Works, Prayer – To the reader 3
An Earneſt and zealous Prayer, to be ſaued from the damnation of TOPHET.
O Moſt glorious euerliuing, and euerlouing Lord God, the fountaine and well-ſpring of all our happineſſe, wee thy poore ſeruants (vnworthy, in regard of our manifold tranſgreſſions, of the leaſt of thy bleſſings) doe moſt humbly fall downe before the throne of thy dreadfull Maieſty, confeſſing in the bitterneſſe of our ſoules, the baſeneſſe and vileneſſe of our eſtates by ſinne: O Lord, aſhamed wee are to come before thee, that are nothing but ſinfull corruption and abomination, duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page but thou a Maieſty moſt pure, in compariſon of whom, the Angels themſelues are counted impure: we dare not therfore (being thus lothſome and abominable) preſume to preſent our ſelues before thee, as in our ſelues, but in thy manifold mercies, and thy Son Ieſus Chriſt his merits, in whom thou art delightfully pleaſed with all that faithfully call vponupon thy name: Lord, in thy Son behold vsus, we humbly beſeech thee, accept vsus in his worthineſſe, clenſe vsus in his blood, iuſtifie vsus in his righteouſnes, ſanctifie vsus with his ſpirit, and in his moſt precious death frée vsus from the damnation of hell. O till theſe comfortable tidings be ſealed vp to our ſoules, how perplexed are we! O how do our harts quake and tremble, till we hauehave found the ſaluation of thee our God! Reiect vsus not (O heauenly Father) that faine would, as be ſaued of thee, ſo vprightly ſerue thee: we plead now and euer for pardon, ſo for grace, whereby wee may in plentifull manner bring forth fruits worthy of amendement.
Lord kéepe vsus in body and ſoule to thy euerlaſting Kingdom and ſaluation: Lord preſerue vsus from the terrible torments of Tophet: O what ſhall become of vsus, if we for our ſins, when we dye, be thrown into that Lake that burnes with fire and brimſtone, ſo bitterly, as forceth ſcreeching and ſcreaming continually! Lord deale not with vsus according to our ſinnes, and thy iuſtice; but in the multitude of thy mercies, ſaue our ſoules aliue: O conſider the▪ terrors of our troubled Soules: Let not the grones of our hearts be deſpiſed, but ſuffer them to pierce the heauens for a bleſſing: O thou that art the God of endleſſe compaſſion, caſt vsus not away from thy preſence: we are the workmanſhip of thine hands, O Lord confound vsus not: O Lord (that delighteſt not in the death and damnation of a ſinner) bee moued to ſhewe pity vponupon vsus: O Chriſt our bleſſed Sauior, make interceſſion to God the Father for vsus▪ ſpeake by thy gracious Spirit peace to our diſquieted Soules, bind vp our broken hearts: giuegive vsus that wée may cléerely ſée our names written in the Booke of Life, and our ſoules releaſed from the fearefull damnation of Tophet.
To this end (gracious God) remoue all ſinne from our ſoules, and plant in the garden of our hearts, all thoſe ſpirituall and heauenly graces that are proper & peculiar to thine Elect, that we may be alwayes a ſwéet ſmelling ſauor before thée: giuegive vsus faith in thy promiſes, louelove to thy Maieſty, zeale to thy glory, obedience to thy lawes, and guide vsus daily by thy bleſſed Spirit into all truth and godlineſſe: Lord, giuegive vsus to bee out of louelove with the vanities of this life, to hate eueryevery worke of darknes, the little ſin as well as the great: quicken vsus (O Lord) by thy quickning Spirit: O giuegive vsus hearts to bee inflamed with the louelove of thy truth: O that wée could hunger and thirſt after grace, as the chaſed Hart doth the running Brooke: O that wee could experimentally ſay with thy ſeruant DAVID, that all our delight is in thy Commandements.
Thus (O Lord) we receiuing grace from thy Maieſty, to repell the fiery darts of the diuell, & to flye euen from eueryevery apparition of euill: ſo doing we may reap much comfort to our ſoules in this world of trouble, and at the fearefull day of Iudgement, wee may be freed from the lamentable tortures of Tophet, where howling and yelling ſhall be for euermore, and that for Ieſus Chriſts ſake thy Sonne our Sauiour: to whom with thée and thy moſt glorious Spirit, we deſire, euen from the bottome of our hearts, to hauehave offered vp all thankſgiuing and praiſe both in heauen and earth this day and euermore. Amen.
FINIS.
A IOYEFVLL TRACTATE OF The moſt bleſſed Baptiſme that euer was ſolemniz'd: VIZ.
Of the Baptiſm of our Lord IESVS by IOHN in Iordan.
The fourth Edition corrected and amended.
IOHN 3. 5.
Except a man be borne of water and of the Spirit, hee cannot enter into the Kingdome of God.
LONDON, Printed by George Purſlowe, and are to be ſold by John Clarke. 1620.
TO THE RIGHT Worſhipfull M. ROBERT MORDAVNT of Maſſingham Hall, in the County of Norſolke, Eſquire, and Miſtris AMY MORDAVNT, his moſtlouing Bedfellow: All increaſe of Grace in this life, and of glory in the life to come.
SEldome or neuer (Right Worſhipfull) doe we finde Tractates, either Humane, or Diuine, paſſe without their particular Dedications, that being ſhrowded vnderunder the ſafe-garding gourds of honorable and right godly diſpoſitions, they might the better bee preſerued from the parching detractions of malignant Cynicks: I make bolde therefore (diſcarding all ſelfe-humour and irregular ſingularity) to commend this poore Preſent, voſtrum ad patrocinium, to the worthy patronage of your well-affected Worſhips, two eſpeciall reaſons mouing me hereunto. Firſt, that mine vnfained gratitude, entire affection, and moſt humble duty for all your fauors inexpreſſible, might heereby bee made apparent: Secondly, it being deliuered at that ſolemne baptiſme of Charles your firſt born and hopefull heyre, none I know more worthy of this Dication, than your worthy and right Chriſtian perſons.
I preſent it to your religious conſiderations, as a louing and friendly New-yeeres gift: for it aymes at that bleſſed New birth, and happy New life, liuely in baptiſme repreſented, without which it is not poſſible for either of you to poſſeſſe the Kingdome of God.
Accept therefore (I humbly beſeech you) and take in good worth this ſhort Treatiſe; ſhort both in line and learning: reſpect not (as is that Prouerbe) the meaſure of the gift, but the minde of the giuer, what is wanting in the one (I dare boldly promiſe) is made vp in the other.
At your beſt leiſures vouchſafe, I pray, now and then to peruſe it, and I truſt that your Chriſtian paines herein ſhall bee well reguerden'd with heauenly pleaſures herefrom.
The Lord God make this (with all other like Chriſtian helps) much profitable to your ſoules, and as he hath abundantly bleſſed you withoutward honors and dignities externall, he would alſo euen fill your heares and ſpirits with the ineſtimable riches of his al-ſufficient grace: that hauing granted this two-fold bleſſing to you in this life, you may hauehave the more aſſured hope of a third in the life to come, which is his bleſſing of glory: for all which forenamed bleſſings, your Worſhips ſhall hauehave my beſt and moſt deuout prayers, continued to the Lord; to whoſe ſweeteſt protection I betake you both with your hopefull ſonne this preſent day and euermore:
From Hempſted in Eſſex, Ianuary, 10. 1620. Your Worſhips alwaies ready to be commanded in the LORD. Henry Greenwood.
To the CHRISTIAN Reader.
A Religious and right vertuous Gentlewoman, curteous and I. M.Chriſtian Reader, much importuning mee for a written Copie of this extant worke (vponupon good conſideration) proues the onelyonly occaſion of this printed Tractate: for things written, as they are more tedious, ſo are they leſse profitable; but printed Tractates leſſe tedious and more profitable: I am not borne alone to my ſelfe, my particular friends I louelove to ſatisfie, but the generall good ſtill ſhall be my ayme.
And that my penne thus happily ſhould turned bee to Preſſe, I am no whit vnwilling: both becauſe few hauehave written vponupon this worthy ſubiect; as alſo for that I ſee this heauenly Sacrament ſeldome made right vſe of, the moſt contenting themſelues with the bare ſigne, very few acquainting themſelues with the bleſſed power of the ſignified. That therefore our profeſsion may not be (as in many Antichriſtian parts of the world) in ſuperficiall ſigne and ſhew alone, but in ſubſtance, life, and power: I commend vntounto thy view (for the better information of thine head, and reformation of thine heart) this ſhort (yet I truſt profitable) Treatiſe of that bleſſed Baptiſme of our bleſſed Lord and Sauiour Ieſus Chriſt.
Here (Chriſtian friend) mayſt thou learne a double leſson to liue to dye: to dye to that, which otherwiſe muſt bee thy death: to liue that Chriſtian and happy life, wherewith who-euer is not acquainted, euerlaſtingly muſt dye.
The Lord God (from my very ſoule I heartily deſire) bleſſe theſe my poore paines to the beſt good of thine owne Soule, and worke in thine heart a death to all that is euill, and a life to all grace and godlineſse, that his glory more and more by thee may be aduanced, and thine owne ſoule more & more by him refreſhed: and that for his owne mercy ſake; to whoſe moſt happy protection, I commend thee both in body and Soule in his deare Sonne Chriſt Ieſus, and reſt
Thine euer-louing in the Lord, Henry Greenwood.