A heavenly treasure of confortable meditations and prayers written by S. Augustin, Bishop of Hyppon in three seuerall treatises of his meditations, soliloquies, and manual. Faithfully translated into English by the R. F. Antony Batt monke, of the holy order of S Bennet of the Congregation of England

A most deuoute prayer to our Sauiour Iesus Christ. CHAPT. XVIII.

O Christ my God and hope, thou loue of mankind. The light, way, life and praise, of those to life assign'd. Behould thy bondes, and woundes, thy crosse, death, and thy graue. All which thou didst eudure, vs sinners for to saue. Three daies being past, from death thou didst arise againe, And thy sadd freindes mad'st gladd, who doubtfull did remaine. The fourth day to heauen thou ascendedst where before. Thou did'st, do'st, & shalt liue, and raigne for euermore.

Thou art my liuing and true God, my reuerend Father, my louing Lord, my great king, my good shepheard, my most holie helper, my most faire beloued, my bread of life, my Preist for eternitie, my guide to the heauenlie country, my true light, my most sacred sweetnes, my direct way, my cheife knowledge, my pure sim∣plicitie,

my peaceable amity, my sure guat∣dian, my best portion, my perpetuall safe∣tie, my immense mercy, my most strong patience, my immaculate sacrifice, my sa∣cred redemption, my firme hope, my per∣fect charitie, my true resurrection, my life euerlasting, my most happie vision and re∣ioycing, which shall neuer haue ending I humbly desire, begge, and beseech thee, that I may walke by thee, attaine to thee, and repose in thee, who art the way, the truth, and the life, without which noe mā can come to the Father. Thou truly art my desire my most sweete and gratious Lord.

O brightnes of the heauēly Fathers glory who sittest aboue the Cherubins, and be∣holdest the bottomles pits, being the true light, the enlightning light, the neuer fail∣ing light, on whom the Angells desire to looke. Behold my hart is in thy presence, dissolue the darkenes thereof, that it may be wholy replenished with the light of thy loue. Bestow thy selfe vpon me (o my God) giue me thy selte. Behold (o Lord) I doe loue thee and if it be to little, make me to loue thee more I cannot guesse how much loue is sufficiēt to loue thee withall, that my life may runne forewarde in desi∣re of being embraced of thee, neuer stay∣ing vntill it attaine to remaine hidden in

the secret fauour of thy diuine maiestie: yet this I know, o Lord, that it goeth not well with me, both within and without me as often as I am without thee; for that I esteeme all manner of riches and aboun∣dance besides thee, to be meere want and pouertie. Because thou onely art that good, which cannot be changed into bet∣ter or worse: thou art he alone, who sim∣plie art alone, to whom it is not one thing to liue, and an other thing to liue happily, for that thou art thine owne happines:

Howebeit we that are thy creatures (to whom it is one thinge to liue, & another thing to liue happily) ought to attribute both our whole life and liuing happily to thy onely grace and bountie. We therfore haue alwaies neede of thee, but thou ne∣uer of vs, for albeit we were not at all, yet nothing woulde be wanting to that good, which thou art: We therfore haue neede (o Lord our God) at all times to adhere to thee, that by thy countinuall ayde, we may be able to liue soberly, iustly and re∣ligiously.

True it is, we are drawen downwarde by the burden of our humaine f••ailtie: but by the guift of thy grace we are inflamed, and are caried vpward, we burne, goe foward, we mounte vpward and making ascents in our hartes, we sing a graduall song, we

are sett on fire through the good fire of thy loue, and goe foreward. But what ma∣keth me now to soare vpp to the peace of Hierusalem? Because I reioyce at those thinges, which are toulde me. We shall goe into the house of our Lord. Our good desire getteth vs a place there, to the end we affect nothing els but to remaine there for euer.

Seeing therfore we haue noe permanēt citty during the time of this life, but ex∣pect one heere after, (because as long as we liue in this world, we are as strangers and pilgrimes in a forraine countrie, in res∣pect of thee o Lord) for that our citty and habitation is in heauen: for this cause I am accustomed (being guided by thy grace) to enter into the secrett closett of my hait, where I sing sonnetts of chaste loue vnto thee my king, and my God, groaning forth most greuious sighes in the place of this my pilgrimage, where the dittie of my sō∣ges are thy iustifications.

And calling Hierusalem to minde, I doe dilate the senses and affections of my hart in thinking thereof, in thinking I say) of Hierusalem my countrie, of Hierusalem my mother, and of thee the ruler, the be∣autifier, the father, the defender, the patrō the gouernour, the pastor: the chaste and durable delightes, the constant ioy, and all

the good thereof, yea farr more then can either be spoken or imagined, because thou art the onely soueraigne, and true good: neither will I attende to any other thing, vntill it shall please thee (my God and my mercy) to sett me at liberty from the deformitie of this my corrupt body, & being brought by thee in to the peace of this my most deare mother (whither the first fruites of my sou••e are sent already) I may be conformed and confirmed in the same for all eternity.