Fisher, John, Sermons On The Seven Penitential Psalms

C O M M EN TA R Y O N THE
SEVEN P EN I TENTI A L PSA L M S
BY
JO H N FI S H E R B I S H O P O F R O
, C H E S T ER
(First fiu élz s /zed in

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A D . 1 50 9 )
E D IT E D
W ITH P R E FA C E AN D G L O S S A RY
BY
J . S . P H I L L I M O R E, M . A .
VCDL L
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LO N D O N :
TH E M A N R ESA P R ESS ,
R O E H A MPTO N , s . w .
B . H ER D ER , 6 8, G R EA T R U S SEL L ST R EET, wc . .
1 914
fl ib tl 0 b s ta t :
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S . GE O R GI US ! I ER A N HY LA N D ,
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C EN SO R D EP UTA T U S
27
3 m p rtm a tur:
G U L I E L M US F . B RO WN ,
V I C A R I U S G EN E R A L I S .
S O U T HW A R C E N S I .
1 5M a ii.
P R E FA C E .
I N M aarten M a a rte n s novel T/z e H e a le rs a D ut c h

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la dy w ho is j ust about to b e come a Catholi c i s assailed

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as with a final b roadside with the obj ection t hat she will,
b e tur ning round and g iving t he l ie to the whol e history ,
of her count ry An eno rmous o pp res si ve c onside ration

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w hich p erha p s redu c es to terms so m e p art at leas t of th e

vague b ewilderment the S hivering diver s m a la ise who
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funks t he p lung e whi ch is th e common and th e inevitabl e

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e xp erience of converts : inevitab le b ecause let reasoning , ,
lead never s o st raight and p e rs onal comforte rs b e never so

reass uring t hat p arti cular act of faith ca n neve r not b e
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an act : The shock of t his alte ration o f s pi rit ual and

int elle ctual climat e is g reat er p e rhap s fo r a B riton or , ,
a D ut chma n t han fo r any othe rs j ust b ecaus e tha t R evo ,
lutio n in t he S ixt eenth centu ry did s o fa r s ucc eed in

making f or a time the n ew religion ove rlay t h e whol e
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lengt h and b readth of p ub li c li fe in t he nation .
A N onconfo rmist it has b een sai d ( p erha p s un

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j ustly ) could not w rit e t he histo ry of E ngland f rom

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his N onconformist p oint of view b ecau s e he is ,
foreign t o i t all b ut a p has e which came lat e and

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obtained only p artially F rom his p oint of view .
he cannot c ommand the s ubj ect The Alt eration of .
R eligion ( as C eci l c alled it su rely k nowing what he ,
meant ) in E ngland o rgani z ed a s tat e of t hings by

which Anglican and E nglish s hould t end to b ecome
synonym s t he E s tab l ishment and the n at ion co —
, extensive ,
and all s uch p ersons as might refus e to acc ep t the s o v e r

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e ig n for their O nly S up reme Gove rno r i n matt ers of
religion b e guilty no t only o f national dis loyalty but o f
vi P R E FA C E
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s elf ost racism
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B luff King H al . and Good Q ueen
B es s b ecame S h ib boleths A n d not content with that .
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t he omnipotent exp loiters of the n ew syst e m b rough t in

the s ubtle forces of convention and etiquett e and scan ,
dal about Q ueen E li zab eth was not merely a p hras e ”
to dis c re dit unhea r d any dangerous historical revisions

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b ut a social ve rdict of B ad Fo rm The g reat general .
legend compos ed g rad u ally a n d in t he main un co n

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S cio u s ly more by instinct t han p olicy was comp osed o f

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many f a ls ifi ca tio n s of deta il all dire ct ed to s ubs erve a

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common b ias : namely to give the colou r ( as t he ol d
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rhetori cians called it ) that E ngland s greatness only b e ’

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gan wit h E ngland s P rotestantism The R ena issance

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whi ch in fact was arrest ed a n d delayed fo r a cent ury by

t he Tudo rs must ( to suit th e As cendancy ) b e rep resent ed
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as a necessary and charact eristi c accomp animent of the

new religion E ng l ish l it eratu re must b egin with E li z a
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b eth : o r rather t hat mus t be its glorious s unri se har

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b ing e re d by the glimmerings o f a dawn in W iclyf a p er ,
son abou t whom ou r evangeli cal mythologists have been

p ecul iarly b usy and co p ious ( S e e Gas quet s 7 7 2 6 O ld
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E a g lz s /z B ib le a zia E s sa ys ) Tennyson a credulous

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poet endowed with a j ournalist s s ensitiveness to the

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fa shion of his time and in whom as in an echo we may , ,
measure the cl a morous re s onan ce of F ro n de s fi ctions by ’

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hi s
s p a cio us t im e s o f Gre a t E liz a b e th
p hras ed j ust what many p eopl e were p redispos ed to b e
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lieve S p ac i ous times
. H o w g ratifying to national self .
comp la cency ! What did it matt er if in times so spacious

there shoul d b e no roo m fo r a C a m p io n o r a S outhw ell ex i
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cep t a hiding — ho l e o r a rack o r a gib b et ? B etter still the

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g reat term E li zab ethan b ecame s erviceable fo r a ”
doub le equivo que : t hus E li zab ethan we always ,
thought P rotestant b ut evidently all literat u re p ro

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P RE FA C E vii
du ce d in the reign of E li zab eth is E li z ab ethan : E rg o the ,
whole g lo ry of E nglish lit erat ure is P rot es tant

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I n some .
s uch s tyl e are th e syllogisms of p rej u di ce const r u cted .
And then aga i n as a count erp art to sup p ressing ou r

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Allens and Camp ions and P a rs o n se s and S tap letons t he y ,
will have t he wo rd E li z ab ethan with convenient

s lovenlines s us ed to in cl ude any such S ixteent h Ce ntu r y
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wo rk whats oe ve r as it may s uit thei r p urpos e t o includ e

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under any sp ecial cat egory Thu s from the fi rst half o f.
t hat centu ry they p ilfer it s songs an d ballads and swee p

t hem a ll into t he ha rvest of E li z ab ethan P rot es tant ,
p o s t R eformation ) lyri c .
B ut in the p a rti cula r instances of Fisher and Mo re a

g raver s upp re s s io 0 6 7 2 has b een p erpet rat ed I t has bee n
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tacitly ag reed in t he int erests of t he As cendancy tha t

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t hes e two shal l b e l e f t in darkness Thei r martyrdom s .
a re lightly dismiss ed as reg rettabl e b ut inevitabl e u n

p leasantness es s uch as will hap pen in the b es t regula te d
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R efo rmations and whi ch i t is bad fo rm to make much

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ado about . O h yes su ch a p ity b ut of cours e

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O r when you d ri ve an Angli can f riend into a co rne r b y

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a rguing that if H enry s as sumption of that O nly S up rem e

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Governo rship in all ques tions S piritu a l and E c cl es iast ica l

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( to which every Angli can p relat e to t his day swears a l

le g ia n c e ) really meant so litt le t hen More and Fis he r ,
must have been rather idiot s than martyrs in a moment ,
yo u will have him gui lel ess ly rep eating f rom his manual s
t hat More and F ish er w ere eccent ri cs do ct rinaire expo ,
p o n e n ts of a maximis t Pa p alism S u rely t he mos t im

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p udent and fatuous o f li es Mo re who had warne d

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H en ry t hat in his A sse rlz o he p ut the Pop e s p rerogativ e ’

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rather dangerously high to b e re p res ent ed as an ult ra

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montane fanati c !
Plainly t he t h e o ry of a s udden outb u rs t a n d sp ring
t ime of lit erat ure a rising wit h t he b eginnings o f the n e w
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v iii P R E FA C E
r eligion i s so rely embarrass ed if any p re El i z abethan

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w rit er b e allowed to a p p ear eminent More must th e re .
fore b e b uried in silence a n d o bscurity ; his c laim to rank

a s t he Fathe r of E nglish H isto ry o r E nglish P ros e b e
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h ushed up and no other wo rk of his p ermitted to b e

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s p oken of b ut U to p z a U m o m was a youth ful t rifle which

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h e lived to regret and to disown and his es teem of which ,
is best s hewn b y the fact th at he neve r p ut i t into E nglish .
T he yo ung s tudent who s wallows w ha t his handbooks t ell

h im is neve r allowed to s usp ect that Mo re s E nglish works
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fi ll I 40 0 p ages of f olio O r s u pp o se him to have learned .

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t his much ( fo r the lit era ry histo ries me ntion it ) he i s ,
little t he fo rwarder There I S hardly a p ossibility of his

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reading them S ince 1 557 there has n eve r b een a com

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p le te rep rint ; and only th ree p i eces I think ha ve b een , ,
re p rint ed at all 1 .
T he famous seri es whi ch has done so much for the

revival of fo rgotten wo rthi es and r e op ened so many
choked sources of E nglish Arb er s R ep rint s c omp rised ,
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n o Cathol i c wo rk at all S urely an eloquent fact and .

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in its elf a clinching p roof that the As cendancy has p ur

s ued the poli cy o f choking as wel l as of p oisoning the
w ells of histo ry I f Fisher had b een a hereti c you may
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b e sure Arb er wo u ld have included these S ermons in the

s eries whi ch contains p lenty of stu ff inferio r to Fisher
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w hether in p oint of literary merit o r of histori cal s ig n i

fi ca n ce in the d e velo p ment of styl e The bi bliog rap hy of .
1H e re is a n e x a m p le o f the kind o f thing tha t m ig ht m a k e

o n e de s a ir A m a st e r o f E n l ish d is co u r s in g o n styl e a nd
p .
g“ ,
s k e t ching a n E n glish L ib rary e x cl u de s fro m c on side ra tio n

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w o r k s who s e s o l e im p o rt a nce i s that the y fo rm a l ink in the

c h a in o f de v e l o p m e nt Fo r e x a m p le ne a rly a ll the p r o duc tio n s
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of a uth o rs b e t we e n C ha uce r a n d the b e gin ning o f the Eliz a !

b e than p e rio d s uch a s Go we r H o ccl e ve a n d S k e lt o n who s e
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w o r k s fo r su ffi cie nt re a s o n a re re a d o nly b y p ro fe s s o r s a n d
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s tu de n ts w ho m e a n to b e
p ro fe s s o rs A rn ol d B e nn e tt l ite ra ry ”
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T a s te p 90 : L o n do n 1 9 1 1
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P R E FA C E ix
the book t e ll s a tale I t went th rough s everal edi tion s

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b etween 1 50 8 a n d the offi cial bi rth yea r of the Angli can -
C hurch 1 559 Afte r that date a ll is silen c e Thomas

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B ayly s L ife ( p u b lish ed in 1 6 55 and made out of R ichard

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H all s M S ) was not a cc omp an ied by a rep rint of the

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work s . Fathe r ! enelm V a u ghan came u p on an edit ion

anonym ous ly p ublis hed in 1 7 1 4 And finally P rof e s sor .
J E B Mayo r e dit e d t he wo rks fo r the E arly E nglis h

. . .
Texts S o ci e ty in 1 8 7 6 O f the s e two there will b e mo re

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to say anon .
I have b een s p eaking of t he p ro cured illusions and

p rej udice s us u al among thos e who ado p t reach me down
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op inions and who s e minds s till disp lay faded s uites of

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the intelle ct ual furniture o f t he M a caulay and F roude

p eriods O f cours e t hings a re no longer so in th e hig h
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p laces of criti cism B ut it i s a slow p ro ces s carrying

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d own t he result s of e xp ert c riti cism and s erious hi s to rical

i nqu i ry i nto the genera l mind o f t hos e who say Oh b ut , ,
I always thought Fo r t ho se who al ways

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thought a re j us t tho s e w ho n ever t hink and p robably ,
have neve r thoug ht O ne has lit tle fau l t t o find wi th th e

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views exp re s s ed by s uch hi sto r i ans as the lat e D r J ames .
Ga irdn e r merely to reg ret t hat t hey fail to s ee and e x e ,
cut e in ac t t he conclusions o f t hei r p remis ses H ap p ily

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though s uch autho rs may b e b lind to t he logic of thei r

own inqui ri es t heir readers will s ee it
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N o r do mos t o f the c ritics who have writt en sinc e ,
E nglish L ite rat ure took i ts g reat modern develo p ment

as a s ubj e ct of Unive rsity st udy deserve rep roach fo r ,
any p rej udiced sup p ression of C atholi c w riters l i a g rza .
e s t o e rita s T he C at ho l i c caus e deri ves and will deriv e

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st rong s up p o rt from thos e w ho have no motiv e b eyond O r

b eside t he dis cove ry of historical t ruth I may instan ce .
P rofesso r G rego ry S mit h s j udgment i n his Tra n s itio n ’
P e rio d p 3 4 0 ( P e rio ds o / E rrg lis /z L ite ra ture B lack

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x P R E FA C E
wood , as ungr udgin gly fai r B ut the e xt remely

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inconvenient fo rm in which alon e F ishe r could b e read

must hinder even exp ert E nglish s cholars from savou r
ing quit e freely and simp ly the racy t urns a n d l iving
cadences whi c h hide t hemselves within a st range sp elling
and a dead p un ct uation S uch a p res entment is not level
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with our s ens es .
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B ut now some Catholi cs may say Why not let it
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alone ? Why rake up litera ry anti qu e s and cu rios when

the S econd S p ring has a lit eratu re o f its o wn and i n , ,
pa rti cula r an abundant devotional lit erature of its own ?

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Well w e b uild new chu rches of ou r own b ecaus e o ur

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fathers we re exp rop riate d f rom the o ld ; yet thank God , ,
the histo ry of e ccl es iast i cal archit ect ure i s C atholi c his .
to ry b eyond t he power of S op hist ry t o distort B ut what .
would not P rotestantism give to b e abl e to claim any

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inheritance in Catholic art i And why should we make
t hem a p res ent of L it erature ? I s it not o f g rea t im (
p ortance to the reas s ertion of t he C hurch in this count ry

t hat we can claim a sha re at all p oints in the national
heritage ? F rom that w e can refus e to b e ex p rop riated .
We hav e names enough to k eep a foo ting even during ,
t he 1 0 0 yea rs wh en Anglican and E nglish looked most

l ike becoming synonyms b efo re t he thin overlay of the
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new religion ha d shrunk mu ch : C rashaw D ryden and ,
Po p e . The C hurch cannot a ffo rd to yi eld t he p e n any

mo re than the swo rd to b e mis used
, H ow immens ely
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l ess would N ewman s e ffectiven es s hav e been had his

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litera ry p owe r b een negligibl e and his a p peal res t ri cted

to an au dience of co g rzo s oe rz ti in cont roversy o r in the
o lo g y l
This t reatis e i s offered to the p ublic which reads the
C atholi c L ib rary both as an excellent p iec e of devotional
reading and as an excellent p iec e of l iterature deeply ,
interesting to anybody who takes any p ride in his mothe r

P R E FA C E xi
tongue and fee l s an hones t com p lacency in recogni zin g

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how near to the p erfect adequa cy and a p tness of a civi

liz e d language was the sp eech of our ancesto rs 4 0 0 yea rs
ago .
As a book of devotion it ce rtain l y es cap es t he c o m

monest fault in t hat kind the si n of sweetishness o r fals e
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unction The r ea son why thi s so o ft en defaces books

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of devotion i s that they are taken f rom fo reign originals

with too litt le resp ect fo r idiom M uch s entiment is go o d .
and p l easant to t he native palat e in F rench o r I talian ,
which done int o En glish will es t rang e o fle nd and even

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s can dali z e an E nglis h reader Th e litera ry cha rm the .

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ra ciness the solidity and sincerity of F isher s E nglis h

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give a most engaging addres s to t hes e p rint ed mission

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a ri es . R eading and rereading t hes e p roo fs I fi n d him ,
in my own exp erience ext rao rdina rily satis fying a n d

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u ncloying S u ch sweetn e s s without s entimentality s uch

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maste ry in t em p ering ho p e an d fea r tog ether reb uk e a n d ,
consolation ; in a wo rd such a man and s uch a S aint

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Moreover is it m ere anti quarianism of t emp er if o f

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two books of devotio n otherwi s e equally good I find tha t

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the one whi ch is 40 0 yea rs ol d has a s enio rity of value s

and int e res t to whi ch even the modern class i c must de .
f e r? H isto ry is eve rywhere i f yo u a re on th e alert fo r ,
her : and every book has b eyond its int rinsic quality a , ,
further quality as b eing a p ie ce o r a document of t he

mind of its time What was our co un trym e n s mind lik e
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in the fatal half c ent u ry b efo re t he ap ostasy ?

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You may
l earn it from d es cri p tions by histo rians i f you p l ea s e to ,
take thei r word fo r it b ut unl es s you kno w what bo oks

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any generation of m en read and took p leas ure in the ,
mind of t hat t ime is close d to you I n reading t hi s .
T reatis e both th e p rea che r and his hearers revive and

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advance towa rds us and draw nea r out of thei r dim dis
tance Also if I mistake not t he reader of thes e se r
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x ii P R E FA C E
mons wi ll feel no t only H o w Catholi c this is b u t H ow ,

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racy how E nglish this is

, a d se m p e r q uo d a b o m rz i
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b us is a great te x t fo r many app li ca tions : let u s a pp ly it

to ou r count ry men a n d rejoice in t he real continuity
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whi ch makes this D octor and Martyr s u ch near neigh

bours to ou rs elves in the idiom and t he rhythm of his
language .
The taunt of t he I talian M ission is one of tho se

foolis h taunts whi ch blacken the utt erer s lip s without
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hitting t hei r obj ect B ut C o ntin uita ria n ism is still

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amongst us the so rry remnant of fa l s e reason ing fals e

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histo ry a nd sop histi cation with which those who made

t he g ra n rifla to aft er th e O xfo rd Movement co rrup t ed
s u ch p rovinces of t he V ictorian mind as they had a cces s
t o N ow every well chosen rep rint of a p re R eformation
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p iece of E nglish L it erat ure is both a sound defence

a gainst t he ult ra P rotestant policy of -
expatriating the
Pa p ists from thei r bi rth rig ht in t he national t radition and ,
a lso a demonst ration of t he l iving continuity ( to take
our p arti cula r case ) b etween the C hurch of whi ch th e

B ishop of R oches ter was a Cardinal and the C hurch
whi ch has rais ed B less ed J ohn F isher to the honours of
he r altars .
I t has b een mentioned above that thes e s ermons have

been t wice rep rinted ; b ut each time it was under c o n
d itio n s whi ch leave this p resent book virt ually u n f o re
stalled .
I n 1 8 7 6 P rofesso r J E B M ayor of S t John s . . .

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College Camb ridge rep rint ed fo r the E arly E nglish Te x t

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S o ciety vol i of F isher s Wo rks containing b esides

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t h is t reatise s everal other p ieces w hich it is hop ed also

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to include late r in t he Catholic L ib rary H e antici p at ed .
in his a dvertisemen t that h e would never fin ish t he

e dition ; whi ch neither h e did nor has any oth er ,
come fo rward t o do vol i i using the indications . .

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P R E FA C E x iii
which Mayo r l eft fo r his eventual s uccesso r Mayo r .
p rint e d from the M S S rep roducing the s p elling and

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p un c tuation that he found H e was a. skilled p a laeo

g ra p he r a n d t e x t ual scholar and hi s general accu ra cy
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b eyond question ; b ut t h e re a re nevertheless a good f e w

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p assages whe re he makes Fi sh er talk nons ens e fo r want ,
o f s ome s light emendation s uch as h e would never have

s tuck at ha d h e b een dealing wit h the t e x t of J uv e na l
o r C icero . I have b een cont ent to co rrect thes e p laces
tacitly . B ut t he reason why his edition ( not a common
book either fo r that matt er ) is us e less fo r all but le x ico
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g ra p he rs and ( to recit e Arnold B ennet t s chee rless classi

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fi ca tio n ) p rofessors and student s w ho mean to b e p ro
f e s s o rs is t hat h e met icu l ously pr es e rves the ancient
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s p elling and p un ct uation

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Possibly Mayo r would n o t

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have cared t o s ee this p ap ist ica l t reatis e save in the hands

o f anti qua ri es o r c u rious sa o a r zts While h e wa s about
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it Got hi c typ e would have imp rov ed t he uncou thness

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B ut certainly a s it is no fu rthe r obstac l es are ne e ded

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to make t he b ook unreadab l e in any e ffect ive s ens e of the

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verb to read The modern eye cannot t ravel freely

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p i c king u p its clues on t he p ag e where even the common

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es t wo rd is an o rthogra p hical monst e r and the stop s give ,
no c l ue to the a rt i cu l ation of th e s ent ence I n this res .
p e ct Mayor s te x t is a monument o f laborious p edant ry

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Co ns ider t hi s p h ras e fo r e xam p le :

E very one o f t hem wolde e x ecut e a ll t /z a t p e r
t e yn e th t o his o ffi c e quyk ly wit hout f a yn ing e o r p arcy
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a l yte .
I t looks a quee r enough collection of b east s to s et on a

mode rn p ag e and on e t akes some l ittl e t hought to dis
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cover what q uykly and p a rcya lyte may mean S ho w
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t hi s to t he rail w ay t raveller at the books ta l l and his shi l ,
ling will not ri s e to s uch a bait wit h m u ch eagerness .
Ye t nothing is ami ss wit h i t b ut t he disg u is e P u t i t in .
modern form
x iv P R E FA C E
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E very one of t hem would execut e all that p er
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ta in e th to his o ffi ce qui ckly without fe igning or par

tia lity,
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a nd nothing is left t hat need dis concert an o rdinarily

literate rea der All t hat outlan dishness a ll t hat air as
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o f some quaint half real thing rais e d up on the farthe r

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si d e of a vast chasm of time acros s whi c h we have no

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e qual and familiar communi ca tions i s almost wholly a

,
m att er of d ressing and p resenting o r in other words , , ,
o f sp elling a n d pointing .
Father Kenelm V aughan saw this H e says in the .
l ittle I nt roduction to his rep rint ( B urns and O ates ,
Whe n in t e n t io n o f re p rin tin g this b o o k w a s k n own , a

my
f rie n d in the B ritis h M u s e um u rg e d m e to brin g o ut a fa c
s im ile o f the o rig in a l t e x t writt e n in O ld E n gli sh whic h m ig ht
, ,
b e a gra te ful re m inis c e n c e o f tho s e b yg o n e da ys B u t m y a im .
in the re p r o ductio n o f th is b o o k is n o t a l it e ra ry b ut a de v o
’
tio n a l o n e M y de s ire i s n o t to g ra tify the ta s te s o f a n tiq ua ria n s

.
,
which ha s al re a dy b e e n do ne b y the b ut to s up p ly
h oly re a din g .
B ut since the p res ent edito r is aim ing at an obj ect which
lies b etw e e n that and Mayor s a middle way has b een
’
taken here with the p rob lem ho w to p res ent the text
,
.
Mayor s met hod w e have se en ; this i s how Father

’
V aughan d es c r ib es his :
.
U p o n thi s e di t io n ( whi ch I h a v e c o m p a re d with the o rig in a l ) ,
p ublis he d in 1 7 1 4 a n d m o de rniz e d the n to s uit the r e q uire m e n ts

o f th o s e d a y s , I ha v e fo rm e d thi s n e w e ditio n m o de rn iz in g it
,
still furthe r, s o a s to bring it do wn to o ur tim e s I n o the r wo r ds.
I ha ve p a ra g ra p he d the s e s e rm o n s which s ca rce ly ha d a bre a k

,
in the m fro m b e ginn ing to e nd ; dis e n t a ng le d a n d divide d l o ng

inv o lv e d s e n t e n c e s ; a do p te d thro ug ho ut m o de rn o rtho g ra p hy
a n d p u n c t ua tio n ; re p l a c e d o b s o l e t e wo r ds with w o rds of c o m m o n
us a ge ; a n d m o difie d ce rt a in rude m o de s o f e x p re s s io n , which ,
th o ug h s uit a b le to a l e ss p o l ishe d a g e , wo ul d g ra t e o ffe ns ive ly

o n the e a rs o f this m o r e r e fin e d a n d s e n s it ive g e ne ra t io n .
P R E FA C E xv
A ll t his was quit e l egitimat e fo r Father V aughan s p ur ’
pos e b ut it t ra n s m o g rifie s F ishe r too much for mine fo r

, , ,
d es i ring to make a rep rint w hich S hould come in handy

to s erve t he litera ry st uden t s tu rn who might ca re to read ’
a goo d bo ok of I 50 8 although he had no liking fo r a ,
b ook of devotions it w o uld b e a fatal blunder to modern

,
iz e b eyond the [minimum p oint of convenien ce o r to b o w d ,
le riz e A t rue s tudent s t emp er must always b e what

.
’
Pliny ex p res sed : e a e s t s to m a c/z i m e a rza ta ra a t a ll rzisi

m e ra r
rz et to tum o e lit .
I have t herefo re adapt ed the s p e lling b ut not th e ,
diction p referring instead to add a running glossary of

,
t he ob sol ete wo r ds whi ch are s urp risingly few

, As t o .
Father K V aughan s last mat t er I have vent ured to leave

.
’
to t he B e a ta s t his uncloaked homeliness of his p lain

sp eaking I feel t hat one must gravely falsify eithe r More
.
o r F isher by diss emb ling a certain c rudenes s p rofou ndly ,
and instinctively healthy ; w hi ch if we find it o ff ensive , ,
is j us t t he m ea s u re of o u r de ca dence Th e most viciou s .
ages and t he most v 1 c1 o us books tabo o the g ro s m o t ; b ut

t here a re much more insidious co rrup tions in the re fin e
ments of eup hemis ts t ha n in the round t e rms whi ch Mo re
and F isher like S t Augustine and S t J e ro m e think it
,
. .
,
no s hame to w rite There a re S aint s who have almos t a

'
cynical b rus quenes s in this matt e r j us t b ecause they hol d ,
the fl es h in cont em p t and g ru dge under its w earisome ,
exactions Why then should they fl atter it with da in ti

.
nesses o f language ?
I have thought it needles s to s a y anything o f B les s ed
J ohn F is he r s life and martyrdom b ecaus e Father B rid
’
gett s book i s so w ell known and so a ccessible

’
-
B ut in .
conclusion I wil l add t wo quotations The fi rs t s hal l .
b e from the P roemial Annotations up on the Psalms i n

t he D ouay B ibl e ( e d 1 6 1 0 ) .
I n L it a n ie s a n d a lm o st a ll P ub l ic P ra y e rs a nd in a dm inistr a ,
xv i P R E FA C E
tion , the r S a cra m e nts a nd S a cra m e nt a l s eithe r who l e P s a lm s

of o ,
o r fr e q u e n t v e r s e s a re in s e rt e d L ik e wis e the gre a te st p a rt o f

.
t he O ffi ce s o f o u r B L a dy a n d fo r the D e a d a re P sa l m s : b e
.
,
s ide the S e ve n P e n it e ntia l a nd fifte e n Gra dua l P s a l m s a t ce n ,
t a iri t im e s S o tha t C le rgym e n s ho ly o ffi ce c o ns ist e th m uch in

.
’
s ing in g o r r e a ding P s a lm s A n d the re fo re a ll B isho p s e s p e ci

.
o
a lly a re strict ly b o und by a p a rtic ul a r C a n o n ( D is t 38 c a p. .
O m rze s p s a lte a t e s ) to b e s kilful in the P s a l m s o f D a vid : a n d to

se e th a t o th e r C l e r gym e n b e we ll in str uc t e d the re in .
H ere is Fisher a s the m o del B is hop a s h e was in so many ,
o ther re sp ects ; and now fo r F isher a s p ro p het : this

s econd is from o u r t e x t in th e comment on Psalm cii :
, .
S o g o o d L o rd, do no w in l ik e m a nn e r a g a in with thy C h urc h

,
m ilit a nt ; c ha n g e a n d m a k e t he s oft a n d sl ip p e ry e a rth int o h a rd

st o n e s ; s e t in thy C hurch stro ng a n d m ighty p illa rs tha t m a !r
s uff e r a nd en dure g re a t l a b o urs wa tching p o ve rty thirst
, , , ,
hung e r c o l d a n d h e a t ; w hi ch a l s o s ha ll no t fe a r the thre a tin gs

,
o f p rin c e s , p e rs e c ut io n , n e ithe r de a th b ut a l w a y s p e rs ua de a nd
thin k with the m s e l f to s uff e r w ith a g o o d wil l sla n de rs sha m e, ,
a n d a ll k in ds o f t o rm e n t s fo r the g lo ry a n d l a ud o f T hy H o ly
N am e .
This p rayer was s p oken in the last yea r of H enry V I I ; .
it was fulfilled in t he autho r s p e rson t wenty s even yea r s

'
-
l ater on Towe r H ill .
jzm e 1 5 , 1 914
C O N T E N TS .
P A GE
F I R ST P E N IT EN TIA L P SA L M . D o m ine ne in furo re .
P s a lm oi
S EC O N D P EN IT ENTIA L P S A L M . B e a ti Q uo rum .
P sa lm xxxi I 9
T HI RD P EN IT ENTIA L P S A L M . D o m in e ne in furo re .
P s a lm x x x v ii . P a rt I
T HI R D P E N IT ENTIA L P SA L M furo re
‘
. D o m in e ne zn .
P sa lm x xx vii . P a rt I !
F O URT H P EN IT EN TIA L P S A L M ll z s e re re m e i D e us
'
. .
P sa lm l . P a rt I .
F O URTH P E N IT EN TIA L P S A L M . A ve rl e fa cie m

T ua m a p e cca tis , e tc . P s a lm l . P a rt [1 .
97
This t reati se concerning the f ruit ful sayings of D avid
the King and P rop het in the s even P enit ential Psalms ,
divide d in S even S ermons was ma de a n d c o mp il ed by the

,
R ight R everen d F ather in Go d John Fis her D o cto r of

’
, ,
D iv in ity and B ishop of R ochester at the exho rtation and

, ,
sti rring of th e most ex cellent P rincess Margaret ,
Count ess o f R i chmond a n d D erby and mother to our ,
S overeign L o rd King H enry th e V I I .
H ER E B EGI N N ET H T H E PRO L O GUE .
When I advert in my rememb rance the fruit ful and

nobl e t ranslations com p iled and t ranslat e d in time p as t
by many famous a n d excellent do cto rs grounded on ,
S cri p t ure by high authority t he which singularly not only

,
t hems elf app li ed dai ly to pronounce t he words of o u r

B les s ed S aviour J esu and of many p rop het s and p ru
dent ec clesiastical docto rs whos e minds wit h t he grace
of th e H oly Ghos t was spi ritually illumined b ut also ,
th e s aid do cto rs them endeavoured with d iligent labour

to p ut in memo ry by w r i t i ng th e said s ermons to t he
great utility and healt h o f th e readers and hearers of t he
same : t h e which p remis es by m e inwardly consi dered ,
for as much as I o f lat e b efo re the mos t excellent P rin

cess Margaret Countess of R ichmond and D erby and
,
mother unto ou r S overeign L ord King H en ry th e S eventh ,
p ub lish e d t he sayings o f th e holy king and p rop het D avid

of the S even P enite n tial P salms in the w hich my sai d goo d
,
and s ingular l ady much delight ed : at whos e high com

mandment I have p ut the sai d s e rmons in w rit ing fo r to
b e imp ressed that all the p ersons that intentively read o r
,
hear t hem may b e s ti rred the b ett er to t race the way o f

et ernal salvation insatiat ely to b ehold wit h j oy in e s tim
,
abl e th e glo rious T r inity ( Who p res erve ghos tly and
bodily my foresaid la dy and our re doubt ed S overeign
L o rd her son with all his nobl e p rogeny ! ) a n d t hat th e
int elligents 1 of the said s ermons may b e gladder in the
p ath of righteousness daily to p ers evere .
H ER E E N D ET H THE PR O L O GUE .
1 a c qua int e d r e a de rs .
B
2 THE P E N IT E N TIA L P S A LM S
TH E F I R ST P E N I TE N T I AL P SAL M .
DOM INE N E I N FUR OR E .
P S A L M vi
F R I EN D S this day I shall not declare unto you any
,
p art of the ep istle o r gosp el which peradventure you ,
do abi de fo r to hear at th is t ime B ut at the desi re and .
instance of them whom I may not cont rary in any thing

whi ch is both acco r ding to my duty a n d also to thei r
’
s oul s health I have taken upon me shortly to declare
,
th e Fi rst P enit ential Psalm Wherein l b es eech A l .
mighty God fo r H is g reat mercy and p ity so to help me

t his day by H is grace that whatever I shall say may
fi rs t b e to H is pl easure to the p ro fit of m ine o w n wret ched
,
soul and also fo r th e wholeso me c o mfo rt t o all s inners

,
which b e rep entant fo r thei r s ins and hath t urned them

s elf wit h all the ir whol e h eart and m ind unto God ,
t h e way of wickednes s and sin utterly fo rsaken .
B ut o r1 w e go to the declaration o f t his Psalm i t ,
shall b e p rofitable a n d convenient to sh ew who did write

this Psalm fo r what o ccasion h e wrot e it a n d what fruit
, , ,
p rofit and help he ob taine d b y the same D avid the son

,
.
,
of Jess e a man s ingularly chosen of Almighty God and

,
endued with many great b enefi ts ; afterward he sinned

full grievous ly agains t God a n d H is law and fo r the ,
o ccasion of his great off ence h e made this holy Psalm ; ,
a n d thereb y got fo rgivenes s of his sins B ehold take .

,
hee d who he was of what stock he came that made this

,
holy Psalm fo r what o ccasion h e made it and what p rofit

, ,
h e obtaine d b y the same B ut thes e things shall b e more.
op enly declared that each one of you may know how

,
great a s inner this p rop het was and also the greatnes s of
his S in t hat we by the example of him warned inst ruct ed
, ,
a n d monished despai r not in any condition but with t rue

, ,
p enan ce l et us ask of ou r blessed L o rd Go d mercy and

fo rgivenes s We shall p ercei ve and know the greatness
.
b e fo re .
P S A LM VI 3
of his sin so much the b etter and s ooner i f his great ,
unkindnes s s hewe d against God Almighty that was so

b enefi cial unto him b e made op en a n d known to us
,
.
Jess e t he father o f D avi d had s even sons ; D avid

, ,
was t he younges t o f them all leas t in p ersonage l east s et , ,

'
by and kep t his father s S heep
,
N otwithstanding t he .
,
goo dness o f Almighty Go d only did elect and choos e him ,
all his b re thr en rej ect 1 a nd s et ap art and t hen com ,
m a n de d S amuel t he bisho p a n d p rop het to anoint him

, ,
king o f I s rael .Was not this a g reat kindnes s of A l

mighty God shewed unto s uch a manner vil e p erson s et2
,
to th e o ffi ce of keep ing b easts that H e of H is goo dness ,
would call from so vile an o ffi ce s et him by H is com ,
mandment as king and head of all his p eo p le ? B ut let

us s ee wha t did H e mo re fo r him King S aul into whom .
,
aft er th e b reaking of the commandment of Almighty God

ent ered a wicke d sp i rit the whi ch t roub led and v e x ed ,
him sore ; a n d when that he ma de s earch all about for to

have a cunning and melodious harp er by whos e sweet ,
sound ( when that he should st rike upon his harp ) the

woodness 3 of the fores a id wi cked S p i rit should b e I n iti
gate and s ua g e d 4 non e s u ch coul d b e found b ut this
,
same D avid which by a s p ecial gift of Almighty God

,
could p lay wel l and nobly up on the harp At any time .
when t he wicked s p irit vexed and t roub l ed king S aul ,
D avid should come b efo re him A n d as O ft en as he .
p layed upon his harp both S aul was refreshed and com
,
fort ed and th e wicked s p i rit dep art ed and t roubled him

,
no mo re fo r that time W a s not this a great b enefi t of

.
Go d given to D avid ? A n d b eside this when I s rael ,
should mak e battle agains t the Philistines one of t heir ,
nation among them a marvellous st rong man as great

,
as a giant s t rengthened a nd clad on every feature with

,
s ure and st rong a rmo ur h e called all I s rael to fight ,
with him man fo r man unde r this condition that if any

, , ,
I s raelit e could vanquish him in battle all the multit ude ,
of the Philistines should b e s ubj ect to I s rael and co n ,
1
b e in g reje ct e d 2
s o to s e a k
.
p m a dn e s s .
3
.
4
a ss ua ge d .
4 THE P E N IT E N T I A L P S A L M S
t ra riw is e
i f h e got the vi cto ry all I s rae l in like c o ndi tion ,
should b e subj ugat e a n d thrall unto the Philistines N0 .
man among all the g reat multitude o f I s raelites had

audacity o r boldnes s with this mons t rous creatu re this ,
Philistine to make battl e save on l y this littl e p erson

, ,
D avi d ; to whom Almighty God gave so g reat bol dness

( alt hough h e was but littl e in p ersonage and s tatu re ) ;
nevertheless h e in no condition feared to fight and make
battle with thi s great a n d mighty giant At th e las t .
—
,
though it were incredibl e to eve ry m a n that D avid should

have the v icto ry h e armed hims el f with the armour of
,
! ing S aul B ut as a m a n not customed to w ear harness

.
,
h e was th e n more unwieldy to do any feat of a rms than

he was b efo re and could not us e at lib erty any mem b er
,
of his bo dy Therefo re soon he st ripp ed him of that

.
array and naked without any manner of weapon earthly

,
to defend hims elf save only with his sta ff sling and a
, ,
stone went forth to fight with this great giant

, And as .
t hi s Philistine came to himwar d with a cruel and a blas

p he m o us count enan ce he hit him at one c as t wit h a stone
,
on the fo rehead and s o o verth rew him and shortly drew ,
nigh him and with the swo rd o f t he same deformed crea

ture h e st ruck o ff his head 0 marvello us God b y whos e .
,
only p ower this weak and little p erson D avid unarmed , ,
obtained th e great and ma rvellous victory of so p rou d an

enemy ! B ut what of this ? The b enefits whi ch Almighty
Go d did fo r him b e innumerab le and impos sible for me
now to shew them all H e defended him against the .
envious minds o f his b reth ren H e defended him f rom ,
th e dangers a n d p erils of the two cruel beasts the lion ,
and th e b ear H e saved him harmles s from the envious

,
p ers ecutions o f King S aul m oreover agains t th e hat red ,
of the Philistines And at the las t when King S aul was

.
,
dead H e m ade him King of I s rael B y thes e great and

, .
manifold gifts we may understand how much D avid ought

to h umble hims elf unto Almighty God and how m uch h e
was bounden to H im A n d how ungentl e he ought to
.
b e rep ut e d and taken if h e should not s erve his L ord

,
and M aker w ith all his whole mind and t rue heart Fur .
the rm o re after h e was made king h e lived in p eace and

,
6 THE P E N IT E N TI A L P S A LM S
a nd spoken of that H e shewe d to D avi d after so g reat

, ,
b enefits given unto him afte r his g rievous o ff ences a n d

,
very great unkin dness so soon fo r to give him mercy a n d

,
fo rgiveness ? Yes t ruly Yet notw ithstanding for all

.
this anon he fo rgot t he goodness of Almighty God a n d

,
again fell to s in in the sin of p ride being p roud of the ,
great numb er a n d multitude of hi s p eop le against the ,
commandment of the law of God : whereby all his great

unkindnes s b efo re was renewe d more and more What .
th ing might he then t rus t to have but only th e p unishment

of God ? Which he greatly fearing was marvellous ly ,
p enitent and acknowle dge d hims elf g ri evously to have

o ff ended our L or d God asking H im mercy ; and made
,
this Psalm with great cont rition and sorrow in his soul ,
wh ereby again he obtained fo rgivenes s N o w ye under .
stand who made this Ps alm what o ccasion cause d him to ,
w rit e it a n d what p rofi t he got by the same

, .
Which of us now that were s i ck in any p art of his

body b eing in j eopardy of death would not diligently
, ,
s earch fo r a me di cine wherewith h e might b e heale d and ,
fi rst make inquisition of him that had the s ame s ickness

b efore ? W ould we not also p ut very t rus t and ho p e to
have remedy o f ou r dis eas e by that m e dicine whereby
like manner s i cknes s a n d dis eas es w ere cured b efore ?
S ith 1
w e now therefo re have heard tell fo r a t ruth ho w
greatly sick and diseased this p rophet D avid was not ,
with sickness of his body but of his soul a n d also with , ,
what medicine he was cured and made whole let us take ,
heed and us e the same wh en we b e sick in like manner

as he was by ou r sins sho rtly to b e cured ; for he was
, ,
a sinner as we be but h e did wholesome p enance making

, ,
this holy Psalm whereby he got forgivenes s and was

’
resto red to his s oul s health We in like wis e by oft .
saying and reading th is Psalm with a cont rite h eart ( as ,
he did) asking mercy shall without doub t p urchas e and ‘
, ,
get of ou r b est a n d merciful L ord God fo rgiveness fo r

our sins .
Th is Psalm is divided in t hree parts I n the fi rst the .
S ince .
P SA I A I VI
mercy of God is asked I n the s econd reasons b e ma de

.
whereby th e goo dnes s of Go d s hould b e moved to mercy .
And in t h e thir d is great gladnes s s hewe d fo r th e

undoub tful obtaining of forgivenes s Although A l .
mighty God in H ims elf and o f H is eternal b eing and

nat ure is without m utability o r change yet divers a ffects 1 ,
b e given to H im in manner as b e in man as i t might b e ,
thought : sometimes w roth and sometimes merciful in , ,
cas e H e might b e changed from w rath into meekness b ut ,
notwithstan ding as S aint James sait h : A p ud D e um n ulla

,
“
tra n s m uta tio e s t n e ou e v ic is s itu dinis o b u m b ra tio : Go d is
witho ut mutability o r change H e is always one Fo r .
”
.
as we s ee th e b eam that cometh from t he sun always one ,
in its elf hu rte th and gri eveth the eye t hat is not clean
,
a n d p erfect and comfo rteth the eye whi ch is p ure without

,
any change of his 2 op eration ; so Almighty God is calle d

grievo us unto a sinner infect ed with t he mali ce of sin ,
and meek a n d gent l e unto th e righteous man that is

p urged from s in This is done wit hout mutability in
.
Go d . Truly as long as a c reature continueth in t he

w ret ch e dness of s in so long s hall he think that God is
,
w roth with him ; like as the eye whil e i t is sore s o long ,
shall the sunb eam b e grievous and no isome to it a n d ,
never comfo rtab l e till th e s ickness and d is eas e b e done

away .Th erefo re D avid consi dering in hims el f how
grievously h e ha d o ffended Almight y God and that man ,
may b ear and s u ff er his p unishment maketh his p rayer ,
that H e vouchsafe neither to p unis h him et ernally by th e

pains of H ell neit her co rrect him by the p ains of P ur
,
g a to ry but to b e meek a n d merci ful to him

, Three man .
ner ways Almighty Go d dealeth with sinners after th ree

divers kinds that b e of them S ome manner of s inners
.
there b e that continue in thei r w ret che dness till they die ,
and thos e Alm ighty God p un is he th i n the et ernal p ains

of H ell ; t he ministers of thos e p a ins b e the devils S ome .
manner of s inners there b e that somewhat b efo re t hei r

deat h hat h b egun to b e p enitent a n d amen d t he ir l ife a n d ,
thes e Alm ighty Go d p un is he th i n the p ain s of Pu rgatory ;

a flb c fi o n s
2
I . its
8 TH E P EN IT E N TI A L P S A LM S
which have an end and they b e ministered by H is angels

, .
Thirdly Some there b e which by grace in this life hath

, , ,
so p unished them s elves by p enance fo r thei r offences that ,
they have made a s uffi cient recomp ens e for them And .
thes e Almighty God doth accep t by H is infinit e mercy .
Therefo re this p rop h et s aith : D o m in e n e in furo re tuo

a rg ua s me : n e oue in ira tua c o rrit ia s me . 11/ is e re re m ei
D o m ine ouo n ia m in firm us s u m Good L ord correct me :
not in the everlast ing p a ins of H ell neither p unish me in ,
the p ains of P urgatory have mercy on m e good Lo r d fo r ,

”
I am feebl e a n d weak O f a t ruth every m a n a n d woman
.
shall stand b efo re t he throne of Alm ighty God at th e

D a y of Judgment ; and at that t ime such as never woul d
b e p enit ent fo r thei r o ffences in this life shall b e ,
p unished very s harp ly and with this most sharp a n d

gr ievous wo r d spoken of Almighty God l i e m a le dic ti .
in ig n e m ce te rn um : Go ye curs e d p eop le into the eter

, ,
”
nal fi re . They shall go away from H i s face Whos e
b eauty cannot b e exp ress ed whereon the angels desireth ,
to look and to b ehol d i t And also they shall depart with .
H is c urs e no t into a p lace of any p leas ure but of all dis

,
‘
p l easure and grievousness Whither ? T ruly into the .
fi re that neve r shal l have end Fo r i t s hall b e everlasting : .
in ig n e m ce l e rn um Where also shall b e no fri endsh ip

.
that is comfo rtab le b ut on every side the ho rrible and

,
fearful sight o f devils Almighty God saith : P rw p a ra tus

.
e s t dia b o lo e t a ng e lis e ius : That fi re is p repared for the

”
devil and his angels Take hee d with what painfulnes s
.
and b itternes s they shal l b e rep rove d fo rsaken and p un ,
is he d wh ich shall b e tormented in that fi re Therefore .
our p roph et D avid asketh of Almighty God to b e de

l ivered from that everlasting p ain D o m in e ne in furo re .
tuo a rg ua s m e I n the everlas ting p unishment Almighty

.
God shall b e so grievo us a n d unt reatab le that if all the

angels and all th e whole court of H eaven should p ray
fo r sinners b eing in those p ains of H ell they shou ld
, ,
not b e h ear d N otwithstand ing H e deal eth more meekly

.
,
w ith the souls t hat b e pun ishe d in t he p a ins of Purgatory ,
fo r the which H e heareth t he p rayers of good p eople .
E ls e as it is writt en in S cripture : Va n urn e ss e t e t

P SA LM VI 9
in utile p ro de fun c tis pe c oa tis s o lva nt ur : I t

e x o ra re a t a
were vain and unp rofitable to p ray for them that b e dead ,
to the int ent they may b e delivered from the p ains de

”
s erved for sin I t is witho ut doub t t hat God accep teth
.
the p rayers sacrifi ces and o ther good wo rks o ffered to

, ,
H im fo r the souls in P u rgatory whereby they may b e ,
th e sooner delivere d from p ain O f a t ruth in that p lac e .
is so great acerbity of p ains t hat no di ff eren ce is b etween

th e p a ins of H ell and them b ut only ete rnity : t he pains "
of H ell b e et ernal and the p ains o f Pu rgato ry have an

,
end : t herefo re Almighty Go d dot h p unish sinners very

sharp ly in t hes e p ains although t hey have an end A n d .
b ecaus e of that o u r p rop het p rayeth saying : N e a ue in

“
ira tua c o rrip ia s m e : Co rre ct m e not goo d L ord in the
p ains of P urgato ry Th e mercy of Go d is great upon
.
”
s inners which will turn them to H im by forsaking t hei r

sins that whereas they have des erved eternal pains they
, ,
may change and mitigat e them into t empo ral pains in

this life by p enance and after they b e dea d to make full
,
satis faction in P urgato ry B ut sin ce thes e p ains b e so

.
gri evous as no tongue can t ell yet the m ercy of God is ,
so great that if they will in this life they may p unis h ,
thems elves for thei r o ffence agains t Almighty Go d ; and

H e ac ce p t eth you r own p unishment done here ( if it b e
s ufli cie n t) : so merciful that anon when thei r souls b e ,
depart e d from thei r bodies they s hall neither b e cas t ,
into H ell neither into the pains of P urgatory b ut with

, ,
out any l et 1 to b e in t he glo rious p la ce of H eaven O u r .
p ro p het therefo re fearing t o o ff end Almighty Go d since

, ,
that afo retime he was overcome by his own volu p tuous

ness now much mo re he dre a de th l es t h e fail and b e
,
faint in hims elf fo r fear of the b itterness of thes e pains :

wherefo re he sait h : 17/ is e re re m e i D o m in e ouo nia m in , ,
“
firm us s um : B lesse d L o r d have mercy on me fo r of , ,
mys elf I have no st rength like as h e m ight say I was

feeb l e and faint in resisting my own p leasu re and mu ch ,
mo re feebl e I shall b e to s u ffer thos e great p ains Fo r .
this caus e good L or d neither p unis h me et ernally in

, ,
h indra n ce .
10 TH E P E N IT E N TI A L P S A L M S
H ell neither co rrect me in the p ains of Purgatory but

, ,
accep t my p enance which my weaknes s may s uffer now

in this life B less e d L o r d Thou art always good and
.
”
,
mayst hurt no man without he himself b e in the b lame ,
not by Thy own fault Fo r whereas the sunb eam i s com .
f o rta b le to the eye that is clean and whole a n d grievous ,
to th e eye which is sore and watery there is no blame in ,
th e s un but only in the sickness that is i n the eye So .
where that Almighty God rewar deth some w ith j oy and

1
some with pain no blame is in Go d but only in the sin , ,
ner which is s o so re infected with sin that Almighty God

can do no les s b ut p unish him as long as he continueth
in that s in although Almighty God in H i m s elf cannot b e
,
but all goo d This holy p rop het t herefo re p rayeth that
.
he may b e made whol e of hi s gr ievous sickness whi ch is ,

“
sin say ing : S a na m e D o m in e : Good L o rd make me
,
whole T ruly that c reature hath need fo r to b e ma de

.
”
whole which is so sore vexe d with gri evous sickness that ,
he utterly can fin d no rest in any part of his bo dy ; where

also not only the memb ers which b e s t rong feel t roub le
a nd
p ain but as well they that b e feeble b e t rouble d in
,
like manner I t is th e p rop erty of sin to infect any

.
creatu re in that manner wis e 2 Fo r as l s a ie the p rophet .
sa ith : C o r im pii q ua s i m a re fe rve n s ouo d q uie s c e re n o n

“
p o te s t : The heart of a sinful p erson is l ike unto the
”
t roublous s ea which never hath rest What thing may .
b e thought mo re t roublous a n d more unquiet than is the

s ea when that i t rageth ? E v e n in l ike wis e is the heart of
a sinful p erson S aint Amb ros e asketh this question as
.
,
“
t hus , What pain is mo re gri evous than is the woun d of
’
a man s cons cience inwardly ? I t t roubleth it v e x e th it , ,
p rick e th it t eareth and also it c ru cifi e th t he mind and

, , ,
it s ti rreth up s o down 3 the memory it co n fo un de th the

- -
,
"
reason it c ro o k e th the will and un q uie t e th the soul
, ,
.
Therefore our p rophet a ddeth in his p rayer : Q uo n ia m

c o n turb a ta s un t o m n ia o s sa m e a , e t a n im a m ea tu rb a ta
“
ua la e :
L o rd make me whol e fo r al l the parts of
’
e st ,
”
my bo dy b e w ithout rest a n d my soul is sore t rouble d ,
.
Whereof cometh this great t rouble but only of s in whi ch ,
whe re a s 2
s o rt o f w a y
3
. u p s ide do wn .
-
.
P S A LM VI 1 1
t urneth away the face of God from sinners ? We read in

S c rip ture that on a time the s ea was very t roublous whils t ,
our S avio u r Jes us Ch rist once s lep t in a s hip ; all the sea
wa s mo ve d and sti rred with s to rmy t emp es ts but anon , ,
as H e op ened H is eyes with one wo rd it was s ua g e d and

,
at res t Which t rouble and unquietness o f the s ea s ig n i

.
f ye th the t roubl e o f the S oul when Almighty God t urneth

away H is face from the sinne r fo r i t is writ ten in another ,
“
p lac e : A ve rte nte te fa cie m tua m turoa b un tur : When
thou goo d L o rd t urnes t away Thy fa ce al l things shal l b e
, ,
”
t roubl ed Therefo re the vexation o f the soul shall not
.
b e mitigat e a n d done away until th e time our mercifu l

L o rd Go d t urn H ims elf unto the sinner O u r L o rd s hall .
t urn H imself as soon as the sinne r will b e convert ed from

his s inful life H e p romised so to do b y H is p rop het
.
Z achary s aying : C o n o e rtim ini a d m e e t e g o c o n ve rta r a d

,
“
oos : B e ye turned to M e and I s hal l b e turn ed unto ,
"
you . O B les s e d L o rd how ready is Thy mercy to s in ,
ners which will turn them to Thee by doing p enance that ,
Thou woul d vouchsafe to p romis e Thys elf to b e t urned

to them as soon as they shall t urn t hems e lves unto Thee !
Therefo re our p rophet saith to Thee : S e d tu D o m in e , ,
“
us oue q uo ? Goo d L o rd why tarries t Thou so long ? ”
'
“
As he might say : Tho u knowes t my t ribulation and ,
now I am turned to Thee ; why s u fferes t me so long to

b e vexe d with this t roub le ? Command the win ds suage ,
th e t emp ests delive r my soul from thes e sto rms for if

, ,
Thy meeknes s b e t urne d a n d look upon me all the mem ,
b ers of my body a n d also my soul shal l b e in rest and

”
p eace . C o n ve rte re e rg o D o m in e e t e rip e a n im a m
, ,
m ea m : Therefo re goo d L o rd b e Thou t urne d unto me

, , ,
a n d del iver my soul from t his t rib ulation wherewith it
is t ro u b led by reason of my sin D eliver my soul make .

,
it whol e from the S i ckness o f sin b y t he me di cine o f

p enance del iver i t from the bit ter pa ins of P urgatory
, ,
deliver it also f rom th e et ernal p unishment which s hall

b e exercis e d in H ell Thi s holy p rop het meekly prayet h
.
”
Alm ighty Go d fo r to b e del ivere d from al l thes e p a ins .
H e saith : S a luum m e fa e : Good L o rd save m e from all ,

”
thes e out rageous pains .
12 THE P E N I TE N TI A L P S A L M S
All this while it hath b een spoken to you of this holy

’
p rophet s p etition N ow followeth the reasons which h e
.
ma de whereby Almighty God must needs b e moved to

,
grant his p etition The fi rs t reason is taken of the mercy

.
of God B ut what shall we s ay of this ? I s Almighty

.
Go d unmeek and unmerciful ? N ay verily I t is w ritten .
by the p rop het til is e rico rs e t m is e ra to r D o m in us pa tie n s ,
e t m ultum m ise ric o rs : O ur L o rd i s both merciful in

ward and also th e do er of mercy outward p atient and a l ,
”
ways merciful H e therefo re hath me rcy and p ity upon
.
wret ched sinners a n d is also much merciful a n d H e tha t

,
is much merciful mus t needs exercis e H is mercy in dee d .
B ut upon whom ? Upon righteous pe ople ? What nee deth

t hat since in them is no w ret chedness ? Fo r why ? They
,
b e without s in which only is wret chedness

, Therefore .
to b e merciful and exercis e mercy in d ee d is necessary

to s inn e rs Th e rich man oweth of duty to do his mercy
. .
upon the poo r creat ure a n d the p hysician upon the si ck

, .
S o Almighty God must do H is deed of mercy unto S in

ners .I t is w ritt en in the Gosp el : [Vo n its out sa ri i s un t
“
o p us e s t m e dic o s e d out m a le s e I z a oe n t :
, H e that b e
whole needeth no physician b ut a p hysi cian is needful ,
”
unto them that b e s ick The m is erabl e sinners which
.
b e thrus t down by the most mis erable sickness of sin have

great n eed of a medicine to make them whol e What is .
t hat ? T ruly the mercy of Alm ighty God for the poorer
that a m a n b e th e mo re need h e b a th to th e rich man
,
a n d th e more sick that a man is the b ett er medi cine he ,
hath need of S inners therefo re which b e in so great

.
and mis erabl e need of help have much need of the great
mercy of Alm ighty Go d Fo r the which S aint Paul .
sheweth t he largenes s of grace was given fo r t he greatness

of sin : U at a b un da uit de lic tu m s up e ra b un da uit e t g ra tia : ,
”
Whereas sin was abundant grace was sup erab undant ,
.
B ut Alm ighty God will never have mercy on them that

forsake H is grace and turn themselves away from H im ,
but if1 they will b e turned again to H im by p enance .
For without doub t H e is merciful and will exercise H is

u nl e s s .
Truly t hat t errible p lace no creature shall neither love

in
Go d ne ither laud H im B ut alway they shall b e inure d

,
.
with continual hat re d and b la s p he m ing s crying out upon ,
Alm ighty Go d a n d des p ising H is holy N ame This p ro .
p het fo r this caus e “a ddeth saying : I n in fe rn o a ute m outs

c o n fite oitur ti oi B less ed L o rd what creature shall
,
honour a n d worship Thee in H ell ? Thirdly he fo rtifi

”
eth his reason by the g t i e r i h w s e n s s 1

of Go d on this wis e .
God is rightw is e wherefo re H e may not of right pun ish

,
twice fo r one and the same caus e : an offence once p u n

is he d it is no t right t hat the same b e p unished aga in
, .
The goo dnes s o f Almighty Go d giveth us time and S pace

’
to p unish ou r own self by doing due p enance for our

t respass es ; a n d that done su ffi ciently H e is content so to ,
fo rgive us without any more p unishment : which S a int

Paul witnessed saying : S i n o s m e tip so s diyua ic a re m us n o n ’
‘
utiq ue dij udic a re m u r : I f we give s traight j udgment

against ours elf by doing du e p enance Almighty God ,
”
shall neve r aft er j u dge us by H is st raight p unishment .
Th e holy p rophet sheweth what pa in and pun ishment he

useth agains t hims el f say ing : l a b o ra vi in g e m itu m e o :
,
”
I have laboure d in my weeping . The weep ing heartily
fo r sins is of so great vi rtue and s t rength unto Go d that
for one weeping coming from t he heart of a sinner our ,
L or d fo rg ivet h his t resp ass [Va m in q ua c un a ue I z o ra

.
p e c ca to r ing e m ue rit s a luus e rit : Fo r whenever a sinner

weep eth a nd w a ile th heartily for his sins he shall b e ,
”
s aved Weep ing doeth that thing i n the soul which
.
rubbing a n d fretting doeth in the i ron R ub bing taketh .
away rust and cankering from the iron And weep ing .
p utteth away from the soul the infection of sin The .
i ron wit h rub b ing anon wil l shine ful l b right S o t he soul .
with weeping is made fair and white Wee p ing cometh .
of the very so rrow from the heart l ike as sin is caused ,
a n d cometh of the unlawful p leas ures of the body So .
doth hearty weeping fo r sin exp el s in a n d is a su ffi c ient ,
a n d j ust recomp ens e fo r it B ut here it i s to b e noted

.
that the p rophet said not only he we p t b ut also he said : ,
1
right e o u sn e s s .
P S A LM VI 1 5
L a b o ra ui in g e m itu m I have laboured in my weep

eo :
” “ "
ing . What o ther thing is i t to labour in weep ing ,
but as we might say almos t to b e made weary with weep

,
ing ? Therefo re this p ro p het wailed and wep t oft entimes

fo r his sins in so m uch he t hought in hims el f for the
,
'
,
great labours in hi s weep ings almost fo r to have b een ,
overcome ; t o t he intent he might duly and s u ffi ciently

p unish his bo dy in th is life Also h e wep t not only b ut .
,
also ve ry so re a n d p it ifully fo r b ecaus e he might wash ,
every sin in him wit h his bit te r t ears I n lik e wis e as .
w e s ee by rusty a n d cankered pots when th ey s hall b e ,
ma de cl ean fi rst they rub away the rus t and afte r that
, ,
wash it w ith wat er S o did this holy p rop het fi rst b y his
.
,
weeping s coure d and made full clean his soul from the
rust ines s a n d cankering o f his foul sin and aft er washed ,
it with his weep ing t ears H e made his p romis e not

.
only once or twi ce to do b ut also every nigh t to weep ,
and wail ; he sait h : l a v a b o p e r s ing ula s n o c te s le c tum

m e um la c rim is m e is : I S hall every night wash my b e d
”
with my weeping t ears And by thi s sa id b ed is under
.
stand the filthy volup tuousness of t he body wherein t he

1
,
s inner w a llo w e th and w ra p p e th hims elf like as a s o w wal

loweth in the s tinking gore p i t o r in t he p ud dle If -
.
t hou wilt understan d by the night s the darknes s of sins ,
then it is all one to wash every night t hy b e d and to weep

and wail the p leasure o f thy bo dy by th e sorrowful re
m e m b ra n c e of all thy s ins one aft er another I t followeth .
again in the same : S tra tum m e um rig a oo : I S hal l was h

”
my b ed . B y this b ed is understand the heap and multi
t ude o f sins wh erein all b e heap e d a n d gathered together
upon a ro ck 2 Then i f every oblectation 3 of sin shall b e
.
done away by weeping t ears it may well b e called a g reat ,
s hower o r a flo o d of them wherewith the heap o f sins

shal l b e wash e d away Fourt hly he maketh hi s reason
.
by th e great p ower of Almighty Go d : by this manner .
I t s eemeth 4 not so g reat maj esty to exercis e and p rove

H is st rength upon a feebl e and weak p erson ; fo r then
rt
u nde s o o d .
2
r uck, a s a t ck .
3
de light .
b e se e m e th .
1 6 TH E P E N IT E N TIA L P S A L M S
it should b e as Job ye th : C o ntra

sa fo lium ouo d ue n to
“
ra p itur p o te n tia m o s te n de re t s ua m H e should shew a n d
p rove his st rength agains t the leaf that with a little win d
”
is wagge d a n d blown down I t becometh not H im so
.
t o do which hath all p ower and is almighty , but rather

that H e defend a n d save them that b e impot ent and
feeb le ; fo r of them that foolishly did t emp t t he good
ne ss of Almighty God it is w rit ten : E t sa lv a uit e o s p ro p
“
te r n o m e n s uum u t n o ta m fa ce re t p o te n tia m s ua m : He
save d them fo r H i s holy N ame that H is power might
”
b e known O n this wis e without doub t the p ower of
.
Almighty God is shewed to H is great honour and glory .
What p rais e were it to a giant to fight against a gnat o r ,
how shoul d his st rength b e known although H e have the

b ett er o f the gnat ? S hould H e not b e disp rais e d for
that victo ry ? G reat laud and p rais e is in wild b east s
lacking reason that they will fo rgive and not venge them
,
s elves upon other weaker b easts that a ck no w le dg e th thei r

feebleness and b o w down to them They abstain from .
thei r c ruelty a n d mali ce P a rc e re p ro s tra tis v ult n o b ilis

.
“
ira le o nis : Th e lion i s so noble that in his anger he will
not hurt the b east t hat f a lleth down and m e e e k t h1
him
”
self unto him S hall not therefo re God to Whom i s
.
,
as crib ed all goodness and p rais e that may b e in any crea

ture b e meek a n d gentl e ? And s hall H e not b e p at ient
,
and s p are w eak and feebl e creatures m e e k in g thems elf ,
a n d owning thei r own infi rmity ? Yes do u btless for the ,
mo re that a man is en dued with the vi rtue of s trength ,
the more meek and gentl e s hall h e b e Therefo re A l .
mighty God that is mos t mighty of all must needs b e

, ,
most gentl e and meek Th e p rophet therefore sheweth

.
his feeb leness willing t hereby to mo ve the goodnes s of

,
God to mercy and p ity T uroa tus e s t a furo re o c ulu s

.
“
m e us H e saith
. Good L ord the eye of my soul is
, ,
t roubled and feared of t hine infinit e p unishment In .

”
another p lace he saith : Q uis n o vit p o te s ta te m irw tum :

a ut p rw tim o re ira m tua m din u m e ra re ? B lessed L o r d ,
who may know t he greatness of Thy p unishment o r for ,
hum bl eth .
P S A LM VI
.
17
”
f ear dare take up on him to measure it ? H e therefo re ,
considering in hims el f t he g reat p unishment o f Almighty

God and i n manne r as h e woul d measure it p e rcei veth
, ,
well t hat it is much I t i s no ma rvel then though he

.
fear also quake fo r fear and always b e in d read of t he

,
p unishment of God o r ever 1

it fall upon him B eholding .
also with the eye o f his soul the c ruel ty o f his infinit e
p ain ( which as we sai d b efo re cannot b e mitigat e )
, , ,
how may he b e but so re t roub led bo th in soul and body ?

Therefo re with great fea r a n d d read p rost rat e b efo re A l
mighty Go d he s aith : T uroa tus e s t a furo re o c ulus m e us :
G o o d L ord t he eye o f my soul is so re t roubled fo r fea r
,
of Thine everlasting p unishment ; and not only B less ed ,
S avio u r do I s uff e r this b ut also I am oft overcome of

, ,
min e enemi es t he fl esh th e world and the devils that

, , , ,
utter l y my s t rength b e gone I am b rought t o nought .
and wax feeble and old not abl e o f mine own s elf to ,
”
stan d in thei r hands 2 l n ve te ra vi in te r o m n e s in im ic o s
.
“
m eo s : I am old and unwi eldy having no s t rength to ,
withs tand mine enemi es Th e whol e e ff ect of this fourt h

reason is this S ince i t is so that this p rophet i s in so
.
great feebl eness and submittin g hims elf al l who l e to God ,
H e o f H is great p owe r may not b e but merciful to him .
The third part o f this Psalm is yet b ehind wh erein ,
t he p rophet t rusting ver ily o f fo rgi venes s jo ye th in him

s elf with a bold and ha rdy spi rit The virt ue and .
st rength o f the grace of God is marvellous that where ,
it once pierceth and entereth into the soul o f any c rea

t ure it maket h him bold and to hop e well in so much
, ,
that he dare make battl e afresh agains t his enemies .
Take heed and b ehold t he sudden change o f this p ro

phet caus ed by the goodnes s of God ; where but lat e he
,
was vexe d and t roubl ed with fear and dread nevert heles s ,
now b eing comfort ed by the grace of Almighty God h e ,
hath audacity to des p is e his enemies and command them

to go away from him H e saith : D is e e dite a m e o m n e s
.
q ui o p e ra m in i in iq uita te m : All y e that b e the do ers of

wi ckedness I command you go from me
, Tru ly th e
,
.
”
e re .
2
a ga in s t t he m .
1 8 TH E P E N IT E N TIA L P S A L M S
doers of wi ckedness b e they whi ch b us ie th thems elves

a n d be about to caus e sins to b e done like as the damne d ,
sp irit s were fi rst by whos e enticement sin ent ere d fi rs t

,
into man s soul O f th is disp osition b e the wi cke d a n d

’
malicious d evils whi ch neve r go about other t h ing but

that they may craft ily dece ive with thei r frau ds a n d b ring
’
men s s o uls into the snares of sin Therefore this p ro .
phet sa ith unto them : D is oe dite a m e o m n e s out o p e ra

m in i z n iouita te m : Go from me all y e that b e the doers
’
of w icke dness H e sheweth the reason why t hey ought

.
”
to go from him fo r b ecaus e he b elongeth not to t hem

, .
As long as h e was t he s ervant of sin s o long was h e ,
un der t he power of S atan and his ministers B ut now .
s ince that by t rue p enan ce he hath t urned h imsel f unto

Almight y God a n d b a th utt erly cast away and forsaken '
his s ins he is clean d elivere d from the power o f the

,
dev ils B ut what is the caus e of this ? I t followet h

.
Q uo n ia m e xa udivit D o m in us uo c e m fle i n s m e i : For our

L o r d of H is goo dness hath h ear d the voice of my weep
ing . Take hee d how g reat the vi rtue is of weep ing
”
t ears tha t when they b e S hed from the heart of a t rue

,
p enit ent anon they ascen d unto the h igh throne of A l

,
m ighty Go d and also they b e heard in H is ear They b e

,
.
not hea r d only b ut also they b e grac iously hea rd The

,
.
p et ition aske d by them i s grant e d a n d taken into the ,
bosom of the h igh maj esty of Go d A n d fo r that caus e .
h e sait h : Q uo rzia m e x a udiw t D o rn in u s uo c e m fle tus m e t

'
E xa udiuit D o m in us de p re ca tio n e m m e a m : D o m in u s o ra
“
tio n e m m e a m s us c e p it : O ur L o rd hath
heard the voi ce
of my weep ing O ur L o rd hath hear d my p rayer and
.
,
also acceptably taken up my p etition N ow here giv e .

”
.
h ee d w ith how great inward j oy t his p rop het a dv a nc e th

hims elf when h e do ub le th a n d s o o ft re he a rse th that
h e is grac iously hear d of Alm ighty Go d Truly the j oy .
t hat a t rue p enitent hath is great when he u n de rs ta n de th

and knoweth hims elf to b e at lib erty from the s ervitu de
and danger of s in Th e p rophet is j oyful a n d glad that .
h e is clean delivered from the power of his a dversaries ,
a n d maketh imp recation aga inst them th a t they fo r their
malice may b e shamed a n d greatly t roub led C ertain ly .

P S A LM xxxi 1 9
the devils ought to b e ashamed and not unworthy 1 when ,
they so vehemently do against Almighty Go d t hei r M aker .
They b e not ashamed to draw a n d in duc e unt o thei r s er

v ice thos e p ersons whi ch stu di eth gladly to s erve A l
mighty Go d and o f this t hey ought to b e more ashame d
,
t han the same p ersons wh ich they think verily b e surely

in t hei r poss ession a nd as c reatures fo rsaken of ou r L o rd
God N evertheless as soon as they b e p enitent and wi l
.
ling to fo rsake thei r sins t hey b e utterly deli vered from,
t hei r p ower ; a n d also they dare no mo re me ddle with

t hem fo r the which they b e so re vex ed and t roubl e d
, ,
s eeing thei r p rey whether t hey will o r will not to b e

, ,
taken away from them C ertainly then they gnash with

.
thei r t eeth they wai l they b e full of wrath and w a x

, ,
wood 2 And that t hey may oft b e vexed on this wis e

.
,
the p roph et maketh th is imp recation : E ruoe sc a nt e t co n

turb e n tur ue /z e m e n te r o m n e s in im ici m e i This imp reca .
t ion i s good a n d rig htw is e Fo r why ? G reat honour

.
by it is given to Almighty Go d g reat help and suc cour ,
unto th em that b e p enit e nt great joy to them that b e ,
ri htw is e o f overcomin
g g thei r enemies and marvel lous ,
great confusion unto th e devils W herefo re the p rop het .
aga in maketh his imp recation des iring that sinners may ,
b e turne d to God and forsake thei r sinful life and by

, ,
that the devils may b e mo re a n d more ashamed C on .
v e rta n tur e t e ru b e s oa n t : B l ess ed L o rd give sinners that ,
grace t hey may b e turned to the g reat shame and con

”
fus ion o f th e devils V a lde ue lo o ite r :
. And grant that
it may b e done shortly .
”
TH E SEC O N D PE N I TE N T IAL P SA L M .
B E AT I QU O R U M .
P SA L M x xxi
T H I S Psalm of a good congruence and not unwo rthy 3
, .
is calle d a P en it ent ial Psalm b ecaus e p enance is so dil i

gent ly t reate d a n d spoken of in it Fi rst the p rophet .
p ra iset h them whos e s ins b e utt erly done away by

un de s e rv e dly
1
m ad p ro p e rly a nd n ot u n de se rv e dly
2 3
. . .
2 0 THE P E N IT E N TIA L P S A LM S
p enance Again he sheweth the wret chedne ss of those

.
that fo rsake p enance Also he sheweth the o ccasion and .
manner of cont rition confess ion a n d satisfaction which, , ,
b e the three parts of p enance Fi rs t h e p raiseth g reatly .
the vi rtue of cont rition namely whereas 1 there is a full ,
p urpos e o f confession H e t eacheth also the necess ity

.
of i t H e sheweth also the imp e diments of it a n d reme

.
,
dies fo r t he same H e comforteth and l ifteth up them

.
that b e weak i n soul H e calleth again thos e t hat b e out

.
of the right way to come to b liss and in manner ,
thre a te n e th them H e p ro m is e th damnation to them that

.
refus eth p enan ce ; to them that do eth it forgi venes s to ,
them that go fo rward and p ro fi t in it j oy And last he , .
p ro m is e th et ernal glory to thos e that b e p erfect This

'
holy p rop het goeth shortly on all t hes e in the same orders
as we have rehears ed to you .
I t is great p rais e to them whos e sins b e done away

by p enance to b e calle d bles se d And t ruly there is no .
other thing els e in this wo rl d that may so sp ee dfully

caus e any creature to b e b lessed as p urging of sin by ,
p enance For bodily healt h fa irness or beauty st rength

.
, , ,
ag ility o r activeness honours ri ches a n d other such plea

, , ,
sures wo rl dly rather b ring a man out of t he right and

,
t rue w a y of b eatitu de ; wh ich da ily we may b ehold and

p erceive in many t hat if they ha d wante d2 these plea
, ,
sures should mo re dil igently have holden thems elves in

,
th e p ath t hat b ringeth a n d lea deth us unto the blesse d

‘
l ife . N o c re a tu re liv e th that nev er did am iss Fo r as .
“
S aint James saith : I n m ultis o ff e n dim us o m n e s : We
all have o ffen ded in many causes H e that hath .
”
o ffe n de th hath erred a n d gone out of th e right way And .
t he coming aga in into the right way is only ma de op en

and shewed to him by p enance Therefo re only they .
that b e p enit ent are b less ed ; fo r they and none other

take thei r j ourney into the heavenly count ry wh ere is very
bles sedness N ow in this life b y t rue faith and hop e ;
.
a n d after in very deed

,
.
B ut since p enance hath three divers p arts t hat is ,
to say cont rition confess ion a n d sat isfaction the more

, , , ,
1 w h e re 2
b e e n wit ho ut .
.
2 2 THE P E N I T E N TI A L P S A L M S
satisfaction M any there b e that wail a n d b e cont rite a n d

.
also confess thei r sins b ut s cant one among a thousan d ,
can b e found that do et h due satisfact ion Therefore .
w hereas b efo re the p rop het shewed in the p l ura l n umb er

signifying that many were bless ed whos e sins b e fo r
g iven covered a n d p ut o ut of knowledge now he sp eaketh
, ,
in t he singular numb er S ignifying that few b e whi ch do

due satisfaction B e a tus a ir o ut n o n im p uta uit D o m in us
.
p e c c a tum : B less ed is that creatu re unto whom our L or d

”
hath imp ut ed no sin The mercy and goodness of A l
.
mighty God shewed upon sinn e rs is marvellous great ; ‘
wh ich t he mo re that they call unto thei r own mind a n d

,
exp res s thei r own t resp ass es so much the more H e for ,
gett eth and p utteth t hem out of H is min d ; a n d the more

diligently they s hew them without gloss o r deceit to the ,
int ent they may b e o p e nly known by confession the more

'
busily H e covereth a n d p utteth them out of knowle dge ;

and last the more that t hey think a n d as crib e the ir o f
,
fences to their own great unkin dness p unish ing them ,
s elves fo r t hei r erro rs so much less He layeth any t res ,
p as s to thei r C harge but utterly H e taket h away thei r

,
s in and l eaveth nothin g of i t b ehin d We b e shewe d and .
warned that it is no t o nly enough to b e cont rit e a n d co n

fess e d fo r our o ffences but also w e must b e b usy in doing ,
goo d works to make s a tisfaction fo r them Fo r if we b e .
neglig ent in this third p art of p enance whi ch is satis ,
faction it i s to b e feare d lest in us b e some manner p rivy

,
guile o r fault whereby we b e deceived L ike as we s ee

,
.
,
if a t ree hath b rought fo rth buds and flower s and aft er ,
that b ringet h fo rth no fruit w e think verily that so m e ,
default is within the t ree which i s caus e thereof E ven .
’
so in man s s oul which fi rst b a th b rought forth the b ud
of cont rition and after the flower confession i f at the
, , ,
last it b ring not forth the good wo rks of satisfaction it ,
is to b e dreade d les t any p rivy guil e o r deceit remain

s till in the soul ; that is to say it is not very cont rite a n d ,
t ruly confess e d : there lacketh very cont rition and t rue

confession That p erson whi ch hath all three parts of
.
p enance cont rition confession and satisfaction is never

, , , ,
b egui l ed b ut doubt l e s s he goeth in the right p ath that

,
P S A LM XXX I 2 3
leadeth the way unto everlasting blis s Therefo re the .
p roph et addeth sayi n g : N e e e s t in sp iritu e ius do lus

, .
H e that hat h done his duty and const rained himself so

busily and so many ti mes to mak e sat is faction fo r his
'
o ffences that our L o r d in any con dit ion S hall imp ute no
“
t res p ass o r fault unto him t ruly in his soul is no deceit
,
"
nor guil e either of unt rue cont ri tion o r fe igned co n f e s

sion . I n this l ife cont rition may soon b e ha d by t he
gra c e of God wit h a litt le sorrow Also the sacrament .
of absolution is a great h elp unto them t hat hat h ma de

t hei r whol e confession Fo r i t is said of Alm ighty Go d
.
t o them that hat h power fo r to hea r confession : Q uo rum

re m is e ritis p e c c a ta re m it tu n tu r e is The inj unct ion of a .
good deed ( in the way of satisfaction ) o f i a man s own ’
ghostly father hath g reat v irt ue ; b ut if it b e taken wit h

a good will it i s o f much more e ffi cacy a n d s t rength
, ,
fo r it is w ritt en : M e lio r e st o b e die n tia q ua m s tulto ru m

“
uic tim ce : O b edience i s b ett er than foolish sa c rifice .
”
N ow if we refus e and take no heed to that thing whereof

th e p ro p het a dm o nis he th us we b e greatly to b e b lame d
,
and not without a caus e since only by that way w e mus t

,
come to et ernal b lis s Fo r if w e will not s tudy a n d b e

.
about 2 to p u rge our souls by thes e means by the three ,
parts of p enance afore rehears e d w e tak e not the w a y ,
t o blis s b ut unto misery a n d w retch edness Truly as in .
H eaven wh ere is all goo dness a n d p leasure without e n d

, ,
is very b liss ; so in H ell whereas is all evi l a n d no p lea

,
s ure is most w ret che dness : to the whi ch mis ery we b e

,
b rought by ou r sin A n d cont rariwis e we b e b rought unto

.
b liss by p urg ing of our sins Mo reover i f th e fi lthin e s s

.
of s in b e onc e concei ved in th e soul a n d long continu e ,
t here by unhapp y custom it maketh foul a n d in f e c te th

,
it more and mo re ; as w e s ee by u r ine o r any othe r stink

ing liquo r p ut in a vess el the lo n ger i t b e kep t in the
,
same so much mo re it maketh foul the vess el and co r

,
rup te th it Another exampl e As w e s ee a bo il o r bot ch

. .
full o f matter and fi lth t he mo re a n d the longer it b e

,
hid the mo re groweth the co rrup tion a n d ve n o mo us in

,
f e c t io n of it and also p ierceth to the b o n e s a n d c o r

,
by .
2
b e st ir o ur se lve s .
2 4 TH E P EN I T E N TI A L P SA LM S
rup te th them I n like wis e the longer that sins b e kep t

.
clos e in t he souls the more feeb le they b e ma de a n d the,
mo re contagiously corrup t Also they infect the st rong .
p arts of the soul the vi rtues of th e soul and b ringeth , ,
them out of custom of do ing good works The p rophet .

,
following the s aid simi litu de addeth saying : Q uo nia m ,

“
ta c ui in ue te ra ue run t o s s a m e a :
, B ecaus e I p u rged not
my soul by cont r ition of my s in s b ut p r ivily did hol d my ,
p eace and kep t them wit hin me therefo re the vi rtues ,
o f it b e consumed by long continuance in the filthin e s s

“
D um c la m a re m to ta die :
”
of s in . A n d this was done
no twithstan ding I crie d out and made my vaunt all da y .
”
H ow may this b e ? The p rop het b efore saith he held

his p eace and now he sh eweth that he cried all da y P er
, .
a dventure h e kep t s ec ret one thing and shewe d another .
Truly if w e ours elves have done anything that i s good ,
anon we b e glad to sh ew i t op enly to the knowle dge of

every man A n d cont rariwis e if we have done an evil
.
dee d o r anything amiss w e do as much as we can p ossibly ,
to hide it I f also w e do anything that is p rais eworthy

.
,
we shew it and in manne r c ry i t out o ver all ; a n d if w e

do shrew dly 1 we hi de it we hold ou r p eace and keep it
, , ,
s e cret S o p eradventure the p rop het shewed his own

.
lauds and p rais es and kep t s ecret his o ffences whereof ,
he shoul d ac cus e h ims elf Fo r t hat caus e he sai d : .
Q u o n ia m ta c ui i n ue te ra ue run t o s s a m e a
,
d um c la m a re m
“
to ta die : B ecaus e I did hold my p eace and woul d n o t
ac cus e my defaults and also s hewed op enly and ma de ,
my vaunt of all my w ell do ings a n d p ra ises therefore -
t he vi rtues o f my soul were long d iscont inue d and b rought

”
out o f us e The o ccasion that caus eth and b ringeth us
.
to wretchedness is i f we shew not and a ccus e ours el f of ,
all our s ins by confession but keep them s ecret B ut by ,

.
what o ccasion b e we wrought a n d led into the right way

of very blis s ? The wis e man saith : T im o r D o m ini e x
“
p e llit p e c ca tu m : The dread of Go d p utteth away sin .
”
Wh erefo re the drea d of Go d is the b eginn ing of p utt ing

.
away of s in L et us cal l to rememb ran ce the say ing of

.
S a int Paul to the R omans where he t re a te th them that ,
e v illy .
P S A LM XXX I 2 5
lie continually in sin and will do no S e c un dum

p enance :
duritia m tua m e t co r im p m n ite n s t/z e sa uriz a s tib i ira m in

die irce That is to
. say , We p ro voke th e goo dness of
Almighty Go d to p un ish us becaus e of ou r s turdiness ,
and will not turn to H im by do ing p enance and in man ,
ner we give H im oc casion to sh ew vengeance a n d destroy

”
us both body and soul Fo r t ruly o ver our hea ds
.
hangeth a swo rd ever moving and ready b y the p ower

, ,
of Go d ; whos e st roke when it s hall come s hall b e so

, ,
much mo re grievo us t hat we so long by o ur g reat and

manifol d unkindnes s have called Alm ighty Go d a n d p ro
y oked H im to more disp leasu re Which would Go d we .
a ll were in min d to rememb er F o r the p rophet b eareth .
witnes s that he took o ccasion to fo rsake hi s sin a n d t urn

himself to our bl ess ed and merciful L o rd Go d by the
fear of H is great p unishment saying : Q uo n ia m die a c ,
n o c te g ra va ta e st su pe r me m a n us tua , c o n v e rs u s s um .
“ “
Fo r why ?
”
Goo d L ord , I am turned to Th ee Th e .
fear of Thy great p unishment t ro ub leth me bot h day a n d

”
night and at all times D avid unders too d that Almighty
.
Go d was dis p leas ed wit h him by the wo rds s p oken of ,
th e p rop het N athan s aying : [Vo n re ce de t de do m o tua

,
g la dius e o q uo d de sp e x e ris m e : I shall p unish thee and

thy l ineage b e caus e thou desp is ed M e B y the whi ch .
”
wo rds th e heart of D avid ha d as so re a st roke when he ,
rememb ered his sin as it ha d b een p ierced through with

,
the sharp es t tho rn that might b e Fo r doubtl ess the re .
m e m b ra n ce of sin p rick e th a n d t eareth the cons ci ence of

a p enit ent creature even as sore as th e tho rn doth that is
’
st icked fas t in a man s body This holy p rop h e t by the
.
sore and bitt er p ri cking of his cons ci enc e was made so

so rrowful a n d s o full o f wret che dness that he is fain ,
to turn to Almighty God Also he is come again to him

.
s elf wh ereas b efo re he was b esi de himsel f E very sin

,
.
ner not willing to fo rsake his sin is b eside himself Fo r .
ou r S aviou r said : U at e s t tne sa urus tuus ioi e s t o i c o r ,

”
tuu m Where thy t reas ure is there is th ine heart , A nd .
S aint Austin saith : V e rius e s t ib i a nim u s u lri a m a t q ua m

“
u b i a n im a t : The mind of a man is mo re the re wh ere i t
”
lovet h than it is u p on hims elf D avid therefo re in love
.
,
2 6 TH E P E N IT E N TI A L P S A L M S
wit h B ersabee had more mind on her than o n himself

, .
N evertheless when his cons cience by the rememb rance of

his sin was p ricke d like as I m ight b e thrus t through ,
w ith a thorn a n d h e coming aga in to himsel f fear ing

, ,
and sor rowing h e t urne d unto Go d and fo rsook hi s sin

, .
H e sait h : C o n ue rs us s um in w rum n a m e a dum co nfig itur

s p in a : Goo d L o r d when my cons cienc e was sore p ricke d
,
by the rememb rance of mine own wret chedness I turned

”
m ys elf to Thee There b e two things therefore which
.
, ,
b e the very caus e that we turn o urselves unto Almight y

God : one is when we call t o mind H is fearful a n d
grievous p unishment ; the other is the sorro w in o ur heart
when we rememb er the multitude of our sins whereby ,
our b est a n d most meek L or d Go d is greatly discontente d

with us The fear o f t he punishment of Go d is caus e
.
of so rrow fo r sin and whosoever is in the calamity of

,
this great fear and so rro w he turneth hims el f unto A l ,
mighty God without doub t ; and the movi ng of the soul

’
fi rst caus ed of fear and after o f sorrow referred unto, ,
Go d is called cont rition which is th e fi rst p art of

, ,
p enance .
After that followeth the s econd p art whi ch we said ,
is confession I t is not enough for a p enit ent to b e con

.
t rit e fo r his sins but also he mus t shew them all unto a
,
p riest his ghostly father when he hath convenient time

, ,
and p lace so to do Fo r as w e sai d b efo re i f we ou r

.
,
s elves hide and cover ou r sins Almighty God shal l un ,
cover t h em And i f w e again make op en and shew th e m

.
,
H e shall hide and p ut them out o f knowl edge D avi d .
therefore when by the rememb rance of his sins he was

,
p ricke d in his cons cience l ike as he ha d b een thrust ,
through the heart with a tho rn turned h imself unto A l ,
mighty God with al l his heart and confess e d his sin to ,
the p rophet of Go d and coming to him sai d : P e c ca vi

, ,
”
D o m in o : I have o ffende d my L o rd God A n d we in .
like manner whi ch b e comp unct and grudge in our con

s cience wh en we rememb er t he great multitu de of our
s ins whereby we have greatly disp leas e d Alm ighty Go d ,
let us ac cus e ourselves and shew ou r sins by a t rue and

holy confession t hat everyone o f us may say with the
,
P SA LM xxx r 2 7
p rop het this th a t followeth : D e lic tum m e um co g n itu m

“
tioi fe e t : Goo d L or d I mys elf have a cknowl e dg ed a n d
, ,
”
made op en my t resp ass unto Thee .
And thi r dly w e shal l b e about 1 ever as much as we ,
may t o make amends fo r our o ff ences by th e works of

,
satisfaction that o ur S ins in any cond ition b e not laid to

,
our charg e at any time Fo r although contrition caus eth .
fo rgivenes s o f s in and confes sion coveret h a n d p utt eth

,
it out of knowle dge neverthel es s s atis faction doth ras e

,
and exp el it so clean a w ay that no S i g n can ever afte r

b e sp ied of it I n th e o ld law there were certain s acri
.
fi c e s certain oblations a n d certain ceremon ies as si g ne d

,
accor ding to the diversities o f S ins whereby amends ,
shoul d b e made fo r them N o twiths tanding D avid for .

, ,
fear and shame that his o ffences s houl d b e known unto

the p eop le would not us e any of thos e c eremonies
, I .
fear me many nowa days b e o f that condition : t hey will

,
not weep th ey will not sorro w they will not abs tain from
, ,
thei r old customs a n d us es les t i t s houl d b e thought that ,
they ha d done amis s D ear b reth ren l et not us do so

.
,
l et us app ear and sh ew ours el f even as we b e Truly .
all we b e s inners fo r i f we s ay no sin is in us w e con

, ,
'
de m n ourself and s a y not t ruth : therefore let us shew

ours elf as S inners And since it is conveni ent and a c
.
co rding fo r S inners t o wail to weep to fas t a n d to a h , , ,
s tain from th e volup tuous p leas ures of thei r bodies w e ,
mus t either weep a n d wai l in thi s life with p rofitab l e

wee p ing t ears wh erewith th e soul is w ashed a n d made
clean from sin els e S hal l w e wai l and weep aft er this
,
life with unp rofitabl e t ears which intolerab ly shal l s cald

a n d b urn our bodi es a n d that w itho ut end ,
L et us there .
fore follow th e p enanc e of Mary Magdalene and do there

afte r . L et not worldly shame fear ? us to weep fo r ou r
sins ; let no manner shamefastnes s caus e us to do the
cont rary b ut that we may wail at any time and take sh a rp
,
p a in on us wh ich i s due fo r sin to the int ent we may al l

, ,
‘
say with t he p rophet ( whi ch followeth ) E t in ju s titia rn

“
m e a m n o n a b s c o n di : Goo d L o rd I have acknowl e dged
mine un rig htw is e n e ss unto Thee I have not kep t i t .
bu sy m a k e u s a fra id
2
. .
2 8 THE P E N IT E N TI A L P S A LM S
”
s ecret Fu rthermore it may so be that a p erson wail
.
,
and b e very contrite fo r his o ffences alb eit he may not ,

'
have an ab le a n d convenient ghostly father when he

1
wo ul d I t may also fortune a man to b e so rry fo r his sin

.
and to he confess e d of the same yet p eradvent ure ,
t he s t roke o f death which is importune a n d cannot b e

,
avoide d may b e so nigh him that h e can have no time

,
and sp ace for to make satisfaction for his o ff ences Fo r .
this caus e l es t that any creature should desp ai r and have

,
any mist rus t in t he great mercy of God the holy p rop het ,
sh eweth how great the vi rtue is of cont rition wit h a full

p urpos e of confession O nly ? cont rition with a full pur .
p os e of confession taketh away the guil t of sin S o that .
whoso eve r is cont rit e and p urp osing to b e confesse d if ,
h e might and fall not again into sin shall never b e

, ,
damned N everthel ess I canno t t ell if any bond abide

.
,
i n the soul ( after the sin b e taken away ) of any p ain ,
t a x ed by the rig htw ise n e s s o f God due fo r sin ; which

pain either must b e satisfi ed a n d done away in this life
by t he wo rks o f satisfaction o r els e in P urga tory by ,
su ffering of S harp and g rievous p a ins there B ut not .

,
withstanding as we sai d b efore the sin is done away

, ,
by cont rition w ith a full p urpos e of confes sion This .
holy p rophet s a ith : D ix i co n /ite oo r a due rs um m e infus

titia m m ea m D o m ino : et tu re m is is ti im p ie ta te m p e c c a ti
m ei: I have had a full p urpos e to confess my own un
rig htw is e n e s s mine own t resp ass against myself unto my
,
L o rd Go d and Thou good L ord hast forgiven my sin

,
.
”
B ehold his sin is fo rgiven b ecaus e he p urpos e d to b e

,
t ruly confess e d : many things b e ing requi re d to a t rue

and whol e confession Fi rs t that the p en itent confes s
.
all his sins together and leave none b ehi nd wherefore he ,
saith : C o nfite oo r : I shal l acknowledge together all my

”
s ins not ac cusing his fat e o r destiny nor any constella
, ,
tion neither the devil o r any other thing but only his
, ,
“
own s elf ; t herefo re he saith : A due rs um m e : I shall
”
make confes s ion aga inst mys el f and none other B ut .
what shall he confess ? Truly his own erro rs in b reak

ing t he commandment of God how oft he hat h declined ,
q ua l ifie d m e re
1 2
. .
30 TH E P E N I T E N TI A L P S A LM S
f e re d . Why ? Fo r then is non e opportunity no con ,
v e n ie n c y o r no convenient time
,
Truly no imp e diment .
earthy doth mo re s tiffly and st rongly w ithstan d V ery

'
cont rit ion than doth over many wo rl dly p leasu re s

,
-
wh ich b e shrewd a n d noisom e to t he soul .
I n th e b e g inning of the wo rl d Almighty God

ma de Paradi s e a p lace of honest p l easure And from .
that p lace is s ue th out a floo d divi de d into fo u r

p arts , signifying the four cap ital vi rtues R ig htw is e ne s s , ,
Temp erance P rudence and S t rength whe rewith the

, , ,
whole soul might b e washe d a n d ma de p leasant l ike ,
as w ith so many floods B ut on the cont rary w ise

.
,
t he devi l hath conceived a n d made another mann e r

Para dis e of bodily a n d s ens ual p leasu res And from .
thence comet h out other four floo ds very cont rary unto ,
th e other : t hat is to say the flood of C ovetousn ess

‘
cont rary to Justi ce th e flood of G luttony a gainst Tem

,
p e ra n c e t he fl o o d o f P ride agains t P rudence and the

, ,
floo d of L ech ery aga inst S t rength Whosoever b e .
drowne d in any of thes e floods i t i s hard for them to b e ,
t urne d to Go d by t rue cont rition : the raging of them

is so g reat and overfl o w in g Fo r this caus e the p ro .
p het sa ith : V e rum ta m e n in diluv io a q ua rum m ulta ra m

a d e a m n o n a p p ro x im a ou n t
'
They that have all the plea

su res o f this wo rld a n d in manner he drowned in them
, ,
shall not dra w nigh Alm ight y Go d fo r thei r salvation .

”
B ut what remedy fo r us that b e amongst all thes e fl oo ds ?

Wh ither shal l w e fle e ? Truly Go d is only the remedy
and refuge without Whos e h e lp no man may s cap e them
,
without drowning Many there hath b een in time past

.
t hat hath s cap ed the p er il a n d danger of thes e floods by

t he he lp of God right well Ab raham and Job were men .
of great r iches a n d wo rldly sub stance ; nevertheless it was

nothing noi some 1 to them Fo r why ? They were holy
.
and p erfect men fo r all that ; although they were ri ch ,
yet they ha d no co vetous mind nor covetous des ire of

wo rl dly substance ; a n d always content whatsoever Go d ,
S ent unto them e ither p ro sp erity o r a dvers ity Th ey did .
not set thei r min d on gol d o r riches I t may be spoken .
1
hurt ful .
P S A LM xxx i 31
of them bot h as th e W is e Man Sai d : B e a tus vir q ui

“
p o s t a urum n o n a oiit : B l esse d is t hat c reat ure wh ich
”
s etteth not his mind upon gold o r riches Always when .
they were mos t in the p leasures o f the wo rld they lift ,
up t hei r min ds unto Almighty Go d Which held them up ,
and was thei r safeguar d from d rowning Also mo re t here .
was that es cap ed by the help of Go d the danger of t he

, ,
other floods L echery a n d G luttony E dwar d sometime

1 ‘
.
, ,
king of E nglan d live d w ith his well b eloved wife : not

,
-
w ithstand ing he was cha st e and kep t his virginity fo r

’
God s sake ; and b esides t hat b eing king he des p ise d

’
, ,
both honours a n d ri ches L ouis 2 sometime king o f .

,
F rance l ed his life in like manne r with many other in

, ,
numerable When they knew a nd p erceived well the

.
p eri l and dange r that m ight fall by th e p os session of

wo rldly riches th ey fl ed from them and cal led for help
,
t o Alm ighty God s aying S a luum m e fac D o nz in e

, , ,
q uo n ia m in tra ue run t a q uae us q ue a d a n im a m m ea m .
Goo d L o rd s ave me fo r t he floods of t he world t rouble

,
”
me on every side bot h in bo dy and in soul L et us _
.
therefo re when we p e rceive the danger o f this worl dly

,
a n d t ransito ry riches c a l l unto Alm igh ty Go d fo r help

, ,
a n d say as t he p rop het sa id th is ( wh ich followeth in th is ,
Psalm ) : T u e s re fug iu m m e um a trib ula tio n e q uta c irc um

’ “
’
a e a it m e : L o rd Thou on ly a rt my help and refuge in
,
.
this t ri bulation of wo rldly t emp tation and p leasures wh ich

”
ravenously h at h gone round about to cat ch me This .
floo d of wo rl dly covetousness rageth a n d flo w e th on every

S ide and i s about to o verwhelm us S aint J ohn saith .
O m ne e n im q uo d e s t in m un do a ut e s t c o n c up is c e n tia c a r
n is a ut c o n c up is c e n tia All o c u lo ru m a ut s u p e rb ia uitre :
things that i s of this wo rl d either it is the desi re of th e ,
fl esh eit her the con cupiscence o f t he S ight o r els e p roud

, ,
l iving Take heed he sa ith all that is in this worl d

, ,
therefore it mus t follow that it is so in every part of t he ‘
wo rld E ither we b e move d and sti rred t o lusty p lea

.
s ures and l ikings i n m eat a n d drink and clothing with

s uch othe r wh ich nouri sheth the fl esh a n d maketh it p rone ,
a n d rea dy to gluttony a n d l ech ery ; els e we b e moved t o
the C o n fe s s o r S a in t L o uis
2
. .
32 TH E P E N IT E N TI A L P S A LM S
have riches and poss essions whi ch feedet h the sight and ,
by t he sight we b e induce d to unlawful desi res that is

covetous ; either we b e mo ved to have honours and great
digniti es o r els e wo rl dly p raising which b r ingeth in
,
p ri de I n th is w is e thes e floo ds take thei r cours e round

.
about throughout the wo rld ; t hey spare almos t none that ,
no p lace of sure help and refuge can b e ha d whereunto

we may fl ee but only Almighty Go d E ach one of us
, .
,
willing to fl ee unto our L o rd God may s ay wit h the p ro ,
ph et E x ulta tio m e a e rue m e a c irc um da n tib us m e : O

,
my L ord God my j oy and my only succou r deliver me

, ,
from t hes e t roublesome floods of t his world which go

”
round about me I cannot es cap e them without Thy
.
hel p .
B ut now let us a while give heed what comfort and .
consolation we shall take by doing p enanc e Three .
things there b e that bindet h us n eed s1 to do p enan ce .
Fi rst the p rofound consideration of the greatness of ou r

sin . The s econ d op en shewing of th e same to a p riest
,
by confession And the thi r d the diligent exercising

.
,
of good wo rk s .
U nderstanding is necessary to b e had fo r the fi rs t ,
which must s earch p rofoundly for the grievousnes s of

every sin Fo r th e s econ d inst ruction and learning is
.
,
necessary whereby we may j udge and des cry the diversity

,
of one sin from another ; and so to shew every one of

them in confess ion with all thei r ci rcumstan ces To the .
t hi rd the grace of God i s in esp ecial necessary wherewith ,
th ey b e p lentifully infus ed and endued on whom our mer

c if ul L o rd looket h with the eyes of H is mercy a n d grace .
F rom the eyes of Almighty Go d which may b e called H is ,
grace shineth fo rth a marvellous b rightness like as the

,
b eam that cometh from the sun And that light of grace .
sti rreth and s ett eth fo rwar d the soul to b ring forth the
fruit of good wo rks even as the light of the s un causeth
,
herb s to grow a n d t rees to b ring forth fruit Therefore .
if we that b e s et amongst the p erilous floo ds of thes e

worl dly pleasures w ill lift up ou r min ds to Go d not s et ,
t in g our fel icity on th em busily asking H is help H e shall

, ,
n e c e s s a rily
1
.
P SA LM XXX I 33
comfo rt us According to th e words o f the p rop het O u r

.
“
L o r d shall say unt o us I n te lle c tum tioi a a b o : I shal l ’
give thee understan ding which i s necessary to conside r ,

”
p rofoundly o ur S ins That is fo r the fi rs t. Fo r the .
s econ d whi ch is confession H e shall say I n s trua m te :

, I
,
S hall give thee learning whereby thou s halt dis cern o f ,
every sin Fo r t h e thi rd that is satis faction H e shal l

.
”
, ,
say I n via I z a c q ua g ra die ris firm a oo s up e r te o c ulo s m e o s

I s hall guide a n d direct thee from thine enemi es with
M y grac e and mercy ever to have continuance in doing ,
goo d wo rks 0 marvellous meekness of Almighty God

”
.
shewe d unto sinners when they fl ee unto H im whi ch is ,
so rea dy to comfo rt and grant them help whereby t hey ,
may b e s ure to es cap e f rom overflow ing and drowning

in thes e floods of the t ransitory p leas ures of this worl d !
Which meeknes s our p rop het rememb ering callet h and ,
exho rt eth every c reature to do p enance And wh ereas .
b efore he hat h s hewe d a nd s p oken much o f it fi rst that , ,
t hey which b e p enitent are b l ess ed t hey t hat refus e ,
p enanc e b e w ret ched ; which also b e the caus es of doing

p enance ; how many part s there b e o f i t ; what st rengt h
p enan ce is of how much it is necessary t he imp ediment s
of t he s ame what remedy fo r t he imp e diments a n d how
ready Almighty God i s at hand to help u s : now after ,
t h e short ex p ressing o f t hes e he i s about to li ft up t he ,
min ds of sinners to th e e x ercis ing and using of it Two .
kinds there b e of sinners which refus e to do p enance .
O ne i s of t hem that follow t hei r own p leasure i n every

thing and as wild b eas ts t hat neve r were b ridled us e
, ,
t hems elves in the unlawful desi re o f t he fl esh like unto a ,
hors e The other i s o f them t hat hath b een long b rought

.
up p eradventure till t hey come to age in t he ungracious

, ,
custom of sin And b ecaus e t hey have b een of old time

.
so long in t h e us e of the same t hey will continue in it s till , ,
and in no wise go out of that way They b e like to a .
mule Man that was create d in g reat honour ( a n d among

.
,
all creat ures living none but h e had thei r face s et st ra ight
t o look up into H eaven ) endue d also with reason and free ,
will formed and ma de like unto th e image of Almighty

,
Go d o r da ine d by H is Make r t o b e above all other c rea

,
D
34 THE P EN IT E N TI A L P S A L M S
t ures o f the wo rld and they also to b e at his command

ment —alas that he on th is wis e hath defo rmed and
,
change d hims elf b y S in unto an unreasonable b eas t also ,
forgetting Almighty Go d H is Maker hath made himself ,
like to a ho rs e and a mule forsak ing wholesome p enance ,
o ff ere d to him by our L o r d Go d whereby he might have ,
b een refo rmed a n d b rought again into his fi rst s tate and
honour ! The p ro p het therefo re willing to excit e and ,
rais e Up t he min ds of sinners that b e overcome wit h this

unhapp y a n d mise rabl e blin dness s p eaketh unto them ,
with thes e words I Vo lite fie ri s to ut e q uus e t m ulus q uib us ,

“
n o n e s t in te lle c tus : B e not in will to b e ma de l ike to a
hors e a n d a mul e following your own s ensual p leas ure
,
and ap p etite in whom is none un ders tand ing

, And ,
”
fearing l est but few shall hear him he turneth his saying s ,
t o Go d T ruly ou r merciful L o r d oftentimes enti cet h by

.
H is b enefit s many sinners to p enance M atthe w which .

,
was a toll gathere r anon as h e was calle d of God fo r

-
, ,
s ook that life a n d followe d C hris t Mary Mag dalene .
drawn by very love unto our B less ed L o r d wep t at H is

f eet . O ur L o rd looked meekly and mercifully upon
P et er alb eit P et er denie d him thrice b efo re he n e v e rthe
,
l ess shamed in hims elf a n d wep t bitt erly P eradventure .
when S t Anthony hear d read in the Gosp el at that time :

'
:
Q ui re liq ue rit p a tre m e t m a tre m & c Whoso eve r for

,
.
s a k e th the ir father a n d mother sist er and b rother and

, ,
t he poss essions of this world fo r the love of God shall b e

rewarde d a hun dred times mo re fo r it which is e ve rla s t ,
ing life ) he t hen fo rsook all and went into wil dernes s
”
and there live d All th es e w ere sweet ly calle d to p enance

.
,
and many mo re without numb er N amely a certain p ries t .
of whom sp eaket h th e nobl e docto r Parisi ens e 1 was sin

g u l a rly calle d a n d p rovoked to b e p enitent Th is p ries t .
had many great gifts of GO d : notwithstan ding he ever y

‘
day s inned mo re a n d mo re and heap e d sin upon s in God ,

.
Almighty fo r all that left him not so but s till endued him ,
with new b enefi ts that at the las t b y consent o f all the

,
p eop le h e was chos en a n d ma de a bishop Then when h e .
p erceived th e goodness a n d meekness of Alm ighty God ,
1
\V illia m o f A uv e rgn e B p o f P a ris 1 1 2 48
' ‘
. .
, ,
P S A LM xxxi 35
and rememb ered a l so how unkind he had b een of long

continuance to his Maker he said : O B less ed L o r d
, ,
Thou hast overcome me Tho u hast ut terly bound me b y

.
Thy grace and manifold b enefits to b e Thy s ervant from

h encefo rth I shall never go from Thee And whi ch one .
”
of us may say b ut that he hath b een called to p enance

by the b enefits of our L ord Go d ? L et us all conside r
t he m erci ful gifts t hat Go d hat h given unto us And .
hear th e saying of S t P a ul which asket h this question

.
A nig n o ra s q uo n ia m oe nig n ita s D e i a d p m n ite n tia m te

“
in vita t i D os t thou not know t hat the goo dness of A l
”
m ighty God calleth t h ee to p enance ? I f we will not b e
b rought to p enance by thes e fai r means by the great a n d ,
manifo ld gift s of God let us at th e l east fear H is g reat

,
a n d many gri evous p unishment s fo r sometimes Almight y

God co nst raineth thos e ob stinat e sinners that will not b e
t urned with fai r means b y H is p unishments ; and wit h
,
t hem H e d eal eth m ercifully to chastis e and p unish t he m

i n this life Fo r the which t he p ro p het criet h up on H im
.
to b ring thos e that b e so ob durat e and stu rdy and in no ,
wis e will l eav e thei r unhapp y custom of sin b ut mak e ,
thems elves in con dition like a wild ho rs e o r an ass a n d ,
to comp el them by H is p unishment to do p enan ce saying : ,
I n ca m o e t fre no m a x illa s e o rum co n s tring e q ui n o n

a pp ro x im a n t a d te : B less ed L o rd const rain thos e s in ,
ners with Thy p unishments l ess and mo re in this life , , ,

"
which will not come and draw nigh to Thee by p enance .
The great p unishments i n this life may b e called the

cens ures of t he C hurch a s th e g reat curs e w it h other
,
1 2
, ,
o r t empo ral death Th e les s p unishment s may b e called

.
other t empo ral p ains as loss of worldly goods s i ckness

, , ,
with other . I t is b ett er fo r a sinner to s u ffe r t ribulatio n

and p unishment in this l ife wh ereby h e may get p rofi t ,
and b e rewarded than to b e eternally to rment e d in H ell :

,
fo r all th e punishment t here b e it ever so sharp a nd ,
grievous s hall not p rofit

, S t A ug us tin e sait h H ie ure
. . ,
“ ”
I i ic s e c a : Good L o rd p unish me in t his life
,
S inc e .
so good a n d so holy a man desi red of God to b e s harp l y

p unished in t his life,
rather than aft er t his life to t he ,
am o n g o t he rs o r e xc o m m u n icat io n
2
1
. m aj .
36 TH E P E N I T E N TI A L P SA LM S
int ent h e might b e ab le to have th e everlasting kingdom

o f H eaven what shall thes e ob stinat e sinners do t hat
,
never woul d b e turned by the great b enefits of God ? I t

had b een far b etter fo r t hem to have su ffered the greates t
p uni s hment that might b e in this life For they shall b e
, .
drawn down o f t he c ruel tormento rs the devils into the , ,
d eep p it o f H ell there to b e c rucifi ed eternally ; where

,
shall b e weep ing wailing and gnashing of t eeth ; where

,
a lso the worm of thei r cons cience shall never die and that ,
fi re shall neve r b e quenched ; wh ere also p art of thei r

p ain shall b e i n a p it full of b urning l iquo r a nd in fi re ,
a n d b rimstone flaming continually D avi d saith H ulta .
“
fla g e lla p e c ca to ris : M any divers and gri evous p u ni sh
ments b e fo r the ob stinat e and har d hearted sinner that -
”
n ever will b e p enitent B ut whoso ever in this life will ~
.
do p enance were he never so great a sinner b efo re ( if

, ,
he despai r not o f forgiveness ) Almighty God shall b e

m erciful and fo rgive him Fo r as S t Augustine sa ith :
, .
, .
I f all the s ins of the wo rld were comp are d to the mercy
of God t hey b e in com p arison no mo re to i t than is a
,
”
sp ark o f fi re in t he great s ea And I dare well say to .
t h e S inner b e h e never so wi cked in his living if at any

, ,
t ime i n this life he wil l b e p enitent fo r i t and desi re

fo rgiveness and mercy of Almighty God H e of H is g reat ,
g oo dnes s wil l sooner forgive him t han al l the wat er in

t he s ea can quench one spark of fi re if it were cast upon ,
it ; fo r when the S inner is very p enit ent nothing remain ,
e th in the soul that may withstand the infinite mercy of

A lmighty Go d w hich stan deth round about ready on
,
e very S i de T h e p rophet sheweth the same by thes e wo rds

. .
following S p e ra nte m a ute m in D o m in o m ise rico rdia c ir

c um da oit : The mercy of God shall b e ready rou nd about
.
o n every S i de to d efen d the sinner that t rust eth in H im and

”
will do p enance fo r hi s sins Many there b e whi ch th ink
.
g reat p leasu re in sin a n d worldly p leasures Truly thos e .
w ret ch es b e b eguile d : i t is not as they think D oubtles s .
t h ey that b e t ruly p enitent have mo re felicity and pleasu re

i n God and godly t hings far in comparison above all ,
w orldly p leasu res Fo r the more nob le and b etter that

.
t he inward knowl e dge in j u dging o r dis cerning is ( whi ch ,

38 TH E P E N IT E N TIA L P S A LM S
s ins b e so clean done away by satisfaction that no token ,
m a y b e s een o r k nown of them ; a n d this may b e calle d

t he j oy ever to b e exercis ed in the laud a n d p rais e of .
Go d fo r H is merciful good ness The p rop het a p p lie th

.
t he two fi rst j oys to rig ht w ise p eople They may b e called

.
rig htw is e which have very contrition with a full p urp ose
t o b e confes sed ; o r els e the y b e calle d rig htw is e that

a ft er very cont rition ha d a n d whol e confession ma de
, ,
b e assoiled clean from sin o f 1 t hei r ghos tly father ; for

t hey b e j ustifie d by the sac rament of p enan c e whi ch took
e ffi cacy a n d st reng th by the B loo d and Passion of C hrist .
Th ey b e calle d He c ti co rde that have ma de sat isfact ion

s o p lentifully that Go d can ask no more of them For .
t his ou r p rop het saith L w ta m in i in D o m in o e t e x ulta te

“ '
justi : e t g lo ria m in i o m n e s re c ti c o rde : Ye that b e ma de

rig htw is e by very cont rition and t rue confession j oy in ,
o u r L ord And ye that b e ma de p erfect b y du e satis

.
”
faction j oy ye eternally in our L or d
,
.
TH E TH IR D P E N I TE N T I A L P SA L M .
DOM INE N E IN F UR OR E .
P SA L M xx x vi i ( Part I )
M A R V EL thing a ltho ugh w e b e gin n o t o u r se rm o n w ith the Third
no
P e nite n tia l P s a lm in o rde r Fo r o r e ve r w e t oo k up o n u s to de cla re

.
th e tw o fi rs t P e n it e n tia l P s a lm s o ur p ro m is e w a s s o m e w ha t to s p e a k
,
o f the N a tiv ity o f o u r B le s se d L a dy a t t he da y w hic h p urp o s e

w illin g t o ke e p ( a ls o de s ire d o ffrie nds to fo llo w the o rde r o f the
o ur
P sa lm s th o ugh it s e e m e d t o b e ha rd fo r u s s o to do) n o tw it hs t a n ding,

, ,
b y the he lp o f o ur B le s s e d L a dy w e ha v e a tt e m p t e d the m a tt e r a n d ,
m a de t he fi rs t p a rt o f th is P s a lm to a gre e w it h o u r fi rs t p u rp o s e .
Q UI E E ST I S TA Q U I E P R O GR ED I TU R Q UAS I
AU R O R A C O N S U R GE N S W
A FT ER th e o ffenc e of ou r fi rs t fathers Adam and E ve , ,
all t h e world was confounded many years by darknes s

and t he night o f sin ; of the which darkness and night
a rememb rance i s made in holy S cri p ture oftent imes .
1
by 9
. C a nt 6 . .
P SA L M xx xv n ( PA R T I ) 39
N otwithstanding many that were the very s ervant s and

,
worsh ipp ers of Alm ighty Go d to whom the said darkness ,
and n ight of sin was very i rksome and gri evous had a d ,
monit ion that the very S un o f R ig htw is e n e s s shoul d

S p ring u p on all th e wo rld and s hin e to thei r g reat and
s ingular comfo rt a n d make a marvellous clear da y As .
t he p rophet Z achary sai d a n d p ro phesi ed of C h ris t V is i

ta vit n o s o rte n s e x a lto , illum in a re I ris q ui in te n e b ris e t
in um b ra m o rtis s e de n t : O ur B less e d L o rd hat h vis it ed
us from above to gi ve light unto them which sit in dark
”
nes s and in t he S hadow o f death Also C hrist in t he .
Gosp el of John s aith A ora na m v idit die m m e um e t

“
g a uis us e s t : Ab raham s aw My da y w he re b y h e was ma de ,
gla d a n d j oyful Th e nat ural da y whi ch we b eho l d

.
”
S houl d rather of congruence b e calle d the da y of th e s un ,
o f whom he hat h his b eginning than ou r day S o thi s

,
.
sp irit ual day wherein sp i ritually we live under the

Ch ristian fa ith wh ich by t he S un of R ig htw is e n e s s hath
,
brought fo rth Jesus C hris t s ho uld b e called mo re p ro ,
p erly t he da y of H im than o f us C hrist our S aviou r .
“
call e d it H is da y saying V idit die m m e um : Ab raham
”
saw M y da y Ab raham saw not t he p res ent da y of
.
C h ris t as the A p ostles did ; h e had only t he S ight of i t in

his soul by t rue hop e that it S houl d come N o tw iths ta n d .
ing he and many others desi red greatly to s ee this

,
s p iritual S un and the clea r day of i t O ur S aviour said .
to H is Apostl es I ll ulti re g e s e t p ro p/z e ta? uo lue run t uide re

q ua uo s uide tis ; e t n o n v ide run t : Many kings and p ro
p he ts woul d fain have s een th e myst ery of M ine I ncarna
”
t ion which y e s ee and yet they did not ,
And what .
marvel was it if they that lay i n darknes s and in the blin d

n ight of sin wherein no p l easu re was to S leep did take no ,
rest 1 to desi re fervently and abide th e sp ring ing of t he

b right S un ou r S avi o ur ? H oly F athers b efo re the I n
,
carnation whi ch marvellously i rked and des p is ed the

,
wo rks of darknes s and th e night o f sin every one of them ,
daily and continually p rayed that the very S un of R ight

wisenes s might sp ring in thei r time N everthel es s t hei r .
good hop e and t rus t of i t was deferred many yea rs ; and

n ev e r c e a se
1
.
40 TH E P E N IT E N T I A L P S A LM S
at th e las t when time w a s b e ho v a b le and conveni ent in the

s ight of Alm i gh ty Go d H e caus e d t hi s clea r S un fo r t o
‘
gi ve light u n t o the worl d N ot wi ths tan din g it was done .

,
in a j us a n d du e o rder
t Fo r o f a t ru th i t had not b een
.
s eemi ng a n d w ell o r dere d t hat aft er so g rea t and horrib le
da rkn es s of t h e night the ma rve llo us clea rnes s of th is

,
S un s ho u l d have b een s hew e d imm e di at ely I t was a c .
cor ding of ve ry right t ha t fi rs t a mo rnin g s ho ul d c o me

b e tw een whi ch w a s not so da rk as the n ight ne ithe r s o
, ,
clea r as t h e S un T h i s o r der agree th b o th to N ature

.
,
S c r ip t ur e a n d rea son Fi rs t by t he o r der of na tu re w e

.
,
p erce ive that b e t wee n the da rkn es s of t he night a n d t he

clea r light of th e day a ce rtain mea n 1 li
, gh t cometh b e
m ee n t h e whi ch w e ca ll the mo rnin g I t is more ligh t er .
an d cl ea re r than is the ni gh t alb eit t he s un is mu ch more ,
cl ea rer t han it E ve ry m a n k no w e t h t his t hin g well for

.
,
da il y w e have it in exp e rience H oly S c rip t ure al so .
t ea ch e th t ha t in t he b eg in nin g of t he wo rld wh en hea ve n

a n d ea rt h s ho ul d b e c rea ted a ll t hi n gs w ere co ver e d wit h ,
da rkn es s a l o ng s ea s o n ; and o r ever t he s un in his ve ry

cl ea rn es s ga v e light to th e w orl d a ce rt ain mea n li ght ,
w a s m a de w hi c h had p la ce b e w ee n da rkn e s s and th e ve ry

clea r light of the s un Thi s is w ell s hewed by Mos es
.
in t he b eginning o f Ge n esis R easo n al s o whi ch .

,
s ea rch e t h the kn o w le dge of many ca us e fin de th when one s .
thi ng is change d in t o his cont rary as f rom cold to hea t , ,
it is done fi rs t b y c ert a in mea n s o r b y cert ain al t erat io n s

co m in g b e t een \Y a t e r w hi ch of it s na tu re is very col d
w .
, ,
is not s u dde n y by th e fir e made ho t to the utt e rmos t ; b u t

l
fi r t come t h b e tw een a li t tl e wa rmness as we mi ght say

s .
l uke w a rm w hi ch is n eith er very hot nor v e ry col d b ut in

, ,
a mean b e tw een bo t h A n a p p l e also wh ich fi rs t is g reen

.
wax e t h n o t s u dden l y yell ow ; b ut fi r t it is somewh a t s
w hi t e b e tw een green a n d yellow in diff erent

,
Thus we .
p erce ive b y reaso n t hat it was not convenient this gr ea t

C l earn es s o f th e S un o ur S a v iour s ho ul d have b een s he w ed
s o s oo n a n d imm ediat ely aft er the so fea rful and da rk
night of s in wi thou t ris ing o f the mo rni ng whi ch is a

.
,
m ea n b e tw een b o t h Si n e—
e i
g is s o the n t ha t j us t a n d
.
x
n te rm edia t e
1 i
.
P SA LM XX X V I I ( PA RT I )
‘
41
right o rde r wil l it b e so and als o it is ac co rding fo r a ,
w ise man so to o rder it who wil l doub t b ut t hat t he w is

,
do m of o u r L o rd God unab le to b e shew ed 1 kep t this due

, ,
and reasonab le o rder nam ely in H is wo rk whereb y ,
s a lul e m o pe ra tus e s t in m e dia te rrw H e w rought healt h

"
in t he midst of the ea rth ? S ith also H e kep t the same
in all H is op erations as S t Paul witness eth sa ying Q uw
, .
,
c z mq ue o rdz rz a m s m zt d D e c 5 2 ml : All things w ell o r

‘
,
”
dered b e by t h e o rdinance o f Almighty God Furthe r .
mo re b e ca us e this matt er shoul d b e ex p res s ed mo re

’
op enly we shall endeavour o urs elves to shew by the th ree

,
reasons afo re rehears ed that this bles s ed L ady Mothe r , ,
to our S aviou r may wel l b e called a mo rning since b e

, ,
fo re h er none was without s in Aft er her the mos t clea r .
S un Chris t Jesus s hewe d H is light to th e wo rld exp ulsing

, , ,
utt erly b y H is innumerable cl earness thes e darkness es

wherein all the wo rld was w ra p p ed a n d covered b efo re .
We s ee by exp erience the mo rning r is eth out o f darkness ,
as the Wise Man s aith : D e m q ui dix z t Za c e m de te n e b n s

' ’
s p le n de s ce re : Almighty God commandeth light to shine

”
out o f darknes s Th e cl erk O rp heus ma rvelled great ly
.
of it saying 0 72 0 x g um Za ce m e m itlis : 0 dark n ight I ,

”
marvel sore that t hou b ringet h fo rth light And of a .
'
t ruth it is marvel t o man s reason that light should sp ring
out of darkness S o in like manne r w e may marvel o f
.
this B less ed V i rgin she b eing clean wi thout spot of any

,
manner s in notwithstanding should sp ring a n d orig inall y

,
come o f s inners t hat were covered and w rapp ed in dark

nes s and th e night of sin Also after th e mo rning the .
,
s un aris eth in manne r as it were b rought fo rth and had

,
his b eginning o f the mo rning : likewis e ou r S aviou r C hris t

Jesus was born and b rought forth of this B lessed V i rgin
and sp rea d H i s light over all the wo rld We also p e r .
c e iv e , lik e as t he sun ris eth of the mo rning an d maket h

it mo re cl ear by t he eff usion of his light so C hris t Jes us ,
bo rn of thi s V i rgin defile d h er not wit h any manner spo t

of sin b ut en dued and re p l ete d he r wit h much more light
,
and grace t han sh e had b efo re L ast although i t s eemet h .

,
t h e mo rning to b e caus e o f the sun notwit hstanding the , .
1
in e xp re s s ib l e .
42 TH E P E N I T E N TI A L P SA L M S
s un without doub t is cause of it A n d in like wis e a l .

,
t hough this bless ed V i rg in b rought forth our S aviour

J esus yet H e ma de her and was caus e of her b ringing
,
into th is wo rld Thus ye p erceive by nat ure that this

.
bl ess e d V i rgin may well b e likene d to a mo rning The .
same shall b e shewed i f we rehears e th e o rder of S crip

t ure . I t is sp oken in G enesis that fi rs t Almighty Go d
made heaven a n d earth Th e earth was voi d a n d deso
.
lat e all was covered with darkness a n d the sp ir it of

, ,
God was bo rne aloft Then Alm ighty Go d commanded .

,
t h e fi rs t da y by H is wo rd only that light shoul d b e

, ,
ma de a n d ano n light was made and after t hat t he fourth ,
day t he sun was c reated This we rea d in the b eginning .
of Genesis B ut let us now s hew what it s ig n ifi e th fo r

.
o ur pu rpose Fi rst heaven and earth may s ignify to us

.
man and woman fo r the woman is s ubj ect to the man , ,
lik e as th e earth is to heaven Woman i s also ba rren a n d .
lacking fruit without the hel p of man a n d t he earth with ,
o u t the infl uenc e of heaven is barren and void of all fru it .
S emb lab ly 1
every generation of man from the creation of
,
Adam was wrapp ed and c o vered wit h the darkness of

'
s in ; a n d though the spirit of Go d was ever aloft ready
t o give g race fo r all that none was found able to receive

, ,
it unto the t ime this bless ed V irgin was o r dained by th e

H oly Trinity to s p ring and to b e b rought forth into t he
wo rld Whi ch by t he p rovi dence of Almighty Go d was
. .
s urely kep t and defen de d from every s p ot and b lemish

o f sin so that we may well say unto her : T o m p a le /2 m e s
, ,
a m ic a e t m a c ula 72 0 72 e s t te : O B less ed L ady ,

'
t hou art all fai r and without spot o r blemish of sin .
”
T h e angel at her salutation s aid : A ve 7916 7222 g ra tia :

. H ail
”
full of grace Th is bless ed V i rgin full o f the b eams
.
,
o f grace was o rdaine d by God as a light of the morning

, ,
and aft erwar ds b rought fo rth the b right shining S un wit h

H is manifold b eams ou r S aviour Ch rist : @ 22 2 ,
“
0 772 72 6 772 l2 0 772 2 7ze 772 77 6 72 26 72 2 6 772 5 22 72 6 772 22 72 d22 772 : Whi ch
°
"
giveth light to every creature coming to this worl d .
[Tak e h ee d how convenien tly it agreeth with holy S cri p
t ure this V i rgin to b e called a mo rnin g Also wherea s

,
.
1
s im ila rly .
P S A LM xx xv n ( PA R T I ) 43
reason of a congruence will that b et ween two cont rari es

, ,
a mean mus t b e had maketh marvellously w el l that t hi s ,
V i rgin may b e call ed a mo rning ; fo r like as th e morn ing

.
i s a mean b etween the great clearness of the sun a n d th e

ugsome 1 darknes s o f the night so t h is b lesse d a n d holy ,
V irg in is the mean b etwe e n this b right S un ou r S aviou r

a n d wicked sinners and a p artaker of both fo r she is t h e
, ,
’
Mother of God s S o n a n d also the Mother o f s inners .
Fo r when our S aviou r C h rist hange d up on the c ross H e ,
commen de d and l eft to this blessed V i rgin S t John th e .
E vangelis t as her son saying to her : M ulz e r e c e e film s

‘
, ,
”
£ 22 22 3 : Woman behol d thy son And unto S t John H e . .
“ ”
sai d : E e e e m e te r Z22 22 : B ehold thy Moth er
'
John by .
‘
int erp retation is to say the gra ce o f Go d signifying ‘
,
’
t hat by Go d s grace a n d not by thei r own merit s s in , ,
ners b e ma de th e inherito rs o f the H eavenly King dom

S inners therefo re b e commen d e d to this V i rgin Mary a s
to a Mother ; s he is Moth er of sinners S t A us tin sait h : . .
I t s eemeth to b e a nobl e kindred b etween this b less ed

V i rgin and sinners fo r sh e received all her goo dnes s fo r
.
,
sinners ; sin was caus e why she was made t he M other o f

”
God . Also i f we have taken any goodness we have i t ,
al l by her T herefo re of very right t his holy V i rgi n

.
Mary i s t he Mothe r o f sinners All C h ris t s C hurch .

’
“
calleth her M a te r 772 2 se 7 0 7 22 772 ; the Mother of w ret ched
'
”
sinners . S he is also t he Mother of mercy fo r C h ris t ,
i s very mercy The p rophet speaking of H im saith thus

.
, ,
”
D e m 772 e 22 5 m is e rie o rdz a m e a : M y God and my mercy
’
C h rist is ve ry mercy ; she is th e Mother of C hris t t here ,
fo re t he Mother o f mercy : fo r this caus e as we s aid b e ,
fore sh e mus t needs b e a mean b etween the mercy of

,
God a n d t h e wret chednes s of s in ; b et ween C hrist most

innocent and w ret ched sinners ; b etween the s hining light
and black darkness S he is also the mean b etween th e
.
b right s un o f the day and th e dark clou d of the night .
N one was bo rn b efore h er without sin either morta l , ,
venial o r o riginal Many b efore w ere men o f g reat vi rtue

.
and holiness as Jeremy and E lias with other but b ecaus e

, ,
t hey were not clean without every s p ot of sin th ei r vi r ,
ugly
1
.
tue and holines s was hid in manner as under a clo ud .
And the holy angels rememb ering this matter b ehol di ng ,
t his light to shew fo rth without any s po t of darkness

after so long continuance of the dark n ight o f sin said ,
each one to other wit h an admi ration o r marvelling Q ue

“
e s t 252 a 4 22 a? p ro g re dz tur
422 22 52 a uro ra c o m m g e m ? What
'
"
is she which goeth forth as a rising morning ? Th ere
fore sinc e this bl ess ed L ady M ary as a mo rning goeth
b etween o ur night and the da y o f Ch ris t b etween our _ ,
darknes s and H is b r ightness and las t b etween the mis ery

, ,
of our sins and th e mercy of God what other hel p s hould ,
rather b e to w ret che d sinners whereby they might sooner

b e delivered from t hei r w retchednes s a n d com e to m ercy ,
t han by the help of this b less ed V i rgin Ma ry ? Who .
may come o r attain f rom one e x t remity unto anothe r wit h

out a mean b etween both ? L et us t herefo re acknowl edge
to her o ur w ret che dness ask her hel p : sh e cannot but
,
hear us fo r she is ou r Mother ; sh e shall sp eak fo r us

,
unto her merciful S o n and ask H is mercy and witho ut ,
doub t H e shall grant her p etition which is H is Mother

’
and t he Mother of mercy L et us therefore call unto

.
her s aying : 0 most holy V i rgin thou art t he Mother ,
o f Go d Mot her of mercy the Mother also of wret ched

, ,
s inn ers and t hei r s ingular help comfort to all so rrow ,
ful vouc hsafe to hear ou r wret chednes s and p rovide a

”
convenient and b e ho v a b le remedy fo r the same B ut .
what mis eries shall we most sp ecially shew unto her ?

T ruly th e common w ret che dnes s of all sinners which the ,
C hurch hat h taught us oft en t o have in rememb rance ,
which also t he p rop het D avi d hath d es crib ed in the thi rd

P enit ential Ps alm whereo f we shal l now sp eak An d as .
t he woman of Canaan when she p rayed to our L or d was

not h eard anon ; notwithstanding H is dis cip les having ,
p ity and compassion sp ake to C h ris t thei r Maste r fo r

,
.
her : so w e no w lest p era dventure ou r merciful L o rd

,
heard not our p rayers in the other Psalms b efo re b ecaus e

of our grievous sins l et us t u rn our p raye r to his mos t
,
merciful Mothe r b es eeching her to she w mercy and call

,
to Almighty God fo r us as our advocate .

morning ; some cometh by fear of the eternal p unish

ments of Go d some fo r dread of the p ains o f P urgato ry
, ,
s ome b e cause d of ou r bo dily dis eas es whi ch we s u ffer

fo r the guilt and o ffence of our fi rs t father Adam some ,
by the rememb rance of deat h uncerta in that needs mus t

follo w at the last aft er all thes e grievous v exations M any .
also b e caused b y fear of the t emp oral p unishment of

Go d exercis e d i n t his life fo r our t resp ass es ; and las t
b y t he ugsomeness o f our sins many t rib ulations b e e n «
gendere d in ou r souls by the which sins we have des erved

,
p unishment of God s vengeance O f a t rut h one of thes e

’
.
vexat ions some time t roubleth the min ds of sinners O ur .
p rop het rememb ereth them by o rder .
Th e fi rs t p erturbation o r t rouble which i s caus ed by

fear of the p unishment o f God everlastingly to b e us ed
upon damned s inners must needs p rick the min d and ,
cons cience of t h e s inner ; fo r when that eternal p un ish

ment s hall app ear a n d b e shewe d th e count enance of ,
Go d shall b e so fo rmi dabl e a n d fearful t hat in the time

when mis erabl e sinners s hall stan d in H is sight they shall
t hink thems el f s et in a b urning fu rnace of fi re As it .
i s said in holy S crip ture : P 0 72 e s e 0 5 22 2 c lib a m m z ig 72 2 s

'
“
l e m fio re 77 22 12 22 5 B less e d L o r d Thou shalt at the ,
day of Ju dgment s et all w ret che d sinners as a clew ( or a

g reat h eap ) of fi re fo r fea r o f b ehol ding Thy fearful
"
count enance Th e wo rd which H e shall sp eak to them
.
at that t ime shall b e so s harp a n d vehemently biting in ,
so much they shall covet o r desi re rathe r to die a thou

san d t imes than to hear i t when H e shall op enly give ,
s ent ence upon them saying D z s e e dz te a m e m a le dz e ti

‘ ’ ’
, ,
dz a b o lo e 2 e 72 g e 12 s
' ' ' '
2 g 72 e 772 2e 2 e 7 72 22 772 27 22 2 2 22 7 22 2 22 5 e st e 2 22 5 :
Go from M e ye curs ed sinners into everlas ting fi re

, , ,
”
which is p repa red fo r the devil and his angels 0 mar .
v e llo us sharp saying ! 0 wo rd more p iercing t han a

double — e dged swo r d ! What c reature shall not fear to
b e s eparat ed from the face of Go d from heavenly glo ry , ,
f rom the fellowship a n d company of saints a n d to b e ,
cast down into et ernal fi re with thos e fearful a n d cruel

d evils ? The p rop het therefo re fearing this everlast ing
p unishment b e g in,n e th his Psalm crying to Alm ighty God ,
P S A LM xxx v n ( PA RT I ) 47
“
saying 0 0 772 2 72 e rze f22 r0 re 2 22 0 a rg ue s 772 e : B lessed
' '
”
L o r d p un is h me not in Thine everlasting p unishment
, .
L et us do in lik e manner making ou r p rayers to this ,
bl ess e d V i rgin s aying : O b les s e d L ady b e thou mean

, ,
and me diat ric e b etween thy S o n a n d wret ched s inners ,

”
that H e p unish us not ev e rlastingly .
I f p era dventure w e b e delivered by the infinit e mercy

of God from c ru cifying in the fi re of H ell yet there is ,
another fi re to b e feared that is to say t he fi re of Pu rga

,
to ry whi ch fi re is so hot a n d full of diversity of pain

, ,
t hat all to rments a n d dis eases o f this wo rld b e nothin g

comp are d to it ; whi ch thing holy S t A u s tin co n fi rm e th .
by thes e words saying l lle 2 g 72 2 s g ra vz o r e s t 022 0 772 022 20

' ' ’
,
“
022 2 d l2 0 772 0 2 22 2 2 2 0 2 e s 2 272 02 2 2 0 22 22 : Th e fi re of P urgatory

‘
‘
is mo re gri evous than any p ain m a n may s u ff e r in t h is

”
life . Alas we wret che d sinners what ha rd saying i s ,
this ? B e there not some gri evous p ains i n this life ?

‘
Thos e that b e vexed with the s tone st rangury and the , ,
fl ux feel they not marvellous great p ains when they can

,
not keep thems elf fro m wailing a n d cry ing out for so r
row ? What s hall I say o f them whi ch s u ffer p ain in th e
h ea d toothache and a ching o f bones ? D o t hey not su ff e r
, ,
great p ains ? And also martyrs of whom many were ,
s lain some boiled anot he r sawed in two anothe r torn

, , ,
with wild b easts another roast ed on t he fi re another p ut

, ,
into s cald ing hot p it ch and rosin did t hey not s u ff e r ,
b itt er p ain ? N otwithstanding to b e p unished in t he fi re ,
of Purgato ry i s fa r more g ri evous p ain than al l t hes e w e

have rehears ed What marvel is it then if the fear of so
.
great and p ainful fi re t roub le us sinners ? Wherefo re i t

"
f o llo w e thy: E 2 72 6 B less ed L o rd
' '
2m 2 22 0 00 rr2 792 0 s 772 e :
,
,
“ ”
s aid D avid , co rrect m e no t i n the fi re of Purgato ry .
S o l et us call unto ou r b less e d L a dy p raying her to b e ,
mean 1 fo r us t hat her S o n our Judge not only p unish us, ,
no t in t he p ains of H el l which b e everlas ting b ut also ,
t hat H e co rrect us no t in t he p ains of P urgatory whic h

have an end .
Th e thi rd t roub le that w e suffer ris et h and is caus e d

o f t he wounds inflicted and b eing in ou r body fo r the s in
m e dia tr ix
1
.
48 THE P E N IT E N TIA L P S A L M S
of o ur fi rst parents Fo r when A dam was s et in Pa radise

.
,
a place of great p leasure volup ty and rest Almighty God , ,
t hreatene d him say ing whatsoever time he tast ed of the ,
f o rbid den t ree h e should b e wounded : Q 22 0 0 2 0 772 e z

'
022 0 772 22 72 2 0 er 52e 2 0 52 e r2 2 0 2 2 e 2 22 5 772 0 r2 e 772 Which

' ’ ' '
shoul d b e a mo rtal wound both to him and all his pos

'
t e rity .
”
Alm ighty God ha d H is bow ready b ent where
with H e shoul d s t r ike him ; o f the which bow is writt en
in anoth er p lace T e 2 e 72 0 2 2 0 r022 772 522 22 772 ’
God hath b ent
'
Fo r all this Adam att emp t ed the matt er fel l

”
H is bow .
, , ,
t o s in whom anon Alm ighty God did smit e

,
Th e v e .
he m e n c e of the whi ch s troke all we that cam e of him do ,
f eel ; the wounds o f it abide still in us not clean ma de ,
whole although they b e hid a n d covere d W ill ye know

, .
which b e t he woun ds ? L et us b e hungry a littl e while ,
a n d anon w e shall feel the p enury o f hunger Abstain .
from drink : anon cometh thirst Go afoot many mil es : .
anon cometh wearines s Put your finger n igh the fi re

.
,
and full soon s hall ye feel impassib le heat E a t unwhole 1

.
s ome me ats a n d ano n cometh s i ckness

, B y t hes e wounds .
aforesai d w ithout doub t we b e b rought to death i f the ,
body b e not soon remedie d A dam wante d? al l t hes e .
wounds o r ever Almighty Go d did st rike him A n d we .
also should have wante d them if t hat s t roke had not been .
We all b e w o un de d by his st roke wherefore the p rop het ,

“
s aith Q 0 0 72 2 0 772 50 g 2 22 w 2 22 w 2 72 /z x e 522 72 2 B less ed
' ‘ ' ‘
”
L o r d Th ine arrows b e st icke d in me
, .
I f p era dvent ure these arrows might b e p lucked away

by any me dic ine o r by craft we m ight b e ma de whole
, ,
of our woun ds a n d so to es cap e death whos e fear t ro ub

, ,
l eth us w ithout measu re in t his fourth p lace The Wis e .
M an sait h 0 772 0 r5 022 0 772 0 772 0 r0 l2 0 772 2 72 2 12 0 0e 72 22 p a e e rrz

‘ ' '
5 22 052 0 72 2 20 5 22 0 : 0 death how bitt er art tho u to a m an ,
having p eace with his s ub stance of wo rldly goo ds or

els e thus ,
that hath this wo rld at his will Which 3 us e .
”
t hes e worldly p leasures merri ly t h e y know not they have , ,
not in mind what is b ehin d in the wo rld to come Alas .
how grievous and bitter is to them the rememb rance of

death whos e darts o r arrows may not b e exp ulse d by any
,
1
un e ndura b l e .
2
w a s fre e f or m
3
T he y who . .
P S A LM x xx v n ( PA R T I ) 49
c raft ! We cannot find th e means by any medi cine to

h eal o ur wounds we mus t needs die and daily w e draw , ,
“
n igh death more and mo re 0 772 72 e s 772 0 r2 772 u r : All w e
'
”
di e o r b e dy ing S crip ture saith This verb 772 0 / 2 0 r
'
.
, , ,
after 1 S t Augustine i s undeclined signifying that no

.
, ,
c reat ure may es cap e fl ee o r d ecline from death our L or d ,
hath so gri evously st ricken us wit h the dint of H is arrows .
Wherefore ou r p rop het sa ith £ 2 00 7 2 fir772 0 s 2 2 s up e r 772 e

'
77 2 0 72 u772 2 u0 772 : L o rd Tho u hast p i erced and fi xe d Th ine ,
arrows so sore in me that my woun d is so great and w ith

”
out cure I cannot es cap e b ut must needs die
, ,
.
We sa id th e fi fth p erturbation cometh fo r fear o f

Go d s p unishment whi ch t he p rophet call eth in this Ps alm
’
ja cz e w 2r2e D e z Fo r by thes e wo r ds f uro re rrz D e i is

’ ’
understoo d the everlasting p unishment upon t hem whi ch

b e damne d B y th es e wor ds f0 02 e 772 z r2e D e i is under
' '
stoo d t emporal p unishment in this life ; which t emporal

p un ishment s caus eth us also to b e in t roubl e Fo r what .
c reat ure rememb ering so many p un ishments done u p on

,
s inners in this life bodily a n d p era dventure fo r les s o f ,
fences than h e himself hath done can b e w ithout fear , ,
lest h e should s u ffer t he same o r more grievous fo r his

own o ffences ? A dam agains t the comman dment of Go d
tast e d but one app l e and anon he was cas t out from the ,
go o dly garden of Paradis e into this earth full of b riars

and b ramb les I t s eemeth b ut a small m a tter a n d also
.
2
,
h e a n d all his p ost erity ever aft er we re ma de mo rtal

, ,
.
Alas how many times have we sinners b roken the com

,
m a n dm e n ts of Go d Th e p eop l e of I s rael led b y Mos es .

,
t hrough th e des ert when it was so t hey ha d eat en no fl es h ,
of many days at the last they d es ired to eat of the ,
E gyp tians fl esh like as i t was t he ir customabl e meat

’
b efore Almight y God gave them thei r desi re

. B ut .
’
0 0 l2 u c e 500 D e i de se e udz t
‘
fuz 2
' ' ’
0u0 72 2 0 772 o re e 0 r22 772 z ra

“
su ue r Whils t they were eating and
eos : meat in t hei r
”
mouth the p unishment of God fell up on them and a
, ,
great part of t hem w ere s lain Afterwa r ds the same p e o .
p le ma de weary by a long j ou rney grudged in t hei r

, ,
m inds against our L o rd ; wherefo re su dden fi re fell u p on

1 2
a cco rdin g to .
ye t .
t hem and utt erly b urnt and dest royed the latter p a rt of
,
t hei r hos t H ave we not committe d many more grievous

.
o ff ences t han t hes e b e ? Yes t ruly Fo r when we lacked .
no meat b ut had great p lenty of i t have we not fo r a ll ,
t hat desi red mo re delicat e meats not cont ent with such ,
as w e ha d? H at h not a littl e bo dily labour been t e dious

t o us as to go unto the church there to abide to b e at
, ,
t he s ervi ce of God and to h e a r wholesome do ct rine ?

,
Which of us hearing these o ffences b eing culp ab le in ,
them w ill no t fear t he p unishments of God both in this

,
life a n d aft er ? N amely when th is holy p rophet so did ,
insomuch he saith his fl es h t rembleth fo r fear [V0 72 e 52 .
50 72 220 5 c0 r72 e 772 e 0 : B less e d L o r d I have none health ,

”
in my fl esh it t rembleth fo r fear of Thy p un ishment s
, .
They b e very hap p y a n d b less e d wh ich never de file d

t hemself with s in b ut always hath kep t them clean
,
without any spot o f i t as touching act ual sin fo r t ruly

, ,
t hey have great res t in thei r souls ; and they that have
done t he cont rary feel in thems el ves an inwar d st ri fe
, .
when they rememb er thems el f i n thei r living : for such

as hath a pollute d cons c ience give them to ot her b usines s
t han to look upon thems elf Truly the abomination
.
of an uncl ean cons cienc e is so great that the rememb rance

of it is thought to that p erson so encumb ere d so g reat
pain as h e were vexed and t roub led in the torment s of
,
H ell 0 how many hath slain thems elf aft er thei r great
.
offences done when t hey m ight not hold up and s us tain

,
t hei r unhapp y lif e l E xamp le w e have of a R oman

woman calle d L ucrece and many other The th ree p r in .
c ip a l parts of t he soul whereby th e whole man shoul d
b e gove rne d b ehold ing the ugsome and detestable mon

,
s t er of s in doth ac cus e each one the other

, To .
t he M emory it is obj ect ed that he s houl d have kep t in

m ind t he holy admonitions and t each ings whi ch often
t imes b e h ear d by the p rea chers of go dly doct rine ; to
t he R eason is sai d that he s houl d have resisted and with
stoo d more busily a n d not have su ffere d so great fi lthi
,
nes s o f sin to b e comm itt e d in the soul ; to the Will is

obj ect ed that by his boldness a n d runn ing too much upo n
his own b ridle neither o b ey ing to M emory no r to R eason
, ,
P S A LM xxx v n ( PA RT I ) 5:
is caused t hat t he soul is p ollut ed with t he fi lthin e ss of

s in. Therefo re the cons cienc e always p ric k e th and
g rudg e th aga ins t sins evil committ ed a cco rding to the ,
’
p ro p het s saying : [V0 72 est p a x 0 552022 5 772 e 25 0 fa cz e 2 e 0
'
“
0 0 2 0 ru772 : N o p art of my body can b e i n res t fo r the
”
grievousness o f my s ins Take heed wit h how many
.
and what sto rms o f t ribulation we b e ve x ed w ithin ou r

bodies : w e have no t ranquillity no quietness b ut , ,
t roub led in every p art with many divers vexations .
Fi rst b y th e p ains o f H ell o f P urgatory by ou r bodily , ,
grievance b y death b y the p unishment of God a n d las t

, , ,
b y th e abomination of ou r sin .
Therefo re l et us go unto thi s mild mo rning ou r ,
bl ess e d L a dy V irgin M ary b es eeching her that sh e will ,
vouchsafe to delive r us from thes e stormy w ret chedness es

in t h is li f e a n d aft er grant us quiet souls
,
.
Thes e s uffice th fo r the fi rs t kind o f w ret ched n es s .
We sai d th e s econd kin d of mis ery is to b e cast down

un der th e darkness and cloud of s in and mis erably to ,
b e in capt ivity un der t he yoke of it M any times sin is .
compared to a s erp ent A s erp ent hath a head a b ody

.
,
a n d a ta il ; s emb lably so hath s in fo r when any man ,
f e e le th the fi rst inst igation o r sti rring to s in doubtle s s ,

’
t here is t he s erp ent s head When afterwa rds he con .
s e n t e th t o t he same instigation then he s u ffereth t h e ,
body of t hat s erp ent to enter And at las t when h e ful .
fi lle t h the sin in dee d t hen is the venomous tail of th e

,
s erp ent ent ere d Without thou resis t and withstand the
.
hea d that is to say the fi rs t s uggestion i t shall b e very

, ,
har d fo r t hee to exclude sin ; for whereas a s erp ent may

get in his hea d anon he b ringet h aft er t he residue o f his
,
body . So b y sin i f also t he s t raight p as sage b e made

,
op en to the fi rs t admonition o r s ti rring of s in anon he ,
d rawet h aft er him the whol e body a n d never ceas et h ,
t ill it com e into t h e highes t p art of the soul H e a dv a n c e th .
h ims elf and is lift ed up fa r above the mind which ought ,
t o b e th e hea d of t he soul And t his of a t ruth is a great .
mis ery wh ereof this holy p rophet D avid maket h his com
,
p laint saying Q uo r u0 772 272 22/u22 0 2 e 5 m e a? s up e rg re ss ce 5 u72 2

'
c a p ut 772 e u 772 : All the parts o f my bo dy b e without res t

b ecaus e my sins b e exalt ed far above mine head We

h ave g iven so g reat licence to this serp ent sin and so ,
e asil y ent reat e d i t that now when it is once ent ered it

1
.
will not out again but as a tyrant hath dec ree d to keep
, , ,
i n p oss ession the habitacl e that he hath won either p eace ,
a b ly o r b y s t re n g th Fi rst o r ever w e com m itt ed s in

.
,
many motions of it were fel t in us but it was only in ,
t he inferior p art of the soul And now since i t is suf

.
f e re d to have any interest h e hath enhanced hims elf ,
a bove the highes t p art of th e soul a n d t here is res ident ,
comman ding what him 1 ist 2 thrusting down th e p oo r soul

,
wit h his gr ievous bur den and weight that oftentimes it ,
is comp elle d to do that thing whi ch it woul d not do .
P eradventure some sinner will say I p erceive no r feel ,

”
a n y we ight in mys elf do I never so many sins TO ‘
.
,
whom we answer that if a dog having a great s tone boun d ,
about his neck b e cast down from a h igh tower h e f e e le th

, ,
no weight of that stone as long as he is falling down b ut ,
when h e is once fallen to the ground he i s b urs t al l to

p ieces by reason of that weight S o the sinner going .
down towar ds the p it of H ell f e e le th not the great bur

-
d e n of sin but when he shall come into the dep ths of

,
H ell he shall feel more p ain than h e woul d Also every .
c reat ure which i s about to p ut away the yoke of sin

f e e le th the great a n d grievous w eight of it O ur holy .
p roph et ha d in exp eri ence the heavy bur den of sin who ,
“
s ai d E 2 52c u 2 0 72 u5 g ra ve g r0 0 0 2 2e 5 u72 2 s uue r m e : M y
”
s ins b e heavy up on me like to a heavy bur den God .
forbi d that we say no man may cas t out s in from the

s oul onc e ent ere d into it We s a y not that for if it
.
,
w ere so all we shoul d desp ai r B ecaus e why ? N 0 p er

, .
son is without s in B ut we say it i s right har d utt erly

.
t o exp uls e sin su ffered so long at lib erty and hath ha d

, ,
s o much li cenc e to abide in the soul ; a n d holy doctors
ac knowle dge the same A n d S t A n s e lm whos e words

. .
,
cometh now fi rst to mind saith 0 2 e 000 2 0 q ua r7z fe lz e e s

'
, ,
0 0 22 us lz a b e 2 25 e 2 q ua r7z dz flic z le s e x 22 us : 0 ye foul sins

’ ’ '
,
’
ho w glad and easy enterings have ye into man s s oul ,
”
a n d how hard b e your goings out fro m it S ins may b e .
de a lt with
.
2
he p l e a se s .
54 THE P E N IT E N TI A L P SA L M S
p ro p het D avi d witnes seth , saying, M f0 2 2 u 5 s um : B y

'
z se r
”
t he reason of my s in I am ma d e a w ret ch That crea .
t ure whatsoeve r he b e i s bl ess ed who se w ill is ob e dient

, ,
to reason that is to say in whom reason a n d grace hat h

, ,
d ominat ion ; fo r by reason a n d grace right a n d j usti ce

shall b e kep t B ut if it b e cont rary then shal l p erver
.
,
s ity a n d u n rig htw is e n e s s have p lace a n d l ib erty That .
w e may more op enly p erceive t h is th ing let us consider ,
t h is examp le As long as the mi ddle of a line is equal

.
w ith both en ds neit her going wrong towar ds the right

,
han d no r towa rds the left han d so long i t is calle d a ,
right l ine ; b ut if it t urn cont rary either to the one part

o r to the other or l ift up its elf above e ithe r en ds the
, ,
l ine is not right b ut c rooked I n like manner let us con .
si der the powers in th e soul that is to s a y reason w ill ; , ,
a n d un derstan ding The un de rs tanding must b e gui de d

.
by the w ill a n d the w ill must b e rule d by reason ; for

,
th e w ill i s the m iddle p art b etween un derstan ding a n d

reason l ike as t he mi ddl e point in a l ine
, Wherefore .
i f th e w ill which ought to b e the m iddle p art a n d also

, ,
s ub dued to reason l ift up its elf ab ove reason is not

, ,
t h e o r der p ervers e a n d in convenient ? I s not t here a

c rooke d soul ? Yes without doub t L ikewis e i t is in
,
.
s inners when reason is p ut down and will is unwisely

exalt e d E l iu e urva tus s um us q ue
.
firze m The p ro .
p het s aith : B y s in I am ma de crooke d unto the ground .
”
I have mo re m in d on earthly things than upon heavenly .
W hen t he soul is thus d efo rme d a n d b rought into this

mis erabl e condit ion what i s left b eh in d but p enance and
,
s orrow ? The p h ilosophers sh ewe d two divers ways : one

i s th e way of virtue the other o f v ice The way t hat
,
.
l ea deth a man to v irtue is labo r ious a n d full of thorns ;

n otw ithstan ding the e n d o f it i s very p leasant
,
The w a y .
w hi ch b ringeth a man to vi ce is merry a n d full of s ensual

p l easures b ut the e n d o f it is very b itt er a n d sharp
, A .
C ertain p hilosopher calle d D emosthenes what time he de

s i re d to have the p reference and company of a certain
e vil dispos ed woman

-
and she aske d a great sum of ,
m oney ; he answe re d that his l earning was not to buy ,
p enance so dear S ignifying that after the fi lthy volupty

.
P SA LM xxxv n ( PA R T I ) 55
of t h e fl esh nothing remaineth b ut sorrow and p enance ,
for th e which he woul d not gi ve s o much money Our .
p rop het considering t hi s a ddeth saying T 0 2 0 0 2e 00 72 ,

’
2 r252 0 2 u5 2 72 g re d2 e 00 r Many caus es there b e fo r sinners

' ’
to b e p enit ent wh ich have cas t do w n t hems elf into t hes e

miseri es not comp elle d by viol ence b ut b y thei r own
, ,
will and min d from t he which they may s cant ly and wi th

,
grea t di ffi culty aris e what fo r th e tyranny of sin what, ,
fo r leaving of t h e o ccasions to s in caus e d of th e p lea ,
s ure which t he fl esh hath got t en by wi cked custom of

it. Fo r as S t J e ro m e s aith thos e t hat b e vi rgins feel
,
.
,
not so great t emp tations of t he fl esh as t hey whi ch on ce

o r oftt imes have had the fle s hly volup ty in exp erience ;
fo r t he fl esh that b efo re hath b een p ollut ed by t he foul
a n d filthy p leasure of the bo dy f e e le th much more n u ,
clean motions than doth t he fl esh which alway hat h b een

cl ean a n d chast e ; fo r the uncl ean body p ersuadeth and
s hewet h to th e soul th e wi cked cogitations and dark p han
t a s ie s of his unthrifty fle s hly p leasures done b efo re :
whereby it is many t imes b eguiled a n d s co rned There .
fo re th e p ro p het saith Q u0 72 2 0 m 222 772 2 2 m e z 2m 2 2e2 2 s u72 2

' ’ ‘
“
222u520 72 2 0u5 : The p a rt s of my fl esh wherein the nour is h
'
ing of fle s hly volup ty b e resident a n d ab id ing are rep let e ,

”
a n d fulfilled wit h mocks and s co rns O foolish and .
mad fl esh which enti ceth and caus eth so many evils t o
t he hu rt of its elf I Fo r t he bo dy stirreth a n d moveth t he
soul oft entimes to the filthy lus t of t he fl es h which i s ,
t h e mos t hurt that can b e to th e bo dy : fo r the lively

sp irit s whereby the fl es h i s quickened b e spil t and shed
o ut with t he s eed o f man A n d so b y t hat h e los eth man y.
o f his st rengths Physicians say t hat a man taket h more

.
hurt b y t he effusion o f a l ittl e s ee d t han by s he dding of

t en times s o much blood whi ch things of a likelihoo d ,
S t P a ul meant rebuking fo rnicato rs saying P e e e cztu m

.
,
fe e e r22 uo m o ou2
’
c um e x 2 r0 p us s uum e 52 ;
ouo e oue cor
fo ru2 00 2 ur 272 co rp us s uum 2 e 0 00 2 ; E very sin that

'
0 u2 e 772 ,
a man doth is outward from his bo dy b ut he that dot h ,
fornication o r lechery o ffe n de th God and also hurte th

V erily it is a great mis ery to love the bo dy
”
his body . .
so much and notwithstanding p ro cure so great hurt t o

,
it b y fle s hly lus t Which mis ery our p rop het s heweth

.
,
“
saying E 2 72 0 72 e 52 50 72 22 0 5 272 e a ru e m e 0 : B y the reason
”
of fle s hly lust I have no health in my bo dy o r in m y fle s h ‘
-
.
Therefo re s in grieveth both bo dy a nd soul and p ro fi te th

none o f t hem but e n g e n de re th great hurt to both The
,
.
soul is torment e d by a sight of a pollut e d cons cien ce by ,
t he victo ry of sin having domination by the heavy b ur ,
den o f it by renewing of o ld sins by the misery that

, ,
followeth by the crooked cus tom of it once left and for

,
saken a n d last by p enanc e sorrowful The body is also

,
.
to rmented by th e p r icking of fle s hly lust and by loss of ,
his st rength S o that a sinner may safely say as t he

.
p rophet writet h following A flid us s um : I am t roubled

by sin both in body a n d soul The increas e of a s in
’
ner s pain is when he calleth to rememb rance how long
he hat h s erve d so uncourteous a n d ungentle a lord St . .
John saith Q uz e 72 2m p e ce a 2 um s e ro us e 52 p e e e o 2 2 :
’
,
“
H e that committeth s in is t he s ervant of sin The re .
”
fore every s inner hat h s in fo r his lo rd whom he s erveth .
What manner of lord s in is may b e known by the st ip en d

a n d rewa r d t hat h e giveth to his s ervants in the end St . .
Paul writ et h of this s t ip en d saying S tzp e u u z a p e e c 0 2 2 ’

' ’ ’
,
“ ”
m o rs e s t : The re w ard of sin is death What manner .
death ? Truly deat h et ernal This reward agr e eth well .
for s uch a lo rd What sti p en d shoul d the most unhappy

.
lord give b ut the wo rs t that may b e thought ? Whosoever

s erveth this malicious and curs ed lo rd is in great bon
dage and s ervitude : wh erefo re the p rop het a ddeth say ,
ing E 2 lz u m 2220 2 us s um 72 2m 25 : B y s in I am made a bond

”
man . To whom ? V erily to the lo rd named S in N ow .
ye have heard how many great mis eries we su ffer un der

t h e bon dage a n d yoke of sin and ho w we b e thrus t down ,
under t he clou d and darkness of sin Therefore let us .
fl ee unt o our b right morning t he mos t holy Mothe r of ,
God which as a fai r mo rning hath lifted up hers elf above

,
’
all darkness and by her humility hath b roken the devil s
,
head which was t he fi rst autho r a n d causer of s in and

,
darkness L et us ask a n d t rust help of her in this second

.
kind of w ret che dness whereof we have now spoken a l , .
way following t he wo rds and o rder of th e p rop het .

P S A LM xxxv n ( PA RT I) 57
Th e thi rd kind of mis ery is yet b ehind which we said ,
is t he mis ery o f igno ranc e and blindness whereby th e ,
light of t rut h i s turne d away f rom us as b y a clo ud , l
coming b etw een This b lin dnes s may b e s hewed many

.
ways as fi rs t by t he t wo means whereof we shall s p eak :

,
t hat is to say we abs tain not from s in n either fo r t he

, ,
abominabl e loathsomeness of it nor fo r the reve rence of ,
o ur b less ed L o rd Go d alway b eing p resent That t hing ,

.
mus t n eeds of very right b e t hought ugsom e a n d detest

abl e which is t he caus e o f so many great mis eries an d
,
b itterness es afo re reh ea rs ed ; fo r neither the p a ins of

H ell no r of Purgatory ha d neve r b een thought if s in had ,
not b een M ankind should never have felt any wearines s

.
o r bodily gri evance by the reason of labour if s in had ,
not b een ; n eith er any dist em pe rance o f cold o r heat t ha t

shoul d anno y t he bo dy hunger thi rs t no grief of s ick , , ,
nes s o r of violent s t roke if si n had not been Also th e

‘
.
,
soul should have want e d1 ignorance inconstancy and re , ,
b ellion o f understan ding against reason Thes e mise ries .
and many more whi ch no w I l eave of ? hap p en to us b e

caus e o f sin N othing in the wo rld dis p le a s e th Almighty
.
God b ut sin Fo r as Moses saith V 2 0 22 D e us e u72 02 22 ’

'
“
ou2e fe o e rut : e 2 e r0 72 2 v a la e 00 72 0 : Almighty Go d looked ’
and s aw all t hings which H e made and they w ere ve ry ,

”
goo d .E very c reat ure of God is good and acce p tabl e
to H im if sin b e away B ut if i t b e neve r so goodly a
.
'
c reat ure de file d with sin it is abominabl e in the s ight o f ,
God and far mo re abominab l e t han is the stinking car

,
rion of a dog o r any other venomous worm in the s ight

of men Wherefo re holy S crip t ure commandeth ever y
.
“
p erson saying Q 220 s 2 0 f0 0 2e oo lu0r2 fug e ue e co tum
, F le e
s in like as thou would fl ee from the sight of an adde r
”
o r any o the r venomous wo rm And t he holy man S t . .
Anselm saith : 5 2 e x urz0 p a rte Ge /2 e 72 72 0 fu er22 e 2 e x a lte r0

'
m o lle m Ge /z e uua m ou0 772 272 0u7 72 0 r2

' '
p e e co tum , z re ue o
00 2 0 : I f H el l were o f the one s i de o f me a n d sin on the
oth er side I had liefe r go into H ell than to b e de file d
,
wit h sin th e abominabl e stink of it is so great The re .
fo re ou r blindness i s very mis erab le which s o many t ime s ,
1
b e e n w ith o ut 2
s a y n o m o r e a b o ut
. .
58 TH E P EN I T E N TI A L P SA LM S
have heard o f 1 th e p reachers of Go d how deadly and

ho rribl e a monst er sin is a n d how mu ch it is to b e fl ed an d ,
:
d esp is e d ; notwithstan ding we do not eschew it but s tu , ,
dio us ly wit h all ou r diligence follow clip ? and in man ,
ner kis s it And when we have none oc casion t o sin w e

.
so rrow and wail There was never hungry lion that lay
.
so sore a wait fo r his p rey as sinners doth to get o cca

-
sions to s in ; they s eek the fla tt e rin g s of wo rl dly p leasures

even as ramp ing lions doth fo r thei r p rey Also if t hey .
b e deferre d from thei r p urpos e they wa il a n d make sor

row : whi ch m is ery our p rop het shewe d in th is next
vers e : R ug z e oa m 0 g e m z tu I sought o cca
‘ ’
m e2 :
s ion to sin not feignedly but from the very heart o f
,
me .
”
This is a great b lin dness that we have sp oken of

.
a n d th e other which we shall shew is mu ch mo re If .
t he loathsomeness of sin b e not su ffi cient to caus e us

l eave a n d fl ee from it at the leas t t he p res ence of A l ,
m ighty God ou r M aker our Governo r shou ld caus e us

, , ,
fo rsake s in : in Whos e power rest eth our life a n d deat h ,
Whi ch from above looketh a n d b ehol deth whatsoever we

do so op enly as I s ee a n d b ehol d any of you a n d much
, , ,
’
mo re op enly fo r i f man s asp ects o r s ight might come
,
from the soul and p i erce through a glass t hrough th e ,
h eavens unto the s tars till it come to the p lace where ,
Almighty Go d is resi dent notwithstan ding much more , ,
t he s ight of Go d hath power to look t hrough them all

down till it come to the furthe rest a n d inward parts of
t he heart a n d sou l I b es eech you let us think in ours elf
.
t h e clearer s ight the further may look a n d b ehol d ; and

yet if another b e twi ce so cl ear it may p erceive a n d b e
, ,
hold twi ce so far and so infin it ely Therefo re Almighty

, .
Go d whos e sight is far b r ight er a n d mo re cl ear than

,
a ll other b e may b ehol d a n d look to every distance b e

, ,
it never so far a n d without numb er A great difference .
is b etween the sight of God and of man The farthe r .
’
t hat man s sight goeth the more w eak a n d feebl e it is ,
.
Why ? Fo r it is limited at a certain 3 The sight of Go d .
i s of great st rength without e n d and limiting at cer

1
fro m ‘
1
.hug 3
a c e rt a in p o in t . .
P S AL M xxxv n ( PA R T I ) 59
t ainty and for that caus e whitherso ever it goeth forth ,
b e t he sp ace o r distance neve r so far it is always o f lik e ,
s t rengt h a n d p ower in every p lace without chang e o r

mak ing l es s : whi ch holy S cr ipt ure witnes s eth saying ,
“
A 22 2 72 g 22 0 flu e us oue e d fiu e m fo r2 22 e r : The sight o f
’
God a t ta in e th t o every distance from end to end st rongly ,

”
o r always al ike s t rong And in ano the r p lac e of S crip
.
t ure it is said N ulle e re 0 2 u7 0 e s t 272 27 252 02225 272 co us pe d u

illius 0 m 72 20 a ute m e 2 aper 2 0 s u7z2 o e ulz s e z us : No
' '
c reatu re is invis ibl e in t he sight of Go d all things b e ,

”
naked a n d op en to H is eyes Therefo re it is a great
.
a n d mis erabl e b lindness when we will not b ehold a n d
s ee t h e ho rribl e and fearful countenan ce o f sin A nd .
t ruly it is a mo re great a n d mis erabl e blindness no t t o

fea r t he sight o f th e Mos t H igh L o rd God Almighty ,
b ut H e looking upon us from Whom nothing may b e

,
"
hid to hav e the desi re of so loathsome a n d foul thing

,
in our hea rt as s in is if w e rememb er not and b e in wil l

,
to so rrow a n d wail fo r it 0 great darknes s ! . 0 dim

cloud ! 0 very thi ck m ist which s u ffers no t the light o f
t ruth to shine upon s inners ! L et us therefo re run t o ou r
mos t b right a n d cl ea r Mo rning Mary the M othe r of Go d , ,
which is without al l and the leas t spot of sin B eseech .
h er m eekly t hat she p ut away t his black cloud and dark

nes s o f sin to the int ent we may have grace to loath and
,
fear t h e fi lthin e s s of it a n d to dread the p resence o f ou r

,
fearful Ju dge Alm ighty Go d

, .
N o w sith we have s atisfi e d fo r ou r p urpos e at thi s

t ime w e s houl d leave this p la ce of the P salm but t hat
, ,
t he vers e follo w ing containeth a rehearsal o r epilogue

almost o f everything spoken b efore The p rop het saith .
“ ”
C o r m e um 2 u r 00 2 u m e 52 : My heart i s so re t ro ubl ed .
Take h ee d and mark here t he fi rs t k in d o f w ret che dness ,
t hat is to say the t emp estuous t rib ulations wherewith th e

,
h eart of s inners is t roubl ed and vexed fi rs t fo r fea r o f th e ,
et ernal p unishment of Go d in H ell fo r d rea d of H is ,
punishments in P urgato ry also by fear of death hanging ,
alway on our necks fo r d read o f Go d s p unishm ent in

,
’
t his life and las t fo r the ugsomenes s o f ou r sins

,
Fo r .
th es e w e may say w ith t he p rop het C o r 72 0 52 7 u772 00 72 2 ur

“ ”
00 2 u m e 52 : O ur hea rts b e sore t roubled I t foll oweth .
“
Dere 220u 2 2 m e o z r2 u5 m My st rength hat h fo rs a ken
' ‘
e0 :
”
me . H ere is noted th e s econ d kind of m is ery w hereby
w e b e p ut down mis erab ly under the t hral dom of sin by , ,
which t hraldom we b e overcome sub due d our old tokens , ,
of s in wax rotten aga in we be made unhappy c rooke d , ,
a n d so rro w ful we b e s co u rg e d sore and made low as

,
-
s ubj ect s so that of right w e may say : Dere 22 0u 2 2 72 0 5

' '
,
“ ”
O u r st rength hath fo rsaken us The
‘
m r2 us 72 0 52 7 0 : .
p rop het a dde d L um e rz o e ulo ru m m e o rum e 2 2p s u772 72 0 72

“ ”
e 52 m e c um : The sight o f mine eyes hath failed me .
H ere is t he third kind of w retchednes s exp res sed that ,
is t o say of our clou dy b lindness whereby we be so much

b linde d that neither fo r the abomination of sin which is ,
a foul and fearful monst er nor for the reverence of God , ,
b e i ng p res ent we w ill refrain b ut sin still and that

, ,
gri evously From which mis eries t he most bless ed V i rgin

.
deliver us whos e nati v ity we hallow th is day b y he r S o n

, ,
s
O ur L o rd Jesus C hrist Whom she as a fai r Mo rn ing ,
b rought fo rth the mos t b right S un to give light unto all

, ,
s inners .
TH E TH IR D P E N I TE N T I AL P SAL M .
DOM INE N E I N F UR OR E .
P S A L M xxxvii ( Part I I )
A LL we Ch ristian p eop le a re bound of very duty to give
great and immortal thanks to t he holy p rop het D avid ,
which so diligently ha th left in wr iting his Psalms most ,
godly to b e read of us and our p osterity And his so .
do ing as mes e emeth was most for three causes

, F i rs t ,
.
t hat by thes e holy P salms t he minds of sinners might b e

rais ed up and excit ed as b y a sweet melody to receive , ,
and take the s tudy and l earning of vi rtue S econdly .

,
that if any man o r woman hath fallen to great a n d

abominabl e sins yet they shoul d not despai r, b ut p ut
,
t hei r whole a n d s tea dfas t hop e of forgiveness in Go d .
Th irdly t hat they m ight us e these holy Psalms as l et

,
62 THE P E N IT E N TIA L P S A L M S
ness of God by thes e holy Psalms Fo r every man .
know eth t his p rop het D avid was a wret ched and grievous
s inner ; n evertheles s aft erwards he live d holi ly a nd by ,
th e merits of his life was lift e d up into heaven The .
med icine a n d remedy t hat he us e d fo r do ing away his

sins was p ure and clea r p enan ce w hich he laboured so ,
o
much by oft saying thes e Psalms that anon h e was made

p erfectly clean Why therefo re shoul d we wret che d sin
.
ners doub t to b e ma de clean from all sins b e they never ,
s o grievous when we know t he l ife b efo re of this p ro

,
p h et uncl ean with so great filthin e s s o f s in a n d now made ,
so b right and without spot of it by p enance which is ,
th e very p urger of s in ? T ro w e s t thou his s in was not

grievous ? T ruly it was ; which also hims elf witnesseth ,
“ ”
saying P e c c a vi w ide : I hav e sinned gri evously Is .
not the same medicine and reme dy whi ch he used that ,
is to say p enance p res ent a n d rea dy at han d to us all ?

,
Yes t ruly fo r it was sa id to every p erson P m m te rztio m

’
0 g 22 e : D o p enance H ave not we the same Go d and

.
”
,
is not H e as ri ch and p lentiful in H is mercy as ever :
H e was b efo re ? Yes without doubt ,

S t Paul a ffi rm e th . .
t h e same saying I de m D0 772 272 u s 0 772 72 2 u m e 2 dz o e s 0 m 72 es

' '
,
“
Th e Lo r d of all is one w ithout change
‘
q uz 272 27 0 00 72 2 e um
o r mutab ility and even al ike lib eral and p lenteous to
,
every c reature that callet h to H im T ro w e s t thou t hat .

”
H e b e partial in any con dition and that H e o ffereth not ,
H is grace to every creature o ve r all ? 1

Yes verily Fo r ,
.
S t P et er the Apostl e saith [ 72 o e rz 2 0 2 e c o m p e rz 0u2 0 72 0 72

' ’ '
e st p e rs o na ru m 0 00 0 2 2 0 7 D e us s e d 272 , 0 m 72 2 g e rz te ou2
2 2772 e 2 D e um 0 2 e 7 0 2 u r 7 u 5 2 22 20 m
ep 2 u 5 I 2 20 e 52 21 22 :
‘
e2 ,
0 00
I have sp ie d a n d p erceived fo r a t ruth that God is none

ac cep t e r of p ersons ; but amongst all p eople whosoever ,
dre a de th Almighty Go d a n d doth rig htw ise n e s s that p er ,

”
son is acceptabl e unto H im Therefo re if we drea d.
Alm ighty God and do rig htw is e p enance we may t rust ,
verily fo r to have fo rgiveness of H im and without do ub t ,
fo r to be accep te d of H is mercy Unto the which this .
holy p rophet D avi d both a dm o n is he th and enticet h us

b y thes e holy Psalms The which matter ought fo r to
.
g e n e ra ll y
1
.
P S A LM xx x v n ( PA RT I I ) 63 .
b e fo r all wret ched s inners to thei r great comfort a n d

t rus t of fo rgivenes s .
Th e thi rd a n d las t ( that t hes e holy Psalms b e like as

letters of supp licat ion th e whi ch we may give unto A l
mighty God as ready move rs a n d s ti rrers of H is infinit e
m ercy fo r us ) s hall b e ma de op en on t h is wis e I f p er .
a dvent ure any p erson have a matt er o r b us ines s with th e

King s H ighn es s and in his caus e g reatly d esi re his goo d
’
nes s a n d p ity will h e not s ho rtly go unto some wise man

,
in s uch mat ters a n d desi re a l et te r of s upp li cation fo r

to b e ma de diligently wh ereby h e may caus e th e King s
,
’
p ity in his busines s to b e ob tained and had ? Truly his

t rus t i s not only in his own wisdom fo r to b e so b ol d i n
han dling his matt er a n d t o p urpos e i t only by his own
,
wo rds o r his o wn wit We s inners b e i n like condition

. .
Fo r t ruly we have many mat ters in the h igh court o f

t h e most high King Almighty Go d fo r the whi ch , ,
it shoul d b e p rofitabl e and nec es sa ry t he p ity of Go d to

b e p urchas ed fo r us And who is mo re wi s e in that
.
court fo r our b usiness to b e s p ed that is to say fo r fo r ,
g iv e n e s s to b e ob tained than is our p rop het D avid t hat

,
committe d1 b efo re t he p eril and dange r o f t he same thing

i n hims elf ? V erily h e was a sinne r as we b e and a b usy ,
follower 2 fo r fo rgiveness With g reat d iligence he ma d e .
t hes e holy Psalms wh ich he daily off ere d up to Almighty

,
Go d with great d evotion a s l ett ers of supp lication by the ,
whi ch he moved greatly H is goodness fo r to forgive him .
Th erefo re we knowi ng t he vi rtue and effi ca cy of thes e

,
holy Psalms let us us e them i n ou r lik e b usines s a n d

,
doub t not t o have fo rg iveness if w e do i t so lovingly as

h e did in his time Fo rsooth every p rayer o ff ere d up
.
o f a p enit e nt h ea rt is ac cep tabl e unto ou r most good and

merciful L o r d God b ut that p rayer above all other i s
,
far mo re ac cep tabl e to H im whi ch is app roved b y hol y

C hurch a n d ma de b y a man of marvellous and not un
known hol iness : in t he wh ich p rayer fi rs t i s aske d fo r
g iv e n e s s o f sins st
,
rength of the soul to withs tand s in and ,
continuance o f vi rtue Whi ch t hing is nobly done in the

.
Psalms of D avid namely i n t he V I I P enitential P salms

, ,
e x p e r ie n c e d s u it o r
1
. .
64 THE P E N I T E N TI A L P S A LM S
whos e declaration we have taken u p on us Therefore let .
u s gladly and lovingly recite 1 them and oft offer them up ,
u nto Almighty Go d meekly asking forgiveness o f H im

,
fo r our sins which uncourt eously we have committed and

,
done aga inst H i s goo dness .
I n th is p art of th e Psalm our p ro p het D avid doth

th ree things F i rst he calleth to min d his w ret chedness
. .
S econ dly he gathereth together many th ings whereby he

may t rus t fo r to have forgiveness A n d thirdly he .
sh ew et h that only by th e hel p of Almighty Go d he con

t in u e th in this goo d p urpos e N othing t hat may be s e e n.
o r thought is mo re p ro fi tabl e whereby the mercy of God

may exerc is e and us e H is op eration than is our wret che d ,,
ness wh ich in how much t he more it b e so much more it

, ,
must move a n d sti r ou r merciful L or d God to p ity and

forgiveness Therefo re this p rop het D avi d rememb er
.
,
ing it calleth to min d all his o ffences a n d t respas ses

, ,
whereby he may shew his w ret che dness to b e great a n d

o verheap ed H e spake b efo re of t he inwar d parts of
.
mis ery ; now h e rememb ereth numb ering the outward

“
p art s of it This p rop het saith thus : My wretche dnes s
.
s tandeth not only in the t rouble of mine heart which i s ,
v ery great no r in the feebl enes s of my st rength dep ressed

, ,
a n d p ut down by the tyranny of vices n either in ,
th e m iserabl e b lindness of my soul ; b ut i t is other w is e

inc reas ed and by that whereof my chief comfort and
,
consolation ought to b e ha d whi ch is a very unhappy ,
kin d of wret chednes s V erily they that b e my frien ds

.
a n d nigh about me b e mine a dversa ries and most agains t

,
m e .
”
P era dventure it shoul d s eem t hat we have sa id a
t hing against reason to say that our frien ds a n d they that
b e next us b e rather our en emies than our frien ds B ut
,
‘
a n d9 w e will ca ll to mi d and rememb er how much they

n
-
do let 3 us from getting the health of ou r souls i t should ,
t o no man b e a doub t Fo r what shoul d b e more p re

.
c io n s a n d cl earer unto us than tim e a n d long sp ace of

life to do p enance fo r our sins and t resp ass e s done and
p ast a n d to ob tain many large r ewa rds of God by doing
,
g ood works ? Which goodness and good pur p os e is most

“
1
T he t e xt ha s de s ire 2
if 3
hin de r
.
”
. .
P S A LM X X X V I I ( PA RT I I ) 65
o f all taken away by them that b e next about us and ou r

frie n ds 1 namely that w e call our fri ends
,
A certain .
“
docto r saith They b e thieves a n d steal away ou r time
,
”
of well doing in this worl d
-
Also if w e b e in the wil l
.
for to forsake this wo rld o r to tak e upon us a harder

and a st rait er way of living who s hall sooner withs tand ,
our good p urpos e than they which b e as ou r f riend s and

next about us ? I f we b e in mind to s ell all that we have
and dist rib ut e it in alms unto the poor p eop l e after th e ,
couns el of C hrist who will b e mo re against us t han our

,
friends and neighbou rs ? O ft ent imes at g reat feas ts ,
j u n k e r ie s 2 and drinkings w e b e made mo re int emp erat e

,
and mo re dis p os ed to vi ce than i s convenient a n d hones t

for u s to b e A n d by whos e biddings and desi res els e
.
,
but by our f ri ends and neighbou rs ? Also of every wo rd

spoken unp ro fita b ly a n d in vain we shall give ac count
b efo re God : notwiths tanding it c o n te nt e th not our ,
friends wh en we b e in thei r company witho ut w e us e many

idl e wo rds and unfruit ful both fo r b ody and soul Mo re .
over in whos e ca u s es and b usines s doth o ur cons cien ce .
more grudge and i s hu rt than in the caus es and b usines s

of o u r neighbours and f riends when we hel p defend o r , ,
p rais e them to others o r els e advance them ours elf ? And ,
last if ou r n e ighbours and friends s ee anything in us

,
to b e lauded o r p rais ed they glaver and p rais e it so mu ch

3
,
t han anon we sin in vainglo ry and also b e p roud of our ,
s elf And if they s p y anything in us that is lewd o r to

.
b e forbidden they will c raftily co lour i t o r els e go by

, ,
a s4 they s ee i t not so t hat we never can kno w ours elf

,
.
Wherefo re t hey b e to b e thought rather ou r enemi es than

our f ri ends They s eem to dra w nea r us fo r ou r p rofi t
.
,
but contrary t hey do against us and nothing fo r ou r p ro

fit O ur p rophet saith in like manner A m ic i m e z e 2 07 0 22 2772 2
’
772 e 2 a dv e rs um m e e 2 5 2 e 2 er u 72 2 : My
friends and neighbou rs drew nigh and stood s tiffly agains t
me .
”
H e s p eaket h not o f t hem that b e fri en ds indee d
( B
'
s uch b e very s cant o f whom it is ,

written e a 2 u5 072 7
“
z 72 22 e 72 22 0 772 20 u m v e rum : B less ed a n d happ y is he that
'
1
P r ob a b ly th is sho uld re a d n e ighb ours ‘
.
’
p r e t e nd
2
m e r ry m a k in g s 3
fl tt r 1 ‘
a . e . .
66 TH E P E N IT EN TI A L P S A LM S
hath found a t rue fri end p eradvent ure at that time

this p rophet D avid ha d none s uch ) b ut of the carnal a n d
common friends whereof is a great numb er H e addeth .
saying E 2 0u2 722 x 20 m e e 7 0 72 2 0 e [o ug e s te te rurzt : They

,
’
which were as my friends and my neighbours stood afar

”
from me . Who shall we say is near any man if that
his ne ighbour and fri end b e not ? Who is to b e thoug ht
more nea r than a ne ighbour o r friend ? C ertainly none .
B ut p era dventure this p ro p het meant by the m that b e as

neighbo u rs a n d fri ends s uch as favo ur and owe good
wil l only to th e body A n d by thos e that b e nigh unto
.
‘
us he m eant them which have cure of souls For they .
of very duty should fi rs t have the name of a friend a n d

neighbour fo r b ecause t he soul is next the bo dy
, And .
t hough it b e so that every p erson hath charge of other

in rebuk ing vi ces ( Acco rding to the saying of our
S av iou r S 2 pe 0 00 0 er22 272 2 0 fra 2 e r l uus co rrip e e um : , If
thy b rother ( o r even christian 1 ) o ffen d thee co rrect ,
notwi thstan ding the o ffi ce of correction b elongeth fi rst

,
unto p relat es and unto s uch as hath cu re of souls Which .
b e s et in th is world by Almighty God as overlookers of

th e p eop l e unto whom is also commanded that they
,
s hould s hew to them thei r grievous o ffen ces ; but they

s tand afar o ff th ey spare to say the t r u t h
,
E ls e let us .
go to the lett e r! t hat i s to say bishop s b e ab sent from ,
thei r dioceses and p arsons f rom thei r chu rches ; els e to

’
3
th e s p iritual s ens e as thus : no man will sh ew the filthi

,
nes s o f sins All we use bypaths and ci rcumlocutions

.
-
i n reb uking them We go nothing nigh to th e matter

. .
And so in the mean s eason 4 the p eo p le perish with their -
s ins. Which t hing the p rophet co m p la in e th saying E 2 ,

’
022 2 7 ux2 0 m e e 7 0 72 2 0 e lo 72 g e s 2 e 2 e ru72 2 : They that had
'
,
”
cure of my soul s tood afar from me Truly thos e be
.
very w ret ches whom sins do s ub due and p ut under the

miserabl e yoke of s ervit ude o r bondage They b e also .
t hrust down into a more st rait er co rner of mis ery when

thei r friends and neighbours will not admonish and re
p rove thei r wickednes s but su ffer them so to continue ;
1 fe ll o w C hris t ia n
-
.
9
E th e r le t us se e if it b e n o t l it e ra lly s o
i 3 1
wh ile
‘
or . . .
P S A LM x xx v n ( PA R T 11 ) 67
when also p relat es and parsons do not co rrect thei r mis

livin g a n d sho rt ly call them to amendment b ut rather ,
go by and s u ff e r thei r mis go vernance What then ?

-
.
T ruly the soul b eing gla d o f his dest ruction and in man
,
ner running on his o w n b ri dl e not help e d by his friends , ,
nothing cared fo r of th e bishop s and s u ch as hath cure

of souls must needs come into t he devil s power whi ch ’
, ,
as wood 1 enemi es and ramp ing lions go about s eeking

”
whom t hey may devour They do the utt ermost of thei r .
p ower they go so re to t he matt er 2 and many times over

, ,
com e su ch as b e very st rong Therefo re w hat marvel .
is it if th e devils cat ch the mis erab le soul void and ut ,
t e rly destitut e of all h el p and so taken draw it into , ,
t he deep p it o f H ell ? The p ro p het sait h E 2 27 2m f0 02 e

'
“
00 72 2 0u2 0uoe re 00 72 2 0 72 2m 0 m m e a m : Th ey that sought
fo r to have my soul p ut great st rengt h fo r to ob tain thei r
"
pu rp os e . The curs ed devils st rength and p ower is very ’
great as S c rip ture saith :

, 0 72 e s t p 0 2 e 52 0 5 s up e r te rra m
N o st rengt h upon the earth may b e

'
0um 0 0 m p0 7 e 2 22 r e z s :
comp ared to t hem Whi ch if the y were s u ff ered to
.
”
exercis e upon mankind none should b e left alive , B ut .
Almighty God o f H is goodness will not so su ffer it ; and

b ecaus e o f t hat th ey give t hems elf to frauds and g uiles
,
st udiously Wherewith boldly they come unto us p er

.
,
s u a ding and s hewing t he vain p leas ure of this world ,
and the fals e joys of the fl es h ; wherewit h they s corn

us daily like as a man in his dream many t imes thinket h
,
to have great pl eas ures when no caus e is so to b e thought ,
t hen waking he p erceiveth hims elf dec e ived by his dream .
I t is writt en : D o rm ie ruut s o m m um s uu m e 2 72 2022 irw e ue r

’
’ “
772 0 72 2 0u s s uz s : Without
’
u72 2 0 772 72 e s 0 27 2 22 2 0 22 2 0 7 u 772 272

' '
doubt sinners b e b eguiled and all that they do b e b ut ,
dreams and vanit ies Which t hing th e p ro p het addet h

.
”
saying E 2 0u i 2 72 0u2 7 e 00 72 2 772 0 20 m z lz z 20 0 u2 2 su 72 2 va m ta te s

' ' ' ' ’
“
S uch as were mine enemies and willed me rat her evi l
than good s p ake and p ersuaded vanities unto me
,
that
is to say wo rldly riches pleasures and fals e fle s hly j oys
, ,
.
And if it b e so they may not take us by t hos e v a n itie s the n

‘
’
,
th ey lay in our way oth er sub tl e and c rafty bait s ; fo r

1
m ad .
2
t he y a re e ne rge t ic .
their p urp os e i s either by continuance of one temptation

,
or other to make a man weary and caus e him to think at

,
the las t that God will not h elp him a n d so he falleth into ,
des p ai r E ither t hey b e abo ut to b ring a man to a higher

.
1
p erfection of life to the end anon after they may over

,
t hrow him again els e they p ersuade and p ro p os e to a

,
’
man s mind a mo re p rofitab l e p lace to get virt u e in B e .
caus e why ? They may likely o r sooner p ut him down

and make him fo rsake it ; like as fishers do when they
b e ab o ut to caus e fis h to com e into thei r net s or othe r
1
engines th ey t roubl e the waters to make them avoid a n d

,
fl ee from t hei r wont ed p la ces S ometime they p ersua de

.
a man to change the manner of his l ife into a more strait

way of living than p eradvent u re any p erson may b ea r o r
su ffer that t hen h e that is griev ed ? aft erward give ove r
,
and fo rsake it ; like as men s a y ap es b e taken o f the

hunt ers by do ing on sho es For the p rop erty of an ape is
.
to do as h e s eeth a man do Th e h u nter the re fore will

.
lay a p ai r o f shoes in his way and when he p e rceivet h ,
the hunt er doing on his s hoes he will do t he s ame ; a nd

so a f ter that it is too hard fo r him to lea p and c l imb f rom
t ree to t ree as h e was wont b u t he fa ll eth down and anon
, ,
is taken .O r els e at some time they l ay b efo re a man

venom p rivily hid under t he colour of a p p earing vi rtue ,
as to s et hi s mind on getting a n d to lay up wo rldly riches

fo r the exercising o f the wo rks of m ercy E ither 3 they.
move a man to chastis e his body above his p ower f rom

the sin of l echery Thus by thes e frauds and other l n
.
numerab le th e devils b e about to t urn us fro m vi rtue ,
m e dz 2 0 00 72
’
wherefo re the p ro p het ad ded E 2 00 20 5 20 20

“ ”
tur : D aily thei r mind w a s to b eg u ile me B u t many .
times when we rememb er ours e l f to b e t emp ted we ,
have so great p leas u re in the thing shewed by suggestion ,
and it s eemeth so j oyful unto us that we p erceive no ,
guile in it o r at t he least we will not understand it

,
Therefo re somewhat we hea r and some we will not hear ;

we give audience only to i t that so u ndeth to the v o lup
tuo n s p leasures and p rofit o f the body and will not hear ,
th e p rivy guil e hid under that bo dily pleas u re but go by ,
he fin din g it o p p re s s iv e o r else
3
s e t th e m s e lv e s 2. . .
s uch as b e overcome by t emp tations are very blin d not ,
p erceiving t he ugsomeness of sin ; also they b e deaf not ,
hearing the fraud of the devil ; and las t they b e dumb ,
not s p eaking and wis ely rep roving th e a b omination of it .
S o b y custom t hey b e made like unt o dumb and deaf

p ersons utter l y holding thei r p eace E 2 f0 02 us s um s2ou2 .
’
12 0 772 0 00 0e 72 s 272 o re s uo re da rg u2 2 072 e s :
‘
72 0 72 0 u0 2e 72 5 .02 72 0 72
I am made like unto a man that i s deaf a n d d u mb ,
which neith er will hear the rebuking of sin nor s ay ,

”
against sin .
H itherto our p rop het hath describ ed t he mis erable

and unhap p y conditions of the sinner exp ressing his ,
manifold w ret chedness which ye have h eard ,

N ow in .
this s econd p lace he rememb ereth many things whereby

the goodness o f God may b e moved to forgiveness .
Among whom g ood hop e is th e fi rs t wit hout the which ,
everything that we do is o f no value ; fo r let us never

so much wail and sorrow ou r sins confes s them to never ,
so many p riest s and lastly study to p urge them by as , ,
much s atisfa ction as w e can all thes e p rofi t nothing with ,
out ho p e Fo r was not Judas very p enitent for his sins ?

.
Yes t ruly Fo r as Matthew saith : l udo s p w 72 2 2 e 72 2 20 duc

'
, .
t u s re 22 u l22 2 7 2g 272 2 0 0 7 g e 72 2 e 0 5 p r272 02 p 20us s 0 0e rdo tum

’
Judas b ei ng p enitent b rought again the thirty p ence

,
‘
,
”
to th e p rinces of the p ri ests o r to the chi ef of the ,
”
Jews L aw D id he not also s hew o p enly h is t re spass
’
.
when he made exclamation and said P e 000 0 2 2 r2222 e 72 5 50 72

g u272 e 772 ius tum : I hav e sinned gri evously bet raying this ,
”
rig htw is e blood ? And lastly he made satisfaction ,
more large than Almighty God would have asked A 02e 72 5 .
20 0ue 0 se s us p e udz 2 : H e went forth and hange d himself

‘
in an halt er I b es eech you what mo re bitter a n d

.
”
,
shameful kind of satisfaction might have fortune d him ? 1
V erily none And yet b ecaus e he wanted hop e a nd

.
despaired of forgiveness all th es e did nothing p rofi t him ,

.
For without doub t desp eration i s so thick an obstacl e

, ,
that b ut if ? it b e taken away t he light of Go d s grace may

, ,
’
not com e into ou r souls L et us t herefo re take away the

.
obstacl e of despai r and op en ou r souls by s teadfast hop e

1 ha
pp e n e d to
2
u nle ss . .
P S A LM xxx v n ( PA RT 11 ) 71
to receive th e grace o f God and it mus t needs ent er , .
S t Paul saith D e us 72 e g 0 7 e s e z p s um 72 0 72 potest : Al

’
”
mighty God may no t deny H is own s elf H e cannot .
b ut have m ercy on w ret ched sinners that t rust in H im .
H e may no m o re withdraw from them th e b eams of H is

grace if thei r souls b e made op en by s teadfas t ho p e to
,
receive it than the s un may withs tand his b eams out of

,
windows wh en they b e o p en Therefo re th e p rop het sait h .
Q uo m a m te D o m z ue s p e rm /2 t u e x0 u22 2e s m e D o m 272 e
’ '
, , ,
D e us m e us : B l es s ed L o rd b ecaus e I have t rusted i n ,

”
Thee Thou shalt hea r me my L o rd and my God
, , Of .
a t ruth great and st eadfast ho p e mus t n eeds alway b e

heard N otwithstanding thes e few co nditions following
.
,
mus t b e joined to i t : that is to say if th e thing aske d o f ,

’
Almighty Go d b e b elonging and not cont rary to t he soul s
health o f the aske r ; a l so i f h e b e wil ling and ready
‘
to su ffer co rre ction fo r his sins ; if he so rrow and wail

his erro r and b e glad to ac cus e hims elf ; last ly if h e wil l ,
b ewa re and from that time fo rwa rd abs tain f rom al l s u ch

evil o ccasions Al l t hes e th e p rop het rememb ered by t he
.
same o rder and made his p et ition fo r to b e heard s aying

, ,
Q uo m e m te Do 772 272 e 5p e 7 0 27 2 : L o rd Thou shalt h ea r

’
,
”
me b ecaus e I have t rust ed in Thee H e added the end .
fo r th e which he made his p etition that i s to say to the , ,
int ent his enemi es have not t he b ett er o f him and b e ,
much glad and joyful o f his doing amiss This p ro p het .
neith er asked earthly ri ches wo rldly honou rs p leas ures , ,
of the fl esh no r any other t emp o ral thing b ut only t he

, ,
'
he l p of Go d s grace agains t hi s enemi es that they j oy
not much in his fal l o r h u rt Truly the devi ls b e very .
glad if at any s eason they may es p y u s waver o r s tumb l e

’
out of th e way b reaking God s commandments , B ut .
when we fa l l down and give p la c e to the filthine s s of s in ,
not wi l ling fo r to ris e again then they joy abov e ,
meas ure Therefore t his holy p rop het rehears ed a n d

.
recit ed all thes e fo resaid t hings b e caus e 1 Almighty Go d

should exercis e H is m ercy a n d soon help him to the in , ,
t ent his enemi es should not b e glad at any time of his

Q uz 0 22222 2 72 e 0u0 72 0 o s up e rg o uo e o ut m 2/2 2
’ ’
fal l to sin
'
in o rde r t ha t
1
.
72 TH E P E N IT E N TI A L P S A L M S
Good L o r d I have recit ed all thes e and

'
272 2m 2 02
'
77 2 0 2 : ,
ma de my p etition b ecaus e mine enemies at any t ime ,
should no t b e very glad and merry of my fall in follow

”
ing th e concup is cen ce of the body Thes e enemies lay .
a wait both da y and night

-
they sp ar e us neither s leep ,
ing no r waking eating o r drinking in labou r o r any other

, , ,
st udy but always busy thems elf to cat ch our souls in their
,
snares Almighty Go d with all the whole comp any of

.
H eaven looket h down from above and b eholdeth our t rou

b le o r agony that we have to withstand thei r malice and
t emp tat ion ; they also take it heavily and b e so rry if we
b e overcome and if w e hav e the vi ctory they b e v ery
,
glad and j oyful And on the other p art thes e wicked

.
devils doth es p y and wait when w e b e about to fal l down ,
and as soon as we s et do wn our feet and of a l ike l ihood ,
shoul d slide o r s l i p then they make thei r vaunt of getting

,
the victory as it follow eth : E 2 0 u772 c o m m o o e utur p e de s

,
’
m e 2 s up e r m e m 0 g 72 0 20 0 u2 2 5 u72 2 :
, Whils t my feet were
”
moved and about to sl ip that is to say when my de , ,
s ires wavered and were removed from Almighty God ,
going unto s in t hen mine enemies cracked 1 and sp ok e

,
many great wo rds j oying and laughing me to s corn .

”
F urthermore he that wi l l b e hea rd of God must s ub

mit hims elf to wilful co rrection fo r his old sins o r a t the ,
least b e ready in his soul to humb l e and s ubmit hi ms elf .
I t is acco rding with right and equity that the p er

son which hat h followed his own s ensual p leasure
against th e will of Almighty Go d redeem and make ,
amends fo r his erro r in ? following the wil l of Go d , ,
cont rary to his own volup ty and worldly p leasure For .
s in must n eeds b e p unished either by our own s elf or ,
els e by Almighty God Which p ain o r p unishment if .
that we t ake upon us with a good will it is tho u ght then ,
we make satisfaction to Almighty Go d fo r o u r t res p ass es .
We p ut th is thing in execution a n d do it indeed when we ,
su ffer p atiently a dvers ities a n d punishments of Almighty

Go d o r inj u r ies done by our n e ig hb o u rs w ilf u l3 chastis e
, ,
ment s done by our own s el f o r els e if we su ff er patiently ,
p enance enjoine d by our b ishop s o r ghostly fathers after

1
b ra gge d by ‘
1
v o l un t a ry
'
1
. . .
P S A LM xx x v n ( PA RT 73
confession heard by them All th es e b e s courges where .
by the noisomeness of sin i s done away the sinner ,
amended and satisfaction is ma de to God

,
Wh erefore .
the p rop het s ait h Q u0 72 20 m e g o 272 fl0 g e 220 p 0 7 0 2 u5 5 22 m

“
I am ready good L o rd to do a l l manner p enance fo r my
, ,
”
s ins and not fe ign edly but with a t rue and co nt rit e
, ,
heart . B ut b es ide this manner of making satisfaction

is a l so asked fo r a duty o f t he sinner sorrow and in
, ,
ward rep entance o f the mind fo r as mu ch as h e hath de ,
file d th e image o f Go d within him des erved et e rna l dam ,
nation and los t the joy o f H eaven B ecaus e also he hat h

,
.
so much dis p lea sed ou r b est and mos t loving L ord Go d ,
Whi ch so cl early and so p lent eo us ly redeem ed us wit h

th e P recio u s B lood of H is only b egott en S o n Jesus
C hrist .
Alw ay th e sinner mus t so rro w and wail thes e ,
offences rehears ed so o ft as they co me to his mind We ,

.
find in S crip t ure that P eter chi ef of all the Apostles , ,
we p t and wailed daily his erro r in denying his Mas ter

C hrist J esus 0 how m u ch unlike b e thes e wret che d
.
s inners unto Peter that b e glad when they have done ,
amiss and j oy in t hei r evil doings ! Which thing t ruly

more dis p le a s e th A l mighty God than th e s in done It .
is very hard at a l l times to rememb er and call to min d

that w e have done amiss and alway to sorrow ; n o tw ith ,
s tanding this mus t at all s easons b e fi rm and s tabl e in

,
t he soul that as o ft as t he rememb rance of sins cometh to

,
our minds so oft w e mus t desi re to b e sorrowful fo r them .
And this we mus t do with all ou r p ower s t rength and , ,
good wil l Fo r ou r p enit ent p ro p het s aid E 2 do lo r 772 0 22 5

.
272 00 72 5pe 02 u tuo s e m p e r : M y so rrow for my s ins was

”
a l w ays in th e sight of min e unders tanding S orrow and .
inward p enance is not only 1 suffi cient b ut also we mus t ,
make confes sion and shew to an abl e ? p ri es t ou r sins

,
when time shall requi re els e all ou r so rrow and p enance ,
b e it never so grievous shall b e but in vain and o f none ,
e ffect I n t he whi ch con fess ion we may not t el l fables

.
’
a n d other men s faults but only our o w n ; neither may
,
w e shew ou r light s ins l eaving the g reat and h eavy um ,
1
a l o n e
2
qua l ifie d
. .
74 T HE P E N IT E N TI A L P S A L M S
shew ed : we mus t a l so shew all our o ff ences small and ,
great without any shadow o r colour nothing ex cusing

, ,
o r making l ess but exp ress ( as much as w e may ) the

,
very wicke dnes s with all the ci rcumsta nce as it was done
in deed Fo r t his caus e our p enitent p rop het added say
.
ing Q uo ru a m 272 20u22 0 2 e m m e0 772 0 72 72 u72 22 22 00 : Go o d

’ ‘
L ord I shall s hew mine own wi ckedness o r sin even as it

, ,
was without colour o r gloss And las tly it is very meces

, .
”
s ary t hat we s tudy and take heed in any wis e never after
to f a ll and turn again to sin like a dog that t urnet h
’
again to his vomit o r a sow once w a lte e d in the clay

r ,
1 »
will return to that filthy p lace That p erson whi ch stead .
fast ly hath p urposed with hims elf to amend his life is

always studious and b usy to es chew and fl ee every o cca
s ion o f sin s eeking wholesome remedies fo r the same
,
.
H e rememb ered in hims elf how unwis ely h e fell ,
how short p l easure h e had of i t and soon done also how ,
long p enance h e is b rought unto continually to b e p er ,

’
manent unto his life s end H e that c a n ke e p this thing
'
alway p resent in th e s ight of his soul rememb ering it ,
inwardly that p erson shall not l ikely return to his o ld

,
sins Fo r this our p rophet said E 2 0 0g220 00 p ro p e c c0 2o

.
m eo : I shall at all times rem emb er and think on my

”
sin that nothing o f it b e un cont rit e and unconfess ed
,
.
Whosoever doeth all thes e things aforesaid that is to sa y , ,

’
h e that asketh of Almighty Go d anything fo r his soul s
health and do it wit h good hop e ready to co rrection , ,
sorrowing his o ff ences done shewing t ruly the same b y ,
confession and ( last ) purposing ever aft er to abs tain

,
from all o c casions o f sin without doub t that p erson shal l ,
b e hear d and ob tain his p e tition .
Yet is b ehind 2 to b e spoken of which we said in the

/
third p lace : how this p rophet shewed that he might not

continue in goodnes s without the help of God That .
p erson which o f long s eason hat h had in exp erience and ,
customab ly us ed himself in exercising guile a n d frauds , ,
may lightly com p as s a s impl e and unwis e creature and

b ring him out of the way whither he lis t N ow if there .
b e many suc h and all they with one ass ent enviou s ly
,
1
wa llo we d 2
re m a in s . .
P S A LM xx xv n ( PA R T I I ) 75
have consp i red the death of a simp l e p erson how may ,
he fl ee so g reat mali ce and namely 1 so much p ut in e x e r

cis e ? 2
Truly it is a thing incredib l e I t may not b e .
done without s ome man mo re mighty than they withstand

,
and defend him We al l b e in like cas e There is none

. .
o f u s b ut some wicked spi rit p urs ueth him wit h great

hat red ; and s urely this wi cked sp i rit by long and daily
ex ercis e hat h gott en by craft a thousand w il es and means
to b egui l e any p erson Fo r from th e b eginning of t he
.
wo rld unto this time b eing alive he hath learnt all de ,
c e itf ul crafts whereby any man may b e sub verted be ,
he never so st rong And moreover whensoever h e hath

.
gotten the b ett er o f any p erson, he i s by t hat deed made

‘
the bo l der and in manner mo re st rong ; a nd he that is

so o vercome is made t h e weaker and more feeb l e There .
fore this p rop het saith in the p erson o f us all 1 72 2772 202
0 u2 e 772 m e 2 m o uut e 2 e o ufl rm 0 2 2 s ur M ine
’
2 t s up e r m e :
”
enemies b e alive and have st rength fa r abov e me I .
may well say they b e alive Fo r why ?

. They a re im
mo rtal . They b e f a r s tronger than we b e fo r by oft en ,
having the vi ctory t hey hav e taken upon t hem m o re bol d

ness . I f at any time a sin ner fle e to holy p enanc e p ur
p osing to amend his l ife and diligently p urge his con
s cience with weep ing t ears and s o chas e away the wicked
,
spi rit t hat im p ugn e th him ye t h e is not cl ean delivered ;

,
fo r the same evil sp i rit will anon come a g ain and b ring
e th with him s even others mo re wicked t han hims elf a nd ,
by new frauds is about c ra f tily to s ubdue that p erson .
Which ou r S aviour a ffirm e th in the Gos p e l of L uke and ,
th e p rophet in t his p lace w a ile th t he same saying E 2 ,
m u 22 2p 2200 22 s u72 2 0u i 0 der u 72 2 m e 2 72 20ue : Those that

'
w i ckedly and o f very ma l i ce did hat e me b e mu l ti p lied ,

”
t hey b e increas ed to a mo re numb er N ot on l y damned
.
s p i rit s b e malicio us adversari es to m e but also thei r

he l p ers that is to say p ervers e and curs ed folks to whom
,
everything wel l done is odious o r hat eful N amely when .
they see any p erson that hat h despis ed wi cked con

versation wo rldly gloss es o r fla tte ring s and by holy
, ,
p enance is becom e a new man then thes e ministers of ,
e s p e c ia lly s o w e ll t ra in e d
1 2
. .
76 0 THE P E N I T E N TIA L P SA LM S
t he devil and furtherers of his malice more loving dark ,
nes s than light l ike u nto a b east called a back do b ack

,
1
,
bit e p u rsue and l augh him to s co rn whereas they sho u ld

,
p rais e and give t hanks unto such p enit ent p ersons For .
th e more that are p enitent the mo re p rayers in n u mb er ,
and mo re accep tabl e b e o ff ered up to Almighty God ;

w herewith H e b eing p l eased deferreth His grievo u s
p u nis hment and s hortly doth not shew vengeance upon
sinners whi ch daily do p rovoke His goodnes s to thei r
,
utt er u ndoing Thes e wicked sinners therefo re b e very

.
unkin d and m u ch s et agains t them that b e converted into

a b etter life by p enance And as the p ro p het saith they
.
, ,
give and reward evil fo r good Q uz re 2 r20uu72 2 772 0 20

‘
pro 00 72 25 de 2 7 0 /2 e 00 72 2 772 222 2 0u 072 20 m se 0u e 00 7 00 72 22 0

,
2 e 772 : S u ch as give in rewa rd evi l for good did mali ci

o us ly backb it e m e b ecaus e I fol l owed goodness O ur
”
.
S aviour said to His Ap ostles 52 de m urz do fu2s s e 2 2s m uu ,
dus 0u0 d s u um e 52 d222ge re 2 S e d 0u20 de m u 72 d0 72 0 72

.
es 2 2s p ro p 2 e re 0 odi2 0 0 5 m uudus :
, I f ye were of th e
wo rld the wo r l d shou l d love yo u B ut b eca u s e ye b e
,
.
”
not of the wo r l d therefo re i t hat eth yo u
, They that .
t ake u p on them the w a y o f p enance doth fo rsake worldly

~
conversation and in no wise b e conformed to i t : fo r the

w hi ch t hey b e forsaken of the wo rld What shal l w e .
do ? Th e devi l many times gri eveth us the wo r l d p u r ,
s u e th and fol l oweth us what remedy may b e gott en

,
amongs t so many adversaries ? Tr ul y H e that is

Almighty may succo u r us and none other L et us b usily .
ask H is he l p fo r since our adversari es continually every

,
moment do p u rsue us therefo re we must p ray continually

,
unto Almighty God Which o u r S aviour co nfirm e th say

.
”
ing 0 p 0 7 2 e 2 se m p e r o ra re We m u st always p ray
'
If .
th e h elp o f His grace b e no t ready at a ll s easons we

mus t needs sag and bow Th erefo re like as o u r p rophet
.
,
according to the manner of a sick man that is in g reat

p eril and so re vexe d with si ckness will that the physi cian
fo rsake him not in any manner wis e ne ither go from him ,
at any s eason but dil igently give heed to make him

,
w hol e : s o our p rophet p rayeth unto Alm ighty God that

1
bat .
”
give heed to mine hel p C a s s ia nus saith Thes e words
.
,
”
b e of great virtue and always to b e ha d in rememb rance .
Wh ich also the C hurch u s eth very oft en in the s ervi ce o f

Go d at all times asketh H is hel p in the b eginning of
,
it L et us therefo re which b e wrapp ed and close d in all

.
,
thes e mis eries afo re rehears ed go by p rayer unto our b est ,
and merciful L o rd God wit h s teadfast hop e and t rue ,
p enance and meekly b es eech H im of H is help that s ince

, ,
H e only may defen d us f rom our enemies will v o uc hs a f e ,
to deliver us from them also not to go away neither fo r ,
sake us b ut always give heed unto ou r h elp Q 22 0 72 20 772

'
.
, .
ip se e 52 Dom 272 u 5 D e us 50 2u22 5 uo s trm For why ? H e is

'
God and L o rd of our health giving t emporal he a lth to ,

”
,
our b o dies and to our souls th e health of grace in this

,
life and in th e genera l resurrection to come ( which we

,
verily t rust ) everlasting hea lt h both to bo dy and soul To .
t he which our L o rd by H is ine ffabl e mercy b ring us .
Amen .
TH E F O U R T H P E N I T E N T I A L P SA L M .
M I S ER ER E M E I D E U S .
P SA L M 1 ( Pa rt I )
T H AT man were p ut in g reat p eril and j eo p ardy that
_
shoul d hang over a very deep p it holden up by a weak ,
and slender co rd o r l ine in whos e bottom b e most wood 1 ,
and c ruel b east s of every kind abiding with great desi re ,
his falling down fo r t hat intent when he shal l fall down

, , ,
anon to devour him ; which line or cord that h e hangeth

by should b e hol den up and stayed o nl y by t he hands o f
,
that man to whom by his manifold ungentleness h e hath

o rdered and made hims elf as a very enemy L ikewis e .
,
dear friends consider in yours elf I f now under me were

, .
such a very deep p it wherein might b e lions tigers a n d

, , ,
b ears gap ing with op en mouth to dest roy a n d devou r me

at my falling d0wn and that there b e noth ing whereby I
,
might b e hol den up and su ccoured but a b roken bucket or

1
furio us .
P S A LM L ( PA R T I ) 79
pail w hi ch shoul d hang by a small cord s tayed and hold ,
en up only b y t h e han ds of him to whom I have b ehaved ,
mys elf as an enemy and adversary by great and grievous

inj uries and wrongs done unto him would y e not think me ,
in p erilous conditions ? Yes without fail Truly al l we ,

.
b e in like manner Fo r under us i s th e ho rrible and

.
fearful p it o f H ell whe re the b lack devils in the likenes s

,
of ramp ing and c ruel b east s do th ab ide desi rously ou r

falling down to them Th e l ion t he tige r t he b ear o r
.
, , ,
any other wild b east neve r layeth so busily a wait fo r -
his p rey when he is hungry as do t h thes e g reat and borri ,
b le hell hounds the devi ls fo r us

-
,
O f whom m ay b e
,
.
heard the saying of Mos es : D e u2 e s 0e 5220 r u m 2m m 22 2 0 m

e o s 0 u772 furo re 2 7 0 /2 e 72 2 2 u m 0 2 0ue s e rp e 72 2 um : I shall
'
s end down am ongst them wild b easts to gnaw thei r fl esh ,
with t h e woodnes s 1 of c ruel birds and s erp ent s d rawing

”
and t earing thei r bones There i s none of us living but
.
that i s holden up from f alling down to H ell in as feeb le

and fra il vess el hanging by as weak line as may b e
,
I .
b es eech you what ves s el may b e mo re b ruckle 2 and frail

,
than is our body that da ily needeth rep aration and i f ,
thou re f resh i t not ano n it p erish et h and comet h to

,
nought ? A hous e made of clay i f i t b e not oft en re ,
newe d and repai red wit h p utting to of new clay shall at ,
t he last fall down And much mo re this hous e made of

.
fl esh this hous e o f our soul this vess el wherein o u r soul

, ,
i s holden up and bo rne abo u t b ut if 3 i t b e refres hed by ,
often feeding and p utting to o f meat and drink with in ,
the s p ace of three days i t shal l wast e and sl ip away We .
’
b e daily taught by exp eri enc e how feeb l e and frai l man s
body i s ; also b eholding daily the goodly and st rong
‘
bodies o f young p eopl e how soon t hey di e by a short ,
si ckness And t herefo re S olomon in the book called

.
E c cl esiasti cus co m p a re th the body of man to a pot that is

b ro cle 2 saying M e m e m o C re 0 2 0 7 2 s 2 22 2
, d2e 0u 5 iuve rztu
“
2 25 tu2e 0 0 2 e 0u0 m 0 0 72 2 e 7 0 2 ur lz ydrra s up e r f0 72 2 e m H ave
’
mind on thy C reato r and Maker in t he time of thy young

age ere ever t he pot b e b roken upon the fount a in
, that
is t o say thy bo dy and thou p eradventu re fal l into th e
, ,
1
fury 2
b rittl e
.
3
un l e s s
. .
’
well ; that is to say into the d e ep ness of H ell This pot

, .
( man s body ) hanget h by a very weak co r d whi ch the ,
s ai d S olomon in t he same p lace calleth a cord or l ine

ma de of silver : E 2 0 72 2 e 0u 0 772 ru m p 0 2 ur 7 22 72 20 u2u s 0 rg e 72 ‘
”
2 e us : Take h eed b y faith ere the silver co rd b e b roken , .
Truly this silver co r d whereby ou r sou l hangeth and is

hol den up in t his po t in this frail vess el our bo dy is
, , ,
th e life of man Fo r as a littl e co rd o r line is m ade or

.
woven of a few t hreads so is the life o f man knit together

,
by four humo u rs t hat as long as they b e knit together in

,
’
a right o rder so long is man s life whole and sound This .
cor d also hangeth by the hands and power of God Fo r .
as Job saith : Q u0 72 20 m 272 2222us m 0 72 u e 52 0 72 2m 0 ( 2d e s t

0 22 0 ) 0 m 72 2s w o e 72 2 25 : I n H is hand and p ower is the life
'
”
of every living creature And w e by our unkindnes s
.
done against H is goodn ess have so greatly p rovoked H im

to w rath t hat it is a marvel this l ine b e so long holden up
by H is power and maj esty ; and if it b e b roken t his pot ,
our body is b roken and the soul s lip p eth down into th e
,
p it of H ell there to b e to rn and all to ren t o f 1 thos e

,
- -
most cruel h ell hounds -

0 good L o rd how fearful
.
, ,
condition stand we in if we rememb er t hes e j eo p ardies

,
and p erils ! And if w e do not rememb er them we may ,
say 0 marvellous b lindness yea ou r mad ness never

, , ,
enough to b e waile d and c ried out up on ! H eaven 1 5

above us w he re in Almighty Go d i s resident a n d ab iding
, ,
Which giveth H ims el f to us as our Father if w e ob ey a n d ,
do acco rding unto H is holy commandments The deep .
nes s of H ell is under us greatly to b e abhorred full of , ,
devils O u r sins and wicke dnes s b e afore us

. B ehin d .
us b e t he times a n d s p aces that were o ffered to do satis

factions and p enance whi ch we have negligently lost
,
.
O n our right han d b e all the b enefits of our most goo d

and meek L o rd Almighty God given unto us And on .
our left hand b e innumerab le misfortunes that might have

happ ened if that Almighty God had not defen de d us by
H is goodness and meeknes s Within us is the most stink .
ing abomination o f ou r sin wh ereby the image of A l ,
mighty Go d within us is very fo u l deformed and by that ,
1
t o rn to p ie c e s b y .
82 THE P EN IT E N TIA L P SA LM S
d2772 22 2 e re p e 0 00 222 72 252 50 2u5 D e us ? Fo r who may els e

fo rgive sins but only our B l ess e d L or d Almighty Go d ? ”
L et us al l therefo re c ry unto H im saying M z s e re re m e z

‘ ‘
Go d ha v e mercy on me P era dventure some ”

D e us :
‘
.
,
man wi ll think in hims elf if no reme dy may b e els e had

b ut o f A lmight y God Whos e maj esty I ungracious sin
, ,
ner have so oft and s o gri evously o ffended heaping si n

, ,
upon sin how s hall H e so light ly have mercy u p on me ?

,
Ho w may it b e that H e shall not take vengeance and

p unish me s ince H e is so might y and rig htw is e ? For
,
great men in p ower o f this worl d the mo re mighty a nd ,
rig htw is e they b e so much th e mo re they exercis e and

,
us e vengeanc e a n d p unishment u p on them t hat b e wicked

and b re a kers of the law Therefore sith Almighty God .
is most rig htw ise and mos t mighty of all how may He ,
have mercy and not avenge H is quarrel o f so ma ny and

great t resp ass es done agains t H is highnes s ? Unto this
w e answer in this manner wis e : that the j udges of this
wo rl d ( if any b e witho ut fals eness and mali ce ) b e so
ob edient a n d s ubj ect unto the laws whi ch alway they ,
must o b ey that i t i s not lawful to t hem at thei r o wn

,
will and arbit rament to fo rg ive such as shall p leas e them .
Also many o f t hem ( and almos t all ) have so much curs ed

’
nes s and mali ce set in thei r minds that i f t hat they might , ,
t hey will not fo rgive t hos e that hath o ffended t hem i n

any condit ion Fo r why ? They have but little mercy
.
and almost non e I t is writ ten [Ve m o 00 72 us 72 252 50 222 5

'
N o man i s good b ut only A l mighty Go d ”

'
D e us : He .
.
only is o f so great meekness and pity t hat no point of

malice neither o f fals eness may b e in H im Therefore .
since H e i s so meek a n d so merciful and above H is laws , ,
also in no condition subj ect to them H e may forgive a n d ,
b e merciful to whom H e will ; and so shall H e do for H e ,
may not have little mercy b ut always great and p le u

t e o us .T ruly the mercy of ou r mos t mighty and b est
L o rd is great and so great that it hath al l meas ure of
,
great ness S ometimes t rees b e call ed great fo r thei r

.
goodly and large height Pit s b e calle d great for th ei r

.
deepnes s Far journeys b e call ed great b ecaus e they

.
are long S t reet s and highways b e called great fo r thei r

.
P S A LM L ( PA R T I ) 83
b readth and wid e nes s B ut the mercy o f God contain et h .
a n d is measured by all th es e measures of grea tnes s and ,
not only by one of them O f the greatnes s in height is .
w ritt en D o m 272 e 22 5 0ue 22 22 002 20 5 772 2ser200 7 d2 0 2 22 0 : L o r d

’
,
”
Thy mercy ext endet h and reacheth up to the heavens .
I t is also great in deepness fo r i t reachet h down to the

'
lowest H ell The p rop het s aith M 2 5 e7 2 00 rd2 22 2 u0 m 0 g 72 0

‘ ' '
e s t s up e r m e : e 2 e ru2 52 2 22 72 2m 0 772 m e a m e x 272 /e 7 72 0 272 fe r2

'
07 2 : L o rd Thy mercy i s gr eat ove r me and Thou has t

, ,
deliver e d me from the lowes t and deep e st H ell I t is

b road fo r it occup ieth a n d o ve rco v e re th all th e wo rld
, ,
the same p rop het s aying fl i 2se rz 0o rd20 D o m 2 72 2 p 2e 72 0 e s t

’ '
“ "
2e7 7 0 : The ea rth is full o f the m ercy o f ou r L o rd .
I t lacketh no length fo r also i t i s s p ok en of th e same ,
p rop het [72 2 5 er 200 7 d20 e ius 0 0 02 2 e 7 72 0 e 2 us 0ue 272 2e 2 e 7 72 u772

'
sup e r 22 m e 72 2 e 5 e um : Th e mercy o f God is without end

on them that dre a de th H im Therefo re s it h the mercy .
”
of Go d is so high so deep so b road and so long who can

, , ,
o r may say o r think i t lit tle ? Who shall not cal l it great
by al l measures of greatness ? Th en every c reature that
will acknowl edge hims elf to this m ercy may say [li z se re re
’
m e 2, D e us 5e 0 u72 dum m 2f
se r20 0 7 d2 0 m
’ ’
, m 0 g 72 0 772 2 u0 m :
”
L o rd have m ercy on m e a cco rding t o Thy g reat mercy .
Two things there b e concerning mercy : that i s to say in ,
ward mercy and th e work of mercy outwardly don e

,
.
Th ere lieth p eradventure in th e op en st reet a poo r man -
full o f so res : a certain phys icia n coming by b eholdeth

him and is mo ved anon with inward pity n everth el ess he ,
go eth b eside 1 and giveth him no medi cine at all T ruly .
although this physician were somewhat merciful to t his

poo r man yet h e sh ewe d no d eed o f m ercy unto him And
, .
we ours elf oft entimes s ee and b ehold many needy and

sick folks unto whom we give no help a l b eit we b e some
, ,
what moved inwardly with pity and mercy O ur p rophet .
therefo re saith o f very right in anothe r place p raising ,
the mercy o f God [72 250 7 200 7 5 e 2 m 25e 7 0 20 r D o m 272 22 5 H e

, .
is 772 2se7 200 7 5 that is moved with some mercy inwardly .
[12 250 0 2 0 7 i s he that doeth and p erformeth outwa rdly

th e deed of mercy Therefo re ou r L o rd is not only mer
.
1
by .
c if ul inwardly but also H e exercis eth o utwardly the work

,
\
of i t .And if H e execute d not mercy in de e d w ha t ,
should it p rofit us ? Fo r why ? W e shall f eel no reme dy ,
by inward pity only o f the grievousness that we su ffer , ,
a nd b efore were o verth rown by

.
without the dee d of ,
mercy b e shewed I t i s not therefo re enough that A l

.
m ghty Go d hav e mercy o n us b ut if He do the deed of

i 1
mercy And what ot her thing is to give a nd shew on us

.
the wo rk of mercy but to do away our w ret chedness that ,
is to say our sins whereby we b e made w ret che d ? S cri p

,
tu re sai th M is e ro s [0 022 p o p ulo s p e 000 2 22 772 : S in maketh

”
w ret che d p eop l e I t is very needful t ruly to p ray that
.
Alm ighty Go d b e merciful unto us and also vouchsafe to

execut e th e deed o f His mercy on us that is to say to , ,
do aw ay our sins and give us H is mercy according to the

multitu de of His me rcies I f thou sin once i t is nee d
.
,
ful to thee one m ercy whereby that sin may b e done ,
away .I f twi ce o r thrice o r p eradventure more often ,
then it shall b e needful to thee so many mercies as t hy

s ins b e O f a t ruth the merci es of A l mighty God b e ia
.
numerab le Fo r l ike as from the great light of the sun

.
cometh and sheweth fo rth innumerable b eams so f rom ,
the great mercy of Almighty God goeth fo rth innum e r

able me rcies N u mb er the sunb eams if it b e p ossib le
.
,
a n d t he me rcies of Almighty God b e m ore witho u t e n d .
H ow grievous and how g reat soever ou r sin b e yet the ,
mercy of Go d is much more whereby He may b e merci ,
ful to us And how many soever the y b e in numb er yet

.
, ,
t he merc ies of Him b e many mo re by the wh ich H e may ,
do away all our t res p asses There fo re with great con .
fide n ce and t rust let us ask o f Him His mercy saying ,
E 2 s e 0 u72 dum m 22 22 22 u d272 em m 2 5e7 0 2 20 72 u m 2 22 22 7 22 772 de Ze

'
“
272 2 0u22 0 2 e m m e a m : Good L o rd do away my sin a c , ,
”
co rding to the multitude of Thy merci es I f a table .
b e foul and filthy o f a long continuance fi rs t we ra s e it , ,
aft er when it i s ras e d we wash i t and las t after the wash ,
ing we wip e and make i t cl ean A soul is compa red unto .
a table wh ereon nothing was paint e d neverthel ess with ,
many misdoings a n d spots of sin we have de file d and

un l e s s
1
.
86 THE P EN IT E N TI A L P SA LM S
go swiftly : whi ch was figured in the b eginn ing of S cri p

t ure b y the s a ying o f Mos es E 2 S p2r2tus 0 0 772 272 2 fe re 0a tur
,
‘
“
s up e r 0 0u0 5 : Th e sp irit o f o ur L o rd was borne aloft
”
up on the waters Ch rysostom des crib et h th e virtue of
.
t hes e weep ing t ears saying 320ut p o s 2 v e iz e m e ute s 2m 0re 5

,
.
m uudus a e r 0 0 p urus 22 0 e t p o s t 20 00/ 2m ar u m

p2uo 20 5 s ere 72 220 5 m e 72 225 s e 0u22 ur 0 2 0ue 2 7 0 72 0u 2222 tas :
’
L ike as aft er great showers and s to rms the ai r is made

clean and p ure so aft er great p lenty o f weep ing tears
,
”
follow eth the clearnes s and t ranquillity of the soul .
L et us al l therefore desi re and ask to b e washed from

our s ins by thes e waters and say unto Almighty God A 772 ,
p 22 us 20 0 0 m e 0 0 272 20u2 2 0 2 0 m e a : L ord wash m e more

' ’
from my wi ckedness B eside rasing of our soul ( that

.
”
is cont rition ) and washing ( that is confession ) we sai d

, ,
that i t is ne cessary to b e wip e d a n d made clean Whi ch .
is done by satisfaction of good works

-
Fi rs t by alms .
deeds and charitable dist ribution to the poo r p eople For .
our S aviour said D a te e Ze e m o syua m e 2 ecce 0 772 72 20 m uuda ,
s uut 0 0 02 s : Give alms and ye shall b e made clean from

'
,
”
all sin B y almsdee ds therefo re and good works we
.
may b e wip e d and made clean from a l l sin And no .
creature of himself hath power to do good works without

the grace a n d help of Go d Fo r as saith S t Paul [V0 72 . .
s um us 5 22 /92 02e 7 2 2e 5 00 g 22 0 7 e a 22 0u 2 d e x 72 0 025 0ua s 2 e x 72 0 ,
025 s e d s ufli02e 72 220 72 0 52 7 0 e x D e o est :

, We b e not s uffi
cient and ab le o f ours elf as of ours e lf to think any , , ,
manner thing but our s u ffi ciency and ability de p e nde th

,
”
a n d cometh o f God only Therefore this thing i s to .
b e asked of Go d that H e vouchsafe to m ove ou r souls

p erfectly by H is grace unto th e exercising and doing of
many good works that they may b e utterly wi p ed and ,
ma de clean from all contagions of sin accor ding to the ,
desire a nd saying of the p rophet that followet h : E 2 0

p e 00 0 2 0 m e o m u72 da m e : Good L ord mak e me clean ,
”
from my sin O ur whol e p et ition is ended here wherei n
.
,
fi rst we have aske d that Go d b e merciful unto us after

H is great mercy ; and that H e ra s e our souls wash t hem ,
and wip e t hem ut terly from all sin acco rding t o the mul ,
t itude of H is manifold mercies .

P SA L M L ( PA R T 1 ) 87
I n thi s s e cond memb er b e divers s t rong reasons

b rought fo rth whereby God may b e moved so that H e
,
may not deny o ur p etition Th ree things we have asked

.
b efo re Fi rs t that Go d do away our sin b y cont rition

.
,
w ash ou r soul by confession and thi rdly make it clean by

,
s atisfaction To th e whi ch other three co rres p ondent

.
,
to them b e b rough t forth an d s hewed in this fi rs t s yllo

,
gism ( in t his fi rs t reason ) although t hey b e not in t he

s ame o rder To do away s in ( as we s aid ) is to ras e i t
'
.
,
that no s p ot b e s een in ou r soul in like manne r as let ,
t ers b e done away when they b e ra s ed so that nothin g ,
w hich was there w ritten may b e read o r known T ruly .
Almighty God will no t know our sin and t resp ass if w e ,
ours elf will know them I f we st udy and b e about ( as

.
our duty is ) to read and consider the sins that b e w ritten

and marked in o ur souls anon H e of H is goodnes s p ut
,
t eth them o ut of H is s ight Therefore le t us all say

.
with a contrit e hea rt and mind O B l ess ed L o rd Go d

,
do away my sin and wi ckedness Qu o m a m 2 72 2 022 2tate 772

‘ ' '
m e a m e g o c o g /2 0 500 : Fo r I know my great and grievo u s

t respass I t is greatly accep tab le in t h e sight of our
.
”
most merciful L o rd Go d if a sinner wil l ca l l to mind with

due cont rition and greatness of his sin ; also Whom h e
hat h o ffended and how grievous ly into how many hurts
a n d things unp rofi tabl e he hath fallen fo r his sin ; and
how many p rofits he hath los t by t he reason of i t I f we .
were in mind busily to b ehold and look on thes e things i t

s houl d b e to us right p rofitabl e Fo r why ? . A ul
w e know o ur s ins aft er this manner anon God fo rgivet h ,
and cl o th t hem away And the more oft en we do th e

.
,
sooner H e fo rgett eth I f we cal l to mind unfeignedly

.
and without any dissimulation how much our s ins doth

hinder and l et us from doing good works that b less ed ,
L o rd shall utt erly fo rget and do them away fo r eve r so ,
that one little spot shal l not also b e l eft but in every p art ,
to a pp ear fai r and clean L et us therefo re with cont ri

.
t ion say also this that followeth L o rd make me cl ean

,
fro m my sin Q
'
uo uz a m p e e e a tu m 7 72 e 22 77 2 00 72 2 7 0 m e e s t
“ ”
s e m pe r : Fo r my sin is always against me H ow .
1
if
.
against me ? T ruly even di rectly b efo re my eyes that I

may b ehol d a n d look upon it at all time s without any
let 1 N ow we hav e sp oken of the doing away of our sin
.
,
a n d making cl ean of our soul and a lso why Go d should ,
so do let us now also sh ew why H e should wash it to t he ,
intent every p arti cle that we have p romis ed to sp eak of

may answer conven iently to other Th e weep ing t ears .
w h ereby our souls may b e wash e d cometh of a s p ec ial ,
G
gift of o d a d namely when we have that grace to weep
n ,
2
'
in confession and acknow ledging our s ins b efore H is

fearful H ighness knowing also t he g ri evousness of it
, ,
w e s hall soon know the greatness of our sin Fi rs t i f .

,
w e will consider wel l how great a n d m ighty L ord H e is

Whom w e have o ffend ed Another 3 if we take good heed .
,
how much o ur ungentlenes s hath b een to H im looking ,
on us when we do so many a n d great o ffences

, Go d .
only is of that power that if we o ffend and t respass

ag a inst H is goo dness we b e guilty to su ffer eternal de a th
for it .D avi d o ffende d gri evously against U riah his
knight whom he caus e d to b e slain
,
.
A n d also h e did .
wi cke dly to B e rs a b e wife to the sai d U riah which he

, ,
p ersua ded to adult ery N evertheless if he ha d not

.
b roken the law and comman dment of Go d by the sa id

o ffences he ha d not b een guilty a n d worthy of et ernal
,
death . Therefo re o f a t ruth none o ffence may b e done

to any creature wher e o f the do er shoul d s tand in th e
j eop ardy of et ernal death b ut only fo r o ffending against ,
Almi g hty Go d Whom w e o ffen d much more gri evously

.
that H e b eholdeth and s eeth every t respass t hat we do ,
b e t hey l ittle b e they much Therefo re let us all go by

,
.
p rayer unto Almighty Go d saying O my Lo rd Go d , , ,
b ehold a n d s ee I w ret che d sinner acknowle dge a n d

.
, ,
confes s my gu ilt b efo re Thy Maj esty ; b efore Thy sight

I det ect my t respass I do [no t hide it ; I shew fo rth my s in
,
to b e very g rievous B ut B l es sed L o rd I b es eech Thee

.
, ,
wash m e with my weep ing t ea rs com ing out from t he ,
plent eousness of Thy g race And furthermore wash me .
from my s in Fo r why ?
. Goo d L or d I acknowle dge ,
Q uo d 2 202 50 22 p e 0 00 0 2 : That only to Thee I have t res

h indra n ce e s p e cia lly a n o t he r w a y to k n ow it is
1 2 1
’
. . .
90 TH E P E N IT E N TI A L P SA L M S
j udgment the p eop l e gave agains t Thee fo r this Thy s en

t ence : t hey sai d [V0 72 e s t 02 00 0 27 20 0 0 772 272 2 : The way
”
that this M an taketh is not equal The p eop le p resumed .
to b e j u dges o f Thy s ent ence To whom Thou gave a n .
s w er on this wis e : [Vum 0u2d 27 20 m e a 72 0 72 e s t 02 000 e t ,
72 0 72 m a g ts 27 220 27 0 52 7 0 p ra o w 50 72 2 ? I s not M y way

good and equal and yours sh rewd nought and mo re , , ,
”
unequal ? T ho u confi rmed again to them Thy wor ds
l
spoken b efo re saying Q ua udo a ve rte rz t s e 2m p2 0 5 0 0 2772

'
p z e ta te 50 0 fe c e rtt0ue iu dte tu m e 2 70 52 22 20 772 27 220 o 227 e t e t

'
m o rz e tur ; o m 72 222 772 272 2 00 22 0 2 0 77 2

'
72 0 72 j
e us 00 0 5 o p e ra tus e st
72 0 72 re 00 rda 00 r :
Whensoever a sinner shall t urn away
fro m his sin a n d
t ruly confess him of it and make satis
faction he shal l live a n d n ever die everlastingly
, I .
shall also fo rget a n d never call to mind any sin tha t h e '
”
hath done Good L o r d Thy will was to o v e rco m e a nd
.
,
ex clude by this manner thei r foolhardy j udgment against

Thy merciful s ent ence We b eseech and p ray Thee now .
to do the same T hou shalt not overcome thei r opinions

.
b ut if Thou manifes t a nd shew Thy words and sayings

to b e t rue a n d that they have unt ruly j udged of Thee .
Therefore now B l ess e d L o r d do away our wi ckedness

, , ,
now fo rget our sins whi ch we utterly forsake and des

pis e U t jus tz flce rz s se rm 0 72 2 0us 2 0 25 e t 27 272 00 5 0 22 772
’ ’ '
iudz c a rz s : That Thou may b e j ustified in Thy wo rds

‘‘
’ ’
and o vercome when Thou art j udged so boldly a nd

”
foolishly O ur sins b e great a n d innumerable ; w e do
.
not fo rget them we do not cover and hide them we do , ,
n o t defend t hem b ut w e know we make op en a n d accus e

'
, ,
them neverthel ess we b es eech Thee fo r Thy great mercy

and fo r the infinit e multitu de of Thy manifol d mercies ,
b ehold us ; a nd namely whereof we b e ma de Thou , ,
knowest what matter it is and how frail it is Call ag a in .
to mind that w e are but dus t a n d clay and also that the ,
law and custom of our body is cont rary to the law and
custom of our soul a n d the custom of our bo dy p uttet h ,
us daily un der the cap tivity and th raldom of sin I f a .
comman dment were g iven to a man that hath but a weak

and feeble body in s t rength to roll a n d tu rn up a mi ll ,
stone o f a great weight unto the highest p art of a hill ,

P S A LM L ( PA R T I ) 9:
and that h e p ut his goo d will to p erform t he same never

the le s s p e radventure whils t he is about to do t he deed
, ,
th e s tone fo r greatness of his weight above his st rengt h

falleth down backwar d into a valley Were not this man .
mo re wo rthy to b e p ardoned and forgiven ( s eeing and

k n owing his good mind ) t han he that were mighty and
hath great s t rength ? We b e in l ike condition w e b e ,
a b out to b ring this o u r bo dy unto Thy holy h ill n e v e rthe

les s it is thrus t down by th e heavy b urden o f sin that ,
oft entimes it boweth a nd s l ipp eth down b ackw a r d Fo r .
that same s in that by our fi rs t father and mot her Adam ,
and E v e was b rought amongs t all men is heavy and

,
gri evous o n us lik e as an heavy b u rden and daily g rievet h ,
us mo re and mo re ; it maketh us also p rone a n d ready

t o all o ther vi ces Therefo re and fo r this caus e have
.
mercy on us fo r this sin o f ou r fo refather this heavy

, ,
and grievous weight was conceived a n d b egot ten with us

, ,
acco rding to the sayin g o f the p rop het E 00 e 6 72 2772 2 72

272 2 00 22 0 2 200 5 00 72 0e p tu s s um 0 2 272 p e 000 2 25 0 0 72 0 ep 2 t m e
“
m a te r m e a : B ehold I was conceive d in s in and my ,
”
mother con ceived m e in sin . This notwithstanding ,
goo d L or d w e k now t hat Thou a rt t rue and all that Tho u

, ,
dost p romis e is very t ruth T ruly Thou s aid that Thy

.
'
coming into this world was to call sinners to p enance .
[V0 72 27 e 72 2 27 0 00 7 e s e d pe 00 0 2 0 7 e 5 a d p ae uz te u tia m
'
( this is Thy sayi ng ) I came into this wo rld not to call

”
,
rig htw is e p eop le , but sinners to p enan ce Thou has t .
called on them and daily dost call saying V e m te 0 d m e

'
, ,
0 m 72 e 5 0u2 20 00 7 0 2 25 e t 0 72 0 7 0 2 2 e s tz s e t e g o re fl
’ ’
e z a m 27 0 5
All ye t hat labour in this wo rl d and b ear heavy by ,

”
doing p enan ce come to M e and I shal l refresh you .
T ruly Thy p romis e i s to receive all that will come i f ,
they come to Thee as they should do Q 0 2 27 e u2t 0 d m e

.
72 0 72 e 720 2 0 772 fo ra s : Whosoever cometh to M e I shal l

'
not cast him o ut I s hall not fo rsake him

, O goo d
L o rd b ehold we b e sinners in like manner as Thou came
, ,
into th e wo rld to call unto Thee we labou r and b e laden

,
w ith the multitude of o u r sins we also b e made weary

,
by the means of ou r wi cke dness Therefore blessed

.
,
“ ”
L ord say unto us
, Come ye u nto M e and anon w e
, ,
come w e humble and meek ours el f b efore the throne

,
of Thy mercy O ther hop e and t rust have we none in

.
any cond ition but only in Thee I f Thou wilt not b e .
merciful t o us fo r accusing ours elf neither by this that ,
Thou art j ustifi e d by Thy wo rds neither als o fo r ou r ,
frailty yet good L ord have mercy on us for Thy t ruth

, , ,
.
Thou art t rue and loves t t r u th above all things H ave .
in mind the p romis e Thou made to every p en itent sinner

coming unto tT he e whi ch is Thou shalt not cast them
, ,
away and also Thou s halt refresh them We come there

,
.
fore unto Thee go od L o r d cast us not away b ut refresh

, , ,
us with t hy grace a n d mercy E cce e m m v e rz ta te m dil

’ ‘
“ "
Thou has t ever loved t ruth
‘
e x is tz : .
Aft er that th is holy p rop het hath shewe d and pur

pos e d his p etition and b rought forth many reasons why
,
'
the said p etition should b e grant ed ; thirdly now w ith a

glad cheer he maketh sure p romis e a n d hop e to hims elf
to get and ob tain his asking willing to give exam p le to ,
every sinner b ecaus e that they should do the same It .
is a great di fference b etween despai r and sure hop e The .
N in ivite s when the p roph et t hreatened a n d menaced

’
them with the dest ruct ion of th e c ity they were not in ,
surety Go d woul d b e merci ful to them n e ither they were ,
utt erly in desp ai r Jonas the p rophet came unto them

.
t he s econ d time s ent from Alm ighty Go d and said

, ,
op enly A dlz uc q ua dra g z n ta die s e t ZVz m z/e s u b ve rte l ur

‘ ' '
With in fo rty days to come t he city of N in iv e shall b e

”
overth rown a n d d estroyed The p eo p l e h earing th e .
words of the p rop het Jo nas and fearing th e vengeance of

Go d to fall upon them comman ded among thems elf ,
every man woman a n d child to fas t and a l so cl ad them

, ,
in sack cloth from the lowes t degree unto the highest .
The king o f that city anon as h e was certified and had

,
‘
kno w ledge of t he p rop het s saying ros e up from his seat '
, ,
threw away his royal garment and clad him in sackc l oth ,
and sat down on the ground in the dust ; a n d by the de ,
cre e and one ass ent o f all hi s nob les commanded that ,
every man woman and ch il d and also b rut e b easts

, , ,
s hould not eat neither drink by a certain space b ut

, , ,
that everybody shou l d do p enance for thei r sin This .

94 TH E P EN IT E N TI A L P S A LM S
m ilz i 9. Good L o rd Thou hast shewed unto me the mys ,

_
t e rie s o f Th ine infinit e wis dom which b efore were hid ,
and unknown to us ? B ut why hath Go d shewe d us thes e

s ecret s ? What doth it p rofit the s ecret mysteries of H im ,
to b e shewed and ma de op en to us ? What comfo rt shal l

w e ta k e by it ?
l
Truly great comfort if we unfeigne dly
rep ent our o ld sinful l ife : els e we know them to our
great hurt Fo r as S t P eter saith fli e lz us 6 5! 72 0 72 c o g
’
. .
,
’
jus tz lice
’ ' ’
72 0 56 6 7 8 a za m , q ua m zfio s t a gm tz o n e m re l ro rs um
I t is b etter not to know the way of rig htw is e

‘
co n ve rtz .
ness than aft er the knowledge o f i t to us e a nd do the

”
cont rary B ut if we t urn to God a n d follow H is com
.
m a n dm e n ts fo rsaking our w ret ched life having faith and

, ,
t rust in H is sacraments we shall without doub t obtain ,
fo rgiveness a n d mercy by the vi rtue of them .
“
Peradventure some man shall s a y w e s ee what is done ,
in every sacrament I n t he sacrament of B aptis m the

.
child is washe d in the wat er and a few w or ds b e sp oken ,
of the p riest I n the Confi rmation the forehead of t he

.
,
child is anoint e d with holy c ream in manner of a cross

1
,
with a few words spoken o f2 the p riest I n the S a cra .
ment of P enance aft er th e Confession is heard and t he

satisfact ion enj o ine d th e p riest saith also a few wo rds ,
.
What b elongeth thes e to t he health of the so ul ? Fo r

th e wo r ds anon as t hey b e spoken b e gone into the a ir
, ,
and nothing o f them rema in eth The wat er also a n d .
th e o il p ie rceth not from the body unto the soul Per .

”
chance some man will think this in himself And it is .
of a t ruth the wat er and the oil to have no s t re n gth of

th eir own nature whereby they may ent er unto the soul ,
o r to wo rk in it goo d o r evil N everth el ess there is a .

,
p rivy and hid vi rtue given unto them by th e merits of

th e Passion o f Jesus C hris t and of H is P recious B loo d ,
whi ch on th e C ross was shed for w retched sinners This .
most holy a n d dear B lood of Jesus Chris t shed for our

redemp tion bought and gave so great and pl enteous vir
,
tue to th e sacraments that as o ften as any creature shall ,
us e a n d rece ive any o f them so often it is to b e b elieved ,
they are sp rinkl ed with th e drops of the same most holy

chr is m 2
by . .
P SA L M L ( PA R T I ) 95
B lood whos e vi rtue p ierceth unto t he soul and maket h

, ,
it clean from all s in B ut whereby know w e this ? T ruly

.
fo r H e hath shewed and made op en the hid a n d un ce r

tain things to us of H is infinit e wis dom I t was a cus .
tom in the O l d L aw amongs t t he Jews to do away t hei r

s ins b y t his manne r I f any o f them by touching of a
.
dead body o r b y any other manner thing were culpab le

and made foul anon h e was made clean of that defaul t
,
with hys sop dipp ed in t he b loo d of certain b easts and

s p rinkl ed upon him Whi ch manner a n d custom was
.
given to t he J ews by Mos es and o rdained by the wisdom ,
o f God N evertheless at that t ime it was unknown what

.
this mat ter meant and signifi e d I t was un certain i t .

,
was hid what the wisdom of Go d woul d to b e understood

,
by this asp ersion o r sp rinkling of b lood And after that .
ou r B less ed L o rd J esus Ch rist had shed H is P recious

B l oo d and as saith S t P eter washed us from sin with
, , .
,
H is B lood it was known to every man what by th e hyssop

,
and by the asp ersion o f blood was signified H yssop i s .
an h erb of t he ground that of it s nature is hot and hath ,
a sweet smell signifying Ch ris t whi ch m e e k e d H imself

,
t o suffer death on the C ross And as S t Paul sa ith H e .

,
.
,
o ffered H ims elf o f very great and fervent charity unt o

H is Father Almighty God as a sacrifi ce o f sweet o dour .
N o man may doubt o f this that b y the aspe rsion of b loo d

,
of b east s b efo re t he I ncarnation w a s s ig n ifi e d and re p re _
s ent ed the e ff usion o f the B lood of C h ris t fo r ou r re

demption Which B loo d o f ou r S aviou r without doub t
.
i s of much mo re s t rength incomp arably to do away sins

than was the blood o f b easts A n d as o ften as the ho ly .
sacraments b e iterat e d a n d u s e d accord ing to t he com

mandment o f Ch rist s C hu rch so often is the b l ess e d
’
,
B loo d of our L ord sp rinkl ed ab road to cleans e and p ut

away s in Therefore l et us all say with the holy p ro p het
.
this vers e that followet h : A s p e rg e s m e D o m in e lz ys s o p o , ,
e t m unda b o r : as w e might say L o rd ou r faith is so , ,
clear and undoubt ful b y the merit o f the Pa s sion of Thy

S o n our L o rd Jesus Ch ris t Whi ch by the e ffusion of H is
,
holy B lood hat h given so g reat e ffi cacy a nd st rength to

t h e ho ly sacraments o f H is Church that when we re ,
96 THE P EN IT E N TIA L P S A LM S
c e iv e any of them w e shall b e sp rinkled and made clean

by the vi rtue of H is P recious B lood like as with hyssop .
Whi ch asp ers ion anon followeth the water of grace that
is infus e d in ou r souls whereby we b e ma de more whit e
,
"
than snow Therefore the p rop het addeth to the sam e
.
“
vers e : L a vub z s 772 6 e t s up e r uz ve m de a lb a b o r : L o rd
‘ ’
Thou shalt wash m e a n d I shall b e made mo re Wh it e

”
t han s now N o creature may exp res s ho w jo yf ul the
.
n
sinner i s when he knoweth and un de rs ta n de th hims elf to

b e delivered from the great bur den and heavines s of sin ,
w hen he s eet h and p erceiveth that he is delivered utterly

and b rought out o f the danger of so many and great
p erils that he was in whils t he continue d in sin when ,
also he p ercei veth t he clearness of his soul a n d remem

b e re th the t ra n q uillity and p ea ce o f his cons cie n ce A udi! .
Zuuc q uid lo g ua tur zu l m s e D o m z uus q uo uz a m [a q ue tu r

’ ‘ ’
p a ce m 2% s uo s 6! 6 05 q ui co uv e rtuutur a d co r .
Then he p erceivet h well in his heart what our L o rd will

shew in him b y inspiration What shal l He shew ? .
”
E verlasting p eace to come u p on His s ervants u p on them ,
that b e so rrowf u l and do p enance fo r their sins Whi ch .
p eace is so joyful and comfortab le and caus eth so great

j oy and gladness that the p rophet rememb ering it saith :
“
A udz tuz m e o da b is g a udz um e ! Zea tz lz a m : L o rd Thou
‘ ’ ’ ' ‘
,
”
shalt give to min e hearing inwardly joy and gladness .
I f th e p eace of this time b e so greatl y to b e desi red to ,
t he inward hearing o f our soul what j oy t row we shal l , , ,
b e at that time when the p eace everlastin g shall b e o f

f e re d to us when the ! ing of E t ernal P eace shall say
,
unto all t ru e p en itent p ersons : V e m te b e ue a z c l z P a m s ’

' ’ ’ '
q ua d vo b z s c a us ti
’ ’
m e i,
’
p e rc z p z te re g uum p a ra l um e st a
Zutz o ue m uudz : Come to M e y e bl ess ed children of My

‘ ’
Father take the everlasting kingdom that was p repared

,
a n d made ready fo r yo u before the b eginning of th e

”
worl d S hall we not joy then inwardly in our souls
.
,
shall we not joy then outwardly in our bodies shall we ,
not t hen joy both bo dy and s oul without a dversity n e Ve r ,
to ceas e ? S hall no t this fearful Ju dge say ing these com

f o rta b le wo r ds give unto our hear ing inwar d joy of the
soul fo r t he salvation o f it ? S hal l H e not give fervent
98 TH E P E N IT E N TI A L P SA LM S
daily o ffend H is goodnes s Th erefore s ith we have so

. .
,
goo d a n d many j ust caus es both of hop e and dr ead ( as ,
m e s eemeth ) he taketh the most sure w a y that maketh

th e one meet with the other : that is to say hop e wit h ,
dread and d read with hop e That p erson which so doth

. . .
,
shall neither t rus t in God without H is fear nor dread ,
H im without hop e ; fo r by inclining mo re to the one than

to th e other w e shall soo n err ; either by overmu ch hop e , ,
to b e exalt e d in to very p resump tion ; o r by overmu ch ,
fear to b e cast down into the most ungrac ious danger

,
of desp air B ut he that m ix e th t he one with t he other

.
in even p ortions s ha ll neither b e lift ed up by p resum p tion

no r cast down by des p ai r N othing is mo re p rofitab le .
to th e s inner than to have a j ust mode ra tion of them bot h .
And nothing is mo re p eri l ous t han leaning m ore to the

one than to the oth er Fo r the whi ch thing S t G regory
. .
co m p a re th hop e and drea d unto two millstones wherew ith
meal is made S o i t i s one mill s tone without a fellow

.
,
made m eet can do no goo d ; b ut if the one b e made fi t

with t he other that i s to say the over stone turned
,
downward and th e nether cont ra riwis e agains t it up ‘
ward with a due p rop o r tio n of both then shall the wheat
, ,
p ut in th e mids t b etween t hem b e shortly b roken into

many small p i e ces and in conclusion to meal L ik ewis e .
it is with sinners when hop e is mi x ed with dread and

drea d wit h hop e so t hat b y overmuch hop e of forg ive
‘
,
ness the m in d b e not li ft ed up into p resump tion and by ,
overmuch fear it b e no t p ut down into des p ai r Then .
if th e multitude o f sins b e never so great they shall ,
shortly b etween thes e t wo b e b roken into many s mall

parts and in conclusion utterly done away B ut why say .
we thus ? Truly t o the intent 1 altho ugh the certainty of ,
forgiveness b e never so g reat yet a rememb rance b e ever ,
had of th e fea r o f Almighty God never to p ut it out ,
of mind As S t P et er did : knowing that his sin was

. .
fo rgiven notwithstanding he wep t daily fo r his unkind

, ,
n es s against his L o rd a n d Mast er ever after remember ,

-e
ing how unkindly h e denie d H im A l so blesse d Mary .
Magdalene whi ch heard Ch rist f orgive her sins fo r the

,
s u p ly tha t
1
p .
P S A LM L ( PA R T I I ) 99
great love s he had unto H im fo r all that took u p on her ,
great p enance ever having in mind t he filthin e s s of her

,
s in committ ed b efo re S he b usied hers elf by continually

.
w eep ing to p u t i t away utterly from th e s ight of Almighty

God O ur pro p het do th in like manner s hewing e x ample
.
,
to all sinners o f doing t he same and that after he had ,
full hop e a nd t rus t to b e fo rgiven o f God ! now it .
for a s urety b y tho se things whi ch he understood in t he

hid and uncertai n1 p rivities of the wisdom of ou r L or d
God Alb eit anon h e returned to the rememb rance of
.
,
his sins saying A ve rte fa cie m tua m a p e c ca tis m e i:

, .
"
B less ed L o rd t urn away Thy face from my sins
, .
I n our b eginning w e shall divide th e re s idue of this

Psalm into t hree p arts I n the fi rst our p ro p het maket h .
a new p etition ; in t he s econd he sh eweth t he int ent of

his p etition whi ch is that he may p leas e God ; in the
,
thi r d he teacheth t hat his D esi re is the chief thing where

by every man may p leas e God and make recom p ense fo r
sm .
I The thing asked i s the S p irit o f God t he H oly Ghost

.
, ,
whi ch i s neve r but in clean hea rt s ; as S apiens saith 2

,
[Vo n eu z m lz a b z ta b z t t u c o rp o re s u b dz l o p e c c a tz s : The
‘ ‘ ‘ ' ’ ‘
H oly Gho st shall not dw ell o r abide in a bo dy s u bj e ct

"
to s in Al mighty God hat et h nothing so much as sin
.
,
a n d p unis he th nothin g so grievously it is abominabl e in

H is sight Fi rs t in H eaven where sin was in the angel s
.
, ,
anon as many as were infect ed wi th i t Almighty Go d

p ut down and cast out o f that H eavenly palace and would
not s p are thos e nobl e and goodly c reature s Aft e r when .
,
t hat same p e s tife rous infection of sin infect ed o u r fi rst

fathers in P a ra dis e H e would no t spare b ut anon p ut
, ,
them out o f that p l easant pla ce into this vale of wret ched
nes s Albe it afte r many gene rations Almighty God
.
, ,
chos e t he p eop l e of I s rael which came of t hem no tw ith ,
standing wh en some b egan fo r to b e contaminat ed o r

,
de file d wit h the infection o f sin ( as is she wed of D at han ,
and A b iro n with many others ) the earth o p ened by th e

pow er o f Almighty God and s wallowed them in qui ck .
Thus Almighty Go d exp uls ed sin fi rst out o f H eaven , ,
m y s t e rio u s 9
The wr it e r o f B ook o f Wisdo m
. .
1 00 THE P E N IT E N TI A L P S A LM S I
aft er from Paradise and out of the earth ; in so mu ch

,
when this infection was sp rea d ab road upon all the earth ,
in t he time of t he pat ria rch N oe H e dro wne d almost

all mank ind . And last ly when sin coul d not b e utterly
ex p uls ed by all t hes e p unishments H e s en t down into ,
this wo rld H is only — b egot t en S o n to s u ff er death a n d she d

H is P recious B loo d for the redemp tion o f all wretche d .
sinners .
L et us therefo re consider how abominable s m 1 8 i n

the s ight o f Almighty God when fi rs t H e p ut out of
,
H eaven H is fi rst creatures the angels ; our fi rst fathers .
o u t o f Para dis e ; H is sp ecial cho s en p eop le f rom the ,
earth ; drowne d almos t all mankin d ; and lastly H e suf

f e re d H is only So n for to die upon a cross for t he re
demp tion of all w ret ched sinners Al l thes e H e did to .
t he int ent s in shoul d only remain in the dee p p it of H ell .
P eradvent ure our p rophet rememb ering this a b o m i

,
nation o f s in feare d in hims elf and fo r that caus e saith :

, ,
A v e rl e fa c z e m Zua m a p e c ca tz s m e is : Goo d L o rd look

' ‘
not upon my sins . Fo ra smu ch as Almighty Go d cannot

”
well t urn away H is fa ce from ou r sins ( as long a s they

b e fixed in our souls ) b ut also H e mus t turn away H is
face from us .As by this exam p l e who may p erceive
, ,
a n d s ee a wall painte d with many divers images but fi rst

.
,
H e must look upon t hose same pi ctures ? For th ey b e

as a veil o r co ver ing to the wall wherefo re needs the sight
,
must fi rst b e app l ied unto them I n like manner there

.
fore since o ur s ins in resp ect of the soul b e to it as a

p ictur e o r covering is to a wall Almighty God must nee ds
,
fi rst look upon ou r s ins o r ever H e lo ok u p on ou r souls .
Alas what shall we sinful w ret ches do ? C ertainly this

only rem e dy is necessary : whoso will look upon a bare
wall must fi rst do away the painting o r covering ; and
,
that done all s hal l b e clean and p ure to b ehold S o if .
our souls should b e s een and not ou r s ins fi rst our s ins ,
must b e cl ean done away ; fo r all the while they b e ih

f e c t e d w ith the least spot of sin so long they may not b e
,
s een without t he sin b e s een also O ur p rophet the refo re .
p rayeth to Alm ighty Go d that all his sins may be utt e rly
done away to t he intent that he may cl early look upon
,
102 TH E P E N IT E N TIA L P SA LM S
D e us : Good L o rd make Thou of n o ught a clean heart

,
w ithin me M o reover it is necessary that a new work

b e s et in a right cours e Fo r what p ro fite th a cloc k b e
.
,
it never so well and craftily made i f it s tand still o r go ,
not as it sho uld in a d u e and j ust cours e ? Truly nothing .
S o when the h eart is on ce mad e new fi rs t it mus t b e s et ,
in a due a n d r igh t cours e Wh e refo re the p rop het.
addeth E l s p irii um re ctum im z o va iu v is c e rib us m e is :

B less ed L o rd grant me the H oly Ghost to gui de and
,
”
s e t m e in a right way that I err n o t .
Th e p rophet in this Psalm nameth t hri ce the H ol y

S p i rit by a nd b y
,
l
What h e meane th is uncertain and
.
,
I of mys elf dare not take u pon m e to dis cuss the caus e
of his so do ing B ut fo rasmu ch as it is lawful for ev ery
.
clerk in any s uch doubt s to shew thei r minds not con ,

—
t ra ryin g other p lace s o f S crip tur e I shall in few wo rds
decl a re ( as me s eemeth ) what he meaneth I do ub t not '
in this The H oly Ghos t in S cripture is s ign ifi e d b y

.
‘
t hes e three name s rehears ed in this Psalm S t Paul re . .

,
m e m b e rin g th e divers gifts o r dee ds of the H oly Ghos t ,
sa ith : H ce e o m uiu o p e ra i ur uuus cl i q ue ide m S p iritus :

”
O ne S p irit without change doth all I say the p ro .
phet rehearsing divers names of t he H oly Ghos t saith

S p iritum s a p ie uiice e i iu te iie ctu: sp z rii u m c o n s ilii 6 ! fo r
‘
titudiuis p irii um s c ie utiae e t pie ia iis piz ii um iim

‘
, s ac s on s
D o m in i :The S pi rit of wis dom a n d understanding the ,
couns el and st r ength the Sp irit of cu n ning and

S p i rit of ,
p iety and the S p i ri t of the fear of God

, he meaneth
not so m a ny divers spi rits b ut O ne call e d by so many , ,
names fo r th e diversity of His acts B ut ( fo r so much .
as shall b e convenient fo r our p urpos e at this s eason )

'
w e read in th e holy Gosp els the shewing of the H oly

Ghost thri ce in th ree divers similitudes Once the H oly .
Ghos t came down in the liken es s of a dove when Ch rist

'
was bapti z e d ; as it ap peareth in the Gospel of L uke :

E l de s ce udii S piritus c o r o ra lz p e c ie s ie ut c o iu m b a iu
‘ ’
p s
e um . Also aft er Christ s R esurrect io n was given in the

’
l ikeness of a b reath to the dis cip les o f Jesu s as in the ,
Gos p el o f John : E! ius u/fla vii iu e 0 3 dice m : A c c ip ii e

s uc ce s s iv e ly .
P S A LM L ( PA RT 11 ) 1 03
S p iritum S a n c tum : q uo rum re m ise riiis p a a c a l a ,

re m itt a n
’
tur e is Thi rdly when aft er C hrist s As cension th e H oly
.
,
’
Ghost app eared to the Ap ostl es gathered all together , ,
in th e likeness of fi re : as is shew e d in th e Gosp el of

L uke A pp a rue ruut illis disp e riitce Ziug uw ta n q ua m ig uis
s e ditq ue s up ra s iug uio s a a rum S p irii us S a u c tus Wh ich .
three divers a p p e a ring s signify th ree divers gifts of t he

H oly Ghost given to three divers s tates o r kinds o f p eo
p l e that is to say fi rs t to them whi ch b e infants at thei r,
B a p tism ; s econd to p enit ents ; and thi rd to them that

, ,
b e p erfect .
Fi rst at our B ap tis m we b e di rect ed and s et in a new

life the life of inno cency which is s ign ifi ed by the dove
, ,
ap p earing over Ch rist at H is B ap tism S t Paul exho rt . .
eth all su ch saying 1Vo v ita ie wild a m b uie u i : That they

,
walk in a n e w life And C h rist saith U i s iut s im p lic e s

.
”
”
s ie ut c a lm /l ace : M eekly in manner as doves Th e ,
.
p rophet rememb ering

, this op eration of t he H oly Ghos t ,
s aith E l s p irii um re c t um irz uo va ia v is c e rib us m e is :

B l ess ed L o r d grant me th e H oly Gho é t to s et me in a
,
”
new life of inno cency .
The other o p eration is a cco rding fo r them that b e

p enit ent ; whi ch as we said was given to the Ap ost les
, ,
under the likenes s of a b reath We s ee by exp erien ce .

,
’
a man s b reathing when it touches anything t hat is col d ,
as i ron o r glass anon it is r es olved into weep ing dro p s of

,
wat er Whi ch thing may b e oftentimes p erceived i n a

.
p enit ent s inner S ins make th e heat of char ity to wa x

.
cold as ou r S aviour s aith U b i a b uuda b ii iuiq uita s re

, ,
frig e s ce i c/z a riia s : Where sin is ab undant charity ,

”
wa x eth cold When th e sinner is p ri cke d in his con
.
s cience by th e H oly Ghost remem b e ring th e abomination ,
of his sins anon ( if he b e very p enit ent ) t ears shall t ri ckle

,
.
down from his eyes Whi ch is a great token the H oly .
Ghost is p res ent with that sinner : as S crip ture saith ,
Fia b ii s p iritus e jus a i flu e rz i a q ua O n this w is e C hris t .
our S aviou r looke d upon P et er after h e ha d den ie d H im , ,
with a gracious count enance o r b reath of H is H oly S p irit ;

and forthwit h he fell on a weeping : as in the Gosp el of -
John C o uv e rs us D o m iuus re sp e x ii P e irum a i e g re s s us

, ,
1 04 THE P EN IT E N TI A L P S A LM S
fo ra s fle uii a m a re : O ur S aviour t urned ba ck and looked

upon P et er ; and incontinent P eter w ent out and wep t
, ,
”
bitterly . Sin de file th the soul and turneth the face of
God away f rom it B ut this gift of the H oly Ghost
.
,
p enance with weep ing t ears w a s he th the soul maketh it , ,
holy and ca u s eth Almighty God to look again upon it

w ith H is merciful count enance Therefo re ou r p rop het .
saith N e p ro jicia s m e a fa cie tua e t sp irii um s a n ctum

tuum n a a u/e ra s a m e : B lessed L o rd cast me no t o ut ,
of Thy sight take not Thy holy S pi rit from me give

, ,
me grace to know my sins to confess them and to do

p enance with weep ing t ears —
,
”
teaching all sinners b usily ,
to p ray Almighty God if at any s eason by our own negli ,
gence w e offend H is goodness notwithstanding H e , ,
vouchsafe not to cas t us away from H is sight b ut again

look on us and gi ve us gra ce to weep for our offences :
,
whereby our souls may b e made holy And if it s hall .
p leas e H im thus to loo k upon us ou r s ins shall b e utterly ,
done away and by our weep ing the p unish ment f o r the
, ,
same 0 most meek Jes u s what caus ed Thee to look so

.
,
mercifully up on P et er ? H e was bap ti z ed b efore had ,
the spirit of continuance in vi rtue ; Tho u gavest him e x

amp le always to live rig htw is e ly h e a l way b eheld Thine ,
holy con versation heard Thine holy p reachings saw Thy

, ,
great miracles H e was p res ent at Thy Transfiguration

, ,
heard t he voice o f the Father saying Thou art My

And for all t his h e denied Thee whereas b e f o re Thou ,
gave him warn ing and shewed he should so do 0 ,

.
B less e d L o rd where might have b een shewed more un

,
kindnes s ? Good J esus w e b es eech Thee look upon us ,
w ret ched sinners in like manner which never yet denied ,
Thee neith er had so great knowledge and help s to live

,
w ell as h e had I f the sin o f P eter moved Thee to mercy

.
and forgiveness B less ed L o rd w e b e sinners a l so ; Thou

, ,
art now as meek and merciful as ever Thou wert b efore ,
a n d we b e t urne d to Th ee as k ing fo rg iveness S ince .
Thou un des ired looke d so merc ifully a n d forgave Peter

, , ,
we b es eech Thee deny not to forg ive us wh ich ask fo r

g iv e n e s s incessantly ZVe p ro jic ia s no : a fa c ie i ua e z
'
S piriium S a n c tum i u um n a a ufe ra s a n o b is : B les s e d

1 06 THE P E N IT E N TIA L P S A L M S
the Father of H eaven by H is So n Jesus C hris t is called ,
a gladnes s o r comfort of them both Therefore D avid .
saith unto Almighty God the Father R e dde m i/zi im

titia m S a luta ris t ui e t s p iritu p rin cipa li c o nfirm a m e :
'
L ord give again to me the gladne ss of Thy S o n Jesus

,
Chris t our S aviou r whi ch I lost by my s inful life and

, ,
s t rength en me wi th th e H oly Ghost t hat I never fall again

”
t o sin .
H itherto we have spoken of the p etition where i n l s '
aske d th e H ol y Ghost by three divers names ; fi rs t o ur .
p rop het call et h H im S p iritum re c tum aft er that S piri ,
tum s a n ctum a nd thi r d S p iritum

, p rin c ip a ie m The . .
caus e why we have declared aft er ou r min d And b e

, .
caus e no man m a y receive the H oly Ghost but with a

clean heart no man can b e clean in heart but if his sins
, .
b e ut terly done away a n d sins cannot b e clean done away

,
if Almighty God t urn not away H is face from them ,
the refore our p rophet aske d meekly thes e th ree as three ,
me a ns wh ereby he mig ht ob ta in his finabl e 1 intent which ,
is the gift of the H oly Ghost for his confi rmation and
p ers everance in goo d life .
I I I n this s econd part our p ro p het sheweth the cause

.
why he desi red the H oly G hos t for his p etition : whi ch
was to the intent he might p rofi t his neighbour I t is .
very goo d and accep tab le to God when one p erson see ,
ing another err a n d do evil w ill meekly with good and ,
sweet words give him warning to leave his wi ckedness ,
and b ring him again into the right way whereby he may
come to God S t James saith he that so doth deserveth
. .
,
a great reward : whi ch is the p ro mis e of salvation and

d o ing away of his own sins Thes e b e his wo rds : Q ui
.
c o n ve rti fe ce rit p e c c a to re m a b e rro re v ice s uce sa lva b it ,
a n im a m eju s a m o rte e t o p a rit m ultitudin e m p e c ca to rum .
Whosoever caus e d a sinner to l ea v e his sinful life shall

both save his own soul from damnation and his s in to b e
”
done away Whi ch wor ds a re not only to b e under
.
stood of them that have autho rity to rebuke sin b ut also ,
2
of all Chris tian p eop le ; for every p erson in man ner hath
fin a l 2
in s o m e s o rt
. .
P S A LM L ( PA RT 11 ) : 07
charge of o thers Thus when one s eeth another do evil

.
, ,
h e ought to give him warning charitably of his so doing ;

and p eradventure in s u ch mann er w e shoul d do mor e
goo d and win mo re souls to God than by o p en re buking
. .
And t ruly ou r doing i s b ut small i f we may not afte r ,
the knowledge o f our o w n e rrors done b efo re give others ,
warning to amend thei r life when they do amis s N ot .
withstanding an o rder mus t b e kep t in t his mat ter : it

,
is not lawful fo r every man to t each at his p leas ure .
Fo r he t hat shall give inst ruction to others mus t fi rs t know

both t he way o f wel l doing and e vil els e h e s hal l soon ,
b ring his b rother out of the right way O u r S aviou r .
saith S i cm c us c wco duca tum p rce s te t a m b o in fo ue a m ,
ca dun t : I f one b lin d l ead anothe r both fall into the ,

”
dit ch . To take the o ffice of a do ctor o r t eacher of
’
G o d s l aws is no small charge it is a great j eopa rdy ; ,
Wherein I mys elf rememb ering t he same am oft en , ,

’
afraid ; fo r many times I think on S t Paul s s aying : .
V w m ini s i n o n e v a n g etiz a ue ro : I f I t ea ch not the laws

of Go d unto t he p eop le I shall b e da mned ,I fea r me .
”
,
if we hide that gift o f God if we give no t a good account ,
of that tal ent les t it shall b e sai d to us at th e dreadf u l

,
D a y of Judgment as i t is w rit ten in t h e Go sp el Q ua re

, ,
“
n o n de dis ti p e c un ia m m e a m a d m e nsa m ? Why gav e
”
thou not to me a t rue and j us t a ccount of my money ?
That is to say of the l earning whi ch I gave unto t hee
, ,
wherewith thou shoulds t have taught th e p eop l e My laws .
Also if w e t ea ch and by it p rofi t the h earers yet is great ,
p eril lest when any p ra is e is g iv e n to us fo r ou r learning _
w e b e no t s t ri cken with p ri de and vainglo ry when w e

know ours elf p rais ed The mis erabl e co rrup tion of ou r
.
nat ure is so caduke 1 that when we do anything never so ,
littl e p rais ewo rthy it is a marvel i f we o ffend not in vain

,
glory . B ut o f a t ruth i f a due o rde r b e ha d in ou r

, ,
t eaching of o thers as we said b efore every man accord

, ,
'
ing to his learning and ability : that is to say if fi rs t ,
we stu dy fo r the amendment o f ou r o wn l ife p u rge ou r ,
own souls b e about as much as we may to learn the wis

,
dom of ou r L o rd and by ou r b usy p rayer ask of God

,
pr o ne to fa ll .
1 08 THE P E N IT E N TI A L P S A LM S
the cle a nsing of our hea rts wit h the grace of the H ol y,
Ghost whereb y we may o r der our own st ep s in the way

,
of God not fo r th e vain p rais e of the wo rld but only

, ,
to b ring them which err into the right ways that they ,
by our living and do ct rine b e t urned to that bless ed

L o r d Whi ch doing shall b e to the honour of God a n d
.
p rofit to ou r neighbours To this p urpos e it followeth :

.
D o ce b o iniq uo s via s tua s e t im p ii a d te c o n v e rte ntur : as

,
he m ight say B less ed L o r d if Thou look not u p on

, ,
my sins b ut do away my w ickedness creat e in me a new ,
heart and endue me with the gift of the H oly Ghost I ,
shall t each t hem that err b ring them into Thy ways and
, ,
”
t hey shall b e turned to wo rship Thee Truly t he p ro .
phet aft er his great offence kep t this said o rder St . .
'
Paul also aft er his great p ers ecution of C hrist s C hurc h ,
made clean and inspi red with the H oly Gho s t taught
, ,
op enly to all p eop l e the right way to come u nto H eaven ,
made op en to all wi cked c reatures the ways of Almighty

God Christ o ur S aviour giveth us all warning so to
.
do sa ying S i p e c ca ue rit in te fra te r tuus co rrip e e a m :

,
I f thy neighbour o r b rother o ff end thee correct him ,

”
charitab l y Therefore l et every one of us ask of Al
.
:
mighty Go d a cl ean heart and th e H o l y Ghost to t he ,
int ent we may t each wi cked p eop le the ways of salvation ,
t hat they may th e sooner tu rn t o H im by ou r doct rine .
B u t why make we no mention of the other two gifts

o r receivings of th e H oly Ghost ? Truly lest we should
b reak th e due o rder o f them rehearsed Fo r the p rophet .
asketh three divers gifts of the H oly Ghost and re ,
he a rs e th the caus es why , one aft er another We have .
spoken of the fi rs t named s p iritus re ctus whi ch as we , ,
said is given to every p erson in the time of the ir B a p

,
’
t is m N ow shall we shew of th e other two and both by

.
,
thems elves .
The second gift of the H oly Ghost called the spirit ,
of p enance wh ich maket h holy all t rue p enitents was

, ,
s et in the second place : the reason why followeth now

in this s econd p art The abominabl e corrup t ion of s in
.
in many places of S cripture is compare d to corrupt blood .
I t is said unto a l l sinners : M e n us ve s trce p ie nae s un !

-
1 10 THE P EN I T E N TI A L P S A LM S
a sinful p erson but by the vi rtu e of this S acrament of

,
Penance he goeth a w ay from him rig htw is e not by his , ,
own rig htw is e n e s s but by the rig htw is e n e s s of C hrist

,
Jesus Who rig htw is e ly redeemed us with H is p recious

,
B lood as S t John saith in the Apo calyp se a n d S t Paul

, .
, .
sheweth Fa c tus e s t n o b is jus titia

, Therefo re we sinners .
have great caus e to magnify and p rais e the rig htw is e n e ss

of Je sus Christ whereb y H e maketh us of unrightwise to
,
b e rig htw is e and by t he vi rtue of H is p reciou s B lood de

,
liver ed from the abomination of sin For the whi ch .
caus e the p rophet aske d b e fore t he sp irit of p enance that ,
th e b loo dy spot s of sin might b e done away by it to the ,
int ent he might she w everlastingly the rig htw is e n e ss of

Go d saying L ib e ra m e de s a ng uin iou s D e us D e us s a lutis
, , ,
m e te e t e x ulta oit ling ua m e a jus titium tua m :

, B le s sed
L o rd delive r me from th e co rruptio n of sin and my
,
”
tongue shall joy eternally Thy rig htw ise ne s s .
The thi rd spi rit o r gift o f the H oly Ghos t t hat

he asked was the sp irit of confi rmation o r making st ead
fast in vi rtue whi ch was given to th e Apostles at the
,
day of P entecost in t he likeness of fiery tongues Aft er .
the receiv ing of it they were so constant and steadfas t in

the love of God that excep t H im they fea red no man .
Th ey t estifi ed o ver all t he N ame of J esus without dread

1
,
they kept together th e unsteadfas t p eop le by thei r holy

wo rds shewing over all 1 the N ame o f Jesus Ch rist to
,
the la nd and p rais e of Almighty God A marvellous .
thing that they b eing so ru de neither taught by Plato nor ,
Aristot le o r any other p hilosoph er but getting t hei r living ,
by fishing should so marvellously disp ute and show the

,
magnifi cence of C hrist b efo re so wi se so great and p ru , ,
dent men o f this wo rld insomuch they p lainly convin c ed ,
and ent reat e d th em at thei r pleasure B ut blessed L o rd .

, ,
Thy wisdom gave them that gra ce Thou gav e st them fiery ,
ton g u es Thou op ened thei r lip s Whi ch of Thy goodness

, ,
made infants to sp eak in laud o f Thy magnifi cence Thy .
p rophet I s a ie a t s uch times as he durs t no t take upon

him to sp eak Thy holy wo rds said Vir po llutus la b iis eg o
t
po p uli po llute la b ia na oe ntts e go lz a b ito :

‘
s um et in m e dia
1
e ve ry wh e re .
P S A LM L ( PA RT I I ) m
“
B less ed L ord my lip s b e p ollut ed and I am ab iding
,
"
amongs t the p eop l e whi ch in like manner b e unclean .
O ne of Thy angels cam e unto him tou ched hi s mo uth , ,
m a de clean his lip s and fo rthwith he was ma de ver y

,
bold and she w ed hims el f ready to do Thy commandment

l n e xp re ss m g unto th e p eop l e Thy law o f t ruth L ikew is e .
our p rop het p rayeth that his lips may b e ma de clean a n d

hims elf st ea dfast and cons tant in vi rt ue by the grace o f
the H oly G hos t to t he int ent h e m ight wo rthily s hew Thy
,
lauds . H e saith D o m in e la b ia m e a a p e rie s a i o s m e um

,
“
a nn un tia oit la ude m tua m :
,
Goo d L o r d op en my l ip s , ,
ma ke them cl ean and m y mouth shall shew over all Thy

,
”
p ra is e o r lau d .L et us follow this p rop het D avi d b e ,
s e e chin g Alm igh ty God that fi rs t H e make us ab le and

worthy to re ceive the H oly Ghost grant us H is g race ,
to live rightfully also to admonis h ( a ccording as we b e

,
‘
calle d in degree ) ou r n eighbours unto p enance whereby ,
ours elf may b e made ho ly and delivered clean from

all s in to p rais e and exal t th e rig htw is e n e s s of God ;
,
and last ly th at we may h ave the thi rd gift o f the H oly

Ghost whi ch is to b e ma de s tea dfast a n d constant with
,
clean lip s to shew over all the lau ds of Alm ighty God .
I n th is thi rd p a rt ou r p roph e t shew eth no thing 1 s o ,
accep tabl e to Go d which h e may give to H im in re co m

p ens e o f his sins as is this t hat h e hath spoken of now
,
befo re Th e ma nner o f J ews was ( in the O ld L aw ) when

.
any of them had b roken t he comman dment of God fo r ,
making amends to hallow a certain p art of a b eas t o r

,
el s e t he whole after 2 as the greatness of t he sin requi red

,
.
Mos es t aught the unl ea rne d p eop le by s u ch bodily sacri

fi ce s : whi ch was to them as a shadow o r fi gure of th e t rue
S acrifi ce to come that was fi rst signi fied by them
, The .
’
slaying of thos e b rut e b eas ts aft er Mos es intent figured , ,
t he deat h o f o ur S aviou r C hris t Jesus and ever he b usied

hims elf to cause the p eopl e b elieve i t by thos e tokens .
Fo r as t he un reasonab le 3 b eas t was slain fo r cleansing of '
sins and th e bloo d o f it shed upon the alta r so C h ris t

, ,
Jesus the L amb un de file d most inno cent beas t was p ut

, , ,
to death upon a c ross a n d all H is B lood she d fo r the re

1
th a t n o th ing is 9
a cco r din g
.
3
ir ra t io n a l
. .
1 12 TH E P E N IT E N TIA L P S A LM S
mission of sinners T he p eopl e of I s rael sinned and were

. .
wo rthy to die fo r it ; thos e b rut e b easts did none evil

a n d yet were p ut to death fo r the amen dment of t hei r
sins . L ikewis e o ur S aviour Ch rist : although H e was

most inno cent mos t p ure and never o ffended in any con
, ,
dition notwithstanding he su ffered death most p atiently

, ,
fo r our o ffences Th e slaying o f b easts that was used in

. .
th e O ld L aw fo r the ir sacrifice did not p leas e Go d very

well of themself as H e shewed in another p lace in man ~
, ,
ner rep roving them saying 1Vum q uid m a n duca oo c a rn e s

,
ta uro rum a ut s a n g uin e m lz irc o rum p o l ub o ? S hall I eat

”
the fl esh of bulls o r drink the bloo d of goats ? as who
”
saith ,I t is not my p l eas ure so to do I f Almighty God
.
might b e app eas ed o r caused to show mercy by no other

remedy b ut by th e oblation o f b r u t e b eas ts p oor men wer e ,
then in mis erabl e condition that want e d powe r to make

such o b lation if they migh t no t b e otherwis e forgiven
, ,
but to die in thei r s ins B ut Alm ighty God hath o r

.
daine d more even laws whi ch b e common both to poo r , _
and ri ch ; H e desi reth non e o ther sacrifi ce b ut Such as

t he poo r may do as soon as the ri ch and p eradventure ,
mo re soon fo r Almighty God t aketh more h eed to the

,
good int ent of the mind than to the greatnes s o r value

of the g i ft Whi ch thing is shewed in the Gosp el of Mark
.
,
where is exp ress ed that when Jesus p erceived and b eheld

the ri ch folks o ff er many great gifts into the t rea su re
hous e among al l H e esp ie d a poor widow which gave
,
only two mit es and said that p oor woman o ff ered mos t
,
of all not regarding the greatness of the gift but onl y

, , ,
( as we said ) th e good m ind and int ent of the d oe r .
Whereby w e may well p erceive that since the accep tabl e

b
sacrifi ce to Go d de p e n de th not y the value of the gift
l
but b yl th e good mind and int ent of the doer also that ,
H e is n ot well pl eas ed with s uch manner sacrifi ce of the

O ld L aw although i t were done by a thousand b easts ,
therefo re our p rop het saith Q uo ni a m s i o o luiss e s s a cri

’
d d n l d l c ta oe ris
fi c iu m e is se m ; u ti q u e o o c a u s tis n o n e e .
S a c rificium was calle d a part of the b east o ff ere d and ,
lz o lo ca us tum the whole ob lation of it since the whole was

on .
1 14 THE P EN I T E N TI A L P S A L M S
ward sorro w kno cke d upon his b reast acknowl edged him ,
s elf a grievous s inner humb ly ask ing the mercy of God

, ,
“
a n d sa id D e u s p ro p itius e s to m ini p e cc a to ri : B lesse d
L or d b e merc iful to me a sinner
, the p enance a n d con
‘
t ritio n of his heart was so great Whereb y he gave so .
accep tabl e sacr ifi ce to Alm ighty Go d t hat by it h e was '
clean fo rgiven a n d t he Pharis ee rej ect Take h ee d .
how accep tab le sacrifi ce to Alm ighty God is a sorrowful

a n d cont r it e heart fo r s in Was not Achab sometime
.
,
King of I s rael reconcile d a n d forgiven by such manner

,
s acrifi ce aft er his great a n d innumerabl e o ffences ? I t is

w ritten that he li ve d mos t w icke dly b reak ing the com ,
mandment of Go d mo re t han all k ings of I s rael b efo re

him ; he did sacrifi ce unto the fals e Go d B aal a nd
favoured th e p r iests of his law chas ed away a n d desp is e d
,
the p rop he ts o f God ; notwithstanding our merc iful L ord ,
of H is goodness would chastis e him by shewing many

won ders a n d st range tokens Firs t H e caused that no
.
ra in fell on the eart h by th e s pace of t hree years a n d

th ree months to t he int ent Achab th e King shoul d know
,
Almighty Go d was dis cont ente d w ith him Also another .
t ime in the sight of all the p eop l e H e gave so great

v irtue to H is p rophet E lias that at his desi re a n d calling , ,
fi re came down from heaven which consume d a n d utterly

took away th ei r p res ent sa crifi ce Furthermo re aft er the .
long continuance w ithout r a in when Achab mist rust ed , ,
by the p etition o f the sa id E l ias wat er came down from

heaven p lent eously What creature woul d not amen d
.
hims elf b y thes e wond erful tokens ? B ut Achab was

never the b ett er continue d st ill in his mal ic e : n o tw ith
,
stan ding our L o r d Go d of H is gentleness p rove d him

,
again by other means When B e n a da b king of Assyria

.
came to s ub due Achab with a great host of p eop le A l ,
mighty Go d would not su ffer him to b e b et raye d of his

adversary b ut p romis e d he sho ul d have the vi ctory
,
.
Another time the year aft er when the same B e n a da b

, ,
had reco vere d his s trength he came upon him afresh ,
in battl e . Wh ereo f Alm ighty God gave him m onition

by H is p rophet a nd p romis e d he shoul d have the vi cto ry .
Furthermore when h e would not amend hims elf b ut

,
P S A LM L ( PAR T : 1 5
rather was wo rs e and wo rs e insomuch h e caus ed the ,
rig htw is e man N a b o th to b e s lain and by guil e got his
v ineyard then Alm ighty God threat ened him saying S e

, ,
de m e s s uru m o m n e m p o s te rita te m ip s ius e t in te r/e cturum

a e A c /z a o m ing e n te m a d p a rie te m : H e shoul d p ut down
'
all his posterity a n d slay a ll that came of him a n d not

”
leave s cant a do g Achab hearing this was anon com
.
, ,
p unct a n d so rrowed his misliving ; he cut and rent his

clothes went in hai r next his bo dy faste d lay nightly
, , ,
in sackclot h and held down his hea d O ur b less e d L o rd

,
.
s eeing his g reat p enance a n d meekness was move d with

p ity sai d unto his p rop het E lias [Vo n n e o idis ti nu m ili
,
a tum A c/z a o co ra m m e ? E t q u ia I z u m ilia tu s e s t m e i

c a usa , n o n in du c a m m a lum in die ou s e j us : S ees t thou
not t he meeknes s o f Achab p erceives t thou not how he ,
hath m e e k e d hims elf b efo re M e ? And b ecaus e of his

so doing for M y caus e I w il l not shew vengeanc e in his
,
”
days . O merciful L or d why did Thou so why did , ,
Thou refrain from i re why shewed Thou not vengeance,
upon that mos t ungentl e creatu re ? Truly for in him

was a sorrowful a n d a cont rit e soul whi ch is the chief ,
sacrifi ce whereby Thou art caus ed to shew mercy S a c ri

,
.
fic ium D e o spiritus c o n trioula tus c o r c o n tritum e t lz um i ,
lia tum D e us n o n de sp icie s :

, Th e so rrowful a n d p eni
,
t ent soul is chi ef sac rifi ce to God and B less ed L o r d , , ,

”
Thou shalt no t despis e a cont rit e heart Whosoeve r .
o rdereth hims elf on this manner that b y his inwa rd so r

row h e may have a cont rit e heart he is ab l e a n d m eet ,
unto the high building in the H eav enly City whos e walls
b e not y et finish e d A great numb er o f s tones is wanting
.
wh erewith they shoul d b e p erfo rmed and accomp lishe d ,
fo r th e ruin o f angels whi ch fell down f rom t hat City

must b e repai red and renewed b y taking up of men and
women like as by qui ck stones
, As we s ee in manne r .
when stones b e assump t fo r the re edifying o f cities o r

1 -
tow ers with o ther B ut it i s acco r ding that into such a

.
nobl e building no stone b e taken up b ut i f ? that it b e ,
p repared as it should b e a n d ma de meet befo re Fo r .
in that H eave n l y Pa lace may no s ton e b e polished s hap en ,
t a k e n up 9
un l e s s . .
1 1 6 TH E P E N IT E N TIA L P SA L M S
o r made s qua re I t must b e made fi t and p erfect here

.
on earth b efo re l es t at t he lifting up thither it b e not

,
able there to abi de a n d so b e cast down into the deep

dungeon of H el l The H eavenly A rtifi c e r us eth many a nd
.
divers manners in shap ing o r s quaring of stones meet

fo r thos e walls P era dventure some b e hard and them
.
H e must entreat 1 har dl y .
We shew ed b efore o f Achab : now shall ye hear of

Manass es whi ch was a king of I s rael and fol l owed m u ch
, ,
Achab in his living This Manasses o rdained and s et .
an idol within the holy p lace of the Temp l e he set up ,
altars of B aal used wit ches charms a n d divers other

, , ,
div inations wh erewith Almighty Go d was very much dis

,
p leas e d and gave him warning by H is p rop het s fo r to

,
amend hims elf B ut he of p ride and ob stina cy s et b ut

.
little by thei r threat enings after the manner of a wi cked

p erson when he is o verthrown in sin he des p ised them ,
.
Almighty God seeing Manasses would not b e made meet ,
neither woul d not b e ent reat ed by fai r and easy means

( as his des ire was ) us ed a more sharp way to him ,
He .
caused th e B abylonians with great p ower fo r to make

battle and h a ve the vi ctory : that done they led him fast ,
bound in chains of i ron into B abylon ; and there he was

s et in p rison and at last rememb ered his unki ndness done
,
against Alm ighty God Wherefo re h e wept and so rrowed .
so re meekly asking fo rg iveness

,
O ur merciful L ord of .
H is great goo dness anon heard gra ciously his p etition .
Thus at the last alb eit it was very hard to b rin g him to
,
pass he was made a meet l ive l y stone unto the H eavenly

,
B u ilding by very cont rition Mary Magdalene was much .
more easily b rought to frame than he ; whi ch by no

th reat en ings o r sharp p unishments but only fo r very love
of our S aviour Ch rist was drawn unto cont rition Thus .
,
as w e have rehearsed Almighty God the high A rtifice r ,
us eth many divers means to shap e and s quare H is stones

h ere in the earth in H i s Church Militant H e of H is
,
.
goodness would every man and woman should b e qui ck

stones made ready for that heavenly b uilding ; H is wil l
is every c reature to b e save d as S t Paul saith There , . .
tre a t .
1 18 TH E P E N IT E N TI A L P SA LM S
t roubled neithe r cont rition of h eart : as S t John saith

, .
in t he Apo calyp s e Also we cannot b e so clean a n d p ure

.
in th is life to make ob lation as we shoul d b e All ou r .
life here w e b e sp rinkle d with the dus t of s in Fo r all .
b e sinners : if we say contrary no t ruth i s i n us B ut at

,
.
our coming and t rans lat ion into H eavenly Jerusalem we

shall b e made so co nstant a n d s tea dfas t by grace that
n e ver aft er we shal l sin dea dly o r venially Therefo re .
our p rophet s aith T un e a cc e p ta ois s a crific ium ius titioe ’
o b la tio n e s e t lz o lo c a u s ta tun c im p o n e nt s up e r a lta re tu um

o itulo s : B less e d L o r d then Thou shalt accep t our sacri
,
fre e of rig htw is e n e s s at that time our oblations and sac ri

,
fi c e s shall b e p l easant unto T hee Fo r why ? They

shall b e clean and p ure without spot of s in Then shall .
all Thy well b elove d p eop le make accep table sacr ifice
not of fle s hly o r gol den calves as was in th e O ld L aw
, ,
but of everlasting p raisings a n d lauds as th e p rophet ,
O s ee rememb ereth We shall without end give thankings

.
immo rtal unto Thee in et ernal glo ry : whereunto T hou

bring us by the merit s of Thy S o n Jes us C hris t t hat ,
s u ffere d Pass ion fo r all sinners up on a C ross Amen . .

IM PO R TA N T N O TI C E
O w in g to t he b ulk o f s o m e o f t he M a n u s c rip t s , it is n o t
“
p o s s ib le to c o m p le t e e v e ry w o rk in a s in g l e is s ue o f
‘
The
C a th o lic L ib ra ry C o m m e n ta ry o n til e S e v e n P e n i
”
.
te n tia l P sa lm s . By J o hn Fis h e r B ish o p

,
of R o ch e s t e r ) .
P urc ha s e rs w ho ha v e n o t o rde re d a ll v o lum e s o f The

C a th o li c L ib ra ry to b e fo rw a rde d re g ula rly a s p ub l is h e d ,
a re th e re fo re re q ue s t e d t o g iv e in s t ruc tio n s fo r the re m a in
in g v o l um e s o f s u c h w o rk s to b e s up p l ie d a s is s ue d .
L o n do n :
THE M A NRES A P R E S S R O E H A M PT O N S W
, ,
. .
B . H E R D E R 68 , ,
G R E A T R U S S E LL S T w c .
,
. .
E O I TO VI TVI A I HO ‘I M I
' ’
to n a i 1i ( 8 3( I l1 3 2
‘
UUBM e d) l o s m o a i n ! llu d e d: 0 1 g n i
'
lo e ue e i s lg n ia 1; h i ! h o w vi a v o s ts lq m o s o i s ldia a o q -
i m s ‘X m e ta l “ no
Si
“
.
vi m diJ a ilo rli s D
( H lo q o rla iti mz i
'
‘
TS I BS dO O d i f c
.
, i s a n do l v8 mu
”
e dT lo a e m ulo v I ls b e rs b i o Jo n e y e d o rlw Z I S BB flIJI U q ' ‘
b e da ilduq a s vli s lug s i b s b i s w ro l 9 d 0 1

, vm rdi l o ilo di s O c
m is m s r e d) i o l e n o ii o un e n i s v ig o i b s i a e u p s r s ro l s rs di s i s
hs ue a i a t; b e iq u e a d 0 3 a rl ro w tb u a lo e s m ulo v g n i
'
n o b no J
'
W2 <
VI O T ‘
I M A HE
IOH I SI VI A M
I AZE
-
HH T
3 W . TP
. I BR U EI
JJE T A HSI O . 80 , I CI H EI H
fl E . tI
,
THE C A T HO L I C L I BR A R Y
O N E SHI L L I N G N ET E A C H VO L UM E .
( P osta ge 2 &d ) .
VO L . I I .
S Berna r dino the P e o p l e ’ s P r e a che r : with

.
, l tions
se e c from
B y M a isie Wa rd
.
hi s s e rm o ns . .
VO L 1 2 . .
L o urde s . By the V e ry R ev M gr R . . . H B e ns on
.
, M A . .
3 VO L . 1 .
The Q uestion of M ira cles B y the R e v G H J o yce , . . . .
Pr o fe s s o r o f D o g m a t ic T h e o lo gy a t S t B e uno s C o lleg e ,
’
.
N Wa le s . .
4 VO L . : .
C om m enta ry o n the Seve n P e nite ntia l P sa lm B y the B l e s s e d

J o h n Fi s he r E dit e d w ith a fo o tn o t e gl o s s a r y b y J S P hilli
.
. .
m o re M A P ro fe s s o r o f L a tin a t the U n ive r s ity of Gl a s g o w

, . .
, .
IN TH E P R ESS
VO L . 1 5 .
Som e Thoughts on C a tholic A p ologe tics A . Pl e a fo r I nt e r

p re ta tio n B y E dwa r d I n g ra m W a t ki n B A
. , . .
( N e w C o ll e g e ,
O x fo rd) .
VO L 1 6 . .
Ea rly C a t ho lic Hym n o dy A s h o rt a c co un t o f C a tholic .
hym n s a n d the ir writ e rs fro m S t A m b ro s e to the R e n a i s .
s a n ce With m a ny o rig in a l L a t in hym n s a n d tra n sl a ti o n s

. .
B y J o s e p h C l a yt o n .
VO L . 1 7 .
D own W e st a nd o the r S k e t che s o f I ris h L ife B y A l i c e

, .
D e a se . With a P refa ce b y S ir H e nry B e llm g ha m B a rt , .
VO L . 1 8 .
A M e diae va l A nthol o gy B e in g lyrics a n d o the r s ho rt

.
p o e m s , c hie fly re lig io u s co ll e ct e d a n d m o de rni z e d b y M a ny

,
G S ega r
. .
LO N D O N :
THE M A N R ESA P R E S S R O E H A M PT O N
, , s . w .
B . H E R D ER , 68 , G R EA T R U S S EL L ST .
, W C .

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C O M M EN TA R Y O N THE

SEVEN P EN I TENTI A L PSA L M S

(First ﬁu élz s /zed in

I N M aarten M a a rte n s novel T/z e H e a le rs a D ut c h

la dy w ho is j ust about to b e come a Catholi c i s assailed

b e tur ning round and g iving t he l ie to the whol e history ,

of her count ry An eno rmous o pp res si ve c onside ration

w hich p erha p s redu c es to terms so m e p art at leas t of th e

funks t he p lung e whi ch is th e common and th e inevitabl e

e xp erience of converts : inevitab le b ecause let reasoning , ,

lead never s o st raight and p e rs onal comforte rs b e never so

an act : The shock of t his alte ration o f s pi rit ual and

a D ut chma n t han fo r any othe rs j ust b ecaus e tha t R evo ,

lutio n in t he S ixt eenth centu ry did s o fa r s ucc eed in

lengt h and b readth of p ub li c li fe in t he nation .

A N onconfo rmist it has b een sai d ( p erha p s un

j ustly ) could not w rit e t he histo ry of E ngland f rom

his N onconformist p oint of view b ecau s e he is ,

foreign t o i t all b ut a p has e which came lat e and

obtained only p artially F rom his p oint of view .

he cannot c ommand the s ubj ect The Alt eration of .

R eligion ( as C eci l c alled it su rely k nowing what he ,

meant ) in E ngland o rgani z ed a s tat e of t hings by

and all s uch p ersons as might refus e to acc ep t the s o v e r

t he omnipotent exp loiters of the n ew syst e m b rough t in

dal about Q ueen E li zab eth was not merely a p hras e ”

to dis c re dit unhea r d any dangerous historical revisions

b ut a social ve rdict of B ad Fo rm The g reat general .

legend compos ed g rad u ally a n d in t he main un co n

S cio u s ly more by instinct t han p olicy was comp osed o f

many f a ls iﬁ ca tio n s of deta il all dire ct ed to s ubs erve a

rhetori cians called it ) that E ngland s greatness only b e ’

gan wit h E ngland s P rotestantism The R ena issance

whi ch in fact was arrest ed a n d delayed fo r a cent ury by

as a necessary and charact eristi c accomp animent of the

b eth : o r rather t hat mus t be its glorious s unri se har

b ing e re d by the glimmerings o f a dawn in W iclyf a p er ,

son abou t whom ou r evangeli cal mythologists have been

E a g lz s /z B ib le a zia E s sa ys ) Tennyson a credulous

poet endowed with a j ournalist s s ensitiveness to the

fa shion of his time and in whom as in an echo we may , ,

measure the cl a morous re s onan ce of F ro n de s ﬁ ctions by ’

comp la cency ! What did it matt er if in times so spacious

cep t a hiding — ho l e o r a rack o r a gib b et ? B etter still the

g reat term E li zab ethan b ecame s erviceable fo r a ”

doub le equivo que : t hus E li zab ethan we always ,

thought P rotestant b ut evidently all literat u re p ro

du ce d in the reign of E li zab eth is E li z ab ethan : E rg o the ,

whole g lo ry of E nglish lit erat ure is P rot es tant

s uch s tyl e are th e syllogisms of p rej u di ce const r u cted .

And then aga i n as a count erp art to sup p ressing ou r

Allens and Camp ions and P a rs o n se s and S tap letons t he y ,

will have t he wo rd E li z ab ethan with convenient

wo rk whats oe ve r as it may s uit thei r p urpos e t o includ e

t hat centu ry they p ilfer it s songs an d ballads and swee p

B ut in the p a rti cula r instances of Fisher and Mo re a

tacitly ag reed in t he int erests of t he As cendancy tha t

t hes e two shal l b e l e f t in darkness Thei r martyrdom s .