HEAVENLY Meditations UPON THE PVBlicans Prayer: Luke. 18. 13. O God, be merciful to me a Sinner. AT LONDON, Printed by I R. for john Flasket. 1606. blazon or coat of arms of Henry Wallop and Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Corbet of Morton-Corbet To the right Worshipful, my worthy and honoured Patron, Sir Henry Wallop, Knight, high Sheriff of Shropshiere, and to the virtuous Lady Elizabeth his wife. AS Christian modesty, (right Worshipful) moved a Divine (I make no question) the Author hereof, not only to conceal his Name, but also to cease from setting forth any thing in the praise of that, which of right deserveth to be commended: So Christian justice and equity, which willeth us to give to every thing his due, would not suffer me to let that pass without some commendation, whereunto I am not able sufficiently to give any. But considering, that slightly to commend a thing, were the next way to dispraise it, except withal it were shrouded under the patronage of some worthy person: and thinking it unmeet to let that go like an Orphan abroad, which had a Father at home, I presumed to commit unto your Worship's patronages, not a bore Laurel, which of itself for the greenness (when other be withered) may seem to be accepted, but the same decked & adorned with most Heavenly Meditations: So that as I think, if your Worships were presented with a material Laurel, (wherein besides natural greenness, were but this necessary use, that it could defend you in your Garden from the heat of the Sun) you would accept, if not of the gift, yet the goodwill of the giver: So relying myself upon your accustomed favour & clemency, I hope you will afford some favourable acceptation hereof: for herein is not that greenness, which consisting of natural qualities, must then whither when all things have their ending, according to their nature, but the flourishing green promises of the covenant of God, which (as GOD himself) last always immutable, & unchangeable. Hear are not the beautiful leaves of a material tree, which delight only the outward sight, but a most familiar view of GOD himself in Christ, even to the delight of the soul, and the inward comfort of the spirit, which take pleasure only in heavenly things. To conclude, here you are not shrouded from the heat of the Sun, but shall find most cool shade from the parching heat of sin: from which, as in duty I am bound, I will pray that God in this life shield & defend you both, and in the life to come, grant you everlasting rest. Your Worship's most bounden and dutiful Orator. T. F. HEAVENLY Meditations. O God be merciful to me a Sinner. CHrist our precursor into Heaven, even to his last breath not unmindful of his little-little flock, did as Abraham Gone, 25, 1, Reg, 2, unto Isaac, as David unto Solomon, as Tobias unto Tob, 4. his son, bequeath unto them, a few small hours before his glorification, his best & principal legacy, Eternal life; confirming it unto them in his last and latest prayer, made for his Apostles; This is life eternal, that they know john, 17, thee to be the only very God, and whom thou hast sent jesus Christ. That we know Rom, 11, him, quis et qualis est, who he is, and what he is? who he is, à quo, in quo, per quem sunt omnia. The principal and singular essence, from whom, by whom, & in whom all things were created, all things are preserved, all things shall be resolved; what he is, to wit, Zanch. li. 3. de Nat. Dei. que. stio. 3. Sapientissimus, qui sciat; Potentissimus, qui possit; amantissimus, qui velit suos servare. Great in wisdom, and therefore knoweth, powerful in strength, and therefore can, plentiful in love, and therefore will crown those with eternity, which he knoweth; know those everlastingly, which he loveth; love those most tenderly, which know and acknowledge him. By his knowledge he will rule, by his strength defend, by his love, love all, that know and acknowledge him; that know him after a long and earnest seeking him, & acknowledge him, by a most gracious and happy finding him; seeking him among their miseries, finding him in his mercies; seeking him in the crowd and press of their sins, finding him in the top of his Cross, in the large promises of salvation; Seeking him in finding themselves, finding him in seeking themselves. For as we desire to find God, so we must endeavour to seek ourselves; so true it is there must be cognitio nostri, before there can be agnitio Dei; a quest, and inquisition made about ourselves, before we can reach the knowledge of him that made us; for God being as he is summum genus, not used to definition, not subject to description, must be shadowed per posteriora, because he hath not priora, he being primum principium, the primary cause, and principal ground of every principle, yea that principium principorum, that illimmited, wonderful, and unsearchable Alpha, must be Apoc, 1. comprehended and known to his effects, principiorum non est querenda Ratio, It is mere dotage in Philosophy to search out causes of principles when as they are principles. They have not precedent causes, & therefore Boetius gives this cannon, Sires á prioribus per causas demonstrari non possunt, á posteribus per effect a explicari debent, those things that borrow not their proof and demonstration, from foreruning causes, their bearing and lustre, must be derived from their effects. Since than God in regard of beginning is incomprehensible, and void of all demonstration à priore, to declare his quid est, man's frailty must labour to know him á posteriorae, Rom. 1. by his effects and works. For invisibilia Dei per ea quae fact a sunt conspiciuntur, the invisible wisdom & power of God, is seen by the creation of the world, and if any creature, the perfect art of God's omnipotency, may be comprehended, yet in nothing more than in man, upon whom he set the stamp of his own Image. Man therefore must know him à posteriore, that is, first he must know himself, for man is his workmanship; then know God as he is his Maker; first know himself, with the eye of Experience, & then know God with the eye of Contemplation. First know himself, poor in misery, and then know God, rich in mercy; first know himself sub iugo Mundi, groaning & back-broken under the yoke of sin; and then know God, sub iugo Christi, easing & refreshing the heavy laden sin; First know himself, Mancipium mortis, Death's freehold and possession, and then know God, Victoriam mortis, the bruser and breaker of the Serpent's head; Gone, 3, first know himself, lucerna adventum, the weak subject of all mortality, & then know God in the donation of his Spirit, the earnest penny of man's immortality. 2, Cor, 1, He must know Quid est, that he is a too-soon borne, and no long living creature, cum quibus est, that he is coupled with famine, with thirst, with heat, with cold, with infirmity, with death; cui similis est, that he is like to snow, quick come, and quickly gone; like to a Rose, at morning fair, at evening withered. He must know, unde venit, from whence he is, ubi est, where he is, quo vadit, whether he will; whence he is, & then blush for shame; where he is, and then lament with groans; whether he will, and then tremble with fear: blush for shame at his naked nativity; lament with groans at his worldly entertainment; tremble with fear at his doubtful end; blush for shame that he is become flesh, and therefore far from God; lament with groans that he is in the world, and therefore wide of heaven; tremble with fear, that he must die, and therefore obvious to the jaws of hell: to be brief, he must know himself, intra et extra, á tergo et front, á dextris, á sinistris, undique, within and without, behind & before, on this side, on that side, on every side; before him his perverse & overthwart will, to that which is good; behind, his sweet and pleasing remembrance, to that which is bad; on this side lack of patience in adversity, on that side, too much pride and haughtiness in prosperity; on every side, vulnera á peccato inflicta, wounds, and nothing but wounds, imprinted and stamped into his soul & flesh by the custom of sin. And then he shall found, God above him powerful, beneath him plentiful, before him watchful, behind him wonderful, on this side bountiful, on that side careful, on every side merciful. Merciful in forgetting, merciful in forgiving sins. That Manuscript in the Temple of Delphos, Gnothi Plut. in Coloten. Tom: 3. seamton, was so powerful among the heathens, that the deep learned Doctors deemed Seipsos noscere, the only pathway to perfection: And therefore Heraclitus for superstition a Heathen, for profession a philosopher, on a time triumphing (as it were) with himself, how he had spent the day, cried out, Quaesivi meipsum, Plu. ibid. the honour of the well-spent day is this, I have sought myself. And Socrates was such a pugil in the Castle of knowledge, such a labourer in the art of Seeking, that Colotes the Epicure called himself fool, because he spent so much time in this one study, but non fuit Socrates siultus, Plut. ibid. seipsum querens. Socrates saith Plutarch, did not deserve the name of fool in this inquiry, and privy search of his own infirmity, cum sit hoc cognitum necessarium inventus difficilimun, seeing of all knowledge, this only is most necessary, and of learning the most difficult. Difficile est, etc. It is an hard thing, saith Chilo, to be tongue tied in secrecy, to dispose the time rightly, to suffer Diog. lafoy: in vit. eius injuries patiently: & difficile, it is a hard thing, saith Pittacus, Id: in vit. eore. to be a good man: & as Bias, Difficile est, it is a hard thing to tolerate adversity with quietness. But if Thales Difficile may go currant, Difficile est homini seipsum noscere, I may add, difficilimum est, The hardest lesson that a man can learn, is to know himself, Quid enim Stella de cont: mund: lib. 3. cap: 14. prodest scire artes liberales, sic licet Doctor in omnibus nisi cognoscas teipsum, what is the style of mastership in Arts? what is the height of doctorship in faculties? Yet thy knowledge wants of her perfection, if thou want perfectly to know thyself. Scientiainflat, knowledge puffeth up, but self knowledge pulleth down. 1, Cor, 8, Knowledge is so far wide of true knowledge, that in ignorance of GOD it crieth with Pharaoh, Exod. 5, Quis est Deus vester? but self knowledge, plunged in the depth of his own knowledge, aspireth to know the true knowledge of God, and Exod, 18 with jethro, confesseth Dominus maior Dijs omnibus: the Lord is greater than all Gods: knowledge mounteth upon the wings of pride, boasteth Esay. with Lucifer, ascendam in Coelum, I will make the stars my footstool, but self knowledge covered with the vail of humility, falleth down job, 1, 20 with job, and worshippeth. Knowledge hippocriticallie devoted, runs a pace to the Temple, and as the Pharisie, fills the Temple with a Non Luke, 18, sunt sicut alij, but self knowledge, not hasty in pace, not multiloquious in words, keeping time in going, observing a mean in speaking, at one stroke with the Publican, breaks up the Chest of his heart, and Sub forma pauperis, sub forma peccatoris, in the habit of a sinner, craves; O God be merciful to me a sinner. All men, saith Aristotle, by Metaph. Lib. 1. nature covet knowledge, and that itching desire of Eve, as soon as she was out of the shell, testifieth no less, when for the hope of Sciens bonum et malum, for the hope of much knowledge, she lost herself in ignorance, swallowing as she thought, the bait of knowledge, which turned in the end, the bane of ignorance. Yet if knowledge suffer a difference, and men bear more than an indifferent mind unto it, there is none more pleasing, none more profitable, than this self knowledge; pleasing in respect of GOD, profitable in respect of man. It is that Astronomical Ladder of jacob, Gone, 28, that reacheth from earth to heaven; from man's earth-buried heart, to the contemplation of heavenly motions: that Geometrical squire, that squareth Psalms, 39 out man at a span length, and then measureth God, the Alpha & Omega, which filleth heaven & earth; that Arithmetical calendar of man's age, that first declareth his time to be threescore years & ten, and then with Moses ascendeth the mount, to take a survey of God's Eternity. Quo magis noveris teipsum, Stella de con: mund: lib. 3, cap. 13. eo perfectius cognoscere Deum, the deeper thou wadest into this self knowledge, the nearer thou shalt arrive to GOD himself. It shall be more than Thomas his Credo, to conceive Ioh, 20, God inwardly, then to thrust thy finger into his side. It shall be more than the Centurion's Math, 27, testimony, Vera filius Dei erat hic, to acknowledge him in thy heart, then before the multitude to confess him with thy lips. It shall be more than Simeons' Nunc dimittis, to Luke, 2, take hold of him in troubled spirit, then to embrace his infancy in the flesh. It shall be more than Phillips Sufficit, to Ioh, 14, view him in thyself, then to behold him in the heavens. Nec te quesiveris extra, look not on the superficies & outside of thyself, saith the Poet, Persius. Satyr. 1. but rather let thy conscience be thy looking glass, whereby thou mayst dress & attire thyself fit for heaven; that will tell thee how to get vestem nuptialem, the wedding rob, by innocency of life: that will teach thee how to put it on by a lively saith; that will tell thee what thy progenitors have been; that will teach thee what thy state is now; that will tell thee histories of Adam; that will tell thee lessons of thyself; that will tell thee Adam brought sin into the world; that will teach thee sin brought thee into the world; that will tell thee therefore thou must study law; that will teach thee therefore how thou mayst study the law. First thou must study, because Per legem cognitio peccati, Rom, 3, It is a Schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ; & there like a true naturalist shalt thou find, the causes of thy sin, hanging upon Records, and like a true historian, there read what others have done before thee. Secondly, how thou mayst study Law, to wit, by reading it with the gloss of the Gospel, because Per evangelium cognitio gratiae, the gospel is a true Interpreter of Salvation. Briefly, that will tell thee, how thou wast borne under those incestuous Planets, Mars and Venus; that will teach thee how thou must be borne again under that Prince of Planets, the Son of righteousness. Descend therefore with Nichodemus, from teaching the john, 3. Law, to teach the true & perfect knowledge of God; strive with Marie, to be bathed in the remission of sins, rather than to be drenched with judas in the Sea of desperation; betake thyself unto God, that he may take thee unto him. Thou art but man, therefore call upon him thy God, thou art a sinful man, therefore pray unto him thy merciful God: It is no shame to be sorrowful, cry o God; It is no reproach to beg mercies, pray him to be merciful; It is no discredit to confess thy fault, tell him thou art a sinner, and therefore emboldened to say, O God be merciful to me a Sinner. It is the means which the sinne-drowned Publican used in his extremity of thirst, to obtain a refreshing cup, with a beaten breast and broken heart, to cry, O God be merciful to me a sinner. If lamentable pictures, and woeful tales carry that force, to enforce tears from the hearers & beholders eyes, then cannot we but turn prodigal in tears, when we behold this lively counterfeit of sorrow, where every colour hath a speaking grief, every grief a mourning tongue, to extort and wring tears from the beholder's eyes. jacob did Gone, 27 never rend his garment in so many pieces for the loss of joseph, as the Publican doth his soul for the burden of his sin, laying it upon the rack of repentance, and stretching it from earth to heaven; from himself to God, till perforce he force it cry, O God. Agar being turned out of Gone, 22 her Mistress house, made her eyes the plaintiffs of her solitary wandering; but the Publican, turning himself out of his masters favour, makes his hand, heart, eyes, tongue and all, labour to chasten his disease with true remorse; His hands like the bellowss, blows the fire of Contrition to his heart, his heart like a limbeck distilleth the sovereign water of repentance into his eyes, like full cisterns, not being able to look upward, return their streams back unto the heart, that overcharged, drives the flood of his affection to his tongue; His tongue like Aaron's Censor, conuaies the sweet perfume of this precious distillation, into the presence of God himself. And as the angels celebrated the birth of Christ with a joyful hymn, Gloria in excelsis Deo; so he Luke, 2, welcomes his second birth with this sad lamentation, O God be merciful unto me a Sinner. Much like to Peter, when denying Math, 26 his masters coat, flevit amare, he made lachrimae the birth of his lamentation. Indeed sick men cannot away with melody, as Saules frenzy could not endure David's 1, Reg. 4, Harp; Salomons thousand songs, cannot mitigate the smart of the Publicans disease, that runs altogether upon the heartstring, not the harp string; observing those Diasemata acutum medeum, grave, the spaces, falls, and riseth of a melancholy ditty. The first note being raised high to him that is above all note, O God. The second with a temperate stop, moved to a mean, be merciful. The third with a heavy touch, fitted to the base, to me a Sinner. Heavy, o heavy is the note of man, and therefore it calls for moderation of God; Heavy, o too heavy is the note of sin, & therefore it craves the voice of mercy, O God be merciful, peccanti, to a sinner, confitenti, to me a Sinner; penitenti: O GOD be merciful to me a Sinner. Hear I might justly observe in the Publican, first his invocation, O God, secondly, his petition, be merciful, thirdly, his condition, to me a Sinner. Yet suffer me right worshipful, leaving that doctrine to a second survey, at this time only to propose unto you, the publican himself in his meditation, by virtue whereof he attaineth to know himself a Sinner, and God his Redeemer. David being in the depth of meditation, concaluit cor, Psalms, 39 his heart was hot, et exardescit ignis, the fire of his zeal was kinled, and he spoke, Lord teach me; In the same precincts and straits of meditation is the publican, concalet cor, his arms, like the Phoenix wings, hath set his heart on fire, et exardescit ignis, by that his zeal is inflamed; by his zeal his tongue is enlarged, and he speaks; O God be merciful. He speaks as David, in meditation: that is, as Cassiodore observeth, in consilio, et Cassiod. in eund. Psal. Bias in Diog: La. deliberatione, with judgement and discretion; he speaks non cito, for that's insaniae judicium, either a point of madness, or a fault of rashness; he speaks not cum loquacitate, for that is difficilimum, simul et multa, et opportune dicere, but he speaks meditatio et oratione, his meditation teaching him what he wants, his prayer directing to obtain his wants. Lastly, he speaks, and he speaks authorised, by Plato's Licence, with Plat. in Diog: La: a proviso and respect, first, ad quem loquitur, to whom he speaks; secondly, quid loquitur, what it is he speaks; thirdly, qua multa loquitur, how much he speaks; fourthly, quando loquitur, at what time he speaks. His first regard, regards the reverence of the person, to whom he speaks, O God; his second consists of a twofold propriety, one drawn from himself, a Sinner, the other by a necessity from God, be merciful; his third is couched, not so much in quantity of words, as in quality of affection: For as Bucer noteth, Com: in 18. cap: Luc. oravit paucis, sed affectu multo, his prayer is short, but very sweet; short in respect of words, sweet in regard of zeal. His fourth and last regard aims at the time, for sin, like Noah's flood, every day getting strength, was almost come to the top of Ararat, Gone, 7, 17. and had almost overspread the whole earth of man, so that it was high time to stay the swelling rage and fury of it; and therefore he strives to bring it back to a low ebb, with a smooth calm of an humble petition; and thus he speaks in scrious meditation, O God be merciful to me a sinner. Helpless man cannot help, therefore, O God, with whom is all comfort, be merciful, which quicken'st the humble spirit, therefore to me, drawing breath from Adam, and therefore a sinner: and therefore, O God be merciful unto me a sinner. I run not unto the wisemen Exod, 7. with Pharaoh, I call not upon any Idol with the priests 1, Reg, 18 of Baal, but with sorrowful Sara in the gall of bitterness, Tob, 3. with wrinkle faced job, smitten on the cheeks with a reproach, job, 16 I begin my confession, O God; I pray not for the strength of body with Samson; judge, 16. with Elisha for my enemy's blindness; with worldly 2, Pet. 2. Balaam for earthly treasure; but with the faithful Cananitish Math, 15 woman, once and again rejected, I beg for the crumbs of thy mercy, O God be merciful: I, even I, the son of sorrow, present myself unto thee, & as the Leper entreated for his own cleansing, even Math, 8, so I pray, O God be merciful unto me: I, even I, weaned a long time from the teats of thy love, & nourished with the corrupt milk of sin, I, even I, that have refused thy heavenly Manna, and delighted myself with the leaven of Egypt, now at the length, struck with the-whip of Repentance, retire, and for the easing of my grief, presume to solicit thee in this manner, O God be merciful unto me a sinner. I, am not of Simon Peter's mind, that said, Lord go from Luke, 5, me, for I am a sinful man, but rather, Lord come to me, because I am a sinful man; neither do I cry out with the possessed; jesus thou son of Math, 8, God, what have I to do with thee? but rather, jesus thou son of God, I have to do with thee. O let me have some interest in thy love, which like a vail covereth the multitude of sins, & uniteth the peece-rent heart of the sorrow-beaten sinner, O God be merciful to me a sinner. It is not with me, as it was Gone, 4, with Cain, to say my sin is greater than can be pardoned, neither am I as yet clasped in that desperation and distrust, as to equalize & compare thy mercy to my sins: I know thy piety to exceed man's impiety, and thy mercy to be greater than man's misery: Sins as they cannot choke thy love, so they cannot stand in any degree of comparison with the infinitum of thy mercy? For how much thy greatness over-spreads man's weakness, so much the goodness of thy goodness, exceeds the evil of his evil; and therefore, it were first high treason to thy Omnipotency & power, to say my sin is greater than thou canst pardon, when as thy mercy is like thyself, great without all quantity, good without all quality. Secondly, it were a wrong unpardonable to thy will, a trespass dangerous to thy truth, an injury too desperate and despairing of thy promises, to say thou wilt not do what thou canst, when with thee to do, is as easy as to will, and to will is ready every hour; wherefore, O God, be merciful to me a sinner. It is worse than the stain Viex. in instit ad peniten. of hypocrisy, to say I am no sinner; for none can challenge to himself that privilege, In mundo esse, non potest sine culpa, qui in mundum venit cum culpa; sin was my Mother, which brought me into the world, and sin is the daughter of my affection in the world. Mundus non Mundus, quia Mundus polluit ergo, Qui manet in Mundo, quomodo Mundus erit. Tho: Aqui: ca 1. Epist. jacobi. The world is become a loathsome cage of unclean birds, a troubled sea divided into many puddles, a dangerous desert, nursing strange and venomous creatures, where is Serpens flatu, adurens Scorpio, Cauda pungens, Dipsas latenter interficiens, where covetousness like a burning Serpent, breathes out the fire of unhallowed desires; where lust like the Scorpion, venoms the soul, and provokes it to black attempts, where pride lies close at the heart, like a snake lurking in the grass; where, nay where else, should sin be, when as Mundus is termed cubile omnium peccatorum, the den and covert of all evil: where every sin, great and little, though every little sin be too great, reigns & keeps his Court, Mundus non Mundus, the trim fashion of the world, is out of fashion, because it is sick of every fashion, it being composed mirabile opus: the wondered check and countermand of all art, is now become miserabile chaos, the ruinous and disordered heap of all disorder, mundus non mundus, it is the stage & Theatre of hypocrisy, fair and beautiful without, but full of foul sin within; like strait-growing reeds, satisfying the eyes with a green & pleasing outside, but within nothing more vain, nothing more light, nothing more empty. Like nabuchadnezar's Idol, glittering with a golden face yet standing upon feet of Clay. Mundus, non Mundus, by striving to excel in beauty, it hath washed away all beauty, and there is no sure hold for the fowls anchor in so slippery a station: Mundus non mundus, the effects prove it so; for Mundus polluit, it is become Murders slaughter-house, Thefts refuge, Whoredoms stew, Oppressions safety, and for all sins a sinful Sanctuary. Ergo, Qui manet in Mundo, quomodo mundus erit. Who then can swallow Circe's cup & not be transformed? who can taste deadly poison & scape infection? who can live in Sodom & not be wicked? who can breath in the world and be no sinner? Why? the Infant-blush at my nativity, was it not the Tell-tale of my original sin, how I had tasted of that sour fruit, which all my ancestors, á minore usque Jere, 6, ad Maiorem, à propheta usque ad Sacerdotem, from the first to the last had eaten: and from the time of my nativity, how I have since, hewn of my age by sin, filling, and fulfilling, as Christ saith, the measure of my Fathers, my sinne-prest conscience secretly doth tell me; wherefore, O God be merciful to me a sinner. There is no way to hide and smother what I am, for if disguised Adam, in his fig-leaued coat, close and secure as he thought, among the bushes could not shelter him from God's presence, how can I promise' to myself security? well may the blindfold world, being as deeply covered in sin as I, either for weakness not see, or for the thick skin of his own sin, still be dazelleyed, & not behold the heaps & drifts of iniquity; but God Qui vidit omnia generaliter, Nicholas: Denij se: sine exceptione, evidenter sine dubitatione, imutabiliter sine oblivione, which hath intelligence of my secret thoughts, an ear to hear my private words, an eye to see my light and dark actions, God I say, which is a Scrutator of my heart and rains, he enters the privy chamber of my heart, & is an eye witness of my sin, before it be hatched, he knew all things before they were begun, and therefore he must needs know them when they are done; Vidit te fornicationem cogitantem, antequam vidit fornicantem, he saw thee and David intending adultery, before thou and David committed adultery. If then no running away will serve the turn, no place close enough to smother sin, when every thing is naked, and open to his view, Cum quid turpe facis, cur me spectant rubescis, Curspect ante Deo, non magis ipse rubes. Into what hard and obdurate metal is man cast, how is his face made stiff, with the oily colours of shameless impudency, that will fear the presence of the creature, and no way stand in awe or reverence, of the All-presence of the Creator? Is there a secret room where no man comes? a secret stage to act sin where no man sees; and is it possible to keep God out? is it possible to blind his eyes? Non te Domino abscondis, sed Dominum abscondis tibi: Viex in instit: ad poenit. poor runaway, thou hidest not thyself from God, but rather hidest GOD from thee. Eu videre ne quis, what though the eyes of thy understanding being darkened, thou canst not see him, tamen subtilliter vidit omnia que agis, yet hath he made a casement to thy conscience, & beholds thee within and without, in the cogitation, in the action: wherefore, if running from God, be but a step to greater sin, then will I run from sin to God, and till I recover strength in him, will I not cease to say, O God be merciful to me a Sinner. In sin, as there is no security to hide it, so there is no remedy to excuse it, or to post it of with a Mulier que dedisti, Gene: 3. the woman which thou gavest me did 'cause me to sin, as Adam did; or as Eve, to clear herself with a Serpens decipit me, the Serpent beguiled me; this is rather an increase then a decrease of sin, for culpa fit graviora discussa, Viex institu: quam perpetrata, that offence was heavier in Examination, than it had been before in Commission; for Peccatum committunt, commissum abscondunt, negando absconditum, defendendo adaugent: Hear the blind lead the blind, and the farther they go, the greater is their danger; First they sin, and then they fly: secondly, they are taken, but they deny the Accusation: thirdly, that being proved, they stand out in their own defence, and dispute the case with the judge, Adam excusing himself by the woman; the woman laying the fault on the Serpent; both of them privily taxing GOD, for placing such and such with them in Paradise. But (alas) it is a naked shift, and to no purpose, to bandy words with God, neither did he call them for any such discourse: For as the above noted Author noteth, Deus de peccato requisivit, GOD as it Viex. instit. were lamenting the first fruits of his labour, should utterly perish, therefore questioned with our first Parents, quod transgrediendo commiserant, confitendo delerent: that the fire of their confession might burn down the wall, which the rancour of sin had builded between them and God. As then hopeful Israel found means to supplant the usurping Canavites, by electing judge, 1. juda their guide & Captain, so may I put to flight that great daring Cananite, that musters up whole legions of temptations against me, when as judah (which interpreted) signifies Confession, doth not only conduct and guide my forces, but also blunts the edge of my enemy's sword, returning his intended poison to his own confusion. Serm. 30, ad frat. in eremo. Obstruit os inferni Portas, aperit Paradizi; The confession of thy sin, saith Augustine, bars up the mouth of hell, which stands gaping to devour thee, & opens the gates of heaven, that willingly would receive thee. And again saith the same Father, Appareat in confession tua, macula cord is Serm: 49 in joh. evang. tui et pertinebis ad graegē Christi. Launch the festered soar with the knife of confession, complain to him that is the great Shepherd of souls, and as he is a Physician, he will cure thee, and as he is a Shepherd number thee with his flock; Ingenue confessio meretur veniam: Viex: in institu. Sins salving plaster, is to reveal it: for, Confiteri possum celare non vossum, well may I confess it, hide it I cannot; for so the devil is prevented of his severe accusation, which his ancient malice would commence against us: Si nostri accusatores sumus, Att●n: de Rampela. tract: de con. proficit nobis ad salutem: to anatomise & exenterate sin, to pour it forth upon the Altar of repentance before God, will not only take away occaon of Plea from the Accuser, but also reconcile the whole favour of that high Commission, Niniuitae refitentur et vivunt, Sodomitae obdurantur et pereunt: Believing Niniveh, wrapped and confounded in sorrow, is turned from out her mourning gown of Sackcloth and ashes, and girded about with a fair Syndon of God's eternal favour; but hard hearted Sodom, swelling in the pride of her strength, is stripped of all her beautiful attire, & nakedly left in the base ashes of her own destruction. Therefore, confitebor adversum Psal. 31. me, iniusticiam meam Domino, I will confess with David against myself, my wickedness, unto the Lord, and say, O God be merciful to me a Sinner. It is no usurpation to turn judge, to call an assize, to examine my own soul, to produce my thoughts as accusers, my conscience as a thousand witnesses, to aver and confounded the guilt of sin. Why, this shall prevent that latter & fearful examination how I have spent my time; how I have employed my wealth; how I have ruled my appetites; how I have mortified my desires; how I have used and bestowed all good gifts, and graces of the holy Spirit: Nay, I shall never have cause to fear that doleful Memento which Abraham cast in Dives Luke, 16 teeth, Fili recordare, son remember, how thou in thy life time receivedst pleasure, disporting thy time in wanton dalliance, solacing thyself in pleasing pastimes, brave in apparel, glittering in gold, high in honour, delicate in fare, defending pride to be but a point of Gentry; gluttony a part of good fellowship; wantonness a trick of youth; Nune ergo tu cruciaris, because thou hast enclosed, and taken in all pleasure to thyself upon Earth, thou shalt now take up thy rents, & reap a plentiful harvest in hell; Ante ultimum judicium August. 46. de tempore. Dei, tui compone causam: Meet with the day of judgement, saith Austin, before it come; look about before hand; thyself enter an action against thyself; For, non est unde praesumas, cum ille venerit, no presumption will serve the turn: When he comes, it will be too late to plead ignorance; no boot to produce false witness; no help to use coloured speeches, Ipse erit Iudi● causae tuae, August. ead: Ser: qui modo est testis vestis tuae, he shall then lawfully condemn thee, that in the act of sin did only apprehended thee, wherefore, to annoyed the danger of that dreadful day, to shun the fear of that cry at midnight, to prevent that sentence, Go ye cursed, to obtain that favour, Come ye blessed, I here accuse myself of sin, & with hope to found acceptance in the sight of God, to him I resort without delay, saying; O God be merciful to me a sinner. For indeed, delay as it is dangerous in itself, so it is mother to greater mischiefs; though it seem to old Isaac, to our blind soul to have the voice of jacob, yet it is not destitute of Rebeccaes deceit; by giving too much audience to its sugared speeches, it steals away our birthright, & throws us quite out of the heritage of our Fathers; it gives sin the greater strength; strength of sin draws on custom; custom runs into habit, and habit takes such deep root, that it cannot, or will be very hardly removed. He that lets his house run to ruin, and will not at the first or second breach seek to reparrations, strives to make rubbish of a good building. He that travels in a leaking ship, and will not in the beginning look to empty it, sails for naught, but to drown himself. To morrow, to morrow, is the voice of presumption, for who can tell whether he can live till to morrow? Promisit August: Serm: 30 ad fra: in eremo. Deus veniam penitenti, sed non promisit usque in Crastinum differenti, God saith Augustine, hath sealed a pardon to him that reputes, but none to him that defers, and says he will repent. And again, he that is not fit for his conversion to day, will be less ready to morrow, for Qui non est hody, cras minus aptus erit. Ovid ●n re A●…o. At the morrow he will be the same man again, and sing the same song again, languishing still in delay, trifling out the time, till GOD (in whose hands only are the moments of times) shut and bar him out from all time, and leave him to pains without time, for so abusing the precious date of time. To morrow, to morrow, is an uncertain time, and though the times be certain in themselves, yet are they most uncertain unto man, who as he knew not his beginning, so he is ignorant of his ending. Much like to little birds, that in their perch look about to fly this way, or that way, yet before they take their flight, they are prevented by the shaft. Death is a common state-searcher both of old and young, striking as well David's young son before it 2, Sam, 22 be seven days old, as that ancient of days of Methushelem, that lived nine hundred sixty nine years. Lest therefore the kingdom of sathan should be established in me, by frequentation of sin, I will break off delay, putting no trust in old age, but as S. Paul saith, Dum cognominatur hody, Heb, 3, even in this very instant, while it is named to day, will I repentantly cry, O GOD be merciful to me a sinner. Moriantur ante te vitia, Seneca Epist. 12 ad Livium. give thy sin (saith Seneca) leave to die before thee: it is a good riddance of a painful pardon, for it is little better than desperation, to free liberty to thy youthful will to range abroad, upon confidence of repentance in thy last and lest part of thy life; For (alas) what can helpless old age help, when all the strength of the body, all the faculties of the mind, all the parts & passions, are not only daunted, and out-dared with sickness, but also worn out with multitude of years: when as age-spent David, is not able to retain heat of himself, 1, Reg, 1, but Abishag the Shunamite, must cherish him: when as Mirabilium cap: de sen. Senix is quasi semi senex, an old man half death's man, destitute of all good means to conversion, unfit to fast, unable to pray, unapt to watch, or any other exercise. What voice is there more lamentable, then that of Milo, (when Cicero de Sen: seeing the young Champions striving each with other to obtain the conquest) he cried out with tears, At high iam mortui sunt, looking on his withered arms, my blood is dead; my veins wrinkled; my sinews shrunk to nothing. The counsel of the wise man may be a present memorandun to every man, Memento Creator is tui, (saith he) in Eccle, 12 diebus iuventutis tuae, remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not; that is, in thy prosperity of strength, in thy hopeful youth, in thy vigour and lustiness of years, before forgetful old age overtake thee. Take thyself unto him, that took thee out of the dust, and created thee to his own likeness: for otherwise it were an everlasting blemish of ingratitude, a most infamous stamp of injustice, to hope for the receipt of eternal glory, to receive at one instance an Angel's inheritance; to enjoy for nothing, a place with Christ; and not to tender the best of thyself to GOD his father. If it were pollution, to the Altar Malac. 1, August. Serm: 36 in Luke. to offer the lame and sick, with what face them canst thou present that little, short, and maimed piece of service, which limping old age will afford? Qui maior est etate, maior est iniquitate, he which is the child of many years, no doubt is the Father of many sins, for life, the longer it is, the more sinful it is. If in oblation of offerings, & peace offerings, the young Lambs Levit. 1. without blemish were selected for the sacrifice: If the chief Exod, 29, fat of the Ram, made the sweetest savour unto the lord, Levit, 3, then stands it against the rule of decency & good manners, to serve in God's mess, with the bore, lean, and rotten bones of sins, that have lain as many score years in the pit of corruption, as did Lazarus days in the grave. If none were admitted to stand before Nabuchadnezer, but children Dan, 1. that were most beautiful, how dare man shuffle into God's presence, disjointed, crooked old age, and slothful? There is no reason in the world, that the world should reap that harvest, which GOD hath bought with the sweat of his blood; no law to give him the leeses of wine, that hath taken pains to plant the vineyard, and to tread the press; no equity to leave him the glean, to whom the whole sheaf belongeth; no justice to divide the heart, which he hath made one, & to give the sick & feeble part unto him, and the strong and lusty unto the devil. Nisi venerit vobiscum Gone, 44, frater vester minimus, unless you bring your youngest brother (saith joseph) you shall never see my face again: So unless we bring young Beniamine, that is, the first fruits of our youth, and tender them to our everlasting high Priest, we shall never partake his joyful presence; never enjoy his comfortable grace; never be comforted with his divine happiness. As then young Samuel, & young 1, Sam, 2 1, Reg, 18 Obediah, being (as it were) in their child clouts, ministered unto the Lord: Even so I, in the spring and prime of my youth, (no way relying upon aged repentance) will confess my sins, and at the bar of God's bounty, will I sue out a pardon, saying, O God be merciful to me a sinner. If in David's Peccavi, the fire of his devotion did ascend, & moon the Heavens to scabbard up the wrathful sword in the sheath of mercy, I doubt not, but with the same flame to kindle the like sacrifice; and with as strong a voice as had Eliah when he brought food 1, Reg, 17 from Heaven, to move the same God to compassion. My vow shall be as able to quench the fire of God's justice, as was the voice of the three children Dan: 3, that overcame the hot burning furnace; My voice shall be as able to procure life, as was the voice of Ezechias, 2, Reg, 20 jonas, 2, 3 that overcame death. As jonas out of the belly of the Whale, so I out of the hell of sin, will call; As blind Bartimeus for his want of sight, so Mar. 20, I in the sight of my wants, will cry, O GOD, be merciful to me a sinner. As young Tobias was not destitute of a Guide to conduct Tobi, 5, him to Rages, so am not I left ignorant of the way to heaven. Abraham in his journey Gone, 12, to Canaan took a Map of the upper Canaan, and left it registered to all posterity: first therefore, Egrediendum de terra mea est, I must leave my Country behind my back, de terra mea, that is, de carne mea, et de meipso▪ I must departed, and bid adiewe to the flesh, the world, and myself: from pride descending to low humility; leaving anger to shake hands with patience; giving lust the farewell to welcome chastity; excluding envy to entertain charity, renouncing cruelty for the exchange of clemency. Secondly, egrediendum est à cognatione mea, I must relinquish & forsake my own kindred, that is, the old custom and acquaintance I have had with Sin; shaking the unclean spirit out of doors, and being washed, never to return to my old vomit; and being made whole, I will sin no more. Thirdly, de domo Patris mei, I must turn from the sinister and left hand of this World; from the Prince of darkness my father, to the right hand of righteousness, to the King of Kings, my heavenly father: which dwelleth in Terra Viventiam, in the Land of Virtue, not in the Land of Vice; in the Land of Peace, not in the Land of Pain; in the Land of joy, not in the Land of Sorrow▪ and be partaker of that desired Benediction wherewith Isaac (in the type and figure of Christ, blessed his son Gone, 27 jacob; Ecce ador Filij mei, behold, the sweet smell of my Son: the sweet smell of my Son, that savours not of the Onions and Garlic of Egypt, but the sweet smell of my Son, that hath been daintily fed with the choice Milk and Honey of Canaan. No flight is more commended, Jere, 51, Exod, 2. then to fly out of the middle of Babylon, to hasten out of Egypt: where miseries have no period; and to travel to the promised Land, where is rest without remove; mercy without measure; love without limit; goodness in all kind of greatness; where habitemus sine metu, abundemus sine defectu, sine fastidio epulemur: where every Soul may (like the Done in Noah's Ark) rest without fear, enjoy Bernard. plenty without want, take her repast without contempt. FINIS. In Coelo sola libertas. A prayer to be said in the time of sickness. I Found good Lord that there are two things in me, the one is Nature, which thou hast framed, the other is Sin, which by mine own folly I have heaped: I confess, O Lord, that by sin I have deformed my nature, so that all that is thine is extinguished, and nothing left but mine own filthiness and iniquity: Take away, good Lord, this sinful vail of mire, that the pure brightness may appear, lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep in death, let not mine enemy say, he hath prevailed against me. Enter not Lord into judgement with me, whether I have deserved this or not, for in thy sight no living creature shall be justified. I see the pains of death due unto me, for that the floods of iniquity have overwhelmed me; I perceive the snares of mine adversary ready laid, and the plagues of hell ready for my sins, but thou (O Lord) art my Rock and defence, thou hast preserved me from the shell, and wilt not now forsake my groaning spirit, when it hath most need; Good Lord of thy mercy save me; good Lord save me, who have lost myself; the greater my offences are, the more is thy merits; I am thine own good Lord, thou madest me, thine own fingers fashioned me to thine own similitude; wilt thou deface thine own picture? wilt thou deliver to beasts such souls as confess thee? Not, good Lord, this is not thy nature, I wholly rely upon thee, I trust assuredly to be saved in the blood of jesus Christ, in his death and passion: I challenge mine enemy, and defy the sting of death; I confess his bleeding wounds, his stripes, his torments; his cruel plague, his precious death, and his bitter passion. I know he died not in vain, but for the safety of me, and all mankind; and in this faith, hope, and knowledge, I cry to thee even as he did, O heavenly Father, into thy hands I commit my Spirit. Hear my voice, o Lord, from thy holy temple, let my cry pierce into thine ear, receive the soul of thy poor servant, offering itself unto thee. Not that it is worth thy presence, being polluted with uncleanness, but in thy divine power, which with one word canst make it clean: Cleanse it, o Lord I beseech thee, vouchsafe it that thy holy presence set thy seal upon it, that mine enemy see it, and be confounded. Receive it good Lord, for to thee it yieldeth itself, and to none other; Thou art my GOD, my Saviour, and my Redeemer. Unto thee be all honour, glory, praise, & dominion, for ever. Amen. A Morning Prayer. eternal God and heavenly Father, seeing that by thy great mercy we have quietly passed this night, grant we beseech thee, that we bestow this day wholly in thy service: so that all our thoughts, words and deeds, may redound to the glory of thy Name, and good example of our brethren. And as it hath pleased thee to make the sun to shine upon the earth, to give us bodily light, even so vouchsafe to illuminate our understanding, with the brightness of thy Spirit, to direct us in the way of righteousness; so that what thing soever we shall apply ourselves unto, our special care and purpose, may be to walk in thy fear, & to serve thee, looking for all our wealths & prosperity to come from thine only blessing: & that we may take nothing in hand, which shall not be agreeable to thy most blessed william. Furthermore, that we may in such sort travel for our bodies, and for this present life, that we may have always a further regard, that is, to the heavenly life, which thou hast promised to thy children: and in the mean season, that it may please thee to preserve and defend us both in body & soul, to strengthen us against all the temptations of the devil, and to deliver us from all perils, and dangers that may happen unto us, if we be not defended by thy godly power. And forasmuch as to begin well, and not to continued is nothing, we beseech thee to receive us, not only this day into thy holy protection, but also for the time of our whole life, continuing & increasing in us daily thy grace and good gifts thereof, until thou shalt bring us to that happy estate, where we shall fully and for ever, be joined unto thy son jesus Christ our Saviour, which is the true light of our souls, shining day and night perpetually: and to the end we may obtain such grace at thy hand, vouchsafe most merciful Father, to forgive & forget all our sins, which either wittingly or willingly we have committed against thee, and for thine infinite mercy's sake to pardon the same, as thou hast promised to those that ask of thee with unfeigned heart: for whom, as for ourselves, we make our humble petitions unto thee, in the Name of thy son, our Lord and Saviour jesus Christ, in such sort as he himself hath taught us, saying: Our father which art in heaven. etc. An Evening prayer. O Eternal God, & most merciful Father, who this day, and all the time of our life, hast graciousdefended, nourished, and preserved our souls and bodies, and made such fatherly provision for us poor sinners, that of thy loving kindness we have rich portions, not only in the creatures of heaven and earth, but also in that plentiredemption, which thy most dear son jesus Christ, hath purchased for us. Grant unto us (o merciful Father) the assistance of thy grace, and holy Spirit, that as our bodies shall now take their natural rest, even so our souls and minds, at the beholding of thy goodness towards us, may quiet themselves in thee, and conceive such inward pleasure, and heavenly sweetness in thy love, that whatsoever we shall from henceforth either think, speak, or do, that it may be all to the honour of thy holy Name, through jesus Christ thy dear son, our Lord & Saviour. Amen. FINIS.