La scala santa, or, A scale of devotions musical and gradual being descants on the fifteen Psalms of Degrees, in metre : with contemplations and collects upon them, in prose, 1670.

THE ELEVENTH Psalm of Degrees, BEING The CXXX. PSALM.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉; De dolore Profundo, & ex imo corde; and not (as the Papists would have it) De Profundis Purgatorii, to be used for the Dead: It is an Act and incite∣ment of Hope, under the most weighty Pressures, from this Proof, viz. That neither with the strongest Angels, nor Saints departed, (much less with the greatest, or best of Men upon Earth) is any Pardon or Propitiation to be found, but only with God; who alloweth us here space and place for Repentance, that he may be feared, (not so slavishly as to be fled from, or hated) that he may be sued unto, adored, and attended on, in the holy Duties of Prayer, Praise, and Trust; which are comprized in this Psalm to be used sedulously and constantly night and day, according to that which the Repetition of the compa∣rison in the sixth Verse doth infer, which is thus gloss'd on by Kimchi: My Soul waiteth in the Night for the Lord, that it may be in the number of those who rise in the Morning-Watch to pray. And this sense being most com∣prehensive of the Times and Method, both of Jewish, and the greatest of Devotion, I follow it in my Version, and desire to do so in my Practice.

This Psalm was made (as some think) in the time of the Captivity, for Redemption from it, as may be judged by the last Verse: But others ascribe it to David, giving it the same Date with the 51^st, and is reckon'd the sixth of the Penitentials, i. e. of those which were used when public Pentents were brought and recon∣ciled to the Church, who might well say, Because there is Pardon (as saith the Text) or Propitiation (as the 72^d) with thee,

O Lord, therefore shalt thou be feared, i. e. obeyed; 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, not 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, because the mildness of his Laws, and meekness of his Dealings, were strong Motives for Repen∣tance.

Anthema Hocce à me usitatum est, ut primò factum, in Secundum Octobris.

〈♫〉〈♫〉

OUT of the Deep, wherein, like Jo—nas, I was try'd; out of the mire of Sin, my Clay to God hath cry'd,

Lord hear my Voice, give what I crave; O! let me have thy Love, Heav'ns Joys.

Too oft we chuse false Joys; And should'st thou be severe To chasten our ill Choice, What Man his Ills can bear?

But we have prov'd, That thou may'st be Pardon's with thee; Both fear'd and lov'd.

I'le fear, lest thou art lov'd Too little; and I'le flee (When Fear my Heart hath mov'd) Unto thy Sanctuary:

Early and late Grace to afford; There waits the Lord, Therefore I'le wait.

My Soul on high shall wait, (Like those, who watch the rise Of Day) to Officiate At Morning Sacrifice.

Nay, like the Guard; Remove the Night, Who long 'till Light And them reward.

'Till Jacob's Star reward Your Hopes, and on you rise; Wait Isr'el on your Lord With wakeful wishing Eyes.

Look 'till the Sun Doth heal and bless, Of Righteousness And brings God's Son.

O! shield ye with his Sun God's People, trust his Word; Since full Salvation Attends our gracious Lord:

There's Pity seen, Who will Redeem And Pow'r in him, Us from all Sin.

Gloria Patri, &c.

Glory be to our King, Who shall be, was, and is; Loud Hallelujahs Sing To God, the God of Peace.

The Lord of Hosts, The Father, Son, The Three in One, And Holy-Ghost.

AMEN.

CONTEMPLATIONS and COLLECTS ON THE Eleventh PSALM of DEGREES, BEING The CXXX. PSALM.

ODearest Jesu! when I consider thee, crying with strong Cries to thy Father for me out of the depths of thine Agony, and of thy Sufferings, both in Gethsemane, and in Golgotha, how am I swallowed up in the Abysses, both of thy Passion and Compassion for us! Ah! what fathomless Depths indeed! O! what unmeasurable Dimensions, both of Grief and Goodness, are there for us to be immersed in! and since they who are conversant among great Waters see the Wonders of the Lord, O! how may we behold these in the drops of thine Eyes, and of thy Wounds, in the Rivers of thy Tears, and of thy wonderful Sweat, in the Ocean of thy Love and Sorrows for Mankind! When thy Soul was heavy, and sunk down even unto Death, and all the Cataracts of Shame and Fury passed over thy Head, O King of Righteousness and Glory! yet out of the deep and horrible Pit of God's Wrath, into which thy condition was plunged for our sakes, how didst thou reach up thy very Sighs and Groans, thy Pains and Sadness, thy Prayers, and all thy Passions, unto Heaven it self, to reach us thence a Medicine, and a Remedy, more certain Health, and a more happy Life, than the lifting up of the Serpent in the Wilderness ever brought to its beholders! I will there∣fore look unto thee, and be enlighten'd, even while thou seemest Eclip∣sed; I will stay my self on the Tree of thy Cross, and secure my self under the Shadows of thy Crucifixion, when I am most cast down or overwhelmed with the Seas of my Anxieties and Trials, for the Lord hath been deeply sensible of our Infirmities, and touched to the quick with humane Miseries, that he might not be fled from, (as he was for∣merly, both while he stood on Sinai, and on Golgotha) but that he might be feared, and approached unto with Reverence, because there is a Propitiation with him for us, there is an Attonement made by him our High-Priest: Therefore, O God! hear my Voice, though my Sins cry aloud for Vengeance; and thou mayst be more strict (than thou wert formerly under the more imperfect Light of Nature, or of the Irish Law) to mark the failings and stumblings of Mankind now in the lightsom day-time of the Gospel; yet do thou, my Father,* 1.1 and my Prince, pity me in the Dungeon of my Corruptions, and draw my Feet out of the Mire of my Lusts, out of the Clay of my earthly Mindedness, out of the Waters of my worldly Sorrows, and bring me to the desired Shore of thy sure Mercies in Christ Jesus; set my feet on the Rock, and order my Goings, that my Foot-steps may not slip, but that I may walk in the Land of the Living unto the Land of

Promise; and when I go down to the bottom of the Mountains, and the Weeds are wrapt about my Head,* 1.2 and the Earth with her Bars enclose me on every side, that then I may not be cast out of thy sight, nor into the Bonds of mine Iniquities, nor into the Belly of the lowest Hell: O our Father! since thou hast not left thy Son there, grant that my Life may be brought up from Corruption. I know Salvation is from thee alone, and with thee infinite abundance of Bowels of the tenderest Compassions why thou shouldest be reverenced and repaired unto, there is a Jesus in thy Bosom to redeem from all Sins, from Dan∣gers, Enemies, and Troubles, and to represent us cover'd with his Righteousness; otherwise shouldest thou view us in our Original Nakedness, or actual Filthiness, we could not stand before thee in Judgment. But since there is Forgiveness with thee, O God! there is cause enough why we should fly unto thee, trust in thee, wait on thee, and watch for thee, more than they who watch for the Morning, for if Light be so grateful to those who walk in Darkness, how amiable is thy Countenance to us in the gloominess of thy present State? And how much more lovely will it be when we lie down in the Night of Death, that the Day-spring from on high may visit us, and bring the joyful Morning of a Resurrection, both from Sin and the Grave? O! do thou make hast my beloved Saviour, and be as a Roe, and a young Hart,* 1.3 on the Mountain of Spices: Thou that art the Hart of the Mor∣ning, who out of the midst of thy deepest Woes, and dying Pangs, didst cry unto God for us, do thou send us timely help, for we would seek thee early in the prime of our Age, (hastening from the very dawn of our Lives to prevent the Night-Watches, and like thy Spouse or beloved Mary) to see the Sun of Righteousness risen on the Earth before we get to our Zoar.

O! that our Prayers might ascend like Incense by the meritorious lifting up of thy Body for us! Dear Lord! impute no Guilt to us, but cleanse us from all, that we may be blessed, and holy, and happy, as we beg to be, for thy own sake, O gracious Saviour! to whom be Glory, &c.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Jeremiah.
• * 1.2

  Jonas.
• * 1.3

  Cant. 2.