¶ A Brief and Compendious exposition upon the Psalm called Deprofundis which have been. And presentelye is horrible and detestable. Abused in the Church of God.  
And now translated to the true sens: to God's glory & to the Edification and comfort of his Church. By M. Roberte Richardson Batchelere of divinetie And Minister in Londen.   

¶ A BREVE AND compendious exposition upon the Psalm called Deprofundis.  
DAuide the great King of jerusalem, and Prince of Prophets declareth unto us the psalms to be of an excellent virtue by this his sayings. 2. reg. 23 Spiritus domini locutus est per me & sermo eius per linguam meam. And 10. parala. 28 Omnia venerunt mihi scripta manu Domini. By this his sayings he confesseth the holy Ghost to be the Authore of the psalms, and himself to be the Instrument by whom the holy Ghost openeth them unto us and to all godly by Davides' tongue, and how they come unto him written by the hand of the Lord, to the end that we should use them as the prologue of this Psalm declareth briefly shortly and learnedly for it proffire nothing to read and know many things & to misknowe God and his word by whom be is only known, & the true meaking and sense of the same for Christ said himself. luc. 10. Porro unum est necessarium. That is to say verily one thing is necessary which is the knowledge of his word, this he said when he gave the judgement betwixt the two sisters Marie & Martha, for marry sat at his feet & hard the word, wherefore he said. Mary hath chosen the best part which shall never be taken from her. 
Mat 10.  Ergo beati qui audiunt verbum Dei. Blessed are those, that hear the word of god, & believeth it, & keepeth it to the end, for thy be sure of eternal life world without end. And hear not without the knowledge of God's word god was never known nor is not known, therefore saith s. jero. Creature non habe us notician creatoris picus est. 
jeronim. Sapien. 15  That is to say The creature not having knowledge of the creatore is but a beast, & the wise man saith. Vanus est omnis homo in quo non inest scientia Dei. that is to say. Every man is but vain in whom is not the knowledge of god. wherefore I do think it necessary, first to declare what is God, & where we should worship and Iwocate himself. Humana ratio Deum non cognoscit. wherefore I knowledge it were but presumptuous to gather such things upon my head or to gather it upon other men's brain, I could never read yet him that could comprehend by his learning wit or senses the essence of God, nor yet understood that same, nor yet fully understood the substance of the son & the moon. Ergo much less the Divine substance of God for. Immensum definire non potest. That is to say god is unmiserable Incomprehensible and can not be by us defined, but it suffisethe us to know god, to be such one as he hath revealed unto us by his word. Now I go to declare where he should, be Invocated & worshipped. Prophetae noverunt illum esse Deum cuius verbum promisionis & cultum habuerunt. That is to say the prothets knew him to be god, whose holy word promises and worshipping that they had by his word, the jews, Turckes & papists seeks to know & come to God by their cogitations speculations & Imaginations without his holy word or else translating his word from his germayne sense & true right understanding. Sed Prophetae noverunt Deum esse. Impropiciatorium ei qui si allegaret verbo & loquebatur qualis fuerit in verbo & in culto suo nec aliter loqui ac cogitare debemus nos quam qualis est in nostro ꝓpiciatorio christo. that is to say the prophets did know god to be in his propitiatory which I understand to be the coffer that was set above the Ark to the which he bound himself and spoke out of it how he was in his word, and worshipping such like we should not speak nor think other wise, than he is in our propitiatory Christ, so testifieth Paul saying. Deus erat in Christo mundum reconcillians sibi. God was in christ reconciling the world to himself: so saith Christ himself to Philip his apostle. Qui me vidit, & patrem meum vidit. who seeth me seethe my father. Et nemo venit ad patrem nisi per me. That is no man can come to my Father, but only by me. Hear we may note a general rule in all the psalms and in the holy scripture to be kept that in the old Testament all prayers was to God in Zion: now that temple destroyed God raised up another temple which is Christ in this temple he would be only sought, found, & worshipped. Nec extra illum ullum Deum invenies. And besides him, thou shalt find no god but only Idolatry therefore let us behold him and thou shalt see the Father. The holy jews that dwelt in Zion, which neglected that place, all be it that they had the same sacrifices and praying the same words nevertheless they committed Idolatry for because they did against the precept & commandment of God, which he declared, that he would be worshipped in jerusalem but now in the temple which is Christ, and besides that temple there is no God worshipped but the Devil, & because the jews Turckes and Papists praise much & many psalms with pleasant titles, and do say: Our Father which art in heaven. etc. But because they contenue his holy and infallible word and by violence do persecute the same, as now do our Papists they obtain no fruit nor commodity at the hands of God thereof, but mere Idolatry, 
Nota.  Hypocrisy and loss of time, & note, where Christ is God is, there is the hole divinity found in him, & this is the God that said. The seed of the woman shall bruise thy head. 
Genesis.  Hear to this sayings Christ is promised and declared to be the only sacrifice for the sins of the world and the triumphant victory, Hell the Devil and sin. Therefore let us all say with Paul. Deo gratias qui dedit nobis victoriam per Christum. thanks be to god that hath given us the victory by Christ for there is no God but he that was borne of the Virgin's bosom both God and man as is aforesaid and further more he himself saith believe ye not that the Father is in me & I in my father he that seeth me seethe that father and he that knoweth me knoweth my Father let this therefore be the final conclusion that God will not be sought found nor here our Prayers whithoute dure propitiatory Christ let us therefore call to remembrance our great and deep ignorance that have sought him at stock and stone and in many places beyond home. etc. God grant us his grace to acknowledge and repent this, and to be ashamed of the same ignorance. Amen.  

¶ The Prologue.  
¶ we read of David that he gave the same psalms to the priests & levites to be prayed song and said & played upon the Cymbals Psalteres, haps, with many other pleasant instruments praising god, worshipping God, & giving thanks to God, & an example to us to do the same with gladness and mind of heart, spirit, and soul & strong faith with our spiritual instruments and so Saint Paul exhorteth us. Ephes. 5. Loquentes vobis metipsis in Psalmis & Imnis cantantes & melodiam facientes in cordibus vestris Domino Gratias agentes jesu Christo Redemptori nostro. etc. that is to say speaking and praying to yourselves in psalms, in singing and rejoicing in your hearts geninge thanks to jesus Christ our Saviour, etc. So Solomon which builded the temple after the description of the holy ghost giving to his Father David so Solomon builded the temple as David commanded, in Monte Morea, with assense of fifteen degrees after the example that was given, and in every degree was sung and played by the Ascendentes one of this psalms which is called the xu Psalines' knoweledging and confessing the manifold benefices of God and their own filthy sinfulness going up these degrees into the temple synginge and praying with gladness of heart and knowledging at the remission of sins is freely granted and given to us of God by jesus Christ and so it profit the and is fruitful unto us to acknowledge the same in the beginning of all our prayers going to the remple or else all our doings is lost for so much as they are not of strong faith without all doubting and despairing of Gods hoping hearing and free mercy granting which God grant all Christians to have. Amen.   

De Profundis.  
¶ This is the Psalm of the which I intend briefly to writ upon and is the most comfortable and heavenly amongst all the psalms and this is the. C.xxxi. and in some books xxix among the number of psalms and the xi psalm that was song upon the Grease by the priests and lenites and the uj psalm of the penitential psalms called the vij psalms commonly joined in confession by ignorant priests and Friars in satisfaction for sin and this psalm the Popish did bury and keep from the knowledge of the people the true sense and meaning confessing and defending that it was only a prayer for the dead and for the souls of Purgatory and so burying it, committed sacrilege and yet presently do. Albeit the holy ghost the authore of this psalm did institute and ordained it to be a prayer of penitent sinners being of life which do knowledge their sins and repenting the same from the bottom of their hearts. If any learned man please to read this little psalm to the end, he shall not find one jot nor one word in it for the dead but as is aforesaid for the penitents on life, and so the poor people alas for pity was for covetonsnes kept in Ignerance and blindness and yet still is in many countries and places, so perished from the use of the quick penitents an incomparable treasure and a most godly knowledge of our justification I have seen myself in Rome one Cardinal dead and brought into a church and laid on a fair tomb covered with velvet bore faced his berde new shaven, a fair mitre on his head, with costly precious stones and costly new gloves upon his hands full of rings hose of silk and sandals on his feet with stones, and one great gentleman on every side of him bore headed with velvet gowns and white rods in their hands and a yard of taffeta bound fast at the end of the rods keeping away the flies from his face, continually as the custom is in Italy when ye dine at the table among servants or in your lodgings or houses. And at that time I saw come in such a number of friars monks & Nones smile at with myself remembering a common saying in Scotlaude Friars a new a new and a new red and white, white and black blonkat and blue and they went about the dead Cardinals' tomb but once about, for lack of time or else every order could not have their course, I say they went about the tomb with costly odoriferous sensors sensing and singing the dead Cardinal, some with the first verse of Deprofundis, for briefness some with Libera me Domine, some with Qui lazarum Resuscitasti, some with Requiem aeternam, some with Peccante me quotidie & non penitent Timor mortis conturbat me. And with many such like many responsories contained in the dirigie very brief. The number of religious, 
Rome.  superstitious men and women was so great that they could not have time but once to go about the tomb, herein you may mark how great Cities and notable men have been drowned & mired with this great ignorance. in so much as though that this godly Psalm served nothing but for the dead in purgatory & nothing at all for the penitentes of life as ye shall hear hereafter. if there be any such purgatories or not and how many countries & cities are deceived by this false doctrine I speak only of those that I have known & seen as at Rome, Paris, London. Bononia Dei Gratia, florentia, Bella Pavia, where many learned men be & now thanks be to god daily increased but alas many blind doctors, as doctors dandiprates doctors duesase & doctor's sophisters promoted by the Pope Cardinals, bishops, and abbots & other great men of their levine by whom perish the true use of this godly and divine psalm and prayer.   

Paris.  
¶ I have known and seen in Paris vij thousands poor students and poor men that could read or say the Deprofundis hired before all soul's day to sit all that night with Lanterns and Candles upon their husbands, wives, kinsfolks, and friends graves praying not a few Deprofundis.   

France.  
¶ In France I have seen and the custom is that in every mass said by hired priests through all France such a number of Deprofundis, as passeth my reckoning that was every day used in every Mass when the priest washed his hands after the Gospel with holly water sprinkled on the grave.   

London.  
¶ I have seen my Lord Mayre in London ride to Paul's Church with great triumph accompanied with his brethren the Aldermen and there said or tarried and hard say the Deprofundis upon a bishops of London sepulchre as said was bound yearly thereunto but now changed thanks be to god and to our learned bishop changed I say into more godliness.  
¶ I have Preached myself at divers halls of notable companies which declared to me that they were bound to say all together De profundis for all Christian souls after the service and banquet, and desired me to begin the De profundis, which I denied, but yet I granted to open, declare and Interpret the true sense of it to them if they would give purified cares thereunto which thing they did, and after that did like the De profundis better then ever they did before as now many in England do at this present time thanks be to God, which now do say the Popes De profundis is dear of his De profundis but now thanks be to god it is known to be a godly prayer for the penitentes on life and also for because it doth Entreat specially of our justification which is most necessary to be known. etc. Wherefore I thought it good to Entreat of this most godly Psalm after my poor power and learning to keep in the light of justification in the true Church of God. etc.  
¶ Note hear afore we begin the text that there is no salvation, grace nor justification, but only in God that would not impute our sins, nor look upon them as David said. Thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back oh Lord, thou haste rent the decree of my Damnation & also hast freely forgiven all for Christ's sake, therefore the penitent supplicante must knowledge trust and surely hope in the same, or else he will ever be in doubt and despair of hearing hope and obtaining by the temptations of Satan he must knowledge himself free from Hell, Death and from the ire of God. And so shall he pray with a joyful and quiet conscience & sure hope of God's mercy through jesus Christ our saviour to whom with the Father, and the holy ghost be all honour and glory. Amen.  
¶ The Penitent Supplicante doth hear the wise man sounding in his ears these words. Fili pecasti ne aditias iterum sed pro prestinis peccatis precare Deum. That is to say, My son thou haste sinned do no more so, but pray unto god for thy former sins repenting them deeply while thou haste time defferinge not the same from day to day, nor from year to year as many do, which never do repent afore they see the pangs of death upon them, 
Note well.  and so they do then repent for fear, and not for love. Which is dangerous.  
¶ This Psalm is a profunde prayer of a penitent sinner, that is afraid of the judgement of God agayuste his sins & from the deepness of his heart and out of the profunde Prison of all sinfulness prayeth to God with a sure Confidence not only for himself, but for the adversities and tribulations of Christ's hole Church and for all the posterity of Adam being in the captivity of Satan and sin, knowledging that he is ever prompt and more ready to give, than we are to ask, which the Prophet said in his person. 
Esay.  Antequam clamat exaudiam. That is or ever they cry I hear them and do help them as in example of the widow, which brought her Sun to be buried without the Ports of the City of Naham, where Christ died come unlooked for or called upon and so restored him to life again, with one word. As he did Lazarus and many more.   

Deprofundis.  ¶ Out of the Deep have I called unto the Lord, Lord hear my voice. 
¶ The Prayer of David for his sins and for the deliverance of the captivity of Babilone and for the adversities and afflictions of those people, and all Godly people without ceasing he prayed and cried from the Deepness of his heart as he said. Clamavi non tacui non desperavi. That is to say I cried, I kept not my peace I desparied not, and as S. Paul saith to us all Being in trouble. Sine intermissione orate aut bene agite. That is to say, Pray ye with out ceasing or else do the thing that good is, with perseverance, taking an example of the woman of Cananee which for her perseverance and faith was hard. So Davide cried out of the Deepness of his heart and out of the deep prisons of sin, drowned and mired in Deep waters, that is to say, into heavy afflictions as those that suddenly fall in the Deep waters from the Deepness of their heart do cry for help, so this Psalm and Godly Prayer is set forth by the Holy Ghost, for those that be afflicted and in tribulation and do acknowledge their Sins, and seek for mercy from the bottom of their hearts and from the Deep Prison of manifold and evil concupistences with great shame & repentance of their sins so saith S. jero. 
Jeremy.  Hoc quod homo agnoscit Deus Ignoscit. That is to say the sins that men do know God shall misknow & bless than as the Prophet saith. Beatus vir cui Dominus non imputat peccatum. 
Psal.  man is saved but only by his mercy, & not by merits deservings, nor works for as saint Paul sayeth. Non sunt condigni. They be neither clean, nor worthy of his kingdom and glory, for as S. Paul saith, the eyes cannot see, nor the heart can not think the things that god hath provided for his people, that do love him, and if we stumble or fall in any kind of sin, he hath appointed us a reamedye, and that is to pray for the scripture saith. Cum Ignoremus quid agere debeamus hoc solum habemus remedium ut oculos nostros dirigamus ad te. That is to say: when we be troubled, or when we know not what we should do, he hath left us this Kemedy to lift up our eyes unto him, and so David saith, our forefathers did by these words. Cum tribularentur clamaverunt ad Dominum. When they were in trouble thy cried unto the Lord, and David himself saith. Cum tribularer ad Dominum clamavi & exaudivit me. That is to say, when I was in trouble I cried to the lord and he heard me, and so will he here all faithful penitents.  
¶ When this began to be taught in England, there was not a little grudge of murmur amongst the people, saying: that they would do as their forefathers did, for than it was a good world as they said why would they not follow their forefathers in this to call upon the Lord in their trouble as they did, but they did follow blind teachers and guides of whom Christ doth speak, when he saith. Quando caecus caecum ducit ambo in foveam cadunt. That is to say, when the blind leadeth the blind, they do both fall in the pit of damnation, if they so persevere to follow the Pope, and his proud blind shavelings which was, and is the Authors & maintainers of this foresaid blindness, and this is only the Reward, and fruit that they shall have of him. Let us return to our text, which is. Apud Dominum Misericordia. To the faithful and penitentes that do believe in the same and call for it, thy mercy and grace is above all things and thou art the Fountain out of the which it springethe continually and freely thou offerest us the same, but not to him that is contumaxe and proterue and make themselves unworthy of the same.   

Et copiosa apud eum Redemptio.  And before him a plenteous Redemption. 
¶ But alas the greatest number of men do shoot their eyes at this, & at their own vices & so they sleep in their sins and extreme Ignorance in so much that no man doth acknowledge God to be merciful and so they take no pains to Invocate or call for mercy, but the godly man must determinate with himself that god is merciful and giveth us freely for it is only in his hands & power to give it & in none other. And mercy is ever before his eyes. Misericordia & non Ira. That is to say, Mercy & not Ire and the plenteous redemption, of his sone and our Saviour jesus Christ. Non parva sed copiosa redemptio. That is not a little redemption, but a copious & plenteous Redemption & besides him there is no Redemption. Paul declareth briesly saying. justificamur Gratis gratia ipsius per redemptionem qui est in Christo jesu. that is to say, we are justified and made righteous by the Redemption that is in Christ jesus freely. pro nihilo saluos facies eos, & hoc non ex nobis. And that not by ourselves. Sed Dei donum est. But it is a gefte of God. Et non ex operibus ne quis glorietur. And not of works that no man should glory of himself & so that scripture saith. Non ex operibus justitiae quo nos fecimus sed secundum svam misericordiam saluos nos fecit, that is to say not of the works that we do but through his mercy he hath saved us for if it were of works than it were not by grace, Per memetipsum iuravi dicit Dominus nolo mortem Peccatoris sed magis ut Peniteat & convertatur & vivat. that is to say I have sworn by myself saith the Lord I will not the death of a sinner but rather that he should repent and convert and be saved, 
Nota.  O beatos & felices homines in quorum causa Deus jurat, O blessed and happy are those men in whose cause God doth swear. Et O miseros qui Deo iurante non credunt, that is to say that miserable and wretched are those which do not believe god when he doth swear that cannot say the thing that is not true but verity itself, hear he will that all the hope of the godly sort should be in his mercy out of the which hope springeth a copious Redemption because in the hands of God there is an infinite number to us and Incredible ways that God hath to save us for his mercy is above all his works and he doth never forget to pour out mercy Ergo he needs no intercessors nor mediators all be it against the Scripture they make many. But the holy ghost saith unus est mediator noster Ergo non sunt plures, therefore there be not many ergo they that do make many, do sin against the holy ghost. The seeing & the feeling of God's judgement in our hearts & consciences doth engender hatred, & fleeing from god without the hope of his mercy & that is very apostasy & rebellion & so we shall never be partakers of this plenteous redemption for one drop of that immaculate blood hath been sufficient to redeem the hole world & yet he crieth upon us by his holy word and Prophets saying as testifieth S. john Sanguis jesus Christi Immundat nos ab omni peccato, that is to say the blood of jesus Christ doth wash us from all our sins and as the scripture saith, Mundi estis justificati estis, sanguine eius, that is to say, you are made clean & washed, Venite & haurite de fontibus salvatoris. by his blood & not by gold silver nor precious stones, for the kingdom of god is not bought for money. Which runneth copiousty at hands, feet, and heart, and never is dry, therefore it may be well called a copious redemption as he commandeth them that every godly should come and taste of those fountains & not so contemptuously as do the ungodly & cast aways, the which swear so often by the lords blood, Venite & haurite de fontibus salvatoris, that is to say to the unlearned come & taste of the fountains of your redeemer & saviour receiving the virtue of the same for if he redeem not Israel from all their iniquities & sins he should cease from his office therefore let us give vigilant labours that our sins may be put away & that we may return to obraine his grace & favour. etc. As David did which despaired not nor withdrew himself from god for the multitude of his sins but for the anger of God he sought for his mercy and from God that wounded to God that healed the wounds of his heart which neither man nor Angel could heal.   

Et propter legem tuam sustinui te Domine.  For thy law, sake I have tarried & looked for thy mercy, and trusted in the same how guilty that ever my soul is. 
¶ For in all thy law new and old, thou hast promised mercy to true penitentes and believers in the Lord, for thy promises sake grant me the same for I embrace thy words and promises & do believe the same, and in so doing I promise' myself salvation, for because thy promises cannot lie, nor thy  
¶ Quamdiu Vivet Israel speret in Christo. That is as long as a true christian do live let him trust in the lord both in prosperity and in adversity by night & day. O how happy is he that oftentimes remembreth his sins with hope of mercy, and seeks the same at the hands of the Lord, & hear let us say with S. Peter. Verbum Vite habes, that is to say thou hast the word of life, and the keys of David for thou dost shut and no man can open, & thou dost open and no man can shut. Hear I might speak of watches kept both in the old & new law but for prolixnesse I will not be tedious but I will remember to put my trust in the lord & to no other, keeping his precepts and rules with thanks giving to his majesty for the same, and not saying with the Friars & the monks, that do regard more the precepts & the keeping of S. Frances and S. Dominickes & do give greater thanks for that as I have hard with mine ears.   

Et ipse redimet Israel ex omnibus Iniquitatibus eius.  And he shall redeem Israel from all his sins. 
¶ De saith not only of one sin or one iniquity but of all but contrary to him did the Pope that would give pardons for some and reserved other some to the coming to himself, Sed ip se redimet Israel &, non alius for he himself hath redeemed Israel and no body else but he, and that is to understand all Christian & faithful people as the angel testifyethe to Zacharie saying, Ipse saluum faciet Populum suum a peccatis eorum, that is to say he shall save all his people from their sins his people is the faithful congregation and no other, 
mat 10.  nor yet shallbe partakers of this redemption, which is to the godly a great comfort and consolation that he hath redeemed Israel from all their iniquities what soever, and what kind of iniquities so ever they were or sins and that freely. It is great foolishness to think that god will not forgive sins until the time that he be pleased with our good works.   

¶ IMPRINTED at London by Thomas Purfoote for William Norton. (* ⁎ *)