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<DATE>2014-04-11</DATE>
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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<P>THE RAISING OF them that are fallen.</P>
<P>A Di&s;cour&s;e very profitable and beneficial to all faithfull Chri&s;tians Dialogue wi&s;e, be|twixt a Knight and a Gentleman Set foorth for the benefit and good of all &s;uch people as are afflicted eyther in minde or con&s;cience.</P>
<P>Written by Thomas Sauile Gent.</P>
<BIBL>Ioh: 10. 29.</BIBL>
<Q>My Father which gaue them me is greater then all: and no man can take them out of my fathers handes.</Q>
<BIBL>Apoca. 21: 7.</BIBL>
<Q>Hee that ouercommeth, &s;hall inherit all things: and I will be his God, and he &s;hall be my Sonne.</Q>
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<P>AT LONDON Printed for William Welby. 1606.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>The Contents.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1 A <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ene<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ing of loue,</ITEM>
<ITEM>2 Of thankefulnes:</ITEM>
<ITEM>3 Of obedience m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ekenes and patience.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4 Of afflictions generally and the
<LIST>
<ITEM>Cau&s;e, occa&s;ion V&s;e, and en<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e.
<LIST>
<ITEM>proued by a famili+er re&s;em|blance.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>5 Of d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;payre and that it is the lot of the be&s;t beloued as <HI>Dauid Ieremy Ionah:</HI> perticular examples of our times in priuate men and women.</ITEM>
<ITEM>6 The ende was euer happy and with exceeding ioyfull deliuerance vnto the cho&s;en.</ITEM>
<ITEM>7 Who is cho&s;en, who beleeueth, with diuers other que&s;tions, touching temptations infirmities Slydings, and the Solutions for Comfort of the weake.</ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>TO THE RIGHT VER|tuous renowned, and for angel like rule ouer their owne pas&s;ible tender affections in lawfull delights, more e&s;pecially re&s;pected Ladies: The La: <HI>Katherine</HI> Counte&s;&s;e of Huntingdon, and the La: <HI>Margaret</HI> Counte&s;&s;e of Cumberland, and vnto Sr. <HI>Francis</HI> Ha&s;tinges, and Sr: <HI>Tho: Smith,</HI> honorable chri&s;tians &amp; Knights. Tho: <HI>Sauile</HI> wi&s;heth a continuall practi&s;e of their knowledge in the mi&s;terie of reconciliation, vntill they be compacted into the Mrs. building, and Really vnited vnto Chri&s;t, that finally they may be where he is, and haue their ioy full:</HEAD>
<P>_MOST Honorable LLa: &amp; you worthily regarded Knights, if I did know any creatures co~parable vnto your &s;elues, for Chri&s;tian cariage and profe&s;&s;ion of Religion in the like mea&s;ure, vnto tho&s;e &s;urely I would direct this my poore labor &amp; publi&s;h their examples, whereby I might direct o|thers <HI>as by that &s;tar to the wi&s;emen</HI> to take view of &s;uch &s;hining lights as &s;hould beget a de&s;ire in the beholders, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o be co~formed the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> vnto, euen to find the babe and glorifie the euerla&s;ting God, who inhabi|teth <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 1.</NOTE> the heauens in neuer ending glory: Be&s;ides this it may not bede|nyed, but your honors fauors of diuers &s;orts afforded vnto me both in pri&s;on and abroad, haue iu&s;tly de&s;erued the deepe&s;t offices of all my acknowledgments: And &s;ince the Lord hath plea&s;ed &s;o to &s;hake all my outward indowments as nothing therin may be found accep|able to pre&s;ent <HI>in grati animi memoriam,</HI> yet let it plea&s;e you that I offer a po&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e of &s;uch fragrant flowers, as I gathered in the Lords own &s;piritual garden of my mo&s;t happy changes, amo~g&s;t which that &s;ame very cen&s;ure <HI>of wi&s;edom</HI> hath my thinkes a wonderfull &s;oueraigne <NOTE PLACE="marg">wi&s;dom. 3.</NOTE> ta&s;te, for diuerting all infections of that contagious di&s;contentment which doth accompany mortalitie in all men. They &s;eeme for&s;aken (&s;aith he) but their hope is full of immortalit<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e: What is that? The next wordes explaine, in few thinges they bee re&s;trained: But in many things they be rewarded: if your Ho: LLa: and you Chri|&s;tian Knights plea&s;e, to &s;earch by way of meditation, why man was
<PB REF="3"> Crea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span"> you wil readl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;couer, out of your owne dayly exerci&s;es, the cau&s;e and end of mans creaton: was to giue obedience vnto the euer <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">uing God their Creator.</P>
<P>The gentle long &s;uffring pre&s;eruer of heauen and earth. <HI>Ifly vnto thee for thi very gentleues (&s;aith a father</HI>) to bee intrated: But how <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chri&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t.</NOTE> &s;hall they &s;erue him without knowledge of his name? <HI>They erred: &s;aith the Lord becau&s;e they did not know my waies,</HI> And how &s;hall this <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al 95:</NOTE> knowledge come, but fy Faith? and how Faith but by the worde preached? And how know they this faith, but by experience? And <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 50. 1 Pet. 6. 7. Ro: 5. 4</NOTE> how commeth experience but by triall, and how triall but by afflic|tions. <HI>Tribulation &s;aith Thapo&s;tle worketh patience and patience bops, &amp;c.</HI> So that affliction is as the &s;choole or Academy, wherin the be&s;t &s;chollers (by rendering &amp; exerci&s;es) be appointed and prepared to <NOTE PLACE="marg">The&s;. 3.</NOTE> comencements of the dietie, by making familiar their receiued for|mer rudiments of ordinarie di&s;cipline and changes. Now how di&s;|ta&s;ing this in vnto y^e world, who regorge plea&s;ures &amp; profits, till they &s;ur&s;it, it (killeth not: Chri&s;t &s;aith vnto Iohn his Di&s;ciples. The poore reciue the Go&s;pell, which worde (<HI>Poore</HI>) in that place I thinke doth <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat: 11. 29. I&s;aiah. 61. 1.</NOTE> &s;ignifie the meane&s;t &s;ort in e&s;tate and knowledge becau&s;e I find op|po&s;ition in that Chapter ver&s;e 25. I thanke thee O father, that thou ha&s;t hid the&s;e thinges from the wi&s;e and prudent, and ha&s;t opened them vnto Babes: Heere &s;eemeth a double warrant to cleere all doubts that the Go&s;pell at it is in it &s;elfe <HI>Sermo crucis,</HI> &s;o affliction by weyned e&s;tate, doth mo&s;t &s;urely accompany the profe&s;&s;ors thereof, according to the mea&s;ure of their de&s;ire to be changed, and the Lords purpo&s;e to &s;hine in them: But what if the world (for all thei&s;e) doe &s;corne &s;o open truth? Then do I an&s;were, that the Iewes di&s;puted <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 7. 4.</NOTE> euen &s;o, when they &s;aid, Why doe none of the rulers beleeue in him. Then which there was neuer any thing more gro&s;e and in&s;ul&s;e: For <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 12. 42. 43.</NOTE> the worde it &s;elfe giueth a rea&s;on of their for&s;aking him (Viz) For feare to loo&s;e their places in the Sinagogue. And al&s;o becau&s;e they loued the prai&s;e of men more then the prai&s;e of God. Thus hauing cleared in &s;hort, as by way of ab&s;tract, or po&s;t-&s;cript the crown of af|fliction by &s;o plaine and open demon&s;tration, of the &s;acred W<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rde, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 12. 48.</NOTE> which &s;hall iudge at the la&s;t day, I do dedicate this poore exerci&s;e
<PB REF="3"> out of my very loue, and for a &s;eriuice vnto you haue per&s;onages who are able to di&s;cerne the truth of that I write: wherein I offer as a motiue for all men to indure: my owne particular &s;uffrings open|ly and cau&s;ele&s;&s;ely orphaned with my many Children by violence inflicted, euen &s;o far as if the worlde had no other pre&s;ident of the Lordes watch ouer his vine. (Behold &s;aith I&s;aiah, I the Lord doe watch ouer my vine, yea day and night do I watch lea&s;t any man a&s;&s;aile it,) yet that the Lord hath pre&s;erued and fed my mo&s;t vnwor|thy &s;elfe, thie&s;e many yeeres as by Rauens, by your re&s;pected LLa: mirrours of Religion and vertue, and by that euer renowmed wor|thy one, the La: Anne Counte&s;&s;e of <HI>Warwick,</HI> as <HI>Pharoahs</HI> daugh|ters taken me out of the Reade Arke of my Mother &s;inne, and put|ting me to Nur&s;e into the &s;choole of afflictions and grace. This I <NOTE PLACE="marg">Exo. 2.</NOTE> &s;ay may remaine as a monument for euer to openly announce the truth of his name in that hee is called wonderfull.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>An afflicted &s;eruant of her late mo&s;t &s;acred Maie&s;tie Queene <HI>Elizabeth.</HI> Tho: Sauile,</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="4">
<PB REF="4">
<HEAD>To the Chri&s;tian Reader.</HEAD>
<P>_THE Life of Chri&s;tians is fitly called a way becau&s;e as trauaylers do &s;ometimes erre, &s;ometimes &s;tumble, &s;ometime &s;lide, and &s;omtimes fall, &s;o chri&s;tians wan|der in the plaine fields of this world, following the broad path of &s;inne, and forget<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ing the &s;trait and nar|row way of piety, and grace, or el&s;e taken vniu&s;t occa&s;ion to &s;tumble through their owne weakenes, eyther at the &s;eueritie of diuine com|mended life, or the euill examples of &s;ome other erring, and &s;inning brethren in the Church, or &s;lide and &s;rink at the afflictions which accompany vnfained deuotion and god<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ines, becau&s;e they cannot tarry in hopefull expectation of comfor and re<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;&s;e, vntil the clou|dy night of &s;orrowfull aduer&s;itie be ouerpa&s;&s;ed, and the &s;unne-&s;h|ning fauour of peace grace and mercie from God the Father lighten their darkenes, through <HI>Ie&s;us Christ:</HI> or el&s;e fal<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">flat downe vnder the de&s;ire of the pre&s;ent world, ouer burdened with the di&s;tru&s;tfull worldly cares ca&s;t vpon them by Sathan: and &s;o lie grouelling in the myre of humaine infirmitie. Di&s;taine the pure wedding garment which Chri&s;tes Go&s;pell hath cloathed them withall. This being the vn-auoidable lot of many of God his deare Children, it is a world to thinke how wonderfully good mindes (though weake) lye drawing their la&s;t breath, betwixt hope and feare, &s;leepe and wa|king, per&s;euerance and oppo&s;ta&s;ie, liue perplexed: &s;eeking and caling for direction, eyther meet with no man to &s;et them in the right way, when they haue erred, or el&s;e by rea&s;on of their owne blindnes can|not follow the right path they are &s;et in, hauing no guides to holde them by the hand, or if they haue &s;tumbled, there is no man that will remoue the block out of their way, or lift vp their weake legges of knowledge and vnder&s;tanding ouer that daunger, neyther &s;tay their &s;liding, comfor them &s;orrowing, vpholde them &s;alling, or rai&s;e them vp beeing flat on their backes, in worldly and humaine weakenes Thou &s;halt therefore finde in this &s;ucceeding Treati&s;e, a continuall demon&s;tration of this mi&s;ery, and a faithfull and &s;trong hand to help thee in all the&s;e aduer&s;ities, &s;o that by good v&s;e it may proue as good to thy &s;oule, as the angell that brought Poter out of pri&s;on, loo&s;ing his bands and opening the yron gates, holding fa&s;t
<PB REF="5"> the eyes of all the watchmen, till hee was perfectly deliuered and recouered from bodily thraldome: Onely I pray God that no in|firmitie, &s;hame di&s;daine, incredulitie, labour or temptation, what&s;o|euer, hinder thy de&s;ired recouery, that reade&s;t and wi&s;lie&s;t the day of thine owne and Churches &s;afety, foretold by the Prophet <HI>Ioel, Ieru|&s;alem &s;halbe all holy and the &s;trangers &s;hall pa&s;&s;e by her no more,</HI> and I wi&s;h that thou mai&s;t more deepely affect this Treati&s;e, becau&s;e the author doth profe&s;&s;e him&s;elfe to bee no &s;choller, nor writing from conference or coun&s;ell with any, but being recouered with variety of heauy f<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">elinges in his &s;marting indured changes, <HI>as that &s;ame calling (&s;poken of (by</HI> Chri&s;t Ie&s;us <HI>before Magi&s;trates. Math: 10. Did humbly be&s;eech the Lord for help,</HI> Wherevpon the writ that which was in the very in&s;tant mini&s;tred vnto him, euen the &s;ecret hidden Wi&s;edome, &amp; ine&s;timable worth of the mi&s;tery in afflictions which the Angels de|&s;ire to behold. 1 Pet: 1. 12: So manife&s;ting vnto the world, that the corrections of the meeke, induring by patience, and &s;ilence, are e|uer accompanied with that vpholding, illuminating, and in&s;truct|ing &s;taffe and grace of God, euen to make them partakers of his ve|ry holines, by &s;ence of a continuall di&s;cipation of hindrances, and &s;treaming comfort mini&s;tred vnto them in due &s;ea&s;on, warranted by the la&s;t writing of the worde. Reuel: 22. 1. 2. 3. <HI>Behold there &s;hal|be no more cur&s;e, But the throwne of God and the Lambe, &s;halbe in the viuer of pure Water, and his &s;eruant &s;tall &s;erue him.</HI> Euen &s;o Amen, Come Lord Ie&s;us quickly</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>T. L.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
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<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="5">
<HEAD>The Ray&s;ing of, them that are fallen</HEAD>
<P>K _SIR I thanke you: you are as good as your promi&s;e, for that you &s;aid you would not be long from me. <HI>G</HI> Yt is true Sir, neyther that I would forget you in ab|&s;ence. K. And haue you remembred me? <HI>G.</HI> Yees indeede, euen &s;o deeply, as to taxe my &s;elfe blame-worthy, both be|fore God &amp; man, for neglect of duty vnto you euen in the highe&s;t degree. K. what in the conference? <HI>G.</HI> Yees in good earne&s;t. K How &s;hould that be? Gent: Nay how &s;hould it not be? that we who hauing recei|ued experience by the pre&s;ent a&s;&s;i&s;ting grace of God, to make vs wade through &s;uch a red &s;ea of prophane &amp; carnall humors opening way to find our corruptions, and the redre&s;&s;e thereof: nay and to feele his pre&s;ence, by wonderfull workes &s;ealed with the teares of our eyes, in the a&s;&s;ured &s;weetenes of his truth and worde not onely <HI>To be a &s;auor of life vnto vs, but <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> &s;elfe in heath, &amp; light in darknes,</HI> I &s;ay who wold not for a fauor <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> high prlee haue giuen thankes, &amp; in aged them&s;elues by open bond of acknowledgment, vnto a la&s;ting vow of preparation, and obedience whiles they liued? K. why? we did &s;o: G. that we did not: K. I proue we did by the example of the <HI>Hebrew &s;eruant</HI> Ex. <HI>the xxi.</HI> G. I thinke no &s;uch thing: that was &s;poken and remembred to our &s;hame and by way of conuincing our open default for not doing as he did, and he &s;hall witnes again&s;t vs. K. I thought otherwi&s;e: G. no no, there vpon &amp; by that very example we &s;hould haue vnfoulded our perticular open wants in the feelings of receiued grace, and haue made a perticular
<PB REF="6"> page (by way of conference) how we &s;hould e&s;cape that we were not found &s;hort of the poore Hebrews example? wee &s;hould haue coniu|red all our faculties to giue their con&s;ent how we might oblige our &s;elues in an irre-vocable rule of holy labor and &s;trife for obedience in our &s;elues, to excite others and &s;o &s;econd the poore. Hebrewes example, to goe to the po&s;t of Gods lawe and there in our owne per|&s;ons de&s;igned, to be regi&s;tred among&s;t tho&s;e ho hauing remem|bred the ma&s;tres demaund, <HI>To loue him withall our harts &s;oules and &s;pirits,</HI> haue offred our fealty vnto his &s;acred &s;egniorye and engaged our &s;elues perpetually to erect alters to celebrate his glory, goodnes, and loue, while&s;t we liued K. Indeed but you are to au|&s;tere in this point for we did acknowledg the goodnes of God as our happy Phi&s;ition, and wee confe&s;&s;ed the admiration of his loue &amp;c. G. very true but who offred or payed his required fee? wee re&s;em|bled the begger? who receiuing almes wil ble&s;&s;e, and giue good words but let the Iu&s;tice enioyne him to lay away his roging walkes, then will he mutyne and be di&s;contented; and tell me Sir. (for I would deale plainely with you) did we either by prayer, or offred vow vn|to God, or any way oblige our &s;elues, to be thankeful in the former exerci&s;e as touched with the open power, and pre&s;ence of his mer|cy therein. K. no truly G. why then therein wee are &s;hort wee &s;hould haue vnfoulded his mercyes <HI>euen to make vs a&s;tonied</HI> Eze. 36. we &s;hould haue repudiated the &s;way of our earnalitie: we &s;hould haue embraced grace &amp; di&s;carded our natural man by &s;o|lemne diource; and entred into our re&s;t vpo~ a new enacted couenant of more holy obedience, by taking vowe euen for all the dayes of our life: we &s;hould haue enioyned the&s;e entraled affections of our vnto vanity, to take plea&s;ure &amp; their whole dilight in following the example of Dauid who hauing wo~derfuly prouoked the Lord: (euen &s;o far as the Lord turned away from him) wherevpon hee felt the horror of euerla&s;ting death: yet when God was plea&s;ed to giue him but one fla&s;h of his mercy, y^e very fir&s;t words that he &s;pok (a&s;itwere) in open acknowledgement and tendred obedie~ce for fauor received was to abandon all the companions of vanity and &s;inne <HI>Away from mor all y&eacute;e workers of Iniquity &amp;c.</HI> P&s;alme 6. 8.
<PB REF="6"> and for his owne per&s;on what heauie impo&s;itions hee enioyne~d to make all former vanities and &s;inne di&s;ta&s;ting vnto him, <HI>reade y&eacute;e ite</HI> 131. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> See there by playne vowe and obte&s;tacion, hee doth make a couenant with the Lord; <HI>that he will not enter in|to his hou&s;e, nor come vpon his pallet, nor giue <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">rye to his eyes, nor re&s;t to his eye-lids, vntill he had found ont a place for a habi|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ation &s;or the mighty God of Jacob:</HI> and not being thus &s;atisfied but &s;till dwelling vpon the contemplation of &s;o great receiued mer|cy, doth &s;ommon all the faculties of his &s;oule and &s;pirit by way of recount, or demaund, <HI>what he &s;hould giue againe to the Lord</HI> &amp;c. <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 116. 12. 13</NOTE> &amp; knowing that the only enemy again&s;t his obedince would be the &s;way of nature he did re&s;olue, and iudicially determine to take vp and engage him&s;elfe vnto <HI>the whole&s;ome cup of of Gods afflictions, and giue thankes vnto the name of the Lord.</HI></P>
<P>And for his thankfulnes to men read yee <HI>the 2 of Samuel the 9. and 10. chapters,</HI> and there yee &s;hall finde a myrrour for all good natures to take plea&s;ure in: neuer to forget a fauour receiued in af|fliction and di&s;tre&s;&s;e. K. good Lord be all the&s;e things needfull? G. why doe yee doubt &s;weet Knight? I fare me you haue forgotten much for was it not agreed (as a &s;peciall truth) <HI>that y^e violence mu&s;t</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 11. 12.</NOTE> <HI>be maintayned for the kingdome: and that none but they continu|ed,</HI> that violence again&s;t cu&s;tomes, and all natures &s;erpintine, alure|ments &s;hould receiue the Go&s;pell and kingdome? K. yes I confe&s;&s;e: G. why the~ I pray you tell me wherin we haue in any one perticular imitated tho&s;e golden examples of <HI>Dauid?</HI> what exerci&s;e of violence we haue charged our &s;elues withall? that the Lord <HI>Who hath made vs &s;o wonder at his mercyes,</HI> might but &s;ee vs re&s;igne our wills <HI>to the knocking &s;pirit</HI> who laboreth to inue&s;t vs into the &s;anctuarie, by giuing vs &s;ome change, and renewednes from our former vanityes, by conducting vs into all truth, I confe&s;&s;e for my part none at all. G. &s;ee then my &s;weet hart how rawly I did leaue you, which I &s;orrow and morne for, that Sathan &s;hould enter vpon you but halfe prepa|red; and yet did pre&s;age vnto you in the former di&s;cour&s;e, that cer|tainly Sathan would be very bu&s;ye with you, by occa&s;ion of your former conuer&s;ing which though you affect not as formerly, yet
<PB REF="7"> many heauy te~ptations would ari&s;e &amp; require a mighty reci&s;tance a|gain&s;t which the remembrance of a &s;olemn vow, deuoted vnto the Lord: Would haue bene a great bar &amp; Ob&s;ta: but why do you &s;tudy my Kni? K. Indeed I haue &s;inned &s;ince your departure. G. the more pitty I feared it, &amp; &s;o haue I done with you, our iu&s;t penalties &s;uccee|ding our co~mon default, but <HI>I</HI> hope neyther of vs do iy in our &s;li|ding, neither y^e wee be without purpo&s;e to &s;tand more &s;trongly by the exeprience of this fall: K <HI>I</HI> hope &s;o: but it was a happy thing you came againe for I had almo&s;t forgot all: G. well let vs both render obedyence &amp; thanks to our glorious God, who pa&s;&s;ing by&s;o gro&s;&s;e a default on both parts: yet ret<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rneth in due time, &amp; hauing appointed <HI>A reuhering day &s;hortly</HI> calleth vs to confer togither to make our ope~ acknowledgments of our wants, in omitting our thanks, though we be &s;hort of the bette Schollers who bringes obedience in their gripps, but alas my Knight haue you &s;inned &s;ince we parted in your ancient predomina~t &s;in? K. Not y^e wor&s;t way: but I haue frequented vaine co~pany &amp; endured vnreformed &s;peeches exce&s;&s;es, &amp; othes to my great vnre&s;t G. But did they vnre&s;t you? K. yes y^e Lord knoweth? G: why the~ you pluck at lilly out of the Mrs. garden &s;poken of in our former exerci&s;e of pri&s;oners conference; but alack why did you yeeld? K The Lord doth know I could not cho&s;e for &s;ince my e&s;tate was di&s;puted, &amp; indeed razed, &amp; my fortune tran&s;lated, I haue had no comunity with tho&s;e men who&s;e company I de&s;ired, and by who&s;e example I &s;hould haue bene bettered, but haue dwelt in Zodam &amp; conuer&s;ed in Gomorrah G. The more pitty &s;weet hart: al this you confe&s;&s;e the medicine &amp; mo&s;t iu&s;t penalty and &s;offraine &s;mart for recuring your youth and time mi&s;pent doe you not? K. O yes, yes with all my hart. G. But tell me what did you meane by this word fortune? you know the Prophet &s;ayth <HI>all my times and changes, are in thy hands O Lord P&s;al</HI> 35. K. Fortune is a foolery, and receiued fanta&s;ticall &s;peech, for I beleeue no &s;uch matter, <HI>a &s;parow falleth not without Gods prouidence Math: 10: Luke 12, the Lord beholdeth from heauen P&s;al:</HI> 33 53. G: I thanke you Sir griue not though I &s;earch you deepe, the rather becau&s;e you may &s;tand more warily heareafter, and abandon vnreformed com|panyes.
<PB REF="7"> K. how &s;hould I? for be&s;ides I do not know where to ly but by their help, &s;o Indeede I am indebted vnto them. G. But you will giue me leaue to loue you euen very much will you not? K: O yes I &s;tand the better by your loue, &amp; de&s;ire in Gods fauor. G. Then be plaine with me, was it meere extremity y^e driue you into this compa|ny, or (in &s;inglenes) &s;ome di&s;po&s;ition out of your former weakenes? I would di&s;couer <HI>&s;norting <HI>Ionah</HI></HI> in your owne priuitys, that you might hate it with a perfect hatred K. Sir. I embrace your loue, &amp; care, and will deale plainely with you? I had a great weakenes in bearing their &s;cornefull eyes, and the wordsof their abiection that did heauily fall vpon me, and my &s;tate being weake, I de&s;ired to make my &s;elfe tollerable among&s;t them, and &s;o did not re&s;pect &s;o much the Lords knoweth what I &s;hould haue done in re&s;pect of former vowes as how to make my &s;elfe &s;ociable among&s;t them: G. The more pity well, &s;tand &s;till vpon your former experiences, and haue your acknowledgments in your hand again&s;t your &s;elfe, and by the Lords leaue, the &s;torme &s;hal vani&s;h. K. Alas Sir, I do know I do many thinges, which though not &s;imply euill in them&s;elues, yet vnto me they be &s;in, becau&s;e I doe thereby <HI>&s;catter abroad, and do<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> not gather with the &s;aynts,</HI> and all this by the long indured con|tempt of my abiected e&s;tate, which al&s;o I confe&s;&s;e for an extreame weakenes, <HI>for who repaireth his condition, by walking inordinar|ly? or who is betteres by the vnreformed &s;way of his de&s;ires? let him &s;peak that liueth but returneth &s;ad; fearefull lodned with di&s;|traction and heauy feare</HI> from &s;uch a banquet of in&s;olency and &s;ur|fet and heareupon it is, that I pray the Lord be more &s;pedy for my repayre, to help me out of the&s;e heauy endurings: alas why will not the Lord heare and help me when I de&s;ire nothing but &s;trength to re&s;i&s;t his enemy? G. Then you think y^t Sathans hand is in your per|plexities, K. yes &s;o far as God will: but why hath Sathan intre&s;t in my de&s;ires which bothe Lords creations G. <HI>Nay rather how &s;hould he not de&s;ire to de&s;troy them? becau&s;e they be Gods crea|tions?</HI> for if they were ours he would not enuy the~, be&s;ide this you may not demau~d why the Lord doth any thing for he doth nothing but in all loue and compa&s;&s;ion vnto vs: you know how we hanged
<PB REF="8"> vpon him &amp; held him <HI>with Jacob,</HI> &amp; how &s;weetly he did &s;ati&s;fy vs in all things: &amp; we haue fayled with him in al things, let y^e patience and prai&s;e be his, &amp; &s;hame &amp; rebuke be ours, <HI>he only giueth Sathan leaue to make the fire whereby we &s;hall be fined and made more acceptable to him, but</HI> mee thinks you looke dead, and heauy min|ded I pray thee faynt at nothing, for all the wayes of the Lord <HI>are mercy truth, &amp; compa&s;&s;ion, &s;treaming &s;trength, &amp; &s;w&eacute;etues, in all our di&s;tre&s;&s;es:</HI> K: This is the matter y^t woundeth me I haue &s;olici|ted the Lord in a particuler fraylty the&s;e xx. yeeres, and he will not heare me: G. is that your grate&s;t griefe? truly this is no griefe at all if you attend &s;til in weldoing &amp; reci&s;ting euil, it &s;eemeth y^e Lord is di&s;po&s;ed to haue your continual faithful watch in this quarter of the but taile, K I di&s;ge&s;t not this, G: well then I will fill your gripps full of gladnes euen from this your &s;orrow you &s;ay you haue prayed 20. yeeres <HI>&s;o did <HI>Abraham I&s;ack &amp; Iacob</HI></HI> &s;o did <HI>Mo&s;es 40. yeres <HI>&amp; di|uers others of the patriarkes</HI></HI> what if the Lord wil haue your fayth monumented &amp; regi&s;tred with theirs for co~&s;tant enduring, is this no reco~pence of a &s;mal forborne fading liberty of the fle&s;h by de&s;igned combat with Sathan? but behold my poore &s;oule tel mee but one thing to a&s;&s;ure thy hart y^e God hath bene, and is with thee <HI>who hath pre&s;erued th&eacute;e this 20. yeares that Sathan had neuer power to touch a hayrs of thy dead?</HI> In this fearefull encounter continued a|gain&s;t the prince of the ayre, that roring, raging, walking watching Lyon, who&s;e mallice to preuent the Lord doth a vow, <HI>That he will watch continually, yea night &amp; day will he watch, loa&s;t Sa+than a&s;&s;ayle thee:</HI> I <HI>&s;ayah</HI> 27. K: It is very pretily applied you &s;ilence me with a &s;weet clap vpon the lippes, to preuent my re|pinings, and make me &s;mother my fooli&s;h words, for indeede this pre&s;eruation of the Lord a&s;&s;ureth, that how&s;oeuer our &s;elues and &s;acrifices be faulty and vnpure, yet he is not iealous ouer vs and them, but euen pa&s;&s;eth by our &s;pots and deformities, both in the matter and manner of our broken pre&s;ents before him, as that &s;weet hony &s;weet meekenes of Chri&s;t Ie&s;us <HI>in the 7. of <HI>Luke:</HI> When the poore be&s;otted Elders of Jeru&s;alem came to intreat him for the Centurious &s;eruant, and they plead his de&s;arts,
<PB REF="8"> and that he was worthy:</HI> A more filthy incence then which, they could not haue ca&s;ten in the innocent Lambes no&s;trils, yet hee agreeth &amp; goeth to &s;ati&s;fie them: See &s;weet hart what any man loo|&s;eth by attending, the Lords ley&s;ure, K: Indeede I thanke you Sir, you &s;peake as hauing authoritie G: But are yee well? and &s;hall wee rea&s;on a little more? K: with all my very hart G: enlarge this priuity of &s;ences for I am dull and dead, and vncapable of good things. K: I learne it of you, that beeing re&s;igned vnto the Lord he will giue vs meekenes, <HI>whereby we &s;hall euen receiue the &s;acrets of his coun|&s;ell and enioy the earth:</HI> Wee &s;hall al&s;o receiue patience, inue&s;ting vs into our re&s;t, bringing vs crucified vnto the world and the world to vs: Thirdly we &s;hall po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e our &s;oules in the quiet fruit of righ|teou&s;nes: and all this from rendring our obedience by the practi&s;e of our re&s;trayned wils, in our re&s;olute violence for y^e kingdome. G: It is very &s;weetly &s;poken K: but how feele you? G: nothing well, for I mu&s;t needs tell you &s;ince our former Conference concluded, I haue beene wonderfully wounded in hart and mind K: Was your griefe for outward or inward wants? G: ah &s;weet hart thou art a faithfull Phi&s;itian indeede: it was for matters of the world, as an occa&s;ion: but giuing liberty vnto my &s;ences was the foundation, I thinke &s;o for to be griuedd for want of required duties is no &s;in: but to con&s;ult with our affections is very dangerous; I know the coun&s;els of the Lord are like vnto a great depth, and no rea&s;on to be enquired of, but thus farre I proceede again&s;t my &s;elfe out of my priuties G: but how may you bee &s;o vncomfortable vnto my weake e&s;tate? you will be|ware that you ca&s;t not downe that which by the grace of God you haue builded in me? G: no it is the Lords building, and he will maintaine it, how&s;oeuer hee di&s;po&s;e of my &s;infull e&s;tate: I am clothed with a wonderfull thick muddy, benummednes, as though there were no <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">dre&s;&s;e for me in heauen, or earth: K: I cannot tell what to &s;ay to you, what is your owne opinion,? G: Sir it is my auncient louing companion, which hath beene long from mee: <HI>And I reioyce to haue it, but faint to indure it: I means my trembling:</HI> And yet the Lord &s;heweth me euen by you, both the cau&s;e, v&s;e, and ende: K: I pray you &s;peake on: G: it is very true
<PB REF="9"> my long indurings haue beene &s;uch, and my generall abiections &s;o infe&s;tred with the companions of pouerty, as I no &s;ooner heare of &s;ome di&s;patch but I enter &s;traight into an ouer wiening per|&s;wa&s;ion of vanity, by rea&s;on of my brokennes, and the Lord &s;eeth that thereby I communicate my &s;elfe with the multitude (as a man come out of a &s;trange country,) beateth mee home againe, and therevpon I &s;it downe and &s;orrow not for my &s;mart, but that my very weakned &s;ence &s;hould let go hold of the violence which I had deuoted vnto the Lord in all changes thus hauing grieued my gratious Lord who hath not denyed me any fauour, but re|turned in due time in all my di&s;tre&s;&s;es, and I haue made a &s;hip wrack of all his fauours, wherevpon hee hath plea&s;ed to &s;et be|fore mee, the wor&s;t of all my e&s;tates: all my enterpri&s;es broken: and my ends preuented with preiudice: and to let you and the world know it, I write no dreame or fable, thus it was: The credit of my booke drawne vp, <HI>by my euer &s;weet late gratious renowned Mi&s;tris Queene Elizabeth hath</HI> beene long my &s;upply for maintenance, and a councellor great not knowing my weake e&s;tate hauing my booke in his hands departed away: So my hope of di&s;patch fru&s;trate, my booke &s;hut vp, my debts were great vpon &s;cores, to &s;uch as did neede as much as my &s;elfe, and thus not only di&s;abled to di&s;charge that was pa&s;t, but how to maintaine my &s;elfe till Tearme, I appealed vnto others, and offred all intere&s;t of my &s;uite, onely to bee &s;upplied for my credit and maintenance till his returne.</P>
<P>The&s;e men I found di&s;tracted with their owne particular wants; &s;o as certainty were to bee expected, but euen in my be&s;t per|&s;wa&s;ions, all my hopes fall broken which I did expect: Al&s;o hee that loued me, and I honoured him more then any man, was &s;o pe|&s;tered with paying other mens debts as he left both my reputati|on, and &s;tate out of his care, wherevpon a generall darkene&s;&s;e did &s;rprize all my faculties, &s;eeing both my credit and religion expo&s;ed to open &s;corne and &s;candall: Therevpon I fell into the trembling of the hart a&s;toni&s;hment of &s;ences, and no great appre|hen&s;ion of deliuerance, for my fooli&s;hnes and ouerweening was
<PB REF="9"> &s;till in my &s;ight: herein I continewed &s;ome dayes and nights after which tho&s;e beames, which forerun the glory of the &s;unne did ap|peare, and gaue me &s;ome light intimating that my feare ought not vtterly to di&s;corage my hope &s;ince I did know how weake I had beene in apprehending a &s;how of my de&s;ired lyberty, but rather<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n ought to reioy&s;e that I find my &s;elfe by this grations fauour and re|buke a&s;ured I &s;hould not both loo&s;e the Lords care ouer my life and his Gods ble&s;&s;ings in my particular labours, will ye &s;ee my knight? Nay will the world &s;ee and bee a&s;tonied? Heerevpon I did ari&s;e and was prety well, and am &s;till as well as am I &s;it for: <HI>For the Lordis my &s;hepheard, his <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">od, his &s;taffe, and healing afflictions are mine,</HI> and ble&s;&s;ed be his will, and nothing but wo vnto my will, K: Sir I confe&s;&s;e that I haue receiued &s;trength by you, and that I haue neyther &s;trength nor faculty, that I would not pow|er out, for your ea&s;e and redre&s;&s;e: That heauy plight affecteth me euen within, and with indigniteie I &s;peake it, it is pitty that a man of your place, imployment, chri&s;tian care, and loue of the Mi|ni&s;ters euery way, &s;hould be thus orphaned both in the Church and common wealth, G: No &s;uch matter Sir, I haue beene wronged &s;trangely: neither by Church nor common wealth; on|ly for my tryall, he the lord hath giuen my outward e&s;tate into the hands of oppre&s;&s;ors and mercy le&s;&s;e men, to di&s;tre&s;&s;e me by cau&s;e|le&s;&s;e cruetly, and in recompence of this, he hath &s;ent vnto me <HI>as tho&s;e Rauens to <HI>Elyah</HI></HI> the mo&s;t worthy Mini&s;ters of his worde, meare&s;trangers vnto me: &amp; the&s;e haue both reliued me in pri&s;on, and deliuered me from the pri&s;on, and comforted mee abroad: out of your owne wants: <HI>So righteous and equall is the Lord in all his de&s;ignes: and holy is his name,</HI> will you now proceede &s;weete Knight? K: yes indeede like a &s;ouldier plainely, and yet de&s;ire to walke within the limit of &s;oftnes which you haue taught me: G. The Lord euen Ie&s;us open all your faculties, that you may &s;peake not onely for my Better &s;tanding, but many others: K: Amen: Sir you know we &s;ouldiers hauing a &s;eruice in hand, make many &s;urueyes, in our attempts, as coun&s;ell of armes decreeth: we
<PB REF="10"> view the grounds, the woods, the waters, the hils, and the val|leys, where to find de&s;ired aduantage and oppertunitie, for plan|ting our forces, eyther for defence, or offence now: Yf we haue any &s;ucce&s;&s;e in part wee thinke our &s;elues prety well and reioyce: but admit we loo&s;e all our enterpri&s;es, all charges, and a number of our men, poore &s;oules that gaue the aduenture, are we di&s;cora|ged? no, no: wee be inflamed with indignitie, and re&s;olute zeale, we put vpon vs vertuous and valorous mindes, to affect our enter|pri&s;es, anp wee will tarry and &s;ee the end till the la&s;t man: for we know if wee can continew, time will by fire, famine, or &s;word, worke the conclu&s;ion plau&s;ible, (and note my Gent) <HI>that this &s;er|uice is not again&s;t a mercifull Lord, as we attend in our parti|cular &s;uffring,</HI> but again&s;t a tyrant that de&s;ireth to drinke vp all our bloods in cup: Againe our &s;ucce&s;&s;es in armes bee vncer|tayne, <HI>but the &s;oules of the afflicted be in the handes of God, and their expected i&s;&s;ues mo&s;t ble&s;&s;ed,</HI> from a mo&s;t mercyfull com|mander, and therefore let vs neuer &s;hrinke, neuer be weary, but endure, &s;urey, hope, deui&s;e, practi&s;e, attempt, all good meanes for our &s;trength and &s;tanding, and then behold the oddes.</P>
<P>Yf we fall in afflictions, we fall into <HI>The</HI> Mrs <HI>armes, his mercy doth compa&s;&s;e vs, he looketh from heauen for our &s;afty, and what &s;hould</HI> di&s;corage vs? they that attend <HI>vpon the Lord &s;ayth <HI>E&s;ayh</HI> 40. they &s;hall renewe their &s;trength, their winges &s;halbe as the wings of the Eagles: they &s;hall not be wearyned in their iourney, nor faynt in their way. <HI>Scaelah</HI></HI> G. I be&s;eech you, in all our loues that you &s;peake &s;till vnto me, I delight to heare you, re&s;emble afflic|tions with armes for certaynely affliction is a violent warlike a&s;&s;ault vpon the &s;tate of mortallity, as is &s;ufficiently proued by that place of <HI>I&s;uah 20 (viz) <HI>y^e &s;halt forget the &s;hame of thy youth, &amp; the reproch of thy widdowhood:</HI></HI> as though he &s;hould haue &s;ayd, tho&s;e few &s;pe|ciallots are mo&s;t heauy, and therefore require a more &s;pedy redre&s;&s;e K. Indeed my Gentleman I am not prepared neyther able as I &s;hould be enlarged, for apprehending many excelent things touch|ing afflictions: <HI>as the cau&s;e to be the only loue of God: the occa&s;ion to be our bru&s;ing and &s;inne: the v&s;e that we vow more holy obedi|ence,
<PB REF="10"> the end that we be healed and enriched thereby:</HI> An old exer|ci&s;ed &s;ouldier would fit this excellently, with a &s;imile of armes G: Sweet Knight &s;peake &s;till vnto me, and I will giue you the right hand of felow&s;hip, both in arme, and in &s;perituall exerci&s;es, for your &s;peeches haue grace and maie&s;ty like a &s;ouldier compleat in his own &s;kill and re&s;olution: K. Indeede I would do any thing for you, as you haue layd downe your hart vnto &s;orrow for mee, but you wil pardon, for indeede I am wonderfull weake, G: you may bee &s;ure God will pardon you, I and will doe you &s;er|uice, K: Indeede my G: I haue &s;ome enlargement of out|ward thinges fallen vnto me, and mu&s;t goe into the warres and doe confe&s;&s;e I am not as I was, when your loue, care, and de&s;ires, did force teares out of my fa&s;t boulted hart. In witne&s;&s;e of my mi&s;ery, yet I woulde I had a fountayne to powre out for your ea&s;e, and lightning any way: G. euen for your owne Crowne, and my Peace, let mee write before you goe, howe you haue layd vp the&s;e &s;ame perticulars of afflictions: The cau&s;e: The occa&s;ion: V&s;e: And ende by re&s;emblance with warres: K: Yt is your turne to apply vn|to your &s;elfe, thiges offered to your con&s;ideration: G: But when did I leaue you &s;o? What if my a&s;toni&s;hment, and trem|bling doe &s;o po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e mee, as to depriue mee of feeling, and power, will youd eny the hand of your &s;trength vnto mee? K: No indeede if I doe, my hand forget his office vnto my &s;elfe: Gent: I pray you &s;peake my &s;weete Knight, K: Indeede my men &s;tay for mee, G: Grieue mee not in denying comfort vn|to mee where my care hath beene extended and racked for you, K: No, by no meanes, I will rather loo&s;e the &s;ervice, and &s;ince you will needes haue mee &s;peake out of my Cap|taynes array, &s;o farre differing from the Prions, I will &s;peake as a Captayne, to your fower poyntes, worthy note in the que&s;tion of affliction G: Good &s;weete hart &s;peake vnto my afflicted minde, the worde of purity and poewr, and know you &s;peake vnto the Lord, euen in the face of his annoynted: <HI>And forget not that his hart will reioyes, and his reynes al|lo,
<PB REF="11"> &amp; to heare you &s;peake righteous things</HI> Pro: 23 K. now my Gent|ince you will haue one prepare by way of diuerting from the occa|&s;ion of my &s;eruice me thinks a fitter preparation by way of example in this proiect of affliction) cannot be found then from the camp: for if a man my &s;eruant whome I loue be wounded (as euery man is by &s;inne) then I pre&s;ently &s;end for a Surgion, now his wound is not grieuous in &s;ence at the time of the wound receiued neither doth he complayne but I care for him in my loue: for who feeleth a hurt in &s;ight? or the danger of a &s;hot in the in&s;tant when the mind is di&s;tracted, the blud &s;et on fire, and the irefull affections of the &s;pirit, depriued all outward &s;ence for the time as in a diuer&s;e occa|&s;ion <HI>Salamon</HI> &s;ayeth <HI>the &s;trength of the &s;pirit &s;u&s;tayneth and reui|uoth the outware &s;ences:</HI> So in the exerci&s;es of &s;inne for the in&s;tant plau&s;ible and plea&s;ant, but when out afflictious returne vnto the law, as the souldier into the camp, then all is fore, &s;tack, grieuious, and vnte&s;tfull then he mu&s;t be &s;earched with in&s;truments, and tents, and diuers appliances haply very painefully: Sathan is the wounder, he &s;till alureth nay infor&s;eth to breach of obedyence in the open decla|red will of our God, as ready at euery corner to wound. The Lord: &s;eeing his &s;eruant thus wounded in keeping his po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of his hart, he pre&s;ently &s;endeth for his Phi&s;itian affliction, what is the property of this Phi&s;itian affliction? <HI>his property is to make vs tel our wound truly and how as we became hurt, and that we de&s;ired to be hea|led with any paynes in the world, nay this Phi&s;itian affliction will teach and inforce to try our very priuityes, and thoughts to confe&s;&s;ed al to the Mr. y^e we may be &s;oundly healed</HI> P&s;al. 33 Eccel. 27. 5. Pro. 24. 21: and 17. Lo thus far my G. the occa&s;ion: out of the captaynes loue he hath the healing Phi&s;itian: for the v&s;e the &s;ouldier rebuked and beaten by heady and vnwarranted aduenture to go out of aray, without his captaynes priuety confe&s;&s;eth and pray|eth to be remitted, and healed and he will all his life long after &s;erue him more carefully and in &s;obernes: he will loue his captayne and beware of heady ra&s;h aduerntureses after, &amp; euer haue in his hand &amp; hart the loue and regard of this healing co~mander, and &s;o trayned in temperance &amp; re&s;traint by applauding his happy deliueraunce and
<PB REF="11"> recuring, &s;hal grow delightful vnto his Captayne, &amp; what &s;halbe the end? euen this: he is healed his credit &amp; charge enlarged, his whole e|&s;tate re-e&s;tabli&s;hed, for his co~manders de&s;igned, groweth an expert man, able to be leader &amp; trainer of others in &s;eruice of highe&s;t waight &amp; continuing co~&s;tant in his deuoted &s;eruice, dyeth with &s;ome, and is buryed in his colors: right &s;o in the &s;pirtua<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l con&s;licts a ma~ approued &amp; made wi&s;e by Gods cha&s;ti&s;eme~ts, is called and prepared for touch &s;eruice, both for his owne per&s;on: example &amp; training of others, and haply to lo&s;e his life for keeping po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion for his Mr. who&s;e pra<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> it &s;hal be regi&s;tred with a holy memory among the &s;aints: &s;o ye &s;ee my Go: for ha&s;t I make haply large &s;peed, &amp; &s;hort &s;ence, but vnto you it is for who~ I owe my very &s;elfe, &amp; do giue you a &s;lower of your owne tree if I haue failed tel me before I go. G: That is to y^e mater for you haue comforted me, as you haue receiued very faythfully and I pray you &s;weet Kn, let me heare you &s;peake of obedyence a little before you go, euen to bind all my &s;eruice vnto you, and for more gayne <HI>from our reciprocall profiting by our mutuall layth,</HI> for indeed I <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom: <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word">.</NOTE> am weake in &s;ome poynts per&s;waded vnto you: tel me therefore how obedyence may be re&s;e~bled with armes vnto him who demaundeth nothing but loue, and a re&s;ign<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d will for his whole Kingdome: K: Why will ye charge me thus, being new entred into the Camp. G. Be&s;t of al that you may carry y^e wil of God as your en&s;igne chang the truth whereof you haue vnfoulded vnto others for your la&s;t farwell: K. Since you wil haue vnfoulded vnto others for your la&s;t farwell: K. Since you wil haue it &s;o, as I conceiue raptim, I take obedience, to be as you haue de&s;cribed it, not only our wil re&s;igned but al&s;o an in|du&s;trious &amp; vtter be&s;tripping of nature: <HI>Thoou &s;halt loue the Lord thy God with all thy hart &amp;c. and thy neighbor as thy &s;elfe:</HI> Now becau&s;e I would be gone to avoyde all &s;u&s;pition of impo&s;&s;ibilities, and difficulty in this commaund wee mu&s;t euer in all our vio|lences and con&s;tant aduentures, <HI>Carry Chri&s;t Je&s;usi for our en|&s;igne in our Helmet who is the &s;tabilitie, accompli&s;hment, ends, and concellor, of the Lawe.</HI> G. How can hee bee &s;ayd to bee the &s;tabilitie: Who abrogateth 3. K. you meane not that I &s;hould go this night I perceiue. G. not with my will. K. wel to your que&s;tion <HI>Chri&s;t is y^e &s;tabilitie of y^e Law becau&s;e he hath giue~ obedi|ence
<PB REF="12"> vnto it, and a voweth it righteous,</HI> al&s;o becau&s;e hee payd the extreame&s;t price for &s;atisfaction of all required dutyes in o|thers: by the very letter thereof, and hauing rendred what&s;oeuer is due thereby hath cancelled it: Now obedience is the record, whereby euery man &s;hall know, <HI>Whether it be cancelled for him or no:</HI> Was it not then euen in very rea&s;on equall that the Lord <HI>Ie|houah</HI> &s;hould lay a heauy yoake vpon the po&s;teriity of di&s;obedient <HI>Adam,</HI> who &s;o quickly made &s;ale of the whole garden wherein he was &s;hriued in righteou&s;nes and holynes, &amp; who kept the watch then? who made continuall claime then? and lea&s;t wee al&s;o &s;hould fal into the &s;ame prouocation, &amp; be concluded in the penalty, it plea|&s;ed him to e&s;tabli&s;h this Law, <HI>which if any man wil rather choo&s;e to keepe than walk in obedience: well: he &s;hall liue by the Law: but for an euer &s;ure anchor the lamb proclaimeth, if any man will &s;eru</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 12.</NOTE> <HI>me, let him for&s;ake him&s;elfe, and take vp his <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ro&s;&s;e &amp; follow me, &amp; if any man loue me him will my father honor:</HI> Ioh: 12, 20. Here is the crowne of happy obedyence? &s;o that in vs remayneth nothing but that we keepe our wils, free from con&s;ent of euill, and the re&s;t is fulfilled: G: It is not &s;o &s;mala matter as you make it, for I am &s;ure you alow that concupicence, in very thought is &s;inne, K: I doe &s;o in the generall cen&s;ure of our mortality, wherein all is concluded vnder &s;in, to magnify the grace and free gift of God: but no other|wi&s;e, &amp; that which I &s;peake I had it from you. G. it is &s;uch a &s;inne though &s;leeping as (if imputed) is dammable K. that &s;ame it is well added, &s;o doth the Lord &s;peake out of his own tender affection vnto Ephraim, <HI>Ier. 32. <HI>If I can forget my &s;elfe, or if the heauens can be &s;panned, the &s;aid numbred or the &s;eas fadomed? then wil I fails my couenant with I&s;raell:</HI></HI> The like &s;peech hee hath in the 54. of <HI>I&s;aiah. <HI>If I can bring the waters agayne to drowne the world then I wil fayle and for&s;ake the afflicted</HI> Iacob:</HI> G. you pa&s;&s; e+uer too &s;lightly K: You haue abu&s;ed me the more, for I write no|thing but what I haue receiued from the Lord by you: G: I &s;ay the &s;in of cogitation, though &s;leeping is a foule &s;inne: K: So &s;ay I? what then? G: Then I &s;ay the holy Gho&s;t dwelleth not in a foule hart: K: Where doth he dwel then? <HI>For the Apo&s;tle &s;ayth, that in him there
<PB REF="12"> dwelleth no good things:</HI> Ro: 7. <HI>and that there is neyther will nor deede in him to goodnes,</HI> Phi. 3: <HI>and the prophet</HI> Ier: <HI>&s;ayes the hart is deceitfull and wicked, aboue all things who knoweth it,</HI> Iere: 17. 9. <HI>and in the 6 of</HI> Gen: <HI>it is &s;aid that the very preouarication and &s;ecret cogitation of mans hart, is altogether euill from the beginning how &s;ay you now, my Gent?</HI> Ge I pray you reconcile the places: K: Yee very ea&s;ly The Prophet &s;ayth, P&s;al: 66. <HI>I&s; I re|gard wickednes in my hart, too Lord will not heare me: that if I entertayne and dwell vpon wickednes to take helight in it:</HI> So not my foule heart, but the delight of my will maketh mee di&s;ta&s;t|ing before God: G: But I cannot abandon vnrighteous thoughts and cogitations, no not &s;leeping and you know the Apo&s;tle enioyn|neth our very thoughts to be cleane, K: There is the tryal of our obe|dyence, in labouring &s;till, and patiently enduring the penalty of our rebellious de&s;cent: he per&s;wadeth only, enioyneth no &s;uch e&s;tate vn|to any man: he doth not charge vs with our &s;leeping, with ourwa|king and wandring cogitations: G. But what remedy for this &s;tate, is there no help? K: I returne your owne an&s;were to the like que&s;tion redre&s;&s;e there is, remedy none: G: how is that? K: truely wee mu&s;t hold in all our wayes a moderation of dyet, and re&s;traynt in all out|ward thinges: and call in&s;tantly vpon Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, it is of the nature of tho&s;e Diuels which will not be ca&s;t out, <HI>but by Fa&s;ting &amp; Prayer.</HI> Which doe help very much again&s;t the violent a&s;&s;aults of &s;inne: but cogitation thoughts decyeth onealy by attending, in&s;tantly vpon the Sonne of God: and that I may confirme all my opinions, according to your de&s;ire: from the pre&s;idents of Armes: If I charge my man for a watch in my quarter, and hee by violence is affayled to betray me, &amp; the enemy, doth inforce him to Parley with him, and he taketh time to giue an&s;were, and in the night following dreameth that he be|lrayeth me: Shall I for that dreame take and execute him as a Tray|tor? no no, I will rather alow his di&s;cretion, to entertayne them that he may vnfold, and di&s;cour&s;e &s;till the purpo&s;e of their plots, and bee better able to preuent them by this expereince, &s;o long as Trea&s;on is not in his hart: And no le&s;&s;e will the Lord make the very a&s;&s;aults of &s;inne; profitable vnto vs, by illuminating our mindes to di&s;couer
<PB REF="13"> their ends, and we &s;hall giue more glory vnto his grace, and &s;tand more &s;trictly by a lamentable view of our former &s;lydingers: G: I pray you tell mee how this is to re&s;i&s;t the beginning, and abandon vnreformed &s;ocietyes? K. is it true? I pray you who is wa&s;pi&s;h now? Indeed you thinke you haue me at a nonplus, but I will v&s;e this, your obiection as a motyue to &s;tir vp my facultyes to finde out &s;a|ti&s;faction for you: Therefore thus: you know the proportion was produced from your conceaued griefes for dreames, and &s;leeping cogitations, which I thinke I an&s;wered fitly from the dreame of my &s;eruant, comming from Parley with the enemye, for that further leaue, wherein I giue liberty of parlaus I did re&s;trayne it, if his hart befree, &s;o I &s;ay according to the truth of a mans hart, it is &s;im|ply not vnlawfull to admyt contemplation, of &s;infull cogitations, neyther to haue conference with &s;inners, for thereby hee may ga|ther a deeper experience, of their loath&s;ome ends: and where it is &s;aid wee mu&s;t re&s;i&s;t, beginnings it is coun&s;ell vnto men, weake and frayle by their owne inherent di&s;po&s;itions, and inlining to &s;inne: &s;o I thinke the proportion is cleared in euery branch, and euery iu&s;t &s;u&s;pition in the re&s;t of my example: and &s;o my auncient louer and Ma&s;ter I &s;ay, <HI>quid tuum igitur.</HI> The &s;tate of the heart and will is all in the whole: for as parley with an enemie is lawfull for a tru&s;ty &s;er+uant, &s;o if he bee vn&s;ound, al is vnlawfull ab initio: G. my wants and woes be heauy vnto me, but gaynfull vnto you, for now you &s;ee how the Lord: hath loued you to make you &s;o profit, as that you <HI>are able to comfort others with that which you haue receiued,</HI> &s;ee al&s;o the truth of that I &s;ayd vnto you how little a&s;&s;urance any man hath of his &s;tanding, for many fearefull tentation haue &s;ha|dowed all my feelings, &s;ince I &s;ee you before now: and I do thanke the Lord that I do &s;e his watering vpon our conference: for it ioyeth my very hart to heare you &s;peake: and thus do I rececapitulat your &s;peeches for they be pure gold: you conclude, that the Lord deman|ding our loues, with all our harts and &s;pirits, and our neighbours as our &s;elues doth &s;ommon all the facultyes of our minde and &s;pirit vnto the whole obedience of his declared will, euen &s;o farre as to labor for purity of thoughts to abridge our de&s;ired liberty of
<PB REF="13"> vaine wordes company and &s;infull exerci&s;es. K. Now truely you haue &s;poken like a Mr. and exceeding my capacitie, prudeut cau&s;e for breuity: I would I had in &s;uch manner conceaued and profi|ted by your happy enlargements vnto me, on heauenly things. G: Well &s;ir I thanke you now the Lord be with you. K. Nay as &s;ure as I liue I wil neuer &s;peake la&s;t, whiles you may &s;peake for I am vn|furni&s;hed in one great and dangerous poynt to bee graced in fight and armes which may and is, likely to fall vpon me.</P>
<P>K. Mee thinkes in this matter of obedience, you doe like mee le&s;&s;e then all the re&s;t: G: No maruell: for I told you that heerein con&s;i&s;ted the accompli&s;hment of all our whole righteou&s;nes, and holy conformitie vn to the Lambe, in &s;hewing our lights by renew|ed wayes, to gloryfie God. K. This is wonderfull to heare you of this opynion that I mu&s;t pa&s;&s;e by the Lawe for my &s;aluation: G: Your owne wordes confound you, <HI>For by Chri&s;t Je&s;us you pa&s;&s;e it indeede, whereas otherwi&s;e you &s;hould &s;tick fa&s;t Eternally.</HI></P>
<P>But I pray you be wi&s;e and pray for an vnder&s;tanding hart, and heare me with grace &s;obernes: you were lately in pri&s;on if ten thou&s;ands pounds Execution had bene layd vpon you, and a friend of yours of his owne meere compa&s;&s;ion payd the money, and did enfran|chy&s;e you, and for a full recompence hee onely prayeth you but to loue him, and his children, were you not a mon&s;ter, if you would de&s;loure his daughter? K: The compari&s;on is not alike: G: Shew the difference: K: In this: that by my very inherent corruption I am continually inforced to lu&s;t murder, and what not, and cannot preuent it; G: You haue bene in your olde company, and adulte|rated your &s;pirits, and de&s;yled that meekenes, wherein I left you for &s;hew you me, wherein anything is required of you, but if you loue the Lord and giue &s;ound obedyence by continuall labour as you ought, I &s;ay tell mee what <HI>Chri&s;t Je&s;us hath left vndone to di&s;&s;oden you of the whole Lawe, as well for cogitation as and required nothing of you but that you defile nor his Daughter,</HI> his e&s;pou&s;ed wife, his Temple <HI>and his owne cho|&s;en &s;eate in pour hart,</HI> Kni: <HI>But</HI> who can be pure in thought which is the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions of the Lawe, and violating all obedyence
<PB REF="14"> Gent<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">uen he that greeueth for the impuritie of his thoughts, and prayeth in&s;tantly vnto the Lambe Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, to helpe his impu|ritie and wa&s;h his be&s;pottedne&s;&s;e, and doth what hee can by aban|doning filthy company, and occa&s;ion of &s;inne, and for his re&s;t taketh hold of him, <HI>Who hath bidden vs ca&s;t our burden vpon him, and call vpon him in the daies of trouble, and he will heare:</HI> P&s;al. 50. 5. and 34. becau&s;e hee knoweth that our burthen mu&s;t be made light by him, and our weake &s;aith to apprehend his promi&s;es, mu&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 11.</NOTE> receiue &s;trength from him: Whereupon it is, that the Apo&s;tle calleth our righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e <HI>the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God.</HI> Rom. 2. What can you &s;ay my knight, for any impo&s;sibility impo&s;ed vpon you by the law? K: Smilingly: truly nothing Gentleman: doe you &s;mile? beware of an euill heart, and &s;eeke to weepe for your proud and prophane words, which argue you reuolt from that you were: and I &s;ay againe, &s;orrow that euer &s;athan &s;hould &s;o haue &s;educed you, as to make you mutine and accu&s;e our &s;weete Lord, to haue delat pre|iudicially with vs in his mo&s;t equall &s;tatutes K: I pray you good my Gent: conceit mee not vnkindly Gent: What &s;hall I gaine by cen&s;uring and grieuing you? for &s;athan meaneth to weaken mee by your relap&s;e: but let you and I, and all the world, beware how wee dally with the diuell: for if after &s;uch a &s;earching, wa&s;hing, and hea|ling of our hearts, the Lord hath throwne &s;athan out, wee reciue <HI>him againe into conference, and forget our continuall claime, no doubt hee will returne with many wor&s;e then him&s;elfe,</HI> and ca&s;t the Lord quite out of all our holds: and &s;o our ending &s;hall be wor&s;e then our begining. K: I pray you &s;weete Gent: (who ha&s;t with &s;uch labour and care wrought teares out of mine eyes) haue patience with mee &s;till, and from &s;ome part of our former di&s;cour&s;e, enlarge <NOTE PLACE="marg">Pri&s;oners co~ferenc.</NOTE> &s;omething vpon obedience vnto me, I &s;hall thereby more haply be more capable. G: I haue told you alreadie that it is a friend, a companion, nay the mother of meekene&s;&s;e and patience, becau&s;e there mu&s;t be &s;ome aduer&s;e oppo&s;ite occa&s;ion, vnto natures a&s;pi|rings, whereby meekene&s;&s;e euen byobedience to the law re&s;i&s;ting, preuaileth: <HI>And &s;o po&s;&s;e&s;&s;eth her &s;oule in patience, which apprehen+deth</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat.10.</NOTE> <HI>hope, which mini&s;treth a&s;&s;urance, and begetteth watchful|ne&s;&s;e
<PB REF="14"> and that feare which is ble&s;&s;ed</HI> Pro. 23. hence groweth the violence for the kingdome which grownded vpon fayth, the foun|dation of all, inu&s;tereth vs into the very kingdome it &s;elfe: as very &s;onnes and heyres with Chri&s;t Ie&s;us euen as &s;tones be compacted in a building <HI>I goe to my father and your father <HI>Iohn</HI> the</HI> 14.</P>
<P>K: you &s;peake very well: but teach me from our former confe|rence, me thinks that doth &s;auour and &s;ettle better with me: G: Indeed I would do any thing though you haue wounded me by your care|le&s;&s;e que&s;tions. K: I pray you forgiue haply I greiue my &s;elfe G I pray you do &s;o: and take for a rule to examine your hart that &s;ame demaund of the Lord in the former exerci&s;e, <HI>my &s;onne giue me thy hart.</HI> K. I would giue it but he will not take it G that is becau&s;e you <NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 23.</NOTE> di&s;&s;emble in your offer, for you would not giue it wholy but by parts, and he will haue alll or none, and now to &s;ilence you vtterly, that you may by rebuke, learne to make con&s;cience of your words vnto the great God, &s;peake vnto me in the word of truth how many times your whole wil in words and deeds haue con&s;ented vnto vani|ty &s;ince I left &amp; you promi&s;ed to giue your hart, &s;peak before y^e Lord: K: Nay good Sir be not &s;o peremptory with me I be&s;eech you G. I peremptory? no farre be it from me: but according to your demaund from the former conference I &s;et a gla&s;&s;e before you to &s;ee &amp; finde your &s;pots in your owne face, and not in Gods gloryous face, by this you &s;hall &s;ee how farre you haue bene from giuing your hart accor|dingly as you &s;emed willing, and yet you feare not to accule the Lord that he will not take your hart offered vnto him, and lets beware of his greatnes, though his goodnes be infinit and ful of Longanimyty O that &s;ome of tho&s;e poore &s;imple &s;educed men, who will be called Catholikes, and &s;lander our Church for liberty to &s;in, did but feele what I feele euen now when I writ this of horror and a&s;toni&s;hment &amp; trembling of hart, for di&s;obedience in youth, in age, in ignorance and knowledg? &s;o as indeed I am almo&s;t &s;trengthle&s;&s;e in my appre|hen&s;ions for deliuerance and therfore &s;weet Sir let vs both learn thus to examine our &s;elues: if we be giuen to the vice of the fle&s;h, let vs abandon all &s;ecret cogitations of vanity, all company of &s;uch as by con&s;ent or example, may kindle the &s;parkes: if drunkards, abandon
<PB REF="15"> the company of idle and loo&s;e men, who pa&s;&s;e their time in tipling and drinking for not only the drunkards, but the drinkars are ex|empted from the kingdome and if the Lord find vs faythfuly labou|ring thus in the worke of his vincyard, he will &s;o affect vs, as to take our harts whether we will or no <HI>Tales &s;umus <HI>&s;ayth a father</HI> qualia &s;unt quotidiana Coloquia &amp;c.</HI> now our obedyence con|&s;i&s;ting in a po&s;ible continuewed violence to giue the Lord our harts what vnequal or vnrea&s;onable things is demaunded? nay what grea|ter &amp; in rea&s;on more de&s;ired happynes, then that the Lord wil aba&s;e him &s;elfe to demaund our harts, to mould and knead them anew for his owne delight and table, and as for the &s;ame Law where at you &s;o &s;tumble I pray you: and let al men hold this per&s;wa&s;ion, that nothing at all is <HI>required but that by prayer, and amanly abandoning &s;in, may well enough be obtayned</HI> hoth for our fredome from the bon|dage of &s;inne, and &s;lauery of &s;inne: as al&s;o for that other more glori|ous end to be engra&s;&s;ed vnto Chri&s;t and &s;o vnited into the duty, K. I haue one other doubt &s;hal I bewray it? G. If it plea&s;e you, K. what needeth the Lord my labour to help him to renew my hart, and change, G: I demaund of you why a Ma&s;ter will try his &s;eruant be|fore he tru&s;t him? but I will giue your a rea&s;on: he demaundeth your labor becau&s;e he loueth your obedyence he that laboureth not: mu&s;t not eate: and becau&s;e his demaund &s;hould make your repudiate and &s;were a perpetuall diuorce betwixt Sathan, &s;inne and that hart, which you haue giuen him you mu&s;t &s;hew your &s;elfe <HI>to encounter the &s;erpent</HI> I tould you of a continuall: clay me alas I am but weake harted my &s;elfe and the&s;e your doubts do wound me: for it is not yout &s;inne, nor you &s;peech that indeed doth perplex me &s;o much, though greue me, as the vnfounlding your wants do &s;peake my particular faylings in my &s;tanding, and therefore let vs labour that we may by Gods mercy preuent a totall and finall reuolt. and I hope all the death that euer my &s;pirit &s;hall ta&s;t of: for the la&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">eperacion that is a &s;weet pa&s;&s;age, and though it may be paineful yet the Lord will a&s;&s;i&s;t vnto the ende, and the remembrance of what we &s;triue for will make all things ea&s;y and &s;weet neither do I com|playne for any thing but for want of conference and coun&s;ell to
<PB REF="15"> &s;tand fa&s;t that I might take delight in the Saints, yet hereein am I letten fall, and wounded pa&s;t all my &s;trength I am that reproached <HI>Ca&s;t away Syon whom no man &s;&eacute;eke&s;t; after, and euen</HI> aba&s;hed to repayre into their companyes, by alienation of their countenan: ces, &s;o am that man &s;ubiect vnto Salamons cen&s;ure, <HI>Woe vnto him that is alone.</HI> K: Well &s;ince I &s;ee your exceeding loue and care of mee, euen to grow into pa&s;&s;ion by view of my vnreformed|nes, as a thing peculyar by &s;ence of others &s;marts that your owne mileryes &s;ea&s;e vpon you, giue mee leaue to extend that &s;trength I haue to comfort thee my very &s;weet companion. G: Will you loue mee &s;o much? Indeede you know not what you giue vnto the Lord by that meanes, therefore I imbrance you and pray the Lore make my harte worthy your coun&s;ell, and very deepe kindne&s;&s;e. K: a|gain&s;t our next meeting, I will de&s;ire of God to giue mee a worde of comfort for you. G. I thanke you &s;weet hart: for indeede I am &s;o much ca&s;ten away if there were no other cau&s;e, <HI>But that I write and profe&s;&s;e chri&s;tianity:</HI> K. I &s;ware it is true: Well I will <NOTE PLACE="marg">Deu. 2.</NOTE> leaue you a little. G: <HI>The Lord rideth vpon the heauens for help of his Church: The eternall God is thy refuge: and vnder his</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;aiah. 62.</NOTE> <HI>arme thou art &s;ure for euer: He &s;hallea&s;t downe allenemyes and &s;ay de&s;troy them.</HI> K How doe you yet my Sir? What reade you? G. An excellent place of Deutronomony and <HI>I&s;aiah.</HI> K: Shall I know them? G. Yes I pray you reade them. K. it is a &s;trong hold indeede, well, you will giue mee leaue to deale in all loue with you, as you did with mee? G: Yes with all my hart. K: Then I wil proceede with you, as you did with mee, that there may be no loue lo&s;t, haue you kept that violence in your &s;elfe, which you ympo&s;e vpon me as a matter of &s;uch nece&s;&s;itie. G. I thanke you &s;weete Sir: No the Lord knoweth: for I did thinke all the wor&s;t had bene pa&s;t and ouerweened my &s;elfe, and enlarged my hart vnto fooli&s;h pre&s;umption, of liberty, chaunge, and what not. So the Lord did euen faithfully &s;trike me in the hart, and I was euen all dead K. But yee did not commit wickednes? G. I know not: for I am &s;ure my hart was very bad, and forgetfull of fromer vowes, and affecti|ons did fooli&s;hly pre&s;&s;e after, de&s;ire of liberty. K. But you did not
<PB REF="16"> proceede vnto ill tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion? G. I tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed by conuer&s;ing with the vnreformed, and enlarging my hart vnto vanity. K. for the latter iudge your &s;elfe; But for the former it was the Prophet Dauids plight, <HI>Which complayneth he was forced to dwell in the Tents of the vngodly.</HI> G: Indeede my &s;weet Knight, giue what cen&s;ure you will, for I am guilty of the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion of the whole Lawe, both in knowledge, and feeling, and &s;o indeede am euen at faynthing. K: There be foure &s;peciall v&s;es in your e&s;tate. Fir&s;t that God will not haue you peri&s;h with the carele&s;&s;e world: Secondly that he will not haue you long out of his fauour by &s;traying abroad: Thirdly that by all your feares hereafter, and a&s;toni&s;hments what|&s;oeuer, this is his onely purpo&s;es crying alowd vnto your hart, <HI>Come vnto me call vpon me, why wilt thou peri&s;h in thy &s;innes and pre|&s;umptions.</HI> And thus preuenteth by timely returning that you &s;hall not be fami&s;hed for want of outward meanes and la&s;tly wee &s;hall re|ceiue the pri&s;e of our high calling euen by the open experiences of our &s;ences.</P>
<P>Therefore for a during rule, let vs haue the Lawe before vs, as a gla&s;&s;e euery day: and be &s;ure to examine and try our harts, touch|ing our predominant &s;innes how wee haue done that which is com|manded, and re&s;i&s;ted that which is forbidden, So &s;hall wee ap|peare re&s;igned vnto the Mr. of the combat, <HI>Who will giue the vic|tory vnto tho&s;e that &s;triue lawfully though neuer &s;o weakely.</HI> For Fayth con&s;i&s;teth not in the mea&s;ure, (but in the affectionate de&s;ire this I know is heauy vnto nature, but &s;weet and ea&s;y vnto grace.</P>
<P>But I pray you Knight, are you willing to conferr with mee in earne&s;t, and purpo&s;e to labour for the Kingdome?</P>
<P>K. Yes in good earne&s;t. G: then let vs informe our &s;elues fro~ the preuidice of our cour&s;es, &s;ince that loue of God cannot moue vs, and let vs dwell a little vpon that place of <HI>Peter: <HI>What profit had you then by tho&s;e thinges whereof you are now a&s;hamed,</HI></HI> let vs examine our owne harts what we haue gayned by &s;inne? let vs examine the &s;tate of others how they haue gayned? and &s;et downe our re&s;olution, and iudgement according to the end? and let vs pro|po&s;e the vice of the fle&s;h for the example. K: So wee &s;hall make
<PB REF="16"> our &s;elues odious. G: not at al reme~ber how the ince&s;tuous man was receyued and ki&s;&s;ed of the whole congregation, after &s;orrow for his &s;inne? <HI>Nay &s;ee the compa&s;&s;ion of the Apo&s;tle: that he &s;hould not be &s;urpri&s;ed with &s;orrow:</HI> I feare me you will &s;till dwell in the fle&s;h <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 3.</NOTE> pots of Egipt: odious? Let me be accepted with Chri&s;t; and a &s;traw for all the phanta&s;ticall children of vanity in the world: For if we haue not proclaymed defyance vnto their courts and alyances, al our vowes are in vayne, now for the motyue to vndergoe this com|bat, &s;ince our victory is layd vp with Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, what &s;hould di&s;may vs? The &s;corne of the vnreformed? alas, what haue wee to doe with them vnle&s;&s;e by way of contagyon in their fellow&s;hip, the vertue will loue vs, and take plea&s;ure in our communitis, reade our exerci&s;es, and fight with vs, in the &s;pirit for holynes and obedi|ence as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh: and wee our &s;elues by our willing|nes and Gods ble&s;&s;ing, <HI>Shall forget and &s;mile at the &s;hame that &s;ome fooli&s;h &s;hame, which appeareth in our changed e&s;tates, <HI>I&s;aiah 54.</HI> wherein our very beauty is changed by our correction:</HI> This &s;hall be forgotten I &s;ay, and in account pri&s;ed, a high &s;eruice vnto the Lord, &amp; we &s;hall haply inioy our beauty agayne, as tho&s;e which beeing deluiered from feare, &s;erue the Lord, <HI>in holynes and righ|teou&s;nes all the dayes of our liues:</HI> O that wee had vnder&s;tanding harts, and &s;table parts in vs; I make no que&s;tion: but you and I doe know &s;ome men &s;o horribly confounded in wheredome, as hauing great liuings they con&s;ume all vpon filthynes and pa&s;&s;e their time at playes, that &s;ame prophane exerci&s;e which robbeth the poore, <HI>and ind&eacute;ed is the Semyuary of al vncleane and filthy matches: a</HI> reuerend father in dete&s;tation thereof (Tertulion I take (it writeth thus. <HI>Nihill e&s;t nobis, ni&s;u auditu, vel dictu: cum iuspudicita hea|trae.</HI> But wee will returne I haue wronged you &s;weet hart: but you, will pardon I would remoue what euer &s;hould binder our very o|pen, and plaine tendred obedyence vnto the Lord, and mu&s;t con|fe&s;&s;e vnto you, that in &s;eeking to &s;trengthen you, I am very weak and ca&s;ten downe my &s;elfe, for no &s;mall or ordinary tempe&s;ts, ac|company my hart euen to di&s;able, and ca&s;t me downe quite out|right, refu&s;ed, &s;corned, contemned; euen of tho&s;e who before they
<PB REF="17"> knew me truely honoured me, and now they &s;ee that the Lord hath drawne me through this red &s;ea of lingering attendance, <HI>dep&s;i&s;e me, and di&s;pute my ende;</HI> alas poore weake men: For the Lord doth know how de&s;irous I am to doe euery man right, and griue euen deepely that I haue not any thinges, eyther to &s;ell or pawne to pay them: that the creartions of God in my hart might re&s;t without their mutining cen&s;ures, but herein is my death, as that &s;ame de&s;igned quarter for tryall of obedyence.</P>
<P>G. then thus: we in our prodominant &s;innes pride, exce&s;&s;e Lux|very or who&s;oeuer, haue continued not only the time of our youth, but euen of ourage; of ignorance and knowledg in them a high mea&s;ure of prouocatio~ then affliction that happy vi&s;iter and remem|brancer he &s;eizeth vpon vs, and we cry vnto God, and if he &s;hould deliuer vs pre&s;ently we &s;hould gayne as little as <HI>Pharoah <HI>by</HI> Mo&s;es <HI>rod but y^e cole was put vnto his lips, by the &s;ling Angel y^e he &s;hould not ha&s;tyly forget the me&s;&s;age wherevnto he was de&s;igned: and</HI></HI> why &s;hould not wee &s;uffer the time of our curing, according vnto the wilful &s;way of our carle&s;&s;e wandering? and pray &s;e the Lord that hathnot con&s;umed vs, in our guilt, So it is proportinable that wee do endure a heauy di&s;tracting age, for a long mi&s;pent youth: exce&s;&s;e is to be cured by want: the vice of the fle&s;h by di&s;ea&s;es feares, and pouerty: why do I di&s;pi&s;e the portion and medicine? if I know my &s;elfe wounded by guilt and &s;o of there&s;t mu&s;t I be &s;traight di&s;charged as &s;one as I cry for &s;mart then &s;hall I gayne playne nothing: why were the I&s;ralites, excerci&s;ed 40. <HI>y&eacute;eres in the Wildernes, but to in|culate &amp; pou~d</HI> y^e perpetual, acknowledgment of their mighty wroght liberty and enfranchment out of &s;o &s;trang a captiuity being <HI>the ve|ry birth and propagtion of the Church:</HI> therefore wee &s;ee the ordi|nary cour&s;e of goods &s;auing prudence in the depth of his loue, to afflict vs euen to the &s;ame end, not otherwi&s;e then as need requireth 1 Pet. 16. what haue we to do with lymmiting of times? but let the Lord alone were it not a &s;trange &s;peech a wounded man &s;hould &s;ay to his &s;urgeon: <HI>This is enough, &amp; thus long wil &s;erue: No, no</HI> we may not &s;o proceed, nether mu&s;t we be weary, but walk in y^e image of our redeemer, in patience, obedience, &amp; meeknes, <HI>we haue not yet
<PB REF="17"> re&s;i&s;ted vnto blood: we mu&s;t work our our &s;aluation in feare, &amp; &s;o fi|ni&s;h our cour&s;e with ioy.</HI> Since the Lord is God, &amp; pittieth the &s;tate <NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.</NOTE> of our mortalitie, why are we di&s;mayd? and why feare we? &s;ithence al the world feareth him that defendeth vs, as we haue had experience this many yeres, you are not v&s;ually &s;o dull and dead, how chanceth it? what is the rea&s;on? K: Nothing but all well. G: Well, will you &s;tir vp your &s;elfe and I will report a &s;trange &s;torie of a di&s;tre&s;|&s;ed man, as you haue heard, who&s;e peace, happine&s;&s;e, and wonder|full reward was &s;uch, after many fearefull endured tempe&s;tes, as would make all ea&s;ie and &s;weete vnto you and me, in our more ea&s;ie conditions. K: I pray you quicken mee with it. Ge: Then I partly &s;ay vnto you an afflicted man, who hauing pa&s;&s;ed of long a red &s;ea of tempe&s;ts and &s;tormes, it plea&s;ed God to touch him in his chil|dren, in his wife, and in him&s;elfe: the mother fell into de&s;paire, the fa|ther into the pa&s;sion of the heart, continuall watch and care was had to di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e them of all the liuing they had, if the were ab&s;ent, this man in this wofull perplexity, mu&s;t of nece&s;sity repaire to London, he mu&s;t carry his wife with him, hee mu&s;t leaue his liuing and his children euen to the deuourers; the Lord &s;aid vnto him, <HI>Get th&eacute;e out of thy fathers hou&s;e, and hee did goe:</HI> he had neither money nor meanes, but by &s;elling of that which &s;hould haue beene the &s;tay of his children. hee had a hundred pound to pay at London at tymes alreadie pa&s;t, his wi&s;e with childe, he in continuall danger of arre&s;t, and to be taken from her: was not this a heauy plight my knight? K: Yes the Lord knoweth: I Pray you what was the end? Gent: Gratious and good, though heauie and fearefull for the time: for be|ing in the iourney to London, newes doth meete him, like that of Iob, that his aduer&s;aries in law, are continually at the Exchequer bar, and if hee doe not make pre&s;ent appearance with his coun&s;ell, both his cau&s;e and credite were vtterly ouerthrowne. This cau&s;e could not be maintained but by money; alas he had none, nor peace, nor hope in his e&s;tate, neither was lie able to deui&s;e any remedie: all men &s;ee|med to wonder at his extreamities, and were wearie to heare report of them; the heauens denied to &s;mile vpon him, and the earth had ca&s;t him out, his children at home in danger to be &s;wallowed vp and
<PB REF="18"> ca&s;e out of all: well in this wofull plight, without any hope in the world but as a man carryed by officers to receieiued ment in a con|&s;i&s;tary of cruelty, (or &s;uch was his feeling) he came vp to Lond<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n, neuer man in &s;uch mi&s;ery for feare of arre<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, (which he continually expected,) as fearing therby the vtter ouerthrow of his wife and ca&s;t|ing away of her child, in this perplexity bee repayred to his credi|tor to whom this hundred was due. The creditor &s;eeing the &s;tate of <NOTE PLACE="marg">D. P.</NOTE> the man wounded, both in body and mind did wonderfully com|fort him, and ray&s;e him vp to apprehend the promi&s;es of God, and not only with wordes but preuenting him that he &s;hould not grieue for fayling day with him, did giue him longer day wi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lingly, which hee did not onely performe, but (dige&s;t well what I write Knight, nay let all the world dige&s;t it) for a thing memorable both in God, and the party: This Creditor vnder&s;tanding of the great charges of the poore Gentleman in the C<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ty, and that his cau&s;es in Lawe were pre&s;ently to bee managed, did demaund of him what &s;tore of money hee had? at which very wordes the Gentlemans hart did breake and hee did fall into pa&s;&s;ion, which he &s;eeing &s;poke thus. Nay: beleeue me &s;ayth he, we wil not haue mony matters make vs &s;o &s;orrowfull, <HI>and &s;o to conclude did lend the Gentleman three|&s;core pound more vpon his owne hand:</HI> Whereby hee recouered <NOTE PLACE="marg">A rare Creditor.</NOTE> &s;trength to him&s;elfe, comfort to his wife, and ouerthrow vnto all his aduer&s;aryes in Lawe: what &s;ay you my Knight, haue I not &s;tird you vp with a &s;tory K: Yes wonderfully I &s;weare vnto you. G: Then take for conclu&s;ion as great a wonder as this. The Mr of the hou&s;e where the Gent: and his wife lay, at the red Bull without Newgate, (beeing about to depart, hauing payde all, demaunded of the Gent: what &s;tore of mony he had, the Gentleman an&s;wered hee had not much, but that hee thought would bring him home in|to his country: The Mr. an&s;wered, well Sir I haue no great &s;tore of mony to lend you, but &s;uch as I haue, take with you to borrow mo|ney of if you need, <HI>And &s;o deliuered him 3 fayre gilt <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">iuer bowles in a ca&s;e to be caryed at the &s;addle how, and willed him pay for them at the yeares ende 26 pound.</HI> Lo my worthy Knight how all the&s;e fearefull tempe&s;tes did &s;ort into a &s;unne-&s;hine calme of happy
<PB REF="18"> deliuerance, loe Sir what cau&s;e haue wee to &s;orrow that wee &s;hould forget thankfulnes to this Lord who&s;e eyes tend vpon the afflicted, for you know we concluded that when the Lord would make a con|&s;tant diuorece betwixt vs, the word and Sathan at once, <HI>we &s;hould finde all Sathans practi&s;es inflamed again&s;t vs,</HI> as they were a|gain&s;t this man in example: <HI>And what gayned Sathan,</HI> though the man for the time was &s;trengthle&s;&s;e? Yet God did &s;ee that for his owne glory hee made him, <HI>without power to helpe him|&s;elfe,</HI> and therefore he did manage all his matters, and gaue him Conque&s;t, <HI>Euen Sathan vanqui&s;hed?</HI> did ye neuer reade nor heare Sir, the &s;tory of a reuerend man who hauing beene long afflicted, and after finding &s;ome re&s;t did grow wonderfull heauy harted, and a friend of his comming to him, fel into a bitter weeping taking vp the co~plaints of Syon the 49. of I <HI>&s;ayah <HI>that God had forgotten him, and his Lord had for&s;aken him?</HI></HI> I a&s;&s;ure you my Knight, I haue beene &s;ome yeares together in the trembling of the hart, and it hath cea&s;ed, and I haue feared more then before, an when it hath come agayne I haue embraced it though no creature &s;o bad and baren for making v&s;e as my &s;elfe: it is my &s;inne, &amp; I de&s;ire others to make better profit of mi&s;teries of our deare God: &amp; be&s;eech him, the world may learne by the example of my long continued affliction, not to dally with Sathan, <HI>in a seruice of &s;o neare required attendance, as I haue much abu&s;ed:</HI> the Lord euen Ie&s;us forgiue me, for I am &s;o broken &amp; abandomed comunitie of the godly, thrown out into the places of di&s;|grace, that I haue much adoe to preuent euen gro&s;e euils: it &s;hallbe better when the Lord wil. In the meane time let vs returne &amp; deeply &s;tir vp one another, in this &s;weet and mo&s;t righly required, obedy|ence: K: I pray you make Away Gent: G: Looke ye Sir if a Lord of a mannor bee confined nere an v&s;urping neighbour who pretendeth title vnto his Lord&s;ship, and for his owne defence the Lawe pre&s;scri|beth that continuall clayme be made for continuance of his right, if you be put in tru&s;t to make this claime and &s;ayle therein, are you not criminally guilty beeing made acquainted before what waight the matter was of. K: Yes in good earne&s;t. G Why then thus my &s;weet hart: The Lord by the redemption of the gentle Ie&s;us hath cho&s;e for him&s;elfe your hart, and my hart, to haue I &s;ay a peculyar
<PB REF="19"> man&s;ion for him&s;elfe, and this continuall claime bee made for the Lambes right, now from the beginning Sathan will haue enmity a|gain&s;t the &s;auiour, <HI>For it was &s;o decr&eacute;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> to engage the Children of</HI> the couenant, that for exerci&s;e of their continuall clayme for the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 6.</NOTE> gentle Mr. the &s;hould &s;tand in the gappe again&s;t the intruding Sa|than and make continuall clayme, this is the matter required of vs, this is the price demaunded euen for our whole, and perpetual &s;alua|tion that our harts &s;oules &amp; &s;pirits &s;trength be prepared in defyance of Sathan, to defend our Mr. his po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions, and &s;pecially &s;ince hee hath plea&s;ed to make our euill harts a man&s;ion and pallace for his &s;acred re&s;idence. K: But I pray you doe you this duety your &s;elfe?</P>
<P>G: Alas I haue told you that I am woe, that I haue not and do it not, why will you &s;till looke vpon me, who am ten thou&s;and times behind all men? the que&s;tion is not who doth this duty? but what degree of faythfull obedyence euery man ought by labour &amp; watch fulnes to a&s;pyre vnto, for glory of his owne Creator, Redeemer, and Redemption? and to &s;eale vp the certainty thereof in carying the Lordes image and di&s;carding the world, it is the continued enmity in our owne bowels, again&s;t our &s;trong naturall man, that offereth the acceptable obedyence, and violence for the Lambes Robe: Righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e and Kingdome which &s;hall inue&s;t vs into the a&s;&s;urance of fayth and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of our &s;oules, <HI>In this quiet fruit of righ|teou&s;nes</HI> which is called our re&s;t. KI pray you Sir what is obedience.</P>
<P>Gent: Obedience I take to be a harborough of a working hand <NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.</NOTE> of Gods &s;pirit by regenerating grace: Apprehended &s;oundly by Faith: E&s;tabli&s;hed by hope: Continewed by loue: Di&s;tributed by violence, out of an indu&s;truous commanding rule ouer the whole bo|dy of &s;inne: Pre&s;&s;ing after the Author and fini&s;her of our Fayth. Heb: 12: Thus I conceaue by rea&s;on of the continuall appo&s;ition betwixt nature and grace: For grace re&s;pecteth the Ma&s;ters demaund of our whole hart, &s;oule and &s;trength: and nature dwelleth below oppo&s;ing again&s;t this holy preparation, and pleadeth for the world and momentary vanities: but in a worde for the knowledge of obe|dyence dige&s;t the whole Lawe and euery perticular branch thereof in your hart, and where you finde di&s;obedience the contrary there|of
<PB REF="19"> is obedience and I wil giue you a fine rule from the word euen the 30. of <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> which &s;halbe your light, and your &s;taffe: euen the &s;pirit of truth <HI>In all the alterations of your life, &s;hall by an effect|tuall worde &s;ound in your eares, this is the right way go it: that is the wrong way auoyde it.</HI> This is the heauenly permoni&s;hing grace of God, who both &s;heweth vs what is harmefull in our wal|king to auoyde it, and of it &s;elfe helpeth vs to pa&s;&s;e by offen&s;iue pits, and remoue the &s;nares: God neuer requireth any thing of man, but hee knoweth that man hath neither will nor deede of him&s;elfe to any performance, and therfore doth attend, and as it were, <HI>hold the torch him&s;elfe to take view of our beginning, &amp; endeuors for obedience and he him&s;elfe will worke it out for a mo&s;t certaine, and &s;weet ac|ceptable</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.5.</NOTE> <HI>&s;eruice vnto him,</HI> and thus wee fulfill the whole Lawe of God: <HI>Opera dei &s;unt peccata tua &s;unt et cum premium venerit &s;ua dona non tua merka coronabit</HI> K: I am weary I can tell you G: So am I, I a&s;&s;ure you a little, but let vs recreate our &s;elues with a que&s;tion you &s;hall po&s;e me if you will, or I you. K. What is the que&s;tion? G. It is this becau&s;e wee haue &s;poken much of patience and meeke|nes before: Let vs now enquire how obedyence is allyed, or rather knit in line of blood with meekenes and patience, and whether it bee a Mother or a Si&s;ter. K: a Mother it cannot bee. G: Why? K: Becau&s;e they bee the gifts of God. G: That is nothing: &s;hall wee &s;ay that loue is not an effect of the &s;pirit, becau&s;e the &s;pirit is the gift of God? and &s;hall wee &s;ay that prayer is not the infant of Faith, be|cau&s;e Faith is the gift of God. K: Indeede I am &s;ad and dead har|ted: G: Nay it may not be &s;o, for wee conferre to prai&s;e God; &s;ad|nes groweth euer from corruption or from cen&s;ure thereof, when it is priuate, therefore let mee not haue you &s;ad, for when you were not &s;o &s;trong as now, by the grace of God you neuer di&s;couraged mee thus: But I remember when I was a boy &s;ent for from &s;choole vnto my fathers hou&s;e, if I &s;tayed a weeke there, I &s;hould be more vntoward a moneth after: So I feare mee you haue wronged your &s;elfe by abu&s;ing your liberty. K: Indeede you doe touch my ve|ry right, and in re&s;pect thereof I am &s;ad at the hart. G. Well: accor|ding to the truth of your &s;ad hart in compunction of any thing mi&s;|done,
<PB REF="20"> the Lord is exorable: and I pray grieue me no more then is fit, for I am not &s;o &s;trong as I haue beene: &s;tire vp therefore your &s;elfe, and let vs &s;peak <HI>of this kindred (as I may &s;ay) betwixt obedience, m&eacute;ekene&s;&s;e, and patience.</HI> K: In leede I am not able. G: Nei|ther I: but let vs &s;hew what we thinke (weakely as is) and the godly learned will helpe vs. K: Good &s;ir, I cannot; neither can you I thinke. G: I thanke you for that motiue, to make me delue deepe into all my faculties; and I &s;ay <HI>Obedience is the mother,</HI> and I <NOTE PLACE="marg">Obedie~ce Mother.</NOTE> proue it thus: there is neither knowne meekene&s;&s;e nor patience, but in regard of &s;ome re&s;i&s;ting violence offered vnto nautre or grace, or them both: but Obedience is the common mother which giueth ex|ample both to work Re&s;i&s;tance, and to endure wrongs (<HI>for the com|mandement &s;ake</HI>) therefore from obedience, as from a common Ance&s;tor i&s;&s;ueth both meekenes and patience: for hos is it known who is meeke and patient before &s;ome tentations haue made try all of their Obedyence? Then the mother that hathlearned to en|dure all for her welbeloued, <HI>&s;hee paryfieth her Childrens, m&eacute;ekne&s;&s;e and patience, and biddeth them b&eacute;e &s;till</HI> I leaue it to the learned: onely this I conceaue as yet &s;o obedyence is al <HI>you are my friends &s;aith the Lamb if you keepe my commaundements</HI> which is onely and &s;olely by obedience, for as tribulation tryeth obedience &s;o imediatly obedience, bringeth forth patience, K: <HI>Nay the place that you</HI> alledged as: <HI>you are my friends if you loue one</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohu. 14. 15.</NOTE> <HI>another</HI> G: well we wilnot contend for the matter you are &s;omthing wa&s;pi&s;h and deceiued herein at this time: but &s;hew you the diffe|rence: betwixt obedience and loue indeed it will eyther quicken you, or a&s;toni&s;h you the more, K. nothing at all: we may loue one ano|ther, and be far from obedyence G: that is the thing in que&s;tion and impo&s;ible &s;ince loue is commaunded an&s;wre Knight. K. I proue that loue is only in outward things and the Profit &s;ayth <HI>my goods extend not vnto thee but to the Saynts below,</HI> &s;o we may loue our neighbour for al we haue outwardly and yet be di&s;obedient, G: Alas <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 16.</NOTE> how weakly? hath not y^e Lord command our goods becau&s;e he hath on need of them? it is high time we &s;hould meet againe for the fir&s;t branch of the commaund is to loue the Lord our God withall our
<PB REF="20"> hart &s;oule &amp; &s;trength &amp;c. wherein is contayned that by force of this loue we mu&s;t &s;eeke for the knowledg of our God for <HI>Taniuus d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ligi|naus quantum credimus.</HI> K. Very good: G. And do I oue my &s;elfe no more but for my outward goods to eated inke &s;leepe, and come in when it rayneth? and haue I no care to the word and to keepe the Saboth, and to aueyd open impietyes? if I haue this loue and know|ledg for God in my &s;elfe? I am bound to labour as well to inue&s;t my bretheren thereinto, <HI>and this is the &s;econd table wherein the fir&s;t is e&s;tabli&s;hed as in linke breake one and breake all,</HI> &s;o the truth is, that I mu&s;t &s;hew the oue that I owe vnto God by drawing my bre|thren to the obedience of his law, and this is a whole and &s;ound obe|dyence for the members cannot be &s;eparated from the head neyther one from another &s;o it is a high degree of obedyence that we labor to inue&s;t others into the &s;ame knowledg of true obedyence vnto the whole law of God, with vs as well, as giue them a peice of bread, or a nights lodging K. But who dige&s;teth or practi&s;eth this? G. I pray you let me not find you thus peruers what is the ra&s;on man? becau&s;e you are come to &s;choole agayne? what if no liuing man do it. Is it not therfore the co~mandeme~t of God: K. in good earne&s;t y^e Lord be mer|cyful vnto me, the hearing of obedyence &amp; that mu&s;t quiteaba~don all vnreformed company, though I knew enough beforeyer did &s;ur pri&s;e me, but Y^e Lord be mercyful vnto me I &s;ay &amp; wil by his &s;tre~gth ari&s;e, &amp; I pray you my Gen: help me with your de&s;ires indeed I wil: but truely the only peace of all de&s;ires and quiet re&s;t in &s;pirit is from this &s;ame obedyence, which Sathan maligneth, that we &s;hould agree in: <HI>But the Lord &s;hall brui&s;e his head, and giue vs peace,</HI> and therefore doe you tell me &s;ir, from that experience you haue of God and from tho&s;e teares which dropped grace vnto your heart, what is your owne &s;ecret conceit of this obedience? K: I mu&s;t tell you it is a mo&s;t heauie ympo&s;ition vnto mee, con&s;idering what I feele. G: Haply as heauie vnto mee: <HI>but this mu&s;t quicken vs to more carefull labour, and not di&s;courage vs: let God be true, righte|ous, and holy, and all men lyars.</HI> K: But I pray you can you giue obedience to the law? G: Yes that I can. K: Then you &s;hall liue by the law. G: So I will <HI>For</HI> Chri&s;t <HI>came to fulfill the law:</HI>
<PB REF="21"> Chri&s;t <HI>is your &s;tabilitie of the law, and euen he the &s;laine Lambe, is giuen vnto me with all his holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e:</HI> where|vpon the Apo&s;tle concludeth; <HI>That the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the law is fulfilled in vs by him.</HI> Rom. 3. 4. K: And yet yo &s;ay you are a heynous tran&s;gre&s;&s;or of the whole law G: SO I am truly: but my humble and harty acknowledgement of my tran&s;gre&s;sions, is my &s;trength, and taking hold of my &s;aith, carrieth me vnto him, who hath fully both &s;atisfied, and cancelled the law: <HI>For he came to &s;aue &s;inners.</HI> K. May euery man hold this a&s;&s;urance? G: Yes if hee haue the &s;ame faith. K: You an&s;wer me with if. G: Good rea|&s;on that I deale plainelywith you: for Chri&s;t came to &s;aue beleeuers, and if any man beleeue not <HI>he is none of</HI> Chri&s;ts: <HI>but he that be|l&eacute;eueth is pa&s;&s;ed from death.</HI> Whither? <HI>Surely into life: neither into Purgatorie nor fl&eacute;epe</HI> which &s;ince the Lord &s;etteth before mee to enquire of, &s;tir vp your &s;elfe in Gods name, and bee enlarged for my reliefe, as you haue beene (&s;weete harte.) Gent. Any thing in the world that I can, as willingly as I breath. K: tell me then your opinion touching di&s;payre, &s;omething by the way you did touch it in the former pri&s;oners Conference: But I would heare you at large. G. Alas this is the mo&s;t vnfit &s;ea&s;on that euer could be: being &s;o weake my &s;elfe and yet I receiue com|fort, by the wordes of a reuerend man (remembred vnto mee by a true euer louing brother) who hauing purpo&s;ed to comment vpon <HI>Iob,</HI> pre&s;ently fell &s;icke and &s;o continewed all the time of his labour therein, and did confe&s;&s;e that the Lord was a wonderfull helper vn|to him by the very meanes of his &s;icknes, as he &s;ayed <HI>vt compre&s;&s;is Iob compre&s;&s;us exponerem et vulnerati mentem per verbara &s;entenam:</HI> that hee was made more fit by the feeling of afflictions, how to iudge &s;oftly, and &s;oberly, of the afflicted; right &s;o I mu&s;t a&s;&s;ure you that my e&s;tate hath beene wonderfully &s;haken, with many degrees of my weakenes in temptation euen lately, and many horrors threaten mee euen now round about, both in minde, and body, but I will de&s;ire the Lord to be mercifull vnto mee, that out of my owne pri|uate &s;ence and feeling of &s;o heauy a plight, I may &s;peake &s;omthing vnto you of his righteous compa&s;&s;ion, in my owne expereicnes
<PB REF="21"> which may bee ayding to my &s;elfe and others but &s;pecially your good &s;elfe, if neede require. But alas if my feeling be taken away, where is my apprehen&s;ion of &s;trength for others? and of this feeling hath no man a&s;&s;urance but at will only: for if otherwi&s;e: the &s;trong would deuoure the weake: but the &s;ence of death, and terrour of afflictions: and that men bee &s;ubiect vnto the &s;ame mi&s;ery, doth &s;o apaule the deuouring oppre&s;&s;ors, that euen biting, they &s;tay their humors, and deuouring conceits, <HI>wounding is the mighty &s;implicitie of Truth:</HI> Let no man ouerweene him&s;elfe &s;ayth the Apo&s;tle, <HI>But he who &s;&eacute;emeth to &s;tand let him beware he fall not: you who are &s;trong &s;aith ho</HI> Gala: 6. <HI>re&s;tore and comfort the weake with &s;oftnes, not plea&s;ing your &s;elues, con&s;idering you may be circumuented by Sathan.</HI></P>
<P>There is one place which I confe&s;&s;e vnto you doth threaten and wound me, K. Why what place &s;hould wound you, that in all the changes of your afflictions haue found in the &s;ame worde a a &s;auing and &s;oueraigne medicine? G. you &s;ay well: it &s;hould bee otherwi&s;e, but herein you mu&s;t haue a wi&s;e hart and handle a bro|ken <HI>&s;pirit with tender hands, &amp; &s;oft &s;p&eacute;eches for truely the gr&eacute;ene wound will quickly bl&eacute;ed:</HI> For as the worde is omne&s;ufficient <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;ea 5.</NOTE> for this life, and that to come, yet all fle&s;h mu&s;t know that it is but gra&s;&s;e, and mu&s;t fade as the flower at the rebuke of the Lord, the fyer will con&s;ume the dro&s;&s;e: and fyne the Gold and will burne &s;o long as it findeth matter to be burned: So the pretious loue of our deare God will continew his afflictions <HI>So long as he findeth &s;o|perfluity of iniquitie in our mortalitie, as that &s;ame purging and medcinable fire.</HI> K. I hope you account not your &s;elfe dro&s;&s;e? G. Not altogether: Nor finally I hope: but my weakenes may wound the Church in many particulars, from the Truth I haue written vn|to others if I fall my &s;elfe. Where learne you to feare your fall, G. Euen from the Apo&s;tles words before alledged and the experi|ence of my weakenes: <HI>My pride and arrogancy hath deceiued me, and my fooli&s;h boldnes hath brought me into de&s;olate wayes.</HI> K: Well you are &s;ory for it, and ioy not in it, neyther wi&s;h it &s;hould liue in you, and therefore returne vnto the place of <HI>O&s;ey.</HI> G. Alas
<PB REF="22"> you know I was bolde to conclude comfortably from thence vnto the wounded patient, euen &s;o farre as his vntowardnes &s;hould not driue away the mercyfull Phi&s;ition though hee &s;ayd hewould bee gone, and now mee thinkes he &s;ayth to mee hee will depart and bee like a I you vnto me which th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ugh I know he came be yet in ab&s;e~ce? &s;athan may deuoure mee Then is God vntrue: Who hath bound him&s;elfe both by his word and <HI>oath to deliuer vs from Sathan: and therevpon hat inioyned a reque&s;t peculiarly for that:</HI> And <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 6.</NOTE> fie that you fall into &s;uch &s;encele&s;&s;e ab&s;urdities, &s;ince you haue &s;trenghned mee with a word of a&s;&s;urance, <HI>if the mother could for|get her child yet cannot I forget th&eacute;e &s;ayth the Lord. <HI>E&s;ay:</HI></HI> 49. ver. 15. <HI>what can Sathan do than.</HI> G. Sathan can do enough again&s;t an vnbeleeuer. K. Who is an vnbeleeuer? G. Hee which cannot take hold of Gods promi&s;es. K. I &s;ay you bla&s;pheame: <HI>Haue you not &s;aid no man hath like bel&eacute;efe and feeling at all times? haue you not concluded that the de&s;ire to bel&eacute;eue is &s;ufficient? and to mourno becau&s;e you cannot beleeue is a &s;auing Fayth?</HI> I will bee <NOTE PLACE="marg">Perkins.</NOTE> gone if you thus pull downe your former building. G. Well I lie not for I haue beene &s;ince I &s;ee you, that I had neyther firme be|liefe, nor &s;ound hope, neyther dur&s;t well pray by rea&s;on of the guilt of my hart. K: What then you grieued in that &s;tate did yee not? G. Yes &s;o as was. K: Wel you may do wel <HI>to &s;peake good of the Lord,</HI> and not make euery temptation a downefall, <HI>but be &s;trong and a|ri&s;e in the &s;aluation of God,</HI> I could &s;peake &s;omething bitterly vn|to you but will not. G, Now I be&s;eech you in all our loue doe &s;o: for no man will help mee to ran&s;acke my euill hart. K: Indeede I will not: It was but a conceit of weakenes: I know you haue indured too much for me to prize or cen&s;ure, yet the Lord hath bin your &s;trength, and that is a crowne vpon your head: and a bar in the enemyes mouthes, and let them &s;till practi&s;e (if the will of God be &s;o) and be not you weary of wel doing, <HI>but be &s;ure when men doe band again&s;t you, the Lord meaneth to giue glory vnto you.</HI> G. I mu&s;t needes confe&s;&s;e that your extreamities, and my owne wants haue wounded mee very much, and after many yeares hpe in my perticuler &s;uite, to bee &s;till preuented by oppre&s;&s;ion, and practi&s;e, to leaue mee in the &s;treets for want of meanes to defend my &s;elfe,
<PB REF="22"> doth greatly &s;hake mee, for feare to wound the cau&s;e of my reli|gion. K: But why doubt you. G: Becau&s;e I &s;inne daily. K: How doe you &s;inne? G: In cogitations and vnprofitable thin|king of de&s;ired libertie. Doe you take plea&s;ure therein? G: I thinke I doe not: I am &s;ure I would not. K: Why then march on though you fall, ari&s;e, and pray helpe of others G: No man will helpe me, but all men for&s;ake and di&s;pute me: K: But the Lord doth not, neither euer will, do you hope &s;o? G: Yes indeede weakely; and the rather becau&s;e he hath brought my de&s;ires &s;o low, as to liue in any &s;eruice or calling in the world, where I might with labour and paines get any thing to pay my debts, I would neuer aske more; but euen leaue my children, my &s;ighs and teares for portion, though my hope was much by my late &s;acred Mi&s;tris <HI>Elizabeth.</HI> K: Be you not then out of heart, &s;ince your Lo: hath conformed you vnto the obedience of his Sonne, to forget and for&s;ake all to follow him? G: Yes truly, in &s;ome weake &s;ort I doe feele it. K: Well, will you reioyce and tell me your opinion of de&s;paire. G: Truly it is a thing much &s;poken of, and is grieuous for the pre&s;ent, but worketh wonderfully and changeth water into Wine. K. What doe you thinke of it. G. I feare it: and I feare it not: I feare it in &s;u&s;pition of mine owne weaknes: I feare it not by doubting the ende, which I haue in diuers knowne mo&s;t ble&s;&s;ed vnto the afflic|ted. K but in your former di&s;cour&s;e you alledged that &s;tuborn|nes in man &s;hould make the Lord depart: what &s;tubornnes hath there beene in you towardes Gods will? G. I know not what you call it: but I haue done things forbidden, and left vndone godly thinges commanded. K. Who hath not &s;o done? G. I know not.</P>
<P>K But haue you had a malicious &s;tuborne &s;pirit of indignitie a|gain&s;t the Lord in your &s;inning, you &s;peake of &s;tubornnes who was euer &s;o &s;tubborne and openly &s;hut vp in bla&s;phemous wilfull contempt, as <HI>Ionah</HI> about <HI>a trifling delight of his affections, and what renege did the Lord take of this: but by gentle &s;myling rebuke, doe&s;t thou well to be angry? and he an&s;wered gracelefly and bla&s;phemou&s;ly, I dye well to be angry to the death:</HI> Did not the Lord pa&s;&s;e by this grieuous contempt, and contumelie? &s;o pray
<PB REF="23"> you be comforted for as the Lords patience is not euer to bee a&s;&s;u|red: No more is his departing to bee limitted, but referred to his gratious plea&s;ure: and therefore I pray you giue mee &s;ome better &s;atisfaction why yee &s;aid you feared di&s;payre: and feared it not. G. I &s;ay I feare it as a naturall man: and I feare it not as a regene|rate man: I feare it becau&s;e my &s;innes be many and fe&s;tred, which may make my patience and attendance more di&s;tre&s;&s;ed to endure the Lordes returne: I feare it neyther in re&s;pect of the affliction, <HI>for I know it &s;anctifieth to the Saints:</HI> Neyther anyotherwi&s;e: but lea&s;t my vnpure poluted parts, &s;hould make me breath out any lea&s;t di&s;content by bla&s;phemous word or thought, I know the Lord will con&s;ume the dro&s;&s;e of my carnall man, that way or &s;ome other as it plea&s;e his gratious maie&s;tie.</P>
<P>I haue beene pre&s;ent with diuers in this affliction, but they were gentle, righteous, &s;weet &s;oft harted ones, but I am growne old in my &s;inns and without the Lords great mercy, <HI>they &s;hall lys downe in the dou&s;t with me:</HI> for I haue glutted my &s;elfe in feeding my af|fections, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 10.</NOTE> and put of &s;ence of the euil day, and in my afflictions haue &s;ought plea&s;ure, and vaine delight <HI>therefore &s;ayth the Prophet I mu&s;t ly downe in &s;orrow,</HI> but if I had <HI>&s;ought the &s;aluation of God,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;aiah. 50. 16.</NOTE> <HI>then &s;hould I haue called vpon him and he would</HI> an&s;were. <HI>I will heare th&eacute;e &s;ayth the Lord thy &s;trength, and &s;trong defence,</HI> K. how may this affliction be preuented? G. There is no way to preuent Gods decreed ordinances: yet &s;ince we haue learned that this and all other afflictions are but only means to re&s;ine our harts vnto y^e Lord: indeed the neare&s;t meane to moue him for &s;paring herein <HI>is to la|bour our harts euen to imbrace this, or that, or what other tryal or</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">The v&s;e of affections.</NOTE> <HI>di&s;charg fouet it may plea&s;e him to inioyne</HI> which if wee feare it not by way of heady per&s;way&s;ion and pre&s;umption but in &s;obernes and ready obedience, <HI>de&s;irous to be cru&s;i&s;ied to the world and the world to vs to follow <HI>Chri&s;t</HI></HI> and this as a coun&s;ell for our re&s;igned preparation for if he will bring glory to his name, and a &s;poyle vp|on Sathan by &s;eque&s;tring me for the Lambs garment, in this morta|lyty with feare: or di&s;payre in his Scowring hou&s;e? why &s;hould I &s;corne the &s;cowrng, <HI>&s;ince I would be &s;et vpon the cele&s;tial &s;helfe?</HI>
<PB REF="23"> I was pre&s;ent with a reuerent man when a que&s;tion was de|maunded <NOTE PLACE="marg">(Grene ham)</NOTE> of him by a young Gentleman in di&s;traction, why the Lord &s;hould deny the reque&s;t of a man craueing nothing, but &s;uch a lawfull y&s;&s;ue of his attempts, as that he might be knowne to be an hone&s;t man in the world? the reuerent father &s;eeing the Gentleman far from meekenes, and full of humors did an&s;were him &s;martly by way of demaund: why he &s;hould tinke to preuayle with God more then Chri&s;t and all the Apo&s;tles who were vertuous &amp; Godly in al their cour&s;es yet could not haue the reputation of tollerable and ho|ne&s;t men: &s;o your place is to follow their example by vertue and in|tegrety of life and if you cannot preuaile with the world, <HI>you &s;hall mourne for righteou&s;nes vnto God as they did and be ble&s;&s;ed</HI> K. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 5. 1 Pet. 4. 14.</NOTE> well now I like you, you &s;peake with &s;ome life and feeling quickned e&s;tate and I pray you di&s;cour&s;e vnto me a little what coun&s;ell you will giue to the afflicted in heauy plight of di&s;payre? G. Indeede I haue had experience of this and of other almo&s;t as great, and that is where a man is &s;o wounded with outward greefes and paine as he cannot feele the promi&s;es, though hee doth beleeue, and de&s;ire to feele. K. Then there is no difference at all G. O yes great: for as Salamon &s;aith: <HI>All onlward extremities may be &s;upported by the inward feelings, of hope in a &s;ound &s;pirit:</HI> So this di&s;payre woundeth the &s;pirit and di&s;polyeth the facultyes thereof: The other doth not &s;o: but for the time of outward torment only, in re&s;pect of &s;ence: but for my coun&s;ell in the one and the other this it is: Fir&s;t that the afflicted man doe bring his con&s;cience vnto the Lawe and there &s;imply lay downe his guilt before God, for his faylinges to|wardes him: and all men without delay, and &s;eeke reconcilement with men: and make re&s;titution if hee haue wronged any eyther in goods or name: Deny no acknowledgement, publike or priuate, according to the quality or the offence? neuer &s;tand vpon feare: or &s;hame, or reproach or what&s;oeuer &s;crupple; <HI>but as he pri&s;eth the</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Coun&s;el for men in di&s;paire.</NOTE> <HI>returne of God and his faour more then all the world be&s;ide, &s;o in the way of his &s;orrow of &s;inne, he will abandon the world for his obedience,</HI> thus letting the Lord &s;ee that hee will quite abandon all thinges, for his gratious fauour, &s;orrowing that hee can be no more
<PB REF="24"> &s;ory, nor no more contrite, <HI>yet he will vow a &s;eperation of all va|nity, for his returne</HI> and purpo&s;e more vpright watch, and feare in his way, then euer hee did: <HI>and &s;o concludeth I will &s;&eacute;eke thy thy face O Lord,</HI> and willingly imbrace to liue in this mi&s;ery &s;o long as thou in thy compa&s;&s;ion &s;halt thinke fit, I dare giue this word of <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 27.</NOTE> coun&s;ell for I know it is the word of Truth, and haue &s;eene the com|fortable effects that followed, a minde thus prepared, both for ea&s;e and &s;trength: and for my owne particular, indeede my experience hath beene comfortable with diuers in di&s;payre, but alas it was in the vnreformed times of my life: but the Lord &s;eeing it would &s;ettle no better with me, &amp; lea&s;t I &s;hould be guilty of &s;o great and gratious a call, he did giue leaue to Sathan <HI>to touch me in my life, &s;tate, wife, children, cau&s;es abroad, di&s;pcylings at home:</HI> So inflicted vpon me a generall a&s;toni&s;hment, closing me vp in darkenes, and with poore &s;educed Saul I was driuen in my garde~ to beat my face look vp &amp; &s;ay, doubting <HI>Who art thou Lord?</HI> K. I pray you proceede. G. Indeede <NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 9.</NOTE> it is pertinent to engage obedience in you, my &s;elfe and others, for thervpon was layd before my face, the open view and foulnes of my Lepro&s;ie, wherein I walked which is a chiefe matter to bee found in all afflictions: <HI>But it is a more hony &s;w&eacute;et thing to try our &s;elues before, then in the time of affliction, for in tentation &s;ethan hath got the &s;tart, and will make heauy, and full of impo&s;|&s;ibilities our be&s;t and mo&s;t required offices:</HI> Yet vnto the poore wounded &s;oule let mee &s;peake the worde of Truth, if thou finde the grace to try and finde thy guilt, or freele&s;t and di&s;obedience, and euen do&s;t mourne, and art vnre&s;ted for the burthen thereof: I &s;ay <HI>let thy labour and &s;trife goe together with thy &s;ighes vnto God, that the will plea&s;e to &s;hew th&eacute;e his way, that thou may walke in it, I &s;ay in the truth of Je&s;us, I dare be thy warraut, march and hope wel:</HI> K: I pray you what a&s;&s;urance haue you of this mercy by any ex|amples of tho&s;e that haue beene afflicted. G. Yes &s;uch a &s;weet hart haue I beene in company of, that in the mid&s;t of hells as hee felt, by a generall priuation of all apprehen&s;ions of God, &s;odenly &s;itting at table among&s;t vs (after that hee had put mee from him) offering to
<PB REF="24"> imbrace him and &s;aid hee was Sathan, he &s;tood vp and his eyes loo|king vnto heauen, cryed out the&s;e wordes: <HI>Now I be&s;&eacute;ech the Lord let me w&eacute;epe one teare:</HI> I &s;itting by: &s;aid: my brother you &s;aid you were Sathan, <HI>from whence commeth the&s;e greanes to w&eacute;epe?</HI> he an&s;wered I cannot tell: do yee thinke (&s;aid I) that Sathan hath any &s;uch compunction as to de&s;ire to weepe, that his hart might be &s;oft|ned? hee an&s;wered I thinke as you thinke, though I feele no diuer|&s;itie, <HI>betwixt Sathan and m&eacute;e:</HI> well &s;aid I de&s;ire you of God that you may hold that you haue? <HI>I can neyther receiue nor hold &s;aith</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;tate of a de&s;pe|rate man.</NOTE> <HI>he, nor pray for any good thing the wordes that he &s;poke</HI> hee &s;aid were &s;poken onely out of angui&s;h and guilt with Iudas that &s;peech I tolde him was a very bad &s;peech, and de&s;erued rebuke: his plight was this: <HI>me &s;lept little: e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">te nothing, tooke no re&s;t, but walked aga&s;t, and frightes vp and downe a parlour all the night: and all the day: be liued for the mo&s;t part 3. yeares in this plight</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">his plight</NOTE> <HI>with&s;ome gratious intermi&s;&s;ions: for his per&s;on</HI> as &s;weet, pure a youngman, in heart I thinke as euer liued: h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s horrors made him <NOTE PLACE="marg">His per|&s;on.</NOTE> looke fearefully: though hee was wonderfully well fauoured: <HI>Hee dur&s;t not come in the Church nor heare the preacher,</HI> but I pub|li&s;h and te&s;tifie to Gods euerla&s;ting prai&s;e, that hee receuered both <NOTE PLACE="marg">Maples.</NOTE> grace, and &s;trength, and liued &s;ome 4. yeares after to &s;hew loue and thankfulnes, &amp; dyed as &s;weet a creature as liued (I &s;ay I think &s;o) as innocent a man. Therefore the Lord doth not euer afflict for &s;in: but to giue grace to &s;ome, and to fill vp the mea&s;ure of iniquity to other oppre&s;&s;ors: K. I pray you &s;ir report your conferences with him. G. They are too long I feare: but if you require it, I mu&s;t pub|li&s;h it becau&s;e it tendeth directly to Gods glory &amp; may do good vn|to &s;ome others. K. I do know it, and therefore I be&s;eech you do it. G. I demaunded many things of him as whether he did loue God? or whether he de&s;ired to do any thing y^e &s;hould openly offend God? &amp; he would an&s;were he could not tell: <HI>For hedid neythr loue nor hate.</HI> Then being priuate together: I de&s;ired him giue me leaue to loue him: he an&s;wered <HI>why &s;hould you loue me?</HI> I replyed be|cau&s;e I &s;ee Chri&s;t crucified in your face: <HI>And f&eacute;ele him in your &s;pi|rit:</HI> you are deceaued in both (&s;aid hee) will yee an&s;were mee one
<PB REF="25"> que&s;tion &s;aid I? Hee an&s;wered he could not tell: I pray giue your opinion &s;aid: I in what plight was Chri&s;t, <HI>When he cryed my God my God why ha&s;t thou for&s;aken mee?</HI> And where in is there condi|tion now wor&s;e then his was then? hee was the &s;onne of God (&s;aid hee) <HI>And could not fall away as I haue done:</HI> I an&s;wered hee was the &s;onne of God by nature, and you by adoption and grace. There is the que&s;tion (&s;aid he) <HI>on my part:</HI> I pray you my Brother (&s;aid I) tell mee one thing haue you committed any gro&s;&s;e enormious &s;inne in all your life, that may thus pre&s;&s;e and wound your con&s;ci|ence? Hee an&s;wered yes: <HI>For he had for&s;aken his fir&s;t loue:</HI> what is that &s;aid I? A lawfull calling to haue gone to Cambridge, but I had more minde to &s;tay in the country and &s;o de&s;pi&s;ed my calling: I replyed what holines or &s;eruice to God, had been in your going to Cambridge? rather then to &s;tay in the country with your father, and in&s;truct him who is thought weake in Religion, and vnrefor|med in many thinges? what calling haue I vnto that &s;ayd he? yes &s;aid I, he that hath commaunded you to honor your father hath impo|&s;ed vpon you the care of his &s;oule as much as of his body and herein you mu&s;t depriue your &s;elfe, of a worldly caling to Cambridg to further your fathers &s;aluation or els you haue no true duty and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bradford.</NOTE> loue: But I pray you what calling had you to Cambridge? euen that calling (&s;ayd he) that if I had gone I had preuented this: alas poore &s;oule (&s;ayd I) do you thinke that you can procure or preuent the Lord in his ordinances of afflictions? I confe&s;&s;e you prouoke the Lord to afflict you: <HI>But in this or any other perticular affliction. You cannot:</HI> There is a deeper matter (&s;aid he) in my hart: I bee&s;ech you (&s;aid I) loue me &s;o much, as let me know it: well if you wil know it &s;aid he <HI>I haue lo&s;t the Spirit:</HI> I an&s;wered you cannot: but I am &s;ure I haue lo&s;t (&s;ayd he:) then you neuer had it (&s;ayd I) yes truly (&s;ayd he) that is impo&s;&s;ible (&s;ayd I) <HI>for whom the Lord loueth, he loueth to the end:</HI> &amp; how an&s;were you the gradation of the Apo&s;tle Rom. 8. <HI>whom he hath elected, tho&s;e he hath called, in&s;tified, &s;ancti|fied, and gloryfied:</HI> he an&s;wered it is true for tho&s;e that be elected, but I am reprobate: O beware of bla&s;phemy (&s;ayd I) can reprobate de&s;ire to &s;orrow for the hardnes of his hart? I pray (&s;ayd he) an&s;er
<PB REF="25"> me, did not <HI>Saul</HI> loo&s;e the &s;pirit of God? an&s;wered no: the &s;pirit did depart fom him: but hee lo&s;t it not: but till you mee: what &s;pirit that was, which departed from <HI>Saul?</HI> the pirit of grace (&s;ayd he) <HI>alas you are openly deceiued (&s;ayd I)</HI> did not the Lord <HI>&s;ay that if <HI>Salamon</HI> did tran&s;gre&s;&s;e he would correct him with the &s;ti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">es of men but his &s;pirit he would neuer take from him as he did from</HI> Saul: marke: this word (his &s;pirit) &s;ayd he very true (&s;ayd I) and yet<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Sam. 7. 14. 25.</NOTE> you know Salamon did fall gro&s;ly euento idolatry, I pray you what conceit haue you of this word his &s;pirit, which you wi&s;h me to re|member I do meane (&s;ayth he) the &s;pirit of adoption and grace, by Gods &s;pirit, herein you are deceiued (&s;ayd I) <HI>is not the &s;pirrit of fayth: of wi&s;dome: of loue meeknes, and patience, all of the&s;e attri|buted vnto the &s;pirit of God. &s;o the</HI> &s;pirit of wi&s;edome which<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.</NOTE> Saul had, being Gods good &s;pirit was taken from him, the &s;pirit of adoption he had not, and therefore it would not bee taken from him: what &s;pirit then had he left? the &s;pirit of &s;oti&s;hnes dilu&s;ion, and ignorance which the Scripture in that &s;ame place calleth the euill &s;pirit of God: No (&s;ayth hee) that was the &s;pirit of Sathan, which I haue: not &s;o &s;ayd I: Sathan hath no &s;pirit, but as an in&s;trument to effect the purpo&s;es of Gods reuenging euill &s;pirit, which is pro|ued from the fir&s;t of <HI>Samuel!</HI> 18. 10 and therfore the Lord: <HI>teach|eth vs to pray Lead vs not into temptation: and not &s;uffer vs not to be led, to the end we &s;hould acknowledg and feare no power, but</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 6.</NOTE> <HI>the &amp; power &s;pirit of the Lord only:</HI> for there is no power but Gods power onely, Some do vnder&s;tand (&s;ayth he) the word euill in that petition to bee meant of Sathan and what need wee pray again&s;t him if hee haue no power? I &s;ay Sathan hath a con&s;titution and Creation of enmyty again&s;t the Lambe, by rea&s;on of that redemp|tion that hee wrought to draw mankind out of his hands: which en|myty is &s;o deeply infu&s;ed into our natures by Adam as we are con|tinually to feare the &s;nares of that captiuity, wherein we are inrenc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|ed with his allurements: <HI>but for his power, he hath none no not &s;o</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark. 5</NOTE> <HI>much as ouer a pig:</HI> and for that petition to be deliuered fro~euil, we pray that God will rebuke him by tho&s;e temptations which hee will bring vs into: by giuing vs conque&s;t ouer him: but I pray you (&s;ayth
<PB REF="26"> he) was not Salamon an Idolater where was the &s;pirit of God in him? then, I &s;ay couered in the ymbers, and greiued exceedingly but not taken away, but to cleare all the&s;e doubts <HI>I &s;ay</HI> Salamon <HI>was a <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">igger and a re&s;emblance of Chri&s;t, therefore could not loo&s;e</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Sam. 4. 16</NOTE> <HI>the &s;pirit of grace, for Chri&s;t will not be re&s;embled in a reprobate</HI> againe he did excell in wi&s;dome all the Kings that euer was before, and &s;ince, euen til his dying day. <HI>Therefore neither the &s;pirit of grace, nor wi&s;edome was euer taken from him: agayne he did both Preach the word of truth touching Saluation of the Church and the ende of all momentayno vanytyes euen after he had, racepued &s;ruition of them all,</HI> &s;o que&s;tionles God gaue him a good hart of &s;orrow and repentance for them: and do you not read &s;ayth he <HI>of &s;ome that &s;hall plead vnto God at the latter day that they preached in his name did mircales and did ca&s;t out Deuils and yet</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 7 14. 15</NOTE> <HI>&s;halbe reiected? yes (&s;ayd I) but</HI> Salamon <HI>had a couenant by &s;peci|all promi&s;e that God would not for&s;ake him</HI> finally, and therefore pa&s;&s;ing by his Idolatry <HI>did admit him to build the Temple which he denyed vnto <HI>Dauid</HI> for a &s;maller offence,</HI> but to let <HI>Salamon</HI> goe and come to our &s;elues how can you an&s;wer that &s;peech that you &s;ayd you were Sathan? <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ff<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nding the &s;pirit of adoption which made you cry out for a teare? h&eacute;e an&s;wered,</HI> E&s;au and Saul did feele as much as hee felt, of any goodnes.</P>
<P>That is not true (&s;ayd I) but the fault is with you that you will not feele, nor confe&s;&s;e when all the company did &s;ee you labour and groane for the hardnes of your hart: I did it not in fayth (&s;ayd hee) I adiure you before God and Chri&s;t Ie|&s;us (&s;ayth I) &s;peake the truth. <HI>Was not your de&s;ire from a grie|ued &s;pirit:</HI> Yes I thinke &s;o (&s;ayd hee) then &s;ayd I, an&s;wer the word of God vnto whom was <HI>I&s;aih <HI>&s;ent</HI></HI> I&s;aiah 61. <HI>the &s;pirit of the Lord is vpon mee &amp;c.</HI> Either now acknowledg the Lords comfortable grace and mercy offred vnto you or els you di&s;courage me quite heare I had him at a &s;tand and pau&s;ing a little hee &s;ayd where dwell you? will you goe home with mee (&s;ayd I?) will you take charge of mee (&s;ayd hee?) with all my hart (&s;ayd I,) &s;o wee continued together
<PB REF="26"> &s;ome dayees till hee woulde returne agayne vnto his Father much &s;tronger then hee was I thinke the Lorde: Hee would bewray vnto mee in our particular Conference Sathans in&s;tigation to make him lay violent handes vppon him&s;elfe, I a&s;ked what &s;criptures, Sathan did &s;ugge&s;t to him? Hee aun|&s;wered: that place of the Go&s;pell where Chri&s;t cen&s;ureth <HI>gi|uing offence, with a Mil&s;tone to be hanged about his necke and throwne into the Seas:</HI> and to auoyde all offences hee did take this the neare&s;t way to make an ende for he did &s;ee nothing, but offence in him&s;elfe out of a bla&s;pheamous <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span">ining &s;pirit, wherewith hee was po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed: Then I demaun<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ed whether euen in plainene&s;&s;e and &s;inglene&s;&s;e, the feare to offend was Sa|thans chiefe bayte or no? and whether the induring his infeli|citie rather? Hee &s;aid little b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t hee could not tell: Then you &s;ee &s;aid I: Sathan hath more alurements then one, though hee can but wre&s;t the Scripture to giue &s;hew to one onely: for to doe any de&s;perate act, in re&s;pect of the &s;mart of Gods affliction, is openly to defie God: to di&s;pute his promi&s;es and power: to &s;corne to bee healed: and to renounce his truth and mercie, who hath bound him&s;elfe both by his <HI>Worde and Oath, that he will be pre&s;ent in all our afflictions: hee will holde vs by the right hand, &s;aying, I haue called thee by thy name, thou art mine: The waters &s;hall not drowne th&eacute;e; Nor the fire burne th&eacute;e: <HI>I&s;ayah</HI></HI> 43. 1. 2. 3.</P>
<P>Now for the other temptation for feare to offend: Sathan you know is a lyar, and &s;o abu&s;eth the Scriptures, for: it is not meant of &s;uch as in extreamities, and heauy di&s;tractions doe &s;peake weakely, and offen&s;iuely: but rather of &s;u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h as malici|ou&s;ly in contempt of the poore (de&s;pi&s;inig <HI>God who made them &s;o) doe</HI> &s;corne their heauie and pittifull plight, by impo&s;ing &s;ome ouer heauy burden vpon them, or by way of &s;candall and reproach out of a &s;pirit of malignitie and abiection: I &s;aid &s;ur|ther <HI>I</HI> haue a bedfellow (you may &s;ee her ble&s;&s;edly and happylie re&s;tored, who through the extreamitie of di&s;payre clo&s;ed in feare and horror, hath &s;aide thus vnto mee: I
<PB REF="27"> pray the M^r^., hold me fa&s;t about the hart, or el&s;e I &s;hall cry out: and b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">eing neare the paines of a mother: did prote&s;t &s;hee fet neither &s;trength, nor <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ope, but &s;he &s;houldd ee a &s;hame, to her &s;elfe, and all women, but &s;pecially to the Go&s;pell in her comfortles trauell, and now li&s;ten, and all the world admire: lying &s;ilent, and in much hea|uines. She &s;poke thus: (Mr &s;aid &s;hee) doe&s;t thou not remember, in the book<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> of Martyrs, the &s;tory of a man condemned to bee burnt, and al lthe morning before the time of his death, hee complained of the weakenes of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">is Faith, and feare to wound the church by his impatient death a po&s;tacy and pa&s;&s;ing along towards the &s;take: en|tring Smith field: hee cal<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ed his friend vnto him, and cryed aloud <HI>O <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ugu&s;tine he is come&punc; he is come:</HI> and &s;o dyed cheerefully and ioyfully: Mr, &s;a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d &s;hee I hope this glouers good will come to mee,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Glouer.</NOTE> will hee not? Yes I warrant thee &s;weet hart &s;aid I&punc; as &s;urely as hee hath put th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e in remembrance of this &s;tory into thy hart, &s;o &s;urely will hee come vnto thee, in the &s;ame &s;ort: and &s;o woe vnto mee if I report not the truth of his righteou&s;nes (Viz) That when her paines did approch, &s;he &s;poke the&s;e words <HI>videm!</HI> O Lord thou that did&s;t come vnto thy &s;eruant glouer, help me thy &s;eruant who only hope in thy mercie, and pre&s;ently &s;he was filled with a &s;treaming ioy in|to her hart, that the change was &s;trange to beholde in her face, the ge&s;ture of her perplexed body, in the ioyfull wordes of her mouth and the teares of her eyes: and yet till the appointed time was come, all the prayers and preachers of o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> the country, could not preuaile for her reliefe: and great rea&s;on for the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;hould the Lord haue lo&s;t his prai&s;e, and then it would be &s;aid, &s;uch a preacher hath recouered Mi&s;tris <HI>Sauile,: <HI>For we loue to looke no further then &s;econd cau&s;es:</HI></HI> no no it is <HI>I &s;ay the <HI>the Lord who for my owne &s;ake will doe it, and will not giue my glory to an other:</HI></HI> I <HI>&s;ayah 4. 8.</HI> 10 But admit out of this intollerable feare of hers, any feared offence had broke out in wordes, or cariage, &s;hould wee e&s;teeme the&s;e among&s;t tho&s;e &s;o heauily cen&s;ured offences? God forbid: But now (&s;aid I) to your in&s;tigation to lay violent hands vpon your &s;elfe, for a perpetuall re|buke vnto Sathan I demaund? whether &s;uch an vnwonted <HI>infandum, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">&s;andum, facinus,</HI> an act in contempt of God, of man, and all hu|mane
<PB REF="27"> &s;ociety (euen according to nature only, be a greater offence vn|to the whole world) then all the particular offences what&s;oeuer? and my &s;weet Maples offend not the holy one the mercifull God of I&s;|raell. The exorable, gentle, pit<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">iful Lord of heauen and earth&punc; <HI>Car|ry not the Lambe to the cro&s;&s;e againe by infid<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lity and di&s;tru&s;t: Make not the comforter weepe and depart:</HI> But endure for thy crowne take view of the church in the Canticles: <HI>How many grie&s;es</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle. 5.</NOTE> <HI>&s;he endured in &s;eeking her wel beloued pa&s;&s;ing the dayes and the nights, the watches and the pri&s;ons, and what&s;oeuer in the vio|lence of her &s;orrow crying out haue you not &s;eene my welbeloued:</HI> Thou wert &s;ure enough man (&s;aid I:) <HI>The Angels haue charge of th&eacute;e, that one hayre of thy head cannot peri&s;h: neither thy foot</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 10.</NOTE> <HI>take hurt: and for proofe thereof who hath rebuked,</HI> and chained vp Sathan all this while? Why ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h hee not preuayled, to make you<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a 81. 11</NOTE> do this, not nominable haynous act? Who &s;till pre&s;erued thee? &s;end|eth his &s;eruants to beare thee in their armes, in their harts, and euen in all their de&s;ires to bee vnre&s;ted by &s;oliciting the Lord for thee? It can neuer bee too often reported that &s;ame golden comfo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">table place: <HI>They that watte vpon the Lord &s;hall renew their &s;trength</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay 40 30.</NOTE> <HI>their wings &s;halbe as the winges of Eagles they &s;hall runne and not be weary: They &s;hall walke at <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ot be faint: And why do you not proclaime open wars, again&s;t that huge deuouring lion.</HI> in the iealou&s;ie you haue of the fir&s;t vowes in Bapti&s;me, wherein you pro|mi&s;e to <HI>for&s;ake the world,</HI> the fle&s;h <HI>&amp; the Diuel&punc;</HI> He would an&s;we<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">: if I could do this, all were well: would you do it? &s;aid I? yes God knoweth &s;aid he) and you are &s;ory that you cannot &s;aid I. yes indeed (&s;aid he) weakly. Come then &s;aid I, letus getout of this dark dwelling and cla&s;pe our Redeemer, who boweth that we may imbrace him, &amp; imba&s;eth his face that we may ki&s;&s;e him, <HI>&amp; with all his promi&s;es filleth our gripps with ioy &amp; gladnes, &s;ealed vnto vs with yea and Amen</HI> in the deare price of his blood; and I bee&s;ech the &s;ame Gentle Lord that I may &s;end you home, &s;tronger man then thou come&s;t vn|to me, and then the poore &s;weet creature &s;miled, and what ioy was that &s;mile vnto my hart, and I had rea&s;: for he departed, and neuer was &s;o very weake after, but endured meekely to the end and gayned
<PB REF="28"> happy deliuerance for i&s;&s;ue, K. But I pray you my Gentleman: how de&s;cribe you di&s;payte, G. I take di&s;payre to bee the heuye&s;t e&s;tate that can befall any man in this mortality: and thus may bee<NOTE PLACE="marg">Di&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ayre.</NOTE> di&s;cribed: <HI>a man for&s;aken for the time of God: clo&s;ed in mi&s;ery, and darknes, depriued of fayth, whereby h&eacute;e &s;hould apprehend the promi&s;es of mercy and &s;trength: conceyueth nothing f&eacute;eleth nothing: but feare and horror by Sathans &s;ugge&s;tons, vntil the Lord returne vnto him:</HI> herein Dauids is a liuely pattern P&s;al, 6 38.<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;aiah. 8.</NOTE> and 112. K. Mee thinkes men &s;hould pray in&s;tantly to bee deliuered from this kinde of fearefull affliction? Gent. Truly I thinke n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t: the Clay may not &s;ay to the potter why ha&s;t thou made mee thus? but &s;ince <HI>tho order of election, is to be con|formed vnto Chri&s;t by affliction, and we know the ende holy</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">0</NOTE> <HI>and for our good let vs leaue euen to the Lord, what way he will pira&s;e to afflict vs:</HI> For hee knoweth be&s;t how to make vs for his<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;aiah. 49</NOTE> owne delight, by <HI>healing our bru&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s, and incurable di&s;ea&s;es,</HI> and is more carefull <HI>of vs then we or mother can be of our &s;elues:</HI> Therefore as I take it high pre&s;umption, to pray for any particu|ler affliction: So I deeme it di&s;tru&s;t to &s;u&s;pect his merciful care of vs, in any or all afflictions: Yt is a rea&s;on that <HI>Beza <HI>giueth vpon the place of</HI></HI> Ioh. (Viz:) <HI>The Elect cannot &s;inne fi|nally,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Iohn 39</NOTE> becau&s;e &s;aith he, the &s;pirit of God doth correct and re|&s;traine their <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lydinges:</HI> Wherevpon it is that Caluyn almo&s;t in all his Lectures, vpon the Ephe&s;ians: <HI>An his prayer doth in|&s;tantly de&s;ire the Lord for affliction?</HI> Euen &s;o farre, <HI>as that wee beeing made &s;trengthle&s;&s;e in our &s;elues: May ari&s;e by thy &s;trength O Lord, beeing depriued of all pride and per&s;wa&s;ion in our &s;elues: For it is thou that wounde&s;t, and heale&s;t, bring|e&s;t to death, and make&s;t aliue againe:</HI> I &s;hould haue fainted &s;aith the Prophet, <HI>But that I &s;ought comfort in thy worde: Where|fore thy worde and Lawe, is &s;weeter vnto me, then hony and the</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 11<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> 9 &amp; 10. part</NOTE> <HI>hony combe: O happy time that euer thou didde&s;t afflict me: For whereas before I went a&s;tray, now my delight is in thy Law:</HI> But I pray you my Knight how came the Prophet to this an|chor holde of the&s;e promi&s;es? K. By his &s;ayth: G. Very
<PB REF="28"> well &s;aid: But howe came <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ee to the life and experience of his Faith? <HI>But by affliction?</HI> For a contemplati<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e Faith, is but weake in compa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">i&s;on of the exerci&s;ed and practi&s;ed faith, in the changes of this life: <HI>Wherevpon the wi&s;e man biddeth men reioyce in the changes of afflictions: For certainely &s;aith he, as gothe is fined in the fi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">, &s;o are men acceptable vnto God in the fur|nace of affliction:</HI> And therfore when the Prophet was to encoun|ter that huge Phili&s;tine Goliah: Samuell 1. 13. From whence did hee gather his encouragement and comfort? But from the ex|perience of his former deliuer<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nce in dangers <HI>God (&s;aith he) deliue|red mee from a Lyon and a Beare:</HI> and therefore I will encoun|ter this bla&s;pheaming enemy, in the name of the Lord: Lo his, for|mer deliuerances, did fraught him with inuincible courage, and &s;o preuailed. K. You &s;ay well? but that &s;ame example of Caluyns prayer is &s;trange. G. It may bee: vnto them that know not what is required in their practi&s;e, for mortification and re&s;urrection: but alow the proportion, that the Lord in afflictions <HI>is no otherwi&s;e a iudge, but as a phi&s;ition and that his rods <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e no otherwi&s;e but po|tions for curing our inherent bru&s;ing</HI> and it will follow that as a man in the maladyes of his body, will pray help of the Phi&s;itian &amp; his medicines, &amp; di&s;couer all his &s;ecret Lepro&s;ies, &s;o and much more, in the &s;pirituall &s;ecret view of his Lepro&s;ies, congealed in his &s;oule? it is an excellent &s;peach of a father grieued no doubt, and buffet|ed with Sathan, O <HI>Vapul<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m Vapul<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m</HI> &s;aith hee, why? <HI>Forta&s;&s;is mi&s;oributur vapulato:</HI> No doubt, hee was in much affliction al|ready, Yet de&s;ired more as a motiue for the Lords &s;peedy re|turne and compa&s;&s;ion, and indeede it is no &s;mall comfort for a man to dige&s;t with what a long looking tender eye, and iealous affec|tion, the Lord watcheth ouer the afflicted: In Ierimiah 30. and <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ah</HI> 54. and 57. <HI>The Lord doth threaten vter captiuitie vnto &s;uch, as grieue his afflicted ones, and contrariwi&s;e comfort &amp; ble&s;&s;ing, vnto &s;uch as comfort and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">lieue them: it is an excellent place, the 3. of <HI>Zachary:</HI> Is not this a brand, but new taken out of the fire and doe&s;t thou watch to inflict &s;orrow vppon him; The Lord rebuke th&eacute;e Sathan:</HI> And that &s;ame fearfull reuenge
<PB REF="29"> taken of the Children from grieing Eli&s;ha with the words of deri|&s;ion:<NOTE PLACE="marg">O&s;ey. 2.</NOTE> <HI>That the Beares &s;hould pre&s;ently come and deuour them:</HI> Remaineth for a perpetuall and la&s;ting gla&s;&s;e, to view and di&s;ge&s;t what tender care the Lord hath ouer &s;uch as he hath taken into his owne handes, to correct and make broken harted. K: I could leaue all to tarry with you, and heare you &s;till, but I pray you conclude<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Kin. 23. 24.</NOTE> from <HI>O&s;ey</HI> the 5. where you &s;ay you receiued your wound. G: I am euen now affected much like tho&s;e exiled &s;ort; who demanded how they &s;hould &s;ing the prai&s;es of their God in a &s;trange Land? &s;o may I &s;ay, beeing exiled from all &s;ocietye<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">: and communities: and di&s;couraged by feare of my outward fall in e&s;tate: How &s;hould I dare to pre&s;ume to write of this mi&s;tery? the highe&s;t fourme of all the Schoole: for trayning and conforming the Saints: <HI>But I know whom I haue tru&s;ted,</HI> 2 Tim. 12. Therefore help thou mee O Lord, illuminate and <HI>teach me for thy mercie, and they &s;hal know it is thy hand, and that thou Lord ha&s;t none it: and ha&s;t dealt with me according to thy name, becau&s;e I am poore and needy &amp; my hartis wouu~ded within me:</HI> inumerable troubles clo&s;e me round about, my &s;inne haue taken holde vpon mee, and feare, and faint|ings, weaken me, by rea&s;on I &s;ee al my enterpri&s;es broken: but thou my Lord who ha&s;t the &s;oueraignty ouer all: euen to a&s;&s;wage the ra|ges, &amp; billowes of the &s;eas, ari&s;e for the deliuerance of the oppre&s;&s;ed: <HI>Let not tho&s;e who call vpon thy name, and haue no hope but in th&eacute;e the Lord be forgotten for euer: Neither let them be made a by worde vnto the fooli&s;h, by dwelling in the &s;hadaw of &s;uch a death, and men ca&s;t out into the di&s;ta&s;ting places of vnreformednes, as into</HI> Sodom <HI>Amen.</HI> K. I pray you giue mee this prayer with mee. G Truly I cannot report it againe worde by worde: but now I remember Sir, did I &s;ay vnto you, that I receyued my wound from <HI>O&s;ey?</HI> K. Yes: G Then did it not well? for I thought n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t vpon that place, till I was wounded as you tolde mee: That the hurt of &s;word, o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;hott, I is not felt in &s;ight: which is the wound: &s;o I was wounded before I felt the &s;mart: and their &s;eeking remedy I found it in <HI>O&s;ey</HI> where together with the remedy I did re|ceiue the &s;m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">t, though I mu&s;t confe&s;&s;e vnto you that I am neuer
<PB REF="29"> without feare of &s;ome di&s;tre&s;&s;e or other: wherevpon I find my &s;elfe cen&s;ured among&s;t tho&s;e wicked: <HI>who&s;e feares fall vpon them:</HI> or from Salamon: Pro. 16. <HI>he that fainteth in aduer&s;tie, his &s;trength was neuer great.</HI> K: The proportion cannot hold: for afflicti|ons are re&s;embled vnto a &s;choole or accademy wherein there is con|tinual attendance required of Lectures receiued, and herein pupil or di&s;ciples may &s;eeme to faile in his memory, &amp; apprehen&s;ion and nei|ther be accounted non proficient: nor negligent. G. Yet this feare of his vnpreparednes, is fro~ guilt: and why is he no more vigilant and laborious? So Salamon will taxe him: K. Well: let Salamon haue his right, for that &s;pirit whereby hee writ wrongethno man: It is not denyed but that men &s;hould carry about a firme vn&s;hapen preparation vnto the whole will of God: in their attending for o|beddyence: But the &s;tate of mortalitie hardly affordeth &s;uch a mea|&s;ure of &s;trength, and renewed change, and haue not you &s;aid, that our be&s;t &s;trength mu&s;t &s;tand vppon the acknowledgement of our wantes? What preiudice is it then vnto mee to &s;ub&s;cribe Salamons cen&s;ure that my &s;trength was neuer great? G But may not a man attaine vnto &s;uch a mea&s;ure of perfection, as no alteration &s;hal much di&s;may him. K Yes I thinke well: for the Prophet Dauid &s;eemeth <HI>to e&s;tabli&s;h a man &s;o growne &s;trong, by fixing his heart vpon God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 11<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> <HI>as no euill todinges nor alterations what&s;oeuer &s;hould groatly di&s;may him:</HI> I thinke that place of Salamon, is not to di&s;courage any that laboureth, but to di&s;couer and condemne the effeminat and delicious daintines, of &s;uch as defie the foote&s;teps of the an|nointed: and &s;corne to bee rebuked in their in&s;olent and heady v|&s;urped per&s;wa&s;ions: wherein they would grow olde in &s;inne: and neuer come neare the full age of God, but thinke to pa&s;&s;e to hea|uen vpon a bed of downe: but what is this feare to di&s;courage you to conclude, who hath beene broken with one breaking vpon an|other: and bound vp, and imbraced w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">th one mercy after another? your feare therfore is your &s;trength for y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> hath no other v&s;e in you, but to depriue you of the ouer weening of your owne power: The &s;ent<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nce of Salamon: is an exciting motiue vnto the in&s;olent and car<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">les like that &s;peech of Peter: <HI>If the righteous &s;hal &s;car&s;e</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 4. 1. 7</NOTE>
<PB REF="30"> <HI>be &s;aued, what &s;hall become of the reprobate?</HI> So from the &s;peech of Salamon, if they who haue indured many afflictions falling weak in one &s;ucceeding tryall, &s;hall bee deemed &s;trengthle&s;&s;e or weake? what &s;hall become of them, that are found vtterly vnprepared? and not acquainted with any common triall? So Salamon touch|eth not you, <HI>who are found trauailing for the recompence of reward, but anounceth you ble&s;&s;ed in your feare: yea, at al times:</HI> for you feare not, that the Lord will faile couenant with you, but that your euill fraile hart &s;hould di&s;plea&s;e him, with any the lea&s;t di&s;tru&s;t: is not that your feare? G. Something that way indeede. K. Then in the name of the Lord, pre&s;&s;e forward to the conclu|&s;ion. G: I will and do de&s;ire. <HI>That I may proc&eacute;ede euen from that vn&s;haken worde which &s;hall iudge at the la&s;t day:</HI> Iohn 12. and though my feeling be weak by rea&s;on of worldly required duties: for my religion, creditors, wife, children, cau&s;es, &amp; what&s;oeuer wher|in my con&s;cience is exerci&s;ed: and where-vnder I haue endured a long heauy de&s;igned rebuke yet as you councelled very well, I will march on lymping as I may, and the Lord will make good that which wanteth: Therefore thus to the 5. of <HI>O&s;ey,</HI> wherin the Lord<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lo&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a 5.</NOTE> expo&s;tulateth with the prie&s;ts, and rulers of I&s;raell, their vnfayth|fulnes and wilfull &s;trayings from the worde of his commandement: and in the eleuenth ver&s;e where I meane to begin he imbradeth the oppre&s;&s;ion and brokennes of Ephraim for falling euen again&s;t his owne iudgement, being mi&s;erably wounded by his tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions: he did chu&s;e rather to obey the commandement of Ieroboam, then to &s;eeke his reliefe and remedy at the handes of the liuing God: for which though he had Ieraboams commandement yet he could not be healed: <HI>So</HI> Ephraim <HI>proceeded from one errour to another: and &s;ought vnto</HI> A&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">r, <HI>and &s;ent vnto</HI> Iacob <HI>King of the</HI> A&s;&s;erians, <HI>yet could not be cured:</HI> Lo heere was his wound, and incurible bru|&s;ing: Iere: 30. By conceaued indignitie whereof: the Mr. Phi&s;iti|on<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pri&s;oners co~ference Theocca|&s;ion of af|fliction.</NOTE> &s;poken of in the former conference, <HI>did &s;ay he would be as a Lion vnto</HI> Ephrahim, <HI>and as a Lions whelpe vnto</HI> Iuda: <HI>and he would goe away and returne to his place,</HI> how long would he be ab&s;ent? <HI>till they acknowledge their fault and &s;&eacute;eke vnto him:</HI> from
<PB REF="30"> this &s;cripture &s;eemeth to bee confirmed that which we haue &s;po|ken before: That the occa&s;ion of our Phi&s;icke and medicines is our wounds: the paine and &s;mart whereof &s;heweth vs all booteles reme|dyes, &s;aue onely at the hand of our gratious healing Phi&s;itian, who letting vs &s;ee <HI>that no man can apply one plai&s;ter, and yet we will goe &s;trange wayes: Doth tell vs he will be a Lion: at the &s;ight whereof all creatures &s;eeke for &s;afety:</HI> Heere remember the for|mer conference, where the di&s;tre&s;&s;ed man taketh hold of the Phi&s;iti|on and &s;aith: Wilt thou leaue me? Thus farre for the occa&s;ion of af|fliction: Now to the cau&s;e: ver&s;e 15. I wil goe and re|turne to my place: to what ende? to make them acknoledge<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cau&s;e.</NOTE> <HI>their fault, and &s;eeke me &s;aith the Lord:</HI> Lo heere is the cause of the &s;auing and healing affliction: &s;treaming from that ine&s;tima|ble loue and care of God: alluring vs by hiding him&s;elfe as the mo|ther doth from the child, to make vs &s;eeke him that we might be hea|led &s;ee therfore the power and grace of his po<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ons? Fir&s;t they work a quite abandoning of all forreyne &s;ought ayde, <HI>euen for finding that &s;uperfluity o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> iniquity,</HI> &s;poken of <HI>by</HI> Iames euen as the good Phi&s;itian will purge all &s;uperfluous humors befor ehee apply his medicines, and then hee maketh one wounded man &s;peake to ano|ther:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The v&s;e.</NOTE> <HI>Come let vs returne vnto the Lord, for he hath wounded, and he will binde vp:</HI> So his loue proceedeth not onely to heale vs, but teacheth vs what is the v&s;e of his loue, in the&s;e afflictions: that wee mu&s;t &s;eeke for knowledge, to try and examine our &s;elues: and acknowledge him to be the on<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y &s;auing healling Phi&s;itian: And abandon all the wayes of our former &s;trayings, and endeauour our &s;elues to know the Lord in our whole re&s;igned obedience, giuen vnto the Lords will: Thus farre for the v&s;e: For the ende: <HI>He wil re|&s;tore</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">the end.</NOTE> <HI>comfort vnto vs, and vnto as many as pitty vs: He will heale vs &s;oundly, his going forth is prepared as the morning, and</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;iah. 54.</NOTE> <HI>he &s;hall come vnto vs as the very latter raine to the earth:</HI> giue mee your opinion my Knight: Whether I haue confirmed both the<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 30.</NOTE> occa&s;ion: The cau&s;e: The v&s;e: and end of our happy and ble&s;&s;ed af|fliction? The Lord enacted order, for vniting, his affliction, vnto our election, and our election, vnto his nature. K. Indeed you have ve|ry
<PB REF="31"> &s;ufficiently and comfortably. G. Wel then we will conclude from the la&s;t ver: of the: 2 Chap of <HI>O&s;ea. <HI>I will haue mercie vpon her that was not pittied and &s;ay vnto them that were not my people, thou art my people and they &s;hall &s;ay thou art my God:</HI></HI> And thus my Knight let vs &s;treyne our voices to publi&s;h his grations goodnes euen &s;o hie at lea&s;t as we can &s;ee that the applau&s;e of our notes, and &s;ongs may be caryed vpon the winges of the wind vnto the vtmo&s;t quarters of the whole world, and all mouthes filled with the &s;ame of his truth and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e &s;ounding and &s;inging <HI>alleluiah</HI> Amen.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="poem">
<PB REF="31">
<HEAD>&leaf; The Authors pera&s;wa&s;ion from proofe laying the totall &s;ome of the Booke.</HEAD>
<LG>
<L>LOng griefe by many cha~ges taught,</L>
<L>the authors p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n to write:</L>
<L>This &s;ame poore vndige&s;ted much</L>
<L>&s;o take the widd<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s my<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>The dayes and times bee wea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">nes,</L>
<L>by heauy conceipts weight:</L>
<L>The mery neuer thinke time long,</L>
<L>&s;uch is affections &s;leight.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>But to preuent that by no change,</L>
<L>thy <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ime may ta&s;t for long:</L>
<L>Prepare thy thoughts to ioy in &s;mart,</L>
<L>a preparation &s;trong.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>In &s;adnes dwell, and &s;table rule,</L>
<L>hold fa&s;t and euer feare.</L>
<L>That natures &s;leights by plaine deceipt</L>
<L>away all by will weare.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>So thus thou wading feede&s;t &s;till,</L>
<L>vpon de&s;ired ende:</L>
<L>With patience: and ioy&s;t to &s;ee,</L>
<L>how thy twi&s;t length doth &s;pend.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>For truely vaine delights which pa&s;&s;e,</L>
<L>thy time as neuer weary:</L>
<L>May nature feede, as for the &s;tanle,</L>
<L>ne making &s;pirit cheary.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>There is &s;o &s;trange a difference,</L>
<L>twixt nature and thy grace:</L>
<L>That where the &s;ences ioy euen mo&s;t,</L>
<L>&s;ure there is &s;naring place.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>For &s;ences doe but nature reach,</L>
<L>but &s;pirit truth a&s;pires:</L>
<L>For this: the Mr. wages giues,</L>
<L>vaine bee all other hiers.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>The kingdome violence &s;uffer doth,</L>
<L>and violence is in oyd:</L>
<L>All entermi&s;&s;ion is plaine lo&s;&s;e,</L>
<L>and doth thy hold de&s;troy.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>Pray therefore for beleeuing hurt,</L>
<L>and combates crown<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> ettaine:</L>
<L>Abandoning affections fraudes,</L>
<L>who&s;e ende is euer vaine.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>For ea&s;e and re&s;t as maine deceipts,</L>
<L>preuaile with mo&s;t m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n much:</L>
<L>But mariage garment neuer lot,</L>
<L>is &s;orted vnto &s;uch.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>O that thou knew&s;t how &s;weet a thing.</L>
<L>ta &s;leepe in Ie&s;us armes.</L>
<L>Nature &s;hould ne&s;t of vipers ea&s;t,</L>
<L>and den of huge&s;t harmes.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>Experience reporteth.</L>
<L>Obedience preuaileth.</L>
<L>Faith conquereth.</L>
</LG>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
