leaves or they might bee greene flags or rushes and what good were to mee in such a greennesse No my soule the goodnesse is in being greene Pastures for now they performe as much as they promise and as in being greene they were a comfort to mee as soone as I saw them so in being greene pastures they are a refreshing to me now as soone as I tast them As they are pleasant to looke on so they are wholsome to feed on As they are sweet to be tasted so they are easie to bee digested that I am now me thinkes in a kind of Paradise and seeme not to want any thing unlesse perhaps a little water with which now and then to wash my mouth at most to take sometimes a sippe for though sheepe bee no great drinkers and though their pastures being greene and full of sappe make drinke the lesse needfull yet some drinke they must have besides and now see the great goodnesse of this Shepheard and what just cause there is to depend upon his Providence for hee lets not his sheepe want this neither but hee leades them besides still waters Not waters that roare and make a noyse enough to fright a fearefull sheepe but waters still and quiet that though they drinke but little yet they may drinke that little without feare And may I not justly say now The Lord is my shepheard I shall not want And yet perhaps there will be want for all this for is it enough that he leade them into greene pastures and besides still waters May he not leade them in and presently take them out againe before their bellyes be halfe full and so in stead of making them happy make them more miserable set them in a longing with the sight and then frustrate them of their expectation No my soule The measure of this Shepheards goodnesse is more then so Hee not onely leadeth them into greene pastures but hee makes them to lye downe in them Hee leades them not in to post over their meat as if they were to eate a Passeover and to take it in Transitu as dogges drinke Nylus but hee makes them to lye downe in greene pastures that they may eat their fill and feed at leisure and when they have done lye downe and take their ease that their After-reckoning may be as pleasing as their Repast and that they may be free from being solliciti de crastino for taking care to provide for tomorrow seeing they have a Market of provision round about them or rather their meat ready drest to their hands for many dayes to come O my soule thus are the godly provided for by the Lord their Shepheard and though their pastures may seeme withered and dry in the eyes of the world yet to them they are greene and pleasing and give more gladnesse to their hearts then theirs whose Corne and Wine most abundantly increaseth And now O my soule is it not time now to say Grace and to acknowledge a thankfulnesse for this plenty of my meat and drinke and can I say a shortet Grace then this The Lord is my shepheard I shall not want And yet perhaps there will be want for all this for if God be a Shepheard will hee not sheare his sheepe and if hee sheare me will he not leave me bare and naked and how then can I say I shall not want God indeed is a Shepheard that will sheare his sheepe but hee will Tondere not Deglubere Hee will take off our old cloathes but it is to make way for new and he takes them off in a time when we may well spare them indeed in a time when it is better for us to be without them and therefore neither is his shearing any cause but I may say still The Lord is my shepheard I shall not want And yet I say still there will perhaps bee want for all this For is it enough to have food and rayment Is it enough to have ease and plenty Alas all these doe but serve for the body there is no provision here for the soule and if the soule be not provided for all the rest is but the care of Martha troubled about many things and none of them needfull But he that told Martha of her errour is it like he will commit the like errour himselfe No my soule his principall care is of the soule for hee restoreth my soule but as he made mee Verse 3 not a living soule at first till hee had made the earth and the fruits of the earth to serve for my living so he Restores not my soule now till he hath first ledde me into Greene pastures to serve for my sustenance for to what purpose were it to give a life and not a living to give a Being and not give meanes to maintaine that Being and was it not perhaps from hence that Christ tooke his patterne when he taught us to Pray for daily bread before wee Pray for forgivenesse of sinnes But though he provide first for the body which was made first yet he provides most for the soule which was given last Hee but feedes my body but he restores my soule Hee ministers to my body but accidentall and outward things but inward and substantiall to my soule And why is it that God provides more for the soule then for the body but because the soule is of farre more worth then the body for God is not as man to take care of things out of fancie or upon mistaking but hee takes care of things according as hee values them and values them according as they are worth Numquid cura Deo de Bobis Doth God take care of Oxen Indeed the Soule in comparison of the Body is of farre more value then the worth of an Oxe in comparison of a man O that wee could be so wise as to know the true value and worth of the soule and to take care of things according to their values we should then certainly be more carefull of the soule lesse carefull of the body then we are and be more sensible of that saying of Christ What availes it a man to gaine the whole world and to lose his soule It may bee allowed perhaps to men to provide first for the body so they would provide most for the soule as God doth here but to provide first and most for the body and last and least for the soule as most men doe that I say not all for the body and nothing for the soule as some men doe This must needs be extremely against all good order seeing it is so directly against Gods order But to what is it that God restores my soule It must be to something that my soule had before and hath not now and so it is Hee restores it to its originall puritie that was now growne foule and black with sinne for alas what good were it to have greene pastures and a black soule Hee restores it to its naturall temper in affections that was growne
pleased not to be so hastie to turne me away By thy helping me then thou didst expresse thy loving me then and why then should I feare thou wilt now forsake mee for whom thou lovest thou lovest to the end Not to the end and then ends but to the end that shall never end Shall the Heathen have cause have colour of cause to upbraid thee with inconstancie that whom thou helpest at one time thou forsakest at another Or canst thou turne mee away in anger and then helpe mee in mercy when thou hast done Canst thou so soone change from Mercy to Anger and from Anger againe to Mercie that we should never know in what temper to find thee No my soule farre be it from thee to have such thoughts but the truth is Gods wayes are not discerned not discernable by us they are past our finding out We know nothing at any time what it is he doth lesse why and least of all how hee doth it Both the substance and the circumstance of all his actions is to us an Abyssus we know nothing of all his wayes but this that all his wayes are Mercy and Truth nothing of his condition but this that in him there is no change nor shadow of change Verse 10 It is indeed the nature of all living creatures though never so tender of their young ones yet when they are growne to a ripenesse of age and strength to turne them off to shift for themselves and even a Father and a Mother as tender as they are have yet somewhat of this common nature in them for while their children are young they leade them by the hand but when they are growne up they leave them to their owne legges and if they chance to fall let them rise as they can but God even then takes his children up for hee knowes of what they are made hee knowes their strength must as well be supported as their weaknesse be assisted hee knowes they must as well be taken up when they fall as be held up when they stand and therefore though the tendernesse of a Father be great of a Mother perhaps greater yet no comparison to be made with the tendernesse of God And seeing God is never without tendernesse why should I be ever without hope and not hope as well to be delivered from trouble as others to be preserved in safety O my soule much rather for seeing all things in this world are subject to change is not that hope more like to succeed which hopes for a change then that which hopes for a continuance But seeing the way of thy tendernesse is Verse 11 past our finding out O therefore Doe thou O God teach mee thy way and leade mee in a plaine path because of mine enemies Teach mee thy way how it can stand with tendernesse to thy children to suffer them to be afflicted when thou sufferest the wicked to live in prosperitie To make Martyrs of thy servants when the wicked flourish and live at ease How it can stand with thy tendernesse to take away thy servants in the midst of their dayes often-times in the beginning when thou sufferest the wicked of the world to runne out the full races of long lives Why thou leadest the godly in paths of temptations when thou leadest the wicked in paths of securitie But if these wayes of thine be too hard for me to learne or if thy pleasure bee not to reveale them as yet at least O God Leade me in a plaine path because of mine enemies If it were not for mine enemies I would never make this suite unto thee but would leave it to thee to leade me in what paths thou pleasest but having the eyes of so many enemies upon me if thou shouldst leade me now in a rugged path where I might chance to stumble or fall would not my enemies triumph at it as at a victory for they marke ever step I take to watch what advantage they can find against me and if they should find me tripping never so little I were sure to be made the Anvile of their malice to be beaten upon without either pitty or compassion But how great soever their malice be I know they can doe nothing without leave Thou onely O God hast an absolute power over me My enemies none but by thy permission and I hope thou wilt retaine thy power in thine owne hands at least not make my enemies thy deligates To thy will I willingly Verse 12 submit my selfe but Deliver mee not over to the will of my enemies for thy will when most severe is yet with compassion but their will when most gentle is alwayes with cruelty And I speake not this upon a bare suspition but I have evident proofes for what I say For falfe witnesses are risen up against mee and such as breath out crueltie I desired indeed to bee led in a plaine path to the end I might walke upright both before God and men that so I might give my enemies no cause of offence doe nothing whereof I might bee justly accused but alas what good hath my integritie done me for so great is my enemies malice against me that when they cannot charge mee truly they accuse me falsely and because they would not be seene in it themselves they suborne witnesses and because one witnesse would not be sufficient Many and lest their witnesses should be apt to relent they have gotten such as breath out crueltie such as make crueltie their living and trade I may say in no wares but cruell Though I have a thousand witnesses of my innocencie my owne conscience yet these witnesses will not bee heard in the Courts of the world Alas no I know one an innocent indeed who had greater witnesses then these the witnesses of his pious and wonderfull and wonderfull pious workes yet neither would these be taken for witnesses of his innocencie but in the Courts of the world hee was condemned as guiltie O my soule I had utterly fainted under this burden if it had not beene for one thing If I Verse 13 had not beleeved to see the goodnesse of the Lord in the land of the living The onely hope of this hath kept me from fainting and how could it choose being a Cordiall made up of three soveraigne Ingredients a hope to see and to see the goodness of God and the goodness of God in the land of the living three such Ingredients that he must be one of a very faint heart whom such a Cordiall will not keepe from fainting But what ingredient of comfort is a hope to see for doe I not see now as well as I am like to doe hereafter were not our first Parents eyes opened in Paradise and can wee hope to see better then they saw there and doe not our eyes stand as open as theirs still O my soule the opening of their eyes then hath made us see the worse ever since wee see now but as in a Glasse rather appearances of things
from all my troubles had beene a great favour but a farre greater to deliver me from all my feares for where that would have but freed me from present evill This secures me from evill to come that now I enjoy not onely Tranquilitie but securitie a priviledge onely of the godly The wicked may be free from trouble but can they be free from feare No God knowes though they be not in trouble like other men yet they live in more feare then other men Guiltinesse of mind or mind of the world never suffers them to be secure though they bee free sometimes from the fit of an Ague yet they are never without a grudging and if I may use the expression of Poets though they feele not alwayes the Whippe of Tysiphone yet they feele alwayes her terrours and seeing the Lord hath done this for me hath delivered me from all my feares have I not cause just cause to magnifie him and exalt his Name But is Gods mercy confined onely to mee and not extended as well to others Yes my soule Deus omnibus idem God is good to all Verse 5 his mercy is over all his workes Not onely over them as being above them all but over them as extended to them all for other as well as I Looked unto him and were lightened But should it not bee rather said God looked to them and they were lightened then to say They looked to God and were lightened For God is Light and when the Light lookes to us we are sure to be lightened but wee that are darknesse may looke to the Light and yet continue in darknesse still but is it not that the influence of Gods favour descends upon the godly in a kind of correspondence to their service if they cry they shall be heard if they mourne they shall be comforted if they humble themselves they shall be exalted so here because they looked to God they were lightened Indeed Light is the proper inheritance of the godly as being the children of light which though they cannot deserve yet they may expect and have they not reason then to looke to him in whom it is and from whom it must come They little deserve to be lightened that will not looke to him that is their light If it may be had for a looke and they will not doe that they worthily deserve to be kept in darknesse It is true all would be lightened but all take not the right course they looke not the right way There are some that looke to the starres to bee lightened because the starres indeed are glorious bodyes and give light to the world and these are such as attribute all to Chance and Fortune and there are some and these the worst some that looke to Lucifer to be lightened because they thinke he beares not his name for nought and these are such as light them Candles of impietie and by impietie but these are delusions and impostures the way to bee truly lightened indeed is to looke to God for hee is the Father of Lights and as there is nothing with him so there comes nothing from him but onely Light O then my soule looke to God and he will lighten thee looke to him with the eye of Faith and the light of his Countenance shall shine upon thee But though the children of the world bee wiser in their Generation then the children of Light yet in this the godly are the wiser for they looked to God and were lightened and their faces were not ashamed But may wee not say then the more shame for them for is it not true which is said that nothing belongs to us but confusion and shame of face may we not be ashamed to shew our faces to God being so foule and filthy as they are seeing hee endures nothing that is uncleane O my soule as they that looked to the Brazen Serpent were presently healed so they that looke to God are presently lightened for though looking to the materiall Sunne bee a cause to stayne and tanne the face yet looking to the Sunne of Righteousnesse is a meanes to cleanse it and make it amiable and why then should they be ashamed Is it any shame to shew our sores to our Physitian or any shame to shew our faults to our Confessour No more is it any shame to shew our faces to God though never so foule and so full of staynes seeing hee is the true Physitian that onely can cure us Hee the true Confessour that onely can absolve us But who are they that were lightened Perhaps Pauci quos aequus amavit some few that were in his favour perhaps rich men that could offer him Hecatombes and plentifull sacrifices No my soule The poore man cryed and hee heard him and saved him out of all his troubles Verse 6 for God is no accepter of persons Hee neither regards the legges of the strong nor the faces of the beautifull nor the wealth of the rich but whosoever they be that looke to him and feare him they are sure to taste of his mercy and goodnesse But though the poore man cryed are wee sure he cryed to God hee might cry out of sense of his misery and what were this to move God to heare O my soule any crying of the godly is a Musick with which God is pleased or at least is moved if it bee a crying out of sense of miserie God is moved with it in his mercy if a crying out of Devotion God is pleased with it in his Justice O then my soule rather never cry then not cry to God for by crying to him thou gettest I may say two strings to thy bow both his Mercie and his Justice and were it not folly to leave out one where thou mayst have both But though wee know not what the poore mans crying was yet wee see what Gods hearing was for hearing him hee saved him from all his troubles and who would not cry to be so heard The world may thinke it a strange course in the poore man to cry to God to deliver him from his troubles being so farre off from him but how farre was hee from him when he heard him If hee were so neere to him that he might heare him hee could not be so farre from him but he might helpe him O my soule let the world thinke their pleasure let them studie and plot and cast about how to bring their purposes to passe Doe thou cry to God to deliver thee from thy troubles for if thou cry thou mayst be sure hee will heare thee and if he heare thou needst not doubt but he will helpe thee But yet mistake not the meaning when it is sayd that God saved him from all his troubles as though because hee was a poore man that therefore hee was presently made rich Or if he were in paine that he had presently ease for God goes not alwayes the ordinary way of Physicians to cure cold Diseases with hot Medicines his wayes of
reconciled This is to pursue it Or perhaps the counsell that Saint Paul gives to Timothy may expresse it plainer Be instant in season and out of season to bee instant in season is to seeke peace to be instant out of season is to pursue it Indeed if a man desire long life and to see good dayes he must have a speciall care of peace whither it be peace in the humours or peace in the Passions whither Peace with God or peace with men they are all prolongers of life and life is never shortened or disquieted but for want of peace in one of these and therefore that you may not bee to seeke of long life seeke peace and pursue it And now O my soule is there not great cause that the feare of the Lord should animate all our words and workes when so great a Majestie as the eye of God is looking upon them when so sacred an Auditorie as the Verse 15 eares of God are hearkening to them For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his eares are open to their cry and can any man be so without shame as to bee without feare when he is the spectacle which God is pleased to looke upon the speaker which he vouchsafes to hearken to But O my soule as it cannot but make thee feare so it cannot but make thee joy for what greater honour then to bee the object of Gods eyes and eares What though the world regard thee not as long as God regards thee What are the eyes and eares of the world but eyes and eares of scorne or else of envie of scorne when in adversitie and of envie in prosperitie but the eyes of the Lord are righteous eyes and are therefore upon the righteous his eares are eares of compassion and therefore are open to their cry But are not the Eyes of the Lord as well upon the wicked and what priviledge then is this to the Righteous No my soule his Eyes are upon the Righteous but they are against the wicked and not onely his eyes but his whole Face is against them to cut off their remembrance Verse 16 from the earth O my soule as thou considerest with joy the great force that is in righteousnesse which drawes the eyes and opens the eares of God so consider with trembling the great force that is in sinne which not onely turnes away his Eyes and stops his Eares but makes him to bend his whole Face in furie that if his favours of looking upon us and hearkening to us cannot winne us to feare him out of love at least the bending his Face against us in anger may force us to feare him out of terrour for he bends not his Face to make a shew onely as though he did but set a face upon it but it is to cut off the very remembrance of them that doe evill from the Earth But may not the wicked erect Tombes and Monuments that will preserve their remembrance for many Ages perhaps as long as the Earth shall endure and how then is their remembrance cut off from the Earth but from what Earth is it not meant from the Land of the living that in this may be seene the different condition betweene the godly and the wicked for as it is said here that the remembrance of the wicked shall be cut off from the Earth so it is said in another place of the godly that they shall be had in everlasting remembrance and where is any everlasting remembrance to be had but in the Land of the living Indeed to have their remembrance cut off in this Earth is not worthy of Gods threatning It is the cutting off from the Land of the living which is the blotting them out of the Booke of life that is a worke worthy of Gods setting his Face against them and this may well bee called a cutting off not onely because it shall come suddenly upon them but because they are never like to be heard Alas never like to be heard of any more which can never be the condition of the godly for they can never be so out of remembrance but that they shall bee alwayes heard of God For the righteous cry Verse 17 and the Lord heareth and delivereth them out of all their troubles But how is it like to be true that the godly shall never be forgotten when they seeme to be forgotten already while they live for how else should it happen that they are more in trouble in more trouble than other men but that God hath cast them out of his remembrance O my soule their very being in trouble is a certaine argument that God remembers them if he had not remembred Job and his righteousnesse he would never have given Sathan so much leave as he did to trouble him For indeed though troubles be judgements to the wicked and are as the first blowes to cut off their remembrance from the earth yet they are but tryals to the godly and doe but serve to make their remembrance be the fresher Doe we not see how Trees are nipt with frost and cold and not so much as a leafe left hanging upon them scarce so much as life remaining in them but is it not to renue in them the fresher springing and to make way for fruits in a greater plentie and such are the troubles of the godly they end in deliverance and though they be bitter for the present yet they make the joyes afterward to taste the sweeter And what marvell if God heare the cry of the righteous being so nigh unto them as hee is For the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken Verse 18 heart Not broken with envie as many are Not broken with despaire as some are but broken with sense of their sinne as the righteous are for this onely is the broken heart to which God is nigh and hee is not nigh it in vaine No my soule it is good having God to be our neighbour for hee saves all them to whom he is nigh Hee saves all them that bee of a contrite and humble heart the lower they are in their owne eyes the higher they are in his and when their heart is broken with sense of their sinne he makes it whole againe with supply Verse 19 of his grace It is true Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers them out of all For the righteous have many enemies and therefore must needes have many troubles but their troubles are not troublesome because they have the Lord for their deliverer if it be sicknesse he makes their bed in their sicknesse If it be hunger hee fills the hungrie with good things when hee sends the rich emptie away if it be Death it selfe Domini Domini sunt exitus mortis the issues of Death are all in Gods hands and all this while though their heart be broken yet their bones are whole still They may have thornes in the flesh but not a bone of theirs is broken
What place will be left for wonder to give cause to say How amiable are thy Tabernacles O Lord of Hosts But if hee had sayd How terrible are thy Tabernacles O Lord of Hosts though it might have beene wonderfull in the degree yet it could not bee wonderfull in the kind for what wonder is it if the Tabernacles of the Lord of Hosts bee terrible but when he saith How amiable are thy Tabernacles O Lord of Hosts this is not onely wonderfull in the degree but in the kind much more For what can be more wonderfull then that being Tabernacles of the Lord of Hosts they should be amiable and so amiable as to be wondred at But is it not that God is in himselfe so amiable that all things of His even his Terrours themselves are amiable his Tabernacles and his Tents his Sword and his Speare his Darts and his Arrowes all amiable Terrible no doubt to his Enemies but amiable wonderfull amiable to all that love and feare him and great reason they should be so seeing they are all in their defence and for their safeguard though they be Tabernacles of the Lord of Hosts to the wicked yet they are Courts of the Prince of peace to the godly and this makes my soule to Verse 2 long for the courts of the Lord. For I desire indeed to be a Courtier yet not as I am now God knowes I am very unfit for it but because Gods Courts are such they make any one fit that but comes into them they receive not men fit but make them fit and he that was before but a shrub in Baca assoone as hee comes into the Courts of the Lord is presently made a Cedar in Lebanon Indeed if his Tabernacles bee so wonderfull amiable they must needs be as wonderfull attractive for there is no such Adamant as Amiablenesse Nothing that so powerfully attracts and drawes all hearts unto it And to know the measure of their Amiablenesse by the power of their Attracting you need but looke upon my soule For my soule longeth and even fainteth for the Courts of the Lord which it would never doe if it were not for their wonderfull amiablenesse that attracts and drawes it by a kind of violence indeed by a kind violence unto them Every Amiablenesse is not so great to make a longing Nor every longing so great to make a fainting Nor every fainting so great to make the soule to faint Oh then consider how great this Amiablenesse is which makes my soule not onely to long but to faint with longing And blame me not for fainting as though it were my owne fault that would not restraine my longing for seeing his Tabernacles are of infinite amiablenesse they must needs worke in me an infinite delighting and that delighting an infinite longing and what restraint can there be of that which is infinite No alas my fainting is but answerable to my longing and my longing but answerable to the Amiablenesse If I had the offer made me which was made to Christ to enjoy all the Kingdomes of the Earth but with condition to want the Courts of the Lord this want would bring to my soule a greater griefe then that enjoying would give it contentment for seeing his Tabernacles are so amiable where he is Lord of Hosts how amiable must they needs be where hee is Prince of Peace and Prince of Peace he is in his Courts though in his Campe he be Lord of Hosts And that you may know it is not the weaknesse of my soule that it faints with longing for indeed weake spirits are apt to faint upon every light occasion but that it is the very operation of the wonderfull attractive power that is in the amiablenesse of his Courts see my Heart and my Flesh also how they are drawne to long after the Lord which they would never doe if it were not for some wonderfull amiablenesse that is in him for you may well thinke it must bee an Adamant of a wonderfull attractive power that can draw these heavy I rons of my heart and my flesh unto it for indeed though my Soule have a longing for the Courts of the Lord yet my Body perhaps could be content to want them there are Courts in the world that might please my Body as well perhaps better then these but God forbid God forbid I should be one to have my soule and body divided while they are united to have my soule runne one way and my body another No I am none of those but assoone as my soule longed for the Courts of the Lord My heart and my flesh fell a longing for the living God As my Soule longed for the Place so my heart and my flesh for the Person for my heart and my flesh are of a duller apprehension they must have a present Enjoying of that they long for or they cannot be satisfied but my soule is of a cleerer sight and knows if it can but come to the place where he is it shall be sure withall to enjoy his presence and with his presence his Person The Soule indeed is a spirituall substance and therefore it is natural to the soule to long after spiritual things but the flesh is an earthly substance and therefore it is naturall to the flesh to long after earthly things and as long as these two are linked in the Body together they will alwayes be working upon one another alwayes seeking to draw each other to their partie and if the Soule can draw the flesh to goe her spirituall way then all is well it is as it should be but if the Flesh draw the Soule to goe her earthly way then all is out of order there will be no longing for the Courts of the Lord for they are spirituall and are never longed for but where the Soule is predominant and hath the leading And this is the order in Davids longing first his Soule begins to long for the Courts of the Lord and this is yet but a single cord but then comes in the Heart and the Flesh too and make it a Cord of three that is impossible to bee broken Indeed the Courts of the Lord are so exceeding amiable that it is impossible but every soule must needs long after them but yet every soule considers not what belongs to this longing but as Balaam longed to dye the death of the Righteous yet was loath to live the life of the Righteous so there are many that long for the Courts of the Lord but are loath to live the life of such Courtiers They that be in Kings houses weare silke and soft rayment because so it is fit for the honour of the place and they that will be in the Courts of the Lord must likewise weare rayment that is fit for the holinesse of the place they must be cloathed with the soft rayment of meeknesse and humilitie they must put on the robe of Righteousnesse and the garment of Sinceritie or because they are Courts of
but forget some of his Benefits yet forget not all his Benefits if thou canst not remember all at least remember some Forget not It is hee that forgiveth Verse 3 all thy sinnes it is hee that healeth all thy infirmities Remember but these and they will alwayes minister matter enough to keepe thee in worke for blessing his Name For to forgive all my sinnes O my grievous my manifold sinnes that I know not whether they bee more or more grievous whether their Number or their Greatnesse be the greater is it not a benefit that may justly claime a prime place in my memorie If it were but onely to be favourable in punishing my sinnes it were a benefit worth remembring but to blot my sins cleane out and absolutely to forgive them and that freely without any desert of mine Alas without any possibilitie of deserving This is a Benefit that no Lethargie can forget indeed a benefit that deserves remembring in the highest degree And yet perhaps to forgive all my sinnes not a greater benefit then to heale all my infirmities This being the chiefe worke of his Grace as that of his Mercy for seeing my sinnes many of them and upon the matter all of them bee sinnes of infirmitie for even wilfulnesse and presumption are of infirmitie by healing my infirmities hee prevents me of sinning and is it not as great a benefit to keepe me from committing sinnes as to forgiue my sinnes when I have committed them But O my soule meddle not with this high point of Heraldrie to discusse which is the greater of Gods Mercy or his Grace They are both an Abyssus it is worke enough for thee and for all that is within me to Blesse him for both and for both indeed thou hast just cause to Blesse him seeing it is by the vertue of both that thou art able to Blesse him If it were not for his Mercy thou wouldst want the materiall cause of blessing him if it were not for his Grace the efficient but now that there is a concurrence of both together Now that both he forgiveth all thy sinnes in his Mercy and healeth all thy infirmities by his Grace Now O my soule what would it argue but extream ungratefulnesse farre exceeding a forgetfulnesse both in thee and all that is within me if thou shouldst not Blesse his Name For O my soule consider the multitude of infirmities to which thou art subject thou hast many suggestions of the flesh and thou art apt to consent and yeeld unto them and strivest not against them by earnest Prayer and holy Meditations This is an infirmitie In thy prayers to God thy thoughts are often wandring and thou thinkest of other matters farre unworthy of that great Majestie to whom thou prayest or if not so yet thou art quickly weary thy spirits are drowsie in it and thou hadst rather be doing of something else This is an infirmitie And indeed thou hast infirmities in all thy senses In thy seeing thou canst see a moate in thy brothers eye and canst not see a beame in thine owne eye In thy smelling thou thinkest Suavis odor lucri ex re qualibet that the savour of gaine is sweet from whence so ere it rise In thy Hearing Thou art gladder to heare prophane and idle discourses then such as be serious and holy These are infirmities and O my soule if I should cut thee up into as many parts as an Anatomist and examine the infirmities of every part should I not have cause just cause to cry out with Saint Paul O wretch that I am who shall deliver me from this body of sinne Who shall heale me of all these infirmities for whether we call them sinnes and then God forgives them or call them Infirmities and then he heales them they are to us all one benefit in God all one kindnesse that as either of them is well worth remembring so for both of them we have just cause to blesse him and to praise his Name But O my soule as thou remembrest these things that both he forgiveth all thy sins and healeth all thy infirmities so remember also their consequences too for upon these there are great matters depending as worthy to bee remembred as the things themselves For alas my soule thou wert by sinne come to be Mortall and the sentence of Morte morieris was past upon thee but now by forgiving thy sinnes this sentence is reversed by healing thy infirmities thy life is Redeemed it is taken out of the hands of the Destroyer and put into the hands of a Redeemer and a Redeemer not onely from Captivitie but from destruction for Captivitie takes away but onely thy libertie but destruction would take away thy very Being and can it be thou shouldst not keepe that in memorie which is it selfe the cause that thou hast a Memorie for what memorie couldst thou have if thou hadst not a Being and what Being couldst thou have if thou wert destroyed and destroyed thou shouldst be if thou wert not Redeemed and Redeemed thou canst not be unlesse thy sinnes bee forgiven This no doubt is a consequence never to be forgotten and yet perhaps there is a consequence behind of greater consequence then this For this my soule gives thy life but onely a duration but there is a consequence a comming that will give it an exaltation For he crownes thee with loving kindnesse and with tender mercies To be madk a King is an eminent favour but to be made a King from being a Captive where not onely the Quo is so considerable but the Unde more this is indeed a supereminent favour and hardly capable of expressing And this is thy case for where before thou hadst fetters upon thy feet thou hast now a Crowne upon thy head and not a Crowne gotten by violence and worne with feare but He crownes thee with loving kindnesse and tender mercies His kindnesse would have made a Crowne good enough for thy wearing but his loving kindnesse makes it a Crowne worthy of his giving And if there be doubt that his mercies alone may not bee ready enough to bestow this Crowne upon thee yet of the readinesse of his tender mercies there can be no doubt there can indeed be no doubt seeing his loving kindnesse and his tender mercies are the Crowne it selfe which he bestowes For O my soule when I speake of a Crowne thou must not fancie to thy selfe such a Crowne as Kings of the earth weare For Christ professed plainly that his Kingdome is not of this world and therefore neither must thine be but consider the extent of Gods loving kindnesse and of his tender mercies and thou wilt find a better Crowne laid up for thee then all the Kingdomes of the Earth put together can afford O gracious God grant me the Crowne of thy loving kindnesse and tender mercies and all other Crownes I willingly lay downe at the foot of thy Throne with the foure and twentie Elders This onely is the Crowne to which
torment then despaire of remedie What is it for the sorrowes of death to compasse me about but as it were to besiege me and was it ever knowne where they once besieged that ever they did raise their siege Was it ever knowne where the paines of Hell did once take hold that ever they did let goe their hold and alas in this extremitie of distresse in this gulph of despaire what hope could David possibly have that ever hee should be delivered O my soule the hope of Abraham In spe contra spem credidit Hee beleeved against all credibilitie Hee hoped against all possibilitie against all possibilitie indeed in the course of nature against all credibilitie in the eye of Reason and therefore he makes his moane to one above the reach both of Nature and Reason Verse 4 O Lord I beseech thee deliver my soule a short Prayer for so great a suite and yet as short as it was it prevailed that if wee wondred before at the power of God wee may wonder now at the power of Prayer that can prevaile with God for obtaining of that which in Nature is impossible and to Reason seemes incredible There are many short Prayers recorded in the Scriptures of which we may note especially three This of David here O Lord deliver my soule and that of the Publican in the Gospell Lord be mercifull to me a sinner and that of the Thiefe upon the Crosse Lord remember me when thou commest into thy kingdome All three short yet all three Prevalent that wee may know it is not the multiplicitie of words or the length of Prayers that prevailes with God but the fervencie of spirit and the devotion of the heart Yet lest it should be taken as a restraint of longer prayers and specially lest it should be a scandall to the Prayer which Christ taught us and is much longer we may observe withall that each of these prayers is but of one Petition in Christs Prayer For to say O Lord deliver my soule is no more nor fully so much as to say Deliver us from evill and to say Lord be mercifull to me a sinner is no more nor fully so much as to say Forgive us our trespasses and to say Lord remember mee when thou commest into thy Kingdome is no more nor so much as to say Thy kindome come But seeing David with his short Prayer prevailed with God to deliver his soule why should I despaire of the like successe of my prayers to be delivered from my troubles O my soule I should not despaire of the like successe as David had if I could but pray with the like spirit as David did O therefore thou great God that didst inspire Davids heart with a spirit of zeale which made his prayers not onely acceptable but effectuall vouchsafe also to kindle in my heart a fire of Devotion that my prayers may ascend unto thee like the sacrifice of Abell so acceptable that they may be accepted so accepted that they may be effectuall and may make mee able to sing this Allelujah of David I will love the Lord for he hath heard my voyce and my supplication And now O my soule me thinkes I see the Lord as it were inclining his eare unto me and I seeme to feele an accesse of force in my confidence Verse 5 of his goodnesse for indeed the Lord is gracious and righteous yea our God is mercifull Hee is gracious in hearing Hee is righteous in judging hee is mercifull in Pardoning and how then can I doubt of his will to helpe me Hee is righteous to reward according to deserts He is gracious to Reward above deserts Yea he is mercifull to reward without deserts and how then can I doubt of his Will to helpe mee Hee is gracious and this shews his bountie he is righteous and this shews his Justice Yea hee is mercifull and this shews his love and how then can I doubt of his Will to helpe mee If hee were not gracious I could not hope he would heare me If he were not righteous I could not depend upon his Promise If hee were not Mercifull I could not expect his Pardon but now that he is gracious and righteous yea and mercifull too how can I doubt of his Will to helpe me But are there no others that are gracious and righteous and mercifull as well as Hee Are not the Saints and Angels in Heaven They are so no doubt but not as well as hee God forbid wee should once have such a thought They are Gracious and Righteous and Mercifull by participation onely and onely by having as it were some beames imparted to them but to bee gracious as the Fountaine of Grace to be Righteous as the Sunne of Righteousnesse to be Mercifull as the Authour of Mercie there is none there is none at all neither Saint nor Angell that is so but onely God and therefore of Gods Power and Will to helpe me of his and of his onely I can onely be assured And if I erre in simplicitie yet the Lord preserveth the simple he takes Verse 6 not advantage of errours where there is a good intention yet not a good intention onely where the truth is manifest and revealed for then should Uzzah have beene preserved but in matters obscure and not plainly revealed there to serve God in simplicitie of heart this falls within the compasse of Gods mercy and such he takes into his Protection He gives them perhaps some resentment of their errours by worldly crosses but yet hee denyes them not his assistance and this I can speake of my owne experience For I was brought low and yet hee helped me I was brought low and in trouble by the just provocation of my sinnes but because I sinned not in presumption but in simplicitie at least by infirmitie the Lord hath had mercy on me and preserved me Or I was brought low and hee helped mee for then is the time of helpe when we are brought low and therefore God who doth all things in due time when I was brought low then he helped me Wherefore O my soule let it never trouble thee how low soever thou bee brought for when thy state is at the lowest then is Gods assistance at the neerest that we may truly say Gods wayes are not as the wayes of the world for in the world when a man is once brought low he is commonly trampled upon and nothing is heard then but downe with him downe to the ground but with God it is otherwise for his propertie is to raise up them that fall and when they are brought low then to helpe them That it is no such hard case for a man to bee brought low may I not rather say his case is happy for is it not better to be brought low and have God to helpe him then to be set aloft and left to helpe himselfe At least O my Body this may bee a comfort to thee for thou art sure to bee brought low as low
as the Grave which is low indeed yet there thou maiest rest in hope for even there the Lord will not leave to helpe thee Or is it that he was brought low was humbled in spirit to seeme vile in his owne eyes and then God helped him For God resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble Verse 7 Now therefore O my soule returne to thy rest for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee Now my soule let it be no longer said Why art thou so heavie and why art thou disquieted within me For the Lord hath exceeded the bounds of mercifulnesse with his bountifulnesse Not onely in mercy hee hath forgiven my sinnes but as if my sinnes had been Merits he hath made me also to taste of his bountie Hee hath dealt indeed most bountifully with thee for where thou didst make suite but for one thing hee hath granted thee three Thou didst aske but to have my soule delivered and he hath delivered mine eyes and my feet besides and with a deliverance in each of them the greatest that could be for what greater deliverance to my soule then to bee delivered from Death What greater deliverance to mine eyes then to be delivered from teares What to my feet then to bee delivered from falling that if now O my soule thou returne not to thy rest thou wilt shew thy selfe to bee most insatiable seeing thou hast not onely more then thou didst aske but as much indeed as was possible to be ask'd But can my soule dye and if not what bountie is it then to deliver my soule from that to which it is not subject The soule indeed though immortall hath yet her wayes of dying It is one kind of death to the soule to bee parted from the body but the truest kind is to bee parted from God and from both these kindes of death hee hath delivered my soule From the first by delivering me from a dangerous sicknesse that threatned a dissolution of my soule and body from the other by delivering me from the guilt of sinne that threatned a separation from the favour of God and are not these bounties to give my soule just cause of returning to her rest It is true it is the imperfection of life that it is subject to sicknesse and sicknesse drawes mortalitie after it but this imperfection is not here for hee hath delivered my soule from death and what is this but to have perfect health yet it is the imperfection of health that it is subject to crosses and crosses are a cause of teares but neither hath this imperfection any place here for he hath delivered mine eyes from teares and what is this but to have perfect Joy yet it is the imperfection of joy that it useth not to continue as it is said of the prosperitie of the wicked They are set in slipperie places and are apt to fall but neither is this imperfection found here for hee hath delivered my feet from falling and what is this but to be assured of continuance If then thou hast such health such joy such stabilitie Health not subject to sicknesse Joy not capable of sorrow Stabilitie not obnoxious to falling How canst thou O my soule how canst thou choose but pacifie thy unquietnesse and returne to thy rest But alas the rest thou canst returne to now is but a type of that true Rest when thou shalt rest from thy labours and when thy workes that now goe with thee shall then follow thee Thou hast now but one day of Rest for sixe dayes of labour but then thou shalt have an eternall Sabbath without any dayes of labour to disquiet it But though this rest cannot now bee had whilst thou dwellest in a restlesse body and thy body in a restlesse world yet there is a Rest that is worth the having and may onely my soule be called Thy Rest the rest which consists in the peace of conscience and to this rest thou maist well returne seeing not onely thou art at peace with God as being justified by his Grace but thou art in his favour also as having dealt so bountifully with thee And when thou returnest to this rest to the end thou maist have some exercise to thy rest that thy resting make thee not restiffe I will walke Verse 9 before the Lord in the land of the living For now that my feet are delivered from falling how can I better imploy them then in walking were they delivered from falling to the end they should stand still and bee idle No my soule but to encourage me to walke and where is so good walking as in the land of the living Alas what walking is it in the Winter when all things seeme dead when the very grasse lyes buried under ground and scarce any thing that hath life in it to be seene but then is the pleasant walking when Nature spreads her greene Carpet to walke upon and then it is a Land of the living when the Trees shew they live by bringing forth if not fruits at least leaves when the Valleys shew they live by bringing forth if not sweet flowers to delight the smell at least fresh grasse to please the eyes But is this the walking in the Land of the living that David meanes O my soule to walke in the Land of the living is to walke in the pathes of Righteousnesse for there is no such death to the soule as sinne no such cause of teares to the eyes as guiltinesse of Conscience No such falling of the feet as to fall from God and therefore to say the truth the Soule can never returne to its rest if we walke not withall in the paths of righteousnesse and we cannot well say whether this Rest bee a cause of the walke or the walking be a cause of the resting but this wee may say they are certainly companions one to the other which is in effect but this that Justification can never be without Sanctification Peace of conscience and godlinesse of life can never be one without the other Or is it perhaps that David meanes that Land of the living where Enoch and Elias are living with the living God but if he meane so how can he speake so confidently Verse 10 and say I will walke in the Land of the living as though hee could come to walke there by his owne strength or at his owne pleasure Hee therefore gives his reason I beleeved and therefore I spake for the voyce of Faith is strong and speakes with confidence and because in Faith he beleeved that hee shall come to walke in the Land of the living therefore with confidence he speakes it I will walke in the land of the living and perhaps to signifie that hee shall not walke there against his will but that he endeavours and useth the best meanes he can that hee may walke there For indeed if we endeavour not to walke here with Enoch and Elias in the paths of righteousnesse we shall never come to walke with God