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The third Meditation for Wednesday: howe dangerous it is to deferre repentance

OVR Redeemer inuiting vs all vnto repentance, sayth: If any man will follow mee, 1 let him forsake himselfe,2 and take vp his Crosse, and follow mee: for whosoeuer will saue his lyfe, shall loose it. It is necessary, that all sinners doe take vp thys Crosse, and carry it with perseuerance, if they desire to raigne with Christ Iesus. Wherefore Saint Hierome writing to Susanna, saith: that repentance ought to be equall, or greater then the sinnes.3 That repentance is necessary, sayth hee, which may either equalize the faults, or exceede them. And Saint Augustine saith: Whosoeuer will be saued, it is necesary that hee be washed at the least with the teares of the contrition of his hart, being cleansed before by baptisme from all those blemishes and pollutions, which sinne had spotted and soyled him withall. But if thou shalt say, that this is a hard saying, and that thou canst not forsake the world, nor hate thy flesh, nor chastice thy body: heare what is sayd, not of mee, but of Saint Hierome:4 It is a difficult thing, nay it is impossible, that any one should enioy both present and future blessings: that hee should fill his belly heere, and his soule there: that from delicacies he should passe vnto delightes: that in both worlds he should be graced & carry his head aloft, and that hee should appeare glorious both in heauen, & in earth. Which sentence Saint Gregory confirmeth: Many, saith he doe desire to flye out of the exile of this present life, vnto celestiall ioy, who in the meane time will not forsake the pleasures of this world. The grace of Christ Iesus doth call them, but the concupiscence of the world doth detaine thē. They desire to dye the death of the righteous, but they wil not liue as they doe: such shall euerlastingly perrish, because theyr works shal follow them. The austerity of holy Iohn Baptists life, sayth Saint Bernard, is a hard sentence of death vnto sinners: who when there arose not a greater then hee among those that are born of women, did so chastice, correct, and afflict his most innocent body: and yee hast to be clothed with silke, fine linnen, and purple, and to fare deliciously. O wicked man, this is not the Kings high way vnto heauen. Remember the rich glutton, who was the Lorde of such great wealth, who was cloathed in purple and fine linnen, & fared wel & delicatly euery day, who afterwards could not haue one smal drop of water to coole his tong, beeing tormented in the midst of the flames of hel. Cō sider this ô my frend, & repent, whilst thou hast time. Heare what Saint Gregory saith: Although God promiseth pardō vnto the penitent, yet he hath not promised to morrow vnto a sinner.5 It is repentance to deplore sins past, & not to cōmit any hereafter. Therfore it is very well sayde of S. Augustine: Vaine is that repētance,6 which the future fault doth pollute: lamentations do nothing profit, if sins be multiplied: it nothing auaileth to craue pardon for euils, if eftsoons thou renuest & reiteratest thy follies.7 We must note for the further manifestation of this matter, that true repentance doth cōsist of three parts, which are, contrition of hart, cōfession of mouth, & satisfaction of deed. For we haue offended God three maner of wayes, by delight of thought, by lapse of tong, and by pride of works: and these three are to be cured by three contrarie remedies, delight of thought by the sorrow and contrition of hart: the lapse of the tongue by the confession of the mouth: and the pride of workes by vpright and vncorupted satisfaction. Of these three parts therefore wee will speake,8 and first of contrition, which is a voluntary greefe taken for sinne committed, with a purpose of confession, satisfaction, and heereafter not to sinne any more. Contrition must haue foure degrees according to Bernard:9 Furthermore know, saith he, that thou hast wholy recouered thy wits and sences, if thou feelest thy conscience to be bitten with a fourefold compunction, with a double shamfastnes, and with a double feare. Therfore in thy plangors and lamentations for thy selfe, think of God thy maker, think of thy father, think of him, who is bountiful & gracious, & think of thy Lord: and knowe that thou art guilty in each respect; deplore and lament each offence; thy feare doth make aunswer to the first and last, & thy shamfastnes to the two in the midst. Be it that thy Father doth wink at thee, that he that is bountiful & gracious doth pardon thee: but thy Lord & Creatour will not. He that spared not his Son, wil not spare the workmanship of his hands, nor a wicked seruant &c. We offend the Lord our God the Creator of all things: we more wickedly offend our heauenly father, being so gracious & bountifull; who doth support, & nourish vs, in which thing we are worse then dogs, who do loue & folow them, of whom they are nourished; but most vilely we offend God, by crucifying againe by sinne our Redeemer, as much as lieth in vs, who hath redeemed vs by his most precious blood, and hath deliuered vs from all the snarés & entrappings of sinns, from the cruelty of deuils, and frō infernall punishments. We must bee sorrowfull for three things, for sin committed, for good omitted, & for time lost.10 Augustin speaketh of the dignity of cōtrition. The cōtrition of the hart auaileth more, then to go on pilgrimage throughout the world. And Cassianus vpon the Psalme,11 I called vnto the Lord in my trouble, sayth, the Lord doth not knowe how to put of him, whō he knoweth to entreat him with a broken and pierced hart. And Chrisostom sayth:12 It is only compunction, which maketh a man to abhor purple, to desire sackcloath, to worke righteousnes, to loue teares, and to auoid laughter.

Of Cōfession,13 which is an other part of repentance, S. Augustin saith, that it is the health of soules, an expeller of vices, a restorer of vertue, an impugner of wicked spirits, a feare of hel, an impedimēt of the deuill. O holy & admirable confession, thou shuttest the mouth of hel, and openest the gate of Paradice. And in another place: He that accuseth himself of his sins the deuil cannot accuse him at the day of iudgmēt,14 if in cōfessing them he blot those things out by repentance, which hee hath done: neither doth renue that againe, which he hath cō mitted. But woe be vnto vs, that whē so many & so great blessings & benefits are foūd in repētance, & yet there are so few found, that do take it vpon thē.

Heereupon God complaineth in Ieremy,15 saying: I harkned & heard, but none spake right: no man repented him of his wickednes, saying; What haue I done. Heare what S. Isidore saith:16 It is confession by which the lurking disease of the soule is opened to the prayse of God, in hope to obtaine pardon. Of which vertue Ambrose sayth; When confession proceedeth frō a man, then the vengeance of God ceaseth. And Cassiodorus saith; Iesus Christ is not their Iudge, but their Aduocat, who accuse thēselues by theyr own cōfession. Leo also agreeth with these:17 that is not to be cō demned, saith he, in iudgment, which was purged by confession. Goe too therfore, my brother, & follow the councell of Esay, & first recount thine iniquities, that thou maist be iustified. For the confession of sins is the beginning of righteousnes.

Of satis-faction,18 which is a third part of repentance, thus speaketh S. Augustine:19 Satisfaction is to cut of the causes of sin, and not to cherrish by suggestions any entrance into thē. Gregory sayth thus:20 wee do not satis-fie, although we cease from iniquitie, vnlesse, on the contrary side we persecute by opposite bewaylings, the pleasures, which wee loued. Chrysostome consenteth vnto thys. The reconciliation, sayth hee, ought to be equal to the precedent offence: thou oughtest to be as readie to lament, as to offend, and as thine intent was to offend, such also ought thy deuotion to bee in repenting; for great sinnes doe require also great greefe and sorrow.

Wherefore, Eusebius sayth: A light and slight contrition, dooth not effect,21 that those debts may be forgiuē, to which euerlasting death is due: neyther is a transitory satisfaction, sufficient for those euils, for which eternall fire is prepared. There is neede of much weeping, of much mourning, of great griefe of heart, to heale the griefes and sorrowes of the hart. We must endeuour with the whole contrition of the spyrite, that those olde euills, which as arrowes stick in our consciences, may be pulled out. It is not sufficient, with the lips onely to say; I haue offended, spare me, & remit my sins. But we are presently weary, & looke behind vs, as Lots wife did; wherfore we are diligently to cōsider the words of Bernard; He that perfectly knoweth, sayth he, the burden of sin, & the plagues & greeuāces of his soul, he shal litle or nothing at all feele the punishments & castigations of his body, neyther shall they be troublesome vnto him, certainly perswading himselfe that God wil haue respect vnto him, & that he shall auoyd those things, which hee was desposed and prepared to commit. Hereupon S. Augustine saith,22 writing vpon the Psalme; Haue mercy vpon me, ô God: Many there be, sayth he, that are not ashamed to sinne, but they are ashamed to repent. O incredible madnes, art thou not ashamed of thy wound, & art thou ashamed of the binding vp of thy wound? Is it not being naked more vgly? Run therfore to the Phision, repent, & say; I doe confesse mine iniquity, and my sinne is alwayes before mee: against thee onely haue I sinned, and done this euill before thee.

Satisfaction consisteth in three things;23 In prayer, Almesdeedes, & Fasting: which are as it were certaine antidotes against so many capitall vices, by which we offend GOD: and these three vices doe arise from three principall enemies of our soules. Pride is ingendered of the deuill, couetousnes of the world, & luxury of our own flesh: of which thus speaketh Saint Iohn: All that is in the world, 24 is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Prayer restraineth pride, Almes-deedes banisheth couetousnesse, and fasting brideleth lust. Furthermore, wee alwayes sinne eyther against God, and so in like manner prayer is opposed against all that sin, & by it we are accepted of God, as as the Wise-man saith: The prayer of him that humbleth him selfe, 25 goeth thorowe the clowdes, and coaseth not till it come neere, and will not depart till the most High haue respect therevnto: or we sinne against our selues, & against such a sinne, fasting is effectuall, according to that of Augustine: Restraine & bridle your flesh by fasting & abstinence: Or we sinne against our neighbour, & here almes-deedes are of force; of which our Sauiour speaketh in Luke, Giue almes, 26 and all things shall be cleane to you. For as water extinguisheth fire, so almes-deeds quench sinne. Almes-deedes are called the water of GOD, and a precept of mercy commaunded vnto vs of the sonne of God.

Wherefore for three causes we are bound to giue almes, & to exercise the works of charitie: 27 First, because by mercy sin is wiped away: Whereupon Salomon sayth: By mercie and truth, 28 iniquitie shall bee forgiuen. The Scripture maketh mention of that poore widdow, who hauing but a little oyle,29 and exercising mercy, filled all her empty vessels, & the oyle was so multiplied, that shee had enough to pay her debts, and to satisfie all her creditors. These empty vessels are the poore, whom we must bring into our houses,30 according to that saying of Esay; Deale thy bread to the hungry, bring the poore that wander, home to thyne house, when thou seest the naked, couer him, and hide not thy selfe from thine owne flesh. Like vnto thys is the counsell of Tobias, saying vnto his sonne; Giue almes of thy substance; 31 and when thou giuest almes, let not thine eye bee enuious, neyther turne thy face from any poore, least God turne his face from thee. Giue almes according to thy substance: if thou haue but a little, bee not afraid to giue a little almes. And so a little of thys oyle of mercie, shall more and more abound, beeing increased with the augmentation of grace.

Furthermore, almes multiplyeth our temporall goods,32 as Gregory testifieth, saying: we loose earthly thinges by keeping them and preserue them by giuing them away; And in another place: whatsoeuer is giuen to the poore, if it be well considered, is not a gift, but a lone, because that which is gyuē, is receiued again without all hazard, or aduenture with aduantage: as for example,33 where the widdowes oyle and meale is increased, who nourished Elias: wherby it is manifest, that the poore doe rather feede thē that giue almes, then are fedde of them.

Thyrdly, because almes is a worke of mercie, which wayteth vpon the soule to heauen, as S. Ambrose testifieth, who sayth: They are not the goods of man, which he cannot carry with him. Onely mercy is a cōpanion of the dead. O how good and necessary a companion is almes for the deade? Therefore do not despise such a cōpanion, which like an Aduocate goeth before thee, and not followeth after; as those wretches do contemne it, who will not extend their almes in theyr life time, beeing not vnlike to them that cause light to be carrryed behind them, whō the Wise-man reprehendeth, saying: Say not vnto thy neighbour, 34 Goe and come againe, and to morrow will I giue thee, if thou now haue it.

Hee that is rich ought to cō sider three things in giuing his almes,35 the first of the which is: that it is God that requireth the almes, & that he will haue that mercy in the same account, as if it were done to himselfe, according to that, which Christ sayth in the Gospell:36 That which yee haue doone vnto one of the least of these my bretheren, yee haue doone it vnto mee.

GOD dooth begge of the rich money for the poore, of whom the rich daily desire the kingdom of heauen. He therfore that denyeth almes to the poore, God requiring it, it is greatly to be feared, least God in lyke manner denie vnto him the kingdome of heauen, and that he will not heare him, whē he cryeth, according to that of Salomon in his Prouerbs:37 Hee that stoppeth his eare at the crying of the poore, he shall also cry, and not bee heard.

The second thing that a rich man ought to thinke of, beeing about to giue almes, is, that almightie GOD dooth require that for the poore, which is his owne, seeing that hee is the Lorde of all those thinges, which wee possesse; therefore hee is without doubt most ingratefull, that denyeth necessarie almes vnto the poore.

Dauid was farre of from thys ingratitude, when he said: Might, and power, and glorie, and victorie, and prayse (ô Lord) are thine. For all things that are in heauen, and in earth are thine: Thine is thy kingdome O Lorde, and thou art aboue all Princes, Riches and honour are thine. All thinges are thine, and wee giue vnto thee, that which wee haue receiued at thine hands.

And thys cogitation ought the more to mooue vs vnto almes, because GOD receyueth what we giue, and dooth repay vs not onely our principall, but an hundred fold. This is that, which Saint Augustine saith:38 If thou wilt bee a good Merchant, and a gainefull Vsurer; gyue that which thou canst not keepe, that thou mayst receiue what thou canst not loose. Gyue a little, that thou mayst receiue an hundred folde, giue a temporall & fading possession, that thou maist receiue an euerlasting inhearitance.

Therfore he is not onely ingratefull, but also madde, who dooth not giue vnto God his reuenues, that he may receiue them againe with so great interest: when as both the Iewes, the Ethnicks, and the Moores, willingly doe it. Wherfore my deere Brother repent, and gather and lay vp the treasuries of mercy in a safe place, in celestiall securitie, and not among earthly dangers. Consider that the hart of a couetous man, is a pytte without a bottome; the more it receiueth, the more it desireth, neyther is at any time satisfied as the Wiseman sayth: A couetous man is not satisfied with money. 39 Woe be vnto them that lay vp their treasures in the earth: for theyr hearts are afflicted, because they cannot enioy theyr riches, and they keepe them with danger, and will they, nill they, they must at the last part from them, and suffer punishment in hell.

Lay vp thy treasure my deer and good brother, in thine own Countrey, which is Heauen, where thou shalt liue alwayes, and neuer haue hope to enioy these, which are to bee left in the earth: perswade thy selfe that those are thy goods, which thou hast layde out & bestowed on the poore; for those are not properly thy goods which thou canst not carry with thee. Heare what S. Ambrose saith:40 Nothing dooth so much commend a Christian, as commiseration, and charity. And saint Ierome sayth:41 I doe not remē ber that I haue read, that any one dyed an euill death, who willingly exercised the workes of charity. For they haue the prayers of many, and it is impossible but that theyr prayers shoulde bee heard. And Leo commending this vertue, saith; Hee shall receiue many great blessings at Gods hands,42 who letteth not the poore depart from him without comfort.

Mercy is of so great vertue, that without it, others doe not any whitte profit. Bee it that thou art faithful, sober, & chast, & adorned with worthier titles, yet if thou beest not mercifull, thou shalt finde no mercy. And this may bee enough to moue the mindes of men, that they may readily & cheerfully take vpon thē this third part of repentance, which is Satis-faction. Of this repentance, that we may return to our purpose, our Sauiour sayth; He that taketh not vp his crosse & followeth me, is not worthy of me. Which if it be true, we are to performe our repentance as speedily as may be, yea in our youth: for then it is more profitable vnto vs, & more acceptable to God, as the wise man teacheth, saying; 43 Remember thy creator in the daies of thy youth, whiles the euill daies come not, nor the yeeres approch, wherein thou shalt say, I haue no pleasure in thē. My son, defer not from day to day thy conuersion vnto the Lord, least his anger come on a suddaine, and condemne thee, & destroy thee in the time of vengeance. Be not deceiued with the suggestions of that cursed serpent sathan, which suggesteth vnto thee hope of a lōger life, & that thou shalt repent thee enough a little before thou dyest, that he vnwares may oppresse and subuert thee, as the Wise man sayth:44 To promise vnto thy selfe longer life, is great wickednesse, & hath destroied many, and hath remooued them as the waues of the sea.

It is euill, because it is contrarie to reason and iustice:45 worse, because it is against the sinner himselfe: but it is most vile, vngodly, and cursed, because it warreth and fighteth against the diuine will. That it is euill, & contrary to reason & iustice, is proued by three examples.

First, it is against iustice, if any one hauing many horses, among which hee may deuide the weightie and heauie burden, will lay the whole weight vpon one, which is the weakest and the oldest. Such an one is he, that reserueth for feeble old age the whole burthen of repentance, & all the sins which hee committed in his youth, which is vnsufficient for the burden, and can by no meanes beare it. Of such Saint Isidore sayth: They that mispend the time of repentance without fruite, in vaine desire of the Lord, that the gate may bee opened vnto them. The Prophet Malachie denounceth a curse against such an one.46 Cursed be the deceiuer, saith he, that hath in his flocke a male, & voweth and sacrificeth vnto the Lord a corrupt thing.

Secondly hee seemeth vnto mee, more foolish and more vniust, who when he is strong and healthfull, will not carry a small burden, but had rather stay, till his burden bee greater, and himselfe weaker. Such an one is he, that doth not carrie the burdē of repentance in his youth, and so long as it is light and little: but putteth it of to olde age, when as hee himselfe shall be weaker, & his burden wayghtier. Wee haue an example of this in the booke of the Fathers: One cutting downe wood, bound vp a burden of it, and then made tryall whether he could carry it, but seeing himselfe not able to carry the same, he cut down more wood, and made him a greater burden, and by how much hee was lesse able to lift it vp, by so much he augmented it. After the same manner doe sinners, who deferring the time of repentance, do encrease the burden of their sinners.

For as S. Gregory saith:47 the sinne that is not foorth-with clensed and purged by repentance, doth drawe on another with his weight. Thirdly, is not hee exceeding vniust and madde, that bestoweth & consumeth all the time of hys lyfe, all his cost, & all his diligence, in building of houses, in which notwithstanding hee is not minded to dwell: but dooth pull downe with all his might and maine the house, which he hath determined to inhabite? Certainly, this man altogether worketh against the iudgment of reason, and is worthy to bee counted both a foole & a mad man. Thys doth a sinner, who proroging his cōuersion to the howre of death, buildeth for himselfe a habitation in the depth of hell, where notwithstanding, hee desireth not to dwell. Feare and dreade therefore that auncient saying: Hee that dooth any thing against his own conscience, buildeth in hell.

Secondly,48 in hope of a longer life, something worse seemeth to be, then that hath been spoken, when it is to the preiudice of the sinner himself. And this is proued by two exāples.

The first is, because if any man had rather bee sicke, then sound: a seruaunt, then free: poore, then endued with some cōpetent wealth: such an one should be opposite and contrary to himselfe. A sinner is like to this man, because he had rather liue, nay lye dead in sin, which is a spirituall sicknes & infirmity, thē be whole, strong, and sound. Wherefore a sinner is more cruel against himselfe; for he had rather be dead then aliue; sick, then sound; a seruaunt, then free: as it is in S. Iohn:49 Who soeuer committeth sinne, is the seruant of sinne. And S. Augustine saith:50 A good man, albeit he serue, yet hee is free; but an euil man, although he raigne, yet is he a seruaunt: neyther of one man alone, but (that which is more grieuous) of so many maisters as he hath vices. The second example is, he is a debter, who taketh any summe of money vpon vsury; for by so much more doth hys debt & vsury increase, by how much he is longer in discharging it; and to bee so much the more negligent in repaying it, by how much hee is lesse sufficient to repay, certainly it is hurtfull & vnprofitable to him selfe: Such an one is a sinner, who perseuering in his sinnes, the longer hee continueth in them, the more hee increaseth the vsury of hys faulte: and so much the more punishment shall he at the length suffer for them. Herevpon S. Iohn saith in his Reuelation;51 Inasmuch as she glorified her selfe, and liued in pleasure, so much giue yee to her torment and sorrow.

Thirdly, we sayd, that the perswasion of a longer life was most vile,52 vngodly, and cursed, especially, because it directlie fighteth against the goodnesse of our Lord Iesus Christ: and this is manifested by three examples, the first of which is: If a seruant be disobedient to his maister, throgh the whole race and course of his life, whō notwithstanding he is bounde to serue faythfully, hauing receiued many benefits of him: & should serue the greatest enemie that his maister hath, and at the length at the end of hys life, when his strength is decayed, shoulde returne vnto his maister, to waite vpon him, to whom alwaies heeretofore he hath been immorigerous, dost thou thinke that this seruice would be accepted of his maister? Such an one is a sinner, who after he hath offended his Lord God all his life time, and hath borne arms vnder the colours of his aduersary, would at the last return to the seruice of God in his faint & feeble olde age. Secōdly, if any one had receiued mony, or other great riches of his Lord, on this cōdition, that he should negociate & traffick therwith, & by his diligence should increase the sum: and he in despight of his Lord cōsumeth the mony vainely & prodigally; without doubt he offendeth both the goodnesse of his Lord, and hindereth his own profit, & should be counted very vnthankful. A sinner is not vnlike to such an one, who hauing receiued of God a soule & a body, with al the sences, powers, externall goods, length of dayes, & many other benefites, dooth vnprofitably consume them all, and squander them abroade: and that to the reproch and iniurie of his Lord, Creator, and Redeemer: by sinning sundry and diuers wayes, by offending the goodnesse of GOD; and by making hauocke of all his goods, but chiefely of his soule, which is committed and commended vnto him, as a most precious treasure. Wherfore, S. Gregorie sayd; Woe be vnto mee, if I shall negligently keepe the talent committed to me of the Lorde, that is, my soule, redeemed with the precious bloode of that immaculate lambe, seeing also, that there is not any moment of time, which I am not to giue an account of.

The thyrd example. If any one be a Steward, whose dutie is, to dispose the goods of hys Lord: if hee shoulde giue the best bread, the best wine, and the best meates to strangers, & to the enemies of his Lord; & should sette before his Lorde mustie bread, vnsauory meats, putrified flesh, corrupted fishes, and dead wine: doe you not thinke that this seruaunt should badly fitte the humour of his Lord? A wretched sinner is like to such an one, who offereth to the worlde, and to the deuill, who are the enemies of Christ Iesus his lord, the best and fairest flower of his youth and strength: and to his God and lord, the worst part of his lyfe, barren and vnprofitable old age. Dauid did not so, who saith of himselfe;53 I will keep my strength for thee ô Lorde. And the Wise man sayth, that from his youth hee sought for wisedome, 54 which is true vertue. But of all them that deferre repentance, 55 Saint Gregory saith: Hee is farre enough of from fayth, who expecteth old age to repent in. For it is to be feared, least while hee hopeth for mercy, he fall into iudgement. For not any day is within hys power, & therefore euery one ought to follow the counsel of Isidore, and conuert hymselfe with all the diligence and hast hee can, vnto the Lord; for if hee lynger and loyter, he shall at the length bee willing, but not able to turne himselfe.

Which things beeing so, repent my deere brother with all speede and celeritie, and make no longer tarrying, least thou be reprobated and shutte out with the foolish virgins.

Footnotes

  1. Math. 16. ↩

  2. Luke. 9. ↩

  3. Hier. in an Epistle to Susanna. ↩

  4. Hier in an Epistle to Iuliana. cap. ↩

  5. True repentance. ↩

  6. August. in his Soliloquies. ↩

  7. Three parts of repentance. ↩

  8. Contrition what it is. ↩

  9. In his 16. Sermon vppon the Cant. ↩

  10. August. ↩

  11. Cassianus vpon the 120. Psalm. ↩

  12. Chrysost. of the compunction of the hart. ↩

  13. Confession In his 30. Sermon to the brethren in the wildernes. ↩

  14. In his 5[…], Sermon de tempore. ↩

  15. Ierem. 8. ↩

  16. Isidor. lib. de Etym. ↩

  17. Leo in a Sermon. ↩

  18. Satisfactiō. ↩

  19. Augustine in his Soliloquities. ↩

  20. Gregory. ↩

  21. Hom 5, ad Monachos. ↩

  22. Augustine in Psal, 50, ↩

  23. In what things satisfaction cō sisteth. ↩

  24. 1, Iohn, 2, ↩

  25. Ecclus, 35, ↩

  26. Luke, 11, ↩

  27. The fruites of almes-deedes. ↩

  28. Prou, 16, ↩

  29. 2, King. 4. ↩

  30. Esay, 58. ↩

  31. Tob, 4, ↩

  32. Lib. 18. Moral. c. 10 ↩

  33. 1, Kings, 1[…] ↩

  34. Prou, 3, ↩

  35. Three thinges to be considered in almes. ↩

  36. Math, 25, ↩

  37. Prouerb, 21 ↩

  38. Augustine in his Epistles. ↩

  39. Eccles. 11. ↩

  40. Ambrose in his offices. ↩

  41. Hiero. to Nepotianus. ↩

  42. Leo of the apparition of our lord. ↩

  43. Eccles, 12▪ ↩

  44. Ecclus, 20, ↩

  45. It is wicked and naught, to promise vnto thy selfe a longer life. ↩

  46. Malach. 1, ↩

  47. Gregory. ↩

  48. Hope of a longer life, is worse thē the former circūstances in respect of the sinner himself. ↩

  49. Iohn, 8, ↩

  50. August. in his 4. booke of the cittie of God. ↩

  51. Apoc, 18, ↩

  52. The perswasion of a longer life, is most vile, and vngodly. ↩

  53. Psalm, 38, ↩

  54. Wised, 8. ↩

  55. Gregory in his morals. ↩

Chapter 5 of 12