II. To dvvell in the seruice of God, to haue the world, and the pleasures there­of in cōtempt, and to striue daily against them with the armor of rightuousnesse.

FOr as muche (O al­mightie God) as we are all warned by thine holye Apostle Iohn, not to bée lo­uers of thys euyll world, nor the vain pleasures ther­of, bicause bothe the one and the o­ther come vtterly to naughte: and that also to be a louer of the world, [Page 5]is to be an hater of thée, What danger they fall into that forsake god, and leane to the worlde and the plea­sures thereof. to slip from thy will, and from the presence of thy maiestie, as one that regardeth thée not, knowes thée not, neither séeke to know thée, but startle aside from thée, forsaketh the right way, and entreth of will the perrillous way full of hidde thistles, thornes, briers, brambles, venemous wor­mes and serpentes: linking also thē selues into the amitie, league and seruice, of the moste sleightie, hate­full and deadly enemie, the proude Prince of this worlde, who for a time by Gods permission is brokē lose, and rageth in his course, roa­reth and fighteth cōtinually against the Soule of man: who entangleth only his owne to their vtter ouer­throwe, with the vaine pleasures thereof: euen with the delightes in effect but of one houre, and with the encreasing of sorowes for manye [Page]yéeres: The seruice of God, what it is. I beséeche thée (O thou king of all holinesse) whose seruice is most highe, most happie, most sure, most healthfull, wealthful, heauen­ly, perpetuall, perfecte selicitie and freedome:) which seest the weake­nesse, inconstancie, greate miserie, and necessitie of me thine humble seruaunt: the outrage also & power of my cruel aduersaries: graunt me sufficiencie of thy grace, & strengthe of thine holy spirite, that by vertue thereof, I may be directed in y ^e way wherin I should walke, my pathes made straite, and my foote stedfast, alwayes to withstande the euil at­temptes of the moste wicked, and the outwarde glittering gloryes of this sinful and vain world, and not yéelde my minde to the pleasures & comforts of the same, as a childe of vanitie, enclosed therin for y ^e time, as in a deepe dungeon of daunger, [Page 6]and of deadly darkenesse, The worlde, a deepe donge­on, wherin the children of vanitie are en­closed. founded vppon a sandie and rotten soile, ve­ry olde, ruinous, sore shaken, and readie at euery momente to fall, throughe age vppon me: but to be otherwise staide by thine holy and mightye arme, pacientlie in the meane season to abide thy will, to lay my foundation sure, to be so­ber and watchfull ouer all daun­gers, to stretch forth mine handes to the battaile, to strengthen mine armes like a bow of stéele, that vn­der thy protection & power, I may manfully resist all hurtful euilles, and the assaults of the wicked, and stand stably to my profession in thy holy seruice, wherunto thorow thy grace I am called, to the ende, that by thine only helpe, I should do the workes of rightuousnesse. O thou rightuous Lorde and God of my strengthe, which haste made me, [Page]which hast conserued me, and arte moste louing and carefull ouer me, I putting mine only hope and con­fidence (not in the holy Angels, ce­lestiall spirites, blessed Sainctes in heauen, or good men héere in earth) but only in thée, suffer me not to be tempted aboue my strengthe, or to be ouerwhelmed of mine owne cō ­cupiscēce: but in the midst of temp­tation, make thou a way for me to escape with ioy. Thou (O God) art only omnipotent, moste gratious, ful of al goodnesse, faithfulnesse and truthe: fulfil therfore thy promisses towardes me, most merciful Lord, thou God of truthe: Put vppon me thine whole armor of rightuouse­nesse, Armoure of rightuouse­nesse. O thou God of mighte and true holinesse, that by thy power I may be strong against all aduersa­ries: for I wrestle not (as thou kno­west) against flesh and blud in this [Page 7]life: but against rule, against pow­er, and againste worldly rulers of the darknesse of this worlde, and a­gainste spirituall wickednesse in heauenly things: by whome, with­out thine heauenly power I stande euer in hazarde to eternall destru­ction bothe of body and soule. For which cause (I say) O my swéete God, arme me strongly, strengthen me in my weakenesse, and make me stoute, that in this christen chi­ualrie, Christian chi­ualrie. I may stand perfecte in all things before thée, and not slippe by cowardise or inconstancie from thy faithful seruice: but fight vnder thy banner vntil the last breath, The sight of a christian [...] in the seruice of god must be con­tinuall and couragious. coura­giously putting mine euemyes to flight, and cary away with triūph, a glorious victorie ouer them. So shall it come to passe, that thorow­ly running this so shorfe a race in my holy calling as a puissant war­rior [Page]in thy most high and excellent seruice, with lawfull striuing, and with violent plucking towards me thine heauenly kingdome, I shall in the ende perfectly sée it and pos­sesse it, and shall receiue in mine hands a Palme of victorie, Palone of vi­ctorie. Crowne of glorie. Hid Manna. And a White stone. vppon mine head, a Crowne of glory pre­pared, the hidde Manna also and a white stone, wherein is written a newe name, which no man know­eth, sauing only the receiuer of it: who shal serue thée thou great God of heauen, in the moste sacred state of true holinesse, perfecte frée dome, excellencie, dignitie, and equalitie with thine holy Angels and al bles­sed Saincts, in euerlasting felicitie. Graunt this mine humble petition (O Lorde) for thy greate mercies sake: So shall I here, and in eter­nall blessednesse, extoll and magni­fie thy glorious name. Amen.

III. For the humble hearing, apte receiuing, keeping, and continuing of the vvoorde of God amongst vs.

COnsidering (o thou God of al holinesse) that the certainetie of oure Christian faithe, standeth by the Scryptures or immoueable woorde of thy truthe: which, as thy messenger procéedeth from thee by thy gratious inspiration or secreate brething: wherunto, as vnto a seast royal, euery man of al nations vn­der heauen are called: The scriptures of God, only receyued of the faithfull. but are of thy Church only receiued and deuoutly vsed, to the instruction, confirmati­on, strengthening and establishing of thine only faithfull & true flocke: and be, as thy blessed Apostle cal­leth them, sacred and holy: birause they be heauenly, moste precious, [Page]diuine, healthfull, and comfortable to the soule, excelling all the wise­dom of Philosophers, and the vain­ly wise of this world, and be there­fore (in their high power and maie­stie) woorthily aboue all aduanced, segregate, and put aparte by them selues, from all other wrytings of prophane matters and the flitting descriptions of men: not onely per­taining to this present worlde, and for the vse of this temporal life: but also from all Ethnicke superstiti­ans, Superstitions, false worship pings. &c. salse woorshippings, wicked sa­crifices and erronious opinions, v­sed contrary to thy woord, & against thée the only eternal and true God: which, by lying, custome and cruel­tie, are corruptly crepte into thy Church, to the foule féeding, filling, defiling, and poisonning therof, and is yet daily occasioned therby wout thy grace, to be sinisterly drawne [Page 9]and seduced, straying frō the right way, and haled to death by will in oure selues, from the life that is in thée, euen to eternall death and de­struction: we beséeche thée moste humbly (O thou gracious God) to enspire vs with thy holy spirite of truthe, & to kindle in all our hartes the fire of thy loue, light and truth: that by thy power in them, oure faithes may be strengthened, oure soules also humbled, rightly ledde and instructed, in thy word of loue, light, truthe, and of eternall life: by vertue wherof, Our professiō in holy Bap­tisme. at our first entrāce to Christ our high Pastor, we may truely vnderstande our profession and promisse in holy baptisme, and haue it accordingly wrytten with thy finger of grace in our hartes, to the true knowledge of thy law, and the spiritual vnderstanding therof, to loue thée moste woorthily aboue [Page]all, and our neighbor as our selues: as also to knowe the promisses of thy mercie in thy sonne oure Saui­our Iesus Christ most soundly and purely, as thy holy word expresseth therein: whereby we may be well vpholden, and zealously staide in our profession, to treade our pathes right, to be guided by the true light, to heare gladly the voice of oure shepheard Iesus Christe, to testifie his name, to folowe him the onely true lighte, and not to feare the po­wers of darknesse, but to ouercome them by thy mighte (although euen with the losse of our liues) not only the dalyings, dimme deuises and vanities of the wicked, and to shun all suche hatefull enemics, Enemies of Gods word. as are vsuall mockers, daily deprauers, sinnefull despisers, wilfull impug­ners, wicked seducers, double dea­lers, backe sliders, & pluckers back [Page 10]from thy word, but also the sleights of their father Sathan, the entice­ments of the worlde, and the filthie motions of the fleshe. And to that happie ende (O Lorde) we may be constant, and thy woorde euer abide in vs, stirre vs vp to continuall and hartie prayer, quicken our zeale, Hartie prayer to God, ma­keth vs con­stante in the word of God. & woorke in vs, a true, liuely, quicke, and frutefull faithe: that it being a bright shining light in our hartes, to the expelling of all Hipocrisie, cloudinesse, darknesse and erroure, and also our conuersation being an­swerable to our profession, the con­tinuance of thy grace may stil com­fortably shine vppon vs, thy holy woorde may continue amongste vs, may be truely preached vnto vs, di­ligently, boldly, and zealously vtte­red ouer al, and by al the ministers thereof, by what occasion, time and place so euer it be: for vnto vs that [Page]shall be saued, The worde of God, what it is, and how of the godly to be considted. it is a thing moste precious and holy: It is the woorde of life, the woorde of reconciliation, the lanterne vnto oure féete, and a light vnto our pathes, the fountaine of wisedome, the breade of life, the foode of the soule, thy mightie pow­er, and swoorde of the spirite. And for as much (O heauenly father) as thy woordes thus to vswarde (come from heauen) are spirite and life, and are not to be wayed with the vaine imagination, policie, wise­dome or witte of man, nor yet to be applied vnto the hurtfull pleasures of this sinnefull worlde, but to be moste holily and highly estéemed, moste humbly had in credite, reue­rently thought vppon, gladly incli­ned vnto, heard with silence, and receiued with all modestie & ghost­ly gréedinesse: we humbly beséeche thée, that as thou haste euer heereto­fore [Page 11]ben the only gratious director, instructor and teacher of thy holy Patriarks and Prophets, God the only instructour of all, in all ages. Apostles and holy fathers from time to time from the beginning, and amongste al men (for thine electes sake in Ie­sus Christe) continuest yet so still vntill this day: O traine vs vp also in thine heauenly knowledge we pray thée: prepare our harts, teach vs thy law, and wryte thy woordes of life in the tables of oure heartes: that in these our monstrous dayes of moste wilfull vanitie, An apt Prayer for these oure dayes. which in their strangenesse crieth oute (by plagues) to be punished, we may a­forehande be warned, we may be yet better schooled, thy wrath there­by preuented, our soules more spi­ritually nourished, filled with thy fauoure, more mortified daily from the vanities of this brickel life, gui­ded to more thristian modestie and [Page]temperāce, affected solie to the way of holinesse, comforted in all trou­bles and aduersities, boldned man­fully against the face of y ^e enemies, stayed, well armed and strengthe­ned against all temptations, stirred vp to the encrease of all vertues: that thy woordes (which shal iudge vs in the last day) being by thy mi­nisters truely preached, and of vs also as zealously embraced, and by any meanes not to be despised or slandered, but on all partes surely holden, and to shewe for the accor­dingly the true frutes of rightuous­nesse, we may be called of thée, thy holy disciples, & auoide I say the sal of thy vēgeāce amōgst vs, thy iudgement also to eternal condemnation & be receiued in time to euerlasting saluation: throughe thy grace & the only merites of thy sonne our Lord Iesus Christ. Amen.

IIII. For Fayth.

BY reading or hea­ring thy holy worde (O blessed sauiour) we are taught, that true fayth which is thine onely gifte, is onely therby attayned: and that by the power of thine heauenly spirite it is breathed into the onely hearts of all thine electe, who receiue it by measure and quantitie according to the will and power of the same spi­rite: and with thine eyes beholding it in them, thou gloriest in them, thou daily blessest them, thou en­creasest it in them, thy countenance shineth vppon them, thou amiably appearest and she west thy selfe vn­to them: yea so acceptable it is in [Page]thy sighte (O swéete sauiour) that thou béeing the king of eternall glo­ry and maiestie, Faithe only breathed into the hartes of Gods elect. art espoused to the soules of the faithfull, and makest them thereby to be partakers with thée of thine heauenly and diuine nature, through the wonderful ope­ration of thine holy spirite. We are taught by thine holy Apostle, that what so euer is not of this faith, is sinne, and that there is no possibili­tie without it to please thée, or to finde grace by sute at thyne holy hande. And therefore all they that come vnto thée, True faithe in Christe. must in déede firmly beléeue, that thou art very God and very Man: yea, and suche a God of mighte, of mildenesse & great mer­cy aboue all Gods, as both can and euer will heare, incline thine eare, and abundantly rewarde all them, that with liuely and true faith séeke thée, and vnfaignedly desire to finde [Page 13]thée, or to be relieued by thine holy hande. By this fayth (O Lorde) we also obteine of God thy father, all good things: yea, what so euer we craue at his hande in thy name. Faithe iusti­fieth. Through this fayth also, so many as beléeue are iustified, made the sonnes and heires of God, and en­ioy most certainly thereby the re­warde of euerlasting life. O Lorde Iesu, great is the power and wor­king of this fayth, The power of Faith. for by it the con­sciences of the godly are quieted, by it they truely know thée the onely high and eternall God: by it they loue and feare thée, be constant to­wards thée, strong and pacient in al aduersitie, their hope is firme for things to come: by it they conceiue boldenesse to repaire to the throne of thy grace for mercy, to haue sure trust in thee, to inuocate thine holy name, to adore and worshippe it, to [Page]confesse the truthe before thée, to obey it moste gladly, to perseuer therein moste willingly, to with­stande the force of all tyrannie, to yéelde vp in time their spirite, and to goe through fayth to thine and their heauenly father. Séeing then (O graciouse God and Sauiour) that this vertue is so heauenly, so holy, so mightie, so acceptable and preciouse in thy sight, that without it nothing can be well pleasing the will of thy maiestie, or to serue hap­pily our owne turnes: and we also of suche frailtie can not attayne to this moste singuler treasure, except it come from aboue (euen from thée) and infused into our hearts by the grace of thine holy spirite: we moste hartily beséeche thée (by the power thereof) to make cleane our hearts, to purge them of all error, darknesse, and ignorance, of all mi­strust, [Page 14]infidelitie, and vnfaythful­nesse, and to plant moste spéedely in vs, a true, liuely, and vndoubted faithe, in the blessed and moste glo­rious Trinitie: in God our heauen­ly father, in thée (O God) oure only sauioure, and in the holy ghoste our most deare and swéete comfortour: by whome alone, we be all highly blessed, preciously redéemed, and eternally sanctified: and that also for thine only sake (O blessed saui­oure) thine heauenly father is well pleased with vs, our sinnes cléerely remitted vnto vs. This faithe (O swéete Iesu) daily encrease in vs, help most gratiously our vnbeléefe, O Lord strengthen vs from faithe to faithe: that we may at the laste thorow thine accustomed grace, be made perfectly faithfull, constante warriors, and valiant conquerors, in the defence of thine holy religio, [Page]againste the power of Sathan, the worlde, and Antichriste: and in all things to she we oure selues in this life, bothe in our profession & man­ners, truly and frutefully faithful, euen to the high exaltation & praise of thy name: which liuest and raig­nest, with God the father, and God the holy Ghoste, true and perfecte God, our onely mediator and aduo­cate, world without end. Amen.

V. To the attainement of Grace, and for the due examination of suche desires and motions, as are put daily into oure mindes.

BEholding (O God our maker) the mi­serable state of mā ­kinde in this lyfe, how diuersly there­in and in finitely he [Page 15]is continually beset, The misera­ble state of man in thys life. compassed and hedged in with bodily and ghostly euil, stepping euery moment amōg the low shrubbes, lurking stubbes, stumbling blockes, craggie rockes, dead pits, trappes, catches, snares, grinnes, furious and fierse beastes, in the wildernesse of this worlde to present destruction: alwayes vncer­taine and feareful through danger, whereunto (in his wayes) he may leane or trust, wandring in this de­sert among doutful chaunces, voide of certain hope, farre off from com­fort, forsaken of frendes, beset with many enemies, and entised diuers­ly to sundry desires and motions, & so moste gréenously perplexed, and inwardly afflicted in minde, mu­sing before thée (O Lorde) in thine heauenly presence, vpon hys moste wretched state, what shall betide him, knoweth not what to doe, [Page]which way to turne him, whether to flée, not certaine of his ende, ig­norant, when, howe, and where he shall ende his dayes, and leaue to earthe his moste wretched and earthie carcasse: Man posses seth in himself two powers, and of sundly inclinations. who during his shorte time, possesseth two powers, diuersly drawing and leading him: althoughe onely one preuayleth, either with him or againste him, which is, a willyng consente to vayne pleasures bredde in the corrupted fleshe: or otherwise, a more apte inclination to the good wil and motion of the spirit, which are bothe contrary the one to the o­ther, and the one continually war­ring or waging battaile against the other: whose fight (if there be resi­stance) are bothe very violente to preuaile, & stirreth daily the soule to great vnrest. Which powers or partes of man (O Lord) in the time [Page 16]of innocencie, before the fall of my first parents, haddest coupled them togither in moste blessed concorde and vnitte, but (alasse) nowe sepa­rated, peace broken and set at dis­corde, by the Serpente the enemie of peace and of mankinde: The serpent cause of dis­corde. and can­not liue ioyned togither, wythoute contynuall warre, ruffeling and wrangling together as things dy­uers, althoughe in déede but one: I beséeche thée therefore (O my God the greate God and maker of hea­uen and earthe) to beholde with greate compassion, my miserable state among the rest in this moste wofull and gréeuous conflicte, my greate frailetie and weakenesse wythoute thy grace, my darknesse and ignoraunce, and the power of sinne raygning in myne earthely and mortall members: that as thou arte God the author of peace, [Page]the true light and guid, and the on­ly God of my strengthe, to preuaile for me by thine holy spirit, against the Prince of sedition and darke­nesse, of fraud and deceit, Prince of sedition. of erroure and lies, and the corrupted motions of the sinneful fleshe: so graunt me the strengthe of thy grace, a liuely and quicke féeling faithe also in thy promisses thorowe Christe: that thereby my spirite being alwayes prepared, quickned and directed by thy spirite, it may yéelde to the only quickening and good motions ther­of: that by the heauenly power of it, I may at all times be constante in them, and learn perfectly by due examination, The meane to knowe the good motions from the bad. and with good desires out of thy worde of truth, the euent of all attemptes, stirres, motions, assaultes, entisements, dessres, pro­uocations and affections, to iudge truely of them, to way rightly their [Page 17]natures, from whence they come, by what spirite, to what ende, whe­ther worthy thy well liking, tēding to thy glory, answerable to my pro­fession, making for the peace of my conscience or to the contrary: and so by due triall to forsake the one and embrace the other: The inconue­nience of care lesnesse, or not to receiue in time the good motions of God. least throughe leude carelessenesse, or not aptly yelding to the good motions of thine holy wil, I giue thine offered grace moste gracele sly the slippe: becom­ming in thy sighte but a fugitiue, a reage, a runneagate, a corner crée­per, a vaine dullarde, grose, earthie, lumpishe and heauie, voide of spirit and life, darke in true iudgemente, affected to vaine desires, moste wic­kedly falling from thée, forsaken al­so of thee, giuen ouer to my selfe, wretchedly wandring at will or at the wilde aduenture, and stande as a dead pray to the will of al deuou­ring [Page]aduersaries: euen to y ^e sleights of the moste curssed serpente, to the sugred baits of this deceitful world, and to the filthie desires of the re­bellious fleshe: by whome I shal be most wickedly seduced, moste hor­ribly blinded and fowly corrupted: and so trained on in a short race to the slaughter, euen to the swalow­ing gulffe of despaire, the bottome­lesse hurlepwle, or most déepe sinke of destruction. O my god of al mer­cie and grace, The power of the spirite of light and truthe. that art the only hel­per of me in all my necessities, as­sist and comfort my soule with thy spirite of lighte and truthe: that I may nowe and at all times bothe truely discerne, retaine wyth good will, and folow, the only good mo­tions thereof, and forcibly withstād the contrary: that no prouocations, venemous enticementes, or poyso­ned pleasures of the fleshe, be occa­sions [Page 18]to defile and hazard my soule. But folowing the good desires of the spirite (which are moste pure, per­fect and godly,) and my soule euer mindefull of hir celestiall nature, enforsing hir selfe vpwarde to the high heauens before thy presence: there may spring vp vnto me (all the dayes of my life) the good conti­nuance of thy grace, the blessed trā ­quillitie of an innocent minde, the reaped frutes also of a good spirite, and lastly in time euerlasting life, which thou hast prepared for me thorow thine only mercy and grace, in the merites of thy sonne and my sa­uior Iesue Christ. Amen.

VI. For the chastising of the Soule, to keepe it lowe and in subiection.

WE be taught of thée (O thou GOD of heauen) that who so euer wil rightly prosper in this life, The way and mene to plese God in this life. and goe daily for­wardes in true godlynesse woorthy thy wel liking, must tast substanti­ally of thine heauenly wisedeme, and enter the way thereto with all lowly subiection, holding still faste thy reuerent feare, estéeming vnfai­nedly the way of thy testimonies, and be alwayes very watchful, that he offend not thy sight. It behooueth vs therfore (O Lord) in the state of our great weakenesse and frailetie, and in our darknesse and deadly ig­norance, [Page 19]to haue daily accesse to thée (thou God of our power, true light and wisedome) by prayer and most humble sute, that we may séeke by thine heauenly wisedome to know thée truly, and to haue thy feare be­fore our eyes: that in our profession we may be euer constante, pacient and strong in thée, auoiding thorow thy grace al carelesse securitie, wā ­dring inconstancie and slippernesse: kéeping all our powers vnder thine holy discipline, Holy disci­pline. without repining or murmuring, and not yéelde vp our selues (according to the will of the fleshe) to flying vanities, and the swifte flitting things of this world: but cleaue stedfastly vnto thée, and giue ouer our selues wholely, paci­ently to abide thy holy will, to the quickning of vs in our dulnesse and humaine fearefulnesse, and to the swéete chastening of our vntoward [Page]and drousie soules. Doubtlesse (O Lord) very great, swéete & pleasant to the godly, is the commoditie of thy chastisements, and the exercises of thy crosse, Exercises of the crosse. to the encrease of god­linesse among thy children, and to suppresse the wil of the proud flesh: which, otherwise to the contrarie, would be soone ouerwhelmed with too much pride, iolitie, forgetfulnes, flouth and carelessenesse. Quicken vs therfore (O Lord) with the rod of thy fauoure, visite at times oure gracelesse dulnesse: y ^t we may féele thereby the touche of thy grace, the sorowes also of our mindes in oure offences, and cal our own wayes to remembrāce, that we may say with the holy Prophet: It is good for me Lord that I haue ben punished, and that to this happie ende, that I may learne thy statutes. Againe, before I was troubled, I went wrong. &c. [Page 20]O graūt vnto vs most louing God, that with thy rod of fatherly corre­ction, we may iudge our selues hap­pie, & reioyce with thy holy prophet least to the contrary, The inconue­nieuce that commeth by sufferance and cuill custome. by sufferance & euil custome, or hauing our reane of wantonnesse too much at liberty, we too too much deceiue our selues, & in our forgetfulnesse, laughe at our own wickednesse, whē rather most bitterly we should bewaile our sin­fulnesse, & remēber therby the infi­nite dangers to the soule, howe it is compassed, suttlely deceiued, holden captiue & thr [...]l to the diuel. And we must cōfesse vnto thée (O our god) y ^t we stand not at any time in true li­bertie or ioy effectual in any thing, onlesse we possesse by thy spirite thy reuerent feare, & that also ioyned w ^t a peaceable & quiet cōsciēce. O what a happines therfore is it to a mā, to cast fréely frō him, al impedimēts & [Page]lettes of worldly vanities, & yéelde him self wholely vnder thine hand of discipline, He is happie, that humbleth him selfe to discipline. and to the chastening of his soule. Graunt vs (O Lord) to be so happie, that we may daily re­nounce and put from vs, what so e­uer may staine & burthen our most tender, weake, and simple conscien­ces. Graunt vnto vs in this worlde of warfare, strengthe of thy grace, that we may fighte the battaile of christian souldiours, and ouercome by custome, the vsuall supporter of all euil. Graunt vs grace (O merci­full Lorde) that we may stand sted­fastly to our charge, yéelde with pa­cience to thy will, and in all things to take straight view of our selues, and chéefely with our owne eyes to beholde well our selues, that in thy sight we be all well armed, and so alwayes preuent the warning of o­thers, to the ouerthrow of the dedly [Page 21]aduersarie. Graunt this (o heauen­ly father) with humblenesse of hart we beséeche thée, to the quick ening and strengthening of oure soules in al temptations and chastisements: and stirre vp daily in them, thyne heauenly sparkes and swéete moti­ons of comfort, to their moste hap­pie reioysing, and to the exaltation of thy moste glorious name in this life, and in the euerlasting world to come: through thy son Christ our Lorde. Amen.

VII. For pacience in aduersitie, and to re­member that this worlde is but a place of perigrioation, or passing forwardes vnto an other worlde.

WHen thou in mercie (O lord) beholdest thine own, & féest them among others [Page]how hazardly vnto deadly dangers they daily offer them selues, raun­ging abrode at aduenture like loste shéepe, Mā in present danger. God at hand to de­liuer. and readie to be torn of eue­ry sauage and deuouring beast: thou by and by of thy fatherly and tēder pitie, considerest their miserable state and condition, and how néede­full it is for them to be soughte oute with diligence, to be brought home againe to the folde, or to be pinned in, Pynches to the proude flesh are som­time necessa­rie. fauourably pinched a while in some bare pasture, and sometime to be kept lowe with thy milde touch of calamities and aduersities, to a­bate their courages, and to let their liuely leapes and oute girdes: by meanes whereof, they be oft called againe, better to remember them selues, and whereby they may also haue thée the more in minde, and truely to knowe their owne state in this life, whereunto they are cal­led, [Page 22]and to whose seruice, to walke in the wayes of thy preceptes, to kéepe them euer within their boūds and that during their shorte race, they liue héere but as exiles or as Pilgrimes farre from theyr owne home, not to liue héere in felicitie, Man for a time is but an exile from his home, and a pilgrime. not to regarde the pleasures of thys worlde, either yet to put theyr hope and affiance in them, but to vse thē without abuse (as by the way) & but for their only necessities homward: we moste humbly beseeche thée (O thou father of all mercie) that thou wilt daily renue thy compassion vp­on vs, that thou wilt tēder vs in our frailty, lustinesse & vain iolitie, that in our offences thou wilt w ^t mercie reforme vs, & not vtterly by thy iu­stice confound vs: but seeke mildely for vs, call vs gently home to thy sheepfold, with mercie embrace vs, & keepe vs togither for euer in one, [Page]in the swéete vnitie, felowship and amitie of thy flocke. And if at any time, we shall hencefoorthe wander abrode and goe astray, wherby we shall offond thée, and iustly incurre thy most heauie wrath and displea­sure: we craue yet at thine holy hād to remember thy mercie, and so (in the time of correction) to temper it with thy iustice: that we thy chil­dren by adoption and grace, may largely tast in that respect, the com­fortes of thy moste tender and fa­therly goodnesse: that as we shal for oure disobedience and sinne, The Iustice of God and sinne are not clere­ly seuered in this life amōg the children of God. iustly feele some parte of thy iustice, and haue therfore great cause of inward gréefe and heauinesse, & occasioned daily to grone in our hartes for our spéedie deliuerance from thy rodde of correction, and to attaine againe the bright countinunce of thy fauor: so we may also in the meane time, [Page 23]possesse a liuely faith, shewe foorthe the fruites of the same, pray conti­nually vnto thée, and beare pacient­ly thy holy will wyth all thankful­nesse all the dayes of oure lyues: through the only grace of the highe pastor and chéefe shepheard of oure soules, thy sonne our Lord and on­ly sauiour Iesus Christe. Amen.

VIII. To be humble in the sighte of God.

O My lord God, which arte mine only good­nesse, a God of great Maiestie, and to be blessed for euer: I moste poore and wretched sinner, Man but a worme, duste, and ashes. moste vile woorme, dust and ashes: and of all others moste vnwoorthy thy grace and fauour: yet beholding thy great mercie, thy truthe and fi­delitie, [Page]thy vsual and approued cle­mencie, towardes all humble and penitent sinners: I among the rest, (but a lumpe of earthe, and shaken by thy power to dust in a momēt:) doe prostrate my selfe vppon the earthe, bewailing before thée my moste sinnefull state, crying with the Prophet, peccaui, peceaui, and with repentante teares call for thy mercie.

O my GOD almightie and my maker, which truely knowest me thy creature euen as I am, and searchest thorowly in me, the very secretes of the heart and raines: If I should in thy sight (being nothing of my self) esteeme any thing of my self or else glory in any thing besids thée vnder the sunne, thou woldest as thou mightest by due iustice a­gainste me, woorthily reproue me and condempne me with the rest, [Page 24]as most vaine and for naught. Yea, Man moste vayne and naught. mine own sinnes would accuse me vnto thée, and my conscience very terribly crie oute against me: for I am before thée but a thing of nau­ght, and my sinnes hast thou sealed vp against me, to the terrifying al­wayes of me, and to incurre daily in my mind diuers incommodities & inward anguishes, to myne owne ouerthrow and cōfusion. But hum­bling my selfe before thée (O my God) and estéeming of my selfe, as (in déede I am) but vile duste and ashes, and cast vtterly from me all estimation of my selfe, being pres­sed downe (as it were) to nothing: then I trust I shall obtain thy mer­cie, then shall I hope to possesse the happie peace, Mans humble subiection be­fore God, at­tayneth the grace mercy and peace of God. then shall I féele true ioy in my self: for thy presence shall be euen at hand, thy grace shall cō ­fort me, thy good spirit shal quicken [Page]me, thy fauorable countinance shal cheare me vp, and thine heauenly lighte approche neare mine heart: wherby it shall most blessedly hap­pen, that where I haue héeretofore most vainly estéemed, but the least thing of my selfe, the same very vaine or small estimation concey­ued, shall sodenly consume and va­nishe to naught for euer: and shall thencefoorth by the hand of thy ma­iestie, be so vndor propped and gra­ciously holden vp, that I shall ne­uer decline from due consideration of my selfe, what I am of my selfe, what I haue bene, by whom I haue my being, and from whence I am come: namely, of nothing, and from nothing: and being so lefte vnto my selfe, I shall be founde nothing, but only as a shadow, or méere infirmi­tie and weakenesse. Man a thing of nothing. Therefore, I most humbly beséeche thée (O thou [Page 25]father of al mercy) the only assured stay of thine inheritance, which se­uerely chasest away the vaine glo­ry of man, turne a little towardes me, tender me in my weakenesse, and shewe me the strengthe of thy countenaunce, that immediatly in thée I may be strong, and newely chéered vp with inwarde and hea­uenly gladnesse: that being entred into most sodaine admiration with my selfe, to sée my self in a momēt, by thy fatherly embracement, rai­sed vp to heauen; which by myne owne pronenesse and waighte of sinne, was before caryed downe to hell, I may thanke thée my moste swéete and louing God, and prayse thée with an humble and moste lowly heart, with continual mode­stie, zealously, religiously and god­ly, in thought, woord and déede: tho­rowe thy mercie and grace in thy [Page]sonne Iesus Christe all the dayes of my life. Amen. Amen.

IX. Of true obedience and subiection, to suche as be in authoritie, according to the woorde of God.

FOr as much (O hea­uenly father) as it is rather auaileable for men in this worlde, to be in subiection to other, It is better for a man to obey, than to leane to his owne sway. than to leane to their owne only sway and leude li­bertie: and so, muche more safely to obey, than to beare rule, and haue all at commaundemente: with all humblenesse we beséeche thée, to directe vs with thy spirite of humi­litie and lowelinesse, and to be al­wayes in subiection to aucthoritie, [Page 26]according to thy woorde by the rule of thine holy Apostle: not onely for feare, for necessitie, and therefore painefully: but rather of true loue, duetifully, moste gladly, and that for conscience sake.

For otherwise (O Lorde) wée slippe from our Christian professi­on, true obedience, and moste re­uerente subiection, and attaind not the true libertis of minde, and the shewing of obedyence from the hearte, and for Goddes sake: The inconue­nience that commeth by disobediēce. but fall of will moste wickedly, and as bonde slaues, into the sinne of ha­tred, contempte, murmuring, grut­ching, conspiring, rebelling, and in­to innumerable suche like, as men being wholely giuen ouer to a wic­ked will, runnyng headlong into all kinde of mischeefes: whereby we become as resectes, and caste awayes from thy glorious fauoure: [Page]we purchase thy displeasure, thou [...] our treacheries, the cursse of the people shall fall vpon vs, the spoile of the innocentes, and theyr bloud shed shall crie for vengeance against vs, our dayes shalbe short­ned, our offspring and family asha­med; vtterly confounded, contemp­ned, and for euer brought to naught. O gratious God, graunt therefore that we may euer regarde thy wil, be mindefull of thy statutes, feare thy indgements, and consider with our selues, oure christian obedience and duetie towardes aucthoritie, walking humbly in oure vocation before thée, to the vpholdyng of peace, to the contenting of aucthori­tie, to render vnto them their due­tie, to the benefiting of oure Coun­try, to the blessing of our posteritie, and to remember also with this as­sured persuasion, that whether so [Page 27]euer we turne oure selues in thus life, we shall not aptly finde rest in any place, if we be seditious, mis­chéeuously inclined, traiterous, con­spirators or rebellyous: The iudge­ments of God ouer seditious rebelles. for thy iudgements will still folow vs, thy swoorde shall deuoure vs, and cruel messengers shall be sente againste vs, as of many we haue both herd, read, and oft times knowne amōgst vs. For thou (O Lord) in the feruor of thy zeale, neither canst nor wilte suffer the higher powers, so to be disobeyed or vnnaturally spurned against: but thou wilt by thy iustice sée it sharpely reuenged, as the of­fence verily committed, against the persone of thine eternall maiestie. Giue vs grace therfore (O heauen­ly father) we humbly beséeche thée, to way reuerently thy will in thy woord, and accordingly to liue in all subiection to the higher powers, to [Page]pray daily & most hartily for them, Princes and Magistrates are the most apte Instru­mēts stirred of God, to fur­ther his glory here vppon earth. as for the apte instrumentes of thy grate, and furtherers of thy glory, at these dayes of true lighte, y ^t thou wilt touche daily & deepely all their harts, with the finger of thine hea­uenly grace, that thy principall spi­rite may for euer possesse them, and that thy blessings also may daily a­bounde bothe vpon them, vpon vs, and vpon oure posteritie (as vpon the childrē of true obedience, peace and humblenesse) to our reioying and praising of thy glorious name, vntill the ende of this life and for euer: thorowe Iesus Christe oure one­ly Lorde and Sauioure. Amen.

X. For the Queenes moste excellenre Maiestie, for hir Honourable Councel­loures, hir whole Court or familie.

O Almightie God and father of all mercie, which gratiously go­uernest, moste wise­ly rulest, and aboun­dantly blessest héere vppon earthe, thy great Congregation, the pillar and grounde of truthe, the flocks of Christe, thine holy Churche, the Spouse of Christe, the elect vessels of thy mercie, thine whole house­holde and familie: whose God of mercie thou only art throughoute all generations, and helper in all oure néedes and necessities: and haste appointed therein by thy di­uine ordinaunce, temporall rulers, [Page]Princes and Magistrates, to rule and gouerne thy people, according to equity and the rule of rightuous­nesse, for the aduauncement of the good, and pumshmente of the euill: and hast also al their harts in thine holy hand, to direct, sanctiste, and go­uerne them after thine owne will to the godly example of others, and to set foorthe (amongste them) thy glory: haue mercy vpon thy seruant Elizabeth, our noble and most gra­cious Quéene, in the excellencie of hir most high calling, holy seruice, and of greate charge before thée in thy sanctified Churche: that as hir heart (specially) being truely dire­cted in thy sight by the spirit of light and truthe, to the true knowledge, perfect obedience, and ready furthe­rance of thy will, with all christian diligence and seruencie, (as aboue all things best behooueth hir moste [Page 29]gratious and royall maiestie: that the rather in all other hir necessi­ties, shée may at all times be moste assuredly blessed by thée, releeued, comforted, strengthened, mightely defended and deliuered bothe in bo­dy and soule:) so also, the honorable hir beloued, graue, and prudente Counsellors, faithful ministers vn­der hir & whole familie, may euery of them in their degrée, christian vo­cation or faithfull seruice, duetifully waie with them selues, the vertue of their charge, straight bande and profession before thée, séeking truely vnder hir highnesse (for thy glorye and hir honoure) the fruteful know­ledge of thy lawes: that in theyr state of great excellency, right wor­shipful calling, meane state, or infe­rioure ministerie, (whether of the Cleargie, as they are termed, or of the laitie) they may haue the feare [Page]and true obediēce before their eyes, framing vnfainedly all their affe­ctions, their actions and dueties, by the only rule of thy woorde of life: What it is to imitate christ. walking vprightly therein, holily, and religiously, in thought, woorde, and déede, with vndesiled, pure and peaceable consciences, to the daily edifying, encouraging and streng­thening of all others: that thereby hir whole Court or Princely fami­ly, being through fulnesse of vertue and thine heauenly wisedome wō ­derfull to beholde, woorthily noted of all, delighted in of all, and moste highly commended of al, may be of all moste dearely beloued, highly e­stéemed, ioyfully receiued, thanke­fully vsed, practised and folowed, as a moste precise patron of all perfect and true pietie: as a very brighte, large, and cleare shining light, déep­ly piercing, inwardly quickening, [Page 30]farre extending and reaching ouer al, or as a cleare sountaine or quick springing water; descending from an high, most beautifull to looke on, most pleasant to taste on, very dile­ctable, most necessary, helthfull and comfortable, common to all, swift­ly running towardes all, and em­braced of all, and into al partes, be­longing to hir highnesse or round a­bout hir: wherby, through the puri­tie, healthfulnesse, clearnesse, clean­nesse, & fulnesse therof, al hir people (and others) drawing to thē selues, and tasting abundantly of y ^e same, may long be preserued, healthfully norished, vpholdē in vortue, in true religion & honestie, all the dayes of their liues, that in stead of thy terri­ble iudgemēts and wrathfull indig­nations due vnto all, for disobedi­ence, contempt and sinfulnesse, thy moste gracious & fatherly blessings [Page](as swéete dews from heauen) may alwayes most comfortably, fauou­rably with spéede and abundantly, light both vpon hir highnesse, vpon hir Nobilities whole Courte and whole Countrey, to thine only ho­noure, praise and glory, euen in the sight and faces of all hir and our en­nemies: that they may plainely sée it, may be ashamed of their errour, of their darknesse, wilful madnesse, great disobedience, wicked attēptes and contemptes, and may be more mindefull of thée, thou greate God of rightuousnesse, séeke most gladly in truthe to knowe thée, to feare thine holy name, to be conuerted vnto thée, and to blesse wyth vs in rightuousnesse al the dayes of their liues, thorow thy son Iesus Christ, and for his sake, our only sauioure, our only mediatoure and aduocate. Amen.

XI. Against vaine hope and pride.

O Lorde, that art only omnipotente, How we shold for the greate loue of God, lone hym a­gayne. milde and mercyfull, and the only perfect hope of thy beloued inhe­ritance: vpon whom thy grace hath moste fréely aboun­ded, and whose sinnes thou haste remitted, by the onely oblation, sa­crifice and bloude shed of thy deare sorme Christ Iesus: for which pur­chase and moste pretious redempti­on, thou only requirest of them, but to be beloued againe: and that with an vpright staysdnesse, an assured strength and true confidence only in thée: and not otherwise vainely, in any vaine man, or other trea­tures: and that they be not hautie [Page]in theyr owne eyes, but possesse e­uen in thy sighte & in them selues, the spirit of méekenesse, and of most lowly submission: we most entire­ly beséeche thée, to strengthen vs héerein with thine: heauenly grace, to stay vs vnto thy selfe, & to make vs humble in oure owne eyes: that imitating the steppes of thy sonne, we be not ashamed to beare in thy sight, the contempt of this wretched world, and to become with all low­linesse and milde subiection, euen very slaues to all others, for the loues sake of thy deare sonne Iesus: whose rule of Humilitie we haue moste truely professed, and thereby promissed to beare with pacience, bothe pouertie and all other affli­ctions in thys vale of wretched; nesse, where, when, and in what manner so euer it shall please thée to lay them vppon vs.

O Lord, so vpholde thou vs with thine heauenly grace, that we staie not simplie vpon our owne selues, or putte oure truste in others: but flee faste from our selues and from all others, and put oure whole and onely hope in thée: endeuouring with all our powers (bothe of bodie and minde) to obey thy will, & trust only in thée, that thou wilt always be the readie helper of oure good willes, and a moste apte furtherer of all oure honest meanings. Lette thy mercie (O Lorde) so be vppon vs, that we be not vainely puffed vppe, or putte confidence eyther in oure owne knoweledge, or in the pollicie of any mortall manne: but onely depende vppon thy Diuine & fatherly prouidence, which both helpest and géeuest thy grace to the humble, and thrustest also downe the lostie and proude. [Page]So temper vs lord with thine hea­uenly grace, that we glory neither in our richesse if we haue them, nor yet in our fréendes if they be migh­tie, (for thou moste mightie God haste dominion ouer their power, and when thèy are alofte, and exal­ted in their glorie, thou throwest them downe, abatest their corage, and destroyest them with thy hea­uie hād:) but to glory (as we ought) only in thée, which doest fréely mi­nister vnto vs all things necessarie, and destrest aboue all, to giue thine owne selfe wholely vnto vs. Thou (O Lorde) haste led vs the way to true humilitie: that whether tou­ching either the mightinesse, Humilitie. beau­tie or cômlinesse of the body (which being stricken with some light dis­ease, is by and by ouerthrowne and defaced) we in no wise aduaunce our selues. And least we stand most [Page 33]vainely in our owne conceits, whe­ther for oure owne towardenesse, wisedome, wit, or in other things, iudge better of our owne selues thā we doe of others, we greatly offend and fall into thine heauie displea­sure, and bring thy wrathe vppon vs: bicause we estéeme them not as thine owne proper giftes, and so be thankefull vnto thée for them. O graunt vnto vs therfore (most gra­tious God) thy spirite of méekenesse and true humblenesse, that we may walke rightly before thée, and haue in our selues and in thy sight, cleane hartes, constantelaithe, and moste sure hope and considence: trauing cōtinually thy spirit of romfort, pa­ciently therby to beare our crosse, to folowe the example of our sauioure Christ, and to beare with ioy the af­flictions of this life through his me­rits, precious death & pastion. Amen.

XII. Against Couetousnesse.

IF we (O thou iust & terrible God) coulde nowe thorowe thy grace, euen in the middest of all oure iniquities, heaping daily iniquitis vppon iniquitie, re­member yet in time, thy certaine deter minatiō and threaiued iudge­ment vpon this world, God threat­neth the world for sinne. & the plages thereof shortly enstring for the wic­kednesse of end [...] harte: and as thou haste tolde: vs by thy Prophet Esay, to lay to [...], to make the face of the whole earth desolate, and scatter abrode all the inhabitoures thereof, bicause they haue offended thy lawes, changed thine ordinali­res; and made thine euer lasting te­stament of [...]: receiuing [Page 34]therfore with wee, their most sharp & bitter portion, the taste of thy di­uine fury, vtter shame, desolation & swift confusion: O what cause haue we then to remember in these oure dayes (if through grace it might be for good) this most vile sin abidng y ^e rest, the outragious [...] couetous­nesse, The Canker couetousnesse how it reig­neth. that so diuersty woorketh the disglory of thy name, & spoyleth thy churches welfare? Which, in the e­stimation of this worlde so langely raigneth, so vniuersally; so famili­arly, yea, & also mercilesly: ouerflo­weth al, deuoureth al, hath al at his beck, and hastneth fast vpō this ge­iteration (an euil and pitilesse gene­ration doubtlesse, in the end now of this olde rotten worlde) the sodaine and straight performance of thy hi­deous and fearefull premisses. O Lord our God, moste dangerous is our stats, our dayes are most euill, [Page]our desertes are great, we haue sin­ned greuously, thy plagues are iust­ly prepared, and thy iudgements to condemnation, by thy iustice are at hand vpon vs. For who in effecte cā say (from any sin) his hart is clean? or rather most mōstruously against nature, not to be defiled? either who can in conscience say, that he féeles not in him selfe (as priuately for him selfe and corruptly,) this most hurtfull and infectuous maladie of the soule? which amongst, all other contagious euils, is moste pernice­ous, and by the diuel him self déepe­ly grafted in vs, and is by him so closely crept in vnto vs, that it hath ioyned it selfe, euer to the very se­crete affections of our hartes, shew­ing it selfe a most diligent woorker, Conetousnes how it wor­keth. a busie labourer or minister, to the procuring, bréeding, encreasing, no­rishing and bringing forthe of cor­ruption [Page 35]ruption and sinnes innumerable, couertly lurking in our filthie flesh, & sowly to the death, issueth abrode in his time. For it is (as sayth thine holy Apostle) the roote of all mis­chéefe: and that all suche also as are the Rauens and gréedie Gripes or gutlings of the world, and desirous of the deceiteful riches thereof, fall without stay into temptations and snares, and into many beastly, foo­lish, and noisome lusts, which draw them into temptation and destru­ction. Couetousnes, the woorshipping of Idols. Also, he calleth it, a woorship­ping of idols: it spoileth God of his honor: and is therby in euery place of the holy Scriptures condemned and forbidden, as a sinne most hai­nous, horrible, diuellishe and dam­nable: bicause it is a moste curssed and venemous euill, tied to ambiti­on, hautie and vaineglorious, full of maliciousnesse, ful of crueltie, ve­ry [Page]tirannous, and greeoely hunteth after bloud: the déepe set séede dout­lesse of the diuell, who was a mur­therer from the beginning, & hathe therewith by his subteltie, Couetousnesse he we it hathe preuayled. maruel­lously preuailed vpon the earth, and broughte into subiection, not onely the most vnfaithfull, very reiectes, and wicked caste awayes from thy fauour, (who being but earthly, set their whole felicitie vppon earthly things) but euen the very profes­sors also of thy moste holy and bles­sed religion. For in all estates and degrées, from the most to the least, from the highest to the lowest, all are defiled therewith, al bend their wittes moste gracelesly and inordi­nately to vnsatiable couetousnesse, excéeding farre the limits of necessi­tie, scraping & gathering togither, as the children of diffidence & very worldlings, Children of diffidence. contrary to the lawe of [Page 36]nature, cōtrary to the law of chari­tie, or christen holinesse and puritie, whether by righte or by wrong, by hooke, by crooke, by extortion, by op­pression, by flattery, by periury, sor­cery, vsury, bribery, simony, priuy cōspiracy against town, citie, prince and the whole countrey: greedie of vengeance, yea, by what meanes so euer it be, & oft by most wilful con­sent to murther, whether of others, or through indigence, lacke of suffi­ciencie, or by some sinister stroke of fortune, desperately destroy them­selues. Such are our willes to wic­kednes (o lord) y ^t being voide of thy grace, we sink déepely into al abho­mination, & are altogither without moderation or stay of our appetites affectionately grubbing for more & more, til death cut vs short, till our mouths be filled with grauel, Abac. 2. or til we heape vp (as the Prophet saith) [Page]thick clay against our selues, feling the iustice of the rightuous god, frō whome we are fled, and haue putte oure only affiaunce, in wicked and vaine filthie Mammon. To the end therfore (O moste louing God) we may in thée be better staide, oure liues in thy feare more aptly fra­med, and oure faultie faithes more christianly reformed, graunte that by thy woorde we may truly know thée, obey thy wil, put our only trust in thée, loue thée, as our god of mer­cie, and reuerence thée as our Lorde of iustice. Graunte vnto vs the in­fluence of thine heauēly grace, that our gracelesse, indurate, and moste barraine hartes, being thus bewit­ched and hardned by the diuel, may he by thée moste gratiously refor­med, frutefully tempered, déepely indued, thorowly softened, sowen with thy celestiall séedes, well har­rowed [Page 37]rowed and made truely profitablé, that thy holy Church, may thereby be spéedely purged of this very pre­sent and moste pestilent infection, nowe raigning with outrage ouer all the world. Wherof, bicause our liues standeth not in the abundance of these vanities which we héer pos­sesse, thy sonne Christ left straighte charge vnto vs (the professoures of his name) in any wise to beware of Couetousnesse. Roote out therefore we pray thée (O God) from oure hartes, oure vnsatiable and gréedie desires. O incline oure hartes vnto thy testimonies, and not to coue­tousenesse: but yéelding to thy will with contented mindes in oure cal­ling, we may in all our necessities, cast gladly our cares vpon thy back that art truly rich, almightie, a rea­die helper, very mindeful and mer­ciful vnto vs, for oure sufficient re­lieuement, [Page]and to further therby thy glory. Prepare vs to be charitable, frée harted and liberall, to haue in vs the bowels of compassion, to be pitiful alwayes to the poore, to yéeld to sufficiencie, too neither riches nor pouertie, to remember we nakedly entred this world, that we shall ca­ry nothing oute of this world, that we muste forsake the worlde, for it will forsake vs, away néedes we muste, we are heere but strangers, our yeares are but few, our calling sodain, death tarieth not, death spa­reth not, death aresteth, our recke­ning muste be made, oure iudge is iust, our witnesse is true, oure sen­tence is determined, oure place ap­pointed, our rewarde prepared, and moste preciously purchased (O hea­uenly father) for thine holy electe & obedient children, by the only death and bloud shed of thy son our deare Lord & sauior Iesus Christ. Amen.

XIII. Against Adultrie and Whoredome.

FOrasmuche (O eter­nal God) as thou on­ly arte moste rightu­ous, pure, holy, & vn­defiled, and abhorrest from thine harte, the stinking sin of lust, adultry, whore­dom, fornication & such like: and re­quirest also of vs in the .vij. precept, that in our liues & conuersation we be like vnto thée in all puritie & ho­linesse, and in any wise not to defile or once spot our selues, with the at­tempts of vnlawful lustes or wan­tonnesse: Constancie in chastitie. but constantly hold & kéep fast, the integritie of oure faithfull promisse made vnto thée our onely Lorde God, bothe in the calling of our sole liues, Sole life. and in the holy state also of matrimonie (which in the sighte of thée, is very honourable, [Page]of highe perfection, and great excel­lencie) and is amongste men in thy holy Churche, Matrimonie a fountayne in Gods church. as it were the louely fountaine or wel spring of good life, not only in the beautifying of them selues thorow their own clerenesse in chastitie, but floweth forthe also (by example & doctrine) with moste swéete taste to their owne beloued offspring and familie, and to the apt seasoning likewise of the single and vnmaryed sorte: we most humblye beséeche thée to take from vs in our weakenesse and frailty, the violent power of fleshe and bloude, and to quenche in vs continually, The corruptiō of fleshe and bloud. the ra­ging lustes of oure vncleane & sin­ful bodies: which inwardly moueth violently stirreth, striueth, woun­deth, inflameth, burneth, altereth sore the body, amaseth the minde, spoileth the senses, maketh menne mad, or turneth the vnwise of the [Page 39]worlde quite beside their wittes. O God, that art maker of all makind, thou séest all things, thou beholdest al our doings, thou knowest the af­fections of our hartes, and howe by nature, we are naturally enclined to suche euill, and giuen to féele in our weakenesse, the smarts of oure infections, boyling & soming fumes of the fickle and fraile fleshe, The power of flesh and blud, and what they worke. and stirred daily therby to greate abho­minations and filthinesse, to hasten vpon our selues, the heat of thy fu­rious and fierce vengeance, because we haue vowed, as thou haste com­maunded, suche euils to be eschued, and none adulterie or the syke vn­clennesse to be commicted: for as thou (O Lordo) haste called vs, so haue we yéelded to thy cal, and pro­mised thée, to walke before thée in puritie and holyuesse of life, being made of many members, one body [Page]and one spirite with thée: and there­fore from the harte to abhorre all vnclennesse, and not to be defiled & made the members of an harlot: for we know, that no fornicator, filthie adulteror, whoremonger, abuser of himselfe w ^t mankinde, no vncleane person nor weakeling, shal inherite thine heauenly kingdome, O father of all merey and grace, let not the desues then of suche corruption and vurlenlinesse, faston their roote of death vppon vs, neither to be giuen ouer to an vnshamefast and obsti­nate minde, flying from thy holy will in our profession, contemning the act [...]table countels of the godly or also neglecte the terrible exāples of thy iustice a written for our lear­ning, The pumishe ments of God for vnclennes of lyse. and to print with faith in me­mone, that for suche abhomination and wickednesse, thou haste plaged the ear the: The olde worlde was [Page 40]drouned, the Sodomites, the rest of the .v. Cities, and their whole coun­trey, with firie flames, sulpher and Brimstone from heauen were de­stroyed: with suche other like the terror of thy vengeance, by sharpe plages & punishments vpon others, cléerly mentioned in thy holy scrip­tures, plainly approued in other hi­stories, and daily both knowne and felt amongst vs. O most gratious & louing father, create therfore in vs we beséeche thée, hunble, contrite & clean harts, renue within our bow­els right spirites, and turne all vo­luptuousnesse away from vs, that neither in thought, word, nor déede, we willingly offend the sight of thy maiestie. And graunt that whether we liue vnmattried, or in the holy state of Matrimonie, we may leade our liues in puritie, true holinesse and chastitie.

And when at any time we féele in our selues to be assalted with tem­tation, or stirred by euil luste to cō ­mit obhomination, we may then haue strengthe of thy grace to sette before oure eyes, thy iustice, the re­warde of sinne, the terror of deathe, the day and end of this life, the gna­wing worme of our conscience, thy terrible doome, the chalenge of the Deuill, the euerlasting tormentes, and the horrible paines of hell. And that we liuing in oure christian cal­ling and holy profession, in all puri­tie hothe of bodie and soule all the dayes of our liues, we may receiue in the ende the rewarde of euerla­sting felicitie, & sée thée face to face in thine eternall and most glorious kingdome, thorow thy sonne Iesus Christe. Amen.

XIIII. A Prayer against svvearing and blasphemie.

WHen we (O holy & eternall God) haue in remembraunce (as we be charged) thy precise wil and cōmaundementes, giuen generally vnto vs all, and binding vs all from euil: namely a­mōg the rest, not to take y ^e name of thée our god in vain, nor in any wise to abuse it, To bee a blas­phemer of Gods name, is rather the propertie of an ethnik than a Christian. as doth the wicked Eth­uieke, (y ^t knoweth not thy name) irreligiously, vainly and falsoly: but at all times to, consider well: of it, highly to extoll it, and haue it in du­reuerence, as behooneth the faithful louers and professors of the same, least we be [...] of thee accurssed [Page]and guiltie, and sustaine as thou hast threatned, thy moste iuste and sharpe reuenge: we are héere great­ly occasioned to consider our present and moste daungerous state, howe vnperfecte, wretched and dampna­ble it is in thy sighte, throughe oure deadly fal from thy will in this ho­ly precept, and are nowe driuen cy­ther to séeke remedie at thine onely mercifull hande, or to perishe in hel eternally: we beséethe thée moste humbly (O thou God of all grace) that as thou beholdest in vs, the er­roure of oure liues, and oure cor­rupted inclination to all sinne and vanitie, The errour of our liues. contrary to the prescripte rule of thy holy lawe, and to séeke thereby (as muche as ut vs lyeth) the disglory of thy name, & to worke our owne shame and vtter confusi­ou: so to graunt nowe vnto vs, that oure soules in their vnclenlinesse, [Page 42]horriblenesse & blasphemous state, may be truly purged of al infectiōs, The power of Gods word. deadly darknesse, wilfull malice, & ignorāce, and the sights of them re­freshed, quickened, made liuely and perfecte, by the bright light and true faith in thy holy woorde, y ^t they may cléerely and comfortably see, know, and beholde y ^e true glory of thy ma­iestie, & thereby also inwardly féele the swéete promisses of thine heauē ­ly grace, the frée pardone also of all our sinnes, and the receiuing of vs into thy grace & fauor, not for any thing at all in our selues, but for thy sonne Christe Iesus sake: throughe which only mercy and great good­nesse graunted vnto vs in him, thou arte, and of righte euer oughtest to be only estomed of vs, only praised, magnified, and highly reuerenced, The mercy of God in Christ. as thy name (in heauen & in earth) moste condignely of all requireth: [Page]which is from vs, euen so muche in euery respect, as we in déede truely know thée in thy sonne Christe: by whome only and throughe grace in him, we are stirred most woorthily to extol thy most glorious and holy name: but not so lightly by custome to prophane it, and vnreuerently a­buse it: whether by cruell blasphe­mie, contempte of thine heauenly woorde, true religion & doctrine, or otherwise in our sinneful conuersa­tion, or euill maner of liuing. Take vs therefore we pray thée to thy mercie (O Lord) and that soone, for great is our sinne and iniquitie, in this accustomed sinne of blasphe­mie. O set thy feare spéedely be­fore our eyes, and shut not vp from vs the knowledge of thy truthe, The inconue niece that fo­loweth the want of Gods worde. our director to rightuousnesse: but kin­dle inwardly into oure soules, the lighte thereof: leaste in the deadly [Page 43]darkenesse, pride and great peruer­sitie of our wicked harts, we do dai­ly degenerate, turne from our pro­fession, fall willingly from thée, be­come ingratefull, vaine, proude and high minded, contumelious & spite­full, shamelesse, open enimies, and very blasphemous againste thée, as the only possessors of the deuill, and falling like reprobates, from ini­quitie to iniquitie. Who, for theyr horrible abuses sake and prophana­tion of thy name, how they shall be woorthily plaged (thine hande of iu­stice not being shortned) is plainely euident in thy most sacred and hea­uenly woord of truthe. For thou thy selfe haste saide: that what so euer he be that is a blasphemer, & vseth thy name vainly and vnprofitably, The punishe ments and plages of God for taking his name in vaine. shall not escape thy scurges and punishments. And in an other place it is also wrytten: that who so euer v­seth [Page]muche to sweare, shall be filled with curssings and iniquity: and the plage, which is the iuste bengeance of thy wrath, shall neuer depart frō his house, but shal in time consume it, and all the inhabitantes thereof. Again, we read out of thy Prophet Zacharie, that thou shewedst vnto him flying in the air, a maruellous large and a great booke, euen .xx. cu­bites in length, & .x. in bredth, wher­in was contained y ^e horrible plages that are prepared for all thē which contemptuously, malitiously, vain­ly, falsly, or rashely, sweare by thy blessed and holy name. O Lorde of infinite mercies, and long suffering God, that art to be blessed for euer, whose mercyes reacheth vnto the heauens: The necessitie of Gods mer­cie. if thou in these our dayes of great abhomination, curssed bla­spheming, & taking thy holy name in vaine, so carelessy, vsually, and [Page 44]by custome for euery smal trifle, bi­sides other deadly and dampnable sinnes daily committed amōgst vs, shouldest in the iudgement of thine owne cause, flersly rise vp againste vs, or as thy Prophet Dauid sayth, extréemely marke what is done a­misse, O Lord how shuld we abide it? How should we (moste sinnefull wretches) in these dayes, abide the terror of thy vengeance, that by thy iustice hangeth ouer vs, or should in a moment consume vs all like stubble. But thou rewardest vs not according to our sinnes, thy mercie endureth for euer, and therefore to auoide the terror of thy iustice, due vnto vs most disobediēt sinners, we appeale to the déep fountains of thy mercy, Sute for mer­cie. humbling our selues before thy mercies seat, w ^t penitent harts, for the remission of our sins, & that y ^u wilt not impute thē now vnto vs, [Page]but for the glory of thy name, to mollifie, to cleanse, and alwayes to kéepe cleane, oure harde, stonie and euill stuffed hartes, with the déepe piercing deawe of thine heauenly grace: that where all those terrible punishmentes and moste gréeuous plagues before mentioned, are al­ready deuised, prepared, threatned, and at an instant appoynted to fall vpon vs: we may yet by thy mercie escape them, extoll thée in thine vn­speakeable goodnesse, The sanctify­ing of Gods holy name. and magnifie thine holy name, from our hartes, and with our tongs and voices, and feare to prophane or abuse it: no, neither yet thy creatures in heauen or in earth: but most humbly with al ioyfulnesse to attend to thy sōnes most holy precept: which is, not to sweare at all by any thing, but in our communication to vse, yea yea, nay nay, euen from hart and mouth [Page 45]simply, truly, and without dissimu­lation: and to passe forthe our liues and conuersation in our calling, re­uerently, sincerely, and vncorrupt­ly, as becommeth faithfull and vn­fained Christians, the true louers and professoures of thine only holy name, which is to be blessed for e­uer. Amen.

XV. For the possessyng of a peaceable and quiet conscience.

SEing thy kingdome (O GOD) as thou sayest, is within vs, and that it behooueth as thou haste taught vs, to haue outward things of this world, and the world it selfe in contempt, and to embrace only with good affecte, all inwarde [Page]things, to the beautifying of the in­warde man, whereby we shall the more aptly féele in déede, thine holy kingdome to come into vs: which kingdome is thine, most high, most glorious, The kingdom of heauen. holy, eternall and euerla­sting, a kingdome of ioy and peace in the holy ghost: whereof, the wic­ked hathe no parte in possession, but only thine holy electe and precious redéemed inheritaunce. Graunt vn­to vs all we humbly pray thée, such loue towardes thée, and thine hea­uenly kingdome, that for thy sake, and for the loue therof, we may cō ­tenine our selues, estéeme but light of this life, and set all this world at naughte. And being lifted vp in spi­rite aboue oure selues, and voide of all inordinate desires, excelling in oure liues in all heauenly vertues, and be suche in déede inwardly, as we séeme to the worlde outwardly, [Page 46]our soules may be made fit habita­cles to enioy thy glorious presence with most happy felicitie, extolling thy grace, glorying in the woorkes of true holynesse, A quiet con­science. and in the testi­monie of a peaceable and quiette conscience, which is in all menne a secrete knowledge, The nature of a mans con­science. a priuie ope­ner, inwarde accuser, a ioyfull qui­eter of their myndes in all their dooings, and a witnesse bearer of the truthe, euen vnto the presence and precise iudgement of thée oure God.

O graunt therfore vnto vs (most gratious God) so to be directed by thy holy spirite, that oure conscien­ces may be vnto vs vnstained and pure, euen as a very perfecte and cleare glasse, speedely to be looked into, and plainely to sée in tyme, with a true and perfecte sighte, not onely the moste filthy foule spottes [Page]and enormious blemishes of oure sinnefull and sicke soules, but also the very smallest or beginnings of diseases, by soone quicke touche or sharpe pricke of remorse, whereby feare may be conceiued of imminet daunger, and by humble sute to flée fast vnto thée the moste readie, per­fecte and heauenly Phisition, that we may be soone salued wyth the oyntment of thy diuine grace: Wicked con­sciences. and not to be as the wicked, whose con­sciences are moste déepely corrup­ted, inwardly rankeled, deade and benummed, throughe carelesnesse and the custome of sinne: that they cannot once féele, sée, nor perceyue, their owne most lothsome sicknesse and deformitie of soule: vntill thou (O God) by the stroke of thy dead­ly darte, layest them open before theyr faces, to their own confusion, sodaine and swifte destruction: and [Page 47]so their consciences being now foūd most déepely wounded, & the worm therof terribly gnawing, biting and accusing them, they fall most dam­nably into desperation, without re­gard of thy maiestie, or any hope at all of thy tender mercie. O heauen­ly father, and the only fountaine of all grace, tourne thy face from oure sinnes, deliuer vs from thy wrath­full indignation, and so strengthen vs by the power and lighte of thine eternal spirit, that we may be trai­ned to the true knowledge and per­fecte obedience of thy will: that we may in all oure doings, remember our profession and promisse, possesse firme faithe, which truely quieteth and setteth at rest the conscience of man, feare thy iudgementes, liue vprightly and worthily before thée, glory in the testimonie of a good conscience, sprinkled and cleansed [Page]with the bloud of thy sonne Christ, The con mo­dity of a quiet conscience. enioy peace and true gladnesse, not troubled inwardly, but sléepe quiet­ly, not glorying in the praises of men, but reioyce only in thée oure God, in thy mercy and grace, in thy holy truthe, in the price of oure re­demption, and in the onely moste happie state of eternall felicitie, which thou haste faithfully promi­sed, which thy sonne hathe purcha­sed, which vnto vs shall be perfor­med, most happely and in due time, thorowe thine onely frée grace and loue towardes vs, in the precious deathe and bloud shed of thine only sonne our alone sauiour, only aduocate and mediator Iesus Christe. Amen.

XVI. To haue in remembrance the houre of death.

CAlling to mynde (O eternall god) the fic­kle state of humain felicitie, Mans life fic­kle, and but a vayne shadow. & the swifte passage of this bric­kle life, how man standeth héere in a vaine shadowe, freshly florishing like a floure to day, and can to mo­rowe no where be founde, and as quickely forgotten as he is gone: and yéeldeth then vp by the dint of death, his swifte passage to God or to the Deuill: O how it behooueth vs to startle sodainely, to bestirre vs, to looke aboute vs, and to pre­pare spéedely for so sodayne as­saulte? But howe shall we Lorde, [Page]standing in déede in such infelicitie, The damnable state of man­kinde in thys frayle life. slumbring in suche securitie, so in­fected with frailetie, so compassed with flatterie, cloked in hipoerisie, and ouerwhelmed with vanitie, neither yet féele in oure selues any fighte or trouble of conscience, pre­pare vs as we oughte, for so conue­niente a tyme? Thou knowest (O Lorde) as by thy wrathe we iustly also féele, howe sedainly vnwares, death cruelly assaileth vs, and strip­peth vs from our pleasures, vayne delectations and delusious of this deceitfull worlde. We regarde no­thing at all, the sodaine comming of the sonne of man: by whose mighty arme (in our forgot fulnesse) we he woorthily stricken to the death, and to our mother the earth againe: in whose entrails we were once brod; and oute of whose moste ponsoned pappes, we haue suckt the milke, of [Page 49]all our deadly delites: and with the brusting draught of our most beast­ly excesse, we haue sodainely ouer­throwne our selues, and haue very willingly faln, vpon thy mercilesse swoorde of deathe. Throughe which iudgement, wort and terrible time, In what case we shal stande at the houre of death. we shall begin then to thinke (with late wailing and wo) far otherwise of our formen liues, than we did be­fore in the lulling dayes of our car­nall delices: we shall then conswer the greatnesse and granitie of, all our affences, and be depely tormon­ted in vnsufferable anguishes, [...] forowes, yelling, lauguistying and the auinosse, for our carelesse & most gracelesse negligence: bicause [...] our health and tune of felicitie, we [...] forgetful of thée, vs we caued not to tēpte thée, we feared not thy threat­ned vengeance, neither thy Prea­chers and Prophetes, we were vn­mindefull [Page]of the ende, we conside­red not the way of all fleshe, we re­membred not deathe, neither readi­ly prepared for his sodaine com­ming: The blacke enfine of deth displayed. whose ensigne by thy iustice, is openly all blacke displayed, most ougly issuing out of his darke sepul­cher, to the spéedie destruction of all fleshe. Therefore (O Lord) as oure liues are wholely in. thyne onely hande, and are by thée (when we call vppon thée) most graciously di­rected: quicken our harts to prayer, endue vs thorowe thy grace, wyth thine heauenly wisdome, teache vs thereby to number our dayes, to ap­plie oure hartes vnto wisedome, to be mindefull of thée our God, not to be forgetfull of oure wretched and wicked state, and to remember al­wayes thy rightful iustice in iudge­mente: that we may endeuor to be suche in déede in oure liues, as we [Page 50]woulde wishe moste gladly to be founde at our deathes. O heauenly father, so strengthen vs with thy v­suall and woonted grace, that as we may haue this worlde in most ear­nest contempte: so we may also as effectually craue at thine holy hād, the daily prospering and going for­wards in vertue: pray, that our loue may abounde towardes godly disci­pline for the fourme of good liuing: Discipline worketh the fourme of good liuing. yéelde fréely forth the frutes of ear­nest and true repentāce: haue ready and prest wils to shewe true obedi­ence bothe in body and soule: to be humble and méeke in spirite: not to stay at any time the deniall of oure selues: to subiecte our selues to thy holy will and commaundements: and so to leane gladly to the suffe­ring of this worldes calamities: not for oure selues, but for the loue of Iesus Christe, & for our brethren [Page](for so shal we be knowne to be the children of God.) All which, if we happely possesse, vse, and put in dai­ly practise: The sweete frutes of good lyfe agaynst the comming of death. great shall be the cause of oure ioy, to haue good affiaunce in thy mercy, a swéete tast of good life, and a sure hope by happie death: be­comming in the meane while, pari­ent Pilgrims in spirituall pouertie, and not regarding the pleasures of this life: that oure soules may pos­sesse the felicitie of thy freedome: be daily lifted vp vnto thée in this our short race: that we may continual­ly praie, with sorowfull sighings, déepe sobbings, inwarde gronings, and shedding salte teares in our ac­customed and moste humble sutes, bewayling oure miserable state, mourning the delay of this bodyes dissolution, and yéeld with pacience to abide the stroke of deathe, that when it, which is the laste enemie, [Page 51]shall be destroyed, Paciente aby­ding of death, bringeth the soule to rest. our spirites may haue rest in thine eternall life: the­row the only merites of thy sonne, our Lord and sauior Iesus Christe. Amen. Amen.

XVII. To haue in remembrance the se­crete iudgementes of God, and to feare the withdrawing of his grace.

HAuing good expery­ence by thyne holy scriptures (O thou rightuous God) that as thou arte moste high, most glorious, most holy, The maiestie and great po­wer of God ouer al flesh. wise and mighty, and a great God aboue all Gods, eternal, and from euerla­sting: so arte thou also a Lord, a ru­ler, a master, an ouerscer & a iudge ouer all the dooings of men, yea, a seuere iudge, a straighte examiner, an vpright & iust rewarder: against [Page]whome, no man may once rowse or aduaunce him selfe, stande in his owne conceite, or shewe before thée any proude or hautie countinance: for it is thou onely (O Lorde) that art omnipotent, whose mighty arm reacheth ouer all: which aduancest and bringest lowe, which strykest and healest, which woundest and makest whole, which liftest vp and throwest downe againe, which dea­lest in thy iudgement, not after the manner of men, wickedly winking at the sinnes, generally committed of all, or of a few: but vsest vpright­nesse vnto all withoute respecte of persons: generally, particularly, to many, to a fewe, and to some one a­lone, when their sinnes before thée are ful, and waxeth ripe vnto iudge­ment, apte to fall, and ready to féele from thy wrathfull hande, the so­daine stroke of thy vengeance: for [Page 52]vengeance (annexed to thy power) is only thine and thy iust rewarde: God a God of vengeance. whose iudgementes for sinne, are very terrible, fierce, a flaming and consuming fire, to licke vp, catche, burne and deuonre, all or some, as the cause shal require, and as by thy iustice in iudgement thou finedest thē (for so in all ages, we haue both truly heard and knowne) which ex­amples of thine (in sundry wise) are all wrytten for our vnderstanding and learning, Gods iudge­ments are to be remebred, and why. always to be remem­bred of vs, to put vs in good mind, to terrifie vs, to bridle oure affections, to feare thy maiestie, to séeke the true knowledge of thy will, reue­rently therein to obey thée, and to escape aptly therby thy iust rigor & vengeance, for vengeance is thine, & y ^u wilt reward, O holy and iust god, which also artmost gracious, which sparest whē we deserue punishmēt, [Page]in thy wrath thinkest vpon mercy, and haste vowed compassion vpon the poore penitent, haue mercy vp­pon me moste wretched sinner: O forgéeue me all my wickednesse past, let thy tender mercie preuent my sinnes, cast them al behinde thy backe, and shewe me againe thy cō ­fortable countinance: for my sinnes sore trouble me, they iustly accuse me, thy iudgementes terribly thun­der against me, they sore shake my limmes with feare and trembling, and terrifie out of measure, my sore vexed and contrite heart. And if by thine heauenly motion (O Lorde) I yet wade further in thy iudgemēts, and consider the very heauens, Gods iudge­ments are ter­able and thū dring. not to be cleane in thy sight, but expecte the day of their renouation, for fur­ther cleerenesse and puritie: O how am I occasioned to be the more a­mazed, and to bewail my wretched [Page 53]state, in the lothsomnesse of my cor­ruption. The heauens, the Angelles, thē selues, and the stars falne from heauen, are all subject to the iudge­ments of god. And if in the Angels them selues thou haste founde sinne, and the desert of eternall death, & there­fore not spared thy iudgemēts ouer them, O what shall become of me, earthie, fraile, and moste sinnefull wretche? And if also the gloryous starres themselues, haue in the ex­cellencie of their outwarde cleare­nesse and beautie, falne down from heauen, & abide likewise thy iudge­ment: what shall I a masse of dark­nesse, stime and filthe of the earthe, looke for at thy wrathfull hand, ha­uing my very secrete sinnes not hid from thee, in their moste horrible, lothsome, and poysoned apperance? But yet I beséeche thée (O heauen­ly father) althoughe y ^u be a straighte iudge ouer all thy creatures for sin, whether of heauen or of earth, cele­stiall, terrestriall or infernall, sub­iecte [Page]to thy will, and to abide iustly thy iudgement: for thine approued clemencies sake, and tender pity to­wardes me, imprinted stil freshe in my memorie, and boldened thereby to approche thy presence, so to extēd vpō me thy great mercy and grace, that as I nowe craue the continual good motion & inward stirring vp of my mind by thine holy spirit, to re­member always the burthen of my sinne, and to feare the terror of thy iudgemēts, for due punishing of the same: so I make vnto thée most hū ­ble sute, not to be destitute of a liue­ly faith, true trust and confidence in thy mercy and grace, that thou wilt hūble my soule before thée, prepare in me a cleane heart, and a will in­clineable to thy testimonyes: that how so euer by thy will and iustice, I féele in this worlde for good thy priuate iudgements, to the purging, [Page 54]repressing, and kéeping vnder, my stubburne and proude fleshe: God at the last day by his iust iudgemēt, rendereth full payment vnto all wicked sinners. at the generall iudgement day, and in the world to come, that when al works good and bad, shal be reduced to me­mory, and when a straight accompt and reckening shall be made, and a iust rewarde giuen, celestiall or in­fernal both to body and soul. I may yet escape the fulnesse of thy paimēt due for euer to the wicked, by theyr deadly and iuste deserte. Heare me (O my God of all mercie) and take thou care ouer me this day, moste graciously directe me, confirme and strengthen me in thy wayes, leaste in mine owne respecte I be founde but féeble, and weake, slipping, full of inconstancie, vncleane and too too filthie: for there is no will, no po­wer, nor holynesse that auayleth, no wisedome, no temperaunce, hu­militie, loue, dilygence, chastitie, [Page]or mine owne keping to good effect, without the frée direction of thyne holy hand, daily gouernment, most gratious preseruation, God freely by his grace dy­recteth to good life. defending & holy watching. All which, as they procéede onely from thée, and are of thy méere mercie bestowed moste bountifully vpon me: so graunt me grace, (yea the continuaunce of thy grace) not to be forgetfull of thée, but always to remember thée with al humilitie and thākfulnesse, euch from the very depth and bottome of mine harte and soule, all the dayes of my life, and haue thenceforth the rewarde of eternall felicitie: tho­rowe thy mercie, and the on­ly merites of thy sonne and my Sauioure Iesus. Amen.

XVIII. The Flighte of the faithfull Soule to Christe, in the exuemitie of temptations, and invvarde affections of the minde.

IF I, in presenting my selfe before thée (O swéete Iesu my Lord and only saui­oure) shall séeme by thy gratious permis­sion, some thing to say vnto thée, w ^t heauinesse of harte for my sinnes, which are infinite most dānable by instice in thy sight, and most plainly also proue by thy woorde of truthe, that thou art yet bounde to be fauo­rable vnto me: bound to cast all my sinnes behinde thy backe: bounde to bestowe thy good graces, thy bles­sings and benesites vpon me: yea, and bounde also in time, to giue vn­to me thine heauenly and celestiall Paradise: I will not do it rashly be­fore [Page]thée (my Lorde and my God) vpon presumption, or cōtemptuous­ly, or for that I beare not a due and woorthy reuerence vnto the glory of thy diuine maiestie: neither meane I therby (in any thing) to diminish the excellencie of thyne heauenly power: but rather to magnifie and extoll thine only omnipotencie and great goodnesse, and to stirre vp my selfe (euen with al humilitie) to cō ­sider in parte, the deare loue that thou bearest towardes me thy most euil and vnprofitable seruaunte. O my swéete Iesu, Christ is cha­lenged, and why? beare nowe with me therfore, and first of all remem­ber I beseeche thée, thy perfecte knowledge héerin, that thine eterns and most mercifull father, did send thée into this worlde and vale of great miserie, to the ende thou shul­dest saue me, comfort me in my di­stresse, strengthen me, defende and [Page 56]deliuer me moste wretched sinner, in all anguishes, troubles, tempta­tions and miseries, bothe of bodie and soule, and that my sinnes shuld not preuaile againste me, when I humbly pray and craue thy mercie. Christes obedience to hys father, for hys flocke. Thou (O mercyfull and louyng Lorde and sauior) was obedient to the will of thine heauenly father, like a most lowly and mild childe: and for the loue sake also whiche thou hadst to thy flocke, like a most deare louing pastoure, diddest offer thy selfe to die, euen the most cruell and shameful death vpon the crosse. And also, if in case I did at any time make resistaunce, rebelliously and wickedly to disobey, to straggle, or stray abrode when thou calledste vnto me, tourning the deafe eare, would not heart thée: he straightely charged thée, and gaue expresse Commaundemente vnto thée also, [Page]that thou shouldest constraine and compell me home again to the fold: and to be also his beloued ghest in his heauenly kingdome, at the ioy­full day of thy mariage. The cause of christs death. O Christe, for this onely good purpose, was thou borne vnto vs: for thys cause didste thou humble thy selfe among vs: and for thys moste happie ende, did thy father so plentifully enrich thée, and euen filled thée with the a­boundance of his good giftes & trea­sures. Therefore, O my mercifull Lorde Iesu, remember I pray thée thy tharge, sée thou be mindefull of thy good and most holy office: and yeeld héerein to the obedience of thy fathers will, as thou arte bound and woonte to doe. The bonde of the wealthy in this world Thou knowest (O Lord) that all good and iust lawes, binde those that be riche & wealthy in this world, to distribute parte of their substance, to the relieuement [Page 57]of poore and néedie personnes: yea, and the richer they be of the good gifts of God, and in the greater mi­series they finde their poore & néedy neighbors, the more are they bound gladly to helpe and succoure them. Christ aboundeth in heauē ­ly riches, chatitie, power, and loyes in comparable. This I say lord, bicause I acknow­ledge thée to be moste riche, and of moste excellent power, abounding farre aboue all others, in all ioyes and treasures incomparable: where I contrarywise, am in greate sor­row and heauinesse of hart, The distressed loule. oppres­sed with all care and miserie, and with extréeme pouertie and necessi­tie both of body and soule. Where­fore (O Lord) I humbly make sute vnto thée, Christ humbly chalenged. & chalenge thée to be my spéedie helper, for that I know thée to be moste readye, moste willing, most able, and most bound to com­fort me. And thoughe I haue moste gréeuously offended the eyes of thy [Page]maiestie, yet bicause thou art mer­ciful (and I appealing to thy mer­cy) thou canst not set thy selfe a­gaynst me, Chryst bound to helpe, and why. or withholde thy com­passion from me, but arte rather bound with all good incoragement spéedily to helpe & succour me. And why Lord should I say this? truly for this cause, the greter (in the excellency of thy holy state) thou dost approuedly find thy selfe aboue all other: so muche the more art thou subiecte and obedient to the indis­pensable law of charitie, and to be therfore most mercifull vnto me: and to be obedient thervnto, is the greatest and moste porfecte soue­raintie, thou shouldest not be that Chryst of God, onlesse thou diddest gladly participate thy deare loue to thy brethren. Yea, I say moreouer thou art so much the rather bound to loue me, for that thou arte myne [Page 58]head, and I the meaner parte and mēver of thy body. Neither maiest thou say, thou canst not helpe me: Chryste the head and cow fo [...]er of hys members. for although with the flowing foū ­taynes of thy grace, thou hast boū ­tifully enriched all the Sainctes that euer wer from the beginning: yet notwithstanding that, thy de­uine treasures are not so spente, nether sodiminished, but that there remayneth store abundauntly for me, Store remay­neth of Gods grace. and for all penitent sinners. No no Lorde, thou hast treasures yet superfluous, which shal endure for euer: and wilt not thou aide and comforte me thy poore & wretched creature with the crums that fall from thy table, for my most ioyful refection seeing me now in danger & irke to perish? The assured fayth of the thirsten soule. Shat I thinke (O Lord) thy compassion so slēder and so farre from me, that I shal doubt to be refreshed at thy gracious hād? [Page]No, God forbid, I wil neuer thinke so euill or slenderly of thee, but ra­ther beléeue, that as thou arte able, so thou wilt in déede helpe me, and am thorowly persuaded whie. Am not I (swéete Iesu) one of thy pre­cious redéemed Iewelles? And hast thou not spent, Fayth in Chri­stes bloud. euen thy moste pre­cious heart bloud for me, suffering for my sake, so many & so extreame paines & moste greeuous torments? Yea, and haste thou not giuen thine owne deare life and soule, to pur­chase me vnto thy selfe, and to liue with thée in thy fathers kingdome. And nowe to relieue or recouer me out of daunger, shouldest thou shew thy selfe so vnkinde vnto me, that I can not be partaker of thy superflu­ous store, thine ouerplus and thine offalles? Thy father did so plenti­fully enriche thée, with so many his woorthy graces, to the end, thou (O [Page 59]Lord) shuldest behold in this world the sicknesse and great necessities of thy troubled flocke, and largely a­gaine to distribute vnto thē in their pouertie, and to ease them also of their painefulnesse and infirmitie. And bicause (O my Lord and saui­oure) I yéelde and humbly confesse me, to be one of those poore, misera­ble, & scabbed shéepe: and acknow­ledge thée also, the only bountifull, Scabde shepe. good and free phisition: I come ther­fore boldly, and say thus vnto thée: Chryst the phisitian. O Christ Iesu, as thy mercifull fa­ther hath fréely giuen thée vnto me, with the fulnesse of thine incompa­rable and heauenly treasures, for my ready health, wealth & strength both of body and soule: so I now flée vnto thée, moste toyfully embrasing thée, and in suche wise truste in thy mercy, that thou shalt too too muche wrong me, if thou stóc from me or [Page]forsake me. Yea Lorde, I say vnto thée, in consideration hereof, thou oughtest not, neither canst thou a­banbon or cast me out from thee, but retaine & embrace me, for my most ioyful & sauing health. O Lord Iesu, suffer me yet a litle to questiō with thée: Was not thou the very same man, Christ humbly chalenged. the same Lorde, sauiour & god, which by fauour, hauing en­riched thine holy Apostles, gauest them also in charge, that they shuld communicate, deale and deuide to others such spirituall ryches & hea­uenly treasures, as thou before haddest giuen vnto them. Should, I iudge of thée that giuest cōmaun­demente to others in dooing good things, that thou thy selfe wilte not perfourme the same? O Lord, as thou art a god of mercy & truth, and delightest of all men to be tru­ly so noted, were it possible for thée [Page 60]to alter one iot of thy puritie, most perfect & beautiful clerenesse of thy godly & diuine nature, wherby one shéepe of thy flock should quayle or find any light occasiō of offence? O Iesu, as y ^u art righteous, so art not thou a stūbling block vnto the righ teous. Strong faythe in Chryste. And truly my soule trusteth in thée: it moūteth vp into the hea­uēs before thée, & my faith is liuely towards thee. O performe therfore faythfully towards me (as thou art faithful) y ^e which thou didst so iustly cōmaund vnto thine Apostles and to vs. Thou certainly doest know that thine heuēly father (at the be­ginning) filled thée withal vertues, stuffed thée with al tresures, poured his graces vpon thée with al plen­tifulnesse: to the ende that in thys world thou shouldest not bend nor set thy mind, properly to possesse & gather treasure for thine own self: [Page]but that thou shouldest altogither, turne and apply thine endeuoure, to sée me and the rest of thy poore bre­thren comforted, safely nourished, kept, strengthened and defended in all assayes. And so thou haste done hitherto, Rom. 15. as S. Paule beareth vs in hande: for all that thou hast preten­ded, wrought and suffered from the beginning, Chrysts incar­nation, natiui­tie, & so forth, are al chalen­ged of the faithfull soule as his owne. was for me, for thine, and my brethrens sake. Thine ho­ly incarnation therefore, thy natiui­tie and circumcision, thy baptisme, thy fasting and praying, thy temp­tations, thy watchings, thy prea­chings, thy painful trauellings and dangers, thy shamelesse accusatiōs, spittings and raylings, thy bloudie sweat, thy woful and bitter teares, thy cruel and traiterous apprehen­sion, thy crosse and moste painefull passion, thy bloud shed, thy life, thy death, thy buriall, thy resurrection, [Page 61]yea & thy moste glorious ascention, into euerlasting life, and al the rest which thou haste done, felt, and suf­fered, was all for me, they are all mine, and I now chalenge them all at thine hand, as mine owne. Al thy diuine treasures are mine: yea, and euen thou thy selfe art wholely al­so mine, Rom. 8. Thy father hath giuen thée vnto me, and thou also was conten­ted that I should possesse thée, and therfore thou canst not nowe denie thy selfe to be mine. Math. 20. Thou camest into this worlde to take paynes for me, and to serue me: and doste thou not knowe, that what so euer the seruaunt getteth by his trauaile, he gaineth it, not for him selfe, Chryst a ser­uaunt. but for the vse of hym whome he serueth. Thou didst like a puissant Prince, triumphantly fighte for me, Chryst a con­querour. by wa­ging and winning battail: and ther­fore the treasures and spoyles, the [Page]triumphs and victories, which thou then didst get, are altogither mine. It is not now of late O Iesu, (thou moste victorious and noble Prince) since thou, as with whom were on­ly lefte these greate and precious treasures: and haste thou nowe be­stowed them all? I will not say thine, but my treasures: wherewith thou hast purchased for me a moste pleasant place of rest, euen the ioy­full and heauenly Paradise? Paradise pur­chased by Christe. yea, thou haste also taken possession of it for me: and shouldest thou now goe aboute to dispossesse me of myne owne, and to depriue me of mine inheritaunce and right? No Lorde no, there is in me no possibilitie at all to beléeue that: Experience of Christes good nature, and his mercie. for I haue (in suche wise) bothe hearde, felte, and knowne, diuersly and innumerable wayes, of thy gratious good nature, and of thy perfecte charitie and [Page 62]truthe, that I muste néedes confesse thy great goodnesse and liberalitie towardes me, and so to trust truely in thee. Thou hast diligently sought for me, thou haste offered thy selfe vnto me, thou hast so many wayes called vnto me, and so diuers and sundry wayes allured me to come to thy moste royal and magnificent marriage, promising to accepte me, for thy deare beloued gheast: Math. xj. xxij. there­fore, I am moste certainely per­suaded and fully assured, not to be deceiued of thée. And thou hast sayd: he that commeth to thée, Iohn. 6 thou wilte not cast him oute.

And nowe that I moste gladly and willingly yéelde vnto thee, and of, good heart come towardes thée, wilt thou turne thy face away from me, and not cheare me with thy comfortable & swéete countenance? As I am constrained, and by thy [Page]swéete allurementes persuaded, or rather enforced (beholdyng myne owne imperfection) to come vnto thée, that arte altogither perfecte: euen so arte thou (by thy large pro­misses) bounde to accept me. Thou diddest say: Ioho. 12. If I shall once be exal­ted, I will then braw all things vn­to me. Thine exaltation vppon the crosse (O Lord) hath bene (as I be­leeue) long since perfourmed, as also thy rising againe from deathe, and thine aftention into heauen. These things therefore, thus truly of thée performed and finished, I requyre thee (O Iesu) to draw me vnto thée, as thou by thy promisse arte moste iustly bounde. I knowe thou arte not angrie, or (at the leaste) not at destance with me: for seeing thou haste commaunded me, that I be not at hatred with mine enemie: I can not doubt, but that thou thy self [Page 63]also, kéepest truely this thy swéete commaundement: and so much the rather to be perfourmed of thée, as thou arte more able than I, to ex­presse the vse of charitie. Thou cāst not say, that thou art not bounde to loue me, alleaging that I am thine ennemie, Math. 5. or that I haue done thée manifolde iniuries (which I muste needes moste truely confesse:) for if by thy precept of charitie, thou hast straightly bounde me to loue myne enemies, to doe them good, to helpe them in their néede, and to pray vn­to God for them: I know right wel that in thus doing, thou arte muche more bounde than I. Wherefore, if thou wilt not loue me as thy frend, loue me yet (at the leaste) as thyne enemie doe me good, help me in my necessities, and pray to thine heauē ­ly father for me, as thou art in dede moste bound to doe. I doe assuredly [Page]know, that thy vertue, thy goodnes, and thine heauenly charitie is not so small, nor so stenderly planted in thée, that it will suffer it selfe to be ouercome of mine extreme vnkind­nes or naughtinesse: no, how great­ly so euer it aboundeth. Roma. 1. Thy com­maundement chargeth me, that I (in any wise) suffer not my selfe to be vanquished, by the malice of my enemies: and wilte thou suffer thy solfe to be ouercome, by my diffrét­ship & leudnesse. This verily hathe no likenesse of truth in it. Thou hast taught and commaunded me, that I with doing good to mine enemies, do ouercome and vāquish their ma­lice: and I then require thée (O my mercifull Lord and onely sauicure) that thou also thy selfe, obserue this diuine precept and commaundemēt of God thy father, as thy godly na­ture bindeth thée. Paie thy debte I [Page 64]pray thée: that is, Christes pay­ment, and howe. vanquish my vain stoutnesse, my wickednesse & great malice, with the vertue of gentle­nesse, and with thy most bounteous and plentifull goodnesse. And if I haue an harte before thée, hardened as the Adamant rock or Diamond: breake it then or mollifie it (I be­seeche thee) with the piercing moy­sture of thy moste pretious bloude: O stéepe mine heart well therein, souple it, make it softe, and temper it with the moisture of thy grace. O lette thy Spirite then for euer possesse me, henceforthe assiste me, and be my moste gratious and good guide, that I may vntill the ende, obey thy moste holy wil. O woorke mine harte a newe, after thine ac­customed manner, and according to thy good promisses of olde.

And if thou answeare, Ezech 16. that thou hast many times mercifully for giuē [Page]me: Ezech. 16. and that thou therefore wilte looke no more vppon me, or harken to my sute. I answere: If thou ga­uest Peter in commaundemente, Math 18. that he should pardon his enemies, not seuen times onely, but seuentie times seuen times: that is alwayes, and as often as they shall offende him: It foloweth then, that thou al­so arte so muche the more bounde héerein than I, for as much as thou doste excéede me and all men, in all charitie: and specially, bicause that I haue sinned, Sinne of Gods electe. not of any deadely malice, but thorowe ignorance and frailtie, and for that bothe I and o­thers, sawe not rightly the maiestie of him, whome we so offended, ney­ther coulde we make a right viewe of the goodes which we did lose, nor of the euils, in which we daily did incurre. But thou peraduēture wilt yet say: I haue giuen thée such plen­tie [Page 65]of lighte and true doctrine, by sending my faithfull preachers and ministers these many yeres vnto thée, that thou art now without ex­cuse, and thy faulte inexcusable. Agaynst this doo I yet replie: that euen to the Iewes (thy peculier people) thou gauost suche lights to sée, and such knowledge to perceiue what thou was, that they were yet inexcusable, as thou thy selfe dyd­dest say. And notwithstanding this, Iohn. 15. thou beeing in triumphe vppon the Crosse, diddest make their excuse, and prayed for them, saying: that in putting thée to that cruell death, they knew not what they dyd. In consideration of which things, see­ing thou art myne onely aduocate, myne onely Sauiour, Chryste the onely sauiour, the onely ad [...]ocate. my God and dearely beloued of thy father, my trust is in thée, that thou wilt haue mercy vppon me, and pray for me. [Page]O pray for me therefore I beséeche thee, make myne excuse to thyne and myne heauenly father: O saue thou me, and then shall I bée safe. And if thou wilte yet lay to my charge (O thou iuste God) that I haue with earnest stoutnesse and rebellion offended thée: myne an­swere agayne vnto thée is (whych séest the secrotes of myne hearte) that in so dooing I haue doone it, not wilfully and of malice, but rather of frayltie, or through feruencie of zeale, with all singlenesse of heart, to seeke onely thy glory. Wherein through wante of knowledge, and the true lighte of thy holy Cospell, I haue disobediently and stubborn­ly committed iniquitie: but yet, not in suthe wyse as doth the dam­ned reprobate, fixedly, of wylfull malice, Sinne of the reprobate. or as an hater of thée: who by all possible meanes séeketh thy [Page 66]dishonour, and falleth with al grée­dynesse from iniquitie to iniquitie. Therefore I doubte not but suche zeale or frayletie ioyned with sim­plenesse, is pardonable before thée, through the gretnesse of thy mercy: yea, it is so much the more to the furtherance of thy glory (o Christ) rather than the only offences com­mitted of meere simplicitie, when the largenesse of thy mercyes so bountifully floweth from thee. Yea, and I know assuredly, that throgh thy goodnesse and feruent charitie, thou act inforced to vanquishe and vtterly ouerthrow my weakenesse, wickeonesse, malice and blindnesse, euen to the pardoning of all (from the firste to the laste) that hathe beene amisse. For if the iuste bloud of Abell called to God for venge­aunce agaynst his brother to hys condemnation, and preuayled, The bloud of Abel cried for vengeance. I [Page]know that thy bloud muche more effectually calleth to saluation: Chrystes bloud calleth to saluation. and calling, obteineth aboundaunce of Gods mercies for me. Saue me therefore (O my Lorde and swéete Iesu) according to thy promyses and bonde of great charitie: against the whiche, neither thou oughtest nor canst resiste. O saue me I be­séeche thée, and take me to thy mer­cy, sometune one of thy great eni­mies, very wicked, very faithlesse, obstinate, headie and rebellious: but nowe thy louing brother, thy faythfull frende, thyne obediente louer, and a sounde member of thy body. O saue me then I say, com­forte my soule, guyde mée in thy wayes, strengthen mée, and let not thy spirite departe from mee, that I may hencefoorthe ioyfully please thée, and render alwayes vnto thy father (through thée) all [Page 67]due prayse, honour, and glory, here in thys vale of myserie, and in the euerlasting world which is to come. Amen.