Welcome to the Practice of Piety by Lewis Bailey. We are starting at the beginning, at page 323 for this reading. This Reformation audio resource is a production of Stillwaters Revival Books. Many free resources as well as our complete mail order catalog containing classic and contemporary written and reformed books, CDs, and much more at great discounts or on the web at www.your10downloads.com. Also please consider, pray and ask upon the important truth found in the following quotation by Charles Spurgeon. Quote, As the Apostle says to Timothy, so also he says to everyone. Give yourself to reading. He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains, prove that he has no brains of his own. You need to read, And you renounce as much as you will all light literature, but study as much as possible sound theological works, especially the Puritanic writers and expositions of the Bible. The best way for you to spend your leisure is to be either reading or praying. And now to SWRB's reading of the Practice of Piety, which we hope that you find to be a great blessing, and which we pray draws nearer to the Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man comes to the Father but by Him. A PRAYER AT THE YIELDING UP OF THE GHOST A Lamb of God, which by thy blood hath taken away the sins of the world, have mercy upon me, a sinner. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Amen. When the sick party is departing, let the faithful that are present kneel down and commend his soul to God, in these or the like words. O gracious God and merciful Father, who art our refuge and strength, and a very present help in trouble. Lift up the light of thy favorable countenance at this instant upon thy servant, and now come to appear in thy presence. Wash away, good Lord, all his sins by the merits of Jesus Christ's blood, that they may never be laid to his charge. Increase his faith, preserve, keep safe his soul from the danger of the devil and his wicked angels. Comfort him with thy Holy Spirit cause him now to feel that thou art his loving Father, and that he is thy child by adoption and grace. Save, O Christ, the price of thy own blood, and suffer him not to be lost, whom thou hast bought so dearly. Receive his soul, as thou didst the penitent thief, into thy heavenly paradise. Let thy blessed angels conduct him tither, as they carried the soul of Lazarus, and grant unto him a joyful resurrection on that last day. O Father, hear us for him, and hear thy own Son, our only Mediator, that sits at thy right hand for him and us all, even for the merits of that bitter death and passion which he has suffered for us. In confidence whereof, we now recommend his soul unto thy fatherly hands, in that blessed prayer which our Savior has taught us in all times of our troubles, to say unto thee, Hallowed be thy name." Thus far of the practice of piety in dying in the Lord. Now follows the practice of piety in dying for the Lord. The practice of piety in dying for the Lord is termed martyrdom. Martyrdom is the testimony which a Christian bears to the doctrine of the gospel by enduring any kind of death to invite many and to confirm all To embrace the truth thereof, to this kind of death Christ has promised a crown. Be thou faithful unto the death, and I will give thee the crown of life, which promised the church so firmly believed that they turned martyrdom itself a crown. And God, to animate Christians to this excellent prize, would by a prediction that even the first Christian martyr should have his name of a crown. Of martyrdom, there are three kinds. One, in will only, as drawn the evangelist to being boiled in a cauldron of oil, came out rather anointed than clothed, and died of old age of euthysias. Second, in deed only, as the innocence of Bethlehem. Thirdly, both in will and deed, as in the primitive church, Stephen, Ignatius, many other names, and thousands, and in our day, Cranmer, Latimer, Hooper, Ridley, Farrar, Bradford, Philpot, Senders, Glover, Taylor, and others innumerable, whose fiery zeal to God's truth brought them to the flames of martyrdom to seal Christ's faith. It is not the cruelty of the death, but the innocency and holiness of the cause that make us the martyrs. Neither is an erroneous conscience a sufficient warrant to suffer martyrdom. Because signs in God's word must direct conscience in man's heart. For they who killed the apostles in their erroneous consciences thought they did God a good service. And Paul of Zeal breathed out slaughters against the Lord's saints. Now whether the cause of our seminary priests and Jesuits be so holy, true, and insatiable, as that it may warrant their conscience to suffer death and to hazard their eternal salvation thereon, let Paul's epistle written to the ancient Christian Romans be judged. And it will plainly appear that the doctrine which St. Paul taught to the ancient Church of Rome is opposite in twenty-six fundamental points of true religion to that which the new Church of Rome teaches and maintains. For St. Paul taught the primitive Church of Rome. that our re-election is of God's free grace and not opervis another language 2. that we are justified before God by faith only without good works 3. that the good works of the regenerate are not of their own contingent meteors nor such as can deserve heaven 4. That those books which are only are God's oracles and canonical scriptures which were committed to the custody and credit of the Jews. Such were never the Akophia. 5. That the Holy Scriptures have God's authority, therefore above the authority of the Church. 6. That all, as well as laity and clergy that will be saved, must familiarly read or know the Holy Scriptures. 7. That all images made of the true God are very idle. 8. That to bow the knee religiously to an image or to worship any creature is mere idolatry. And a lying service. 9. That we must not pray unto any but to God only in whom we believe, therefore not to saints and angels. 10. That Christ is our only intercessor in heaven. 11. That the only sacrifice of Christians is nothing but the spiritual sacrifices of their souls and bodies to serve God in holiness and righteousness, therefore no real sacrificing of Christ in the mass. That the religious worship called Dula, as well as Latria, belongeth to God alone. 13. That all Christians are to pray unto God in their own native language. 14. That we have not of ourselves, in the state of corruption, free will unto good. 15. That conspicuous in the regenerate is sin. 16. That the sacraments do not confer grace, but sign and seal that which is conferred already unto us. 17. That every true believing Christian may in this life be assured of his salvation. 18. That no man in this life, since Adam's fall, can perfectly fulfill the commandments of God. 20. That the imputed righteousness of Christ is that only that it makes us just before God. 21. That Christ's flesh was made of the seed of David by incarnation, not of a wafer cake by transubstantiation. 22. That all true Christians are saints. and not those whom the Pope only doth canonize. 23. That Christ, the God of peace, and not the woman, would bruise the serpent's head. 24. That every soul must of conscience be subject and pay tribute to the higher powers, that is, the magistrates which bear the sword. And therefore the Pope, and all prelates, must be subject to their emperors, kings, and magistrates. unless they will bring damnation upon their souls, as traitors that resist God and His ordinance. 25. That Paul, not Peter, was ordained by the grace of God to be the chief apostle of the Gentiles, and consequently of Rome, the chief city of the Gentiles. 26. That the church of Rome may err and fall away from the true faith, as well as the church of Jerusalem, or any other particular church. And seeing the new upstart church of Rome teaches in all of these, and all innumerable other points, clean, contrary to that which the Apostle taught the primitive Romans, let God and this epistle judge between them and us, whether of us both stands in the true ancient Catholic faith, which the Apostles taught to the old Romans, and whether we have not done well to depart from them, so far as they have departed from the Apostles' doctrines. And whether it be not better to return to St. Paul's truth, than still to continue in Rome's error. And if this be true, then let Jesuits and seminary priests take heed and fear, lest it not be faith, but faction, not truth, but treason, not religion, but rebellion, beginning at Tiber and ending at Tiberne, which is the cause of their death, and being sent from a troublesome rather than from a peaceable apostle seat, because they cannot be suffered to persuade subjects to break their oath, and to withdraw their allegiance from their sovereign, to raise rebellion, to move invasion, to stab and poison queens, to kill and murder kings, to blow up whole states with gunpowder, and they desperately cast their own bodies to be hanged and quartered, and I wish that honor to all his saints that send them. And I have this cause to fear, that the miracles of Lepitius' two ladies, Blomstone's boys, and Arnett's straw, and the maid's fiery apron, will not suffice to clear that these men are not murderers of themselves, rather than martyrs of Christ. And with what conscience can any priest count Garnet a murderer, when his own conscience forced him to confess that it was for treason and not for religion that he died? But if the priests of such blend-powdered Gospels be martyrs, I marvel who are murderers. If they be saints, who are the Scythians? Who are the cannibals if they be Catholics? But leaving these, if they will be filthy to their filthiness still, let us, to whose fidelity the Lord hath committed his true faith, as a precious deposit, pray unto God that we may lead a holy life, answerable to our holy faith, in piety to Christ and obedience to our King, that if our Saviour shall ever count it worthy that honour to suffer martyrdom for his Gospel's sake, be it by open burning at the stake, as in Queen Mary's days, or by secret murdering, as in the Inquisition House, or by outrageous massacring, as in the Parisian Athens, or in being blown up with gunpowder, as was intended in the Parliament House, We may have grace to pray for the assistance and control of the Spirit, so that strengthen our frailty and to defend His cause, as that we may seal with our death the evangelical truth which we have professed in our lives, that in the days of our lives we may be blessed by His word. And in the day of death be blessed in the Lord, and in the day of judgment be blessed of these fathers. Even so, grant, Lord Jesus. Amen. a divine colloquy between the soul and her saviour, upon the effectual merits of his glorious passion. SOUL Lord, wherefore didst thou wash thy disciples' feet? CHRIST To teach thee how thou shouldst prepare thyself to come to my supper. SOUL Lord, why shouldst thou wash them thyself? to teach thee humility, if thou wilt be my disciple. SOUL. Lord, wherefore didst thou before thy death institute thy last supper? CHRIST. That thou mightst better remember my death, and be assured that all the merits thereof are thine. SOUL. Lord, wherefore wouldst thou go to such a place where Judas knew to find thee? that thou mightest know that I went as willingly to suffer for thy sins, as ever thou wentest to any place to commit a sin. So, Lord, wherefore wouldst thou begin my passion in a garden? Christ, because that in a garden thy sin took first beginning. So, Lord, wherefore didst thou three select disciples fall so fast asleep? when thou didst begin to fall into thy agony. Christ, to show that I alone wrought the works of thy redemption. So, Lord, why were there so many plots and snares laid for thee? Christ, that I might make thee to escape all the snares of thy ghostly hunters. So, Lord, why shouldst thou suffer duties betraying thee to kiss thee? Christ, that by injuring the words of this dissembling lip I might there begin to expediate sin, where Satan first brought it into the world. So, Lord, why wouldst thou be sold for dirty pieces of silver? Christ, that I might free thee from perpetual bondage. So, Lord, why didst thou pray with such strong crying and tears? Christ, that I might quench the fury of God's justice, which was so fiercely kindled against So, Lord, why wast thou so afraid and passed into such an agony? Christ, that suffering the wrath due to thy sins, thou mightest be more secure in thy death, and find more comfort in thy process. So, Lord, wherefore didst thou pray so often, so earnestly, that the cup might pass from thee? Christ, that thou mightest perceive the horror of the curse and wrath which being due to thy sins, I was then to drink and endure for thee? So, Lord, wherefore didst thou, after thy wish, submit thy will to the will of the Father, Christ, to teach thee what thou shouldst do in all thy afflictions, and how willingly thou shouldst yield to bear with patience that cross, which thou seest to come from the just hand of thy Heavenly Father? So, Lord, wherefore didst thou sweat such drops of blood Christ, that I might cleanse thee from thy stains and bloody spots. Soul, Lord, why shouldst thou be taken when thou mightest have escaped thy enemies? Christ, that thy spiritual enemies should not take thee and cast thee into the prison of utter darkness. Soul, Lord, wherefore wouldst thou be forsaken of all thy disciples? that I might reconcile thee unto God, of whom thou wast forsaken for thy sins. So, Lord, wherefore wouldst thou stand to be apprehended alone? Christ, to show thee that my love of thy salvation was more than the love of all my disciples. So, Lord, wherefore was the young man caught by the soldiers, and unstripped of his linen, who came out of his bed, hearing the stir of thy apprehension, and leading the died priests. Christ, to show their outrage in apprehending me, and my power in preserving out of their outrageous hands all my disciples who otherwise had been worst handled by them, that was that young man. Soul, Lord, wherefore wouldst thou be bound? Christ, that I might loose the cords of thine iniquities. Lord, why wast thou denied of Peter? Christ, that I might confess thee before my Father, and thou might learn that there is no trust in man, that thy salvation proceeds of my mere mercy. So, Lord, wherefore wouldst thou bring Peter to repentance by the crowing of the croc? Christ, that none should despise the means which God hath appointed for their conversion, though they seem never so mean. So, Lord, wherefore didst thou that the cross-crowing turn and look upon Peter? Christ, because thou mightst know that without the help of my grace no means can turn a sinner into God when he is once fallen from him. So, Lord, wherefore wast thou covered with a purple robe? Christ, that thou mightest perceive that it was I that did away with thy scarlet sins. So, Lord, wherefore wouldst thou be crowned with thorns? Christ, that by wearing thorns the first fruits of the curse it might appear, that it is I which take away the sins and curse of the world, and crown thee with the crown of life and glory. So, Lord, why was a wreath put into thy hand? that it might appear that I came not to break the bruised wreath. So, Lord, wherefore wast thou mocked of the Jews? Christ, that thou mightest insult over devils who otherwise would not have mocked thee as the Philistines did Samson. So, Lord, wherefore wouldst thou have thy blessed face defiled with fiddle? that I might cleanse thy face from the shame of sin. So, wherefore, Lord, were thy eyes hoodwinked with avail? Christ, that thy spiritual blindness being removed, thou mightst behold the face of my Father in heaven. So, Lord, wherefore did thy buffet thee with fists, and beat thee with staves? that thou mightest be freed from the strokes and the tearings of infernal fiends. So, Lord, wherefore wouldst thou be revealed? Christ, that God might speak peace into thee by his word and spirit. So, Lord, wherefore was thy face disfigured with globes and blood? Christ, that thy face might shine glorious as the angels in heaven. Soul, Lord, wherefore wouldst thou be so cruelly scourged? Christ, that thou mightest be freed from the sting of conscience and wits of everlasting torment. Soul, Lord, wherefore wouldst thou be arraigned at Pilate's bar? Christ, that thou mightest at the last day be acquitted before my judgment seat. Lord, wherefore wouldst thou be falsely accused? Christ, that thou shouldst not be justly condemned. Lord, wherefore wouldst thou be turned over to be condemned by a strange judge? Christ, that thou, being redeemed from the captivity of a hellish tyrant, mightst be restored to God, whose own right thou art. Wherefore, O Christ, did thou acknowledge that Pilate had power over thee from above? Christ, that Antichrist, under pretense of being my baker, should not exalt himself above all principalities and powers. Soul, Lord, why wouldst thou suffer thy passion under Pontius Pilate, being a Roman president, to Caesar of Rome? to shew that the sedarian and quantification quality of Rome should chiefly persecute my church and crucify me and my members. So, but why, Lord, wouldst thou be condemned? Christ, that the law being condemned in me, thou mightest not be condemned by it. So, but what, why wast thou condemned, seeing nothing could be proved against thee? Christ, that thou mightest know that it was not for my fault, but for thine, that I suffered. So, Lord, wherefore wast thou led to suffer out of the city? Christ, that I might bring thee to rest in the heavenly city. So, Lord, why did the Jews compel Simon of Cyrene coming out of the field to carry that cross? Christ, to show the weakness whereon the burden of thy sins brought me And what must every Christian case which goes out of the field of this world toward the heavenly Jerusalem? So, Lord, why was thou stripped of thy garment? Christ, that thou might see how I forsook all to redeem thee. So, Lord, wherefore wouldst thou be lifted upon the cross? Christ, that I might lift thee up with me to heaven. Lord, wherefore didst thou hang upon the cursed tree? Christ, that I might satisfy for thy sin committed in eating the forbidden fruit of a tree. Soul, Lord, wherefore wouldst thou hang between two thieves? Christ, that thou mightest have a place in the midst of heavenly angels. Soul, Lord, wherefore were thy hands and feet nailed to the cross? Christ, to enlarge thy hands, and to do the works of righteousness, and to set thy feet at liberty, to walk in the ways of peace. So, Lord, wherefore did thy crucify thee in Golgotha, the place of dead men's souls? Christ, to assure thee that my death is life unto the dead. So, Lord, why did not the soldiers divide thy seamless coat? Christ, to show that my church is one, without rent or scission. Soul, Lord, wherefore didst thou taste vinegar and gall? Christ, that thou mightest eat of the bread of angels, and drink the water of life. Soul, Lord, why saidest thou upon the cross, It is finished? Christ, that thou mightest know that by my death the law was fulfilled, and thy redemption afflicted. Lord, why didst thou cry out upon the cross, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Christ, lest thou be forsaken of God, shouldst have been driven to cry in the pains of hell, woe and alas for evermore. So, Lord, wherefore was there such a general darkness when thou didst suffer and cry out upon the cross? that thou might see an image of those hellish pains which I suffered to deliver thee from the endless pains of hell and everlasting chains of darkness. So, Lord, why wouldst thou have thy arms nailed abroad? Christ, that I might embrace thee more lovingly in the everlasting arms of mercy. So, Lord, Why did the thief that never wrought good before obtain paradise upon so short repentance? Christ, that thou mayest see the power of my death to forgive them that repent, that no sinner needs despair. So, Lord, why did not the other thief which hanged as near thee obtain the life mercy? Christ, because I leave whom I will to harden themselves in themselves to destruction. that all should fear and none presume. Lord, wherefore didst thou cry with such a loud and strong voice in yielding up the ghost? That it might appear that no man took my life from me, but that I laid it down of myself. Lord, wherefore didst thou commend thy soul into thy Father's hands? To teach thee what thou shouldst do, being to depart this life. Lord, wherefore was the veil of the temple rent in twain at thy death? Christ. To show that the Levitical law should be no longer a partition wall between Jews and Gentiles, and that the way to heaven is now open to all believers. Lord, wherefore did the earth quake and the stones cleave at thy death? Christ. for horror to bear her Lord dying, and to upbraid the cruel hardness of sinners' hearts. So, Lord, wherefore did not the soldiers break thy legs, as they did those of the thieves who hang at the right and the left hand? Christ, that thou mightest know that they had not the power to do any more to thee than the Scripture hath foretold that they should do, and I should suffer to save thee. Wherefore was thy side opened with a spear? Christ, that thou mightest have a way to come nearer my heart. Soul, Lord, wherefore ran there out of thy precious side blood and water? Christ, to assure thee that I was slain indeed, seeing my heart-blood gushed out, and the water which compassed my heart flowed forth after it, which once split. must needs die. So, Lord, wherefore ran the blood first by itself, and the water afterward by itself, out of thy blessed wound? Christ, to assure thee of two things, first, that in my blood-shedding justification and sanctification were effected to save thee. Secondly, that my spirit, by the conscionable use of the water in baptism and blood in the will effect in thee righteousness and holiness, by which thou shalt glorify me. So, Lord, wherefore did the graves open at thy death? Christ, to signify that death, by my death, had now received his death's wound, and was overcome. So, Lord, wherefore wouldst thou be buried? Christ, that thy sins might never rise up to judgment against thee. Lord, wherefore wouldst thou be buried by two such honourable Senators as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea? Christ, that the truth of my death, the cause of thy life, might more evidently appear unto all. So, Lord, wherefore wast thou buried in a new sculpture wherein was never laid a man? Christ, that it might appear that I, and not another, and that by my own power, and not by another's virtue, like him who revived at the touching of a luscious bone. So, Lord, wherefore didst thou raise up thy body again? Christ, that thou mayest be assured that thy sins are discharged, and that thou art justified. So, Lord, wherefore did so many bodies of thy saints which slept arise at thy resurrection? Christ, to give the assurance that all the saints shall arise by virtue of my resurrection at that last day. Soul, Lord, what shall I render unto thee for all these benefits? Christ, love thy Creator and become a new preacher. The soul's soliloquy ravished in contemplation of the passion of our Lord. What hap'st thou done, O my sweet Saviour, and ever-blessed Redeemer, that thou wast thus betrayed of Judas, sold of the Jews, apprehended as a malefactor, and led, bound as a lamb to the slaughter? What evil hast thou committed, that thou shouldst be thus openly arraigned, accused falsely, and unjustly condemned before Anastasius, the Jewish priest, at the judgment seat of Pilate, the Roman president? Or to whom did thou thus ever do wrong? That thou should be thus pitifully scorched with wits, crowned with thorns, clothed with flouts, revealed with words, buffeted with fits, and beaten with staves. O Lord, what did thou thus deserve to have thy blessed face spit upon, and covered, as it were, with shame? To have thy garments parted, thy hands and feet nailed to the cross? To be lifted upon the cursed tree? To be crucified among thieves? and made to taste gall and vinegar, and in thy deadly extremity to endure such a sea of God's wrath, that made thee to cry out as if thou hadst been forsaken of God thy Father, yea, to have thy innocent heart pierced with a cruel spear, and thy precious blood to be spilt before thy blessed mother's eyes. Sweet Saviour, how much was thou tormented to endure all this, seeing I am so much amazed I inquire for thy offense, but I can find none in thee. No, nor so much as thou to have been found in thy mouth. Thy enemies are challenged, and none of them dare rebuke thee of sin. Thy accusers, are they suborns? Agree not in their witness. The judge that condemns thee openly, clearly thine, cleareth thy innocence. His wife sends him word that she was warned in a dream that thou wast a just man, and therefore should take heed of doing injustice unto thee. The centurion that executed thee confessed thee of the truth to be both a just man and the very Son of God. The thief that hanged with thee justifies thee, for thou hast done nothing amiss. What is the cause then, O Lord, of this thy cruel ignominy, passions, and death? I, O Lord, I am the cause of these thy sorrows. My sins wrought thy shame. My iniquities are the occasion of thy injuries. I have committed the fault, and thou art plagued for the offence. I am guilty, and thou art arraigned. I committed the sin, and thou sufferest the death. I have done the crime, and thou hangest on the cross. O deepness of God's love! O the wonderful disposition of heavenly grace! O the unmeasurable measure of divine mercy! The wicked transgresseth, and the just is punished. The guilty let escape, and the innocent is arraigned. The male factor is acquitted, and the harmless condemned. What the evil man deserves, the good man suffers. The servant does the fault, and the master endures the strokes. What shall I say? Man sings, and God dies. O son of God, who can sufficiently express thy love, or commend thy pity, or extol thy praise? I was proud, and thou art humble. I was disobedient. and thou becomest obedient. I did eat the forbidden fruit, and thou didst hang on the cursed tree. I played the blotting, and thou didst fast. Evil conspicuous drew me to eat the pleasant apple, and perfect charity led thee to drink of the bitter cup. I essayed the sweetness of the fruit, and thou didst taste the bitterness of the gall. Foolish Eve smiled when I laughed, But blessed Mary wept when thy heart bled and died. O my God, here I see thy goodness and my badness, thy justice and my injustice, the impiety of my flesh and the piety of thy nature. And now, O blessed Lord, thou hast endured all this for my sake. What shall I render unto thee for all thy benefits bestowed upon me, a sinful soul? Indeed, Lord, I acknowledge that I owe Thee already for my creation more than I am able to pay, for I am in that respect bound with all my powers and affections to love and adore Thee. If I owe myself unto Thee for giving me myself in my creation, what shall I now render Thee for giving Thyself to me to so cruel a death to procure my redemption? Great was the benefit that Thou wouldst create me of nothing, But what tongue can express the greatness of this grace that Thou didst redeem me with so dear a price, when I was worse than nothing? Surely, Lord, if I cannot pay the thanks I owe Thee, it is the abundance of Thy blessings that make me such a bankrupt, that I am so far unable to pay the principal, that I cannot possibly pay so much as the interest of Thy love. But, O my Lord, thou know'st that since the loss of thy image, by the fall of my unhappy parents, I cannot love thee with all my might and mind as I should. Therefore is thou this first cast thy love upon me, when I was a child of wrath, and a lump of lost and condemned world. So now I beseech thee, shed abroad thy love by thy Spirit through all my faculties and affections, that though I can never pay these in that measure of love which thou hast deserved, Yet I may endeavor to repay thee in such a manner as thou vouch'st to accept in mercy, that I may in truth of heart love my neighbor for thy sake, and love thee above all for thine own sake. Let nothing be pleasant unto me, but that which is pleasing unto thee. And, sweet Savior, suffer me never to be lost or cast away, when thou hast bought so dearly with thine own most precious blood. Let me never forget Thine infinite love and this unspeakable benefit of my redemption, without which it had been better for me never to have been than to have any being. And seeing that Thou hast vouchsafed me in the assistance of Thy Holy Spirit, so for me, O Heavenly Father, who art the Father of Spirits, in the mediation of Thy Son, to speak a few words in the ears of my Lord, if Thou, O Father, Disguises me for my iniquities, as I have deserved, yet be merciful unto me for the merits of thy son, who so much for me has suffered. What if thou seest nothing in me but misery, which might move anger and passion? Yet behold the merits of thy son, and thou shalt see enough to move thee to mercy and compassion. Behold the mystery of his incarnation, and remit the misery of my transgression. And as oft as the wounds of thy son appear in thy sight, O, let the woes of my sins be hid from thy presence, as oft as the redness of his blood glitters in thy eyes. O, let the guiltiness of my sins be blotted out of thy book. The wantonness of my flesh provokes thee to wrath. O, let the purity of his flesh persuade thee to mercy, that as my flesh seduced me to sin, so his flesh may reduce me into thy favor. My disobedience has deserved a great revenge, but disobedience merits a greater weight of mercy, for what man can deserve to suffer which God made man cannot merit to have forgiven. When I consider the greatness of thy passion, then do I see the trueness of that saying, that Christ came into the world to save the chiefest sinners. Darest thou, O Cain, say that thy sins are greater than may be forgiven? Thou liest like a murderer. The mercies of one Christ are able to forgive a world of canes, if they will believe and repent. The sins of all sinners are finite. The mercies of God are infinite. Therefore, O Father, for the death and passion and stake which Thy Son Jesus Christ has suffered for me, and I have now remembered to Thee, pardon and forgive Thou unto me all my sins, and deliver me from the curse and vengeance which they have justly deserved. And through His merit make me, O Lord, a partaker of Thy mercies. It is Thy mercies that I also earnestly knock for. Neither shall my importunity cease to call and knock with the man that would borrow the load, until Thou arise and open me unto me Thy gates of grace. And if Thou wilt not bestow on me Thy loads yet, O Lord, deny me not the crumbs of Thy mercies, and no shall suffice Thy hungry handmaid. And seeing thou requirest nothing for thy benefit, but that I love thee in the truth of my inward heart, whereof a new creature is the truest outward testimony, and that it is as easy for thee to make me a new creature as to bid me to be such. Create in me, O Christ, a new heart, and renew in me a right spirit, and then thou shalt see how mortifying old Adam and his corrupt lusts. I will serve thee as thy new creature in a new life. After a new way, with a new tongue, and a new manner, and with new words and new works, to the glory of thy name, and the winning of other sinful souls unto thy face. Be my devout example, by my devout example. Keep me forever, O my Savior, from the torments of hell and the tyranny of the devil. And when I am to depart this life, send thy holy angels to carry me, as they did the soul of Lazarus, into thy kingdom. Receive me into that joyful paradise which thou didst promise to the penitent thief who at his last gasp upon the cross so devoutly begged thy mercy, and admission into thy kingdom. Grant this, O Christ, for thine own name's sake, to whom, as is most due, I ascribe all glory and honor, praise and dominion, both now and forever. 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