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WHither then wilt thou fly, O miserable soule, or where wilt thou make thy retire? Neither to the East, nor to the West, nor to the desart Mountaines. Fly thou maist, but escape thou canst not. Woe is mee, what a day of terror will that bee, when thou shalt finde no place to secure thee, no
friend to speake for thee, no meanes to reprive thee, all to reprove thee, none to re∣lieve thee. When Adam must bee brought from his bushes, and Sarah from be∣hind the doore, and man shall say to his Conscience, ••s Ahab said to Elias, Hast thou found mee, O mine Enemy•• Poore guilty soule, though ••hou shouldst fly from the Field to the City, from the ••ity to thy House, from thy House to thy Chamber, yet wouldst thou finde no rest. For there, even there, where ••he wals inclose thee, priva∣cie seemes to secure thee, the Curtaines of the Night to obscure thee, yet there will thy surcharged Consci∣ence accuse thee, thy Memory
witnesse against thee, the rule of Reason judge thee, thy Will imprison thee, Feare torture thee, Delight torment thee. Miserable Creature, where pleasure becomes a torture, delight a torment! Alas! if thou hadst none without thee to hunt thee, thou hast one within thee will haunt thee, afflict thee, affright thee, though none should pursue thee: The wic∣ked flee when none pursueth. O cast thine eye upon thy selfe, and see if thou bee not one of this number. What hast thou done during thy way∣••aring in this vale of misery, that might deserve the least drop of Gods mercy? What sinnefull motion hast thou not admitted? what sensuall
action not committed, what spirituall direction not omit∣ted? Behold thy state in sin conceived, by sinne decei∣ved, and into Satans family received! Thou hast sur••e∣ted in the delights of sinne, and estranged thy thoughts from the joyes of Sion. Thou hadst rather enjoy the plea∣sures of sinne for a season, and to the slavery of sense subject the Principality of reason, than by contempt of Earth lay thee a sure foun∣dation in heaven. Miserable soule, what will become of thee, when these earthly joyes shall bee taken from thee, when these time-suting friends which seeme to love thee, shall leave thee, and by reason of that corrupt shell
wherein thou sojournest, shall loath thee? When left to thy selfe, and through an∣guish of spirit well neare be∣reft thy selfe, thou sh••lt call for comfort, but none will come neare thee; for one of thy many fri••nds, but none will heare thee; for one mi∣nutes rest, but none will ease thee; for the least hope of comfort, but none will cheere thee. Where canst thou looke, and not finde new objects of grie••e? If to Heaven, see how thy sinnes have incensed it; if to Earth, see how thy example hath defil'd it; if to Hell, see how thy sinnes purchase hath de∣served it! What hast thou to plead for thee? What suc∣cour, what shelter to secure
thee? Alas! now thou art to bee presented before a Judge, who is upright, and will not bee bribed; who is all-seeing, and will not bee blinded; who is equally min∣ded, and will not be bended. Forged oathes cannot de∣lude him, personall respect deprave him, hireling Advo∣cates by perswasion draw him, or powerfull Poten∣tates by countenance ore∣awe him. The Judges of the Earth shall bee judged by him; and the Kings of the Earth shall tremble before him. O what will become of thee (sinne-soiled soule) in these straits of extremity, these intricate mazes of mise∣ry! Poore thou art, and who will enrich thee? naked of
good workes, and who will cloath thee? Hungring af∣ter this world, which cannot feed thee; thirsting after ho∣nours, which cannot fill thee. O how long hast thou preferred the prodigals huskes of vanity, before the delitious viands of eternity? How long hast thou turned in thy bed, like a doore on the hinges, promising thy selfe se∣curity, when nothing was farther from thee? O reflect upon thy misery, and im∣plore gods mercy! Even that God, in whose sight the very Heavens are uncleane, such is his purity. That God, which came not to call the righteous, but the sinner to re∣pentance, such is his piety. Art thou sick? Yea sin-sick,
soule-sick. Teares are the best Electuary to cure this de∣sperate malady. The penitents brine is the Ange••s wine. When Sinners weepe, An∣gels rejoyce: for right well they know, that they which Sow in teares, shall reape in joy. Bee a Turtle then in thine heart, passionatly throbbing; a Pelicane in thy brest, com∣passionately piercing; an Hart in thine eyes, incessant∣ly weeping; a Swan in thy voyce, deaths Elegy singing, a Philomel in thy note, for thy lost chastity ••ighing▪ a Crane in thy life, circumspectly watching. O shut, yea spee∣dily shut, I say, thine eyes from vanity, that the Ob∣jects of Heaven may onely delight thee; shut thine
eares from levity, that the subject of vertue may invite thee; shut all thy senses from the deluding motives of sen∣suality, that reason may bee thy guide, the love of God thy goad, Heaven thy goale, peace of conscience thy crowne of glory. Shut the doore of thine inner Chamber, and there poure out thine heart to Gods honour: where repo∣sing, and from the world re∣tyring, thou maist thus in∣voke him, thus invite him.
Let nothing bee unto mee (I beseech thee) pleasant without thee, nothing sweet, nothing specious, nothing appeare unto mee without thee precious. Let all things appeare vile unto mee without thee.
Whatsoever is contrary to thee, let it bee displea∣sing to mee: and let thy good-will and pleasure, be my indeficient desire and endevour. Let it irke mee to rejoyce without thee, let it delight mee to re∣joyce with thee, and weep with thee. O good JESU, if it bee so sweet to weep for thee, how sweet is it to rejoyce for thee?Thus to meditate, is to recrea••e thy wearied soule in the greene pastures of spirituall com∣fort; to bath thy panting soule in the pure chrystalline streames of eternall solace; to refresh thine hungry spirit with Heavenly Manna; to tune thy voyce to an holy Hosanna. Oh then, leave to
love the world before thou leave the world. Redeeme the time, because the dayes are evill. Avoid the occasion, lest thou become void of reason. Examine thy wayes, thy words, thy works. Subtract an houre from thy sleeping, to adde to thy praying. Mans security is the Devils op∣portunity. Watch therfore, for thou knowst not when the Theefe will come. The holy Hermit S. Ant••onie, who became first professor of an Eremiticall or solitary life, when he had read that divine sentence of holy Scripture, —Goe and sell all that thou ••••st, presently conceiving it to be meant by him, hee did so. Goe and doe thou likewise. Follow thy sweet Saviour in
a devout contempt of the world, from the Cribbe to the Crosse, from mount Olivet to mount Calvary, and from the tree of his Crosse, hee will reach thee a Crowne of glo∣ry. Follow, I say, with fer∣vour, the steps of thy Savi∣our. Say with holy Hie∣rom,
It my mother should hang about mee, my father lye in my way to stop mee, my wife and children weep about mee, I would throw off my mother, neglect my father, contemne the la∣mentation of my wife and children, to meet my Sa∣viour, Christ Jesus. My heart is ready, my heart is ready, doe what thou bidd••st, and bid what thou wilt.But above all things, that thou
maist bee at peace with thy Maker, and more gracious in the sight of thy Saviour, make the Evening the dayes Calendar: Say to thy selfe; O my soule, what hast thou done to day? What sinne hast thou healed in thee? where∣in was God honoured by thee? How hast thou in∣creased or decreased, profi∣ted or failed? Doing thus, thy Conscience shall not ac∣cuse thee, but defend thee; thy Memory shall not wit∣nesse against thee, but for thee; thy Reason shall bee a Judge to acquit thee, not condemne thee; thy Will shall not restraine thee, but free thee; no Feare shall affright or come nye thee; no Delight shall torment
August. in Enar. s••p. 45. Psalm.
Prov. 28. 1.
Electrum l••chry••a∣rum, Electu∣arium ani∣marum.
Lachrymae peccatorum, sun•• vinum Angelo••um. Bern sup. Cant. My•• rham oculoru•• di∣ci••••us me ru•• Ange∣lorum.
Anselm.
Damas. in Hi••t. Barlaam.
Luke 10. 37.
Licot sparso ••••ine, s••is•• is vestibus, ube∣r•• quibus ••e nutrierat, m••ter ostēda••, li••••t in li∣mine pa••er jaceat, per contemptam matrem, per calcatum pa∣trem, perge siccis ••culis, & ad vexil∣lum Crucis ev••la.
Hieroh.
Rev. 22. 20.