And forgiue vs our Debts, as wee forgiue our Debtors.

CHristianitie is an actiue Profession, full of Religious importunitie, that will not suffer her Disciples to fix their minds or meditations too long on Earth, but eleuates their thoughts to that Meridian whose highest degree is Heauen. Indeed it were vnreasonable that the Ser∣uants should slumber vpon that pillow, whereon our Great Master the Son of Man had no roome to lay his head.*

Earth is but as the Center in the midst of a Circle; and how euer our apprehensions thinke it a great Body (as in it selfe it is) yet compared to Heauen tis but as a little Ball. If those 1022. Starres whose bignesse the Astronomer concludes to exceed the dimensions of our whole Terrestriall Globe,* appeare to our view not like Leaues, or Lines, or Characters writ in that great Volume of Heauen, but only like small Points and Periods; Imagine then, to one Page  211 that should from that exalted part of the Firmament suruey the Lower World, how like an Atome or little Mote would this huge heape of Dust appeare whereon wee tread? If to mans subtile and most sublime thoughts Earth be so small a thing, what an vnequall distribution should that man make of his thoughts, that could content them with such a Trifle? What an Empti∣nesse and Vacuitie would inhabit that soule, which when it hath Capacitie and Receit fit to comprehend the Foure points of Heauen, nay Him whose Essence is lar∣ger than them, God, should contract and lessen it selfe, and let out all his roome to entertaine so small a Guest, so scant a Te∣nant as the World?

Tis a iust proportion to allow the cares of this life as much roome in our thoughts as the quantitie and bredth of that Stage whereon wee moue is, compar'd to Hea∣uen. Tis in respect of that only Punctum, and therefore wee are taught wee should only Tangere in puncto, touch it but lightly, giue it only a short entertainment in our Page  212 meditations. See how short a stay our Blessed Sauiour makes vpon the World, who only glances vpon it in Transitu, in his way and passage thorow this Prayer, not touching it directly but in one of the Seuen Petitions, which is the very Center of the whole Prayer, as Earth is in respect of Heauen; Giue vs this Day our daily Bread.* Haec sola Petitio est boni nostri; This is the only Petition which includes Tem∣porall Blessings. For (as Caietan sayes fur∣ther) Priores petunt bonum diuinum, poste∣riores remotionem seu vitationem mali nostri; The three former Petitions aske those things which conduce to the Glory of God, and the three last remoue and depre∣cate those euills, those transgressions which make vs vncapable of his Kingdome and vnfit to doe his Will.

Now therefore, as to a Man that stands vpon this Center of Earth, Heauen is his Obiect, whether he lookes Diametrically from one side to another, or whether hee view the large Circumference that enui∣rons him, —Coelum est quodcunque videtur, Page  213 Tis Heauen that on al sides terminates and confines his eye: so if wee consider the middle Petition, Giue vs this day &c. whether wee looke backe, Heauen is be∣hinde vs in the Three preceding Petitions; or looke wee forward, tis before vs againe in those Three which follow it.

Thus you see like men set on shore for refreshment and prouision of some neces∣saries for their voyage, we are call'd aboord againe: Christ did only Land vs vpon the Worlds shore in that Middle Petition, to refresh vs in the midst of our Trauels, but He purposed not to affoord vs any long stay, for you may see Mans meditations here embarqued for the furthest point of Lifes Voyage. For the cleering of which passage to his last Home, he vses all dili∣gence in these three last Petitions, which are as it were his Harbingers to* remoue all impediments which might retard him in the course of his future Beatitude.

See in this, Man making his peace with God and the World, compounding with his Creditor God, and with his Debtors Page  214 Men, at one and the same rate, Forgiue vs &c. As wee forgiue them &c. See him in the next, preuenting all future arrerages that might lie vpon him, or make his Onus swell vp and become great againe, when he prayes for grace to auoid the occasions of sinne, Lead vs not into Temptation. And behold him in the last, suing out his euer∣lasting Quietus est, not to be encombred with after-reckonings, or troubled with the fearfull punishment in another World for sins acted in this, Deliuer vs from euill. Which is the scope of what most of the Schoolemen write concerning the latter part of this Prayer.

*This of my Text is a suit, limited by a Condition. The former part is the Suit, wherein wee solicit the mercy of God for remission, Forgiue vs. Secondly, we spe∣cifie the danger wee would be deliuered from, in this word Debts. Thirdly, we ac∣knowledge the proprietie of the Debt, that it is Ours, run into by our owne defaults, Forgiue vs our Debts.

*The latter is the Couenant vpon which Page  215 the Validitie of Gods Grant to vs, and the confirmation of the Suit depends, a Reci∣procall Mercy which wee promise to shew vnto our Brethren that haue iniur'd or of∣fended vs, comprehended vnder the stile of Our Debtors, As wee forgiue our Debtors.

The first part is a Discharge wee seeke from God, a priuilege from former arrests, a Freehold wee labour to purchase from Him, Forgiue vs.

The latter containes our Bargaine, and the consideration wee tender Him in lieu of his goodnesse to vs, Forgiuenesse to our Brethren.

I remember Hieron.* in his Epistle ad Paulinum speakes of the Booke of Iob, Sin∣gula in eo verba plena sunt sensibus, Euery word in it is of import. And Gerson makes this conclusion of the whole Scripture, Nihil in ijs otiosum reponi putandum est;* there is nothing in them contained but is mate∣riall and of vse. Nay, Singuli verborum api∣ces (saith another) Euery point and tittle is of consequence, according to that our Sa∣uiour said,* Iota vnum aut apex vnus non prae∣teribit Page  216 à lege. Now if euery word in Scrip∣ture hath its weight, much more euery word in this Prayer, which is the Epitome of all Scripture, and as the Spirit extracted out of the whole Booke of God.

I must not then passe by this Copulatiue ET dimitte, AND forgiue vs, which Christ hath prefixt to this Petition, without a Note, at least without mentioning the Schoolemens reason, why this Petition is coupled with a Coniunction, and so the next after this, whereas the Three first are not tied together by any such Band. The cause is,* saith Hales, and Biel, who recites him, for that the three former imply such a necessary connexion one to the other, that they cannot be seuered;* For the Name of the Father cannot so heartily be blest and hallowed by the Children, vnlesse they ex∣pected an Inheritance in the Kingdome of their Father, which should deuolue on them; Nor were they capable of that In∣heritance, were there not a conformitie be∣tweene their Fathers Will and Theirs.

So though there be three Petitions, they Page  217 haue but one scope, one and the same In∣created obiect, the Fruition of Gods Pre∣sence; Vnto whose Kingdome, as in a Iourney all the steps wee take are but one continued Motion tending to the place we goe to, how euer that motion be diuersified in our Gate; so those three first Petitions are but our steps, they are but one spiritu∣all Progresse in which wee make our ap∣proaches vnto our Father which is in Hea∣uen. Those then being inseparable, could admit no tie to hold them together, their necessary dependance one vpon the other being their Cement, which combines them so close they appeare but one peece: but tis not so with the rest of the Petitions, which •hough they conduce to the same end as the former, yet they goe by seuerall wayes. They are seuerall subiects, and therefor• needed a Coniunction, which as it vnites them, so it argues the diuersitie of the thing vnited (as Biel) Copulatio Coniunctionis sig∣num est diuersitatis copulatorum.* The Thre• first could not be dis-ioyn'd in Gods grant▪ These may: for God may giue abundanc• Page  218 of Temporall blessings, and yet giue no Remission for sinne. He may giue Riches In Poenam, to men that imploy them so as they only by them purchase their finall condemnation: He may bestow the fat of the Land vpon a Miser that cares not what extortion he practises vpon his brethren: He may bestow his Bread vpon a Prodi∣gall, that abuses it in Riot and Surfets, from that fulnesse growing into a wanton disor∣der, which pampers vice and encourages those Temptations of sinne wee here pray against. Thus haue I shewed you the rea∣son of this Coniunction; From whence I proceed to the first part of this Text, the Suit, Forgiue.

[ 1] *Wherein I purpose not to dispute the proprietie of the terme Dimitte, whether it had not beene better exprest by Remitte: since as Salmeron well notes,* Haec vox Ec∣clesiastico vsu recepta est in eâ significatione vt accipiatur pro remissione; The Church by Dimitte vnderstands Forgiuenesse or Re∣mission of sinne. An Act which though God hath imparted to his Church by a di∣rect Page  219 Commission giuen to the Ministers, Whose sinnes yee remit they are remitted,* and whose sinnes yee retaine they are retained; yet is the power originally in Himselfe: Quis potest dimittere peccata nisi solus Deus?* Who can forgiue sinne but God alone? Forgiue vs.

Neuer did Man speake in so naturall a Dialect as this. Other Petitions displayed he condition and temper of his Faith, this only shewes the condition of his Nature. Those implied the happinesse he hopes for hereafter, this the weighty miserie hee lies vnder in this World, Sinne. What better method can the conuicted hold than to submit? or what more proper fauour can the condemned sue for, than their pardon? There is no such acceptable forme wherin wee can present our selues to God, as in Repentance; nor is the accent of any word vttered by the tongue of man so sweet in his eare as the confession of a fault.

For how should the acknowledgemen• of a sinne but delight God, when the con∣uersion of a sinner affects the whole hoast Page  220 of glorified Spirits in Heauen?* Est enim gaudium coràm Angelis &c. Such a confessi∣on as this is the first step to a Conuert. Ex∣omologesis est petitio veniae,* quâ qui petit ve∣niam, delictum confitetur: To aske forgiue∣nesse, and to confesse the fault, are in effect all one.

In the practise of our Law, wee finde it is not safe for a delinquent to put himselfe vpon his purgation, if his guilt lie in preg∣nant proofe: Peremptory attempts of iusti∣fication rather exasperate Iustice; which is in nothing more softned, than by one who (strooke with remorse) pleads guiltie to his Inditement. Tis iust thus in Gods Courts, who deemes it a contumacie in Man to diminish an offence committed against Him by vaine apologie or excuse; when wee are sure that many by anticipa∣ting his Iustice, and by an vnurged Con∣fession of their Crime, haue appeased the Iudge, and acquitted themselues. The Pub∣licans bashfull contrition, that was afraid to make his approaches too neere the Al∣tar, and ashamed to looke that way his Page  221 sinne had ascended, won pity from his lips who had the power to absolue him; where∣as the proud garbe of the Pharisee, who (saith S. Augustine) Superbè gratias egit, thankt God for a fauour he neuer had, was condemned.

He that thinkes to beare vp himselfe by his owne merit, hangs a golden weight about his necke, that will choake him at last. A man must not thinke to turne the scale of Gods Iustice by iustifying himselfe. That which he thinks Righteousnesse in himselfe, is not so indeed; and that which is so, is not his, but Gods, Lent and Impu∣ted by Him. Tis a proud Ingratitude there∣fore for a Man enricht only by Deuotion and Loane, to lift vp himselfe against that hand from whence he borrowed it. As if he should take vp money, and then goe to Law with his Creditor that lent it.

Euen thus a man that glorifies himselfe in the conceit of that Righteousnesse which he receiued not from Nature but from Grace, not by Acquisition but Infu∣sion, affronts God with his owne fauours, Page  222 and receiues a Brest-plate (for so the Apo∣stle calls it,* Loricam Iustitiae) out of his Armorie, to stand out and wage a pre∣sumptuous warre against Him.

*Si vis defendere te de peccato tuo, laudare non potes Deum; Transi igitur ad vituperati∣onem tuam & laudabis. Hee that defends himselfe, dishonours God, and wrongs his owne soule; therefore accuse and discom∣mend thy selfe, for so thou canst in nothing lesse wrong God, or more right thy selfe. Say with Dauid,* Forgiue Lord, be mercifull to my sinnes, and thy conscience shall finde that voice of pitty suggested to it which he reports, Thou forgauest my sinne.

This word Forgiue is the Key which opens the wounds of Christ, and giues a ready passage to the Mercy Seat. He that can vse this Key dexterously with that Christian skill wherewith the Artist, who first formed it, instructed the Disciples, cannot doubt of the successe.* Qui orare nos pro debitis & peccatis docuit, paternam mise∣ricordiam promisit & veniam secuturam. He that taught vs to aske forgiuenesse, pro∣mised Page  223 to grant what wee sued for: And that vpon an euerlasting record kept by Eze∣chiel, where wee may finde a Pardon Dor∣mant for all sinnes whensoeuer we should sue it out,* At what time soeuer a sinner shall repent I will blot out all his offences.

If wee consider the condition of the Suitors, Vs* Men, wee shall then finde it ne∣cessary to be sued for at all times.* Ex quo enim homo, ex hoc & infirmus; ex quo infir∣mus, ex hoc & orans. Man and an infirmi∣tie which makes him prone to sinne, are in∣separable companions; His faults with their vnblest societie will accompany him whilest he liues. And if he alwayes sinne, he hath no remedy but alwayes to pray for his redresse in the forgiuenesse of sinnes.

To presume that Man should be Impec∣cable, when none that euer was apparelled in our flesh, but only the Sonne of God, was so, is a dangerous and false presump∣tion. An forte quisquam ita superbit,* & ita se immaculatum esse praesumit, vt nullius reno∣uationis indigeat? Fallitur prorsus ista per∣suasio, & nimiâ vanitate veterascit. Can it Page  224 be beleeued (saith Leo) that Man should flatter himselfe with an opinion of integri∣tie? Man that hath more alliances to sinne than to Adam, from whom the Pedigree of his Guilt is deriued;* Qui primus peccauit, & nos cum peccati obligatione generauit; whose first offence left a perpetuall obliga∣tion of sinne vpon vs. A sinne which an∣ticipates his birth, and when he is borne growes vp and waxeth like him, who is an Ancient in transgression before his birth, nay before his conception, guilty in both, as being Borne in iniquitie,* and conceiued in sinne.

Since therefore Man cannot but offend, the Schoolemens cautelous doubt, which they put if in case a man that sins not sayes this Prayer, is defeated, whereas it is a sinne to suppose a separation of sinne from Mans Nature. If we say we haue no sinne, wee giue God the Lie, who sayes wee haue. The very deniall conuicts vs, and into the number of our hidden faults calls one that is euident, an vntruth. So that wee haue so much the more sinne, in that wee shew so little truth.

S. Augustine sayes the Pharises insolent gratitude was reproued, not because he gaue God thanks,* Sed quia nihil sibi addi cupiebat, but because he thought himselfe aboue Gods pardon. And the same Father diduces his odious arrogance to this issue, that he needed not say Forgiue vs our tres∣passes: For so he enforces, Ergo iustus es,* ergo nihil rogas, ergo iam plenus es, ergo iam non est quaredicas, Dimitte nobis debita nostra. But admit the impossible supposition, that there could be found a man deuoid of sinne; what inconuenience could the say∣ing of this Petition bring? nay it would proue a large aduantage. Say thy branch be yet greene, not blasted by the breath of sinne, In ramo adhuc nihil commisisti,* sed in radice periisti; Why for all that thy root is dead, and thou hast no meanes to keepe that mortifying Gangrene from inuading thy selfe, but by imploring Gods preueni∣ent grace, lest that rottennesse be transfu∣sed into the limmes of thy Tree.

Say thou art fallen into no actuall sin, why this Petition is a warning to tell thee Page  226 that thou maist, it puts thee in minde thy actions may be foule, and that thy intenti∣ons are so.* For thus S. Cyprian, Prouidè & salubritèr admonemur, quòd peccatores su∣mus, ne quis sibi quasi innocens placeat.

To goe a little further. If thou hast hi∣therto committed no foule transgression, this Prayer like an Antidote strengthens the complexion of thy Faith, and helpes thee to resist the contagion of sinne, nay it forespeakes God thus farre to antedate thy pardon, in that it brings Him to an easi∣nesse to forgiue thee when thou doest sin. And when he hath forgiuen thee, when by his gracious pardon thou hast got thy ab∣solution from sinne, the continuall repeti∣tion of this Prayer addes new seales and confirmations to that Pardon which Hee hath already granted. So that I may con∣clude of the vse of this Petition, as Leo doth of the Sacraments, that they are profitable for all, Good and Bad, so is this Petition aduantageous vnto all, vnto those that haue sinned,* vt quod nondum habent accipi∣ant, that they may receiue what yet they Page  227 haue not, Remission of sinnes; Vnto those that are absolued of their sinnes, vt accepta custodiant, that they may preserue the inte∣gritie which Gods Pardon hath renewed in them. Thus it raises vp those that are fal∣len, and it confirmes those that yet stand, lest they should fall.

To end this point. S. Bernard out of the consideration that wee sinne often, con∣cludes a necessitie of our frequent suing vnto God to Forgiue vs:* Saepiùs aberrantes & delinquentes necessariò pro indulgentiâ supplicamus. But S. Augustine will haue not only those that haue sinned, but the iustest and most vpright to vse it as oft,* Licet bona conscientia sit, tamen dicit Deo, Dimitte no∣bis debita. And you shall finde that Lyra and the Glosse by the authoritie of S. Augu∣stine (whom they recite) interpret those two moneths (which by S. Augustines com∣putation are threescore dayes) desired by the daughter of Iephthah to bewaile her Virginitie,* to be the Six Ages of the Church; That is, from Adam to Noah, from him to Abraham, so to Dauid, so to Page  228 the Captiuitie, from thence to Christ, and from his time to the End of the World: In all which Ages Virgo Ecclesia congregatur,* & peccata lamentatur, quotidie dicens, Dimitte nobis debita nostra: The pure Virgin Church in all her Congregations laments the sinnes of her People, daily crying vnto God in the voice of my Text, Forgiue vs our trespasses.

Iustly therefore, because Man is a crea∣ture apt to sooth himselfe in the conceit of Merit, and Inherent Righteousnesse (as doth the Church of Rome too much) and because this opinion had preuailed so farre on some, that they presumed to leaue out a branch of this Prayer, (for so did those Precise Hereticks the Cathari) exempting themselues from the communitie of sin∣ning like other men; Iustly (I say) did a Councill decree,* that vnicuique etiam iusto dicere oporteat, Dimitte nobis debita nostra; He that was most righteous might truly vse this Prayer, and necessarily ought to say, Forgiue vs our debts. Nay it further decreed,* that if any man presumed to say, that Saints or holy men when they vsed Page  229 this forme of Prayer,* spake not on behalfe of themselues, as being endowed with that measure of sanctitie they needed it not, but on behalfe of such as were sinners, that man should be anathematized and conclu∣ded vnder a curse.

Forgiue vs our Debts.* There be some debts of which tis impossible wee should be discharged, as that Generall Debt wee owe to Nature by Death; A payment which without difference all must equally make, as well the Prince as the Vassaile, the richest as the meanest.* Debemur morti nos nostraque. To die is as true, as good a Debt, as any the world knowes. For the leuying of which Debt, there is an Extent vpon all Mankinde, and a Statute recorded by S. Paul, Statutum est omnibus semel mori,* It is decreed that all must die once. This is a Decree not to be reuersed, a Debt which is not possible to be declined.

There be other Debts from which it were a sinne in vs to sue for a release, as our Obedience to God and his Law, our Loue to Him, our Thankfulnesse for all the fa¦uours Page  230 and mercies He hath conferred vp∣on vs: wee doe not here sue to be freed from these payments (saith Salmeron) No,* they are heauier Debts, and of a different condition, Debts which wee borrow of as many Creditors as wee haue sinnes: The worst sort of Debts that can be, and yet not Doubtfull or Desperate Debts, (Twere well they were so) for no secret conuey∣ance or Deed of trust made vnderhand can delude that Creditor, who will require an account for them.

How happy were a great many, if after the beggering of other men by their op∣pressions, if after the fraudulent purchases of much wealth, and the erecting of an high Fortune of their owne, vpon the ru∣ine of their poore Brethren, first chewed and ground by those fearfull Milstones, the Vpper and the Lower (for there are both) Vse, and Vse vpon Vse, and then swallow∣ed downe and digested in a Mortgage, they could bequeath those sinnes from them∣selues, as they doe their estates, or by an absolute Deed of Gift make ouer their Page  231 Guilt, assigning the punishment for their ill gotten wealth to their Executors. But twill not be, God is a cleere-sighted Credi∣tor, who cannot be mockt out of his Iu∣stice; and the Vengeance due vnto sinne is such a Debt which neither can be entailed vpon the Heire, nor by any forfeiture escheat into other hands saue the hand of God, nor be sold off, as men sometimes make bargaines for others Debentur, nor any way be alienated. They are Debita no∣stra, such Debts whose propertie cannot be altered, our Debts, assur'd by such a Title as Gehazies Leprosie was vnto him, that it should cleaue fast.* The father cannot trans∣ferre them to his sonne, but they will reuert to their first Owner: For thus God hath said, Euery man shall beare his owne burthen;* And in the Prophet he protests plainly, The Sonne shall not beare the iniquitie of the Father, nor the Father of the Sonne.

That by Debts are meant Sinnes,* is appa∣rant by the interpretation of another Euan∣gelist, who was well able to comment vp∣on the Text of his Master, I meane S. Luke. Page  232 For that which S. Matthew here cals Debts, he reads Sinnes,* Forgiue vs our Sinnes. And in the fourteenth verse of this Chapter S. Matthew thus expresses himselfe, that Debts are Trespasses. Debitum delicti figura est in Scriptura;* Tis vsuall in Scripture to expresse Sinne by the name of Debts. For so in the Parable we find this Debt diuersly rated, and comprehended vnder the name of Talents and Pence.* And iustly. For as pecuniary Debts differ in their summes, and Coynes vary in their valuation, so doe Sinnes. The reason why Sinne is stiled Debt,* Tertullian renders, Quod perinde iu∣dicio debeatur, & ab eo exigatur; because it binds a man ouer to a future account, and in the day of Iudgement euery offence will be required and charged vpon the delin∣quent.* Nam sicut Debitor à Creditore requi∣ritur, ita peccatum à Deo in Die Iudicii ne∣cesse est exigatur. So Fortunatus amplifies it.

As there is a difference in Debts, some being Greater and others Lesse, so is there in Sinnes too: Some are more hainous, and shal haue a seuerer punishment than sinnes Page  233 of a lower degree. And yet all Debts from the greatest to the least are payable, and all sinnes from the foulest to the cheapest, from the wilfull Offence to the sinne of Ignorance, are punishable. The quantitie of the Debt doth not make it more a Debt, though it make it greater. He that lends a penny is a Creditor in as true a sense, as he that lends a pound: and one that is indeb∣ted but in a small summe, hath as much right to answer it backe from whence it was borrowed, as hee that is ingaged in a Million.

It being then granted that there is the same reason in Sinnes, as in Debts, it fol∣lowes by necessary consequence, That by the rule of Iustice, the least sinnes are as liable to punishment, as are the least Debts to payment.* From which conclusi∣on I ground a direct Antithesis against the Church of Rome, which allowes the con∣ceit of veniall sinnes. For so their writers distinguish sinne in Mortale & Veniale, in∣to Mortall and Veniall, whereas there is no sin which is not mortall. The debt of sin Page  234 is Iudgement, and the Valuation Death: Therefore as the smallest Coine which beares the Kings Impresse is currant as well as the greatest: so the slightest offence hath its proportionable rate and value in the account of Gods Iustice, as any of an Higher Nature.

Who will deny that Pilferings are Thefts, or that our Lawes punish Theft as well as Murther? or who knowes not but that hee that Robs a Cottage though hee take little, nay though he take nothing, is in as much danger of an Arraignment as hee that robs a Palace? There is no sinne we can commit which is lesse in quantitie than the point of any of those Thornes which were platted in Christs Coronet, & yet the least of those Thornes prickt Him, the least drew Bloud from Him. Shall wee then so farre vnderualue any sinne, as to call that Veniall which was rated in any degree of Christs sufferings, or proportion of his Bloud? That precious, vnualuable Bloud, whose least drop had beene enough to pay the ransome of the whole World, Page  235 and make a full expiation for all sinne! There is nothing more dangerous to a Christian, than to slight or diminish an offence; To say to thy selfe, I haue done no Murther, I haue committed no Sacri∣lege, I haue violated no mans Bed, nor de∣filed my owne Temple, which is my Body, but the Holy Ghosts Chapell; These are sinnes which might bring mee in danger of damnation, but I haue done no such: If I haue thought ill, that Thought was neuer brought to an Act; though it sprang from my infirmitie, yet that infirmitie ne∣uer had strength to bring it forth, but like an Abortiue it perisht againe in that womb wherein it was conceiued: Therefore I hope God will be more mercifull than pu∣nish my purposes with death, to condemn mee for that I neuer did, for that which was only form'd and cast in my imagina∣tion, not full shaped. Surely I hope so too. And our hope in Christs Mercy is a Rocke whose foundation will neuer faile. But yet for all that, like wise builders, wee must build the right way, or else our building Page  236 will proue in vaine. And certainly he that trusts vpon the diminution of a sinne, builds vpon the falsest foundation that may be. For to let small sinnes run on, out of a hope that they are not worthy Gods taking notice, or, if He doe take notice, that they are not worthy of his anger, is not Hope, but Presumption, and so our Hope is turned into a sinne.

Alas wee flatter our selues in our securi∣tie, if we thinke there be any Veniall sinne, or if we thinke that our Thoughts or lasci∣uious lookes are only the Abortions of sinne, and not sinne. He that imagineth euill is the Author (saith Salomon.) For The wicked thought is sinne.* And Christ hath pronounced, that incontinent wishes are adulteries;* He that seeth a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery.

So then, Thoughts are sins, and Lookes are sins, which (not repented) will, if not absolutely condemne, (which though I am not peremptory to pronounce, I dare not be so coole in Gods cause as to deny) yet proue as sluces to let in damnation, and Page  237 worke wholly vnto that vnhappy end; as the smallest Leake which is sprung at Sea may, if neglected, let in water to drowne the tallest Ship. Therefore if the Tide of sinne haue washt, though neuer so lightly, ouer thy Banke, if a Temptation haue floa∣ted in vpon thy Soule by any of thy Fiue Ports, thy Senses, make vp the Breach be∣times, lest a Tide or two more ouerwhelme and lay thee quite vnder water. Had thy Mother Euah done so, had she not lookt vpon the beauty of the Fruit, she had not tasted it, nor for it had she tasted the sor∣rowes of Child-bearing, which that curio∣sitie deriued vpon her: Had she then closed her eye, Death had neuer closed the eye of any childe of hers. Stop then thy eare a∣gainst those Romish Charmers that would besot thee with the confidence of Veniall Sinnes, I meane, that some sinnes are so lit∣tle thou needest not aske pardon for them. Exorcise that plausible mischiefe with S. Augustines Spell, Ne minima contemnat,* qui in maxima labi nolit. Despise not the smallest sinne, for euen that is a step to a Page  238 greater. Remember thou maist multiply Pence till they come to a Talent, so thou maist linke sinne to sinne, till they make▪ Chaine long enough to dragge thee into perpetuall bondage with the Prince of Darknesse, long enough to reach from Earth to Hell, till the multiplication of those Acts grow into a Habit, become great and strong, and heauy enough to sinke thee into the Bottomelesse Pit. Re∣member too, that as the least Coines, euen to the Farthing haue their value, so also the least Sinnes shall haue their Punishment. For the Iustice of God hath put a price vp∣on euery Sinne: Christ mentions the Far∣thing, and will not abate euen that in His Audit,* when he sayes, Thou shalt not goe out till thou hast paid the vttermost farthing. Vpon which the Glosse excellently com∣ments, and to the shame of many Doctors in the Romish Church; Per Quadrantem intelligit minima peccata, quia nihil remanet impunitum: By the Farthing he vnderstands the least offences, because none of all them shall passe vnpunished. And when remem∣bring Page  239 this thou shalt deliuer it ouer vnto thy meditations, and digest it into thy be∣leefe, so oft as thou shalt apply this pretious balme tempered by Christ to heale thy wounded conscience, and to wipe out thy sinnes, whensoeuer thou shalt cry vnto him, Forgiue our sinnes, thou wilt include sinne in the Latitude, All thy sinnes, and sinne in the Number, the very least of all thy sinnes; Not closing thy eyes at Night, nor opening them at Morning vpon any affaire, till thou hast sued for thy release from all, And running ouer the History of thy Dayes and Nights, left none vnrepen∣ted, whose omission might endanger thy saluation.

Forgiue vs Our Debts.* There is not so naked, so penurious a thing as Man.* Na∣ked was he borne, and naked shall he re∣turne, deuested of all but his sinnes. Wee haue no peculiar but this, nothing that wee can call Ours, but only our Faults. Except that lucklesse patrimony, I know not what wee can lay claime to, either that is without vs, or in vs. Bona Fortunae, Wealth acknow∣ledgeth Page  240 no Soueraigne but Fortune, wee are not Masters of it; And though it abide with vs as an Hireling, perhaps till the end of our dayes, then it surely takes leaue, often before that, becomming any ones saue his whose it last was. Nothing of all wee had goes along with vs but our Windingsheet; for other things wee haue gathered, the Psalme sayes,* wee know not who shall en∣ioy them: sure wee are, wee shall not. And for that forme which makes so many ena∣moured of themselues, can any call it Theirs? when all the Pargets Art hath in∣uented are not able to Coat it against the violence of Time and Weather, nor by all their fillings to repaire those decayes and breaches which sicknesse hath wrought vpon it. The Breath we draw, is that Ours? Is it not suckt and borrowed from the next Aire? Our best part, the Soule, is it any more than a Loane? deposited for some yeares with the Body, after whose expira∣tion it reuerts to him that gaue it.* And lastly for our Body, is it any thing else but a Lumpe of walking clay, a little Earth ina∣nimated? Page  241 the certaine restitution where∣of wee owe vnto that Dust from whence it was taken. What is there then of our whole selues which wee can call Ours, vn∣lesse our Sinnes? These are effects spring∣ing from our owne depraued Nature, the fruits of a Vicious Crooked Will, our true Legitimate Issue, though borne against all Law both Humane and Diuine. They are Nostra, Ours, by many assurances, Ours by all Titles both of right and possession. Therefore Hugo Cardinalis vpon the words of the fifteenth verse (But if yee forgiue not men their trespasses, neither will the Father forgiue yours) makes this inference;* Benè dicit Vestra, quia haec est sola possessio & operatio hominis: Rightly doth Christ call them Your Sinnes, because they are the only Acts wherein Man is the Prime Agent. These are the only reuenues of Nature, and the possession of Mankinde. Such an vn∣doubted Inheritance and Possession, of which wee can no way deuest our selues, but by conferring our Title vpon Christ, who was content to accept it, and by cast∣ing Page  242 our sinnes vpon Him,* who became Sinne for vs, that He might free vs from the pe∣naltie of sinne, making the Crosse a Blou∣die Euidence of that right he claim'd in our Punishment, and a Trophee both of his Loue to vs, and of his victories ouer Death, and Hell, and Sinne. The Intercession of whose Bloud daily solicits our Pardon, and seales vnto our Conscience the Forgiue∣nesse of these Sinnes wee here sue for, For∣giue vs our sinnes.