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THou mighty Lord of hea∣uen and earth, who hol∣dest the ball of the world in thy hand, and keepest all times and seasons as in a register, who art all hand, all eye, all foot, for strengthe, for fight, for swift∣nesse, to whom the in-most chambers and retired clossets, the tabernacles and habita∣tions of mortall men, nay the hartes and bosomes of all the creatures in the world, are vnfoulded and layed o∣pen as leuill to thy sight, as
the aire which we looke on with our eyes, what cā we do ye is hid frō thy sight, ten thousand times brighter then y• sun, or whether can we go y• our sins & offences lye not naked before thée, surely no otherway there is, but only to inuolue them in the clowds & mistes of sighes & repentance, repentance the guift of God, the ioy of Angels, the salue of sins, ye heauen & refuge of sinners: O where remaines the subiect of ye title, ye Angels sin not and ther∣fore need not repentance, nor ye spirits of darkenes for the sen∣tence is already past & condem∣nation sealed, it is only for me most wretched sinner y• I am, & for my brethren of ye same inhe∣ritance, to vs alone doth it be∣long, and we perceiue it not,
we eat and feed delitiously, we are wanton with thy guifts, O God abusing them in surfet and riot, and luxuriouslye, we sinne in drinking, in procuring an ap∣petite to exceed therein, we sin in our cloathing, most super∣fluously attyred like the rich glutton condemned to hell, as if we would exceed Salomon, and match the lillies of the feild, and we ••eed not only our selues, but our oxen in our meadowes and stalles to feed our vnprofitable carcasses, & our horses in ye stable to beare our vnprofitable car∣kasses, when the poore in our streetes & at our gates, feed v∣pō empty aire for lacke of suste∣nance, & we remēber not thē, not Christ in them, ye hungereth and Christ ye must feed vs which is
ye aduocate for ye poore, & y• iud∣ge of ye rich, in this obliuion and height of our sins: what is be∣come of humility, of repentance, we are all begotten in sin, and to misery are we brought forth: cō∣cupiscence hath bene the nurse whose milke wee haue sucked from time to time, & as we haue growne in yeares so hath cor∣ruptiō growne vp wt vs as part of our owne nature: what re∣mayneth thē O Lord for vs but humility & repētāce, to prostrate our selues vpon ye knees of our harts, and say Lord haue mercy vpō sinners with the poore pub∣lican, & not with y• proud Pha∣rise to say I am not like this mā, or other my brethren for I doe thus and so, let vs not be so mad as to forget nature so much, all
our imperfections, the substance and mettall whereof wee are made, and that we must sudden∣ly turne to ye earth, vpon which now we trample with such con∣tempt and scorne, and must be∣come chamberers and fellowes with wormes and rotlennesse: and what cause haue wee then to be proud? Nay, what cause haue wee not to bee humble? when of all the large possessions and inheritances wee possesse, wee haue no more truely our own then the length and bredth of our Carkasses. And againe, let vs humble our selues, that Christ may exalt vs, and not ex∣alt our selues, lest hee throw vs downe, as hee scattereth the proud in the imagination of their hearts. Let vs learne of
him to bee humble and meeke, which although the King of hea∣uen and earth, hauing all power and preheminence, and proud in subiection vnder his feet, yet was not touched with this vice himselfe, that chose poore Fi∣sher-men to bee his Disciples, payd tribute to his inferiours, rode vpon an asse, praied for his Persecutors, imbraced yong children, cured the halt, and the lame, and the blinde, and regar∣ded the low estate of his Hand∣maid, and will regard vs if wee regard this vertue, which hee so regarded, if wee be imitators of his steps, and examples, which hee grant that hath thus led the way, the God, the King, the Prince of humility, for his own deere sake.