling in it And what rest can there be to the soul that is dead That first death in sinne doth necessarily draw with it the second death of damnation Whosoever therefore doth firmly cleave unto God with his love and inwardly enjoyeth divine consolation his rest can no outward things disquiet In the midst of sorrows he is joyfull in povertie rich in the tribulations of this world secure in troubles quiet in the reproches and contumelies of men still and in death it self living He regards not the threats of tyrants Because he feels within the riches of divine consolation In adversitie he is not made sorrowfull Because the holy Spirit within doth comfort him effectually In povertie he is not vexed Because he is rich in the goodnesse of God The reproches of men do not trouble him Because he enjoyeth the delights of divine honour He regards not the pleasure of the flesh Because the sweetnesse of the Spirit is more acceptable unto him He seeketh not after the friendship of the world Because he seeketh the love of God who is mercifull and a friend unto him He gapeth not after earthly treasures Because his chief treasure is hidden in the heavens He feareth not death Because in God he alwayes liveth He doth not much desire the wisdome of the world Because he hath the Spirit within to be his teacher That which is perfect taketh away that which is imperfect He feareth neither lightning nor tempests nor fire nor water nor flouds nor the sorrowfull aspects of the planets nor the obscuration of the lights of heaven Because he is carried up above the sphear of nature and by faith resteth and liveth in Christ. He is not drawn away by the allurements of the world Because he heares within him the voice of Christ which is sweeter He fears not the power of the devil Because he feels Gods indulgence He that lives and overcomes in him is stronger then the devil that in vain labours to overcome him He follows not the enticements of the flesh Because living in the Spirit he feels the riches of the Spirit and by the vivification of the Spirit mortifies and crucifies the flesh He fears not the devil his accuser Because he knows Christ to be his Advocate This true rest of the soul he grant unto us who is the onely authour and giver thereof our Lord God blessed for ever Meditat. XXXIII Of the puritie of conscience Labour to have a conscience pure When all things fail that will endure IN every thing thou takest in hand have a great care of thy conscience If the devil incites thee to any sinne stand in fear of the inward check of thy conscience If thou art afraid to sinne in the presence of men let thine own conscience much more deterre thee from sinne The inward testimonie is of more efficacy then the outward Therefore although thy sinnes could escape the accusations of all men yet they can never escape the inward witnesse of thy conscience Thy conscience shall be in the number of those books that shall be opened at the judgement to come as is testified in the Revelation The first is the book of Gods omniscience in which the thoughts words and deeds of all men shall manifestly appeare The second book is Christ which is the book of life in this book whosoever shall be found written by true faith shall be carried by the angels
humilitie of Christ thy bridegroom and of him learn also chastitie Great is the dignitie of chastitie which was consecrated in the body of Christ Great is the dignitie of chastitie because whiles we are in the flesh it makes us to live as out of the flesh As nothing is more vile then to be overcome of the flesh So nothing is more glorious then to overcome the flesh Neither must we onely avoid outward fornication but also impure cogitations Because God is judge not onely of the outward acts but also of the inward thoughts Piety is often wounded by the looks and chastitie is often wounded by the eyes Heare what truth it self saith He that looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath alreadie committed adulterie with her in his heart As the fight is difficult So shall the victorie also be glorious It is a difficult thing to quench the flaming fires of lust Lust incites them that are not yet come to the yeares of youth it inflames those that are young and it wearieth those that are old and decrepit It despiseth not cottages neither doth it reverence palaces But as difficult as it is here to fight so laudable shall it be hereafter to triumph The first sparks are presently to be quenched and we must not adde fewel to the fire of evil concupiscences The Apostle when he reckons up the vices with which we must strive bids us not fight with fornication but flee from it Flee saith he from fornication For even as a stranger feigning simplicitie comes to us like a beggar to deceive us if we denie him entrance he goes his way if we receive him in he becomes our guest and gathers strength and at length if we consent he becomes our lord and master So the motions of evil concupiscence assail us if we foster them not they depart away if thou wouldest not have this enemie to rule over thee receive him not into the house of thy heart Keep us O God in sanctitie of life and chastitie of body Meditat. XXXVIII Of the flitting swiftnesse of this present life The life of man's a rolling stone Mov'd to and fro and quickly gone THink O devout soul upon the miserie and brevitie of this life that thy heart may be lifted up to the desire of the celestiall inheritance This life whiles it increaseth it decreaseth whiles it is augmented it is diminished Whatsoever is added to it is also taken from it It is but a point of time that we live yea it is yet lesse then a point Whilest we turn our selves immortalitie comes upon us We are in this life as in a strange house Abraham had not in the land of Canaan a place to dwell in but onely an hereditarie place for buriall So this present life is like unto an inne and to a burying-place The beginning of this life is presently the beginning of death Our life is like unto him that saileth for whether he stand sit or lie down still he comes nearer nearer unto the havē goeth thither whither he is carried by the motion of the ship So also we whether we sleep or wake lie down or walk will or nill are carried still moment after moment till we come to our end This life is rather a death because every day we die For every day we spend some of our life This life is full of grief for things past full of labour for things present and full of fear for things to come Our ingresse into this life is lamentable because the infant begins his life with tears as it were foreseeing the evils to come Our progresse is weak because many diseases afflict us and many cares torment us Our egresse is horrible because we do not depart alone but our works follow us and we must passe from death to Gods severe judgement We are conceived in sinne we are brought forth in miserie we live in pain and we die in anguish We are begotten in uncleannesse we are nourished in darknesse and brought forth in sorrow Before we come forth we are a burden to our wretched mothers and when we do come forth we do like vipers tear a way We are strangers in our birth and pilgrims in our life because we are compelled to depart away by death The first part of our life is ignorant of it self the middle part is overwhelmed with cares and the last part is burdened with grievous old age All the time of our life is either present past or to come If it be present it is flitting if it be past it is then nothing if it be to come it is then uncertain We are filthines in our originall we are bubbles in our life and we are meat for worms at our death From earth we come on earth we go to earth we must return The necessitie of our birth is base our life miserable and our death lamentable Our body is an earthly house in which do dwell together sinne and death which every day consume it All our life is a spirituall warfare Above devils lie in wait for our destruction On the right hand and on the left the world oppugnes us Beneath and within the flesh fighteth against us The life of man is a warfare Because in this life there is a continuall fight between the flesh and the spirit What true joy then can a man have in this life when there is in it no certain felicitie What thing present can delight us when other things do passe away but that which hangeth over our heads doth never passe away And again what can delight us when that which we love is quite ended and grief that shall never have end doth approch still nearer unto us This is all we gain by long life To do more evil to see more evil and to suffer more evil This is all that long life doeth for us It makes our accusation the greater at the last judgement What is man The slave of death and as a passenger on the way He is lighter then a bubble shorter then a moment more vain then an image more empty then a sound more brittle then glasse more changeable then the winde more flitting then a shadow and more deceitfull then a dream What is this life The expectation of death the stage of mockeries the sea of miseries an hemine or phial of bloud which every light fall breaketh and every fit of an ague corrupteth The course of our life is a labyrinth we enter into it when we come out of the wombe and we go out of it by the passage of death Ware nought but earth and earth is but a fume A fume is nought as nought do we consume This life is frail as glasse is sliding as a river is miserable as a warfare And yet it seems to many much to be desired This life seems outwardly as a gilded nut But if thou openest
sinners grievously afflicted on the crosse God dies upon the crosse God suffers God poureth forth his bloud Judge the greatnesse of the danger by the greatnesse of the prize Judge the danger of the disease by the value of the remedie Surely those wounds were great indeed which could no otherwise be cured but by the wounds of the living and quickening flesh Surely that disease must needs be great which could not be cured but by the death of the physician Consider thou faithfull soul Gods most fierce anger against us After the fall of our first father the eternall onely begotten and well beloved sonne of God becomes suter unto his Father for us And yet his anger was not turned away from us He by whom the world was made interceded for us became our advocate and took the cause of us miserable sinners upon himself And yet his anger was not turned away from us Our Saviour took upon him our flesh that by the glorie of the divinitie communicated unto the humanitie he might expiate and purge our sinfull flesh that by the saving vertue of his most perfect righteousnesse communicated unto our nature he might wipe away that venemous qualitie of sinne which cleaveth to our nature and in stead thereof conferre grace upon us And yet his anger was not turned away from us Our sinnes and the punishment of our sins he taketh upon himself His body is bound whipped wounded pierced crucified buried His bloud like a dew distilled most copiously down all his members at his passion His most holy soul is made sorrowfull above measure yea even unto death He feels the pains of hell The eternall Sonne of God crieth out that he is forsaken of God So great was his bloudie sweat so great was his anguish that he which comforteth the angels stood in need of an angel to comfort him He dies who is the authour and giver of life to every living thing If this comes to paâ—se in the green tree what shall become of the dry wood If this comes to passe in the just and holy what shall become of sinners How shall God punish us for our own sinnes who is so wrathfully displeased with his own sonne for other mens sinnes If his sonne is so grievously punished shall we his servants think to escape alwayes unpunished What shall the reprobate suffer if such be the sufferings of his best beloved If Christ departed not without a scourge and yet came into the world without sinne what scourges do they deserve which come into the world in sin live in sin and depart in sinne The servant rejoyceth whilest the sonne is in grievous dolour and pain and that for his sinne The servant heapeth up the anger of God whilest the sonne doth thus labour to pacifie and appease his Fathers wrath Oh the infinite anger of God! oh his unspeakable furie oh the inestimable rigour of his justice He which is thus enraged against his onely and best beloved sonne the partaker of his own essence and that not for any sinne of his own but because he intercedeth for the servant what will he do to the servant that persevereth and continueth still securely in his sinnes Let the servant fear and tremble and be sorrowfull for his own merits when the sonne is thus punished and yet not for his own Let the servant fear who ceaseth not to sinne when the sonne of God is thus afflicted for sinne Let the creature fear which hath crucified his Creatour Let the servant fear which hath slain his Lord. Let the sinner and the ungodly fear which hath thus tormented the pious and the godly Beloved let us heare his cries let us behold his teares he cries from the crosse Behold O man what I suffer for thee I cry unto thee because I die for thee behold the punishments that I suffer behold the nails with which I am pierced and see if any grief be like unto my grief Although my outward grief be thus great yet my inward grief is more grievous because I finde thee so unthankfull Have mercy have mercy on us thou whose propertie it is to have mercy and convert our stony hearts unto thee Meditat. III. Of the fruit of true and serious repentance Our Saviour cry'd Repent repent As John that 'fore our Saviour went THe foundation and beginning of holy life is saving repentance For where there is true repentance there is remission of sinnes And where there is remission of sinnes there is the grace of God And where there is the grace of God there is Christ And where Christ is there is his merit And where there is Christs merit there is satisfaction for sinnes And where there is satisfaction for sinnes there is righteousnes And where there is righteousnesse there is joy and tranquillitie of conscience And where there is tranquillitie of conscience there is the holy Spirit And where the holy Spirit is there is the sacred and holy Trinitie And where the holy Trinitie is there is eternall life Therefore where there is true repentance there is eternall life Where there is not true repentance neither is there remission of sinnes nor the grace of God nor Christ nor his merit nor satisfaction for sinnes nor righteousnesse nor tranquillitie of conscience nor the holy Spirit nor the holy Trinitie nor eternall life Why therefore do we deferre our repentance and why do we procrastinate it from day to day To morrow is not ours and to repent truely is not in our power And in the day of judgement we must give an account not onely for to morrow but also for the present day To morrow is not so certain as the destruction of the impenitent is certain God hath promised remission to the repentant but he hath not promised to morrow There is no place for Christ his satisfaction where there is not true contrition in the heart Our sinnes do separate betwixt God and us so saith the Prophet Esay And by repentance we return again unto him Acknowledge and bewail thy sinnes so shalt thou finde God in Christ appeased towards thee I blot out thine iniquities saith the Lord Therefore our sinnes are enrolled in the court of heaven Turn away thy face from my sinnes begs the Prophet Therefore our iniquities are set in the sight of God Be converted unto us O God prayeth Moses Therefore our sinnes do separate us from God Our sinnes have answered us complaineth Esay Therefore they accuse us before Gods judgement-seat Cleanse me from my sinnes prayeth David Therefore our sinnes appeare most foul and filthie in the sight of God Cure my soul for I have sinned against thee prayeth the same David Therefore sinne is the disease of the soul. Whosoever shall sinne against me I will blot him out of my book saith the Lord Therefore for our sinnes are we blotted out of the book of life Cast me not away from thy face prayeth the Psalmist
life and the words of eternall life The cup of benediction is the communion of the bloud of Christ and the bread which we break is the participation of the Lords bodie We cleave unto the Lord Therefore we are one Spirit with him We are united unto him not onely by the communion of nature but also by the participation of his bodie and bloud I do not therefore say with the Jews How can this man give us his flesh to eat But rather crie out How doth the Lord distribute unto us his flesh to eat and his bloud to drink I do not prie into his power but do admire his benevolence I do not examine his majestie but I reverence his goodnesse His presence I beleeve the manner of his presence I know not I am certainly assured that it is most neare and inward We are members of his body flesh of his flesh and bone of his bones He dwelleth in us and we in him My soul desireth to dive by cogitation into this most profound abysse but cannot finde with what words to set forth and declare that goodnesse and therefore is altogether amazed at the sight of the greatnesse of the grace of the Lord and the glory of the blessed Meditat. XIX Of the mysterie of the Lords Supper Be wise Do not to farre enquire 'To that thou rather shouldst admire IN the Lords holy Supper there is set before us a mysterie to be trembled at and to be adored of us by all means There is the treasure and treasurie of divine grace We know that there was a tree of life planted by God whose fruit might have conserved our first parents and their posteritie by the fertilitie and felicitie thereof There was also placed in paradise a tree of the knowledge of good and evil But even that which was appointed by God for their salvation and life and for an exercise of their obedience became unto them an occasion of death and condemnation whilest they poore wretches obeyed the devils allurements and their own desires Here also is prepared a tree of life that sweet wood whose leaves are for medicine and whose fruit for meat The sweetnesse thereof doth take away the bitternesse of all evils yea of death it self Unto the Israelites was given Manna that they might be fed with heavenly food Here is that true Manna which came down from heaven to give life unto the world This is the heavenly bread and the angelicall meat of which whosoever eateth shall never hunger The Israelites had the ark of the covenant and the mercy-seat where they might heare the Lord speak face to face Here is the true ark of the covenant that is the most sacred bodie of Christ wherein the treasures of all science knowledge and wisdome are laid up Here is the true mercy-seat in the bloud of Christ which makes us to be beloved in the beloved neither doth he speak unto us onely by his inward consolation but also dwelleth in us neither doth he feed us onely with heavenly Manna but with himself Here is the gate of heaven indeed here is the angels ladder For can heaven be greater then he that is in heaven Can heaven be more nearly united unto God then the flesh and humane nature which he hath assumed Heaven indeed is the throne of God But in the humane nature assumed by Christ resteth the holy Spirit God is in heaven But in Christ dwelleth the fulnesse of the divinitie Certainly this is a great and infallible pledge of our salvation He had no greater thing to give unto us For what is greater then himself What is so closely united unto him as his humane nature which is assumed into the fellowship of the most blessed Trinitie and made the treasurie of all heavenly goods What is so nearly conjoyned unto him as flesh and bloud And yet with these most heavenly nourishments doth he refresh us miserable worms and make us partakers of his nature And shall not he then make us partakers of his grace Who ever hated his own flesh How can the Lord then despise us whom he feedeth with his own flesh and bloud How can he forget those unto whom he hath given the pledge of his own bodie How can Satan be able to overcome us seeing that we are fed with heavenly food that we faint not in battel We are deare unto Christ because he bought us at so deare a price We are deare unto Christ because he feeds us with such deare and precious things We are deare unto Christ because we are his flesh and members This is the onely Panacea of all spirituall diseases this is the medicine of immortalitie For what sinne is there so great that the sacred flesh of God cannot expiate What sinne is so great that the quickning flesh of Christ cannot heal What sinne so mortall that is not taken away by the death of the Sonne of God What fierie darts of the devil can be so deadly that they cannot be quenched in this fountain of divine grace What so great stain of the conscience that this bloud cannot purge The Lord was present to the Israelites in a cloud and in fire But here is no cloud but the sunne of righteousnesse the present light of our souls Here is not felt the fire of Gods fury but the heat of his love neither doth he depart from us but makes his mansion with us Our first parents were brought into paradise that most sweet and fragrant garden the type of eternall beatitude that being put in minde of Gods bountie they might perform due obedience unto their Creatour Behold Here is more then paradise in this place For the creature is filled with the flesh of the Creatour The penitent conscience is cleansed by the bloud of the Sonne of God By the body of Christ are nourished the members of Christ the head The faithfull soul is fed with divine and heavenly dainties The sacred flesh of God which the angels adore in the unitie of person which the archangels reverence at which the Powers do tremble and which the Vertues admire is our spirituall food Let the heavens rejoyce and let the earth be glad but much more the faithfull soul upon whom such and so great benefits are bestowed Meditat. XX. Of serious preparation before we come to the Lords Supper A wedding garment put thou on Or keep from this communion HEre is no common cheere nor the feast of some ordinarie king but here is the holy mysterie of the body and bloud of Christ to be handled of us Therefore a due preparation is required lest we finde death in stead of life and receive condemnation in stead of mercy How did that most holy Patriarch so famous for the strength of his faith how did he fear and tremble when the Sonne of God appeared unto him in the
it with the knife of truth thou shalt see that within there is nothing but worms and rottennesse There are apples growing about Sodom which are pleasing for outward beautie But being touched they fall to dust The felicitie of this life doth outwardly delight but if thou pressest it with a more weightie consideration it will appear to be like unto smoke and dust Therefore O beloved soul do not suffer thy cogitations to set up their rest in this life But let thy minde alwayes pant and breathe after the joyes to come Compare the short moment of time granted unto us in this life with eternitie which never shall have end and it will appear what a foolish thing it is to cleave unto this life that flitteth away and to neglect that which is everlasting This life of ours posteth away And yet in it do we either get or lose everlasting life This life is most miserable And yet in it do we either get or lose everlasting life This life is subject to many calamities And yet in it do we either get or lose everlasting joy If therefore thou hopest for life everlasting in this flitting life desire it with all thy heart Use the world but let not thy heart cleave to the world Negotiate in this world but fix not thy minde upon this present life The outward use of worldly things hurteth not unlesse thy inward affection cleave unto them Heaven is thy countrey the world is but the place of thy sojourning Be not so much delighted with the momentanie entertainment of this world as to have thy minde withdrawn from the desire after thy heavenly countrey This life is our sea but eternitie is our haven Be not therefore so much delighted with the momentanie tranquillity of this sea as that thou canst not attain to the haven of everlasting tranquillity This life is sliding and doth not keep faith with her lovers but doth often flee from them when they never think of it Why therefore wilt thou trust it It is very dangerous for thee to promise unto thy self security for one houre For oftentiâ—es in that one posting houre this lâ—â—e is ended The safest way then is to expect our departure out of this present life every houre and to prepare our selves for it by serious repentance In the gourd wherewith Jonas was delighted God prepared a worm that it might wither So in these worldly things whereunto many cleave so fast as if they were glewed to them there is no certaintie but the worms of corruption do breed in them The world is now so worn away with a long consumption that it hath even lost the face by which it was wont to seduce And therefore they that delight to perish with the world now perishing are as much to be blamed and condemned as they are to be praised and commended that flourished with the world then flourishing Withdraw O Christ our hearts from the love of this world and stirre up in us a desâ—â—â— after the kingdome of heaven Meditat. XXXIX Of the worlds vanitie Love not the world The world is vain But love those things that ay remain SEt not thy love O devout soul upon those things which are in the world The world shall passe away and all the things therein shall be consumed with fire Where shall thy love be then Love that good which is everlasting that so thou mayest live for ever Every creature is subject to vanitie Whosoever therefore cleaveth with his love unto the creatures shall also become vain himself Love that good which is true and stable that thy heart may be quieted and established Why doth worldly honour delight thee He that seeketh the honour of men cannot be honoured by God He that seeketh the honour of the world must be conformed unto the world and he that pleaseth the world cannot please God All things are unâ—â—able and must perish whatsoever are given by those that are unstable and do perish How then can the honour of the world be stable He that was yesterday extolled to the skies by the praises of men is brought down again to morrow with disgrace Desire therefore to please God that thou mayest be honoured of God For that is the true and stable honour What is a man the better for being reputed great by man If a man be great in the sight of God then is he great indeed not otherwise Christ being sought for to take a kingdome fled from it but being sought for to be reproched and to be ignominiously crucified he offered himself Delight therefore rather in the disgrace then the glorie of the world that so thou mayest be conformed unto Christ. He that doth not despise the world for Christ how would he lay down his life for him There is no way to true glory but by contemning the glory of the world for so Christ entred into his glorie by the ignominie of the crosse Be content therefore to be despised to be vilified and to be rejected in this world that thou mayest be honoured in the world to come Christ taught us by his life how we should esteem of the world All the glory of the heavens serveth him yea he alone is even glory it self And yet he rejected worldly glory Therefore the more a man is honoured and the more he aboundeth in bodily consolations the more deeply and inwardly must he become sorrowfull that he is so farre from being conformable unto Christ. Vain is the praise of man if an evil conscience accuseth within What doth it profit a man sick of a fever if he be laid in a bedsted of ivorie when as notwithstanding he is tormented with raging heat within It is the testimonie of thy conscience that is the true honour and praise indeed There is no juster judge of thy doings then God and thine own conscience Desire to approve thy deeds before this judgement Is it not enough for thee to be known of thy self and which is most of all to be known of God But why dost thou so much covet after riches He is too covetous unto whom the Lord is not sufficient This life is the way to our eternall countrey What then do much riches profit They do rather burden the traveller as great burdens do a ship Christ the king of heaven is the riches of Gods servants The true treasure must be within a man and not without him That is the true treasure which thou canst carry with thee to the generall judgement But all these outwaad goods are taken from us in death The goods gathered together do perish but first he that gathered them doth perish unlesse he be rich in the Lord. Poore thou camest into the world and poore must thou go out And why should the middle differ from the beginning and the end Riches are appointed for our use And how few will be sufficient A little gift of grace
grant unto me of his goodnesse that I may beleeve his word and promises I will use the help and support of prayer to strengthen my faith and I will not suffer the Lord to depart out of the chamber of my heart untill I have obtained salvation By the power of the Lord I shall be able to be preserved unto salvation The power of the Lord doth lift me up and comfort me but mine own infirmitie doth cast me down and make me sorrowfull But the power of the Lord shall be perfected in my weaknesse He shall strengthen me from whom cometh all the strength of my faith The grace of God doth lift me up but mine unworthinesse doth cast me down But if there were any worthinesse in me then it were no grace but a reward If of works then certainly not of grace For grace is not any way grace unlesse it be every way gratis Therefore have I no respect unto my works That which is amisse he will amend that which is wanting he will make up that which he will not impute against me shall be as if it were not Therefore is my salvation onely from God and therefore sure Meditat. XLIII That we must think daily upon our death Think every day to be thy last And when night comes thy life is past O Faithfull soul look foâ— death every houre Because it waits for thee every houre In the morning when thou risest O man think that it is thy last day And in the evening when thou goest to bed think that it is thy last night upon earth Whatsoever thou doest whatsoever thou goest about look about thee and consider with thy self first whether thou wouldest do such things or no if thou shouldest die that houre and so go to Gods judgement What! Dost thou think that death doth not approch because thou thinkest not of it or dost thou think that it draweth nearer because thou thinkest upon it whether thou thinkest upon it or no whether thou speakest of it or no it hangs alwayes over thy head Life was lent unto thee not given as a free-hold Upon this condition thou didst enter in that thou shouldest go out Naked thou camest and naked thou must go This life is a pilgrimage when thou hast travelled a good while then thou must return home again Thou art but a farmer and tenant in this world and not a perpetuall lord Every houre think with thy self whither thou hastenest every moment In this we are deceived in that we think we die then when we breathe out our last Every day every houre every moment we die Whatsoever is added unto our life is taken from it and as it increaseth it also decreaseth we fall not into death suddenly but walk into it step after step This life of ours is a way and every day we must ridde some of it Life and death seem to be most distant but they are as neare as neare can be For one passeth away and the other cometh on As it is with those that travel by sea they oftentimes come to the haven and yet they neither feel nor so much as think whither they are carried So likewise it is with us whatsoever we do whether we eat drink or sleep we draw nearer alwayes to our death Many have passed away their life even in the time whiles they were seeking after things belonging to the sustentation of this life No man entertains death joyfully unlesse he hath long before prepared himself for it In this life die daily unto thy self that so in death thou mayst live unto God Before thou diest let thy sinnes die in thee In thy life time let the old Adam die in thee So at thy death Christ shall live in thee In thy life time let the outward man daily decay that at thy death the inward man may be renewed in thee Death translateth thee from time to eternitie for as the tree falls so it lies How carefully then ought we to think upon the houre of death Time passeth away but the infinite space of eternitie remains behinde In time therefore make thy self ready for eternitie What we shall be for ever whether blessed or miserable it shall be decreed at the houre of death In that one moment is eternall felicitie either enjoyed or lost Wherefore O faithfull soul how solicitous and carefull oughtest thou to be in preparing thy self for that houre Thou wilt easily contemn all worldly things if thou considerest with thy self that thou must die Consider that thine eyes shall be darkened in death and thou wilt easily turn away thine eyes from beholding vanitie Consider that thy eares shall wax deaf at thy death and it shall be easie for thee to stop thy eares against impious and filthy speeches Consider that thy tongue shall be tied at thy death and thou wilt have more regard unto thy words Set before thine eyes the cold sweat and anxietie of those that are ready to die and thou wilt easily contemn all worldly delights Look upon the nakednesse of them that depart out of this world and povertie in this life will not seem grievous unto thee Consider the trembling of the whole bodie at the point of death and thou wilt easily contemn the splendour of the world Consider the mourning of the soul being compelled to go out of the house of the bodie and thou wilt easily beware of the guilt of all sinne Consider the corruption that followeth after death and thou wilt easily bring down thy proud flesh Consider how naked thou art left at thy death being forsaken of all the creatures and thou wilt easily turn away thy love from them and turn it towards the Creatour Consider how narrowly death looks to thee that thou carrie away nothing with thee at thy death and thou wilt easily contemn all the riches of the world He that in this life dieth daily through his sinnes doth passe from death temporall unto the punishments of death eternall No man is translated unto everlasting life but he that begins here to live in Christ. That in death therefore thou mayest live be ingrafted into Christ by faith Let death be alwayes in thy thoughts because it is to be expected alwayes We carry death alwayes about us because we alwayes carry sinne about us and the wages of sinne is death But if thou wouldest escape the bitternesse of death keep the word of Christ. Faith doth conjoyn and unite us unto Christ Therefore they which are in Christ die not For Christ is their life He that is joyned unto God by faith is one spirit with him And therefore the faithfull man dieth not for ever because God is his life The people of Israel passed through the Red sea unto the promised land but Pharaoh and his host were drowned So the death of the godly is unto them the beginning of true life and the gate of paradise but the death of the wicked is not
but in the effects of his justice All the evils of this life are single One is troubled with poverty another is tormented with grievous sicknesse one is oppressed with hard servitude another is laden with the burthen of reproaches But there all at once shal be tormented with all evils The pains there shall be universall in all the senses and in all the members In this life hope of release mitigateth all troubles But there is left no hope of deliverance The punishments of hell are not onely eternall but there is no ease so much as for a moment And hence it is that if all men since Adam to this presenâ— day and all that are yet to be born should live to the last day and should suffer but one punishment in hell as the soul that sinneth must suffer for one sinne every portion of that punishment which any one of them should suffer would be greater then all the torments that all fellons and malefactours have ever suffered O Lord grant unto us that we may think upon hell that we never fall into it Meditat. L. Of the eternitie of Hell-torments The pains of hell do farre extend Beyond all times world without end THink O devout soul upon the eternitie of hell-torments and thou shalt more truely understand the grievousnes thereof In hell there is a raging flame which burneth without end The life of the damned is to die without end the death of the damned is to live in eternall torments For neither is the tormentour wearied neither doth the tormented die So doth the fire consume there that still it leaves somewhat So are the torments there increased that still they are renewed So shall the damned die that they shall alwayes live So shall they live that they shall alwayes die For a man to be tormented without any end this is it that goes beyond all the bounds of desperation For what is more grievous then alwayes to will that which shall never be and to niâ—l that which shall alwayes be The damned shall never obtain what they would and shall be constrained ever to suffer what they would not When the wrath of God shall cease then shall the torments of the damned cease But the wrath of God is eternall and therefore the torments are eternall When the damned shall truely repent then they shall be delivered from their sins But the time of repentance is past and therefore there remains no hope of indulgence When the devils shall cease to torment then shall the damned cease to be tormented But the furie of the devil shall never cease therefore the torments of the damned shall never cease When Gods justice shall be changed then the torments of the damned shall be changed But the justice of God is unchangeable therefore the torments of the damned shall be eternall The sentence of severe judgement requires that they should never want punishment who in this world never want sinne It is just thâ—t there should be no end of the punishment of the damned because as long as they could they would make no end of sinning The damned sinned in their eternitie that is as long as they lived Therefore it is just that they should be punished in Gods eternitie Their sinne had an end because their life had an end But they would have made no end of sinning but that they were forced to make end of living that so they might have sinned without end The matter of hell-fire is eternall that is the stain of sinne And therefore meet it is that the punishment should be eternall The filthinesse of the sinnes of the damned can never be removed out of the sight of God How then can the greatnesse of punishments appointed for sinne be removed Besides sinne is an infinite evil because it is committed against an infinite good and Christ paid for it an infinite price And therefore meet it is that their punishment who die in their sinnes should be infinite Man destroyed in himself the eternall good And therefore in the judgement of God he doth justly fall into everlasting evil God at the beginning created man after his own image that he might live with him for ever God by Christ reformed man after his own image when he was fallen into sinne He hath provided for all means of eternall salvation and he hath offered unto all the reward of eternall life And therefore it is just that they which would voluntarily want everlasting rewards should be made subject to everlasting punishments An evil will shall never be taken away from the damned Therefore the punishment of their evil will shall never be taken away from them The damned made choice of momentanie pleasure finite goods before God the infinite good they longed after the delights of this short and flitting life rather then the riches of eternall life It is just therefore that they should suffer eternall punishments Oh eternitie not to be termed Oh eternity not to be measured by any space of time Oh eternitie not to be conceived by humane understanding How much dost thou augment the punishments of the damned After innumerable thousands of yeares they shall be compelled to think that then is but the beginning of their torments What a grievous thing is it to lie though in a very soft bed for thirtie yeares without moving And how grievous shall it be then to burn in that lake of brimstone thirtie thousand thousand yeares Oh eternity eternity it is thou alone that dost increase the punishments of the damned beyond all measure Grievous is the pain of the damned for the crueltie of the punishments it is yet more grievous for the diversitie of the punishments but it is most grievous for the eternitie of the punishments There shall be death without death end without end defect without defect because death ever liveth and the end ever beginneth and the defect is never deficient The damned shall seek life and shall not finde it they shall seek death and it shall flee from them After an hundred thousand thousand thousand of yeares they shall return without end to the same punishments Thâ— thought of the continuance of their sorrow shall torment them more then the sense of outward torment What can be more miserable then so to die that thou mayest alwayes live and so to live that thou mayest alwayes die That life shall be mortiferous and that death shall be immortall If it be life why doth it kill and if it be death why doth it alwayes endure What eternitie is we do not perfectly know and it is no wonder For what created minde can comprehend that which cannot be measured by any time But if thou wouldest guesse what the space of eternitie is think upon the time that was before the world was created If thou canst finde Gods beginning then mayest thou finde when the punishments of the damned shall have an end Imagine thou sawest an exceeding high mountain which for
hath pleased thee to conjoyn unto thee the humane nature in a most neare bond of personall union Although therefore my sinnes do hinder me yet the communion of nature doth not repell me I will adhere wholly unto thee because thou hast wholly assumed me wholly Amen PRAYER V. He renders thanks for Christs passion HOw great thanks do I ow unto thee O most holy Jesu for that thou hast taken upon thee the punishment of my sinnes and hast endured hunger thirst cold wearinesse reproches persecutions sorrows povertie bonds whips pricking of thorns yea and that most bitter death of the crosse for me sinner How great is the flame of thy love which forced thee of thine own accord to throw thy self into that sea of passions and that for me most vile and unthankfull servant Thy innocency and righteousnesse made thee free from all sufferings But thy infinite and unspeakable love made thee debter and guilty in my room It is I that trespassed and thou makest satisfaction It is I that committed rapine and thou makest restitution It is I that sinned and thou undergoest the passion O Jesu most benigne I acknowledge the bowels of thy mercy and the fiery heat of love Thou seemest to love me more then thy self seeing thou deliverest up thy self for me O most innocent Jesu what hast thou to do with the sentence of death O thou most beautifull amongst the sonnes of men what hast thou to do with spittings upon thee O thou most righteous what hast thou to do with whips and bonds These things belong not unto thee They are all due unto me But thou of thine unspeakable love didst descend into the prison of this world and take upon thee the shape of a servant and most willingly undergo the punishment that was due unto me I was for my sinnes to be adjudged to the lake that burneth with everlasting fire But thou by the fire of love being burnt upon the altar of the crosse dost free me from it I was to be cast away for my sinnes from the face of my heavenly Father And thou for my sake complainest that thou art forsaken of thy heavenly Father I was to be tormented of the devil and his angels for ever And thou of thine infinite love dost deliver thy self unto the ministers of Satan to be afflicted and crucified for me As many instruments as I see of thy passion so many tokens do I see of thy love towards me For my sinnes are those bonds those whips and those thorns which afflicted thee all which of thine unspeakable love thou enduredst for me Thy love was not yet satisfied with taking my flesh upon thee but thou wouldest make it as yet more manifest by that most bitter passion of thy soul and bodie Who am I most mighty Lord that for me disobedient servant thou thy self wouldst become a servant so many yeares Who am I most beautifull Bridegroom that for me the most filthy vassal of sinne and whore of the devil thou hast not refused to die Who am I most bountifull Creatour that for me most vile creature thou hast not been afraid of the passion of the crosse I am to thee most loving Bridegroom the true spouse of bloud for whom thou dost poure forth such plenty of bloud I am to thee most beautifull Lily a thorn indeed that is full of prickles It is I that laid upon thee a heavy and sharp burthen with the weight whereof thou wast so squeezed that drops of bloud did distill abundantly from thy sacred bodie To thee Lord Jesu my alone Redeemer and Mediatour for this thine unspeakable love will I sing praises for ever Amen PRAYER VI. He renders thanks for our calling by the word VNto thee O Lord my God is most due all praise honour and thanksgiving for that thou wouldest by the preaching of thy word make manifest unto us that thy Fatherly will and determinate counsel concerning our salvation By nature we are darknesse we sit in darknesse and in the region of the shadow of death But thou by the most clear light of the Gospel dost dispell this darknes In thy light do we see light that is in the light of thy word we see that true light that lighteneth every one that cometh into this world What use were there of a treasure that is hid and a light that is put under a bushel I do therefore declare with thankfulnesse that great benefit in that thou hast by the word of thy Gospel revealed unto us that treasure of benefits in thy Sonne How beautifull are the feet of those that bring good tidings and tell of salvation This peace of conscience and salvation of the soul by the preaching of the Gospel thou dost yet declare unto us and call us unto the kingdome of thy Sonne I was led into the by-paths of errours as it were a weak and miserable sheep But thou hast called me into the way again by the preaching of thy word I was condemned and utterly lost But thou in the word of thy Gospel dost offer unto me the benefits of Christ and in the benefits of Christ thy grace and in thy grace remission of sinnes and in remission of sinnes righteousnesse and in righteousnesse salvation and life everlasting Who can sufficiently in words expresse those bowels of thy mercy yea who can in minde conceive the greatnesse the riches of thy goodnesse The mysterie of our salvation kept secret from eternitie by the manifestation of thy Gospel thou dost lay open unto us The counsels which thou hadst concerning our peace before the foundations of the world were laid thou dost reveal unto us by the preaching of thy word which is a lantern unto our feet whiles we go through this darksome valley intâ— light everlasting What had it profited us to have been born unlesse by Christ thou hadst delivered us when we were captivated through sinne What had it profited us to have been redeemed unlesse thou hadst by thy word declared unto us the great benefit of our redemption Thou dost spread forth thy hands unto us all the day Thou knockest at the gate of our heart every day and callest us all unto thee by thy word O Lord most benigne how many thousand thousands of men do live in the blindenesse of Gentilisme and in errours and have not seen that light of thy heavenly word which thy bounty hath granted us of all men most unthankfull Alas how often through our contempt and unthankfulnesse do we deserve that thou shouldest take from us the candlestick of thy word But thou of thy long patience dost make as if thou sawest not our sinnes and of thy unspeakable mercy dost yet continue unto us that most holy pledge and most precious treasure of thy word For which thy great benefit we render unto thee eternall thanks and we humbly beseech thee to continue it still unto us Amen PRAYER VII He renders thanks unto
If it be the totall good of mankinde to love God then it must needs be the totall evil to love himself If it be the nature and propertie of the true good to communicate it self then surely mans love of himself must needs be a great evil because he challengeth his own and others good unto himself If all glory be due unto God alone then is it sacriledge to challenge honour for he that challengeth it challengeth that which is anothers Extinguish in me this love of my self and mine honour O Christ blessed for ever Amen PRAYER XI He prayeth for conquest over the world ALmightie eternall and mercifull God Father of our Lord Jesus Christ give unto me the grace of thy holy Spirit that I may get the conquest over all the tentations of the world The world sets upon me with hatred flattery and perverse examples Teach me to contemn the hatred of the world to decline her allurements and to shun the imitation of evil examples What can the world with her hatred do against me if thy grace like a buckler protect me What shall it hurt me though all men should persecute me with hatred if thou my God dost embrace me with love Again what shall it profit me though all men should love me if the fury of thine anger shall pursue me The world passeth away the hatred of the world passeth away But the grace of God alone endureth for ever Remove therefore O God out of my heart that inordinate fear that I be not afraid of the hatred and persecution of the world But ingraff in my soul a full confidence and an ardent heat of the spirit that I may learn to contemn all worldly things because they are transitorie clouds Why should I be afraid of them that kill the body but cannot kill the soul I will rather reverence and fear him that is able to cast not onely the body but the soul also into the everlasting fire of hell Our faith is the victorie that overcometh the world For by faith we have an eye unto the joyes to come that so we may with patience endure these present sorrows By faith we relie upon the divine goodnesse that so we may abide humane hatred Neither doth the world assault me on the left hand onely with her hatred but on the right hand also she laboureth to ensnare me with her fawning allurements She hath a sting in her tail but she hath a smooth face Grant unto me therefore O Christ a taste of the sweetnesse of the heavenly joy that I may lose the taste of earthly things The taste of my soul is corrupt and coveteth after earthly things and the contempt of the worlds allurements doth seem bitter unto it But thou the true prizer of things hast taught me to lothe the enticements of the world and wouldest have my soul to soar aloft after heavenly things Turn away therefore O turn away my heart from the allurements of the world that being turned unto thee it may enjoy the true and spirituall delights What have these things profited the lovers of the world after death to wit Vain glory short pleasure slender power What hath the momentanie pleasure of the flesh and store of false riches profited Where are they now that not many dayes ago were here with us There remains nothing of them but ashes and worms They did eat and drink being secure they passed their life being made drunk with carnall pleasure But now their flesh is here given to the worms for meat and their soul is there tormented in everlasting fire All their glorie is fallen like the flower and like grasse withered Suffer me not O God to follow their steps lest that I come to the same term of misery But by the victory of the world lead me unto the crown of celestiall glory Amen PRAYER XII He prayes for consolation in adversitie and for the true rest of the soul. MOst gracious Father God of 〈◊〉 hope and consolation grant unto me in all adversities thy quickning consolation and the true rest of the soul. I feel much straitnesse in my heart But thy consolation shall make glad my soul. Vain and unprofitable is all the comfort of the world in thee alone is the strength and support of my soul. The weight of divers calamities presseth me sore But thy inward speaking unto me and thy consolation maketh it light No creature can make me so sorrowfull but thou canst make me much more glad by the spirit of gladnesse No adversities can so straiten my heart but thy grace can much more enlarge it The fiery heat of sundry calamities doth torment me But the taste of thy sweetnesse doth refresh me Rivers of tears distill from mine eyes But thy most bountifull hand doth wipe them all away As thou didst shew thy loving countenance to Stephen the first Martyr even in the very heat when his enemies stoned him So vouchsafe to give unto me in all adversities the joy of thy comfort As in the most grievous agonie of death thou didst send an angel unto thy Sonne to comfort him So in this my wrestling send I beseech thee thy holy Spirit to uphold me Without thy support I fall down under the burden of the crosse Without thy help by the assault of sundry adversities I am cast down flat Extinguish in me the love of the world and of the creatures so shall not the calamities of this world nor the changeablenesse of the creatures bring any bitternesse unto me He that with all his heart doth cleave unto the world and to the creatures can never be made partaker of the true and eternall rest for all terrestriall things are subject to continuall alterations and changes But whosoever doth not cleave unto the present goods of this life with an inordinate desire he will not be grieved much for the losse of the same Poure out O God poure out of my heart the love of the world that the celestiall Elisha may poure into the widows pitcher that is into my soul devoid of earthly comfort the oyl of celestiall joy Let all earthly things be troubled and changed and turned upside down Yet notwithstanding thou art the immoveable foundation and most firm rock of my heart Can a poore and weak creature disturb the quiet of my soul which I possesse in thee my Creatour sure and immoveable Can the waves of the world that most unquiet sea cast down the rock of my heart which is fixt in thee the chief and immutable good No For thy peace passeth all un-understanding and overcometh the invasion of all adversities Which inward peace most bountifull Father I beg at thy hands with most humble sighs Amen PRAYER XIII He prayes for victory in tentations and deliverance from the devils treacheries and invasions BE present unto me thou God of Zebaoth thou God of strength and mercy that I yeeld not unto the tentations and invasions of Satan but being safe