Auspicante Iehoua Maries exercise.

A praier vpon the talke of Christ with the woman of Samaria. Ihon. 4. The fruict therof: the comfort of mercy.

PEereles loue, and purest life of thy beloued, par∣don I beeseech thee the presūption of thy poore wounded creature, wounded with sinne, and cureles of hir sore, but onely in the merite of thy MERCY, in the oile of thy grace, & wounds of thy loue: oh sweet IESV, thou didst vouchsafe at Iacobs well of the woman of Samaria, to aske a little water; thou talkedst with hir, & reueledst thy selfe vnto hir, who vnworthy of thy comfort could not conceiue the greatnes of thy kindenes: but alas Lord, heere is another woman that commeth with another thirst, & to drinck of another fountaine: which foun∣taine

onely art thou alone, thou art the well of life, of which who drinketh shall neuer dye: long hath my soule thirsted after thee, yea in a barraine and drie land where no water is: oh that I might, so drinck of thy vertue, that beeing dronck with thy loue, I might bee so moi∣stened with thy grace, that I might neuer thurst more after sinne: oh sweet Iesu how sweet is thy sweet∣nes, no hart can Imagine nor tung can expresse; a fountaine neuer dri, of the abūdance of whose streams all the blessed come to drincke, all that drinck are in loue, and all that loue doe liue for euer: such a spring neuer drying, such a loue euer liue∣ing, & such a life euer ioying, wher is it but in thee? & where art thou but it is? oh foūtaine of all blessed∣nes, oh blessing of all happines, oh felicity of all ioyfulnes, quench the fire of my thirst with one droppe

of thy grace, let fall the dew of thy blessing vpon the drie hart of my soule; that being refreshed with thy loue, I maie deuote my life to thy seruice: for, sweet LORD, though the woman of Samaria would not offer thee drinck, beecause the Sa∣maritans would not meddle with the iewes, yet sweet Lord I am sure thou wilt not denie me thy mercy, because I am a sinner: for thou hast mercy in store for all them that come vnto thee, Iacob their father gaue y^t well as it seemed, to an vn∣courteous people, that would not giue thee a cuppe of their water: but God thy father hath giuen thee to all people a fountaine of life to all that in true faith thirst to drinck of thy loue: & how incom∣parable is thy kindnes, that with the blood of thy hart didst seale the bond of thy loue: doest thou denie any one comfort, that callest

all vnto thy mercy: or doest thou suffer any to perish that put their trust in thy word? doest thou not offer thy selfe freely? & shall I not beg thee with teares? yes sweet Lord I humbly thanck thee, I feele the sweetnes of thy loue, though I can not beeholde thy presence, I tast of thy goodnes though I see not thy persō, & drinck of thy ver∣tue though I know not thine es∣sence; for had not the medicine of thy mercy cured my soul of hir so∣row, I had died in my sinne, ere I had tasted of thy grace, but sweet-LORD, the woman of Samaria had many husbands, & my soule desi∣reth but thy loue, be thou I say the husband, of my loue, the loue of my life, and life of my soule, the fountaine of my faithes comfort, the water of my hopes life, & the sweet of my eternall felicitie: let me thirst only for thy grace, drinck

onely of thy mercie, & liue onely to thy Glorie: that from the pud∣dles of the worlde, deliuered by thy mercy, in the ioies of paradise, I may sing Halaluiah to thy holly Maiestie:

Amen.