Domine ne in furore. Psalme 6.

1 LEt not the arme of thy heauie displea­sure bee lifted vp a­gainst mee, O Lord.O Lord re­buke me not in thine in­dignation: neither cha­sten me in thy displea­sure! For that would be as a torrent and violent streame, to car­rie [Page] me headlong into death and eternall damnation. It would bee as a fire to eate vp my flesh, and turne my carcasse into ashes. What eye is able to looke vp, and not to consume at the very fight of thy wrathful coun­tenance? when casting thine eye vpon vs, thou shalt pierce the bottome of our hearts, and discouer al the secrets of our impure consciences. Our abhomi­nable sins will draw down vpon our heads thy iust in­dignation: and thine anger once kindled against vs, wil violently cast and plunge vs into that horrid and griefly [Page] gulfe of hopelesse tormēts, and endlesse misery. O then let the sorrowfull sobs of a trembling heart, pre­uent thy fury and indigna­nation; and before thy sin-reuenging hand be stretch­ed out for my ruine and de­struction, giue eare vnto my feeble & fainting voice, which with woful laments, crieth vnto thee,

Haue mercy, O Lord,2 Haue mercy vpon me O Lord, for I am weake: O Lord heale me, for my bones are vexed. haue mercy vpon me. Alas, my God, what wilt thou doe? Wilt thou proue the strength of thy forces, vp­on mine infirmities? and will thy matchlesse might wrestle with my weaknes? [Page] Is it to contend with thy puissance, that I present my selfe before thee? Oh no: it is thy clemencie, O Lord, to which I flye for succour: she it is vnder whose wings I shrowde my selfe, as the onely shielde and Sanctua­rie, which can preserue me from the rigour of that iust doome, which I haue most iustly deserued. Lord, vouchsafe me, a calme and mercifull aspect. And since I haue made haste to flye vnto thy Mercy-seate, make no long tarrying, O my God, but send mee suc­cour and deliuer me, from so many euills, which haue [Page] compassed and hemm'd me in on euery side: and wher­with I haue been so sore as­sailed, that my bones are bruised and broken, and my feeble body languish­eth. But well were it, if my body alone were oppressed by these cruell encounters: my very soule is euen ouer­layed, with anguish and heauiness.

This soule, O Lord,3 My soule is also sore troubled: but Lord how long wilt thou punish me! which hath sometime been enflamed with the zeale of thy glorie, and hath sung of thy praise, in the great Congregation, is now be­come desolate & deiected, destitute of comfort, and [Page] depriued of all courage: & as the fearefull doue at the voice of thy thunder, hast­eth to hide her selfe in her hole; so is she ready to flye into the most obscure dark­nes, from the terror of thy fearfull indignation.

4 Turne thee O Lord and deliuer my soule: oh saue me for thy mercies sake.But how long shall thine anger continue, O Lord? Come, O come my God, and cast downe thine eye of pitty and compassi­on vpon mee, which is suf­ficient to deface and abo­lish not my sinnes alone, but euen the sinnes of the whole world. My soule is plunged in the filth & foule puddle of iniquitie, shee [Page] sticketh fast in the bottom, the floods run ouer her: vn­to thee O Lord, doth shee stretch out her hand; O plucke her out, and bring her againe into the wayes of thy sauing health. Saue her O Lord, euen for thy boundlesse bounty, and thy matchlesse mercies sake. True it is, that merite shee hath none; and how should shee expect succour from him, whom shee hath so shamefully forsaken, and a­gainst whose honour shee hath so treacherously con­spired? The price of such a forfeit, is not grace and fa­uour, but hell and neuer-dying [Page] death.

5 For in death no man re­membreth thee: and who will giue thee thankes in the pit?But who shall praise thee O Lord in the pit, or who shall sing of thy name a­mongst the dead? There is the house of mourning, weeping, & howling. Who hath there any feeling saue only of vnsupportable tor­ments, and hopelesse mise­ries? whereas on the con­trarie, thy praise consisteth in the publishing of thy in­finite louing kindnes, boun­ty, and clemency.

6 I am wearie of my gro­uing; euery night wash I my bed, and water my couch with my teares.6 And now behold, on the one side, true Repentance intercedeth, on the other side humble Prayer im­portuneth, for me; both [Page] of them hauing sworne ne­uer to depart from me, vn­till they haue procured a recōciliation for me. Thou hast seen my teares O Lord, and heard my sighes: eue­ry day wash I my cheekes with teares, at the remem­brance of my sinnes, and water my couch euerie night with the streames of of water that gush out of mine eyes. Yea, what is it, that Repentance comman­deth and I obserue not?

7 Mine eyes are cast down,7 My beauty is gone for very trou­ble: & worn away be­cause of all mine ene­mies. as trembling at the terror of thine angry coun­tenance. I doe not answere to the reproach of mine e­nemies, [Page] [Page] [Page] [...] [Page] [...] [Page] [...] [Page] [...] [Page] and their contume­lious taunts I patiently put vp, as a iust punishment for my faults. Euen in their sight doe I walke with sack-cloth and ashes vpon mine head, and confession in my mouth: I lye prostrate at the foote of thine aultar: I macerate and fight against the flesh, which hath betrai­ed my soule to sinne; and all my griefe is but a sport vnto mine enemies: they come about mee, but to laugh at mee: and the drun­kards make songs on me.

8 Away from me all ye that worke vanity▪ for the Lord hath heard the voice of my wee­ping.But, now, since it hath pleased thee to haue mercy on me, I wil say vnto them, [Page] Away, away, from mee all ye children of iniquitie, and cease henceforth to reioice at my miserie: the Lord hath heard my prayer, my teares haue quencht his an­ger; and loe, now hath hee restored me ioy and peace, with the full fruition of his bounty: the glorious splen­dour of his grace hath shi­ned vpon me; and loe, the darke clouds and threate­ning tempests which han­ged ouer my head, are, in a trice, all dispearsed and gone.

No sooner had I ope­ned my lippes to call vpon him for succour; yea,9 The Lord hath heard my petiti­on: the Lord shall receiue my prayer. no [Page] sooner had my heart resol­ued to cry to him for mer­cie, but straight I perceiued his grace spread ouer me, to comfort and refresh my languishing soule; no lesse then the benumd mem­bers of a wearied pilgrim, are suppled and refresht by a warme bath after his toil­some trauell. O incredible clemencie! how ready art thou O Lord to forgiue? I runne to offend thee, and thou flyest to bestowe thy grace on mee. I haue em­ployed all the daies of my life, to finde out by sea and by land, matter for my am­bition, couetousnes, lustes, [Page] and inconstancy: and when I had plunged & ruined my selfe in my pleasures, thou in a moment camst downe, and didst deliuer mee. So that now behold how I tri­umph ouer my sins, which base and abiect, doe follow the trophees of my repen­tance, since it hath found fa­uour in thy fight. And now also my hope, which before was as it were strangled with my many misdeedes, being reuiued, and his spi­rits quickened, doth pro­mise and assure vnto mee more then all the Empires of the world, opening vnto mee the highest heauens, [Page] where after the blessed end of an hopefull life in this world, I shall enioy the full fruition, of diuine immor­talitie.

10 All mine enemies shal be confounded, and sore vexed: they shal be tur­ned back, and put to shame sud­denly.What will then be­come of mine enemies, when they shall see my feli­citie? Their meed shall bee confusion of face, and dis­quietnes of soule; they shal flye with distraction and amazement, to see him so highly exalted, vvhome they had sought to lay so lowe. These are they that made a mock at mine ashes, that derided my fastings, that reioyced at my teares, and (whilest I through ab­stinence [Page] did fight against the flesh, the bitter enemy of my soule) did euen swim in the delights of this be­witching world: but lo, the arme of the Lord is stret­ched out to beate downe their insolency. O my God giue them a feeling of their offences, and cause them to know & acknowledge the extreame danger wherein they are; that so they may call vpon thee the onely re­medie for all their mischief. And as for me, since thou hast cleansed my soule from that filth wherewith it was stained, and enfla­med my spirit with the [Page] fire of thy loue; teach my lippes that they may sound forth thy praise: addresse my voice to resound thy mercy: and so conduct and guide mine affection, that I may loue thee sincerely, and account it my greatest happinesse and soueraigne felicitie, to know thee, and thy sacred truth.

Beati quorum. Psalme 32.

O My God;Blessed is he whose vn­righteous­nes is forgi­uen, and whose sinne is couered. how hap­pie are they whose offences thou hast pardoned; and whose sins thou hast buried in obliui­on. For alas; what can befal vnto him, vpon whom thou shalt lay the iust pu­nishment of his iniquitie? Whole legions of euil be­siege him, pouertie as­saults him, maladies afflict him, famine presseth him, and death it selfe (which [Page] hee wisheth for, as the ha­uen of rest after all these tempestuous nauigations) proues but a gulfe to swal­low him downe, vnto eter­nall torments.

2 Blessed is the man vnto whom the Lord imputeth no sin, and in whose heart there is no guile.O then thrice happy and blessed are those, of whose actions God doth not take account, but is content that they humble themselues before him, acknowled­ging their infirmitie, and laying open before him the very secrets of their hearts. For by true and vnfained confession, and in sincerity of conscience, must we call vpon his mercy; and be­fore him must wee humble [Page] our selues, if wee will haue him to heare vs. [And] as hee that goeth for water of the fountaine, doth put downe the mouth of his vessell to take in the wa­ter: so must he humble him­selfe before his creator, that meanes to drawe and taste of the water of this sacred source, from whence distill those streames which (and they onely) can purifie our stained consciences.

I haue thought sometime O my GOD,3 For while I held my tongue, my bones con­sumed away through my dayly cōplaining. to hide my faults from thee; and haue said within my selfe, and how knoweth he, whether I haue done it or no? and [Page] so my sin tooke root with­in my bones. And as the vlcers of a shamefast Pati­ent, which dareth not shew his maladie to the Chirur­gion, doe fester and rankle and encrease euen to the destruction of the vvhole bodie: so these very vices which I hidde from thee, wholly infected me.

4 For thy hād is heauy vp­on me, day and night: and my moisture is as the drought in summer.But when thy hand had beene heauy vpon mee day and night, and when thou hadst laid such sore trouble vpon my loynes, and so many misfortunes vppon my soule, that my spirite could take no rest, and that I was broken with the stin­ging [Page] of my conscience, which did pierce my verie heart; then did I acknow­ledge my faultes, and that thy hand had done: this. Looke vpon mee, O Lord, but not in thine anger: and let those teares, whose gush­ing streames haue dimd my sight, quench the heate of thy iust indignation, since I am not onely the worke of thy hands; but which is more, the liuing image of thy Diuinitie. Who will be so farre ledde with anger, as to bruise and breake in pee­ces, that worke which hee hath had so great delight to polish, and bring to per­fection, [Page] because hee seeth it filthy and polluted? I con­fesse (O Lord) this image of thine is full of pollution and vncleannes: yet better wil it be to cleanse & scoure it, then to break it & treade it vnder foote.

5 I will ac­knowledge my sin vnto thee: and mine vn­righteous­nes haue I not hid.O teach mee, then my God, what thou wilt re­quire for my satisfaction: for loe, now haue I disclo­sed and acknowledged all my faults, which before I concealed. The feare which had seised on mee, when I hid my selfe from thee, is now since I humbled my selfe before thee, turned in­to hope of grace & pardon. [Page] And now do I cast my selfe into thine armes, as my most assured succour, with the humble demeanour of a poore patient, who pre­senting his wounds vnto the surgeon, lookes on him attentiuely, and suffers cou­rageously, both the sear­cher and the knife, for the desire and hope that hee hath to bee cured of them. But that which putteth me in greatest hope of health, is, that those vices, wherein heretofore I tooke greatest pleasure, are now no lesse odious in my sight, then are those meates whereof a man did eat to the full, be­ing [Page] in health, whē he is sick of their surfeit: that which had made me haughty and insolent, doth now breede in me shame and remorse, when I consider the hazard of death, wherevnto my pride hath exposed my poore wretched soule. Bles­sed bee the day, wherein I acknowledged my faulte: now haue I receiued a sin­gular testimonie of thy bounty towards me, O my God. Grant therefore that this pleasure which I haue taken by beeing displeased with my selfe, may bee as durable, as that vvhich be­fore I tooke, to continue in [Page] my sinnes. For if I may haue as much contentment in my repentance, as I haue taken in my sinne; my hap­pinesse shall be euen equall to that of the Angels; and I shall finde, that through my humiliation, before thee, I haue mounted to the height of thy grace.

Who can doubt O Lord,6 I said I will confesse my sins vnto the Lord: and so thou for­gauest the wickednes of my sinne. but that thou hast receiued me vnto mercy? thou whose clemencie and mercy is not onely vnspeakeable, but al­so incomprehensible. No sooner had I thought to re­turne vnto thee, but thou preuentedst me: no sooner had I said, I wil confesse my [Page] misdeedes, but thy grace was granted me: no sooner had I knowne the punish­ment due to my sinne, but thou didst pardon mee: no sooner had I taken the rods in mine hands to chastise my flesh, but thou didst take them from mee: in a word, I looked when thou wouldst denounce warre a­gainst mee, and loe thou of­feredst a louing reconcilia­tion. O how much more willing art thou O Lord, to pardon then to punish! Can a louing father more ten­derly receiue his childe, when hee cryeth him mer­cie, then thou receiuedst [Page] me, when I cast my selfe downe at thy feet? There­fore my heart danceth for ioy, and boileth with a fer­uent desire to praise thy Name: it reioiceth in thy grace, and accuseth none for what is done amisse, but it selfe; crying, it is I that willed and consented to do it: it is I that did it: it is I that pleased my selfe with it: but my God hath been mercifull vnto mee. And how could he withhold his mercy from me, when his holy one made intercessi­on for mee?

And needfull it was, alas, that hee should in­tercede [Page] for mee,7 For this shal euery one that is godly make his prayer vnto thee in a time when thou maist bee found; but in the great water flouds they shall not come nigh him. when the impietie of my heart had so blinded my vnder­standing by my vvicked thoughts, that my soule was not able any longer to lift her hands vnto heauen. What then remained for me, but that he whom thou denyest nothing, should mediate for mee? euen for mee, who beeing become my owne enemy, had now no knowledge nor will to pray for my selfe. But now am I comforted, since it hath pleased thee to open mine eyes, that I might see the deformitie of mine owne conscience, and that [Page] thou hast mollified my sto­nie heart, that I might en­tertaine contrition in my soule. Which though I haue not perform'd so soon as I ought to haue done: yet not so late, but thou hast vouchsafed to receiue mee, as thy custome is, to them that doe not let passe all time and occasion of re­pentance. For those that runne vnto sinne, and doe voluntarily neglect to re­pent, when they know their fault, and haue time to repent, deferring to cry for mercy (or to make a de­luge flow from their eyes) vntil the end of their liues; [Page] it is greatly to bee feared, that they deceiue them­selues; and that true repen­tance will hardly after so long time, enter into their hardened hearts: that their teares and weeping, will be but the wayling of men in desperation, and that thy mercie will lend but a deaf eare to their too late re­pentance.

8 Thou art a place to hide me in, thou shalt preserue me from trouble: thou shalt compasse me about with songs of deliue­rance.But as for mee, I come vnto thee, in an accepta­ble time as to my refuge, and the marke whereat my hope aimed, and my one­ly comfort in my tribulati­on which had enuironed me, euen as the feare sei­seth [Page] vpon him, who is con­demned to a shameful end. O then let mee taste of that ioy, which hee hath in his heart, who is freed from his chaines, enlarged out of prison, and healed of his paine, wherein his ene­my had long time held him captiue. And on the con­trarie, let the enemie of my soule bee confounded with shame, when hee shall see me so deuoutly calling vp­on my God for aide: who in the very turning of his eye, can free me from that voluntarie seruitude, which I had vowed vnto wic­ked pleasure. When I was [Page] on me. He hath not onely exalted mee aboue other creatures, giuing me the vse of diuine reason, but also a­mongst men hath hee exal­ted me, into the throne of honour and magnificence; so that nothing was remai­ning, for the accomplishing of my felicitie, but onely to know my owne felicitie: and after I had forgotten mine owne estate, hee did enlighten mee by his holy light, and gaue mee both time and will to lament my life passed, and to amend it for the time to come.

Be warned then by mee, O my friends, and whilst it [Page] is time runne vnto him for grace;Be not like Horse and Mule, which haue no vnder­standing: whose mouthes must be holden with bit & bridle least they fall vpon thee. for hee him­selfe doth call you, into the way of saluation: and bee not like the selfe-wilde Mule, which hath no vn­derstanding or iudgement, but kicketh against him that pricketh her, to make her go right: whose mouth must bee held with bit, and bridle, & whose sides must feele the sharpe remem­brance of the spurre. And so if at the first summons, which the Lord shall send to cause you returne into his wayes, you will not be obedient to his will, hee shall raine vpon you such a [Page] haile of miseries, as shall make you more miserable then miserie it selfe.

2 Great plagues re­maine for the vngod­ly but who so putteth his trust in the Lord, mercy em­braceth him on e­uery side.You see the starres that glitter in the heauens, and the sand stretched vpon the shoare: but neither hath the heauens so many starres, nor the sea so much sand, as are the plagues and punish­ments, which remaine for the obstinate sinners. Their owne wickednes hangeth ouer their heads, mischiefe attends at their heeles, vn­till they fall headlong into that gulf, the very remem­brance whereof is full of horrour; the sweetest re­traites whereof, are but [Page] plaints, cries, shreekes, and sorrowfull sobbes: where is paine without end, griefe without remedie, repen­tāce without mercy: where they are alwaies dying, and neuer dead; where the bo­die liueth onely to die, and the soule only to suffer tor­ments: where the soule feeleth nothing but sinne, and the bodie nothing but paine. On the contrarie, they who flye vnto the Lord, and the couert of his grace, who shielde them­selues vnder his mercy, and put their trust in his boun­tie, who follow his cōman­dement, and are zealous [Page] to doe his will; vnto what height of happinesse doe they aspire? What thing is there so precious in heauen that shal be hid from them? they shall sit by their God, and all enuironed with glo­rie, shall bee inuested with greater happinesse, then the spirit of man is able to conceiue the least part ther­of, much lesse my faultring tongue able to expresse.

12 Be glad O ye righte­ous, and reioyce in the Lord: and be ioi­full all ye that are true of heart.I will bee glad therefore and reioice, O my God, to think how great good thou hast laide vp in the hea­uens, wherewith to crown the iust. And I inuite you all to reioice with me, who [Page] haue sworn vnto the words of our Sauiour, and loue the straight path of his iu­stice. Here must you attend the recompence of your trauell: here shall you bee placed in honour and glo­ry: here shall you chaunge your rude thornes of the world, for the beautifull flowre-delice of heauen. O how gracious and sweet re­pose, shall you then find af­ter the sweat of your affli­ctions. The golde is not more pure and glorious, af­ter it hath beene refined in the furnace, and made rea­die to receiue the stampe and image of a great Prince [Page] or serue for an ornament to some rich cabinet, then the heart of him who loueth his God, when it commeth pure out of the furnace of the worlds miseries, to bee decked with splendor and glorie. What is there that can content mee in this world? What shall stay or hinder me from entring in­to the house of the Lord, to liue for his seruice. How shal I forget to deplore, all the dayes of my life, my sinnes which had put his grace so farre from mee? Reconcile then in mee, O my God, these two Passi­ons; of repentance, and [Page] consolation: that as the wandring Pilgrim hauing lost his waye in the wilder­derness, reioyceth when he seeth the day to dawne, and yet forgetteth not the ob­scure darknes, whence hee is yet scarce freed, and can not as yet wholy cast off the feare, which he had of so te­dious a night: so I may euer retaine some horrour of my faults passed, and yet haue a certaine and ioyfull hope of eternall happiness, which thou hast purchased for mee, with the precious price of the bloud of thy most deare sonne. Oh how great is this loue, when the [Page] M^r. spareth not the life of his onely Son, to redeeme his slaue? And now since I haue been formed and fa­shioned by thy hands, pur­chased and redeemed with thy bloud, and purified and clensed by thy mercy; I will offer vp my selfe be­fore thee, as a sacrifice of obedience: cast mee not a­way, O my God.

Domine ne in furore. Psalme 38.

IT is high time for me,Put me not to rebuke O Lord in thine an­ger: nei­ther cha­sten mee in thy heauy displeasure. O Lord, to turne again vn­to thee; and againe as an humble suppliant to im­plore thy mercy. For I feele thine anger to waxe hote, against mee. Alas my God wilt thou chastise mee in thine anger, and make mee to feele the violence of thy iust indignation, which my sinnes haue prouoked against mee? The flame hath euen consumed mee, [Page] and the fire of thy fury, hath eaten me vp, and I am ready to vanish away into smoake.

2 For thine arrowes sticke fast in mee: and thy hand presseth me sore.For I feele O my God, the arrowes of thy venge­ance sticke fast in me, and and I am pressed down vn­der thy heauy hand. The remorse & terrours of my conscience, do astonish me, and bruise mee like flashes of lightning and thunder­bolts: euill commeth vp­on mee as a snare, and one mischiefe ouer-taketh ano­ther. No sooner is warre ended, but Pestilence as­saults mee: and in the ende Death hath taken from me [Page] my dearest pledge, which I haue in this world. Wher­in then shall I receiue com­fort, O my God? In my selfe?

Alas, there is no health in any part of my body,3 There is no health in my flesh be­cause of thy displeasure: neither is there any rest in my bones by reason of my sinne. the marrowe is consumed in my bones; there is no rest in my bodie: euerie part reproacheth mee with my sinne, and suffereth the paine thereof. I pine away with griefe and heauinesse, and no man comforteth me; my eyes serue me one­ly to see my misery: and my soule hath no vnderstan­ding or knowledge, but on­ly of my wretchednes.

[Page] 4 For my wickedness are gone ouer my head, and are like a sore bur­then too heauie for me to bear.I cast mine eyes on eue­rie side, and I see my sinnes begirt me round about, and I am ready to faint and sink down vnder the burden of mine iniquities: they are mounted aloft vpon my head, and are heauier then I can beare.

5 Mo woūds stinke and are corrupt through my foolishnes.How shall I resist them? What strength haue I to defend my selfe? seeing all my bones are out of ioint. The filth of my sores run­neth, the stench and cor­ruption of my wounds, and vlcers is grieuous: and if my body be ill, is my soule any better? Is not shee also full of confusion, fearfulnes [Page] and trembling?6 I am broght into so great trou­ble and mi­sery, that I goe mour­ning all the day long. Maladie hath worn away my body, and brought it to the doore of death, and heauiness hath oppressed my soule: and disrobed her of her Ver­tue: And as the young and tender budde of the Vine is congealed into sheer-wool, by the sharpe cold, and fa­deth away: so the finger of the Lord which hath tou­ched my soule, maketh her to languish, faint, and lose her courage.

But alas (O my God) what courage can I expect to haue,7 For my loynes are filled with a sore dis­ease, and there is no whole part in my body▪ when I see my self so full of sores, and no part of my bodie is exempt [Page] from paine? and which is farre beyond this miserie, the memorie of my deceit­full Pleasures, representeth it selfe vnto me, and casteth mee in the teeth with my vices, and mocketh me for my vanitie. I say vnto my selfe, did I therfore prolong my dayes in the honny of so many delights, that I might after wash away all with the gall of bitter an­guish? Where art thou now O deceitful pleasure, which hast made my soule drunke with the sweet liquor of thy delights? how hast thou now forsaken me?

Haue I not yet suffered [Page] inough O Lord,8 I am feeble and sore smitten: I haue rored for the very disquietnes of my hart. hath not my humilitie yet sufficient­ly chastened mine arro­gance? I haue sinned through sottish corruption; alas, since that I haue cast my selfe downe vpon the earth, I haue couered my head with ashes; I haue clo­uen my heart with cryes; I haue dimmd my eyes with teares, and yet thine anger ceaseth not. Is it possible, O Lord, that thou hast not seene my teares? Thou who with the very turne of thine eye doest trauerse heauen and earth; Thou whose sight pierceth the ve­ry bottom of our hearts;

[Page] 9 O Lord thou kno­west all my desire: and my groa­ning is not hid from thee.Thou Lord knowest my thoughts, and vnder­standest my cogitations. What is it that I desire, but thy mercie? In what doe I hope, but in thy bountie? Wherefore, haue I mour­ned, and made open pro­fession of my repentance, but to condemne my selfe? And if my tongue hath not sufficiently expressed my minde, and is not able to vtter what I desire; Thou O Lord, knowest what wee would before we can think it. It is inough that we lift vp our heart vnto thee, and thou wilt presently grant what we desire.

[Page]But wherefore delayest thou O Lord,10 My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: and the sight of my eies is gone from me. to giue thy blessed consolation, which thou hast promised mee? Alas, I am not able to hold out any longer: my heart faileth mee, my senses are troubled, my sight is wax­ed dimme, my flitting soule is euen readie to leaue my bodie.

All my friends about me do bewaile my death:11 My louers and my neighbors did stand looking vp­on my trouble: and my kinsmen stood a far off. they haue giuen ouer all hope of my health, all their care is for my exequies, and say amongst themselues, where is the help that he expected from his God; where is that fauour whereof hee [Page] made himself so sure? They that priuily haue laide wait for my life, are come about me: they haue thought of parting my spoile among them, so hatefull am I be­come to the world, since thou hast deiected mee.

12 They also that sought after my life laide snares for me, & they that went about to do me euill, talked of wickednes and imagi­ced deceit all the day long.They whispered among themselues, and haue ima­gined a thousand wayes to doe mee mischiefe: they haue daily laide snares to entrappe me. Hee is (said they vpon his death-bed, he shall neuer rise vp again; wherefore should we feare him, who is now but as the shadowe of a man?

As for me I was as deafe [Page] as a man that heareth not,13 As for mee I was like a deafe man and heard not, and as one that is dumb, that doth not open his mouth. and as one that is dumbe I answered them not: my pa­tience was my buckler, and constancie my bulwarke. Euery one that saw my pa­tience in aduersity, said that I was dumb; because when they reproached,14 And I am as a man that heareth not: and in whose mouthe are found no reproofs I answe­red not: he hath (said they) put vp all indignities: if there remained in him any sense of honour, how could he shew such little courage? wee may well iudge him to be guiltie: for innocencie is alwaies hardy and resolute in her owne defence: but notwithstanding all this I held my peace.

[Page] 15 For in thee O Lord haue I put my trust: Thou shalt answere for for me, O Lord my God.For why? my hope is in God: and I am verely per­swaded, that hee will assist me. Though all the world band themselues against mee, though heauen and earth conspire my ruine, yet through the help of my God, I shall still be the van­quisher. With the breath of his mouth hath he crea­ted all things: and with the same breath he can destroy whatsoeuer it pleaseth him. I will fight vnder his ban­ner, and so I shall be certain of victorie.

16 I haue re­quired that they euen mine ene­mies shuld not tri­umph ouer me: for when my feet slipt, they re­ioiced greatly a­gainst me.I haue oft said vnto them, Reioyce not at my harme, and insult not ouer mee, [Page] when I am afflicted & tor­mented; for the hand of the Lord is not so short, but it may stretch vnto you also, and presume not too much vpon his long suffe­ring; for as his feete are of wool, so his arme is of iron: if hee once stretch it ouer your heads, O ye im­penitent soules, hee vvill breake you in peeces like a potters vessell, and the ve­ry remembraunce of you shall be rooted out.

As for me, I haue taken the rodde in mine hand, and haue made the print of my condemnation for my sinne on my shoulders: I [Page] haue appeared in thy pre­sence O Lord,17 And surely I am set in the plague: and my heauinesse is euer in my sight. with teares, in mine eyes, repentance in my mouth, and warre in my heart. I haue beaten downe my selfe, for feare least mine enemie shoulde triumph ouer me.

18 For I will confesse my wicked­nesse: and be sorry for my sinne.I haue openly confessed my fault, I haue acknow­ledged my sin in an accep­table time: I haue bin care­full to runne vnto thee for mercie, whilst thou wast to be found.

19 But my e­nemies liue and are mighty: & they that hate mee wrongfully are many in number.But the more I humble my selfe before thee, to taste of the liuing water of this fountaine of grace, which distilleth from thy [Page] bountie, the more mine e­nemies encrease: and they that would deuoure mee guiltlesse, are mighty. They gather themselues on eue­rie side, little foreseeing the tempest that will scatter and disperse them. They kindle through their pride, the coales of thine ire: they despite thy power, which they shall too too soone proue to their vtter ruine and destruction. In a word, caring for nothing in hea­uen or earth, they wallow in their filthy pleasures, and as much as in them lyeth, deface that stampe of divi­nitie, which thou hast im­printed [Page] printed in their soul; & shut their eyes against the hope of saluation, which shineth vnto them out of thy word.

20 They also that reward euill for good are a­gainst me, because I follow the thing that is good.I cease not my God to warne them: but they render mee euill for good, and make a mocke of whatsoeuer I doe to please thee, and bee an ex­ample to them: they tra­duce and slander mee in the open streets, and im­pose vpon mee a thousand wrongful imputations.

21 Forsake me not O Lord my God: be not thou far frō me.I confesse O Lord, I now beginne to lose pati­tience. But O my God re­paire mine infirmitie, and forsake me not: for else I [Page] shall stumble as a little child at the first precipice that shall lye in my way. Increase in mee O Lord, strēgth & courage to ouer­com my affliction, and keep mee vnder the shadow of thy wings, giuing me euer­more constancie and perse­uerance: and bee vnto mee as a tender-hearted mo­ther, which can not but tender him her dugges, as oft as her babe cries for it.

Nourish mee then,22 Hast thee to help me: O Lord God of my saluation. O Lord, vvith the milke of thy sacred loue: that so en­creasing from strength, to strength I may bee able to walke night and day in thy [Page] pathes which leade vnto that saluation, the hope whereof shineth in thy pro­mises; that if my sinne pre­sent it selfe to stoppe mee in my way, I may open the floudgates of mine eyes, and neuer shutte them vn­till I haue drowned and sunke it with my teares.

Psalme 51. Miserere mei Deus.

HAue mercy vpon me my God,1 Haue mer­cie vpon mee, O Lord, after thy great goodnes: according to the mul­titude of thy mercie doe away my offen­ces. according to thy great clemen­cie, and for thy boundless mercies sake forgiue me the punishment which I haue iustly deserued. For if thou expect vntill my fastings, watchings and prayers shal satisfie for my sinne; alas Lord, when can this bee? My trespasse reacheth frō earth vnto heauen, and sur­passeth in immensitie of [Page] greatnes. Who then is able to compasse it, or bring it down, saue only thy sacred mercie? which as far sur­passeth the measure of our sinnes, as the greatness of thy iustice is beyond ours. It is thy mercie O Lord, which compasseth this vni­uerse, which holdeth to­gither the whole frame of this world, which other­wise is readie to dissolue and fall vpon our heads, to burie through his ruine the memory of our sinnes: to destroy, from before thy face, our ingrate, disloyall, and felonious race; which disclaimeth her birth, crea­tion [Page] and preseruation, all which it holdeth of thy bountie. O then let this mercifull bounty, which shineth in thy Diuinitie, now extend it selfe vnto me, not sparingly, or nig­gardly, but fully and plen­tifully. As thou didst once cause the waters to passe their bounds, and couer the toppes of the highest mountaines, to extirpate and sweepe away the wic­ked inhabitans of the earth: so now cast out the torrent of thy mercie vpon mee, O Lord, not to swallow mee vp, but to bathe mee and clense mee from my wic­kednesse.

[Page] 2 Wash me thorowly from my wickednes and cleanse me from my sinne.But let it not content thee O Lord, once to haue made mee cleane, and to say how thou hast regene­rated and washed me in the bloud of thy chaste and in­nocent lamb: for thou did­dest not make me so white, and pure, but thou maiest now finde mee as foule and vncleane. I haue plunged my selfe into the depth of filth: I am so besmeared, and so disfigured, that thou wilt not acknowledge mee for thine. Yea, it maketh me demaund sometimes of my selfe, vvhether I be hee whom thy hands haue cre­ated: [Page] and my heart is so ful of shame and confusion, that it dareth not resolue me. O my God, thou hast created me of durt & clay: and behold, I am become such as I was before thou spreddest thine hand ouer me. I haue despoyled me of my strength and my beau­ty, to reuest my selfe in mire and filth. But where­fore O Lord, dost thou not forme and fashion mee a­new? Is thy hand shortned? is thy willingness, to shewe mercie to thy creature, fal­len away? Oh thou that art Almightie! Oh, thou that art euen goodnes it selfe, [Page] wherfore art thou so slack? O Lord, thine own worke is become obstinate against thee, and taketh pleasure in disfiguring, and disforming it selfe: be thou as obstinate against thy worke, to make it faire and perfect in des­pight of it.

3 For I ac­knowledge my fault: and my sin is euer be­fore me.But O my God, I will no longer stand out in mine owne conceit against thee: hold and take mee to thee: turne me as thou wilt, put a new print vpon this clay, renew it, put a new stampe vpon it, for loe it is prest to follow thy will. But when thou hast fashioned me a­new, do not then leaue me [Page] to my self, O Lord: Put thy bridle within my mouth, that it may through absti­nence, allay that gourman­dizing, which fouleth it: through chastitie it may coole the shamelesse heates of lustes, which enflame it: through humilitie, it may beate downe that pride and arrogance, which biting enuie hath bred in it, that cōpassionate charitie, may driue from it hatefull and greedy couetize: that a care to serue and worship thee, my bee as a spurre alwaies in the sides of lazie and fe­tarde negligence. For o­therwise O my God, too [Page] much haue I proued, how I shall bee handled by these troopes of vices which en­uiron mee. They will de­face, and throwe downe in such sort thy handie work, that when thou shalt come, thou shalt finde onely the shells and shiuers all broken and bruised. I haue known them too well: these are they that haue brought me to that state, wherin I now stand: and loe they stand in aray round about me, re­proaching mee, and vp­brayding mee with these blottes, wherewith they themselues haue defiled mee, and making me guilty [Page] of those iniuries which they haue done me.

I haue sinned, I confesse O my God, I haue sinned:4 Against thee onely haue I sin­ned, and done this euill in thy sight: that thou migh­test be iu­stified in thy saying, and cleare when thou art iudged. loe I offer vnto thee the bottome of my heart, take a view of my whole life. I haue sinned in the fight of heauen and earth, and all the world is witness of my fault. But if I had not sin­ned, how could thy mercy be shewed? how wouldest thou acquite thee of thy promises of grace, which thou hast so long before proclaimed, by the mouth of thy holie Prophets? When thou shalt come to sit vpon thy eternall throne [Page] of iustice, who would feare thee, if we were all iust? But that men may know and acknowledge thy great­ness, it is meete that when we shal appear before thee, wee cast downe our selues humbly vpon our face, and cry, O sweet Lord, we will not stand in our owne de­fence before thee, our fault is too manifest, but behold our pardon is in our hand: thou thy selfe hast giuen it vs, loe it is signed with thy bloud, sealed with thy i­mage, which for our re­demption hath been prin­ted in the infirmitie of our flesh.

[Page]Thinkest thou my GOD that when I shall appear be­fore thee,5 Behold I was shapen in wicked­nes: and in sinne my mother cō ­ceiued me. I will put any confidence in mine owne innocencie, or dare to iu­stifie my selfe in thy pre­sence? Alas, I know Lord I was no sooner borne, but I sinned: my mother loo­ked to bee deliuered of a childe; and loe a lumpe of sinne? How much better had it beene, if such fruite had prov'd abortiue, which shameth the tree that bare it, the earth that nou­rished it, and the ayre that breathed vppon it. I did nourish my selfe with sinne, when I was yet in my [Page] mothers wombe, I sucked it in with her milke, and lo it is so growen vp with me, that it ouer-shadoweth my head, and casteth a miste before mine eyes.

6 But loe thou requi­rest truth in the in­ward parts: and shalt make mee vnderstand wisedome secretly.But when I see the eyes of my bodie, so seeled with sin, which compasseth me: I opē the eyes of my soule, and begin to discerne a far off the rayes of thine infal­lible trueth, and acknow­ledge the marueilous se­crets of wisedome, which thou hast manifested to me. Then my soule, abando­ning the impuritie of my bodie, lifteth it selfe to hea­uen, & vieweth the circuite [Page] thereof; and casting her eye vpon the book of life, there doth she peruse the treatie of the newe Couenaunt, which thou hast made with men: and after, returning into her miserable bodie, doth fill it with hope of ioy, promising it assured vi­ctorie ouer sinne.

For shee hath learned in heauen,7 Thou shalt purge me with hysop, and I shall be cleane: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter then snow. that thou wilt take a branch of odoriferous hy­sope in thine hand, & wilt sprinkle vpon me the water of purification: thou wilt wash me, and I shall be whi­ter then snow: there shal no more sportes of sinnes appeare in me. What pure [Page] lee shall this bee O Lord, which made of the cinders of my sinnes, consumed by the fire of thy loue, with the water of those teares which my repentance hath distilled from my heart, and in the sun of thy grace, shall wash away our wee­ping, and shall breede in vs spiritual ioy: and in the end shall whiten in the puritie and candor of iustice,8 Thou shalt make me heare of ioy and gladnes: that the bones which thou hast broken may re­ioice. to make vs hereafter shine as the starres in the firma­ment.

Then shall no sound en­ter into our eares, but of that ioifull trumpet of sal­uation, which shall pro­claime [Page] grace and mer­cie to all that will receiue them. Then shall wee see our carcasses which were consumed with rottenness, rise vp out of their beds, to be partakers of this vniuer­sall ioy, wherevnto thou hast inuited the vvhole world.

But that I may appeare before thee,9 Turne thy face from my sinnes, and blotte out all my misdeedes. in such honou­rable attire, as is befitting such honourable magnifi­cence; treade downe, O my God, all my faults vn­der foote, burie them in the centre of the earth, that no eye may bee able to see them, make an euerlasting [Page] separation betwixt me, and mine iniquitie, which at this present I forsake, and from whom I vow an irre­vocable diuorce.

10 Make me a cleane hart O God: and renew a right spi­rit within me.Receiue my soule which I offer vnto thee: make it pure and cleane: renewe in my heart such a spirite, as shall conceiue nothing but truth and holiness. Make it, O Lord God, a temple for thy holy spirit to dwell in; that henceforth all my thoughts may breath out nothing, but the praises of my God: that thy will bee alway imprinted in my breast, and thy glorie writ­ten in my lippes.

[Page]When thou hast so re­uested and adorned mee,11 Cast mee not away from thy presence: and take not thy ho­ly spirit from me. with pietie, and integritie, then shall I bee assured that nothing can separate mee from thy presence: and then as the true eagle looketh right vpon the sunne, so will I fixe my eyes vppon the face of thine eternitie, and shall beholde in thy maruellous and glorious countenance, all the perfe­ctions which I am not able now to conceiue. O let thy sacred spirite neuer more dislodge from my hart: for hee it is which vpon the wings of zealous loue, shall carrie me into thy bosome, [Page] there to make me partaker of thine heauenly ioyes.

12 O giue me the com­fort of thy help again, and esta­blish mee with thy free spirit.Make me then euermore to taste the sweetnes of this immortall life: saue mee speedily, from the rockes of this world, which on e­uerie side threaten shippe­wracke. And as the Mari­ner now comne vnto the hauen, crowneth the maste of his shippe with garlands in signe of safetie: so crown me my God with the preci­ous giftes of thine holy spi­rit, for pledges of euer­lasting blessednesse, which thou hast promised mee. I say, of thy spirit which raig­neth among thy faithfull, [Page] which giueth faith to thine elect, loue to thy beloued, and hope to them, whom thou hast predestinated.

And so whilst my soule shal abide in this exile,13 Then shall I teach thy wayes vnto the wicked: and sinners shall bee conuerted vnto thee. wai­ting when thou shalt call him home, I will teach thy wayes vnto the wicked, by following which, they may please thee; and will direct them how to passe through the darknesse of this world, without stumbling at such offences, as daily offer themselues: they shall be­leeue mee, and so be con­uerted vnto thee, O father of light: they shall receiue thy faith into their hearts, [Page] and shall walke in thine o­bedience.

14 Deliuer me frō bloud-thirstiness O God, thou that art the God of my health: and my tongue shall sing of thy righte­ousnes.I know O Lord, that some will against my voice stoppe their eares, and ob­stinately persist in their vi­ces; they will conspire my death, and seeke to drench their barbarous crueltie, with my bloud. Deliuer me from their hands O God, and preserue mee, that I may declare thy iustice, and pronounce their con­demnation. I will foretell their wretchednes, and they shall feele it: yea, as soon as I haue made an ende of speaking it, thy hand shall smite them: and no sooner [Page] shal thy hands haue smitten them, but they shal be bro­ken like a Potters vessell, and come to sodaine de­struction.

Then shalt thou open my lippes,15 Thou shalt open my lippes, O Lord: and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise, & de­clare thy victory: the aire shall bee calme, the winde shall cease, the riuers shall stay their course to hearken to my voice, whilst it shall chaunt & resound the mar­uellous actes of the eternall God. For thy praise shall euer be the sacrifice which I will offer vnto thee, and which shall bee euer accep­table in thy sight.

[Page] 16 For thou desirest no sacrifice, else would I giue it thee: but thou de­lightest not in burnt offerings.I would ere this haue filled thine aultars with the bloud of beasts: I would haue slaine a thousand oxen & a thousand sheep to thine honour: but bloud doth stinke in thy nostrils, thou art not pleased with flesh: the smoke of such offerings doth but vanish in the ayre, and can not ascend vp vnto thee: it is the voice alone of a righteous man, vvhich findeth passage into hea­uen, and therin is presented vnto thee.

17 The sacri­fice of God is a trou­bled spirit, and a con­trite heart O Lord, shalt thou not despise.Oh how acceptable, a sa­crifice before thee is a hart pierc't with repentance! an hart humbled and deiected [Page] in the knowledge of its sins! neuer shall such a one be re­iected. For the way to as­cend vnto thee, is to descēd in our selues: to touch the heauens, we must fall down grouelling vpon the earth: to bee heard of thee, wee must bee silent: and to bee crowned in thy kingdome, wee must suffer paine and affliction in this vvorld. These are the sacrifices by which wee must make an attonement to thee, and en­ter into that couenaunt which thou hast appointed.

And if thou wilt O Lord,18 O be fauou­rable and gracious vnto Sion: build thou the wals of Ierusalem. that we offer oxen and buls, that wee make thine aultar [Page] fatte with the bloude of beasts; if thou wilt that by the death of the innocent holocaust, wee shall repre­sent the death and inno­cencie of him whom thou hast destinied for the re­demption of our soules; if the figuring of that which is to come, in the person of that immaculate lamb, bee acceptable, in killing of Sheepe and Rammes: O then look downe with thy eye of pitie vpon thy poore people, comfort thy di­stressed Sion, giue cou­rage to her poore inhabi­tants, that they may re­payre the decayed walles [Page] of thy holy citie, and build vp thy temple, though not with that glory which thou deseruest, yet with as great as the riches of this world will retch vnto.

Thither then shal all thy faithfull flocke come from all parts to sacrifice vnto thee:19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sa­crifice of righteous­nes, with the burnt offerings and oblati­ons: then shall they offer yong bullockes vpon thy aultar. and there shalt thou accept the propitiation for their sins. But O my God, it is neither the bloud nor death of beasts, which can wash away their offences: the expiation of their dis­obedience and stubborn­nesse is prepared from all e­ternitie.

This is that inestimable [Page] sacrifice, that immaculate holocaust, which shall take away the veile, dispell the darknesse, breake the par­tition wall; to make vs see face to face, the truth of our saluation; to make the bright beames of mercie shine vpon vs, and to re­sume vs vnto the commu­nion of that eternall happi­nesse, from vvhich wee of our selues had fallen. O most merciful God, which hast opened the eyes of mine vnderstanding, to see the mysterie of my saluati­on; make me O Lord, by a liuely faith, to taste of that fruite, which flouri­shed [Page] vpon the tree of the Crosse, and shall quicken with his iuice mortified soules: preserue and heale vs for euer from that mi­serie and calamitie, which hath so miserably fallen vp­on the race of man, & hath been deriued from the first to the last through their dis­obedience.

Psalme 102. Domine exaudi.

1 Heare my prayer O Lord: and let my crying come vnto thee.O Lord, I haue long cryed vnto thee for mercie, and am still to attend on thee for suc­cour. The ayre is filled with my cryes: the windes haue carried the voice of my complaint to the ende of the earth; and thine eare which heareth mee from the depth of hell, doth not hearken vnto my prayer, which pierceth vnto the very heauens. Wilt thou [Page] then O Lord, be only deafe to mee? and shall all the world heare my moane be­fore thee? No, no my God thou hast been absent from mee too long to reiect me, now when I come vnto thee for succour.

Turne not away thy face from mee▪ O Lord,2 Hide not thy face from me in the time of trouble: In­cline thine eares vnto mee when I call, O hear me, and that right soone. now when so many thousands of griefes lay hold on mee, and so many mischiefes as­sault me. Alas, I haue placed all my hope of rising, in the milde looke of thy counte­nance. I haue forsaken the world, to draw neere vnto thee. I haue abandoned the children of the earth, to ioin [Page] my selfe to the Maister of heauen: and wilt thou now forsake mee? O doe not so good Lord: but assist and strengthen my weakness all the dayes of my life; that as soone as I shall lift my voice vnto thee, so soone I may feele the comfort of thy presence: and let thy grace speedily descend vp­on mee, as an Eagle hasteth to succour her yong. For vnlesse thou assist me, how shal I be able to fight against the enemies of my soule?

3 For my dayes are consumed away like a smoake, & my bones are burnt vp as it were with a firebrand.My strength faileth me, and my life dayly consu­meth as a smoake that vani­sheth away into nought: the [Page] same eye that seeth it rise out of the fire, seeth it also dispersed, & in the same mo­ment seeth both its begin­ning and its ende: man may looke after it; and loe, not so much as the trace therof it selfe. He that hath noted the small branches cutte off the trees, and laide in the sunne, how soone they lose both sappe and verdeur; may suppose hee seeth my bones which are dryed vp, and fallen away, and fit for nothing but a Tombe. A Tombe no doubt might make me happy, if a small graue could stay the course of my most extreame mise­rie.

[Page]Hee that hath seene the grasse cut down in the me­dowes,4 My heart is smitten downe, and withered like grasse, so that I forget to eate my bread. how it fadeth, chan­geth his liuely hewe, & wi­thereth, let him looke vpon my face, so wan and pale, that I looke like death it selfe. My heart is scorched in the midst of my entralls, and my bloud is dryed vp within my veines, because I remember not to put bread within my mouth, and for­get to take my daily re­past.

5 For the voice of my groaning my bones will scarce cleaue to my flesh.My mouth serueth mee but to lament and crye: and the voice of my daily com­plaints is so strong that it spendeth all the rest of my [Page] vigour, so that my bodie, consuming with heauiness, falleth away by little and little, & now my bones ap­pear most wofully through my skin. Why then doe I care to remaine any longer in this bodie, the subiect of my misery? Why doe I watch to preserue this life, which wrestleth against so many miseries? which is cleane spent with so many afflictions? Were it not much better for mee, with the ende of my life, to ende my miseries?

The Pellicane that in the solitarie deserts of Egypt,6 I am becom like a Pelli­cane in the wilderness: and like an Owle, that is in the desert. tormenteth her selfe vvith [Page] grief, to haue slain her yong ones, besprinkles them with her owne bloud, to restore them that life which she had taken frō them; is not more sorrowful thē I, nor maketh more grieuous moane then I. Hath not my sin procured the death of my dearest child, which I loued more then my selfe? And now that I haue already spent all my teares, the bloud is rea­die to spring forth of my eies, least my plaints should faile in so woefull a case. But the Pelican redeemeth her young, by the price of her bloud: and I miserable wretch shall bee vtterly de­priued [Page] of the child, which I so tenderly affect. I for­sake the day and the light, and confine my selfe in the obscure darknes, as a dole­full Owle, which goeth not out of her hole, vntill the night with his sable mantle haue couered the earth.

I watch continually and take no rest,7 I haue wat­ched, and am euen as it were a sparrow that sitteth▪ alone vpon the house toppe. I seeke to hide me from mischiefe, which commeth vpon mee as an armed man. I am quite discomfited, my courage faileth mee: I doe nothing but search for a corner to hide me in: euen as a solita­rie sparrow, which beaten with winde and raine, doth [Page] seek some couerture, where shee may shrowde her selfe from the raine, and also re­ceiue some heate from the sunne.

8 Mine ene­mies reuile me all the day long, and they that are mad vpon me are sworne to­gither a­gainst me.Mine enemies seeing me thus deiected, reuile mee, and make a mocke of my misery: they that vvere wont to make much of me, in stead of condoling with me in mine affliction, haue conspir'd against me. What shall wee then account of the goods of this world, when the greatest riches, a man can attaine vnto, is to haue many friends; and yet friends are so double, that they make small reckoning [Page] of violating their faith.

Behold,9 For I haue eaten ashes as it were bread and mingled my drinke with weeping. my glorie is de­cayed, the floure of my beautie is fallen away, and withered; for I haue cast ashes vpon my bread, and mingled my drinke with teares. But shall I for this, bee still a laughing stocke to this wicked race of infi­dels?

I am come indeed before thy face,10 And that because of thine in­dignation, and wrath: for thou hast taken me vp and cast mee downe. in the day of thy displeasure: thou hast laide vpon me the arme of ven­geance, and it hath bea­ten me downe, and laid me in the dust. I had magnified my self among men, and loe now am I brought lowe. [Page] O vaine presumption! to what height hast thou made mee mount, to giue mee the greater fall? Alas, what could I finde in my selfe, which could breed in my hart so high a selfe-con­ceit?

11 My dayes are gone like a sha­dow, and I am withe­red like grasse.As the shadow of a body decreaseth by little and lit­tle, according as the sunne riseth higher and higher o­uer it, vntill it appeare but as a point: so as soone as thine anger was risen ouer me, O Lord, my life, my goods, and my greatnesse did by little vanish & turne to nought: so that now, be­hold I am but as the haye [Page] spread vpon the ground, without grace, and with­out colour: they bind it vp in bottles to feede their sheep: and al those glorious flowers which before were so sweet & fragrant, are now bound vp togither with the thistle and hemlocke.

But what? shal I therfore giue ouer all hope?12 But thou O Lord shalt endure for euer: and thy remem­brance through­out all ge­nerations. Not so my God: for thy might is immense, and shall neuer decay: Thy mercy is infi­nite, & shall extend ouer all those that trust in thee. One age succeedeth another: but the memorial of thy louing kindness, shall endure for euer. One generation goeth, [Page] and another generation succeedeth, and all shall re­count thy praise, and mag­nifie thy goodnes.

13 Thou shalt arise and haue pitie vpon Sion: for it is time that thou haue mercy vp­on her, yea the time is come.Thou shalt at length a­rise O Lord, and be merci­full vnto Sion, for the time approacheth. Behold, I see it at hand. The Riuers doe not sēd so much water into the wide bosome of the O­cean, as thy bountie will showre bounty and graces vpon the face of this land. Open your hearts, O yee people, open your hearts wide: for the liberall hand of my God will fill you, with a holy zeale, vvhich shall purifie you, and make [Page] you as faire beaten gold.

For the edifice of Sion,14 And why? thy seruāts think vpon her stones: and it piti­eth them to see her in the dust. O Lord, is the refuge for thy seruants: this is it they loue so well, this is it they desire so ardently: this is it where they waite for thy mer­cie: this is the temple O Lord, which thou wilt de­stroy in three daies, and in three daies build againe, to be the mansion of life eter­nall, the seate of saluation, the store-house of grace, the temple of eternitie.

Then my God,15 The Hea­then shall feare thy name O Lord: and al the kings of the earth thy maie­stie. shall the nations stand amazed: and the kings of the earth shall tremble at the brightnes of thy glorie. What corner [Page] of the earth shall bee so se­cret, but that thither also shall spread the fruit of thy blessed comming? What people shall there bee so re­mote from the sunne, so confined in darknes, which shall not open their eyes to behold the glorious lustre of saluation, which shall shine vnto them? The hea­uen shall encrease the num­ber of his lampes, to giue light at thy glorious en­trance into the world: and kings shall come from far, to doe homage to the King of Kings, and Lord of heauen and earth.

For hee hath exalted his [Page] throane in Sion, with great and magnificent preparati­on: there shall men see him enuironed with glory, and obscuring the Sun & Moon with the brightness of his countenance. But wherfore hast thou O Lord, so high­ly exalted the throne of thy glory?

Is it to this end that thou mightest contemne the humble prayers of thy faith full seruants,16 When the Lord shall build vp Sion, and when his glory shall appeare. and to neglect all the world, which is no­thing in comparison to thy greatness? Ah, nay, my Lord. Thou hast therefore set thy self in a place so emi­nent, to the end that all the [Page] inhabitants of the earth might see & acknowledge thee to bee their God: and to run to thee for grace and mercy: for thou art euer ready prest, to incline to the humble call of thy ser­uants, and neuer disdainest their pitifull request. Look now vpon them al arraignd like poore prisoners con­demned to the chaine, who attend the view of some King, to bee by him deliue­red at the day of his corona­tion. Euen so deliuer these O Lord, who are sold vn­der the slauery of sinne: and at the turne of thine eye, all their irons shall fall from them.

[Page]Then shall they be heard to chaunt out the song of glory,18 This shall be written for them that come after: and the people which shall bee borne shall praise the Lord. to the victorious king: their voice shall bee heard throughout all the parts of the earth: and the memoriall of thy singular bounty, and infinite mercy shall bee engrauen in mens harts, to remain from gene­ration to generation to all posteritie. The Earth shall melt away, the waters shall be dried vp, the aire shal va­nish, the heauens shall passe away, and be no more: but the memoriall of thine a­boundant kindnes, O eter­nall God, shall endure for euer.

[Page]Thou art the euerlasting God,19 For hee hath looked down from his sanctu­rie; out of the heauen did the Lord be­hold the earth. who hast daind to cast down thine eyes from hea­uen, to behold the neather­most parts of the Earth, to take notice of their tor­ments, who lye fast bound in the depth, who hast heard their groanings, and immediately runne to their succour, to vnbinde and set at liberty these poore priso­ners, and their whole poste­ritie. Death hath vanqui­shed them by the strength of sin▪ and had shutte them vp in darke dungeons: but the Lord of life, hath con­quered death, and hath gi­uen full deliuerance.

[Page]That so they might de­clare thy praise O Lord in Sion,20 That he might hear the mour­nings of such as be in captiui­tie: and deliuer the children appointed vnto death. and proclaim thy cle­mencie in Hierusalem. But though euery one of them had an hundred tongues, & though their voice were as strong as thunder, yet would they not bee able to reach vnto the greatness of thy glory:21 That they may de­clare the name of the Lord in Si­on, and his worship at Ierusalem. though all the parts of the world conspire in one, to represent in their motions some part of thy might and infinite bounty, yet can they reach no fur­ther: for these are depths, and the depths of depths, which haue no bottom nor bound, and which wee are [Page] not able to see, but a far off.

22 When the people are gathered togither & the king­domes also to serue the Lord.Let it then suffice, O my God, that thy people assem­bled & revnited both in bo­dy and minde, doe vvith humble deuotion offer vp vnto thee, the wil they haue to honour thee: for the ef­fect is not able to approach to that, which to thee is due. Let it be acceptable in thy sight O Lord, that the kings of the earth doe pro­strate themselues at thy feet; and do tender that homage and seruice, which is due to thee, as to their soueraigne Lord. They shall lay down their scepters on the earth, and their crownes at their [Page] feet, and shall present an in­nocent conscience, as a sa­crifice of an humble deuo­tion. I will bee the first, O my God, that wil prostrate my self before thee, to wor­ship and serue thee with my whole heart: On thee one­ly will I fixe my thoughts: to thee will I consecrate my spirit. Quicken it O Lord; that beeing purified with the sacred ardour of thy loue, it may (as a most pure mirrour) receiue in it the i­mage of thy incomprehen­sible beauty and perfecti­on, and may feele in it selfe the reflexion of thy sincere amitie, vntill thy infinite [Page] beautie shall associate it vn­to the number of thine e­lect, to be with them coheir of euerlasting life.

23 He broght downe my strength in my iourney: and shortened my dayes.Now my God, doe I feele that thou hast enlightened my soule with thy grace, and haue first felt the fauor which thou wilt bestowe vpon the sons of men. My spirit hath already seen a far off how thou wilt come to redeeme the world; but it feareth it shall dye before thy comming; and this is the cause, why it hath cried vnto thee, saying; Tell me O Lord, what shall be thee course of mine age, & when thou wilt ende my dayes?

[Page]Cut not off the thread of my life O Lord,24 But I said, O my God take me not away in the midst of my age: as for thy yeeres they endure through­out all ge­nerations. at the first or second turne of the spin­dle, and take mee not away in the middle of my course. Let me liue O my God vn­till the time come, wherein thou shalt open the trea­sures of thy graces, to be­stowe among men the lar­gesse of saluation: or at least if thou hast so determined of mine ende, that my life may not continue till then; remember my posteritie, and let him spring of my race, that by his comming shall redeeme and sanctifie the earth.

I know O Lord, that [Page] thou hast from the begin­ning fashioned the heauen and the earth,25 Thou Lord in the be­ginning hast laide the foun­dation of the earth: and the heauens are the workes of thy hands. and whatso­euer is good, and excellent in the world, is the worke of thine hands.

But all the vniuersal shall wax old as doth a garment: they vanish away, and shall be no more to be found: it hath been created,26 They shall perish but thou shalt endure, they shal all waxe olde as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shal be changed, and it shall bee dissolued: it hath had a beginning, and must haue an ende.

But thou O Lord, art from euerlasting, and thou shalt continue the same for euer. Time and continu­ance, which consume all things, doe onely serue to [Page] confirme thy being, and to publish thy diuinitie:27 But thou art the same and thy yeares shall not faile. and men do liue vpon the earth that they may contemplate on the one side, thine in­comprehensible greatnesse, and on the other side, their owne infirmitie. Man go­eth from place to place, & the same land doth change her inhabitants: one dri­ueth out another, and all is renewed in a moment: but thou my GOD art yester­day, and to day, and the same for euer. Euery pro­vince of the earth can rec­kon vp great numbers of Kings, which haue raigned one after another: but the [Page] the heauen and the earth doe continually sing, that thou hast euer been God a­lone, alwaies admirable a­lone: and that thy goings out and thy commings in, haue euer beene vvithout change.

28 The chil­dren of thy seruants shall conti­nue, and their seed shall stand fast in thy sight.Now O Lord, when I shall depart hence, I doe ve­rely beleeue, that I shal taste of that sweet fruit, which shall heale vs of this conta­gious maladie (which hath been deriued from our first Parents, for eating the for­bidden fruit) of death, and sinne. For our children shal come after vs, and thou O Lord, shalt continue our [Page] posteritie, vntill wee shall come to appeare togither before thy face: not to re­ceiue a rigorous doome; but by the merit and inter­cession of thy beloued Son, to enter into that inheri­tance of euerlasting blessed­nesse, which shall be giuen to all thy faithfull, by the adoption of the sonnes, in the family of thy seruant Dauid.

Psalme 130. De profundis.

1 Out of the deepe haue I called vn­to thee O Lord: Lord heare my voice.OVt of the deepe bot­tome of the depth, I cryed vnto thee my God: lost & couered in the fearefull cauernes of the earth, I called vppon thy name. Hearken vnto my voice, giue eare vnto my prayer. For all hope of suc­cour was gone; I looked a­bout mee, and behold no­thing but horrour and fear­fulness: yet haue I not lost courage, but waited for [Page] that which thou hast pro­mised to all those who liue in feare of thy name, and are obedient to thy com­mandements.

Bow down then O Lord,2 O let thine eares con­sider well the voice of my com­plaint. a fauourable eare to my complaint. If sinne haue in­terposed it selfe betweene thee and me, to exasperate thee against mine offences, and to mooue thee against my prayer, which I make vnto thee; driue it out of the sight of thine eye of mercie: or rather O Lord, close for a while thine eye of iustice, vntil the eare of thy clemencie haue receiued my confession, & the hum­ble [Page] request which I make vnto thee. For I come not to stand vppon mine owne iustification; but vpon thy gentleness and bounty.

3 If thou Lord wilt be extreme to marke what is don amisse; Oh Lord who may abide it?If thou shouldst keepe a register of our faults, and cal vs to a strict account for them, who could endure O Lord the rigour of thy iudgement? What day is there of my whole life, that deserueth not a whole age of torments? Thou migh­test bring vpon mee all the punishments of hell, and yet the greater part of my sinnes remain vnpunished.

But thou art ready to re­ceiue to mercie the sinner [Page] that commeth to thee with confession in the mouth,4 For the [...] mercy wi [...] thee: ther­fore shalt thou be feared. and contrition in the heart. No sooner hath he looked toward thy mercie; but he feeleth it work in him, brea­king and dissoluing sinne, which had frozen his heart with feare and amazement. The punishment vvhich hangeth ouer his head, de­parteth farre from him; ca­rying away with it, this mi­serable carefulnes, which is a hel to the cōsciences con­taminated with iniquitie. For this cause O Lord, would I neuer vtterly for­sake thy lawe: but haue al­waies attended, when it [Page] would please thee to bee gracious vnto me. For hee that is ill aduised, and des­perate in his sin, and aban­doneth his soule, as past re­couerie, doth like to the ab­hominable vsurer, who be­cause he hath suffered some losse of goods, goes and hangs himselfe.

5 I looke for the Lord, my soule doth waite for him, in his word is my trust.My soule hath not done so: for euen then when she felt thine hand heauie vpon me▪ exacting part of the pu­nishment, which my faults had merited; yet did shee still hold fast the hope in thy promises.

6 My soule flyeth vnto the Lord: before the morning watch, I say before the morning watch.When the stripes vvere multiplyed vpon my back, [Page] I cryed vnto thee, O Lord, Thy wil be done: only giue me as much strength as af­fliction. Measure my paine according to my vigour: and if thou encrease my [...]orment, augment my cou­ [...]age: and so hast thou dealt with me O Lord.

Let all true Israelites therfore both day & night,7 O Israel trust in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy: and with him there is plenti­ous redēp­tion. but their cōfidence in God, [...]ook vpon him, and to him [...]lone for all their succour: [...]or his succour is readie, [...]nd neuer faileth those that with integritie of consci­ence, and puritie of wil call vpon him. Though their trouble be great & terrible, [Page] as soone as the Lord doth incline his eare to their cry, so soone shall they finde themselues deliuered. For he aboundeth with mercie, and neuer faileth to succor those who make their re­course to him. Insomuch, that his bountie taketh a­way all the sorrow, that we had for beeing sinners; and makes vs as it were reioice that we had fallen; as at the cause, for which wee haue had such trial of his mercy: for if our faults surmount measure, his grace excee­deth all imagination. Wee haue deserued a long and hard captiuitie; but loe, he [Page] hath deliuered vs, and set vs at most sweet libertie: wee haue blinded the eyes of our vnderstanding; and lo, [...]ee commeth to illighten [...]s. O Israel, ye haue sinned against the Lord: yee haue made a mocke at his lawe, and sported your selues in [...]he breach of his comman­dements, and forgotten his [...]ounty so plentifully pow­ [...]ed vpon you.

He hath freed thee from miserable bondage:8 And he shal redeeme Is­rael: from all his sins. he hath [...]ed thee with bread from [...]eauen: hee hath made [...]reames to gush out of the [...]ard rocke, to giue thee drinke: he hath giuen thee [Page] the most delicious garden of the earth for thine habi­tation: he hath made a co­uenant with thee, & made thee know his will. But ye haue conspired against his honour, gone a whoring after strange Gods, and tro­den his lawe vnder your feet: in a word, ye haue me­rited all the punishments of hell: and yet still doth he offer himselfe most graci­ously vnto thee: he will re­deeme thee with the price of his bloud, from the sla­uerie of sin, to which thou hadst of thine own accord bound thy selfe. Behold him, who himselfe payeth [Page] the ransome, for those that haue betrayed him; vvho taketh vppon himselfe the punishment of our back­sliding, and the paiment of our forfeit. With what words shall we render him thankes? Open my lippes, my God, my Creator, my Redeemer, that my voice may bee lifted vp in that measure, as mine heart is enflamed with a boyling af­fection to giue thee praise and thankes, and to abase my selfe in the knowledge of my self; that I may rouse vp my spirits in the know­ledge of that sacred myste­rie, whereby wee are rein­corporated [Page] with thee, and admitted againe to thy co­uenant, to enter into this blessed participation of glo­rie; wherein all those shall triumph, who shallbe par­takers of the merite of the passion of thy welbeloued Sonne, the true and onely Sauiour of the world.

Psalme 143. Domine exaudi.

O Lord,1 Heare my prayer O Lord, and consider my desire: hearken vnto me for thy truth and righteous­nes sake. man is weary in the ende of all things: the continu­ance of his course putteth him out of breath: too much seeing, dimmeth and dazeleth his eyes: the clat­ering sound deafeth his eares: but the more I crye unto thee, the stronger is my voice, my courage in­creaseth, and my prayer is the more pleasing to mee: and all because I begin my [Page] daily petitions, with Lord heare my prayer, and giue eare to my supplication: for in praying to thee my God, consisteth al my com­fort. This is my prayer, O Lord, which doth coniure thy clemencie, to expiate my sinnes; not by the ri­gour of thy punishment, but by the effect of thy grace, whereby thou hast abolished & cast away from thy soueraigne and power­full might and maiesty, the memory of mine offences.

2 And enter not into iudgement with thy seruant: for in thy sight shall no man li­uing bee iustified▪Deale not then in iustice, with thy seruant, neither giue him ouer to the rigour of thy lawe: for of all men [Page] [...]uing, that shal appeare be­fore the seate of thy iudge­ment, no man shall bee iu­stified, no man shall escape this fearefull condemnati­on; the punishment where­of is horrible, and the hor­rour immortall. Alas, O Lord, who can iustifie him­selfe before thee? It is thou that art offended; it is thou that shalt accuse vs; it is thou that hast seene our faults, and wilt beare wit­nesse; it is thou that wilt iudge vs. When the accu­ser shall be witness, and the witnesse iudge, what shall then become of the guiltie? what cause shall serue to [Page] cleare him? But I will not stand out O Lord, to come to this issue. I will arme me with thy grace, and oppose that as a buckler to thy iu­stice. Thy grace is procu­red by the acknowledge­ment of our faults, & hum­bling of our spirit. Loe, I lye prostrate before thy feete, confessing my sinne; O Lord haue mercie vpon me.

3 For the e­nemie hath persecuted my soule: hee hath smitten my life down to the groūd, he hath laid me in the dark­nes, as one that had been long dead.My sinne O my God, the capitall enemie of my soule, hath so discomfited and beaten me down, that I goe groueling vppon the earth, not daring to lift vp mine eyes vnto heauen. For [Page] as soone as I lift vp mine eyes; loe, the light shineth vpon mee, to bring vnto light, all my manifold of­fences, which accuse my conscience. And I feele withall shame to couer my face; a face vnworthy to looke vp vnto heauen; the king whereof it hath so grieuously offended; a face too cowardly to cast vp his eyes to those places, where are so many thunders and lightning prepared, for the destruction of guiltie sin­ners.

My spirit then hath led me into the darknesse,4 Therefore is my spirit vexed with­in mee, and my heart within mee is desolate. and hath buried mee in the [Page] graue, as one that is dead. My soule within mee is heauie, & my heart is trou­bled: euen like him, vvho walking loftie with hye bent lookes, falleth vna­wares into the bottome of some pitte, presently his soule is troubled; he loseth his vnderstanding; he vex­eth and tormenteth him­selfe; he knoweth, neither what to will, or what to do; vntill his spirits returning vnto him, he beginneth to consider his estate, and the place wherein hee is, and the manner of his fall: then hee beginneth by little and little to regaine the toppe, [Page] and with great paine and labour to winde himselfe out of the place, into which he so easily fell: so I hauing called to minde, as much as is possible, things past,5 Yet doe I remember the time past, I muse vpon al thy workes: yea I exer­cise my selfe in the workes of thy hands. and hauing entred into a pro­found meditation of the workes of thine hands; and hauing exactly considered the perfection of all things, which thou hast created; then calling to minde the estate wherein thou hast created me; and then pro­posing to my selfe, that wherein now I finde my selfe, as it were ouerwhel­med vnder the ruine of sinne; I curse to my self the [Page] houre wherein my mother conceiued me, and the day that first opened my eye­liddes to make me see hea­uen and earth, the witnesses of mine infirmitie: and in the ende finding nothing in this world that could comfort mee, in this di­stresse, I addresse my selfe yet further vnto thee.

6 I stretch forth my hand vnto thee: my soule gas­peth vnto thee, as a thirsty land.I fall down on my knees before thee, and stretch out my hands and armes to thee: and my soule thir­sting after thy grace, doth attend with as great desire, as the thirstie and scorched earth, doth expect a graci­ous raine in the heat of sum­mer.

[Page]Help me then, and that soone, O my GOD:7 Heare me O Lord: and that soone: for my spirit waxeth faint: hide not thy face from mee, least I be like them that goe downe into the pit. for I am alreadie cleane out of breath; my heart faileth: loe, how I fall into a swoun. Wilt thou, Lord delay, till death hath seised on mee? I am euen alreadie at Deaths doore, if thou make not hast: for my sen­ses decay by little and little; my soule is as it were in a trance, and my body with­out motion. If thou O Lord, be farre from mee, if thou hide thy face from mee, I shall bee like vnto those that goe downe into the depth of Hell: Pale death will sit vpon my face, [Page] and seize on my senses: and which is worst, spiritu­all death will slay my soule, fill it with fright and hor­rour, and vtterly depriue it of the knowledge of thy singular bountie, and the hope of grace, which shineth in thy miracles, as a glittering starre, in the ob­scure darkness of the night.

8 O let me heare of thy louing kindnes betimes in the mor­ning, for in thee is my trust: shew me then the way that I should walk in, for I lift vp my soule vnto thee.Cause mee then to vn­derstand and feele the ef­fects of thy mercy betimes: and in the morning vvhen the sunne beginneth to rise vpon the earth, let thy mer­cie also rise vpon me to en­lighten mine ignorance, and conduct mee in the [Page] wayes of thy commande­ments. Yet let it not, O Lord, bee wholly like the sunne, which at the ende of his course goes to plunge himselfe in the sea, hiding for a time his light from sil­ly men: but let it assist mee perpetually, & be as indiui­dual a guide vnto my soule, as is my soule vnto my bo­die: for the life of my soul, doth more strictly depend vpon thy mercy, then the life of my bodie doth vpon my soule. O then let her neuer forsake mee: but let her light alwaies direct my goings in thy wayes, that I neuer wander out of that [Page] path through which alone I must come vnto thee. For otherwise my spirit which is entangled amongst the briers and brambles of this world, and wandereth in the thickets, were neuer a­ble to finde out the right way; but posting along at aduenture, might lose both labour and trauell, neuer neere that place where shee desireth to arriue. But my hope is alwaies in thine aide, and I look for succour from aboue.

9 Deliuer me O Lord, from my enemies: for I flye vnto thee to hide me.I am held captiue of those that cruelly thirst af­ter my life: hasten thee O Lord, to my deliuerance: [Page] to thee I flye for succour: O receiue me into thy pro­tection; teach mee what I shall doe: for to thee alone my God, doe I tender my seruice.

Away, away from mee,10 Teach mee to doe the thing that pleaseth thee, for thou art my God: let thy lo­uing spirit leade me forth into the land of righteous­nes. thou deceitfull▪ pleasure, which heretofore hast be­witched my soule, and poi­soned my spirit: thou hast fedde me with thy too too pleasing delicates, to make me with a little hony swal­low down a deadly poison of hemlocke; which distil­ling into all my members, hath made them half dead and voide of sense: so that now I am little better then [Page] a dead man. But which is worse; not my body alone, but euen my soule also, the fountain of my life present and to come is benumm'd.

11 Quicken me O Lord for thy name sake: and for thy righteous­nes sake bring my soule out of trouble.It is time thē that thy spi­rit come to rouse vp my dy­ing soule, to take her by the hand, and leade her into a place of safetie, to quicken her and imprint in her the image of thy iustice; that, that may bee her shield a­gainst all temptations, which besiege her on euery side, and threaten her finall ruine. Thou shalt come then, and by thy comming drawe my soule out of tri­bulation, receiue mee vn­to [Page] to mercie, and destroy all those that haue conspired against me.

Then shall my warre be at an ende,12 And of thy goodnes slay mine enemies, and destroy all them that vexe my soule, for I am thy seruant. and theirs be­ginne: yea, with such a be­ginning as shall continue in endlesse griefe: and as the riuers running from their fountaine still enlarge themselues vntil they come into the sea; so shall their miserie increase from day to day, and in the ende plunge them into extreame languor and hopelesse di­stresse. And this shall bee the ende of all those that vexe my soule: for I am thy faithfull seruant O Lord, [Page] and thou wilt not cast me out of thy remembrance; but wilt call those to ac­count, who in reproach of my GOD, haue so shame­fully handled mee. They laughed at my harme; but loe, the time is at hand, vvhen they shall bewaile their owne. Thy venge­ance beginneth to flame against them, and men shal see them fall away, as leaues from the trees at the approaching of vvinter. How shall I glorifie thy name O GOD? And where shall I beginne to set forth thy praise? Shall I declare thy bountie in the creati­on [Page] of so many admirable vvorkes as are vnder the Sunne? and thy wisedome in preseruing them?

Shall I proclaime thy iustice in condemning and taking vengeance of the pride of Angels, and dis­obedience of men?

Shall I sing of thy mercy in redeeming of those, who by forsaking of thy law fell headlong into the slauerie of eternal death?

To what part of thy praises is the base tune of my voice able to stretch? or were my voice suffici­ent, what eares were able to receiue it?

[Page]All things faile mee O Lord, in this enterprise, saue onely courage, and will: vvhich, filled with a vehe­ment and feruent affection, cry out vnto thee as lowde as they can.

Assist their vveake es­sayes with thy grace: and since the teares of my re­pentance haue vvashed a­way the foulenesse of my sinnes, vvherewith my spirit vvas ouercharged, de­iected and pressed downe; giue mee henceforth the wings of faith and hope, whose swift flight may car­rie mee into thy bosome, to bee revnited to his first [Page] originall: that I may neuer hereafter entertaine any o­ther thought, then vvhat may tende to the fur­therance of thy seruice, and the aduance­ment of thy glorie.